From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Wed Nov 4 09:46:27 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 09:46:27 -0800 Subject: [ODF_Private_Forests] Recovery Act dollars fund SW Oregon forest projects Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BC1E160@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Oregon Department of Forestry NEWS RELEASE Recovery Act dollars fund SW Oregon forest projects For immediate release Major media distribution November 4, 2009 Contacts: Chris Rudd, ODF, 541-471-4245 Mike Wheelock, Grayback Forestry, 541-476-0033, ext. 314 This fall, local crews will go to work reducing the wildfire hazard on more than 200 acres of forest in Josephine County, thanks to a federal Recovery Act grant received by the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). Grayback Forestry of Merlin has been awarded a contract to clear dead and standing hardwood trees on three tracts of state forestland. The thinning and brush-clearing operation will also create growing space for conifers. The three work sites, located in Josephine County near Sunny Valley, Wolf Creek and south of Glendale, are on isolated parcels of state-owned forest. "We expect this project to keep up to 20 people employed for a month," ODF's Chris Rudd said. "They will do the hand work with chainsaws and then pile the material." The Grants Pass-based forester said the jobs for this first of several stimulus-funded contracts will help keep local forests healthy and provide jobs to areas hard-hit by the economic recession. The Josephine County project is the first to get underway in the Southwest Oregon District through a grant awarded to ODF from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Overall, the grant will put crews to work in three counties doing forest fuels reduction: * $530,000 - Douglas County * $377,000 - Josephine County * $269,000 - Jackson County The fuels work is expected to cost between $500-1,000/acre. The total acreage to be treated will be determined by the contract bid prices. The trees, limbs and brush from this fall's Josephine County operation will be piled and burned onsite. But in future projects slated for Josephine and the other counties, ODF will seek to put the wood waste to use. "We'll encourage loggers to get creative in finding ways to make it pay to chip the material and send it to biomass plants," he said. He cited as an example a local logger who has developed a small chip van he uses to gather material from small log landings. By transporting wood waste out of the woods at lower cost, the improvised machine could help make forest biomass conversion in southwestern Oregon more cost-effective. Biomass facilities are able to produce electricity from woody debris. In offering the grants, ODF is working with local communities that have Community Wildfire Protection Plans in place to craft other fuels-reduction projects. Thinning timbered tracts adjacent to developed areas has the twofold benefit of protecting people and property from encroaching wildfire, while also enhancing forest health. Contractors desiring to bid on other Recovery Act-funded ODF projects in the region are encouraged to go to the Oregon Procurement Information Network (ORPIN) Internet site, http://orpin.oregon.gov/open.dll/welcome. ODF's Southwest Oregon District will post all Recovery Act-funded requests for proposal or invitations to bid there, with the listings containing the keywords "ODF fuel reduction services." The U.S. Forest Service awarded the Recovery Act grant to ODF. More information on Oregon Department of Forestry Recovery Act projects can be found at: www.oregon.gov/odf. For information on all Recovery Act projects being administered by Oregon State Government agencies, go to the Oregon Way website, www.oregon.gov/recovery/index.page. ### Questions about the Private Forests News service?? Contact: Kevin Weeks Oregon Department of Forestry (503) 945-7427 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Fri Nov 6 10:23:11 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 10:23:11 -0800 Subject: [ODF_Private_Forests] State advisory committee reviews Forest Legacy Program in Nov. 12 conference call Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BC31FD1@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Oregon Department of Forestry NEWS RELEASE State advisory committee reviews Forest Legacy Program in Nov. 12 conference call November 6, 2009 Contact: Kevin Weeks (503) 945-7427 The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) is convening a special meeting of the State Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee on November 12 to rank project submissions for the Forest Legacy Program. The meeting on Thursday November 12th from 9:30am to 11:30am will be conducted as a conference call between committee members. Members of the public wanting to participate by phone, or attend the call from a coordination point at ODF?s headquarters in Salem, should contact Linda Price with the Oregon Department of Forestry at 503-945-7368 to be provided with additional information for the meeting. Meeting agenda will involve committee members completing work on ranking Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Forest Legacy Program applications begun during an October 21st meeting of the State Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee. Additional