Oregon's forestry agency will hand $100,000 to a federally-managed national forest in Southern Oregon in order to reduce the risk of wildfire in Medford's watershed.
The Oregon Department of Forestry announced Tuesday that has awarded that funding to the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. It will go toward forest restoration work intended to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk on 20,000 acres of the Big Butte Springs watershed, which provides the year-round source of water for Medford and many surrounding communities.
The award comes through the Planning Assistance and Categorical Exclusion (PACE) funds, administered by ODF's Federal Forest Restoration program.
“PACE investments provide contracting opportunities that assist federal forest managers to expand and accelerate planning efforts for forest restoration treatments," said Kyle Sullivan, who leads ODF's FFR program.