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Thursday, 3:30pm

Forest ecosystems throughout the West have experienced major impacts to soils, hydrologic function, aquatic systems, and have lost old growth characteristics and diversity of habitats due to logging, road building, fire suppression, and other management activities. This panel will discuss restoring forest diversity, structure and function to make forests more resilient to climate change and natural disturbances.

Speakers

• Cameron Naficy, Ecologist, Wild West Institute, University of Montana
  Accounting for distinct land use histories in development of restoration strategies for Ponderosa pine forest systems
• Mark Vander Meer, Restoration Ecologist, Forester & Soil Scientist, National Network of Forest Practitioners and Watershed Consulting, LLC, Wildland Conservation Services
  Maintaining and restoring soil resiliency in forest ecosystems
• Derek Churchill, Forester, Conservation Northwest
  Managing for resilience in Pacific Northwest coastal forests
  

Moderator

Tom Fry, National Fire Program Lead, The Wilderness Society

Recommended Readings

Keeling et al. Effects of Fire Exclusion on Forest Structure and Composition in Unlogged Ponderosa Pine/Douglas-fir Forests. Forest Ecology and Management. 2006
This paper compares the structural and compositional attributes of overstory and understory components of unlogged, fire-maintained and unlogged, fire-excluded ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests of the Northern Rockies.
 
Noss, Reed F.  Beyond Kyoto: Forest Management in a Time of Rapid Climate Change. Conservation Biology. Vol. 15. No. 3. June 2001.
This paper includes a good overall explanation of resilience, resistance, and change.
 
Carey, Andrew B., Active and Passive Forest Management for Multiple Values. Northwestern Naturalist. 87:18-30, Spring 2006.
This paper summarizes the key key components of restoration in Pacific Northwest Westside forests.  View Carey’s larger, much more detailed work on forest restoration.

Graham et al.  Managing Coarse Woody Debris in Forests of the Rocky Mountains.  Intermountain Research Station, USDA Forest, September, 1994

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Derek Churchill

Derek Churchill received his Masters degree in silviculture and conservation biology at the University of Washington where he focused on uneven-aged management and developing old growth structure in young forests. He currently works as a forester for Conservation Northwest where he engages with Forest Service staff and collaborative groups to plan and implement variable density thinning and dry-forest restoration treatments on National Forests across Washington. In addition, he works as a forestry consultant and has completed projects with the Nature Conservancy, the Willapa Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the US Forest Service, Northwest Natural Resources Group, and King County. His experience includes writing large scale landscape restoration and management plans, developing an FSC monitoring template, designing and managing over 30 forest restoration projects on more than 2500 acres, and overseeing a 35,000 acre forest inventory project. He is also a founding member of the Vashon Forest Stewards, a community forestry group that works with small private landowners on thinning and restoration projects. Along with his father, he has managed family forestland in Southern Oregon and Vashon Island for 15 years. Former work experience includes: forest tech at Fort Lewis, founding director of a wilderness service program for low-income youth, and an Outward Bound Instructor for 10 years. He serves on the board of the Vashon Land Trust.

Cameron Naficy

Cameron was born in Los Angeles, CA and raised in Houston, TX, where he completed a B.S. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Rice University in 2003. He has worked in Oregon's Cascade Mountains surveying old growth associated lichens, in Yellowstone studying fuel models, in Texas coastal prairies studying invasive species, and in Costa Rica examining the reproductive biology of several tropical plants.  An avid backcountry adventurer, photographer and naturalist, Cameron's interest in public lands stems from his longtime history with Montana's wildlands.  He served from 2005-2007 as the Vice President of the MT Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology and has worked for numerous conservation organization in TX and MT.

Currently he works as the Staff Ecologist and Forest Policy Director for the WildWest Institute in Missoula, MT.  He is also completing an M.S. in forest dynamics, fire ecology, and tree physiology from the University of Montana.  Recently he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Argentina, where he will work on climate change effects on forests of the northern Patagonian Andes.

Mark Vander Meer

Mark Vander Meer works part-time with the National Network of Forest Practitioners (NNFP) as the Northern Rockies Regional Coordinator.  In this position Vander Meer promotes the mission of the NNFP by emphasizing workshops and educational opportunities that build a sustainable relationship between forests and people.  He enjoys incubating small businesses that put forest practitioners in the woods.  Professionally, Vander Meer bills himself as a Restoration Ecologist; Forester & Soil Scientist.  He owns several small businesses that emphasize ecological restoration and sustainable forest practices.   Mark operates a small sawmill that uses the “by-products” of his forest restoration efforts.  He also has a native plant nursery that grows riparian shrubs and trees for stream restoration projects.  Check out his websites:  www.nnfp.org   www.vanwild.com and www.watershedconsulting.com

Tom Fry

Tom Fry leads the national wildland fire program efforts of The Wilderness Society and is TWS’ point for fire and forest restoration issues in the Central Rockies. In that work, his focus is on federal fire and restoration policy and appropriations, regional and state risk reduction and restoration planning and implementation, and local community fire planning. He has served on a number of panels and advisory bodies, including the Colorado Climate Action Panel; place and issue-based collaboratives, including the Front Range Roundtable; and coalition and stakeholder committees, including the Southern Rockies Conservation Alliance. A former Forest Service employee and volunteer firefighter, Tom holds a master’s degree in non-profit management, emphasizing Environmental Policy, Management, and Law from Regis University.