information regarding the Forest Legacy Program is available on the Oregon Department of Forestry web site, www.oregon.gov/ODF ### Kevin Weeks Oregon Department of Forestry (503) 945-7427 From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Fri Nov 13 06:34:46 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:34:46 -0800 Subject: [ODF_Private_Forests] Forest Biomass Work Group meets November 17 in Salem Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BC31FE5@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Oregon Department of Forestry NEWS RELEASE Forest Biomass Work Group meets November 17 in Salem November 13, 2009 Contact: Kevin Weeks (503) 945-7427 A workgroup of representatives from state government, forest industries, renewable energy development and the environmental community will meet in Salem on November 17 to talk about the role of Oregon?s forests in providing energy production from wood. The Forest Biomass Work Group will meet on Tuesday November 17 at 10:00 a.m. in the Administration Building (Tillamook meeting room) of the Oregon Department of Forestry complex, 2600 State Street in Salem. Time is provided in the agenda for a working lunch - participants may bring their own lunch or contribute money towards a shared lunch. Members of the public attending the meeting are encouraged to bring a lunch. The proposed agenda for the meeting includes a discussion defining the direction, charter and work plans for the larger group and Work Group subcommittees assigned to topics including policy development, outreach, research, economic development and fuel supply. Members of the public are invited to participate in the meeting. The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. Requests for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or other accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Questions about accessibility or special accommodations for the meeting can be directed to the Oregon Department of Forestry at (503) 945-7427. Timber that may not have a market saw-log value -- either from being too small, damaged, waste from mill production or being too far from a potential milling market ? holds great potential for producing energy. Forest biomass is a renewable source of energy, as wood biomass is generated as a by-product of active forest management. Additional information about the Oregon Department of Forestry is available on ODF?s web site, www.oregon.gov/ODF. ### Kevin Weeks Public Information Officer ODF Agency Affairs Office (503) 945-7427 From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Fri Nov 13 06:37:59 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:37:59 -0800 Subject: [ODF_Private_Forests] ODF Agency Budget Update and Planning for the Future Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BC31FE1@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Private Forests News list members: The Oregon Department of Forestry's Executive Team provided this budget situation update to Forestry staff on Thursday afternoon. Kevin Weeks Public Information Officer Oregon Department of Forestry / Agency Affairs Office (503) 945-7427 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:12 PM Subject: Agency Budget Update and Planning for the Future Hi everyone?we wanted to give you another update on our where we are in implementing our agency budget for the 2009-11 biennium, which began July 1. As you know, we are working through one of the most challenging financial times in Oregon?s history, and as an agency of state government, we?ve had to make significant organizational changes over the past 12 months, particularly in the State Forests and Private Forests programs, to live within our means. Now that we are into the biennium, three additional planning steps are underway that will likely bring additional change. Changes to administrative programs As we have been planning and implementing the changes in State Forests and Private Forests over the past year, we have also been examining the functions within the agency administrative programs to see how the operating program changes would impact administrative work, and vice versa. We have said all along that administrative support levels must align with operating program needs, and that these operating program needs, after the changes are implemented, would drive the decisions for administrative changes. We are now at the point where the administrative changes need to be considered, and for the past two months, the administrative program directors have been considering the impacts of the State Forests and Private Forests program changes in the broader context of needs for the Fire Protection program and legal and regulatory requirements at the agency level. The program directors have developed and presented to the Executive Team a number of cost savings and budget reduction options that could be considered in order to align the administrative work with the operating program needs. Out of this current work, we expect three things to happen. First, we will implement or continue to implement some changes in administrative program work and procedures to reduce costs and generate budget savings over the biennium. Examples here include reducing printing and publication costs, redesigning training programs and delivery methods, reducing travel expenses, moving some planning work to federal agreements, taking advantage of