With our updated Oregon Forest Literacy Plan guiding our extensive K-12 education program, our broad forestland owner outreach to help educate about the complex changes coming to Oregon’s forest protection laws, and our public education efforts to help Oregonians understand all the benefits the public enjoys that come with a healthy and vibrant forestry sector, OFRI’s work is as important as ever.

OFRI recently adopted a comprehensive Quality Information Policy that uses a broad-based project steering committee and an extensive Public Review Process to help ensure we’re considering diverse perspectives across all Oregonians. And as a state agency, we’re entrusted to approach our work in a balanced and objective way that best serves the public.

In addition to OFRI’s primary website, OregonForests.org, we support four additional sites that focus on our K-12 resources, forestland owner education, Oregon’s forest laws and the economic state of our forest sector.

Oregonians love their forests. OFRI is here to help ensure Oregon’s forests and forest sector are healthy and sustainable for generations to come. 

For the forest,

Jim Paul

Executive Director

The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport recently installed new interpretive signs funded by an OFRI grant, which provide information about coastal forests, sustainable forest management, and the connections between forest and ocean ecosystems.

The bilingual signage is located near an estuary nature trail, and three recent additions to the Aquarium: a children’s nature play area, an exhibit about headwaters and the salmon life cycle, and an outdoor amphitheater. The projects were part of an $28 million capital campaign to upgrade and expand the capacity of the popular Oregon Coast tourist attraction.

OFRI awarded a $100,000 grant to the Aquarium for the new interpretive signs, and Institute staff assisted in developing the content for the signs. The new signs will also serve as a basis for expanding the curriculum for the Aquarium’s education programs, which serve Pre-K-12 students, to include lessons on Oregon’s forests. More than 450,000 people visit the Aquarium each year, including 60,000 students.

The Oregon State University Extension Service will host the 33^rd annual Tree School Clackamas on March 25 at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City.

The 2023 Tree School Clackamas will feature 68 classes covering a diverse array of educational topics to address the goals and challenges facing forestland owners. Landowners can attend classes on forest management, forestry tools and techniques, wildfire preparedness, marketing and business, forest health, weed management, wildlife habitat and forest fungi, among other topics.

In addition to perennial classes such as tree and shrub identification, soil 101 and handheld chainsaw maintenance, this year’s Tree School will include 19 new classes. New class topics include slash management, owls of the Pacific Northwest and exploring climate-smarter forestry in Oregon. A full course catalog with descriptions of each class can be viewed here.

Along with classes, the event will offer chances for further learning and networking, including field sessions and tours, demonstrations, vendor tables and exhibits, roundtable discussions and Q & A sessions.

OFRI is a co-sponsor of Tree School Clackamas, and the Institute will have a booth in the exhibit hall offering our educational materials for forestland owners.

Online registration for Tree School is available through the OSU Extension website. The registration cost covers enrollment in four 90-minute classes, along with boxed breakfast snacks and lunch. 

OFRI funding will support new interpretive signage at Hopkins Demonstration Forest, a 140-acre privately owned forest located outside Oregon City that’s open to the public for self-guided exploration, as well as tours, workshops and education programs.

Last month, the OFRI Board of Directors approved a $9,753 grant to Forests Forever Inc., the nonprofit organization that manages Hopkins Demonstration Forest, to support a project to install two new educational panels that explain the important role of pond and wetland areas in a managed forest.

The signs will help recreational users, as well as students visiting Hopkins on field trips, understand how ponds and wetlands function in forest ecosystems and the benefits they provide, including protecting and improving water quality, providing fish and wildlife habitat, storing floodwaters and maintaining surface water flow during dry periods.

The new signage, which is scheduled to be installed this summer, will support Forests Forever’s work to educate students, teachers, woodland owners and the public about Oregon’s forests and sustainable forest management. More than 15,000 recreational users and more than 5,000 students visit Hopkins Demonstration Forest each year, for hiking and other outdoor activities as well as hands-on learning about forests and natural resources. 

Oregon State Forester Cal Mukumoto has appointed three new members to the OFRI Board of Directors.

Mark Giustina, CEO of Eugene-based Giustina Land & Timber Co, will fill a Class 2 position on the board, representing medium-size timber producers.

Kristin Rasmussen, director of public affairs and communications for Portland-based Hampton Lumber & Family Forests, will fill a Class 3 position for large timber producers.

Madeleine Thompson Rudolph will fill a Class 1 position for smaller timber producers. She manages real estate assets and supports the day-to-day operations of Corvallis-based Thompson Tree Farm Inc.

