Oregon Coast Range PAC Province Advisory Council Corvallis

Oregon Coast Range PAC (Province Advisory Council) Corvallis, OR, April 15, 2004 10: 30 AM Bob Zybach Forest Fire History & Land Use Ecologist: Five Rivers Land Management Study OSU Forest Sciences Dept. /PNW Research Station

Hypothesis Current evidence suggests patterns of late-15 th to mid-19 th century Indian burning practices had a direct effect on subsequent patterns of Oregon Coast Range catastrophic forest fires that occurred from 1849 to 1951. In particular, Indian fires may have influenced the cause, timing, severity, location, and boundaries of subsequent wildfires.

Sources of Information

Historical Drawings & Photographs

Literature Review

Living Memory and Oral Traditions

Aerial Photographs

Historical Maps

GIS C O N V E R S I O N 1895 -96 USGS Coos Bay 30 min Quadrangle Map • • Bottomland Prairies 1868 Coos Fire • 1770 Millicoma Fire • Wagon Roads and Trails

Persistent Vegetation Patterns

Oregon Coast Range Named Rivers Elevations

Oregon Coast Range Fuels *Spruce/hemlock *Douglas-fir *Oak grasslands

Coast Range Seasonal Fuel Desiccation, 1961 -1991 • • • Killing Frosts North (Nov. 3 -Mar. 3) East (Nov. 2 -Apr. 14) West (Nov. 8 -Apr. 6) South (Nov. 10 -Apr. 5) • • • Summer Droughts North (May-Sep. ) East (Apr. -Oct. ) West (May-Sep. ) South (Apr. -Oct. )

Types of Indian Burning Practices

OREGON COAST RANGE Seasonal Burning Patterns, ca. 1600 -1848

Willamette Valley, Oregon 1845 1885

Soap Creek Valley, Oregon 1914 1989

The Great Fires § Millicoma, ca. 1775 § Yaquina, ca. 1849 § Nestucca, ca. 1853 § Coos, 1868 § Tillamook, 1933

“Indian Trail [from Willamette Valley] to Tidewater” “Alseya Valley” General Land Office survey map, 1856

Alsea Valley North Fork Prairie Trail Network, 1775 -2003

Comparison of Oregon Coast Range Indian Burning & Catastrophic Forest Fire Patterns

The Future

Proposal Spatial and temporal landscape patterns of Indian-type burning and land use should be reintroduced into the Oregon Coast Range (at least on an experimental basis) at a subbasin or greater scale.

Federal & State Forest Land Ownership Oregon Coast Range 2004

CULTURAL LANDSCAPE PATTERNS OF THE OREGON COAST RANGE ca. 1650 to 1826

Rationale 1) Protection of human communities, transportation systems, and other developments from wildfire and unmanaged smoke; 2) Stable and maintained habitats favorable to native plants and animals, including esthetic, game, and ESA-listed species; 3) Stable, efficient, and protected environment for the sustainable growth of timber, food, and grass crops; 4) New vegetation patterns and trained local work crews will result in more efficient and effective wildfire management strategies; 5) Implementation of this proposal would result in year-around work opportunities and improved economies in rural communities; Others: Respect for past cultures; new business opportunities; increased income to schools and roads; increased recreational and community event opportunities, esthetics.