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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Okanogan County, Washington, USA

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Okanogan County, Washington, USA
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nikf



Registered: December 2011
City/Town/Province: East Wenatchee
Posts: 1
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My family purchased 160 acres in northern Okanogan County in the summer of 2006. At first I didn’t understand why my father purchased the property. It was out in the middle of nowhere, an hour and a half from the closest town. It was covered in trash left by the former owners. Tons and tons of garbage covered the property. Old chicken coops, scraps of rusty metal, even a broken down bus, all were included with the purchase of the property.


The 160 acres was unfenced, so cattle roamed the area freely, spreading invasive, noxious weeds as they moved along. As a result native plants were unable to grow on the property because they were either grazed down by the cattle, or choked out by invasive weeds. Without the native plant species the ground became dusty and bare, unsuitable to wildlife.


But the biggest problem of all was the forest. The property was logged in the early-eighties. So the effects were still very noticeable. The logging operation had made a mess of the place. All of the healthiest and biggest trees had been cut down. No attention had been paid to the spacing of the trees. As a result the once healthy forest had been transformed into a thicket. Multiple saplings took the place of logged trees. Because these new trees lacked adequate space, their growth had been stunted. Also the underbrush beneath them is all dead, because the closely spaced trees have created a canopy that doesn’t allow sunlight through.


My family and I also learned that a thicket-like forest is also very prone to devastating wildfires. Wildfires tend to be harmless to virgin forests. The fire usually remains a low-intensity fire. Burning the underbrush and charring the outside of the trees. Because the trees are naturally spaced, if one tree catches fire, it won’t spread to others. As a result low-intensity underbrush fires rarely spread to the forest canopy turning into crown fires. Were a fire to happen on my property, the results would be devastating. Because the trees are so bunched together, any sort of a fire would quickly result in a crown fire. A raging mega fire would likely erupt, which would consume all surrounding forests before being contained.


After purchasing the property my family and I went to work cleaning up the place. We filled trailer-load after trailer-load with trash, eventually clearing the whole property of the garbage that once filled it. The only thing left was a 100-plus year-old barn considered a historical site. We also went to work fencing the 160-acres. Without the constant grazing of the cows, the natural vegetation grew back. We also went to work spraying the invasive weeds, just about eradicating them. With the property returning back to its natural state, wildlife started making a comeback. I began noticing more and more deer roaming the property.


The only thing remaining was the forest, which covers roughly 70 acres of the 160. After attending a forestry class, it was pretty clear that we needed to do extensive thinning and pruning of the forest. The thinning and pruning would be beneficial in two ways. It would create an open, spaced forest, both aesthetically pleasing and conducive to wildlife. It would also make the forest more resistant to destructive crown fires.


With the thinning we made sure that all trees have ample space to grow. Each tree is given 8-15 feet of space around it, depending on the tree size. The idea of cutting down trees to better the health of the forest may seem counter-intuitive. But cutting down trees gives the remaining trees the space they need. The remaining trees are also benefitted by the nutrients of the fallen trees. We also cut down sick and unhealthy trees reducing the spread of diseases such as elytroderma (a common needle cast disease).


With the pruning we have been removing the lowest one-third of branches on the trees. These branches are known as “ladder-fuel”. They are what enable ground fires to spread to the tops of trees, causing the whole tree to be engulfed in fire. The lower branches on trees die eventually, as the tree grows taller. This pruning just speeds up this process resulting in faster upward growth.


This thinning and pruning has been a multi-year effort. This has been the second year that we have been working on thinning and pruning. Because my property is located at an elevation of 3,500 feet and only reachable by primitive roads, it is only accessible from late spring to early fall, when the roads are drivable. Despite this we have been able to cover 20-30 acres a year. So even after this year, there will still be another year or two of work left.


In the end though, I believe it will all be worth it. The land will once again be in its natural state. My property will be suitable for wildlife and enjoyable for generations to come.
Date: December 9, 2011 Views: 4985 File size: 25.5kb, 2866.7kb : 2816 x 2112
Hours Volunteered: 320
Volunteers: 4
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 19 & 12 to 50
Area Restored for Native Wildlife (hectares): 10.4
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