forest-tree clackamas county farm forestry … · it would automatically make me a member of the...

GARY BUSH

ust a reminder...payment is due

for your OSWAmembership (whichincludes CCFFA) inJanuary. I’d like toinform you that the remittance youmake is certainly not wasted.

When I volunteered to be Presidentof the Clackamas County chapter ofOSWA (CCFFA), I didn’t realize thatit would automatically make me amember of the Statewide OSWAboard. There is a great deal of timeand effort spent in the legislature onour behalf, fighting for our right tomanage our own timberland and notbe restricted and regulated out of ourown properties.

Case in point...if it were up to envi-ronmental concerns, the riparian

management rules would have a 100-foot, no-cut buffer on each side of thestream to deal with. But thanks toJim James, Roger Beyer, and othersspending countless hours in meetings,fighting for our rights, we have aworkable solution. Thank you tothose of you who have spent the timeand effort to make that happen.

The current agenda coming up isherbicide application to forests torelease vegetative competition withseedlings. There is a legislative initia-tive in negotiations and I haven’t heardhow it is progressing through the legis-lature. But rest assured, the leaders ofOSWA will keep a close watch.

So writing that check for your duesis easy, compared to sitting in meetingsand arguing with people that haveclosed minds and different agendas.

Here’s hoping you all have a MerryChristmas, (maybe going to the forestto get a fresh tree) and a progressiveNew Year. ■

FOREST-TREELEADER

VOLUME 29 • NUMBER 4 Quarterly Newsletter WINTER 2018

President’s Corner

J

Clackamas CountyFarm Forestry Association, Inc.A N O R E G O N S M A L L W O O D L A N D S A S S O C I A T I O N C H A P T E R

President, Gary Bush503.632.3567 • [email protected]

Vice President, Rob Guttridge503.656.3912 • [email protected]

Secretary-Treasurer, Tim Dahl503.349.1756 • [email protected]

Past President, Derek Craven503.829.3003 • [email protected]

Board Member, Becky Widmark503.367.0093 • [email protected]

Board Member, Matt Twist503.810.9431 • [email protected]

Board Member, Bob Becker503.829.2118 • [email protected]

Board MemberVacant, this could be you!

Board Member, Kevin Kaster503.829.4167 • [email protected]

Board Member, Bill Lenon503.637.3190 • [email protected]

Board Member, Jim Schreiber503.632.3978 • [email protected]

Board Member, Sena Chase503.730.5199 • [email protected]

Board Member, Kent Hempel503.29.4767 • [email protected]

2017 Officers & Board Members

Welcome New MembersElizabeth HowleyOregon City area

Maralyn TurnerLake Oswego area

Melissa TurnerLake Oswego area

Charles and Kathy VanniceCanby-Marquam area

New Member Spotlight—The Vannice FamilyJIM SCHREIBER

n what was supposed to be arainy day in late October, I

showed up at the Vannice farm, in theMarquam-Canby area, to visit withnew members Charles and Kathy.After gaining some general informa-tion about the lay of the land,Charley and I toured the shop andgarage area for their operationalequipment. It was my first look at hisprincipal work horse: a VenTrac. I’m

not sure just what to call it. It’s biggerand more rugged than an industriallawnmower, smaller than a skid-steeror a small 4x4 tractor. It has twoaxles, dual traction tires on each, ithas four-wheel drive and is articulatedfor maneuverability. His attachmentsincluded a front-mounted brush cut-ter and a stump grinder that I saw;more attachments are available. Thebrush cutter has been valuable in his

O

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .continued on page 2

attack on the ever-present Himalayabriar patches.

They use a 3” chipper extensively,with the chips used to provide coveraround new seedlings which helpshold in the moisture and slows thegrowth of grass. If he has some excesschips, he spreads them around olderseedlings. This is especially true in theold pastured areas, where he scarifiesthe sod before planting new seedlings.

The property is 37 acres, and theyacquired it 12 years ago. The layoutgoes from flat land to rolling hillsidesand swales. There are two ponds anda couple of catch basins that handlethe terrain run-off; all-in-all it pro-vides opportunities for varying uses. Afive plus acre field is leased to a neigh-bor for hay and pasture.

We mounted the “gator” and beganour tour of the property and it still

wasn’t raining. The roads (actuallythey were well-maintained trails)wound through the woodlands andplantations providing a look at thework done in the past, as well as worknow in progress. Charley pointed outsome of the challenges they face inmeeting their objective of convertingfrom a primarily agriculture base to aforest-based property. To achieve thisobjective, they are improving theirmulti-aged marketable timber base,enhancing water quality and betteringthe wildlife habitat. They are follow-ing Mother Nature’s lead in meetingtheir goal of creating a multi-specieswoodland.

Now, I have been involved inwoodland management for moreyears than I care to be remindedof. I have been on many wood-land tours and attended severaloutdoor classes on being goodstewards of our land and I amhere to tell you, the Vannicefarm is definitely not a singlespecies woodland. Our tour tookus through woodlands andmeadows having both inter-spersed species areas and morestructured planting plots ofDouglas-fir, western redcedar,ponderosa pine, red alder and

Oregon ash. I saw about everything inthe species shopping cart, rangingfrom pacific yew trees, red oaks,bigleaf maples, white birch, black oakand poplar to balsam fir andsequoias.

As we passed by, Charley pointedout Kathy’s thicket patches that areset aside for small animal and birdhabitat. These will be left as naturalas possible with the only control beingcontainment of the patch to its cur-rent footprint.

The run-off catch basins will be achallenge not only for the controllingof invasive species, but for determin-ing the proper species of trees that cansurvive in that environment. Charleyhas begun creeping down the slopeswith plantings of valley ponderosapine, Oregon ash and some redalder—all of which should work toconsiderable extent. When he gets tothe bottom of the basin, he may needto look at expanding Kathy’s wildlifehabitat with plantings of riparianspecies such as pacific ninebark, redelderberry and red dogwoods. I sug-gested he get the “Guide forWillamette Valley Native PlantsAlong Your Stream” from the OSUExtension Service.

