NASA imagery shows scale, impact of logging in drinking watersheds on Oregon Coast
About one-third of the forested land in 80 of Oregon's coastal watersheds — nearly 600 square miles — has been logged during the last 20 years, much like this area of the Tillamook State Forest as seen from the summit of King's Mountain. That logging impacts many communities who rely on streams and creeks for their water supply.
OPB / Oregon Department of Forestry / Flickr
From OPB: About one-third of forests across 80 drinking watersheds serving coastal cities have been cut during the last 20 years, NASA found
Oregon’s coastal communities that rely on drinking water from forested rivers and creeks have lost substantial tree cover during the last 20 years, a recent NASA analysis found.
That’s bad news for residents and the environment.
Forests not only improve the quality of surface waters, but also the quantity. They prevent erosion, and filter, direct and store rain and snow as they pass into streams, according to the researchers. And more than 80% of Oregonians, including most who live on the coasts, get some or all of their drinking water from surface water sources such as streams, rivers and creeks, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
“We think of the coast range as having a lot of water, a lot of rain – and while that’s true in the winter – lately their streams are running pretty low during the summer months,” said Erik Fernandez, a program manager at the environmental nonprofit Oregon Wild who worked with NASA researchers on the analysis.
Young trees planted to replace logged mature trees also end up sucking up more water, further depleting surface water supply, Fernandez said. He also expressed concern that planting new tree stands requires spraying herbicides and pesticides, sometimes aerially, that can harm water sources.
Seth Barnes, forest policy director for the Oregon Forest Industries Council, said the more than 50-year-old Oregon Forest Practices Act, currently being updated, strongly protects water in Oregon’s logged forests.
Continue reading OPB article by clicking the button below:
