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 in 1997 and is committed to making powerful yet easy to use software for forest management. Contact Assisi Software at 503.233.6417 for further information.

An Even More Humungous Fungus

It is as large as 1,665 football fields combined. It is 3.4 square miles in size and covers 2,200 acres of land in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon and the Malheur National Forest near Prairie City. It is a recently discovered clone of Armillaria ostoyae, the tree-killing fungus that causes Armillaria root disease.

It is also the most humongous fungus or clone of Armillaria ostoyae found to date. Catherine Parks, a scientist with the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station, led the research in discovering the fungus in cooperation with Oregon State University. The fungus is calculated to be about 2,400 years old, although it could be two to three times older.

"We have discovered an individual, or clone, of this fungus can occupy immense areas of the forest and live for thousands of years," said Parks. "This fungus lives in a below-ground habitat, spreading very slowly outward from tree to tree along roots or by growth through the soil using special shoestring-like structures called rhizomorphs.

"The fungus is visible," says Parks, "in the clusters of golden-colored mushrooms occasionally seen in the fall on the forest floor that represent just the tip of the iceberg in regard to its true size and impact upon the forest."

The fungus plays a role important to forest ecosystem processes. "Root disease causes gaps in the forest canopy," Parks explains. "The gaps can be replaced by brushy hardwood species or young conifers increasing the diversity of forest age and tree types. When trees die, snags are created that are used as shelter and breeding areas for wildlife. Tree mortality from root disease also contributes to nutrient recycling and increased productivity potential of the site."

Research implications include:

The existence of many small, Armillaria root disease centers in the same locale within mixed-conifer forests should raise suspicions that one clone of the fungus may actually encompass the entire area. Not all trees will be dying at the same time because the disease expresses itself differentially with factors such as host condition and availability.
Root disease can affect the desired composition and structure of a future forest and thereby interfere with natural resource management goals.
To minimize tree mortality near the fungus, managers with timber production goals may want to use less susceptible tree species such as western larch and ponderosa pine during planting, and harvest susceptible hosts such as Douglas-fir and true fir during thinning.

Earlier findings of large fungi include about 37-acres of Armillaria bulbosa discovered in 1992 in a hardwood forest in Michigan and a clone of Armillaria ostoyae infecting ponderosa pine in eastern Washington that is estimated to be 1,500-acres in size. Clonal studies on other species of Armillaria in eastern North America, Europe and Australia were found to be no more than a few tens of acres in size at the most.

Collaborators on the Parks study include Brennan Ferguson, Oregon State University; Dr. Tina Dreisbach, PNW Research Station, Forest Service; Dr. Greg Filip, Oregon State University; and Craig Schmitt, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Forest Service.

Washington State SAF Centennial Story

My Life and Career in T25N, R1E, W.M.

by Art Schick, Admiralty Inlet Chapter

As we celebrate the SAF Centenial, I realize that my own interest in forestry started shortly after the Society's golden jubilee, and that I too had a tie with one of the profession's early founders.

In 1954, at the age of 15, I was active in a 4-H forestry club that was formed in our neighborhood by Roy Rash, the local fire warden. Among the advisors and adult supporters of the club was William B. Greeley, or Colonel Greeley as we knew him. One of my prized momentous from those days is a single-page township map that I drew as a 4-H assignment. In the lower corner is the signature and note "graded 80 percent W B Greeley 4/14/54". As I look back at the quality of the map now, the Colonel was generous. His encouragement was, I am sure, a factor in my continued interest and in my choice of forestry as a career.

The Colonel spent his last years in our county. He was recruited by the 4-H group for his continuing interest and expertise in forestry and because our fire warden leader had served under the Colonel in the Forestry Troops of the First World War. Greeley once stated that his first interest in forestry came from a chat in 1900 with Bernard E. Fernow, dean of Forestry at Cornell University. Young Bill finished his degree in forestry and joined the USDA Forest Service in 1905. During the First World War, the Colonel commanded 20,000 forestry troops and operated 90 sawmills in France by the signing of the armistice in 1918. William B. Greeley became chief of the Forest Service in 1920, and left government service in 1928 to join the West Coast Lumbermen's Association.

The face of Kitsap County has changed over the nearly 50 years since I drew the map and received Colonel Greeley's encouragement. Many landmarks have disappeared. Many roads have been added. I can still find the back roads that we 4-H kids fire patrolled each summer on bicycles.Ironically, the Naval reservation where I've spent the last 31 years of my profession shows clearly, as does the location of my homes, both past and present. Strange that most of my life and professional experience can be mapped on one township.

On reflection, the township displays a microcosm of changes in state and national forest management and industry over the past 50 years. Major residential developments, highways and shopping centers have shrunk the forest land base. I can locate the sites of four small sawmills that operated in my youth that are no more. Two log dumps where trucked logs were collected in rafts for towing to off-township mills now closed are presently occupied by high priced waterfront homes. The oldest continuously operating sawmill in the country recently closed after over 150 years of business just north of my township.

If Roy Rash and William B. Greeley were to come back today, they would find Kitsap County and my township still growing trees. They would see logging equipment never dreamed of in the fifties, powerful log trucks rushing past on wide multi-laned highways. They would see utilization of much smaller wood and marvel that our local log markets includes surrounding states and the Pacific Rim. I like to think they would share my pride in forests planted, protected and manipulated over the past 50 years that will supply the needs of our society into the next century.

A Refuge Perspective On Recreation

by Stewart Allen

Most forestry professionals are familiar with how recreational use is managed on national forests, but fewer are likely familiar with how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages recreational use on national wildlife refuges. Recent legislation and emerging policy firmly anchor the refuges' unique position on the broad spectrum of recreation opportunities on public lands. This article explores some of the agency's interesting laws and policies for managing recreation on refuges and provides an example of current recreation issues on Alaska's Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.

In the lower 48...

Did you know that refuges in the lower 48 are closed to public use until they are specifically opened? Recreational use-and other human uses-must be determined to be compatible with refuge purposes before they are allowed. Under new policy, the analyses leading to compatibility decisions are rigorous. And when uses are allowed, they are often restricted, perhaps at key times or places that are sensitive for wildlife. The agency's mantra, "Wildlife first," underscores the clear hierarchy of goals that are in stark contrast with multiple-use policy.

When refuges are established, they are blessed with a set of purposes in the accompanying legislation that lets everyone know what values and uses must be protected above all else. Recreation is encouraged with a clear focus on wildlife-dependent recreation. Hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, photography, environmental education and interpretation are the six priority public uses of refuges. Recreational use that does not depend on the refuge's wildlife resources, or does not further its support and protection, is discouraged and can be prohibited. Uses that aren't related to wildlife and pose risks to wildlife, habitat or wildlife-dependent recreation can be deemed inappropriate and simply not allowed nationwide under emerging "appropriate uses" policy.

In Alaska...

But, as we say, things are different in Alaska, the location of 16 refuges that contain the vast majority of the refuge land base nationwide. In Alaska, refuges are open to public use until specifically closed, but recreation must still be found to be compatible before use is allowed. Nearly all of the refuges add subsistence use of animal, fish and plant resources as a primary purpose, and allow motorized access to refuges for subsistence purposes, traditional uses and travel between villages.

Many of the issues facing recreation managers on Alaska's wildlife refuges are similar to those faced elsewhere and often boil down to a set of interrelated questions: How do we know when, where and how much of what type of recreational uses and their effects are compatible?

On the Togiak...

In Alaska, planners are putting a new twist on an old process to help answer these questions on the Togiak refuge. Part of the plan will be produced using a modified version of the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) framework used by other agencies to manage Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers and other protected areas.

The working title of the new framework, Limits of Compatible Change, reflects its consistency with the philosophy and practices of LAC. The premise of both is that we must first acknowledge that any recreational use has some level and type of impact on the resources we want to protect - including the quality of recreation itself. By defining biological and social desired conditions and employing precise ways of measuring progress toward achieving or maintaining them, we can determine how much of a change in a condition is acceptable and at what point the impacts become unacceptable.

The issues on the Togiak refuge center around recreational use - mainly guided and non-guided sport fishing on the Kanektok, Togiak and Goodnews rivers - and its effects on fish populations, wildlife using the river corridor and subsistence uses of fish. A related familiar issue is how to define and manage for quality recreational opportunities. The main task is to identify indicators of desired resource conditions (variables we can measure to assess progress toward desired conditions) and standards (the point at which the level of the indicators become incompatible).

A 1995 survey of recreational visitors conducted by consultant Doug Whittaker for the refuge identified many indicators, including number and type of encounters with other parties, encounters with motorboats, proportion of time users camp near other parties, competition for fishing holes and signs of previous use such as litter. Many of these indicators have been used to measure recreational quality on other rivers. The survey also identified visitors' standards for these indicators. From the results, managers can determine whether visitors' standards are being exceeded under current use patterns-which should be a trigger for management action.

For example, one of the indicators measured was the average number of float parties encountered per day. Recreational river users largely agreed on how many other float parties they could see before their trips were compromised. Managers can pinpoint sections of river where the greatest problems exist, such as the large proportion of visitors whose encounter standards were exceeded on the Lower Kanektok (see Table 1).

Table 1. Comparison of River Encounter Standards with Reported Impact Levels
River	Percent Who Saw...
River	less than their standard	the same as their standard	more than their standard
Upper Kanektok	32	44	24
Lower Kanektok	31	24	45
Upper Goodnews	43	45	13
Lower Goodnews	32	42	26
Upper Togiak	47	37	16
Lower Togiak	43	35	22

A key to successful use of the Limits of Compatible Change process is collaboration with people and entities that care about and are interested in the refuge and its rivers. Because we are dealing with a national wildlife refuge, and one that is visited by people from many states and countries, the audience is wide. Planners will also do extra work with guides to take advantage of their knowledge of the rivers and their use.

To involve local residents, Fish and Wildlife Service planners have established a core planning team that includes representatives from four local villages and two state agencies that have management authority over resources lying within refuge boundaries. This collaborative planning approach will ensure that all involved have input in identification of indicators and standards, as well as in other parts of the process. We do not have uniform information from subsistence users of the refuge resources, so we will need to work closely with village residents to assess the feasibility of developing indicators and standards for subsistence uses.

If all proceeds as planned, the rivers on the Togiak will provide a variety of recreational pursuits indefinitely. Recreation will be compatible with refuge goals and purposes, including subsistence. And, most important, the refuge staff and others who care about the river will have a reasonable way of measuring how well recreational goals are being met, and when and why corrective action is needed.

Stewart Allen is a social scientist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Refuges, in Anchorage, Alaska. He can be reached via email at stewart_allen@fws.gov.

July/August 2000

Riparian Areas: What Are They and Why Do We Care About Them?

Justification for Large Wood Enhancements - Beyond the Obvious

Economic Impacts Resulting From Buffers

Steady Now...

OSAF Annual Meeting Highlights Past and Present, Focuses on Future

Members Honored at Oregon Annual Meeting

Council Addresses Critical Issues

Devlin Retires From Forest Service

Letters to the Editors

Foundation Forum

Help Celebrate 100 Years in DC

Native Forest Remnants Focus of Seminar

Governor to Proclaim Professional Forester Day

Riparian Areas: What Are They and Why Do We Care About Them?

by Susan Bolton

Riparian areas are lands adjacent to streams and lakes. The interactions between the land and water create a diverse and productive habitat for plants and animals. The availability of water, moist rich soils and a variety of plants make the area attractive to wildlife, livestock and people. The size of the riparian area and the extent of interaction between the land and the water varies with the size of the stream.

metolius river canyon In small, upland streams with typically small amounts of stream flow, the forest dominates the stream. Living trees provide shade that keeps water temperatures cool. Dead and fallen trees become large woody debris and provide habitat and cover for insects, amphibians and fish, and create pools that help control sediment and nutrient transport. With little sunshine reaching the stream, the forest provides food in the form of insects, leaves, needles, twigs and branches for the insects, amphibians and fish that live in the stream. In larger, wider streams, the forest and the water interact frequently with each other. High stream flows can undercut trees, change the flow path of the river and deposit nutrient rich sediment onto the forest floor. The forest in turn provides shade and wood to the stream. In very large rivers, a large floodplain forest influences channel migration and development of forest islands within the channel migration zone. In these streams, there is active exchange of water and nutrients between the surface and ground water.

Whatever the size of the stream, riparian areas are a critical area for ecologically healthy streams. The water quantity and quality in streams reflects the conditions in the watershed including the riparian areas and the upland areas. Healthy streams and watersheds provide clean water, fish, wildlife and livestock habitat, and natural flood and sediment control. Trees and shrubs along the stream slow flood waters and provide time for water to soak into the ground which can reduce flooding in downstream areas. Streamside vegetation can also filter out pollutants before they reach the stream, keeping the stream and groundwater clean. Sediments and nutrients that get filtered out in the riparian zone are quickly colonized by new vegetation which stabilize the sediment and use the nutrients for growth.

forest stream Streams and adjacent riparian areas are subject to frequent disturbances. Natural disturbances include fires, floods, pest and disease outbreaks, slope failures and windstorms. Natural systems have a patchwork of forests of different ages with a variety of shrub and tree species. No single area along a river provides the best habitat for all species. The patchwork of forest creates a highly diverse landscape that provides many different habitats than can be used by large numbers of plant and animal species. This mix of habitats is the key to a healthy riparian system. However, an increase in the number or size of disturbances can overwhelm the system. Human activities, such as mining, grazing, farming, damming, logging, recreation and urbanization also disturb riparian areas. It is important to understand the historical rate of disturbances for any given riparian system and not to exceed that frequency or size of disturbance.

Riparian areas affect the delivery and routing of sediment, water and wood into and through the stream. It is important to remember that the management of upland areas can alter the processes that deliver water, wood and sediment to the riparian areas. This means that a watershed view of riparian areas is essential. Changes in the amount and timing of water delivery to streams affect plants and animals. If water is delivered to the stream at unusual times or in unusually high or low amounts, various plants and animals many not successfully reproduce or grow. Slope failures provide wood and sediment to streams that help create diverse habitat, but an increase in slope failures can overload channels with sediment or scour them clean, both of which create a less diverse habitat. A less diverse habitat means fewer species can live in that area.

Large woody debris (LWD) is a critical component for channel complexity. One popular definition of large woody debris is 10 centimeters or about four inches. This definition most likely came from a research program in the 1970s that was concerned with decay of organic matter like leaves, twigs and branches. Once branches reached four inches, decay was very slow; hence anything over that size was designated as large and not contributing greatly to decay rates. Today, LWD is viewed as providing stability to streams in the form of pool habitat and sediment and nutrient retention. Recent studies indicate that four-inch wood does not provide all of the desired functions in the stream. Protecting riparian areas will allow trees to grow larger and provide large wood to the stream and forest floor naturally over time. Large woody debris on the forest floor provides habitat for a variety of amphibians and small mammals as well as a surface for seedlings to become established. These nurse logs help conifer seedlings survive and outcompete shrubs and hardwoods.

People often underestimate the amount of riparian habitat because they usually visit streams in the dry summer months. Winter rains fill small channels and off-channel habitats that provide critical habitat especially for juvenile fish during high flows. New regulations have been developed that better define riparian areas and protect the forests around them. Riparian areas are heavily used by humans, wildlife and livestock. The areas are highly productive and diverse. Maintaining healthy, productive and diverse riparian areas is important for clean water, flood control, fish and wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities.

Susan Bolton is director, Center for Streamside Studies, and associate professor, Forest Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle

Justification for Large Wood Enhancements - Beyond the Obvious

by Bob Danehy and Kim Parrett

Stream habitat enhancement projects have been criticized as being inadequate and of little value. Whether the comments deride "sticks in the creek" or "Lincoln log structures," little formal study of enhancement projects has taken place other than work focused on short-term physical change to the stream channel.

With recovery planning now underway for many of the region's salmonids, and forested landscapes targeted as being critical for recovery, habitat improvement efforts are closely scrutinized and more stringent permitting programs are being proposed. This article will discuss the beneficial functions that are provided by large wood (LW) and present other important ecological information that will be useful when applying for an enhancement project permit.

Large wood plays an important role as a structural element that can create pool habitat and sort gravels. In addition, reduction of stream temperature variability and increased secondary production (fish food) are two other ecological reasons for enhancement projects.

Large wood

Detailed work has been completed on the lack of LW in stream channels and its affect on salmonid spawning and rearing. These low levels of large wood are due to a variety of causes. Harvesting of stream adjacent trees during the first two-thirds of the last century limited the potential of large wood falling into the stream channels. Also, active removal of the so-called debris in the 1960s and '70s, which was recommended by many fisheries agencies, is a another cause for LW depletion in many Northwest watersheds.

After large wood is removed from a stream channel, its morphometry changes, including substrate size and distribution, some straightening of the channel, an increase in mean velocity, and more rapid transport of organic material downstream. Over time, particularly during high flow periods, the channel can be incised down to bedrock. This new simplified channel lacks structural complexity, which impacts aquatic communities in both obvious (fewer pools) and subtle ways.

Stream temperature

Stream water temperature at any cross-section is the result of numerous conditions including temperature of upstream flow, groundwater inputs, shading conditions, channel morphology and substrate properties. While changes in shading are an obvious factor that can be manipulated to change existing temperatures, other factors such as increased sub-surface flow, increases in mean depth, and an increase in the travel time of water through a stream reach are also important.

Variability in daily temperature fluctuations can be reduced through shading. Stream shading needs to be viewed in the same manner that water flows, as a longitudinal vector. Since water has a high specific heat, it gains heat slowly; however, because of that same property, energy (heat) is dissipated slowly as well. Shading needs to be viewed throughout a reach. The temperature of the adjacent upstream reach has the most effect on stream temperature at any given location. Therefore, to meet a preferred temperature range for a target fish species, temperature-moderating prescriptions (shading) must extend beyond the extent of the fish's habitat. The length of stream necessary to meet that target temperature depends on a number of factors, although in small streams it is usually a few hundred feet, with the transition zone lengthening as stream size increases. LW, which deepens the channel and slows the water through a reach, will allow stream temperature to reach equilibrium with local conditions more quickly, thus shrinking the length of a transition zone.

Daily stream temperature fluctuations can also be reduced through changes to surface and sub-surface flow patterns. Changing surface and sub-surface flows may appear to be beyond the scope of forest management. However, the stream cleaning efforts in earlier decades did just that. By removing the roughness (LW), time of travel was reduced, which increased stream power that caused downcutting in many stream reaches. This had secondary effects such as disconnecting the stream from its previous floodplain and scouring accumulated substrates until the channel reached bedrock. Loss of substrates and exposure of bedrock increases potential for warming. Exposed bedrock increases water temperature due to its high conductance of heat and full contact with the overlying stream flow. Extended distances of bedrock can result in rapid increases in water temperatures.

The accumulated substrates of the sub-surface portion of aquatic habitat are called the hyporheic zone. This zone is critical habitat for many aquatic invertebrates and most fish species at some life stage. Water movement within this zone dissipates heat and increases time of travel. The hyporheic zone is more extensive in stream reaches with high wood loading. The substrates stored and sorted by woody debris reduces stream temperature variability by moving flow paths away from direct sunlight and increasing water contact with cooler subsurface substrates.

There is little data available on large wood enhancements and their impact on stream temperature. However, one project, the West Fork Trail Creek, a tributary of the Rogue River in southern Oregon, evaluated stream temperature before and after the project. The project area was a bedrock-dominated reach that historically supported a healthy run of coho salmon.

The goal of the project was to improve spawning and rearing habitat by adding large wood. To monitor the channel response, cross-sections were monumented, facies mapping (a quantitative method to measure changes in substrate conditions) was conducted, and a series of instream temperature data loggers were placed along the reach. The results found more gravel, a higher mean depth, and reduced maximum stream temperature by 20 F in the approximately one-mile reach. In the two years prior to the project, maximum stream temperature increased 2.50 and 30 F within the reach. While this single study of a large wood-enhanced stream reach with a bedrock-dominated channel may be unique, these bedrock channels are common in watersheds that were stream cleaned. Further evaluation will be required to discern if this response is possible in other bedrock-dominated channels as well as stream channels with more diverse substrates. Certainly the functions of better hyporheic flow and a reduction of travel time should lead to lower temperatures in the well-shaded stream channels that are typical in forested landscapes.

Secondary production

Large wood in a stream captures smaller pieces of wood, such as branches, twigs and other organic material. This material is detained by the structures and settles into the bottom of pools and alcoves that are formed by the large wood. This organic material is critical for the development of complex food webs in stream channels. If a channel is unable to detain this organic material, it will be transported downstream.

Aquatic insects "make a living" through various means. How they find and consume food is one approach to classifying a community of aquatic insects in a stream channel. The community will be very different depending on food sources. One feeding type, the shredders, break leaves and other intact plant matter into smaller pieces while feeding, which may then be consumed by another group, such as the collector-gatherers. This nutrient processing continues with material being digested or further broken into smaller pieces that can be consumed by another group, the filter feeders. Other feeding types, including predators, comprise the community of insects that live in streams during their larval stages. The complexity of this community is dependent in varying degrees on riparian inputs. A stream that lacks structures that can detain organic material and allow an opportunity for the material to be processed is less likely to provide a solid food base for fish.

Summary

In summary, a project that improves channel roughness by adding in-stream wood has the potential to offer a suite of ecological benefits to aquatic life including fish. While a reduction in stream temperature or an improvement in food supply may not be the primary justification for such projects, the incorporation of the potential of such benefits in addition to improving spawning and rearing habitat in permit requests may assist in project approval.

Bob Danehy, an aquatic biologist for Boise Cascade Corp., is based in Boise, Idaho. He can be reached at bdanehy@bc.com. Kim Parrett is a consultant in Beaverton, Oregon. The authors are interested in learning of other large wood monitoring efforts in the Northwest.

Economic Impacts Resulting From Buffers

by Bruce Lippke

In Washington, regulations intended to recover declining salmon populations are imposing new management requirements in forested riparian management zones (RMZ) to reach desirable future biological conditions. The measurement system is inherently complex. Fish populations are poorly correlated with "good" fish habitat because there are so many non-forestry impacts (ocean conditions, dams, hatcheries, fishing, and urban and agricultural influences). Measuring and projecting habitat conditions as dependent upon forest stand conditions appears to be all that forest management can control. Reaching desired future biological conditions, which are social goals and not reflected in market values, inherently increases costs to some while providing benefits to others.

Interests of different stakeholders

Economic impacts from management alternatives include the net present value loss to the landowner, the employment and economic activity loss to rural communities, tax receipts to governments, economic gains by other interests such as fishing, and the broader non-market social values placed on fish abundance or scarcity by a society that is numerically dominated by the urban public. Each of these measures is important to different beneficiary groups. Equity considerations are created, and legal requirements to assess these disproportionality impacts, such as the Small Business Economic Impact Statement, result. Economists generally argue for greater efficiency, which means finding ways to reach desirable goals with lower losses while also distributing the costs to those benefiting.

Methods to estimate impacts

To estimate these impacts, simulations of a range of management alternatives have been developed. This requires projecting future biological conditions and economic outputs for a broad array of management alternatives covering all the acres for every owner group, forest type and age class, and from these potential outcomes developing a desirable harvest schedule. These complex model simulations still leave out potentially important impacts such as the cost increase from handling more fragmented stands, increased road costs, accessibility constraints, planning and operational costs, conversion options, and uncertainties in biological measures such as stream typing. To bind some of these potential sources of error, case studies of on-the-ground conditions and surveys of management intentions are also being evaluated.

Simulation results

Our simulation of Washington's new Forest and Fish Regulations (FFR) applied on the westside determined the impact of a three riparian zone management scheme, using a 50-foot no-touch buffer for the inner zone on fish bearing streams, then minimal thinning from 50 feet out to two-thirds of the site potential tree height (SPTH), and finally leaving 10-20 trees per acre in the outer riparian zone up to the SPTH. For non-perennial streams, 50-foot no-touch buffers were assumed for one-half the headwater stream length, and 30-foot no-equipment zones for seasonal streams. Applying these assumptions on non-federal lands in Lewis County, almost 10 percent of the land were designated as no management buffers. Losses in harvest, in landowner net present value, and in rural jobs, for the first two decades, compared to a pre-regulation base were closer to 18 percent, a reflection of the increasing harvest scheduling difficulty when mature acres become in short supply. Long-term sustained losses were comparable to the acreage impacted. Using the measure of late seral (LS) acres in the riparian zone as a proxy for a set of riparian habitat indices, the new rules increase the percentage of LS in the RMZ to 15 percent in 55 years and 38 percent in 105 years. More active management restoration treatments in the RMZ (which is possible if you have a negotiated HCP), including periodic thinning to accelerate growth of large trees and to restore understory vegetation in dense young stands, cut the economic losses almost in half while increasing the LS in the RMZ to over 50 percent beyond 55 years. This alternative approach infers more than a four-fold improvement in economic efficiency to reach the same biological goals.

Case study findings

Using case studies to better understand the limitations of simulations shows a large variation of impacts across small ownerships with impacts of near zero to 65 percent for ownerships in the 100-acre range. This characterizes the large disparity in impacts that may fall on small owners. Some small owners have the immediate option of conversion to other uses, some have already harvested their timber postponing the impact for decades, and others are immediately impacted. In addition, the size of harvestable tracks is substantially reduced by the buffers around headwater streams with some portion of the acres no longer economically accessible. The cost of upgrading roads and culverts is still being evaluated.

Key uncertainties

Unstable slopes may also induce substantial impacts. Some 15 percent of the industry lands in Lewis County could be considered unstable, potentially restricting management practices. Non-industrial lands are concentrated in the lower elevations with a relatively smaller portion of their acres potentially unstable. Another large uncertainty is stream typing, with many streams either unclassified or misclassified. Some believe many of the unclassified and seasonal streams will be reclassified to potential fish bearing headwaters, greatly increasing the acres in stream buffers.

Asset loss versus motivation to manage timber

The timber restricted by buffer areas appears to average in the 10-20 percent range but may exceed 50 percent for many owners, the likely range of costs for the loss in the owners previous forest investment. This is often referred to as the size of the asset taking before any compensation. To lower the small landowner losses and reduce the disparity, Washington now offers market value compensation to small owners for 50 percent of these losses in exchange for conservation easements up to a threshold level of about 25 percent and 100 percent compensation above this threshold. The buffer regulations and easement, however, would appear to reduce any motivation for small owners to continue investing in restoration and thinning operations to grow larger trees. These increased costs reduce the profit margin for the next crop by an even greater percentage than the loss in the current crop. The reduction in returns to future management of the land was more than twice the percentage loss in acres impacted or harvest in cases we analyzed. Declining financial returns to forestry investments relative to conversion or sale alternatives calls into question the future viability of small owner management.

Market value benefits

In analyzing the benefits of the regulations, one estimate of the potential increase in market value for fishing interests showed the timber losses in buffers to be almost an order of magnitude larger than the fishery gains and the gap widened with buffer width. This suggests that the benefits of importance are non-market social values, not non-timber market values.

Non-market value tradeoffs

Studies that have estimated the values that various publics place on forest management and fish are particularly hard to validate. Experimental choice surveys that ask consumers to make choices among market baskets of alternatives do provide quantitative values for their willingness to pay for forest biodiversity, aesthetics or fish population recovery and their willingness to accept job losses or out of pocket costs. Urban communities place the highest value on forest aesthetics and biodiversity associated with older forests, yet rural communities are being forced to absorb most of the costs and job losses associated with regulatory constraints on forest harvests. One recent survey shows each household willing to pay as much as $344 per year for a sizeable recovery in migratory fish populations. Forestry is generally considered to have a much smaller impact on fish populations than other causes hence the forestry fair share would be much lower than this value. Other studies show that the public's unwillingness to accept the job losses and costs that result from new regulations is greater than these gains. However, if more aggressive thinning management strategies are used to reach desired habitat characteristics, costs and job losses are substantially reduced, creating the potential for net social gains, although the costs to rural communities would still be large if not compensated.

Tentative Conclusions

While Oregon's new fish protection rules are still being deliberated and may be economically less negative than Washington's, tentative conclusion would include:

The fish agreement will impact 15-25 percent of the non-federal forests although the uncertainty is still large given the potential for further regulatory constraints associated with unstable slopes and stream typing.
Wider buffers such as those used on federal lands are much more costly.
Some small owners are disproportionally impacted, and while conservation easement compensation may offset these impacts, it also reduces the motivation of small owners to do any management that would otherwise contribute to habitat restoration.
The reduced returns to small owner management will likely increase conversions and land sales. A thorough examination of indirect regulatory costs is critical.
The low economic efficiency of no-management buffers offers promise to more adaptive management strategies such as habitat conservation plans.
Non-timber market gains are likely to be small relative to timber losses.
Non-market social values placed on forests and fish by the general public may be sufficient to generate net social welfare gains but this would likely require more active management alternatives to reduce the economic losses. These alternatives are not the norm under current regulations that are still predicated largely on no-management reserve strategies instead of active management restoration strategies.
Uncertainties in measuring and modeling the biological impacts are still large.

Bruce Lippke is director, Rural Technology Initiative, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington.

Steady Now...

Possible future forester Delanie Tally, 5, of Phoenix, Oregon, gets a helping hand from a current forest professional during Arbor Day Activities in Medford, Oregon. OSAF's Siskiyou Chapter partnered with Medford's Parks Department, the city's Tree Committee and the Rogue Council of Camp Fire Boys and Girls to plant small oak trees in a local cemetery. The trees were purchased with a $150 grant from the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Forestry.

Photo credit: Mail Tribune/Bob Pennell

OSAF Annual Meeting Highlights Past and Present, Focuses on Future

by Sue Bowers

In his keynote address, Doug MacCleery, assistant director of Forest Management, USDA Forest Service, set the stage for two days of insightful discussion at the OSAF annual meeting, held May 17-19 at the Valley River Inn in Eugene. Doug explored three distinct time periods in his discussion of the first 100 years of professional forestry.

From 1900 until World War II, the profession was defining itself, with many of its leaders using the European forestry model. This era has been called America's "First Conservation Movement." The Forest Service was created in 1905. Great strides were made in fire protection. Much of the early tree planting was aimed at stabilizing soil from eroded farmland. Railroads were huge consumers of wood, with much of the early wood technology work aimed at increasing the life of railroad ties. Professional foresters were involved with all these changes. Doug characterized the profession as helping lead the conservation movement.

MacCleery described the period between World War II and 1970 as a time of increasing forest demands and controversy. Harvest levels from federal lands increased significantly, as did use of public forests for recreational activities. At the local level, many citizens became personally familiar with national forests.

From 1970 until 2000, we have experienced what MacCleery calls the "Second Environmental Movement." Much legislation and action has centered on air and water pollution. These were once thought of as urban issues, but they have significantly influenced forest management as well. In the United States, per capita consumption of wood has increased since 1975. This fact, when paired with society's increasing protection ethic, raises the issue of a large "disconnect" between the expressed desires of the public and their actions. MacCleery commented on the reluctance of foresters to comment or lead public discussion of issues and challenged the profession to again take a leadership role in the policy arena.

The meeting continued with paired presentations addressing issues of importance to the next generation of foresters. Bill Galligan, wood technologist from WSU, discussed the history of wood product use in this country, focusing on the categories of fuel, shelter, transportation, communication and beauty applications. Jim Reeb, forest products professor from OSU, focused on current and future wood demand.

Victoria Sturdevant, sociologist at Southern Oregon University, and Bill Banzhaf, SAF's executive vice president, gave a joint presentation on public perceptions about forestry. They posed four specific challenges to SAF including the need to reach more non-industrial forest landowners, connecting with urban populations through addressing urban sprawl, ensuring that private forest management is profitable, and engaging in global issues.

Steve Anderson, president of the Forest History Society, and Cassie Phillips, director of Forestry for Weyerhaeuser's Western Timberlands, discussed on-the-ground forest management practices, past and present. Cassie hesitated to make many predictions about the future, but in response to questions about the recent Forest and Fish agreement in Washington commented, "We don't have many more trees to give and remain competitive internationally."

Jack Ward Thomas, now on the faculty at the University of Montana, began a discussion of management principles and ethics. He noted the United States'current tendency to turn elsewhere for our wood supply, transferring the ecological consequences to other countries. He suggested that SAF's land ethic must transcend national boundaries and commented on the forestry profession's "incredible silence" on this issue.

Zane Cornett, a consultant who has been active with SAF's Ethics Committee, commented on the continuing values of professional foresters. He characterized sustainability and collaboration as emerging values and shared several predictions and hopes, including that a combination of leadership and humility by foresters will keep us from becoming irrelevant in forest policy matters.

George Brown, dean emeritus of OSU's College of Forestry, was the final speaker at the meeting. He discussed the past and future role of partnerships, noting that cooperation has been a cornerstone in forest management for decades. He highlighted the need for successful partnerships to be built on a clearly articulated, shared and understood purpose, with participants sharing in both costs and successes. With the move toward landscape-level efforts across ownerships, such as Oregon's 90 existing watershed councils, he encouraged SAF members to be involved, help define sustainability, push for adequate research dollars and nurture support for partnerships in education.

The 2000 OSAF Annual Meeting provided a venue for discussion of the past, present and future issues facing our profession. Taking to heart the call for leadership, and bringing that discussion to action is our task, both individually and collectively, as we seek to shape our future as forestry professionals.

Sue Bowers was co-chair of the OSAF annual meeting.

Members Honored at Oregon Annual Meeting

Several awards were presented during the awards luncheon on May 19 during the OSAF annual meeting in Eugene.

Sue Bowers Forester of the Year

Sue Bowers of the Emerald Chapter was selected as this year's Forester of the Year for her continued good work and innovative approaches to public education. Sue is the owner Sylvan Kore, a consulting firm that specializes in forestry education. One of her clients is the nonprofit association Forests Today and Forever, for which she serves as program coordinator. One of their activities is Forest Field Day, a forest management simulation exercise for middle schoolers. Sue has been instrumental in expanding and refining this program, which now includes nine school districts in Lane and Linn counties and serves over 2,200 6th and 7th graders. Over 200 volunteers from all areas of the forestry profession assist with this project.

To increase the effectiveness of getting adults on forestry tours, Sue developed links with organizations that conduct tours for their members. Two such organizations were a local senior citizens group and the local Chamber of Commerce, and Sue has been successful in getting forestry tours into both groups'regular tour schedule.

The state legislature is a key player in forest management issues in the state, and at the request of one of its members, she organized a workshop on forestry topics for the Democratic caucus. While doing all this, she also found time to co-chair the 2000 annual meeting, chair the OSAF Education Committee, and be active in her local chapter. Sue exemplifies what it means to be a forester and has contributed greatly to the profession.

Miller Receives Achievement Award

Receiving the Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of lifetime achievement in the forestry profession was Capital Chapter member H. Mike Miller, an SAF member since 1959.

He began his career with the Oregon Department of Forestry, and in his 27 years of service with the agency, rose from a seasonal fire crewman during his college years to state forester. During his years of public service, Mike was regarded as a fair-minded and respected leader who helped guide the department through challenging times to balance the agency's role in fire protection, forest land management, private forest practices and service forestry.

In 1986, Mike left public forestry to work in the private sector as executive director of Associated Oregon Loggers (AOL). In his 14 years with AOL, he led the association out of financial difficulties by expanding and improving member services. Mike was instrumental in AOL founding the Friends of Paul Bunyan Foundation (FPB), which offers grants to further forest production information and education endeavors. He plans to continue serving the profession with his ongoing work as executive secretary for the FPB Foundation.

No matter what capacity Mike served the forestry profession, he always has sought to advance the practice of sustainable forest management, protection, production and policy.

Coos Named Chapter of the Year

The Coos Chapter received the Chapter Achievement award for extraordinary achievements in membership, service to members, community service, chapter management and forest policy. Mike Barrett, 1999 chapter chair, accepted the award. A sample of the chapter's accomplishments include sponsoring a spring workshop on landslides; making contributions of over $1,000 to seven organizations; sponsoring the annual Student Resource Day project where 5th and 6th graders spend a day in the woods with an SAF forester; a salmon habitat restoration project with other community organizations to plant riparian species along a portion of Dutch John Creek; and sponsorship of two South Coast Forestry Forums, community programs designed after the Seventh American Forest Congress.

Heiner is a Tough Tree

Siskiyou Chapter member Howard Heiner was presented the Tough Tree award for successfully promoting hazard reduction and active forest management in the Ashland Watershed under intense pressure from hostile special interest groups. The Tough Tree award is presented to an OSAF member who has demonstrated sustained, excellent professional performance in an adverse work climate.

The Ashland District of the Rogue River National Forest has conducted fire hazard reduction in the highly volatile Ashland Watershed since 1982. In spring 1997, the Forest Service proposed a new timber sale called Hazred in which the principal end result was to build on the existing network of fuel breaks established in previous years. The proposed sale immediately met with controversy from hostile and vocal special interest groups that did not want any kind of management in the watershed, and work was stalled. In 1999, the Forest Service renamed the proposed sale the Ashland Watershed Protection Project, and a local group formed called the Ashland Watershed Stewardship Alliance. This group consisted of a cross-section of the community that varied from a strong environmental perspective to a more balanced approach.

Eventually, after Howard spent months of explaining the technical aspects of forest management and the corresponding fire management issues, even the most radical individuals have come around. Howard is an excellent example of involvement and commitment.

Stangell Receives Service Award

Julie Stangell, SAF member since 1982, was honored with a service appreciation award for her outstanding service to OSAF, and was presented with a huge chocolate kiss and a fleece vest. Julie served as OSAF chair in 1998, the year of Measure 64, and helped OSAF put together a roving slide show before the November vote and a Voter's Pamphlet statement in opposition to the measure. She also served as OSAF Foundation chair, marketing/media/publicity co-chair of the 1999 national convention, and is currently a member of the national Communications Committee. Julie's enthusiastic "let's do it" style of leadership and excellent communications skills have made her a tremendous asset to the Society. She recently transferred to Washington where she is now a member of the South Puget Sound Chapter.

Blair Moody Recognized

Current OSAF Chair Rick Barnes presented a certificate of appreciation and gavel to Blair Moody for his contribution to the OSAF. Blair was instrumental in getting the Fellows voting process revised at the 1999 HSD meeting in Portland, and provided solid leadership during his tenure as OSAF chair in 1999.

Council Addresses Critical Issues

by Ray Craig

The SAF Council addressed important critical issues during its June 2000 meeting at Wild Acres in Bethesda, Maryland.

Council learned SAF testimony played a pivotal role in the EPA's recent decision to remove silvicultural practices from the TMDL rules for point source pollution.

Many Council members set individual fundraising goals for the Centennial fundraising campaign. I personally set a very reachable goal of $25,000, and I will contact Oregon leaders and members to highlight the value and importance of the fundraising to SAF programs. SAF is making a difference; I will unabashedly seek individual and chapter support for the campaign. The fundraising period is about halfway through, and the goal is about halfway reached. Council agreed it is our responsibility to achieve Centennial fundraising goals.

Council approved the nominations for National SAF awards and discussed the notion of adding a field forester award to the menu of SAF awards.

Larry Tombaugh, Forest Education Accreditation Task Force chair, presented the group's final report, which Council approved. The report makes 11 recommendations to Council to maintain effective professional accreditation. These recommendations range from endorsing a model for accreditation that consists of a core set of competencies that would apply to all accredited forestry programs, to accrediting the academic program leading to a professional forestry degree. The full report is available on the SAF website.

Council enhanced its emphasis on strategic planning, including identifying planning methods and the membership implications of SAF's strategic alternatives. Council adopted strategic outcomes for 2001.

Ethics Committee Chair Sam Radcliff presented a recommendation that Council approve sending the proposed revised Code of Ethics to the full membership for adoption by referendum ballot. Discussion centered on the need for the revised code, perceived minimal involvement by members in the development of the proposed new code, and opposition to the proposed code by some members. By majority vote, Council agreed to forward the proposed changes to the membership for adoption.

Council approved a task force "To evaluate the need for, and make recommendations regarding the role of SAF in supporting forester licensing and registration initiatives . . . and develop a comprehensive recommendation . . . about the desirability and feasibility of licensing and registering professional foresters, including criteria and standards." Council emphasized the need to minimize costs, especially by utilizing conference calls in lieu of meetings.

In response to a draft statement, "Clarifying the Purposes of the National Forests," prepared by the Committee on Forest Policy, Council agreed SAF will define issues and problems regarding the USDA Forest Service, and offer points of view and potential solutions.

Council ratified interim actions since the February meeting. Council noted these were well-written documents that are important to Congress and other decision-makers that work on forestry-related matters.

Ray Craig is Council representative for Voting District 2, representing the Oregon Society. He can be reached at ray.s.craig@state.or.us

Devlin Retires From Forest Service

Bob Devlin, director of Natural Resources in the Pacific Northwest Region (R-6) of the Forest Service, retired on June 30 after 42 years of service with the Forest Service. He served on the Klamath (twice), Sequoia and Stanislaus Forests in the Pacific Southwest Region (R-5), and Rogue River and Umpqua Forests in Region 6. Devlin served as assistant district ranger, district ranger and forest timber staff in Region 5 before moving to forest supervisor on the Rogue River and Umpqua Forests. In 1991 he became timber director for Region 6 in Portland. He then assumed the duties of the natural resources staff in the Regional Office in 1993.

A graduate of Pennsylvania State University in 1958, Bob has been a member of the SAF since 1958. He has held offices in SAF, including state chair in 1990-91. He was elected to Fellow in 1993.

Devlin has seen many changes in the profession of forestry and has assisted in leading many of those changes in the Forest Service. In retiring, Devlin states, "I have always been proud to be an active member of the Society and a participant in the dramatic changes in land management that has taken place since 1958. I plan to continue to stay in touch with natural resource issues."

Letters to the Editors

Dear Members of the Oregon and Washington SAF Societies:
It is hard to believe that the 2000 Convention is just about four months away and that I recently celebrated my one-year anniversary at SAF. It seems like only yesterday that I made my initial trip to Portland and began to work surrounded by the energy and enthusiasm that each of you brought to the 1999 Convention.

As we approach the last months of the 2000 Convention planning, I am reminded just how much effort and passion each of you brought to the success of the convention. How fortunate I was to see such cohesion and teamwork! There is no doubt in my mind that our success was due to your leadership. I was truly overwhelmed by it all.

Your thorough convention follow-up and analysis has been an invaluable research tool for the 2000 Arrangements Team and me. Since many aspects of the SAF Convention are unique to your industry, I find myself often using the notebook as a guideline. You have certainly set a very professional standard for all future SAF convention volunteers.

I look forward to seeing many of you here in D.C. in November. There are so many exciting and "monumental" events that will be educational and tons of fun.

Again, on behalf of all the SAF staff and Portland hotels, I extend a huge thank you.

Madelaine Morgan
Director of Meetings amd Conventions, SAF

The Western Forester welcomes comments from its readers. The Western Forester reserves the right to edit all material submitted for publication. Send letters to: Editor, Western Forester, 4033 SW Canyon Road, Portland, OR 97221; fax 503.224.8046; rasor@safnwo.org.