Giustina, Rasmussen and Thompson Rudolph are replacing outgoing OFRI board members Eric Schooler, David Hampton and Matt Hegerberg, respectively.

The state forester appoints the 11 voting members of the 13-member OFRI board to serve three-year terms. The voting members include nine representatives of timber producer classes, with three each from small (Class 1), medium (Class 2) and large (Class 3) producers; one member representing small woodland owners; and one representative for forest industry employees.

The board has two non-voting members, the dean of the Oregon University College of Forestry and a public member appointed jointly by the president of the Oregon Senate and the speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.

OFRI’s board meets quarterly, and the meetings are open to the public. A meeting schedule, agendas, minutes and board materials are available on OFRI’s website. 

OFRI has hired a student intern to assist with the Institute’s social media and outreach efforts aimed at advancing public understanding of Oregon’s forests, forest management and forest products.

University of Oregon student Trey Pokorney will help manage and produce content for OFRI’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, along with other public outreach initiatives.

Pokorney is a junior majoring in business administration and marketing with a minor in multimedia. Originally from rural Minnesota, he grew up spending a lot of time exploring the outdoors and learning about connecting with nature. In high school, he volunteered as a camp counselor for the University of Minnesota Extension, where he taught nature and outdoor-focused programs for third- through eighth-grade students. 

The Oregon State University College of Forestry’s 2023 Starker Lecture Series featuring a series of talks focused on innovation in forestry continues this month.

This year’s lectures look at historical changes in forestry, as well as new innovations and technologies in collaborative work. All lectures are free and open to the public, and take place on the OSU campus in Corvallis. The lectures are also available via streaming video.

This month’s lecture on log and lumber scaling technology by Patrick Freeman, group chief technology officer at Microtec in Corvallis, will take place Feb. 22. The lecture will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Starker Forests Classroom, Room 117, at the Peavy Forest Science Center.

The Starker Lecture Series continues through the spring, with lectures planned on March 15, April 19 and May 31. More information about the scheduled speakers and lecture topics is available on the lecture series webpage.

OFRI is a co-sponsor of the lecture series, along with the OSU College of Forestry and the Starker family, in honor of TJ and Bruce Starker. 

Event highlights forest careers

OFRI K-12 education program staff will participate in the fifth annual Future Forestry Workers Career Day event for high school students on Feb. 24 during the Oregon Logging Conference at the Lane Events Center in Eugene. During the event, students will learn about forestry, reforestation, logging, trucking, diesel mechanics, operating heavy equipment and firefighting, as well as talk to industry professionals about current job opportunities. Learn more.

Tree School Coast is set for March 4

Tree School will be coming to Lincoln County on March 4. Tree School Coast 2023 will be held at Waldport High School and feature 24 classes on a wide variety of topics of interest to family forestland owners, professional foresters, loggers, arborists, teachers and other forest enthusiasts. Two classes will be taught by OFRI Director of Forestry Julie Woodward. Learn more and register here. The registration deadline is Feb. 27. 

Virtual event focuses on forests and climate change

The Oregon State University Extension Service will host an online presentation and discussion session led by Extension Forester Glenn Ahrens on ways to manage forests in a changing climate. The Managing Forests in a Changing Climate virtual event will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on March 9. It’s free to participate but registration is required. Learn more and register here. 

Tree and plant sale supports natural resource education

The Washington County Small Woodlands Association (WCSWA) will host its annual native tree and plant sale March 11 in North Plains. The sale, which features native plant experts to help with selection, will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 30780 NW Highland Court. All profits from the sale will fund natural resource education programs. More information about the sale, including a list of plants that will be offered, is available on the WCSWA website. 

Planting trees? Order your "planted" sign today

As the winter tree planting season in Oregon wraps up, there's still plenty of time to order a "planted" sign through OFRI's landowner signage program. OFRI provides the signs, which say "planted" and the year the trees were planted, free to landowners for replanted sites facing a well-traveled roadway. The signs help the public who drive by understand that trees have been planted, even if they can't see the seedlings. Learn more and order signs here.

Starker Lecture: Log and Lumber Scaling Technology

Feb. 22, Corvallis

Oregon Logging Conference

Feb. 23-25, Eugene

Tree School Coast

Mar. 4, Waldport

Northwest Native Plant and Tree Sale

March 11, North Plains

Starker Lecture: Dr. Monika Moskal

March 15, Corvallis

Tree School Clackamas

Mar. 25, Oregon City

International Mass Timber Conference

March 27-29, Portland