Mark Gourley, Starker Forests, Plant Nutition in Forestry

Location TBD

Nancy Hathaway and Greg Peterson Tree Farm

Time TBD

Woodlot Measurements with Dave Hibbs.

Time and location TBD

Topics and time TBD.

Marsha Carr and two of her granddaughters, Benton County members, are making an effort to support red-legged frogs.

Red-legged frogs are on the endangered list in California. First the girls drained the pond with some direction from ODFW.

Brian Bangs, shown here, from the Finley Wildlife Refuge showed Kayla Carr what to plant and where. 

Natalie Unrein (also shown here) and Kayla Carr are becoming great future stewards of the land.

EMPHASIZING THE “FAMILY” OF FAMILY FOREST LANDOWNERS

Connecting families and the tree farm

Time: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Place: The Rediscovery Forest in the Oregon Garden
Focus: Families are invited to participate in three 30-minute concurrent sessions in the Rediscovery Forest.

1. How to determine density management with Mike Cloughesy, OFRI, and Stephen Fitzgerald, OSU Extension
2. Being successful with reforestation with Glenn Ahrens, OSU Extension
3. Managing ponderosa pine with Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine

Conservation Association Connecting families and forest fun

Time: 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Place: The Discovery Pavilion
Focus: Forest discovery station for young family members. Hands-on funand learning with Rikki Heath, OFRI
Families are also welcome to tour The Oregon Garden on their own or ride the tram before or after the luncheon! Admission is included in registration.

INSPECTORS

New this year! Inspector annual meeting and workshop. Inspectors that attend workshop do not have to pay for luncheon. Hosted by Tamara Cushing, OSU; Lauren Grand, OSU; and Mike and Connie Atkinson, OTFS inspection coordinators.
Time: 9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Place: Oregon Garden Resort
Focus: We will explore the wealth of information from the national woodland owner survey and discuss approaches for engaging more family forest owners in a meaningful conversation about their woods.
Also, updates on certification requirements.

TREE FARM RECOGNITION LUNCHEON

Time: 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (lunch)
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 (awards)
Place: Oregon Garden Resort
The sessions will be followed by a brief Oregon Tree Farm System business meeting and then a lunch (pricing on back) honoring the
County Tree Farmers of the Year. The high point of the day will be
a video featuring all the County Tree Farmers of the Year and the
announcement of the Inspector of the Year and the Oregon Tree
Farmer of the Year for 2017.

Sponsors:

Oregon Tree Farm System, Inc
Oregon Small Woodlands Association
U.S. Forest Service
Oregon Department of Forestry
Oregon Forest Resources Institute
OSU Forestry & Natural Resources Extension
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
For more information, contact Jim James at 503-588-1813 or jimjamesoswa@yahoo.com.

Download the complete OTFS Annual Meeting Flyer and Registration flyer here.

Send your completed registration, along with fees, to the address on the back.

Oregon Small Woodland’s Northwest Woodland Magazine is available now!

Learn more here….

OSWA’s Marion-Polk chapter has a Winter-Spring 2017 newsletter to read!

Learn more here….

Written by: Jim James

The Defrees Family from left to right, Dean, Sharon, Nathan,
Lyle, Riley, Dallas, and Tyler

Oregon Tree Farm’s June 11th Annual Tour of the Defrees Ranch near Sumpter, southeast of Baker City, provided vivid examples of land stewardship where cattle and timber come together to support a family ownership. The 2,000 acre Defrees Ranch with 1,227 acres of forestland is Oregon’s 2015 Outstanding Tree Farm of the Year, and the American Tree Farm System’s 2016 Western Region Outstanding Tree Farm of the Year. Approximately 160 people attended the tour got to see why. The ranch has been in the family for 107 years.

Pre-commercial and commercial thinning demonstrations

A variety of management activities included a unique dredge tailing restoration project, tree thinning, aspen restoration, and spring water development. Dallas Defrees, a fifth generation member of the family and an Oregon State University graduate student studying ranchland ecology, explained how the Defrees Ranch in partnership with Baker County designed a project to restore barren dredge tailing. Beginning in 1913, dredges churned up rocks and gold leaving 2500 acres of the Sumpter valley with mounts of near sterile land. A portion of the tailings are adjacent to the Defrees Ranch’s northern border. Dallas described how by winter feeding cattle on the tailing, they were able to decreased bare ground, decreased weed species, and increased soil fertility and thus increase plant diversity and biomass.

Lyle Defrees and his son Dean, Dallas’ father, lead the tour through grazed pastures and managed forests. At the first stop Lyle and Dean explained their cattle management strategies and how they integrated grazing and forest management. The second stop dealt with Quaking Aspen restoration. Dean explained how Aspen is declining in eastern and central Oregon due to a number of factors that include lack of wildfire and wildlife/cattle grazing. The Defreeses contracted with a nursery to grow aspen seedlings which they have planted in fenced off areas.

Dean describes spring and water projects needed for cattle, wildlife, and fire protection.

The third stop demonstrated the precommercial thinning methods they use to promote forest health, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and improve grazing. Saplings up to 2-3 inches are cut with a brush cutter, and larger pre-merch trees are removed with a tree shear. Adjacent to the thinning demonstration was a spring development project to benefit both wildlife and cattle. It was cost-shared through the Natural Resources Conservation Service program. The final stop looked at commercial thinning and slash disposal in the ranch’s predominate ponderosa pine forest. A roast beef luncheon held under sunny skies and the Blue Mountains as the backdrop provided a fitting conclusion to a most informative tour.

Tractor/Trailer Transportation – Dean and Lyle Defrees discusses integrating cattle

Registration is open for the South Coast Fish Passage and Habitat Workshop 

Date: March 9, 2016
Time: 8:00am to 4:30pm

Location: Southwestern Oregon Community College
1988 Newmark Avenue, Coos Bay 97420

Statewide and local partners are collaborating to offer a free workshop for forest landowners in the South Coast area.

This one-day workshop will highlight the best practices for restoring and enhancing fish habitat in forested streams.

Registration is currently open at: www.eventbrite.com/e/southern-coast-fish-passage-and-habitat-workshop-registration-19893181040

Please contact Julie Woodward, woodward@ofri.org, for any questions.

Download the Event Flyer Here.

Event News Release