Latest News & Announcements

WFFA is proud to announce the 2023 offering of the Steven D. Stinson Leadership in Natural Resources Scholarship. This is the eighth annual scholarship offering, made available to WFFA members, families and affiliates. The scholarship is a maximum of $6,000 split between college students majoring in natural resources and Ag-Forestry Leadership Program applicants. The 2023 scholarship announcement and details are available here. The due date for scholarship applicants is March 15, 2023, and awardees will be notified by April 15.

A fresh bill has dropped in the current Washington State Legislature to create an attractive “Support Working Forests” special vehicle license plate. Before this moving billboard for the good work we do can ever be seen on the road, we  still need a few hundred more signatures from Washington state residents. Click here to sign the petition.

The funds from the sales of these special plates will go to the Washington Tree Farm Program to help certify small landowners who practice sustainable forestry.

Before the Department of Licensing (DOL) can proceed, we need to collect at least 3,500 signatures. Signing this sheet does not obligate you to purchase a special plate, if they become available, but when the special plates are available the information you provide may be used to notify you.

Emailed Message Regarding Western Washington Alternate Plan Template Outcome - The following emailed message was sent out to the WFFA membership on December 1, 2022, from Executive Director, Elaine Oneil, and TFW Policy Representative, Ken Miller. 

December 1, 2022

Re: Western Washington Alternate Plan Template Outcome

Dear Fellow Small Forest Landowners:

The results were disheartening.  On November 10, 2022, after nearly eight exhausting years of policy conversation, all five state agencies on the Forest Practices Board (Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Commerce, and the Department of Agriculture) voted to reject the WFFA proposal for buffer widths as put forth using a scientifically credible process that included both WFFA sponsored science and their own Adaptive Management Program (AMP) sponsored science.  The state agencies were joined by both tribal representatives and a conservation caucus representative on the Forest Practices Board in rejecting the scientific merits, in rejecting the more than 240 letters that were sent in support of our proposal, and in rejecting multiple offers to condition the buffer proposals consistent with the discussions we had with all but one of the board members prior to this pivotal vote.  The full hearing on both our buffer width proposal and an associated ‘relatively low impact criteria dispute’ can be found on the TVW video of the Forest Practices Board hearing.  Specific timing for elements of the hearing are listed on our website at https://www.wafarmforestry.com/FPBRecordingTimeline.  You will note that Ken Miller, our TFW Policy Representative, engaged in an act of civil disobedience at the end of the November 10 hearing in response to this egregious block voting on the part of state agencies.

Prior to the vote, we received signals from more than one state agency that small forest landowners of our caliber deserved a break, but we saw no evidence of any benefit of the doubt or breaks during actual vote counts.  This vote against the proposal followed the same pattern that occurred at the November 9, 2022, Forest Practices Board meeting where four of the five state agencies (all but DNR) voted against advancing a private landowner proposal into the rule making process for addressing outcomes arising from a long term study on non-fish bearing streams.  In neither case were state agencies willing to listen to, or advance, any alternatives that would address private landowner concerns.  After the November 9th vote we received several verbal confirmations that state agencies were directed to vote down landowner alternatives. 

This egregious lack of engagement with landowners follows on a similar path to that established in January 2022 with HB 1838 (aka The Lorraine Loomis Act) that, had it passed, would have established enormous buffers on all agricultural lands with streams meeting the definitions of fish bearing.  Since efforts are afoot to limit testing to see if fish frequent low gradient streams, this would have essentially covered all agricultural land in western Washington and a large amount of agricultural land in eastern Washington where water is present.  There has been significant signaling that some version of the Lorraine Loomis Act will return this legislative session.  The outcomes from the Forest Practices Board votes of November 9 and November 10, 2022, presage an ominous outcome for all private rural landowners.  This is especially true if we divide our interests along regional, partisan, or sector lines.  Unity among those who own rural lands is essential to ensure that our voices are heard and respected as we navigate a complex, but not insurmountable, challenge of integrating scientific, social, ecological, and economic criteria into decision making. 

