Another great forestry event is being planned by Northwest Natural Resources Group: the seminar Ecological Forestry: Restoring Habitat Complexity in Managed Forests. Here’s a description from them:

“Forests in the Pacific Northwest are extraordinarily resilient and productive ecosystems. Careful forest management can provide robust wildlife habitat, sustained yields of many different forest products, and a wide range of ecosystem services including carbon sequestration and water quality.

This afternoon seminar and tour will introduce forest owners to the principles of ecological forestry as well as strategies for successful implementation on their own lands. Following an indoor presentation, participants will join several seasoned practitioners for a tour of various stands at Northwest Trek that are currently being thinned using a variety of innovative harvesting and post-harvest restoration strategies.

This seminar and tour will provide useful information for all types of forest owners and managers including family forests, land trusts, non-profit conservation groups, municipalities, and consulting foresters.

Key topics will include:

The scientific basis for ecological forestry
Innovative harvesting methods, including:

• Dispersed, grouped, and feature-based variable retention
• Group selection
• Variable density thinning
• Individual tree selection

Tree marking protocols for harvesting
Snag and downed woody debris recruitment
Enhancing and restoring wildlife habitat
Regeneration strategies
Enhancing carbon sequestration
Managing forest disease
Post-harvest site restoration”

Looks very interesting and it should be a good extension of what I have been learning and beginning to apply for our forest. I’m planning to attend January 10th at Northwest Trek in Eatonville.