Upcoming Meeting
What: Twilight Tour of a Redwood Plantation
Who: Don Studhalter
Where: 4199 Highway 508, Cinebar
When: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 6:30 pm
Redwood is a species of interest right now, as people consider whether it will do well in our area with the predicted future climate change. Tree farmers are forward-thinking optimists who plant trees that they will never see harvested and they also like to experiment with different species.
About 25 years ago, Don decided to plant a couple acres of redwoods to see how well they would do. We now have the opportunity to view his experiment with redwood. If you have planted redwood or are thinking of it, come join the conversation about whether it should be a species we should consider planting for our heirs!
Driving Directions:
- From I-5 Exit 71, drive 20 miles east on Hwy 508 to the address.
- From I-5 Exit 68, follow Hwy 12 for 14 miles to Silver Creek. Turn left on Hwy 122. At 2 miles stay straight ahead on Cinebar Road and continue 4.5 more to Hwy 508.Turn right on Hwy 508 and go 2 miles.
- From Morton, go apx. 12 miles west on Hwy 508.
The address and the redwood stand are on the north side of Highway 508, but parking will be in a field on the south side. Watch for the orange FORESTRY TOUR signs. We won’t be walking far as the redwood stand is near the road.
Click here to download a printable copy of the newsletter.
Report on August Twilight Tour of Treeloggen Ranch
| We toured the Treeloggen Ranch, owned by Tom Treloggen and Staci Saunders in Salzer Valley, Centralia. Considerable discussion took place in an wetland pasture that they are trying to convert to trees, and the difficulty of establishing any species, but especially western red cedar which the deer love. Then we visited a spot where we could view stands that had been commercially thinned and pre-commercially thinned. |  |
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Report on the July Twilight Tour and Picnic at the Grega’s Frederick Henry Tree Farm
| For the third year in a row, the LCFFA picnic ended up being on an uncomfortably hot day. However, the picnic tables were set under a large tree that provided shade, and about 60 people enjoyed fried chicken, potluck salads and desserts, and a special tree of soft serve ice cream provided by Shawn, a neighbor of the Grega’s. For the tour we drove into the tall timber and did minimal walking so it was not unbearable. |  |
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Report on June Twilight Tour of the McDonald Tree Farm
| We visited one of the parcels owned by Bruce & Mary McDonald, our 2026 Lewis County Tree Farmers of the Year. We saw a Douglas-fir stand which was precommercially thinned 2015 and where planning for a commercial thinning is underway. Activities they have done include culvert installation, road maintenance with herbicide spray, and EZ-ject for control of noxious weeds
We also visited mixed stand in an old field that they have struggled to convert to a forest. They have tried many species and found that Willamette Valley ponderosa pine has done best, along with Oregon ash which regenerated naturally. Read an article about them from The Chronicle. |
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Report on May Meeting
Rachel Brooks, forest pathologist for the DNR, spoke about stem and foliar diseases of trees. No recording is available, but her slides can be viewed here
She recommended several publications on forest diseases that may be of interest.
Forest Health Highlights in Washington 2025. Annual updates on big picture forest health issues across the state, also has contact info for us in the back.
Field Guide to the Common Diseases and Insect Pests of Oregon and Washington Conifers. Good for identification, make sure to read the section intro pages and also the index has green boxes split up by issues for specific tree species which can be helpful when diagnosing
Forestry Images: Searchable images of forestry related photos, including insects and disease, good for visual learners to browse when reading about a specific insect or disease
Managing Insects and Diseases of Oregon Conifers. Oregon State University Extension Service, EM 8980. 2009.
Field Guide for Tree Risk Assessments and Hazard Tree Mitigation on Developed Recreation Sites, Worksites, and Road Systems in Oregon and Washington Forests. Information for hazard tree ratings (risk of failure/strike), including info on impacts of local diseases and comments for local tree species
Scholarships Awarded for 2026-2027
Two $1000 college scholarships have been awarded to students from Southwest Washington who are studying natural resources or engineering. Port Blakely donated $5000, $1000 per year for 5 years, to be given in honor of Dave Roberts, retired Port Blakely employee and past LCFFA President. The chapter voted to match their grant with $1000 each year.
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Kevin DeGraw is a returning student who has held many jobs and had many experiences before turning toward a career in forestry. He is attending Grays Harbor College full time, maintaining a 4.0 grade point and serving as Chair of the Society of American Foresters Student Chapter. Our scholarship will help him reduce the nights and weekends he must work and allow him to focus on his studies.
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Ethan Metcalf is studying Forest Ecology and Management at Washington State University and is currently a sophomore. He is involved in the student chapter of Society of American Foresters and Forestry Club, as well as being in the Honors College. His grandfather and both parents are all foresters and they own a family tree farm, so Ethan has grown up with a deep appreciation for forests and a strong sense of responsibility to manage them sustainably. He is looking forward to working as a intern for Weyerhaeuser Company this summer developing new skills and obtaining some real world experience.
