ARRA Project (WBS)#: LXHAB1370000

Project Title: HRB Lambert Creek Biomass Project

Index Map Locator #: 51

State: Oregon

Unit: BLM - Spokane District

Description:

The purpose of this action is to reduce fuels that pose a wildfire threat to nearby homes and resources. The U.S. Forest Service and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are treating the adjoining lands for fuels reduction. The BLM lands are closest to private homes and pose the greatest threat in the event of a wildfire. Treatment of USFS and DNR lands would have little effect if the BLM lands are left untreated.

Recovery Act Funding:

Stimulus money would be used to fund a service contract on approximately 400 acres of BLM land. The contract would fund cutting, hauling, and chipping all usable biomass. This funding would also be used to subsidize the hauling of biomass, approximately 55 miles, to the co-gen plant in order to ensure that the biomass is both removed from the site and utilized. Due to the project’s size it will take two field seasons to accomplish all the work. Workers would include two to five sawyers, five to ten swampers, at least two chipper operators, chip truck drivers, skidder (bundler) operator, and supervisor for a total of 12 to 20 full time workers.

Benefits:

Stand treatments to mitigate the wildfire threat include:

Cut, chip and remove unmerchantable understory, ladder trees (biomass);
Hand thin and pile unmerchantable understory on steep slopes;
Cut, chip and remove dense stands of pre-commercial trees (biomass);
Masticate/chip blowdown leaving minimum amount of coarse woody debris (biomass); and
Successive spring underburns to remove deep duff layer (as practicable)