Field Trips

General Notes:

Field trips must be selected when registering. Select second choice as well as first. Reservations will be accepted on a first come-first served basis. Field trips with insufficient registration will be dropped. You will receive a confirmation notice with additional details before the workshop.

Mid-conference Trips

Overnight trips

(depart late afternoon Wed June 18, return late Thurs June 19):

1. Title: Mt. St. Helens (Limited to 40 participants)

Leader: Peter Frenzen
What we will see: Aftermath and recovery of Mount St. Helens eruption as viewed along the large-scale disturbance gradient created by the 1980 eruption. Participants will examine eruption impacts and two decades of succession along gradient beginning in intact forest that received ashfall and moving toward the volcano through standing dead scorched by the blast, forests felled by the lateral blast. The gradient ends in the Spirit Lake basin where a massive landslide obliterated forests and all traces of pre-eruption biota were erased by subsequent 600oC pyroclastic flows.
Departs 4:30 pm Wednesday. Driving time 4 hours to Mt. St. Helens. Trip will overnight on Wednesday evening in Packwood, WA. Returns 8:00 pm.

2. Title: Biscuit Fire, SW Oregon (Limited to 40 participants)

Leader: Tom Atzet
What we will see: This fire burned over 500,000 acres (biggest fire in Oregon history) of one of the most ecologically diverse areas in the United States. We will see a range of fire severity effects across an elevational gradient and through a variety of parent rock ranging from ultrabasic serpentine to acidic granitics. Natural vegetation recovery will be contrasted with Burn Area Emergency Rehabilitation efforts. The trip will begin at Eight Dollar Mountain and end at the border of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. There is an opportunity to see several unusual species, such as the insectivorous California Cobra Lilly and rare onions and other serpentine vegetation.
Departs 6:15 pm Wednesday. Driving time 4 hours to Cave Junction. Overnight there with field trip the next day. Returns 8:00 pm Thursday.

Day trips (Thursday, June 19):

3. Title: Young Growth Management (Limited to 40 participants)

Leaders: John Cissel and Pat Muir
What we will see: Density Management and Riparian Buffer Studies on Bureau of Land Management lands in western Oregon. These studies were begun in 1995 to test a key component of the Northwest Forest Plan—thinning of young stands to enhance forest habitat. Study treatments include a variety of approaches intended to create spatial variability including thinning at multiple densities, patch cuts of three sizes, and leave islands of three sizes. Alternative riparian buffers were applied within one treatment to test the effects of study treatments within riparian reserves established in the Northwest Forest Plan. Topics to be covered on the tour include understory development, arthropods, songbirds, terrestrial amphibians, microclimate, aquatic vertebrates, mollusks, epiphytic lichens, and bryophytes.
Departs 8:00 am. Driving time of 1 hour to primary field site. Returns 5:00 pm.

4. Title: Wind River Research including the Canopy Crane (Limited to 25 participants)

Leader: Dave Shaw
What we will see: The Wind River Canopy Crane (we will lift above the trees, which are 60 m tall, in a gondola accompanied by facility Research Manager), vertical structure of an old-growth (500 year) forest canopy, research in progress at the crane facility, vertical organization of epiphytes (mosses and lichens) and other biota. We will also visit the T.T. Munger Research Natural Area.
Departs 6:00 am Thursday, as the crane must be used before noon. (Winds will be too strong after that.) Driving time 3 hours to Wind River. Return to Corvallis 4:00 pm.

5. Title: Coast trip-Oregon Coast Range (Limited to 40 participants)

Leaders: Everett Hansen, Peter McEvoy and Sarah Greene
Natural disturbance, farming, logging and land development along the Oregon coast have interacted over the last 100 years, resulting in many land use and natural resource management problems. Resolution of these problems in conjunction with protection of magnificent scenery and a diverse biota is a persistent challenge in a landscape that continues to experience population growth.
What we will see: 160-year-old coastal temperate rain forest; visit a restoring estuary; look at causes, impacts, and control of invasive species; and view silvicultural responses to disease problems stemming from land use change. Plan on 1-2 miles of hiking on level ground and bring both rain gear and boots.
Departs 8:00 am. Returns by 6:00 pm.

