State Trust Lands Forest Management
Olympic Experimental State Forest Program of Experiments
The 1989 Old Growth Commission report recommended creation of the OESF as a place to “enhance habitat characteristics and commodities production and to provide opportunities for research into forest harvest and habitat management.” The experimental mission of the OESF is emphasized in DNR’s trust lands Habitat Conservation Plan and the Policy for Sustainable Forests.
The OESF Forest Land Plan is an opportunity to incorporate experimentation into scheduled activities on the OESF. Experiments are intended to provide feedback to management of the OESF and inform management of other trust lands. Experiments also provide the opportunity to test new ways to achieve our conservation objectives. The following outlines the program of experiments that DNR is currently developing via the Forest Land Plan.
Landscape Experiments
Conservation strategies for meeting conservation objectives for riparian ecosystems, northern spotted owl, and marbled murrelet provide working hypotheses to be tested on the OESF. Conservation strategies also provide management flexibility to test new approaches. Landscape experiments seek to evaluate the effectiveness of the conservation strategies at a scale that is meaningful to the species we intend to benefit and to commercial forest operations. Near-term, the DNR is developing these experiments via three initiatives:
- Locating Landscapes for Experimentation – the DNR is undertaking a deliberate process to identify areas that will support meaningful evaluation of the cause-and-effect relationships between management, habitat, and species.
- Synthesis of Research and Monitoring – the DNR is a partner in several efforts that seek to identify how advances in science improve confidence in the working hypotheses underlying our conservation strategies and what critical uncertainties remain.
- Collaborative Partnerships – the DNR is working with the Pacific Northwest Research Station, University of Washington, and Olympic National Forest to coordinate resources for landscape experimentation. Through this partnership, we will also seek participation by stakeholders and other research partners in carrying out this effort.
Research Trials
Conservation strategies also provide an opportunity to develop, test, and refine stand-level management techniques in achieving our conservation objectives. Several research installations have been established on and off the OESF, supporting these information goals:
DNR seeks to support on-going remeasurement and analysis of information gathered from these studies. To fill critical information gaps, the DNR is also developing several prospective studies via the Forest Land Plan:
- Innovative Silvicultural Demonstration Projects – designed to evaluate the application of different scales of openings, different scales of retention, and different retention levels on forest management units at a stand level.
- Experimental Approach to Buffer Management – designed to improve management techniques in riparian forests by evaluating viable experimental designs for each of several distinct riparian configurations in the OESF.
To the extent practicable, this program of experiments will be coordinated. Study plans for landscape experiments and research trials will be published on this web site. For more information, contact Teodora Minkova, OESF HCP Research and Monitoring Manager.
The OESF provides a unique opportunity to conduct experimentation at a scale rarely matched. Information gathered will help the DNR seek new and better ways to achieve conservation goals on a working forest. This is of value to the OESF and to all DNR-managed trust lands.