Current editions of this newsletter can be found on the newly created created quarterly joint e-newsletter Forest Stewardship Notes and Landowner News.
Message from Tami Miketa, Manager of the Small Forest Landowner Office
Greetings to you and hoping you had a lovely Thanksgiving celebration with friends and family! In my quarterly messages to you, I like to keep people informed and updated about changes to landowner assistance programs, such as the changes to the Forestry Riparian Easement Program (FREP) that I wrote in my previous newsletter message. I’m happy to share that we have a new FREP brochure that reflects these changes, as well as an official new FREP Board Manual.
At the November Forest Practices Board meeting, board members approved the new Forestry Riparian Easement Program Board Manual Section 17. The Forest Practices Board Manual is an advisory technical supplement to the Washington State Forest Practices Rules and provides guidance to Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff and the public in the process of administering a forestry riparian easement.
Last May, DNR staff, including folks from the Small Forest Landowner Office, FREP, and the Forest Regulation Policy team drafted language for Board Manual Section 17, which was presented to the Small Forest Landowner Advisory Committee in July. Several meetings were held with a workgroup of Advisory Committee members to discuss and improve the draft language. In September, the Small Forest Landowner Advisory Committee workgroup decided that the overall draft was ready for specific stakeholder engagement. DNR staff convened a stakeholder group that consisted of myself, active small forest landowners who had engaged in the FREP process, the FREP team that developed the original draft, staff from the Forest Regulation policy team, and a Forest Practices forester from a DNR region that contains many FREP easements. This group met multiple times throughout September and October to provide input in the content of this Board Manual.
The goal of this process was to create a Board Manual section that provides clarity and transparency while remaining consistent with the Forest Practices Rules. This Board Manual brings much needed transparency to the FREP process and offers significant guidance, especially to small forest landowners. Many issues around interpretation of the FREP rules have been addressed in this new Board Manual section. Click here to view the new FREP Board Manual Section 17.
In this edition of the Small Forest Landowner News, we feature another program designed to protect and enhance aquatic habitat, the Family Forest Fish Passage Program (FFFPP). You may have noticed many state road construction projects happening across the state as part of an effort to address fish passage barriers by upgrading stream crossings. As program FFFPP manager Chris Dwight describes it, eligible small forest landowners enrolled in the program are also fixing fish passage barriers on their private forestland roads, financed with state dollars.
We also have an article by Small Forest Landowner Regulation Assistance Program manager Todd Olson, who explains the benefits of using our regulation assistance foresters when planning forest practices. You will also receive an update on the development of fpOnline, the new online tool for forest practices permit forms.
There are many technical and financial assistance programs out there for private landowners in addition to what DNR offers. Rachel Santa Olalla will explain the Conservation Program Explorer Tool. Housed by the Cascades to Coast Landscape Collaborative (CCLC) and partially funded by DNR, the web-based Conservation Program Explorer tool was created for private landowners to easily browse conservation incentive programs offered by federal, state, county, non-governmental organizations, and other resources.
We also have a staff spotlight on Holly Haley, our Community Outreach and Environmental Education Specialist who has been with the Small Forest Landowner Office for almost three years now! Holly has been helping produce these newsletters, updating us on educational events happening statewide, and does DNR small forest landowner program staff profile articles, but we haven’t done one on her for a newsletter, so it’s her turn!
Finally, Ken Bevis, our Stewardship Fish and Wildlife Biologist, writes his usual wildlife newsletter article. This one is about squirrels, an especially relevant topic with the recent uplisting of protection status for western gray squirrels.
Thank you to my staff and the many dedicated forest landowners and partners working together to care for each other and our forests. I hope you have a wonderful winter holiday season in the woods.
Upcoming Events, Classes and Workshops
Webinars (online, register in advance and for recordings)
Winter 2025 Online Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Course – Puget Sound Area
January 9 – March 14, 2025
Thursday evening class sessions will be 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
There will be an in-person field trip from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday, February 22, 2025, in the King-Snohomish County area.
January 16, 2025
8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (online)
Social Acceptance and Communication Strategies for Wildland Fire Management
February 20, 2025
8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (online)
Tours/Workshops/Classes
Winter 2024 Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Course – Newman Lake, WA.
December 6, 2024 –January 31, 2025
Fridays, (Dec. 6, 13, 20; Jan. 3, 10, 17, 31)
5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Field Day: TBD
2025 Inland Tree Conference – Spokane, WA
January 9-10, 2025
Spokane, WA
Underwood Conservation District 2024-25 Winter Workshop Series: More than Flowers: What Your Landscape Needs to Support Pollinators
January 16, 2025
6:00 p.m.
