Forest Service reports large planned timber volume, urges continued fuels reduction and reforestation work

Judd Lehman, District Ranger for portions of the Fremont-Winema National Forest, gave the Klamath County Board of Commissioners an update on upcoming timber sales, fuels treatments and reforestation needs.

Lehman said the Forest Service has “timber sales…planned for just the Chiliqua and Chamot districts [of] 81,000,000 board feet,” and that the forest overall “if we get all our sales out, it should be a 20,000,000 board feet,” noting much of the work is already prepared and ready to go. He described timber sales, prescribed burning and thinning as central tools the agency is using to reduce wildfire risk and provide material for local mills.

The nut of the update was the agency’s emphasis on three priorities for the fiscal year: fire suppression readiness, fuels reduction through thinning and prescribed burning, and reforestation after recent fires. Lehman said prescribed burning and thinning “helped us catch [a fire] sooner than we could have otherwise,” and he pointed to photos and maps showing where treatments have occurred and where future sales and burns are planned.

Lehman acknowledged reforestation is a struggle after large fires. He said delays in ordering seedlings, dense brush regrowth and limits on herbicide use have made planting difficult, adding that private industrial partners that can use herbicides have had more success. He asked the board for support and offered to provide additional information or a field trip.

Commissioners and staff discussed the county’s fiscal dependence on timber receipts if federal Secure Rural Schools reauthorization does not occur. Commissioner comments noted stewardship and Good Neighbor Authority tools are valuable to the Forest Service, and county receipts from timber sales may become increasingly important to Klamath County’s budget if federal payments lapse. One commissioner said the next 90 days would be “extraordinarily telling” for reauthorization prospects and expected more engagement with Forest Service leaders.

Lehman also briefed the board on developed campground maintenance (Miller Lake and Chilliwine areas), and on an ongoing contract relationship with Collins Pine, which he said has performed reconnaissance, cruising and preparation work under an arrangement that helps the Forest Service complete sales despite limited staff capacity.

On public-safety concerns in forested areas, Lehman said the forest has been “struggling with vagrants, camping, garbage,” and noted legal complexity following recent Supreme Court decisions affecting how jurisdictions can manage homelessness on federal lands. He said enforcement partnerships with the county sheriff and road department are valuable but challenged by limited law-enforcement presence in remote areas.

The board did not take a formal vote on any forest actions during the update; commissioners expressed thanks for the work and asked staff to provide additional budget/receipt figures for upcoming discussions.

Lehman closed by offering to share information about policy or procedural changes that might ease NEPA or other processes and to meet with county staff while traveling to Washington, D.C.