SOCIETY OF AMERICAN Western January/February/March 2019 Oregon • Washington State • Alaska Societies Volume 64 • Number 1 Collaboration and Partnerships Engage Stakeholders versation. BY EMILY JANE DAVIS Collaborative groups typically Increasingly, we meet regularly, hear terms like review informa- “collaboration,” tion from the “collaborative,” and Forest Service “partnerships” about planned applied to forest actions, take management. What field tours, and do these mean? review relevant Broadly speaking, they refer to how scientific infor- multiple landowners, agencies, and mation. They other partners are working together to may develop achieve shared goals. Why and how written or ver- this happens depends on the place bal “zones of PHOTO COURTESY OF EMILY JANE DAVIS and the people. This issue of the Stakeholders participate in a coring exercise to compare agreement” that Western Forester examines several assumed versus actual age and growth rate over articulate the forms of collaboration in , and time. kinds of future the value that foresters can bring to management activities that the group aries. Adjacent landowners may plan these efforts. supports. Collaboratives do not have together to decide where, when, and Common types of collaboration any formal decision-making authority how to manage the forest. These If you live or work near national for- or jurisdiction on federal lands, so it is landowners might be state or federal est land, you may have heard about ultimately the Forest Service’s choice agencies, private industrial, private “forest collaborative” groups. These how to utilize this input. These groups nonindustrial, Tribal, or other inter- voluntary stakeholder bodies host dia- may also engage in other activities such ests. These projects also often involve logue and provide input to the U.S. as community outreach and monitor- a range of partners for activities like Forest Service on a given area of public ing. mapping, inventory, landowner cost land that can range from a smaller There are over 40 forest collabora- share, outreach, and other technical watershed up to the ranger district or tives active in Oregon, Washington, and assistance. It is common to see the even the entire national forest scale. Alaska, with the largest number in Extension Service, soil and water con- Collaboratives often have participants Oregon. The Southern Willamette servation districts, state and federal from different sectors including local Forest Collabora-tive and Deschutes agencies, or nonprofit organizations government, the forest industry, envi- Collaborative Forest Project, both fea- contributing services to make all-lands ronmental organizations, and other tured in this issue, are examples of this projects function. All-lands efforts can state and federal agencies. Facilitators type of collaboration. look very different in different places. or coordinators usually help lead a dis- Another form of collaboration is all- For example, numerous private cussion of everyone’s values and inter- lands partnerships. These forest man- family forestland owners might coop- ests, and keep these groups organized. agement projects involve multiple erate across their fence lines to collec- There are often ground rules, policies, organizations and landowners plan- tively access resources or programs, as and other procedures to guide the con- ning and/or implementing coordinat- ed actions across ownership bound- (CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)

In This Issue: Collaborative Collaboration and Partnerships Engage Forest Stakeholders (CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE) the Ritter Land Management Team has done in Grant County, Oregon. A fed- eral agency might seek to coordinate with the other landowners along its boundaries to reduce the shared trans- mission of risk. Benefits and challenges of collaboration There has been a good deal of research about natural resource col- PHOTO COURTESY OF EMILY JANE DAVIS laboration. Generally, it suggests that Stakeholders in the Wallowa-Whitman Forest Collaborative discuss planned collaborative efforts can potentially forest health restoration treatments during a field tour. produce land management decisions that reflect diverse perspectives and landscape, learn more about what dif- tive meetings or otherwise participate current science. Many also hope that ferent agencies and organizations are in these processes. For those who are collaborating will result in better eco- doing, and to meet other landowners results-oriented, it may seem that logical outcomes, and more economic and partners. desired outcomes do not come soon activity and social wellbeing from for- However, collaboration can also be enough. Some environmental and tim- est management and products challenging. Working closely with oth- ber stakeholders in the West have processing. For private landowners ers who hold diverse values can pose expressed concerns about the efficacy and foresters, participation in a forest frustrations. Some personality types of forest collaborative groups on collaborative or all-lands project could may find it easier to collaborate than national and have also raised have additional benefits such as new others. Collaboration also requires questions about the ability of these opportunities to pursue land manage- time investment. Not everyone has the groups to fully represent their perspec- ment goals, provide input on the larger time or flexibility to attend collabora- tives. For all-lands projects, it can be difficult to find and align multiple partners and sources of funding to Western Forester work across boundaries in a coordi- nated way. Society of American Foresters Contributing factors for functional 4033 S.W. Canyon Rd. • Portland, OR 97221 • 503-224-8046 collaboration may include how the www.nwoffice.forestry.org/northwest-office/western-forester-archive effort itself is organized. For example, Editor: Lori Rasor, [email protected] neutral facilitation, adequate capacity Western Forester is published four times a year by the Oregon, Washington State, and resources, and accomplishing and Alaska Societies’ SAF Northwest Office “small wins” to demonstrate outcomes can help. In addition, trust among par- State Society Chairs Northwest SAF Board Members ticipants and in the process is thought Oregon: District 1: Meghan Tuttle, 971-273-2461, Tom Hanson, Forestry and to be essential. If groups or projects [email protected] Consultant, ArborInfo LLC, 206-300-9711, [email protected]; Washington State: Jenny Knoth, Ph.D., www.ArborInfo.com 360-460-2613, [email protected] District 2: Mike Cloughesy, Oregon Forest Alaska: John Yarie, CF, 907-474-5650, Resources Institute, 503-329-1014, [email protected] [email protected]

Please send change of address to: Society of American Foresters, 10100 Laureate Way, Bethesda, MD 20814 [email protected] Providing information about and forests

Anyone is at liberty to make fair use of the material in this publication. To reprint or make multiple reproduc- Tom Hanson tions, permission must be obtained from the editor. Proper notice of copyright and credit to the Western [email protected] Forester must appear on all copies made. Permission is granted to quote from the Western Forester if the customary acknowledgement accompanies the quote. 206 300 9711 Other than general editing, the articles appearing in this publication have not been peer reviewed for techni- cal accuracy. The individual authors are primarily responsible for the content and opinions expressed herein. www.arborinfo.com

Next Issue: Recreation

2 WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 involve government land managers, working across boundaries. Further, the role of these entities is particularly projects involving private landowners Emily Jane Davis is an assistant important. Their willingness to truly may require data collection, inventory, professor and Extension specialist at work with others and try new things and mapping that foresters are often Oregon State University and associate can be pivotal to what is possible, par- well-suited to provide. director for the Workforce ticularly when they are a major The stories in this issue help show in Program. She can be reached at 541- landowner in the area. detail what collaborative forest manage- 520-2688 (cell) or emilyjane.davis@ All-lands projects also may benefit ment can look like on the ground. ◆ oregonstate.edu. from the assistance of “intermediary” organizations or people who can help navigate and combine the different rules, funding, and landowner needs found across ownerships. This has been essential to the all-lands work of the Klamath-Lake Forest Health Partnership, which readers may remember from the April/May/June 2018 issue of this publication. Roles for foresters in collaboration As resource professionals with established standards for education, ethical conduct, and experience, trained foresters may offer valuable contributions to forest collaboration efforts. This may not always be feasible for the consulting forester or others who do not have latitude to participate given their job or other commitments. Depending on their specializations, foresters may bring knowledge of local forest types, operator and mill capaci- ties, and viability of planned activities. This technical information may aid a collaborative group or all-lands partners in developing more feasible and eco- nomical projects. Foresters also may be familiar with multiple area landowners and their goals, and could be uniquely aware of potential opportunities for

To Learn More

For more information on collabora- tion, try the following resources:

A directory of forest collaboratives in the Pacific Northwest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_ DOCUMENTS/fseprd567241.pdf

Collaboration resources from the National Forest Foundation: https://www.nationalforests.org/ collaboration-resources

Pinchot Institute article about all- lands projects: http://www.pinchot.org/doc/611

WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 3 The Ritter Land Management Team: A Community Collaborative

BY BOB PARKER AND EMILY JANE DAVIS

orestland owner collaborative and Fcooperative ventures are increasing in number across Oregon and the Northwest because they can be valuable tools enabling com- Bob Parker munities with shared interests and goals, and similar challenges, to lever-

age their combined PHOTO COURTESY OF RITTER LAND MANAGEMENT TEAM strengths toward Over 30 landowners in the Lower Middle Fork John Day River Basin joined attaining those goals. together to form the Ritter Land Management Team to solve land This is the case for stewardship challenges. the Ritter Land Emily Jane tions. They recognized that to do this various contexts and can be confusing Davis Management Team they needed increased access to tech- or misleading as to the structure, func- (RLMT), a non-industrial private nical assistance, funding for steward- tion, and goals of an organization. For landowner collaborative formed in ship programs, markets, example, the collaborative groups 2015. contractors, invasive weed control, formed by the Forest Service bring Many landowners in the rural and other services. So when the together various and diverse stake- Lower Middle Fork John Day River Community for Family Forestlands holders for the purpose of providing Basin of eastern Oregon near the Ritter approached the community about meaningful input to Forest Service area were united in their desire to forming their own collaborative group, land management decision processes. enhance the health and productivity of they found a receptive audience. In contrast, the Ritter project is a their lands and sustain their commu- It should be noted here that the group of local, non-industrial private nity and way of life for future genera- word “collaborative” is often used in landowners with many shared inter- ests and goals who hope to expand the scope and scale of their land steward- ship efforts. The road to a collaborative The problems confronting the Ritter area and other areas of eastern Oregon came to the attention of the Committee for Family Forestlands (CFF), which serves to advise the Norm Michaels Forestry LLC Forest management to meet your goals • Management Plans • • Timber inventory • Timber cruising Over 40 years managing forests in Oregon and Washington 541-822-3528 [email protected]

