Woodland Notes Summer 2020
Summer greetings from your Extension Forester!
Here it is three months since our last Woodland Notes newsletter and we are still in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic. Given the ongoing uncertainty about the resumption plan, we will continue to focus our education efforts on remote learning options while we await developments to re-open under our various jurisdictions (State, OSU, & County). We are planning only limited in-person events with very small groups. Our Clackamas County Extension Office has resumed limited operations with staff (public by appointment only) and if all goes well, we will open to the public under “Phase II resumption” on July 15.
Meanwhile, life in the forest goes on and the periodic rainfall through the month of June has provided for a vigorous growing season so far. However, the outlook for the summer is warmer and drier than average (https://beav.es/4Cm). The Willamette Valley area is in moderate to severe drought based on cumulative precipitation and soil moisture (https://beav.es/4Ce).
The National Interagency Fire Center is predicting above normal potential for significant wildfire across most of Oregon (https://beav.es/4Cn). With fire season in mind, it is a good time for an update on our Oregon Extension Fire Program and wildfire education resources for you to consider (see pages 10-11).
The economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic is causing financial problems for many people and businesses. Forests Forever, Inc., owner of Hopkins Demonstration Forest is no exception and we are facing a shortfall in revenue to support our operation. Providing timber harvest revenue to help support operations is one of our objectives. The next timber harvest scheduled in our forest management plan is from thinning about 25 acres of mature forest. While log markets have been depressed for a while, an upturn in prices seems to be in progress. So a timber sale at Hopkins could be a big part of our summer activities. For more on this, see the article on Thinning and Selective Management of Mature Forests – Part 2 on page 7.
On the forest health front, the decline of western redcedar seems to be continuing, scattered across our area and up into Washington and British Columbia. OSU Extension is working with a group of researchers and specialists to track the occurrence and study the causes of this. With this in mind, I shall renew my request for people to report the occurrence and location of dying western redcedar trees. Please send reports to [email protected].
Best wishes for you and your trees to stay healthy this summer!
Glenn Ahrens,
OSU Extension Forester, Clackamas, Marion, Hood River Counties
IN THIS EDITION OF WOODLAND NOTES:
SIMILAR TO OTHER ARTICLES:
Thinning and Selective Management of Maturing Douglas-Fir Forests (Part 2)
At Hopkins Demonstration Forest we have an area of maturing forest– 80 or more years old - that we would like to manage with continued thinning or selective cutting rather than clearcutting.
As I discussed in Part 1 of this story this is a common situation for family forest owners. They are interested in periodic selective harvesting of trees or small patches and keeping options open for the future.
80-year-old stand of Douglas-fir on upper slope of Hillside Forest at Hopkins.
There are many challenges and tradeoffs to consider, but now we have to choose an option.
Click here to read Glenn's full blog.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?
We want to know what type of work you have been doing on your woodland recently. Please share with us any projects (big or small), management plans, stories, or anything else related to your woodland management efforts. We want to hear from you.