OFRI staff work behind the scenes
to advance forestry, forest products
It's easy to lose sight of the many ways OFRI helps advance public understanding of Oregon's forest sector. This edition of eNews is a reminder of how staff work behind the scenes to tell the story of Oregon's forests and wood products.
Timm Locke, director of forest products, helped plan and organize last month's highly successful Mass Timber Summit and Mass Timber Conference. For the conference, he also arranged a sold-out tour of Portland's mass timber buildings. Timm will lead a similar tour for the Oregon Society of American Foresters annual meeting this month.
Norie Dimeo-Ediger, director of K-12 education, and Julie Woodward, senior manager of forestry education, are hosting a summer tour on the Oregon coast for high school teachers. The June tour will inform teachers about the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable forest management. Kathy Storm, senior manager of business operations, is organizing all the logistics for the three-day field trip.
Julie was also recently recognized by the Oregon FFA Association for OFRI's work to advance high school forestry and natural resources education across the state.
In addition, OFRI stepped up to sponsor the Eugene Children's Film Festival, a "Fire in the Pacific Northwest" summit, and the premiere episode of the television series America's Forests with Chuck Leavell.
It's just as President Harry Truman said: "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."
For the forest,
Paul Barnum
Executive Director
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Mass timber experts convene in Portland
Mass timber construction experts and enthusiasts from across the country and world gathered in Portland last month, for nearly a full week of events focused on the growing movement to build more commercial and multistory buildings with wood.
More than 800 people attended the International Mass Timber Conference on March 29-30 at the Oregon Convention Center. The Forest Business Network event featured more than 50 presenters discussing mass timber and tall wood building design, construction and research, as well as the environmental, social and economic benefits of building with wood. Keynote speakers included Steve Marshall, assistant director of cooperative forestry with the U.S. Forest Service, British architect Andrew Waugh, and Jason McLennan, creator of the stringent green building certification the Living Building Challenge.
"I've spent much of my career relooking at how we design buildings," McLennan told conference attendees. "We are primarily building buildings that are bad for the environment and people's health. I believe we can build buildings that are good for people - that are restorative. I too, believe that timber is a big part of the solution."
Ahead of the Mass Timber Conference, Gov. Kate Brown hosted the Oregon Mass Timber Summit on March 27 in Portland. Oregon's economic development agency, Business Oregon, organized the full-day event to give policymakers and other key opinion leaders an overview of the global mass timber industry and efforts in Oregon to accelerate advanced-wood products manufacturing in the state.
Through its wood products education program, OFRI helped plan and organize the Mass Timber Summit and Mass Timber Conference. OFRI co-sponsored the conference, and Director of Forest Products Timm Locke organized and led a sold-out tour on March 28 for more than 100 conference attendees to visit some of Portland's newest cross-laminated timber (CLT) and mass timber buildings.
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Film festival to celebrate Oregon's forests
The third annual Eugene Children's Film Festival will highlight and celebrate one of Oregon's most incredible resources: its forests.
High school students can win a $1,000 college scholarship for making the best film about Oregon's forests, and earn the chance to be among the top films screened during the Aug. 19 festival at the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater in Springfield. The competition is open to all Oregon high school students, and film entries will be judged on how well they incorporate Oregon's forests creatively into a short film.
Festival organizers chose forests as the theme for this year's high school film competition to provide young filmmakers with an interesting and complex subject. The competition also aims to raise student awareness of the contribution forests make to Oregon's economy, environmental sustainability and recreation.
OFRI is a co-sponsor of the film festival, and Senior Public Outreach Manager Jordan Benner will serve as a competition judge.
The festival is open to children and teens ages 7 to 18, and awards will be given out for various age levels and categories. Submitting a film is free. All films must be submitted online by Aug. 8 for inclusion in this year's festival.
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Summit to focus on fire in the PNW
An upcoming summit for forest managers and fire professionals will focus on the latest science and research on fire regimes for forests, woodlands and grasslands west of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington.
"Fire in the Pacific Northwest - Past, Present, & Future" is scheduled May 24-25 at the Downtown Hilton in Vancouver, Wash. The event is targeted to federal, state and private land managers, fire and fuel specialists, and members of forest collaborative groups. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss shared field experiences and exchange knowledge.
Summit speakers hailing from the fields of fire ecology and operations will discuss the past, present and future roles of west-side fire regimes. A theme of the summit will be understanding fire as a process and a tool for restoration efforts.
The registration cost for the summit is $225. The fee covers all materials, meals and refreshments during the event, as well as an opening reception.
