| Background | Analysis | Bibliography | Maps | Home

Timber Harvest in KRIS Big River 1986-1999

Historic Timber Harvest and Splash Dams 

KRIS Web Background Pages: Vegetation Types

Information on logging in KRIS Big River comes from the California Department of Forestry (CDF) Santa Rosa office. The CDF data come as electronic map coverages in ArcView with recent timber harvests, as they were approved, dating back to 1986. The database associated with the maps also includes the timber harvest permit (THP) number and information about acres harvested, silvicultural method, yarding method and  land owner. The coverages from CDF were incorporated into the KRIS Big River Map project both by year and by logging method (see MAPS: Timber Harvest Plans View). 

Reeves et al. (1993) found that basins on the Oregon Coast retained diverse assemblages of salmonid species when timber harvest was below 25% of a watershed's area. The fish community tended to be non-diverse, with one species of salmonid dominating, when logging had taken place in more than 25% of a watershed. Timber harvest in some Big River Calwater planning areas has exceeded this threshold by two or three fold in some areas. Fish communities in these subbasins tend to be dominated by steelhead and coho are either present at remnant levels or not present at all..

This image, from the KRIS Big River Map project, shows timber harvests as mapped by the California Department of Forestry by year from 1986-1999. In the last 15 years, timber harvest  has been most intensive in the lower Big River, Upper Big River and Daugherty Creek.

The image at left shows timber harvests in the KRIS Big River project area by silvicultural prescription. Clear cuts appear to be more prevalent in the Lower Big River, Little North Fork and in parts of Jackson Demonstration State Forest. Although areas in the eastern part of the watershed do not show clear cuts, multiple entry logging may create landscapes that are clear cut equivalents. Note that polygons in the latter areas often overlap, showing multiple logging plans for the same area.

References

Reeves, G.H., F.H. Everest and J.R. Sedell. 1993 . Diversity of Juvenile Anadromous Salmonid Assemblages in Coastal Oregon Basins with Different Levels of Timber Harvest. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. Vol 122, No. 3. May 1993.