2024 OSAF ANNUAL MEETING

Forestry’s Changing Landscape: How do we meet the challenge?

May 8-10, 2024, at the Ashland Hills Hotel in Ashland, Oregon

Image of pine tree in foreground and tree covered hills in background

This year’s theme is “Forestry’s Changing Landscape: How Do We Meet the Challenge.” Forests are dynamic; shifts in the social, ecological, and the economic landscape provide unique challenges put new opportunities and solutions. Join us as we provide general and concurrent technical sessions, field tours to see Douglas-fir mortality in Southern Oregon, and celebrate the many accomplishments of OSAF members!

The last time the Siskiyou Chapter has hosted the annual meeting was 20 years ago, and we look forward to hosting foresters and other resource professionals at the meeting!

Early bird registration is open through April 24. After April 24, registration prices for SAF and non-members will increase by $25.

Wednesday and Thursday Sessions
SAF member: $250
Non-member: $300
Student: $110

Banquet guest: $50

Includes appetizers during Wednesday evening social, refreshments, lunch, and awards banquet on Thursday

Field Tour
SAF member: $40
Non-member: $50
Student: $25

Lunch is provided

Thursday, May 9th Agenda

8:00 – 8:10 Welcome – Quinn Kawamoto
8:15 – 8:30 State of SAF – Terry Baker
8:30 – 9:30 What is Resilience and Can it be a practical measure of forest condition – Malcolm North

9:30 – 10:20 General Session 1: Emerging Threats/Firmagedon – Scale of Disturbance

Responding to the Doug-fir Decline Spiral: Ashland Forestlands Climate Change Adaptation – Chris Chambers
Douglas-fir Mortality Risk and Trends in SW Oregon – Laura Lowrey
Monitoring Forest Health at the Regional Level – Daniel DePinte

10:20 – 10:40 BREAK

Concurrent Session 1A: Shifting Fire Regimes and Carbon Stability: Trends and Tools
10:40 – 11:00 Historical Fire Regimes of Moist Western Oregon – Andrew Merschel
11:00 – 11:20 Quantifying Changes to Fire Hazard Under a Changing Climate in Northwestern Oregon – Alex Dye
11:20 – 11:40 Using FVS to model aboveground carbon and carbon stability – Erin Smith-Mateja
11:40 – 12:00 Panel Q&A

Concurrent Session 1B: Emerging Challenges to Private and Industrial Forests
10:40 – 11:00 Challenges and Opportunities in the Timber Supply Chain – Lindsay Warness
11:00 – 11:20 Challenges for PNW Mills – Steve Courtney
11:20 – 11:40 Post-fire Recovery: Challenges and Opportunities with Industrial and Non-Industrial Landowners Following the Bootleg and 242 Fires – Leigh Ann Vradenburg
11:40 – 12:00 Panel Q&A

12:00 – 1:00 LUNCH

1:00 – 2:00 General Session 2: Forestry’s Changing Conditions – Looking to the Future

Thinning and controlled burning to address forest threats: Rogue Forest Partner relative density target adjustments – Kerry Metlen
Changing forest productivity and disturbance: calculating sustained yield levels – Sean Jeronimo
Accelerating prescribed fire with the Certified Burn Manager Program – Amanda Rau
Panel Q & A

2:00 – 2:05 BREAK

2:05 – 3:20 Concurrent Sessions: World Cafe (10 minute talks, two rounds of dispersed tables)
Concurrent Session 2A: World Cafe: Climate Considerations and Forest Conservation Planning

Forest Conservation in Oregon: PFT’s Mission, Achievements, and Vision for a Forested Future – Jack Singer & Emily Bowes
Forest Legacy Program – Amy Singh
Promoting oaks for climate resilient forests, birds, and people – Jaime Stephens
Tim Vredenburg

Concurrent Session 2B: World Cafe: Forestry Technology & Innovations – Solutions to Challenges

Forest Operations Reimagined – Smart Solutions for Safety & Efficiency – Woody Chung
Visual Forester and Intelifore: Exploring New Ways to Communicate Forestry – Andrew Davis
Vibrant Planet and Land Tender to Accelerate Restoration Planning – Mike Cartmill
Utilizing drone lidar and multispectral data for post-harvest assessments and downed woody debris classification: Oregon Department of Forestry – Eli Polsky
Emerging Forest Biomass Utilization Markets – Tad Mason

3:20 – 3:40 BREAK
3:40 – 4:55 General Session 3: Sharing Lessons Across Landscapes: Lessons Learned from Wildfires and Rapid Sharing – Panel:

Craig Bienz
Judd Lehman
Galen Smith
Steve Rondeau
Brian Morris
Panel Q&A

4:55 – 5:00 Closing Remarks – Quinn Kawamoto
5:00 – 5:45 BREAK
5:45 – 6:15 No Host Bar Open
6:15 – 8:15 Oregon SAF Awards Banquet – Jeremy Felty & Julie Woodward

Friday, May 10th – Field Tour Description & Agenda

Starting approximately in 2020, an unprecedented Douglas-fir mortality event has been occurring in southern Oregon at a scale that local foresters have never witnessed before. This Douglas-fir mortality has been primarily concentrated in lower elevation forests below 3,500 feet in elevation. Particularly affected are forests in the Applegate Valley area of Jackson County in southern Oregon.

This field tour will have stops which will observe the mortality situation both at the landscape and stand level scale. Tour speakers will include local extension foresters, forest pathologists, and forest entomologists, who will explain the factors at work killing the trees.

This area includes thousands of acres of young Douglas-fir stands less than 60 years in age resulting from past intensive management practices. These younger forests, most of which are over-dense and a high priority for treatment, are often the only green islands of forest surrounded by mortality in the older, natural stands. Tour stops will include several of these younger stands where treatment options and challenges will be discussed. Should traditional density management guidelines for Douglas-fir be used in treating them, or should a new model be used to recognize current and anticipated future climate trends?

The tour will also visit a pilot project treated in 2012 using a new treatment prescription developed in conjunction with Dr. Jerry Franklin and Dr. Norm Johnson. Treatment history, results, and ongoing monitoring will be discussed.

Field Tour Agenda (PDF) Field Trip Map (PDF) Field Trip Handout 1 Field Trip Handout 2

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Ashland Hills Hotel on the nights of May 8 and 9, 2024 at the following discounted room rates:

King: $129 plus tax per night
Queen-Queen: $145 plus tax per night

To reserve your individual guest rooms call the Ashland Hills Hotel directly at 541-482-8310 and mention the group name: Oregon Society of American Foresters. Reservations can also be made online by visiting www.AshlandHillsHotel.com and using the following GROUP ID #666478.

These discounted room rates will be available till 30 days out. After April 8 any guest rooms that do not get reserved will be automatically released to general inventory.