The Big Butte Springs Watershed, consisting of approximately 56,000 acres west of Mt. McLoughlin in the Southern Cascades, provides high quality drinking water to approximately 150,000 people in Medford and neighboring communities. Medford Water owns nearly 3,700 acres of mostly forested land inside of the watershed, purchased to help protect water quality and quantity of the Springs by managing activities on those lands most likely to affect the Springs.
Forest Management Plan
Our Forest Management Plan outlines specific principles to guide future management activities that will achieve the goals stated below and sustain healthy forest conditions. It was adopted in May 2020, and covers management of Medford Water’s forests for the next 30 years. Planned activities are prioritized to protect and enhance the source of drinking water and are focused on forest health.
Forest conditions were determined by conducting a comprehensive inventory of timber and fire-prone forest understory vegetation (fuel loads) and dividing Medford Water lands into 26 stands for individually prescribed management. The inventory suggested that overall, the forest is healthy but overstocked and would benefit from a reduction in tree density as well as a reduction in fuel loads. This comprehensive forest inventory (available below) was conducted in 2019, and serves as the basis for the data-driven Plan. Thinning and fuels reduction activity to maintain forest health and reduce fire risk is ongoing.
The Forest Management Plan is designed to achieve the following goals:
1
Create a forested landscape which supports the yield of a consistent source of high-quality, cool, and clean water.
2
Reduce the risks of and increase the resiliency to wildfires.
3
Improve and maintain forest health and productivity.
4
Create financial sustainability whereby revenue- generating activities are used to offset non-revenue generating activities over the long term.
Forest Inventory
A comprehensive Forest Inventory Report was conducted in 2019, which serves as the basis for the Forest Management Plan; the related Forest Inventory Map is available as well.