All posts by Melinda Olson

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Wednesday, November 13, 2019

8:30   Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00   Welcome and Introductions – Diane Haase, Western Nursery Specialist, USDA Forest Service, Portland, OR
9:10   Growing Wild Plants: Philosophy and Practice – Ned McGinely, Sound Native Plants, Olympia, WA
9:45   Climate Influences Range and Phenology of Northwest Shrub Species – Connie Harrington, USDA Forest Service, Olympia, WA
10:20   Break
10:50   Long-Term Management Impacts on Plant Communities in Upland Prairies in the Willamette Valley – Matt Bahm, Institute for Applied Ecology, Corvallis, OR
11:25   If You Build It, Will They Come? The Effects of Plant Restoration on Pollinator Diversity in Willamette Valley/Puget Trough Prairies – Susan Waters, Center for Natural Lands Management, Olympia, WA
12:00   Lunch (included with registration)
1:15   Seed Propagation Using an Oxygenated Water Bath – Derek Tilley, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Aberdeen, ID
1:50   Outcomes of Post-Fire Seeding Experiments Using Native Seed Mixes in the Great Basin – Jeff Ott, USDA Forest Service, Boise, ID
2:25   Expanding the Conservation Portfolio: Reintroducing Native Plants to Working Lands in Western Washington – Sarah Hamman, Center for Natural Lands Management, Olympia, WA
3:00   Break
3:30   Native Plant Curriculum for Middle and High School Students – Tyler Knapp, Institute for Applied Ecology, Corvallis, OR
4:05   Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Seed Technology for Direct Seeding In Forests and Rangelands – Tiffani Manteuffel-Ross, DroneSeed, Seattle, WA
4:40 Adjourn

Thursday, November 14, 2019

8:00 Continental Breakfast
8:15   What’s Luck Got to Do with It? Rollin’ on the Restoration River – Lee Riley, USDA Forest Service, Cottage Grove, OR
8:50   Role of the Plot-Sized Farmer in Native Seed Production – Sierra Smith, Center for Natural Lands Management, Olympia, WA
9:25   Establishing Habitat for Honeybee Health and Conservation – Ashley Baird, Beecoming Project, Portland, OR
10:00   Break
10:30   Determining the Scale of Local Adaptation: What Can We Learn From A Large-Scale Reciprocal Transplant Study of an Important Restoration Grass Species? – Francis Kilkenny, USDA Forest Service, Boise, ID
11:05   ‘Restoring’ for Future Climates: Plant Population Dynamics Across a Latitudinal Gradient in a Climate Manipulation Experiment – Paul Reed, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
11:40   Combining Nitrogen and Rhizobia to Improve Nursery Growth of Nitrogen-Fixing Plants – Kas Dumroese, USDA Forest Service, Moscow, ID
12:15   Lunch (included with registration)
1:30   Teaching, Growing, Restoring: Developing Vocational Curricula for Adults in Custody Involved in Sagebrush Production – Dionné Mejia, Institute for Applied Ecology, Corvallis, OR
2:05   Grasses as Invasive Species – Clay Antieau, City of Seattle
2:40   Adjourn

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Wednesday, December 4, 2019

8:15   Opening Remarks – Julie Woodward, Oregon Forest Resources Institute
8:30   Personal Protective Equipment for Dermal Protection in Forestry – Carol Black, Washington State University
9:45   Break
10:15   Sustaining Site Productivity: Lessons Learned From 25 years of the North American Long-Term Soil Productivity Experiment – Debbie Dumroese, USDA Forest Service
10:45   Everything You Have Always Wanted to Know About Using Mastication for Site Prep – Terrie Jain, USDA Forest Service
11:15   The State of Fear and How it Affects your Ability to Grow Trees – Heather Hansen, WA Friends of Farm and Forests
12:00   Lunch
1:30 One Landowner is Thinning While the Adjoining Landowner is not: Which One is Losing Money? – Greg Latta, University of Idaho
2:00  Does a Liability Jury Decision Change the Toxicology of Roundup? – Alan Felsot, Washington State University
3:00   Break
3:15   Red Alder Growth Model – Andrew Bluhm, Hardwood Silvicultural Coop., Oregon State University
3:45   Herbicide Applications in Lincoln County, OR With an Aerial Spray Ban – Joe Steere & Luke Bergey, Miami Corp
4:15   Managing Troublesome Weeds North of the 45th Parallel – Branden Sirguy, Merrill & Ring
4:45   Political Issues in Oregon – Katie Fast, Oregonians for Food and Shelter
5:15   Reception

