FOREST FLASH
March 2025
In Pacific Forest Trust’s e-newsletter, Forest Flash, we send you the most recent PFT news and updates on forests, clean water, climate, and wildlife. Subscribe here.
For Pacific Forest Trust’s Forestry Technician Ursula Harwood, preparing for the 2025 harvest at Baker Creek on the van Eck Oregon property, is as much an art as it is a science. “It’s a constant visualization exercise,” she says. “I have guiding numbers—basal area, relative density targets—but ultimately, each decision is a balance of silvicultural knowledge, experience, and intuition.”
Forestry Technician Ursula Harwood marking the stand at Baker Creek.
This thinning builds on work done in 2006, aiming to accelerate the growth of large, climate-resilient trees while enhancing overall forest health. Historically, Baker Creek’s forest was cleared for timber and then pasture before being planted as a dense plantation in the 1980s and ’90s. When PFT assumed management in the early 2000’s, our goal was to restore a more naturally diverse and scomplexly tructured forest stand. With a variety of silivculture, including thinnings and variable retention, focussed clearing around older trees and hardwoods, planting of a diveristy of species in gaps and openings, PFT is restoring a more natural forest composition structures, and opening space for understory species like western hemlock, Sitka spruce, and western redcedar, and protecting legacy trees—older, naturally established trees that predate the plantation era.
Baker Creek is has relatively flat terrain, high productivity and impressive tree growth. Unlike much of the Coast Range, where steep slopes dictate harvesting methods, its gentle topography allows for a highly selective approach. Ursula searches for trees with the most ecological value—forked-topped elders, mature western hemlocks, and the rare bigleaf maple—to ensure their continued presence.
“It’s special to do this work with restoration at the forefront,” Ursula says. “And in the meantime, there are plenty of winter perks: wildlife sightings, many mushrooms, and cranking up the heat when you get back to the truck.”
Mark your calendars! On April 9, 2025, Pacific Forest Trust’s Forest Fete returns, this time to the stunning California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. This year’s theme, Resilient Forests, Thriving Futures, celebrates the power of conservation to secure a healthier, more sustainable future.
At the premier gathering for forest champions, you’ll connect with conservation leaders, policymakers, and sustainability experts while enjoying an evening of delicious food, live music, and inspiring speakers.
We’re honored to welcome Don Hankins as our keynote speaker. A Professor of Geography and Planning at CSU Chico, Don is a leading voice in integrating traditional ecological knowledge with modern fire and watershed management strategies. His work has shaped state and federal policy on Indigenous fire stewardship, emphasizing the critical role of cultural burning, in addition to prescribed fires, in restoring ecosystem balance. A dedicated researcher and practitioner, Don collaborates with Indigenous communities in California and Australia to advance climate resilience through traditional land stewardship.
This year, we will also celebrate the extraordinary career of PFT co-founder Connie Best, who has dedicated over three decades to conserving private working forestlands. A pioneer in Working Forest Conservation Easements, Connie has helped permanently protect over 100,000 acres of forest, ensuring climate, watershed, and biodiversity benefits for generations. Her leadership has influenced national climate policy, including the development of California’s forest carbon offset program. Though she is retiring from PFT staff, her legacy in conservation continues to shape the future.
The evening’s festivities will feature live music by the Rainbow Girls, a folk trio known for their soulful harmonies, and will be emceed by Ellen Toscano, the celebrated “Singing Auctioneer.”
For over 30 years, Forest Fete has helped PFT drive impactful conservation initiatives. Your support fuels our work to protect vital forestlands, advance climate-smart forestry, and safeguard clean water sources. Together, we’ve conserved over 363,000 acres, ensuring lasting environmental benefits for generations to come.
Don’t miss this unforgettable night of celebration and impact! Get your tickets today and help shape the future of forest conservation.
Please consider a donation to the Pacific Forest Trust. Your help—in all capacities—makes our work possible. Thanks for supporting us as we support forests!
Over the past six years, Oregon has steadily increased its investment in conserving forests and other natural and working lands. While individual funding programs remain modest—typically a few million dollars each—as compared to the needs and opportunities across the state, their collective impact signals a growing recognition of the importance of these landscapes for watersheds, climate resilience, biodiversity, recreation, and sustainable resource management.
Just this past week, Oregon’s governor signed a temporary stopgap measure restoring legal protections for landowners—including local governments—who allow public recreation on their properties. This move highlights the intersection between conservation and outdoor recreation, encouraging responsible land stewardship while ensuring continued public access to trails. The law, which takes effect immediately, reinstates “recreational immunity” for landowners who offer free access for activities like biking, running, and walking, with lawmakers expected to work on a long-term solution in the next legislative session. We applaud the Governor for signing this important measure and encourage lawmakers to pursue a permanent solution in the next legislative session.
Several conservation programs are up for funding in this year’s budget, reinforcing the state’s commitment to watershed health, forest resilience, and sustainable agriculture. The Natural and Working Lands (NWL) Fund, for example, aims to provide essential support for forest < and other lands?> landowners, recognizing their critical role in sequestering carbon and maintaining ecosystem health. Similarly, the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund has helped restore habitat while increasing outdoor recreation opportunities, demonstrating how conservation and public access can go hand in hand. The Private Forest Accord Grant Program, which invests $15 million annually in watershed-scale restoration, has also supported projects that improve fish passage and protect critical habitat.
Pacific Forest Trust supports these efforts, along with making permanent key legislation such as the “recreational immunity bill,” which would further incentivize landowners to open their lands for public use. While some programs face uncertainty due to shifting federal policies, Oregon’s dedication to conservation funding, which is strongly supported across political parties and regions with broad stakeholder support, is a promising trend. Continued investment in these initiatives is vital for safeguarding the state’s natural resources and health of future generations.
ICYMI
In case you missed it (ICYMI), here are some other exciting things PFT has been involved in lately!
- PFT President Laurie Wayburn’s TEDxBoston talk, Can We Have Our Forests and Harvest Them Too?, is now available to watch online! In her talk, Laurie explores the vision of a managed “working forest,” which not only provides timber products but also restores and protects watersheds, wildlife habitats for vanishing species, and a healthier climate. Pacific Forest Trust has executed on this vision for over 30 years, and across tens of thousands of acres of forest.
- Also from Laurie Wayburn is this op-ed in Governing, a magazine for policy makers at the local, state, and national/international levels, which highlights why we need to manage forests (and other natural systems) for older, more natural conditions.
- Additionally, Beyond the Trees, the award-winning film about Pacific Forest Trust’s groundbreaking work on the van Eck forests, has been selected for Jackson Wild’s 2025 World Wildlife Day Film Showcase! This year’s theme, Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet, highlights solutions that sustain both nature and communities—exactly what the van Eck forests do. They are living proof that conservation finance can ensure working forests thrive for wildlife, climate solutions, and people. You can watch BTT, and the rest of the selections, here.
- We were also pleased to help support the good work done by California’s state Administration in expanding good fire management, with a story in Politico,quoting PFT’s Paul Mason.
