OFRI eNews: December 2019
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The Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI) had a busy 2019. Through programs focused on public, K-12 and landowner education, we were able to advance public understanding of forests and forest management, and encourage sound forestry practices.
One of the highlights from our K-12 Education program was the publication of
Life in the Forest
. Developed for grades 6-8, this publication helps students understand how forests provide habitat for different wildlife species. It highlights current wildlife research and presents data for students to analyze. In May we worked with high schools from across the state as 180 students competed in the
Oregon Envirothon
natural resources knowledge and skills competition. Another big success was our
high school teacher tour
in June that focused on mass timber.
In our Landowner Education program, we published an updated
Understanding Eastside Forests
,
which contains detailed information on managing forests in central and eastern Oregon. We also engaged directly with landowners through educational sessions delivered by OFRI at events such as the Oregon Small Woodlands Association and Oregon Tree Farm System annual meetings.
By far, the highlight of 2019 was an OFRI board-hosted forest tour, which took place in Bend in October. Approximately 50 people attended the tour, which highlighted collaborative efforts to restore the fire resiliency and health of fire-dependent federal forests in central and eastern Oregon. Tour attendees, including Sen. Jeff Merkley, state legislators and county commissioners, visited various sites in the
Deschutes National Forest
to examine forest restoration work led by the
Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project
, a forest collaborative group representing a diverse range of views and values for federal forests.
These are just a few highlights from the year. As we say farewell to 2019 and head into 2020, we look forward to continuing to educate the public, students, teachers and landowners about Oregon’s greatest resource: its forests.
For the forest,
Erin Isselmann
Executive Director
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Order you "Planted" signs today
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Winter and early spring is
tree planting season
in Oregon, which means forest landowners are currently gearing up to plant seedlings that will replace trees that were harvested. It’s also a great time to order a “Planted” sign through OFRI’s landowner signage program.
The landowner signage program provides free signs to forest landowners identifying the year seedlings were planted, to display in replanted areas that lie along heavily traveled highways and roads throughout the state. The signs help educate the general public about the forest sector’s continuous effort to ensure Oregon will have abundant forests for generations to come.
Planted signs can be ordered online and are delivered along with mounting hardware to the location specified by the landowner, who must simply provide metal posts on which to install the signs.
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Forester Friday, OFRI’s recurring blog series profiling Oregon foresters and other forestry professionals with an interesting or unique story to tell, has returned.
Two new Forester Friday profiles can be found on the
OFRI blog
.
The first profiles urban forester Casey Clapp, a development tree inspector with the city of Portland. His responsibilities include reviewing and permitting street-tree work associated with housing and commercial development in Portland. Read more about Casey’s work as an urban forester
here
.
The second new Forester Friday profile features Fran Cafferata Coe, a wildlife biologist who works closely with foresters. She is the owner of Cafferata Consulting, a firm that specializes in helping timber companies manage wildlife in working forests. Read more about Fran and the work she does in Oregon’s forests
here
.
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OFRI hosts educator conference
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About 75 teachers from 49 high schools across Oregon attended a recent OFRI-hosted professional development conference that focused on ways to educate students about the social, economic and ecological aspects of the state’s natural resources.
The OFRI Natural Resources Educator Conference was held Dec. 11-12 at The Oregon Garden in Silverton. It included breakout sessions on teaching high school students about forestry, led by
Oregon Natural Resources Education Program
Director LeeAnn Mikkelson, and another on wildlife, led by Crook County High School teacher Lisa Keown and wildlife biologist Fran Cafferata Coe. Scio High School teacher Rex Lowther and Tillamook High School teacher Lori Loeffler led a session on best practices for natural resources education.
The conference also included 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. Speakers included representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Anthony Davis, interim dean of the Oregon State University College of Forestry and an
ex officio
member of the OFRI board, delivered the conference’s keynote address.
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Christmas in the Garden runs through Jan. 5
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OFRI is a co-sponsor of this year’s event, which takes place in the 15-acre forest located within the 80-acre botanical garden in Silverton. Christmas in the Garden features festive displays throughout the Rediscovery Forest that include 1 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: Traveling to Tasmania
In a new blog post, OFRI Director of K-12 Education Programs Norie Dimeo-Ediger shares her experience of traveling to Tasmania to deliver a keynote address at a forest education conference there.
Read the blog
.
Public comment sought on state forest plan
The Oregon Department of Forestry is seeking public comment on its recently released draft Western Oregon State Forest Management Plan. The plan revision is intended to increase financial and conservation outcomes on approximately 613,000 acres of land, including the Tillamook, Clatsop and Santiam state forests. Public comment on the plan will be accepted until Jan. 31, 2020. ODF will host two upcoming public-input sessions regarding the plan, Dec. 20 in Astoria and Jan. 14 in Salem.
Learn more
.
OSU names new College of Forestry dean
The Oregon State University College of Forestry has named a new dean. Dr. Thomas DeLuca, who is currently the dean of the University of Montana’s W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation, will take the helm of the OSU College of Forestry on June 30, 2020. He will replace Anthony Davis, who has been acting dean since January 2018.
Learn more
.
Communities to plant "peace trees"
To mark the 75
th
anniversary of the end of World War II, more than two dozen Oregon communities plan to plant “peace trees” distributed by the Oregon Department of Forestry and the nonprofit organizations Oregon Community Trees and One Sunny Day Initiative. The ginkgo and Asian persimmon tree seedlings were grown using seeds collected from trees that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945.
Learn more
.
New video focuses on post-fire restoration
A new video produced by the Oregon Department of Forestry aims to help family forest landowners learn what to do to reforest their property after a wildfire. The seven-minute video highlights efforts to help Baker County forest landowners restore their forests after the Cornet-Windy Ridge Fire in 2015.
Watch the video
.
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Nov. 29 – Jan. 5, Silverton
Dec. 19, Eugene
Dec. 20, Astoria
Jan. 14, Salem
Jan. 18, Independence
Jan. 25, Corvallis
Feb. 20-22, Eugene
March 21, Oregon City
March 24-26, Portland
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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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