The choices made by state agencies this past month are not a shining example of government at its best, but if we choose to walk away, we are aiding and abetting that kind of behavior.  That isn’t an acceptable solution for yourselves as small forest landowners, for your lands, or even for the state.  Your letters spoke of profound reverence for the lands you steward, and a kind of durable connectedness to nature, to family, and to community that is much needed in this world.  Thank you so much for putting your heart into them.  

Your letters are reason enough to never give up.  Therefore, we are examining potential options for addressing this latest policy failure and will keep you apprised as we move forward on several fronts.  We are likely to be asking for active participation (calling your elected representatives, for example) to advance these discussions.  If you feel moved to participate in any way, we would be most appreciative of your thoughts, ideas, energy, and passion.  Please reach out.  We have greatly appreciated your support during this complicated, but necessary endeavor.

With greatest regard,

Elaine Oneil, PhD
Executive Director
Washington Farm Forestry Association
eoneil@wafarmforestry.com

Ken Miller
TFW Policy Representative
Washington Farm Forestry Association
kenbonniemiller@gmail.com

Small family forest owners were promised alternative harvest prescriptions in 1999 Forests & Fish that have yet to materialize.  Several years ago we considered legal action, but instead decided to make our case using science.  The scientific studies have been done and they confirm that 75’ and 50’ buffers can be as effective in protecting the resources as the current wider buffers.  However, at its November 10 meeting, the Forest Practice Board ignored the science, and their rules by rejecting the template that had been proposed by WFFA for SFLOs.  Over 200 letters were submitted by small forest landowners in support of the template.  WFFA Executive Director Elaine Oneil and TFW Policy Representative Ken Miller highlighted those comments in a letter to the Board that can be viewed here.

Wildfire Ready Neighbors is a free new program that provides residents with a tailored wildfire plan and resources for improving defenses against fire.

You can sign up today at https://wildfireready.dnr.wa.gov/.

From consultations with service foresters, to assistance with stewardship planning, to fish passage funding, to help navigating complex regulations, if you’re a forest landowner, the Washington Department of Natural Resources probably has a program that could help you.

In an effort to make its existing programming more accessible, last month DNR launched its new Landowner Assistance Portal. The navigation tool is designed to help landowners search by topic for general information, technical and financial assistance, and help with permits and regulations to help keep their forest healthy, productive and resilient to wildfire.

The portal is intended to be a one-stop shop for forest landowners with questions about a wide variety of topics, gathered earlier this year through an informal survey process.

When visiting the tool, located at dnr.wa.gov/LandownerAssistancePortal, users will find 34 of DNR’s most searched-for subjects sorted into four categories: Resources for Managing My Forest, Keeping My Forest Healthy, Education and Training, and Permits and Regulations.

Dr. Elaine Oneil, Executive Director of the Washington Farm Forestry Association, discusses the history of the WFFA and its purpose, as well as how it’s evolving the direction Dr. Oneil sees it going in the coming decades. This includes the formation of a Small Forest Landowner Carbon Workgroup, which is an effort to provide smaller landowners access to carbon markets and recognize the ecosystem services that these landowner provide. The workgroup needs support and voices from interested landowners in the state. Listen to learn more about how you can get involved!

Heather Heward is an instructor of Fire Ecology at the University of Idaho, is pursuing a PhD in Adult Organizational Learning and Leadership, and is the Chair of the Idaho Prescribed Fire Council. As we look to become a more fire resilient society, one of the tools we must assess is the use of fire as a method of managing fuels in our dry forest and woodlands. Heather sat down with the Forest Overstory to talk with us about the pros and cons of using fire on the landscape and why it is a necessary tool for forest management. Finally, we discuss how society has looked at prescribed fire in the past and discuss the risk surrounding prescribed fire. Click here to listen.