As we came out of the woodlandsand up onto the plateau, I was sur-

PAGE 2 • FOREST-TREE LEADER • WINTER 2018

CCFFA Web Site: www.ccffa-oswa.org

EDITORRob Guttridge . . . . . . .(503) 656-3912

ASSOCIATE EDITORJean Bremer . . . . . . . .(503) 655-8631

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSGlenn Ahrens

Tim DahlJohn Foster

Jim SchreiberPRODUCTION

Minten Graphics . . . . .(503) 769-9683

Anyone is welcome to use, with usual credit,any article in the Forest-Tree Leader unlessnoted otherwise. To assure no interruption inreceiving this newsletter, please contact theCCFFA of any change of address. The newslet-ter may not be automatically forwarded, evenwhen you have filled out a forwarding order withthe Post Office. We gladly accept “Letters to theEditor”, but may edit for maximum interest to allreaders: Intent will not be changed.The views and opinions expressed in thisnewsletter are not necessarily the opinionof the CCFFA members or of the editors.

Kathy and Charley Vannice.

New Members, continued from page 1 . . .

Douglas-fir plantation.

prised to find a largeplanting of blackwalnut. Charleypointed out that the4-5-acre plantationwas started by theprevious owner, IvanKropf, who was intothe hardwoods; someof us old-timers mayhave known him andhis penchant for realhardwoods. Theblack walnut stand isright at 30 years oldand it will be sometime before it is readyfor harvest.

It would appearthat the Vannices are well on theirway toward meeting their objectivesand end goals. I suggested to Charleythat he put their goals and objectivesin writing, even if it’s only a handwrit-ten form. It’s a benchmark forprogress and will serve for family orfuture owners.

On a personal note, both Kathyand Charley are city folk, but knewthat they had to get out in the countrysooner or later.

Kathy’s background, before becom-ing a wife and mother, was as a print-er. She now does tractor work, lightfarm and garden work around thefarm. She also spends time with herwork/hobby, making homemade jew-elry that she sells on consignment.

Charley spent three years in Alaskaas a timber faller earning money forcollege. He attended Vincennes Uni-versity in Indiana and Portland Statewith the intent of becoming a teacher.But things changed and the opportu-nity to go to work with the SouthernPacific Railroad came up and he tookit. He spent 36 years in the railroadbusiness, mostly as a conductor in thefreight service. He did do about nineyears as a passenger service conduc-tor, but when Amtrak took over, went

back to freight service. Charley enjoys surfing wherever the

weather is warm and nice, travel and

photography. Since retirement he hasbecome a Master Recycler, collectingscrap metal and paper, and he works2-3 days a week, weather permitting,for the Clackamas County DumpStopper Program.

Kathy and Charley have one grownson named Taylor who wrestles pro-fessionally on the WWE circuit.

I enjoyed the tour and visit withKathy and Charley. I welcomed themto the Oregon Small WoodlandsAssoc. and the Clackamas CountyChapter and we wish them well intheir efforts to achieve the goal ofconverting their farm to multi-specieswoodland.

If the opportunity presents itself,make it a point to visit with them.Charley has some real interesting sto-ries about their farm work and hisyears working on the railroad. ■

WINTER 2018 • FOREST-TREE LEADER • PAGE 3


Clackamas County Farm Forestry Association

13th Annual

CCFFA College Scholarships

To further the benefits for our membership, the Clackamas County FarmForestry Association’s (CCFFA) Board of Directors has established two $1,000.00college scholarships. A current member of CCFFA must recommend/sponsor anapplicant, in writing. The scholarships will be available to graduating highschool students and college students through their senior year and are not spe-cific to the student’s county of residence, field of study, college, university, ortrade school. Full time enrollment will be required for release of funds.

The scholarship application form will require personal and educationalinformation plus two letters of recommendation, but no financial data. Theapplicant must also submit a 500-word essay explaining his or her distinguishingqualities, educational and life goals and experiences with their family’s forestactivities or those of their CCFFA sponsor.

This year’s deadline for applications is April 2, 2018.

Winners will be introduced at theSummer Tree Farm Tour and Picnic in August.

Submit your application and all supporting documents to: Clackamas County Farm Forestry Association

Scholarship Committee P. O. Box 783 • Molalla, Oregon 97038

Applications available at www.ccffa-oswa.org orhttp://extension.oregonstate.edu/clackamas or may bepicked up at the OSU Extension Office in Oregon City.

Black walnut plantation.

ROB GUTTRIDGE

ater is usually a good thing inour woodlands—gentle rains

leading to clear streams. But some-times we can have too much of agood thing. Some of us rememberthe Christmas flood of 1964. More ofus remember the flood of January1996, which was smaller but still siz-able. Although it is clear that “hun-dred-year” floods are coming aroundhere much more often than once acentury, few of us are really preparedfor the next one—and there is a real-ly good chance that the next major,disruptive flood will arrive before thespring of 2020. Now would be a

good time to prepare.Just to refresh your memory, our

big winter floods will wash out roadsand bridges, cause landslides anddebris flows, flood thousands ofacres of low ground, cause havocwith our sewage treatment systemsand other utilities, and disrupt

regional transportation by road andrail. On our woodlands, they canrearrange the landscape, movingmasses of dirt and trees downhill anddownstream, sometimes permanentlyaltering the course of streams. Theyhave done it many times before, andthey are apt to do it again beforelong.

There are periodic weather pat-terns in our solar system that canaffect our local weather, and as weenter a solar minimum we are enter-ing a period when we in the North-west are more likely to experienceprolonged, heavy rainfall events.Astronomers have kept records ofsunspot numbers on the sun for hun-dreds of years, and more recentlyhave been able to measure solarwinds whose rise and fall corre-sponds to the solar activity indicatedby the sunspot numbers.

Scientists with the U.S. GeologicalSurvey measure streamflow, and theirrecords for our major rivers go backmore than a hundred years. If youexamine those records for the timeswhen our rivers exceeded flood stageand compare them with the recordsfor solar cycles, you will find aremarkable pattern: we seldom haveserious floods during solar maxima,but it’s a sound idea to carry floodinsurance during solar minima if yourproperty is in or near a flood zone.

