Or. Admin. Code § 629-643-0130

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1, 2024

Section 629-643-0130 - Standard Practice Requirements for Small Type N Streams

(1) For purposes of determining the vegetation retention area and streamside retention requirements for a small Type Np stream that flows into a Type F or Type SSBT stream, the operator must, depending on the circumstance, retain trees based on distances relative to:

(a) A verified end as described in OAR 629-635-0200(18)(c);

(b) A modeled end as described in OAR 629-635-0200(18)(b); or

(c) A location established pursuant to an operational field survey according to (6) in this rule.

(2) The operator shall apply the tree retention requirements based on the stream's location (Western Oregon or Eastern Oregon) and fish use classification (Type F or Type SSBT) immediately downstream from the small Type Np stream, as shown in Tables 1 through 4 for small Type Np streams.

Table 1. Western Oregon Standard Practice Vegetation Retention Riparian Management Area Distances

Stream Type	Large	Medium	Small	Upstream distance
Type F or Type SSBT	110 feet	110 feet	100 feet	N/A
Type N	75 feet	75 feet	See Type Np	N/A
Type Np, into Type SSBT			75 & 50	75 feet for 500, then 50 feet for 650 feet. RH Max = 1,150 feet
Type Np, into Type F			75 feet	RH Max = 600 feet
Type D	75 feet	75 feet	75 or 20 feet1	See OAR 629-643-0150

¹ 20 feet outside of Type Np vegetation retention requirements

Table 2: Eastern Oregon Standard Practice Vegetation Retention Riparian Management Area Distances

	Large		Medium		Small		Upstream distance1
	Inner	Outer 2	Inner	Outer 2	Inner	Outer 2
Type F or SSBT	30	70	30	70	30	45	-
Type N	30	45	30	45	-	-	-
Type Np, Terminal					30	30	RH Max = 500 feet
Type Np, Lateral					30	N/A	RH Max = 250 feet
Type D	30	-	30	-	30 or 20 feet3	-	See OAR 629-643-0150

¹ Upstream distance from either Type F or Type SSBT

² Outer Zone shall retain 60 square feet of basal area per acre; apply OAR 629-643-0120

³ 20 feet outside of Type Np vegetation retention requirements

Table 3: Western Oregon Small Forestland Owner Minimum Option Vegetation Retention Riparian Management Area Distances

	Large	Medium	Small	Upstream distance
Type SSBT	100 feet	80 feet	60 feet	N/A
Type F	100 feet	70 feet	50 feet	N/A
Type N	70 feet	50 feet	See Type Np
Type Np, into Type SSBT			35	RH Max = 1,150 feet
Type Np, into Type F			35	RH Max = 600 feet
Type D	75 feet	75 feet	35 or 20 feet1	See OAR 629-643-0150

¹ Upstream distance from either Type F or Type SSBT

² 20 feet outside of Type Np vegetation retention requirements

Table 4: Eastern Oregon Small Forestland Owner Minimum Option Vegetation Retention Riparian Management Area Distances

	Large		Medium		Small		Upstream distance1
	Inner	Outer 2	Inner	Outer 2	Inner	Outer 2
Type F or Type SSBT	30	70	30	50	30	30	N/A
Type N	30	45	30	30	-	-
Type Np, Terminal	-	-	-	-	20	20	RH Max = 500 feet
Type Np, Lateral	-	-	-	-	20	N/A	250 feet
Type D	30		30		20		See OAR 629-643-0150

¹ Upstream distance from either Type F or Type SSBT

² Outer Zone shall retain 60 square feet of basal area per acre; apply OAR 629-643-0120

(3) If the operator uses the standard practice, the operator shall use small Type Np tree retention area distances for width and the RH max as described in Tables 1 and 2. If a small forestland owner uses the small forestland owner minimum option, the small forestland owner shall use the small Type Np tree retention area distances for width and RH max described in Tables 3 and 4. The following requirements are considered the standard practice for small Type Np streams. For small forestland owners, operational field survey and tree retention requirements are available in OAR in 629-643-0143.

(4) If the Department of Fish and Wildlife has established a verified end pursuant to a model verification field survey, then:

(a) The applicable tree retention area for small Type Np streams shall begin at the confluence of the fish use stream and extend upstream to the shorter of:

(A) The verified end, in which case the operator shall extend the tree retention area using a radius equal to the width of the retention area; or

(B) The RH max, in which case the end of the tree retention area shall be perpendicular to the stream channel.

(b) An R-ELZ shall extend between the RH max and the verified end, when the verified end is upstream of the RH max.

(c) An ELZ shall extend upstream to the remainder of the Type N channel.

(5) If the Department of Fish and Wildlife has not established a verified end pursuant to field survey, then the operator shall determine the extent of vegetation retained relative to either a modeled end, or pursuant to an operational field survey.

(a) If the operator uses a modeled end:

(A) The applicable tree retention area for small Type Np streams shall begin at the confluence of the fish use stream and extend upstream to the shorter of:

(i) The modeled end, in which case the operator shall extend the tree retention area using a radius equal to the width of the retention area; or

(ii) The RH max, in which case the end of the tree retention area shall be perpendicular to the stream channel.

(B) An R-ELZ shall extend between the RH max and the modeled end, when the modeled end is upstream of the RH max.

(C) An ELZ shall extend upstream to the remainder of the Type N channel.

(b) If the operator uses an operational field survey, as described in this rule and OAR 629-635-0200(18):

(A) The applicable tree retention area for small Type Np streams shall begin at the confluence of the fish use stream and extend upstream to the shorter of:

(i) The upstream end of the most upstream flow feature within the area of inquiry, in which case the operator shall extend the tree retention area using a radius equal to the width of the retention area; or

(ii) The RH max, in which case the upstream end of the tree retention area shall be perpendicular to the stream channel.

