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Water
A necessity for life, water is filtered in Oregon through our forested ecosystems. The cleanest water in Oregon originates in forests due to their ability to naturally cleanse sediment, metals and other chemicals through their systems. Healthy and working forests provide some of the best water in our state. Most of Oregon’s municipal water systems rely on water from forested watersheds, where forest soils provide natural filtration to keep streams clean and water quality high. Quick Forest and Water Facts
Water Resources
Trees to Tap
The Oregon State University Institute for Natural Resources, with the support of funding from the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, published a report in 2020 called Trees to Tap that examines the effects of forest management on drinking water in Oregon. Cold, Clean Water
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s data confirms that of all land uses, forests produce the highest quality water, including forests with active management. Watershed Processes Lab
The Watershed Processes Laboratory researches questions centered around the connection between water, ecology and ecosystems in a multidisciplinary way at multiple scales. Researches use both field-based studies and data modeling. Forests Under Stress
Rachel Lee Hall is a citizen scientist and avid mushroom hunter who has observed the forests in southern Oregon change drastically over her lifetime. Forests Under Stress looks at how overstocked stands and drought stress effect overall watershed health. Minimizing the Effects of Timber Harvest and Forest Roads on Water Quantity & Quality in Oregon
In Oregon forests, potential logging impacts are reduced by Forest Practices Act regulations which limit the size and placement of harvest units, specify road standards, and require that buffer strips be left in stream corridors. These tree-filled buffer strips provide cover for fish, and help shade streams from the hot summer sun. Where harvesting is concerning, the enemy is erosion, chiefly in the form of landslides. While logging activities are frequently seen as a source of landslides, soils scientists and hydrologists tell us old roads -- built under outdated standards -- are more of a problem than is the actual harvest. Much has been done to upgrade road construction standards, and new forest roads are much less of a problem than are roads built years ago. Of course there is always room for improvement, but we've learned a great deal about where to build roads and where not to build them. While rarely viewed in these terms, water is indeed a forest product. Almost all municipal water originates in forests, and in the West, almost 70 percent of useable water comes from managed forests -- many such forests where harvest occurs. And water itself can be a casualty of catastrophic natural disturbances, including wildfires that leave soil exposed to severe erosion. Across the nation, more than 130 water companies manage their own forest lands for the domestic water they provide for communities served. In fact, forestry, timber harvest, and watershed management were intertwined disciplines as far back as 1500 B.C. when the Chinese began altering their forests to regulate stream flows into irrigated fields. In 1897, our own Congress cited watershed management as one of the chief reasons for establishing the national forest system. Today, virtually every community in the Pacific Northwest gets its water from watersheds that begin in national forests -- where timber harvest has successfully co-existed with clean water in some areas as long as 100 years. |