Elections and Annual Meeting Updates - Last autumn, the WFFA Executive Board made a fiscally responsible decision to cancel our traditional indoor annual meeting, including our business meeting, for the spring of 2022 to avoid incurring substantial non-refundable costs should the event be cancelled due to pandemic concerns. To meet annual non-profit reporting requirements for elections and notifications consistent with our bylaws, we have adopted the following strategy. Official reports covering our financial status, membership and other items are included in our Annual Report which is an insert in our Summer 2022 Landowner News.

Elections will be conducted online via our website, by mail-in voting or by phoning in your vote to Kelly at 360-388-7074 (your preference). For those receiving paper copies of the Landowner News, we have provided a detachable ballot with mailing envelope included; you need only provide the stamp! We will be closing the elections on July 15, 2022. Please cast your online vote, phone in your vote or postmark your mail-in ballot by that time to ensure you have your say in the future of WFFA.  

The Slate of Officers - There were some changes in the expected slate of officers due to changing life circumstances, but we were fortunate to have willing and able members that have put their names forward as candidates for the state office volunteer positions. This year’s Slate of Officers includes returning representatives for the office of President (Dick Alescio – Olympic Chapter), 1st Vice President (Ann Stinson – Lewis Chapter), 2nd Vice President (Court Stanley – Lewis Chapter), Secretary (Paula Hopkins – Pierce Chapter) and Treasurer (Bill Scheer – Lewis Chapter). We are grateful to these members for their willingness to serve. If you feel that you too would like to serve, please contact me at eoneil@wafarmforestry.com. There is a plethora of opportunities to use your expertise within the organization. It might be in helping craft our communications strategy, providing web content, helping with a membership drive, or serving at our booth at the state fair. All efforts are appreciated. 

Thank you again for your participation in this WFFA election process – we value your involvement.

Remember to vote by July 15!

Please click here for the ballot to vote online.

If you have any questions, please contact Kelly at 360-388-7074 or info@wafarmforestry.com.

Click here to view a complete listing of our WFFA videos, including the recent Bigleaf Maple Syrup Conference held at Pack Forest!

A Community Approach to Restoration, with Martha Wyckoff, Tyler Larsen, and Adam Hess

Martha Wyckoff is a private forest landowner in Kittitas County, central Washington. Her and her husband have owned and managed the land for 30 plus years. During this time they have slowly acquired forest and prairie land in the area with the goal of actively restoring the functionality and health of the forest. Their work has consisted of restoring much of the forest structure towards a more historical condition and have partnered with students from Central Washington University to study the impacts the management has had towards wildlife and plant diversity.

Listen now

The University of Washington, College of the Environment, Climate Impacts Group are developing regionally-specific guides for small forest landowners that describe the most immediate climate impacts on forests and potential actions landowners can take to increase climate resilience. They have completed a guide for western Washington, are working on one for eastern Washington, and hope to do additional regions in the Northwest. Each guide takes into account the specific climate and ecology of the region.

These guides are geared toward small forest landowners in the Northwest, as well as organizations (non-profits, conservation districts, local governments) that support these landowners to manage their forests.

The In-Person seedling sale is on March 19 at Battle Ground Albertson's parking lot. See the events listing on the Clark Chapter page for more details.
 

A Tribal Perspective to Natural Resource Management, with Ray Entz & Mike Lithgow

Prior to Euro-American settlement, Indigenous Peoples of North American lived on and managed this landscape. Today, their land has been confined to reservations and land acquired and held in trust of the tribe. Much like small forest landowners, they manage their forestland for a multitude of goals and services, including many cultural practices that have been carried on through their history. Ray Entz and Mike Lithgow sit down with us to talk about the goals and strategies they have when managing natural resources for the Kalispel Tribe of Indians.

Stream the podcast.

Forest Stewardship University is a set set of on-demand, self-paced, and peer-reviewed online learning modules on a variety of forest stewardship topics. The modules are geared toward owners of forested and wooded property in the state of Washington as well as anyone interested in learning more about Pacific Northwest forests.  Six modules are currently available:

1. Animal damage control 

2. Managing a successful timber sale: Top 10 “musts” 

3. Managing woodlands for aesthetics and enjoyment 

4. Reducing wildfire risks to your western Washington home in the woods 

5. Threatened and endangered wildlife species in Washington forests 

6. Washington state forest land and timber taxes 

Two webinars have been held recently and recordings are available for viewing at your convenience.