(B) An R-ELZ shall extend from the RH Max to the most upstream flow feature within the area of inquiry, when such flow feature is upstream of the RH max.

(C) If flowing water too short to be considered a flow feature is encountered upstream of the most upstream flow feature, and both are within the area of inquiry but downstream of the RH max, the operator shall:

(i) Retain all trees within 50 feet of the flowing water; and

(ii) Extend an R-ELZ from the upstream end of the most upstream flow feature within the area of inquiry to the downstream end of the tree retention area described in Section 5(b)(C)(i).

(D) Notwithstanding any other requirement, the operator shall extend an ELZ upstream of the tree retention area or the R-ELZ, if any, for the remainder of the Type N channel as described in this rule.

(6) All operational field surveys conducted pursuant to Section 5(b) above and 7 below must comply with the following:

(a) During Phase 1, as described in OAR 629-635-0200(18)(a), an operator may conduct an operational field survey without advance notification to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the department shall allow a lower level of map precision for surveyed points, provided that any survey that uses a lower level of map precision will not be included in the department's reporting and notification system as described in (6)(d) below.

(b) Unless the survey is submitted pursuant to (6)(a) above, an operator must notify the Department of Fish and Wildlife in advance of conducting an operational field survey. The operator may notify the Department of Fish and Wildlife at any time prior to conducting the survey, including immediately prior, but no more than two years in advance. Once an operator has notified the Department of Fish and Wildlife of its intent to conduct a survey pursuant to this subsection (6)(b), any notification of operation submitted to the department's reporting and notification system for the surveyed area must include either:

(A) The completed survey, or

(B) A certification that the landowner did not initiate the survey.

(c) The State Forester, in consultation with Department of Fish and Wildlife, shall review all operational field surveys submitted pursuant to (6)(a) and (6)(b) above. Unless disapproved by the Department of Fish and Wildlife within 21 days following submission to the department, the field survey will define the relevant attributes of the layout described in Section 5(b) above and 7 below.

(d) Unless disapproved by the Department of Fish and Wildlife or submitted pursuant to (6)(a), the State Forester shall add the location and extent of the most upstream flow feature from an operational field survey to the department's reporting and notification system. Operators may rely upon and operate pursuant to prior operational field surveys recorded in the department's reporting and notification system.

(e) In coordination with Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Forester shall provide an expeditious process for resolution of disapproved surveys.

(f) Once phase 2 flow modeling is complete, as described in 629-635-0200(18)(b), operational field surveys as described in 5(b) above or 7 below to determine the applicable tree retention area for small Type Np streams shall be constrained as follows:

(A) When an operator completes a survey during a drought year, as defined by the Department of Fish and Wildlife for the purpose of operational field surveys, the most upstream flow feature within the area of inquiry shall be the longer of:

(i) The modeled end, or

(ii) The uppermost flow feature within the area of inquiry.

(B) When an operator conducts a survey during an abnormally wet year, as defined by the Department of Fish and Wildlife for the purpose of operational field surveys, the area of inquiry shall stop at the modeled end.

(g) All operational field surveys must adhere to Department of Fish and Wildlife protocols for operational field surveys.

(h) The department shall publish Forest Practices Technical Guidance to assist operators with layout pursuant to operational field surveys.

(7) If an operator does not have the legal right to survey an entire area of inquiry due to the location of one or more property boundaries, the operator may conduct an operational field survey to determine small Type Np stream vegetation retention requirements as follows:

(a) If access to the neighboring property is available to the operator, the operator may complete a survey of the entire area of inquiry and complete layout as described in Section (5)(b).

(b) If the operation will take place on property downstream of the ownership boundary and the area of inquiry crosses the property boundary, the operator shall survey the portion of the area of inquiry legally accessible to the operator, and the extent of vegetation retention requirements shall adhere to the following:

(A) Where the department's reporting and notification system evidences a flow feature on the neighboring property upstream but still within the area of inquiry, then the tree retention area will begin at the confluence with a fish use stream and extend to the shorter of:

(i) The RH max, in which case the upstream end of the retention area shall be perpendicular to the stream channel; or

(ii) The property line.

(B) Where the department's reporting and notification evidences no flow feature upstream on the neighboring property upstream but still within the area of inquiry, then the applicable tree retention area for small Type Np streams shall begin at the confluence of the fish use stream and extend upstream to the shorter of:

(i) The RH max, in which case the upstream end of the retention area shall be perpendicular to the stream channel; or

(ii) The most upstream flow feature within the area surveyed by the operator, in which case the operator shall extend the tree retention area using a radius equal to the width of the retention area.

(C) An R-ELZ shall extend from the end of the tree retention area identified in (A) and (B) to the property boundary.

(D) If flowing water that is too short to be considered a flow feature is encountered within the area surveyed and upstream of the most upstream flow feature but downstream of the RH max the operator shall retain all trees within 50 feet of the flowing water.

(c) If the operation will take place on property upstream of an ownership boundary bisecting an area of inquiry, the operator shall presume that a flow feature ends immediately downstream of the ownership boundary, shall use map distances to determine the distance between the confluence and the property boundary, and the remainder of the vegetation retention requirements for the small Type Np stream shall be laid out in in accordance with Section 5(b) above. In Phase 1, the area of inquiry for such an operation shall begin at the property ownership boundary.

Or. Admin. Code § 629-643-0130

DOF 7-2022, adopt filed 11/21/2022, effective 1/1/2024

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 527.710, Section 2(1), Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022

Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 527.715, 527.765, Section 2(2), Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022