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Washington's
Forest Stewardship Program |
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In
Washington State, there is a combination of aggressive and innovative
educational and technical assistance programs to promote stewardship
of the state's private forestlands. Central to this is a collaborative
partnership between the Washington Department of Natural Resources,
Washington State University Cooperative Extension, the U.S. Forest
Service-State and Private Division, USDA-Natural Resource Conservation
Service, and other state and federal agencies and organizations.
The Washington Forest Stewardship Program
is a cooperative education/assistance program for the approximately
100,000 forest owners controlling 20%, or over 3 million acres of
Washington's forestland. Washington's forest landowners face significant
forest health and fire issues, changing riparian environmental regulations,
market and tax problems, and changing technologies. Owners have diverse
backgrounds and limited technical knowledge. Interests range from
timber production to nature preservation; many are very interested
in wildlife.
Washington's Forest Stewardship Program
and agency collaboration are recognized nationally. In 1999, the National
Woodland Owners Association and the National Association of Professional
Forestry Schools and Colleges recognized WSU Cooperative Extension
with the NIPF Education Award for "delivery of the most effective
education program in the country benefiting nonindustrial private
woodland owners."
Washington was again recognized, this
time as the 2000 Forest Stewardship State of the Year, by the National
Woodland Owners Association and the National Association of State
Foresters for the North Puget Sound Watershed Program for Landowners.
"Focusing on riparian woodlands which are so important to water quality,
this program may become a model for state cooperation with private
landowners in managing the threatened Pacific Salmon fishery throughout
the Northwest."
In order to promote cooperation and
partnering, a Nonindustrial Private Forestry Interagency Committee
(NIPFIC) meets periodically in "partnering" meetings. NIPFIC operates
under a written memorandum of agreement to ensure a clear understanding
of the role of each organization. NIPFIC members also meet regularly
with the Washington Forest Stewardship coordinating committee. Central
to the success of the Forest Stewardship Program has been the close
cooperation of WSU Cooperative Extension and the Washington DNR. Steve
Gibbs, DNR Forest Stewardship Coordinator, works closely with WSU
Extension Foresters Dave Baumgartner and Don Hanley to coordinate
personnel and programs.
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Without
the support of our partners, Extension's award winning program would
not exist as we know it. For example, special grants to Cooperative
Extension from the U.S. Forest Service-State and Private Division,
the DNR Stewardship Program, and Small Forest Landowners Office provide
for publishing 20,000 copies of Forest Stewardship Notes twice per
year; various stewardship classes and field days; support for Janean
Creighton, Extension Wildlife Coordinator; and support for Andy Perleberg,
the new northwest Washington Forest Stewardship Educator. Partner
personnel play critical roles in many of Extension's educational programs.
Some exemplary partnership programs
include:
• WSU Extension Forester Don Hanley
being located at the University of Washington's College of Forest
Resources. This has been the catalyst for many collaborative activities
between WSU and UW teaching, research, and outreach faculty.
• RTI (Rural Technology Initiative)
was established in January 2000 by a U.S. State and Private Forest
Service grant to the UW and WSU Cooperative Extension for pilot projects
to accelerate the implementation of new technologies for increased
product and environmental values in rural forest resource-based communities.
• Extension Special Forest Products
Coordinator Jim Freed shared his expertise throughout the Pacific
Northwest in a collaborative program financially supported by the
U.S. Forest Service. Jim was located at the U.S. Forest Service office
in Olympia. That worked so well that Jim is now located at the Washington
DNR office in Olympia providing liaison and collaboration between
Extension and the DNR.
• The Backyard Forest Stewardship/Wildfire
Safety Program integrates a variety of available information to provide
rural/ urban landowners with the tools necessary to protect their
property, while still allowing them to meet many of their forest management
objectives.
• Regional Forest Owner Field Days
offered by DNR, Extension and other partners have taught practical
forestry practices to over 3,000 urban/rural interface forest owners
in day-long field sessions.
• Coached Planning courses taught
by Extension and DNR help landowners prepare Forest Stewardship Plans
for their forests.
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