United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

Forest Service 

FremontWinema 

National Forests 

September 2002 

 FREMONT-WINEMA 

 NATIONAL FORESTS 

Monitoring and

Evaluation Report

Fiscal Year 2001

 
 

KEY FINDINGS 

Ecosystem Restoration: Over the last few years, the Upper Klamath Basin and the Chewaucan Watershed have been the focus of

extraordinary ecosystem restoration efforts in agricultural lands, wetlands, forested uplands, and riparian systems. In the Klamath 

Basin, the endangered species, water quality, and water quantity problems, with their associated agricultural, tribal, and social and 

economic impacts have demanded Presidential and Congressional attention and attracted millions of dollars for study and active 

restoration. The Fremont and Winema National Forests have been and are now cooperating and partnering with the Klamath 

Tribes, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Department

of Forestry, US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Klamath and Lake Counties, Oregon

Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Hatfield Upper Klamath Basin Working Group, local 

communities, the Resource Advisory Committee and local watershed councils to restore habitats and improve water quality and

quantity across the area. Data collection, large-scale wetland restoration, riparian habitat enhancement, and the addressing of point

and non-point source pollution problems are progressing full speed in and around the Winema and Fremont National Forests. 

The Forests’ efforts to improve ecosystem conditions have expanded well beyond the scope envisioned in the Forest Plans. For 

example, the Winema’s Plan included an estimate of ten acres per year of watershed improvement. In the ten years where figures

are available, that average has been nearly 130 acres per year. The level of restoration activities is further revealed in the category 

of habitat improvement where, for example, the Fremont improved more than 300% of the acres estimated in the Forest Plan during

2001. The Forests completed other related activities that were not discussed in the Forest Monitoring Plan. 

Monitoring revealed that all of the 39 culverts on fish bearing streams on the Winema and 305 of the 339 monitored culverts on the

Fremont are barriers to fish passage. The focus on resolving these problems was in the Chewaucan watershed during 2001 where 

culverts at Bear Creek and Swamp Creek were replaced with fish-friendly structures. Funding has been secured for two more 

replacements on Ben Young Creek, also in the Chewaucan, and funding has been requested for more. The Winema and Fremont 

Resource Advisory Committee, formed in accordance with the “Secure Rural Schools and Community self-Determination Act of 

2000,” is supporting these types of activities on both private and federal lands. The Forests have also been removing roads from

our transportation system and returning those lands to productive forests. In 2001, 118 miles of road were decommissioned on the 

Fremont and 8 miles were decommissioned on the Winema. We have also improved road crossings at meadows, constructed 

permeable road fills to allow water passage and placed gravel on roads to reduce erosion. 

Employee Involvement. The Forests’ employees have chaired and served on TMDL (total maximum daily load) committees for 

water quality limited rivers and lakes. Their leadership and expertise has been provided on watershed restoration projects in the 

Upper Klamath Basin, Chewaucan, Camas and other watersheds. They have worked closely with local watershed councils. The 

Forests have been actively participating in the Hatfield Upper Klamath Basin Working Group, responsible for many of the

significant and effective restoration efforts to date. In addition, Forest employees provide direct technical assistance to Community 

Action Teams across Klamath and Lake Counties. 

Implementation of Standards and Guidelines continues to be a focus of Forest monitoring. During 2001, the Forest Management

Team and resource specialists examined several areas of the Forests to see whether projects were being implemented in accordance 

with Forest Plan standards and guidelines. With very few and minor exceptions, appropriate standards and guidelines are being 

implemented. For example, an erosion problem was discovered at a new trail in the Digit Point Campground. The sediment was 

immediately contained and a permanent solution was implemented. 

Threatened, endangered and sensitive species are doing well where there is sufficient information to make an informed judgment. 

