Get Outside! Enjoying FSC®-Certified Forests
We are fortunate that many Forest Stewardship Council®-certified forests in the Pacific Northwest are open for public enjoyment. These lands offer an opportunity for all of us to know what healthy forests look and feel like. Here’s a list of FSC-certified forests that are open to the public.
Where Certified Logs Come From … and Where They Are Sold
Across Oregon and Washington, more than 600,000 acres of forestland are certified as “well managed” by the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®). And yet, much of the wood harvested from these forests doesn’t make it to the consumer with its certification intact. In many cases, these logs are sold into the generic wood market and don’t receive any special recognition when turned into lumber, plywood, or furniture. For NNRG, with our 190,000-acre group certificate that now covers a larger area than any other in the Pacific Northwest, that is a grave disappointment, and it affects about 90 percent
Northwest Watershed Institute’s Tarboo Forest
Northwest Watershed Institute (NWI), a Port Townsend-based non-profit, leads the work to regrow old-growth forests in the uplands of Tarboo Creek and re-establish forested wetlands in the floodplain. Over the years, NWI has quilted together Tarboo Wildlife Preserve, 396 acres in the Tarboo valley near Quilicene, Washington.
Great Peninsula Conservancy
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
Using the SuperACE Tool for the Skokomish Tribe
Much of NNRG’s effort this spring has focused on our work for the Skokomish Tribe on the Tribe’s forestland located at the south end of Hood Canal. To help the Tribe achieve its management goals, we’ve completed a timber appraisal and are planning the first commercial thinning on tribal lands in a couple decades. NNRG is applying the “thin from below” method in the commercial timber harvest: harvesting smaller, suppressed trees and leaving the larger dominant trees with more light, space and nutrients to thrive. We’ll also be removing trees displaying signs of root rot to help reduce the spread of the
Cedar Row Farm
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
Learning Inventory Skills
We had a great time out in the woods last month sharing inventory techniques with forest owners on Lopez Island! Check out some more photos from the event.
Central Cascades Forest
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
