Oregon Society of American Foresters

Like the Society of American Foresters, Weyerhaeuser is wrapping up the celebration of its 100th anniversary. And like many SAF members, we have taken time this year to reflect on our past and peer into the future. Where is forestry headed? Where do we think the industry will be in 10, 20, 30 or even 100 years out?

For our centennial, we adopted a new theme, "The Future is Growing." Not only is the future growing in the 100 million trees Weyerhaeuser plants annually, it is also growing because we're optimistic about the future of forest products.

Foresters, as caretakers of our nation's private and public forests, have reason to be optimistic as well. Dedicated professionals, foresters work within the environment to meet important human needs. Among the fruits of their labor are trees that provide wood for housing, paper for education and communication, and packaging to protect goods.

Two elemental forces will shape future forest management: events or circumstances we can control and those we can't. Among those we can control is our response to the public's concern about the environment.

Pressured by increasing urbanization and environmental concerns, the public now demands that forests be managed to sustain fish and wildlife, recreation, beauty and spiritual values - the same values John Muir expressed in 1912: "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike."

Weyerhaeuser first felt the shift in public values during the 1970s. The company had achieved success with its High Yield Forestry strategy begun in the 1960s to grow more wood per acre through intensive silviculture. But public pressure in Washington and Oregon during the early 1970s led to the development of new statewide forest practices laws and regulations. Development of Best Management Practices (BMPs) became an important undertaking in the southern states soon thereafter, in both cases directly influenced by the federal Clean Water Act amendments of 1972.

In response to this new regulatory environment, Weyerhaeuser modified its operational practices and strengthened the environmental science disciplines within its forestry research and development organization. Wildlife and fisheries biologists, hydrologists and aquatic biologists became as essential as soil scientists and silviculturists.

Environmental pressures intensified in the 1990s and we, with other landowners, faced the reality of threatened and endangered species listings, first with the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet, followed by the listing of many wild salmonid stocks throughout the Pacific Northwest.

We are encouraged that some environmentalists and academics are realizing that the "don't cut a tree" approach is the wrong track. Dr. Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace, declares it best on his website: "Trees are the answer!"

Dr. Syd Shea, principal adviser for the Government of Western Australia's Carbon Sequestration Project, says we need a "paradigm shift" in the way we view forestry, in part because,

With today's concerns about global warming, wood has a newly recognized competitive advantage in that it has neutral to negative CO₂ emissions;
Forests also have added value for their carbon sequestration attributes; and
Wood products are environmentally friendly, so logic tells us they must eventually replace unsustainable competitor products, such as masonry, aluminum and steel.

Weyerhaeuser and the industry continue to adapt to environmental concerns. And as our world becomes more connected, we believe future resource management will also be influenced by factors more outside our direct control, including consolidation, globalization of intensive forest management, technology and competing products.

Consolidation

Forest products is still one of the most fragmented of all industries, and fragmentation creates inefficiencies that hurt profitability.

The largest player - International Paper - has less than a four-percent share of the global market for pulp, paper and containerboard. The top five players in our industry account for only 13 percent of market share.

Consolidation is one way to improve efficiency; thus foresters may find themselves working for one company one day and another the next. That kind of change shouldn't affect the basic mission of forest management, but we should acknowledge that any change is distracting.

These days, a company must choose between being a consolidator or a consolidatee. Weyerhaeuser is choosing the former and plans to continue being a major player in what is now a global industry.

Globalization of Intensive Forest Management

Clearly, wood fiber is a global commodity. World population growth will accelerate demand for wood fiber. Pulp, paper and packaging growth will be higher in the developing world than in the industrialized world over the next 10 years. For instance, a Chinese citizen uses less than a tenth of the 750 pounds of paper an American uses annually, and a Brazilian even less.

To meet the demand of an increasing population, application of fast-growing plantation technology around the world has enabled three- to five-fold increases in land productivity. In the future, the world's commodity-based fiber needs will be derived primarily from plantation sources. Increasingly, the Southern Hemisphere is gaining importance as a significant source of lower cost fiber - some forecasters say from 15-20 percent today to 40 percent in 30 years - of both softwood and hardwood. The global opportunities of intensive forest management are obvious.

The highly productive forests of the future will be managed in the context of a regional landscape where environmental values are managed and protected.

Technology

Technology will help drive consolidation and globalization. USA Today estimates that the Internet is on the verge of carving more than $1 trillion from the $7 trillion companies spend purchasing components, supplies and services worldwide. By 2003, more than 54 percent of business-to-business commerce will be electronic, up from only 15 percent today.

Weyerhaeuser is counting on this trend, and with partners International Paper and Georgia-Pacific, has invested $51 million in ForestExpress.com, a new independent and inclusive electronic marketplace for buyers and sellers. Aimed at streamlining business transactions, ForestExpress will make it easier than ever to buy forest products. ForestExpress will be operational in late 2000 and through it, Weyerhaeuser will offer fine papers, recycled fiber, building materials and pulpwood/chips.

Competing Products

One of the biggest threats to our future business success is coming from aggressive campaigns by the manufacturers of wood substitutes - especially concrete, plastics and steel.

The steel industry has launched a campaign to promote steel building products. Their TV ads strike at the hearts of consumers by asking, "Should you frame a house by clearcutting an acre of trees or by using steel recycled from six old cars?" Their clear implication is that steel is the better environmental choice. They couldn't be more wrong! Steel depletes finite resources and takes enormous amounts of energy to produce. Wood, on the other hand, is reusable, recyclable and renewable and requires far less energy to manufacture.

As an industry, we're joining forces under the Wood Promotion Network to defeat the false claims of competing materials. To date, 88 companies have pledged to support a multi-year, multi-million dollar communications effort to position wood as a superior building material that comes from forests that are abundant and growing.

Conclusion

These four factors - consolidation, globalization of intensive forest management, technology and competing products - are largely economic and largely out of our direct control. Yet, we must be aware of them, study how they will influence our future, and determine our response.

More importantly, and more within our direct sphere of influence, we must continue to strive for balance between the economic, environmental and social objectives of forest management to remain viable. The public must be confident in our competence.

In the United States, we must work with our industry nationwide to demonstrate the effectiveness of AF&PA's Sustainable Forestry Initiative™, in improving on-the-ground results and building public confidence in private forestry. By policing ourselves - and exposing the bad actors - we will continue to gain credibility.

Achieving balance across the landscape of environmental values and global economic forces is the fertilizer that will make this industry= and the forestry profession - truly a growing proposition.

Richard E. Hanson is senior vice president, Timberlands, Weyerhaeuser, Federal Way, Washington.

The Changing Future Prospects for the Pacific Northwest Forest Sector

by Richard W. Haynes

The past decade has seen a rapid evolution in land stewardship issues in the Pacific coast states where foresters have attempted to balance concerns about fitness and diversity of ecosystems with socioeconomic concerns. While this shift has resulted in more than a 50 percent decline in federal harvests in the past decade (close to 90 percent in some parts of the Pacific Northwest), it has influenced both harvest on and management of private timberlands. These public harvest declines have altered the timber supply prospects and have encouraged the industry to find and use alternative sources of supply. They have also changed trade patterns around the Pacific Rim.

A revised view of the future wood availability in the Pacific coast states is emerging from work being conducted for the latest periodic long-range assessments of timber supply and demand conducted by the USDA Forest Service. These assessments provide information for stewardship and management decisions in both the public and private sectors. Like any view of the future, it is dependent on assumptions such as the continuation of the trends in economic growth experienced during the last several decades.

At the national level, both consumption of forest products and demand on U.S. timberlands increases by 34 percent. Total roundwood harvest in the United States is projected to increase from 18.2 in 1997 to 23.5 billion cubic feet in 2050. Comparing 1997 and 2050, softwood harvest is projected to increase 32 percent to 14.1 billion feet and hardwoods 25 percent to 9.4 billion cubic feet. Softwood timber inventories increase by 56 percent and hardwood inventories increase by 23 percent. While softwood inventories increase in all regions there are regional differences for hardwoods including declines in the Southern hardwood inventories. Per capita consumption of roundwood (measured on a tonnage basis is about one ton per person per year) remains constant over the projection period. Product prices are expected to be roughly constant at current levels for both solidwood and paper and board products.

The United States will increase its dependence on domestic sources for most of its roundwood needs. Imports amount to 19 percent of consumption in 2050 as compared with 23 percent in 1996. Exports amount to 11 percent of production in 2050 as compared with 15 percent in 1996. The bulk of the nation's timber harvest will occur in the East (80 percent in 1996 and 81 percent in 2050) and especially in the South (59 percent in 1996 and 56 percent in 2050). Sawtimber prices are expected to stabilize after increasing in the 1990s. Market-based adjustments, mostly on private timberlands, are able to meet expected increases in U.S. consumption. Stumpage markets in the west will continue to be weak for small diameter logs. By 2050, roughly two-thirds of the softwood timber harvest comes from plantations (primarily in the South) on less than 20 percent of the timberland base.