So, as we enter a period of solarminimum which will probably lasttwo or three years, make sure you areready for a serious winter flood.Stock up on drinking water andother supplies to get you through anemergency caused by flooding, cleanout your culverts (if you have them),and don’t leave vehicles or equipmentsitting in a flood zone, or at the baseof a slope or ravine in the path of apossible landslide or debris flow. Youcan’t predict or control MotherNature, but you can learn from thepast and prepare for the future. Andthe future may be wet at times. ■



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Tree Farm Overstory: WaterWinter Floods are Coming!

www.mapforesters.com503-655-5524

P.O. Box 1200 • Oregon City, OR 97045fax 503-824-5527 • [email protected]

Timber Marketing Management Services

Our timber marketingprogram is designed toincrease competition andinsure the highest netreturn on your timber.

• Logging Supervision

• Timber Cruising

• Reforestation Services

• Management Plans

RYAN POTEET

hat will our tree farm look likefive, ten, or twenty years from

now? Without a well-thought-outplan, probably not as we envision.

Our goal is to grow marketabletimber while still maintaining diversityin our forest and encouraging wildlifeto find refuge. That sounds great, buthow do we make it happen?

For us it started with a Steward-ship Management Plan. Throughclasses at Hopkins DemonstrationForest and attending OSU TreeSchool at Clackamas CommunityCollege each year, we learned aboutthe cost-share program offered by theOregon Department of Forestry.Basically, once you are approved byODF, they will reimburse a large por-tion of the fees associated with thedrafting of a management plan. Theplan must be developed by a“resource professional”, a consultingforester, in our case.

There are several, very qualified,foresters doing business in Clacka-mas County and we’ve had a chanceto meet several of them in the courseof preparing to develop our plan. Wealso took the opportunity to discussour needs with other woodland own-ers, over the last few years, and heardgood things about Ken Everett. Afterfurther conversations, we selectedMAP, Inc. to guide us through ourplan development. Ken’s been in theindustry for a long time and when wementioned his name to our Steward-ship Forester at ODF he indicatedwe were making a good choice.

I contacted Ken and told him wehad been approved by ODF to moveforward with the cost-share programand would like to work with him toform our plan. We setup a time tomeet at our property to discuss our

goals and to provide him a chance tosee what we had to work with. Eventhough we had a basic idea whatcould/should be done, with our vari-ous stands of timber, it’s good tohear it from a pro. The meeting wasbrief but productive. Ken said hewould fit our project in betweeneverything else he had going on atthe time; with a good reputationcomes a very busy schedule.

Later he made another visit to ourplace and spent much more time tak-ing notes and photos of our differentstands of timber; timber that rangesin various ages and species. Ken wasable to finish our Forest StewardshipPlan just in time for us to meet thedeadline for reimbursement.

What we got in return was a nicelybound plan that clearly describes ourproperty in much detail. The 30 acresis inventoried and broken out into 9types; each describing amount ofacreage, species, age of trees, soil,landscape and much more. Photosand maps are included to make iteasy to see each type.

Most importantly, the plan includ-ed his management recommenda-tions for each type with both shortterm and long term plans. Some ofthe recommendations includedreturning a portion of our pasture

land back to timber. He pointed outthat some folks had been successfulusing a plow or other farm imple-ment to create a row of dirt byremoving the sod before planting theseedlings. In another area, he recom-mended that we fall every other treein order to establish a rough 10-12foot spacing to allow more produc-tive canopy spacing. We have severalacres of over grown Christmas treestands that were planted on 5x5 footspacing; thinning will be one of ourmain tasks.

He also included forestry regula-tions and a copy of the Oregon For-est Practices Act. This is all pertinentinformation and to have it all in oneplace I believe is invaluable.

It’s exciting to see our property onpaper with so much information andadvice on how we can achieve ourgoals. Ken has offered to stop by andtrack our progress as we follow ourstewardship management plan. It willbe nice to have an available resourcewhen questions arise and I’m surethey will.

Should you be in the market forprofessional forestry assistance, MAP,Inc. is just one of the many localforesters and resources who can pro-vide full service forestry from plantingto logging. Check with your localODF stewardship forester if you’reinterested in this cost-share programand to get a list of some of the recom-mended foresters for your area. ■



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Planning for the Future of Your WoodlandsWorking with a Consulting Forester



he Slash Burning Work Groupwas formed in 2010, at the request

of then President of CCFFA, DaveHill. The purpose of the work groupwas to deal with all issues in Clacka-mas County pertaining to the practiceof burning or disposal of slash fromour member’s woodlands. The presi-dent appointed Jim Schreiber to headthe work group which included TimDahl and Doug Shannon; both Jimand Tim had fire service backgroundsand were familiar with burning relatedregulations and statutes.

The first issue came to us throughDoug Shannon and it related to somerural fire districts that had arbitrarilybanned all slash burning between thebackyard open burn periods; the dayscovered were from December 15ththrough the reopening of burn season

on March 1st. Contact was made with the imple-

menting rural fire protection district’sfire marshal’s offices with request forreasoning behind such a ban. Whileboth Tim and Jim understood thefrustration most fire districts had withbeing required to enforce DEQ’sburning restrictions on their residents,it was the opinion of both that thedistricts did not have legal authorityto institute such a ban.

After numerous meetings with thedistrict mostly behind the effort, andbeing advised that the fire districtboard was intending to pass an ordi-nance to that effect, the work groupmade contact with RepresentativeBarton and Senator Thomsen,requesting assistance in getting a legalopinion on interpretation of ORS

478.960; in particular, that portionthat states that the Fire Chief, or hisdesignate, shall issue burning permitsthat state conditions that, beforelighting, will protect both life andproperty from fire.

The results were revocation of theordinance and agreement within thecounty fire districts, to work with thewoodland owners in conducting slashburning during this period in a man-ner that would not increase smokemanagement problems. So far, it hasbeen beneficial to both parties.

The work group was allowed to godormant until questions arose regard-ing a ban on all slash burning withinDEQ’s Special Burning Areas in theWillamette Valley. PresidentMcCloskey re-activated the workgroup and included Scott Hanson inplace of Doug Shannon in 2012.

Contact was made with local firedistricts regarding the slash burningban within prescribed burn areas. Wedetermined that the exempt status of“Slash Burning” was changed, but notthe agricultural burning, within the 3and 6 mile area surrounding cities ora combination of cities, at the time thespecial burn areas were formed byDEQ. We have not found any evi-dence that indicates that DEQ madeany effort to notify industrial or smallwoodland owners of this proposedrule change.

