Washington State Parks owns 175 acres of forest in Packwood near the confluence of Skate Creek and the Cowlitz River.
When people think of western Washington and it’s verdant expanses they rarely think of droughts. Still, that’s precisely what members of the Washington State University Extension Forestry program want to talk about next week in Morton.
On Nov. 5 a free evening seminar will be offered in the heart of the east Lewis County timberlands by WSU Extension Forester, Patrick Schults. The primary focus of the informational gathering will be to suss out the effect that recent summer-time droughts have had on trees that are managed by private forest owners.
On Nov. 5 a free evening seminar will be offered in the heart of the east Lewis County timberlands by WSU Extension Forester, Patrick Schults. The primary focus of the informational gathering will be to suss out the effect that recent summer-time droughts have had on trees that are managed by private forest owners.
In the land of lumberjacks it may come as a surprise that the experts do not recommend simply cutting down every dead or distressed tree in order to make room for new saplings.
From the press release — “Recent years of longer, drier summers have taken a toll on trees and the effects, like an increase in dead or dying trees, are often in plain sight. There are many causes that might be responsible for the death of trees in a forest and the majority are part of natural processes. Dying trees can often enhance ecosystem services in a forest by providing wildlife habitat, building soil and increasing biodiversity.”
Schults will attempt to explain when exactly tree deaths are something to become concerned over, what distress signs to look for in timber stand, and what steps can be taken to manage or prevent those impacts.
The timberland seminar will take place from 6-8 p.m. on Nov. 5 at the Lyle Community Center in Morton. Additional information can be found online at forestry.wsu.edu/sw/events/foresthealth/.
