Collaborative Documents & Reports

Community and Forest Service Leaders in Crook County launched the Ochoco Forest Restoration Collaborative in 2012 to address past forest and natural resource conflicts that have hampered much-needed forest restoration work on the Ochoco National Forest and local communities now and into the future.

This Commitment to Productive Participation represents the interests of active Ochoco Forest Restoration Collaborative (OFRC) members, guest participants, U.S. Forest Service partners, and media to advance the mission of the OFRC and to honor the agreements that are collaboratively developed.

This document presents the Ochoco Forest Restoration Collaborative’s process for working together. Members of this collaborative group developed this document together, modeling the collaborative and consensus-based approach they aim to use in advancing their mission and goals.

Aspen woodlands are one of the more biologically rich plant communities in Central and Eastern Oregon, including the Ochoco National Forest. Although they occupy a small proportion of the physical landscape, they play a disproportionately large role in providing important wildlife habitat, including cavities, unique insect and plant communities and abundant forage.

The dry forests of the Ochoco National Forest (defined as the ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and dry grand fir plant association groups) are significantly less healthy and resilient today than they were historically, prior to the mid- to late- 1800’s. In their current condition, the dry forests of the Ochocos cannot adequately meet the diverse ecological, economic, and social needs and values identified by the OFRC.

This document summarizes OFRC input to the Ochoco National Forest’s Wolf Creek Watershed Analysis process. It contains collaboratively-developed descriptions of current conditions, desired future conditions, and management recommendations for five broad resource areas in the Wolf Watershed: vegetation, aquatics and riparian, wildlife, transportation, and socioeconomics.

Watershed analyses are intended to develop a scientifically based understanding of the interaction of landscape patterns within the watershed to serve as a guide for the type and priority of future restoration and management activities. Watershed analyses are also used as a tool for management decisions that rely upon an understanding of existing conditions.

Restoration contracts and timber sales on national forests and grasslands can generate economic activity and social benefits in nearby communities. The extent to which local communities realize these benefits depends on the amount of work contracted, the type of work contracted, and the ability of local businesses to bid on and receive the work.

A group of diverse participants from within OFRC developed a list of shared values, assigning them to various locations on a map of the Ochoco National Forest, creating a Values Map that identifies hot spots of public interest and concern. These hot spots identify and prioritize areas where active forest restoration would protect public values.