White Salmon, WA
Forest Products Industry Legislative Reception
January 16, 2025
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Olympia, WA
Eastern WA Foresters Roundtable
January 23, 2025
Spokane, WA
Save the Date: Eastern WA Family Foresters’ Workshop
January 24, 2025
Spokane, WA
More information to follow
Country Living and Modern Homesteading Expo – Skagit County
January 25, 2025
Stanwood, WA
Save the Date: Shelton Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Course
February 7-March 28th, 2025
Fridays, 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Shelton, WA
More information to follow
Save the Date: Eastern WA Forest Owners’ Winter School
February 15, 2025
More information to follow
Underwood Conservation District 2024-25 Winter Workshop Series: Soil! What it is and How it Works
February 19, 2025
6:00 p.m.
White Salmon, WA
Save the Date: Whidbey Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Course
Starts March 5, 2025
Whidbey Island, WA
More information to follow
Save the Date: 2025 Puget Sound Area Forest Owners’ Winter School
March 8, 2025
King County, WA
More information to follow
Save the Date: Key Peninsula Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Course
Thursdays starting March 20, 2025
More information to follow
Save the Date: 2025 SW WA Forest Owners’ Winter School
March 22, 2025
More information to follow
Save the Date: Loggers and Forest Managers Meeting
March 31, 2025
Colville, WA
More information to follow
SQUIRREL! Everyone Loves (Arboreal) Squirrels, right?
By Ken Bevis, Stewardship Wildlife Biologist, Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), ken.bevis@dnr.wa.gov
Squirrels are those iconic little rascals entertaining us with their agility and antics in cartoons and city parks wherever we go. They are everywhere, right? And they are all the same, right? Well, no.
Let’s do a quick Zoology lesson. Remember the Mnemonic? “King Phillip Came Over From Germany Silly” – Let’s run squirrels through this: Kingdom: Animal. Phylum: Chordate. Class: Mammal. Order: Rodent. Family: Sciuridae. Then it gets complicated at genus and species, with lots of variation.
“Squirrel” is the general term for any number of rodents in the zoological family Sciuridae. There are many different species and life histories, including those who live in trees (arboreal) and ground dwellers (fossorial).
In Washington, we have five native, arboreal squirrels and two introduced species. If you don’t know already, by the end of this article, you will (hopefully) be able to discern all our arboreal squirrels down to species.
Our arboreal squirrels live primarily in trees but also forage and store food on the ground. They all need a nest or den structure of some kind for reproduction, safety from predators and thermal benefit. Some build nests of leaves and sticks in the canopy, usually near the trunk, and all will use a prime cavity (a very important habitat provided by snags, woodpeckers and other wildlife trees such as hollow live trees) when available.
Squirrel diets are largely plant-based, particularly seeds and nuts, but some will also eat fungal fruiting bodies, certain types of vegetation and even animal flesh, such as bird eggs raided from nests.
They are all acrobats, routinely leaping from branch to branch and scurrying up and down tree stems with amazing agility. Squirrels are prey for a wide variety of predators and are particularly vulnerable when foraging on the ground. Coyotes, bobcats, house cats and cars take a terrestrial toll, but once back in the trees, their primary enemies are avian, such as barred owls and hawks. A few arboreal weasels, especially marten and fisher, hunt squirrels in trees! In some parts of our country, squirrels are also hunted by people and eaten (I did this in Virginia. They are actually pretty good).
Squirrels have outsized ecological roles beyond being prey. They spread seeds and fungal spores and build nests used by other wildlife. For example, Western gray squirrels cache acorns in the ground, but don’t remember exactly where, effectively planting Oregon while oak. Red and Douglas squirrels will cache and tear apart seed cones, inadvertently spreading seeds across the forest. Flying squirrels eat fungus (mushrooms and truffles) and move fungal spores across the forest in their poop! Ever wonder how mushrooms can spread beyond their short height, or how conifers appear beyond the distance a seed could fly? A rodent did it, very possibly a squirrel.
We have seven species of arboreal squirrels in Washington. Let’s start with our typical conifer forest squirrels that occur on most small forest landowners’ property.
These closely related critters are loud, boisterous and very territorial. They cache unopened cones for winter food and are obvious as they chatter loudly and scamper about the forest, especially in the late summer or early fall when they are gathering, stealing and defending cones from each other.
Douglas squirrels are on the west side of the Cascades and have a native range from Vancouver Island down into the conifer forests of the coast and the Sierras in California.
Red squirrels live on the east slopes in Washington, Idaho and the Blue Mountains in Oregon. They have a range all the way across North America’s northern conifer dominated forests. These animals are dependent on mature trees that have reached enough age to provide cones, complex interwoven canopies, and enough dead, damaged or decadent trees for nest sites.
They are also called Chickarees, or Pine squirrels. Red squirrels are slightly smaller than Douglas squirrels, though both have an eye ring (white in red squirrels and reddish in Douglas) and the Douglas has a more pronounced black stripe down the side. However, if you sat two of these little powerhouses next to each other, it might be hard to tell them apart. They are known to hybridize where their ranges overlap (Moskowitz, 2010). Both species are numerous and not of conservation concern and are a protected species in Washington.
