Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Juniper Removal topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawmakers hear results from juniper removal pilot and push to expand grants for treatment
Summary
Representative Vikki Breese Iverson and Central Oregon partners described a pilot program to remove invasive western juniper that has already produced restoration and hydrologic monitoring work; HB 3135 would appropriate $15 million for a grant program to scale treatments in selected counties.
House Bill 3135 would appropriate $15 million from the general fund to the Department of Administrative Services to provide grants to soil and water conservation districts that coordinate juniper-removal and related conservation projects in specified counties, Representative Vikki Breese Iverson told the committee.
"In much of Central and Eastern Oregon we've seen a rapid increase in juniper weeds... Studies have shown large juniper weeds can consume somewhere between 25 and 40 gallons a day," Representative Vikki Breese Iverson told the committee, describing the pilot program created by HB 2010 the prior session and the districts' progress under that pilot.
Stakeholders presented monitoring, ecological and operational results from the pilot. Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council program coordinator Summers Taylor and Crook County Soil and Water Conservation District manager Andy Gallagher demonstrated before-and-after imagery and monitoring plans. Gallagher said Crook County used House Bill 2010 funds plus other grants (OWEB, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation) to treat roughly 3,000 acres on private land, install monitoring equipment (two weather stations, three shallow wells and a flume) and establish baseline data ahead of treatment and monitoring.
"This root picture shows the extensive and deep root system of a mature juniper. Juniper trees like this sequester a large amount of water. Something like this on average can sequester about 4,815 gallons of water annually," Summers Taylor said while showing the program's GIS story map and before/after treatment imagery. County partners said treated sites have shown native grasses and shrubs returning and, in some project plots, early signs of increased surface water at monitored sites.
Speakers emphasized multiple benefits beyond water: restored steppe habitat, reduced wildfire risk and potential biomass uses. Eric Clon, acting city engineer for the city of Prineville, described local interest in a biomass energy project to convert removed juniper into renewable energy feedstock and noted the city's support for steelhead reintroduction and other restoration projects.
Committee members asked technical questions about treatment strategy. Witnesses said the program preserves older, culturally significant juniper trees and focuses on removing dense, younger expansion that had altered historic fire and hydrologic regimes; partners expect some follow-up treatments on regrowth and built monitoring into project plans. Andy Gallagher said some treatments will include prescribed burns in addition to mechanical cutting depending on site conditions.
Representative Breese Iverson said the pilot program has produced data and momentum and that members of a newly formed Central Oregon Caucus support expanding the program. Sponsors and districts said HB 3135 largely mirrors HB 2010's language with technical fixes and would continue the pilot model at broader scale.
Ending: The committee heard substantial evidence of ecological and hydrologic response from the pilot projects and received requests to continue funding; the public hearing closed with committee members praising the quick uptake of projects and asking staff to consider monitoring and reuse pathways for removed juniper.
