Pacific Northwest Research Station

Canopy crane researchers explain forest management implications, seek suggestions

USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station

Portland, OR: June 18, 2004

Contact:
Media assistance: Sandra Hines, (206) 543-2580

Sherri Richardson-Dodge, (503) 808-2137

Roger Peterson, (360) 891-5010

The ways Pacific Northwest forests sequester carbon, respond to pests and may be managed in the future are topics June 24 and 25 during a review of nearly 10 years of old-growth research on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest using a towering 25-story construction crane and many decades of work in surrounding forests of all ages.

Technical presentations June 24 in Stevenson, Wash., and a field trip June 25 are free and aimed at forestry professionals interested in management implications of what's been learned and in suggesting future research using the Wind River Canopy Crane. See: http://depts.washington.edu/wrccrf/scicon2004.html.

Scheduled especially for the public is an opportunity to talk one-on-one with researchers during a poster session and reception June 24 starting at 4 p.m., followed by two public lectures at 7 p.m. Sessions June 24 are all at the Rock Creek Center in Stevenson.

The University of Washington and two arms of the U.S. Forest Services – the Pacific Northwest Research Station and the Gifford Pinchot National Forest – partnered to erect the canopy crane in 1995 in Southwest Washington near Stevenson. Mapping and basic research started at the site in 1994, and this year marks the 10th anniversary of science meetings concerning canopy and forest research there.

The crane is the largest of any of the 11 cranes operating in the world today and has been used by more than 300 scientists from numerous universities, agencies and institutions to study how old growth forests function and the implications for managing forests of many ages including timberlands.

Averaging 25 to 35 projects a year, work using the Wind River Canopy Crane has produced several hundred publications, the 11 most recent going online now for a special issue of "Ecosystems," http://link.springer.de/link/service/journals/10021/index.htm.

Research using the crane is networked with results from surrounding forests where, since the 1930s, workers and scientists have conducted hundreds of experiments and field studies into nursery practices, seedling survival and growth, genetics and the ecology of Douglas-fir forests.

No sign up is necessary for sessions June 24 but space is limited on the field trip so reserve a place by contacting Bob Obedzinski, (360) 891-5114. Contact Obedzinksi or Sarah Greene, (541)750-7360, with questions about the program. Contact Annie Hamilton, (509) 427-7028, annieh@u.washington.edu,
with general questions.