Western gray squirrels, Sciurus griseus, are our native gray squirrel, occurring in only three areas in Washington – the Columbia gorge near the Klickitat, the south Puget oak woodlands near and on Fort Lewis by Olympia, and north of Lake Chelan in the lower Methow Valley. These are three very different and widespread populations that are all also called the “silver gray squirrel”.
Western grays are dependent on pine seed and acorns. They are big and have a huge, magnificent bushy tail. They were recently listed as an endangered species in Washington State due to population declines. These squirrels are in trouble from habitat loss, severe fires, timber harvests, development, disease, roadkill and possibly competition due to wild turkeys or other introduced squirrels. See Western gray squirrel | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and Protection of Western Gray Squirrels in Washington – How Small Forest Landowners Can Help – Small Forest Landowner News.
We have flying squirrels, one of the most amazing critters out there! Our native flying squirrels were recently split into two species: Northern and Humboldt. Recent DNR analysis revealed distinct regional differences. In wet, western Washington, they are now called the Humboldt, Glaucomys oregonensis. In the rest of the state: Northern, Glaucomys sabrinus.
There are no known differences in the behaviors of these unique animals. They are not uncommon, but are very elusive, being fully nocturnal and rather hard to observe. In the winter, they will communally den in cavity snags or hollow trees and keep warm in big furry squirrel piles! They are our smallest squirrels and eat mushrooms and truffles they have cached and dried.
“Flyers” don’t fly but have a built-in parachute of large flat flaps of skin reaching between their front wrists and back ankles. They prepare for their leap into space, and immediately after becoming air borne, spread their flaps and glide gracefully to their target. I found a cool video of them doing this at; Do Flying Squirrels Fly or Glide? [How They Do It] Bing Videos
Finally, we have two relatively recent arrivals to our squirrel populace.
The Eastern gray squirrel is the typical “town squirrel” that sometimes appears in rural settings, but generally does not survive in conifer forests. They were released early in the 1900’s in cities and towns and are now common across much of Washington. They are rather large, have gray bodies with hints of red, bushy tails and lighter bellies.
The Eastern Fox squirrel, Sciurus niger,is another introduced species in Washington more limited in their occurrence. They are reddish in color and larger than the Eastern gray squirrel. Both species need mast (nuts) and seeds from broadleaf trees (common in more urban settings). It is not known if they compete with native squirrels to any significant degree, but when Douglas squirrels and Eastern gray squirrels occur at feeders together, I was told by an observant landowner that the feisty Douglas squirrel always won!
Flying, Douglas, and red squirrels are all considered “protected” wildlife and may not be legally hunted or killed. Western gray squirrels are a special species, recently upgraded to “Endangered” status in Washington. Both Eastern gray and fox squirrels are considered introduced pest species and are unprotected. They can be trapped or killed anytime.
A quick guide:
If it is out at night, small, gray, with flappy skin between the legs and huge eyes – flying squirrel. (unlikely to see)
If it is fast, loud and chittering on the branch of a conifer, like a Douglas fir, and you are out in the conifer dominated forest. East side – Red squirrel. West side – Douglas squirrel.
If you are in one of those special locales listed above, and see a huge silver-gray squirrel, with a flashing white belly and amazing big tail – Western gray. (Unlikely to see)
If it is gray, with slight hints of reddish, and you are near town or in a rural farm-like setting, Eastern gray. They are spreading to some surprising places. (Likely).
If it is big, and orange-reddish, and seems way out of place, fox squirrel. Some places (Seattle) have both Eastern gray and fox squirrels. There are even occasional black colored individuals of these two species.
Squirrels are endearing but can be a nuisance. We hear many complaints about squirrels taking over bird feeders or living in attics. Nest box projects attempting to provide nest sites for bluebirds, swallows or other songbirds can become frustrating when squirrels take over the boxes.
However, squirrels are important wildlife species that make our forests richer and more vital. Help them out by retaining corridors of mature trees, snags with cavities, and dense canopies in clumps of at least one-quarter acre connected to other stands of trees. Maybe put up a few boxes just for squirrels!
I often refer to Douglas and Red squirrels as key species that benefit from thoughtful forest management by our small forest landowners! Like the dog said in that movie, “SQUIRREL!”
Squirrel resources:
Living with wildlife: Tree squirrels | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
7 Types of Squirrels That Live in Washington (state) – Bird Watching HQ
The Family Forest Fish Passage Program
By Chris Dwight, Manager of the Family Forest Fish Passage Program, Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Christopher.dwight@dnr.wa.gov
Do you think you have a fish blockage on your forestland? Do we have a deal for you!
DNR’s Family Forest Fish Passage Program (FFFPP) is looking for high-quality projects to restore fish access to upstream habitat.
Small forest landowners own 3 million acres of Washington’s forests, about half the private forestland in the state. Those lands include thousands of miles of fish-bearing streams. A single barrier on a stream can keep fish from reaching miles of upstream habitat.
