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t F' Omak Cle Elum Planninq Area Landscaoe Evaluation Summary ffir$iur*.[; 20 Year Plan Landscape Goals Overarchinq: . lmprove safety and fire protection for people and homes. o lncrease resilience to drought and wildfire by creating open canopy forest with resistant tree species and a large tree component. o Maintain large tree, dense forest in the least fire and drought prone areas to sustain dense forest dependent wildlife species. Reduce wildfire risk: Fire risk is high to very high along most of the northern and southern ridges that encompass the valley (Fig. 1). As fires are most likely to come from the north, the highest priority treatments are on the lower to upper slopes of Cle Elum ridge (northern ridge), and along the lower to mid slopes of the southern ridge. ln the central part of the valley, the agricultural lands and extensive floodplain forests along the yakima river provide a natural fire break. Treatments to reduce flre risk are low priority along the north facing, upper slopes of the southern ridge, where dense forest is sustainable. Some areas are predicted to burn as low-intensity ground fires, which will have beneficial effects by consuming fuels. Most of these areas are recently treated areas on DNR and private land. Prepare for climate chanqe: Projected warming will increase moisture stress and thus probability of wildfire and insect outbreaks. By mid-century, 45% oI the planning area is projected to have moisture stress levels currently associated with woodland and shrub-steppe (Fig. 2). Treatments to aggressively reduce density and shift to drought- tolerant species on currently high, and future ex- treme, deficit areas will help maintain forest cover on sites for as long as possible. Figure 1. Wildfire risk to homes, infrastructure & foresfs. fjJ Cle Elum PlanningArea Landscape Hiqhlishts The Cle Elum planning area combines high fire risk along the northem and southem ddges with extensive development in the valley and foothills. Ownership of forestland is dominated by small private landowners (56%), along with Forest Service (19%), the Nature Conservancy (14%\ and the DNR (8%). Based on current conditions data from 2017, teafrng an estimated 15,500 - 23,000 acres of dense forest is recommended to reduce fire risk to communities and move the move the landscape into a resilient condi- tion. Community wildfire preparedness efforts are currently scaling up to address the large need to treat parcels with homes. Creating additional defensible space on Nature Conservancy, USFS, and undeveloped private land near communities is also a priority. Mainte- nance treatments on existing open forest are needed on 2,500-5,500 acres. ln sum, tneating 2743% of the forested acres is recom- mended. This planning area will be expanded to include the Cle Elum Lake watershed in the 2020 planning cycle. to fire. Risk is a combination of fire fire intensity, and ! E"t,eme ffi uooerate I;il"'Li::'*,, 1981-2010 2041-2070 water stress faced by plants. I L*: Moisrcob F6r€st .::i Mde,.r€: ory-Moist Forcst !t.;r. rign: oryrorest I Exton€iWdl.nd-Slepe Definitions {see Aooendix for data sources and methods): Dry: Ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir dominated forests that histoicatly supported ground fires every 5-25 years. Mcist: forests that histoically had mixed seveity fires and were dominated by fire reslsfanl species on slfes with more frequent fire (-30-80 years) and fire intolerant specles such as grand tir on stfes wfh /ess fhe. Cold: Upper elevation mixed conifer forests with high severity fires every 80-200+ years. WodlandlStbppe.' Grass and shrublands that may have oak woodlands or up to 10To cover of conifer trees. SEe classes.' Large: overstory diameter (OD) > 20"; Medium: OD 1U20"; Small: OD <10". Canopy cover c/asses.' Open: <40%; Dense: >40/o. Fuels: shrubs, grasses, small trees, duff, & dead woody material.