Small forest landowners attend a Winter School class on forest road maintenance. This spring, look forward to more educational events held outside, like tree farm tours and forest field days. (Holly Haley, DNR)
By Ken Bevis, Stewardship Wildlife Biologist, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, ken.bevis@dnr.wa.gov
Iconoclast: pronoun. One who challenges conventional thinking in a manner causing logical confusion and sometimes a reconsidering of established views. A person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions. (Wikipedia) I want to be one here.
Rubus armenaicus is native to the region of Armenia and northern Iran (located between the Black and Caspian Seas, near Turkey and Russia). It was introduced to Germany in 1835 as a crop plant. Brought to the United States in 1885 by Luther Burbank himself, one of the greats in horticultural history. Somewhere during this phase of crop promotion, the (incorrect) moniker of “Himalayan Blackberry” (HBB) was applied. It was first planted in the U.S. near Santa Rosa California and then to other locations in the Northwest. Apparently never hybridized, it was promoted as vigorous, with heavy berry yields. (True!) The plant escaped propagation and quickly spread. It is now naturalized and considered a noxious weed (as we well know) in many areas, including western Washington.
Nearly impenetrable HBB thicket. (Ken Bevis, DNR)
Himalayan Blackberries: One of the most aggressive and challenging introduced plant species that have established themselves widely on small forest ownerships. HBB outcompete desirable native plants, taking up growing space intended for trees, overrun trails and open forest stands, and generally are a nuisance. Dense thickets are impenetrable due to the strong canes and vicious spines. Ouch! And they are challenging to control. HBB, however, are the only noxious weed I can think of that provides tangible human benefit in the form of jam, cobblers and pies (and I hear wine too). The plant even has a fan base. (The “Himalayan” Blackberry, a California Summer Tradition – Bay Nature)
Food. Water. Cover. The wildlife mantra. When these three things exist in a home range for any species, they have a chance to succeed, i.e. survive and reproduce. How many times have we seen a song sparrow, or a junco, or robin sitting atop an HBB thicket? Or a rabbit scooting underneath? How many bears or birds eat the berries? How many of us have enjoyed the sweet fruits? HBBs can provide cover, and food in abundance.
Let’s face it. They are here to stay. Our “natural” environment, especially in the developed “front country” is a crazy mishmash of both native and introduced species. This topsy-turvy world is an ever-moving kaleidoscope of success and failure, right in front of our eyes. Let’s pop some bubbles: there is no “balance of nature.” The natural world is a seething cauldron of organisms pushing, shoving, cooperating, and surviving (or not), all around us, and they don’t care where they came from (ask a starling if he/she remembers England). Some places have a semblance of stability, especially in relatively undisturbed environments (arguably “balance”), but most of the world now, is “disturbed” and dominated by humans and human influences, such as introduced organisms. Hence, the importance of active management to help us achieve objectives.
So, back to HBB.
Ripe, sweet HBBs. (Ken Bevis, DNR)
They were introduced as a high productivity agricultural plant that grew fast and produced lots of tasty berries. Good objectives, but then, oops. They escaped and now are widespread, and a real pest.
Our Service Foresters, and virtually all land managers in lower elevations of Washington, continuously battle numerous invasive and noxious plants. We have a detailed set of programs with Noxious weed lists and categories, with even legal requirements to control certain species (Class 1). Others have become so ubiquitous (Class 3) that they are basically considered part of the landscape now; HBB is one of these.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for letting HBB take over the landscape. However, this is one of our “bad” plants that may have some redeeming value as habitat. Many birds and mammals eat the abundant berries (and yes, spread the seed far and wide). The thickets offer amazing cover for many creatures, including birds and mammals.
I heard a story from a landowner in Clark County about a huge HBB thicket on her property. There was a tunnel going into the jungle, big enough for her to crawl into it. She did. Some distance under the viney roof, was a chamber, almost big enough for her to sit up in. What? A bear den? On the far side of the cave, she spotted something in the faint light; it was a porcupine! And how many HBB thickets have low trails going into the vines? Places for rabbits, raccoons, skunks or other medium or small mammals to take refuge? Or locations for birds to nest in the vines or on the ground underneath?
I advocate for habitat piles to create cover thickets for wildlife, and have observed that in western Washington, these will often become HBB thickets with a pile in the middle, providing cover in abundance. And once this happens, it is nearly impossible to control these HBB without destroying the habitat feature.
The author participates in assessment of the situation regarding HBB. (Ken Bevis, DNR)
Basically, HBB is bad. It takes over. However, all things in small doses, right? If we recognize that a thicket, or hedgerow, of HBB has some value, and we make sure it doesn’t spread, it can function as a valuable habitat feature, and a place for tasty berries to be harvested. Decide where it is ok to have it. Mow the perimeter regularly. Maybe dig up root crowns. Keep it right there with active management. Where you don’t want it, work to eradicate. Use the tools you need to win!
Good news: HBB has some habitat value. The bad news: it grows too darn much. And to those weed warriors out there, keep up the good work!