Patterns of production for solid wood products are expected to change: structural panels largely displace softwood plywood, hardwood lumber production grows more slowly than softwood lumber production, softwood lumber imports from Canada rise in the near term, and after 2015 softwood lumber production increasingly shifts to the South and the Pacific Northwest.

What do these projections mean for the Pacific Northwest? In some ways these projections portray a resurgence of the forest sector in the Pacific Northwest. But it is different than the one we saw in the 1970s and 1980s. First, it is mostly based on private lands and relatively young timber. Second, product production focuses on solidwood commodities for the domestic market. Plywood production falls by 85 percent from the late 1970s. Lumber production by 2020 regains the levels of the early 1990s and continues to increase to 11.3 billion board feet in 2050. Exports of logs and lumber remain at today's relatively modest levels.

The resurgence in sawtimber harvest and lumber production results from expanding harvest levels on private timberlands. These increases are a function of an aging private inventory that after 2010 has larger proportions of the inventory approaching minimum harvest age (40 years of age).

In terms of land management relatively constant real stumpage prices emphasize shorter rotations and management practices with near-term returns. In terms of concerns about sustainable forest management, we see the emergence of a bimodal forest resource base with evident shortages of stands in the 40-80 year range. The majority of younger stands (< 40) are on private land located typically at lower elevations and older (> than 80) on public land typically in higher elevations and headwater areas. Broadly speaking, inventory levels generally increase but there is likely to be local concerns over perceived age gaps.

Richard W. Haynes is an economist with the Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Portland, Oregon.

Guest Editorial: SAF in 50 Years

by John Perez-Garcia

I've been asked to respond to the question: "What role do you see SAF playing in the next 50 years?" As a student member of SAF during the 1970s, and one that has been in the profession during the past 25 years, I volunteered to answer this question. I did reestablish my connection to SAF about 10 years ago, but did not continue. I am not a current member by choice, since I have found SAF to offer very little to me.

From the outside, I view SAF as having a stagnant future. I believe there is a need to change, from accreditation (which may no longer be the driving force behind some curricula at universities) to meeting the challenge of bringing in new students and the society in general into forestry discussions. I believe that for SAF to survive, it will need to look outward, not inward.

What I have done for the past 10 years is make projections of what the future might look like in the forest products sector. Making projections with computer models are quite easy. What becomes difficult is to correctly predict the future. I learned early on that projections about the future of the forest products markets are always wrong. For the most part, assuming your model is correctly formulated, the projections are wrong because variables affecting the future do not behave as one assumes. The key to making good predictions is to understand the possible different behaviors of influential variables. Then, if one can manage these variables, you can get to a projected future. The forest economy has too many variables to manage to allow any predictability of the future. However, I believe SAF is less complicated.

Student Enrollment: The forestry sector is dynamic. It responds to societal changes that include a wealthier population and a more service-oriented economy. These changes imply a diminished role for forestry in the United States. These changes are reflected in student enrollments. In the Pacific Northwest, forest management students are fewer relative to other career choices made by graduating high school students. Coincidently, the enrollment tracks very nicely timber harvest and prices in the West. A smaller forestry class implies a smaller SAF in the future. However, I believe student enrollments can be managed.

Society's View of Forestry: We have friends who love to kayak and have a pair of beautiful wooden kayaks. Yet they are staunch tree huggers. During a dinner conversation on the spotted owl, which they want protected at the cost of not cutting trees, I asked them where they thought their kayaks came from. They had little clue that their kayaks once were living trees and replaced by seedlings. This detachment of society from the forestry profession and its wise use of forest resources lowers the perception of what forest management, foresters and SAF can do. Educating the general society can be managed.

The two factors above are related. A new generation of students entering a profession would feel a sense of future in their careers if society at large supports them. You cannot have one without the other. I believe the role of SAF in the next 50 years is to manage society's perception of the profession and attract budding new foresters to it. Perhaps you can prove the predictions wrong.

John Perez-Garcia is an associate professor in Forest Economics, Center for International Trade in Forest Products, University of Washington, Seattle. He can be reached at perjohm@u.washington.edu.

SAF and the Future of Forestry

by Jay O'Laughlin

In 2050, people trust foresters with stewardship of all the world's forested lands. Because foresters know how to attain management objectives under difficult operating conditions, they hold leadership positions in many business, government and civic organizations. By ensuring that forestry is grounded in science, the SAF helps members maintain professional credibility. People view comments on forestry by non-SAF members as skeptically as faith healers' comments on medicine.

Global challenges

The daunting challenge of managing forests to meet peoples' needs increases with each additional person. Today's population of six billion people will increase to 8 to 9 billion in 50 years, approaching Earth's apparent carrying capacity of 10-11 billion. By then all nations are responsible members of the global community. By requiring our forests to provide enough timber to meet domestic demand for wood-based commodity products, the American Forest Policy Act of 2020 demonstrates perfect vision. This law is also a catalyst for international cooperation.

The SAF, cooperating with other professions, redesigned the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation. Its overall goal is maximizing human dignity through integrated natural resources knowledge and management strategies. Means to that end include programs to help other nations by facilitating short- and long-term international exchanges of scientists and managers.

In 2050, people everywhere want proof that timber harvesting causes no irreparable environmental damage. To provide such assurance, the SAF endorses several forest management certification programs offering "green labels" affixed to wood-based products. These programs rely on foresters helping government agencies and non-governmental forest owners with sustainable forest management, which means "good" forestry practices that are ecologically sound, economically viable and socially desirable. Forests provide much more than wood, and people trust foresters because they demonstrate respect for all forest values.

Professionalism

Foresters are bonafide professionals providing benefits to society beyond earning a paycheck. A profession serves a clear social purpose and adheres to a code of conduct. For example, physicians help people maintain good health, and take an oath to do no harm. In the future, SAF members are guided by similarly concise statements of purpose and action.

A profession has specialized training and credentials. In 2050, forestry education continues to evolve under SAF standards, and SAF has helped each state design and implement credentialing programs. People are thus assured that forestry practices are based on the latest scientific knowledge and conform to social values embodied in federal, state and local laws.

The SAF is a force in shaping public policy consistent with forestry's scientific base. Because it is effective, the SAF's policy position-taking process is emulated by other natural resources professional organizations.

Preparing for the Future

Each forester has a role in setting the profession's course. For example, I see the need for a comprehensive American Forest Policy Act. Work toward big ideas. Remember the Apollo Program? Its goal was simple: Land a man on the moon. Implementation details were sorted out later.

Trees are the answer. Tell people that. Demonstrate how active forest management provides many benefits for people. Provide assurance that environmental impact mitigation is science-based. Point out the ecological, economic and social consequences of inaction. Then remind people: Trees are the answer.

Jay O'Laughlin is professor, Department of Forest Resources, and director, Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Policy Analysis Group, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow.

Rise to the Challenge

by Leslie Batten

We, the Society of American Foresters, are celebrating our 100-year anniversary this final year of the millennium, and we find ourselves celebrating myriad successes. We also find ourselves in a quandary because these successes we're so proud of are not always viewed in the same light by the rest of society. Being a good forester today is not the same as being a good forester even 30 years ago. And it doesn't look as though we're ever going to return to "the good old days" where we were solitary souls in the forest, doing our work well and proudly. Not only are we having to learn more about ecology, fisheries, wildlife, recreation and other resource areas, we're also having to learn about negotiation...and changing values...and adaptation...and how public perceptions and needs are just as diverse as the ecosystems we manage.

I see these changes as indicative of not only the direction SAF needs to move in to remain relevant and viable, but as necessary to survive. Nothing stays the same forever, not even trees. Yes, we can grow trees well and fast, we can harvest responsibly, and we can protect the environment we work in. But we're asked to see the forest for more than just the trees, and as forestry professionals, this is one of our greatest challenges.

What will SAF's role be 50 years from now? I see one distinct direction we can't go, and two that we can.

I know that we can't keep saying, "We know how to manage timber production and therefore know everything worth knowing about managing forests." This approach will doom us to forever losing battles over the management of forests. The public generates an insatiable demand for lumber and wood products and, at the same time, demands that some forests be left untouched. Our elected representatives want to pass strict environmental protections without slowing the flow of timber-sale revenues. We foresters find ourselves caught in the middle of conflicting demands and are frustrated that our advice isn't heeded. What we don't hear is what the public is thinking when they ignore us: "You know how to manage timber, but the question isn't how should this forest be managed for timber, it's how much of this forest should be managed for timber. So your advice isn't relevant."