OFRI is co-sponsoring the summit along with the Oregon State University Forestry & Natural Resources Extension, the U.S. Forest Service and the Northwest Fire Science Consortium.
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Teacher tour to highlight sustainable forestry
OFRI is hosting a free tour for high school instructors this summer in Tillamook that will provide a hands-on development opportunity to learn about the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable forest management.
The June 19-21 tour will feature visits to forests and mills in Tillamook County. It will offer connections between the information teachers receive on the tour and applications in the classroom using
OFRI's forestry curriculum
and related resources.
Tillamook Bay Community College, the Oregon Department of Forestry, Stimson Lumber, Hampton Lumber and Tillamook High School are among the organizations partnering with OFRI on the tour.
Tour registration is available online. Meals and transportation are included, and lodging is provided for participants traveling 50 miles or more each way to attend the tour. Course credit from Southern Oregon University will be available for an additional cost.
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FFA recognizes OFRI high school program
The Oregon FFA Association has recognized OFRI's work to advance high school forestry and natural resources education across the state.
The state chapter of the agricultural education organization presented OFRI Senior Manager of Forestry Education Julie Woodward with an Honorary State FFA Degree during the FFA State Convention, held last month in Redmond. The award, which recognizes individuals who have given outstanding service to the FFA program, honors her involvement with Oregon FFA to help educate high school instructors and students about Oregon's forests and natural resources.
"Although my name appears on the honorary degree, it is a testament to the work of OFRI staff and the vision of our board of directors," Woodward says. "Our dedication to providing high school events, sponsorships, curricula, tours, professional development and resources is making a difference and being recognized."
Formerly known as the "Future Farmers of America," the national organization now simply uses the FFA acronym, to reflect the growing diversity of agriculture and to include education about forestry and related fields.
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The Oregon Legislature created the Oregon Forest Resources Institute in 1991 to advance public understanding of forests, forest management and forest products and to encourage sound forestry through landowner education. A 13-member board of directors governs OFRI. It is funded by a portion of the forest products harvest tax.
Copyright © 2017, Oregon Forest Resources Institute. All Rights Reserved.
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On the blog
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Missed
America's Forests on OPB? Watch it online.
If you missed the Oregon Public Broadcasting premiere earlier this month of America's Forests with Chuck Leavell, it's not too late to view the new television documentary series' pilot episode online.
The planned 13-episode series features Rolling Stones keyboardist and Georgia tree farmer Chuck Leavell as he explore forests across the country. The pilot episode focuses on a trend toward building tall wood buildings in Portland, wildfire prevention in Bend and habitat restoration in the Siuslaw National Forest on the Oregon Coast.
Funding to support the pilot program came from the U.S. Forest Service and OFRI, in partnership with the national nonprofit organization Choose Outdoors.
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Online wood research library launched
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ReThink Wood, an organization representing North America's softwood lumber industry, has launched an online research library to serve as a go-to resource for information on mass timber building products.
The ReThink Wood Research Library aims to help inform architects, engineers, developers and others about the latest advancements in wood's performance and advantages in the built environment. The publicly accessible library will be frequently updated with the latest research on wood building products and systems.
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OSAF to hold
annual meeting
The Oregon Society of American Foresters will hold its annual meeting April 26-28 in Tigard.
The 2017 meeting, "Foresters: Connecting Forests, Products, People," will be co-hosted by the Portland and Tillamook-Clatsop SAF chapters at the Embassy Suites Washington Square.
The meeting agenda includes a keynote address by the national SAF's immediate past-president, Clark Seeley, and presentations on wood products, wildlife, research, new technologies and the public perception of forestry. The annual meeting will also feature several field tours, including a Portland mass timber building tour led by OFRI Director of Forest Products Timm Locke.
Registration for the meeting is available online.
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Natural Resources Leadership Academy taking registrations
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Registration is now open to graduate students and natural resources professionals for Oregon State University's Natural Resources Leadership Academy.
This year's academy will take place June 18-23 and June 26-30 on the OSU campus in Corvallis. It will offer the opportunity for participants to enhance leadership skills through hands-on experience in engaging coursework and off-site field study, as well as connect with others studying or working in the natural resources field.
Educational tracks will address pressing natural resources challenges, including environmental politics and policy, social aspects of sustainable natural resources, and water conflict management. Tracks can be taken for professional development or as credit toward a graduate degree.
Academy registration is available online.
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The Herman Creek Trail in the Columbia River Gorge takes hikers through a lush, mossy forest of Douglas-fir, big-leaf maple and western hemlock as it passes over a series of creeks.
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