Foundation Forum: Scholarship Recipients Announced

The Oregon Society of American Foresters Foundation approved two scholarships for the academic year 2000-2001. They are as follows:

Sam Hagglund - OSAF Scholardhip $4,500

Sam, an incoming student from Sheridan, Oregon, plans to major in the five-year Forest Engineering/Civil Engineering dual degree program. He has a well-rounded high school preparation with advanced classes in mathematics, science and English, as well as Spanish, woodworking and band, and achieved a top 4.00 grade average. Sam has also gained extensive outdoors experience with the Boy Scouts, 4-H activities and summer jobs that have included farm and construction work, small thinning operations at home, and work in his uncle's saw mill. He loves working outdoors and is working toward a career in harvesting, road building, surveying or other areas associated with forestry.

Darren Lemon - OSAF Scholarship $2,500

Darren is just finishing his first year at the College of Forestry and has made an excellent start in the five-year Forest Engineering/Civil Engineering program. His cumulative grade average after two terms is 3.75. Darren is from Union in eastern Oregon. He works in the summer to help pay his college tuition, and has already gained experience on a survey crew setting up network and mapping points, slope staking and inspections. His career goal is to become a professional forest engineer.

For additional information on the OSAF Foundation visit their website.

Help Celebrate 100 Years in DC

With SAF celebrating its Centennial this year, the 2000 SAF National Convention promises to be a remarkable event. The convention will be held November 16-20 in Washington, D.C. A pre-convention program was printed in the June issue of The Forestry Source. Here are some key highlights of the 2000 convention:

Celebrate 100 years of professional forestry during the opening ceremonies.
Enjoy the Centennial Gala at the National Building Museum and reminisce at the Millennium Time Capsule Brunch.
Learn about community outreach from keynote speaker Bill Shore, founder of Sharing Our Strength.
Apply your newfound knowledge to one of the community outreach projects offered including visiting children's classrooms in the District of Columbia, planting trees at schools and in communities, or meeting your congressional representative or senator and discussing forestry issues.
Shape the future of the natural resource profession through the open space technology forum.
Enjoy stimulating sessions at the Science Colloquium to learn about topics and ideas that are critically connected to the science of forestry.
Earn up to 50 continuing education credits.

The pre-convention program can also be found online, as well as the online registration form. The deadline for early bird registration is September 5, 2000.

Native Forest Remnants Focus of Seminar

The Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (PNW-ISA), the professional society for arborists and urban foresters in the Northwest, invites Northwest SAF members to attend a seminar on the management of native forests in the urban/rural interface.

Managing Native Forest Remnants will be held September 21, 2000, at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon. The seminar will focus on the management of native forest remnants in the urban/rural interface or those left behind during the development process. The seminar will feature speakers presenting on issues such as insect and disease infestations brought on by site disturbance, application of silvicultural knowledge to small stands, greenbelts and natural areas, competition with non-native species, hazard trees and site restoration recommendations. Featured speakers will include Alan Kanaskie, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Walt Knapp, a well-known consultant in urban forestry and silviculture. For a program brochure, contact the PNW-ISA office by calling 503.874.8263 or by email request at info@pnwisa.org.

Governor to Proclaim Professional Forester Day

This year, the Society of American Foresters celebrates a milestone - our Centennial! As part of our reflections on our contributions to the history of both the forestry profession and the country, the Oregon Society of American Foresters has asked Governor John Kitzhaber to proclaim November 30, 2000, as Professional Forester Day (see below).

Proclamation
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
STATE OF OREGON

Proposed by the Oregon Society of American Foresters

WHEREAS: Oregon is a beautiful state containing abundant forests from the Blue Mountains across the desert lowlands to the upper Klamath basin and then up and back down the Cascades across the Siskiyous and up along the Pacific Coast; and

WHEREAS: Oregon's forests have provided, are providing and will continue to provide the full array of environmental, social and economic benefits desired by Oregonians; and

WHEREAS: Oregon has a rich history of pioneering, homesteading, public domain, railroad land tenure, logging, community dependency, fire protection, reforestation, silviculture, insect and disease control, recreation, wilderness, forest practices regulation, environmentalism, new forestry, productive timberlands, watershed restoration, collaboration and partnership tied to its forests; and

WHEREAS: Professional foresters played a key role in Oregon's forest history and their management of forests is responsible for the perpetuity of forests for future generations; and

WHEREAS: The Society of American Foresters was formed nearly 100 years ago on November 30, 1900, "to further the cause of forestry in America by fostering a spirit of comradeship among foresters; by creating opportunities for a free interchange of views upon forestry and allied subjects; and by disseminating a knowledge of the purpose and achievements of forestry."

WHEREAS: The Society of American Foresters is nearly 18,000 members strong including 1,236 Oregon members spanning many natural resource disciplines to advance the practice, technology, science, education and a conservation ethic of forestry to benefit society; and

WHEREAS: The Society of American Foresters kicked-off the Centennial Celebration for 100 years of professional forestry in the United States at its 1999 National Convention, September 11-15, in Portland, Oregon.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, John A. Kitzhaber, Governor of the State of Oregon, hereby proclaim November 30, 2000, to be PROFESSIONAL FORESTER DAY in Oregon and encourage all citizens to join in this observance.

May/June 2000

Alaska Chapter Coordinates Education Outreach

Competing Demands Become Real for Middle School Students

Habitat For Humanity Update

"If They Only Understood..."

Invited to the Classroom?

Members Honored at WSSAF Annual Meeting

Science in the Forest

Student Chapter Formed in Washington

Teaching Forestry at West Sound Technical Skills Center

Trees Make Oxygen!

Washington State SAF Centennial Story: How It Began

We Remember

Trees Make Oxygen!

by Rick Zenn

My host told me it was "education day," but the large room was filled with dozens of empty chairs. All morning and on into the warm afternoon, witnesses told the Board of Forestry things were looking up. Polls revealed the public believed that forest management today was better than in the past and that the state forester was doing a good job.

Someone at the head table stated that the public still had "a disconnect" with forest management. All heads nodded in agreement.

It is not well known, but children in the Pacific Northwest probably receive more classroom instruction about forests and related environmental topics during their school years than about any other headline issue today. Local, state and federal agencies, private companies, professional associations and a spectrum of nonprofits, not to mention many of the schools themselves, shower our teachers and students with an amazing assemblage of videos, posters, CDs, websites, workbooks, coloring books, guest speakers, even cash grants - all to advance the study of forests.

Every year, thousands of Northwest teachers go on forest tours and take college courses about forests. There are in-service days based on forests, and most of the larger professional meetings have forestry booths and exhibits. Excellent materials like Project Learning Tree are readily available and hundreds of teachers annually complete PLT courses in every state in the region.

Our students and teachers spend hours and hours together preparing for outdoor school, earth day, Arbor Day, career day and forest field days. Every year, thousands of students take trips to local parks, nature centers, visitor centers, zoos, aquariums, arboretums, museums, even tree farms, nurseries, active logging shows and mills.

They meet and interview dozens of "real foresters." They make posters and write reports. They build paper models of forests, count tree rings and classify leaves. Many students then work after hours on scout badges and 4-H. On weekends and vacations, some go to outdoor camps. Public television and cable feature forest programs nearly 24 hours a day.

In 1999, for example, over 500 schools and youth groups participated in the education programs offered by the World Forestry Center. Over 80,000 school kids visited the forest exhibits at the Oregon Zoo.

To suggest there is a disconnect between our schools and forests is simply not true. Nevertheless, when you ask a typical group of students, "What do we get from trees?" they will universally say, "Trees make oxygen." Try the question again, and most will say, "Trees provide habitat." Both are technically correct answers. But are these childish responses what a well-trained professional forester wants to hear?

From an educational, cognitive perspective, one might suggest that these simplistic responses demonstrate that kids have a fairly well developed view of the plant physiology and the ecological importance of trees and forests.

Alternatively, one might legitimately suggest they just don't get it.

In 1990, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) published an important report entitled Science for All Americans. The authors perfectly describe the general situation with children and forestry:

"Textbooks and methods of instruction, far from helping, often actually impede progress toward science literacy...the present curricula in science and mathematics are overstuffed and undernourished."

Could it be forestry professionals are trying too hard to "stuff" our students?

If you ever watch a staff forester conduct a student activity in the classroom or in the woods, it is not difficult to see why we fail to nourish the students. Most of our "spiels" are loaded unusual phrases and conceptual terms about stands, even-age management, shade intolerance (my favorite), riparian zones, measuring circumference, board feet, maintaining productivity and sustainable harvest.

We all try hard to teach the important things in the short time allocated, but we often speak to the students using what is actually a foreign language to them. Just like polite tourists far from home, the students and teachers smile and nod mindlessly in agreement.

Simply because we teach or publish, we cannot assume that our students or readers understand what we are talking about. If we are lucky, and they do understand, it is quite possible that they may not agree with our professional conclusions. Now and then, people do have honest differences of opinion. It is quite logical they might seek out a "second opinion."

The Science for All Americans report offered six observations that may serve as benchmarks to improve our forestry educational activities:

Learning is not necessarily an outcome of teaching.
What students learn is influenced by their existing ideas.
Progression in learning is usually from the concrete to the abstract.
People learn to do well only what they practice.
Effective learning by students requires feedback.
Expectations affect performance.

Does your educational activity involve family and community members? Have you thoroughly checked out what the students have been studying about forests? Do you just talk about forestry concepts or do you show real examples? Do you let people use your tools? Do you provide positive feedback throughout the activity? Do you treat the students like partners?

Even in the best education program there is room for improvement. It is high time we change from stuffing students to nourishing them. Education takes time, over time, and every one of us has an important role to play at work, at home and in our communities. Maybe we all could learn a valuable lesson from the oxygen lobby.

Rick Zenn is education director at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon. He can be reached at rzennwfc@aol.com.

"If They Only Understood..."

by Michelle Mauthe Harvey

Environmental education (EE). Conservation education (CE). Environment ed. These are a few of the more popular names used to describe the process of educating someone about the world around them. In my opinion, it doesn't matter what you call it - good education about the environment is good education. And we can't have too much of it.

Since 1992, the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) and the Roper Starch organization have conducted a nationally representative annual survey of adult knowledge, attitudes and behaviors about the environment. On average, two out of three adults receive a failing grade on this national environmental report card.

This is relevant to me, because for the nearly 25 years that I've been a part of the forestry profession, I've heard the refrain, "If the public just understood about forestry, they'd support what foresters do." While I don't know if that's true, I can't prove it wrong. If the public lacks an understanding of environmental basics, you can bet they don't understand forestry.

Consistently, the people who get the most answers right on the NEETF/Roper Report Card are the most highly educated. Not surprising, level of environmental knowledge also relates to attitude. The more people know about the environment, the more likely they are to believe that economic development and environmental protection can co-exist, and the more optimistic they are about our ability to protect the environment. Most interesting to me is the relationship between environmental knowledge and attitudes about environmental regulation. The people who know the most about the environment are the least likely to think we need additional regulation. Conversely, the less educated a person is, the more likely they are to think additional environmental regulations are necessary.

For a profession based in the environment, and subject to myriad levels of regulation, an educated public appears to indeed be to our advantage. If the public understood forestry, shouldn't they support what foresters do?

In 1998, the SAF conservation education task force looked at SAF's role in providing conservation education for teachers. Surveying the leaders of SAF state societies, divisions, chapters and working groups, the task force found that over 60 percent were engaged in some form of educational outreach program. However, the task force also found that SAF education efforts "currently lack coordination, a clear strategy and accountability, thus resulting in an ineffective use of resources. The task force does not recommend that SAF endorse a specific program, such as FIT (Forestry Institute for Teachers), as the sole national model for CE. Instead, the task force recommends setting expectations and guidelines for an effective program, then allowing the units to choose a method, one of which could be FIT.

The task force recommendations (see below) have been accepted by SAF Council and are now beginning to be implemented, including the hiring of a Conservation Education coordinator in the national office. We hope to have both the new CE coordinator and a second new staff person - science manager - on board in the very near future.

If SAF implements all of the task force's recommendations, will it work? Will the public understand forestry?

We'll certainly be headed in the right direction. Although the academic field of environmental education is relatively young, research indicates that, when properly structured, it indeed "works," as documented last year in a study by Dr. Trudi Volk, published through the North American Association for Environmental Education.

In addition, the State Education and Environment Roundtable has found that the environment is an ideal context for academic learning. Schools that use the environment to teach math, science, language arts and social studies show among other things, increased test scores and lowered disciplinary problems. Of note from the NEETF/Roper National Report Card - 95 percent of Americans (96 percent of parents) support environmental education in the schools.

As I said in the beginning, good education about the environment is good education. And as shown in the National Report Card, an educated public is most likely to be knowledgeable about the environment. Who knows what might happen if they understood forestry? I for one look forward to finding out.

Michelle Mauthe Harvey is the new SAF director of Science and Education in Bethesda, Maryland. She welcomes questions and comments about education or science and can be reached at harveym@safnet.org.

Recommendations of the Task Force on
Conservation Education for Teachers (1998)

Clearly define national Conservation Education (CE) program goals and objectives.
Carefully consider and clearly define target audience.
Develop concepts central to effective CE activities:
- Forest environments are among the most complex, resilient and varied of our ecosystems;
- Forest environments are subject to competing demands;
- Use of the forest environment does not necessarily compromise its integrity; and
- The forestry profession is uniquely capable to help maintain the integrity of forest environments.
Establish meaningful measurement criteria at the activity level and the program level.
Require rigorous evaluation of CE projects against objectives.
Develop tools for local SAF members to use to meet educators' demands for career information.
Hire a program coordinator.
Raise funds from all potential sources.
Coordinate SAF CE program with the larger education reform effort.

Invited to the Classroom? (breathe deep, then read this)

by Ken Stephens

Having taught forestry for many years, I've seen how effective professional foresters can be with high school students. That shouldn't be a surprise: everybody loves the forest - and almost everybody wants to know more about it.

With a little preparation and a clear, simple message, you can survive the experience, and maybe even have fun in the process.

Before you accept . . .

Find out exactly what the instructor wants. It might be anything from a discussion of how a seed nursery works to the details of forest ecology.
Don't take on too much, but have enough to fill the time. It's a balancing act - something like producing forest products while you're saving the trees.
Be goal-oriented in your teaching. As the old saying goes, if you shoot at nothing, you'll probably hit it. But if you decide in advance what you'd like the class to know about forestry, you'll have an easier time preparing, and more success in getting your message across.
Decide whether you're the best person for the job. In large organizations, some people are better communicators than others. Pass the request on to somebody else if you're sure they'd do a better job reaching students than you.
Ask whether it would be possible to take the students into the field. If it is, read the "Teaching in the field" sidebar (below).

Classroom Tips

Bring visual aids. Students love to look at things you bring in from the woods - the stranger the better (and what forester doesn't have a great collection of these?). Tree cross-sections, distorted branches, stems with rotted centers, gnarly roots, galls, witch's brooms, antique tools or instruments all help get the dialog moving.
Use technology. Slides and PowerPoint presentations are great substitutes for deadly boring, small-print handouts.
Keep things light; nothing communicates serious subjects like humor.
Treat hostile opinions with respect. Good forestry can stand up to scrutiny, so challenging questions shouldn't put you on the defensive. Just don't answer with sarcasm. Instead, have students trace ideas to their logical conclusions. Let's say you're asked why your company doesn't replace clearcutting with selective cutting. Take students through the process: in selectively cut forests, sun-loving trees like Douglas-firs don't regenerate easily, logging costs increase, and the price of forest products (from houses to toilet paper) goes up.
Don't get bogged down in too much detail. Unless you're a brilliant speaker, you'll lose more students than you help with drawn-out explanations.
Try to get large principles across. For example, when landowners can't profitably manage their own forests, the alternative to sell to a developer becomes more attractive. When forests can be managed properly, everybody benefits, from the landowner to the people who ultimately use forest products (everybody).
Draw students in with questions. Stick with the classics: when you drive a nail into a tree trunk four feet above the ground, for example, how high off the ground will the nail be 20 years later?
Let the instructor handle disruptive students. If your presentation is being disturbed by talking, for example, just pause, step back and give the teacher the chance to intervene.
Stress the notion that there's a place for everybody in forestry, from computer jockeys to people who love hard physical work.

Ken Stephens, an SAF member for about 20 years, has taught forestry (now called Natural Resources Technology) at West Sound Technical Skills Center in Bremerton, Washington, for 21 years. He graduated from the University of Washington's Forest Resource Management program in 1974. You can reach him at 360.478.6951, or by e-mail at kenls@orca.esd114.wednet.edu.

Teaching in the Field

Outside classes are almost always more successful than those given in classroom settings. You're surrounded by the world's best visual aids, and the students' natural curiosity kicks in the minute they get off the bus. The only constraints - as with nearly everything else in life - are time and money.

The major expense is for the bus; your company or organization may be able to help with transportation if the school district can't handle it. It's usually easy to get a few parents to come along to help keep the students on track.

Arrange the day so that students have one to three hours in the field.If the focus is on forest ecology, take the class on a guided walk through the woods. Tell stories about everything from nurse logs to shelf fungi, and what these things tell you about the forest's condition and history.

If the focus is on working forestry, you can target anything from a mill to a nursery or a high-lead operation. The class may be able to plant trees or do animal, soil or regeneration surveys. Students learn fastest when they're doing something.

As you teach in the field, keep students close when you talk. If you let the group get narrow and deep, the students at the back will be tempted to phase out and start their own conversations.

Teaching Forestry at West Sound Technical Skills Center

Picture this: You're a bright high-school student who isn't exactly sure what to do in life, but love to be outside. Maybe you're into computers and technology, or maybe you love hard work; maybe you can't resist the call of maps, GIS and GPS gear; or perhaps you're spellbound by natural history in general, and trees and animals in particular.

That's when you learn that your high school is among 10 that feed students into a vocational forestry program - one in which 80 percent of the class time (classes run 2 1/2 hours daily) is in the field. It's happening on Kitsap Peninsula, just across Puget Sound from Seattle.

Taught by Ken Stephens, the program started two decades ago with an emphasis on forest surveying, tree planting, fire control and chain saw skills. But as the industry has advanced, the curriculum has evolved. Now students also study water quality, soils, and fish and wildlife, using current industrial technologies along the way.

"Much of forestry involves data," says Stephens. "These students have to know how to observe, record and bring information back. For that, computers are essential - like pencils."

About 20 percent of Stephens' students go into related careers within a year. His graduates include private and state foresters, loggers and state parks employees.

A professional advisory council helps keep the program in touch with industry needs. SAF members Art Schick, Mike Glass (a program graduate), and the late Ken Hillman have been advisors to this program for many years.

Science in the Forest

by Amber Reece

What do high school students, natural resource professionals, a forested environment, hands-on activities, challenging questions and hiking have to do with each other? Believe it or not, everything! This year the World Forestry Center held its annual Science in the Forest event on April 14 at their demonstration forest in Sherwood, Oregon.

This event was designed to complement natural resource Oregon Certificates of Mastery and Certificates of Advanced Mastery. Students discovered the diversity of science-based career paths available in natural resources by meeting the scientists themselves. The students were divided into small groups and rotated to stations staffed by resource professionals. Each group of students spent 20 minutes per station and participated in hands-on activities and discussions. Students also hiked to an historic fire tower located on the property. On hand for the event was an archaeologist, an entomologist, foresters, manufactured wood specialists, a special forest products specialist, a wildlife specialist, and GPS/GIS specialists. College students from Oregon State University assisted with the event and helped those students interested in natural resource careers.

Guidelines were set and followed to ensure the success of this program. The Society of American Foresters Task Force on Conservation Education for Teachers developed one of the several sets of guidelines that the World Forestry Centers' Education Department follows. Four key forestry concepts were designed to "encourage critical thinking skills and address concerns about the forested environment."

The Science in the Forest event was focused around forestry concept four, which states, "The forestry profession is uniquely capable to help maintain the integrity of forest environments." By having qualified, respected scientists from the natural resource fields, the students gained a greater awareness of the amount of schooling and science required to make educated forest management decisions. By inviting the scientists, the students were also able to identify and address their forestry concerns with those who actually work in the forest.

Career days like this work to everyone's benefit. The students get to see the resource professionals in their natural habitat and don't have to be lectured in a classroom session. The resource professionals also feel more comfortable working in this setting because it is easier to explain their profession and show what they do. Science in the Forest drew over 100 students and teachers. All of the participants walked away with a great experience and a greater understanding of all of the different sciences that come into play in our forested environments.

Amber Reese is the education forester for the World Forestry Center's Magness Memorial Tree Farm in Sherwood, Oregon.

Competing Demads Become Real for Middle School Students

by Sue Bowers

Forest Field Day is a hands-on forest management simulation exercise that allows students to experience the challenges, opportunities and responsibilities associated with owning forestland. Sponsored by Forests Today & Forever, a nonprofit education association, it has become a regular part of the curriculum for a dozen middle schools in Lane County as well as several in Linn County and the Portland area.

Students, working in teams of four, assume the role of siblings that have inherited 200 acres from their Grandma Petersen. Each of the brothers and sisters is assigned a priority interest. Kim is most concerned about wildlife and their habitat needs. Sam is interested in soil and water conservation. Alex thinks about using the property to generate income, and focuses on the timber inventory. Marty is most excited about forest recreation. Grandma's will states the heirs must agree on a management plan which addresses the wildlife, soil, water, timber and recreation values of the property before they can take possession of the land.

The program begins with a series of in-class activities designed to help the students think about what they should know about their property before they can make a plan. Teachers lead brainstorming sessions about forest uses. The students study vocabulary. They take a look at the concept of sampling. They see how geometry is used as a tool to help measure trees.

Their day in the forest finds the students rotating among stations assessing the timber, soil, recreation and wildlife opportunities on the site. They meet professional land managers who help them study these resources, collect data and complete worksheets at each station.

The real work comes with the wrap-up activity back in the classroom. The field data is compiled, inventories are developed and planning decisions are made. Land use and forest practices laws narrow some of the choices, but student plans always show creativity! Each family must pay an inheritance tax as well as generate enough revenue from the land to pay for roads, trails, stream structures, campgrounds or any other improvements the siblings agree make sense for "their" land.