We could, once and for all, define ourselves as timber managers: nothing more and nothing less. This would keep us comfortable in the realm we know best, and would ensure our relevance, as timber will always need to be managed, but will leave us managing the timber that somebody else decides should be managed, and managing it to meet their goals.

Or, we could instead become forest managers, integrating all the professions that contribute to the successful management of forests. The Society of American Foresters could become the Society of Professional Foresters, a global professional society, integrating our knowledge and expertise with other natural resource professions. Our mission will be global in scope and practice. Our members will be certified. We will manage the land for more than timber production.

Not only do I believe we will rise to this challenge, I believe that we will be a much stronger Society when we do.

Leslie Batten is the chair-elect of the Oregon SAF. She can be reached at leslieb@swiftnet.com.

Does Forestry Have a Future?

by W.D. Hagenstein

With the acceleration of anti-forestry propaganda almost daily, one wonders if our profession can continue to do its stuff. With self-anointed environmental groups waging war against timber growing, protection and harvesting, can we continue to provide materials for homes, replace the harvest by reforestation, and prevent and control the threat to trees from fire and pests as we've been doing for a century?

Colonel W.B. Greeley, one or our most eminent forestry pioneers, once said, "Public policy is the most controversial phase of forestry." It was so in American forestry's beginning when Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot scared our country into forestry to prevent the loudly heralded timber famine. But because the country was convinced that forestry was good, the forestry profession turned to and brought about effective protection against fire, which made reforestation feasible and beautifully greened up America. Concurrently, forestry education and research was started, expanded and improved to train foresters to do all the things essential for successful management.

The Society of American Foresters played a leading role in the nation's march into forestry for a century. The big question now is whether we can continue our leadership in this century. Will we be allowed to practice our profession for the benefit of consumers or get hung up on the shoals of politically prescribed ecosystem management? Retired Associate Chief of the Forest Service George Leonard, in an interview in Forest History Today said, "Ecosystem management had the benefit that almost everybody was in favor of it. It had the drawback that nobody really knew what it meant."

But most foresters know that if we grow, protect, harvest and replace trees we are practicing the principal purpose of our profession. If the United States wants its foresters to continue to perform scientifically and economically for everyone, then our forestry schools must get back to the kind of forestry education that enabled our profession to make as much progress in forestry in its first century as it took Europe 200 years to accomplish before 1900.

If we convince the public, politicians and pundits that forestry is good America then we have a bright future. Otherwise forestry will be mortgaged beyond the nation's ability to pay which will presage a completely unnecessary timber famine, forest destruction by uncontrolled fires and pests, and diminishing of all the byproducts of good forestry - water, wildlife and recreation.

So the Society of American Foresters has its challenge for the 21st Century right there for all to see. Let's get with it!

W.D. Hagenstein is a consulting forester in Portland, Oregon. He has been active in SAF since 1938, was elected a Fellow in 1963 and served two terms as SAF president.

Researchers Offer New Insights into Swiss Needle Cast

by R.H. Waring, Jim Boyle, Kermit Cromack, Jr., Douglas Maguire and Alan Kanaskie

Dangers of High Nitrogen Availability

Over the last decade, extensive areas of second-growth Douglas-fir growing in the Coast Range of Oregon and Washington have been infected by Swiss needle cast fungi (Phaeocryptopus gaeumannii) resulting in sustained premature loss of foliage and subsequent reduction in growth of many trees. In a region with such a favorable climate where the potential for tree growth is high, the availability of nitrogen in soils, in the form of ammonium and nitrate, is a good indicator of potential tree performance. Increasing the availability of nitrogen usually enhances conifer growth, but an excess of available nitrogen can lead to problems. When the ratio of nitrogen to other essential elements is unusually high, an imbalance occurs that may force trees to store excess nitrogen in their needles as soluble amino acids, a form which favors fungal growth.

Parts of the Coast Range have been covered with shrubs and nitrogen-fixing alder trees for extended periods, but much of this area has been converted since the 1960s into dense stands of young, fast-growing Douglas-fir. As a result, we speculate that the relative availability of nitrogen could have increased substantially and thus could lead to higher foliar amino acids and increased susceptibility to the Swiss needle cast fungus.

Here we share the first evidence that excess nitrogen may be contributing to the susceptibility of Douglas-fir to Swiss needle cast and invite forest owners to help us by testing more broadly the relationship between foliar nitrogen and needle retention presented in this paper.

Collection and Analysis of Foliage Samples

As part of a Swiss Needle Cast Cooperative research project, we collected samples of current year foliage during the dormant season from 25 widely dispersed Douglas-fir stands, along with observations on needle retention. We also sampled soils and obtained information available on the previous vegetation, site preparation and whether fertilizer had been applied. A report on these details will appear elsewhere. In this report we present a single relationship that establishes a threshold beyond which it appears that the concentration of nitrogen in foliage has few benefits to trees and may result in increased damage from the Swiss needle-cast disease.

Specifically, our samples indicate that where nitrogen concentration in Douglas-fir needles exceeded 1.4 percent of dry weight, needle retention was two years or less, compared to three or four years for other trees (Figure 1). Foliar nitrogen over the range from 0.8 to 1.4 percent can be expected to increase the photosynthetic capacity and wood growth. Higher concentrations of nitrogen in the foliage cause shifts in the allocation of resources away from feeder roots and mycorrhizal fungi, with the result that the uptake of other essential nutrients is restricted. In addition, excess nitrogen in the soil changes the acidity and leads to increasing nutrient losses through leaching.

Figure 1. When leaf nitrogen concentration was above 1.4 percent, leaf retention was reduced to two years or less in areas with severe Swiss needle cast disease.

Summary

The observed relationship among high amounts of nitrogen in soils, leaf retention and the concentration of foliar nitrogen is similar in some ways to conditions reported in the eastern United States and western Europe associated with the consumption of fossil fuels and the resulting emissions of nitrogenous byproducts into the atmosphere. In the Coast Range along the Pacific Ocean there are no significant sources of industrial or auto exhaust pollution. However, it is our working hypothesis that for our coastal forests conversion from deciduous vegetation rich in nitrogen to conifer plantations could create a situation similar to that induced from atmospheric deposition of nitrogen. Prescriptions to restore nutrient balance through selective fertilization, management of green and woody residues, and conversion to a mixture of less susceptible species await further research.

At this time, we encourage forest owners to sample foliage from their plantations and to inform us whether the preliminary relationship presented between needle retention and leaf nitrogen concentration is or is not sustained. Please submit results to Greg Filip, director of the Swiss Needle Cast Cooperative, Department of Forest Science, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331; greg.filip@orst.edu.

General References

ABER, J., ET AL. 1998. Nitrogen saturation in temperate forest ecosystems. BioScience 48:921-934.

WARING, R.H., and S.W. RUNNING. 1998. Forest Ecosystems: Analysis at Multiple Scales. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.

R.H. Waring, Jim Boyle, Kermit Cromack, Jr. and Douglas Maguire are with the College of Forestry at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Alan Kanaskie is a forest pathologist with the Oregon Department of Forestry in Salem.

Best Science Leads to a New Policy for Slope Stability

by L.M. Vaugeois and S.C. Shaw

About two years ago, new negotiations began between the Washington Timber, Fish & Wildlife (T/F/W) caucuses that ultimately resulted in new state forest practices regulations (Washington Forest Practices Board, April 2000). During these negotiations, it was recognized that the existing computer screen for slope stability used by the state in evaluating forest practices applications was not sufficient, and that several computer-based models of slope stability existed that might better identify areas of instability on the ground. However, these models had not yet been compared in terms of their predictive accuracy, management applicability and user-friendliness. This study, contracted by T/F/W and the Washington Forest Protection Association, was the first known effort in rigorously testing and comparing available models.

Two GIS (Geographic Information System)-based models that have been used in forest regulation and/or management to predict shallow landslides were evaluated: (1) a model created for use by foresters in the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (the Shaw-Johnson or SMORPH model); and (2) the Deitrich-Montgomery model, which has been nicknamed SHALSTAB. Other published models were reviewed but not tested fully due to availability or development issues.

The two tested models are similar in that they assume topography (i.e., hillslope gradient and curvature) strongly influence slope stability. They differ primarily in the sophistication with which physical parameters are addressed. These models were compared with the pre-existing screen (SOILS) that was derived from soil survey data and assumes that gradient and soil type are the only critical variables affecting slope stability.

