DNR weekend reading: Moderate amounts of slash favor Douglas-fir growth

The estuary where Stavis Creek flows into Hood Canal. DNR is restoring wetlands at Stavis Creek Natural Resources Conservation Area. Photo: DNR

Here are links to articles about natural resources, climate, energy and other topics  published recently by universities, scientific journals, organizations, and other sources:

US Forest Service–Pacific Northwest Research Station: Logging Debris Gives Newly Planted Douglas-Fir Forests a Leg-Up
A new study led by the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station found that retaining moderate levels of logging debris, also known as “slash,” helped to both directly and indirectly increase the growth rate of Douglas-fir seedlings replanted after harvest. The findings, which are among the first to speak to the benefits of second-growth logging debris, are published online in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.

University of California-Davis: UC Davis researchers uncover earliest tobacco use in the Pacific Northwest
Native American hunter-gatherers living more than a thousand years ago in what is now northwestern California ate salmon, acorns and other foods, and now we know they also smoked tobacco — the earliest known usage in the Pacific Northwest, according to a new University of California, Davis, study.

Science DailyAmplified Greenhouse Effect Shaping North Into South
A comprehensive analysis of ground and satellite-based data by a team of scientists found that vegetation is growing more vigorously and spreading north. The study, published in the journal <em)Nature Climate Change, said that since the early 1980s, tall shrubs , trees and other vegetation once found at 57 degrees north  is spreading into former regions of tundra as far as 64 degrees north. The paper suggests that by the end of this century rising temperatures could lead to northward shifts of vegetation of more than 20 degrees latitude compared with the period 1951 to 1980.

Rice UniversityGround-level ozone falling faster than model predicted; pollution controls may be working better than anticipated

There is good news and better news about ground-level ozone in American cities. While dangerous ozone levels have fallen in places that clamp down on emissions from vehicles and industry, a new study from Rice University suggests that a model widely used to predict the impact of remediation efforts has been too conservative.

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Sometimes it takes a horse to get the job done

Horse teams are still in use for logging in special situations, such as small timber or in environmentally or aesthetically sensitive areas. Photo: DNR.

Washington State’s forest practices rules (administered by DNR) guide the use of ground-based harvesting systems. Ground-based systems are generally used on slopes less than 35 percent in Western Washington and less than 50 percent in Eastern Washington. The rules also set skidding distances (how far logs may be dragged) and other important activities.

Among the various ground-based systems is one that is fully non-motorized, but has plenty of horsepower: horses, that is. Horse-drawn harvesting can be useful where the timber is small, there will be only partial harvesting on level ground, and the area is aesthetically or environmentally sensitive.

To help small forest landowners, loggers and natural resource professionals — and the public — understand the rules governing forest practices, DNR publishes the online Forest Practices Illustrated. This publication is an overview of the forest rules that protect public resources as well as water, fish, wildlife and state and municipal capital improvements.

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Rivers and Habitat Open Space Program is looking for landowners

Since 2002, when funding first became available, 16 easements have been purchased the Rivers and Habitat Open Space Program to protect important habitat.

There’s the old saying that you never step into the same river twice. Then there are those rivers that never stay in the same place — the channel changes every few decades or more often. Things get complicated when the active channel of a river or stream is prone to move over the short term, especially when it is used to designate a boundary or a management zone.

Where these changeable rivers run through wide valleys and have only a modest gradient (a downhill flow of less than 2 percent), they are called channel migration zones. There are several along the Skagit River.

Channel migration zones have other features. They can be rich areas for wildlife, such as spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and other fish species, which is why Washington state forest practices rules do not allow landowners to harvest timber or build roads in a channel migration zone. A river in a channel migration zone adds a lot of uncertainty for landowners who want to harvest their trees. Into the gap comes the Rivers and Habitat Open Space Program administered by DNR.

