Cloak Timber Sale

This sale is a combination of two different logging projects, the Oak Grove thin (mainly located on the Oak Grove fork of the Clackamas) and the Upper Clackamas thin.Bark has decided not to appeal this sale due to the fact that the USFS reduced acreage and reduced road miles per our request. We also wanted to test out the new Stewardship Contracting authorities, which are designed to direct the the proceeds for the sale towards restoration projects on the Forest. We are working with a collaborative group to make this happen and will see what we think after the restoration projects have been accomplished and the logging has been carried out. We 'll then evaluate participating on these projects in the future. Various pieces of this logging project have been sold and logged. Initial monitoring of these logged units has raised a number of concerns such as damaged soils, logged deciduous trees (losing the small amount of diversity present), logged large trees with saved small trees, heavy road construction (1.8 miles of temporary 'roads and 3.4 miles of new roads). On the plus side, the remaining trees do not display the damage typically found after a logging operation. Whether or not this "restoration " stewardship project is appropriate for an area that the forest service plans on clearcutting ( 'even aged management ') is the key question.As found on page 2 of Appendix E for the Cloak logging project the eventual plan for the area appears to be a clearcut. 'Even aged management is the optimal appropriate silvicultural system and commercial thinning is the optimum harvest method for those stands prescribed for treatment because it meets the objectives of the NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN the MT HOOD FOREST PLAN and the recommendations of the UPPER CLACKAMAS LOWERCLACKAMAS and OAK GROVE WATERSHED ANALYSES. These stands have not reached culmination of mean annual increment for fiber production. '

Project Status: 
Logged
General Information
District: 
Clackamas River Ranger District
Total Acres: 
1,463.0
Watershed: 

Oak Grove Fork, Upper Clackamas

Legal Description: 

T5S, R6E sect. 36 T5S, R7E sect. 31 and 36 T5S, R8E sect. 30-32 T6S, R6E sect. 1, 11-14 T6S, R7E sect. 1-11, 16-20 T6S, R8E sect. 5, 6 and 8 (Oak Grove) T6S, R7E sect. 25, 31, 32 and 35 T6S, R8E sect. 28-33 T7S, R7E sect. 1, 12, 13 and 24 T7S, R8E sect. 4-6, 8, 9, 16, 17 and 20 (Upper Thin)

Prescriptions
Total Acres: 
1,463.0
Total Riparian Acres: 
217.00
"Purpose & Need": 

The purpose is to thin young forest stands to 1) increase health and vigor and enhance growth that results in larger wind firm trees 2) enhance forest for deer and elk 3) provide forest products consistent with northwest forest plan goal of maintaining the stability of local and regional economies now and in the future 4) enhance riparian reserves by accelerating the development of mature and late successional stand conditions. Need Second growth stands are experiencing a slowing of growth due to overcrowding. Young stands that once provided high quality forage are becoming crowded, contributing to a trend of declining forage for deer and elk.

Bark Comments: 

Initially the logging projects proposed commercial logging on 307 acres of native forest between the two sales. For the original Oak Grove sale it was proposed to log 699 non-reserve acres and 267 acres of Riparian Reserve (yes, they will be logging Reserves), with 213 acres of clearcuts in scattered 1-3 acre sizes to increase forage within the non-reserve areas and 546 acres of aerial fertilization. For the original Upper Clackamas it was proposed to log 530 acres of non-reserve acres and 165 acres of Riparian Reserves, with 293 acres of clearcuts in scattered 1-3 acre sizes to increase forage within the non-reserve areas, and 460 acres of aerial fertilization. The totals for the combined projects on the EA shifted slightly from the original proposal 1332 acres of non-reserve logging, 217 acres logged in riparian reserves, 545 acres of clearcuts to increase forage for deer and elk within the non-reserve areas, and 1049 acres fertilized. They are planning to have a number of different logging sales (7?) come out of this EA.

Timber Sale Names: 

G (1463 Acres, 16 MMBF, 3662 CCF)
Status: Sold, but not logged
Y (3619 CCF)
Status: Sold, but not logged
P
Status: Post Appeal/Ready to be Auctioned
O
Status: Post Appeal/Ready to be Auctioned
W
Status: Post Appeal/Ready to be Auctioned

Driving Directions: 

There are 6 general groupings of thin units in the Oak Grove Thin. They are somewhat based on the access road used to get to them, though there is some overlap.1) 4640 gives access to roughly nine units.2) 5710 gives access to 7 units.3) 5720-120 gives access to 3 units.4) 4630 gives access to 3 units.5) 5730 gives access to 7 units6) 58/5810 gives access to 5 units7) 5700-120 gives access to 3 units with 2 of those units also accessible from 5710.For Upper Clack Thin Units In a line across the Upper Clack watershed, on either side of the line dividing T6S and T7S

New Road Miles: 
3.40
Temporary Road Miles: 
1.8
Road Comments: 

1.8 miles of temporary roads that will be obliterated when finished (which doesn 't eliminate the road, it just makes undriveable). And additional 3.4 miles of road will be created and added to the permanent system roads these roads will be needed for the planned clearcutting ( even-aged management ") of these units in the future."
Reconstruction Miles: 1

Associated Images: 
Logging in Cloak Timber Sale
The road is under the logs
Cloak Timber Sale unit 501
Fire feature in Cloak TImber Sale unit 427
Flagging in Cloak Timber Sale
Tree in 'fire recovery' unit 466 of Cloak Timber Sale
Old growth in Cloak Timber Sale unit 501
This old growth cedar is in Cloak Timber Sale unit 468
Cloak Timber Sale causes 3.4 miles of new road and 1.8 miles of temp roads
This timber sale marker shows old unlogged timber sale boundaries reused in sales planned after the Northwest Forest Plan came into effect
Clear habitat in this vital snag threatened by the Cloak Timber Sale
Associated Files: 
AttachmentSize
HTML icon Bark Comments on Cloak Timber Sale PA134.48 KB
PDF icon Cloak Timber Sale Decision Notice Letter89.38 KB
PDF icon Cloak Timber Sale Scoping Notice37.96 KB
PDF icon Cloak Timber Sale Decision109.72 KB
PDF icon Cloak Timber Sale Environmental Assessment (EA)992.01 KB
PDF icon Cloak Timber Sale Preliminary Assessment (PA)944.56 KB
Microsoft Office document icon Fact sheet for Cloak Timber Sale26.5 KB
Microsoft Office document icon Talking points for Cloak Timber Sale271.5 KB
PDF icon Oak Grove Timber Sale Scoping Information335.99 KB
PDF icon Forest Service Response to Comments for Cloak Timber Sale313.29 KB
PDF icon Cloak Timber Sale Scoping Notice347.91 KB
Microsoft Office document icon Scoping Comments for 57.5 KB
PDF icon Forest Service Project Description of Upper Clackamas Thinning Timber Sales311.28 KB
Microsoft Office document icon Scoping Comment Letter for Clackamas Thinning Timber Sales25 KB
Microsoft Office document icon Scoping Comment Letter on 4 timber sales in Clackamas35 KB

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