Bald eagles continue to do well on both Forests. Of the 39 active nests identified on the Winema 24 were productive, producing 36

young. Eighteen nests were found on the Fremont National Forest in 2001, ten were productive, producing sixteen young. Fifteen 

bald eagle nest site plans were completed and/or updated on the Winema National Forest. A baseline for bald eagles on the Winema

National Forest was developed using 1990 as the base year. A baseline for northern spotted owls, using 1994 as base year, was also

developed in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A spotted owl demographic study is ongoing, part of which is

conducted on the Klamath Ranger District. A Late Successional Reserve (LSR) assessment was completed and approved by the 

Regional Ecosystem Office for LSR numbers RO232 and RO233 on the Chemult Ranger District. Lynx hair-capture surveys and

camera surveys again failed to find lynx on the Winema National Forest. Camera surveys did not find wolverine. Western sage

grouse strutting-ground (lek) surveys were conducted on the Fremont National Forest, but no sage grouse were found. Oregon

spotted frog were found at sites on the Upper Williamson River. A genetic study of spotted frogs indicates that spotted frogs in the 

Klamath Basin appear to be somewhat genetically isolated from other populations in Oregon, but that there is no reason to believe 

that any of the populations suffer from inbreeding as yet. Yellow rail monitoring continues in marshlands on and adjacent to Upper 

 
 

ACCOMPLISHMENT OF OUTPUTS AND SERVICES 

Monitoring Item Winema NF Fremont NF 

Plan 2001 Plan 2001

Comments 

 Allowable Sale Quantity 

 MMCF/Year 19.4 2.6 24.7 2.5 

 Timber Sale Program Quantity

 MMCF/Year

 MMBF/Year

34.7 

166.8 

4.8 

25.0 

28.0 

154.8 

3.8 

19.7 

Both Forests continue to sell less timber volume than anticipated in 

the Forest Plans. A Regional amendment to the Forest Plans, Eastside 

screens, eliminated harvest of trees over 21 inches in diameter but did 

not change the planned harvest levels, thus current volumes are 

less than planned. 

 Dead Lodgepole Sold 

 MMCF/Year

 MMBF/Year

11.5 

40.2 

0.6 

3.0 

- 

- 

0.4 

1.9 

Mortality in lodgepole pine on the Winema has returned to near

normal levels. Dead LPP was harvested earlier in the planning period, 

thus harvest volumes now are significantly less than planned.

 Ponderosa Pine Sold 

 MMCF/Year

 MMBF/Year

8.8 

53.9 

0.8 

4.4 

- 

- 

0.3 

1.4 

A Regional amendment to the Forest Plans, Eastside screens, 

eliminated harvest of trees over 21 inch diameter but did not change 

the planned harvest levels, thus current volumes are less than planned.. 

Silvicultural Treatments

(Ac/Year) 

 Commercial Thinning 

 Overstory Removal 

 Regeneration Harvest 

 Selection Harvest 

 Salvage Cut 

2,700 

1,600 

500 

8,400 

13,700 

992 

0 

0 

1,391 

0 

7,500 

0 

8,900 

12,500 

- 

2,109 

0 

0 

1,106 

1,818 

Reforestation (Ac/Year) 6,400 288 4,000 1,802

Timber Stand Improvement 

(Ac/Yr) 14,400 2,906 8,000 9,360 

Fuel Treatment (Ac/Year) 27,600 1,709 20,000 3,269 Activity limited by weather 

Road Construct/Reconstr

(Miles) 

 Forest Road Program

 Timber Purchaser Roads 

22 

31 

46 

7 

- 

156 

0.3 

0.0 

Total Road System (Miles) 5,517 6,091 - 6,775 

Road Access Mgmt (Miles) 

 Open for Use 

 Closed to Use

- 

- 

4,591 

1,500 

- 

- 

4,907 

1,868 

Road Access Type (Miles) 

 Passenger Car 

 High Clearance Vehicle 

 Intermittant Access 

510 

2,120 

2,887 

482 

2,379 

3,230 

- 

- 

- 

954 

3,953 

1,868 

Developed Rec Construction

(PAOT) 695 0 - 2 

Trail Construct/Reconst

(Miles) 124 0 0 0 

Permitted Livestock (AUM) 13,000 9,608 70,100 76,523

 Range Improvement 

 Structures

 Acres

- 

- 

0 

0 

- 

- 

2 

0 

2 miles of new fence on the Fremont NF 

 Habitat Improvements 

 T&E Species

 Structures

 Acres

 Other Species

 Structures

 Acres

- 

- 

- 

- 

0 

645 

8 

702 

- 

- 

1,450 

1,100 

0 

0 

0 

3,944 

Watershed Improvements 

 Structures

 Acres

- 

10 

0 

50 

- 

250 

0 

200 

 
 

 

Klamath Lake. A management review was conducted for the pumice grapefern sensitive plant study. Numerous planned forest 

activities were analyzed for effects to Lost River, shortnose, Modoc suckers, and bull trout. Recovery projects are being 

implemented for bull trout. 