The Forest Field Day program allows the students to experience, first-hand, that land management decisions require understanding and trade-offs. It requires them to explore controversial issues, negotiate and compromise to arrive at a plan that all can support - a real-life scenario.

Originally developed by the Mary's Peak SAF Chapter, OSAF, for use at Peavy Arboretum, the Forest Field Day curriculum has evolved to fit a variety of field sites. New ideas from participating teachers and site volunteers have been included each year. The program is now being coordinated by Forests Today & Forever in the southern Willamette Valley and by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute in greater Portland.

Sue Bowers is on the Forests Today & Forever executive committee. For additional information about the program, contact her at 541.895.5549.

Alaska Chapter Coordinates Education Outreach

by Tony Gasborro

The Yukon River Chapter of the Alaska State Society and the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District recently held a joint workshop to discuss lesson planning and overall coordination to make the chapter's outreach to the district as effective as possible. School district educators believe that the use of subject matter experts that visit the classroom will be an important part of the future of elementary and secondary education. This cooperative approach will create a stronger connection between the needs of the teachers and curriculum coordinators, and SAF professionals.

The focus of the workshop was a presentation by Master Teacher Ron Bates titled, Seven Steps in Lesson Design, and is based on a model developed by Madeline Hunter that has been very effective in teaching elementary and secondary students.

The seven steps in lesson design suggested by Mr. Bates include:

Start with an activity that focuses the students' attention on the topic to be discussed. This activity is commonly called "setting the hook."
Tell the students what they will learn and why it is important or useful.
Determine what information is needed and decide on the most effective way of presenting it. This might include demonstrations, games, pantomime, videos or group work.
Have the students individually or in groups show and tell what they have learned.
Check for understanding by asking key questions.
Give students a guided exercise in the classroom as an initial attempt at new learning.
Give students an opportunity for independent practice (keeping notebooks, written assignment).

The school district hopes that each speaker would prepare a lesson plan based on the above design and present it to the teacher in advance of the classroom session. The plan would also include suggestions as to what the presenter would want the teacher to cover prior to the presentation. In addition, the plan would indicate the materials that the speaker will bring for this lesson, and what materials the speaker expects the teacher or students to have on hand.

The Yukon River Chapter, under the leadership of member Bob Wheeler, is currently preparing a topic list that teachers can select from and a roster of the chapter members willing to speak on the various topics. Each speaker will ask the teacher to evaluate the presentation using a short evaluation form that will be prepared by the chapter. Presentation in the district's elementary and secondary schools will begin this fall.

The chapter's efforts could serve as a model for other professionals making presentations in the school district.

Tony Gasbarro is the communications chair of the Yukon River Chapter, Alaska SAF.

Student Chapter Formed in Washington

by Daniel Moses

The Evergreen State College Chapter of the Washington State Society of American Foresters (WSSAF) is proud to announce the formation of a new SAF student chapter at the Evergreen State College in Olympia. The chapter, known as the ESSAF, was granted its charter on January 1, 2000, in celebration of the SAF's centennial year. The chapter was officially presented its charter during a ceremony at the WSSAF annual meeting in Port Ludlow in April.

The Environmental Studies Planning Unit at Evergreen offers a diverse inter-disciplinary curriculum around the three major themes of environmental science, social science and natural history. Forest science is often an important part of the academic offerings. For example, starting in 1998 a series of forestry related programs are now offered.

During the first year of studies students receive a general introduction to Northwest ecology and political issues, including the Northwest Forest Plan. Considerable time is spent creating hypothetical management plans for the Evergreen campus, which will serve as starting ground for later studies. The second year is spent emphasizing forestry, land management and Pacific Northwest policy forestry regulations, including issues such as forest products certification. Year three focuses on creating a proposed forest management plan for the college's heavily wooded campus, and the fourth will look at international forestry and might include an extended trip to Senegal to work and study Acacia savanna and learn about local management. The program is headed and taught by Dr. Gabriel Tucker, also the chapter's faculty sponsor.

The chapter's membership has steadily increased to over a dozen since its formation. Interests of the members range from silviculture and industrial forestry to conservation biology and riparian management. All members share a strong commitment to the scientific and ethical practice of land management and are excited to have newfound access to the Northwest's resource management community.

The chapter has been working on projects with Mark Biser, owner of Stillwaters Farm and a Southwest Washington Chapter member, on his 40-acre Smartwood certified tree farm in the Shelton area. Students have been helping with tree planting, pest and wildlife control, and general maintenance. Biser has generously donated logs to the student chapter, which students have been bucking and splitting and successfully marketing as firewood to raise money for chapter projects.

A project of considerable merit has been the chapter's involvement in the environmental science studies of the Pioneer Middle School's 4th and 5th grade class taught by Daniel Bowlander. In addition to making appearances in the classroom, ESSAF members accompany the enthusiastic youngsters on their quarterly field trips to Stillwaters Farm where they help facilitate projects such as the creation of a self-guided interpretive trail, maintenance and monitoring of birdhouses, and raising several species of fish that will be used to stock a pond on the tree farm. Working with the class is a highly rewarding experience for both Mr. Bowlander's students and chapter members. This collaboration provides an opportunity for the youngsters to spend quality educational time with knowledgeable environmental science students in a fun, exploratory setting. For the Greeners, this project provides a much needed break from the rigors of text work and challenges them to put their knowledge to the test as they tackle the many questions and musings of curious young adults. It is clear that days spent on the farm, whether romping in the mud, searching for beaver or measuring the pond's depth from a canoe, are a wonderful learning experience and pleasure for everyone involved.

The members of the ESSAF are very honored and proud to be part of a long tradition of sharing the knowledge and skills of resource management with those around us. Without the generous contributions of time, knowledge, skills and support from the SAF community, the ESSAF would not have formed and its members would not be as able to effectively share their knowledge and understandings with the Evergreen community and the aspiring naturalists at Pioneer Middle School.

The ESSAF would like to thank the Society of American Foresters for inviting them to become part of the rich history and future of land stewardship in the United States by welcoming them with open arms as student members of the SAF.

Dan Moses is chair of the Evergreen State College Student Chapter. The ESSAF can be contacted at ESSAF, TESC CAB 320, Olympia, WA 98505; 360.570.9652; moser@isicmail.com

Habitat For Humanity Update

On-site Construction Begins on Convention Project

Thirty sponsors and friends of Portland Habitat for Humanity, including SAF representatives Leslie Batten and Al Horton, gathered under cloudy skies in Portland, Oregon, on April 25 for a ceremonial wall-raising. This act marked the beginning of the on-site construction of a five-plex housing development in the heart of northeast Portland.

Oregon SAF Chair-elect Leslie Batten reminded group that "foresters help to provide habitat for people, too." The occasion marked a continuing commitment to the SAF-Habitat for Humanity partnership that began during the 1997 SAF National Convention in Memphis, Tennessee. The partnership gained momentum during the 1998 Traverse City, Michigan, SAF National Convention that led to the Portland 1999 SAF National Convention framing of the one of the duplex portions.

During the Portland convention, thousands of hours of donated delegate labor, thousands of dollars in cash donations, and truck-loads of materials donated by Northwest forest products companies came together in a "blitz build" that created the duplex's exterior and interior walls. At the end of the convention, the walls were dismantled and loaded onto trucks where they remained at the Mallory site until April 25 when the permitting process was concluded and final on-site construction began with the ceremonial wall-raising.

Future Homeowners Identified

So far, three families have been identified as future homeowners. Markos and Belaynesh are African Oromians from Ethiopia who immigrated to the United States three years ago. They have five children, three of who are residing with them in Portland. Markos works for the U.S. Post Office as a mail handler. Their greatest goal as a family is to get a house, and they now have 300 of the required 400 hours of sweat equity completed. They will contribute the additional 100 hours at their future home at Mallory and Killingsworth.

Linda Tolston is a native resident of Portland and has worked at Porthaven Care Center as a certified nurse's assistant since May 1997. She has an intelligent and charismatic daughter named Devin, and Linda strives to provide stability and teach strong morals to offer a better life for her daughter than she had. Linda has completed 348 hours to date.

Marcy McPherson is a mother of two children, 1-year-old Kinsley and four-year-old Joshua. She works as a health care coordinator at St. Vincent's Hospital where she has been since May 1986. She is committed to being highly involved in her children's education and hopes to go back to school to earn a degree in business. Marcy is extremely motivated and assertive.

Much work and additional contributions are needed before the Mallory Project is finished and the families can move in. Portland Habitat Site Manager Rick Marshall said that volunteer labor is particularly needed during weekdays. Also, SAF members are reminded that the partnership remains open to cash donations that can be earmarked for the "SAF-Habitat Build."

For further information, contact Portland Habitat for Humanity at 503.287.9529.

Members Honored at WSSAF Annual Meeting

Washington State SAF Chair Dave Yates served as master of ceremonies for the awards banquet held April 7 during the WSSAF annual meeting in Port Ludlow. He opened the evening's festivities by noting that 2000 is an all important year of celebration and that one favorite way of celebrating success is to recognize members who lead our state society to so many different successes.

Joe Heller recognized

Joe Heller was honored as Washington State SAF Forester of the Year. A 24-year SAF member, Joe was recognized for his efforts, accomplishments and leadership in SAF, the community and his personal life.

Joe works for the USDA Forest service and his duties have ranged from recreation and putting up timber sales to fire and acting ranger. He has served with quiet distinction on agency, interagency and intergovernmental teams including 15 years on an Interagency Fire Team and five years on the Puget Sound River Basin Study Team.

Joe is currently working as a volunteer to establish the Black Mountain Forestry Center in Whatcom County where he was born and raised. Now open, the facility has a museum, a forestry demonstration site and facilities for environmental education.

He served with distinction as Foresters' Fund co-chair at last September's national convention that raised $23,000. He has also served in many capacities with his local SAF chapter, Southwest Washington.

An active community member, Joe is involved with several local service groups and organizations including the volunteer fire department and the Kiwanis.

During the ceremony, Joe was recognized as a person who has labored quietly, effectively and without fanfare, and is truly outstanding and worthy of recognition as Forester of the Year for 2000.

Chair awards

Jocko Burks, although not able to attend, was recognized for his work as state chair in 1998 and leading the state society into the initial planning phases for the 1999 national convention. Jocko also got the state society "on-line" with a website and began the process of communicating regularly by email.

WSSAF Chair Art Schick was honored for his all-important leadership that carried the state society through the crucial national convention year in 1999. Art's calm leadership and finesse in dealing with many last minute details was appreciated and he also maintained focus on other issues so that the state society has come out of the national convention energized and with solid direction.

Special awards

Several special awards were presented this year. The first was to recognize WSSAF's newest chapter, the Evergreen State College Student Chapter (ESSAF). Dan Moses, ESSAF chair, and other chapter members, accepted the chapter's charter and a framed copy of the Society's Code of Ethics.

The next award was presented to Arne Arneson, a member who has carried many candles for the state society, sometimes very much alone. Arne has done a yeoman's job of keeping the Central Washington Chapter afloat, but this award is for another unique effort that Arne has carried on for quite sometime - a project called ICBMP (ice bump), the Interior Columbia Basin Management Plan process. For many years, Arne has led the way in providing professional forestry input into the process. He has attended meetings, conferences and given public input into this huge undertaking.

Ann Johnson, WSSAF awards co-chair, presented a set of special awards for leadership during the SAF national convention. The national convention process was truly a spectacular effort by all. However, Pat Cummins and Stan Blinks set a terrific example. They were willing to share their years of experience and expertise with younger or less experienced members so that they too could succeed in their various roles on the convention committee.

Pat Cummins served as a mentor to the Foresters' Fund Committee. Co-chairs Tom Parke and Joe Heller attributed much of their success to Pat's advice, experience and enthusiasm.

Stan Blinks served as a mentor to the Exhibits Committee. This was an especially important role as SAF had lost ground with the vendor community after the Michigan convention. Bruce Alber and Bob Tokarczyk, committee co-chairs, and national staff appreciated Stan's work and guidance in the successful rebuilding efforts that led to the largest vendor participation at a national convention to date.

The next special award was presented to Nick Kirkmire. As a co-chair of the National Convention Fundraising team, Nick was instrumental in one of the most fantastic fund raising efforts ever recorded in the history of SAF. Nick and his co-chair, the late Ted Young, raised over $100,000 and was an important part of the phenomenal success of the convention.

Dave Yates continued with other Special Awards presentations. The last special award was presented to Lori Rasor for her efforts and leadership as editor of the Western Forester and manager of the Northwest Office.

Next, Dave recognized a very special group of members, our 50-year Golden Members for 2000. They are Pat Cummins, Bruce Ferguson, Jay Gruenfeld, Hank Hays, Robert Krell, Lloyd Larson, Martin Lowther, Norman McDonell, L. T. Murray, Jr., Frank Price, Jr., Frederick Rosmond, and J.H.G. Smith.

The next awards were to another special group of people. In 1999 Washington State Society elected four members to the rank of Fellow of Society of American Foresters. Congratulations to Nick Kirkmire, Dave Malsed, Bryon Loucks, and Roger Harding.

Next, D Becker, co-chair of the WSSAF awards committee, and SAF President Fred Ebel presented the Chapter of the Year award which is given to the chapter that has demonstrated special effort in furthering the mission and principles of SAF. This year, in an unprecedented move, all of the WSSAF chapters were named Chapter of the Year for all their work on the SAF national convention or support to those who were working on the convention.

We Remember

Ted Young: 1931-2000

Central Oregon Chapter member Ted Young died March 19 of liver cancer. He was 68.

Born on July 24, 1931, in Schwenksville, Penn., Mr. Young attended Penn State University and graduated from Oregon State University in 1953 with a degree in Forest Management. By 1957 he was working for Northern Pacific Railway as an inventory crewman and eventually was promoted to area forester for western Washington. In 1965 he went to work for Cascade Pole Company in Tacoma as chief forester.

Mr. Young returned to Oregon in 1970, going to work for Brooks-Scanlon, Inc. in Bend where he became their raw materials manager helping provide about 125 million board feet per year for two sawmills.

From 1976 to 1984, he worked as timberlands manager for Diamond International Corporation and then for Diamond Group Inc. During this time he put together a number of exchanges with the USDA Forest Service and others that consolidated ownership and greatly increased the efficiency of the management of the property.

Mr. Young went to work for Crown Pacific in August 1988, continuing to work toward consolidating land ownership to improve the overall management of the land in his stewardship. As corporate administrative forester for the company, he had oversight responsibility on key issues for the company's more than 835,000 acres in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

Mr. Young saw his dream of a large central Oregon land exchange completed in 1999, when deeds were exchanged for 65,000 acres with the Forest Service. He helped complete the final arrangements, including the establishment of a Special Management Area on more than 3,000 acres of timberlands. As recognition of his accomplishments and long-range vision for the region, this area has been renamed the Hopkins-Young Special Management Area.

Mr. Young was involved in a number of organizations including the Society of American Foresters, American Forestry Association, Oregon Forest Industries Council and the Oregon Resource and Technology Development Corporation. A 47-year SAF member, he was an active member of the Central Oregon Chapter, and most recently served as co-chair of the 1999 SAF National Convention Fundraising Committee that raised over $100,000.

Kenneth Hillman: 1936-2000

Ken Hillman of Ashwood, Oregon, died April 24 of heart failure in Bend. An SAF member since 1961, he was a founding member of the Admiralty Inlet Chapter of the WSSAF and was elected a Fellow in 1993.

Mr. Hillman graduated from Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa, in Forestry in 1959. During his college years, he worked summers for the Department of Interior in Alaska and in logging camps in Washington and Oregon. His forestry career took him to Weyerhaeuser in Tacoma, Wash., Ketchikan Pulp in Alaska, and the USDA Forest Service.

He started a reforestation nursery for Pope & Talbot in 1974 and then leased the facility to become Hood Canal Nurseries in Port Gamble, Wash., from 1988 to the present. In 1998 his dream was realized when he and his wife purchased a ranch in Ashwood, Oregon, to raise bison and continue his nursery operations in Washington.

All of his life Mr. Hillman worked with plants, soil and water conservation, teaching classes in water safety, forestry restoration and environmental issues. His hobbies included trap shooting, fishing and fine woodworking.

Donations may be made to Hospice of Kitsap County, Harborview Hospital for Spinal Cord Injuries or to your favorite charity.

William H. Larson: 1916-2000

William H. "Bill" Larson of Seattle passed away on April 27. He was 83.

Mr. Larson was born in North Bend, Washington, and received a degree in Forestry from the University of Washington in 1940. After service in the Army, he joined the Washington Forest Fire Association (later to become Washington Forest Protection Association) in 1946. He was executive director of the association from 1958 until 1977. He headed Keep Washington Green Association from 1978 until 1984.

Mr. Larson joined the Society of American Foresters in 1940 and was elected a Fellow in 1971. He served on the SAF Council from 1974-1977 and became a Golden Member (50 years) of SAF in 1990. He was secretary of the Puget Sound Section of SAF in 1952 and vice chair in 1953. He was chair of the South Puget Sound Chapter in 1962. One of his most notable achievements was his role in the establishment of the House of Section Delegates (now the House of Society Delegates). The Society had been governed solely by its national Council. In 1965, he suggested at the national meeting in Detroit that SAF develop a two-house system of government. In 1966, the House of Section Delegates was created. Thus, the chairs of SAF sections or state societies - representing the Society's grass roots - were directly involved in Society governance. He served as its first chair. Mr. Larson chaired the Management Committee of the Puget Sound-Columbia River Section joint office in 1966 and was selected and recognized by the Puget Sound Section as Forester of the Year in 1968.

In addition to his strong leadership role in SAF, he also found time to serve the Washington State Forestry Conference, the Commissioners Committee to rewrite the King County Zoning Code, the National Fire Protection Association Forestry Committee, Western Forest Pest Committee and the Forest Committee of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. He was also a prolific writer and wrote numerous technical and editorial articles for periodicals and other media as well as testimony for national, state and local legislative bodies.

The family suggests remembrances to the Chief Seattle Council, Boy Scouts of America, 3120 Rainier Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98118; Hospice of Seattle, 425 Pontius Ave., #300, Seattle, WA 98109; or your favorite charity.

Washington State SAF Centennial Story: How It Began

by Malcolm R. Dick, Jr.
Southwest Washington Chapter

The day was overcast, gray, and quiet. The bugs bit their way through my light summer clothing and the trees cast deep shadows on the forest floor which surely held all manner of scary things. I was frightened but also captivated by my surroundings. It was at this moment I decided to be a forester, whatever that was.

For months, I had pestered my mother for permission to go to the woods with my old man. Dad was a Weyerhaeuser Timber Company forester and I was seven or eight years old in the early 1950s, supremely certain I was old enough to spend the day wandering through the forest. While it didn't quite turn out that way, mom's reluctant permission was a life decision for her first-born son.

"The Day" finally arrived when dad and I left the house quite early and picked up his partner, Dave Jones. We headed south on highway 101 to North River on Washington's south coast. Once off the main highway, we drove west along the river and stopped to chat with grizzled homesteader Andy Hilliard, who was setting fence posts. He complained through tobacco-stained teeth about the mysteries of digging a posthole, filling it with the post then never having enough dirt to fill in the hole. You know, the old guy was right...I never have figured that one out!

We finally reached the road's end and headed downriver by boat. Soon, we beached the boat and dad and Dave readied for a day of cruising timber. My job, it turned out, would be to watch the boat and ensure the bowline didn't foul the branches as the tide rose and fell. Disappointed, I watched the two grown-ups head up the hill. I sat down and soon noticed that I was alone. REALLY alone! In my young eyes, the shadows hid large carnivores, the slightest noise was someone or something sneaking up on my meager little fortress, a fish rising in the river caught my instant attention.

But extraordinary things began to happen as I nervously watched my new world. A trout stalked an insect fallen into the river. A brown-eyed doe warily watched me as she walked past, nibbling on huckleberry brush as she moved. The moss and fern carpeted hillside became a place of solitude and peace, the shadows far less sinister than just a few hours before. By the time dad returned late in the day, I was immensely glad to see him but the forest had lost its intimidation; it seemed to be a place of comfort and wonder even though it still could be frightening, senses I've maintained ever since.

I had only a vestigial understanding of the forestry profession, but suddenly that's what I wanted to do with my life. The forest's solitude fit, somehow, with the business of growing trees for people. It all made perfect sense to a seven-year-old. And now, so many decades later, the only regret I have is that my old man isn't here to share my sense of fulfillment. I hope he knows about the world he opened up for me so long ago.

Do you have a story to share of a memorable forestry experience? All you need to do is write a paragraph or up to five pages of your memory. The memoirs will be collected and placed in the SAF time capsule and distributed to chapters for their reading enjoyment. Include your name, SAF member number and SAF chapter and send your memory to Steve Rickets, WSSAF Centennial liaison, 200 Chimacum Creek Drive, Port Hadlock, WA 98339; sgricketts@olympus.net.

March/April 2000

Alaska meeting to be held in Ketchikan

Directory of Cooperatives in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska

Coos Chapter offers scholarship

Policy hot topic at Council meeting

Guest Editorial: Cowboy Science

Cooperative for Forest-Systems Engineering

Fellows Luncheon to launch funding effort

Hardwood Silviculture Cooperative

Inland Empire Tree Improvement Cooperative

Research Cooperatives Solve Practical Forestry Problems

Northwest Tree Improvement Cooperative

OSAF 2000 Annual Meeting: Forestry, The Next Generation

Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative

Pacific Northwest Tree Improvement Research Cooperative

Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine Conservation Association

Stand Management Cooperative

Tree Genetic Engineering Research Cooperative

Upper Great Lakes States Forestry Tour Set

Swiss Needle Cast Cooperative

Pacific Northwest Forest Tree Gene Conservation Group

Featured Websites

Cooperative Pole Research Program

Nursery Technology Cooperative

Alaska meeting to be held in Ketchikan

The Alaska Society's annual meeting will be hosted by the Dixon Entrance Chapter in Ketchikan from April 27-29. The executive committee will be meeting the afternoon of April 27.

