PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE

Description
This alternative was developed to focus on the transition between grasslands and forests. These are the areas where fire could potentially climb from a ground fire to a crown fire. The current transition at Powell Butte is highly artificial, reflecting old fence lines, and there are areas where “fuel ladders” are present, which could lead to a crown fire. There are a number of small draws that could support forest that are currently in grass due to the site's history as a dairy farm. This alternative also focuses on the transition from neighborhood residential areas into the park, and reducing the risk of fire in that zone by developing "park-like" stands.

Key elements

• Fire risk is highly minimized by a transition zone that runs from grassland to oak savanna to deciduous forest to mixed forest. The relative fire risk is low.
• The overall cost of establishing this condition is relatively low.
• The overall cost of maintaining this condition is intermediate (park-like buffer requires periodic maintenance).
• This would benefit species that depend on deciduous forest, such as chipping sparrow and bushtit.