By Kelly Childers, Compliance Monitoring Field Coordinator, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, kelly.childers@dnr.wa.gov
Author Kelly Childers is seen recording data on a forest practices compliance monitoring site visit. (Kelly Childers, DNR)
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Compliance Monitoring Program was first established in the 1999 Forest and Fish Law, which proposed increasing measures to protect water quality and riparian-dependent species on private and state forestlands in Washington, based on the best available science.
The Compliance Monitoring Program (CMP) was created to help answer the question: Are forest practices being conducted in compliance with the rules?
The goal of CMP is to collect and report data on statewide Forest Practices Rule compliance rates, and monitor compliance trends over time. Sample sites are randomly selected from completed applications and field reviewed in collaboration with representatives from partner agencies such as Department of Ecology, tribes, and region DNR staff. Information is collected in the field based on the type of resource and proposed activity submitted in the Forest Practices Application. Data are analyzed each biennium, and results are then reported to the Forest Practices Board and released to the public.
CMP collaborates with landowners to perform interdisciplinary field visits to collect data. (Kelly Childers, DNR)
Findings are used to help us understand areas where DNR can improve education, training, or guidance to help landowners manage their forestland while simultaneously protecting public resources for us all. This can lead to development of trainings, suggestions for rule or form changes, or specific outreach efforts.
My forest practices application was selected for review: now what?
CMP staff collect field data at randomly selected harvest sites across the state, around riparian areas, wetlands, and forest roads (Kelly Childers, DNR)
No need to fear! Compliance Monitoring is not an enforcement program. We select specific prescriptions to review for each FPA selected, so you know in advance where we need to go and what we’ll be looking at. Landowners are always welcome and encouraged to attend. Landowner information is not reported or recorded as part of the data collection process. Field reviews typically consist of two to eight people, with some prescriptions requiring participants stationed at different distances from a resource for measuring buffer widths and leave trees.
Activities may include taking distance measurements, counting and measuring leave trees, and looking for stumps of harvested trees within designated no-cut zones. Field reviews are a great opportunity to practice or improve your knowledge of the Forest Practices Rules and to learn more about how the Forest Practices Rules and Board manual guidance inform different management strategies on the ground.
Compliance Monitoring Data Trends Suggest Good Compliance Rates
The CMP publishes a statistical study of post-harvest evaluations every two years. (Kelly Childers, DNR)
The Compliance Monitoring Program serves as a tool for understanding the rate of compliance of forest practices activities in our Washington forests with the Forest Practices rules portion of the Washington Administrative Code. We explore trends in compliance rates between small and large forest landowners in every region of the state, working closely with Tribal Nations, DNR, Department of Fish and Wildlife and Department of Ecology staff. The Compliance Monitoring Program examines compliance rates as the total number of rules that were followed accurately divided by the total number of rules assessed for all site visits across the state. CMP staff typically review about 200 samples over the course of the biennium.
Overall, statewide compliance rates for most prescriptions sampled (during the 2020-21 biennium) were above 90 percent. The only exception being non-forested wetlands, which was still relatively high, at 88 percent compliance. This means, most of the time, Forest Practices rules are followed correctly for reviewed prescription types, and resource protections are generally applied adequately in Washington state.
Compliance Monitoring DNR Webpage Updates and StoryMap
Our webpage on the main DNR website Compliance Monitoring | WA – DNR has more information on our program, including an ArcGIS StoryMap. This is a great place to find out more about CMP prior to our upcoming field season. CMP reports are hosted on this page, including our most recent 2020-2021 Biennial Report.
Trillium flowers in a spring forest. (Tami Miketa / DNR)
Tami Miketa
Greetings!
As I sit here at my desk and look out my window, I see fresh buds coming out on my garden plants, the forsythia is blooming, and the crocuses are pushing their way up out of the ground. Nevertheless, it is still so cold outside! Other sure signs that spring is on the way for me are the return of the swallows swooping overhead and the trillium blooming along the forest floor. A few weeks ago, I was on an assistance site visit to a small forest landowner’s property on a beautiful piece of land near Shelton . Located along Cranberry Lake, a wooden boardwalk crosses over some beautiful wetland areas. As I was looking down at the water, I saw hundreds and hundreds of flies that had just hatched (yes, that seemed early for me too!). When I looked up in the sky I also saw hundreds of swallows circling over the wetland snatching up as many of those flies as they could! What a sight it was! Full spring is just around the corner!
As spring comes upon us, as forest landowners, we all know how good being in nature can make us feel. The sounds of the forest, the scent of the trees, the sunlight playing through the leaves, the fresh, clean air — these things give us a sense of comfort. They ease our stress and worry, help us to relax and to think more clearly. Being in nature can restore our mood, give us back our energy and vitality, and refresh and rejuvenate us. What exactly is this feeling that is so hard to put into words?
In Japan, they practice something called forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku. Shinrin in Japanese means, “forest,” and yoku means, “bath.” So, shinrin-yoku means bathing in the forest atmosphere, or taking in the forest through our senses. This is not exercise, or hiking, or jogging. It is simply being in nature, connecting with it through our senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.