SMORPH Model

The SMORPH model uses a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) to derive slope and curvature characteristics and then calibrates the slope-curvature measurements to slope stability via a formula involving measurements of landslide density. It is strongly influenced by the quality and resolution of the DEM. The model assumes that hillslope gradient and curvature are the principal driving factors in promoting shallow landslides, and that whether other factors, such as soil type and hydrology, promote landsliding depends on the steepness and concavity of the slope. These assumptions are based on studies that show that shallow landslides occur not only above certain threshold gradients in different soil types, but also in hillslope depressions (e.g., hollows and channels). Model output is expressed as a digital map layer showing relative areas of low to high landslide potential.

SHALSTAB Model

The SHALSTAB model also uses a DEM to derive slope and curvature characteristics, and likewise depends on DEM accuracy. This model also assumes that gradient and curvature drive slope stability, but additionally it contains placeholders for ongoing development of computer methods for addressing soil and hydrologic variability. Estimates of these parameters can be gleaned from existing soils data and used to calibrate the model. Model output is expressed as a digital map layer showing, for each area, the rainfall amount necessary to trigger landsliding. These data then need to be translated by the user into management terms (e.g., low to high landslide potential).

The purpose of the new landslide screen is to locate areas of potential instability for preliminary land management planning and for determining the appropriate class of forest practices. These models cannot be used alone to pinpoint exact locations of landslides because they describe only relative instability potential and rely on DEM data whose resolution is limited to areas larger than 900 square feet. However, they provide workers with a valuable tool to assist in locating and accurately mapping landslide features in the field, thereby substantially reducing resources spent in producing landslide inventories.

The two models and SOILS screen were tested in eight watersheds in western Washington¹. These watersheds were chosen to represent major, geologically distinct areas and incorporated over 2,500 known existing landslides.

As a test of model accuracy and geographic applicability, we statistically compared: (1) the field-generated landslide inventory with model predictions of landslide occurrences; and (2) existing hazard-zonation maps (e.g., field-generated maps of relative landslide potential) with model predictions of low, moderate and high landslide potential.

Statistical analyses suggest that both the SMORPH and SHALSTAB models are better than 90 percent accurate in predicting the spatial distribution of known, existing landslides and mapped areas of potential landslide hazard. The SMORPH model correctly predicted 97 percent of the total existing landslides, compared with 92 percent for the SHALSTAB model and 68 percent for the SOILS screen.

Based on these and other results of the study, T/F/W recommended, and the state legislature adopted, requirements that the existing slope stability screen be replaced by a new one created with the SHALSTAB or SMORPH model. Both are demonstrably accurate in predicting the location of known, existing landslides, suggesting that these GIS-based models can provide a reliable means for screening landscapes to locate potentially unstable slopes. This new slope stability screen will be used in forest practices application processing in western Washington beginning January 1, 2001.

References

¹SHAW, S.C. AND L.M. VAUGEOIS, 1999. Comparison of GIS-based models of shallow landsliding for application to watershed management. Timber/Fish/Wildlife report TFW-PR10-99-001, Wash. Dept. Natural Resources, Forest Practices Div., Box 47012, Olympia, WA. 98504; 104 pp.

Laura M. Vaugeois is a geologist/GIS specialist for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources in Enumclaw, and Susan C. Shaw is a geomorphologist with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

Editor's note: The Oregon Department of Forestry has developed Debris Flow Hazard Maps for western Oregon. These maps are based on slope steepness and channel characteristics. Proposed revisions to the Oregon Forest Practices Act may utilize these maps for slope instability hazard and risk management. The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries is currently mapping areas prone to rapidly moving landslides for the purposes of siting structures in western Oregon. These maps will have implications for forest management activities in western Oregon.

Tokarczyk Receives National Award

Each year, the Society of American Foresters (SAF) recognizes individual members for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the forestry profession. Receiving one of the eight awards this year is Portland Chapter member Bob Tokarczyk. All award winners were honored during the 2000 national convention in Washington, D.C. last month.

Bob Tokarczyk of Vancouver, Washington, received the John A. Beale Memorial Award for ongoing, outstanding efforts in forestry promotion through voluntary service to SAF. Presented annually, the award consists of an engraved plaque and a $500 honorarium.

Bob spent 35 years with the USDA Forest Service starting as a junior forester on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and completing his career as its supervisor during the volcanic activity of Mount St. Helens. Since joining SAF in 1959, Bob helped form SAF's Columbia Gorge Chapter and the first Leadership Training Conference for Oregon SAF. He served as chair of four committees for the 1983 SAF National Convention in Portland, Oregon, and was a member of the Convention Steering Committee and Arrangements Team for the 1999 SAF National Convention also held in Portland. He served as executive director of the Western Forestry and Conservation Association for six years and was manager of the SAF Northwest Office and editor of the Western Forester. In 1983, Bob was elected as a Fellow of SAF, the highest level of recognition from SAF. He received the Oregon SAF Tough Tree award (1982) and the Oregon SAF Lifetime Achievement Award (1994).

Other 2000 award recipients are as follows:

Timothy Gregoire, Yale University, Award in Forest Science
Ellis Cowling, North Carolina State University, Barrington Moore Memorial award
Burton Barnes, University of Michigan, Carl Alwin Schenck award
Michael Virga, American Forest and Paper Association, Young Forester Leadership award
James Finley, Penn State, Technology Transfer and Extension award
William Wade Keye, vice chair, Northern California SAF, Outstanding Forestry Journalism award
Harold (Pete) Steen, Forest History Society (retired) Sir William Schlich Memorial award

For additional information on the award winners and descriptions of the awards, see pages 6-7 of the October Forestry Source or access the SAF web page.

Cafferata and Parent Named Outstanding Field Foresters

The Society of American Foresters has taken the opportunity during its centennial year to recognize members who actively practice professional forestry in the field by naming outstanding field forester achievements awards. Practitioners are the true foundation of the forestry profession, yet SAF does not have any national recognition of the outstanding efforts and accomplishments of this large segment of the Society.

Using presidential prerogative, 11 members, one from each SAF district, were selected to receive awards in 2000. Due to the regional differences in both application intensity and regulations affecting forestry operations, the award recipients were selected on a regional basis. Award winners were recognized at the SAF National Convention in Washington, D.C. last month.

Dennis Parent, forest operations manager for the Inland Empire Paper Co. in Spokane, Wash., received the Presidential Field Forester award for District 1 covering the Washington State, Inland Empire and Alaska societies. Dennis is responsible for industrial timber management on 114,000 acres of timberland in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington. Over the years he has used sound, scientific methods and adaptive management strategies in the areas of timber inventory, cruising, regeneration surveys, plantation survival, silvicultural prescriptions, herbicide application, artificial pruning and tree improvement. Dennis has been an SAF member since 1968 and has held office at the state level.

Receiving the award for District 2, which encompasses the Oregon Society, was Steve Cafferata, area forester for the Springfield Timberlands organization at Weyerhaeuser Company. The Emerald Chapter nominated him. Steve has spent the last 30 years applying forest science, research, knowledge, skill and art to Weyerhaeuser's tree-growing operations throughout the Northwest. An active sharer of knowledge, his areas of expertise include silviculture, fire, insect and disease protection and management, soils, wildlife management and applied research. He is a respected and credible leader in forestry, and is also active in promoting forestry education efforts at both the local and state level with the Boy Scouts and Pleasant Hill High School. Steve is a 34-year member of the SAF and has served in numerous chapter offices.

Congratulations to Dennis and Steve for their dedication to their profession, as well as their uncommon talent and innovative methods used to achieve a record of excellence in the application of forest management.

State of Washington Proclamation

WHEREAS, forests provide us with countless benefits such as clean water and air, wildlife and aquatic habitat, recreation, scenic beauty, paper products, building materials, jobs; and

WHEREAS, the benefits of forests extend across human generations through the careful management and conservation of this unique renewable resource; and

WHEREAS, a large part of the state of Washington is forested, and forestry is a profession that is dedicated to the care and conservation of our forests; and

WHEREAS, graduate foresters from institutions such as the University of Washington, Washington State University, Green River Community College and other forestry colleges worldwide work for a diversity of employers in our state such as state, federal, county and city agencies, industrial forests, tribes, and small landowners; and

WHEREAS, this is the 100th birthday of the Society of American Foresters;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gary Locke, governor of the State of Washington, do hereby proclaim November 30th, 2000, as

Washington State Society of American Foresters Day

in Washington State on the occasion of their Centennial and encourage all citizens to express their appreciation for their contributions to the health and economy of our state.

