Forestry Certification Training for Agency Field Staff

Forestry Certification Training for Agency Field Staff

Summary

To date, we have completed four of the six FSC Assessor Trainings. We have added 78 new landowners to our Northwest Certified Forestry program, 20 of which have become FSC certified.

Objectives/Performance Targets

In July 2012, NNRG held the fourth training in Preston, WA and featured keynote speaker Derek Churchill, the Principal of Stewardship Forestry, a forestry consulting firm specializing in ecological forestry. Other speakers included Jim Vandling (Forest manager at Clark County Dept. of Environmental Services), David Kimmett (King County Parks), Rick Helman (NNRG’s Staff Forester) and Kirk Hanson, (Director of NNRG’s Northwest Certified Forestry program). The training featured a seminar and field tour specifically designed to introduce public and non-profit land managers to the principles of ecological forestry, FSC certification, sustainable harvest techniques, cost-revenue analysis, and strategies for successful implementation on publicly owned lands. During the field session, participants joined King County Forester Bill Loeber for a tour of timber stands of the County’s Taylor Mountain Forest that have been thinned using a variety of harvest strategies to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives.

The workshop was filled to capacity with 25 forest managers and field staff representing a variety of public and non-profit land managers in Western Washington. Through our evaluation forms, we received very positive feedback from workshop attendees and nearly all attendees reporting an increase in understanding of key topics presented during the workshop. We were very pleased with the outcome of the workshop and look forward to following up with participants who requested more information on FSC certification and sustainable management planning.

• Announcement: Ecological Forest Management

Accomplishments/Milestones

NNRG is hosting the remaining FSC Assessor Trainings this coming February and March. The fifth training under this project is proposed for February 2013. It coincides with the upcoming review of a number of small forest landowners actively managing their forests in the Willamette Valley. Participants will gain an overview of FSC standards, the certification process, and the FSC marketplace. We will promote this training to local technical service providers to strengthen working relationships in the Willamette Valley region and further develop a network of providers for FSC certified lands. Our final training is scheduled for March 2013 and will occur on Clark County’s Camp Bonnevile. The County forester attended the first FSC Assessor Training conducted through this grant and then proceeded to certify the County’s forest. Attendees of this sixth and final training will conduct a harvest audit as part of the course.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Through the process of developing trainings funded through this SARE grant, NNRG has learned that workshop participants highly value the insights gained from participating in actual FSC certification field audits. As such, to increase the benefit to targeted professionals, NNRG has sought to align workshops with FSC certifications of willing landowners. We have received good feedback from our first four trainings and expect to maintain this level of performance to project completion.

Collaborators: