The 16,000 acres of trees incinerated in the 2003 Davis Fire were a call to action for Deschutes National Forest managers.
The wide-ranging destruction caused by the wildfire convinced them that if they were going to prevent a repeat in the future, theyâd have to go big.
That fire also destroyed more than 3,700 acres of northern spotted owl habitat, highlighting a lethal hazard faced by the threatened species despite strict logging restrictions imposed on the âlate successional reserveâ stands, or LSR, commonly referred to as old growth forests.
âThe team realized that just doing a small area here and there wonât take care of the entire LSR,â said Joseph Bowles, a district silviculturist in the national forest.
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