Thursday, December 5, 2019

9:00   Forest Vegetation Management Mixes Without Glyphosate in the Inland Empire – Joel Fields, Wilbur-Ellis
9:30   Forest Vegetation Management Mixes Without Glyphosate in the West Side of the Cascades – Eric Hippler, Wilbur-Ellis
10:00   Break
10:30   Beyond Aerial Applications: Alternative Herbicide Application Methods – Bonnie Covell, Weyerhaeuser
11:00   Beyond Averages: Transforming Your Regeneration Plots into Useful Information – Bruce Ripley, Hancock Forest Management
12:00   Lunch
1:00   Noxious and Invasive Weeds: Identifying and Reporting – Wyatt Williams, OR Dept of Forestry
2:00   Results of a PNW Reforestation Cost Survey – Dan Opalach, Forest Biometrics Research Institute
2:45   Break
3:00   Labels, Handling, and PPE Use Rule Updates – Andrea Sonnen, OR Dept. of Agriculture
4:00   Adjourn

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8:15 am   Introduction to WR.COFE & Seminar – Jeff Wimer, Chair, WR.COFE & OSU FERM Department

8:30 am   Utility Poles – Greg Roberson, McFarland Cascade

9:00 am   Drones for Road Change – A Users Perspective – Greg Schmitz, Schmitz Timber Management

9:30 am   50 years in the Logging Business – A Logger’s Perspective – Bobby King, RR King Logging

10:00 am   Peterson Cat Update

10:10 am   BREAK (Refreshments Provided)

10:40 am   Pape’ Machinery Update

10:50 am   Logging Safely Around High Voltage Facilities – Walter Bashor (BPA), TFEF-ALVEY – Bonneville Power

11:20 am   Continuous Bridle Multi-stump Anchors and Live Tethers Interacting with Rub Trees; Some Unexpected Results – Kevin Lyons, Oregon State University

11:50 am  Modern Machinery Update

12:00 pm   LUNCH (Provided)

12:50 pm   ANNOUNCEMENTS – Ticket Raffle and OSU Student Scholarship Awards – Jerry Sedlak Memorial Scholarship

1:20 pm   Blount International update

1:30 pm   OSO Landslide – Gunnar Schlieder, GeoScience

2:25 pm   BREAK (Refreshments Provided)

2:45 pm   Decommissioning Roads Overall strategy – Amanda Warnerthorpe, USDA Forest Service

3:15 pm   Waste Area – Water Impacts – Gunnar Schlieder, GeoScience

3:45 pm    Wrap-Up and Evaluation — Jeff Wimer

4:00 pm    Adjourn

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Thursday, January 23, 2020

8:30   Opportunities and Stressors for the North American Forest Industry in 2020 – Hamir Patel, CIBC World Markets

9:00   Outlook for Sawlog and Pulpwood Prices in Western US and Western Canada – Hakan Ekstrom, Wood Resources International

9:30   Federal Forest Lands Issues in 2020 – Tom Schultz, Idaho Forest Group

10:00   Break

10:30   Strategic Issues for US PNW Timberlands in 2020 – Jason Spadaro, SDS Lumber

11:00   US PNW Sawmill Sector – Steve Courtney, Roseburg Forest Products Co.