Signed this 9th day of October, 2000

Governor Gary Locke

SAF Chapter Meetings Provide Great Opportunities

by Rick Barnes

As the 2000 chair of Oregon SAF, I set a personal goal of visiting each chapter at least once during the year. My main purpose in attending these meetings was to get input from our members to help assure that SAF is being responsive to our members needs. This input is extremely valuable as we set goals, develop policy and make plans for the future. In addition to meeting this goal, attending these meetings have been extremely rewarding to me. I have had the opportunity to visit and network with friends in our profession that I seldom have the privilege of seeing. I have also made many new friends and contacts along the way.

As I have visited the chapters, I was continually impressed with the educational opportunities the chapter meetings provide. I attended a great presentation on current activities in forest genetics, toured a small-specialized hardwood manufacturing factory, saw a presentation on computer software available to conduct resource analysis on the landscape scale, and learned about recent data and ideas for managing alder. The list goes on and on - and all of this was for the price of a meal!

I have thoroughly enjoyed attending the chapter meetings and have benefited from them immeasurably. Chapters are doing a great job of providing opportunities to visit and network with fellow professionals as well as supplying educational opportunities. It is our responsibility as professionals to stay current on forestry research and issues that affect us. I urge all of you to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the chapters and attend your monthly meetings.

WSSAF to Meet in Ocean Shores

by Stan Blinks

Plan now to attend the 2001 annual meeting of the Washington State SAF at the Shilo Inn in Ocean Shores on May 23-25. Many recreational opportunities will provide a backdrop for what promises to be a dynamite program and field trips. The Southwest Washington Chapter is hosting the event.

The theme, Public Influences/Management Responses, is high on our list of all management considerations. Invited speakers include the new Public Lands commissioner and private and public leaders that will provide their perspectives.

The convention committee meets monthly to discuss new developments and options, finances and exhibitor status. Contributions are allowing for reduced registration rates. The field trips will be van style and small in size. The speaker's presentations will be designed to complement the field tours. A public exchange between SAF members and public users of the Ocean Shores facilities is planned in a barbecue setting. Exhibits will provide opportunities to view new product developments in the broad field of forestry.

A modern facility, the Shilo is offering a room rate of $109 per night with an opportunity to extend into the Memorial Day weekend. Reservations are currently being accepted.

Spouses and children are encouraged to attend and will be provided for with a spouses luncheon, hospitality room hosted by the state society, and the shops of Ocean Shores. The Quinault recreation center provides another option for all to enjoy. Kite season is always present and the nightlife provides a great choice for sampling local food options.

Stan Blinks is the publicity chair for the WSSAF annual meeting. He can be reached at stanserve@myhome.net.

Inland Empire Meeting to Focus on Fire

Fire Season 2000 - What Happened, What is Next? is the theme of the Inland Empire SAF annual meeting to be held February 13-14 at the Coeur d'Alene Inn.

The program will look at forest fires from several aspects including their effects and impacts on the forests, communities and agencies of Idaho and Montana. Key on-the-ground firefighters will be invited to share their experiences of the season.

Various forest management strategies and the effects those strategies might have had in a season such as 2000 will be discussed, as will current research in the role of fire, fire history studies and fire risk studies. A look at strategies that different landowners have employed to deal with the risk of fire in the long-term will also be addressed.

Next, the program will look at the job facing the various agencies and landowners as a result of these fires in terms of rehabilitation, salvage and other tasks. The meeting will conclude with a discussion of the role of SAF in the debates that have been fueled by the fires and their effects; long-term strategies that are appropriate in forests where fire is a natural and frequent visitor; and appropriate approaches in dealing with the aftermath of seasons such as was experienced in 2000.

For additional information, contact Ed Miles at 509.489.1232.

Mentors wanted for ASE Program

The Saturday Academy Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering (ASE) Program at the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology is calling for science and engineering professionals to serve as mentors for the Summer 2001 program. The ASE program combines job application, competition, performance and results reporting in a comprehensive summer experience for high school students to test and refine their interest in science.

ASE was initiated in 1990 to address the growing concern over the quantity, quality and cultural/gender diversity of our nation's future technical work force. ASE has grown from 36 student apprentices in the first year to 201 students in the summer 2000 program. The number of mentoring organizations has grown to 85. In its 11-year history the program has provided 1,800 students with a hands-on eight-week apprenticeship with practicing professionals in science and engineering disciplines. These students have been drawn from a pool of over 8,000 applicants from across Oregon and southwest Washington.

Many students with the potential to excel in science or engineering have only a general idea of what a career in these fields entails. They have little or no contact with adult practitioners until they are well into college or beyond. ASE provides high school freshman, sophomores and juniors with exceptional opportunities in a professional, scientific or engineering environment.

Most practicing professionals can identify significant teachers, advisors or mentors that were instrumental in their successful pursuit of their own careers. Many don't have the time or student contacts to develop a comprehensive mentoring process as a way to return their own benefit to the coming generations. The ASE Program provides the infrastructure, contacts, program content and monitoring to facilitate mentor contributions to the education and training of the next generation of professionals.

Enlist as an ASE mentor now! You can join a group of peer professionals in contributing to the quality, quantity and diversity of the workforce of the future. Call 503.748.1215 or email ASE@admin.ogi.edu for information. The ASE program is further described on our web page with complete sample position descriptions by science discipline. The mentor registration deadline for the summer 2001 program is January 15, 2001.

Students Wanted

SAF members who have science-oriented high school students in their families or circle of friends are invited to have them apply for the positions in the program. ASE apprentices receive an eight-week comprehensive summer science experience, high school credit and a $1,400 summer stipend. Students who are in their freshman, sophomore or junior year are now eligible to apply for the summer 2001 program unless they have already been an ASE apprentice. Students can obtain application materials by calling ASE at 503.748.1215. The student application submittal deadline is January 31, 2001.

CINTRAFOR Names New Director

Paul Boardman, who has represented Washington state and the nation's forest-products industry in Japan since the early 1990s, has been named director of the Center for International Trade in Forest Products (CINTRAFOR) at the University of Washington's College of Forest Resources.

Boardman manages a staff and graduate students who conduct international market research of use to government, industry associations and businesses ranging from small, value-added companies to large integrated forest product companies.

For the past four years, Boardman worked in Japan for the American Forest and Paper Association. He established and was director of the association's Japan office, coordinated trade policy with the U.S. embassy, promoted the use of U.S. wood products and provided information about the Japanese market to U.S. producers.

Boardman grew up in Japan, the son of missionaries. He earned his bachelor's in history from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., and a master's in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.

As well as being director, Boardman has an appointment as a research professor with the UW's College of Forest Resources.

Bruce Lippke, the former director of CINTRAFOR, is director of the new Rural Technology Initiative, a cooperative program between the UW's College of Forest Resources and Washington State University to help rural communities deal with changing technology and land-use regulations.

NIPF Foresters Workshop Slated

Unique skills are required of individuals who help nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners manage their property. The 9th Annual NIPF Foresters Workshop is designed to strengthen the skills of consulting foresters, state-employed service foresters and other natural resource professionals who work with NIPF owners; and serve as a forum to provide updates on emerging technology and knowledge applicable to nonindustrial private forestry.

The Cooperative Extension programs of the University of Idaho and Washington State University jointly offer the NIPF Foresters Workshop. This year's program will be held at Coeur d'Alene Inn on Friday, January 26, 2001, from 8:00am to 4:00pm. Topics to be covered include emerging mill technologies and log specifications; the ecology and silviculture of cutting small trees; logging small trees - logistics and economics; lynx, hares and other early seral wildlife species; and the annual NIPF economics/policy update.

The program can accommodate up to 90 people. Registration forms are available at local UI and WSU Extension offices, and should be returned by January 19, 2001. A $38 pre-registration fee ($55 after Jan. 19) includes lunch and refreshments. For questions on the program, contact Chris Schnepf at 208.667.6426 or Peter Griessmann at 509.684.2588.

OSAF Foundation Forum

by Doug Brodie, OSAF Foundation Chair

Donors are Appreciated and Donations Appreciate

The Oregon Society of American Foresters Foundation (OSAFF) supports activities enhancing forestry and forestry education in Oregon. Interns spend summers at the SAF office in Bethesda, Maryland, students attend national conferences, and educational projects promoting forestry in Oregon are funded.

Annual grants to activities over the past 10 years have ranged from $1,200 to over $9,000 for a total of $46,000. Contributions over the 10 years have been about $66,500 with over $18,000 raised in 1990 and nearly $25,000 raised in 1995. The latter involved a major fund-raising effort by John Beuter and a matching grant from "Stub" Stewart. Excluding these major effort years, annual contributions have ranged from $1,200 to $4,200. Interest and market gain earned on the fund has exceeded donations over the past 10 years. Until recently, reporting of returns focused on a nominal guaranteed rate of 4.5 percent (i.e. money market rates). Recently, accounting practice has switched to reporting based on the market value of the portfolio. Using techniques learned by every forester in the first few weeks of financial analysis, their rate has been around 13 percent for the 10 years. Clearly, the Foundation appreciates its donors and the donations appreciate. Including contributions, the portfolio has accumulated at 17 percent per year compounded.