Forest bathing in nature allows the stressed portions of your brain to relax. Positive hormones are released in the body. You feel less sad, angry and anxious. It helps to avoid stress and burnout, and aids in fighting depression and anxiety. A forest bath is known to boost immunity and leads to fewer days of illness as well as faster recovery from injury or surgery. Nature has a positive effect on our mind as well as body. It improves heart and lung health, and increases focus, concentration, and memory.
Certain trees like conifers also emit oils and compounds to safeguard themselves from microbes and pathogens. These molecules known as phytoncides are good for our immunity too. Breathing in the forest air boosts the level of natural killer (NK) cells in our blood. NK cells are used in our body to fight infections, cancers and tumors. So spending time with these trees is a special form of tree bathing. Most important is the size of the forest. The larger the forest, the more phytoncides and the better the results . Much of the health benefits are described collectively in the book Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Dr. Qing LI, chair of the Japanese Society for Forest Medicine.
So how does forest bathing work? First, find a spot. Make sure you leave your phone and camera behind — you do not need any devices. Instead, you are savoring the sounds, smells and sights of nature and letting the forest in. Listen to the birds singing and the breeze rustling in the leaves of the trees. Look at the different greens of the trees and the sunlight filtering through the branches. Take a deep breath. Smell the fragrance of the forest and breathe in the natural aromatherapy. Taste the freshness of the air as you take those deep breaths. Place your hands on the trunk of a tree. Dip your fingers or toes in a stream. Lie on the ground. Drink in the flavor of the forest and release your sense of joy and calm. Now you have connected with nature, and as a small forest landowner has always known, you have crossed the bridge to happiness I know that small forest landowners value their forests similarly and personally experienced forest bathing, whether or not you call it that. I found reading about the research behind forest bathing affirming and inspiring to do it more myself, and I encourage you to take the time to relate with your forest in this way in addition to all the other ways you value your forestland.
In this newsletter, we continue a spring theme with articles on frogs, getting out into your woods with photopoint monitoring, and joining others at a variety of upcoming educational events statewide. Our forest entomologist and pathologist will discuss the results of Washington’s recent Forest Health Highlights report and communications staff will outline the Western Washington expansion of the, Wildfire Ready Neighbors program. We are also excited to feature Washington Farm Forestry Association (WFFA) and Executive Director Elaine Oneil’s article on the new Carbon Workgroup established by recent Climate Commitment Act legislation to pursue carbon-offset projects for small forestland owners.
Dan Pomerenk
As we move into springtime, DNR service program staff will be out and about assisting forest landowners. We wanted to take this opportunity to highlight one of those staff, Dan Pomerenk, who is retiring after more than four decades of public service with DNR, the past 21 years working directly with small forest landowners protecting natural resources as the Forestry Riparian Conservation Easement Program Manager. Please join me in wishing him the very best in his retirement years.
San Juan island dark phase Pacific tree frog (Ken Bevis, DNR)
Pacific Tree Frog. (Photo by Noelle Nordstrom)
By Ken Bevis, Stewardship Wildlife Biologist, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, ken.bevis@dnr.wa.govand Dr. Corey Straub, Associate professor of Biology, Ursinus College, cstraub@ursinus.ed.
It is early spring, and in many fortunate places near ponds, puddles and wetlands across Washington, voices of our small native frog ring all around. The song is both joyous and sometimes deafening! It is a crisp, “ribbit,” with many joining into the occasionally synchronized chorus. In spring, male Pseudacris regilla, inflate sacs on their lower jaw, and sing to attract mates around the edges of open water. They defend their tiny singing territories (about 30 square inches according to one study) and hush when a prospective female arrives. They then quietly mate. Eggs are laid in water and attached to or under vegetation. This remarkable critter is the most widespread frog in the Pacific Northwest, occurring across many habitats and elevations. They are a very adaptable amphibian.
Amphibian egg mass from shallow pond. (Ken Bevis, DNR)
They are small — with adults measuring only 2 or 3 inches in length, and a formidable almost 1 inch tall. They can tolerate a wide range of conditions, including dry forests, and travel to upland sites when not breeding. Tree frogs, like all frogs, undergo the miracle of metamorphosis, whereby the herbivorous, swimming tadpole, changes into a carnivorous, legged predatory adult frog. They can live five or more years!
These little critters are voracious predators too, eating a wide variety of insects and various invertebrates (including slugs), usually swallowing their prey whole. They capture prey using their long flashing, sticky tongue and quick strong jaws. They are also prey for a wide variety of predators, including garter snakes, kingfishers, great blue herons and even some owls.
Recognizable by the distinctive black eye stripe, they come in a variety of colors, but mostly either brown gray, or green (sometimes a strikingly bright green!). I heard these frogs change color to match their environment, so I reached out to my friend, Dr. Corey Straub, who studied them for his Master’s Thesis, and asked. He sent me this wonderful short essay answering the question: Do Pacific tree frogs change color? And how?