Removing fish barriers is one of the keys to salmon recovery and to protecting public resources. In fact, Washington state law requires that private and state forest roads meet standards for stream crossings, road locations, erosion control, and drainage. The goal is to reduce sediment in streams and remove barriers to fish passage.
Removing fish barriers can be costly, especially for small forest landowners. In 2003, the Washington State Legislature passed House Bill 1095, which created the FFFPP. This program offers up to 100% cost-share funding and assistance to eliminate fish-blocking structures. Since its inception, 460 barriers have been removed, reconnecting 1,314 miles of fish habitat. This program for small forest landownersonly, but requires landowners be enrolled in the program to fix their fish passage barriers when financial assistance is made available by the state.
When you enroll in the program, you’re only required to remove the fish barrier on your road crossing when funding is available. A 25% cost-share is required if a harvest has occurred in the three years before project funding, with a maximum of $5,000 for projects on the westside and $2,000 for projects on the eastside. Landowners can often provide in-kind services in lieu of any cost share obligation.
This program is a collaborative effort between three state agencies: the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO). DNR is the primary contact for general questions and applications, WDFW handles site assessments and answers questions about fish habitats and streams, and RCO manages the grant funding process.
FFFPP assists small forest landowners to improve fish passage on their forestlands by removing human-created fish barriers. If you believe you may have a barrier and are interested in having the site evaluated, please complete this online application or visit Family Forest Fish Passage Program | WA – DNR to print a mail-in application.
Click here to watch a video about the program and to see what landowners that have participated in the program think about FFFPP. The program was also featured on a recent PBS Northwest Now video called Saving the Source. If you have any questions about the Family Forest Fish Passage Program, please feel free to call Chris Dwight at: 360-490-0020 or e-mail him at: Christopher.Dwight@dnr.wa.gov
ELIGIBILTY (all these conditions must apply): 1. On forestland or accesses forestland 2. Owned by a small forest landowner (harvest < 2 million board feet of timber per year) 3. Located on a potentially fish-bearing stream 4. Human-made fish passage barrier located at a road crossing 5. Crossing structure installed before May 14, 2003.
After your application is received, a field representative will contact you to set up a site visit and provide you with a detailed explanation of the program. If the site does not meet the program criteria, you will be contacted stating why it is not eligible
How does the program work?
- Site Visit. After you apply to the program, we contact you to make an appointment to inspect your barrier. This includes an assessment by WDFW of the quality of the stream’s fish habitat and whether your road crossing structure is the cause of the fish blockage. If your structure is not blocking fish passage, no further action will be taken, and you won’t be enrolled in the program. If your structure is blocking, you’ll be enrolled, and the WDFW will prioritize your project.
- Project Prioritization. The WDFW determines the priority of all applications based on a number of factors including the amount of fish habitat made accessible, the quality of the habitat, the presence of other fish blocking barriers, the number and type of fish species using the stream, the cost of correcting the barrier, and support of local fish enhancement groups.
- Correction Options and Cost Estimate. If your project is determined to be a high priority, we’ll develop options for eliminating the barrier. Your project will be placed in a final prioritized list of projects based on the options and cost estimates.
- Project Funding. The DNR uses the prioritized list to determine which projects will be funded with the currently available monies and will notify the enrollees selected. If your project is not selected for funding, it will automatically be put on the list for the next funding cycle. If you believe your project needs to be addressed immediately, please contact the Small Forest Landowner Office at (360) 490-0020 or email Christopher.dwight@dnr.wa.gov and we’ll help you identify other funding sources.
- Project Sponsor. Once your project is funded, a project sponsor will be assigned to handle permitting and project design, hiring contractors, and managing the funding process with the RCO.
- Matching Contribution. If you’ve harvested timber within three years of when your project is selected for funding, you may be required to match 25 percent of project costs (up to $5,000 on the westside and $2,500 eastside) through either in-kind services or payment in dollars. However, if you have not harvested within the three years prior to the project being approved for funding, or if the barrier was installed with a permit (e.g., Forest Practices Application or Hydraulic Project Approval), the State will pay the entire cost of the project.
The Regulation Assistance Program and Results of the Road Assessment Survey for Small Forest Landowners in Washington State
by Todd Olson, Small Forest Landowner Regulation Assistance Program Manager, Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), todd.olson@dnr.wa.gov
The Small Forest Landowner Office Regulation Assistance Program provides guidance and expert technical assistance to small forest landowners in preparation for forest practice activities on their forestland. Regulation assistance foresters help small forest landowners understand and apply the complexity of Forest Practices Rules. This assistance includes applying Forest Practices rules and board manual guidance, assistance with Forest Practices Applications (FPAs), alternate plans, 20-acre exempt harvest activities, long-term applications, road construction and maintenance options, timber harvest techniques, forest management possibilities, and other forest practices rule-related issues.
