Forestry’s Changing Landscape: How do we meet the challenge?
May 8-10, 2024, at the Ashland Hills Hotel in Ashland, Oregon
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
Wednesday, May 8th Agenda
5:00 – 7:30pm OSAF Icebreaker and Social, Stardust Lounge in the Ashland Hills Hotel
7:00 – 10:00pm Early Career Social, Caldera Brewing Company
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.
To nominate an OSAF member for an award, please visit https://forestry.org/oregon-awards/. Submissions are due by March 15, 2024.
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.
Continuing Education Units will be applied for.
Thank you to all our generous sponsors!
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