“Pacific Tree Frog Coloration”
By Dr. Corey Straub
One of the more interesting features of Pacific tree frogs is their body color. In a single population, green, brown, and gray frogs often coexist. In rare cases, reddish and even blue frogs have been observed. Species with color polymorphisms (poly = multiple, morph = form) raise lots of interesting questions for biologists. What is the function of body color? Why does it vary among individuals? Can individuals change their body color?
Body color can serve multiple functions, but the one that has received the most attention in Pacific tree frogs is protection from predators. Cryptically colored (or camouflaged) frogs are harder to see, and studies have shown that Pacific tree frogs are less likely to be eaten by snakes and birds when they are resting on a background that matches their body color. In nature, green, brown and gray backgrounds are provided by leaves, soil and tree bark. While all three colors can be found in the same habitat, seasonal changes in the amount of green vegetation are a regular feature of the frogs’ environment. The frogs emerge from their overwintering refuges to find a largely gray and brown world that becomes increasingly green as spring unfolds into summer. Researchers have observed that the relative abundance of green color morphs increases with the abundance of green vegetation, and vice versa. Thus, hungry predators and variation in environmental color (across space and time) appear to work together to favor color polymorphism in the Pacific tree frog.
Interestingly, the Pacific tree frog has two different strategies for blending in. Some frogs change their body color, while others are careful about where they rest. Color-changers will turn green (or stay that way) in response to brighter environments, perhaps because bright light and green leaves are associated in nature. The change from one color morph to another takes days-to-weeks (a rate that true chameleons would consider laughable) and only some individuals are capable of it. Non-changing green and brown frogs appear to compensate for their stubborn skin by choosing the right place to rest. These frogs select backgrounds that match their body color when given a choice, an adaptive behavior that their color-changing counterparts seem to lack.
Pacific tree frog breeding habitat. Western WA near Chehalis. (Ken Bevis/DNR)
We find tree frogs under the barbeque cover and in potted plants on our porch in the dry Methow Valley every year! Where do they winter? According to the Deschutes Land Trust, they “seek out deep cracks and crevices in logs or rocks, or burrow as deep as they can in leaf litter” to hibernate. And they will move long distances to find good habitats.
According to one source, Pacific tree frogs were one of the only vertebrate species to survive in the Mt. Saint Helen’s blast zone!
Numbers of amphibians globally are declining and of great concern. However, our little frog seems to be doing okay, and we get to enjoy their singing and delightful presence on our small forest lands! What a cool little critter. Appreciate the next one you meet.
Send me a photo of your favorite tree frog.
References:
Morey, S. R. 1990. Microhabitat selection and predation in the Pacific treefrog, Pseudacris regilla. Journal of Herperptology., 24: 292-296.
Resnick, L. E., and Jameson, D. L. 1963. Color polymorphism in Pacific tree frogs. Science, 142: 1081-1083.
Straub, C. S. 2001. Environmental color tracking by the pacific chorus frog, Pseudacris regilla (Masters Thesis, Central Washington University).
Tordoff, W. 1980. Selective predation of gray jays, Perisoreus canadensis, uponboreal chorus frogs, Pseudacris triseriata. Evolution, 34: 1004-1008.
Wente, W. H., and Phillips, J. B. 2003. Fixed green and brown color morphs and a novel color-changing morph of the pacific tree frog Hyla regilla. Am. Nat., 162: 461-473.
Wente, W. H., and Phillips, J. B. 2005a. Microhabitat selection by the Pacific treefrog, Hyla regilla. Anim. Behav., 70: 279-287.
Wente, W. H., and Phillips, J. B. 2005b. Seasonal color change in a population of Pacific treefrogs (Pseudacris regilla). J. Herp., 39: 161-165.
Do you monitor your forestland? If you take routine strolls around your property, the answer is yes! Every time you take a walk around your property, your visual observations are part of your own micro-monitoring effort. What if I told you, you are one step away from turning your enjoyable strolls into a valuable management activity? All that is missing is a visual record. Photopoint monitoring is a simple and effective way to use an organized series of photos to capture change over a given period of time. All that you need to do is strategically choose a location- or several, take a photo, file it, and re-measure at the interval that meets your goals. Photopoints can help you make informed management decisions, pass local knowledge to the next stewards, or even settle an argument about, “what was there,” with your spouse. So, as the weather improves and you begin to venture out more, start to consider what location would be a good spot to establish a photopoint. Despite what it can teach us, this type of monitoring is often overlooked in small private forestland, so grab your camera and head to the woods!
Basic steps of photo point monitoring:
Select a location
Choose a good vantage point. Some areas that provide good locations for photopoints are along trails, roads, natural openings, on side slopes, and in locations that have no close visual obstructions. Identify a distinct, fixed object, such as a unique tree or a landscape feature, to frame within your photo. This will be used to relocate your point and improve the precision of your re-measurement photos. Mark the location on a map, with a GPS, or on the ground with a monument such as a small metal stake, changing pin, or rebar with flagging. If you do use flagging, use a sharpie to write on the flagging the point number and photo direction.
