A new forest and wildland health assessment center has opened for business.
The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center in Prineville is one of two pioneer research hubs charged with detecting, evaluating and predicting natural and manmade risks to forests and rangeland.
Housed in the Ochoco National Forest headquarters, the Prineville assessment center will monitor the western half of the nation while its counterpart in Asheville, N.C., will track the eastern half. Both centers are funded by the U.S. Forest Service.
Along with analyzing information, the centers will act as an early-warning system for land managers, alerting them to major hazards or potential natural catastrophes.
What sets the assessment centers apart from other scientific agencies is that they will analyze multiple environmental threats - including climate changes, invasive species and insect infestation, said Jerry Beatty, the director of the Prineville center.
For example, an insect infestation could kill trees, leading to a buildup of dead wood that could increase fire risks, said Terry Shaw, chief scientist for the center.
Studying how these factors interact and predicting what could happen under different scenarios would help forest and range managers take more effective steps to head off problems.
The center will not make recommendations or set policy, or work as consultants, Beatty said.
Instead, it will be an information clearinghouse for land managers. "Our job is to provide the information to make better decisions," Beatty said.
The Prineville center will also work with counties, Indian tribes and private companies, such as lumber mills with timber holdings.
The center plans to have five permanent staff members, including Beatty, Shaw, and Becky Kerns, a research ecologist.
The idea for a government-backed threat assessment center was originally suggested by President Bush in his Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., both lobbied to establish an assessment center in Prineville to monitor Western lands.Associated Press via The Eugene Register Guard