Current Carbon Opportunities gives an overview of some of the carbon programs that have become increasingly available to small forest landowners in the last year.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Stewardship Program provides information on funding opportunities available through the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The fourth episode of Forest Overstory, a podcast sponsored by WSU Forestry Extension, features Dave Peterson is Professor of Forest Biology at the University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, and Emeritus Senior Research Scientist with the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. Dave manages his tree farm, Mountain Heart Tree Farm in Skagit County. In this episode we discuss strategies to create forest resiliency. Topics range from historic forest composition, impacts from a warming climate, and assisted tree migration.  Listen here.

The third episode of WSU Forestry Extension's Forest Overstory podcast features Ann Stinson and Lou Jean Clark,  the co-owners of Cowlitz Ridge Tree Farm in Lewis County.  Ann and Lou Jean have co-owned/managed the Cowlitz Ridge Tree Farm since the passing of husband and brother, Steve Stinson in 2014. Ann discusses growing up on the tree farm and Lou Jean shares her experiences taking on the tree farm later in her life. Both having grown up in the area, they share their passion for taking care of the land and what trials and tribulations they have faced along the way. Finally, we chat with Ann about her experiences writing a memoir about her family and the forest they have long cared for, titled The Ground at My Feet: Sustaining a Family and a Forest. 

The Ground at My Feet is a memoir about loss and grief as well as a portrait of a family, a region, and an industry. Combining personal story and research, Stinson weaves essays, poems, history, and science into a rich and layered account of life in a family forest in the Pacific Northwest. She maps interactions between the land and its people over two centuries: the Cowlitz peoples, homesteaders, and several generations of logging families who have worked the property. She follows her family’s logs as they become lumber for fence boards and suburban homes, touring a local cedar mill and traveling with her father to visit mills in Japan.

Stinson adds a landowner’s voice to conversations about the human tendency to demand more of the land than it can sustain. With its uniquely personal view of the Pacific Northwest’s timber and forestry heritage, The Ground at My Feet is an engaging addition to the literature of the landscape and ecology of the West.  Available from OSU Press and Amazon.

WSU Forestry Extension created a 13 minute video where several small forest landowners, including Past WFFA State President Patti Playfair, share their feelings about owning forest land.

If you missed the recent webinar presented by Heather Hansen, our legislative lobbyist, you can view the recording at any time.

Over two million acres of working forests managed by the State of Washington provide a sustainable and continuous supply of timber, clean water for salmon, habitat for wildlife, family-wage jobs and non-tax revenue to support public education and community services. All of these benefits are at risk if a legal attack against these working forests is successful in the Washington State Supreme Court this fall. Read more.

If you missed the recent webinar when it was presented live, you may want to view the recording.  DNR staff members Mary McDonald, Todd Olson, and Dan Pomerenk explained the details of FREP and answered questions that had been previously submitted and that were asked during the meeting.

The Forest Overstory is a podcast series dedicated to unraveling forest management topics that impact small forest landowners by interviewing forest land managers, researchers, and fellow private forest owners around Washington.  It is available on a variety of podcast apps.  Learn more about it and listen to the first episode here.  Dr. Paul Hessburg, landscape ecologist with the Pacific Northwest Research Station, sits down to talk about his work around the current era of megafires. Paul discusses historic burning patterns, how fire shaped our landscape and forest structure, and what forest landowners and managers should focus on when creating a fire resilient landscape.

A new study has found that recent bigleaf maple die-off in Washington is linked to hotter, drier summers that predispose this species to decline. These conditions essentially weaken the tree's immune system, making it easier to succumb to other stressors and diseases. Read full story.

Humans aren’t the only ones that got sunburned during the heat waves this summer — so did Oregon’s trees. The evidence of the “sun scald” can be seen all over the Coastal mountain range, but the long-term effects of this extreme heat remain to be seen. Read more.