The general session on April 28 will be held aboard a tour boat that is operated by one of the Alaska Native Corporations. The morning session will begin with a business meeting while traveling to Misty Fjords National Monument, and the afternoon will consist of a tour of the monument. Friday evening's banquet will feature Jim Bachtel giving a presentation on caves, karst and carbon dating.

The session on Saturday, April 29, will involve tours to Totem Bight, the Ketchikan sawmill, USFS thinning demonstration, Totem Heritage Center, KIC Hatchery/Raptor Center and the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center.

For more information, contact Dick Madden at 907.225.5509; Judy.Madden@worldnet.net.

Directory of Cooperatives in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska

Cooperative for Forest-Systems Engineering (FORSYS)

Conducts forest-systems engineering research that will help solve difficult forest harvesting and management problems through the use of new technologies and engineering design and analysis procedures. Contact Information: Jim Fridley, University of Washington, College of Forest Resources liaison, 206.543.6993; fridley@u.washington.edu; and Steve Reutebuch, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station liaison, 206.543.4710; sreutebu@u.washington.edu.

Hardwood Silviculture Cooperative

Conducts silvicultural research on hardwood species and mixed hardwood/softwood stands in the Pacific Northwest. Contact Information: David Hibbs, cooperative leader, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331; 541.737.6077; fax 541.737.1393; hibbsd@fsl.orst.edu.

Inland Empire Tree Improvement Cooperative (IETIC)

Produces genetically improved tree seed for commercial reforestation and ecosystem restoration. Contact Information: Lauren Fins, director, IETIC, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-1133; 208.882.7920; fax 208.885.6226; lfins@uidaho.edu.

Inland Northwest Growth and Yield Cooperative (INGY)

Founded in 1984 to bring together a diverse group interested in growth and yield modeling. Contact Information: Kelsey Milner (on sabbatical until Sept. 2000), and director, Robert Pfister, interim director, School of Forestry, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812; 406.243.6582; pfister@forestry.umt.edu; milner@forestry.umt.edu.

Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative

Promotes forest longevity, resilience and productivity through understanding nutrients. Contact Information: Peter Mika, data analyst, Department of Forest Resources, University of Idaho, P.O. Box 44113, Moscow, ID 83844-4113; 208.885.7205; fax 208.885.6226; pmika@uidaho.edu.

Northwest Tree Improvement Cooperative (NWTIC)

An applied tree breeding and testing program for commercially important conifers in the Pacific Northwest. Contact Information: Tom Adams, NWTIC interim director, Department of Forest Science, 321 Richardson Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331; 541.737.6583 fax 541.737.1393; w.t.adams@orst.edu; or Greg Johnson, NWTIC chair, Willamette Industries, PO Box 907, Albany, OR 97321; 541.924.5264; fax 541.924.5371; gjohnson@wii.com.

Nursery Technology Cooperative (NTC)

With an integrated program of coordinated studies, information sharing and technical assistance, the NTC helps members develop techniques that maximize seedling quality and outplanting performance. Contact Information: Robin Rose, project leader, and Diane Haase, associate director, OSU Department of Forest Science, 321 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331; 541.737.6576; fax 541.737.1393; Diane.Haase@orst.edu.

Pacific Northwest Tree Improvement Research Cooperative (PNWTIRC)

Provides supporting research for operational breeding programs in western Oregon and Washington. Contact Information: W. T. (Tom) Adams, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, 321 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-5752; 541.737.6583; fax 541.737.1393; w.t.adams@orst.edu.

Poplar Molecular Genetics Cooperative (PMGC)

Increases understanding of the molecular genetic mechanisms causing variation in productivity and quality traits in hybrid poplar. Contact Information: Toby Bradshaw, University of Washington, Box 354115, Seattle, WA 98195; 206.616.1796; fax 206.685.2692; toby@u.washington.edu.

Stand Management Cooperative (SMC)

Provides a continuing source of high-quality information on the long-term effects of silvicultural treatments and treatment regimes on stand and tree growth, and on wood and product quality. Contact Information: David Briggs, director, University of Washington, College of Forest Resources, Box 352100, Seattle, WA 98195-2100; 206.543.9744 or 206.543.1581; fax 206.685.3091; dbriggs@u.washington.edu.

Supercritical Fluid Treatment Research Cooperative

Develops new methods for completely treating wood-based materials with preservatives. Contact Information: Jeff Morrell, cooperative leader, Forest Products Department, 119 Richardson Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331;-5751; 541.737.4222; fax 541.737.3385; Jeff.Morrell@orst.edu.

Swiss Needle Cast Cooperative (SNCC)

Conducts research and outreach on Swiss needle cast of Douglas-fir in Oregon and Washington. Contact Information: Gregory M. Filip, director, Forest Science Department, 216 Richardson Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-5752; 541.737.6567; fax 541.737.1393; Greg.Filip@orst.edu.

Tree Genetic Engineering Research Cooperative (TGERC)

Conducts research, technology transfer, and education on the use of genetically engineered trees for plantation culture. Contact Information: Steven H. Strauss, professor and director, Department of Forest Science, 338 Richardson Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-5752; 541.737.6578; fax 541.737.1393; strauss@fsl.orst.edu.

Utility Pole Research Cooperative

Develops information, treatments and specifications that allow utilities to be more efficient wood users. Contact Information: Jeff Morrell, cooperative leader, Forest Products Department, 119 Richardson Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-5751; 541.737.4222; fax 541.737.3385; Jeff.Morrell@orst.edu.

Vegetation Management Research Cooperative (VMRC)

Evaluates applied early silvicultural techniques with special emphasis on vegetation management relative to early plantation vigor. Contact Information: Robin Rose, director; Scott Ketchum, associate director, Department of Forest Science, 301C Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-5752; 541.737.6086; fax 541.737.1393; scott.ketchum@orst.edu.

Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine Conservation Association (WVPPCA)

Conducts gene conservation and seed production/genetic activities to ensure Willamette Valley source seedlings are used for ponderosa pine plantings in the Willamette Valley. Contact Information: Bob McNitt, executive director, 40823 Huntley Rd., Stayton, OR 97383; phone/fax 503.769.9806; bobmcn@worldnet.att.net.

Other Collaborative Efforts

Boreal Ecological Cooperative Research Unit

Conducts long-term studies in boreal forest ecology. Contact Information: Marilyn Walker, unit leader, 907.474.2424; fax 907.474.6251; mwalker@lter.uaf.edu.

Northwest Forest Tree Seed Certifiers Association

Provides independent, responsible and authoritative verification of forest tree seed source and/or origin and provides certificates thereof. Also develops and recommends standards, procedures, forms and records covering origin of cone harvest, processing and seed warehousing. Contact Information: Terry Smith, chair, Weyerhaeuser Company, WWC-2FZ, Tacoma, WA 98477; 800.732.4769 extension 1.

Pacific Northwest Forest Tree Gene Conservation Group

Designs and promotes cooperative efforts to ensure that the adaptation and evolutionary potential of important tree species in the region is maintained. Contact Information: Brad St. Clair, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331-4401; 541.750.7294; bstclair/r6pnw_corvallis@fs.fed.us; and Sara Lipow, Oregon State University, Department of Forest Science, 321 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-5752; Sara.Lipow@orst.edu.

Editor's Note: Every attempt was made to locate cooperatives in the four-state region of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska; however, this may not be a complete directory.

Coos Chapter Offers Scholarship

Keeping with the educational objectives of the Society of American Foresters, the Coos Chapter, OSAF, will offer a $1,000 scholarship to a high school senior that plans to major in forestry or other natural resource field at the college of his or her choice.

High school seniors from within the Coos Chapter area are eligible to apply. The award will be based on a demonstration of academic achievement, financial need and clearly articulated career goals.

For additional information, contact Ralph Duddles at 541.396.3121, x240.

Policy Hot Topic at Council Mweting

by Dave Adams

The SAF Council met at Wild Acres February 5th and 6th, and as usual, was faced with a full agenda. I will not try to cover the entire meeting in this article, but will highlight a few items that should be of particular interest.

Several policy actions were approved by Council. First Council approved comments on the EPA's proposed rule on the Total Maximum Daily Load Program and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Proposed Rule. I have heard concern from SAF members about this issue and was very pleased with the position prepared by SAF Policy Director Michael Goergen and his staff. This is a strong statement, leaving no doubt that SAF stands in opposition to the changes that EPA proposes for silvicultural operations. The position includes good back-up arguments and evidence.

A letter was sent to the Forest Service commenting on their proposal regarding land and resource management planning. The letter presents a number of arguments why the proposed planning rule should not be adopted. Again, this is a well-prepared statement that contains many legal references and leaves no doubt where the SAF stands on the issue.

Council approved testimony on the Craig Bill (S1320). At press time, Senator Craig is expected to hold a hearing on March 2 with SAF as the star witness. A copy of the bill and a section-by-section analysis is available from the Policy Department.

The final policy action was Council's approval of a letter to Congress on Payments to Counties as a position of the SAF. The SAF Policy Department did an excellent job on all these items.

For those planning ahead for the 2002 national convention, the Winston-Salem, North Carolina site has been chosen.

In his campaign statement, President Ebel outlined his ideas about credentialing in the profession and his desire to move forward in this area. President Ebel reminded Council that the SAF already has an approved position statement in support of credentialing and led discussion of existing and future licensing and registration programs and how SAF might be involved. This is a part of SAF's role in ensuring high professional performance standards. A study group will be appointed by President Ebel to report to Council in June regarding alternatives to follow on the issue of forester credentialing and standards. We will be hearing much more on this issue.

Council reviewed an update on the proposed revision of the SAF Code of Ethics. The Ethics Committee's final draft will appear in the April Forestry Source. Members are encouraged to review the proposed version, compare this to the current Code of Ethics, and provide input to the committee or to Council. Council will make a decision on the final referendum proposal at its June meeting, and if approved, the final referendum proposal will be published in the July Journal of Forestry. Member comments on the code will be published in the August Journal of Forestry and then a ballot will be mailed to the membership in September. I strongly encourage local dialog on the proposed code.

Finally, a word about the Centennial Campaign. As I think all members know, the SAF set a goal of $2 million for the Centennial Campaign. Corporate and foundation contributions are coming in well, but a higher level of member participation is needed. Membership participation as of early February was 3.5 percent, with donations ranging from $10 to $3,000. Total contributions received to date are $682,000. The proceeds from this campaign will not only support several important short-term projects, but more importantly, will establish an endowment that will fund the future of our professional society on a sustainable basis. If you haven't joined in this fundraising effort, please give it serious consideration.

Dave Adams is Council representative for District 1, covering the Washington State, Inland Empire and Alaska societies

Guest Editorial: Cowboy Science

by Robin Rose

Many years ago I was standing before a group of foresters who represented the whole of forestry in the region to discuss a research project I was proposing. The proposal had support, but there were many questions to be answered about outcomes. As I recall, one supporter suggested rather strongly that "the seedlings need to be planted operationally." He explained that the seedlings needed to be planted operationally "because that will best simulate the working environment and better reflect operations to field foresters." I could not have disagreed more!

The study involved a simple hypothesis. Does an increase in root volume lead to better growth and bigger seedlings? Previous research indicated that larger root volumes would indeed lead to bigger seedlings. I explained this, but the forester still came back with, "but if you don't plant them operationally it won't simulate the operational environment." He wanted a better answer than what I was providing.

I looked at the group and said, "I am not interested in the operational environment where this experiment is concerned," as I reminded them that I, too, had worked in industrial forestry. Everyone looked concerned that they were stuck with a bloody academic who barely knew trees needed to be planted green side up. I just smiled. "You see, if I wanted to test operational planting I'd set up a study with multiple planters, say seven planters. After selecting my seven planters I would make sure none of them actually knew they were being tested. Then each would be given specific areas to plant and everyone would get very similar seedlings that I had pre-measured. I do not want confounding." I got some blank looks but pressed on toward my conclusion.

"After having them plant the trees, I would dig each of the trees up using a methodology designed to assess differences in operational planting," I continued. "Now, why am I not interested in operational planting for this root volume study?

"First, I am not interested in confounding my results with differences in planter technique. Second, each tree must be planted perfectly. Third, with perfect planting we will have a superbly executed research project designed to test one thing - do large root volume seedlings grow better than small root volume seedlings? Since I know you all will agree that operational planting can be highly variable, it seems best to leave that source of variation out of the study." There was more discussion and we did the experiment. As it turns out, root volume plays a key role in getting seedlings to green-up faster. The work is published! No operational planting occurred.

This story has special significance to me personally because I have seen so many mistakes in operational forestry research throughout my career. It always seems best to run a "trial," "a demo" or "a quick and dirty test." In most cases these are unreplicated large "see what we get" studies designed for an upper level manager that wants to see what happens operationally "if we do it this way." It can be spraying a hundred acres with one chemical or fertilizing one row of seedlings in the middle of a clearcut...and with the rest of the area as a "control."

Unfortunately, lots of these efforts yield little and many times lead to more questions than answers. Sometimes the non-result is a career embarrassment! A common statement I hear is that "we didn't have the time to do more and I now wish we had done the whole thing differently." Well, I wish in all too many cases that we would stop doing "operational science!" In fact, one of my good friends in industry gave it a name, Cowboy Science. It is about quick answers and quick operational outcomes.

The dangers of Cowboy Science are many. If the study outcome looks wonderful, how do you know it worked for the reasons originally conceived? If it did not work, do you really know why?

I learned years ago from my industrial experience that the idea of research is to arrive at answers to questions. Research is kind of like the law. It is specific. A question is sculpted down to its basic elements and a methodology is set up to answer the question. In research we remove as much "noise" or confounding elements from the experiment as possible. We want to be careful about our application technique and concentrations if it is an herbicide study. We want replication so that we know if the treatment we applied really occurred - not a one-time event. No replication is a one-time event. We want randomness to be sure our treatment works without prejudice.

Good research advances forest science through a doggedly boring methodical process whereby experiments isolate specific answers to specific questions. Once we have an answer it then becomes a matter of adapting that answer to the operational working environment. We scale up. A decade and half ago no one in the Northwest would have guessed we would be planting Douglas-fir styro-15s or 1+1s with 9-13mm calipers. But, the research both in the nursery and the field has brought us to this point. Large seedlings with big root systems grow really well. Now we are in the process of adding slow release fertilizers to these new improved operational seedlings.

Cowboy Science does not work because there are no quick answers! A day will come in some areas when we will have Douglas-fir at green-up in two years. This will only come after proceeding with a doggedly boring methodical process to attain two meters growth in two years.

Please consider your options the next time someone suggests a demo, a trial, or a quick and dirty test. With some forethought you may be surprised that a real research experiment with a hypothesis and workable methodology is no more expensive and time consuming than the four-acre unreplicated plots they had in mind because it will be easier. Research is not easy. It is a (you got it) doggedly boring methodical process!

Robin Rose is director of the Nursery Technology Cooperative, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. He can be reached at Robin.Rose@orst.edu

Cooperative for Forest-Systems Engineering

by Bob McGaughey

The Cooperative for Forest-Systems Engineering (FORSYS) was established in 1990 as a cooperative research unit between the USDA Forest Service, PNW Research Station and the University of Washington (UW), College of Forest Resources.

The mission of the FORSYS Cooperative is to conduct forest-systems engineering research that will help solve difficult forest harvesting and management problems through the use of new technologies and engineering design and analysis procedures; and to promote the wise application of forest-systems engineering solutions to forestry problems. Specific objectives of the FORSYS Cooperative are:

Contribute to the base knowledge needed for engineering solutions to harvesting and other forest operations problems on sensitive sites;
Provide effective methods for collecting and using data about forest-systems in the forest management decision-making process; and
Vigorously pursue technology transfer of forest-systems engineering research results.

The FORSYS Cooperative serves as a focal point for a wide range of collaborative forest-systems engineering research efforts that involve other colleges at the UW, additional western universities, state agencies and other Forest Service units. Recent cooperative projects include:

Development of stand and landscape visualization software systems;
Provide forest-systems engineering support for the joint DNR/USFS Silvicultural Options Study in Capital Forest;
Conduct tests of an airborne laser mapping instrument (LIDAR) for measuring forest canopy and the underlying ground surface; and
Analysis of the DNR North Hoodsport Planning Area.

Research plans for 2000 include:

Continue testing of LIDAR and other remote sensing technologies for terrain mapping and vegetation measurement;
Complete development of a new visualization software system that combines both stand- and landscape-level capabilities; and
Initiate R&D efforts in conjunction with the Precision Forestry Advanced Technologies Initiative that was created by the Washington legislature in 1999.

Bob McGaughey is a FORSYS Cooperative team member with the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, stationed at the University of Washington, Seattle

Fellows Luncheon to Launch Funding Effort

by Barte Starker

Your Oregon Society of American Foresters Foundation is moving forestry ahead into the year 2000 with scholarships, internships and educational projects to build on the positive image of forestry as a profession.

It is time to move the Foundation's capability significantly ahead to enhance opportunities for students as well as the general public's awareness of forestry in Oregon.

Our fundraising focus will be our senior SAF members. We will be asking for donations to the Foundation. As we do this we will encourage donations of appreciated assets such as stocks, bonds or real estate. These appreciated asset donations, in most cases, not only help the Foundation but qualify for charitable deduction, and at the same time, the donor does not incur income tax liability.

To do this, we are proposing to enlist the help of our 74 SAF Fellows. The Foundation has hosted an SAF Fellow luncheon for several years, and we will do so again this year. At this lunch, we will provide OSAF Foundation materials to the Fellows and ask them to pick a few members to contact about considering a gift to the Foundation.

However, you need not be a senior member to contribute to the Foundation; contributions from all members are encouraged.

Your Foundation trustees believe forestry is on the verge of reemerging as a fantastically rewarding and admired career. We are confident our strategy to significantly add to the capability of the OSAF Foundation will help forestry move into the next century as a leader in land stewardship providing for people's needs for renewable resources.

Barte Starker is a past Oregon SAF Foundation trustee.

Hardwood Silviculture Cooperative

by David Hibbs

The Hardwood Silviculture Cooperative (HSC) is a multi-faceted research and education program directed at red alder in the Pacific Northwest. The goal of the cooperative, as established by its members, is to improve the management of red alder. The activities of the HSC have already resulted in significant gains in understanding regeneration and stand management, and have highlighted the potential of red alder to contribute to both economic and ecological forest management objectives.

The HSC, begun in 1988, is a combination of industry and federal and state agency members, each with its own reasons for pursuing red alder management. For instance, some want to grow alder for high-quality saw logs while others want to manage red alder as a component of biodiversity.

In the early days of the cooperative, many obstacles had to be overcome before the first successful alder plantation was established. When regeneration from seed in the field failed, basic investigations into alder regeneration began. Since then, the cooperative has planted more than 50,000 vigorous, healthy seedlings. The results of these trials were incorporated into a book, The Biology and Management of Red Alder, in which the basics of regenerating and managing red alder are covered.

Research Program

Plantation management
The HSC's current priority is to understand the response of red alder to spacing in plantations. To accomplish this, the cooperative has installed 26 variable-density plantations extending from Coos Bay, Ore., to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The plantation distribution covers a wide range of geographic conditions and site qualities. At each site, cooperators planted large blocks of alder at densities of 100, 230, 525 and 1,200 trees per acre. Each block is subdivided into several treatments covering a range of thinning and pruning options.

In the 10 years since the first plantation was established, we have learned a lot about seed zone transfer, seedling propagation, stocking guides and identification of sites appropriate for red alder. Our ultimate goal is a better understanding of the effects of stand density on red alder growth and yield, and wood quality recovery. In 1998, we got our first real look at differences in growth between the densities. Results are available on the HSC webpage.

Thinning in natural stands

In addition to the 26 variable-density plantations, the cooperative has related studies in four naturally regenerated stands. Ten years ago, naturally regenerated stands up to 15 years old and 5 to 10 acres in size were sought as a means of short-cutting some of the growing lag time before meaningful thinning results could be obtained from the plantations. It came as a surprise to find only four naturally regenerated stands of the right age and size in the entire Pacific Northwest. Once the stands were identified, crews thinned them to 230 trees per acre and 525 trees per acre. Although studies in these stands are not as controlled as those on the plantations because the source of seed and original conditions are unknown, information from these stands contributes to understanding site quality, silvicultural strategies, growth and yield of managed stands, and wood quality recovery.

Mixed-species plantations

The HSC has also established seven mixed plantations of alder and Douglas-fir. They are located on ground designated as Douglas-fir site class III or below. These low site qualities are often a result of nitrogen deficient soils. Each site is planted at 300 trees per acre with five proportions of the two species. The site layout is designed to look at the interactions between the two species. We are finding that in low proportions, alder can benefit the Douglas-fir when soil nitrogen levels are low. The challenge is to find the right balance between species to maintain a beneficial relationship. In a contrasting approach, if red alder and Douglas-fir are planted as alternating crops, alder can improve soil fertility and thus growth of a subsequent plantation of Douglas-fir.

Summary

The cooperative's red alder stand management studies are well designed and are replicated on a scale rarely attempted in forestry. Over the next 20 years, we will harvest much from what we have invested. Our data set on growth of managed stands will make red alder one of the better understood forest trees of the Pacific Northwest.

David Hibbs is cooperative leader, Hardwood Silviculture Cooperative, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Inland Empire Tree Improvement Cooperative

by Marc L. Rust

Founded in 1968, the Inland Empire Tree Improvement Cooperative (IETIC) is a diverse group of 21 organizations in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and western Montana. The group joined together to apply classical plant breeding techniques to important native conifer species for the purpose of producing genetically improved tree seed for commercial reforestation and ecosystem restoration.

