Good News for Tree Lovers! Grants, Planting, and Reforestation Help Sustain Oregon’s Environment
“Keep Oregon’s working forests working for Oregonians.”
Many of us, during Covid, were confined to short walks around the block and necessary errands. It was a very challenging time, and one that by connecting with nature definitely worked to relieve stress in many people. Sometimes, sitting quietly and looking at a tree is a time of peace, and reflection, or family time. So there’s good news for tree lovers, despite the wildfires.
For example, you can see junior and senior high school students from the Career Education Technical Center in Salem plant Douglas-fir seedlings in the Fern Ridge Demonstration Area of the Santiam State Forest. The tree planting is hosted by the State Forests Trust of Oregon and Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). Fern Ridge Demonstration Area is one of the recovery efforts, a test for an area that was burned during the 2020 Labor Day fires. Students, teachers and forestry experts from ODF and the State Forests Trust will be available for more information about the project. It’s from ten until noon, and you can call in advance if you would like to carpool.
This is time-sensitive, however.
If you are interested, please send an RSVP by Feb. 8 so they can plan for safety gear and set up the carpool. It is recommended that you drive an SUV or other higher clearance vehicle since the last part of the drive will be on forest roads. Event is rain or shine with limited shelter on site, you are advised to bring proper clothing including sturdy footwear. Hard hats will be required but no other safety gear. RSVP to tim.l.hoffman@odf.oregon.gov.
In other good news from the ODF:
The Department of Forestry will have planted over 3 million seedlings by the end of this season helping to restore the Santiam State Forest.
State Forests Trust of Oregon is a non-profit organization that supports recreation and learning on state forests.
After the devastating 2020 Labor Day fires, the Trust established a fund to restore recreation areas and promote education about wildfire.
The Fern Ridge project offers a future opportunity for education and interpretation on forest management practices.
The State Forests Trust of Oregon has numerous supporters who have a strong connection to the forest and restoration because family members were engaged in replanting after the Tillamook Burn. They are striving to create similar opportunities in the Santiam State Forest.
But wait! There’s even more good news for our suckers for saplings. Ten tree nurseries across the state are receiving over $4.4 million this year to help them increase their ability to produce badly needed seedlings. The seedlings are needed to help reforest millions of acres deforested in recent years by wildfire, disease and pests. The money was given to ODF after passage by the Oregon Legislature in 2021 of House Bill 5006. The bill was a response to the devastating 2020 wildfires, which burned a million acres of forest. In the wake of those fires, there were many barriers to reforesting, including shortages of money, labor, and for some smaller landowners appropriate tree seedlings. ODF Small Forestland Owner Assistance Unit Manager Nate Agalzoff said, “These grants are helping nurseries make strategic investments to increase their ability to grow more seedlings, which will enable them to better support reforestation needs in the future.”
Nurseries are using the funds to invest in everything from adding irrigation to building new greenhouses and seedbed space as well as storage facilities for storing seedling trees. “These grants are increasing overall capacity across the state for whenever seedling demand rises,” relates ODF Reforestation Program Project Coordinator Astrea Strawn. “In the case of nurseries in Union and Hood River counties, the grants also ensure there will be capacity to provide geographically appropriate seedlings for those areas.”Strawn says funds must be spent before the end of this summer. “This makes us optimistic that landowners, especially smaller ones, will have better access to seedlings. When they do, they can promptly reforest after future tree losses to keep Oregon’s working forests working for Oregonians,” she said. “The funding will allow Lava Nursery, Inc. to increase seedling production for the small woodland owners, helping them to meet their reforestation needs after forest fires and/or harvest operations,” says Lava’s Assistant Nursery Manager Jeff Snyder. “These funds will also allow for additional freezer storage capability for long-term storage of seedlings to ensure the best quality seedlings are available at the time of planting.”
To qualify for a grant, a nursery had to have experience growing high-quality commercial conifer trees for reforestation in Oregon, including Douglas fir, grand fir, noble fir, western red cedar, ponderosa pine and others. “The awards were targeted to nurseries which showed interest in helping with future reforestation needs, whether from wildfires or climate change losses,” said Strawn. Nurseries, which received funds, may be in your neighborhood…here is a list of the deserving nurseries that received grants:
Brooks Tree Farm – Salem in Marion County $540,000
Drakes Crossing Nursery – Silverton in Marion County $540,000
PRT Growing Services – Cottage Grove and Hubbard $540,000
Trillium Gardens – Eugene in Lane County $531,000
Weyerhaeuser – Aurora and Turner in the Willamette Valley $500,000
Champoeg Nursery – Aurora in Marion County $458,000
Lava Nursery, Inc. – Parkdale in Hood County $458,000
Scholls Valley Native Nursery – Forest Grove in Washington County $367,000
The Plantworks, LLC – Cove in Union County $276,000
Kintigh Nursery – Springfield in Lane County $238,000
This is great news for property owners and people who care about the environment and our beautiful state.
And think about trees and the space, shade and peace they give you… and don’t worry, if you hug one, I won’t tell ☺