4 WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 Oregon Board of Forestry and the State Forester about family forestland issues. In 2012, the CFF traveled to Grant County to study eastern Oregon issues and composed a white paper of rec- ommendations including collaborative options. A core group of 10 Ritter landowners and 11 local and regional organizations expressed their support for the recommendations. As a result, the CFF, Oregon Depart- ment of Forestry (ODF), Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI), and OSU Extension formed a grant writing team and applied for a USFS State and Private Forestry grant for education and technical assistance, with input from landowners and local organiza- tions. They also applied to the American Forest Foundation for addi- tional funds. Both grant applications were successful, providing a total of PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB PARKER $310,000. A stand of open ponderosa pine, previously commercially thinned. A project coordinator was hired and helped the organization develop a Strategic Action Plan and an Opera- tional Charter laying out the mission, vision, and goal statements developed and approved by the landowners. A consultant forester was hired to imple- ment a plan for analyzing the forest, range, and water resources and indi- vidual landowner priorities and inter- ests utilizing the Discovery Tools process. This process is a template used to identify a landowner’s geo- graphical location, their land manage- ment goals and objectives, project types, mapped project locations, and treatment descriptions. The resulting information provided the foundation for the Strategic Action Plan. As activity PHOTO COURTESY OF RITTER LAND MANAGEMENT TEAM Juniper trees felled and awaiting removal. increased, so did landowner interest, and by 2014 the project included 30 landowners owning 68,000 acres. In July of 2016, the landowners met and approved formation of the Ritter Land Management Team (RLMT) as a non- profit corporation. The RLMT was soon successful in securing a three-year $135,000 capacity building grant from Meyer Memorial Trust. They were also awarded over $511,000 for the Rush Creek and Walton restoration projects from Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB). These projects included juniper removal, noxious weed treat-

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WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 5 ments, protecting anadromous fish to be involved with decision making bearing streams with fencing, and and a smaller, diverse and trusted aspen restoration. An additional $59,000 group is often preferred. was awarded by Business Oregon for a • Secure a flexible source of base juniper feasibility study. funding that allows for early on-the- One of the principal goals for the ground projects to show outcomes. RLMT is that their experiences could Tangible outcomes help engage and be used as a model for other commu- motivate potential members and nities contemplating forming a collab- builds trust. orative type of organizational struc- • Provide leadership that is patient ture. Undoubtedly, the RLMT is fortu- with sorting through grant fund allo- SOURCE: THE RITTER LAND MANAGEMENT TEAM nate to have a cohesive group of cations and organizational arrange- a top-down and restrictive effort. landowners and many supportive ments. • Landowners may be split in their organizations, resulting in significant Landowner and service provider interests. Some may be most interest- accomplishments in a short time. relationships ed in actions that improve the produc- However, maintaining a sustained • Help orient and organize landown- tivity of the land and the economic effort is a difficult task for any organi- ers to understand potentially available return while others are not. Balancing zation and RLMT is experiencing their resources and provide a list of possibil- those diverse interests is important. share of challenges. ities. • Expect that landowner interest Following are some suggestions • Also help orient agency service and focus will fluctuate over time. Part that may be valuable for others to con- providers to the landowners. This of that may be normal changes in sider before deciding to form a collab- intermediary work continues to be opportunities, markets, or desires but orative. key. Agency personnel are typically the organization should be careful to Lessons learned very busy, already overstretched, serve not over-emphasize projects that may large areas, and may not have the time Pick the place take energy away from main goals and interest in catering to one sub- • It is advantageous for the commu- such as ground restoration work. area within their region. nity to have a history of landowner Pay attention to equity • Develop a sense of the community interrelationships, especially across Be sensitive to landowner differences before process development. Proceed- landowner type boundaries. and preferences. There may be big dif- ing with a pre-prescribed organiza- • A diversity of landowner types is ferences in ownership sizes, incomes, tional plan may lead to perceptions of fine, as long as there are and willingness or ability to bridges between them and invest in stewardship. Not all that there is mutual respect opportunities that a collabora- and connection. Ritter has a tive can create are equally blend of multigenerational accessible to all. landowners with deep • Plan for how the work knowledge of place and RLMT Partners will be conducted across the extensive hands-on land landscape to ensure more management experience, RLMT recognizes the following partner organizations equitable outcomes, and be and relative newcomers with whose enthusiastic support and assistance have made the transparent with the process. very different backgrounds. collaborative possible: • Landowner or organiza- But there is strong level of • Grant Soil and Water Conservation District tional viewpoints or priorities respect for the skills and • North Fork John Day Watershed Council may vary widely. What one ideas each group brings to • Monument Soil and Water Conservation District person sees as essential may the community. • Natural Resource Conservation Service be of little or no interest to Start with early, diversified • Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs someone else. local leadership and owner- • John Day Basin Partnership Foster peer learning and co- ship • Oregon Forest Resources Institute production of knowledge • Oregon Department of Forestry • Begin engaging multiple • Prepare interactive learn- • Oregon State University landowners and organiza- ing experiences emphasizing • Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife tions early to better under- peer learning over “expert” • Sustainable Northwest stand them and get their instruction for the sharing of • Oregon Department of Economic Development. sense of ownership in the knowledge and technical • RLMT provides special acknowledgement for OSU organization. assistance. Extension Specialist Emily Jane Davis for many hours of • Immediately build an hands-on work guiding the team through their formative • Provide information that action-focused, locally based process. is flexible and tailored to local operations committee that is To learn more. For more information on the Ritter Land needs. Don’t import “cookie accessible to the group. Not Management collaborative, visit www.ritterlmt.com. cutter” ready-made informa- all landowners need or want tion.

6 WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 Process • Establish some process, even if Solving the Juniper Problems there is resistance. Formal structures provide legal and insurance protection. When asked what • Involvement in economic and their highest stew- market endeavors can rally interest ardship priorities but also carry a great deal of risk. are, landowners in Experience has shown that purchasing the Ritter area point land and equipment in particular to juniper encroach- should be done cautiously with clear ment as their single and documented arrangements. biggest concern. • Lessons learned from public lands Juniper trees con- forest collaboratives may not be appli- sume huge amounts cable and it’s not necessarily useful to of water and crowd compare these groups. out more desirable • Give landowners the chance to plants, which leads to reduced range name themselves. The term “collabo- PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB PARKER ratives” may not reflect their vision of and wildlife habitat This Timber King portable sawmill is similar to the how they work together. quality and negative one purchased by the Ritter Land Management impacts to the eco- Team. A feasibility study showed at least a 20-year Hopefully this information will be logical and econom- supply of juniper in Ritter, and longer if expanded of value for communities that are con- ic viability of the beyond the area. sidering forming their own group. The land. Fixing the Ritter Land Management Team enjoys problem isn’t easy. Removing juniper is difficult, and expensive, and there is little many strengths that created an ener- cost-share funding to help or facilities to sell juniper logs to. getic and successful enterprise, and The RLMT decided owning and operating their own sawmill would effectively which will help sustain their vision support stewardship efforts by utilizing juniper logs created as a byproduct of their and goals for outstanding landscape- forest and rangeland restoration work. With help received from the Western scale natural resource stewardship Juniper Alliance, Sustainable Northwest, and Business Oregon, in 2016 and 2017 over the long-term. ◆ RLMT contracted for a business feasibility study that showed a sawmill was a viable option. RLMT is a 501c3 non-profit, so they subsequently formed a for-profit Bob Parker is an assistant professor subsidiary and purchased a portable sawmill with grant funding from Business and Extension agent at Oregon State Oregon and the Oregon Community Foundation. The mill is now operational and University (retired). He currently serves selling through Sustainable Northwest Lumber in Portland, Ore. as the executive director for the Ritter However, purchasing a sawmill is only the first step in a sawmilling adventure. Land Management Team and is the Around the country, many collaborative and cooperative landowner organizations owner and manager of Parker Forestry have made similar investments. Some have been successful, but many have not. Consulting LLC. He can be reached at A landowner cooperative manager once made this suggestion about directly 541-403-0480 or bob.parker@oregon- involving the organization in a manufacturing enterprise: “I have three words of state.edu. Emily Jane Davis is an assis- advice. Do not invest in capital. Do not invest in capital. Do not invest in capital.” tant professor and Extension specialist In other words—think long and hard before buying machinery. at Oregon State University and associ- Just think about the challenges. A new sawmill venture must simultaneously, ate director for the Ecosystem Workforce and successfully, leap numerous hurdles to survive: raw material supply, ade- Program. She can be reached at 541- quate manufacturing location, inventory cost, personnel, log and lumber handling equipment, milling machinery, and marketing, to name just a few. Failure with 520-2688 (cell) or emilyjane.davis@ one leads to the failure of all. oregonstate.edu. Many landowner association members bring great energy, enthusiasm, and backgrounds rich in education, knowledge, and experience. But many do not have experience or knowledge with running a mill, and/or they do not have abun- HOPKINS FORESTRY dant time to lend to the project. Forest Managers performing herbicide New business startups are often undercapitalized and have little leeway to application, young stand management, accommodate normal financing and overhead costs, let alone equipment, per- harvest management, contract compliance, sonnel, or market problems. Access to new capital from lending institutions may inventories, and forestry/natural be limited. resources education Finally, the organizational management and decision-making structure of the group may not fit well with the demands of running a business. ESTR 4ESTM Fortunately, the RLMT as a group is strongly motivated to work together to FOR GR solve land stewardship challenges. In just a few years’ time they have a pro- Dick & Paula Hopkins duced a good track record of success and there is much room for optimism. Stay 360-492-5441 tuned into the RLMT website (www.ritterlmt.com) for developments. [email protected]

WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 7 Forest Collaboration Blooms Out of Tragedy

BY PAUL WAGNER

he scenic town of Darrington, TWash., is like many rural timber towns in the Pacific Northwest. It proud- ly celebrates a legacy of forestry, steward- ship, and the economic benefits asso- ciated with such pursuits. Not surpris- ingly, the local high school mascot is a logger. Darrington and nearby com- munities like Oso, White Horse, and Swede Heaven also have a love for their community that is unique. Never was that more on display than in March of 2014 when homes on

Steelhead Lane near Oso were hit by a PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM UNIACK massive mudslide killing dozens of Members of the Darrington Collaborative update Congresswoman Suzan people, destroying 40 homes, and clos- DelBene on the progress of their pilot Stewardship Project at Segelsen Ridge. ing off the main highway to town for Darrington Collaborative. Since July weeks. With the nation’s eyes on them, 2015, the Darrington Collaborative has locals showed their strength in the face brought together local community of adversity with calls of “Oso Strong” leaders, environmental organizations, and “Darrington Strong.” Help came members of the local timber industry, from unfamiliar places including and STEM youth educators to find national and statewide conservation common ground around sustainable groups that worked to preserve and forestry. boost that summer’s recreational sea- “The positive response to the slide son for the area. was overwhelming and opened up Finding common ground new partnerships,” said Dan Rankin, mayor of the town of Darrington and Those relationships grew over the PHOTO COURTESY OF OAK RANKIN owner of a small milling operation. following months resulting in a bigger Oak Rankin instructs a student in “While we don’t all agree on many use of a data logger for water and more lasting partnership—the issues, we do all support sustainable quality measurements. forestry and healthier forests.” The collaborative works with the capacity to restoration proj- Forest Service, local elected officials, ects consistent with the Northwest Tribes, and local stakeholders to Forest Plan, while investing timber simultaneously create a more ecologi- receipts in additional aquatic restora- We provide practical solutions for wildlife cally resilient forest, provide for tion projects and providing local eco- and other natural resource management. nomic benefits to the community of Our goal is to provide you with the highest increased sustainable timber harvest level of service and the most effective on the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Darrington.” solution to any natural resource concern. National Forest, deliver economic ben- Project development efits to the community of Darrington, WE SPECIALIZE IN: and create educational opportunities Everyone agreed that producing a • Developing wildlife programs for for Darrington’s youth through the successful first project was important. forest certification including SFI STEM program. Funds were secured from Pew Trusts and American System “We joined to take advantage of a and Governor Inslee’s office to con- • Wildlife Surveys win-win,” said Tom Uniack, executive tract for layout and design of a forest • GIS Services director of Washington Wild, a and aquatics restoration project. Our statewide conservation organization. area of interest and influence was www.cafferataconsulting.com “It allowed us to work with the Forest defined as the Darrington School [email protected] • 503-680-7939 Service and local interests to add District.

8 WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 Our conservation partners were Pilot project Segelsen 1.0 was sold State DNR for landscape restoration familiar with forester Derek Churchill 26 months after the Darrington efforts will allow us to contract for pro- from his work with the Olympic Collaborative was formed. It generated viding condition surveys and reports Collaborative and trusted him as a 12,293 tons of saw logs and improved for an Environmental Analysis (EA) of contractor. Local members chose a aquatic conditions along six miles of the North Fork Stillaguamish Water- demonstration location in the road. Treatment in the stand will be shed, which should reduce the time Darrington Ranger District Adaptive completed by October 15 of this year and expense of a USFS prepared EA. Management Area (Northwest Forest when the contract terminates. With an EA, we can do larger projects Plan designation). Restoration involves than under a CE, and it also creates an partial cutting in dense second growth Working for success opportunity to use Good Neighbor stands to encourage understory devel- Technology played a role in our Authority and involve the DNR. Seven opment and structural diversity more ability to execute rapidly. GIS should additional project areas have been like legacy forests. A healthy, resilient be part of most foresters’ tool kit. We identified. Layout is underway on two forest has open early seral patches, used USFS layers for stand year of ori- of them as 70-acre CEs and an addi- dense cover patches, trees spaced for gin, roads, and topography; and NAIP tional two will be larger projects under growth, and abundant ground cover. 2017 color imagery and LiDAR bare a N. Fork Stillaguamish EA. Developing these multiple attributes earth imagery to select our project Optimism is our path forward; one from single cohort stands is our goal. area, map roads and streams, and lay- can complain about how things are or out draft unit boundaries. GPS was Always in mind are opportunities figure a way to get things done. ◆ for education. Through the collabora- used to map thin, leave, and special tive, students from Tesla STEM High areas. Dropbox file service was used to Paul Wagner, an SAF member and last School (Redmond, Wash.) and update and distribute project files. year’s WSSAF chair, is president of Darrington Middle School participated GPS was also used in road surveys to Atterbury Consultants, Inc. He can be in a series of education exchanges map culverts, streams, and points of reached at [email protected] or involving water sampling, forensics, interest, and to build a data table of 206-499-0080. Tom Uniack, executive coding, and other skills. Glacier Peak items and condition. A UAV flight over director of Washington Wild, also con- Institute is working with the collabora- Segelsen 1.0 is planned to show the tributed to this article. tive to involve students in measuring diversity created by a restoration silvi- baseline conditions and monitoring cultural prescription. The imagery will future conditions on collaborative be used for monitoring, education, projects. and promotion. Darrington Since the collaborative was impos- Another key to success is knowledge Collaborative Members ing on a Forest Service workload of laws and policy that pertain to USFS already fully assigned and engaged, we activities. We continue with CE proj- Voting Members used a Categorical Exclusion (CE) path- ects to provide additional output ben- Dan Rankin, Darrington Mayor way of the National Environmental efiting the Darrington area. To be effi- Paul Wagner, Washington State Policy Act (NEPA) for forest health cient we are focused on law require- Society of American Foresters restoration of 70 acres or less. With a ments and policy direction rather than Steve Skaglund, Three Rivers CE, USFS time for input was mini- procedures that became cumbersome Contract policy. We are in the process of setting mized. Surveys for invasive plants, cul- Tim Johnson, Hampton Darrington tural resources, and road conditions, up a meeting with the new regional Lumber Mill forester for Region 6 to clarify and along with reports, were done by the Tom Uniack, Washington Wild streamline what we do in the field. collaborative. Contractors laid out units Megan Birzell, The Wilderness Society and prepared silvicultural prescrip- There are opportunities for improvement and the collaborative Thomas O’Keefe, Ph.D., American tions. USFS NEPA coordinator Phyllis Whitewater Reed volunteered countless hours to will adapt as we learn. One example is Jon Owen, The Pew Charitable Trusts keep requirements on track and make in communicating to the local com- Oak Rankin, Glacier Peak Institute sure our work would result in a signed munity. After receiving feedback, we Decision Notice to proceed. started updating our website more fre- Mike Town, Tesla STEM High School quently and reporting to a monthly Stewardship Authority was used in Non-Voting Members offering the project. Aquatic restora- local community group meeting to Julia Terlinchamp, Office of WA tion, a goal of the collaborative, was keep them updated on projects. Governor Jay Inslee achieved by replacing or removing One original local member of the Shawn Bills, Office of Senator inadequate or damaged culverts, and collaborative stepped down and the Patty Murray improving water flows and road sur- manager of Hampton Lumber’s facing causing erosion and sediment. Darrington sawmill came onboard. Kelly Marquadt, Office of Congresswoman Suzan DelBene A road heavily used by hikers, rock Hampton has also hired a Darrington- climbers, and others was chosen so based coordinator for other forest col- Contractor laboratives they are involved in. the project also supported Darrington Paul Fischer, Resilient Forestry area recreation. A grant received from Washington

WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 9 Collaborating to Increase Fire-adapted

