Eastern Oregon Forest Management highlighted at MC Ranch

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Originally uploaded by World Forest Institute

For the second year in a row, the WFI Fellows were invited to observe eastern forest management in La Grande, Oregon, hosted by Harry Merlo at his 13,000 acre MC Ranch, and guided by ranch manager Rex Christensen. The four-day event featured two days of equipment demonstrations led by Tom King of SuperTrak, which modifies Caterpillars into mulching machines that can process large areas of slash into mulch and woody biomass for utilization. Also on hand for the demonstrations were Rick Wagner of the Oregon Department of Forestry and several landowners and contractors.

La Grande is located in northeastern Oregon, in an area referred to as the Blue Mountains. The area is rich in forests, with the majority owned by the federal government. The MC Ranch is nestled within dense stands of ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, and western larch, with smaller volumes of white fir and several hardwood species. Large populations of elk and deer inhabit the land, which is used for hunting. Parts of the ranch are also used for grazing cattle.
The aim of the MC Ranch is to improve forestland quality for commercial, recreational and wildlife purposes. Poor logging practices in the past left large volumes of slash on the ground, posing a fire risk. Traditionally, slash is piled and burned. However, fire risk and rising labor costs led the MC Ranch to experiment with a high-tech solution. SuperTrak equipment can cover 20 acres/day, grinding down dead trees, stumps, and downed logs into mulch chips, reducing the fire hazard, scarifying the soil and crushing pines and seeds to encourage germination, and leaving a layer of mulch on the ground which helps to retain moisture for seedlings. Currently the MC Ranch is able to use the equipment to produce “dirty chips” (with bark) which are sold to utility companies. The landowner believes that co-generation will become an important source of alternative income for timber growers.

After the demonstrations, Rex Christensen took the Fellows on a tour of areas thinned last year, including a stand that was marked by last year’s Fellows in a tree marking exercise. The Fellows even got in a few horse rides, shooting lessons and a chance to try their hand at driving a SuperTrak machine. Each day a traditional wagon train catered dutch oven food. It was an experience not to be forgotten. Click on the SuperTrak for more photos.