Tag: Sustainable forest management

Spring: Forestry through the Seasons

It’s nearly officially spring, so get ready to greet the return of the growing season! Each season presents the best time to conduct different stewardship activities. Timing your forest management for the ideal season will help you achieve success and avoid setbacks. This page provides tips to help you make the most of stewarding your forest in spring. As a reminder, bird nesting season begins around March 15th, so try to avoid any major timber management until chicks have left their nests around mid- to late-June. By spring, the window for planting is closing: make sure you get your tree seedlings

Helping Your Forest Through Dry Times

The drier and hotter years ahead don’t have to spell trouble for the forests you steward. From recognizing and responding to drought stress in trees to planting tree species from other regions, there are steps you can take to mitigate the impacts of climate change in your forest.

Making Forests Healthier and Fire-Safe in the San Juan Islands

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

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

Oregon Native Bee Atlas

Bees need our help. Just five years ago Oregon saw a major bee die off, and pollinator populations continue to decline around the world. “We have more species of bees in the Pacific Northwest than all the states in east of the Mississippi,” says Andony Melathopoulos, a pollinator ecotoxicologist with OSU. “We really want to protect that endowment.” The Oregon Bee Project, a partnership bolstered by OSU Extension, Oregon Department of Agriculture, and Oregon Department of Forestry, is hard at work to prevent another die-off. The program engages communities about their local bees, provide diagnostic services for beekeepers to recognize emergent diseases,

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

Woody biomass trainings to reduce risks in the San Juan Islands

Landowners in San Juan County are addressing the unique challenges of managing island forests for both ecological health and economic viability. NNRG and our partners have worked with many island forests, conducting one-on-one site visits, developing management plans, hosting tours and classes. Increasingly, landowners have sought instruction on how to manage their overstocked stands for improved forest health. They are also looking for creative ways to use the excess woody material that is a byproduct of stand improvements and restoration treatments. In 2017, we hosted a series of workshops for forest owners interested in reducing risks to their woodlands and using the extra woody biomass

Carbon Assessment for Forest Owners

NNRG is working with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) to help unlock carbon markets for family forest owners. We recently completed a forest carbon assessment for our FSC-certified member Clyde Tree Farm. Prepared with data from this unique forest, the assessment offers a rough estimate of the current level of forest carbon storage in the tree farm, the amount of CO2 to be captured over 100 years, and the influence forest management may have on carbon storage going forward. The ability for trees and forests to sequester and store carbon for extended periods of

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

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:

Member Spotlight: Giving back to forest, creek, and community

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

Stewardship Assistance & Carbon Information for Family Forest Owners

The next application cutoff date is February 17, 2017 Northwest Natural Resource Group is collaborating with The Pinchot Institute for Conservation, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Ecotrust, and other partners on a USDA-funded project to unlock carbon markets for family forest owners. This program can provide landowners with an initial carbon assessment and a carbon inventory. The inventory measures how much carbon your forest is storing. The program is completely voluntary. The information prepared specifically for your land may be useful when planning the future of your forest. Applying for NRCS funds does not obligate landowners to any carbon programs. For forest owners who are interested

Workshop: You Bought a Forest, So Now What? – April 23 & 30

Owning forestland has been your dream, but now that the land is yours where do you start? This workshop will introduce you to the natural history and ecology of western Washington and Oregon forests and provide key information for starting to assess and manage your land. You’ll also come away with a framework of ideas, tasks, and resources to help meet your forest stewardship goals and enhance your ownership experience. Come learn from regional experts and local practitioners in this interactive class. Topics this class will cover include: Pacific Northwest forest ecology Tree identification and natural history of native

Workshop: Emerging Biofuel Options for San Juan Forests

Join us to learn about ways to improve your forest’s health and use low value wood! Register today: http://sanjuans-biofuels.eventbrite.com Often there are significant byproducts from forest management and restoration treatments that amount to slash and other woody biomass left on the ground. This low value material includes small diameter trees, limbs, needles, leaves, and other woody parts. Many forests in the San Juan Islands are severely overstocked with a considerable assortment of low value material that is a potential fire hazard and limits biodiversity. Learn what you can do with this non-commercial wood material. This workshop will present new ways to use

From stump to Stumptown

The farm-to-table movement resonates with citizens of the Pacific Northwest. We shop at local farmers markets, participate in CSAs, buy eggs from our neighbors who raise chickens. We care so much about where our food comes from – and its well-being – that the show Portlandia pokes fun at us Oregonians and Washingtonians wanting to “meet the chicken” on our plate. But can we extend the farm-to-table concept to the next level of sustainable sourcing? Forest-to-building? Stump-to-siding? Tree-to-floor? At NNRG, we believe it’s important to have confidence and take comfort in knowing where our wood products come from. Meeting the stump and walking through the forest from which the

Member Spotlight: Large woody debris & wetland restoration

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

Growing biologically rich forests for wildlife and income

On a beautiful summer day in early June, woodland owners gathered inside the library at Sedro-Woolley High School for the Managing for Timber and Wildlife workshop. The more than 20 participants were there to learn from Rolf Gersonde and Ken Bevis, two experts in the fields of silviculture and wildlife biology. Rolf Gersonde, a renowned silviculturist and researcher for the City of Seattle’s Cedar River Watershed presented first, focusing mainly on sustainable forest management practices. He explained that creating stands that are diverse in age, class, and species would not only serve as sanctuary to many different types of wildlife but would also

Funding Forest Stewardship – Enhance Forest Health

For the third installment in the Funding Your Forest series, we’re focusing on ways to improve the diversity and productivity of your forest. Stewarding a forest that is diverse in species, age and size classes, with appropriate stocking densities is beneficial to the entire ecosystem – supporting resilience to diseases and pests, and boosts overall productivity. So to speak – it diversifies your forest’s investment portfolio. The objective of enhancing forest health can be accomplished in a variety of ways and typically includes: pre-commercial thinning, planting native trees and shrubs, and removing invasive species – mechanically or chemically. For example, forest stand improvement (EQIP code 666), or pre-commercial thinning, entails removing individual trees