Technical Field Tours Discriptions

Experience Oregon (T1) Come see Oregon-North to South and East to West and enjoy a three-day/two night trip through the Oregon Coast Range and the Cascade Mountains. Stroll on the Oregon beach and visit Yaquina Head lighthouse. Tour the Tillamook State Forest, one that is rich in history and beauty. Visit world renowned Crater Lake National Park and travel through Central Oregon's high desert. It will be a combination of sights tourists love to see and many forests that foresters love to visit.

Friday, October 26
1/2 Day Technical Field Tour
1:00 - 5 pm
Fee: $20.00 (Includes: transportation, snacks, and beverages)
Walking: Less than one mile

Urban Forestry Innovations (T2)
The Portland area is the site of many innovative urban forestry projects, some dating back to 1872. In downtown Portland, we will visit a linear urban forest of mature trees called the Park Blocks, a parking lot that has a bio-swale treatment for storm water, an elm project, and a Friend of Trees planting.

Saturday, October 27
One-Day Technical Field Tours
7:30 am - 5:00 pm
Fee - $55.00 (Includes: transportation, lunch, snacks, and beverages)
Walking: Less than one mile for most tours

Large Scale Management Experiments in Western Oregon (T3)
Visit the Green Peak Density Management Study site located on Bureau of Land Management forestland. Participants will learn about the effects of alternative silviculture treatments in young stands on the development of important late-successional forest habitat attributes. This study assesses the combined effects of density management and the alternative riparian buffer widths on aquatic and riparian ecosystems.

Utilization and Energy within Forests at Warm Springs (T4)
Travel to the Warm Springs Reservation to learn about collaboration between US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Participates will tour the current forest management practices and biomass plant facilities, and learn from scientists about the Biomass project and current research.

Forest and Fire: The Tillamook Story - Tillamook State Forest and Tillamook Forest Center (T5)
Tour participants will understand how the legacy of past fires and tree planting has shaped the Tillamook State Forest of today. Specific focus will be made on structure based management; integration of recreation, education and interpretation; and how sustainable forest management holds a key to the future. The Tillamook Forest Center is Oregon's newest forest education and recreation center.

Forest Management in the Oregon Coast Range (T6)
This tour will includes stops focusing on silviculture practices including harvesting, partial cutting, and thinning. Participants will tour the City of McMinnville Watershed and additional industrial and governmental lands located along the Nestucca River Scenic Byway.

Logging and Milling in Oregon's Coast Range (T7)
Participants will visit active harvesting operations to discuss contemporary harvest design, logging methods, equipment, roads, and transportation. The tour will also highlight the harvesting options available to fulfill specific landowner objectives while meeting resource protection requirements. Participants will also visit a modern Oregon sawmill to learn about advances in milling technology and manufacturing processes.

Forest Health: Silvicultural Treatments and Response (T8)
The tour travels to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and private forestlands to learn about silvicultural treatments being developed and tested to address selected insect and disease problems found in the Pacific Northwest. Participants will learn about western white pine blister rust; spruce budworm infestations and control; bark beetle management by thinning; and silvicultural treatments for Armillaria root disease.

Managing Family Forests for Multiple Objectives (T9)
This tour visits the Tagshinny Tree Farm owned by Tom and Sherry Fox, the 2005 National Tree Farmers of the Year and the Cowlitz Ridge Tree Farm with the Stinson family, 1994 Regional Tree Farmers of the Year. The owners will lead participants through their managed forests while discussing a wide range of topics including habitat conservation plans at the private ownership, county, and statewide levels; forest certification; markets for ecosystem services. This tour provides an opportunity to learn more about the challenges faced by family forest landowners as they strive to keep working forests within a highly-regulated, rapidly urbanizing landscape. This tour includes about 1-1.5 miles of walking.

Mount St. Helens Today - Weyerhaeuser Timberlands, Forest Learning Center, and Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (T10)
On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted devastating 150,000 acres of public and private forests. Immediately after the eruption, Weyerhaeuser began salvaging fallen timber and restoring the forest. Meanwhile, the National Volcanic Monument was established on National Forest land impacted by the eruption in order to study natural ecological processes. The tour will highlight the story of this unique site. Field stops will focus on restoration; forest ecology; research; commercial forestry activities; as well as the eruption of Mount St. Helens.