By Isa Eisenberg, 2024 Summer Summer Field and Events Coordinator
The Divide Project, located just south of Detroit, OR in the Willamette National Forest, consists of a variety of forests, some of which have no record of previous logging. This means there is high potential for old, complex forest in units being considered for timber sales.
In the third week of June, just in time for the summer solstice, Cascadia Wildlands WildCAT volunteers spent five days field checking and exploring the proposed Divide Project area, located on the traditional homelands of the Molalla and many other Indigenous peoples who have lived, traded, and stewarded these lands since time immemorial. To best understand what the Forest Service is proposing to do with the project, WildCATs went above and beyond just looking at a map or reading a document. We put boots on the ground and extensively field checked over 12 units of the sale to gain a deeper understanding into the specific characteristics of the forest.
Unit 78 has rich moist soil, the texture of red velvet cake. There is a mix of tree species and is not dominated by Douglas Firs. Instead there are noble firs, grand firs, western red cedars, western hemlock and a few Douglas Firs. Natural gaps open up to beautiful sunny patches, where ground cover grows vibrantly and rhododendron flowers burst with warm pink in contrast with the green hues of the other many native plants.
Unit 72 is close in distance to Unit 78, but the composition is much different. Steep slopes make this unit difficult to traverse. Driving logging vehicles into this stand would not be feasible and stripping the land of the living tree roots could lead to fast erosion. This stand has drier soil and less ground cover, with trees growing more sparsely. Old Douglas firs are common in this stand, with diameters reaching 72 inches. Measuring these massive trees on such a steep slope proved to be a difficult task, but teamwork amongst the WildCAT’s led to precise measurements.
Meals were prepared by incredible volunteers who used ingredients donated from local farms and bakeries, including Uphill Farms, Wild Child Farms, Wintergreen Farm, Groundworks Organics, and Horai Eugene. Each morning we fueled up and headed out into the field. Thank you for the donations!
Through field checking, we noted an array of species and complex forest structures. Some stands had diverse ranges of plant ages and classic old growth characteristics. New trees sprouted out of decomposing nurse logs, and groundcover plants intermingled in the dappled light let through the overstory canopy. These forest systems should be protected from excessive logging, which is why the WildCAT’s wrote comments to the Forest Service providing detailed information on each unit. We are able to get up close to each of these unique sections of forest, and advise the Forest Service to make responsible decisions in the next steps of the process.
Just like the diverse, complex and unique forests we were in, each person brought their own special contribution and presence into the Basecamp community. We shared meals, songs, knowledge and a general sense of connection. We learned about the intricacies of lichen from WildCAT and botanist Misha, as they shared their passion for the curious organisms with an educational discussion at camp. While in the field and while debriefing the day, it became evident that the years of experience that many of our WildCAT’s hold translates into wisdom they pass on to those who have just joined the pack. Around the campfire and deep into the night, musicians including Forest Mountain Lion and others shared their poetry as we devoured perfectly crafted s’mores.