West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District hosts forest field day.

For small forestland owners in Multnomah County, the West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District is holding a special field day on Saturday, Sept. 26 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Discussions and demonstrations will cover a range of topics including:

• Basic forestry
• Carbon credits
• Fire danger
• Invasive weeds
• Mapping your property
• Reforestation
• Wildlife on your land
• And more

This field day takes place at the home of Kate and John Eskew located at 15604 NW Rock Creek Rd. Sponsors include the Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon State University Extension Service, the Oregon Small Woodlands Association and OFRI.

Registration and event fees are required. To register and see the complete flyer, please visit: http://www.wmswcd.org/content.cfm/What-We-Do/Forestry          

Home school students invited to the Oregon Garden for a day of learning

All home school students ages 5 to 12 are invited to the Oregon Garden on Sept. 15 to learn more about the natural world. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. hands-on learning stations will be available throughout the garden. Nearly 200 students are expected to attend. Volunteers will help home schoolers learn about wetlands, tree identification, forests, aquatic insects, wildlife habitat and more.

Event admission is $8 for adults, $6 for students ages 8 to 18, and free for children under 7. Preregistration is not required. Home School Day is sponsored by Roth’s Benefit Education Foundation and OFRI.

Driving directions to the Oregon Garden.
For more information, contact Cindy Quam at 503-584-7256 or Julie Woodward at 503-584-7259 or woodward@ofri.com.

Green building is the focus of upcoming OFRI Board workshop

The OFRI Board is sponsoring a Green Building Update for the Forest Sector. The session will be held on Oct. 30 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Oregon Garden’s Natural Resources Education Center at 895 West Main St. in Silverton.

This workshop will include:

• A report by OSU-UO-PSU research team on the information needs of Oregon architects and engineers related to using “green” structural materials.
• Dr. Eric Hansen’s (OSU Wood Science & Engineering) presentation on the global social context of forestry and the implications for environmental marketing and green building.
• An update on green building certification systems with an emphasis on residential applications.

This workshop is free, but please preregister online at the OFRI Calendar of Events.

Oregon state forester seeks applicants for OFRI Board

Oregon State Forester Marvin Brown is soliciting applications from those who may be interested in becoming members of the OFRI board of directors.

The state forester appoints 11 of OFRI’s 13 board members. Two members serve ex-officio: the Oregon State University dean of forestry and a public representative who is appointed jointly by the speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and the president of the Oregon Senate. Two of the state-forester appointed seats will open in January 2010.
           
Seats on the board represent various sized forest products producers as follows:

• Class 1 – Producers of less than 20 million board feet per year.
• Class 2 – Producers of at least 20 million board feet per year, but less than 100 million board feet per year.
• Class 3 – Producers of at least 100 million board feet per year.

In addition, a position represents small woodland owners owning between 100 and 2,000 acres of forestland and another that represents forest sector employees.

This year, the state forester plans to appoint a class 1 representative, replacing Carol Whipple of Rocking C Ranch, who is completing a second term on OFRI’s board, and the small woodland representative, replacing Steve Woodard, who is completing his first term. Gary Springer, class 2 representative from Starker Forests, and Greg Miller, class 3 representative from Weyerhaeuser Company, have both completed first terms on OFRI’s board and are expected to seek a second term.

Persons interested in being nominated for positions on the OFRI board now or at a future time should contact Dan Postrel at the Oregon Department of Forestry,  dpostrel@odf.state.or.us. Applications must be postmarked by Oct. 16.

Spread the word - OFRI Speakers Bureau ready for your civic groups

OFRI’s popular Speakers Bureau program is ready to bring forest knowledge to your civic groups and organizations. The program presents current forest issues to groups such as Rotary, Lions, chambers of commerce and more. The OFRI Speakers Bureau includes more than 50 volunteer speakers from the Oregon forest sector and covers the following topics:

OFRI encourages you to spread the word of this FREE forestry resource. Please contact Norie Dimeo-Ediger at 971-673-2956 to schedule a presentation. View the presentations online.