BY PETE CALIGIURI AND ED KEITH

ver the past 10 or more years, Oforest collaborative groups have prolifer- ated across the Pacific Northwest to address some of the most pressing forest and watershed Pete Caligiuri restoration and man- agement challenges we face. Restoration PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLY STEINMETZ efforts in dry, fire- Collaborative stakeholders and partners at work on the Deschutes National adapted forests is a Forest. good example of one forest resilience to natural disturbances social values (think recreation, forest such challenge fac- and reduce wildfire risk to local com- resilience, aesthetics, wildlife, timber, ing forest collabora- Ed Keith munities. community wildfire protection, and tives in southwest, Beyond the sheer challenge of more) are layered on every acre of our central, and eastern Oregon. restoration at the scale commensurate forests, means that collaboration is Analysis by The Nature Conservancy with the ecological need is the chal- required to find solutions that will and U.S. Forest Service demonstrated lenge of re-introducing prescribed fire meet these varying needs. the immense scale of active forest in forest types that depend upon this In central Oregon, local collabora- restoration needed across the fire- critical natural process but haven’t tive stakeholders and partners have adapted forests in Oregon; more than seen fire in nearly a century. Moreover, stepped up to take on this challenge. 6.5 million acres (nearly 4 million of doing so in the context of today’s And while we recognize that restora- which are on federal forestland) are in human-dominated landscapes, where tion in our dry fire-adapted forest need of active restoration, including multiple ecological, economic, and types involves multiple steps, includ- the use of prescribed fire to increase ing commercial and non-commercial thinning, brush mowing, and pre- scribed fire, the final step of restoring fire is all too frequently the activity Seedling Nursery Since 1974 that is not being completed. In response, over the past two years We bring experience with owners that care about their product and customers. stakeholders representing tribal, state, and federal land managers, local elect- Approximately 10 million seedlings in annual production ed officials, landowners, recreation 1 container site (plugs), 2 bareroot/transplant sites (p+1, 1+1) groups, conservation and environ- Contract growing and spec seedlings for forestry and Christmas tree production mental organizations, scientists, pri- vate citizens, loggers, and forest prod- ucts industry have been working LET US GROW YOUR SEEDLINGS together to address the challenges and opportunities to increase the use of David Gerdes Mike Gerdes prescribed fire as a critical step in the [email protected] larger forest restoration process. We started by engaging local, region- FORESTERS • NURSERYMAN • SEEDSMAN al, and national experts to better understand the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of our current SILVASEED COMPANY prescribed fire paradigm. We then P.O. Box 118 • Roy,WA 98580 • (253) 843-2246 used this information to advance a “Serving Many of the Reforestation Needs of the World From This Location Since 1889” strategy that balances stakeholder val-

10 WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 “big-tent approach” to collaboration by inviting new partners from our region to join the effort. This included launching a new collaborative group with a range of “non-traditional” part- ners, such as county health services, air quality regulators, and public health experts, many of whom came together for the first time to work alongside forest and fire managers to discuss challenges and opportunities related to prescribed burning, smoke, air quality, and public health. The effort culminated in the creation of a

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF PETE CALIGIURI Comparison between prescribed (top) and wildfire smoke from the same vantage point along Highway 20 traveling toward Sisters, Ore. ues in our fire-adapted forests, while smoke management. In this case, the also addressing two important barriers diversity of stakeholders driving this that are limiting the use of prescribed process translated into a network of fire at a meaningful scale on the highly effective and trusted messen- Deschutes National Forest. Those gers advancing proactive solutions identified barriers were state-level pre- with a coordinated, unified voice dur- scribed fire smoke management regu- ing the statewide Smoke Management lations and community social license Plan Review Process led by the Oregon for prescribed burning. Department of Forestry and Depart- ment of Environmental Quality. Addressing challenges and It was through this collaborative opportunities to prescribed coordination effort that novel burning approaches to proactive communica- On the first issue, local collaborative tions and community outreach strate- members played a central role in gies surrounding prescribed fire, building a coalition of collaborative smoke, and public health began to members and partners across the state emerge. working together to envision a more In central Oregon, this translated holistic approach to prescribed fire into an effort to expand our already

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WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 11 new online community outreach plat- form (www.centraloregonfire.org) and a variety of communication tools to ensure that timely, relevant informa- tion regarding fire (prescribed and wildfire), air quality, and public health messages reach the public. Our goals were to provide simple steps that indi- viduals (and particularly smoke- vulnerable populations) can follow to reduce their exposure to smoke, while simultaneously providing the informa- tion and advance notice of prescribed fires and potential smoke impacts to maintain and steadily increase the social license needed to scale up pre- scribed fire treatments over time. Our collaborative groups have also PHOTO COURTESY OF PETE CALIGIURI invested significant time, money, and Restoring low-intensity, prescribed fire to fire-adapted ponderosa pine resources in a variety of community forests on the Sisters Ranger District following thinning and mowing treat- outreach and engagement strategies ments as part of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project. all aimed at increasing community social license for prescribed fire. organizations are instrumental to our Looking forward In a fire-adapted forest landscape successful community engagement We’ve made great progress to with nearly 200,000 neighbors and efforts. Each individual on the collabo- improve the enabling conditions for millions of visitors annually, commu- rative is a gateway and trusted mem- prescribed fire use in central Oregon. nity engagement is not optional. And ber to different segments of the larger But our work is far from done. While in the context of prescribed fire, where public and the communities of central we have made great strides in the the impacts include trail and road clo- Oregon. And as such, they are key to realm of prescribed fire smoke man- sures, aesthetic changes (albeit tempo- effective communication that trans- agement and social license for pre- rary), and some smoke in the air for lates into growing awareness of the scribed burning, we recognize there short-durations in the spring and fall, risks to our forests and communities, are other social, cultural, legal, finan- social license becomes an absolute understanding of the need for forest cial, and operational barriers to wide- imperative and a major limiting factor restoration, and support for increased spread prescribed fire use and accept- on the widespread use and acceptance treatments, such as prescribed fire, ance that warrant focused attention. of prescribed fire. even when it means a beloved trail is With more than 450,000 acres of fire- To that end, the collaborative group closed for two weeks or we wake up to adapted forest in need of active restora- and its stakeholders and partner a little smoke in the air each spring. tion on the Deschutes National Forest alone, a county-wide population pro- jected to reach nearly 250,000 by 2025, and five of the top ten most wildfire- exposed communities in Oregon, we also know the solutions will not be easy. Yet thanks to our collaborative approach, and the diversity of stake- holders and partners that are working together toward a common vision for healthy and resilient fire-adapted forests and fire-adapted communities, we are well positioned as we look for- ward to the challenges ahead. ◆

Pete Caligiuri is a forest ecologist for The Nature Conservancy and Ed Keith is county forester for Deschutes County in Bend, Ore. Both SAF members, Pete can be reached at [email protected] and Ed at [email protected].

12 WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 Restoring a Lost Landscape prescribed fire maintained by Native BY MIKE BRINKLEY AND TIM BAILEY Americans, resulted in open, mixed conifer forests of Douglas-fir, pon- he Rigdon derosa pine, incense cedar, sugar pine, Collaborative and Oregon white oak. Trees were TLandscape widely spaced and the ground vegeta- Restoration project tion was composed of grasses, wild- covers 105,000 acres flowers, and scattered shrubs. in the upper Cold, clear, springs fed tributaries Willamette River and historically provided spawning watershed. The habitat for Chinook salmon and bull Willamette National Mike Brinkley trout. Wide floodplains of multiple Forest, Middle Fork channels were once common, espe- Ranger District cially near confluences, and braided (MFRD), and the streams provided for high-quality Southern Willamette spawning and rearing habitat. Forest Collaborative PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH ALTEMUS-POPE (SWFC) have worked A culturally modified ponderosa A history of fire suppression pine tree in the mixed conifer forest side by side for two and logging type that has experienced profound years to develop a The Rigdon landscape has been changes over the last 100 years due “restoration blue- Tim Bailey dramatically altered by fire suppres- to fire suppression and ongoing print” called the sion and logging. One-hundred years forest succession. One hundred Rigdon Landscape Analysis. By work- of fire suppression resulted in the years ago it could have been ing together, the Forest Service and typified as an open grassy savanna development of a dense secondary containing scattered older Douglas- partners are hoping to implement up of primarily Douglas-fir in the fir, ponderosa pine, and Oregon to three NEPA projects that improve mixed conifer forests. Pine and oak white oak. forest resilience to disturbance, restore savannahs have become closed- fish species. Vegetation and riparian unique habitats, and protect private canopy forests with sparse understory forest harvesting changed stream inholdings while providing socioeco- vegetation, resulting in the loss of channels and increased the tempera- nomic benefits. species diversity such as elk and deer ture of streams. Road construction and populations that have little forage veg- A land of meadows and misguided attempts to promote fish etation as open forests close. savannah passage by removing natural debris The construction of Hills Creek The Rigdon area is located at the jams resulted in additional loss of dam extirpated the salmon, and bull headwaters of the Willamette River on trout were removed in favor of other the west slope of Oregon’s Cascade (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) mountains. It is named for Stephen and Zilphia Rigdon who ran a wagon TTERBURY CONSULTANTS, INC. road stage stop and way station in the “Professional State-of-the-Art Forestry“ Beaverton, Oregon 19th century. The landscape includes A 26,000 acres of dry, mixed conifer www.atterbury.com • 503-646-5393 habitat, a vegetation type that is cur- Appraisals & Consulting Cruising & Inventory rently at the northern edge of its natu- • Harvest Level Projections • Foresters are Highly Trained with Current ral range. Climate and fire, along with • Due Diligence Technology • Timberland Sales • Tract, Stand, & Log Volume, Stocking, & • Loan Analysis & Monitoring Statistics Analysis • Wood Supply Studies • Reforestation • Software Support • Database Development LORENZ GIS Mapping & Analyses Seminars & Training • Mill, Public, & Large Landowner Locations • Continuing Education Credit FORESTRY • Custom Maps & GIS Data • ArcPad in 1 day CHUCK LORENZ, CF 1770 • Overlay process, View & Watershed Analysis • Professional Timber Cruising • 3D Mapping • SuperACE Forest Management Planning & • Individual or Group Training Available Operations, Inventory, Valuation for over 40 years Software & Products • Timber Cruising–SuperACE & Pocket SuperEASY • ESRI & MapSmart 360-951-0117 • Forestry Tools, Rangefinders, BAF Devices, Data Collectors & GPS Units [email protected]

WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 13 spawning and rearing habitat. Overall, the landscape has lost diversity and resiliency that is important in the face of wildfire and climate change. Restoring the land Numerous agency directives exist for conserving and restoring prairie, oak, dry mixed conifer, and Douglas- fir habitats that have been altered by fire suppression and other manage- ment activities. Restoration of the Rigdon landscape provides an impor- tant opportunity to fulfill these goals, and to make these overly dense forests more resilient in the face of wildfire, insect outbreaks, and future climate PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH ALTEMUS-POPE change. The South slope of Warner Mountain in the Rigdon project area includes a Several significant restoration large portion of mixed conifer forest. The Jim’s creek pilot project is the more projects have already been completed. open timbered area located in the lower left. Upslope is the Moon point spe- In 2010, the Jims Creek Savanna cial interest area that contains many small meadows and sensitive habitats. Restoration Stewardship project restored 450 acres of oak savanna and tural resources, restored sensitive habi- target landscape objectives. pine forest in the heart of the Rigdon tats, provided economic benefits to the About half of the dry mixed conifer area. This collaborative stewardship surrounding community, and is a suc- forest in the Rigdon area is now com- pilot project removed Douglas-fir trees cessful template for future projects. posed of and natural less than 24 inches, leaving mature In 2017, the Middle Fork Willamette stands of 150 to 300 stems per acre, mixed pine and Oregon white oak. Watershed Council oversaw a mile- which is significantly denser com- Post-harvest, the project area went long floodplain restoration project that pared to the historic average of five to from 160 trees per acre to 20 trees per removed road berms from previous 25 large trees per acre. Most stands acre with a lush and varied understory logging that had channelized Staley now consist primarily of 100- to 150- of native forbs and grasses that are Creek. Root wads and large tree stems year-old Douglas-fir, although about attractive to many wildlife species, were deposited in the new channels to half of the savanna legacy trees still including big game. Ground fuels were provide complex aquatic habitat. After exist. Target vegetation landscape pat- reduced by prescribed burning. just one year, native riparian vegeta- terns for mixed conifer forests call for Oregon white oaks have sprouted and tion has returned and recent aquatic open late seral forest with scattered are now present throughout the proj- surveys have found repopulation of patches of other seral stages. Mechani- ect. Overall, the project preserved cul- native fish, including bull trout. cal treatments such as density reduc- tion in mature stands and plantations, Rigdon Landscape Analysis revegetation of native grasses, forbs, Restore our In 2017, the Forest Service formed and oaks, and prescribed burning can the Rigdon interdisciplinary team restore much of the mixed conifer for- federal forests comprised of multiple resource spe- est, promote resiliency and increase cialists to undergo a Facilitated . Post treatment, this land- to restore our Landscape Analysis Design process to scape would be maintained in open rural communities understand the ecological systems and condition with a frequent fire interval. identify target landscape objectives. As part of the RLA process, the The final Rigdon Landscape Analysis Forest Service welcomed input from (RLA) report identified landscape ele- the public. Over two years, the SWFC ments, ecosystem flows, and desired Rigdon Collaboration Committee

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14 WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 (RCC) facilitated seven learning ses- sions, eight field trips, and multiple roundtable discussions between inter- disciplinary team and RCC members. The RCC developed landscape-level zones of agreement to share with the interdisciplinary team to consider in drafting the Rigdon Landscape Analysis and to develop future pro- posed management actions. The RCC recognizes that the “past, more open and grassy forest condi- tions that were maintained by the his- toric frequent fire regime will be more resilient to the effects of wildfire and insect outbreaks in the face of a pro- jected warming climate.” The RCC worked in subcommittees to draft spe- cific restoration goals to share with the Forest Service: • Landscape conditions should be PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH ALTEMUS-POPE Restored Staley Creek Floodplain at old bridge site after contractors remove restored in order to provide for diverse the berms, filled in the scoured-out channels, and placed hundreds of pieces habitats, structure of streams and veg- of large wood in the stream and on the floodplain. The new, dynamic land- etation, wildlife, and landscape scape will dampen flood events, raise the water table, and increase flood resilience in the face of wildfire and a water storage. warming climate. More about the Rigdon Collaborative landscape. Tim Bailey received his B.S. • Vegetation and wildlife habitat Landscape Project and updates are in Forestry from Southern Illinois should be restored to previous, more available at the SWFC website south- University in 1974. From 1980 to 2014 open conditions in the dry mixed willamette.wixsite.com/swfc/rigdon. he served as a forester, project planner, conifer where the vegetation structure, ◆ and silviculturist on the Middle Fork species abundance, forest density, Mike Brinkley is a retired scientist with Ranger District of the Willamette and/or the fire regime have been a focus on healthy forests and water- National Forest. He was working on the altered. sheds. He is an active member of the restoration of the Rigdon landscape • Streams and waterways should be Southern Willamette Forest Collabora- when he retired and continues to do so maintained or restored to a condition tive, representing the Many Rivers with the Southern Willamette Forest where natural processes and function chapter of the Sierra Club, interested in Collaborative. provide the habitat and water quality planning restoration in the Rigdon conditions necessary for all native species and life stages. • Landscape management should take into consideration economic opportunities and social and cultural FAIRWEATHER values, such as recreation access, sce- nic views, healthy, abundant wildlife, BIOMETRICS, LLC community safety, and overall quality of life. Implementing restoration projects The Rigdon interdisciplinary team is proceeding through NEPA require- Consulting services in ments with the goal to begin imple- forest biometrics mentation in 2021 and the years after- ward. The SWFC plans to stay engaged and applied statistics to provide specific project level zones of agreement if needed. As projects move into the implementation phase, Stephen E. Fairweather, PH.D.,ACF the SWFC will stay engaged through a variety of stewardship authority tools [email protected] to help fund future restoration work.

WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 15 Transforming our Relationships with Forest and Fire—Scaling Up from Ashland Watershed to the Rogue Basin

BY DARREN BORGIAS AND KERRY METLEN

o confront changing Tclimate, wildfire risks, and smoke, collabo- ratives are leading an ambitious effort to restore resilience to the dry forests and nearby communities Darren Borgias of the Rogue River Basin of southern

Oregon. By engaging PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATURE CONSERVANCY (DARREN BORGIAS) community on Kerry Metlen points out elements of ecological thinning for the Ashland deeply held values, Forest Resiliency implementation review team. broadening partner- forced removal of native Americans projects have developed in the Rogue ships, and developing who had thrived with extensive fire use. Basin, experience, learning, scope, and a science-based risk Kerry Metlen In the contemporary checkerboard partnership depth have increased assessment and of public and private lands with (Table 1). strategy, collaboratives are assisting sprawling communities at risk, fires The Ashland Forest Resiliency community and commerce in retooling increasingly threaten natural habitats Stewardship Project (AFR) focused on their cultural relationship with the for- and human communities—despite the City of Ashland’s at-risk municipal est landscape. These efforts have cen- aggressive fire suppression. Arising watershed located on the RRS. The tered on the U.S. Department of with the alarm over regional smoke USDI Secretarial Applegate Pilot on the Agriculture Rogue River—Siskiyou and fire impacts, a ground-swell of MBLM demonstrated ecological National Forest (RRS) and the U.S. support has grown for proactive, eco- forestry concepts developed by profes- Department of Interior Medford logical thinning and - sors Jerry Franklin and Norm Johnson District Bureau of Land Management ing. Consecutive summers with multi- of the University of Washington and (MBLM) and are extending to provide ple fires and long periods of unhealthy Oregon State University, respectively, an all-lands approach to address the air threaten long-term human health, and with community engagement led shared risks across public and private summer tourism-based business, the by the Applegate Partnership and the ownership. real-estate market, and the broader budding Southern Oregon Forest Wildfire is intrinsic to North economy, amplifying ongoing dia- Restoration Collaborative (SOFRC), a , yet fire impacts are logue and the urgency to act. non-profit with a board of directors and increasing due to climate change acting The conceptual framing for collabo- collaborative participants. on homogenized landscapes of overly rative restorative forestry work in the Meanwhile, the Ashland project dense forests with altered forest com- Rogue Basin is based in forest and fire expanded to an all-lands framing in the position formed by a century of fire science and an approach guided by Ashland Forest All-lands Restoration exclusion and extractive logging. Rogue the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Initiative (AFARI) with support of the Basin forests bridge diverse Management Strategy, a national Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration under a Mediterranean climate, result- vision for wildland fire management. Program to complete work on the feder- ing in productive dry, mixed-conifer Promoting a view of shared risk man- al AFR footprint, and thousands of pri- forests featuring diverse native hard- agement among all stakeholders and vate non-industrial lands funded and shrubs. Consistent with dry across all landscapes, the strategy artic- through the USDA Natural Resources forests of nearby regions, eight-year ulates the need for meaningful progress Conservation Service and significant fire-return intervals historically pre- toward three goals: 1) resilient land- co-investments from the Oregon vailed, with fires common in the spring scapes; 2) fire-adapted communities; Watershed Enhancement Board. and fall—in addition to summer. The and 3) safe and effective wildfire Sophisticated community engage- pattern began fading in the 1850s with response. ment is a hallmark of these collabora- Euro-American settlement and the As landscape-scale collaborative tive projects. In Ashland, the ongoing