Currently, the IETIC is pursuing tree improvement efforts in five native species: western white pine, ponderosa pine, western larch, lodgepole pine and Douglas-fir.

The primary objective of the western white pine program is the development of genetic resistance to white pine blister rust. In the other species, the primary objective is to improve growth and form traits while maintaining natural levels of ecological adaptation and disease resistance.

Since the IETIC's first progeny tests were established in 1974, more than 120 field tests have been established with more than one million seedlings. While serving primarily as "proving" grounds for the thousands of parent tree selections that have been made in the species programs, these tests also serve an important function as gene archives.

The IETIC currently maintains three seed orchards. The Moscow Seed Orchard has produced more than 9,500 pounds of blister rust resistant white pine seed to date. Two ponderosa pine seed orchards are beginning to produce operational quantities of seed. These two orchards, developed from open pollinated seedlings of phenotypically selected wild parent trees, have been rogued and are expected to produce modest gains in growth. Additional western larch, lodgepole pine and Douglas-fir orchards have been established by IETIC members using materials generated by the cooperative.

The USDA Forest Service, Region 1, the IETIC's largest member organization, has developed a breeding plan for western white pine and begun to selectively breed blister rust resistant trees for the second generation. The IETIC is participating in this effort by collecting scion and pollen from parent trees selected for the breeding orchard. Breeding plans are currently being developed for ponderosa pine and western larch, and it is likely that the breeding work in these species will be directed by the USDA Forest Service, Region 1, with IETIC participation. Potlatch Corporation is conducting some Douglas-fir breeding in their seed orchard established with IETIC selections.

In addition to efforts to produce genetically improved seed, the IETIC has conducted or supported a number of important genetic studies. These include studies of the genetic differences of wood specific gravity in ponderosa pine, genetic differences of root bark chemistry in Douglas-fir that may be related to susceptibility to root disease, genetic differences in growth patterns and growth potential in western larch, and differences of needle morphology in western white pine and the relationship between needle morphology and resistance to white pine blister rust.

Marc L. Rust is assistant director, Inland Empire Tree Improvement Cooperative, located at the University of Idaho in Moscow.

Research Cooperatives Solve Practical Forestry Problems

by Logan A. Norris

Research cooperatives (coops) have become an increasingly important vehicle by which the forest management community is getting research attention to some of its most immediate, practical needs. Forestry research coops have been part of the forestry scene for many years, with early ones reflecting interest in genetics and tree improvement, and forest nutrition and fertilization. Initially they were most common in the South, but they were in the West as well. Today they are widely distributed, and most, but not all, are in universities. This article focuses on university-based research coops, but most aspects apply to other coops as well.

The essence of a research cooperative is cooperation, collaboration and trust. These are reflected in the combining of the resources of the university and the coop members and in the shared decision making about the use of these resources to accomplish the goals of the coop. Research cooperatives are most effective in dealing with management problems that are common to several organizations, none of which are able (or willing) to mount an individual research effort to gain the knowledge needed to solve the problem. The key remaining ingredient is a research organization that is able to provide the necessary scientific and administrative leadership.

Research coops in universities have some common elements

The university typically provides (pays for) the coop leader and the scientific leadership they provide, and the use of the facilities and administrative functions of the university.
Cooperative members typically provide financial resources for coop staff and research operating costs (through membership fees), and the experimental sites, research materials, and in some cases, field assistance for conducting research.
Members identify and prioritize problems.
The university coop leader (with member approval and assistance) selects the research approach, develops study plans, conducts the study and reports the results - first to coop members and then to the scientific and professional forestry community.

Research coops offer some real advantages

They provide a way in which resources can be combined to focus on a common problem.
Those with the practical forest management problems help develop relevant research strategies, and they help conduct the studies on their land.
Members get results very early and results can be rapidly implemented.
Managers provide feedback on usefulness of solutions and researchers can fine tune solutions as needed.

Keys to the success of coops

In the more than 25 years I have been associated with research coops in one form or another, I've found the following to be essential to their success.

Strong involvement of members

The organizations that belong to a research coop must actively participate in all aspects of the coop. Active participation is crucial in coop meetings, planning efforts and conducting of research. This will occur only when the university encourages it to occur and the member organizations expect and empower their representative to participate.

Good problem identification

Forest management organizations know the problems from the management side of the issue far better than a researcher does. Careful identification and description of the problems and their priority is essential, and can only be done by the members.

Accommodation of the interests of all the members

Every coop member has their own list of high priority topics, but this list will seldom be the same for all members. Each coop member must see that they are getting some of their specific issues addressed, but seldom will they all be addressed. In a process in which resources are combined and decision making is shared, it is the aggregate good of the group that must prevail. In any given year some members will see more of their interests being addressed than some other members, but over time all members must see that the benefits accrue equitably to all.

Rapid implementation of findings

Operational implementation of research findings is what it is all about. Rapid and effective technology transfer and field validation is essential.

Feedback mechanisms for fine-tuning

It would be great if every research finding provided exactly the right fit for a problem, but this is not always the case. In a few cases, the basic assumptions in the research are incorrect, and the findings have little validity. Thankfully, more often it is a matter of fine-tuning to optimize the solution to the problem. The key in both instances, however, is feedback from the user to the researcher. Coops incorporating solid feedback mechanisms are more likely to be successful.

I am strong proponent of research cooperatives in forestry. They complement very well the research funded through competitive research grants from National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), bringing the fundamental findings of these research efforts to bear on the more explicit problems of today's forest manager.

Logan A. Norris is head of the Department of Forest Science, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Northwest Tree Improvement Cooperative

by Greg Johnson

The mission of Northwest Tree Improvement Cooperative (NWTIC) is to assist and coordinate members in developing and managing their forest gene resources in the Pacific Northwest. Accordingly, NWTIC is committed to enhancing forest productivity by:

developing genetically improved forest trees;
helping members develop and use adapted seed for forest regeneration;
promoting the development and sharing of technical information on applied forest genetics;
emphasizing the role of adequate genetic diversity in regeneration programs; and
promoting and supporting research in applied forest genetics.

NWTIC grew out of a long history of cooperative tree improvement in the Pacific Northwest. The Industrial Forestry Association (IFA) began tree improvement efforts in the region in the late 1950s. Eventually their effort grew to support several full-time staff, and with the vision of Roy Silen at the USFS PNW Research Station, the Progressive Tree Improvement Program (PTIP) was formed. The PTIP cooperative eventually established over 73 selection and testing programs involving over 634 test plantations and 2.8 million test trees.

In 1985, due to a shift in business focus, IFA could no longer support the tree improvement program. Silen and Mike Bordelon (currently with Oregon Department of Forestry) facilitated the creation of a new cooperative - NWTIC, with Jess Daniels, an independent contractor, as the director.

Under Daniels' leadership, NWTIC developed a 2nd generation breeding program for western hemlock and began the transition from 1st to 2nd generation breeding for Douglas-fir. In contrast to the first generation PTIP, which defined small, geographically narrow breeding units, the second generation program is focused on expanding breeding and seed deployment boundaries. Meta-cooperatives have taken the lead role in implementing the NWTIC breeding program designs.

Meta-cooperatives are second generation breeding programs consolidating many 1st generation programs. For instance, in Oregon there are four Douglas-fir meta-cooperatives that have subsumed 31 first generation breeding units. Several meta-cooperatives are in the process of forming in Washington. The meta-cooperatives are locally organized and administered, but receive coordination and technical support from NWTIC. Currently, there are five fully functioning meta-cooperatives:

Northern Oregon Cascades Tree Improvement Cooperative (NOCTIC) covering the western foothills of the Oregon Cascades from Estacada, Oregon to Sweet Home;
rask Cooperative covering the coastal and inland Douglas-fir range in northwestern Oregon;
Vernonia covering the inland Douglas-fir region from Chehalis, Washington, through Columbia county in Oregon;
Hemlock Tree Improvement Cooperative (HEMTIC) spanning the range of coastal western hemlock from British Columbia to Lincoln City, Oregon; and
South Central Coast encompassing lands growing coastal Douglas-fir from Mapleton to just south of Coos Bay.

In April 2000, the NWTIC will make its latest transition. The cooperative will move its base of operations to Oregon State University. Tom Adams is serving as interim director while the coop recruits a new director. This transition occurs just as new programs in western redcedar, Sitka spruce, and grand fir are forming. NWTIC's new challenges lie in breeding for disease resistance, better stem form and economically important wood properties while increasing gains in growth.

Greg Johnson is chair of the Northwest Tree Improvement Cooperative. He is a forest research coordinator for Willamette Industries in Albany, Oregon.

OSAF 2000 Annual Meeting: Forestry, The Next Generation

Borrowing its theme from Star Trek, the Oregon SAF's annual meeting will both celebrate the 100th Anniversary of SAF and take a bold look to the future! The meeting, scheduled for May 17-20 at Eugene's Valley River Inn, will focus on forestry's products, perceptions, practices, principles and partnerships, dubbed the five "Ps" by the program planners. Paired speakers will help us honor our past by highlighting the history and evolution of these forestry topics and then provoke us to help shape our future by sharing their insights about what lies ahead.

The general program begins with an icebreaker Wednesday evening, May 17. Doug MacCleery of the USDA Forest Service Washington Office will provide a keynote address, opening the general sessions on Thursday morning. Thursday evening's awards banquet will feature special entertainment and visits with some of the same "historic foresters" that stopped in at the national meeting in Portland last fall. Sessions will continue on Friday, followed by a choice of several field trips for those that can stay to participate on Saturday. There is even a special transportation option for SAF members planning to attend OSU's annual Fernhopper Day in Corvallis on May 20.

Registration materials, including a complete program synopsis, have been mailed to all OSAF members. A second mailing is planned before the April 21 early registration deadline ($150 vs. $175 for those who procrastinate!). Registration forms can also be downloaded from the OSAF website. Questions can be directed to Mike Cloughesy, general co-chair via e-mail at michael.cloughesy@orst.edu or by calling 541.737.1605.

Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative

by Peter Mika

Formed in 1980 and located in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho, the Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative (IFTNC) is a research cooperative composed of public and private forest land management organizations. Our current membership consists of 13 state, federal and industrial organizations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

The goal of the IFTNC is to increase our understanding of the role that nutrients play in forest ecosystems, how nutrients cycle through the system, and how forest practices impact nutrient levels and functioning.

Several specific questions of interest are:

What forest management practices best conserve existing nutrients?
Are trees with low levels of nutrients more likely to suffer disease and insect problems?
Can we reduce nutrient deficiencies through stand cultural practices or the addition of fertilizers or other amendments?

Answers to these questions would allow us to maintain or improve forest longevity, resilience and productivity.

Our research area covers the intermountain region of the Pacific Northwest, from the eastern slopes of the Cascades to the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Approximately 300 research sites are maintained in this area. Current research efforts include examining the effects of rock type, habitat type, and varying levels of nitrogen and potassium fertilizers on growth and health of mature timber, and studying the influence of underlying rock type on plantation establishment and growth. We are also actively involved in researching relationships between geology and forest health.

Preliminary evidence supports the premise that forest nutrition, nutrient cycling and nutrient management are critical factors for the health of forests in our region. Recent results suggest that inadequate tree nutrition, particularly potassium shortage, influences tree chemistry such that low levels of plant defensive compounds are produced. Pathogens and insects are usually successful in attacking such trees. We've also found strong associations between forests with severe forest health problems and low potassium content in the bedrock on which they grow. This new information on the forest nutrient environment is potentially very valuable to all forest managers, since nearly all types of silvicultural treatments have substantial influence on forest nutrition.

Most important questions remain unanswered, but we are optimistic that we can make substantial progress over the next several years.

Peter Mika is data analyst for the Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative, University of Idaho, Moscow.

Pacific Northwest Tree Improvement Research Cooperative

by Tom Adams and Thimmappa Anekonda

The Pacific Northwest Tree Improvement Research Cooperative (PNWTIRC) conducts research supporting operational tree breeding programs in western Oregon and Washington. Housed in the Department of Forest Science at Oregon State University, the cooperative consists of 23 members from public agencies and private companies in the region.

Currently, the major research emphases of the cooperative are the genetics of cold and drought hardiness and advanced seed orchard methodology in coastal Douglas-fir. Because of the environmental heterogeneity in the Pacific Northwest, it is essential that tree breeders be able to evaluate hardiness of genetically improved varieties so that the varieties that survive and grow best in specific planting environments can be identified and utilized. It is usually not possible to adequately test hardiness to natural cold and drought events in the field because these events occur sporadically, and because it is difficult to separate injury due to cold or drought from other causes.

For this reason, we are developing artificial freeze-testing and drought-testing procedures. So far, artificial testing appears quite promising, revealing extensive genetic variation for hardiness traits in Douglas-fir. Thus, there is much potential for improving these traits through breeding. Our methods for assessing hardiness to spring and fall frosts in operational Douglas-fir tree improvement programs will be described in detail in an upcoming issue of the Western Journal of Applied Forestry.

Seed orchards are the primary means of producing genetically improved seed for reforestation. In first generation Douglas-fir orchards, trees are planted at wide spacing, are allowed to reach relatively large size, and mating occurs through wind pollination. Although wind-pollinated orchards are an effective and relatively inexpensive means of producing seed, the genetic quality of crops is considerably less than optimal because mating among parents is haphazard and because high proportions (often 40 percent or more) of the seed result from pollination by nearby, non-orchard (unimproved) pollen sources.

One means of achieving better control of mating in the future is to develop miniaturized orchards whereby trees are kept small (2-3 m tall) by aggressive top pruning and crown management, and mating is controlled by artificial pollination. Because trees are small, control of mating and many other orchard practices are more efficient than in traditional wind-pollinated orchards, but effective height management is expensive.

Despite the increased costs, miniaturize orchards are now the standard for radiata pine in New Zealand, but there is little experience with this methodology in Douglas-fir. To assess the value and cost effectiveness of miniaturized orchards in Douglas-fir, the PNWTIRC is establishing a long-term experiment where three alternative miniaturized orchard types will be compared. The results of this study will greatly aid our ability to take full advantage of genetic improvements produced in advanced-generation breeding programs.

Tom Adams is the leader and Thimmappa Anekonda is the associate director of the PNWTIRC, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine Conservation Association

by Bob McNitt and Rick Fletcher

Ten years of pioneering work by a small group centered in Linn County, Oregon, led to the establishment of the Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine Program in April 1994. nitially, the group of ponderosa pine enthusiasts identified several needs regarding the Willamette Valley strain of ponderosa pine, and determined that they fell into two categories: gene conservation and seed production/genetic activities that lead to new pine plantings.

The new group moved forward with seed collection, genetics testing, insect research, growth and yield data collection, parent tree selection and brochure development. The major participants and Cascade Pacific RC&D provided early funding. As the program matured, the name was modified to the Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine Conservation Association (WVPPCA) to better reflect the objectives of the group. Bylaws were formulated and formal agreements were developed with the Oregon Department of Forestry and Western Forestry and Conservation Association.

The association seeks to conserve and reestablish the native strain of Willamette Valley ponderosa pine for both genetic conservation and future timber, wildlife and urban uses. The potential to grow ponderosa pine on soils marginal for other tree species is significant. By planting pine, farmers and other landowners can realize substantial economic and ecological benefits. Thousands of potential planting sites exist within the Willamette Valley. In many areas, pine plantations can coexist well with livestock grazing or other rural land uses. Ponderosa pine's deep root system and stately form also make it an attractive choice for city parks, urban areas and watershed plantings.

Accomplishments

In early 1980s, Kintigh's Mountain Home Ranch in Springfield, Oregon, was the only nursery growing the Willamette Valley strain of ponderosa pine, and they were only growing about 10,000 per year. Today, a number of area nurseries grow this tree and seedling production exceeds 650,000 trees per year. The WVPPCA has been instrumental in locating native stands, encouraging seed collection, and making landowners and foresters aware of this tree strain's niche in the Willamette Valley.

Association activities are paving the way for an even brighter outlook with collection and establishment of nearly 150 different parent families in the St. Paul Seed Orchard managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry. Research projects sponsored by the association continue to develop this future source of seed by learning how to stimulate seed production and how to protect seed cones from devastating insect attacks that limit natural seeding.

Besides producing a brochure advertising the importance of the native race of ponderosa pine, the association is also working to produce a management guide for landowners and foresters that are planting the trees. The guide will be distributed as part of the annual educational program which includes tours and meetings. The association is also finishing a GPS referenced database of existing native ponderosa stands in the Willamette Valley.

Future research plans include a study to test site adaptability of different parents and resistance to insects and diseases.

Funding resources for association activities are from individual contributors, forest landowners, resource organizations and USDA Forest Service Cooperative Programs, State and Private Forestry. In kind contributions come from individual volunteers, industrial landowner representatives, U.S. Forest Service PNW Research Station, Oregon Department of Forestry and the OSU Extension Service.

Bob McNitt is executive director of the Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine Conservation Association and Rick Fletcher serves on the WVPPCA executive.

Stand Management Cooperative

by David Briggs

The long-term future of the forest industry in the Pacific Northwest depends in part on the productivity of the region's forests and on the choice of silviculturally and environmentally sound cost-effective management regimes. Information and methods are needed to assist managers in making intelligent choices and investments in regimes capable of sustaining high yields of wood with desirable properties, and satisfying environmental needs such as diversity, habitats and carbon sequestration.

The Stand Management Cooperative (SMC) formed in 1985 with a mission to provide a continuing source of high-quality information on the long-term effects of silvicultural treatments and treatment regimes on stand and tree growth and on wood and product quality.

Membership includes 24 public and private land managing organizations, 4 suppliers, and 10 research institutions and universities that have joined together in a partnership to accomplish this mission. In 1991, the Regional Forest Nutrition Research Program (RFNRP), which formed in 1969, merged into the SMC. The SMC maintains field installations across western Oregon, western Washington and southwestern British Columbia. Installations include the RFNRP tests, new plantings at prescribed spacings, young developing stands, and recently harvested RFNRP plots that have been replanted and are being monitored for carry-over effects of fertilization regimes.

Installations are designed with sufficient size and replication to allow many treatment experiments including thinning, pruning and fertilization, and provide for sampling for wood quality studies. Information collected includes tree size, form, crown and branch data; surveys of understory vegetation cover; soil and foliar analyses; and size and condition of dead trees or snags. Measurements occur on two- or four-year cycles depending on the stage of development of the stand.

A continually growing on-line database contains 435 field installations containing 4,427 plots and 244,321 trees. The plots have been measured 24,431 times, an average of more than five visits each, and have received 4,262 treatments. The database supports analyses of the effect of treatments and treatment regimes on characteristics such as tree growth, stand development, stem quality and wood quality, nutrient and carbon balances, and species diversity.

Research results provide managers with a basis for predicting how these characteristics are affected by site, geographic province and silvicultural treatments, as well as how these characteristics develop and change over time.

The database has supported researchers in developing growth and yield models (SMC-ORGANON) and verifying those of other organizations. The SMC has performed product quality studies in cooperation with the USFS PNW Research Station, is the Western Regional Site for the DOE National Carbon Sequestration Center, and is involved in studies of diversity and habitat development. The SMC produces a variety of scientific publications, technical reports, fact sheets, quarterly newsletter, and sponsors and participates in conferences and workshops.

David Briggs is director of the Stand Management Cooperative, University of Washington, Seattle.

Tree Genetic Engineering Research Cooperative

by David Briggs

The Tree Genetic Engineering Research Cooperative (TGERC) conducts research, technology transfer and education on the use of genetically engineered trees for plantation culture. Genetic engineering involves the isolation, configuration and asexual transfer of genes. TGERC seeks to develop and test selected innovations based on progress made in plant molecular biology and agricultural biotechnology that are likely to have application to wood-growing industries. Research is focused on short-rotation poplars (cottonwoods and aspens) both as commercial objects and scientific models.

The analysis of environmental impacts of genetic engineering in forestry, and means for reducing impacts, are key themes of TGERC research. We strongly believe that transgenic trees should be deployed in commercial plantations only after ecological and socioeconomic issues surrounding the use of transgenic trees on landscapes are fully analyzed, and technology and management strategies are put in place to mitigate risks.

Current research includes projects on:

improving methods for gene transfer, including study of the stability of gene expression and genetic integrity of transgenic varieties;
evaluating the extent and ecological concerns of gene movement from transgenic and non-transgenic plantations;
assessing field performance of trees engineered for pest resistance-related traits expected to improve yield, reduce applications of undesired pesticides, and reduce costs to growers. Traits under study include glyphosate (herbicide) tolerance, insect resistance and disease resistance; and
isolating genes that control flowering to enable more rapid breeding, and to engineer trees that do not produce functional flowers, preventing unwanted movement of genes from plantations into wild populations and enhancing wood yield.

A 1998 article on TGERC studies that is intended for general readability, and which includes a description of the basic steps in plant genetic engineering, can be found at the TGERC website. There one can also find links to many other sources of information on forest and agricultural biotechnology.

Steve Strauss is director and Rick Meilan is associate director, Tree Genetic Engineering Research Cooperative, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Upper Great Lakes States Forestry Tour Set

Foresters and woodland owners are invited to join the Upper Great Lakes States Forestry Study Tour from September 17-28 to investigate the forests and forestry practices of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

The use of the forest for both timber and non-timber forest products has a long history in these states including Native American use of the forest for non-timber products, the harvest of the white pines through the 1800s and early 1900s, to today's dominant use for pulpwood production. The tour will introduce you to small woodland owners and foresters, examine management practices in the boreal and northern hardwood forests, and provide opportunities to experience the beauty of the north woods during the height of fall colors. Major themes will include woodland cooperatives, forest certification, voluntary forest management guidelines, and small diameter harvesting and utilization technology.

