Property Tour - Lamers Forests
Come join The Marion Polk Small Woodlands Association  for a tour of Lamers Forests, near Monmouth.  We will see new developments as well as ongoing work on thinning and logging, and get updated on the Coastal redwood groves they have planted over the years.  The redwoods range from 6 months to 32 years in age.
Date: October 12, 2019
Time: 9:00 am to noonish
Directions: From Monmouth go west on Main St. from Hwy 99, and follow the Falls City Hwy signs out of town to the SW.  There are a couple sharp turns and then a straight away across the small valley and up the hill.  Only 1/2 mile from Monmouth, as you start up the hill, the driveway is on the left (south).  It will be marked with an OSWA sign. It is a long driveway so go the distance to the end. 
Lamers Forest.  Monmouth/Falls City Highway (194) west of Monmouth.

Contact: Terry Lamers  503 930-3946.  

Cost Share Money available for woodland restoration work
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recently announced sign up windows for two conservation implementation strategies (CIS) to help private landowners do conservation work on their properties.  One is a familiar program suitable for oak habitats.  The other less-well known and utilized CIS applies to conifer forests.
The Forest Resistance and Resilience CIS is an excellent fit for many family forest landowers who are interested in preserving natural resources on the land.   The NRCS can offer technical and financial assistance in planning and implementing a number of practices to help landowners address many very popular landowner objectives, such as improving their forest’s health,  increasing its attractiveness to wildlife and resistance to wildfire.  Assistance may be available to help you achieve these things by implementing the following conservation practices on your forestland:

• Develop a Forest Management Plan
• Site Preparation, Planting  and Establishment  of trees and shrubs
• Brush Control
• Slash Treatment
• Conservation Cover
• Wildlife Habitat Improvement
• Herbaceous Weed Control
• Forest Stand Improvement & Thinning & Pruning 

Please see announcement below for Oct 19 tour that will look at some of these practices in the woods.
 
Oak Strategy:  Many family forest landowners are familiar with and have taken advantage of NRCS funding to restore oak habitats on their property under a conservation implementation strategy (CIS). 
The NRCS Tangent Field Office rolling out both of these strategies in fiscal year 2020 for Benton and Linn counties. The sign-up period for application deadlines will be this winter. In Benton & Linn Counties, contact Amy Kaiser, District Conservationist amy.kaiser@usda.gov (541) 801 – 2671. 

Improve the wildlife habitat, health and resilience of your woodlands: Forest Tour
When asked what they want of their forests, most family landowners list things like improving their forest’s health,  increasing its attractiveness to wildlife and resistance to wildfire.  But many young forests are too uniform & dense for any of those things, and the steps needed to creating a more diverse and healthy forest can be expensive.
The NRCS has rolled out new cost share funds to help landowners improve the conservation value of conifer forests in western Oregon. 
We will tour the property of Dave Hibbs and Sarah Karr in Airlie, who have actively managed their woodland to create a more diverse, healthy and wildlife friendly forest.  Their work provides a good illustration of many potential conservation opportunities supported by the new NRCS funds.  These practices include thinning dense young stands, diversifying stand density and structure, controlling invasive weeds and more.  Amy Kaiser, NRCS District Conservationist for Benton and Linn Counties, will be on hand to discuss funding and technical assistance available to help you improve your woodland’s condition.

Date: Saturday, October 19.  9:00 to 12:00
Time: Please arrive by 8:45 for a prompt departure at 9:00. 
Location: Airlie area, Benton County, carpooling from ODFW office at 7118 NE Vandenberg Ave, Adair Village, OR 97330

RSVP by October 17. Call 541-713-5000 or contact Jody Einerson J with number attending and contact phone.
Co Sponsors: OSU Extension, Benton SWA