Buoyed by continued success of the Linn County Small Woodlands Association Seedling Sale, board members have increased scholarship and educational funding commitments for the year. Meeting March 5, directors heard financial results of the February 1seedling sale. Treasurer Shirley Holmberg reported that profits from the 25th annual event, after scholarships, totaled about $9,500.
“It was a resounding success, thanks to all the hard-working volunteers and amazing people that make it happen,”
— Bonnie Marshall, seedling sale chairwoman
Roughly 500 hours of volunteer time was put in over the weekend of the sale, according to Fay Sallee, LCSWA education committee chairwoman. Seventy five people, she said, staffed the event— including 4-Hers and the current three university scholarship recipients.
“The bottom line is we have tremendous support for this event from a lot of people and we really thank them all,” said Sallee.
Overall, Marshall said, 11,600 seedlings were sold, up from 9,000 plants a year earlier. The event continues to encourage the pre-sale of seedlings, with 203 sales coming from pre-order forms sent to new and past customers. In comparison, last year’s pre-orders totaled about 140. There were 136 orders filled from additional customers early Saturday as people came to pick up their pre-orders, said Marshall.
This year’s biggest complication came when a freeze wiped out a nursery’s stock of red alder. Marshall said people who pre-ordered alder were able to substitute other seedlings or were issued refunds when they picked up the rest of their order.
Based on the seedling sale report, directors unanimously agreed to increase the annual renewable scholarships that go to Oregon college forestry students from Linn County from $1,000 to $2,000. The approved motion was for a one-time only increase that may be continued by further board action.
The board also agreed to use $7,000 in past seedling sale proceeds to join five other OSWA chapters in the Oregon Natural Resources Education Fund (ONREP). OSWA President Mike Barsotti introduced the idea at the annual meeting in January and urged the move at the directors’ meeting. Benton, Lane, Washington, Columbia and Yamhill had previously agreed to provide $18,000 of the $25,000 necessary to create the grant program to be administered by the Oregon Community Fund, said Barsotti.
The establishment of an OSWA ONREF sub fund will provide more support to high school forestry education programs, said Barsotti, and involve OSWA in the annual selection and awarding grants to Oregon high schools. Sweet Home, Scio and Stayton are local high schools that have received past ONREF grants.
Along with the annual seedling sale at the Linn County Expo, a local woods fair — a woody-goods fest — also attracted land owners and others with questions about Oregon forestry and wood products.
“Turnout was good for chapter volunteers as well as patrons,” said Lee Peterman, chapter president. “Vendors seemed pleased with sales.”
“The focus on the ‘other-side-of-the-hall’ from the seedling sale, was on educational and informational resources to small land-owners in addition to the traditional vendors of products from local forest-land artisans,” explained Peterman.
One veteran vendor at the Feb. 1 event said he sold about $80 in goods during the morning. He added, however, the 20 business cards he handed out that day could also pay later dividends.
The Linn County Small Woodlands Assoc. is a non-profit organization with about 120 family memberships.
A huge thank you goes out to all our customers that have purchased seedlings over the past 25 years. Without you, our seedling sale wouldn’t be the successful fundraiser it is benefitting youth throughout our county.
Benton County Chapter celebrated our 2019 Tree
Farmers of the Year on September 21st at Shiver River Farm with a forest tour and
luncheon. Forty three people attended.
Diana
Blakney, Sid Picht & KC Thompson welcomed us to their family forestland
located on the eastern flank of Marys Peak. We were able to witness the
results of long-term family management and their most recent activities
including diversity-focused thinning and both riparian and in-stream projects.
The Shiver River Sibs: KC Thompson, Diana Blakney & Sid Picht
The 171 acre farm has been in the family since 1921.
The three Shiver River owners are siblings who inherited the family farm in
2010 from their mother, Emma Virginia Picht. Their mother acted as steward and
manager of the family forest from the time her parents stopped farming in the
late 1950’s until her death in 2010 at age 90. The siblings have embraced their
mother’s goal to “sustain a perpetual forest
on the property that can be enjoyed by succeeding generations of the family.”
In 1964, Emma began working with consulting
foresters to ensure that her vision of sustainable forest practices became
reality. Scott Ferguson of Trout Mountain Forestry has been a part of the
property’s forest management since 1984. Scott joined us for the forest tour to
share his knowledge and history of the property.
Scott described Shiver River timber as stratified
into nine stands of similar forest composition and age. A 2010 cruise showed a
total of over two million board feet of merchantable timber, with about 60% of
the volume in Douglas-fir and 30% in grand fir.
The owners generally harvest every two to five years,
returning to any one stand no more frequently than every ten years. Since 2010,
they have conducted three harvests. Depending on the stand conditions, thinning
may consist of cutting the larger trees or the smaller trees or a mix. The
owners and their foresters believe that a creating or retaining a balance of
variable aged trees and variable density is a sustainable management approach. This
includes creating openings of one to three acres with at least ten percent of
the prior stand retained as legacies. Legacy trees may include older trees, the
largest individual trees of each species, hardwoods, uncommon species, snags, or
wildlife trees.