Note: We also have a Regulation Assistance Fish & Wildlife Biologist available to provide the following services:
- Provide technical assistance for riparian and wetland areas
- Water type modifications: site visits & assistance with forms
- Conduct permitted electro-fishing, when appropriate, to determine fish presence
- Conduct stream surveys & fish barrier assessments
- Provide presentations & outreach with small forest landowner groups
In addition to the services mentioned above, regulation assistance foresters have the responsibility to conduct forest road assessments on a landowner volunteer basis. The goal is to assess the condition of small forest landowner roads and discuss landowners’ road construction and maintenance obligations under forest practices rules and federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements.
Small Forest Landowner Roads Assessment Background
The DNR, in consultation with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Washington Department of Ecology (WDOE), is required by RCW 76.09.420(4) and WAC 222-24- 050 to monitor the extent, effectiveness, and progress of the small forest landowner Checklist Road Maintenance and Abandonment Plan (RMAP) implementation and to report the findings to the Legislature and the Forest Practices Board. Additionally, as the agency responsible for carrying out provisions of the federal CWA in Washington State, WDOE monitors water quality to determine whether activities meet the state’s water quality standards. WDOE established specific milestones for retaining CWA Assurances for the Forest Practices Rules and associated programs. One of the CWA milestones the DNR Forest Practices Program was required to meet included developing a plan for evaluating the risk posed by small forest landowner roads related to delivery of sediment to waters of the state. This evaluation was developed in consultation between DNR, WDOE and the Small Forest Landowner Office Advisory Committee.
Process for the Road Assessment Survey
To meet the CWA milestone, DNR, WDOE and the Washington Farm Forestry Association (WFFA) established the following criteria:
- Develop a road survey questionnaire to be provided to small forest landowners for remittance. Create road assessment criteria in order to gain sufficient data to determine the status of forest roads;
- Gain support from DNR, WDOE, WFFA and Washington tribes to conduct on-site roads inventories when requested by small forest landowners; and,
- Develop a process in which DNR and WDOE could complete a CWA milestone report on the status of small forest landowner roads. The purpose was to assess the effectiveness of road maintenance for meeting the Forest Practices Rules.
Road Assessment Survey Results
The road assessment survey began on April 1, 2019, and was completed on May 15, 2024. A total of 181 small forest landowners had their roads assessed by the Regulation Assistance Program. The survey covered 7,316 miles of forest roads spanning almost every county in the state that contains forestland. Simply stated, these assessments were intended to help determine if there are concerns with small forest landowner roads in terms of adhering to applicable Forest Practices Rules.
There were no enforceable forest practices rule violations identified. Several road segments included fish barriers; the landowners were either active in the Family Forest Fish Passage Program (FFFPP) or were informed of the program by the regulation assistance forester. Of the 1,034 segments assessed, 901 road segments with associated waters showed no sediment delivery potential; most of the remaining segments were found to have non-significant sediment delivery potential.
There were 16 road segments with low sediment delivery potential, and the landowners were taking active steps to mitigate the potential delivery. There were two segments found to have medium/high sediment delivery potential on orphaned roads; the local Forest Practices forester was notified in conjunction with the landowner.
Summary
In the final review, field observations and analysis of the verifiable data are positive. The road assessments conducted by regulation assistance staff indicate that small forest landowners assessed in this survey are, by vast majority, proactively complying with the Forest Practices Rules road maintenance requirements.
The tabular information was provided in a report to WDOE for review earlier this year. They reviewed the number of road segments, county/acre distribution, and the tabulation. As a result, WDOE determined that the results were complete, that the data was acceptable to meet the Clean Water Act Assurances and approved the report in September.
What’s Next for Road Assessments?
First, a huge thanks to all the small forest landowners that volunteered to have their roads assessed. You were all super friendly and interesting to work with in the field. I hope we provided expert regulation assistance to your satisfaction. As a friendly reminder, we in Regulation Assistance are always ready to continue with conducting road assessments for you, at your request, so that we can provide suggestions on road maintenance. We are always available to assist with any of your regulation assistance questions in the future. I speak for all our regulation assistance staff when I say that we look forward to meeting small forest landowners during our site visits.
DNR on Track to Launch fpOnline in May 2025
By Donelle Mahan, Online Project Manager, Forest Practices Program, Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), donelle.mahan@dnr.wa.gov
As first introduced in this newsletter’s spring edition, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources is building Forest Practices Online (fpOnline) for forest landowners to have the option to submit and manage Forest Practices Applications (FPAs) and Water Type Modification Forms (WTMFs) in digital formats. As designed and operated by the DNR Forest Practices Program under the Forest Regulation Division, fpOnline will meet regulatory requirements, comply with forest practices rules, and adhere to Forest Practices Program policies.
Private forest landowners who use fpOnline for FPA and WTMF applications will find a modern, efficient method to electronically fill out and submit forms, attach supporting information, create or attach a forest practices activity map, and electronically sign and pay for FPAs. It will be a cloud-based system accessible over the internet. A third-party bank will retain and secure all private bank account information used for electronic payment – DNR will not host or request any banking account or personal identification information.
