Ten years ago, a group of concerned neighbors banded together to oppose a planned helicopter logging operation near Page Creek, a tributary of the East Fork Illinois River which runs through National Forest managed lands near Cave Junction.
These ‘locals’ collaborated with the Oregon Department of Forestry, Wild Rivers Ranger District, industry leaders and a local non-profit organization, IVCanDO, to plan and implement a forest health project in this hyper-local watershed.
Trees were marked for cutting with an eye toward wildfire resiliency and ecosystem health. Secondary forest products, i.e. poles and firewood were marketed. Of further benefit to the forest, woody biomass was converted to biochar for enhanced soil building.
Funds from the U.S. Forest Service and design work by Grayback Forestry contributed to the project’s completion. A strategically planned fuel break was included in this project – it would come into play during a mega-fire which threatened the community of Takilma.
Another partner, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, stepped in to help the community address wildfire risk to habitat. The original members of the Page Creek Forest Restoration group opted for a new name, choosing the Illinois Valley Fire Resiliency Oversight Group or IV-FROG.
This spring, IV-FROG volunteers and local contractors worked to restore portions of Page Creek by planting willows, conifers and hardwoods in the footprint of the wildfire. The same partnership which started in 2015 continues to fuel stewardship work in the forest.
The Illinois Valley Watershed Council and the IV Soil and Water Conservation District, dubbed “the Stream Team”, are active IV-FROG partners. They are credited with securing a Community Wildfire Defense Grant and Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Post-fire Recovery Grant sufficient to procure over 18,000 trees for planting on private and federally managed forest.
Today’s IV-FROG partnership, an offshoot of the OG Page Creek Project, is gaining traction and invites all community members to join in their efforts to be better stewards of our fire-adapted forests.
If you want to know more about what IV-FROG partners and community members like you are doing to help out the forest, join us May 29 from 1-4 p.m. at the I.V. Fire District located at 681 Caves Highway in Cave Junction for an informational Community Wildfire Preparedness event.