After many discussions with theDepartment of Environmental Quali-ty, the Oregon Department ofForestry, and State legislative mem-bers, we are at our current position:nowhere.

The process has been slow, to saythe least, with a lot of man-hoursexpended, for little gain. A brief sum-mary of the past 3 years follows;

• Budget cuts at DEQ, and pres-sure from small woodland groupssuch as CCFFA, forced them to enterinto discussions with ODF on han-dling all slash burning under thesmoke management plan. We were

CCFFA Slash Burning Work GroupReport to CCFFA Membership

T

Clackamas County Parks and Forest is pleased to support theClackamas County Farm Forestry Association. As a forest landsteward, we are proud that our sustainable forest managementprogram helps to ensure that our timberlands are grown andharvested in a manner that is environmentally sensitive, providescommunity benefit and is economically viable. The revenuegenerated from the sale of timber on County-owned forest landsdirectly supports the County Parks program.

The County Forest Program is currently looking for timberland ofany age to enhance its portfolio and long term managementstrategy. Please contact the Clackamas County Forester if youhave or know someone interested in selling or donating theirtimberlands toClackamas CountyParks and Forestprogram.

For more info contactAndrew Dobmeier,County Forester,[email protected] 503-742-4425

asked by ODF to allow the negotia-tions to work their way out; anotherdelay of several months.

After negotiations were conducted,state legal authority proclaimed thatthe changes recommended by ODFand DEQ did not have sufficient needto be implemented; it appears thatORS statutes would need to bechanged and other issues such asRiparian Rights, changes to theState’s Smoke Management Plan, andbudget considerations in the 2017 leg-islative session have taken priority.One good thing to come of these dis-cussions was that Scott Hanson hasbeen placed on the State’s SmokeManagement Advisory Committeewhere he represents both the OregonSmall Woodlands Association and thenon-industrial woodland owners.

• It has been determined that DEQis not interested in making anychanges to the current administrativerules (OAR); we requested re-institut-ing the “letter permit” for hardshipslash burning, returning slash burningto the original exemption with agburning, a special burn period muchlike the Christmas tree growers havefrom December 15th-May 1st orreducing the size and frequency ofsmall slash burning piles. It is not apoint of interest to them at this time.

• We have contacted several legisla-tors regarding the problem. Whilesome indicated that they would intro-duce legislation on our behalf, theyrecommended against that ideabecause it would be an uphill fightand we would lose due to the prepon-derance of legislative members fromthe major metropolitan areas opposedto all burning.

This issue was brought before theCCFFA Board of Directors at theJuly meeting, with a recommendation

from the work group that efforts betabled until some change occurs thatwould allow us to move ahead withproposing rule modifications thatwould once again let our woodlandowners use slash burning as a man-agement tool in those special burnareas.

The CCFFA Board asked the workgroup to explore other methods ofslash disposal, especially in those spe-cial burn areas, that would lessen thefinancial impact on forest manage-ment and reduce the fire danger fromaccumulated slash and understorydebris.

The work group is undertaking the

task of researching other methods ofslash and debris disposal and will pro-vide information to our CCFFAmembers through the Forest-TreeLeader over the next several issues. Ifyou have used alternative slash dis-posal methods or if you know of anywoodland owner who has used suchmethods, we would appreciate hearingfrom you. ■

Submitted by the CCFFA SlashBurning Work Group,

Jim SchreiberTim DahlScott HansonRob Guttridge



15555 S. Hwy 211 Molalla, OR 97038

Buying logs / timber / timberland

Douglas-fir / Hemlock

Dylan Fritz, log buyer 360.477.6959

Office 503.829.9131 Fax 503.829.5481

Other Interfor sawmill locations in Gilchrist, OR,

Port Angeles, WA and Beaver, WA



GLENN AHRENS

verett Hall at Hopkins Demon-stration Forest provided a great

setting for the annual ClackamasWoodland Farmer of the Yearrecognition banquet, October 19,2017. Nominees this year wereMark and Nancy Schmidt TreeFarm of Beavercreek, RainbowForest Farm by Tim Dahl and DebiPoppe of Redland, and GreenAcres by Les and Susan Rickett ofEstacada. The purpose of the ban-quet is to recognize and share theexcellent tree farming work beingdone in the county. This year wefocused on smaller-acreage owners(<40 acres) as a group.

The nominating and judgingcommittee included: Derek Craven,CCFFA; Sena Chase, ClackamasCo. Parks and Forests; MikeHaasken, Oregon Department ofForestry; and Glenn Ahrens, OSUExtension Forestry.

Clackamas Woodland Farmer ofthe Year 2017: Rainbow ForestFarm, Redland

Tim Dahl and Debi Poppe havebeen living and working on their15-acre forest farm since 1986, theyear after they were married. Theforest was a mixed-species blend ofsecond-growth and brush from log-ging in the 1940’s. Their ongoingeffort to improve and maintain theforest and the property began as abig cleanup job: hauling 2600 lbs.to the dump, beating back thebrush, clearing around the house,thinning dense understory trees,and burning piles (Tim’s favorite).Once they could see past the mess,the learning process continued inthe early 90’s with stewardshipplanning, the OSU Extension BasicForestry course, joining CCFFAand the forest owner network. Hav-

ing learned to identify root diseasepockets, they found one afflictingseveral acres on the east end oftheir farm. They harvested and re-planted the root rot area with a mixof redcedar and Douglas-fir, whichled to more learning experienceswith brush control and what ittakes to be “free to grow”.

After Tim retired from his careerin fire service (2009) the work onthe farm escalated. They delineatedand thinned an acre of forest forthe trees to cohabitate with theirhorse Goldie—both horse and for-est are doing well seven years later.

Tim worked harder on controllingbrush and hardwoods, yieldinggood firewood and many smallburn piles instead of fewer largerpiles (to stay in compliance withchanging smoke managementrestrictions in the Clackamas firedistrict). In 2015 they took on amajor thinning of the overstorythroughout the older forest (~12truckloads) in order to open the

forest canopy, maintain tree vigor,and provide daylight for mid-canopy and understory denizens(including humans).

And perhaps the hardest job ofall, they worked on updating theirforest management plan utilizingthe “Oregon Woodland DiscoveryTemplate”. The vision and goalsemerging from their woodlandmanagement journey include:

• Maintain private woodland res-

E

Debi Poppe and Tim Dahl, ClackamasWoodland Farmer of the Year.