reimbursements for purchasing and employee injury management, increasing energy efficiencies in buildings, etc. Secondly, we will implement some new administrative cost savings measures across the entire department to again reduce costs during the biennium. Examples include suspending the normal replacement of some computer and technology hardware for a year or so, reducing our telephone instrument and line charges, delaying the replacement of some vehicles, delaying some capital infrastructure investments, etc. This will come in the form of uniform guidance from the Executive Team to the Leadership Team. The third action is that we will move forward to implement some budget reductions in the administrative programs to bring down our overall costs and align with the reduced work of the operating programs. As we move forward with the budget reduction actions, we will use the same guiding principles we used for the State Forest and Private Forests reductions, and to the greatest extent possible, try to minimize the impact of budget reductions on employees and our internal service delivery. Actions that do have employee impacts will be handled in the same manner as we have before, guided by the collective bargaining contract, and handled on a personal level with the employee?s supervisor and Human Resources staff. The Division Chiefs and Area Directors are currently reviewing all the proposed cost saving and budget reduction options and will be finalizing the set of recommended actions within the next four weeks, at which point the full Executive Team will make the final decisions about moving forward. We?ll be sharing information across the agency in these coming weeks as soon as the initial thinking is completed and then as final decisions are made. Actions that are taken will begin to occur in early 2010. Further state level budget reduction planning As you know from previous messages, the Oregon Legislature will be convening in a special session in February of next year. The Oregon economy continues to be in serious recession, and revenues for state government operations are very uncertain. Much of the February session will be centered around the budget and revenue situation. In order to prepare contingencies for a worsening budget or revenue outlook, the legislative leadership has asked all agencies funded with state revenues or lottery funds to prepare further budget reduction options up to a 10% of current budget level. For us, that means a General Fund reduction of about $4 million. In our planning for this response back to the Legislature, the Executive Team has chosen to return to our original strategic plan for General Fund budget reductions that we used for the regular legislative work last summer that produced the budget we now have. This means that we will propose reduction options that further reduce the Private Forests program, but because this doesn?t get us to the full 10% reduction level agency-wide, we will also have to propose reductions in the Fire Protection program. And because part of the funding of the Fire Program?s share of agency administration in this biennium is General Fund, we will also have to submit reduction options for agency administration programs. As we said before, the outlook for the state?s budget is still uncertain, and we really don?t know today how much of a budget reduction will need to be taken at the state level, if any ? and we also don?t know how much our share would be if reductions are made. The decisions will be made by the Legislature during the February session, and as we know more between now and then, we will share that information with you. Stimulus planning and new federal funding We?re continuing to work aggressively to obtain and now implement federal stimulus dollars, which have provided opportunities for some employees affected by layoffs. Our new Partnership Development Program and the operating programs are working very hard to leverage and capture all that we can effectively implement as we work to provide meaningful forestry services to landowners and our state forests. This work is challenging, but folks across the agency are doing a great job with a very complex system. Also, in just the past two weeks, the federal budget for fiscal year 2010 was completed, and some positive news for forestry agencies across the country has resulted. The final budget levels for state and private forestry programs through the US Forest Service for wildland fire protection increased by 23%, while the remaining state and private programs that we work with most closely increased by 16%. We won?t know for a couple of months how those increases will specifically translate to our agency, but it is safe to say that we will see an increase in federal funding in both our base level federal program work and also in our grant level work. In closing We know that these past 12 months have been difficult, both organizationally and personally. These continue to be the most challenging of times. The loss of staff ? our most valuable asset ? and the personal effects of layoffs on employees and their families, are unfortunate and hard on all of us. So is the loss of service, commitment and expertise that make this agency such an asset to the state and our stakeholders. We are doing all we can to alleviate these consequences through our management of the budget, the workloads, the reductions, the