Melissa Fischer, Eastern Washington Forest Health Entomologist, discusses how droughts like we are having can have various negative effects on our coniferous trees, such as leaf scorch, loss of foliage, reduction in growth, and dead branches. Sometimes trees die as a result of drought. This mortality could simply be due to lack of water, but sometimes mortality is more indirect, as drought-stricken trees are more likely to succumb to insects and pathogens. Read full article.

Dan Falk, a geophysicist, breaks down the elements of wildfires. "As I write this at the end of July, 79 wildfires are burning across 12 states in the U.S. In Oregon, a mammoth fire has engulfed some 400,000 acres—an area half the size of Rhode Island—and destroyed hundreds of buildings and vehicles, including more than 160 homes. Smoke from wildfires in the western half of the continent has darkened skies over cities in the east, including Toronto, where I am. People in Boston, New York, and Washington D.C. are struggling with hazy, smoke-filled skies". more

Chuck and Nan Higgins, WFFA and Lewis County Farm Forestry Association members were named Washington State Tree Farmers of the Year for 2021 in a virtual presentation. An in-person presentation of their award, followed by a tour of their Salzer Ridge parcel, will be held on August 17, starting at 5:45 pm.  See the Events page for more details.  If you missed the video that was shown at the virtual presentation, it can be viewed here.

Chuck has been active in the Lewis County Farm Forestry Association since the 1970s, serving a chapter president in 1984-85, and serving on the board for too many years to count, up to the present.  In 2010 they were presented with an award recognizing their excellent Forest Management by the Lewis County Farm Forestry Association, and named chapter Tree Farmer of the Year in 2011.  They have hosted tours on each of their parcels. .

At a time of life when most people are selling their land or passing it to their heirs, Chuck and Nan are still actively purchasing property that needs a lot of work to bring it up to the quality that they want.

A lawsuit against the state by numerous trust land beneficiaries filed last year argues that the sustainable harvest strategy adopted by the Board of Natural Resources (BNR) fails to meet its fiduciary duties. However, that case and a separate but related legal fight have also underscored how logging continues to fund critical local services such as education, fire districts, and road infrastructure. Read more

A recent article by Don Brunell in the Chinook Observer highlights the importance of family tree farms and features a photo of Pacific County members Greg and Sue Pattillo.

After two former Lands Commissioners proposed ending all timber harvests in Western Washington, the Washington Policy Center contacted Pat McElroy, a former State Forester of Washington. Few have his understanding of Washington's state forests and the laws that govern them. He wrote an article about proper forest stewardship and some of the problems of the proposal to ban harvests.

When you visit your forest in the spring, you may see young trees (from planting to PCT age) that appear to be dying. Quite often it involves yellow or chlorotic-looking foliage, sparse foliage, and branch or needle dieback. Though a variety of conditions could cause these symptoms, a foliar disease is often the issue in the spring and early summer. This article by DNR forester Matt Provencher describes some of the most common ones.

This article was published in the Washington DNR's SFLO News. You can subscribe here to receive each new newsletter directly.

Two former Washington State Lands Commissioners, Jennifer Belcher and Peter Goldmark, are pushing an extreme proposal to shut down all timber harvests in Western Washington forests that are managed in trust by the state of Washington. They argue that halting harvests would help fight climate change.

That claim, however, is contradicted by science from the U.S. Forest Service, the University of Washington, and even the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.N.’s climate agency. These scientists all note that sustainable forestry – harvesting timber and then re-planting trees – is much more effective at reducing atmospheric CO2 than letting trees grow, stagnate, die and then decay.

Read the full story from the Washington Policy Center's blog.

David New, co-owner of the Nourse Tree Farm near Bellingham and 2019 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year, shared his experience using game cameras on his tree farm in a webinar presented on February 16.  If you were unable to attend the live presentation, you can now watch it online.

