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 Brennan GarreltsLone Rock Timber Management CompanyOregon Water Resources Department 725 Summer St. NE, Suite A Salem, OR 97301 To: Oregon Water Resources Department Re: Application IS-88982 Please accept these comments regarding Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s request to acquire surface water rights for Brush Creek, tributary to Elk Creek. We are concerned that ODFW’s request to secure all available surface water is likely to preclude private and federal landowners in this area from any future surface water impoundment development which will directly affect our ability to safely and expeditiously extinguish a wildland fire. In Oregon, over 96% of fires are started by the public and the area in question receives extensive public recreation throughout the year. Readily available and easily accessible water is the primary tool available to landowners and our local fire protection association, Douglas Forest Protective Association, to safely and efficiently extinguish a fire. As a private landowner our ability to keep our lands free of destructive wildland fire is directly tied to our ability to store surface water in small, off-channel fire ponds and pump chances exclusively used for emergency fire suppression. This infrastructure is of paramount importance to extinguish wildland fires. In the case of IS-88982, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has applied for and been tentatively approved for all of the available surface water. While removing surface water for Emergency fire-fighting is covered under ORS 537.141, surface water in streams is not always readily accessible due to proximity to roads, stream depth, or other factors. According to our interpretation of ORS 537.141, the development of small impoundments to store surface water for emergency use is not covered under this exception. It follows that all future request to impound surface water in this reach of Brush Creek, for the purposes described above, would likely be denied. Over the past decade Lone Rock Timber Management Co. has invested significant capital working with ODFW and the watershed district to restore and improve fisheries habitat throughout the Brush Creek drainage. As demonstrated, we fully support the vitality and health of our fisheries and actively look for opportunities to implement the best available scientific techniques in our land management activities to benefit fish species. We also believe that quickly extinguishing wildland fires in order to protect both riparian and upland forestland is also vital to protect water quality and fisheries habitat. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. Regards, Brennan Garrelts Director of Government Affairs and Policy Lone Rock Timber Management Co.