Upper Applegate Watershed field tour

Nov 6, 2023Events

Free Community Field Tour!

Star Ranger Station • Friday, Dec. 8 • 10 am – 1:30 pm

Join the Rogue Forest Partners for a half-day field trip to see, learn about, and discuss the ongoing Upper Applegate Watershed Restoration Project. This long-term, collaborative effort aims to strategically improve forest health and reduce the risk of severe wildfire in the forested slopes of the Applegate Valley.

The Upper Applegate Watershed project area covers 52,000 acres, primarily public land managed by the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management Medford District.

A targeted area of 18,000 acres has been strategically prioritized for treatment to mitigate wildfire risk and enhance wildlife habitat.

This collaborative effort between nonprofits, public agencies, tribes, municipalities, and fire districts addresses the need for wildfire fuels reduction south of the Applegate Valley communities of Ruch and Williams, and north of Applegate Lake.

On December 8, 2023, partners will lead a tour to view some of the upcoming Upper Applegate Watershed project, areas scheduled for ecological thinning and prescribed fire treatments, and share the timeline for ongoing implementation over the next year.
We’ll be focusing on the commercial thinning that is part of this stewardship project—where small- to medium-diameter trees (primarily Douglas-fir) are removed as part of the ecologically-based prescriptions and sold to local mills, with revenue reinvested in project restoration activities.

No RSVP is necessary!

Please note: The field tour includes walking up to 2 miles and sections of uneven terrain. Please be sure to come prepared with appropriate footwear.