layoff processes, an aggressive pursuit of stimulus dollars and other revenues, and implementing cost-saving measures. But you can help a lot by continuing to focus on your job at hand and giving it your best effort like you always do, and also by trying to be an encouragement for one another, recognizing that even in these tough times, we are fortunate in many ways, including having each other to lean on as needed. Take a moment in the coming weeks to say, ?thanks? to one of your fellow workers for the great job they are doing, and tell them how much you appreciate them. And as always, we also thank each of you for the great work you do ? especially in the face of such uncertainty and change. Please feel free to speak with your supervisor or a member of the Executive Team if you have questions. Best regards, Paul Bell, Associate State Forester and Chief Nancy Hirsch, Chief Fire Protection Division State Forests Division Jim Paul, Chief Clark Seely, Chief Private Forests Division Administrative Services Division From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Mon Nov 16 09:04:00 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:04:00 -0800 Subject: [ODF_Private_Forests] Committee for Family Forestlands meets November 19 in Salem Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BC1EC22@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Oregon Department of Forestry NEWS RELEASE Committee for Family Forestlands meets November 19 in Salem November 16, 2009 Contact: Kevin Weeks (503) 945-7427 Family forest owners have a voice in Oregon's forest policy development through the 10-member Committee for Family Forestlands, which serves an advisory role to the Oregon Board of Forestry regarding issues of concern to Oregon's family-owned forests. The Committee for Family Forestlands will meet at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday November 19, 2009 at the Oregon Department of Forestry headquarters, 2600 State Street (Operations Building D, Santiam meeting room) in Salem. The agenda for the meeting includes reports from ODF staff regarding the impacts to family forest owners of budget reductions in the 2009-2011 budget for the Oregon Department of Forestry. The membership of the Committee includes family forest landowners, forest industry representatives, environmental community and public members, and staff representing the Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon State University and the Oregon Forest Resources Institute. Members of the public are invited to attend and participate in the meeting. The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. Requests for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or other accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Questions about accessibility or special accommodations for the meeting can be directed to the Oregon Department of Forestry at (503) 945-7427. Small-acreage private woodland owners and forest-owning families manage 4.7 million acres of Oregon's forests, about 15 percent of the state's forest footprint. More than half of Oregon's family forest owners are over 65, with many in their 70's and 80's. Many thousands of acres of Oregon's forest land are poised to change ownership within the next decade, with economic pressures driving both new and long-time forest owners to consider converting their forest to other uses, including residential development or commercial land. Additional information about the Oregon Department of Forestry is available on ODF's web site, www.oregon.gov/ODF. ### Kevin Weeks Public Information Officer ODF Agency Affairs Office (503) 945-7427 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Tue Nov 17 09:06:40 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:06:40 -0800 Subject: [ODF_Private_Forests] Oregon's Associate State Forester retires after 35-year career Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BD6DA09@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Oregon Department of Forestry NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Rod Nichols: 503-945-7425 November 17, 2009 Attribution: Doug Decker 09-46 Clark Seely, Oregon's Associate State Forester, retires after 35-year career For Clark Seely, retiring this fall after a 35-year career with the Department of Forestry, his life as a forester has, ironically, not necessarily been all about trees. "I didn't come into the profession knowing that, but if I have had a learning moment over 35 years - that's the learning," Seely says, reflecting on his career. "It is all about people and not necessarily about the trees. And looking back, that's what has made it such a wonderful journey." Seely, 55, has served as the Associate State Forester-the agency's second-in-command-since 2004. Seely began his career as a forester trainee in Astoria and held field positions in all corners of the state, before rising to Protection from Fire Program Director, Assistant State Forester in the Administrative Services Division, and finally Associate State Forester. His replacement, Satish Upadhyay-a former budget analyst with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services-started in mid November. Thoughtful, thorough and pragmatically optimistic, Seely has been universally regarded both inside and outside the department as one of the hardest working executives in Oregon state government, known for his careful