Determine the re-measurement interval
While you do not need to re-measure your points every year, you do want to revisit them often enough that you are capturing the visual changes of your forest over time. If you are planning to implement a management activity, you should plan on measuring the point before implementation and soon after completion.
Organize
Do not discount the importance of keeping your files organized. Plan to keep a digital copy or a hard copy. Use whatever storage method is easiest for you to follow through with consistently.
This photo was taken post treatment. (Rachel Mazzacavallo, DNR)
Tips for photo storage:
Keep them in a file on your computer, preferably in the same folder as your forest management plan. I suggest creating a photopoint folder with subfolders for each year you re-measure the point.
Name each picture with the location or a plot number.
Keep a plot card with the date, the photopoint number name, and the cardinal direction you are facing or place a placard in the corner of each picture with this information.
And lastly, when you update your forest management plan, add monitoring as one of your management activities!
A sawmill demonstration at the 2022 Forest and Range Owners Field Day in Chewelah. (Kelsey Ketcheson, DNR)
By Holly Haley, Community Outreach and Environmental Education Specialist, DNR Small Forest Landowner Office, holly.haley@dnr.wa.gov.
As the community outreach and environmental education specialist for DNR’s Small Forest Landowner Office, my work is to get the word out about technical and financial assistance programs available to landowners for their forest management needs. Whether on the phone, through email, virtually by video, or in-person, I get to meet and talk to many landowners and work in partnership with a variety of forestry service partners, statewide. When I started this position, coming off the height of the pandemic, most educational outreach was not in person. That all started to change last spring, and although I enjoy all forms of communication, there is something special about engaging in person for dialogue, and for making those personable connections that build good working relationships and community together. Whether at a Washington Farm Forestry Association chapter meeting, a Washington Conservation District native plant sale, a Washington Tree Farm Program tree farm tour, or Washington State University Extension Forestry seminar, it has been wonderful to get out about again. Therefore, this spring, I am looking forward to even more in-person outreach opportunities and getting outdoors and in the woods with you too. In fact, my favorite part of the calendar year of education outreach events is coming up, forest owner field days! That is when many forestry service partners and forest landowners get together in the woods for a full day, sharing our passion and learning with each other.
Washington State Extension Forestry will host two forest owner field days in June, one in Eastern Washington and one in Western Washington. Field days are an out-in-the-woods educational events where forest owners can learn about forest management strategies and emerging issues and connect with experts and services to help meet their objectives. These events feature a rotation of forestry classes taught by experts from around the Pacific Northwest. Each field day will offer classes on a variety of topics including forest health, wildlife habitat enhancement and management, thinning and pruning, wildfire risk reduction, noxious weed control, and landowner assistance programs. It is also a great opportunity to network with other landowners and connect with your local foresters and other professionals that can assist you on your property.
DNR forest entomologist Glenn Kohler leads a class about forest health during 2022 Forest and Range Owners Field Day in Chewelah.
You will find information on registering for these outreach education events and many others in this newsletter’s section about Upcoming Events.
I continue to explore ways to get the word out about DNR and other service programs available to forest landowners, including experimenting this summer with staffing a forestry booth at county and state fairs! If you have an organization gathering or event where you would like to feature outreach about DNR’s small forest landowners service programs, please let me know and we can try to arrange myself or other DNR staff to join you in person or virtually! In fact, a small forest landowner who read last spring’s edition of this newsletter, where I first introduced this new outreach role, invited me to join their Lewis County Master Gardner’s event this weekend!
Enjoy this newsletter’s upcoming events section and thanks letting me know if you have a relevant event you think would be valuable to post in the next newsletter, Forest Stewardship Notes, coming out in June. Happy spring for now!
April 11 – April 18, 2023
4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Participants in this free webinar will learn what sudden oak death is, how it spreads, symptoms to watch out for, the treatment approach, sampling and detection strategies, current research and citizen science opportunities.
Emerald Ash Borer Webinar
April 26, 2023
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Presented by Dr. Kevin Zobrist with Washington State University Extension Forestry, this free webinar will focus on properly identifying both the beetle and symptoms on trees. Dr. Zobrist will discuss the implications for Washington forests and wetlands, management options, and what to expect in the coming years. Register online by 8 a.m. the day of the webinar.
What the Old Forest Taught Us: Forest Stewardship in the 21st Century
May 3, 2023
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
The University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (SEFS) hosts Dr. Jerry Franklin, SEFS Emeritus Professor, as the 2023 Sustaining Our World Speaker. Dr. Franklin will present, “What the Old Forests Taught Us: Forest Stewardship in the 21st Century,” and a short Q&A will be held after the presentation. The event takes place at Kane Hall at the UW’s Seattle campus and is offered online or in person. RSVP online.
Birds of the Willamette Valley
May 18, 2023
7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
During this free Oregon State University Extension Master Naturalist Program webinar, zoologist Dr. Ivan Phillipsen will present about the wonderful diversity of bird species found across the Willamette Valley Ecoregion. In addition to exploring the avian fauna of several major habitats, including prairies, wetlands, riparian forests, and oak woodlands, discussion will include their ecological importance and some key conservation issues.
