This project will take place on private lands within the burn footprints of the Rail Ridge and Courtrock fires (2024 fires). The Rail Ridge Fire impacted properties along the South Fork of the John Day River, while the Courtrock Fire burned land in the North Fork John Day River watershed. These areas are critical habitat for ESA-listed Mid-Columbia Summer Steelhead and experienced extensive damage, with both fires burning a combined 195,079 acres across private, state, and federal lands, severely impacting local ecosystems and communities.
Post-fire assessments by the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) indicate high burn severity on affected private lands, leaving little surviving vegetation and making natural regeneration unlikely. These areas now face elevated risks of insect infestations, erosion, and invasive species. The loss of riparian vegetation has led to increased stream temperatures, unstable banks, and reduced habitat for fish and wildlife. Erosion, runoff, and debris flows have degraded water quality, disrupted fish migration, and reduced available spawning and rearing habitat, further threatening native salmonid populations. Climate change continues to intensify these impacts, increasing wildfire frequency and severity while complicating recovery due to higher temperatures, prolonged drought, and altered precipitation patterns.
To address these threats, the project will restore 1,008 acres of private land within the fire footprints. Restoration activities include debris removal, mechanical and chemical site preparation, and tree planting to reestablish native vegetation, reduce erosion, and stabilize soils. The project will also fund the 25% cost-share match required for landowners participating in the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP), administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA).
Project partners include the Monument SWCD, South Fork John Day Watershed Council, ODF, FSA, and seven private landowners
