Assessment - Southern Oregon Digital Archives

Land Ownership
Federal land management agencies and private timber companies dominate land
ownership in the upslope areas of the watershed. (See Figure 5.) The Bureau of Land
Management administers 52% of the watershed (26,990 acres), with two large holdings in
the southeast and northwest corners of the watershed. BLM ownership is in a
checkerboard pattern across much of the mid to higher elevation areas. (See Figure 6.)
Most of BLM’s holdings are O&C lands: lands that the federal government reclaimed
from the Oregon & California Railroad in 1916. These O&C lands produce revenue for
the county through timber receipts and are managed by the Department of Interior “for
permanent forest production… in conformity with the principle of sustained yield”
(McKinley and Frank 1996).
The United States Forest Service (USFS) administers 819 acres in the Sugarloaf Peak and
Pipe Fork drainage areas. These lands lie along the southernmost edge of the watershed
and are within the 20,370-acre Kangaroo Roadless Area.
Josephine County owns 1,640 acres of the land base, comprised of several large parcels
in upslope areas, mostly in the southern half of the watershed. These lands are currently
managed primarily for timber production.
Land Ownership in Williams Creek Watershed
BLM
32%
USFS
11%
3%
2%
52%
Josephine County
Private timber
companies
Other private
lands
Figure 5: Land Ownership in Williams Creek Watershed
Private holdings account for 43.3% (22,492 acres) of the land ownership in the Williams
Creek Watershed. Of this, three commercial timber companies own approximately 11%.
All together, Boise Cascade, Spalding & Son Lumber, and Indian Hill (a Rough & Ready
subsidiary) own 5,641 acres in the Williams Creek Watershed, much of which is in the
West Fork Williams Creek subwatershed. Other private lands are utilized mainly for
small woodlot production, rural residences, or agricultural purposes (Josephine County
Planning 1998).
Williams Creek Watershed Assessment 7