Reviewers from city, county, state, and Tribal agencies will automatically receive notifications from fpOnline so they can review, comment, and track FPAs and WTMFs.
The fpOnline project started July 2022 and will be completed and launched in May 2025. The $8.9 million budget for the project is funded using state dollars. Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech) recently assessed the project as green across the board: scope, schedule, budget, and overall.
Recent Project Updates
DNR’s fpOnline project has had several exciting, recent developments.
First, the fpOnline team hosted a successful town hall meeting on November 18 to demonstrate what has been configured so far while conducting the demonstration from the perspective of an FPA applicant. You can listen and view the recorded town hall and presentation slide deck on the fpOnline website.
Recent high-level developments for the software application itself include:
- The software vendor, VisualVault, completed their discovery work and began the configuration and development process.
- Build-out of the Forest Practices Application (FPA) form is underway. Several online forms for the new tool were developed, including but not limited to:
- Forest practices Aerial Chemical Application Form
- FPA/N Renewal Form
- FPA/N Amendment Request Form and FPA/N Notice of Transfer
- Water Type Modification form and assorted appendices.
Forms were selected based on frequency of use. A complete list can be found in the latest town hall materials on the fpOnline website.
VisualVault will next develop the geographic information system map and online payment components of the new tool. VisualVault is hosting brief demonstrations and playbacks as new items are developed and ready to be shared. The fpOnline project team plans to begin posting those demonstrations on the fpOnline website.
Meanwhile, the fpOnline training plan is complete. DNR Forest Practices staff will begin curriculum development in January. Additional training will take place ahead of the May 2025 launch.
The project team held a recent baseline survey to determine user satisfaction with the current systems (Forest Practices Application Review System (FPARS), Water Type Application (WTA) database, and forest practices enforcement tracking system (FPETS). Partial results for this baseline survey can be seen here. A full presentation slide deck is on the fpOnline website.
Finally, while the fpOnline project has deployed a robust testing strategy using professional software testers, end user testing is critical to the success of fpOnline. Please consider helping the fpOnline project team by becoming a tester next spring when a practice version of fpOnline will be available for testing.
Staying up to Date on fpOnline
There are several ways to stay aware of project developments:
- Visit the fpOnline website
- Sign up for the GovDelivery email list – 1-3 emails per month.
- Attend town hall meetings, which are announced through the GovDelivery email list and the fpOnline website
- Read the monthly fpOnline Newsletter
- Attend existing meetings:
- Timber, Fish, and Wildlife (TFW) / Upper Columbia Basin (UCB) meetings
- Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA)
- Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC)
- Washington Farm Forestry Association (WFFA) Annual Meeting
- Visit the Washington State IT Project Dashboard
- Reach out proactively for additional information:
- Email DNRrefpOnline@dnr.wa.gov
- Call the DNR Forest Regulation Division: 360-902-1400
Cascades to Coast Landscape Collaborative Updates Conservation Program Explorer Tool
By Rachel Santa Olalla, Cascades to Coast Landscape Collaborative, conservationprogramexplorer@gmail.com
Most landowners are committed to maintaining healthy wildlife and ecosystems on their lands. Having effective and efficient incentive programs available to landowners supports and encourages their environmental stewardship.
It’s been two years since the Conservation Program Explorer tool launched for private forest and agricultural landowners in Washington. Housed by the Cascades to Coast Landscape Collaborative (CCLC), the web-based Conservation Program Explorer tool was created for private landowners to easily browse conservation incentive programs The CCLC worked with partners and rural landowners during the development of the tool to better understand their needs. They found that struggling to navigate the numerous websites for various incentive programs posed a consistent hurdle for landowners.
The Conservation Program Explorer tool provides landowners and agency staff with a single place to browse all incentive programs that landowners may be eligible for, including those offered by federal, state, county, non-governmental organizations, and other resources. Incentive programs are grouped into three categories within the tool: Financial, Public Recognition, and Free Technical Assistance. Using a series of drop-down menus, landowners can select their location, land type, and desired program to see what’s currently available to them.
Learn more about the Conservation Program Explorer through this informational public webinar recording.
Now that the Conservation Program Explorer has been available in Washington since June 2022, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is funding critical updates to the tool. Feedback from landowners and others who use the tool remains a critical piece of that process. User feedback is needed to drive the dialogue with program providers to create and amend programs as needed to further collective stewardship efforts. Feedback on how this tool can be adjusted to best serve private landowner decision making and their understanding of conservation incentive programs will also be an important driver of future improvements.
The CLCC is enthusiastic about applying for available grants to fund the development of the Conservation Program Explorer tool with feedback from landowners. The project lead, Rachel Santa Olalla, is working with the project advisory team, incentive program providers and partners to engage landowners and stakeholders to solicit feedback on the Conservation Program Explorer tool. Please keep an eye out for future surveys and invitations from your local conservation service providers, such as DNR, to collaborate with the CCLC on the development of the Conservation Program Explorer tool.
