Oregon workers will begin pre-commercial thinning treatments on 413 acres of the Clatsop State Forest this month to improve forest health. Funded by a $28,910 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant, the project will open up selected younger tree stands with an aim to boost the growth and vigor of the remaining trees. (A thinning in which the trees that are removed have little or no economic value is referred to as a "pre-commercial thinning.")
"In units where the management plan calls for complex forest structure, the thinning will promote development of understory vegetation and large trees," Oregon Department of Forestry's John Hawksworth said. The department's Astoria District manages the Clatsop State Forest.
The resulting increase in stand complexity will provide diverse habitats for wildlife. And the selective thinning will also promote wind firmness.
Three Brothers Reforestation, Inc. of Independence submitted the low bid and was awarded the contract for the work. The company will field a crew of eight to 12 workers to fell trees on 10 sites located throughout Clatsop County. Two ODF personnel will be funded through the grant to oversee this and future Recovery Act projects in the district, Hawksworth said.
The thinning project is scheduled to be completed in March.
The U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Region awarded the Recovery Act grant to ODF. More information on Oregon Department of Forestry Recovery Act projects can be found at: www.oregon.gov/odf. For information on all Recovery Act projects being administered by Oregon State Government agencies, go to the Oregon Way website, www.oregon.gov/recovery/index.page.
Contractors desiring to bid on other Recovery Act-funded ODF projects are encouraged to go to the Oregon Procurement Information Network (ORPIN) Internet site, http://orpin.oregon.gov/open.dll/welcome.
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