11:30   US PNW Pulp Mill Sector – Jeff Walton, Cascade Pacific

12:00   Lunch

1:00   BC Interior Log Supply Issues – Brad Bennett, Interfor

1:30   BC Coastal Log Supply Issues – Albert Nussbaum, Forest Analysis and Inventory Department, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural, Resource Operations

2:00   Hog Fuel Supply and Power Generation Trends for 2020 – Greg Frohn, Avista

2:30   Break

3:00   BC, PNW and Idaho Transportation Issues – Dale Lemmons, Signature Transport

3:30   Why and Where to Invest in Timberlands in North America – A Focus on the US Northwest – Brooks Mendell, Forisk Consulting

Monday, February 10, 2020
8:00   Workshop Introductions and Overview

8:15   Unit Layout – How to layout a unit

• Different levels of harvest planning
• What is successful skyline harvesting?
• Review of cable systems and skyline carriages
• Logging around streams
• Laying out a unit with unstable steep slopes

10:00   Break

10:15   Payload, Productivity and Efficiency

• Skyline deflection – Safe working Loads
• Factors that influence productivity
• Understanding wire rope characteristics
• Variables affecting skyline deflection

11:45   Lunch (included with registration)

12:45   Skyline Logging Landings

• How landing layout affects productivity
• Managing wood flow through the landing
• Deploying yarder guylines
• Placement of stump anchors
• Multi-stump Anchors
• Machine anchors

2:15   Break

2:30   Rigging Tail and Intermediate Trees

• When and where to use
• Design and layout of tail trees
• Model demonstration for plotting trees
• Field cards for unit layout

3:15   SkylineXL software

• Introduction to SkylineXL
• Determining skyline payloads

4:15   Wrap-up

Tuesday, February 11, 2020
8:00   Logging Safety

• What unit layout can do for unit safety
• Review of major watch-out situations

9:30   Break

10:00   Tethered Assist

• A game changer for logging safety?

12:00   Lunch (included with registration)

1:00   Cut-to-length Logging

• Economic viability: Higher upfront costs with improved safety and decreased stand and soil damage.
• Steep slope harvesting

2:00   Workshop review and summary

2:30   Workshop adjourns

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8:30   Growth and Yield of a Hybridized Interior and Coastal Douglas-Fir in the Pacific Northwest: A Management Opportunity – Marcus Warwell and Russ Graham, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service

9:00   Reconsidering Stocktype Sizes: Long-Term Results From a Stocktype Comparison Study in Northern Idaho – Andrew Nelson, University of Idaho

9:45   21 Years of Successful Seedling Stories – Mark Boardman, PRT

10:15   Break

10:45   Forest Vegetation Management Mixes Without Glyphosate in the Inland Empire – Joel Fields, Wilbur-Ellis

11:30   The Volcano Fire: The Bad, The Ugly, and The Good. Reforestation and Stand Management Results 57 Years After the Volcano Fire on the Tahoe National Forest – Phil Aune, Retired forester

Noon   Lunch

1:00   Does a Liability Jury Decision Change the Toxicology of Roundup? – Alan Felsot, Washington State University

2:00   Seedling Performance Metrics: A Standardized Monitoring Approach – Abbie Acuff, PotlatchDeltic

2:35   Break

2:50   Bio-Agtive Emissions Technology: Processing Internal Combustion Emissions into Plant Stimulants – Gary Lewis, N/CQuest

4:30   Adjourn

7:00   Registration

8:00   Welcome

8:05   Douglas-fir Tree Improvement Program in British Columbia – Trevor Doerksen

9:05   White Pine Blister Rust Resistance in Western White Pine: Durability, Stability, and Usability of Genetic Resistance – Richard Sniezko

10:05   Break

10:35   The Quest for Resistance to Butternut Canker: this Ain’t Blister Rust! – Carolyn (Carrie) Pike

11:35   Western Larch Species Group Report – David Foushee

11:50   Western White Pine Species Group Report – Don Patterson

12:05   Lunch

1:05   What’s Eating your Seed: New Developments in Seed Orchard Pest Management – Steve Cook