The Rivers and Habitat Open Space Program is designed to ensure long-term conservation of these river resources and habitats while reducing some of the economic impact on landowners in active forestry. The program buys conservation easements. Two types of habitat can qualify for RHOSP easements: trees within a channel migration zone and trees within critical habitat for state-listed threatened and endangered species (like northern spotted owls and marbled murrelets) in upland areas.

After screening and ranking applications from eligible landowners DNR can purchase easements. What we need now is a show of interest from landowners so the program can find appropriate funding in coming years.

If you own working forestland in a channel migration zone or within habitat for a state listed threatened or endangered species in the upland  that may qualify for a Rivers and Habitat Open Space Program easement, please send us a Notice of Intent online. It’s not an application, just an expression of interest. Find more information, including other ways to indicate your interest in the program, by sending an email to DNR’s Rivers and Habitat Open Space Program.

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New monitoring report samples compliance with state forest practices rules

Correct measurement of streams at their ‘bank full’, or full capacity, widths allows the forest landowner or operator to designate which trees will be exempt from harvesting. Photo: DNR.

Private forestland owners in Washington State are making improvements in some aspects of compliance with state’s forest practices rules that protect fresh water and wetlands, a DNR report finds. The ‘Forest Practices Compliance Monitoring Report, 2010-2011’ summarizes field inspection results from a statewide sampling of projects with approved Forest Practices Applications. The sampling looked at the rate of compliance with state rules for building logging roads and harvesting timber near streams.

The report found that landowners overall were in compliance with required forest practices applications most of the time. Most of the instances of non-compliance with the state rules were rated as ‘minor’ in severity. Road haul route activities were assessed at 96 percent compliant. See the full report for an explanation of the sampling and field protocols used and other information.

The sample found that large industrial forest owners usually had better compliance rates than small forest land owners, an outcome that could be due to the complexity of some forest practices rules. The state’s forest practices rules designate no-harvest (see Tables 5 and 6 in the report) and limited harvest zones of varying widths along streams and waterways.

Failing to making correct measurements was often the cause of a landowner’s or timber harvest operator’s noncompliance with the state rules. For example, failing to correctly measure the width of a stream at its ‘bank full’, or full capacity, distances could lead the landowner or operator to designate too few or too many trees as exempt from harvesting.

In response, DNR has initiated a multi-year education and outreach program to improve the department’s assistance to landowners and operators of timber harvests.

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Local tree farm hosts fourth graders; kids get fresh air learning experience

At a recent forest field day, DNR Forester Dave Richards shows fourth graders and their teachers the dimensions of a board foot (1′ X 1′ X 1″) — a commonly used measurement for timber production.

Back in 1990, Bob and Lynette Falkner had a great idea: as each their four children entered fourth grade at St. Michael School in Olympia, they would host a field day for the entire class at their family owned tree farm. More than two decades later, field days at the Falkner’s Custer Creek Tree Farm in Francis(about 18 miles east of Raymond) have become annual events for St. Michael School fourth graders.

The Falkners are trying to keep the tradition of working the land alive in an era of iPods, XBoxes, cell phones and the internet. Judging by the enthusiasm of the schoolchildren, their plan seems to be succeeding.

Conducted through Project Learning Tree® – an environmental education program – the field days give children a first-hand look at where the wood products around them originate. The snacks, sawmill demonstrations and hay rides at the field daus are also popular with students.

At the most recent field day, in June 2012, several DNR staff dropped by to help Bob and Lynette show children the different species of trees, how they grow, and how to identify bugs of the forest (always popular with the fourth graders). 

Exports to China throw log sales a life line

Break-bulk ships carry loads, such as logs more than 40 feet long, which do not fit in shipping containers.

On a sunny day in May 2010, the Koombana Bay, a large blue and red bulk log ship, slipped into Port Angeles’ newly re-opened log export facilities. The arrival brought cheers from a local crowd followed by optimistic speeches and newspaper headlines.

It was the first log vessel seen in the Port of Port Angeles since 2007.

