Tag: FSC certification

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

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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

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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

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Not Your Father’s Lumberjacks

Remember the Super-Axe-Hacker from The Lorax? The machine that could whack off four truffula trees with one smacker? Advances in logging technology have made this fantasy contraption a reality, with equipment like feller-bunchers, forwarders, skidders, and processors changing how we harvest. These machines can make ecological forestry better, efficiently and safely removing some trees while leaving others to continue providing wildlife habitat, clean water, carbon storage, and even beauty. Our Executive Director Seth Zuckerman shares his take on logging advances to a sold-out crowd at Ignite Seattle’s March event.

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Blakely Island Timber

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

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Forest Certification is a Global Movement

I’ll admit that I traveled to the worldwide General Assembly of the Forest Stewardship Council meeting last month in Vancouver, BC with a smidgen of skepticism. As I’ve re-immersed myself in ecological forestry since taking the helm at NNRG in June, I’ve been chagrined to learn that 15- and 20-year-old challenges are still dogging the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) in the Pacific Northwest: sparse interest from lumber mills and the difficulty connecting consumer demand with landowner supply — the so-called chicken-and-egg problem of certified wood markets. Of course, FSC certification has other kinds of value for our certified members. It

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By the Numbers: 2016 Accomplishments

2016 was an incredible year for Northwest Certified Forestry members and the forests they steward. Because of the dedicated community of ecologically-minded woodland owners, Pacific Northwest forests are healthier, more resilient homes for wildlife and people alike. Here are some highlights of our year: Accomplishments: We hosted 11 workshops on ecologically-based forest management, precision tree-felling, forest monitoring, and programs for natural resource professionals and engaged 267 participants. We conducted more than 92 site visits to forest landowners – including NCF members and beginning woodland owners. We completed 6 ecologically-based thinning projects across 65 acres We oversaw 4 forest restoration projects involving inter-planting, pre-commercial

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Stewardship: Just Call It Love

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:

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By the Numbers: 2015 Accomplishments

2015 was a productive year! Northwest Certified Forestry members showed their dedication to stewarding Pacific Northwest forests with ecologically-minded practices that contribute to the regional economy. We are so inspired by the forest stewards in our community who worked to enhance habitat for threatened and endangered species, remove invasive species, plant native seedlings and shrubs, pursue new markets, and do what it takes to nurture and sustain complex forest structure. Here are some highlights: Our Community 160 members across more than 162,000 acres in Washington and Oregon, More than 100 family forests and small businesses 12 youth camps and education centers 11

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Build Local Alliance’s Summer Tour – June 27

The Build Local Alliance (BLA) is a network of foresters, land stewards, millwrights, craftsmen, contractors, and architects interested in creating with wood from well-managed forests in Oregon and SW Washington. Each season BLA hosts a talk or field trip to connect our community of practitioners. We share ideas, showcase projects, and often enjoy well-crafted beer! NNRG is a supporting member of BLA. This summer, on June 27, we’ll be touring NestWood Forest in Corbett, OR and visiting some building projects in Portland that incorporated local wood. As always, there will be time to do some good networking. Space is limited, so register now to reserve your spot. Lunch

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Northwest Trek

Northwest Trek, Eatonville, WA By Jennifer Whitelaw Northwest Trek is a 723-acre wildlife park near Eatonville. 435 of those acres feature a fenced in free-roaming area where native Northwest animals can be viewed from a moving tram. Take the tour and you will hear about the animals from one of the naturalists on staff.  You will also hear about Northwest Trek’s efforts to steward their forest using sustainable forest management techniques. In 2008 Northwest Trek achieved FSC® certification, the highest environmental standard in the world for forest management, through the Northwest Natural Resource Group’s (NNRG) Northwest Certified Forestry program. The

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Wild Thyme Farm

Wild Thyme Farm, Oakville, WA By Jennifer Whitelaw John Henrickson’s land speaks to him, and he thinks more people should listen. “We need more people to develop that relationship – to fall in love with the land,” he said. The particular object of John’s affection is Wild Thyme Farm, a 150-acre forest in the Oakville area of the Chehalis River Valley. John hopes to expand the Wild Thyme Farm land holding in the future, but for now, the 150 acres, which he describes as more land than he and his brothers intended to buy in the first place, keeps him

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