2:05   Long-term Productivity of Improved Western White Pine: A Management Opportunity – Marcus Warwell & Russ Graham

3:05   Break

3:25   Turning Testing Data into Seed: Seed Orchard Management Techniques to Produce High-gain Seed – Jeff DeBell

4:25   Seed Supply Working Group Reports – Marc L. Rust

5:00   Wrap-up & Adjourn

March 24th, All Day (Technical Meeting)
“40th Anniversary of the Intermountain Forestry Cooperative”
Click here to download a PDF of the IFC agenda.

7:30 – 8:00 Registration – Check-in
8:00 – 8:10 Welcome and Housekeeping Items
8:10 – 8:50 James A. Moore Keynote Address: The History and Importance of Integrating “Innovation” in to Forging Successful Forestry Businesses – David New, Growing Excellence Inc., Biosketch-New
8:50 – 9:20 Regional Spotlight Series: It’s Not All About Research: Mechanics of a Successful Applied Biometrics Program – Nathaniel Osborne, Rayonier, Biosketch-Osborne
9:20 – 9:40 Break
9:40 – 10:10 Harvesting and chemical site-prep effects on site productivity – 5 & 10 Year results from the Nutrient Management Study – Terry Shaw, IFC
10:10 – 10:40 Machine learning to optimize stand density as a function of management objectives and site resources – Ryan Heiderman, IFC
10:40 – 11:00 Break
11:00 – 11:30 Paired Plot Density Management: DF/PP 4 & 6 Yr growth & mortality – Mark Kimsey, IFC
11:30 – 12:00 Assessing tree vigor and stand health following thinning treatments in dry pine forests – Nancy Grulke, USDA FS PNW Research Station
12:00 – 1:30 Lunch (on your own)
1:30 – 2:00 Assessing airborne laser scanning for support of forestry applications (remote) – Matthew Sumnall, Senior Researcher, Forest Resources & Envi. Cons., Virginia Tech
2:00 – 2:30 A nonparametric approach for estimating forest productivity – Halli Hemingway, FBRI Scholar, Bennett Lumber Products, Inc.
2:30 – 3:00 Break
3:00 – 3:30 Identification and modeling of key variables to reforestation success – Cen Chen, CAFS Post-Doctoral Scholar, University of Maine-PotlatchDeltic
3:30 – 4:00 Nonparametric modeling of site preparation effects on early stand growth rates – Patrick Whalen, FBRI Scholar, Inland Empire Paper Company
4:00 Meeting wrap-up

March 25th (Steering Committee Meeting)
8:00 – 2:00 (for Steering Committee Members Only)

Meeting was CANCELED due to COVID-19. No future date has been set.

8:00   Building Blocks of Sound Inventory Design

1. What is a working forest inventory? The evolution over 30 years from strata averages and yield tables to individual stand structures within strata.
2. Why you should be cruising for inventory versus harvest. Your cruising objective is to capture silvicultural growth capacity and setup the ability to re-merchandize as markets change.

8:30   Sample Designs – Strata

1. Stratifying the whole forest – What are the right classifications and levels of strata?
2. Breaking the strata into unique stand polygons –Why we need unique stand identification.
3. Sampling stands within each strata for cruising – Getting the right distribution, intensity and frequency of sampling and working with riparian buffers and setasides.

10:00   Break

10:20   Sample Design – Plots

1. Distributing your plots across the entire stand –Why this makes a difference.
2. Including small tree frequencies to define density.
3. How large tree frequencies define silvicultural options and asset values.
4. Defining clumpiness with systematic spatial plot patterns to quantify the impact on yield capacity.
5. Determining the right plot frequency and distribution within each stand.

