After the Cut: Holding the Line on the Jess Project

The Jess project on the Klamath National Forest was planned over a decade ago, however the commercial logging just wrapped up this season. The purpose was to improve forest ecosystems, build resilience to high-intensity fires and insect and disease infestations, enhance the defensibility of municipal watersheds and communities against wildfire, provide wood products, support rural economic health, and promote the beneficial uses of water. It included over 800 acres of commercial logging and approximately 1,000 acres of manual non-commercial treatments, such as hand thinning, mastication, and underburning.

After an initial round of monitoring, it is clear that one purpose was met- providing wood products. However, the forest appears more ravaged than restored or resilient. Quite the opposite. Now, open forest canopies will see an explosion of flammable vegetation. Once intact wildlife habitat is now highly fragmented with major soil damage. There are excessive skid trails throughout the logged areas that leave the forest floor churned up, disturbing mycelium networks, spreading invasive plants, and diminishing future tree regeneration. Shredded tree branches are strewn all over, often in depths that make even walking a challenge. These fine fuels are what spread fire quickly. The landings where trees are dragged to for cutting, stacking, and loading onto log trucks are massive permanent scars on the landscape that never return to forest. Logging slash, piled with heavy machinery, creates massive burn piles that are often 35 feet wide and tower overhead.

Hundreds of mature trees, over 120 years old, with thick fire-resistant bark, have been cut. Many of them were not originally marked for cutting, but instead, were marked during logging. This practice is called “add-on”, which often accounts for over 10% of the timber volume. Traditionally, cut trees are painted blue, and the added-on trees are marked in a sea foam color. The Jess project appears to have a very high amount of add-on volume.

While EPIC was not able to stop the project, we were able to protect dozens of trees in Riparian Reserves. The reserves are either perennial or intermittent. These fragile ecosystems are nature's water filters and are often used as travel corridors by wildlife.

Though commercial operations on the Jess Project have concluded, the real work of accountability and ecological recovery is just beginning. EPIC will continue to monitor the impacted landscape through on-the-ground field assessments, photo documentation, GIS mapping, and comparison of project outcomes to the original environmental goals. Findings will inform advocacy for restoration, improved oversight, and stronger protections in future forest projects.