Oregon SAF Foundation
$43,356	OSAFF Assets as of January 1, 1990
$66,529	Contributions
$45,606	Cash Account Interest
-$45,887	Expenses
$103,959	Market Gain
$213,563	OSAFF Assets as of January 1, 2000

September/October 2000

A Refuge Perspective on Recreation

An Even More Humongous Fungus

Fee Access Program Successful for IP Pacific Timberlands

Forest Management in Oregon's State Parks

New Inventory Programs Announced

No Fee, No Fault

Recreation: It's a Tough Climb

Recreation on Oregon's State Forest Lands

Tillamook Forest Interpretive Center

Washington State SAF Centennial Story

Recreation: It's a Tough Climb

by Harv Forsgren

photo of Harv Forsgren Twenty-one cents won't buy you a cup of coffee, a newspaper, a telephone call or even a candy bar. Twenty-one cents doesn't buy too much these days, but that's what the USDA Forest Service receives from congressionally appropriated funds to provide a recreational visit to the national forests of Washington and Oregon. It doesn't sound like much, and it isn't. Thanks to our great employees, volunteers, partners and some innovative thinking, we are stretching our resources to provide the public with the best outdoor recreation experience possible. However, the Forest Service is not where it needs to be in serving the recreating public of the Pacific Northwest.

In the past decade recreation use on Washington and Oregon national forests has increased 30 to 40 percent. People are flocking to the Northwest because of our great quality of life, and outdoor recreation opportunities on our national forests are a big part of what draws and holds people here. Consider the magnitude and diversity of Northwest national forest recreation resources:

25 million acres of land...open to the public for recreation
21,500 miles of trails, including 1,350 developed trailheads
882 campgrounds (most with water systems, restrooms, picnic tables and other improvements)
40 day-use picnic areas
104 national historic sites
59 congressionally designated Wilderness areas, totaling 4.7 million acres
49 congressionally designated wild and scenic rivers
11 other congressionally designated areas including Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area and the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area
94,000 miles of roads provide access to diverse recreation opportunities
20 downhill ski areas
2,600 permitted private recreation residences
5 visitor centers
115 boat launches
20,000 miles of streams and 170,000 acres of lakes
More than 700 species of fish and wildlife, and hundreds of different wildflowers
50 mountain peaks over 8,000 feet in height

It is a long list, but one that helps explain why the national forests of Washington and Oregon hosted about 200 million recreation visits last year. Hikers, campers, skiers, snowmobilers, boaters, birdwatchers, anglers, hunters, swimmers, equestrians, mountain bikers, picnickers, all terrain vehicle enthusiasts, climbers, windsurfers, photographers and a plethora of others recreate on their national forests.

Growing use, declining resources

Unfortunately, while recreation use is exploding, funding and staffing to manage our recreation resources have decreased more than 40 percent in the past decade. For example, the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest has gone from $3.8 million in 1994 to about $3 million this year in congressionally appropriated funding. As a result, this year we funded just 20 people (four funded through Congressional appropriations and the other 16 funded through the Recreation Fee Demonstration program) to care for trails. In 1990, 60 people were funded through congressional appropriations to care for trails and Wilderness.

Something has to give in this equation of growing use and declining resources, and it has. Many of our facilities are run down, our trails are reverting to forest, and the road system that provides recreation access is falling apart. In the Pacific Northwest Region we face a $41 million dollar backlog in maintenance of our recreation facilities. More than 8,200 miles of our trail system needs significant investment for maintenance purposes. Additionally, more than $800 million in road repairs are waiting to be completed.

Lack of funding and staffing also make it difficult to manage recreation use to ensure that it doesn't damage the land. Eroding trails and campsites, trampled vegetation, degraded water quality, reduced opportunities for solitude, and growing problems with litter signal "over-use" in too many areas.

Without adequate funding, it becomes likely that we will face the reality of closing facilities and limiting recreation use. Those are solutions that I'd rather not have to resort to, but will where necessary to protect the safety of our visitors and the health of the national forests.

In the meantime, we are doing all we can to leverage our limited appropriated resources to meet the needs of recreationists while maintaining the health of the public's lands. We are using volunteers, like the Washington Trail Association and Back Country Horsemen, who donate time and materials to help maintain our trail system. In the Pacific Northwest Region the value of volunteer contributions exceeded $5 million last year.

We are collaborating with partners like REI, who donate space and services that enable us to share information with people about recreation opportunities and how they can recreate safely and compatibly with the environment. We are also working with permittees to operate campgrounds, ski areas, resorts, marinas and backcountry tours - valuable public services we would not be able to provide without their assistance. These permittees generated more than $4.5 dollars in receipts to the U.S. Treasury in 1999. In addition, partnership efforts saved the Northwest national forests more than $4 million last year.

Another of our important tools to stretch limited resources is the controversial Recreation Fee Demonstration program. Authorized by Congress in 1996 as a temporary pilot effort, this program allows us to keep and reinvest recreation receipts directly back into the recreation facilities and sites from which they came. In 1999, more than $5.1 million was generated regionally.

Future Challenges

As I look to the future several things seem clear. First, continuing changes in technology (e.g., the size, power, speed and nature of our recreation "toys") and adjustments in population demographics and lifestyle will affect how people recreate. Second, with a projected U.S. population increase of 50 million people over the next 20 years (and with the states of Oregon and Washington in the top 10 population growth states), the demand for recreation will continue to grow and the amount of land available for outdoor recreation will decrease. Potential for recreational user conflicts will increase as a result. The cost, complexity and value of managing recreation on public lands will increase. As time goes by, recreation will assume ever-greater importance in management of the national forests.

Recreation doesn't exist as an island; rather it must exist in harmony with the natural resource and social systems framing it. To meet the challenges of the future will require greater:

Collaboration with other federal, state, county and community recreation providers;
Emphasis on partnerships with a broad spectrum of education, environment and business interests;
Use of developing information technologies in helping people plan and visit their national forests;
Efforts to understand the outdoor recreation interests and needs of an increasingly urban society;
Public understanding that we can't be all things to all people...that there are limits to sustainable recreation use of the national forests; and
Increased funding from Congress to meet the growing needs and expectations of the recreating public.

In short, we'll need to more effectively use all of the implements in today's toolbox and be quick to recognize and apply the new tools and technologies of tomorrow. Through it all, our goals will remain the same: provide diverse, high quality outdoor recreation experiences; deliver accurate, timely information about recreation opportunities; and protect the soil, water, wildlife, and scenic values upon which that recreation depends. It won't be an easy task, but it is one that we are committed to accomplish.

Harv Forsgren is the regional forester, Pacific Northwest Region, USDA Forest Service, Portland, Oregon.

Recreation on Oregon's State Forest Lands

by John Barnes

Throughout the history of the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), state forest management plans have progressed from a relatively specific focus on stand and timber management to a landscape-wide view that actively manages for a broad array of resource values. During this time, ODF's forest plans have correspondingly evolved toward a model that emphasizes compatibility among resource values.

The Northwest Oregon State Forests Management Plan (Board of Forestry final approval expected in January 2001) is an overarching plan that describes guiding principles, goals and resource management strategies for over 600,000 acres of northwest Oregon state forests. A similar but smaller plan, the Southwest Oregon State Forests Management Plan, guides management on approximately 20,000 acres in southwest Oregon. These plans are intended to provide the management framework that is called for under the Oregon Statute and Administrative Rule that directs the agency to manage these lands to "secure the greatest permanent value to the state." This management mandate is further defined to provide a range of resource values including a sustainable timber harvest, aquatic and native wildlife habitats, and opportunities for outdoor recreation.

With the first recreation management plan completed for the Tillamook State Forest in 1993, ODF began to forge its role amongst the other well-established forest recreation providers in the region. Through implementation of the recreation plan, 160 campsites were opened in seven developed campgrounds; motorized and non-motorized zones were created across the forest; 71 miles of trails were built and improved; staging areas were created for horseback riding, mountain biking and off-highway vehicle use; seven day-use areas were built or improved; hundreds of dispersed camp and recreation sites were provided; and interpretive kiosks, trails and education programs were instituted. Seven full-time positions and a handful of seasonal positions and interns are in place. Contracts with law enforcement personnel have improved safety and compliance with recreation use laws and regulations.

