Tested by fire

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Brad Withrow-Robinson, Forestry & Natural Resources Extension, Benton, Linn and Polk Counties.

I feel helpless in the face of the catastrophic fires devastating our area, and other parts of Oregon.  I watch the news and study fire maps documenting the destruction of and threats to communities that I know.  I mourn over the devastation that has, is and will be happening, all in a matter of days.

I am in awe of our fire and emergency response communities.  Professionals and volunteers are doing heroic work to save life and property, as well as help people start mending their lives.  I pray for the weather to moderate and help them in their work. 

My heart goes out to all of you in the fire-affected areas living with danger, loss and uncertainty, including many who are friends, family and colleagues. 

But I am heartened by our response as communities.  Locally, from across the state and across the country, people are showing up, sending assistance and resources. 

We will ride this out.  Then we’ll see what we can do afterwards.

I know many of the thoughts and emotions I just stated are shared by many of my colleagues in Extension.  We are part of these communities, and anxious to be part of the response.  This is clear from the Extension and 4-H families among the many volunteers at the fairground evacuation centers. 

We are just starting to look for other ways to help.  We held a listening session recently, with other steps to follow.

Be strong, be generous in thought and action, and be safe.

Brad

P.S. (Sept 18, 2020)

Our experience with these fires has illustrated both the importance and the challenges of finding relevant information. 

The Oregon Wildfire Resources website   is an important clearing house for state and local information, news and resources that everyone should be checking.

OSU Extension is also committed to assisting in providing fire related information. OSU Forestry & Natural Resources Extension’s new Fire Program provides education and outreach regarding wildfire, wildfire preparedness and response for all Oregonians.

Please visit the OSU Extension Fire program website for information on  preparedness, smoke, and other emerging issues.   Be sure to click on the Browse all Resources button at the bottom of the page to be directed to more resources. These will continue to expand.

Here are links to a few:

At press time with some rain, fire behavior is less aggressive for now, but smoke will continue to be an issue in western Oregon. Please be informed and cautious.

Thinning and selective management of maturing Douglas-fir forests (Part 2)

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Glenn Ahrens, OSU Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Agent – Clackamas, Marion, and Hood River Counties

At Hopkins Demonstration Forest we have an area of maturing forest – 80 or more years old – that we would like to manage with continued thinning or selective cutting rather than clearcutting. As I discussed in Part 1 of this story, this is a common situation for family forest owners. Many are interested in periodic selective harvesting of trees or small patches and keeping options open for the future. There are many challenges and tradeoffs to consider, but now we have to choose an option for our Hillside Forest stand at Hopkins.

80-year-old stand of Douglas-fir on upper slope of Hillside Forest at Hopkins.

2020 a year of opportunity for fire preparedness

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Brad Withrow-Robinson, OSU Forestry & Natural Resources Extension for Benton, Linn and Polk Counties.

I talked to my friend Philipp in Portland the other night. We were checking in on family, comparing notes on how each are doing under the Stay Home order.  The big beneficiary at their house is the dog, Coffee, who has his four people at home and who seem unusually willing to take him for a walk.  Phil was also laughing that his yard had never been so free of weeds. 

Weeds had never been one of Philipp’s priorities.  Until now.

I have noticed that many rural landowners look at Fire Preparedness much like Phil looks at weeds.  In fact, many rural landowners are much more aggressive about clearing their home place of weeds, than they are about clearing their home place of fire hazards. 

Left: Three Zones of Defensible Space.  Image from: https://bewildfireready.org/fuels-reduction-cost-share-program/

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Stay at Home Woodland & Forestry Resources

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Brad Withrow-Robinson, OSU Forestry & Natural Resources Extension for Benton, Linn and Polk Counties.

Family woodland owners (like farmers, ranchers, beekeepers and others) typically have busy spring schedules with lots to do in the woods.  Many of those activities come with acres of physical distancing  from others outside their families, so life remains busy.

Although our offices are closed, OSU Extension remains an available and useful source of information for doing many spring woodland activities such as weed control, fire preparedness and prevention, developing wildlife habitat.  We remain available by phone or email to answer questions and direct you to the information you need.  

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Backpack sprayer mixing tips

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Brad Withrow-Robinson, Forestry & Natural Resources Extension, Benton, Linn and Polk Counties. Photos Jody Einerson, Benton County Extension.