 

Other wildlife populations continue to be affected by habitat changes. Lack of timber harvest activity, fire, blow-down or other 

natural disturbance is allowing cover to increase thus continuing the reduction of forage for mule deer and possibly adversely 

affecting mule deer populations. Deer cover surveys and habitat suitability model use continues for planned activity areas. 

Neotropical migratory bird monitoring continues. Surveys in planned activity areas continue for goshawk, great gray owl and aspen 

habitat. A study of white-headed woodpecker continued on the Chemult Ranger District. 

 

The Forest's timber program includes vegetation management projects designed to restore sustainable forest conditions and 

watershed health in landscapes where risk of catastrophic fire or insect loss is high. These projects combine both non-commercial 

and commercial means. Some of them use timber sales and provide commercial products that will help sustain local communities 

economically, though this is not their primary purpose. These projects are designed to sustain old growth conditions; protect spotted 

owl habitat connectivity between Late Successional Reserves and Crater Lake National Park; rehabilitate meadows, hardwoods, and

riparian habitats; reduce the risks of fire, tussock moth, budworm, and root rots; and allow the reintroduction of fire's function in the 

system. These projects also include road closures, obliteration, and relocation. After ten years, less than 40% of planned timber 

harvest has occurred. Several factors caused this. They include continuing appeals and litigation over virtually every timber

management project that is proposed. The Eastside Screen amendments (Forest Plan Amendments 7 and 8) limited the types of 

trees that can be harvested, but did not adjust the allowable sale quantity for the Forests accordingly. The low levels of timber 

harvest continue to have adverse effects upon mule deer habitats that are losing the critical forage component. This situation

continues to depress economic activity in the area and compounds problems with other floundering sectors in the economy. The 

Fremont and Winema National Forests are scheduled to begin development of a Forest Plan revision in 2005. The revision process

will re-address the relationships between timber management, wildlife habitat, and socio-economics, as recommended over the last 

several years by the Forest’s interdisciplinary team. 

 

Forest health concerns are related primarily to the effects of too many trees on the landscape caused by decades of fire suppression 

and limited stocking control. This overcrowding results in too little water and too few nutrients getting to each tree to maintain 

good tree health. With the trees stressed, they are more susceptible to attacks by mountain pine beetle on the pine trees, and fir 

engraver on the white fir trees. The drought in 2001 added additional stress, and we expect to see increased mortality particularly in 

the pines. Past mortality in the white fir will continue to be a problem due to the increased fire danger those dead trees present. 

Management of the stocking levels in the forest is ongoing, but we will continue to have overstocked stands due the financial and 

procedural limitations on the amount of work we can accomplish in a year. 

Outputs of goods and services shows, numerically, what the Forest has produced in comparison to what was planned. Since 

implementation of the Forest Plans, the Forests have produced well below planned levels in all categories that involve grounddisturbing work, except reforestation and watershed improvements. This highlights the major emphasis on ecosystem restoration. 

The timber related outputs are low for the reasons discussed above. The recreation related outputs are generally low due to 

insufficient funding to do the planned work. Permitted livestock use is low due to low demand from potential permittees. 

From the social and economic aspect, Forest Service activities have been well below planned levels, thus the associated activity in the 

local economy has been much less than originally anticipated. The Klamath County agricultural sector was severely affected during 

2001 as a result of curtailment of water deliveries. This translates to unemployment rates still well above the national and state averages 

(11.1% in Klamath County and 15.4% in Lake County in March of 2001). The “Secure Rural Schools and Community selfDetermination Act of 2000” has now eliminated the linkage between National Forest receipts and payments to the states. Thus,

National Forest activities no longer directly affect county budgets. During 2001 some funds provided under that Act were used for 

ecosystem restoration activities on the Forests and contributed to increased economic activity. Sectors of the economy other than 

agriculture and those directly affected by Forest Service programs have displayed mixed performance. 

 

For more information about forest monitoring see: www.fs.fed.us/r6/winema/management/monitoring.shtml 

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