Field Surveying Summary for the Late Mungers Integrated Vegetation Management Project
By Tyanna Smith
In the Spring and Summer of 2022, the Williams Community Forest Project’s (WCFP) Forest Watch Coordinator Tyanna Smith, along with local volunteers, conducted ground truthing field surveys for the proposed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Late Mungers Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) Project located in Williams, Oregon. The WCFP only surveyed timber sale units that occurred within the Williams watershed.
There was a total of 35 individual timber sale units located in the Northwest and West portions of Williams. Acreage of each unit has not been provided by the BLM.
The WCFP surveyed the proposed timber sale units to collect their own data and gain a better understanding of the current stand conditions prior to proposed treatments conducted. Field data was recorded on a standardized survey sheet created by Tyanna Smith. The field surveys included features of geography, geology, forest structure and characteristics, tree diameters, wildlife/plant presence and habitat, stream/riparian areas, human disturbances, and any other relevant features present within the units. Photos of the units were also taken during the surveys.
Volunteers were given a 1-hour training course on how to conduct the surveys and record all the information requested from the survey sheet prior to going into the field.
There was a total of 55.5 volunteer surveying hours completed.
Data collected from the field was input into a database created in Microsoft Access. Photos from the surveys were uploaded to a Google Drive folder for each unit. Unit summaries were written after surveys were completed and uploaded to a Google Drive folder. A summary of the data collected was created along with tables and figures for public knowledge and to aid in possible litigation of the Late Mungers IVM Project.
Information about the Late Mungers IVM Project can be found at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2018484/510.