16 WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 AFARI reflects the City of Ashland’s deep historical engagement in water- shed protection. When the RRS plans for watershed thinning of commercial sized trees in the 1990s met with protests, the city involved the commu- nity and concerned stakeholders in considering restorative commercial thinning on its municipal lands in the watershed—and successfully complet- ed the project, building public trust in active, restorative management. By 2005 the RRS, using a provision of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, invited the City to develop a community alter- native to protect the watershed and PHOTO COURTESY OF ASHLAND FOREST RESILIENCY community from severe fire while Ashland Forest Resiliency partners, with one of >3,000 log truck loads of restoring forest resilience. The RRS restoration by-product timber sold as part of the Ashland Forest Resiliency embraced the community design in Stewardship Project. the final AFR Stewardship Project, and establishing a water bill the City endorsed it. assessment that generates Success of AFR and the AFARI builds $175,000 annually. on collaborative relationships enabled by shared investment, understanding, Modeling a 20-year and risk formalized in a 10-year Master project Stewardship Agreement among the To help bring such proj- RRS, the City, Lomakatsi Restoration ects to a meaningful region- Project (LRP)—a local non-profit—and al scale, the SOFRC and The Nature Conservancy (TNC). partners layered conceptual As the land manager, the RRS is a and design elements of the critical partner and conduit for core foundational collaborative funding. The City leads community projects into modeling a PHOTO COURTESY OF LOMAKATSI RESTORATION PROJECT (JOSH BUDZIAK) Lomakatsi sawyer fells young Douglas-fir engagement and brings experience 20-year Rogue Basin encroaching on much older ponderosa pine. managing its adjacent land. LRP brings Cohesive Forest foundational experience implementing Restoration Strategy. These early proj- tools, and approaches to integrating wildfire risk reduction with endan- projects under Stewardship Authority ects demonstrated the integration of gered species recovery and climate with a flexibly-scaled, skilled ecological- values through landscape design with adaptation. It identifies forests to pro- forestry workforce, integrating forestry strategic treatment placement and var- tect intact, then uses optimization contractors and workforce develop- ied prescriptions to address the key software to place ecological thinning ment, along with engaging diverse shifts in forest composition, structure, and controlled burning where accessi- youth and tribal interests. The Nature and wildfire risk. The projects also ble and appropriate. The outputs Conservancy adds science engagement generate timber as a byproduct of account for forest density reduction, and a conservation perspective, leading restorative forestry, while supporting reduced wildfire risk, and resulting multiparty monitoring for transparency the recovery of the northern spotted timber revenue and jobs for three and accountability. An Implementation owl. The Rogue Strategy articulates a alternative scenarios. The all-lands Review Team provides external review principled and comprehensive scenario, mirroring the AFARI project, by staff from the Oregon State approach to restoring forest and com- University Extension Service, the envi- munity resilience to fire across the 4.6- reduces wildfire risk to human com- ronmental advocate Klamath Siskiyou million-acre basin. Completed in 2017, munities and old growth habitats by ering 83 mil- Wildlands, and the SOFRC. the Rogue Strategy articulates a collab- 50%, while annually deliv Under Stewardship Authority, orative vision for a 1.1 million acre, 20- lion board feet of federal timber, the estoration byproduct, to local mills. retained receipts from the 14 mmbf year program of work that focuses on r restoration byproduct timber sold on thinning and controlled burning. A Leveraging funding and AFR has been rolled back into the proj- quantitative wildfire-risk assessment is engagement ect, now nearly completed. With ongo- at the core of the Rogue Strategy, con- Proactively treating 1.1 million acres ing engagement, the community has necting complementary partners over 20 years at a cost of $600 million is developed a sense of ownership and focused on landscape resilience, fire- daunting, requiring co-investment pride in their accomplishment. And the adapted communities, and safe and toward shared landscape-scale objec- City has provided for ongoing mainte- effective wildfire response. nance using controlled burning by The Rogue Strategy provides data, (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)

WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 17 tives. Modeling this co-investment, from OWEB, backed with $3.8 million projects distributed among manage- SOFRC, in partnership with eight core in match from an expanded group of ment units will seed the approach in member organizations, has successful- partners, will touch down with treat- different communities. RFRI will lever- ly secured funding from OWEB and ment implementation and community age engagement on these initial proj- match from partners to launch the new engagement on six projects distrib- ects to catalyze further understanding Rogue Forest Restoration Initiative uted across the Rogue Basin. and support of new co-investments to (RFRI). The $6 million/six year pledges Successive implementation of staged expand and integrate across the basin. To succeed, the RFRI Partnership Table 1: Prominent collaborative forest stewardship efforts in the must become a trusted institution with Rogue Basin. Analyzed acres (ac) are of the entire landscape, from wide and diverse affiliations. Federal which fewer acres are planned or funded for treatment (Trt). Core part- land treatments alone require a five-fold ners were involved in project design, formal agreements and/or con- increase in the treatment schedule and tributed substantial funding or match. Supportive partners provided funding. Considering the possible and review. Participating partners were engaged in workshops or field potentially avoided costs (California tours that informed project development and were only included if they were Core or Supporting partners in a separate project. spent $15 billion in fire remediation and recovery from the 2018 fires), the invest- Ashland Applegate Ashland Rogue Rogue Basin ment in the Rogue Strategy appears Forest Pilot Forest Forest Cohesive wise. Industrial forest owners, the insur- Resiliency All lands Restoration Forest ance industry, water utility fee payers, Restoration Initiative Restoration Strategy tribes, and county government could potentially become co-investors. Smoke Timeline 2004-2020 2010-2013 2004-2025 2019-2025 2017-2037 impacts have spread the risk from local- Analyzed Ac 22,000 80,000 53,000 TBD 4,600,000 ized fire-vulnerable locations to broad Planned Trt Ac 7,600 890 16,600 77,800 1,100,000 communities now energized to proac- Funded Trt Ac 7,600 559 16,600 5,300 Developing tively manage forest landscapes. To our advantage in going to scale, the region Organizations Partner Type retains a viable timber industry, a grow- AP — Core — Participant Participant ing and highly-trained workforce, and COA Core — Core — Supportive significant economic activity. JACK — Core — — Core Collaboratives are manifesting a JOSE — — — — Core proactive, middle way past historical tension between resource use and JSWCD — — Core Supportive — conservation, sidestepping a false KBO Supportive Supportive Supportive Core Participant dichotomy between the needs of peo- KSWILD Supportive Supportive Supportive — Participant ple and nature. Fortunately, broad LRP Core — Core Core Core public and partner support for proac- MBLM — Core Participant Core Core tive, restorative mechanical treatments with controlled burning has been NRCS Supportive Core Core Supportive Participant buoyed by successful projects and the ODF — Participant Supportive Core Core positive news coverage about the OSU — Core — — — SOFRC’s Rogue Strategy. The AFARI OSUEX Supportive Core Supportive Core Core and RFRI are grounded in best science OWEB — — Core Core — and collaborative partnerships to inte- grate objectives and deliver long-term RRS Core Participant Core Core Core landscape-scale solutions. The Rogue RVFC — — — Supportive Supportive Strategy provides a foundation for a SOFRC Supportive Core Supportive Core Core shared landscape vision to transforms SOU Supportive Supportive Supportive — — society’s reactive stance toward wild- TNC Core Participant Core Core Core fire to proactively and positively USFWS Core Core Supportive Supportive Core engaging with fire. ◆ UW — Core — — — Darren Borgias is Southwest Oregon *AP= Applegate Partnership; COA=City of Ashland; JACK=Jackson County; JOSE=Josephine Forest Project Director for The Nature County; JSWCD=Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District; KBO=Klamath Bird Conservancy, Ashland. He can be Observatory; KSWILD=Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands; LRP=Lomakatsi Restoration Project; reached at [email protected] or 541- MBLM=Medford District Bureau of Land Management; NRCS=Natural Resource Conservation 708-4989. Kerry Metlen, an SAF mem- Service; ODF=Oregon Department of Forestry; OSUEX=Oregon State University Extension Service; OWEB=Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board; RRS=Rogue River-Siskiyou ber, is a forest ecologist with The Nature National Forest; RVFC=Rogue Valley Fire Chiefs; SOFRC=Southern Oregon Forest Conservancy, Ashland. He can be Restoration Collaborative; SOU=Southern Oregon University; TNC=The Nature Conservancy; reached at [email protected]. USFWS=US Fish and Wildlife Service; UW=University of Washington