The CLCC is an informational hub for landowners who value conservation, and a collaboration space for conservation partners. Please visit our website to see what we are up to, stay informed with updates and events by signing up for our newsletter, and get in touch with us for partnership in your conservation endeavors. In the meantime, if you have questions or ideas on this project, please contact Rachel Santa Olalla at conservationprogramexplorer@gmail.com (Please note the Conservation Program Explorer email address has changed).
The CCLC extends its gratitude to the participation of the CCLC leadership team and various partners including Washington conservation districts, the DNR Small Forest Landowner Office and Service Forestry Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Farm Forestry Association, Washington Tree Farm Program, and many more.
Get to Know Small Forest Landowner Community Outreach and Environmental Education Specialist Holly Haley
By Ken Bevis, Stewardship Wildlife Biologist, Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), ken.bevis@dnr.wa.gov and Holly Haley, Small Forest Landowner Community Outreach and Environmental Education Specialist, holly.haley@dnr.wa.gov
Tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up along the central coast of California. My earliest memories are from the redwood forests of Big Sur, where my parents helped manage a state park. At 3 years old, I was already a naturalist, leading others on hikes and connecting them with the wonders of nature in my precocious way.
I come from a family of university academics and followed their path by earning a math scholarship to the University of Oregon, where I majored in Biology, French and Art History. I moved home after college to save some money for travel, but home had become Virginia where my father worked for the CIA, spying on and translating science coming out of the soviet space program! After traveling for several months in Europe, I moved to Washington, drawn to Seattle by my love for grunge rock and nature.
Returning to my naturalist roots, I became a professional environmental educator working at the Pacific Science Center, Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center, and the Woodland Park Zoo. I then earned a second bachelor’s degree in marine biology at The Evergreen State College and loved it so much I stayed on to earn a master’s in environmental studies. I was the Seattle Aquarium’s Marine Science Interpretation Supervisor for 15 years, training hundreds of volunteers and connecting thousands of minds and hearts with the ocean and marine wildlife.
During COVID and that time of great change, I sensed an opportunity to explore new career paths. Like the salmon, I was drawn upstream, into the upper watersheds and forests of Washington. Three years ago, I landed this outreach education position with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Small Forest Landowner Office (SFLO). It has been a wonderful experience full of learning, new friendships and collaboration with so many people who support forestland stewardship.
Outside of work, I like to read sci-fi/fantasy novels, watch movies, attend live rock shows, walk in the woods with my dog, Orca, camp, and road trip up and down the west coast to visit family in California. I still travel to Europe (where my French comes in handy!). I met my husband, Nils, at the Pacific Science Center. We have two sons, a few adopted animal companions, and a house in a forest in the Cascade foothills.
Describe your job.
I am the Community Outreach and Environmental Education Specialist for the Small Forest Landowner service forestry programs responsible for conducting communications for internal and external partners statewide. The overall goal of the programs is to keep Washington forests healthy and to protect natural resources like salmon and clean water on private forest lands. This work is all about communicating well to establish and foster mutual understanding, promote involvement, and influence actions by our various partners and participants.
I encourage private landowners to involve themselves in educational opportunities and incentive programs that will assist them with their forest management objectives. My job involves lots of personal engagement, from planning formal classes to chatting casually with the public at outreach events like agricultural fairs, salmon homecoming festivals, or other forestry focused events. I work with lots of media formats by creating webinars, online website resources, printed brochures, videos and newsletters such as this one!
Communication is ideally a dialogue, so we want to create opportunities to listen and hear from landowners, so we can assist them in the best possible way. I do lots of writing, phone calls, email, and attend various meetings too. I love creating opportunities for strong collaboration and communication and getting to know our dedicated staff and the many landowners we serve, all while I get to travel across our beautiful Evergreen State!
When you have questions or comments about our landowner assistance programs, I am your contact. Holly.Haley@dnr.wa.gov
Why do you think our work is important?
About three million acres of Washington forestlands are privately owned by small forest landowners. Therefore, it is important to empower landowners as stewards of their forestlands and to help them responsibly manage these forests for personal, economic, environmental, and social benefits. While doing this, they can fill a vital role in protecting public resources like clean water and wildlife habitat. We help landowners learn about and participate in forest stewardship activities, focus and attain their objectives to protect, improve, and restore the health and productivity of their forestlands. There is always a choice between keeping or selling their lands for other uses, so it is important to do what we can to provide landowners with information, technical advice, and financial support they may need. Outreach and landowner engagement builds the partnerships needed to help us deliver our shared goals of good stewardship of our forest lands.
