An Evaluation of Fuel Reduction Projects Healthy Forests Initiative

This analysis was made possible through funding from Wilburforce Foundation and 444S Foundation. The Forest Guild promotes ecologically, economically, and socially responsible forestry as a means of sustaining the integrity of forest ecosystems and the human communities dependent upon them. The Guild provides training, policy analysis, and research to foster excellence in stewardship, to support practicing foresters and allied professionals, and to engage a broader community in the challenges of forest conservation and management. Abstract The build up of fuels in fire prone forests and the attendant risk to people and ecosystems is one the of the greatest land stewardship challenges in the United States. The federal government has implemented the National Fire Plan, the Healthy Forests Initiative (HFI), and the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) to facilitate fuel reduction projects. To date there has been no systematic public review of these federal fuel reduction programs. This report examines the HFI and HFRA through an assessment of projects in southwestern Oregon, specifically the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management's Medford District. The results show that, at present, a full assessment of the social and ecological impact of HFI and HFRA is nearly impossible because of limited record keeping by government offices and administrative confusion. In addition, there is insufficient public access to records on fuel reduction treatments and their effects to allow third party assessment. Based on available data, however, the impact of HFI and HFRA projects on social and ecological systems in southwestern Oregon appears muted. HFI and HFRA did not seem to change the legal environment for federal land management as much as initially predicted. Lack of funding for implementation continues to slow or halt some projects. Funding for environmental analysis has also been a constraining factor. Successful fuel reduction projects include early and substantial public participation. HFI has facilitated small projects that focus on removal of small diameter trees. Increased use of prescribed fire in HFI and HFRA projects could increase both the efficacy of treatment and the number of acres treated.