Rainbow Forest Farm in Redland.

Clackamas Woodland Farmer of the Year 2017



idence• Improve forest health• Open the canopy for daylight

and diversity• Enhance species diversity and

wildlife habitat• Reduce fuels and fire hazards• Keep the land in forest for the

next generation

Along with work on the farm,Tim greatly increased his participa-tion in the forestry community,involving education, sharing andpromoting forestry, including:

• CCFFA Board, Secretary-Treasurer

• OSU Master Woodland Manager• OSU Citizen Fire Academy• Oregon Master Naturalist• The Nature Conservancy• Volunteer work at Hopkins

Demonstration Forest and TreeSchool

For all of their good work overmore than 30 years, congratulationsto Tim and Debi and Rainbow For-est Farm, Clackamas WoodlandFarmer of the Year 2017!

Clackamas Woodland Farmer ofthe Year Nominee 2017: Mark andNancy Schmidt Tree Farm,Beavercreek

Mark and Nancy Schmidt pur-chased their 20-acre Beavercreekproperty in spring of 1989 after theprevious owner clear-cut large oldtimber off the property. Along withplans to build their home, they hadtheir tree farm management planapproved by Clackamas County.And the next year they got busywith fourteen acres of stumpremoval, clearing and gradingalong with three acres of pasturedisked. On the way to the currentforest plantation they started withtwo rotations of Christmas trees,working with Kirk Co.

Christmas trees planted in 1991-1993 included Douglas, Grand,

Noble and Balsam fir, ending withharvest of about 10,000 trees from1998-2001. Another 10,000Douglas-fir seedlings planted in2002 (Only 70% survived—deer?).As planned, after the last Christ-mas tree harvest in 2011 they start-ed managing holdover Douglas-firtrees left at about 10x10 spacingfor the future forest.

The Schmidts had some chal-lenges with a few areas of over-crowded Christmas trees leftover.At Tree School 2015, they learnedabout the option for machinemulching of whole rows of over-grown Christmas trees. A coupledays later they had America onSite out to see what they could do

and ended up mulching excess rowsof trees over several acres. Thatworked so well that they now planto put all the slash from futurethinning and pruning out betweenrows of trees so that the machinecan come back to mulch the slash.

In 2017 they thinned and prunedabout two acres and their plan is tokeep going until it’s all done andset for many years to come. Alongwith their young-stand manage-ment, the Schmidts have severalacres of older Douglas-fir/maple/cedar forest on the home place andon a separate 5-acre parcel downthe road. They are managing thisolder forest for wildlife habitat andpersonal enjoyment.

They shared some of their otherchallenges encountered along theway—wildlife damage; drought;limited time available while bothwere working fulltime, (more timenow—both retired). And they notedthe value of all the help they foundfrom OSU Extension ClackamasCounty, Oregon Dept. of Forestry,other forest owners, Tree School,and Master Woodland Managers.

In the realm of communityeducation, sharing and promotingforest stewardship, the Schmidts

Mark and Nancy Schmidt, WoodlandFarmer of the Year nominee.

. . . . . . . . . . . .continued on next page

have hosted classes and tours withBeavercreek Elementary students.They are dedicated to demonstrat-ing good forest stewardship andleaving the land in better conditionthan they found it. They are plan-ning to host a demonstration oftheir technique of pruning, thin-ning, and machine mulching smalltrees and slash next spring. Staytuned for the announcement of thisevent.

The Schmidts’ vision and goalsfor their woodland are:

• Return the land to forest • Provide sanctuary for wildlife• Produce timber in the future • Reduce fire hazards• Enjoy taking care of the land• Pass it on to next generation

(or next owner) to carry on and“do the right thing”

• Demonstrate good forest stew-ardship and share with others.

It is clear that they are well onthe way to achieving these goals. Inconsidering how they will pass theland on to future generations, theSchmidts observed that it wasimportant to try to pass on the landto people who would carry on and“do the right thing”, even if it wasnot their own family. And it isnotable that their philosophy andtheir practices were informed byprevious generations. They referredto the “big orange book” (OSUWoodlands Workbook), a Christ-mas gift of the from Mark’s parents(Jackson Co. Tree Farmer award in1985) who had timber and pastureon 263 acres outside of Medfordwhere Mark got his earliest experi-ence in forest stewardship. (Coinci-dentally, I got to work on an OSUExtension research project—amadrone thinning study—onMark’s parents’ place in 1988. Thir-ty years later I get to help with aneducation event on the next genera-tion of Schmidt Tree Farms.)

Congratulations to Mark andNancy Schmidt, Clackamas Wood-land Farmer Nominee 2017!

Clackamas Woodland Farmer ofthe Year Nominee 2017: Les andSusan Rickett, Green Acres,Estacada

Les and Susan purchased their14.5-acre property in 2009 andmoved from Portland to their newhome in the forest. Coming fromthe city, they knew they had a lot tolearn about their woodland. Fortu-nately, the previous owner was LeeHollands, a retired engineer whohad studied OSU Extension publi-cations and attended Tree School.He planned carefully for reforesta-tion and homesite development in2000 after a partial harvest of sec-ond growth timber. Mr. Hollandskindly and diligently passed alonghis knowledge of the forest to theRicketts, in person and on paper.

Les and Susan picked up whereLee Hollands left off, carrying onwith the management of what isnow a two-storied Douglas-fir/western redcedar forest. Theyworked with the Natural ResourceConservation Service and OregonDept. of Forestry on thinning andpruning for fuels reduction andstand improvement starting in 2012.

With help from their children,they continue with some thinningand pruning on 20-30 trees peryear. The Ricketts attend classes atTree School and they have joinedCCFFA.

The vision and goals for GreenAcres are to:

• Take care of the forest—keep itas forest

• Provide all the benefits from theforest—air, water, wildlife, mush-rooms, etc. & timber someday.

• Involve the children and grand-children—work and play

• Keep the forest for the nextgeneration.

The Ricketts are thoughtfulabout their forest stewardship andits importance to themselves andthe community. After learning somuch from the previous generation(Mr. Hollands) they are mindful ofthe value of learning and sharingwhat they do and what they learn.And after seeing how much isinvolved, Les and Susan said theyare looking forward to havingmore time to spend in theirwoods...someday.