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Schedule of Upcoming Meetings
August 18: Tour of Treloggen Ranch, Staci Saunders & Tom Treloggen
September 15: Dan Studhalter’s redwood stand near Salkum
October 20: Tour of Silvaseed seed processing facility in Roy
November 17: Awards Banquet at Veterans Memorial Museum, Chehalis
Report on April Meeting
Ben Craig of the Washington Department of Revenue gave a presentation on forest taxation in Washington. An audio recording is not available, but his slides can be viewed here
Report on March Meeting
Jim and Tricia Murphy told us about the ecology of black and white truffles in Douglas-fir forests, how they have trained their dogs them, and what to do with them after you find them. You can watch a video of the presentation here and download some printed information here.
Report on February Meeting
At the February 17 Annual Meeting, Bruce and Mary McDonald were named Lewis County Tree Farmers of the Year and presented with a sign. A presentation about their tree farm can be viewed here.
Officers and Board Members were elected. The following people will serve for the coming year.
- Jonathan Stoffer, President
- Alicia Fox, Vice President
- Bill Wamsley, Secretary
- Norma Green, Treasurer
- Board Members: Jerad Spogen Chuck Higgins, Rick Kuykendall, and Russ Armitage
Natalie Marshall gave a presentation on her Ag/Forestry international trip to Costa Rica.
In Memoriam: Rick Carter 1944-2025
Rick and his wife Phyllis were long-time LCFFA members who loved their tree farm on Pigeon Springs Road. Rich worked as a geologist and volunteered for many years for the Salkum Fire Department. For many years, he led the LCFFA Adopt-A-Road litter pick-up. Phyllis is remembered for the beautiful quilted items that she made and donated to the November banquet raffle until she passed away a few years ago. Rick’s obituary is in the January 22, 2026 Chronicle and can be viewed here.
Report on November Awards Banquet
Nearly 100 members and guests enjoyed socializing and buying tickets for a raffle of 50 wonderful items, including 4 large Stihl tools, followed by a catered dinner. Thanks to all of the businesses and individuals who donated items, but especially to Service Saw, Madsens, Pape, and RSG for the Stihl tools.
Two members were presented awards for good forest stewardship: The Grega Family’s Fredrick Henry Farm and Treloggen Ranch, Tom Treloggen and Staci Saunders. The presentation for the Grega’s can be viewed here, and the presentation for Treloggen here.
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IN MEMORIAM
John Alexander, long-time supporter of Lewis County Farm Forestry Association, passed away September 7 at the age of 90. Read his obituary here and the column that Julie McDonald wrote about him here.
Report on July 2025 Tour of Wild Thyme Tree Farm and Picnic
About 50 members from Lewis, South Sound, Grays Harbor and Pacific chapters of WFFA enjoyed a tour and picnic on the Wild Thyme Tree Farm near Oakville, managed by John Henrikson and jointly owned by he and his brothers. The weather was hot, but John kept us in the shade for the tour, the picnic area was shaded by some large trees, and a breeze kept it from being uncomfortable. The Chronicle from Centralia/Chehalis sent a reporter and photographer, and published a lengthy story that you can read here.
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Lentz Family named Washinton State Tree Farmers of the Year!
At the WFFA Annual Meeting in late April, the Lentz Brothers Tree Farm was named Washington State Tree Farmers of the Year. One of the brothers, Ken, lives in Lewis County and is on the LCFFA Board. Ken, Don and Mike’s father began purchasing forest land in the late 1940’s and they now manage 8 parcels totaling 997 acres in Grays Harbor County. The video about their tree farm that was prepared for the presentation can be viewed here.
Meet Paul Orth, creator of Lewis County Farm Forestry award signs
As well as creating the cedar signs that have been presented to our award winners for over 35 years, Paul has also created signs for the Washington State Tree Farmer of the Year. Washington Tree Farm Program published this profile of him in their recent newsletter which they are generously allowing us to share.
LCFFA Hats Available for Purchase
Baseball caps specific to Lewis County Farm Forestry have been made and are available for purchase at meetings for $20 each.
Report on February Meeting
John Henrikson was named Lewis County Tree Farmer of the Year. In 2016 we gave him an award for Innovative Forestry. Since then, he has been active in the Washington Tree Farm Program and the DNR Small Forest Landowner Office.
Colin Towne gave a presentation on his Ag/Forestry Class’ International Trip to Costa Rica.
Two incumbent board members were re-elected. The terms of the remaining officers and board members continue through 2025.
Report on November Awards Banquet
Awards were presented to Sylvia Swanson and Terry Swanson for Forest Management, Ken Miller for Service to WFFA and Tim Sayler, owner of Service Saw, for Support of LCFFA. A video of the presentation to Ken Miller can be viewed here. The presentation to Sylvia and Terry Swanson can be viewed here.
Attendees purchased raffle tickets for a large number of great items provided by local businesses and members. Andy Alexander won the chain saw donated by Service Saw and Bill Scheer won the pole pruner donated by RSG.
Report on October 2024 Meeting
Chris Lunde, Director of Operations for Port Blakely Company, shared his insights into the timber markets, supply and demand for the next few years, which could be of interest to anyone who is thinking of harvesting soon. The presentation was filled with charts and tables which need closer examination, which you can do by viewing the recorded presentation here.
