Patrick Shults talks about his workshop Friday afternoon at the Borst Park Arboretum in Centralia.
Patrick Shults points at the top of a Weeping Douglas Fir tree Friday afternoon at the Borst Park Arboretum in Centralia.
Patrick Shults laughs as he reaches for the brim of his Washington Forest Stewardship hat at the Borst Park Arboretum Friday afternoon in Centralia.
Lewis County has sprouted a brand new forester who is gearing up to branch out and take his silviculture-strong message to the masses.
That effort will begin on April 23rd in Aberdeen during the first of a series of weekly meetings focused on family forest stewardship that will continue through June 18.
Patrick Shults moved to Lewis County from Michigan about two months ago to take over the forester position at the Lewis County WSU Extension Office. That position is funded by a grant intended to enhance small-forest management practices within the Chehalis River Basin.
In a conversation with The Chronicle, Shults made sure to point out that while he may have suggestions and a unique point of view to share with landowners, the program is ultimately intended to help forest managers attain their own personal management goals.
The meetings in Aberdeen will feature a detailed ‘Forest Stewardship Shortcourse’ that is designed to answer a wide variety of questions in a limited amount of time. Those presentations will cover, among other topics, how to accurately gauge forest health, what percentage of revenue timberland owners should generate from a timber sale, and how to initiate sustainable tree harvests without damaging the land or nearby waterways. Additionally, owners of small forest plots could be eligible for a reduced property tax burden, or cost-share assistance that will help with the implementation of advance forest management practices.
“It’s geared toward small forest landowners, usually between 5 and 500 acres is kind of what we say. Usually any more than that (and) you are getting into the commercial side and you probably don’t need our help, and anything less than that is so small that it’s really hard to invest in,” explained Shults. “We’re really trying to help them create their own goals and if they don’t have a vision then we can help them create one.”
The Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Shortcourse will be presented in a combined effort through WSU Extension personnel and staff from the Washington Department of Natural Resources. A press release noted that, “It is called ‘Coached Planning’ because a major part of this training involves ‘coaching’ participants as they develop simple management plans for their forests that are tailored to fit your personal management goals.”
According to Shults, major topics to be covered at the meetings in Aberdeen will include forest ecology, forest health and applied silviculture practices. Shults added that he is working on adding similar workshop dates in Lewis County as early as this summer. He says that those gatherings will likely cover topics such as healthier alternatives to clearcutting, property owner succession planning, and wildlife enhancement.
“You could say that the motivation behind this is that healthy forests equal healthy water, equals healthy ecosystems. One way or the other, if you are protecting your forests you are going to be protecting the watershed,” said Shults. “That said, the management plans themselves are purely driven by the landowner and what they want for their property.”
The upcoming Coached Planning Shortcourse series in Aberdeen will allow small forest owners to become registered as a certified forester. That designation means that the landowner has learned, and begun to implement forest stewardship practices that include reforestation, responsible timber harvesting, forest soil management, riparian area management, preservation of fish and wildlife habitat and cultural resources, curation and harvest of special forest products, and the creation of forest recreation opportunities.
The course costs $75 per person, family, or land parcel, and only 15 spots are available. Those spots will be doled out on a first-come, first-served basis once registration has been completed and the fee paid. The forest stewardship classes will be held weekly on Monday evenings from 6-9 p.m. in Room 4330 of the Schermer Building of Gray’s Harbor College.
Even though Aberdeen is a bit of a drive for most Lewis County residents, Shults encouraged interested forest owners to attend the workshop series in the harbor. He noted that the program is unique because it is both wide ranging and incredibly detailed. He said there is no telling when a similar course will be offered in this part of the state again.
More information on the Lewis County WSU Forestry program can be found on Facebook, or online at http://forestry.wsu.edu/southwest-region/classes-and-events/.
To register for the upcoming forest stewardship courses in Aberdeen, or to lodge other questions, call the Lewis County WSU Extension office at 360-740-1213, or email Shults at patrick.shults@wsu.edu.
Registration can also be handled online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3380956.
