A Field Guide to Harvest Equipment
The forests of the Pacific Northwest are teeming with movement and noise—not all of it animal in origin! Stroll through an NNRG member forest undergoing an ecological harvest or thinning and you might catch a glimpse of one of these logging machines (don’t forget to wear appropriate safety-gear!). Feller-Buncher IDENTIFYING MARKS: An operator cab on wheels or tracks with a tree-grabbing hydraulic arm furnished with a chain-saw, circular saw or a shear.DIET: Uncut treesFEEDING BEHAVIOR: Arm with felling head attachment reaches toward a single tree or group of trees and holds the tree stem(s) with small grappling arms while a sawblade
Seeing the Forest for the Tech
Advances in tech seem to happen so rapidly it can be hard to keep up. Super-efficient heavy machinery, digital applications, remote sensing & mapping tools, and drone technology have changed the way we manage forests.
Beavers, Bobcats, and Bears, Oh My!
If a bear ambles through a forest while no one’s watching, was it really there? Thanks to wildlife cams — and our understanding of the metaphysical possibility of unperceived existence — we know that bear was really there!
Resources for building wildlife nesting & roosting boxes
In Pacific Northwest forests, dead wood works wonders for wildlife. But when there isn’t enough naturally occurring dead wood around, you might need to do some woodworking yourself. Wood duck carefully inspecting a nesting box. Photo by Mark Biser. Snags—standing dead or dying trees—are important forest structures for cavity-dependent birds and small mammals, food sources for woodpeckers and other foragers, and slowly release nutrients into the ecosystem with the help of decomposers. But second and third-growth forests often lack sufficient snags because they were removed during previous intensive forest management, or the few remaining are in advanced stages of decay.
Stossel Creek Case Study: Adaptive Restoration for Pacific Northwest Forests
Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest A changing climate can lead landowners to wonder how to increase the resilience of lands and forests to changing conditions around heat and moisture. The question is no longer if the climate is changing, but rather how fast and how much – and what the impact will be on local forests. Our current forest management practices rely on some basic assumptions about climate, especially around temperature and precipitation. While projections will shift with time and vary by site, on average the future climate in the Pacific Northwest is expected to be warmer with drier
Workshop: Improving Forest Health and Fire Resistance in a Changing Climate – San Juan Island
Learn DIY strategies for stewarding a healthy forest in the San Juans! Many forest owners across San Juan County are interested in taking a hands-on approach to improving the health, resilience and productivity of their forests, but lack the information, skills and resources to do so. At this hands-on workshop at Red Roof Acres, local and regional experts will introduce forest owners to simple, do-it-yourself strategies for thinning their forests, mitigating slash and creating value-added products. The majority of this workshop will take place in the forest, teaching participants hands-on how to evaluate forest conditions, select trees for harvesting, and
Women in the Woods: Then and Now
Here we are at the beginning of National Women’s History Month, this Sunday is International Women’s Day (March 8th), and it feels like the right time to shout from the rooftops how important women are to sustaining healthy forests. That fact doesn’t change when March ends — so we promise not to stop shouting it!
Meet NNRG Forester Marcia Rosenquist!
This January NNRG was lucky enough to add Marcia Rosenquist to its forestry team. Marcia works with forest landowners to create ecological forest management plans based on their goals and objectives. She’s improving the health and resilience of Pacific Northwest forest land one small parcel at a time!
