OFRI eNews: November 2019
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Thankful for Oregon's forests
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Oregon’s abundant forests provide us with many reasons to be thankful. Oregon contains nearly 30 million acres of forestland, which is almost half the state. We depend on our vast forests in many ways. Here are some of the top reasons that I am thankful for Oregon’s forests:
Oregon’s forests provide clean water
Oregon’s forests clean our air
Oregon’s forests provide habitat to fish and wildlife
All of Oregon’s forests – whether they’re mostly new growth, old-growth or somewhere in between – provide habitat for an array of wildlife.
Oregon’s forests provide family wage jobs
Oregon’s forests provide recreation opportunities
There is an endless list of recreation opportunities in Oregon’s forests. Hiking, fishing, camping, picnicking and bird-watching are among the top recreational pursuits that Oregonians enjoy.
Oregon’s forests provide sustainable wood products
The wood that is sustainably harvested from Oregon’s forests goes into
many products
that we interact with every day.
As I reflect on Oregon’s forests, I am grateful for all the social, environmental and economic benefits they provide.
For the forest,
Erin Isselmann
Executive Director
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Tree Farmers of the Year announced
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Lane County forest landowners Gordon and Gail Culbertson have been named Oregon’s 2019 Tree Farmers of the Year by the
Oregon Tree Farm System
.
The Culbertsons were honored during an Oregon Tree Farm System luncheon last month at The Oregon Garden in Silverton. The award recognized them for exceptional, sustainable forest management of their 72-acre forested property in the Coast Range, about halfway between Eugene and Florence.
The couple purchased the property in 2007 so that they, along with their children and grandchildren, could stay connected to the land and enjoy the rewards that come from working it to produce forest products. Their goals for the property include earning income, family recreation and providing wildlife habitat. To achieve those goals, they have worked to reduce tree diseases, thin trees, improve bird habitat and eliminate invasive plants from their forestland.
The Oregon Tree Farm System also recognized other family forest landowners for exceptional forest management. The honorees were K.C. Thompson, Sid Picht and Diana Blakney of Benton County; Alan, Rob, Don, Gary and Tim Guttridge of Clackamas County; Tim and Kathy Otis of Linn County; Ernie and Linda Rieben of Washington County, and Harry and Bonnie Roberson of Yamhill County.
For 53 years, the Oregon Tree Farm System, which operates an internationally recognized forest certification program, has recognized family forest landowners who provide forest benefits and products using sound forest management principles.
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Forest Vegetation Management Conference planned
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The continuing education conference for professional foresters is co-sponsored by OFRI. It will focus on best practices for managing forest vegetation that competes with newly planted tree seedlings. Conference speakers represent the public and private sector, including the U.S. Forest Service, Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Wilbur-Ellis, Weyerhaeuser, and Hancock Forest Management, as well as academics from Oregon State University, Washington State University and the University of Idaho.
The conference registration fee is $295 if received by Nov. 25 or $345 after Nov. 25. The fee includes a reception and two lunches.
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Forestry lectures a success
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About 75 people attended last month’s
Hagenstein Lectures
, featuring emerging voices in forestry.
The three-part lecture series, held Oct. 20 at the World Forestry Center in Portland, was hosted by the
World Forestry Center
and
Society of American Foresters
(SAF) and co-sponsored by OFRI. It highlighted new leaders working at the forefront of social, economic and environmental change.
Speakers included Amanda Rau, a burn boss and fire manager with The Nature Conservatory, and Anjel Tomayko, a federal lands forester with the Department of Natural Resources in Washington state. Brief video interviews with Rau and Tomayko can be found on OFRI’s
Facebook page
. Other speakers included SAF CEO Terry Baker, Oregon State University College of Forestry research associate Christopher Dunn, Weyerhaeuser Director of Corporate Sustainability Ara Erickson, and Andrés Holz, an assistant professor of geology with Portland State University.
Videos of the full lectures will also be available on the Hagenstein Lectures
website
.
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OFRI staffer travels to Tasmania
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OFRI Director of K-12 Education Programs Norie Dimeo-Ediger recently traveled to Tasmania to speak at a forest education conference.
