Trout Mountain Forestry, who also helped prepare the Corvallis Forest Stewardship Plan (CFSP) in 2006, originally identified this area north of the C2C trail and Old Peak Rd. (polygon 1803) as a 110-200 year old stand. When preparing the 2021-2022 harvest plan, the same area is represented as 60-100 year old forest with occasional 200+ year old individual trees. Actual trees marked for harvest include trees in the O3 category (Natural Old Growth Remnant Stands) well outside the proposed harvest boundary. Conversations with the Public Works liaison on this project indicated there was no upper size or age limit on trees to be removed during this harvest. Trout Mountain representatives also reached out to make sure it was clear that there are no restrictions in the CFSP on harvesting 110-200 year old trees.
Multiple discrepancies exist between the plan in the July 2021 Watershed Operation Committee (WOC) meeting addendum and the current Harvest Plan. This addendum, included on page 14 of the poorly attended and unpublicized WOC meeting is the only notice the city can cite to fufill their obligation to provide public notice.
The CFSP touts the habitat snags it created in the watershed including in these areas about to be logged. These snags take years to decay and become wildlife habitat features. Now just as these snags are starting to provide valuable wildlife habitat many that aren’t flagged for retention will be at risk of removal “at the loggers discretion” so that they can more easily access targeted trees for removal. Their plan essentially creates habitat just to destroy it as soon as it becomes occupied in the middle of nesting season. This makes no ecological or fiscal sense.
These a few examples of many that illustrate how Public Works and their contractors are manipulating the narrative to push forward an agenda of resource extraction.