planning and preparation, and his thoughtful, collaborative and organized approach to problem solving. A native of Kansas City, Seely graduated from Oregon State University in 1977 with a degree in Forest Management. During his college years, he worked summers for the department in Astoria, Coos Bay and Grants Pass. His first permanent position was as a Forester 1 in The Dalles where he worked a unique job as both service forester and forest manager of the White River Wildlife Management Area. During those early years, Seely excelled on the forestry side, but also found a passion for the people side of the business, where his relationship-building and managerial abilities delivered real results on the ground, and propelled him quickly into ever-increasing responsibility. In less than 10 years, Seely promoted from Unit Forester in La Grande to Assistant to the Area Director in Northwest Oregon, to Klamath-Lake District Forester and then to Manager of the Elliott State Forest in Coos Bay. Each of those assignments had its unique challenges and joys. What Seely remembers most is the people-earning their trust, recognizing their abilities, serving their needs-and the shared accomplishment that came from collaboration. In La Grande, Seely built lasting working relationships with the U.S. Forest Service that led to development of the first interagency dispatch center in northeast Oregon. In Klamath Falls, Seely and his team coped with back-to-back challenging fire seasons. In Coos Bay, he led an effort that produced the first-ever federally approved Habitat Conservation Plan for state forests, seeking a workable balance between habitat protection and management activities. In 1994, Seely promoted to the Protection from Fire Program Director in Salem, where he led development of first-of-its-kind landmark legislation-known as Senate Bill 360-and fire policy directed at improving conditions in the complex and high-risk wildland-urban interface. Since joining the department's executive team in 1999, Seely has been the driving force behind business improvement initiatives that use technology and best practices to improve business processes, and that make the department better able to serve the needs of constituents. He has also championed organizational development initiatives, including the department's Succession Management Plan, a leadership development curricula that includes the Agency Leadership Program (ALP) and the Covey Seven Habits training, and institution of a concept referred to as "Shared Leadership" that promotes a collaborative work culture recognizing each employee's contribution to the agency's success. He has also been responsible for creating a quality assurance and internal audit function that helps the department implement transparency and accountability in all that it does. In addition to his service to the Department of Forestry, Seely has been an elected and appointed leader at the local, statewide and national level for the Society of American Foresters (SAF), where he is a fellow and an SAF Certified Forester, and currently serves on the national board of directors. "In the six years I've been here, Clark has been like a cornerstone to the Department," says State Forester Marvin Brown. "So many of the things we undertake start with his excellent work. The budget, our relationship with other agencies, mentoring new managers, building better planning, decision-making and business systems. Forestry wouldn't be near the agency it is without his contributions and we're all going to miss him sorely." Through it all has been his kindness, and his always-on-target advice and direction. "I have been incredibly blessed," Seely says, thinking back over the last 35 years. "What I've tried to do is turn that around and give back to the organization and ask myself 'what can I do today to help us be a better organization?' When I look back, I hope I have contributed to the people side of the equation and our ability to be an effective organization through our employees." Without a doubt, as the agency says farewell and thanks to one of its most respected leaders, that will be one of Seely's lasting legacies. Seely and his wife Adenia live in Salem, and are the parents of two college-age sons, Paul and Matthew. ### Questions about the Private Forests News service? Contact: Kevin Weeks ODF Agency Affairs Office (503) 945-7427 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Thu Nov 19 12:03:00 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:03:00 -0800 Subject: [ODF_Private_Forests] Forestry Panel Formed to Review Greatest Permanent Value Meets Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BD6DDC1@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Private Forests News list members: This news release concerns the forest management plan for the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests, but given considerable public interest in the plan I am forwarding this message to the Private Forests list too. Questions about the Private Forests News service?? Contact: Kevin Weeks Public Information Officer Oregon Department of Forestry (503) 945-7427 ________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Major Media Distribution Nov. 19, 2009 Jeff Foreman, (503) 945-7506 Forestry advisory panel meets Dec. 2 to begin review of 'greatest permanent value' benefits from state forests An advisory committee