Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) The department
shall establish the Small Forestland Investment in Stream Habitat (SFISH)
Program Fund as a grant program to fund projects on small forestland owner
lands. The Small Forestland Owner Assistance Office shall manage the SFISH
Program in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
(2) The SFISH Program shall make funding
available to qualified small forestland owners for the purposes of improving
fish habitat on their forestlands for the following projects:
(a) Replace fish stream water crossing
structures, not bridges, mostly culverts that are no longer functioning, or
still functioning but not designed consistent with requirements of OAR
629-625-0320;
(b) Repair abandoned
roads; or
(c) Reconstruct, vacate,
or relocate roads with a perched fill that present a significant hazard to
fish-bearing streams. Not more that 10 percent of available SFISH funds may be
used for perched fill remediation projects in any year.
(3) To be eligible for the SFISH Program, in
addition to a landowner meeting the definition of a small forestland owner in
OAR 629-600-0100, the small forestland owner must provide the following
information:
(a) Documentation showing that
no more than an average yearly volume of two million board feet of merchantable
forest products has been harvested from the landowner's forestland in the state
of Oregon when averaged over a three-year period prior to the date the Small
Forestland Owner Assistance Office receives the grant application;
(b) A statement of affirmation to the Small
Forestland Owner Assistance Office that the landowner does not expect to exceed
an average yearly volume of two million board feet of merchantable forest
products to be harvested from the landowner's forestland in Oregon during the
10 years following the date the Small Forestland Owner Assistance Office awards
grant-funds, and
(c) A road
condition assessment containing the information detailed in OAR 629-625-0920,
that includes an assessment of all roads, abandoned roads, culverts, and fish
passage barriers located on the parcel of land, as defined in OAR 629-600-0100,
on which a grant-funded SFISH project may occur.
(4) The SFISH Program shall optimize state
funding by prioritizing funding for site locations determined to have a high
conservation value. Examples of high conservation value sites will include but
are not limited to:
(a) Areas of known
chronic sedimentation;
(b) Fish
passage barriers;
(c) Stream
diversions, or sites with a high diversion potential;
(d) Areas of known hydrologic connectivity;
or
(e) Roads with a perched fill
posing a significant hazard to fish-bearing streams.
(5) The SFISH Program will consider the
greatest resource benefit, and prioritize funding projects which best address
the following:
(a) Removal of fish passage
barriers consistent with Department of Fish and Wildlife requirements under ORS
509.585 and OAR 635-412-0015, as
implemented through the forest practice rules;
(b) Minimize the potential for sediment
delivery to waters of the state;
(c) Minimize stream diversions at water
crossings;
(d) Minimize hydrologic
connectivity between roads and waters of the state;
(e) Remove perched fill that presents a
significant hazard to fish-bearing streams through reconstruction, relocation,
or vacating; or
(f) Length of time
that the grant has been submitted and under consideration for funding;
or
(g) Meet high-value conservation
objectives as determined by the department in consultation with other state and
federal agencies.
(6)
The Small Forestland Owner Assistance Office in coordination with the
Department of Fish and Wildlife, will prioritize funding for the following
projects on high conservation value sites:
(a)
Water crossing structure, not bridge, mostly culvert replacements on fish
streams;
(b) Repair of abandoned
roads; and
(c) Perched fills that
present a significant hazard to fish-bearing streams.
(7) The small forestland owner will
collaborate with the Small Forestland Owner Assistance Office on projects
approved for SFISH funding to determine project details, which include but are
not limited to specifications, timing, efficiencies, involvement, and other
factors as necessary. The small forestland owner and the Small Forestland Owner
Assistance Office will work together and mutually agree on the most efficient
and effective way to complete projects.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
527.710, Section 2(1), Chapter
33, Oregon Laws 2022 & Section 20, Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022
Statutes/Other Implemented: Section 2(2), Chapter 33, Oregon
Laws 2022 & Section 18, Chapter 33, Oregon Laws
2022