Congratulations to Les andSusan Rickett on their GreenAcres, Clackamas WoodlandFarmer Nominee 2017!

There is a common vision ofboth stewardship and succession tofuture generations among all threeClackamas Woodland Farmers.Beyond the family, they serve thecommunity and society by:

• Passing on the land, thelessons, and a philosophy of foreststewardship to others who willbecome good stewards in turn.

• Inspiring others to learn andpractice good forest stewardship.

That’s what this ClackamasWoodland Farmer Recognitionprocess is all about! ■



Les and Susan Rickett, WoodlandFarmer of the Year nominee.

GLENN AHRENS

merging Issues for ExtensionForestry and Natural Resources

Our Statewide Forestry and NaturalResources Extension group met atthe Oregon Garden in Silverton lastmonth to develop new projects onemerging issues of high priority. Pro-jects that rose to the top of our listwill receive extra funding and dedi-cated group effort from facultyacross the state. These include:

1) Statewide Forestry and NaturalResources Extension Fire Program: Astatewide program that seeks to deliv-er comprehensive fire education andoutreach based on sound science.

Fire affects our lives, homes, andresources both negatively and posi-tively. Wildfire in the west hasincreased in scale, complexity, andduration; and the amount of peoplebuilding homes in the wildlandurban interface (WUI) is on the rise.Evident from the 2017 fire season,improved awareness and understand-ing through education and sound sci-ence is critical (e.g. smoke issues,fuels treatments, post-fire needs, mis-directing and misunderstandingfacts). To fill this need, the Forestry& Natural Resources Extension Pro-gram needs to take a long and broadview of our fire programming anddevelop a cohesive and formal FireProgram for all its stakeholders.

Extension already has a goodwildfire education program, but it hasbeen focused on the drier forest zonesof eastern and southwestern Oregon.It would be good to have a Statewideprogram with increased attention towildfire issues in the more populatedwestern Oregon forest zone. The goalis to create a dedicated Fire ProgramCoordinator for Extension, whichwill require additional funding fromgrants or appropriations.

Meanwhile, you may find our

library of Wildfire educationresources to be useful. Visit ouronline catalog of OSU Extensionpublications https://catalog.exten-sion.oregonstate.edu/ and type “fire”in the search window to see what’sthere. Two good examples:

Reducing Fire Risk on Your ForestProperty—PNW618. https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/pnw618.Recognizing that you may have ahigh wildfire risk is the first step indoing something about it. Whetheryou own a few acres or thousands,this publication will help you reducethe potential for wildfire damage onyour property while improving over-all forest health and wildlife habitat.Although these actions won’t preventa wildfire from coming onto yourproperty, they can make it more fireresistant. By following the guidelinesin this publication you can reduce afire’s severity so that most trees sur-vive and firefighters are better able toattack and extinguish the blaze.

Fire Science Core Curriculum—EM9172. https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/em9172. The latestaddition to the publication catalog,this curriculum is designed to teachthe basics of fire to non-fire-profes-sional community members, includ-ing woodland owners, ranchers andfarmers. The goal is to reduce riskand fire hazard through education

and understanding. This curriculumis divided into six parts: an introduc-tion and five modules.

2) Forest Wellness Checkup—IsMy Forest Prepared for Change?

Another project for the comingyear is to develop a “Forest WellnessCheckup” procedure for the assess-ment and monitoring of a forest forpotential health issues and threats.Dying trees provide an urgent call forattention to forest health and wetend to focus on after-the-fact diag-nosis of abiotic, insect, and/or dis-ease agents that may explain whytrees are dying. But greater attentionto prevention or “wellness” may be amore effective approach to foresthealth care. A variety of forest health



OSU Extension Forestry Update

E

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .continued on page 15

■■■■ Professional Forest Management■■■■ Timber Inventories and Cruising

■■■■ Mapping and GIS■■■■ Appraisals

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503-684-81681-800-783-6818

www.nwforestryservices.comFAX (503) 684-9158

PETER MATZKA

utside of the numerous bunniesthat are often seen foraging

around Everett Hall, new and oldprograms, projects and activities havereally been ‘hopping’ at the HopkinsDemonstration Forest. Since thebeginning of the year a lot has hap-pened (especially over the last sixmonths), so if you have not been outin a while, it might be a good time tocheck a few of these new additions.

To start, the long-standing youtheducation program continues to growand diversify as past schools returnand new schools discover the oppor-tunities for hands-on learning in theworking forest at Hopkins. By theend of this year, Hopkins will haveprovided over two hundred fieldbased K-12, college level, or adultfield trip opportunities, which willhave reached over 4,000 students and

1,000 adults.This fall, inparticular, wehave seen alarge increasein the numberof ‘new toHopkins’upper elemen-tary schoolgroups (4th/5thgrade). New orreturning, allgroups have asimilar educa-tional focusaround investigating ecological andstructural differences in our foresttypes and management strategies aswell as participating in service learn-ing activities.

Outside of our ongoing education-al programming, one of our first

accomplishments this year was thecompletion of the Cedar Grove Shel-ter, Forestry Skills Field with the rais-ing of two 35-foot spar poles for spur-climbing. This field was created pri-marily for the Future NaturalResource Leaders (FNRL) which ifsome of you recall is a high school,student leadership organization thatteaches our youth hands-on activities,career/leadership building skills, pro-fessional conduct, and camaraderie.The raising of the poles as well ascompleting other skill stations culmi-nated with Hopkins hosting theFNRL State Convention in April.During this two-day event, we hadover 200 high school students, 150parents, and 50 professionals andjudges from around the state in atten-dance.

The next accomplishment immedi-ately followed the FNRL State Con-vention. We began drilling holes inthe bus parking area that were even-tually filled with the posts that sup-port the roof of our new ‘MillHouse’. This 24’x48’ covered struc-ture (complete with concrete floorand 12’x24’ fully enclosed storage)houses a Wood-Mizer band saw milland edger. Ron and Walt Dilleydonated the mill and related equip-



What’s Hopping at Hopkins?

O

Purchasing alder, maple and ash saw logs,pulp logs, and timber. Also hemlock saw

logs and timber.