Workshops
Stewarding a Climate-Resilient Forest West of the Cascades-Chimacum, WA
April 29, 2023
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Chimacum
At this free workshop in Jefferson Land Trust’s Valley View Forest, professional foresters will introduce forest owners to a set of simple, hands-on strategies for increasing their forests’ resilience in the face of a warmer and drier climate. Discussion topics include ecological risks facing Jefferson County forests due to wildfire, drought, disease, and insect infestation, how to evaluate the current health of a forest based on desired future conditions, and how forest owners can use woody biomass to create wildlife habitat structures such as constructed logs, snags, and habitat piles.
Field Days
Washington State Extension Forestry will host two forest owner field days in June, one in Eastern Washington and one in Western Washington. These events feature a rotation of forestry classes taught by experts from around the Pacific Northwest. Field days are an out-in-the-woods educational event where forest owners can learn about forest management strategies and emerging issues and connect with experts and services to help meet their objectives. Each field day will offer classes on a variety of topics including forest health, wildlife habitat enhancement and management, thinning and pruning, wildfire risk reduction, noxious weed control, and landowner assistance programs. It is also a great opportunity to network with other landowners and connect with your local foresters and other professionals that can assist you on your property.
June 10, 2023
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Eatonville
This event will be held at the University of Washington’s Pack Forest in Eatonville, WA.
Registration for this event is open now. Please visit 2023 Western Washington Forestry Field Day to register and learn more.
2023 Eastern Washington Forest and Range Owners Field DayJune 24 2023
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Newport
This event will be held at the Kalispel Tribe’s Indian Creek Community Forest in Newport, WA.
Registration for this event will open in May; check the website for more information.
May 3, 2023
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Forks
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) annual update on scientific research and monitoring in the Olympic Experimental State Forest (OESF). OESF is comprised of 270,000 acres of state lands designated in the early 1990s with the intent to study how to integrate revenue production from timber harvests with ecological values such as habitat conservation. Oral presentations, a poster session, panel discussions, demonstrations of less familiar field monitoring equipment, and more. This conference is free and open to the public but registration is required.
May 3-5, 2023
La Conner
This in-person annual meeting will include speaker presentations on forest health, climate resilience strategies, tribal cultural uses, carbon projects, current research in fire ecology and post-fire regeneration, and forestry in youth education. Two field trip options will allow participants to see a range of forest management and related activities.
Sunday, May 21 – Field Tour and Luncheon Meal, Hama Hama Tree Farm, Lilliwaup, WA
Monday, May 22 – 2023 Annual Meeting including WTFP 2023 Tree Farmer of the Year Award Luncheon and Annual Business Meeting, Olympia, WA
Tuesday, May 23 – Executive Board Meeting, Olympia, WA
The WFFA celebrates 70 years since incorporated as an organization. Come enjoy the fellowship of your fellow tree farmers and learn more about forestry and small forestland management.
A bigleaf maple tree with sooty bark disease signs (sunken black fungal mats) were sampled as part of the summer 2022 survey. (Photo by Rachel Brooks / DNR)
Every spring, the Washington Department of Natural Resources and the USDA Forest Service publish a Forest Health Highlights report that summarizes forest health conditions and trends across Washington from the previous year. The 2022 report and previous year’s reports are available on DNR’s Forest Health website.
Information for the report is gathered through annual monitoring projects and special surveys in response to recent forest damage events that are conducted by DNR and the Forest Service. Examples include an annual aerial survey, insect trapping, baiting streams for the pathogen that causes sudden oak death, and installing ground plots to monitor emerging forest health issues, such as emerald ash borer and sooty bark disease of maple. The report also includes information on long-term field research plots, such as evaluation of white pine blister rust resistance in outplanted trees established at sites throughout Washington.
In addition, the report summarizes recent wildfire activity, weather events and drought conditions that may affect forest health, and updates on forest health initiatives such as Washington’s Forest Action Plan. Maps, charts, photos, and brief descriptions make much of the information in the report accessible at a glance. For those who want more detail, it includes links to other resources like maps and data and the contact information of forest health specialists.
Notable forest health condition events in 2022:
An emerald ash borer.
The June 2022 detection of emerald ash borer (EAB) in the northwest Oregon city of Forest Grove increases the potential of this serious, non-native, forest insect pest moving into Washington. The small, metallic green, wood-boring beetle attacks and kills true ash trees (Fraxinus species). EAB has killed over 100 million ash trees in eastern North America since its original introduction to Michigan in 2002. Since then, it has spread to 36 states and moved gradually westward. An EAB infestation could devastate the ash component of Washington’s forests, as well as sensitive riparian areas where the native Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia) is a keystone species. Infestations of ornamental ash in urban forests will result in very costly removal and replacement.The public is encouraged to report suspected EAB sightings or damage to ash trees. In Washington State, report a sighting at https://invasivespecies.wa.gov/priorityspecies/emerald-ash-borer/
Swiss needle cast aerial and ground surveys indicate no consequential change. Aerial observers conducted a Swiss needle cast aerial survey in May 2022, covering 2 million acres along and near the coastline. Approximately 115,000 acres with symptoms were observed. To support the aerial survey, 96 ground locations across the same coastal range of the aerial survey were assessed in spring 2021 and 2022. Additionally, during the same time period, 32 ground plots were surveyed in Whatcom and Skagit counties in an area where monitoring had not occurred before.
