DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
Over the past year, NNRG has been involved with a series of very interesting timber harvests for some very interesting forest owners.
We’ve managed timber sales in high-elevation silver fir stands for the Nisqually Community Forest, the first entry into 90-year-old Douglas-fir stands for the Skokomish Tribe, fire-risk reduction thinning for a homeowner’s association on the east side of the Cascades, and a plethora of thinning projects in young Douglas-fir stands for family forest owners around Puget Sound. In every instance, we’ve utilized uneven-aged timber harvest practices that are aimed at increasing the structural complexity of forests as well as their biological and wildlife habitat diversity. This type of ecologically based forest management is NNRG’s specialty, and we’re developing a significant body of research on both the economic and ecological outcomes of uneven-aged forest management.
I’m often asked, “What are the trade-offs between even-aged (aka plantation) forest management and uneven-aged forest management?” My rote answer is “it depends”, which rarely satisfies the inquirer. I’ll try to gauge their curiosity and decide whether to launch into a didactic monologue on the logistics and virtues of uneven-aged management practices. As much as I enjoy these one-on-one conversations, I recognize there’s a much larger community who are pondering the pros and cons of uneven-aged management, and trying to determine how ecologically based timber management methods can apply to their forests.
Plantation timber management has been the focus of private and governmental research for decades. We now have superior growth-and-yield models that can predict with great accuracy the timber volumes and values achievable from this type of forestry. Comparatively, however, research on uneven-aged forest management practices is scarce—which, I believe, has hampered its adoption by a broader forest owner community.
A little over a year ago, NNRG set out to change that. In partnership with Oregon State University, we’ve been collecting timber harvest data from dozens of forest owners throughout the Pacific Northwest in order to compare economic outcomes with the purpose of providing detailed guidance to other forest practitioners. We are inviting all forest owner types to participate in this study. If you’ve completed a timber harvest within the past several years and still retain records of that harvest, please consider taking our survey so other forest owners can benefit from your experience. The survey is completely anonymous, and we won’t share your name or the location of your property beyond the county where it is situated. You can learn more about this study, and find a link to the survey, here: https://www.nnrg.org/seeking-forest-owners-for-new-study/.
It’ll take us another year or so to collate and summarize this data, but stay tuned for what should be a fascinating set of guidelines coming out of this collaborative effort!
Kirk Hanson
Director of Forestry
(360) 316-9317
kirk@nnrg.org
|
|
NNRG is launching a new newsletter section titled “Words from the Woods” where readers can share insights about forest management with each other.
In this section we’ll pose a question about a common forest practice, and collect the responses in the next newsletter. We ask that you keep your story short (50 to 250 words) and colorful. Feel free to submit photos or links to web-hosted video or blogs with your story.
We have much to learn from each other, and we hope that this forum can make that possible.
|
|
|
October Question
Have you harvested timber within the past five years?
If so, what was the most surprising thing to you about the process or the results?
|
|
Pointing the Trees in the Right Direction
It isn't always easy to watch trees come down during a thinning, but Paul and Peggy Butler are getting better at it the second time around.
Their 80-acre property, which is FSC®-certified through NNRG, is nestled along Pants Creek and borders Capitol State Forest near Olympia. It’s in the midst of a commercial thinning of 16 acres this month, and despite this being the second harvest in his forest, Paul Butler says the experience still manages to surprise him.
“It’s always a shock to see a lot of trees go down, but one of the things that makes it easier is looking at the parts that were harvested in 2010 and replanted in 2012,” says Paul. He adds that those 7 acres are looking healthier, and are developing into a more mixed-age class forest.
Paul views each harvest as a learning experience. After the 2010 thinning, the Butlers replanted thousands of seedlings in sites of varying shade and sun levels. Now Paul says they have a good sample size by which to judge the shade-tolerance of the seedlings they plant this time around.
Read more about Paul's perspective on thinning his forest for the second time.
|
|
NNRG Welcomes Two New Staff
With the turning of the seasons, NNRG welcomes crisper days, bounties of forest fungi—and two new staff members!
Raised in the San Juan Islands, Rowan Braybrook comes to NNRG after 6 years with Conservation International, most recently in Costa Rica. “We’re excited about Rowan’s top-notch project management skills and proven ability to connect with forest managers of all stripes,” said NNRG Executive Director Seth Zuckerman. Rowan takes over from Lindsay Malone as NNRG’s Director of Programs, in charge of our FSC® group certificate and many of our education and research projects.
A graduate of Evergreen State College, Jaal Mann served for the last four years as the forester for the Chehalis-based O’Neill Pine Company, a family-owned timber firm certified under NNRG’s group FSC certificate. “Jaal brings practical experience in local timber harvesting and a passion for ecological forestry—a combination that will help us deliver quality service for our forestry clients,” said Seth. Jaal took over in August as the leader of NNRG’s harvest program, a position previously filled by Andy Chittick.
|
|
|
|
The Forest Next Door. Ravensdale Retreat Natural Area is "closed for maintenance" this month—but behind the scenes an important forest health project is taking place. This article explores the forest stewardship perspectives of the people closest to the King County project.
|
|
|
'Dead tree after dead tree.' The case of Washington's dying foliage. Western hemlocks, western redcedars and big-leaf maples are struggling. This KUOW story pulls in Kevin Zobrist of WSU and Glenn Kohler of Washington DNR to discuss the origins and extent of the challenges our trees are facing.
|
|
RESOURCES ON HARVESTING TIMBER
|
|
Woody Biomass Calculator and Guidebook to Using the Calculator
This guidebook and calculator tool provide forest owners with a practical inventory system for estimating the volume of timber and woody biomass in their forest. Using this calculator and the accompanying guidebook, landowners can more easily collect information to inform their forest management decisions.
OSU's Small-Scale Harvesting for Woodland Owners
This publication by Oregon State University discusses the unique aspects of small-scale harvesting and offers some information to help small forest landowners through the process.
NNRG's Introduction to Harvest Systems
This handout is an introduction to several harvest systems that can be used to achieve the desired future condition of a diverse stand that produces multiple timber products.
Practices to Steward a Beautiful Forest After Timber Harvest
This guide, intended for forest owners who are preparing to log or have just finished a timber harvest, focuses on planning for a successful harvest and taking advantage of the years after harvest to understand how the forest is responding and to proactively address common forest health concerns.
|
|
|
|
|