The 2021 Washington Legislature's session will be completely online.  While meeting remotely presents difficulties for both lawmakers and the people they represent, it does not mean you can't be involved.  In fact, it may be even easier because you can watch hearings and testify from home. WFFA members received an email message with numerous links to information and access to the Legislature.  In case you missed it, here's a link to that message

Kyle Garrison of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife gave a webinar last week titled "An overview of silviculture's effect on elk habitat: Relationships among elk habitat, productivity and disease."  If you missed the live presentation, now you can view the recorded version.  In addition to addressing the effect of forest management on elk, Kyle also discussed elk hoof rot disease that is very common in southwest Washington and in some other parts of the state.

Mechanical harvesting with a large excavator, called a shovel, is the most common harvest method used today, but small landowners rarely have a chance to watch the complete process unless it is on their own property.  Bryon and Donna Loucks, owners of the B&D Tree Farm in Lewis County (with the assistance of Pat Swanson as vidographer) documented a recent operation on their property and prepared this video to share with others.

Enjoy this educational video which highlights some of the challenges faced at Rafter Seven Ranch in Chewelah, Washington. These bugs and crud include Armillaria Spp., Meria laricis (Larch Needle Cast), Sphaeropsis sapinea (Diplodia Tip Blight) and the invasive species Arceuthobium Spp. (Dwarft Mistletoe). Rafter Seven Ranch is owned and operated by Bob Playfair and his daughter, Patti Playfair, of our WFFA Northeast Chapter.

This video is a coordinated production featuring Patti Playfair (WFFA Past President), Randy Burke (WFFA Spokane Chapter President and WSU Landowner Assistance Forester) and Melissa Fischer, PhD (DNR Forest Entomologist); with videography and editing by Sean Alexander (WSU NE Extension Forester) and music by Ken Bevis.

Ken and Bonnie Miller are a fixture of sorts in the small forest owner community of Washington.  They’ve been active in the Washington Farm Forestry Association for years, have hosted multiple WSU Extension events, and Ken is an active advocate for small forest owners in state natural resource policy.  This passion for private forestry started back in 1989 when they bought their first tree farm, a 30-acre recently clear-cut parcel in Grays Harbor County that they re-planted and managed with the help of their children.

A few years later in 1993 they bought another clear-cut parcel in Thurston County wedged between Millersylvania State Park, Scott Lake, a golf course, and a growing residential neighborhood.  This one was 40 acres and came with a house, so they moved in and got to work replanting there too and have been managing both properties ever since. 

Years later, in 2017, an opportunity came up to buy the long-abandoned “back nine” of the adjacent golf course.  With plenty of planting and stand management experience under his belt, Ken didn’t hesitate.  It provided a second access driveway for their house but also a familiar challenge, starting a forest.

An article published in the October 2020 issue of Forest Stewardship Notes tells the full story.

A few weeks ago, all traffic was stopped on the Golden Gate Bridge at the Nourse Tree Farm in north Snohomish County, so that Ken Bevis could sit on the guardrail and sing a song he wrote titled "True Bear". Ken is DNR’s stewardship wildlife biologist and a talented songwriter and artist. Enjoy this music video "True Bear" from Ken.

Credits: Recorded live on the Golden Gate Bridge at Nourse Tree Farm in north Snohomish County, WA; Music, lyrics and performance by Ken Bevis; Video recording by Brendan White and Dave New; Bear video clips and photos from wildlife cameras at Nourse Tree Farm; Video editing by Dave New

WFFA conducted our Annual Business Meeting elections via online and mail-in ballots. We successfully approved our Bylaws revision and welcome the following members to terms of service for 2020-21: 

Dick Alescio - President (Olympic Chapter)
Court Stanley - 1st Vice President (Lewis Chapter)
Ann Stinson - 2nd Vice President (Lewis Chapter)
Paula Hopkins - Secretary (Pierce Chapter)
Bill Scheer, Jr. - Treasurer (Lewis Chapter)

Thank you to all our WFFA members who took the time to offer your input on the future of WFFA by casting your vote.