18 WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 Calendar of Events We Remember

Starker Lecture Series: Coquille Fundamentals and Best Practices Wilbur Wolf Tribal Forestry; Seeing the Forest for Forest Inventories, May 7, 1937-2019 through a Cultural Lens, April 10, Olympia, WA. Contact: WFCA. LaSells Stewart Center, Corvallis, OR. Wilbur E. Wolf, Jr., husband, father, Contact: starkerlectures.forestry.oregon- OSAF Foundation Fellows Luncheon, grandfather, patriot, soldier, captain, state.edu/. May 22, Forestry Club Cabin-Peavy armor officer and aviator, forester, farmer, Arboretum. Contact: Melinda Olson, public servant, mentor, and friend passed Slope Stability and Landslide 503-224-8046, [email protected]. away. He was born on August 26, 1937, in Management in the Pacific York, Penn., the son of the late Wilbur E. Northwest, April 11-12, Springfield, OR. CESCL Erosion and Sediment Wolf, Sr. and Hazel Woodring Wolf. He is Contact: WFCA. Control Lead Training, June 17-18, survived by his wife of 58 years, Margaret Portland, OR. Contact: NWETC. Smyers Wolf, his four children, and 12 Oregon SAF annual meeting, grandchildren. April 17-19, Boulder Falls Inn, Lebanon, Oregon Small On January 4, in a pasture on the family OR. Contact: www.oregon-forestry.org/ Association annual meeting, June farm near where his old deer stand stood, oregon. 20-22, Corvallis, OR. Contact: OSWA, he and an also aging ash tree engaged in www.oswa.org/blog/oswa-annual-meet- battle. And, on that hillside, in the end, Alaska SAF annual meeting, ing-2019/. joined as one, they both died an honorable April 24-26, Anchorage, AK. Contact: death. Trevor Dobell-Carlsson, trevor.dobell@ Oregon SAF Foundation Golf From their beginnings, as a child and as alaska.gov. Tournament, July 19, Trysting Tree Golf a young sapling, to their ends, as a distin- Course, Corvallis, OR. Contact: Jessica guished elder and a mature tree, theirs was Forest and the Fitzmorris, [email protected]. a life well lived. In lieu of flowers, the family Bioeconomy, April 25, Vancouver, WA. welcomes well-wishers, friends, and com- Contact: WFCA. Hagenstein Lectures—Emerging rades to contribute to organizations that Voices in Forestry, Oct. 20, World Wilbur held dear: Pennsylvania Wounded World Forest Institute—2019 Forestry Center, Portland, OR. Contact: Warriors (www.pawoundedwarriors.org/), www.hagensteinlectures.org/. Fellows Community Reception, The Ruffed Grouse Society (www.ruffed- April 25, Discovery Museum, World grousesociety.org/), and The Big Spring Forestry Center, Portland, OR. Contact: Oct. 30- SAF National Convention, Bulldog Education Foundation www.worldforestry.org/event/. Nov. 3, Louisville, Kentucky. Contact: (www.bigspringbulldogfoundation.org/). www.eforester.org/safconvention. ◆ 2019 Scaling for Non-Scalers, April 30, Wilsonville, OR. Contact: WFCA.

The Hagenstein Lectures Special Connecting Forest Landowners with Event—On Fire: A Conversation Seedlings, Services and Contractors with John Maclean, May 2, Miller Hall, World Forestry Center, Portland, OR. Contact: www.hagensteinlectures.org/ DISCOVER Our Interactive Website special-events. www.forestseedlingnetwork.com

Washington Farm Forestry BUY/SELL SEEDLINGS • FIND VENDOR SERVICES & CONTRACTORS • VALUABLE RESOURCES Association annual meeting, May 2-4, Best Western Silverdale Beach Hotel, Silverdale, WA. Contact: www.wafarmforestry.com.

Contact Information NWETC: Northwest Environmental Training Center, 1445 NW Mall St., Suite 4, Issaquah, WA 98027, 425-270-3274, nwetc.org.

WFCA: Western Forestry and Conservation Association, 4033 SW Canyon Rd., Portland, OR 97221, 503- 226-4562, [email protected], www.westernforestry.org.

Send calendar items to the editor at [email protected].

WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 19 Washington. Our main mill is at Collaboration: A Work in Progress Colville in Stevens County. We also operate a HewSaw single-pass milling helping build up forest stakeholder BY DUANE VAAGEN machine at Usk in Pend Oreille collaborative capacity than any other County. For years, we owned mills at lumberman in the nation. I did it Editor’s note: This article was origi- Republic in Ferry County, and Ione in because nothing else was working, nally published in 193 Million Acres: Pend Oreille County, but lingering and nothing else has done more to Toward a Healthier and More Resilient uncertainty with federal log supplies ease the log shortage our family has US Forest Service, a book published by forced us to close the mills several endured for 15 years. SAF in 2018. The book, edited by years ago. Many of my sawmilling colleagues Forestry Source editor Steve Wilent, is Many of our employees have been think I’m wasting my time, but I don’t. available in the SAF Store, www.efor- with us for more than 30 years. We The old New England Town Hall meet- ester.org/store. have seen one another through many ing format—the backbone of our ups and downs, both economic and democracy—still works. In fact, its suppose it is only fair that a lum- personal. That’s what families do for appeal is growing among forestry’s berman’s voice should be among the one another. From experience, I can advocates for one very significant rea- Imany that fill the pages of this fasci- tell you that replacing a mill that burns son: the process—what we call collab- nating book. Still, I was pleasantly sur- down is easy compared to the chal- oration—reduces the risk of litigation prised when Society of American lenges that go with hiring and training by increasing citizen-stakeholder par- Foresters editor, Steve Wilent, asked a top-quality work force, so we work ticipation in the management of our me to submit an essay. hard to retain our employees. publicly-owned national forests. I am not an SAF member, but help- The 1.1 million-acre Colville Our company’s strong support for ing the US Forest Service find innova- National Forest is the geographic and collaboratives that represent the tive ways to restore natural resiliency economic backbone of northeast broadest possible cross-sections of in western national forests is vital to Washington’s rural communities, and values found in northeast Washington the future of our third generation, a major source of logs for our mill. But communities honors commitments family-owned company—Vaagen its value to us extends far beyond that made by my father and his brother Brothers Lumber Company, Colville, of its standing timber. It is our primary when they founded Vaagen Brothers in Washington—and to the futures of the source of drinking water and our year- 1952. We are deeply rooted in at least a rural communities of northeast round outdoor playground. We hunt, dozen rural timber and farming com- Washington. fish, hike, camp, ski, snowshoe, snow- munities in Stevens, Pend Oreille, and Over the last 15 years or 20 years, I mobile, and ride horseback through its Ferry counties. We employ about 225 have probably devoted more time to rugged beauty. workers in two mills in northeast Our Northeast Washington Forest Coalition, which includes collaborative stakeholders who advocate for more Wilderness as well as those who advo- cate for more active forest manage- ment, believes that between 500,000 and 600,000 acres of the Colville is well- suited to a mix of forest management objectives, including timber production and the restoration of natural resiliency in stands that hold too many trees for the carrying capacity of the land. Given our mix of shade tolerant and intolerant conifer species, and other considerations, including soil quality, elevation, aspect, slope, and rainfall, the Colville lends itself to perpetual thinning on a 50-year rotation, mean- ing that in Year 51, we’ll be back thin- ning the same forest we thinned 50 years ago. Our mills at Colville and Usk are designed to process the types of small diameter trees that these perpet- ual will yield. Logs with four- inch tops are routine for us. What we cannot mill as lumber, we sell in chip

20 WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 resiliency before strike? Thinning overstocked forests isn’t a new idea. The Forest Service conduct- ed its first experimental thinnings at the Fort Valley Experimental Station in northern Arizona more than 100 years ago. The work continues to the present day and is well documented in research reports and repeat photogra- phy. Similar demonstration projects can be found in every western state. By volume, 44 percent of the annual gross growth on the Colville dies that same year. If these were your trees that you had planted and paid for, how much mortality would you be willing to accept? Think about it. Every American owns a share of this forest. Is a 44 percent annual loss in growth acceptable? PHOTO COURTESY OF VAAGEN BROS. Thinned vs. unthinned on the A-Z project. You might be surprised to learn that form to pulp mills or as biomass used in managing thinning costs. From the Colville is in better condition than by wood-to-energy producers. Nothing experience, we know that most of the any other national forest east of the is wasted, and more thinning could work needed on the Colville National Washington Cascades. On these easily be done. Forest will generate about $750 per forests, cumulative net growth is a acre that could be reinvested in more minus 58.253 million cubic feet annu- Sustainable: In perpetuity restoration activity—at the county ally. Mortality (327.2 million cubic feet) My own back-of-the-envelope esti- level. The point is that, contrary to exceeds gross growth (268.95 million mate is that about one-third of the what you may have heard, the costs cubic feet) by 58.253 million cubic feet. Colville could be actively managed in associated with restoring natural No private landowner could ever perpetuity, another third could be man- resiliency need not be borne by tax- accept such a loss, yet our country aged with a lighter touch—again in per- payers. We have the capacity to treat does. Why? petuity —and the remaining third ought more acres within our working circles. The latest estimate is that about 80 to be left alone, and maybe even added The key to turning money-losing million acres (125,000 square miles) of to the nation’s Wilderness system. projects into revenue-neutral projects western national forestland are in Our collaborative group wants to lies in selectively removing a few larger Condition Class 2 or 3, meaning it is see more Wilderness acres designated trees from each project to cover the ready to burn or soon will be. (Forests in on the Colville, but they also want to added planning and restoration costs. Condition Class 1 are generally healthy). see a significant increase in the pace The alternative is to purposefully allow This is an area almost twice the size and scale of collaborative restoration these trees to burn in stand-replacing of the entire state of Washington. Why work. The Colville has about 250,000 wildfires, then hand taxpayers the fire- on earth do our national forest share- acres of overstocked and beetle-infest- fighting bill. Why would we do this holders—that’s all 324 million of us US ed trees. These trees have already been when we have the knowledge and citizens—accept this loss? I don’t damaged by large fires and are more tools needed to restore natural (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) susceptible to insects and diseases. They are ready to burn, and will burn if the Forest Service cannot find ways to move beyond its current pace of treating 4,000 acres per year. Our collaborative has recommended that between 15,000 and 20,000 acres be treated annually. Fortunately, we still have the skill sets and capacity neces- sary to harvest, process, and market the added volume. In Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona, such infra- structure no longer exists. Our family’s capital investments in small-diameter milling technologies have given us a very good grounding

WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 21 understand it. oratives through the legal minefield it of their work in forest conservation, but Some western national forests are has created. House and Senate mem- there is no way we would invest our doomed because the mills that once bers appear to be taking the first nec- family’s capital in such an uncertain provided commercially viable markets essary steps within the framework of political climate. Again, short of a guar- for timber are gone. About 700 mills the Resilient Federal Forests Act of anteed supply of timber sufficient to have closed for good over the last 30 2017, which requires litigants to come amortize the investment, no investor years, which is in large part a result of to the collaborative table with their can successfully step forward. the federal government’s decision to own restoration proposals. Simply say- To restore lost investor confidence, shutter the timber sale program it built ing “no” will no longer be sufficient we are told conservationists are consid- up following World War II. reason to shelve restoration projects ering a super-sized A-to-Z project simi- The old federal timber sale program that are often years in the making. lar to the one we pioneered on the has gone the way of our society’s ever- There is no way of knowing if this Colville National Forest. Instead of the shifting felt necessities. We value differ- provision of the act will survive the Forest Service conducting the environ- ent things today than we did in the post- House-Senate reconciliation process, mental analysis as required by the war years. Aesthetic—some say spiritu- which will occur well ahead of the National Environmental Policy Act al—values now trump timber produc- publication of this book, but if it does, (NEPA), Vaagen Bros. engaged a private tion in the West’s national forests. That’s arbitration panels will decide which contractor to conduct the analysis and fine, but these values are now being lost forest restoration proposal most close- then write an environmental assessment in stand-replacing wildfires. ly matches respective national forest (EA) for the proposed project. But a planning documents. super-sized project—with its super-sized Increasing the capacity of Removing the litigation threat is crit- Environmental Impact Statement— collaboratives ical to the continuing success of the would cost millions of dollars. Many conservationists now support West’s collaborative groups, because, It is common knowledge that we thinning and prescribed fire as tools without viable markets for small diame- funded the A-to-Z Environmental for restoring natural resiliency. And ter trees that we and a few others pro- Impact Statement, including the cost of this is why our company has, for the vide, restoring natural resiliency is nei- having Cramer Fish Sciences prepare last 15 years, actively supported ther affordable nor possible. As a friend the necessary documents under Forest increasing forest collaborative capacity bluntly observed a few years ago, “No Service direction. Completing the in the West. Unfortunately, collabora- mill, no market, no forest.” required documentation took a fraction tives cannot by themselves circumvent The current situation in central of the time and money the Forest confusing and often conflicting federal Washington is a perfect example of the Service commits—and we followed the environmental laws that—thanks to harm litigation has done. The Nature same exacting rules they follow. abuses of the Equal Access to Justice Conservancy is trying to find invest- One might fairly ask why we were Act (EAJA)—have become fertile ment partners with whom it can join able to complete the process in less ground for lawyers representing in the construction and operation of a time and at a lower cost. One answer is groups that oppose efforts to restore sawmill that would process small- that the federal government generally forests. In effect, EAJA hands taxpayers diameter timber thinned from nearby can’t do anything as cheaply or effi- the bill for environmental litigation. overstocked national forests. Despite ciently as the private sector. But the What was Congress thinking? two years of looking, not a single part- main reason was that our researchers Only Congress can guide the collab- ner has stepped forward, nor will one were not interrupted by a wildfire sea- until the $100 million construction son or redirected to some other project cost can be paired with an uninter- that was suddenly deemed more ruptible supply of federal timber suffi- important. Nor were we demoralized cient to amortize all costs over a 20- by the prospect of appeals or litigation. year period. No such supply arrange- Many in the Forest Service have lost ment is possible so long as the threat the courage of their own convictions of litigation remains. and are no longer willing to use the Our company is very interested in regulatory tools Congress has provided The Nature Conservancy’s central in hopes of speeding work on collabo- Washington sawmill proposal. We know ratively designed projects. Yet several the organization well and think highly recent federal court rulings have

FOREST RESOURCES TECHNOLOGY SAF Accredited • http://cocc.edu/programs/forestry Ron Boldenow, Ph.D., C.F., Forestry Rebecca Franklin, Ph.D., Bret Michalski, M.S., Wildlife Science E-mail: [email protected] (541) 383-7756 CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Bend, Oregon

22 WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 favored the Forest Service. My guess is who are, in one way or another, social- that judges admire what they see in ly, spiritually, culturally, or economical- this uniquely American problem-solv- ly dependent on the wellbeing of the ing tool we call collaboration. Colville National Forest: Wilderness Where strong leadership exists at advocates, hunters, loggers, fishers, the regional and supervisory levels, sawmill workers, conservationists, the Forest Service is moving beyond its native Americans, snowmobilers, retail Policy Scoreboard fear of being sued by serial litigators. I merchants, school teachers, elected credit the collaboratives with helping officials, hikers, campers, skiers—and Editor’s Note: To keep SAF members restore the agency’s faith in its own lumbermen, like me. informed of state society policy activities, Policy Scoreboard is a regular feature in the ability to do good, legally defensible It has taken us years to really get to Western Forester. The intent is to provide a work. The spirit and intent of these know one another, but we’ve perse- brief explanation of the policy activity— projects underscores our nation’s con- vered in our shared belief that we you are encouraged to follow up with the servation ethic, the necessity of citizen could accomplish more by working listed contact person for detailed informa- resolve, and a “can do” attitude that together than we could by going our tion. has been missing from federal forest separate ways. And we have, mainly by management for too long. being patient and respectful of one OSAF Approves Updated another’s differing points of view. Position Statement on Active Communities at the core We don’t always immediately agree Management to Achieve and We still have some hurdles to cross on the finer points, but we do stand Maintain Active Forests. At the concerning fund- on common ground and we are com- February 2, 2019, OSAF Executive ing, post-fire timber salvage harvesting, mitted to helping the Forest Service Committee Meeting in Troutdale, an “green” timber sales, future Wilderness find ways to treat more acres annually. updated version of our position state- designations, and funding for rural tim- Coalescing change in a centralized ment entitled “Active Management to ber towns devastated by the collapse of bureaucracy as large as the Forest Achieve and Maintain Active Forests” was approved by the ExCom. Only the old federal timber sale program. Service isn’t easy. The decision-making minor changes were made to the exist- These towns are surrounded by nation- process is slowly migrating to the local ing position. The core position states al forests. They can’t reinvent them- level, where it belongs, but restoring that OSAF “supports active forest man- selves in some new and dramatically resiliency in our national forests different likeness. They are what they agement prescribed by professional requires that we also restore public foresters to achieve and maintain are: old timber, mining, and farm confidence in the whole idea that towns. Amazon won’t be building its healthy public and private forests, con- managing forests is a better option sistent with land management objec- new campus in Kettle Falls or Ione, and than watching them burn. tives. To accomplish this, a wide range of New York’s Metropolitan Opera won’t Big wildfires provide teachable proven forest management strategies be moving to Colville anytime soon. moments, but as soon as the smoke and tools must be available to forestry But these communities have some- clears, the news media and public lose professionals. These include carefully thing in them that you won’t find in interest. Out of sight, out of mind. planned uses of forest thinning (some- New York, Seattle, or any other metro- That’s the bad news. The good news is times removing trees over a wide range politan area in our country: people that the collaborative piece of this of sizes and ages), approved chemicals who know how to care for forests. story—the human-interest element— (e.g., fertilizers and pesticides), pre- Some are professionally-trained isn’t dying between wildfire seasons. scribed burning, sanitation and salvage foresters, biologists or engineers, but Even the most hardened journalists of designated dead and dying trees, many of our neighbors know what seem to see collaboration for what it regeneration harvesting (e.g., clearcut- they know because they’ve lived in is: a forum open to anyone who shares ting, shelterwood, selection) and mixed forests all their lives. They are hands- our interest in protecting our national species planting as appropriate. Many on people with generational knowl- forest heritage. We remain a work in federal forests in Oregon now have an edge who know how to get things progress, but we have come a long, especially acute and long-term need for done. They work with nature every day active management that will require long way in 15 persistent years. ◆ of their lives. They are the heart and diverse strategies and tools, including road access and administrative flexibili- soul of northeast Washington. Duane Vaagen is a third-generation Who better to help the Forest ty to effectively expand and maintain Northeast Washington lumberman. His such management. Broad benefits, from Service care for the Colville National grandfather operated portable cedar Forest than the people who live in it wildlife to recreation to forest products, mills before and during World War II. can be achieved and sustained through and depend on it for their every use His father, Bert, and uncle, Bud, started and necessity? It belongs as much to active management on public and Vaagen Brothers Lumber Company in private forestlands.” The updated them as it does to every American. 1952. Today,Vaagen Brothers owns statement can be found at: www.ore- They are the rural links in a human mills in Colville and Usk,Washington, gon.forestry.org/oregon/policy/general. chain that stretches south to Spokane and Midway, British Columbia. Contact: Mark Buckbee, OSAF Policy and west to Seattle and Portland. co-chair, [email protected]. ◆ There are countless thousands of us

WESTERN FORESTER ◆ JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 23 WesternSOCIETY OF AMERICANForester FORESTERS Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE 4033 S.W. Canyon Road PAID Portland, Oregon 97221 PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 16

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