The fungus Cryptostroma corticale, which causes sooty bark disease of maples in Europe, continues to be detected in Washington. Initially, this fungus was detected mainly around the Seattle area, but now samples have been found as far north as Bellingham, south into Oregon, and as far east as Pullman. These samples have confirmed the presence of corticale mainly on maple trees (Acer spp.), including on bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), our only native canopy maple. A 2022 ground survey of 50 Western Washington properties indicates that C. corticale on bigleaf maple appears well distributed throughout Western Washington.
No notable changes regarding Phytophthora ramorum, the causal agent of sudden oak death, were observed in 2022. ramorum is often found in streams associated with commercial plant nursery trade activity, but there has yet to be any indication that the pathogen is leaving the waterways and impacting bordering vegetation. No stream-baiting sampling locations tested positive for Phytophthora ramorum in 2022.
The area with mortality caused by pine bark beetles in 2022 was approximately 123,700acres. Mountain pine beetle damage increased from 53,100 acres in 2021 to approximately 76,800 acres in 2022. The majority of annual pine bark beetle mortality is in lodgepole pine killed by mountain pine beetle, which totaled 66,800 acres in 2022. Surveyors mapped the highest concentrations of mountain pine beetle mortality in lodgepole at high elevation areas of Yakima, Kittitas, Chelan, Okanogan, Ferry, and Pend Oreille counties.
Mortality of ponderosa pine due to western pine beetle has increased steadily since 2012 and reached a peak of approximately 44,300 acres in 2022, the highest level since 2006. Recent drought conditions are likely an important driver of these increases. The highest concentrations of western pine beetle-caused mortality were throughout forested areas of Klickitat County and the Yakama Indian Reservation, central Kittitas County, eastern Okanogan County, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, throughout Stevens and Spokane counties, and the Blue Mountains in southeast Washington. Mortality attributed to Ips pine engravers was mapped on 2,500 acres in 2022, above the 10-year average of 1,700 acres.
Mortality due to Douglas-fir beetle has been increasing in recent years, reaching a 10-year high of approximately 105,000 acres in 2022, well above the 10-year average of 43,000 acres and the highest level recorded since 2001. Fir engraver caused mortality, primarily in grand fir, had been steadily increasing since 2015 and reached a 10-year high of 166,300 acres in 2019. Since then it has declined to approximately 65,700 acres in 2022.
Chronic infestations of the non-native balsam woolly adelgid affected approximately 30,000 acres in 2022, accounting for the majority of defoliation damage in Washington. Damage was primarily in subalpine fir at high elevations in the Olympic, Cascade, and Selkirk mountain ranges. No Douglas-fir tussock moth defoliation has been recorded in Eastern Washington since the 2018-2019 outbreaks in Kittitas, Chelan, and Okanogan counties collapsed. No new western spruce budworm defoliation was observed from the air in northeast Washington, where the most recent outbreak is declining.|
Some foliar diseases were notable in 2022. Western larch defoliation was mapped on approximately 27,500 acres, an increase from the 3,300 acres mapped in 2021. Of the acres affected, lower crown defoliation due to larch needle cast (Rabdocline laricis) was mapped on approximately 27,300 acres, driving the increase. An outbreak of powdery mildew was observed on bigleaf maple in spring 2022 throughout western Washington. Similar to many foliar diseases, these will likely have minimal long-term impacts to healthy trees.
Total acres with insect and disease damage in Washington, 2013-2022. *Trend data are not available for 2020 due to changes in survey methods and reduced survey area.
Annual Insect and Disease Aerial Survey:
An annual insect and disease aerial survey conducted by the Forest Service in cooperation with DNR covers the majority of Washington’s 22 million acres of forested lands and provides much of the trend information in the report. Since 1947, aerial observers have reported the location and intensity of damage by forest insects, diseases, and other disturbances across all ownerships of forestland in Washington.
Without aerial surveys, it would be impossible to track disturbance conditions over such a large area using ground-based methods. Aerial surveys are also an important tool used to detect and map new outbreaks of native and exotic insects and diseases. The total area mapped with some type of damage varies each year from a few hundred thousand to nearly two million acres.
This map shows the flight lines of the 2022 Washington Insect and Disease Aerial Survey (USFW, DNR)
2022 Aerial Survey Highlights:
In 2022, surveyors covered approximately 22 million forested acres across Washington. The 2022 season marked the first time survey operations returned to normal since the COVID-19 pandemic, which influenced operation protocols in 2020 and 2021. Approximately 13% of forested acres typically surveyed in the state were not included in 2021 due to fire activity, aircraft availability, and observer availability. No survey flights were conducted in 2020 to lower risk of COVID-19 exposure among flight crews and their contacts. In place of aerial surveys in 2020, the data used for statewide insect and disease surveys were acquired through a combination of ground sampling and remote sensing.
