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BLM field office briefs commissioners on wildfire season, timber salvage and collaboration
Summary
Bureau of Land Management field staff updated the Umatilla County commissioners on last season's wildfire activity, plans for salvage timber sales, invasive-grass treatments and coordination needs with county emergency management.
BLM Baker Field Office staff told Umatilla County commissioners on Feb. 5 that last summer's wildfire season was unusually severe in the region and that the agency plans targeted post-fire salvage timber sales, invasive-grass treatments and continued coordination with county emergency managers and other federal and state partners.
Sarah Sherman, BLM Baker Field Office field manager, said the agency recorded roughly 650,000 acres burned in eastern Oregon this year and that BLM acreage accounted for about 366,000 acres of that total. She said the 2024 fire season far exceeded the 10-year average for the region, and that fuel loads and unhealthy timber stands—affected by disease and mistletoe—made some areas vulnerable to very hot burns.
Sherman described salvage timber sales as one tool BLM plans to use where timber value and public-safety considerations make harvesting feasible. She said timber is not the agency's sole priority where values are low; in many places grazing and range resources were identified as higher priorities for protection and for whom the agency would not risk life-and-limb for salvage.
Sherman urged county staff and commissioners to share locations of local concern with the field office; she also said the BLM has been coordinating with Baker and Malheur counties on invasive-grass treatments, and that the agency's emergency-stabilization efforts will remain focused on treating areas affected by wildfire. Commissioners and county staff were urged to connect with Sage Long, the county emergency manager, for operational coordination.
Sherman and Eric Scalman (new assistant field manager) said they will provide updated project timelines for agency activities in the region and circulate paper copies of reports and timelines to county contacts for review.
Asked by commissioners to describe specific management opportunities, Sherman said timber harvesting and targeted fuels treatments are viable options in some places and encouraged the county to identify priority areas for BLM review.
Sherman closed by thanking the county for cooperation during the intense fire season and asked that county officials maintain liaison contacts to streamline work going forward.