Centralia, WA (360) 736-2811

Longview, WA (360) 577-6678

Mount Vernon, WA (360) 428-8583

Eugene, OR (541) 689-2581

Coos Bay, OR (541) 267-0419

Garibaldi, OR (503) 322-3367

New Forestry Skills Field at Hopkins Demonstration Forest.

ment, and a large portion of thestructure’s cost was covered by adonation from Carol Belton. The millhas already been put to good use pro-cessing blowdown that created neededreplacement foot-bridge decking,some raised planting beds, fencingmaterials, and some benches. In addi-tion, it was demonstrated in front of a40-person workshop group and sever-al high school natural resources pro-grams.

The high school natural resourcesprograms (that got a hands-on demoof the Wood-Mizer) were part of thispast summer’s Teacher in the WoodsProgram. We had six teacher partici-pants for a combined total of sixteenweeks out at Hopkins during Julyand August. Many other projectsoccurred over the summer: teachersmapped the forest’s infrastructure andvarious features using a professionalgrade, sub-foot GPS, worked ondeveloping a native plant guide, creat-ed high school forestry curriculum,and practiced hands-on forestry skills.The skills these teachers learned willaid them in the instruction of theirstudents over the course of the schoolyear. It will allow them to integratetheir hands-on learning with class-room instruction and various labora-tories and field visits. Additionally,many of the teachers that are withinan hour’s drive of Hopkins bring theirclasses back several times during theschool year.

With all this increased activity ofmore school groups, the FNRL StateConvention, teachers working in thewoods, and an increased public visita-tion rate over years past, we are alsoin the process of another needed pro-ject and major addition. If you visitoccasionally, you will notice at theend of the summer the carport andpump house next to the bus parkingarea are now gone. What is coming tothis cleared space will greatly stream-line the arrival and departure of largegroups. Rather than a single public

‘outhouse’ in the parking area, we arein the preliminary process of creatinga large, full-service public restroomwith men’s, women’s, and unisex/fami-ly spaces. This addition will allow forlarge groups (that come any distance)to quickly move into the forest ratherthan wait 15+ minutes for all to usethe restroom. This will be especiallyhelpful for the younger age groupsthat we are seeing a rise in. Overall,most of the groundwork has beencompleted, as well as design. Lookfor more activity and reporting soon.

Lastly, another project ‘hopping’ isthe addition to the ‘fire’ pond and its

adjacent wetland. Grant funds werereceived two years ago, and workbegan late this summer and into fallto clear off vegetation which preparedthe ground for next spring’s work. Wewere hoping to accomplish all thework this year, but the rains came inand got the best of us. When complet-ed, it will provide improved habitat tonative amphibians and become avaluable teaching resource.

Those are some of the happeningsat the Hopkins Demonstration For-est. Please ‘Hop’ on out and see allthe projects and activities going on. ■



FORESTLAND FOR SALE in OREGON & WASHINGTON

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✓ Free consultation

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High school natural resources teachers helping to mill the first log at the new MillHouse.

• FOREST-TREE LEADER • WINTER 2018

2017-18 CCFFA Seedling SaleSeedling Reservation Request Form

ORDERCODE

A

B

SPECIES/SEED SOURCE

Douglas-fir(Weyerhaeuser seed)

Western redcedar(Drakes Crossing Nursery)

Mail this form with your payment to:CCFFA Seedling Committee

P.O. Box 783Molalla, OR 97038

Make all checks & money orders payable to “CCFFA”Please make a photocopy of this form for

your records and future reference.

STOCK TYPE

1+1

PLUG+1

MIN.ORDER

120

100

PRICEPer/M

$500

$600

$

$

MINIMUM 30% DEPOSIT ENCLOSED

QUANTITYREQUESTED YOUR COST

TOTAL AMOUNT OF ORDER

$

BALANCE DUE

NAME

E-MAIL ADDRESS EVENING PHONE

ADDRESS CITY/STATE/ZIP

The Clackamas County Farm Forestry Association is offering tree seedlings for sale this year.The available stock is listed below. Inventories will be filled on a first come, first served basis.If you have any questions, please contact: Stan Beyer, Phone: 503-519-5289, or email: [email protected]

ORDERING INFORMATION:1. Please make your order number in multiples of the minimum order number.

2. Price is in dollars per thousand of seedlings ordered.

3. Enclose a minimum 30% deposit with your order to reserve your seedlings (for orders less than 960 seedlings, please include total purchase price).

4. No refunds for cancellations after January 1, 2018.

5. Confirmation and balance due notices will be mailed by December 31, 2017. All payments are due by January 15, 2018 to CCFFA.

6. All Douglas-fir seedlings will be distributed at Weyerhaeuser Nursery in Aurora, OR, in February and March 2018.

7. The western redcedar seedlings will be available for pick up on a date TBA in February 2018 at Hopkins Demonstration Forest.

2017-18 INVENTORY AVAILABILITYThe following Douglas-fir seedlings are for sale and will be available for pick up in February & March 2018. The western redcedar seedlingswill be available for pick up on a date TBA in February 2018 at Hopkins Demonstration Forest. Please review seedling source details andobserve minimum and multiple order quantities.

The following seedlings are for sale. Please review seedling source details and observe minimum and multiple order quantities.

Order Code Species/Seed Source Stock Type Inventory Available Price Per/M Minimum Order Order MultipleA Douglas-fir 1+1 25,580 $500 120 120

(Weyerhaeuser seed) Genetically improved seed mix from Weyerhaeuser forest nursery program. Minimum caliper for 1+1 stock type is6mm with minimum height of 12 inches and root length of 10 inches.

B Western redcedar PLUG+1 3,500 $600 100 100(Drakes Crossing Nursery) Weyerhaeuser has phased out their cedar production and this alternate supplier was located to supply ourmembers requiring smaller quantities. We will continue to pursue alternate sources of western redcedar seedlings in order to continuethis membership benefit. These seedlings are reported to be 4” to 8”.

Don’t MissOut—OrderToday!



checklists have been developed forother parts of the U.S. but we do nothave a current version for Oregon.

Many landowners ask questionslike “Is my forest healthy?” and“What should I do to keep the foresthealthy?” They may think their forestis OK, but they observe dying treesor other issues in their area and won-der if they are vulnerable. This topicseems particularly important in theface of possible changes in the forestand/or its environment such asincreasing stand density, invasivespecies, increasing fire risk, climatechange, etc.

