HOME > SCIENCE > COLLINS PROJECTS > RESTORATION OF YOUNG-MANAGED FOREST LANDSCAPES IN THE PACIFIC NW COASTAL REGIONS

Restoration of Young-Managed Forest Landscapes in the Pacific Northwest Coastal Regions.

Participating States: Washington, Alaska, California

Length of Project: 5 years (FY 2006 - FY 2010)

Amount of Award: $498,427

For more information, please contact , Forest Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy.

General Significance of Project:

Over the last century, low elevation temperate coniferous forests along the Pacific Northwest Coast, from Southeast Alaska to Northern California, have been intensively managed for commercial timber, leaving a legacy of degraded habitats throughout the region. To abate ongoing threats to freshwater, estuarine, and terrestrial habitats, new large-scale conservation projects are focusing on forest and watershed restoration. The science and implementation of restoration treatments in young-managed forest landscapes, however, is in its infancy and there are no long-term studies or existing data from which managers can clearly identify “best management practices.” Our project focuses on implementing a large scale adaptive management study comparing alternative restoration pathways at Ellsworth Creek, Washington, and catalyzing collaboration between managers and scientists at several restoration sites throughout the Pacific Northwest in order to speed development of restoration knowledge.

Goals of Project:

To develop forest restoration science along the Pacific Northwest Coast, and dramatically improve restoration standards and applicability, this project focuses on four core initiatives:

1. Supporting an intensive adaptive management restoration and research project at the Conservancy’s Ellsworth Creek Preserve, Washington.
2. Linking forest restoration efforts in Washington, Alaska, and California to build the Conservancy’s expertise in restoration science and implementation.
3. Generating productive collaboration amongst forest restoration practitioners from Southeast Alaska to Northern California.
4. Catalyzing scientific research that addresses key questions surrounding the implementation of forest restoration treatments and ecological responses.

Achievements to Date:

Year 1: Hired project ecologist and worked with external science review panel to complete an extensive experimental study design for the Ellsworth Creek Preserve.

Year 2: Completed the first full year of baseline monitoring at Ellsworth Creek, including; collecting habitat data from permanent vegetation plots and stream reaches, and sampling wildlife populations within forest bird point count stations, headwater amphibian transects, and coho salmon spawning transects. Worked with the City of Seattle’s Cedar River Watershed and others to form the Northwest Coast Forest Restoration Cooperative. The Cooperative will hold its inaugural meeting in July 2007. Presented study design and initial findings at 2 major scientific conferences. Designed data management policy and created a project website.