WORKSHOP CANCELED 4/20/2015
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Tentative Workshop Agenda – Wildlife 101 for Foresters Workshop
Join us for an interactive day with professional wildlife biologists, forest managers, and woodland owners to discuss common wildlife management challenges and opportunities at all scales, from small woodlands to industrial forests. We will learn how to approach common and unique issues in wildlife management in forests, learning from each other’s experiences to resolve wildlife management challenges. We will learn how to balance wildlife habitat needs with economics in order to have an operation that is profitable both for wildlife and the bottom line.
Instructors: This workshop will be presented by wildlife professionals well versed in wildlife issues on managed forest lands:
Joan Hagar is an Associate Professor of Wildlife at Oregon State University College of Forest Science and a USGS wildlife biologist at FRESC, specializing in forest bird species and wildlife habitats.
Nicole Strong is and OSU extension agent advising private landowners on issues related to wildlife and forestry management.
Jen Weikel is a Wildlife Biologist for the Oregon Department of Forestry.
Jenniffer Bakke is a Wildlife Biologist for Hancock Forest Management.
Mike Rochelle is a Wildlife Biologist at Weyerhaeuser.
8:00 Common challenges and opportunities for wildlife in managed forests
During this interactive exercise, Nicole Strong will lead us through a brainstorming of questions, challenges and concerns, to frame later discussions about how to best manage wildlife in managed forests. We will discuss common questions, issues, problems in real life scenarios. What are the most frequent/common questions and requests you receive related to wildlife? What is the biggest challenge to implementing wildlife-centric management? What is one thing you have done that you think has been a win-win for forestry and wildlife goals? What is your end goal for your property and how can we collectively help you reach it?
8:30 Wildlife in Woodlands
Dr. Joan Hagar will lead us through a discussion of wildlife habitat issues in forested landscapes. General concepts and basic intro about forest wildlife and ecology will be presented. The biological and ecological importance of woodlands and the role of disturbance in creating habitat will be discussed.
9:00 Forest Practices Act and other Tools for forest managers; Jen Weikel (30 minutes)
Jennifer Weikel will outline state and federal laws related to wildlife in forested landscapes, such as the Forest Practices Act, the Endangered Species Act (safe harbor, Habitat Conservation Plans) , and other rules related to species & forestry operations. Water and stream management, as well as incentive programs available to forest owners will also be presented.
9:30 Woodland Management for Wildlife;
Nicole Strong will present the structural aspects of providing habitat for wildlife, discuss smaller scale woodland management to benefit wildlife, and provide practical recommendations on how private landowners may benefit wildlife during forest management.
10:00 Break
10:15: Case Study in Private woodland management;
Dave and Sarah Hibbs , private woodland owners, will share their own experiences in woodland management project and will describe how they have successfully balanced management for wildlife while also managing for timber.
10: 30 Forest Management on a larger scale;
Jen Bakke & Mike Rochelle will present a broad perspective, on the scale of industrial timber management, using examples gained through their experience working for large private timber companies. They will describe some of the Best Management Practices used to encourage wildlife in forest management.
11:00: Interactive exercises
Using real life scenarios generated in our morning icebreaker, participants will interact, share their knowledge, and apply concepts learned throughout the session. Participants will work in small groups to visualize a management challenge, create an action plan, and share their vision with the rest of the groups. Q+A’s and recommendations will be fielded from rest of class.
Discussion
During the time remaining, we will discuss common issues generated during our interactive exercises, ask questions of our knowledgeable presenters and of each other, and take the ideas we have learned out into the forest to confront and resolve our own real life wildlife challenges!
12:00 Adjourn