6. Title: Cascade Transect (Limited to 30 participants)

Leader: Don Zobel
What we will see: We will visit mature forests typical of six forested zones that develop with the elevational change and rain shadow caused by the Cascades. We also will see edaphically-caused variation within one zone. Dress for muddy trails, climbing onto a lava flow, short walks through the woods, rain, and a wide range of temperature.
Departs 8 am. Driving time 2 hours to Cascade Crest. Returns 6:00 pm.

7. Title: Oregon White Oak Habitats and Restoration in the Willamette Valley (Limited to 40 participants)

Leader: Barb Schrader
What we will see: Oregon white oak plant communities are some of the most highly threatened habitats in the Pacific Northwest and were historically maintained by Native American burning practices. Preservation, management, and restoration of these plant communities is challenging yet critical to maintain these important forest types. We will see a variety of oak habitats and restoration projects including prairie/savanna sites as well as oak woodlands succeeding to conifer. Land use policies, wildlife habitats, oak mistletoe, and restoration tools and techniques will be explored. Plan on 1-2 miles of hiking on level ground and bring rain gear and boots.
Departs 8:00 am. Driving time to first site less than one hour. Returns 4:00 pm.

8. Title: Riparian Management (Limited to 40 participants)

Leader: Rob Pabst
What we will see: Riparian forest management in western Oregon has changed substantially in the last two decades in response to listings of endangered species, concerns about water quality and catastrophic debris flows, and discoveries of the complexities relating aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. On this trip into Oregon’s Coast Range, we’ll take a look at examples of riparian forest management, including silvicultural treatments to alter stand structure and composition and community-based efforts to restore habitat for anadromous fish. We’ll also visit aquatic and terrestrial ecologists to learn how their research is furthering our understanding of riparian ecosystems. Expect to do some hiking on uneven, sloping terrain. Please bring rain gear and boots.
Departs 8:00 am. Returns 6:00 pm.

9. Title: HJ Andrews Long-Term Ecological Research (Limited to 40 participants)

Leaders: Mark Harmon and Fred Swanson
Nestled in the central Cascade Range of Oregon, the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest is a living laboratory that provides unparalleled opportunities for the study of forest and stream ecosystems. During the last 21 years as a part of the National Science Foundation Long Term Ecological Research (NSF-LTER) program, the Andrews Experimental Forest has become a leader in the analysis of forest and stream ecosystem dynamics. What we will see: Examples of Oregon Cascades forests including old-growth and plantations in uplands and riparian corridors. There will be presentations of current and past research on log decomposition, forest production, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, riparian systems, small watershed experiments, and landscape planning.
Departs 8:00 am. Driving time 2 hours to HJ Andrews. Returns 6:00 pm.

Self-Guided Trips near Corvallis

1. Willamette River walk
2. Bald Hill
3. Finley National Wildlife Refuge
Self-guided trips will be designed to take one-half day at most. Maps and details will be made available at the workshop.

Post-conference Field Trip

(IUFRO Working Party on Old Growth and Forest Reserves) Open to anyone wishing to join the working party (Contact tspies@fs.fed.us for more information), overnight June 20-21 (leave Friday afternoon and return Saturday evening):

10. Title: IUFRO Old growth field trip (Limited to 40 participants)

Leaders: Tom Spies, John Cissel, Jerry Franklin, and Andy Youngblood
What we will see: Good examples of west-side old-growth Douglas-fir, silver fir, mountain hemlock, and Ponderosa pine in the western Cascades. Also will see examples of restoration activities and recent fires in old-growth stands. The location for our overnight stay will be at or near the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. During the evening of the trip, there will be a meeting to discuss potential activities of the IUFRO working party on old-growth and forest reserves.
Departs 1:00 pm Friday, June 20. Returns 8 PM Saturday, June 21.