Forest engineering implication of storm-induced mass wasting in the Oregon Coast Range, USA

A severe winter storm, under conditions of high antecedent moisture and a substantial snow pack at higher elevations, in February of 1996 resulted in rapid flooding and a large number of precipitation-induced landslides. The number of mass wasting events greatly exceeded the expectations of many land managers, given the magnitude (50-year return interval ) of the storm event. Both ground and aerial surveys were used to characterize the nature of these events and relate the occurrence of mass wasting activity to the topography, geology, and land management activities of the region. This paper is based upon an aerial videography transect of the north Oregon Coast Range and explores the potential of this technique, with special reference to storm damage assessment in commercial forestry areas. Given the efforts to enhance and protect anadromous fish-rearing habitat in the regionʹs perennial streams, this survey explores the implications of current and past forest engineering practices, and suggests that engineering efforts to ‘de-construct’ the legacy of old roads and culvert systems may be appropriate in the drainage basins with the highest potential habitat values.