Report on Tour of Terry Lamers Redwoods
At our May 2024 meeting, we learned about planting redwoods from Philip Stielstra of PropagationNation and from Terry Lamers, an Oregon tree farmer who has planted many redwoods on his Oregon property in the last 35 years. In August, a group of LCFFA members traveled there to see his property. Harry Bhagwandin has written a detailed report on the tour which can be viewed here.
Report on August 2024 Twilight Tour
A group of about 40 people enjoyed a pleasant walk on Russ Armitage’s the 40 acre tree farm. Russ’s parents John and Ester Armitage purchased the property in 1970. Russ purchased it from them in May 1987. In April 1992 the back five acres was logged. It now has 32-year-old fir and alder. In December 2021, 8-9 acres were logged and it now has 3-year-old fir seedlings. There are approximately 16 acres with 70-100 year old fir.
Scholarships Awarded for 2024
Two scholarships of $1250 each have been awarded to Hunter Hinners and Nathanael Scheuber.
Hunter is studying in the forestry program at Grays Harbor College and hopes to work as a forester in the Pacific Northwest.
Nathanael will be starting his college career at the University of Washington, to work on a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
The scholarships are in honor of Dave Roberts, former LCFFA President. When he retired from Port Blakely Company, they offered to provide $1000 per year for 5 years in his name for scholarships in natural resources or engineering. The Lewis County Farm Forestry Association is contributing an additional $1000 so that 2 scholarships can be given. Mark and Lorie Spogen made an additional contribution of $500 so each scholarship was raised to $1250.
Report on June Twilight Tour
Tour attendees enjoyed a pleasant walk on a lovely evening partially along an old wagon road that was established when our host Greg Booth’s ancestors homesteaded in the area about 1872. Greg’s grandfather Adna Booth was doing well until the Depression, when he lost nearly everything. Life got better after World War II, and Adna helped establish the Western Washington Farm Forestry Association in the early 1950s. We walked through a stand that Greg helped plant (as a small child) in 1958. He has selectively logged this 66 year old stand, and also has thinned an older stand of Douglas-fir that was visible across the valley which contains Douglas-fir 70 to over 140 years old.
Report on May 2024 Meeting
Philip Stielstra of PropagationNation and Terry Lamers, a small forest landowner who has planted 20,000 redwoods, spoke about why we should consider planting redwoods on our property. A video of their presentation can be viewed here. Philip suggested visiting the PropagationNation website for additional information. He also provided copies of several articles that may be of interest.
Why plant redwoods in the Pacific Northwest? by Russell Kramer
Do redwoods have a place in the future of Washington’s forests? They’re already here. Seattle Times, January 21, 2024.
Can we save the redwoods by helping them move? New York Times Magazine October 25, 2023.
Dr. Steve Sillett and the Redwoods. YouTube video, 6 minutes
Report on April 2024 Meeting
J Vander Stoep, a board member on the Office of the Chehalis Basin and Matt Dillin, an engineer with the Lewis County Flood Zone District, gave a presentation on an Overview of the Proposed Chehalis River Flow Through Dam. It can be viewed on the WFFA YouTube channel.
This presentation was a follow-up to Vince Panesko’s January presentation Dam Right? Dam Wrong? Unlocking the Mysteries of the Proposed Chehalis River Dam, at our January meeting. If you missed that presentation, it can be seen on the WFFA YouTube channel
Report on March 2024 Meeting
WFFA Executive Director Elaine Oneil gave a presentation on Carbon, Climate and Our Forests. It was not recorded because there already a video of a similar presentation that she prepared for the blog “The Stump” which can be viewed here.
Report on February 2024 Meeting
Sam and Sharon Madsen and their daughter and son-in-law Emily and Eric were named 2024 Lewis County Tree Farmers of the Year.
A slide show with pictures and a chronology of their Coal Creek Tree Farm was presented at the February 21 meeting. To watch the video of it, click here.
A video that Stihl has produced about Sam and his tree farm was also shown and is available for viewing here.
The Chronicle did an article on them that can be viewed here.
Report on November 2023 Awards Banquet
At the November Awards Banquet, 100 members enjoyed an excellent buffet dinner and an opportunity to buy tickets for the raffle, which contained many valuable items. Awards were presented to Dennis Larson and Bob Guenther for Community Service, Russ Armitage for Forest Management, and Bryon and Donna Loucks for Distinguished Service. Ken Lentz and Zane Powell won chain saws donated by Service Saw and Madsens. Videos of the presentations, narrated by Board Member Chuck Higgins can be viewed her for Armitage, Larson & Guenther, and Loucks.
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OFFICERS
| President | Jonathan Stoffer lewis@wafarmforestry.com |
| Vice-President | Alicia Fox |
| Secretary | Bill Wamsley |
| Treasurer | Norma Green |
| Board Member | Chuck Higgins |
| Board Member | Rick Kuykendall |
| Board Member | Russ Armitage |
| Board Member | Jared Spogen |
| Newslettter Editor | Donna Loucks membership@wafarmforestry.com |