Tree Shepherd Woods Demonstration Forest

Our non-profit membership group, The Forestland Management Committee, begun in the early 90’s, by 1995 had evolved from a search and analyzing group; looking for ecologically sustainable timbering solutions, to an experiment called the Full Circle Ecoforestry Pilot Project, on our own forest. We received 2 grants. Fifteen Hundred dollars from the Rex Foundation (the Grateful Dead) and $1,900 from a local competition for environmental solutions, financed by Weyerhaeuser. The Full Circle Ecoforestry Project really jelled the years of info gathering, networking and planning by putting it into action; protecting and managing a piece of the natural environment for our needs, in a way that left the forest in a better condition than the state we found it in.

The gist of “Full Circle” was to put ourselves in the shoes of the small landowner (in our case 20 acres of partially forested land) and carry out all the ecoforestry ideas we had found. We began with partners to carry out all those pieces. But ultimately over the 7 year project, it not only worked out more efficient and economically to do everything by just ourselves, but more accurately achieved our objective, finding answers for landowners. The idea all along was to learn and “work the bugs out” for other land owners we consult for, and public land managers we give input to. Here are the questions we found answers to in our quest to keep a forest naturally healthy and standing while concurrently providing income.

1. How to credibly monitor our actions in the forest, so as not to cause harm.
2. How to establish the forest permanently for conservation and tax reduction.
3. How to fall and remove trees without damaging the forest ecosystem.
4. How to mill and grade trees on-site advantageously.
5. How to access markets for trees and other products.
6. Jean has set up multiple carbon sequestration measuring plots in Tree Shepherd Woods. If, or once, we get approval from the Nisqually Tribe, whom now has accepted title for our land, FSC is ready to proceed forward with our approved application in their Carbon Neutral program for receiving money for the yearly carbon our forest sequesters.

We got answers to all of them.

1. For monitoring we used $700 to hire specialists to set up forest test plots, for monitoring and assessment procedures. They established 3 test plots and 1 control plot, where everything from soil compaction to tree growth were measured establishing the base conditions, and from then on come back every 5 years to re-measure and compare. For more information and to contact this company call Ecoforest Management Association at 503-332-7923 at 41545 Swinging Bridge, Port Orford Oregon 97465 Sharyn and Jerry Beckers E-mail Address: ema@harborside.com

2. The pre-plan, to put a conservation easement on the forest to protect the land from ever being developed, gave way to setting it up in a legal “charitable remainder trust”, with a lawyer, which achieved the same ends but cost much less. We designated the end care taker responsibility to the Nisqually Tribe instead of to a Land Trust. We wrote a forest management plan and qualified for “Open Space Timber Zoning” to save money on our yearly property taxes.

3. We learned that to cut down a tree in a full standing forest was not difficult as far as proficiently setting up the cut for it, was concerned. The only trouble was, sometimes, the tree that we cut through would not go over because its branches were so intertwined with its neighbor’s branches. We solved this by tying the cut tree and a neighboring tree together with a block and tackle (barb wire fence stretcher) and with the advantage of leverage, bring the cut tree down.

Log removal stimulated the creation of our gas powered winch on sleds. A Volkswagon Beetle carhood was used as a sled under the front of the loads of logs which left the forest floor unscathed in the wake of the winch pulling them in.

4. Jerel felt ready to tackle fabricating a saw mill after making the winch. He put one together made from the largest wood shop band saw on the market. He flipped it on its side and attached metal wheels so it could run up and down a steel track. The cost of materials came to about $1,000.00. You do not have to have logs professionally graded if you are not selling the lumber for structural purposes, or when you are using the lumber in your own value-added wood products.

5. We learned we did not want to sell raw logs, but capture all their value by making them into something far more valuable before letting go of them. And because we were going to be making value added products, as well, we did not want to sell our green certified wood supply out from under ourselves, since it is so scarce and expensive. And the pre-plan of selling directly on-site fell before an oxymoronic environmental law so we are marketing via shows, web site, and stores.