Lewis and Clark Timberlands values the feedback from our recreation permit holders. Recently, we have been getting many inquiries as to why the trails at Klootchy Creek are still closed. The answer is that fire danger is still high, regardless of the dew we see in the morning that coats the foliage. The morning dew, fog, and cloud cover has done little to nothing to alleviate the stress on the forest or to saturate fuels on the ground.
The forests of the North coast are adapted to our wet and mild climate. Sitka spruce, Western hemlock, and Western redcedar dominate the forests along the North coast. However, these species are so well adapted to this particular climate, when we experience extreme drought and heat the trees become so stressed that they begin to die back. This increases the risk of catastrophic fire due to the additional fuels. The species further inland like Douglas-fir and many species of pine are more highly adapted to these forms of stress. This is why there are so many red trees along the coast but not further inland.
In combination with this stress, we are seeing the earliest and likely the worst fire year we have ever seen in Oregon. The current wildfires burning throughout the state have led to the deployment of most state and private fire fighting resources. With limited remaining fire fighting capacity and such high risk, we at Lewis and Clark Timberlands made the decision to close our property to recreation until we see some relief from these conditions.
We will email our recreation permit holders when the time is right to reopen. Until that time, thank you for understanding and respecting our decision to close the property to recreation.
David Dougherty
Area Forester
Recreation permits can be obtained at https://permits.greenwoodresources.com/