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from fire and to provide irrigation for hay and cattle, a water
reservoir was constructed on the timber farm by excavation of
earth abutting a creek. The water reservoir was to be no higher
than the original stream flow, 5 to 15 feet deep, and no dam was
to be constructed. In 1988, the reservoir first filled with
water and became available as a source of water for fighting
forest fires.
Due to weather and erosion damage, in subsequent years the
water reservoir had to be regraded and refilled a number of
times. No permit was needed to use the water in the reservoir to
fight forest fires.
On a ridge above the reservoir, petitioner also excavated a
pond and constructed a windmill with the intent of using
electricity produced from the windmill to pump water from the
reservoir up to the pond so that a helicopter with a dip bucket
could scoop water up from the pond to fight fires.
The use of water reservoirs or ponds as a source of water to
fight fires was a common practice in this part of Oregon, and the
reservoir and pond excavated on petitioners’ timber farm were
suitable for that purpose. Weyerhaeuser Corp. constructed 70 or
80 ponds, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management constructed over
200 ponds in western Oregon to aid in fighting forest fires.
Construction of an elevated pond and pumping water up to the
pond via power generated from a windmill, however, do not
constitute improvements typical of Oregon timber property.
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