In 2022, the statewide insect and disease survey recorded some level of tree mortality, tree defoliation, or foliar diseases on approximately 672,000 acres. The area with damage from mortality agents was approximately 604,000 acres, including 346,000 acres attributed to bark beetles and 129,000 acres attributed to bear damage or root disease. Approximately 33,000 acres with damage were attributed to defoliators and approximately 35,000 acres were attributed to tree diseases or other damage causes.
It should be noted that disease damage is significantly underrepresented in aerial survey because symptoms are often undetectable from the air.
Maps and Other Aerial Survey Products available to the public:
Whether you are a regular user of aerial survey maps and data or just learning about what’s out there, check out some of the ADS products now available.
Downloadable PDF aerial survey quad maps from 2003 to 2022 are available from the US Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region.
Interactive, web-based aerial survey maps are available to explore at: To view, select Forest Health > Annual Aerial Survey Data.
The USFS maintains current year aerial survey data and summaries in an interactive, web-based map and a Forest Heath Dashboard. Click on the “Data Viewer” and “Forest Health Dashboard” links to learn more.
Washington’s annual Forest Health Highlights report is available online and includes information on how to access downloadable GIS layers.
If you have any questions about these products or need information about forest insects and diseases, please contact the DNR Forest Resilience Division at 360-902-1400 or email: forest_health@dnr.wa.gov.
To see more from Glenn Kohler and Rachel Brooks, visit Washington State University Extension Forestry’s Lunch Break series.
Tami Miketa, manager of DNR’s Small Forest Landowner Office
I hope all is well with you as we all get ready to hunker down for the winter.
As the days get shorter and we wait for snow to fall in parts of the state not already dusted or dumped on, we in the Small Forest Landowner Office are looking back on the successes of a busy year.
Throughout the past year, we’ve told you in this newsletter about how the Washington Department of Natural Resources has greatly expanded landowner services and staff in its Service Forestry Program, the Small Forest Landowner Regulation Assistance Program, the Urban and Community Forestry Program, and Community Resilience and Prevention.
In October, DNR facilitated a training as part of the Integrated Small Forest Landowner Assistance Program, established in state law in 2021 to bring existing programs together to more efficiently help landowners, remove barriers to assistance and funding, and increase education and outreach, among other tasks.
As the number of small forest landowners who seek assistance from DNR grows each year, so too does the need for information on what programs they qualify for.
Based on the Washington’s Small Forest Landowners in 2020 study conducted by the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, and an informal survey conducted this spring by DNR, we believe many small forest landowners know what services they need, but don’t always know where to turn for help.
DNR’s Integrated Small Forest Landowner Service Program training. (Holly Haley, DNR)
The two-day in-person event trained new and existing staff who work directly with small forest landowners on this new effort to integrate the programs, resources, and services available to you, the small forest landowner community.
Within DNR, that included highlighting resources like our significantly expanded Regulation Assistance Program, which now includes five regulation assistance foresters, who can help you with questions on Forest Practices Applications and alternate plans, and a fish and wildlife biologist to help with water typing and riparian zones, among a wide variety of other topics.
For information on programs outside of DNR, we invited representatives from the Washington Farm Forestry Association (WFFA), the Washington Tree Farm Program, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, WSU Extension Forestry, Washington conservation districts, the Cascades to Coast Landscape Collaborative, and the Washington Department of Revenue.
We also highlighted new online tools available to landowners. The Landowner Assistance Portal brings links to many resources for landowners — both within DNR and outside the agency — under one umbrella to provide a one-stop-shop experience.
Small forest landowners will find 34 of the most commonly sought-out subjects sorted into four categories: Resources for Managing My Forest, Keeping My Forest Healthy, Education and Training, and Permits and Regulations. Click on a topic and see our recommendations for a variety of links with more information. You can also use our new Find Your Forester tool to contact foresters and other program managers for their specific geographical area.
Want to talk to someone directly? You can call 1-800-523-TREE (8733). Or you can email us at OneStopShop@dnr.wa.gov. You can also fill out a survey to help us improve these new information tools.
In this newsletter, you will also hear from one of our partners, the Cascades to Coast Landscape Collaborative, who have an update on their online search tool. This tool is another option to browse not only DNR service programs, but a plethora of incentive programs landowners could be eligible for by federal, county, and non-governmental organizations. The Washington Department of Natural Resources funded the expansion of the tool that now covers all of Washington state.
I am also happy to announce the Small Forest Landowner Office is fully staffed. In this newsletter edition, we are highlighting new staff in the Forestry Riparian Easement Program and the Regulation Assistance Program. You will learn more about Daniel Hevezi, Sean McCluskey, Martin Pillow, and Karl Peterson later in this edition.
I hope you all have a safe and joyous holiday season!
Small Forest Landowner News 