The log ship’s arrival signaled the life line tossed to Washington’s wood products industry by the rapid expansion of export demand for West Coast logs. The new demand has revitalized log shipping at several Washington State ports while keeping log and wood product producers afloat during a deep recession and prolonged economic slump. Home construction in the United States — a major buyer of Washington State softwoods — has been hit especially hard.

Yet, in 2010 Washington ports exported 1.1 billion board feet of logs, the highest export log volume since 1996. In the past four years, log exports have doubled. According to editions of the Washington Mill Survey, the state exported 541 million board feet in 2008 and 661 million in 2006.

On a broader scale Washington exported $1.3 billion worth of all forest products (logs, furniture, etc.) in 2010 with $411 million going to China, according to wisertrade.org.

Seattle Times’ columnist Jon Talton recently explained the impact that China’s demand for logs has had Washington’s timber and forest products industry.

Although unprocessed timber, such as raw logs, from Washington State trust lands cannot be exported by law, higher foreign demand for raw logs from private lands is leading to supply shortages for area sawmills. To find high quality, market-price timber these mills turn to the remaining domestic sources, which include timber grown on state trust lands. DNR auctions timber and other natural resources to raise money for public school and university construction, county services and other state trust land beneficiaries.

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Lewis County was top timber producer, DNR harvest report shows

About 2.74 billion board feet of timber was harvested in Washington State during 2010 (87 percent of which came from Western Washington). The latest Washington State Timber Harvest Report shows that with 361 million board feet harvested, Lewis County was in the number one position for timber production (the chart with this story shows totals in thousands of board feet).

The 2010 data contrasts with 2009 totals, which showed the impact of a shrinking home building sector (the largest single market for the state’s softwoods). The 2009 harvest (2.22 billion board feet ) was about 500 million board feet smaller than in 2010. That year saw Pacific County (297.2 million board feet) as the highest producer, followed by Lewis County (269.4 million board feet) and Grays Harbor County (243.9 million).

In 2010, all but seven counties reported timber harvests. The report is based on data collected by the Washington Department of Revenue — tribal timber totals were not included because those harvests are not subject to the Forest Excise Tax. In addition to providing local jobs, timber harvests produce income for counties through taxes on the value of the harvested timber. Many counties also receive a share of the revenue DNR produces from timber and other product sales on state trust lands.

The report also lists harvest volumes by tree species and land ownership type.

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State’s wood industry did a ’180′ in 2010; Wood consumption up after decade of decline

In an image of good times for log exports, the 500-foot bulk loader Koombana Bay loaded logs bound for China from Port Angeles in March 2010. It was the first log ship to visit the city’s port in 10 years. Photo: Heather Buckmaster/Merrill-Ring, Inc.

After 10 years of declines, Washington State’s wood products industry increased its consumption of wood in 2010, using 5 percent more wood in 2010 than it did in 2008. Most of that wood–67 percent–went to lumber mills in the state. Also playing a role in the modest turnaround was the vigorous demand for raw logs from China, which pushed exports of Washington-sourced logs up 39 percent between 2008 and 2010.

In terms of revenue, the action was at pulp mills, which accounted for more than half–53 percent–of the $4.9 billion worth of wood-related products produced in Washington in 2010.

These nuggets (or should we say, chips? slivers?) are included in DNR’s recently published Washington Mill Survey. Released every two years, the Mill Survey is a comprehensive report on Washington’s wood products industry with latest edition showing activity in 2010. The report–the only one of its kind for Washington State–includes statistics and analyses for several sectors: lumber, veneer, plywood, pulp, shake-and-shingle, post-pole-piling, wood chips, and log exports.

Download a copy of the 50-plus page report at no charge.

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State lands accounted for 28% of the state’s timber harvest

Tug boats pull and guide the log ship "La Vie En Rose" into its berth at the Port of Olympia. In 2010, the port exported 117 million board feet of logs compared to 3 million board feet in 2008. Photo: Jim Wright/Port of Olympia.

