OAR 629-607-0300: Small Forestland Investment in Stream Habitat Program

(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.