Mike Reichenbach, extension educator, University of Minnesota, and Max Bennett, area extension forester, Oregon State University, will lead the tour. Sponsors include the University of Minnesota, Cloquet Forestry Center and Minnesota Forestry Association. The cost is $1,975 per person, double occupancy, which includes lodging, ground transport, most meals, study notebook and guide services. Transportation from the Pacific Northwest to Duluth, Minnesota, is not included. The registration deadline is June 10, 2000.

For more information, contact Max Bennett, area extension forester, Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center, 569 Hanley Road, Central Point, OR 97502; 541.776.7371 x207; Max.Bennett@orst.edu.

Swiss Needle Cast Cooperative

by Greg Filip

Douglas-fir along the Oregon and Washington coast is experiencing severe damage from Swiss needle cast, a native foliage disease caused by the pathogenic fungus, Phaeocryptopus gaeumannii.

The disease, and the fungus that causes it, were first described in 1925 on Douglas-fir introduced from the United States to Switzerland. In 1938, the first survey for Swiss needle cast presence in the western United States and Canada was conducted. The fungus was found in most locations but at non-damaging levels. In the 1970s, Swiss needle cast became an important disease of Christmas trees, coincident with the increase in Douglas-fir Christmas tree acreage and intensive culturing in western Oregon and Washington. By the late 1980s, damage was severe at several locations along the north Oregon coast. In the 1990s, damage intensified dramatically along both the Oregon and Washington coast.

In the tradition of OSU-sponsored research cooperatives, the Swiss Needle Cast Cooperative (SNCC) was established in January 1997. Damage caused by Swiss needle cast made it imperative that new research be conducted to learn practical methods of disease detection and management to maintain the health and productivity of coastal Douglas-fir plantations. Because SNCC members participate directly in problem identification and research solutions, communication of results is speeded and results are applied more rapidly and effectively than occurs with conventional research methods.

SNCC does not replace or supersede research or projects on Swiss needle cast by other organizations in the region. Research and projects by these organizations (USDA-PNW Station, Washington Department of Natural Resources, and Washington State University, Puyallup) are vital to sustained progress in integrated forest protection in the Pacific Northwest. The role of SNCC has been to complement, accelerate and supplement the work of these organizations, and include research and projects in areas they do not cover.

Current SNCC research is focusing on soil and foliage nutrient status that appears to be linked to disease severity. Current projects include: aerial and ground survey, tree growth impacts, basic tree and fungus biology, Douglas-fir resistance, alternative fungicides, effects of precommercial thinning, effects of fertilization and vegetation control, and soil and foliage nutritional status.

The focus of SNCC is Swiss needle cast research and outreach for forest landowners in western Oregon and Washington. SNCC members include private, county, state, tribal, and federal forest landowners. SNCC has a director and an executive committee. Funding for SNCC is from a variety of sources: 1) funds provided by the Oregon State Legislature to support research at the Forest Research Laboratory at OSU; 2) grants-in-aid (dues) provided on an annual basis by SNCC members; and 3) gifts and competitive grants for general support of SNCC personnel and activities.

Potential SNCC projects are developed and selected each year through the following process. Research needs and potential investigators are identified by the SNCC executive committee. Potential projects based on identified research needs are developed by investigators and presented to the members in mid-summer. Projects are then prioritized by the members and selected by the executive committee. As projects need to be modified and new projects identified, SNCC serves as the body to accomplish this in a similar manner.

Shared decision making, innovative approaches, and active management by its members are key elements that have made SNCC a successful cooperative that serves forest landowners in the Pacific Northwest.

Greg Filip is director of the Swiss Needle Cast Cooperative, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.

Pacific Northwest Forest Tree Gene Conservation Group

by Brad St.Clair and Sara Lipow

Conservation of genetic diversity has been recognized in a number of international forums as an important requirement of sustainable forest management. The ability of forests to resist pests and adapt to heterogeneous environments and uncertain climatic changes depends on the genetic diversity present within tree species. Furthermore, the ability of tree breeders to continue to achieve genetic improvement objectives depends on the maintenance of genetic diversity.

Concerns for the genetic aspects of sustainable management and forest stewardship were the impetus for a group of forest geneticists representing government, university and private interests in western Oregon and Washington to form the Pacific Northwest Forest Tree Gene Conservation Group (PNWFTGCG). The principal mission of the group is to design and promote cooperative efforts to ensure that the adaptation and evolutionary potential of important tree species in the region is maintained.

The PNWFTGCG has adopted a two-phase approach to gene conservation. The first phase involves compiling data to determine the spatial distribution of conserved genetic resources in eight conifer species in western Oregon and Washington.

The eight species were chosen based on their ecological and economic importance, and because they have been most subject to genetic manipulation. Genetic resources present both at their original location (in situ) and at some other location (ex situ) are being summarized. In situ conservation typically implies protection of trees in reserves where they can respond to natural evolutionary processes. Ex situ conservation includes seed and pollen stores, as well as many types of plantations of known genetic background. The intended outcome of this research is the identification of genetic resource "gaps," and a scientific foundation for policy and management decisions by landowners about subsequent actions that may be warranted.

The second phase will address approaches to resolving the gaps.

Progress to date indicates that many species, including Douglas-fir, are well protected in in situ reserves throughout the region. In addition, the genetic diversity of some species is well represented in ex situ collections. Genetic tests of first-generation parents in tree improvement programs are of particular value for gene conservation purposes, and a representative sample of those parents should be maintained.

Brad St. Clair is a research geneticist for the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, and Sara Lipow is a research associate for Oregon State University.

Vegetation Management Research Cooperative

by Scott Ketchum

The Vegetation Management Research Cooperative (VMRC) is a group of timber industry companies, state government resource management agencies, and forestry products suppliers that are interested in enhancing early reforestation success. VMRC research covers a large geographical range and active research sites are maintained as far north as Forks, Washington, and as far south as Fortuna, California. The focus of the coop is to evaluate applied early silvicultural techniques relative to early plantation vigor. Much of this focus has centered on weed control and fertilization techniques. The VMRC is an output-oriented coop and participates in short- and long-term studies as dictated by research needs.

Several short-term projects have been initiated and completed in recent years. Recently, a study evaluating spring and summer weed control effectiveness resulting from fall herbicide site preparation techniques was completed. A second example is the evaluation of several spray adjuvants for use with common forestry herbicides. Our most current projects are the evaluation of phytotoxic effects of several herbicides on eight common conifer crop species. This is an especially important project in light of recent Swiss needle cast spread. Many landowners are now planting several conifer species instead of only Douglas-fir in areas most impacted by the fungus.

The VMRC currently has several long-term projects underway. Our longest study, now eight years old, evaluates the response of Douglas-fir to varying areas of spot weed control. This study also examines the relative competitive influence of herbaceous versus woody weeds. Additionally, valuable data is being gathered on the long-term impact of early competition on sapling growth.

Another study, initiated four years ago and replicated across six sites, evaluates Douglas-fir and western hemlock response to initial stock size, weed control and fertilization. Our newest long-term study, established just this spring, is designed to determine the critical period threshold of competition across a range of geoclimatic zones for Douglas-fir, grand fir, western hemlock and western redcedar. This study will continue for at least 15 years.

One of the goals of the VMRC is to provide a mechanism for information exchange. An annual report is published each year detailing current results and new research directions. Additionally, presentations are given by the staff. The VMRC group meets once or twice a year to discuss recent results and future directions. In recent years, the cooperative's membership has grown, and with increased membership, is positioned well to increase the scope of its current research.

Scott Ketchum is associate director of the Vegetation Management Research Cooperative, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Featured Websites

Featured Websites is an occasional new column that will appear periodically in the Western Forester. Members are encouraged to submit their favorite forestry-related websites for consideration in future issues. Thank you to those that have already contributed.

Forestry AgNIC (National Agricultural Library's Agriculture Network Information Center)

Administered by the University of Minnesota Libraries, this site includes a comprehensive listing of forestry information resources. The site links to reference resources, full texts of publications, and association, government and conference websites.

FLOW (Forest Learning Opportunities for Workers)

This site was created by the Oregon State University College of Forestry in partnership with Oregon Forest Resource Institute. It illustrates the connections between different aspects of forestry and the forest products industry, includes discussion of hot topics, offers virtual tours of a mill, and provides a forum for those that would like to contribute their comments and ideas.

Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service

This site provides a comprehensive listing of the PNW Research Station's activities, publications and current research projects. Information on research occurring in seven programs in Oregon, Washington and Alaska, along with links to other Forest Service programs nationwide, is also provided.

Send your favorite website to Frieda Ryan at ryan@safnwo.org.

Cooperative Pole Research Program

by Jeff Morrell

As you drive down the highway, one of the items that you often see, but seldom notice is utility poles. Trees are ideal for utility poles and, despite general perceptions, remain one of the most environmentally friendly materials for supporting electrical and telecommunication lines. Poles are also among the most valuable products emanating from the forest.

Douglas-fir and western redcedar poles from Pacific Northwest and Inland Empire are widely used to support electric transmission lines across North America and the world. While these structures provide excellent performance under a range of environmental conditions, they must be properly maintained to obtain maximum service life.

Poles may seem an inconsequential component of a utility system, but an individual pole can cost up to $10,000 to replace and the electric transmission and distribution systems may approach 50 percent of the total value of a utility. The OSU Cooperative Pole Research Program was established to assist utilities with the care and feeding of their utility pole systems. The goal of the program is to develop information, treatments and specifications that allow utilities to be more efficient wood users.

The cooperative was formed in 1981 as an off-shoot of research sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute, but OSU has been involved in utility pole research since the 1950s. The cooperative membership includes electric utilities such as Pacific Power, Portland General Electric and the Bonneville Power Administration, as well as chemical companies, inspection agencies and wood treaters.

While the primary focus of the coop is to develop improved methods for controlling decay that develops once poles are placed in service, it also develops new specifications, hosts workshops, works to improve inspection methods, and works with utilities to ensure that they continue to use wood in properly designed structures.

An excellent example of these developments can be found with the treatments used to control internal decay of poles in service. For many years, this type of decay was considered untreatable, and the result was a much shorter service life that diminished reliability and increased consumer costs. A cooperative project between OSU and Bonneville Power Administration led to the development of volatile fumigants for arresting this damage. Ninety percent of utilities in North America use these chemicals as a part of their routine inspection and maintenance programs, generating savings that have been estimated to exceed $500 million per year.

The coop continues to develop safer internal treatments. At present, all of the internal fumigants used for wood poles have evolved from coop research. These treatments, coupled with improved inspection methods, have allowed utility poles to reach average service lives that approach a century.

So, the next time you drive by a pole, remember that you're looking at technology that is engineered by nature and backed by years of solid research to provide reliable energy while maximizing forest resources.

Jeff Morrell is the cooperative leader, Cooperative Pole Research Program, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Nursery Technology Cooperative

by Diane Haase

The Nursery Technology Cooperative (NTC), established in 1982, consists of federal, state and private members throughout Oregon and Washington who grow or use seedlings or who manufacture products for reforestation. With an integrated program of coordinated studies, information sharing and technical assistance, NTC helps members meet both immediate and long-range goals to develop techniques that maximize seedling quality and outplanting performance.

The NTC administers projects both in the nursery and in the field. Having members from nursery and field operations provides a broad spectrum of input and promotes excellent networking within the reforestation community. Furthermore, it allows us to integrate both pre-outplant and post-outplant components into each project.

One area of focus for the past several years is seedling nutrition. Some of our current and past projects address topics such as nutrient-loading in the nursery, effects of micronutrients on seedling development and fertilization at the time of planting (including studies designed to examine fertilizer rate, formulation and placement). A variety of species including Douglas-fir, noble fir, white pine, ponderosa pine, western redcedar, western white pine and Engelmann spruce, and sites (riparian, coastal, eastside) have been included. We are particularly excited about our large-scale project to evaluate subsequent field performance of container seedlings grown with incorporation of slow-release fertilizer in the container media.

Other areas of current NTC research include stocktype and species comparisons on specific sites, alternatives to methyl bromide, seedling quality testing, native plant propagation, nursery herbicide testing, and responses of seedling root development to nursery and outplant treatments. In addition, we are working with the Western Forestry and Conservation Association to hold a June 1-2, 2000 conference, Advances and Challenges in Forest Regeneration.

Cooperative members benefit from a full-time budget worth of research, consulting and other activities - all of which are dictated by the needs and priorities of the members. The NTC holds an annual meeting each fall to discuss the year's study results and develop ideas for new projects. There is also an integrated pest management meeting every spring. We publish a quarterly newsletter, annual report and journal articles.

In the past year, NTC membership has been growing. As a result, we expect continued success with our program and increased involvement throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Diane Haase is associate director of the Nursery Technology Cooperative, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

January/February 2000

How SAF Has Helped Shape My Career

OSU Taps Salwassar as New Dean

SAF Widens View

Fight or Switch?

SAF Gets Better With Time

The SAF: One of Our Best Hopes in the New Millennium

Leadership Academy Provides Unique Opportunity

Membership Maintains Connections Throughout Forestry

Not Your Ordinary State Meeting

Busy Meeting Concludes Last Council Meeting of the Century

SAF's Value to Me

Join the WSSAF in Port Ludlow

SAF's Value to Me

How SAF Has Helped Shape My Career

by Ann Johnson

My career in forestry and introduction to SAF are so closely aligned that they seem almost one. I realized one day that I didn't like getting up to go to work anymore. The opportunity was right for a career change, but what? To find out, I enrolled in a career decisions class at a community college. To my surprise, forestry came out at the top of the list. While investigating job potentials and which school to attend, I met Pat Cummins. While we were discussing the forest technician program at Green River Community College, he said, "and Green River is an SAF accredited technician program." I promptly asked, "What's SAF?" Pat soon had me well informed on the benefits of attending Green River and becoming a member of SAF. He signed me up for both.

Like many graduates, I let my membership lapse after graduation. However, I soon realized I missed the information and contacts I had gained from the student chapter. Dave Malsed signed me up again and my dual career - a DNR forester and SAF member - began in earnest.

All through my career, SAF has played a significant role. When I was working as a technician in an isolated part of Washington state, SAF chapter meetings were very important in keeping me current with issues, technology and knowing who the key players were. Soon my supervisor began to rely on me to share that information, and that brought me to the attention of management.

After a promotion to the Longview area my involvement with SAF expanded. No longer isolated, I was able to become more involved in chapter activities that led to greater networking opportunities that have consistently helped me in my career. It seems that each time I have a part in a major SAF accomplishment, my career benefits or is enhanced. My employers recognize the benefits I receive from SAF and have encouraged me to continue my involvement.

Yes, much of that involvement is on my own time, but thanks to SAF, I continue to feel knowledgeable about current issues. I hear what my peers are saying and see how others are reacting to policy, regulations and changing technology. I get a chance to hear all sides in issues and use that information in formulating my personal views and my input on the job.

This vitality I get from SAF technology transfer and networking with fellow SAF members keeps me getting up in the morning and going to work with a smile. Given the current state of forestry, SAF helps me stay balanced, and I can't really ask for more.

Ann Johnson, a 13-year SAF member, has been involved in a variety of SAF activities, the most recent as co-chair of the 1999 SAF National Convention. She was selected Washington State Forester of the Year in 1999.

OSU Taps Salwassar as New Dean

Harold J. "Hal" Salwasser, who has directed the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station for the past two years, has been named dean of the College of Forestry at Oregon State University.

Salwasser, a recognized leader in the U.S. Forest Service, will begin his tenure as dean on July 1, 2000. Interim dean Bart Thielges, who assumed leadership of the college after long-time dean George Brown retired in 1999, will continue in his role until then.

As chief executive officer of the Pacific Southwest Research Station, Salwasser supervises the natural resources research and development of 65 scientists in California, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. He is responsible for an annual federal budget of more than $17 million and a staff of 320 employees. The station includes nine field laboratories and numerous cooperative ventures with state and federal agencies, and universities.

Before he assumed the directorship of the station, Salwasser was the regional forester for the northern region of the U.S. Forest Service.

OSU Provost and Executive Vice President Roy Arnold called Salwasser "the ideal choice" to lead one of the nation's premier forestry programs in the new millennium.

"The College of Forestry has evolved over the years to reflect the changes in natural resource management that have taken place, not only in this country, but around the world," Arnold said. "Hal Salwasser understands well the importance of balancing the productivity needs for our forests with the protection of their ecology and biodiversity. He has a background as both a forester and a wildlife biologist."

As dean of the college, Salwasser will assume the leadership of a 106-year-old forestry program with an annual teaching and research budget of more than $20 million, which includes management of OSU's 15,000-acre research forest complex. The College of Forestry has about 100 faculty in its four departments and an enrollment of about 400 undergraduates and 150 graduate students.

Salwasser also will assume directorship of the Forest Research Laboratory and will oversee the college's outreach programs.

With the exception of one three-year stint, Salwasser has worked for the U.S. Forest Service for most of his professional career. He began as a regional wildlife ecologist in the Pacific Southwest Region in 1978, the year before he received his Ph.D. in wildland resource science from the University of California-Berkeley.

While with the Forest Service, Salwasser also has been the national wildlife ecologist, deputy director of Wildlife and Fisheries, director of New Perspectives and regional forester.

From 1992 to 1995, he was the Boone and Crockett Professor of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Montana.

Salwasser is active in the Society of American Foresters, Ecological Society of America, Society for Conservation Biology and the Wildlife Society.

SAF Widens View

by Mike Cafferata

I joined SAF as a student at Oregon State University. What I enjoyed most about my student years in SAF was going to Virginia for the national convention and running the SAF Christmas Tree Farm. After visiting Virginia I started thinking about studying a forest ecosystem outside the Northwest, and this eventually led to a Master's degree at Virginia Tech. At the time, classroom lectures were providing more than enough new and interesting topics and SAF meetings were mostly an opportunity for a pizza dinner and to socialize with other students, professors and professionals. The meetings were also a place to improve speaking and group organizational skills.

Since graduating, the most important components of SAF for me have been the monthly meeting topics and continuing education programs. I have a great field job in forestry, but the university setting with the research and guest lectures is gone. SAF has been a very good way to learn about what other people and groups in forestry are doing. Presentations are often from professionals in fields closely related to forestry and foresters may not often hear these interesting perspectives.

Continuing education has provided an avenue for learning about advances in the forestry profession. After spending time practicing forestry you realize just how complex and difficult the field of forestry is. Learning how other people manage their forests and seeing research results gives me more ideas and a better understanding of available options. Through SAF I keep up with many friends, past instructors and former co-workers. These are great people doing interesting forestry activities across the country. I enjoy seeing these people again and learning about their projects. Our paths rarely cross except at SAF meetings.

So far I have greatly benefited from SAF. It has helped me develop professionally in many ways. In the future I hope I can give back some of what I have been given.

Mike Cafferata, a forester for Weyerhaeuser Co. in Dexter, Oregon, has been an SAF member for 10 years. As a student at Oregon State University, he was a recipient of an OSAF Foundation scholarship.

Fight or Switch?

by Cassie Phillips

As regulatory pressures mount, forest landowners today face a critical decision: fight new regulatory proposals or switch to a different approach in search of a solution.

Private forest landowners in Washington state had to make that difficult decision more than two years ago as we faced imminent salmon listings under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Remembering the spotted owl battles of the early 1990s, the landowners of the Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) decided to try a collaborative approach with other stakeholders, including federal and state regulatory agencies.

The successful result of that decision - and 15 months of negotiation - is the Forests & Fish Agreement, a state-based plan that meets the requirements of both the federal Endangered Species and Clean Water acts. The Forests & Fish Agreement is one of the most significant achievements in resource protection on forest lands since the adoption of Washington's Forest Practices Act in 1974.

Forests & Fish was approved by the Washington State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Gary Locke last June. Locke praised the legislation as offering threatened wild salmon "the highest level of protection...on forest lands of any state in the nation."

But even the exhausting negotiations, legislative action and governor's signature aren't the end of the story. The challenge this year and into 2001 is twofold. First, the state Forest Practices Board is using the agreement and legislation to develop operating rules, and WFPA members are working to assure that those rules accurately reflect what was agreed to in Forests & Fish. Second, forest landowners are developing the tools to ensure that the new fish and water protections will be effectively implemented on the ground.

In addition, Forests & Fish is again part of our agenda in the state legislative session, which began early in January, where we are tackling funding issues not completely resolved in 1999.

The challenges continue, but WFPA will work to maintain the collaborative process that led to the Forests & Fish Agreement. That process included natural resource scientists, technical experts, policy leaders from federal and state agencies, Native American tribes and counties, and private forest landowners represented by both WFPA and the Washington Farm Forestry Association. The environmental community was initially part of the process, but chose to leave the negotiating table near the end of the process.

The Forests & Fish Agreement is the first of its kind in the United States, and protects 60,000 miles of forest streams on eight million acres of private forests with wider streamside buffers, new road construction and maintenance standards, and extra protection in areas of steep or unstable slopes.

The most far-reaching changes are in riparian zones where new forested buffers will provide shade and contribute large wood pieces into streams for fish habitat. Timber harvest will be prohibited near streams and limited in areas up to 200 feet on each side of a stream. Buffer widths and management within them will vary depending on site quality, stream width, existing conifer stocking and other variables.

Improved road construction standards will significantly reduce the volume of sediment produced by roads and limit it from entering streams and degrading fish habitat. Also, all existing forest roads must be maintained to a higher standard for fish passage, preventing landslides and limiting surface runoff.

By enhancing efforts to identify and manage areas with unstable soils, we will reduce negative impacts on streams and spawning habitat.

Perhaps the most important part of Forests & Fish is "adaptive management," which provides for regular monitoring and research into the effectiveness of the new forest practices. Forest landowners have agreed that changes will be directed by new scientific learning.

