Forests and Rangelands Success Story
Government Camp Fuel Reduction
Zigzag Ranger District, Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon
National Fire Plan - Fuels Reduction
2004 - 2008
The Government Camp Fuels Reduction Project, designed to reduce the risk of fire to adjacent private property, is a 30-acre project adjacent to the village of Government Camp, Oregon, a federally designated community at risk, approximately 40 air miles east of Portland in Clackamas County. The project is within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and is covered under the Clackamas County Community Wildfire Protection Plan. This fuels project reduces hazardous fuels through the creation of fuel breaks that are 150 to 300 feet wide. The fuel breaks are on National Forest System Lands bordering private lands.
The treatments included thinning and removal of dead and live trees, pruning of branches from the remaining trees to remove ladder fuels, and hand piling of slash. The project was implemented in two phases. Work started in 2005 and was completed in 2007. Mechanical work was accomplished using a Stewardship Contract. This had an additional benefit of providing private sector jobs within the local community. USDA Forest Service crews were used to complete the manual work. Funding for the manual work was provided by Clackamas County through a Title II grant. Fuels reduction work on private lands has been ongoing and is being accomplished through programs lead by the Hoodland Fire District and the Oregon Department of Forestry.
This Government Camp Fuels Reduction Project was planned using the Healthy Forests Initiative for hazardous fuels reduction. The Forest Service participated in collaboration meetings to identify issues and concerns of local people. Meetings were held locally and were well attended. Discussion among those attending the community meetings resulted in the design of the proposed action that reflected the concerns identified.
For more information, contact Bill Westbrook, bwestbrook@fs.fed.us, (503) 622-3191.