to the Oregon Board of Forestry will meet Wednesday, Dec. 2, in Salem for an orientation as it begins a review of the administrative rules that define "greatest permanent value" and forest management planning. The greatest permanent value rule is the standard that must be used - by law - to manage state forests for broad benefits. The Tillamook and Clatsop state forests in northwest Oregon are examples of state-managed forest lands. The committee will meet from 1:15 to 5 p.m. at the Oregon Department of Forestry headquarters (Tillamook Room) at 2600 State Street. The public is welcome to attend, but no formal comment period is planned. The Board of Forestry asked to have the committee formed to gain a wide range of input. The committee will not make recommendations; instead, it will offer rule concepts and act as a sounding board for the Board of Forestry, which is reviewing the 10-year-old rules. The 14-member committee is scheduled to meet four times - Dec. 2, Jan. 7, Feb. 17 and March 17. A summary report will be delivered to the Board of Forestry in April. In addition to taking a look at the greatest permanent value rule, the committee will see if there are ways to improve the forest planning rule - how forest management plans are constructed and how they can be changed. After receiving input from the advisory committee and other stakeholders, the board could choose to advance one or more of the developed concepts for further review through the administrative rule-making process. The initial meeting Dec. 2 is designed to be an orientation for committee members. Board Chair John Blackwell will welcome the committee, which will receive some general background material on these state forest lands, along with the details on its upcoming work. The committee's actual work - providing input to the Board of Forestry - will begin on Jan. 7. Committee members are Cass Moseley (chair), University of Oregon; Barrett Brown, Oregon Motorcycles Association; Duane Cole, Clatsop County manager; Jeff Hickman, Sierra Club - angling/hunting; Dave Ivanhoff, Hampton Affiliates; Ray Jones, Stimson Lumber Co.; Ed Kamholz, citizen representative; Paul Levesque, Tillamook County administrator; Meryl Redisch, Portland Audubon; George Smith, Coquille Indian Tribe; Bill Street, Woodworks District (union); Al Switzer, Klamath County commissioner; Bob Van Dyk, Wild Salmon Center; Joan Zuber, Mazamas (hiking); and ex-officio member Rod Krahmer, ODFW. The term "greatest permanent value" is defined in state law and administrative rule. It seeks a full range of social, economic and environmental benefits. Examples of these benefits include timber harvest with resulting revenues for public services in local counties, healthy streams, wildlife habitat and recreation. The rule does not specify how much of each benefit is appropriate. It is up to the Board of Forestry to make that determination. # # # -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Mon Nov 23 16:11:06 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:11:06 -0800 Subject: [ODF_Private_Forests] Linn County tree farmers recognized for excellence Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BD6E1FA@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Oregon Department of Forestry NEWS RELEASE Linn County tree farmers recognized for excellence November 23, 2009 Contact: Kevin Weeks, (503) 945-7427 The purpose behind the Fun Forest Tree Farm is in its name. The managers of the Linn County tree farm have been named Oregon's Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year for 2009. The Oregon Tree Farm System on Monday recognized Jim Cota, Robbie Melcher and Scott Melcher during a ceremony at the World Forestry Center in Portland. Cota and the Melchers operate the 1500-acre forest near Sweet Home. The partnership acquired the land in 1999, replanting many areas previously harvested and in need of tree regeneration. The tree farm, growing a mix of mostly conifers, in addition to wood production provides recreation services such as camping, ATV trails and fishing sites. The tree farm also places a focus on outreach and education to the central Linn County region, including working with Sweet Home High School on redeveloping a forestry program for students. "It's a fun place to be," said Jim Cota. "I especially hope kids can come here and develop the same love for the land that I have." Cota said the tree farm also sought out the technical assistance of the Oregon Department of Forestry for establishing fire ponds to make water accessible in remote areas of the tree farm, thus lowering the potential for a catastrophic fire at Fun Forest. Local chapters of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association select the County Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year in Oregon. The Oregon winner is selected by a team of professional foresters from the public and private sectors. The Oregon Department of Forestry, an active partner of the Oregon Tree Farm System, helps landowners manage their forestlands to ensure that family-owned tree farms achieve economic, environmental and social benefits. More information on the Oregon Tree Farm System is available at www.otfs.org. Additional information about the Oregon Department of Forestry is available at www.oregon.gov/ODF ### Photo available on request. 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