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Barlow Area Forestland Enhancement

County: Wasco

Primary Resource Concerns Addressed:

  • Degraded plant condition - Plant structure and composition
  • Terrestrial habitat - Terrestrial habitat for wildlife and invertebrates
  • Fire management - Wildfire hazard from biomass accumulation

Project Description

The Barlow Area Forestland Enhancement CIS provides private non-industrial forestland managers of Wasco County with the resources and assistance needed to improve forest health and restore desirable vegetative structure and composition. Restoring key wildlife habitat types and reducing wildfire risks are important goals of the project. The project area includes several forest types: oak savannah, oak woodland, pine woodland, mixed conifer-oak, and conifer forest. Each forest type has unique challenges and objectives.

Conservation Practices Offered

  • Forest Stand Improvement (666) 
  • Woody Residue Treatment (384) 
  • Tree/Shrub Pruning (660) 
  • Tree/Shrub Site Preparation (490) 
  • Tree/Shrub Establishment (612) 
  • Conservation Cover (327) 
  • Critical Area Planting (342) 
  • Herbaceous Weed Treatment (315) 
  • Brush Management (314) 
  • Prescribed Grazing (528) 
  • Structures for Wildlife (649) 
  • Upland Wildlife Habitat Management (645) 
  • Fuel Break (383) 
  • Firebreak (394) 
  • Prescribed Burning (338) 
  • Mulching (484) 
  • Prescribed Burning Design and Implementation Activity (160) 
  • Wildlife Habitat Planting (420) 
  • Riparian Forest Buffer (391) 

Project Partners

  • Oregon Department of Forestry
  • Oregon Department of Wildlife
  • Wasco County Soil and Water Conservation District
  • Wasco County Forest Collaborative
  • East Cascades Oak Partnership
  • U.S. Forest Service
  • NRCS Oregon
  • Private landowners

Application Questions

NRCS uses prioritization questions to evaluate applications for this initiative. See the list of workload prioritization questions on the Oregon EQIP page. Ranking questions below will also apply.

Ranking Questions

  1. What percent of trees will be removed from the forest unit using practice 666? For multi-unit projects use the unit with the highest percent of trees to remove.
  2. The project will adopt one of the following practices for the purpose of improving upland wildlife habitat: Conservation cover (327), Tree/Shrub establishment (612), Upland Wildlife Habitat Management (645), Wildlife Structures (649). 
  3. The project includes a forest unit where Oak will be released from conifer encroachment. 
  4. Select the level of beetle kill and/or
    standing dead trees in the project area:
    a. No or very minimal standing dead or beetle impacted trees, but is vulnerable without treatment
    b. Beetle kill and other stressors are already significantly impacting the project area