ARRA Project (WBS)#: LXHAB1360000

Project Title: HRB Otis Mountain Forest Health Project

Index Map Locator #: 3

State: Oregon

Unit: BLM - Burns District

Description:

The 300 acre Otis Mountain Moffit Table (OMMT) Project, located in northern Harney County, Oregon just 12 miles from Drewsey, Oregon, increases forest health, reduces hazardous fuels, and provides a source of biomass fuel for eastern Oregon.

Recovery Act Funding:

Work will begin immediately this late spring. The project will create approximately five jobs for a 12 month period. There are a number of partners and cooperators involved in the project including the Soil and Water Conservation District, the Harney County Watershed Council, and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. Additionally, two adjacent private landowners are working to achieve similar goals.

Benefits:

Greater Sage-grouse, a number of other sagebrush obligates, Mule deer, Rocky Mountain Elk and Pronghorn, Bald Eagles, and Ferruginous Hawks are a few of the wildlife species that utilize the project area and will benefit from the reduction in tree numbers and increases in understory shrubs, grasses, and forbs.

Woody material removed from the project areas will be available for the developing green energy industry in Harney, Grant, and Malheur Counties. This project will help strengthen the available supply and help the area cross the threshold of available material that makes green energy practical. The project also plays an important role in the reduction of hazardous fuels along the forest/sagebrush ecotone. Reduction in small diameter pine, fir, and juniper trees will help to protect the town Drewsey and reduce the threat of large catastrophic wildfires.