Webinars to focus on silviculture

Timber harvest in Oregon is not just a random event, but is driven by the complexities of examining the forest and determining which trees to harvest and when they should be harvested. Making these determinations involves silviculture.

Silviculture is defined as the art and science of growing trees to meet the needs of the public and landowners. How do foresters decide which silviculture methods to use when harvesting timber?

A four-part webinar series I’m hosting next month will help answer that question. It will feature presentations and discussions on different silvicultural methods used for timber harvesting in the Pacific Northwest.

The live webinars geared to foresters, loggers and woodland owners will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on March 1, 8, 15 and 22. Panelists include foresters, silviculturists and forest engineers with private timber companies, the Oregon Department of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. We’ve also invited silviculture professors from Oregon State University to share their expertise. The various presenters will compare and contrast major Pacific Northwest timber harvest methods such as clearcutting, variable-retention and selection harvesting, and share their varying approaches to planning and conducting harvest operations.

The seminar series is sponsored by OFRI along with the BLM, the Forest Service, the Western Forestry and Conservation Association (WFCA) and the Emerging Technology Accelerator.

Registration is available online. I hope you’ll join us next month.

For the forest,

Mike Cloughesy

Director of Forestry