It's Wildfire Awareness Month
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As the summer wildfire season approaches, it’s a great time for Oregonians to not only brush up on the ways to
prevent wildfires
while out enjoying the warm weather in the state’s forests, but also take steps to reduce the potential
fire risk to their homes
and property. In fact, in Oregon and 10 other western states, May is Wildfire Awareness Month.
That means Gov. Kate Brown, together with the chief executives of Washington, Nevada, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and North and South Dakota, have signed proclamations encouraging all citizens to “take steps to prepare their home and communities for wildfires and work toward becoming a fire-adapted community.”
When it comes to preventing wildfires, there’s a lot at stake, including lives, homes, property, wildlife habitat and the
many benefits
provided by Oregon’s forests. Although lightning starts some fires, most are caused by people. During the 2018 wildfire season, Oregonians were responsible for starting 1,330 wildfires that consumed over 329,000 acres.
I encourage all Oregon residents to take some time this month to get informed about
wildfire
and wildfire prevention through organizations like
Keep Oregon Green
. Together, we can all do our part to help reduce human-caused wildfires and their harmful impacts.
For the forest,
Erin Isselmann
Executive Director
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Logos Charter wins Envirothon
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A team from Logos Charter School in Medford calling itself the “Rogue Pack” earned first place at
Oregon Envirothon
2019, an annual high school natural resources knowledge competition held earlier this month in Silverton.
Some 165 students from 20 high schools participated in this year’s Oregon Envirothon, hosted by OFRI on May 3 at
The Oregon Garden
. During the competition, 33 teams, each made up of five students, rotated through a series of outdoor stations, participating in hands-on activities to demonstrate their knowledge of natural-resources skills, including aquatic science, forest management, wildlife management, soil science, and this year’s current issue: sustainable agriculture. More than 30 natural-resources professionals and others volunteered to help OFRI make the event a success.
A team from Sutherlin High School finished second in the competition, and a team from Amity High School took third place.
As the first-place winner of Oregon Envirothon, the Logos Charter School team now has the opportunity to compete at the North American
Envirothon
this July in Raleigh, N.C.
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Workshop focuses on young forests
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An upcoming workshop hosted by Oregon State University will highlight the latest science on the management of early seral forests—young forests in the earliest stages of regrowth following a disturbance such as a wildfire or a timber harvest.
The Early Seral Biodiversity Science & Management Workshop, scheduled for June 10-11 in the CH2M Alumni Center on the OSU campus in Corvallis, will feature presentations on recent research regarding early seral forests in the Pacific Northwest, which provide habitat for a diverse array of wildlife. Geared to scientists, landowners, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and others with an interest in early seral forests, the workshop will offer lectures on topics such as conservation and management of young forest stands, fire ecology and early seral forest ecosystems, and the importance of early seral forest habitat for native songbirds and bees.
OFRI is one of the sponsors of an optional field tour on June 11 that will explore early seral habitat on private industrial forestland and forestland managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
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ODF names new division head
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Abraham, who has been the division’s deputy chief since 2017, will assume the position when the current Private Forests Division chief Lena Tucker officially moves into her new role as deputy state forester on July 1.
As Private Forests Division chief, Abraham will lead several programs aimed to help protect and maintain Oregon’s forests. The division is responsible for ODF’s forest health and urban and community assistance forestry programs, as well as helping Oregonians follow the
Oregon Forest Practices Act
, which governs forest practices on private forestland.
Abraham, who holds a bachelor’s degree in fisheries science from Oregon State University, started working for ODF in 1988 and has held a variety of field positions, including doing fish surveys, evaluating fish passage through culverts and collecting water samples after aerial herbicide applications. He spent two years working for the
Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board
before returning to ODF in 2012 as a water quality specialist for the Private Forests Division.
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OSWA to hold annual meeting
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The Oregon Small Woodlands Association (OSWA) will hold its 2019 annual meeting June 20-22 in Corvallis.
