Forestry group offering workshop to Eatonville timber owners

The nonprofit organization Northwest Natural Resource Group is hosting a workshop to provide fire and climate forest resilience education for Eatonville timber landowners Saturday. There are still spots available  

According to a press release, many forest landowners in Pierce County own timberlands that were previously managed for large-scale industrial timber production. These forests sit on dry glacial soils, and many are now even-aged and overstocked, putting them at risk of timber loss and habitat destruction from pests, disease, fire and drought during increasingly hot and dry summers.

The Northwest Natural Resource Group will teach timber owners forest management techniques that can help mitigate fire and climate risk at its workshop from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 4401 Nisqually Ridge Drive East, Eatonville.

At the workshop, which will take place in a privately owned family forest, professional foresters will introduce timber owners to hands-on strategies for increasing their forests' resilience in the face of a warmer and drier climate.

Participants will learn about the ecological risks facing Pierce County forests due to wildfire, drought, disease and insect infestation. Discussion will include how to evaluate the current health of a forest based on desired future conditions, when thinning might be appropriate and how to select trees for thinning. Participants will tour a forest stand that is slated for pre-commercial thinning this year and discuss the thinning strategy that is being used. Finally, participants will learn how forest owners can use woody biomass to create wildlife habitat structures such as constructed logs, snags and habitat piles.

Instruction will be a combination of lecture, demonstration and hands-on activities.

Participants should bring a sack lunch and water for the day. Coffee and snacks will be provided in the morning. More information about workshop activities will be provided closer to the workshop.

For more information or to register, visit eventbrite.com and search “Stewarding a Climate-Resilient Forest West of the Cascades.” (eventbrite.com/e/stewarding-a-climate-resilient-forest-west-of-the-cascades-tickets-536517326767).