Fall 2015
In the USFS hot seat
U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell '76 on his WSU education and managing 0wildfires in a warmer climate. » More ...
Forest management
Spring 2013
The forgotten forest
Early successional forests, the stage following a major disturbance such as fire, windstorm, or harvest, have typically been viewed in terms of what is missing. Considered by the forest industry as a time of reestablishment or “stand initiation,” these early successional forests have been studied from the perspective of plant-community development and the needs of selected animals. Neither view fully grasps the diverse ecological roles of the early successional stage, argue WSU forest ecologist Mark Swanson and colleagues in a 2011 paper in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
Forest management throughout the twentieth century focused at first on wood production and later … » More …
Fall 2011
Video: Small forest management
Kevin Zobrist, a Washington State University Extension educator, teaches forest stewardship in the northern Puget Sound region. He helps landowners manage their forests and keep their woodlands healthy. He explains the differences between natural and human-planted forest growth, and the difficulties in creating a diverse landscape that mimics natural forests. Linda Kast ’75, a graduate of WSU’s forest management clinic, tells how she came to own wooded property in western Washington.
Read more in “Seeing the Trees” in the Fall 2011 issue of Washington State Magazine.
Fall 2011
Video: Valley View Fires of 2008 and Firewise Community
In 2008, the Valley View fire in the Dishman Hills outside of Spokane burned 13 homes and 1,200 acres. A number of homes survived because residents applied Firewise principles to protect their residences. In this video produced by the Spokane County Conservation District, some of those residents discuss the fire, how they prepared their homes, and what happened during the blaze.
Length: 19 minutes, 21 seconds.
Courtesy Spokane County Conservation District.
Read more about wildfires and communities in “When wildfire comes to town.”
Fall 2011
Seeing the trees
At the south end of Whidbey Island, off a tree-lined road, Linda Kast ’75 pulls her station wagon up to a gate and jumps out. She opens her hatchback and extracts a thick folder containing maps, a history, and an inventory of her small wooded acreage.
As she leafs through it she explains that she bought this 11-acre forest nine years ago in memory of land her family used to own and regularly visit on Whidbey when she was a child growing up in Seattle.
At the time she bought the property, Kast signed up for a forest stewardship class with Washington State University. … » More …