The goal is to develop a ForestWellness Checkup procedure for eachsub-region of Oregon based on thecommon forest health problems andthreats in the area. The Checkup pro-cedure will be a resource for naturalresource professionals and trainedvolunteers who serve forest landown-er clientele (Extension Foresters,Master Woodland Managers, Ore-gon Department of Forestry Stew-ardship Foresters, forestry consul-tants, NRCS, SWCD, etc.) whendoing site visits or answering ques-tions. It will also be a useful resourcefor landowners to help them learnwhat to look for and how to monitortheir forest health over time.

Basic elements of a checklist tohelp people assess and monitor forestwellness include:

• site environment, current vegeta-tion species and condition, planthealth.

• likely forest vegetation dynam-ics—changes in stand density, speciescomposition

• potential changes in terms ofenvironmental stress and vulnerability

• presence and status of invasivespecies threats

• fuel hazards and fire risk as anelement of wellness—link to existing

Firewise and other fire related educa-tional materials.

• actions to maintain or improvehealth/wellness, ameliorate identifi-able issues—link to existing resourceson management recommendationsfor identifiable issues

• basic forest health monitoringmethods—instructions for revisitingthe checklist periodically.

3) New Landowner OutreachStrategy

Reaching new or beginning wood-land owners is a perennial challengefor Extension and other agenciesproviding assistance to forestlandowners. Many new woodlandowners don’t know where to startand they are not familiar with OSUExtension or the Oregon SmallWoodlands Association. A priorityproject over the next year is toupdate our strategy for reaching newlandowners in order to connect themwith educational resources that areappropriate for them. The plan is todevelop a new ‘packet’ of resources(mailing, web, social media materi-als) for landowners with informationon what they need to know rightnow i.e. where to get help, who’s who

in forestry (Extension, ODF,OSWA). This will be delivered viarealtors, tax assessors, social mediacampaigns, and mailings utilizingcounty tax assessor data.

I am involved in all of the aboveprojects and I will ensure that localissues and needs are incorporated inthe products. Over time, I hope thatyou will see some of the outcomes inyour neck of the woods.

Tree School 2018 UnderConstruction

Developing the class catalog forClackamas Tree School (March 24,2018) is the major project for ourExtension Forestry team throughNovember and December. As usual,we will be offering a full slate of corewoodland management topics alongwith many new classes based oninput from our needs assessment andfocus group. The catalog will be inthe mail and go live online aroundthe third week of January. We willcontinue using the online registrationsystem, with some improvementsbased on our first-time experiencelast year. Thanks to all of you whoprovide input and help with the col-laborative effort. ■

Since our founding in 1953,Woodland Managementhas served Northwest forestlandowners. Discover thebenefits of a lifetime ofexperience. Call Jim Wickat Woodland.

503-654-2221 Phone503-654-2224 Fax

[email protected]. Box 26LakeOswego,OR 97034

WWWWeeee oooo ffff ffff eeee rrrr NNNN oooo rrrr tttt hhhh wwww eeee ssss ttttLLLL aaaa nnnn dddd oooo wwww nnnn eeee rrrr ssss aaaa llll iiii ffff eeee tttt iiii mmmm eeee

oooo ffff eeee xxxx pppp eeee rrrr iiii eeee nnnn cccc eeee

OSU Extension Forestry Update,continued from page 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Clackamas County Farm Forestry Assoc., Inc.P.O. Box 783Molalla, OR 97038

Check our website at www.ccffa-oswa.org for more information

CCFFA WINTER 2018 CALENDAR

Tue Dec 5, 6:00-8:00pmManaging Your Woodland Property—Determine Your Next Steps, Oregon Farm

Bureau Board Room, 1320 Capitol St NE,

Salem

Sat Dec 9, 8:30am-2:30pmCommunity Forestry Day—learn by doing!

Hopkins Demonstration Forest

Wed Jan 10, 2018, 7:00-9:00pmCCFFA Board Meeting, Forest Hall, Hopkins

Demonstration Forest

Sat Jan 13, 8:30am-2:30pmCommunity Forestry Day—learn by doing!


Thu Feb 1, 6:00-8:00pmManaging Your Woodland Property—Determine Your Next Steps, OSU

Extension Annex, 200 Warner Milne Rd.,

Oregon City

Sat Feb 3, 10:00am-12:00 Breakfast andWinter Educational Program, SpringwaterGrange Hall

Feb 8, 15, 22, March 1, 3, 6:00-8:30pm Basic Woodland ManagementShortcourse, Hopkins Demonstration Forest

Sat Feb 10, 8:30am-2:30pmCommunity Forestry Day—learn by doing!


Sat Mar 10, 8:30am-2:30pmCommunity Forestry Day—learn by doing!


Wed Mar 14, 7:00-9:00pmCCFFA Board Meeting, Forest Hall,


Thu-Fri Mar 15-16, All dayPacific Northwest TimberlandsManagement: Regulations, Litigation,and Business Considerations, World Trade

Center Portland 25 SW Salmon St, Portland

Sat Mar 24, All dayTree School Clackamas, Clackamas

Community College, Oregon City

Thu Apr 12, 6:00-9:00pmCCFFA Annual Meeting, Legends/

Arrowhead Country Club, Molalla

Sat Apr 14, 8:30am-2:30pmCommunity Forestry Day—learn by doing!


Wed May 9, 7:00-9:00pmCCFFA Board Meeting, Forest Hall,


A BALANCED APPROACH

Forest stewardship for productivity and diversity

FSC Trademark © 1996 Forest Stewardship Council A.C. • SCS-FM/COC- 00062GN

These forests have beenindependently certifiedas well managed.

PORTLAND FORESTERS - 503-222-9772Scott Ferguson

Barry SimsMike Messier

CORVALLIS FORESTERS - 541-435-0383Mark Miller

Matt FehrenbacherShane Hetzler

Pamela Hines, Office Manager503-409-2888

[email protected]

▲TIMBER MANAGEMENT

▲ALTERNATIVES TO

CLEARCUTTING▲

FOREST PLANNINGAND RESTORATION

▲

forest-tree clackamas county farm forestry … · it would automatically make me a member of the...

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