Backpack sprayers are often used to apply herbicides to control weeds in forestry and conservation work.   It is often helpful to apply two or more chemicals at a time in a “tank mix”.  For example, it is common to apply a foliar herbicide to kill actively growing weeds, along with a soil active herbicide to prevent new weeds from emerging over the following growing season.  Or it may be useful to apply two different herbicides with similar action, but that target different types of weeds (grasses v broadleaf plants).  Be sure to review the post on calibrating a backpack sprayer.

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Calibrating a backpack sprayer – A refresher

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Brad Withrow-Robinson, Forestry & Natural Resources Extension, Benton, Linn and Polk Counties. Photos by Jody Einerson, Benton County Extension.

In many of our herbicide application situations, the objective is to treat an area, such as a plantation of young trees, at a specific application rate.  By rate, we mean applying a specific amount of a material over a given area (e.g. ounces of product per treated acre).  This is essential when applying soil active herbicides, and also for area treatments (as opposed to targeted spot treatments) with foliar herbicides, particularly if the spray mix will be contacting the seedlings, such as in “over the top” applications. Applying too little material will not give you effective weed control, wasting time and money.  Too much material risks killing seedlings and other desirable plants, or causing other environmental damage.  Figuring out how much spray you are applying so that you can calculate how much herbicide to mix into the spray tank is called calibration.

Once you have calibrated your backpack sprayer, you can apply spray in any number of patterns, and still be putting out an accurate amount of material on a per acre basis.  That means you can accurately treat the entire plantation (broadcast), or discreet parts of that plantation such as row strips or patches around trees with confidence. 

Calibration requires a few simple activities and calculations, in two steps.  Here is a simplified refresher:

Step 1: Find the Application Rate (Gallons/Acre, gpa) you apply

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Keep up with weeds this spring

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Brad Withrow-Robinson, Extension & Natural Resources Extension agent for Benton, Linn and Polk Counties.

Spring is the key time to tackle many non-woody weeds.  These non-woody (also called “herbaceous”) plants  include grasses and many common flowering plants including clovers, thistles, oxeye daisy, tansy ragwort and groundsel.  There are many native and also non-native herbaceous plants in the fields and forests of Oregon.

Taking care of unwanted plants/weeds in often an important part of taking care of your land.  Herbaceous weed control if often part of these common objectives:

  • Successfully planting tree and shrub seedlings
  • Reducing fine fuels defending against wildfire
  • Enhancing forest diversity/improving wildlife habitat
  • Easy access and enjoyment of your property
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Remembering Amy

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UPDATE (May 6)

Due to COVID , Amy’s family has Postponed the Celebration of her life event that was scheduled for June 2020.  We will continue to update information about this and other activities at the bottom of this blog post.

As many readers in the north Valley are aware, our friend and colleague Amy Grotta passed away in late December in Portland.  Amy had been living with cancer for a number of years and her fighting spirit had been an inspiration for all of us.  She was an incredible human being, deeply respected and loved by all who knew her.  We will carry her memory with us always.

Amy was the OSU Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) Extension agent in Columbia, Washington and Yamhill Counties.  I had the pleasure and good fortune of working with Amy for ten years since she joined FNR Extension.  Since we worked in adjacent Counties with many similarities in climate, forest types, and audiences, I guess it was natural for us to collaborate on projects.  We shared writing for the Tree Topics Blog and our individual newsletters, designed and taught many classes and events together. She was very talented and such a pleasure to work with.  Amy was an inspiration to me.

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Don’t want to burn? Other options for treating slash after a timber harvest

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By Amy Grotta, OSU Forestry & Natural Resources Extension – Columbia, Washington & Yamhill Counties

Slash is the term used to describe the treetops, limbs and other woody material left behind after a timber harvest. The amount of slash left behind will depend on several factors, including the size and quality of the harvested trees. Universally, how the slash is dealt with is an important consideration in the logging process. Heavy amounts of slash left on the ground can be a fire hazard and it makes tree planting more difficult and more costly.

Piling and burning is the most common method of slash treatment nowadays. However, some landowners are looking for alternatives to burning for various reasons. Pile burning can be challenging due to weather conditions or smoke restrictions. When logging contractors are busy, they may be reluctant to include pile burning in their contract due to the time involved, leaving it up to the landowner. And, there are greenhouse gas considerations with burning slash. For all of these reasons, it is worth looking at the pros and cons of other methods of slash treatment.

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Forests and native bees: the Season 1 recap

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By Amy Grotta, OSU Forestry & Natural Resources Extension – Columbia, Washington & Yamhill Counties

Back in February I introduced readers to a new initiative that OSU Extension has begun to learn more about how native bees use managed forests. Our first season of data collection is now in the books. I’d like to explain a bit more about how we designed this project and some early takeaways.

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