During this past year, ODF has utilized a very public process for similar recreation plans now in final draft for the Clatsop State Forest (137,000 acres northwest of Portland) and the Santiam State Forest (47,000 acres east of Salem). In addition, a recent update to the Tillamook plan provided a forum for many people to comment on their perspective of the future of recreation on these lands. A significant component of these plans is a statement of the regional role of these forestlands as an outdoor recreation provider.

Recreational use is more than just the demand for a specific activity. It is also a demand for a physical setting conducive to that activity and to the particular experience desired by the user. A commonly used system for classifying settings and the experience they provide is the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS). The ROS is a continuum of recreational settings ranging from primitive (wilderness) at one end, and urban (cities) at the other. The ODF recreation plans describe a recreation management approach in the mid-range of the spectrum within the categories of Roaded-Natural and Roaded-Modified.

In general, these are the settings and experiences users can expect on state forestlands:

Roaded-Natural: Forest settings that generally appear natural or slightly altered. Access is by highway, road and trail. Users can expect to meet moderate numbers of other people. Facilities such as developed campgrounds, trailheads and trails are present but widely distributed. Occasional use of off-highway vehicles occurs. There are ample opportunities to seek solitude and participate in activities where there are no facilities and few people.

Roaded-Modified: Forest settings that have obviously been altered by timber harvesting. Access is by highway, road and trail. Users can expect to meet a high level of other people in concentrated locations along rivers, peaks and developed sites. Facilities such as developed campgrounds, trailheads and day use areas are numerous. Frequent and concentrated use of off-highway vehicles occurs. There are limited opportunities to seek solitude and participate in activities where there are no other people.

Oregon's state forestlands will provide rustic, natural, yet high-quality facilities in locations where resource compatibility permits and the need for development have been identified. The challenge is to match the recreational user's expectations with their experience within the forest setting. State forestlands have had no predominate role or image as a recreation provider in the past and have been generally viewed by the public as a producer of timber rather than quality recreational experiences.

Given ODF's focus on managing for a wider array of resources and values on state forestland, and the growing trend of recreation use of state forests, it's clear that state forests will increasingly be the destination of choice for many recreation activities.

John Barnes is public use coordinator for the Northwest Oregon Area Office, Oregon Department of Forestry, Forest Grove, Oregon. For more information about recreation in Oregon's state forests, contact him at 503.359.7427.

Tillamook Forest Interpretive Center

Understanding the legacy of the Tillamook Burn and Forest is fundamental to understanding something very important about forests and about Oregon.

Most foresters know the legacy of the Tillamook Burn: how a series of devastating wildfires in the 1930s and 1940s transformed nearly half a million acres of Oregon Coast Range into a vast wasteland. And then, beginning in the 1950s, how an army of volunteers, school children and others planted trees - 72 million trees - to reclaim the burned-over landscape.

Today, a growing list of supporters and contributors are creating a place to share the Tillamook story with hundreds of thousands of visitors: the Tillamook Forest Interpretive Center.

The 16,000-square-foot center, planned for opening in 2004, will be situated alongside a picturesque narrow gorge of the Wilson River on a forested site planted entirely by school children following the fires of the 1930s and 1940s. The center will fill a unique and unserved niche geographically and in terms of content, program and experience by offering a wide array of forest-based learning opportunities that address the evolving science and challenge of sustainable forest management and the cultural and natural history of the region, all located within an hour's drive of downtown Portland. Set within a forest context, particularly the shaped-by-fire Tillamook Forest, the center will provide learning opportunities that cannot be found in any other setting.

The Tillamook Forest Heritage Trust, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, has formed to assist the Oregon Department of Forestry with its capital campaign for the Tillamook Forest Interpretive Center. The Department of Forestry has committed $3 million toward the $12.3 million capital construction goal and has also committed to guarantee annual operations and maintenance costs at the center. Using these commitments as leverage, the Tillamook Forest Heritage Trust is seeking funding from a wide range of project partners, including private donors, foundations, corporations and other public and private organizations. In the last year the Trust has received generous donations from a wide variety of individuals and foundations and has achieved one-third of the total $12.3 million funding goal.

For more information about how you can help make the Tillamook Forest Interpretive Center a reality, visit the website or call 503.359.7474.

No Fee, No Fault

by Ann Forest Burns and Bruce H. Williams

The decision whether to allow public recreation on their lands arises for many private forest landowners. Potential personal liability for injuries suffered by recreational users is among the many questions that must be addressed when deciding whether to post one's land with "No Trespassing" or "No Entry Without Permission" signs, or to allow recreational use for free or for a fee. Washington is one of many states, including Oregon and Idaho, which has adopted legislation specifically addressing this issue. (Note: because the authors are licensed to practice law only in the state of Washington, this article does not attempt to discuss any law but Washington's).

Washington's recreational use statute, RCW 4.24.200 and 4.24.210, specifically limits landowners' liability when they allow public outdoor recreational use of their land without charging a fee. Washington's law applies to all landowners, both private and public. Washington courts have specifically held that lands that have been altered by human activity, and not just those in their "primeval state," are covered by the statute. See Ravenscroft v. Washington Water Power Co., 136 Wn.2d 911, 921 (1998).

A broad list of recreational uses is included under the statute. "[O]utdoor recreation. . . includes, but is not limited to, the cutting, gathering, and removing of firewood by private persons for their personal use without purchasing the firewood from the landowner, hunting, fishing, camping, picnicking, swimming, hiking, bicycling, skateboarding or other nonmotorized wheel-based activities, hanggliding, paragliding, the riding of horses or other animals, clam digging, pleasure driving of off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, and other vehicles, boating, nature study, winter or water sports [and] viewing or enjoying historical, archaeological, scenic, or scientific sites. . . ." RCW 4.24.210(1).

Although an "administrative fee" of up to $25 may be charged for the privilege of removing firewood, the statute otherwise excludes from its protections those landowners that opt to charge "a fee of any kind" for recreational access. RCW 4.24.210(1).

The purpose behind the legislature's action is to encourage landowners to allow public recreation on their lands. RCW 4.24.200. As a practical matter, owners of tracts of undeveloped land have few practical alternatives to leaving their land open to public recreation. Certainly, by doing so forest landowners are benefiting the public. Although Washington's legislature has not seen fit to compensate forest landowners for this, it has at least shifted the financial burden of injuries away from the landowner and onto the recreational user.

Washington's law is not blanket immunity from liability. The landowner's immunity disappears where "injuries [are] sustained to users by reason of a known dangerous artificial latent condition for which warning signs have not been conspicuously posted."

Surprisingly, the courts have not yet defined all terms in the phrase "known dangerous artificial latent condition." Washington caselaw holds that all four elements (known, dangerous, latent and artificial) must have contributed to a user's injury before a landowner loses the immunity provided by the statute. That is, the condition that leads to the injury must be "known [to the landowner]" and "dangerous" and "artificial" and "latent."

A dispute over whether a hazard is "latent" is most often the subject of litigation following an injury. A latent condition is one that is not readily apparent to the general class of recreational users. The failure of a particular user to identify the danger and avoid it will not rob the landowner of the immunity provided by the statute. See Tennyson v. Plum Creek Timber Co., 73 Wn. App. 550 (1994).

Classic examples of an "artificial latent" condition are an abandoned well or an old mineshaft with an entrance that has become overgrown and hidden. Under the Washington statute, the posting of "conspicuous" signs warning the general recreational user will provide the landowner with the immunity provided by the statute. Of course, the dictates of ethics and conscience might cause a landowner to do more than the statutory minimum to prevent the unwary from being injured by a known dangerous condition on the land.

Ponds created by the current or former owner for various purposes, such as stock watering, wildlife habitat and fish rearing are found on many forestlands. While such water features are "artificial" within the meaning of the statute, so long as they are not hidden in some way, there should be no question that they are not "latent." Therefore, the landowner can claim the immunity the statute provides.

Unfortunately, the existence of a statute that removes the private forest landowner's liability for injuries to non-fee recreational users does not mean that the injured party cannot sue the landowner. Rather, it means that the injured party is unlikely to win the lawsuit. In order to avoid the expense of defending such lawsuits, forest landowners would be well advised to purchase comprehensive general liability insurance to cover the cost of defending against claims by injured recreational users.

Ann Forest Burns and Bruce H. Williams are partners in the Seattle law firm Law Offices of Ann Forest Burns. They concentrate their practice on forestry related matters, such as timber contracts, administrative appeals and estate planning for forest landowners. They can be found at their website or aforestburns@msn.com or, the old fashioned way, by calling 206.527.5942.

