Oregon’s forests provide more than a source of jobs and a place to play. They also act as a filter and storage area for clean water. Welcome to the world of watersheds. What’s a Watershed? A watershed is the area of land where all surface and groundwater drains into the same body of water, such […]
Fire as a Tool
Fire has been used as a forest management tool in Oregon for thousands of years. Native Americans set fires to manage food supplies, stimulate grass production to attract big game, and to keep travel ways open. Early settlers utilized fire to make way for development. Today, woodland owners can use prescribed fire as a tool […]
After a Fire
Sources of Assistance for Salvage and Reforestation Salvage logging: Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Tree planting: species, seedling type, availability: ODF Stewardship Foresters Financial Assistance: State and federal cost-share, state grants, state and federal income tax credits: ODF Stewardship Foresters, local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) and Watershed Councils, USDA- Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) […]
Wildfire
In the Event of a Wildfire If you live in the country, wildfire can pose a significant threat to your home and property. As the climate changes, and areas of forested areas become drier, it is important to think about how best to prepare your family, your animals, your home, and your trees and woodlands […]
Seedlings & Planting
Planting seedlings is a big deal in a tree-growing state such as Oregon. According to the Oregon Department of Forestry, between 30 and 40 million new seedlings are planted each year! The reasons for planting are many – reforestation after a timber harvest, conversion of a field to a forest, filling in tree-less openings in […]
Soils & Nutrients
Forest soils play a key role in tree growth. They provide for storage and transport of nutrients and water, air space for tree roots to breathe, and the foundation for holding a tree in place. Protecting soils during forest management activities is crucial to a soil’s ability to provide these necessary components of tree growth. […]
Insects & Diseases
Forests Are Ecosystems Forest insects and diseases are important components of forest ecosystems in Oregon. These pests not only affect the growth and mortality of individual trees, they also influence the species composition, stand structure, and ecological succession of forest stands. While insects and diseases can be damaging and destroy value in our forests, they also […]
Identify & Assess Your Trees
Identifying trees is a lot like identifying people. You can easily recognize a close friend, even from a fast-moving car or from a picture when the friend had a different physical appearance. However, in a room full of strangers, you need to concentrate on individual characteristics before you can begin to tell one person from […]
Forest Health
Individual Trees & Forest Health While you may be able to treat individual trees to help them recover from whatever ails them, it is different when you need to deal with a stand of trees that is not doing well. Tree stands may suffer from both non-living (abiotic) factors, such as a change in the […]
Managing Your Woodlands
Successful Land Management The key to successful land management is education. Land managers who are educated have an easier time when faced with problems, conflicts or other issues. On of our main goals here at OSWA is to: Help educate family woodland owners on issues of importance Therefore, we’ve put together this section of our […]