What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
I hope to leave a legacy demonstrating the value of environmental education as a necessary part of small forest landowner engagement and therefore forest stewardship. We know science and policy are important to inform and ensure sustainable management of our shared natural resources, but how does that apply on the ground? I want to demonstrate the importance of education in developing and sustaining stewardship ethics. Education and outreach are not just about information. Creating educational experiences that are personally relevant and meaningful, where we listen and discover our different and shared perspectives, help people engage and feel respected, and thus more likely to participate. Environmental education helps society develop the awareness, knowledge, and skills needed to care for the environment. Experience affects our attitudes, values, and emotions, while personal engagement helps develop empathy and collective stewardship action. I want to build and share these opportunities.
What is your favorite kind of tree and why?
My favorite tree is the coastal redwood, Sequoia sempervirens; so much so that my first-born child’s middle name is Sequoia! There are so many impressive aspects to the tallest tree species on earth, but what I love most is how they can live for over 2,000 years. Just like I have always felt humbled by the unique abilities and intelligence of other organisms (like the amazing Giant Pacific Octopus), walking through ancient redwood forests puts my human life in perspective. Their Latin name sempervirens means “always living”, and they do!
Coastal redwoods sprout clones from their roots all over the forest floor, often creating “fairy rings” of trees in a circle around the original mother tree, or even a stump. My first memories started as that 3-year-old hiking and playing in the redwood forest, and I believe inspired my career. Whenever I return to the redwoods, I cry in joy and spiritual connection.
Message from Tami Miketa, Manager of the Small Forest Landowner Office
Greetings small forest landowners! Summer is the time for landowners to get together for picnics and gatherings, twilight tours, annual meetings, special demonstrations, and of course, the Family Forest Owner Field Days!
On June 22, 2024, just after the summer solstice, my staff and I attended the Eastern Washington Forest and Range Owners Field Day at the WSU Vetter Demonstration Farm & Forest in Deer Park. What a beautiful day it was!
Family Forest Field Days fun continued this summer with July’s Puget Sound Family Forest Field Day in Fall City. And on August 10, the Steve Stinson Legacy – Family Forest Owners Field Day happened in southwest Washington.
Speaking of Family Forest Owner Field Days and educational events, MORE are coming your way!
DNR and WSU Extension Forestry have expanded their agreement to provide additional educational opportunities to forest landowners on a variety of forestry subjects like silviculture, wildlife, forest management plans, invasive weeds, Native American uses of the land, and forest inventory. They will also focus on reforestation, thinning, regulatory issues and assistance, forest health, wildfire, forest soils, climate change, forest security, tool and chainsaw safety, landowner assistance programs, small-scale forestry operations, and more.
DNR has further cemented its close relationship and educational collaboration with Washington State University (WSU) Extension Forestry thanks to a $750,000 contract that will greatly expand the number of educational events across the state.
Specifically, WSU Extension Forestry and DNR will be hosting 10 Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Courses during the 2023-2025 biennium, six winter schools, five Family Forest Owner Field Days, five Choice Programming and One-on-One Engagements, and 21 forest health and resiliency events.
The Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Courses are multisession training seminars that increase landowner understanding of management planning and prepare participants to execute practices that improve forest health and resiliency, while also accomplishing owner needs and reducing their risks. Forest owners and managers learn to write a Forest Management Plan according to the Washington State Integrated Forest Management Plan Guidelines.
The winter schools and Family Forest Owner Field Days are multisession, concurrent seminars and clinics that increase awareness and prepare owners and operators to execute practices improving forest health and resilience conditions, forest protection, function, productivity, and safety.
The Choice Programming and One-on-One Engagements will provide specialized workshops for diverse management interests and needs (e.g., special forest products; succession and estate planning; forest navigation, Women Owning Woodlands). They fortify DNR’s Service Forestry Program with on-site technical assistance and individual coaching, all leading to completion of a new or updated forest management plan.
So, stay tuned and watch for more information on the SFLO website or the WSU Extension Forestry website.
In this summer edition of the Small Forest Landowner News, we’ll feature a list of upcoming events, and Ken Bevis, our Stewardship Wildlife Biologist, will highlight a series of wildlife habitat workshops he’s hosting throughout the state at several “stellar” small forest landowner properties.
We will introduce the new DNR Conservation Easement Forester, Mike Gilgunn, and new eastern Washington forest entomologist, Dana Brennan. We’re also celebrating the 80th anniversary of an old friend, Smokey Bear. In this issue, you will also find the latest riparian study from DNR’s Forest Practices Adaptive Management Program, and details about prescribed burn associations (PBAs) here in Washington.
You can also read about DNR’s recent $2 million reforestation grant for Post-Fire Recovery, and we will introduce you to a new cost-share assistance program for private landowners in western Washington, which is funded by the USDA’s Climate-Smart Commodities program.
And, get ready for this year’s planting season with an announcement article from DNR Webster Forest Nursery: Pre-orders are open now!
Enjoy the read, the sunshine, and stay cool!
“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are chirping, and the lawn mower is broken.” – Unknown
Small Forest Landowner News 