Woodland Notes Winter 2021

Greetings from your Extension Forester!

The weather outlook for this winter is tending towards cooler and wetter than average. A relief from relatively warmer and drier conditions that have kept Oregon in a state of drought compared to average conditions for the time of year. 

At the same time, I am hopeful that the winter storms are not too extreme, given the hazards of erosion and debris flows across the areas that burned in the Labor Day fires. Areas at risk in the event of heavy rains have been  assessed and mapped by the Erosion Threat Assessment and Reduction Team. Their results are published in a series of videos for the major fires: Beachie/Lionshead fires, Riverside fire. 

The return of relatively normal winter weather also means pretty good tree planting conditions can be expected for those who have the seedlings to plant. Unfortunately for people who are looking for tree seedlings over the next few years, we expect a continuing shortage of supplies with the huge demand to replant burned areas. We are working to assess the likely demand and to develop a new program to increase seedling production for woodland owners under these extraordinary circumstances. For more on this see page 9. 

As the pandemic continues, OSU Extension will continue to operate under COVID restrictions, working from home with limited in-person contact. I  am still available for field site visits and I encourage anyone in need of assistance to contact me via email or telephone for consultation regarding trees and forests and fire-recovery. As outlined in this newsletter, we have a good number of educational events planned for online delivery. Assistance with fire recovery and programs focused on preparing for fire will be a major part of our work for some time to come. 

Very best wishes to you and your trees this winter. Stay safe!

Glenn Ahrens,
OSU Extension Forester, Clackamas, Marion, and Hood River Counties

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