Oregon spray deal

[fireweed]

Oregon timber and enviros strike deal to change spray and other logging rules.

https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2020/02/oregon-environmental-groups-timber-companies-strike-landmark-compromise-signaling-end-to-november-ballot-fight.html

[bbarnes]

Great news now let's get washinton to do the same HOOF ROT .

[7mmfan]

Every little bit helps, but it's not saying they won't spray, just where they will spray and how much notice is given. Good first step. Bring back slash burning, better for everything.

[WSU]

I don't understand the statements to bring back slash burning.  That still goes on and doesn't do the same thing as spraying.  Am I missing something?

[elkboy]

Every little bit helps, but it's not saying they won't spray, just where they will spray and how much notice is given. Good first step. Bring back slash burning, better for everything.

Fire can be very good for deer and elk forage! Fireweed, buckbrush (ceanothus), deervetch, and so much more. We have to ease up a little on smoke restrictions so more ground can be burned under good conditions.

[romaknows]

I don't understand the statements to bring back slash burning.  That still goes on and doesn't do the same thing as spraying.  Am I missing something?
[/
quote]

Purely just my observation, but hunting spayed units verses cleaned and burned units are night and day different when it comes to deer and elk numbers.
I also can hardly navigate a sprayed unit with 3 feet of limbs on the ground,makes me wonder if the animals have a tough time ......

[7mmfan]

All of that. Burning is a natural part of the landscape. Has been for millions of years. Our ecosystem is based on burning and regeneration. Many tree and plant species can't germinate new seeds without fire. When you burn slash and use fire to clean cuts, you clean up the junk that just rots, and actually put those nutrients back into the soil. The next group of seedlings have great soil to start in. And as others have said, the other foliage that comes back are deer/elk magnets. Those cuts are highly productive areas. Sprayed cuts are not.

You are right in the context that it doesn't do the same thing as spraying. Spraying reduces the foliage load in the cuts so that the seedlings can get a better shot at growing for the first year or two without being choked out. Somehow though, cuts were replanted successfully for a hundred years before herbicides became mainstream.

[Mudman]

Not good enough.  Full ban.  Burn only.

[cougforester]

Burning harvest units post logging would be great in a perfect world.

However, try doing widespread burns on all even aged harvests in today’s political and social climate with smoke management policies, liability and insurance issues, cost.... good luck. Today’s forest practice rules also require larger riparian buffers than they did a century ago (meaning any), all of which would need fire lines installed around them. The logistics don’t work.

I’d rather have some early seral habitat that gets sprayed at first than thousands of acres of late seral, closed canopy Forest Service habitat with no habitat or wildlife value at all.

[buckfvr]

Call it what you want for what ever reasons.....its about increased yield that translates to increased profit.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Burning harvest units post logging would be great in a perfect world.

However, try doing widespread burns on all even aged harvests in today’s political and social climate with smoke management policies, liability and insurance issues, cost.... good luck. Today’s forest practice rules also require larger riparian buffers than they did a century ago (meaning any), all of which would need fire lines installed around them. The logistics don’t work.

I’d rather have some early seral habitat that gets sprayed at first than thousands of acres of late seral, closed canopy Forest Service habitat with no habitat or wildlife value at all.

Unit burns had fire lines on them when they used to burn them, just put the fire lines back from the riparian areas.😉

Not rocket science.🤣

Burning is way better than spraying, I wouldn’t doubt the chemical companies are the ones pushing burn bans.

[Mudman]

This "spraying" is HUGE $$$ to Co.'s.   I understand the results produced in terms of yield/$ but it is very bad.   Gov Inslee( ) is considering tearing down damns to help salmon to help Orcas yet Damns weren't the issue for decades until the 90's???   OR maybe all the chemicals in water could be a problem?  Is it coincidence that so many problems started at same time as this practice did?   How many are related?   Nobody seems to listen to "other" science unless it is paid for by corrupt Co profiting form it.

[Buckhunter24]

With no slash compliance like idaho theres no financial motivation. And like others have said, the smoke restrictions make burning damn near impossible depending on location. If they only let you get 100 tons at a time you might make 6 or 8 trips out just to do landing piles.

Theres some smaller timber companies successfuly using uneven age management, but even age is the go to for the larger reits and chemicals improve your seedling survival and rotation time. I would love to see broadcast burning come back but Im afraid it wont happen.

And yes putting a fireline along an rmz is great on operable ground but on a line strip you generally cant sidehill so you end up doing it by hand which is even more expensive and less reliable.

[konradcountry]

The problem I have is that they can spray anything from the air.

Limit them to spraying 24d and Glyphosate on the ground. Would also be a job booster.

[Buckhunter24]

Direct exposure is a lot lower aerial spray. Backpack spraying is an unpleasent job to put it mildly.

I am not a proponent of chemicals by any means but those pilots are really good in my experience.