John Nohr, the fire chief for parts of Clark and Cowlitz counties in Washington state, was driving down Interstate 5 when another firefighter asked if he’d noticed the trees.
A lawsuit against the state by numerous trust land beneficiaries filed last year argues that the sustainable harvest strategy adopted by the Board of Natural Resources (BNR) fails to meet its fiduciary duties. However, that case and a separate but related legal fight have also underscored how logging continues to fund critical local services such as education, fire districts, and road infrastructure.
Well that was some hot spell! Even out near the coast it was 100 degrees most of Saturday, 110 degrees all afternoon on Sunday and still 90 after dark. Fellow tree farmers Greg and Sue Pattillo both noticed a sweet pitchy smell on Sunday which turned out to be the new growth on both their reprod and large trees cooking. It appears that much of their new growth is fried brown and needle fall, especially on the hemlock and cedar, is already happening so that it looks like much of the area
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Chuck and Nan Higgins, WFFA and Lewis County Farm Forestry Association members were named Washington State Tree Farmers of the Year for 2021 in a recent virtual presentation. If you missed that presentation, the video that was shown can be viewed here.
If you are interested in hosting a virtual tree farm tour, please email Elaine Oneil, Executive Director, (eoneil@wafarmforestry.com) or Jon Matson, IT Consultant (jon@jkematson.org). This is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the unique aspects of your tree farm and share what you think makes it "Cool to be a Tree Farmer"!
My trees have just been have been cut. What do I do next?
How many trees per acre should I plant on newly harvested land?
How do I find out how many trees per acre are growing on my land?
Why did my newly planted seedlings die?
Do I need to worry about insects attacking my trees?
My big trees are dying. Could it be from a disease?
Something is eating my young trees! What is it? What can I do about it?
Other plants are growing where I planted young seedlings. Do I need to do something about them?
How do I mix chemicals in my backpack sprayer?
How can I control weeds if I don't want to use chemicals?
I want to plant western red cedar on my land. Is it hard to get established?
I'd like to plant red alder instead of Douglas-fir. Should I do so?
My trees seem to be too close together. Should I cut some of them out? How do I know when to do it?
I think my trees are big enough to harvest. How do I find out about how to do it and who will do it?
Do I need to know exactly where my property lines and corners are located?
These chapters were written by Bryon W. Loucks, retired forester and small forest landowner, who wanted to share his 50 years of experience with other small forest landowners who are interested in learning more about managing their forest land. They are focused on management of Douglas-fir in western Washington, but many of the chapters contain information that is useful with other species and in other locations. If you have questions or want to make comments, he can be contacted at bryonloucks@gmail.com
Chapter 3 - Soils New January 2021
Chapter 6 - Tree Improvement Programs
Chapter 8 - Disease & Insect Damage
Chapter 12 - Marketing & Final Harvest
Chapter 13 - Growing Douglas-fir
Chapter 14 - Growing Alder Revised April 2021
Chapter 15 - Growing Western Redcedar
Chapter 17 - Tale of Three Stands New April 2021
Chapter 18 - Surveying Corners and Property Lines New January 2021
Appendix: Samples of Contracts. Word versions are provided so you can modify them for your own use.