DNR’s latest Washington Timber Harvest reveals the impact of export demand on Washington’s timber economy. Released in February, the annual report (now in its 57th edition) breaks out timber harvest totals by county and species. Based on annual Department of Revenue tax data, the report shows that exports kept many logging operations and shipping ports busy, even as domestic home-building (the chief market for West Coast softwoods) continued to struggle.

The exports even affected timber sales from state trust lands. By law, unprocessed timber–raw logs–from state trust lands cannot be sold for export, but with more of the privately owned timber heading overseas, DNR has become an important supplier to local mills.

Here’s a glance at the new timber report by the numbers:

1902 — When publication of state Timber Harvest reports began. (DNR has copies going back to 1940 and online versions back to 1990.)

2.74 billion — Board feet of trees (Scribner log scale) harvested in Washington in 2010.

2.39 billion — Board feet of trees (Scribner) harvested in Western Washington in 2010 (87% of state total).

1.82 billion board feet – Amount of logs harvested from private lands (industrial forest and small forest landowners) in 2010 .

source: Washington 2010 Timber Harvest Report. Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

28 percent — Percentage of trees in state’s total harvest from DNR-managed state trust lands (all beneficiaries including counties) in 2010. In the western Washington counties where the majority of the timber was harvested, state trust lands accounted for 29 percent of the total.

The data for the Washington Timber Harvest Report came from statistics compiled by the state’s Department of Revenue which collects Forest Excise Tax. Since tribes don’t pay that tax harvest statistics from tribal lands were unavailable.

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Fire, tsunami, and Puget Sound restoration among top stories of 2011 on DNR’s Ear to the Ground

The Monastery Fire, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and Puget Sound restoration were among the top stories of 2011 on Ear to the Ground.

A late-starting fire season still produced a few large wildfire incidents of note, including the Monastery Fire that burned more than two dozen homes and several thousand acres north of Goldendale. This year also was the 20th anniversary of the firestorm that burned more than 100 homes and 35,000 acres in eastern Washington, but also led to a new state mobilization process for major disasters.

Getting lots of readership in 2011 were our several postings about people damaging natural resources and public lands: a topic that (rightly) stirred a lot of readers to comment on DNR’s Facebook page, too. The year saw several incidents involving illegal off-roading that damaged state trust lands and, recently, an avoidable truck accident in Capitol State Forest that could have turned out much worse. DNR-managed state trust lands also experienced thefts of timber, metal gates and, even, concrete fence rails from a recreation area.

Our posting about the tsunami warnings following the 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan in March drew much interest. Thankfully, waves hitting Washington’s coastal areas were small and did not cause injuries or fatalities. Just a few weeks prior another popular posting emphasized earthquake and tsunami preparation. Our late March post showed the potential impact of a tsunami on Tacoma following a major earthquake on one of our regional faults. February, by the way, was the 10th anniversary of the 2001 Nisqually earthquake centered near Olympia that injured more than 400 people.

Blogs about wildlife and Puget Sound always draw lots of readers. One in particular shows off a large octopus temporarily landed (and safely returned) off of Cypress Island during a creosote piling removal project — one of several that DNR managed in 2011. Another popular posting described our Aquatic Resources Division’s work studying eelgrass beds — a major component of a healthy habitat in the Sound

When you think of Washington State’s natural resources, trees just naturally come to mind. Our foresters’ advice on managing trees, including those in urban settings, drew lots of readers. Our tips to avoid topping trees were popular, too. Many readers clicked on articles about wildlife, whether it was the birds (like sapsuckers) that rely on trees or other animals, such as Canada lynx, that inhabit the state trust lands DNR manages. We were pleased that many of you read our article about a program that seeks to rehabilitate low-risk offenders by training them to become arborists (and in the process get some more forest maintenance work done on state trust lands).