The theme for the three-day meeting, hosted by the Benton County OSWA chapter, is “Research, Policy and Practices for Family Forest Management.” It will feature tours of Oregon State University’s new
Oregon Forest Science Complex
and several Corvallis area mills, a slate of expert speakers addressing a variety of forestry-related topics, an awards banquet, and the 2018 Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year Woods Tour.
OSWA’s annual meeting program and awards banquet will take place on June 21 at the Benton County Fairgrounds. The full-day program includes speakers discussing fire, forest carbon, communications and the latest research on the marbled murrelet. Other activities include a silent auction and awards banquet for the OSWA Chapter Volunteers of the Year and the 2019 County Tree Farmers of the Year, among other honors.
The annual meeting will conclude with the 2018 Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year Woods Tour on June 22. It will visit forestland near Monroe managed by Don, Darrell and Dena Oakes, which has been owned by the Oakes family since 1883.
OSWA's annual meeting is open to the public. The annual meeting brochure with registration form can be found on the
OSWA website
.
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Wood Innovations Grants winners announced
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The U.S. Forest Service has announced the winners of its 2019
Wood Innovations Grants
, including five recipients from Oregon.
This year, the Forest Service awarded over $8.9 million through the grant program, which provides funding to efforts that support traditional wood utilization projects, expand wood energy markets, and promote using wood as a construction material in commercial buildings. Thirty-nine business, university, nonprofit and tribal partners in 20 states are matching the grants with an additional $8.8 million.
Of the 41 projects selected for grant funding, 29 focus on expanding markets for wood products and 12 seek to increase markets for wood energy. The Oregon-based organizations that received grants this year include Clackamas County, for the design of a new mass timber courthouse; Design Build Research, for timber online education; and Integrated Biomass Resources, for a project involving market expansion for barrier-wrapped wood posts and poles. The University of Oregon also received funding for mass timber acoustics testing and Wallowa Resources Community Solutions Inc. received a grant for heat, biochar and soil products production at an existing small diameter mill in Wallowa.
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Blog: Meet our new social media intern
OFRI has hired a social media intern, Autumn Barber, to help manage the Institute’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Learn more about Autumn in a new post on the OFRI blog.
Read the blog
.
Blog: Every day is Earth Day in Oregon's forests
In her latest post on the OFRI blog, Executive Director Erin Isselmann discusses the shared values all Oregonians have for the state’s forests and the important work that goes into sustaining them on Earth Day and every day.
Read the blog
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Workshop tour highlights forest wildlife
On May 18, a free workshop about managing private woodlands for wildlife at the Hopkins Demonstration Forest will feature a walking tour led by two wildlife biologists of the 140-acre demonstration forest outside Oregon City. Multiple stops along the tour will highlight a variety of wildlife management opportunities and challenges across different forest types.
Register for the workshop
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Wildfires impact Medford air quality
Due to wildfire smoke, the Medford-Grants Pass area is now the 10th most-polluted area in the U.S. for annual particle pollution according the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” 2019 report. The report also gave Jackson County an “F” grade for high particle pollution days.
Learn more
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Urban Forestry Conference Planned
How to design tree-friendly infrastructure in urban areas will be the focus of the 2019 Oregon Urban Forestry Conference, scheduled for June 6 at the World Forestry Center in Portland. The annual conference is put on by the Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon Community Trees and the U.S. Forest Service.
Register for the conference
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"Timber Culture" exhibit on display
An exhibit on display through June 30 at World Forestry Center’s Discovery Museum in Portland provides a comprehensive look at Oregon’s multicultural logging industry. Titled “Timber Culture: The History of Maxville, Oregon – A City United and Divided,” the exhibit features a series of historical photographs from the Maxville logging operation depicting the lives of loggers and their families drawn together from different cultures during the Great Migration.
Learn more
Idaho Forest Products Commission seeks director
The Idaho Forest Products Commission (IFPC) is seeking an experienced leader and communications professional to serve as its director. IFPC provides public education programs that inform about the environmental and economic benefits of balanced, responsible management of Idaho’s public and private forests. The application period for the director position closes May 31.
Learn more
.
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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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