FORESTS --

Forest Field Day Highlights Salvage Operations, Thinning, Riparian Issues

The Northeast Chapter of the Washington Farm Forestry Association is organizing a free all-day private lands forestry event on Saturday, Aug. 15, at a Colville-area property that was hit hard by a recent wind storm.

Participants will learn about post-storm salvaging and logging, as well as other forest and water management issues affecting private landowners.

“This event should be one of the most educational and hands-on for anyone interested in learning how to deal with a variety of forest and forest health issues,” said Randall Hansen, Northeast Chapter president. “We have a variety of educational activities planned, including a review of the damage from the windstorm, a discussion of fast-track salvaging of timber, a hands-on demonstration of pre-commercial thinning, and a discussion of Riparian Management Zones as they relate to forest management,” he said.

The annual Forest Owners Field Day is scheduled at Hesseltine property at Black Lake, east of Colville off Tiger Highway, starting at 8:30 and ending mid-afternoon.

From Colville, take Highway 20 east and drive for approximately 18 miles. Turn left onto Black Lake/Squaw Creek Road. Go left toward Black Lake. Drive around the lake to the north end. Signs will be posted from the Black Lake turn off. Follow the signs to the Hesseltine property gate.

Attendees are asked to wear outdoor-appropriate clothing and sturdy footwear, as well as to bring a sack lunch and camp chair. Water and other refreshments will be provided by WFFA.

The WFFA is a non-profit organization of and for forest landowners in Washington state. 

Hesseltine property is one of the nearly 90,000 small private forestland owners across the state, with private ownership totaling about 5 million acres out of Washington’s 22.1 million acres of forestland.

Info: wafarmforestry.com/NorthEast.