NNRG is working with Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and Seattle City Light to return these 150 acres of previously logged land to healthy forest using climate-adapted practices.
Great Peninsula Conservancy (GPC) just completed the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certification process for Grovers Creek Preserve! Acquired by the Conservancy in 2015, the 197-acre preserve near Poulsbo boasts 60 acres of rare older growth forest including stands of western hemlock, Sitka spruce, western redcedar, and Douglas-fir. There are even 11.5 acres of late successional forested peat bog. These diverse habitats support beaver, black bear, mink, otter, salamanders, frogs, and more than 60 bird species. The forest surrounds a stretch of Grovers Creek, which provides habitat for Endangered Species Act-listed winter steelhead as well as coho and cutthroat. “GPC purchased
Eve Lonnquist can often be found working in the woods, just like her grandmother, who bought Cedar Row Farm in 1919 for $2000 and planted its namesake row of cedars. Nestled in the Nehalem River foothills, the 160-acre forest is stewarded by Eve, her two brothers and her partner Lynn Baker. The family enjoys taking care of the land and balances multiple goals, including recreation and income from timber harvest as well as providing wildlife habitat. They are FSC-certified through NNRG’s group certificate and are members of the Oregon Woodland Cooperative, selling bundled firewood to grocery stores around the Portland
The 46,000 acres of forestland spanning Snoqualmie Pass to Cle Elum known as the Central Cascades Forest (CCF) is now Forest Stewardship Council®-certified, through NNRG’s group certificate. It’s the Northwest’s largest jump in certified forestland since the City of Seattle’s Cedar River watershed earned FSC certification in 2011. The CCF is managed by The Nature Conservancy in Washington, which takes a comprehensive approach to stewarding lands. Management goals for the forest include improving wildlife habitat, producing a sustained yield of wood products, increasing climate resilience, providing clean water, bolstering local communities, and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire. “We are excited to recognize this important
by Kelly Smith, NNRG volunteer On a cool and misty morning last September, Kirk Hanson and I visited Jackrabbit Farm in Southwest Washington. Kirk, Northwest Natural Resource Group’s Director of Forestry, needed to make observations and gather data for a new forest management plan for the farm, which had recently been funded through the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). My presence on this visit was due to my interest in “job shadowing” him on a site with elements of agroforestry and permaculture. As we drove down the forested driveway, a wild rabbit hopped across our path, welcoming us to
Up in the San Juans Islands, our Forest Stewardship Council®-certified member Blakely Island Timber cares for more than 2,200 acres on namesake Blakely Island. Harvesting timber is a tool to achieve their goal of stewarding the forest with a healthy, productive long into the future. Douglas-fir grows much more slowly in the San Juans than on the mainland, creating stronger wood with tighter rings and greater contrast between light spring bands and dark summer ones. This beautiful wood is harvested according to FSC® standards. BIT does all of its own processing, milling, drying, and manufacturing on site using an energy-efficient
Paul Butler has had a life-long love of forests. Now that he and his wife steward their own forest they’ve taken steps to care for and enjoy their land. Paul tells us how his relationship with his woods has deepened over time and what actions he’s taking to make the forest healthy.
Christine Johnson (with her husband Terrigal) has loved forests all her life. As NNRG’s board chair, she helps us work to protect the health, resilience, and character of these incredible places, share her love of Northwest woodlands every step along the way. Her 10-acre, FSC®-certified forest on Waldron Island is a living testament to Christine’s stewardship. Learn more about Christine and her journey:
Along the rocky shores of Orcas Island, YMCA Camp Orkila is a special place where the forest meets the sea. Campers describe the iconic Northwest destination as magical, Neverland, and Oz. The YMCA offers camp programs by summer and outdoor environmental education programs in the spring and fall, serving more than 17,000 campers and students each year. The iconic camp is a San Juan destination for fun, outdoor exploration, and learning. It’s also on its way to becoming a showcase demonstration forest for ecologically-based stewardship. Camp Orkila is a Conservation Member of NNRG’s Northwest Certified Forestry program, stewarding more than 170 acres of forest within the
When Jeanie Taylor and her husband, Tom Lenon, saw their forest for the first time they knew it was home. While the 20 acres in the Gopher Valley hills of Yamhill County was riddled with scotch broom and blackberry, it also supported Oregon white oaks and suggested the potential to provide habitat for endangered Fender’s blue butterfly, threatened Kincaid’s lupine, western gray squirrels, western bluebirds and other species endemic to the Willamette Valley. They bought the land with the intent to restore native oak ecosystems and eventually live full-time on the property. Jeanie and Tom knew it would be work to rehabilitate the historic oak woodland choked
Camp Myrtlewood brings together a community dedicated to stewardship, environmental education, and fellowship. Just a few miles upstream from the confluence of the Middle Fork Coquille River and Myrtle Creek, Camp Myrtlewood includes 124 acres of temperate rainforest that is Forest Stewardship Council® certified through NNRG’s FSC® group certificate. Tucked away in the Coast Range of southern Oregon, the retreat center and hospitality ministry of the Church of the Brethren draws people from throughout the Northwest. The camp’s leadership and volunteers strive to give back to the forest and river that sustain the camp (making every day Earth Day at
For years, Tod and Gerie Lemkuhl loved exploring Mount Rainier National Park and dreamed of some-day stewarding a wild forest akin to the park’s cathedrals of lush old-growth. Seven years ago they knew it was time to turn “someday” into reality. So they sold their home in Seattle, purchased 20 acres of forest near Eatonville and started to get to know the land. As the Lemkuhls embarked on their journey, they learned to use active management to steward the forest of their dreams. At first the Lemkuhls got to know their forest by camping out and spending time building trails,
To restore ecological complexity to a forest, you need good partners and often, you need to cut a few trees. Last summer, Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission worked with the University of Washington’s Pack Forest, WA State Department of Natural Resources, and WyEast Timber Services to conduct an ecologically-based harvest project on 104 acres of Nisqually State Park. State Parks’ goal for the project was to improve forest health by enhancing the biodiversity of the forest. The restoration treatment used a silvicultural method known as a variable density thinning (VDT) and created half-acre to 1-acre gaps where all the Douglas-fir were
In our Member Spotlight series, we highlight NNRG members who have used forest products for unique and entrepreneurial purposes on their land and within their communities. Often these projects help members earn supplemental income. For the third installment in the series, we introduce you to Oak Basin Tree Farm, a Forest Stewardship Council® certified member of our group certificate, who has sourced non-timber forest products from their woods to local markets. Oak Basin Tree Farm Through much hard work and creative ideas, brothers Jim and Ed Merzenich have the seemingly magical ability to turn nothing into something. Their skills in alchemy are abundantly evident throughout the restoration work and the non-timber forest products they sell
By Christina Davis and NNRG Steve and Linnea Bensel of Nootka Rose Farm steward 32 acres of forest on Waldron Island in the San Juans. In recent years, they accessed cost-share funds through the Natural Resources Conservation Service to develop a forest management plan and do a pre-commercial thinning in their forest. They also channel the appetites of a few woolly ruminants to stymy invasive ivy. Steve and his wife, Linnea, both grew up as stewards of the land: Linnea’s mother was an avid gardener and Steve’s parents farmed when he was a child, informing his decision at the age of 4 to become a farmer himself. In short, the
In our Member Spotlight series, we highlight Northwest Certified Forestry (NCF) members who are improving ecosystem functions and who have cultivated forest products for unique and entrepreneurial purposes on their land and within their communities. In this edition, we introduce you to Digger Mountain Forestry-a Forest Stewardship Council® certified member of our group certificate, and Yankee Creek Forestry-an NCF Preferred Provider. Recently, these members provided woody debris for restoration projects focused on salmon habitat and wetland recovery in the Willamette Valley and the Southern Oregon Coast. Digger Mountain Forestry Digger Mountain Forestry stewards 650 acres of forest in Oregon’s Coast Range. In recent years Northwest Certified Foresty has put out calls
Point Defiance Park is as rare as it is gorgeous. No where else can one find 500 acres of old-growth forest along the shore of Puget Sound and all within the city of Tacoma. The forest is interwoven with walking and running trails, bike paths, and picnic areas that provide a serene reprieve from the urban bustle just beyond its shady canopy. Excellent stewardship on the part of Metro Parks Tacoma is to credit for the forest’s preservation. The agency manages parks all over the city, but Point Defiance stands out within Tacoma – and the Puget Sound region – because it is Forest
On June 23, I was fortunate enough to attend a forest health workshop at the location. It was a lovely night to be outside as we tromped up and down the road of Crystal Lake Tree Farm. Settled on 400 acres in suburban Woodinville, WA, its location is merely one special aspect of the tree farm. The tree farm is a sustainably-managed community forest that surrounds Crystal Lake, where 66 families live and own a lot of their own land. I soon met Ron Munro, the man behind this unique place. Unassuming and vastly knowledgeable, he reminds me of my
O’Neill Pine Company By Jennifer Whitelaw If you ask about touring O’Neill Pine Company’s forests, co-owner Richard Pine will tell you, “it’s a long walk.” In fact, their forests are spread out over 44 properties, comprising 2,250 Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified acres of forest land in the Chehalis area of Washington. Richard and his wife Debra grow Douglas Fir, some Alder and a small handful of other tree varieties. While they won’t harvest any timber this year, they hope that they will be well positioned to supply FSC certified timber to timber framers and contractors when the real estate market
Tierra Learning Center’s forest in Sunitsch Canyon Leavenworth, WA By: Christina Davis The history of Sunitsch Canyon extends further into the past than the incorporation of Washington State. Mathias Sunitsch, originally from Austria, established his homestead on the land in 1888, then considered Washington Territory. Sunitsch’s barn, built in 1912, still stands on the property today. Although over a century has passed, a reverence for the land once held by an Austrian immigrant can still be felt in the present operations at Sunitsch Canyon and Tierra Learning Center. Tierra Learning Center was established at Sunitsch Canyon in 2001 when Gracie
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