Dimeo-Ediger was invited to give a keynote address about Oregon forestry education at the
2019 Forest Education Foundation Conference
, held Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in Launceston, Tasmania. The conference, attended by classroom teachers and forest industry professionals, aimed to encourage and support teachers to integrate forest education into their lesson plans. It was hosted by the
Forest Education Foundation
, a nonprofit educational institution that has been providing learning experiences for teachers and students throughout Tasmania for 25 years.
Dimeo-Ediger wasn’t the only Oregonian with expertise in forest education to speak at the conference. Rick Zenn, a senior fellow with the
World Forestry Center
in Portland and Joan Mason Ruud, program director of the forest education program
Talk About Trees
also participated in the conference. They were invited to speak at the conference by two Forest Education Foundation staff members who visited Oregon last year to learn about K-12 forestry education resources and programs offered in the state.
Foundation staff were particularly impressed with OFRI’s
Oregon Forest Literacy Plan
, a resource for educators that lists concepts that every K-12 students should know about forests. On the first day of the conference, they rolled out a Tasmanian forest literacy plan modeled after the one OFRI developed.
In addition to attending and speaking at the conference, Dimeo-Ediger and other visitors from Oregon explored a Tasmanian forest, met a Tasmanian devil and observed a Tasmanian logging operation.
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OFRI offering educator conference
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High school natural resources teachers are invited to attend a professional development conference OFRI is hosting Dec. 11-12 at
The Oregon Garden
in Silverton.
The
OFRI Natural Resources Educator Conference
will focus on the social, economic and ecological aspects of Oregon’s natural resources. It will include general and breakout sessions and networking opportunities, as well as training for the
Oregon Envirothon
2020, an annual natural resources knowledge and skills competition for high school students that OFRI organizes each year at The Oregon Garden.
There is no registration fee for teachers to attend the conference, and they can
apply
for substitute, travel and lodging reimbursements.
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Christmas in the Garden starts Nov. 29
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OFRI is a co-sponsor of this year’s event, which takes place Nov. 29-Jan. 5 in the 80-acre botanical garden in Silverton. It will feature festive displays throughout the Rediscovery Forest using one million lights, a traditional outdoor European-style Christmas market with artisan crafts for sale, a variety of dining options, holiday concerts, ice skating and snowless tubing, among other activities.
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Blog: Getting students outside
In a new blog post, OFRI Director of K-12 Education Programs Norie Dimeo-Ediger explains the importance of outdoor education and how OFRI’s bus transportation funding helps get more students out into Oregon’s forests to learn about the environment and natural resources.
Read the blog
.
Blog: A forest-based economy
OFRI Director of Forestry Mike Cloughesy shares in his latest blog post more highlights from the
2019 Forest Report
, a comprehensive, OFRI-published report that provides a snapshot of the economic contributions of Oregon’s forest industry.
Read the blog
.
Blog: It's Forest Products Week
The third week of October was National Forest Products Week. OFRI Executive Director Erin Isselmann’s latest blog post explains the special significance the weeklong celebration of forest products has for Oregon.
Read the blog
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OFRI op-ed published
An opinion piece by OFRI Director of Forestry Mike Cloughesy about the crucial role that Oregon’s forests play in the fight against climate change was recently published in the Eugene Register-Guard.
Read the op-ed
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Business summit includes sessions on wildfires
Main stage and breakout sessions at this year’s Oregon Leadership Summit, an annual gathering of business and policy leaders, will focus on finding ways to address the state’s worsening wildfire seasons. The 17th Oregon Leadership Summit will take place on Dec.16 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.
Learn more
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Corvallis is Oregon Tree City of the Year
The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) in partnership with Oregon Community Trees (OCT) has named Corvallis as the 2019 Oregon Tree City of the Year for its exemplary commitment to urban forestry. ODF and OCT annually select one of Oregon’s 66 nationally recognized Tree City USA communities, a program of the Arbor Day Foundation, to be honored as Tree City of the Year.
Learn more
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Nov. 29-Jan. 5, Silverton
Nov. 29-Dec. 1, Tillamook Forest Center
Dec. 4-5, Wilsonville
Dec. 11-12, Silverton
Dec. 16, Portland
Dec. 19, Eugene
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Oregon Forest Resources Institute
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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 © 2019, Oregon Forest Resources Institute. All Rights Reserved.
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