Fee Access Program Successful for IP Pacific Timberlands

by Robert J. Bass

IP Pacific Timberlands, Inc., a company of International Paper (IPPTI), initiated a fee-for-access program on its 120,000-acre Kapowsin Tree Farm on September 1, 1987. The Kapowsin Tree Farm is located in eastern Pierce County adjacent to the western boundary of Mt. Rainier National Park. The surrounding cities are Orting, Buckley, Eatonville and Ashford. The program does not apply to the additional 173,000 acres of timberlands owned by IP Pacific Timberlands, Inc. in Washington state.

The guiding concept of fee access is to provide access to recreational users in a non-exclusive manner. The program users consist of both consumptive and non-consumptive customers. However, it is important to note that over 90 percent of the customers are in pursuit of hunting and fishing opportunities, which are in the consumptive category. Efforts have been made to attract non-consumptive customers, but the approaches and programs employed have enjoyed little success.

The basic design of the Fee Access Program has remained unchanged since its inception. Program additions to enhance customer satisfaction and reduce costs have been implemented through the years. The two changes that have had the greatest impact were the addition of a quality hunt raffle and increasing emphasis on customer satisfaction.

The quality hunt began in 1995 as part of a long-term Private Lands Wildlife Management Agreement with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. It is a hunt whereby a small group of hunters, through a non-exclusive raffle process, have the opportunity to pursue either deer or elk during the rut. It is unlike any hunt in Washington. It has taken several years for this concept to gain momentum, but now it has become a solid component of the fee access portfolio.

In 1997 a Customer Advisory Council and customer survey were established. The Customer Advisory Council has been instrumental in the development of new revenue-generating ideas and has proved an effective forum for testing new ideas. The customer survey form has been instrumental in establishing customer trends.

The basic fee access program is designed to grant access to basic facilities and services. Included are:

yearly vehicle access to roads seven days a week from May 28-December 31, and Monday-Friday from January 1-May 27;
seven road management areas totaling 30,000 acres for non-motorized vehicles;
overnight camping in semi-primitive camp sites, with firewood provided at entry points;
security staff;
garbage disposal and RV dump facilities at exit points;
wildlife management in cooperation with Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife;
maps, literature and recreational activity newsletters sent to the customer;
for annual permit holders, use of the Kapowsin Lake Park from May 28 through December 31; and
a recreational information number (1.800.782.1493).

In addition, the fees assist IPPTI in supporting wildlife research and habitat improvement. The wildlife research program includes elk and deer population census, elk telemetry and monitoring of non-game use of managed forests. The habitat improvement programs include seeding of preferred forage, placement of waterfowl nest boxes and fish habitat enhancement projects. IPPTI also monitors the general health of the game herds on the tree farm by collecting information such as weight and antler size on animals harvested. Hunter success ratios are also calculated from the information gathered.

To enter the tree farm, recreational visitors, including hunters, fishers, hikers and mushroom pickers, are required to have a valid permit (see Table 1 for a summary of permit rates) that can be obtained from several local as well as regional vendors.

Fees apply to entry by foot, bicycle, pickup truck or passenger car. Horses, ATVs and motorcycles are prohibited.

Gathering of forest products is prohibited. Mushroom gathering, in quantities up to one two-gallon bucket per day, is allowed with any permit. Gathering of mushrooms in quantities greater than two gallons per day is restricted to annual permit holders. Outlined in the table are the types of permits offered and fees.

Table 1.
Type of Permit	Adult (1)	Senior (2)
One Day - Valid in Year Purchased	$15.00	$10.00
Three Day - Valid in Year Purchased	$30.00	$23.00
Ten Day - Valid in Year Purchased	$60.00	$45.00

Annual: Single Type (3) - Valid One Year From Date of Purchase	$160.00	$110.00
Annual: Family Type (4) - Valid One Year From Date of Purchase	$260.00	$185.00

(1) Adult rate applies to persons 16 years and older. (2) Senior rate applies to persons 65 years and older. (3) Good for permit holder only and eligible children, 17 years old or younger. (4) Good for both spouses (each receive a permit) and eligible children, 17 years old or younger.

Various secondary benefits are realized through the Fee Access Program. Positive public relations are established through a quarterly newsletter and by granting access to lands that may otherwise be closed to the general public. The level of refuse dumping is greatly reduced, thus saving time and money. Vandalism to company and contractors is significantly reduced. Control and accountability of logs and minor forest products is enhanced, which reduces the potential for security issues associated with these management activities.

The Fee Access Program has been in existence for 13 years. Thousands of people from local communities and urban areas have come to recreate and experience the great outdoors on a managed forest during that time. The Fee Access Program has also contributed significantly to wildlife enhancement programs that have and will to continue to contribute to environmental integrity of the Kapowsin Tree Farm. Finally, the program has enabled IPPTI employees to establish and build relationships with interested individuals, organizations, and agencies. Is fee access worthwhile? We certainly think so.

Robert J. Bass is district land manager for IP Pacific Timberlands, Inc., in Orting, Washington

Forest Management in Oregon's State Parks

By Amy Gillette

No, the title is not a typo! Forest management is practiced in Oregon's State Parks, with our objective being to maintain healthy and diverse forests that visitors can enjoy for years to come. Pre-commercial and commercial thinning, salvage removal, sanitation harvest and tree planting are being applied on more than 40,000 acres of parks property across the state.

From the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon to the Sitka spruce along the southern coast, a crew of three foresters travels the state flagging sale boundaries, marking and cruising timber, administering timber sales, and conducting post-harvest activities to ensure adequate stocking and species diversity. Forest management plans and marking guides are written for every sale, but unlike most landowners, our objectives do not include maximizing revenue. Rather, we focus on forest health, fish and wildlife habitat, and aesthetics. Within each timber sale numerous projects are also accomplished for the park, such as trail improvements, gate construction, riparian restoration and tree planting.

For example, in Silver Falls State Park, located northeast of Salem, a commercial thinning operation is underway to improve the health and vigor of the 55-year-old evenaged Douglas-fir stand that has never been treated. Following harvest, hemlock seedlings will be planted amidst the Douglas-fir to encourage multiple-age classes in the stand that will eventually provide critical habitat for a pair of spotted owls currently nesting nearby. Several Douglas-fir trees will also be girdled for wildlife snags and some will be felled to provide habitat logs on the ground. Recreation in the park has benefited from improvements to an existing horse trail and construction of a new segment of trail. Revenue from the thinning will pay for all of the recreation improvements, tree planting and harvest operations.

Harvest activities are not the only projects on our calendars. We also participate in several organizations such as the Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine Conservation Association, Oregon White Oak Committee, Heritage Tree Committee, Oregon Community Trees, Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture and the Society of American Foresters. Future plans include Arbor Day celebrations, tree planting activities with youth groups, thinning demonstration areas, permanent growth plots and riparian studies.

As is typical with forestry, we probably won't be around to see the results of the management that we are applying today. But we can be sure that the next generation of Oregonians will be able to enjoy healthy and ecologically diverse state parks just as we are enjoying today. We can only hope that they will carry on the tradition!

Amy Gillette, forester for Oregon State Parks, is based in Salem. She can be reached via email at amy.gillette@state.or.us.

New Inventory Programs Announced

Assisi Software^TM announces the release of three new programs for forest inventory. Assisi Compiler^TM, a cruise compilation and timber inventory program, is built upon a Microsoft Access database and includes support for fixed, variable, percentage and nested plot cruise designs. Volume calculations are extensive including support for Behre hyperbola, taper equations, taper profiles, variable or fixed length logs, volume equations and volume tables. Log volumes can be called in the field or assigned by the program to produce estimates of volume and value by grade. Reports include cruise data, stand tables, stand and stocking summaries, age class and more.

Assisi Woodland^TM is a program for processing an ongoing timber inventory where older data is grown forward while new data is acquired. Assisi Woodland includes all of the features of Assisi Compiler and adds the ORGANON growth model for growing older cruise data forward for more accurate estimates of timber volume and value.

Assisi Inventory^TM is a multi-resource inventory program for tracking regeneration, down woody debris and vegetation in addition to timber. Harvest units can be defined and the potential volume and value of timber within them estimated. After harvests have occurred, Assisi Inventory can update the inventory database to reflect new stand configurations. Assisi Inventory also includes features for importing data from the OSU handheld data recorder, exporting data to ORGANON and reading data from a geographic information system (GIS).

Assisi Forest^TM, an existing Assisi Software product, is a harvest scheduling and simulation system used for designing and simulating long-term harvest plans. Using a schedule of harvesting, planting and thinning, Assisi Forest simulates tree growth and management actions to produce an estimate of potential standing and harvested volume over long time periods such as 100 years or more. A cash flow analysis produces estimates of internal rate of return and net present value.

Assisi Software was incorporated i