We looked at a stand that was thinned over a two-year
period in 2013 and 2014. The stand was 40 acres with a well-stocked mix of
Douglas-fir and grand fir that was previously thinned in 1997. The most recent
thinning was a single tree selection that resulted in single tree openings and
a few two or three tree openings. It yielded approximately 333 MBF.
Another stand was salvage logged in the 1960s after damage
from the Columbus Day storm. The site has naturally regenerated a structurally
diverse timber stand. A short meander out into the woods showed us how lush the
forest floor is with organic matter and understory vegetation.
They have only infrequently had a need to replant
due to the retention of multiple age classes and variable density that
encourages abundant natural regeneration. However, one 5.7 acre well-stocked
stand of Douglas-fir that had suffered blowdown due to poorly drained soils,
was clear-cut and replanted in 2018.
Because of historical sustainable forest practices,
the property exhibits one of the best examples of uneven-aged forest structure
in northwest Oregon. The property also had one of the first FSC certified
harvests in Oregon.
We carefully tiptoed across the rocks in Griffith
Creek (no one slipped in!) and hiked down to the banks of Rock Creek. In August
2014, the owners participated in the Rock Creek Fish Habitat Project with the
Marys River Watershed Council. In my time working with the Watershed Council,
this was one of my favorite projects and I was asked to share its story with
the group. Rock Creek originates from Marys Peak and is one of the coldest
sources of streamflow in the Marys River watershed. To help retain the cool water temperature and
to support salmonid habitat on Rock Creek and Griffith Creek, Douglas-fir logs
were placed at 15 locations on Shiver River farm and another 25 locations
upstream on Corvallis Watershed lands. Each site was selected for its low
terraces that could support gravel accumulation and floodplain interaction. Besides
supporting spawning habitat, deep gravels help the stream stay cooler as water
flows below the surface rather than fully exposed over bedrock. In time, the logs
will collect debris that will trap the gravels. But in the short term, much of
the debris is being trapped by the most upstream log placements.
Western redcedar and native hardwoods were planted
in riparian areas where blackberry were removed. Large stock nursery trees have
given them a headstart in competing with lush riparian vegetation – they’re
growing vigorously. While the log placements are a short term fix, the planted
trees will provide the future large wood for the stream.
Scott shared some of
his thoughts on the effects of climate change on our forests. As we all know,
the productive forests of Oregon are some of the best natural ecosystems for
capturing carbon and removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Scott thinks that the
most important thing forest owners can do to combat climate change is to grow
trees longer. Growing our conifer forests and plantations to older ages (60-to-80
years old) would increase carbon storage because total annual wood production
(MAI in forester jargon) is maximized by growing forest stands to ages of more
than 50 years. Also, clear-cut areas
actually “give off” CO2 for the first 10-to-20 years after harvest (from
decomposing slash and increased breakdown of organic matter in the soil).
What I found most intriguing was Scott’s discussion
of the role of forest soil humus and complex lignin. Older trees in our forests
provide future organic material for soils that is qualitatively different from
that produced by the decomposition of young trees. The soil humus that is
produced by young trees is less stable or less durable than that produced by
older trees, which have more complex lignin molecules. Another way of saying
this is that young trees decompose more rapidly than older trees. Shorter rotations in our forest stands will,
over time, result in the loss of humus in our forest soils, particularly where
the soils are exposed to sun and increased temperatures. Also, soil humus is
really good at holding moisture and resisting soil erosion – crucial attributes
as our forests become drier in the summer and experience heavier rainfall
events in winter.
None of the three Shiver River owners have a background
in forestry. They unapologetically rely on the expertise of Trout Mountain’s
foresters, including Scott Ferguson, who assisted their mother in achieving her
vision. They also take advantage of the trainings available through the OSU
Extension Service, and the many resources available through Oregon State
University, OSWA, Marys River Watershed Council, Marys Peak Stewardship Group
and others. Diana and her husband Bill have been active in OSWA and have
attended many of its sponsored tours. They are also working hard to improve
their forestry skills by taking advantage of the OSU Extension workshops. Diana
is a recent graduate of the Master Woodland Manager course!
Diana maintains the family’s farm blog: https://www.shiverriver.net.
Created by Sid before their mother died, it is now an important communication
tool that provides an ongoing historical record, complete with photographs of farm
projects and other goings-on to keep the three siblings and the next generation
fully engaged.
The siblings’ stewardship exhibits a deep commitment
to the land that has profoundly shaped their family for nearly 100 years.
Building on that legacy and on their love for each other, this property will
likely continue providing pleasure for the family, diverse habitat for fish and
wildlife, and a vigorous forest with income to support their sustainable forest
practices. The next generation is being actively engaged to make sure this happens.