12:00   Lunch

1:00   Sample Design – Trees

1. Sampling all trees of all species and sizes within each stand makes a difference.
2. Applying a combination of prism-sweep and fixed area plot designs for sampling.
   • Tally frequencies by species and size class, never by species alone.
   • When and why to record tree condition and vigor class in cruise design.
   • Methods for selecting large trees height samples – why this makes a difference.
   • Estimating live crown length and percent defect in large trees.
   • When and how to measure taper.
   • When and why to measure age
3. How to use a 1/20th acre fixed area circular plot for standing dead trees.
4. Sampling down woody material using a minimum 100-foot transect line.

2:00   Break

2:20   Cruise Compilation Methods

1. Compiling each stand cruise versus compiling by strata – within and between stands.
2. Height estimation methods – why tree heights vary with silviculture.

3:30   Expanding the Cruise to Un-sampled Stands

1. Assigning a stand structure to un-sampled stands from an average tree list generated from sampled stands – when and why these methods are important to understand and use.
2. Do’s and don’ts of cruise expansions–methods, timing, frequency and assumptions.

4:15   Year-end Updates and Reporting – Getting the Sequence and Components Right

1. Incorporating all new harvest units, deletions,acquisitions and boundary adjustments in a GIS stand polygon layer.
2. Updating the GIS road network and road class buffer widths.
3. Updating the GIS stream courses and riparian buffer widths.
4. Updating all administrative, silvicultural and operational costs.
5. Running reports for year-end harvest volume and value reports.
6. Growing stands for one year from the previous year for annual growth reporting.
7. Updating the inventory with all new cruises from all sampled stands within current year – identifying the actual impact of new information.
8. Producing forest-wide reports of new current standing forest inventory.

5:00   Adjourn

7:45   Instructor Introduction and Course Overview

8:00   Key Concepts of Forest Finance: Introduction to the unique attributes of forest finance to include time value of money, nominal vs. real rates, cash flows and common mistakes and how to correct them.

9:00   Using Faustmann’s Formula and the Bare Land Value Equation: How to calculate the present value of the income stream from forest rotation and measuring the net present value of bare timberland used in perpetual timber production.

10:00   Break

10:15   Using Financial Criteria to Make Investment Decisions: How to rank investment options and a case study of maximizing returns from existing stands.

Noon   Lunch (provided with registration)

1:00   Marginal Analysis: When does forest management pay? Group exercise: Harvest investment decisions.

2:15   Break

2:30   Discount Rates: Estimating risk and understanding the language of business

3:30   Question and answer session

4:00   Adjourn

Tuesday, September 15, 2020
9:00   Scaling Bureaus: How they operate and their role in log markets – Tom St. Laurent

• How bureaus fit into the log buying and selling process
• Represent both the log buyers and sellers
• Apply log scaling rules
• Provide qualified scalers
• Serve as independent third parties

9:30   What does a log scaler do? – Mike Belfry

• How scalers fit into the log transaction process (only measure volume, not value)
• What is their relationship to log buyers and sellers
• Different points in log transport where scaling can occur
• What is log volume and how is it calculated?
• What are the specific measurements and data collected on a typical log?
• Log documentation
• Understanding gross and net volume
• Why did my load scale out at a lesser volume? Reasons for volume deductions

10:30   Break

11:00   Northwest Log Scaling Rules: Applying uniformity and standardization within the Doug-fir processing area – Tom St. Laurent

• Function and role of the rules

Special requests: Using procedures in addition to the NW Log Scaling Rules – Tom St. Laurent

Noon   Lunch (included with registration)

1:00   Understanding log grades and sorts – Mike Belfry

• What is the difference between grades and sorts?
• Why do sorts vary from company to company?
• What is the difference between a good #2 sawlog and a rough #2 sawlog
• What is the pulp sort?
• What is a cull?

2:00   Break

2:15   Log accountability: Tracking the log load from landing to mill – Mike Belfry

• How is data collected? Load receipts, weight reports, sample scales, sample expansion, log tags, scale tickets and certificates
• Understanding the paperwork: Examples will be provided of load receipts, scale tickets and certificates and each form will be reviewed in detail.
• What are the standard procedures for documentation and changes?
• How is the data stored, disseminated and then accessed by clients?

