Features
High
marks for the Andrews . . .
Scientists studying forests, soils, and streams as part of the long-term ecological research (LTER) program at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest received praise from a review panel of the National Science Foundation, the program's main funding agency. In a July report, the panel commended the LTER program especially for its work on the ecological links between forests and streams, and for the usefulness of its science in helping to solve forest management problems.
"It was a good report card," says Art McKee, director of the research program. "They were full of praise, and we're satisfied that we're mostly on track. I was pleased that they felt we strike a good balance between basic and applied science, and that we've develoed a good relationship with resource managers."
The H.J. Andrews is a research station in the Oregon Cascades, administered jointly by OSU and the Forest Service. It is one of 21 National Science Foundation--sponsored long-term ecological research centers in the United States, and the site of several influential studies on the workings of the temperate conifer forests of the Northwest.
About 40 scientists from 13 OSU departments are on the team, conducting research on forest geology, soils, streams, trees and other plants, wildlife, fungi, and insects, as well as the social and economic aspects of forest management.
The good review helps assure that the Andrews program will continue to be funded. the NSF provides about $600,000 a year in funding, and the Forest Service provides about $500,000. OSU provides about $100,000 in direct funding and another $250,000 in the form of faculty salary for research, McKee says.
A new book by science writer Jon Luoma, The Hidden Forest, tells the various stories of the diverse scientific team probing the ecological workings of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest.
Subtitled "The biography of an ecosystem," the book details research on hillslopes and landslides, soil organisms, fungi, decomposition processes, red tree voles, and other Andrews topics.
Along the way, the author discusses the evolution of forestry philosophy and practice and describes the changing attitudes of Americans toward nature. Readers of Focus on Forestry will encounter several familiar names among the scientists profiled. 228 pp. Henry Holt & Co. 1999.
A U.S. district judge ruled in August that federal land-management agencies failed to adequately survey for 77 species of little-known and rare forest plants and wildlife before offering timber for sale. The ruling, from Judge William Dwyer, has stalled 47 timber sales on federal forests in Oregon, Washington, and California.
The species at issue include slugs, snails, salamanders, mushrooms, mosses, and lichens that are not on the federal endangered or threatened list, but whose habitat needs are not well known. Forest Service officials say they are working to comply with endangered species law despite several years' worth of budget cutbacks.
What does forest sustainability look like? What forest policies will achieve it? What questions should we be asking about our forests, and do we have the tools to find the answers?
These were the big questions raised at a September conference at OSU titled "Oregon's Forests at the Millenium." The conference, sponsored by the Oregon Board of Forestry and the OSU College of Forestry, featured scientists and policy experts who assessed the current state of knowledge about the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of Oregon's forests.
Assessments were made in seven key areas: biodiversity, production capacity, forest health, soil and water conditions, global carbon cycles, socioeconomic benefits, and legal and economic issues. These categories follow criteria developed for forest sustainability at the 1992 United Nations conference on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro.
The criteria do not themselves define sustainability, said state forester Jim Brown in his opening remarks. "Rather, they set forth the information that must be on the table in order to have the conversation about sustainability."
The one-day symposium featured updates of ongoing research projects in timber availability, wildlife habitat, stream and soil conditions, economic and recreational trends, and patterns of land-use change.
Researchers also showed new tools for answering large-scale questions about forest management. These included OSU's CLAMS project, which predicts future forest conditions in Oregon's Coast Range under a variety of policy scenarios. Also featured was a model developed by Darius Adams, professor of Forest Resources, that predicts future harvesting levels and resource conditions on private forest lands. More information is needed in every area, the researchers agreed. "And yet the state of our knowledge gives us reason to be optimistic," says Bart Thielges, interim Dean of the College. "We have a pretty good idea of what questions we should be asking, and we either have or are developing the tools to begin to answer them."
Reports from the conference constitute the Board of Forestry's "First Approximation Report," so called because it is a first approximation of sustainability on Oregon's forest lands. The report will be incorporated into the 2001 revision of the Forestry Program for Oregon, the board's ongoing strategic plan.
The conference was sponsored by the Oregon Board of Forestry and the OSU College of Forestry, with support from Oregon Forest Resources Institute. Copies of the First Approximation Report may be ordered from the Oregon Department of Forestry at 503-945-7200, and it's available on the Department's web site: www.odf.state.or.us.
The budget picture at OSU hasn't been this bright in years. Oregon's colleges and universities got a $108.8 million increase above "current services"--meaning what it would take to fund Oregon University System (OUS) at today's levels.
That's not quite the $116 million over current services that OUS asked for. But it's a sight better than the treading-water allocations of the past decade, says Kevin McCann, who handles governmental relations for OSU. "We took a decrease in '91, '93, and '95. In '97 we were granted a flat budget--enough to cover inflation only. This has been a long time coming."
While it's not yet known what OSU's overall share will be, the new budget includes a $12.8 million initiative to boost funding for Oregon's Extension Service, Agricultural Experiment Station, and Forest Research Laboratory. All these service units are based at OSU.
The FRL's increase brings the state-funded component of FRL research from $4 to $5 million. The FRL suffered a budget cut of $200,000 in 1997, and several cuts were made between 1991 and 1995.
This biennium's welcome increase will be targeted at research projects in improving forest health and productivity, reducing the environmental impact of forest operations, forecasting forest resources, and finding causes of and remedies for Swiss needle cast.
The OUS budget also includes $5 million to improve faculty recruiting and retention, another $5 million to expand engineering education, and a tuition freeze worth $15.3 million.
OUS has switched to a new funding mechanism in which state support is directly tied to student enrollment. In addition, colleges and universities have to meet certain standards in quality, student access and retention, and cost-effectiveness, among others.
The budget boost, says McCann, is a legislative vote for the greater accountability and decentralized administration that's come under the new system. It also, he says, shows Oregon's willingness to invest in higher education as a tool for statewide economic development.