Panel reviewing controlled burns plans C.O. tour

A broad-based committee formed by the Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will tour the site of controlled burns in the Deschutes National Forest before its public meeting in Sisters on Thursday, June 27 .

ODF Smoke Management Meteorology Manager Nick Yonker said committee members will get to see how managed fire is used to thin brush and reduce the risk of big wildfires.

After the tour, the committee will meet to discuss air quality and human health, as well as the benefits of controlled burns to forest health, productivity and reducing wildfire risk.

The public is invited to attend the meeting and make comments. It will be held inside the Sisters Fire Hall at 301 Elm St. in Sisters. The meeting lasts from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The meeting space is accessible to persons with disabilities. Requests for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or other accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours before the meeting by contacting Chrystal Bader at 503-945-7220 .

The Smoke Management Review Committee is charged with recommending improvements for how the state uses controlled burns to meet land management objectives on private and public forestland in Oregon while minimizing smoke impacts on communities and protecting public health.

The 20-person committee is made up of forest landowners, public health representatives, the American Lung Association, forest collaboratives and environmentalist groups, county and city elected officials, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and a tribal representative.

The committee is tasked with producing a set of recommendations for the departments of Forestry and Environmental Quality to consider. The committee’s work will be presented to the Board of Forestry (BOF) and the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) in late 2017. Committee recommendations will also inform potential updates to the state’s Smoke Management Plan. That plan is administered by ODF and approved by BOF and the EQC. The Smoke Management Plan becomes part of the state’s plan for implementing the federal Clean Air Act.

According to ODF records, controlled fires were set last year on 181,800 forested acres in Oregon. This is above the 10-year annual average of 165,999 acres. Those fires burned an estimated 1.3 million tons of woody debris. Spring and fall are peak burning times.

Yonker said the committee will hold three more public meetings around the state through September. The committee’s third meeting will be on July 27 at ODF headquarters in Salem.