3:45   Catch-all short topics – Mike Belfry and Tom St. Laurent

• Difference between westside and eastside scaling
• Understanding cubic measurements
• Deciphering overrun and underrun
• Volume conversion factors
• Using taper factors and actual taper
• Scaler cost and value

4:15   Adjourn

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8:30  Nursery Crop Visits: What to Look for and the Questions to Ask Your Grower – Abbie Acuff, PotlatchDeltic, Lewiston, ID

9:30  Forest Restoration: An Ecophysiological, or Seedling’s Perspective – Steve Grossnickle, NurseryToForest Solutions, Saanich, BC

An understanding of the ecophysiological capability of the planted forest species in combination with desirable seedling quality attributes and proper silvicultural practices can ensure that planted seedlings have the best chance at rapid plantation establishment.

10:30  Break

11:00  Operational Research Highlights – Tim Harrington, PNW Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Olympia, WA

1. 20 yrs. of thinning and fertilization on droughty sites.
2. Preventing the development of recalcitrant plant communities.
3. Methods for controlling Scotch Broom.
4. Conifer regeneration performance versus opening size.
5. Comparing stand growth with silvicultural systems.

Noon  Lunch (included with registration)

1:00  Broadcast Burning in Western Oregon: Operational and Cost Considerations – Dave Cramsey, Roseburg, Veneta, OR and Brian Schrag, Roseburg, North Bend, OR

1:45  H-2B visas and Business Risk Management – Brad Maier, Schwabe, Willamson and Wyatt, Portland, OR

2:45  Break

3:00  Responding to and Managing Environmental Incidents – Elizabeth Howard, Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt, Portland, OR

3:45  Moving Drones into Operational Forestry – Jake Thiemens, Hancock Forest Management, Independence, OR and Grant Canary, DroneSeed, Seattle, WA

1. Securing the right permits/licenses.
2. Finding the right equipment.
3. Drone planting with pelleted seed.
4. Drone ferrying of seedlings during operations.
5. Broadcast and spot spray herbicide applications with drones.
6. Using drone sensors for targeting herbicide applications and identifying moisture stress and fertilizer needs.
7. Labor/cost analysis?

4:15  Adjourn

8:30   Steps of Diagnosis for Insect and Disease Problems – Beth Willhite, Forest Service, Forest Health Protection, Westside Insect and Disease Service Center, Sandy, OR

9:00   Black Stain Root Disease – Sarah Navarro, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, OR

9:30   Armillaria Root Disease/ Laminated Root Rot – Kristen Chadwick, Forest Service, Forest Health Protection, Westside Insect and Disease Service Center, Sandy, OR

10:00   Break

10:25   Swiss Needle Cast: An Epic Tale of Complex Interactions Between Climate, Trees and a Pathogen – Dave Shaw, Extension Forest Health, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR

11:00   Douglas-Fir Beetle – Glenn Kohler, Washington Dept. of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA

11:30   Managing for White Pine Blister Rust: Bringing Western White Pine into Westside Silviculture – Holly Kearns, Forest Service, Forest Health Protection, Westside Insect and Disease Service Center, Sandy, OR

12:00   Lunch

1:00   Identifying Diseases on Seedlings – Anna Leon, Weyerhaeuser, Centralia, WA

1:30   Drought Impacts on Forest Health and Flatheaded Wood Borer Management – Bill Schaupp, Forest Service, Forest Health Protection, Southwest Oregon Service Center, Central Point, OR (invited)

2:15   Bark Beetles and Wood Borers in Drought-Stressed Douglas-Fir – Glenn Kohler, Washington Dept. of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA

2:45   Break

3:00   Sudden Oak Death – Sarah Navarro, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, OR

3:30   Invasive Forest Insect and Disease Threats to Oregon and Washington – Wyatt Williams, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, OR

4:00   Adjourn