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EQIP and Partnership Foster Regeneration of Storm Damaged Acres in Southwest Coastal Counties

Submitted by Bari Williams, Resource Conservationist, Montesano
 

Planted gully shows damaged tree stumps and how wind uprooted large trees. Newly planted trees are in the foreground with their protectors.

Floods, high winds, heavy rainfall and mudslides are all part of the winter cycle on the Washington coast.  However, landowners were hit especially hard December 2nd -4th in 2007.  As much as 20 inches of rain fell on top of snow received in the Willapa Hills area of Lewis, Grays Harbor, Pacific and Wahkiakum Counties resulting in catastrophic flooding throughout the region.  At the same time, winds in excess of 80 miles per hour, with gusts exceeding 145 miles per hour were sustained along the coast of Washington.  The aerial survey showed wind damaged forest land within a 20 mile corridor along the coast from Naselle to north of Hoquiam.  It is estimated that 20,000 acres of private forest land was damaged by the hurricane force winds.  Many small forest landowners were left devastated and heartbroken over their resource loss.

Landowners needed to remove damaged and shattered trees in order to prevent disease spreading from the downed material to healthy trees.  Leaning, downed and splintered timber, along with slash, needed to be removed for fire prevention, safety concerns, and to provide the space needed to re-plant the forest.  Small private forest landowners were assisted by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Washington State University Extension (WSU), NRCS, conservation districts and the Department of Revenue on what tools were available to deal with their resource problems.  Landowners needed information on how to harvest damaged wood and replant, and how the Forest Practices Rules, and economic outlook of salvage harvests would affect them.  DNR and the U.S. Forest Service decided that Forest Practices Rules would be enforced and procedures would stay the same, but landowners with storm damage would move to the top of the priority list for review and approval of applications.  Economically, it would be impossible for landowners to recoup the cost of removing the salvage timber and slash, site prep and replanting of the trees.  These activities started during a depressed timber market and with no financial assistance available.

A stump, new seedling and snag is demonstrative of the multiple generations of forest and wildlife habitat remaining from the storm.

In the early summer of 2008, additional FY08 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funds became available in Washington State.  About one-half million dollars were made available for a Special Storm Damage EQIP Fund.  The Southwest Team worked quickly to get landowners eligible for another FY08 EQIP program for the July 15th cutoff.  NRCS and DNR collaborated through a contribution agreement to better assist the landowners with conservation planning.  With assistance from DNR, the NRCS State Office, and West Area Office between July 15th and August 30th of 2008, the program was implemented through inventories, conservation plans, and obligation of EQIP funds.  There are 19 contracts in Pacific and 18 contracts in Grays Harbor Counties, ranging from one to seventy-five acres, for reforestation of damaged acres.  Reforestation plans contained a maximum of six conservation practices from slash removal, site preparation, tree establishment, seedling protection, upland wildlife habitat, critical area seeding and mulching.  The Special Storm Damage EQIP pool was used to fund the basic reforestation practices for 37 affected landowners, totaling 644.5 acres, at a little over $500,000 in FA, done in six short weeks.  As of March 2009, there are already a few completed contracts.  Most landowners are busy replanting their damaged acres with new seedlings regenerating the resources lost for the next generation of foresters.

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