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Gorse Wildfire Hazard Mitigation

County or Counties: Coos, Curry    

Primary Resource Concern Addressed:

  • Fire management - Wildfire hazard from biomass accumulation
  • Pest pressure - Plant pest pressure
  • Degraded plant condition - Plant productivity and health

Project Description
Gorse is a highly invasive, persistent, and flammable noxious weed in Coos and Curry counties. An extensive list of partners and stakeholders are working to mitigate and treat it on all land uses. Its persistence and growth pattern transforms land into dense monoculture of highly flammable biomass which presents a high risk for public health and safety in the event of a fire, in addition to rendering agricultural lands unusable and hard to access. The project goal is to reduce the spread and potential for catastrophic wildfire near the towns of Bandon, Langlois, Port Orford, and Brookings, while restoring agricultural productivity on pasture, forest, and associated agriculture lands infested with Gorse.

Conservation Practices Offered

  • Brush Management (314)
  • Woody Residue Treatment (384)
  • Tree/Shrub Site Preparation (490)
  • Pasture and Hay Planting (512) 
  • Conservation Cover (327)
  • Fence (382)
  • Herbaceous Weed Treatment (315)
  • Watering Facility (614)
  • Spring Development (574)
  • Heavy Use Area Protection (561)
  • Livestock Pipeline (516)
  • Pumping Plant (533)
  • Prescribed Grazing (528)
  • Structure for Water Control (587)
  • Obstruction Removal (500)
  • Tree/Shrub Establishment (612)

Project Partners

  • Gorse Action Group
  • Curry Watershed Partnership
  • Coquille Watershed Association
  • Coos Watershed Association
  • NRCS Oregon
  • Private landowners
  • Coos and Curry SWCD

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. The applicant’s property is within 5 miles of the Urban Growth Boundaries of Bandon, Port Orford, or Brookings.
  2. The applicant’s property is within 5 miles of the unincorporated community of Langlois (radius from 1st St./HWY 101 intersection).
  3. The applicant is not currently working with partner agencies to address Gorse on their property.
  4. The property is adjacent to lands where Gorse is actively or successfully treated by partners or NRCS, or land that does not currently have Gorse.
  5. The applicant has a Gorse Management Plan.
  6. The applicant will address other invasive species including Scotch Broom, Himalaya Blackberry, and broadleaf herbaceous weeds.
  7. The applicant’s property is not in the in the core infested areas, but is in Coos and Curry counties.