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Jetty Creek Watershed
10/17/2025
Forest Advisory Committee

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AGENDA
• Review ownership terminology
• Review Draft Purpose and Goals
• Review Proposed Policy Categories
• Review Management Zone Approach
• Next Steps

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How to refer to the property:
“The City of Rockaway Beach’s
fee simple ownership in the
Jetty Creek Watershed”

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Draft Purposes and Goals
PROVIDE RELIABLE BUILD LONG-TERM FOREST FOSTER COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND ENHANCE ENSURE LONG-TERM
QUANTITIES OF HIGH- RESILIENCE THROUGH ENGAGEMENT AND HABITAT FOR NATIVE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
QUALITY DRINKING WATER. STEWARDSHIP THAT STEWARDSHIP THROUGH WILDLIFE, CONSISTENT BY MANAGING THE FOREST
PROMOTES SPECIES RECREATION AND WITH DRINKING WATER TO MINIMIZE WATER
DIVERSITY AND EDUCATION. OBJECTIVES. TREATMENT COSTS AND
STRUCTURAL COMPLEXITY OPTIMIZE OPERATIONAL
WHILE MITIGATING RISKS EFFICIENCY WITHIN THE
FROM FIRE AND OTHER CITY'S BUDGET.
DISTURBANCES.

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1. Provide reliable quantities of high-quality drinking water
The City of Rockaway Beach fee simple ownership in the Jetty Creek watershed
includes roughly 52% of the drinking water source area. A combination of steep
slopes, erodible soils, roads, and past management practices has resulted in
concerns around high turbidity throughout the watershed, which could drive up
water treatment costs. All management practices will prioritize protecting and
improving both the quality and quantity of source water, now and in the future. This
includes mitigating impacts from sediment, nutrients, temperature fluctuations,
large-scale disturbances such as pest outbreaks, and human activities.
Additionally, forest structure and stand composition significantly affect low-flow
and peak-flow conditions—factors that are becoming increasingly critical as
weather patterns grow more unpredictable due to climate change.

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2. Build long-term forest resilience through stewardship that promotes
species diversity and structural complexity while mitigating risks from
fire and other disturbances.
Diverse and complex forests have a higher capacity to store and filter water,
as well as greater ecological resilience in the face of disturbance and
climate change. Forest stewardship will align with natural ecological
processes to accelerate the forest's ability to provide essential ecosystem
services. Policies relating to harvest, stream protection, and invasive
species management all aim to support natural forest processes while
preparing for a future with greater variability and severity of disturbances.

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3. Foster community engagement and stewardship through recreation
and education.
The city-owned property provides valuable aesthetic, recreational, and
cultural value to the Rockaway Beach community, supporting activities from
hiking and wildlife viewing to education. Management actions will balance
encouraging public access and a sense of place with minimizing human
impacts on water quality.

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4. Support and enhance habitat for native wildlife, consistent with
drinking water objectives.
The Jetty Creek watershed provides important habitat for a wide range of
wildlife species. The mosaic of forest stand characteristics on the city-
owned property currently supports adequate habitat with significant
potential for future improvement. Steep slopes and large riparian buffers
have created natural barriers to harvest, resulting in de facto reserve areas
across the property. Over time, managing for historical forest succession
patterns will restore habitat conditions that have become increasingly rare
on the Northern Oregon Coast.

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5. Ensure long-term financial sustainability by managing the forest to
minimize water treatment costs and optimize operational efficiency
within the City's budget.
Active management of the city-owned property plays a dual role in
maintaining forest health and funding ongoing stewardship costs, with
direct impacts on water affordability for the community. Timber sale
revenue supports property maintenance activities that simultaneously
protect source water quality and provide living wages to local contractors.
By integrating active management with source water protection and climate
resilience, the property serves as a public model for sustainable forestry
that delivers both ecological and economic benefits.

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Policy Categories
FOREST STREAM BUFFERS ROAD INVASIVE RECREATION AND
STEWARDSHIP MAINTENANCE SPECIES AND PUBLIC ACCESS
CHEMICAL USE

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Management Zones
Zone 1 -
preserve
Zone 2-
protect and
steward
Zone 3-
steward and
recreate

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Management Zones
Zone 1
464 acres
Zone 2
240 acres
Zone 3
96 acres

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DISCUSSION AND
NEXT STEPS
BEN HAYES
ben@springboardforestry.com