Although the Forests & Fish Agreement is a major first step, it's widely recognized that other sectors will need to do their fair share toward salmon recovery. WFPA is encouraged that local governments, agricultural, utility and other groups in our state are looking at the agreement as one model for developing cooperative solutions between government and the private sector.

Almost as soon as the governor signed the Forests & Fish legislation, work began to ensure on-the-ground success and help the Forest Practices Board fashion new rules. The new riparian buffer zones were laid out experimentally on several forest sites, and tours were conducted for landowners, Forest Practices Board members and regulatory agency personnel. Computer software was developed to determine the desired future condition for a riparian protection zone, on a site-by-site basis, and what kind of management could be accomplished there. This model continues to be improved.

Other tools have been created, such as computer programs that predict large woody debris contributions to streams, and the potential for road surface erosion and positive results of road improvements. Internal education and technical training are advancing. A number of work teams and committees, made up of members of the five groups that negotiated the agreement, have met continuously since the legislation was signed. These groups have refined the details of the agreement on such subjects as water typing desired future conditions, and resource objectives for adaptive management.

The collaborative process that created Forests & Fish wasn't easy. It took more than two years of preparation and challenging negotiation. And the plan is costly to us as landowners, restricting the use of about 15 percent of our land in western Washington alone. But the rewards are having a leading role in shaping our own future and maintaining a state-based regulatory system rather than being forced to surrender management of our forests to a federal court or agency.

Cassie Phillips is director of Forestry-Western Timberlands for Weyerhaeuser Company in Vancouver, Washington and president of the Washington Forest Protection Association, Olympia.

Guest Editorial: Forestry Needs SAF

by Dave Adams, District 1 SAF Council Representative

As a newly elected member of SAF Council representing voting district 1, I was invited to participate in the final meeting of the past Council in early December. This provided a valuable opportunity for me to get up-to-speed on how Council operates and find out what important issues are facing the SAF.

Although I am a long-time SAF member, participation in this two-day working session gave me a much better appreciation of our national staff and the truly important work they and the Council are doing for the forestry profession. As the Council dealt with numerous important issues and staff reported on current projects I began to wonder what the profession of forestry would be like in the absence of a professional society. Who would be speaking for professional forest managers if we did not have the SAF?

There is certainly no lack of other organizations anxious to direct the future of the nation's forests. Most of these offer their views without benefit of formal forestry education and experience studying and managing forested ecosystems. It is frightening to think of where forestry would be in the United States without a strong professional society to provide a source for the latest in scientific information, an opportunity for professional dialog, and a central voice on issues related to forests and how they are managed.

It never occurred to me to not be a member of the SAF. Although there have been times when I was reluctant to come up with the annual dues, and times when I was not altogether in agreement with all that the Society was doing, it is my view that all professionals should be active participants in their appropriate professional organization.

Participation at the chapter, state society and national SAF levels all provide valuable personal continuing education opportunities. Keeping aware of activities in organizations other than the one where we work is very important - and attending SAF meetings is the best way I know of regularly interacting with foresters from a variety of employers to hear their views and to learn how they approach specific management problems. Having the opportunity to join with other professionals to speak out on contentious issues (such as in SAF position statements) is sometimes more comfortable than doing so as an individual, and the views of a professional group often carry more credibility than those of an individual or of an individual organization.

Participation in the SAF has been a regular part of my professional life and I feel my career would have been rather sterile without it. As a silviculturist, participation in the Silviculture Working Group has been a valuable source for learning of the latest in silvicultural thinking and applications - for my own part of the world as well as for other kinds of forests.

So, back to that question - what would the forestry profession be like in the United States in the absence of a strong professional forestry organization? Who would be keeping tabs on proposed state and federal forest-related legislation - and who would prepare and present our collective views? What organization would accredit professional forestry programs? Where would we go to find publications with the latest scientific forestry information and professional dialog on current issues?

The SAF provides support for all foresters - members and non-members. But those who benefit the most from the Society are those who are actively involved, and it is the active participants who have the best opportunity to help guide the direction of the profession and to develop collective positions of the Society. In my view, active membership in the SAF is a professional obligation as well as a great personal benefit.

Dave Adams is District 1 councilmember representing the Washington State, Inland Empire and Alaska societies. He resides in Moscow, Idaho.

SAF Gets Better With Time

by Fred C. Gonzales

Not long ago, I opened a letter from SAF containing my membership dues invoice. Wow, $140 dues! I glanced again at the invoice. For 20 years I have paid dues to SAF. I began to think about the last 20 years of my experiences with the Society: Am I getting fair value for my investment?

For me, just reading the Journal of Forestry falls short of full value. Even with SAF web page, Forestry Source and the Western Forester, I find myself searching for more ways to enrich my professional skills.

I found added value in serving as a volunteer on chapter, state and national committees, task forces and working groups. I have met many great women and men leaders, developed technical and professional skills, taught kids and their parents to better understand and care for forests, and learned much from the wisdom of elder SAF members. Over the years, serving in these volunteer positions has resulted in a network of contacts with an added plus of many new friendships.

I found tremendous value in attending SAF state and national conventions. Each convention is a unique event where you can enjoy listening to diverse perspectives of student members and senior members, practitioners and scientists, industry and government leaders, conservationists and environmentalists, and policy makers and politicians.

I am very thankful to SAF for the experiences, knowledge and skills that have deepened and expanded my understanding of forestry. I have had great fun volunteering. If you are willing to serve, SAF is bound to be more than a fair value. In time, the value of SAF just keeps getting better.

Fred Gonzalez, a 20-year SAF member, is the district ranger at the Sullivan Lake Ranger District on the Colville National Forest. An active SAF member, he has served in a variety of officer functions at the chapter and state level, and at the national level as served on the Communications Committee and the Cultural Diversity Committee. He is currently chair-elect of the SAF National Fire Working Group.

The SAF: One of Our Best Hopes in the New Millennium

by John Sandor

As a teenager in the early 1940s, I was fortunate to be living in a small town adjacent to the Snoqualmie National Forest with nearby sawmills and logging operations where I was able to work on trail crews, lookouts, fire suppression and tree planting crews, and to enjoy fishing, hunting and hiking on the forest. I was also fortunate in working for and observing many fine professional foresters (active in the Society of American Foresters) and others responsible for managing these public and private forests. These teenage associations led me to a 50-year forestry career that spanned forest research, management and administration assignments in the Pacific Northwest, Atlanta, Georgia, Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Alaska.

In reflecting on the past half century, the Society of American Foresters has been a leader in the advancement of the sciences and practices involved in forest management and protection; enhanced the competency of its members; helped SAF members strive for professional excellence and high ethical standards, and motivated members to use their best knowledge and skills in meeting their job responsibilities.

The Society of American Foresters works with other organizations and has effective communication programs to help educators and the public understand the importance of forest management. The SAF is also encouraging science-based management on public lands free from partisan, political influence; even in the face of Administration efforts to politicize public lands staffs and management practices. The SAF is, in my view, one of our best hopes to restore professional, science-based management on our nation's public forests in this new millennium.

John Sandor is an SAF Fellow living in Juneau, Alaska. He has been an SAF member for 48 years. He was regional forester for the Forest Service's Alaska Region from 1976 until his retirement in 1984. From December 1990 to December 1994, he served as commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

Leadership Academy Provides Unique Opportunity

The National Leadership Academy, held annually in Potosi, Missouri, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for SAF leaders to build leadership skills, gain professional contacts and have some fun! In its sixth year, this year's academy will be held in May. Participants are primarily state society chair-elects and working group officers.

The four-day program includes leadership training that focuses on collaboration and team building, development of leadership styles, commitment to the SAF mission and ethics, and facilitation and conflict resolution. It also allows participants the unique opportunity to meet and work with SAF leaders from across the country. Attendance at the academy sets the tone for solving problems during their time as an SAF officer and beyond.

Julie Stangell, the 1997 attendee from Oregon, said, "The diversity among foresters from across the country was a surprise, but when working together as a group, listening to our differences became significant. On one of the exercises, our group solved the problem differently than any other group had done in the past because we saw things differently. What a lesson for businesses that are looking for new solutions to old problems."

Each year the Leadership Academy grows and changes in response to input from the previous year. Last year, states with very large memberships such as Oregon and Washington State were allowed to send more than one member at the expense of the state sending them. This spreads the opportunity for attendance more equally across the national membership. Members other than chair-elects that are interested in attending should talk with their state chair about this great opportunity.

Membership Maintains Connections Throughout Forestry

by Nancy Peckman

The Society of American Foresters means opportunities for professional growth through leadership, networking and educational learnings. I joined the student chapter at Oregon State University in 1984 and have been involved ever since.

From the beginning I found volunteering in various roles in SAF valuable. Soon after joining the Society I was elected secretary/treasurer of the student chapter. Since that time I have held leadership roles in the local chapters where I have lived in Oregon and now in Washington. I was also given the opportunity to help at the state level in Oregon serving as delegate-at-large where my primary job was to attend chapter meetings around the state and relay SAF state society issues to the local membership. It was a wonderful opportunity to travel around and meet other foresters. My most recent SAF role was as chair of the Southwest Washington Chapter in 1997. I also helped put together the Joint Oregon/Washington State Leadership Conference in January 1998.

These many opportunities have given me a chance to develop leadership skills and facilitate networking with other professionals, and I have made many friends along the way.

Belonging to SAF and attending local chapter meetings has helped me keep current on what is happening in forestry throughout the industry. I, like many, tend to focus in my "small world" and might possibly miss out on natural resource topics that I don't deal with on a day-to-day basis but are critical to our industry. Local chapter meetings are the perfect opportunity to keep up on forestry topics and learn about the big picture. State and national conventions are also great opportunities to learn about and keep up with regional and national forestry related issues.

The first national convention I attended was in Alabama. It was the first year that Oregon State University sent students to a national meeting. Two of us attended from OSU and we had a great time meeting other foresters and learning about forestry in the South. Our student tour had about 20 participants. In 1999 there were hundreds of students from all across the country. The Society has made an outstanding commitment to encourage and facilitate student participation. Now our role as forestry professionals is to keep these students interested and committed to SAF and the forestry profession. There have been many positive changes over the years as our membership continues to grow and become more diverse.

I am very grateful to the Society and the many friends I've made along the way. I wouldn't trade my SAF experiences for anything, and I look forward to years of involvement and activity with this organization.

Nancy Peckman is a plans forester with Weyerhaeuser Company in Cosmopolis, Wash. She was named Washington State SAF Forester of the Year in 1998.

Not Your Ordinary State Meeting

The Oregon SAF 2000 Annual Meeting is one to pay attention to - it will be an unusual state society meeting in content, structure and speakers. Scheduled for May 17-20 in Eugene, the meeting is designed to capitalize on both SAF's Centennial and the calendar change-over that has given us three zeros in the year. Now, we know that part is not unusual - it is a strategy that most SAF committees will be using for the coming year. What is out of the ordinary is the way the program will look at forestry both toward the future and the past.

The theme for the meeting is Forestry, The Next Generation. Speakers for the meeting will be addressing the five "Ps" of forestry: Products, Practices, Perceptions, Principles/Ethics and Partnerships. Given how pertinent all of those topics are to foresters and forestry, the program committee decided to structure the meeting without concurrent sessions so attendees won't have to choose between topics and speakers.

We'll open the meeting with a keynote address providing an overview of the evolution of forestry in the United States, and we'll close with a capnote where the speaker will provide a view of the future of forestry. In between will be five pairs of speakers - each pair addressing one of the "Ps" - with the first talking about the development and evolution of forest practices (for example), immediately followed by a "futuring" presentation on the same topic area. The committee's intention is to both honor our past and to take a provocative look into our future.

The panel of speakers assembled to take on this task is one suitable for a national convention! Those attending the meeting will hear: Doug MacCleery of the USDA Forest Service Washington Office, known for his analysis and writings about forestry harvesting and productivity; Bill Galligan, recently retired as technical director for Frank Lumber Company; Jim Reeb, Wood Products Extension specialist with Oregon State University (OSU); Victoria Sturtevant, writer and faculty member at Southern Oregon University; Bill Banzhaf, executive vice-president of SAF; Steve Anderson, who recently moved from Oklahoma Extension Service to become president and CEO of the Forest History Society; Cassie Phillips, director of Forestry, Western Timberlands, Weyerhaeuser, and recently co-chair of the 1999 SAF National Convention; Jack Ward Thomas, now the Boone and Crockett Professor at University of Montana and former chief of the Forest Service; Zane Cornett, former chair of SAF's Ethics Committee; George Brown, dean emeritus of the College of Forestry at OSU; Jim Furnish, USDA Forest Service deputy chief for National Forest Systems; and Winifred Kessler, formerly with the Forest Service and currently professor and chair of Forestry at the University of Northern British Columbia.

And that's not all! The program will also include some audience participation beyond the usual question-and-answer periods; the OSAF Executive Committee will meet on Wednesday, May 17, prior to the icebreaker; and there will be field trips following the meeting on Saturday, May 20. And of course, there will be lunches and a banquet, exhibits, a Foresters' Fund raffle and auction, and many friends to see and reminisce with.

All of this (except the field trips) will be happening at Eugene's Valley River Inn, a spacious and wood-filled hotel next to restaurants, movies and a major shopping mall. OSAF members will be receiving registration materials soon, or you can download a registration form soon. For the rest of you that want to attend this special event, or if you have questions, contact Mike Cloughesy at 541.737.1605 or michael.cloughesy@orst.edu.

Busy Meeting Concludes Last Council Meeting of the Century

by Ray Craig

In December the council concluded its 1999 business with a packed meeting focused on the strategic directions of the SAF on the threshold of the new millennium and SAF's centennial celebration. President-elect Fred Ebel pledged his efforts to make our 2000 centennial celebration an exciting and pleasant experience.

Council participated in a training session designed to enhance working relationships within the group. Incoming Council members attended the December meeting, and thus provided a wonderful opportunity for Council to discuss and adopt principles guiding its actions. Council adopted strategic objectives for 2000-2004. The group adopted a 2000 budget; updated the five-year financial plan; and received information on the centennial campaign.

The 1999 House of Society Delegates (HSD) recommendations were discussed, and Council took action on them. Of particular interest, Council accepted the recommendation of HSD on the election to Fellow. In the future, ballots will provide for the explicit vote of "Yes" or "No" for each nominee, and the base for calculation will be the total ballots cast for any Fellow in a state or multi-state society. Council reaffirmed the charter for the diversity committee and authorized continuing diversity scholarships for the 2000 national convention. Council received an update on membership, authorized a new committee to address Canadian and Mexican SAF membership questions, and embraced an employer marketing package for use in recruiting members.

Other business included selecting a set of possible sites for the 2002 annual meeting. The first choice is Winston-Salem, or Greensboro, North Carolina; and the second choice is Savannah, Georgia. The executive vice-president will make the final decision based on a review of the preliminary contractual information required by the sites. The Forest Science and Technology Board will focus on enhancing coordination and collaboration with the HSD and the Committee on Forest Policy. They will also review training of professionals interested in third-party verification or certification of forest management certification and examine the feasibility of a conference around these technical issues. The chair of the Forestry Education Accreditation Task Force reported they are in the final stages of their work and will report their findings to Council this year. The SAF Committee on Ethics is continuing to review additional comments from membership and intends to have a next draft to Council for the February meeting.

Council received an update on the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation. This is an extremely complicated situation and remains very controversial. At the end of the discussion, Council decided to stay the current course. Council believes this is the best way of protecting the SAF assets.

This was Dick Pierson's final meeting as representative for District 1. Dick served the Council well and he will be missed. Dave Adams replaces Dick, and I welcome and wish him well.

Ray Craig is District II Council member representing the Oregon Society.

SAF's Value to Me

by Teresa Catlin

I first joined SAF as an aged graduate student starting in a new career field at the University of Idaho in 1990. I have never been much of a club joiner, but being a student SAF member offered me good rates at all the interesting meetings and workshops in the fields of forestry and ecology.

The first activity I participated in with SAF was a joint Montana/Idaho leadership academy where I met Bob "Bos" Bosworth. This was when he was still just a regional celebrity, before he hit the big time and assumed national fame as SAF president. At that leadership academy I met some of the finest folks I've ever known and began an association with SAF that has served me very well over the last 10 years of a new career.

I've had an opportunity with SAF to be part of an organization that shapes forest policy and practices from the ground level up. I've had an opportunity to participate in continuing education that has ranged from dirt forestry to professional ethics. But most importantly to me, my chapter is fortunate to have participating (and that's the key word!) members from just about every variety of forestry around: state and federal agencies of all types, private industrial, consultants for both industrial and non-industrial private ownerships, tribal foresters, international foresters...with every age class and experience level (and DBH) represented among them.

Not only have my colleagues provided me with job opportunities, references, information and wisdom when I was floundering in some forestry dilemma, but knowing them and listening to them discuss things from so many different points of view has broadened my experience and the way I look at things more than I could ever have imagined. It sounds pretty corny, but my fellow SAF members have truly been an inspiration to me as I see them continuing to care passionately about the land and what they do, and continuing to learn and grow and become better people...not just better foresters. I want to say thank you to all my fellow SAF members for all you have given me, and I hope I can give even a fraction of that back.

Teresa Catlin is ecologist/forester, Newport Ranger District, Colville National Forest, and owner, Total Land Management Forest Consulting, Priest River, Idaho. She was last year's Inland Empire Forester of the Year.

Join the WSSAF in Port Ludlow

Come join colleagues and friends at the Washington State Society of American Foresters 2000 State Convention in Port Ludlow, April 6-8. The convention's theme is Current Issues for the New Millenium and is hosted by the North Puget Sound Chapter of SAF.

The convention will begin Thursday, April 6 and adjourn Saturday, April 8 after lunch. The convention will include stimulating presentations and discussions on current forestry issues in the year 2000 and beyond. Business meetings are also scheduled during the convention, and it is an excellent opportunity to meet with your peers.

Starting off the convention will be the executive committee meeting at 1:00pm on April 6. The icebreaker no-host reception will begin at 6:30pm.

Friday, April 7, will be filled with thought-provoking presentations and discussions, as well as breakfast, lunch and an evening banquet. Presentations during the Friday morning session will include a welcome from our National SAF President Fred Ebel, followed by a keynote address by Washington Forest Protection Association President Cassie Phillips on the recent Forests & Fish Agreement.

Subsequent presentation topics will include an update on the USFS Northwest Forest Plan by Acting Regional Forester Nancy Graybeal, a forester certification experience by Peter Marshall of the University of British Columbia, forester certification in Washington state from consulting forester Maurice Williamson, and sustaining family forests in the landscape by John Bliss of Oregon State University.

The Friday afternoon session will include presentations on riparian reforestation studies and their associated effects on stream temperature and productivity by Mike Newton of Oregon State University, MacMillan-Bloedel's Ecological Forestry by Glen Dunsworth of Weyerhaeuser Canada, and carbon banking by Carolyn Henri of CFix, a subsidiary of Trillium Corp. In addition to this great slate of speakers, there will be a good selection of commercial vendors and posters.

Friday evening will feature a presentation on the History of Port Gamble accompanying the banquet and awards ceremony.

Following breakfast on Saturday, April 8, the business meeting will be held, then it's time for the grande finale: A panel discussion on Forestry in the Year 2000 featuring Slade Gorton, U.S. Senator from Washington state; David Thorud, dean of the UW College of Forest Resources; Bill Banzhaf, executive vice-president of SAF; Richard Hanson, senior vice president of Timberlands for Weyerhaeuser, and Debbie Buse, manager of WB Foresters.

Please register for the convention by March 24, 2000. Flyers will be mailed to all WSSAF members shortly, or for more information, contact George McFadden, 919 North Township Street, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284; 360.856.3500.

Registration fees cover attendance at all convention programs and meals during the convention, including the banquet. Registration is $125 for SAF fellows, 50-year members and students, and $190 for regular members.

The Port Ludlow Conference Center and Resort is an outstanding location and will be an enjoyable retreat for individuals and families alike. Please contact Port Ludlow Resort directly for room reservations at 800.732.1239 or 360.437.2222 and mention that you are attending the SAF Convention.

The North Puget Sound Chapter of SAF is excited to be presenting this program to you and looks forward to seeing you there!

Networking is the Best Benefit

by Zane Cornett

I've been a member of SAF since my senior year in college. I have a hard time imagining what my professional life would be like without the benefits I've received through my active involvement. Far and away the biggest benefit has been in the area of "networking," which is really about relationships and connections.

Nearly every forestry job that I've had I've either found out about or have been sought out through connections in SAF - people saying "you should talk with Tom," or SAF colleagues calling and saying "we hear that you may be looking for a new job." In addition to employment, I know that my involvement in SAF has contributed to being selected for several special opportunities from which I've benefited. One opportunity was being a Grey Towers Fellow where I had the honor of studying leadership and land ethics at the same time that I was serving on SAF's Land Ethic committee.

Of course, I've also had the benefits of continuing my education and training by attending SAF meetings and conventions, reading the Journal of Forestry and other SAF publications, and being involved in SAF committees and working groups. I'm proud of having received six CFE certificates.

The benefit I value the most from my involvement in SAF is the people I've come to know - people that I now call friends and colleagues - people with whom I share a sense of camaraderie that is warm and genuine. I, as well as my employers, have benefited from these relationships during the times when I've had questions about forestry policies or technical challenges. It's wonderful being able to pick up the phone and pick the brains of some colleague who may live in a completely different region of the country about a topic I may be working on...a person I might never have met if not for both of us being involved in SAF. As a general rule, foresters are warm and caring people who know how to work hard and have fun - and I'm glad to be among them!

Zane J Cornett has held a variety of SAF leadership positions at the chapter, state and national levels. An SAF member for 25 years, he is currently the program chair of the 2000 OSAF annual meeting.


Last Modified: 19 February 2002 Copyright © 2002 Oregon Society of American Foresters	We welcome your comments: info@forestry.org