City moves to clear some land in watershed A fire in the area could seriously damage the watershed's ability to filter snow and rain runoff.
By ALFRED DIAZ of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
MILL CREEK CANYON — Loggers will soon thin out 35 acres in the Umatilla National Forest to reduce the risk of forest fires in a 700-acre watershed that supplies 85 percent of Walla Walla’s water.
U-B phot by ALFRED DIAZ:
Steve Douglas of Douglas Logging sprays orange paint on trees that will be left standing in a 35-acre section of the watershed. The rest will go to lumber, pulp or waste piles, Douglas said.
“This land is the first stage of our water treatment ... the water is naturally filtered here,” said Special Projects Engineer Hal Thomas, pointing out that a fire there could seriously damage the Mill Creek Watershed and its ability to filter snow and rain runoff.
On Friday, Thomas and City Councilman Jim Barrow hiked through a 35-acre parcel of Oregon land that is owned by the city, checking out how much thinning will take place.
“Nature has a way of taking care of the problem if you don’t, and sooner or later it’s going to burn,” said Barrow during the 45-minute drive to the area located near Tiger Canyon Saddle.
If the entire watershed did burn, Thomas said silt levels in Mill Creek could drastically increase for as many as five years, forcing the city to rely more on costly well water. And he added that the city might also be forced to require water conservation programs to some 10,000 families and businesses.
“We just don’t know how long those ground water resources would last,” Thomas said.
On Friday and Saturday, city consultant Steve Douglas of Walla Walla-based Douglas Logging sprayed orange paint on about 30 trees per acre — the trees that will be left standing; all the rest will go to lumber, pulp or waste piles, Douglas said.
“Almost all these trees have the mistletoe fungus,” the consultant said as he scanned the tops of larch, spruce and Alpine fir trees. “What you look for is a tree that has a healthy crown and is not diseased.”
Douglas estimates it will take a four-person crew about one month to harvest around 200,000 board feet of lumber and 40 tons of pulp from the area. But he also pointed out it’s a small logging operation, which means the city might end up having to pay to make this project profitable to bidders. The good news is the state of Oregon is willing to help pay for 75 percent of the costs, up to $20,000, but only for a project completed this year.
“We want to get it done now while there is support from Oregon,” Thomas said. He pointed out there is still the possibility the project could end up making money if the bids come in high enough.
On Monday, a number of bidders will inspect the 35-acre lot. After their inspection, they will have until July 31 to bid how much they will pay for the lumber and pulp, and how much they will charge to clean the remaining waste material.
Thomas added that even though the project covers a little less than 10 percent of the watershed, the area to be thinned is the only road access point for miles. So the city wants to keep the fuels low in case of a human-caused fire, he said.
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