On July 19, 2019, SGPC members toured the Upper Wind planning area with Tom Spies (Emeritus Scientist, Pacific Northwest Research Station and Courtesy Professor, Oregon State University) and James Johnston (Faculty Research Associate, Oregon State University). The group learned about the ecological value of early seral habitat and why this is an important science and management topic in the region at this time. Members also discussed the role of natural disturbance, such as wildfire, and silvicultural treatments in creating early seral habitat in westside forests.
SGPC is currently incorporating information from this field trip and meetings with Forest Service partners to develop their latest Zones of Agreement document–Forest Restoration and Early Seral Habitat Creation. This work is part of the collaborative’s involvement with vegetation project planning for the Upper Wind planning area.
Special thanks to visiting scientists, Tom Spies and James Johnston, for taking the time to share the latest science and discuss early seral management considerations with the collaborative group.
To hear Tom Spies’ talk in the field, click on the image below:
Please note: The sound quality is not ideal in portions of this footage. There is so much useful information that we still wanted to share it here. We’re working on improving video quality for upcoming field tours.