Forest Health in Oregon

Most of us are aware of some of the forest health challenges facing Oregon. We have seen news stories about catastrophic fires and huge bark-beetle infestations. We may have also heard about outbreaks of Sudden Oak Death or Swiss needle cast. We are especially familiar with the dead trees we are seeing in our favorite forests. However, we aren’t all up to date on how bad things are, what the trends are and what we can do about these challenges. An upcoming conference at Oregon State University will focus on the health of Oregon’s forests and the various threats our forests face.

Forest Health in Oregon: State of the State 2016 is geared to foresters, forest managers, conservationists, woodland owners, students and others with an interest in forest health. OFRI is co-sponsoring the event, Feb. 16-17. The conference will inform participants about the current condition of Oregon’s forests and the various factors that can harm forest health.

On the first day of the conference, participants will learn the latest information about how insects, diseases, fires, invasive species, wildlife, drought, storms and climate change, among other factors, are affecting forests in Oregon.

The second day will focus on the management of these threats and ways to mitigate the negative impacts. Speakers will discuss managing forests to minimize damage caused by insects, diseases and fire. A theme will be how to manage forests for resilience. The final session will feature perspectives of different forest landowners on how to manage for healthy forests.

Registration for the conference is $175. Student registration is free.

I am really excited about being part of this conference and having OFRI be a major sponsor, because the conference is promoting active management of our forests as the path to a healthy forest.

To learn more about the threats to our forests, visit OregonForests.org/ForestThreats. This page features OFRI’s new special report titled Forest Threats: Active Forest Management – Protecting Oregon’s Forests for Future Generations. It also includes a series of five videos on the forest threats of fire, insects, disease, invasive species and weather.

For the forest,

Mike Cloughesy

Director of Forestry