OAR 629-615-0300: Prescribed Burning

(1) Prescribed burning is a tool used to achieve reforestation, maintain forest health, improve wildlife habitat and reduce wildfire hazard. Prescribed burning is to be done consistent with protection of air and water quality, and fish and wildlife habitat. The purpose of this rule is to ensure that necessary prescribed burning is planned and managed to maximize benefits and minimize potential detrimental effects. (2) When planning and conducting prescribed burning, operators shall: (a) Comply with the rules of Oregon's "Smoke Management Plan." (b) Adequately protect reproduction and residual timber, humus and soil surface. (c) Consider possible detrimental effects of prescribed burning upon riparian management areas, streams, lakes, wetlands, and water quality, and how these effects can be best minimized. (d) Lay out the unit and use harvesting methods that minimize detrimental effects to riparian management areas, streams, lakes, wetlands, and water quality during the prescribed burning operation. (e) Fell and yard the unit to minimize accumulations of slash in channels and within or adjacent to riparian management areas. (f) Minimize fire intensity and amount of area burned to that necessary to achieve reforestation, forest health, or hazard reduction needs. (3) Operators shall describe in a written plan how detrimental effects will be minimized when burning within 100 feet of Type F, Type SSBT and Type D streams, within 100 feet of large lakes, within 100 feet of wetlands larger than eight acres (non estuaries), bogs and important springs in eastern Oregon and within 300 feet of estuaries; especially when burning on highly erosive soils, for example decomposed granite soils and slopes steeper than 60 percent. (4) During prescribed burning operations, operators shall protect components such as live trees, snags, downed wood, and understory vegetation required to be retained by OAR 629-635-0310 through 629-650-0040. When the operator has taken reasonable precautions to protect the components, but some detrimental effects occur, the intent of the rule is met if the overall integrity of the riparian management area is maintained. Operators shall not salvage trees killed by prescribed fire in a riparian management area if the trees were retained for purposes of 629-635-0310 through 629-655-0000. (5) When the need for prescribed burning outweighs the benefits of protecting components required to be left within the riparian area, aquatic area and wetlands, protection requirements may be modified through a plan for an alternate practice. Approval of such a plan shall consider the environmental impacts and costs of alternative treatments. (6) (For information only) When water is to be withdrawn from the waters of the state for use in mixing pesticides or for slash burning, ORS 537.141 requires operators to notify the Water Resources Department and the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Notification to the State Forester does not satisfy this requirement.