Forest Stewardship
 The purpose of this page is to provide readers with an entry point into the Arboretum Foundation's
Forest Stewardship Plan and to provide links to information about "ecological forestry' which is the approach that we are proposing for improving and maintaining the health of the Arboretum Forest.
The goals, actions, and discussion that appear on this page have been excerpted from the stewardship plan.
Forest Stewardship Goals
- Establish a baseline environment within the Arboretum's forest and then evolve it to a healthy forest exhibiting a full range of functions and stages native to the Pacific Northwest.
- Provide a habitat that preserves, protects, and nourishes a wide variety of wildlife.
- For current and future generations, provide a showcase for native forest structure, function, and change.
- Improve awareness of, and access to the forest to increase the community's use of the arboretum and their ability to observe and enjoy its beauty and diversity.
- Integrate Arboretum forest stewardship with the rest of the Arboretum, Lake Wilderness Park, and other City of Maple Valley forests.
Actions
To achieve these goals we will:
- Monitor and measure forest health on a regular basis. This will begin with an inventory and mapping of current forest structure.
- Allow natural disturbances to occur in the forest whenever possible, and provide necessary human intervention where natural processes are not practical due to safety, timing, or economic considerations.
- Particularly for area youth, provide and promote educational opportunities regarding forest ecology and forest silviculture.
- Actively seek economic opportunities that help us achieve our goals while not compromising them. This may include harvesting of forest timber or forest products.
- Work closely with the City of Maple Valley to coordinate management, outreach and education plans, to facilitate more efficient and effective decision making, and to help insure that our forest becomes a compatible part of the overall forest environment.
- Leverage Lake Wilderness Park so that its users have more awareness of and easier access to the Arboretum and its forest.
- Pursue research and study grants to provide funding for forest stewardship.
- Establish sources for volunteers focused on the forest by expanding and cultivating relationships with local community-centered organizations.
Ecological Forestry Links
- Ecological Forestry Presentation (8 MB)
This presentation defines the characteristics of a healthy forest and tell us what steps we can take to
manage a forest in order to bring about and maintain these characteristics.
- Promoting Habitat Complexity in Second Growth Forests
A pamphlet that describes forest management tools to help meet environmental, economic, and aesthetic goal when used
collectively and according to a well-devised plan.
- Restoring Complexity: Second-Growth Forests and Habitat Diversity
A very well-illustrated article describing the benefits of variable density thinning.
- Response of Birds to Thinning Young Douglas-fir Forests
This paper concludes: "Because the shortterm consequences of thinning for many species of wildlife are positive, neutral,
or of minor negative impact, most wildlife populations in landscapes dominated by young, densely stocked plantations
should benefit from thinning over a large proportion of the landscape
if the thinning is done in conjunction with management and retention
of legacy structures and dead wood, as well as other conservation measures."
- AIMing for Healthy Forests: Active, Intentional Management for
Multiple Values
This book by Dr. Andrew Carey discusses forest ecology, and conservation at a
continuing education level. It promotes active management of forests in order to
meet their many and varied goals.
- Cedar River Watershed Ecological Thinning
This news article describes how ecologists thinned second growth timber Cedar River Watershed to make it function more like an old growth forest. The thinning protocol that is described in this article is what has been proposed in LWAF's Forest Stewardship Plan.
Discussion
 The Arboretum forest is 26 acres bounded on the South by the King County Parks Lake Wilderness Trail and bounded on the North, East, and West by the Arboretum's property lines. It is sometimes referred to as the "Forest Reserve."
Unlike other areas of the Arboretum, where several gardens have been established and maintained, the reserve has been largely ignored since the establishment of the Arboretum. Although the King County Lake Wilderness Trail is heavily traveled, the trails through the reserve are lightly traveled. In 2003 a violent wind storm did significant damage to the reserve which consists primarily of even_aged (65 years) second growth fir. This damage, together with overcrowded conditions and an outbreak of laminated root rot makes the need for intervention urgent. Proposed actions in the Forest Stewardship Plan are designed to improve the health of the Arboretum's forest, make it more attractive to visitors, and provide more opportunities for exploring and learning.
The Forest Stewardship Plan describes the current health of the Arboretum's forest and makes recommendations for improvements so that weak and diseased trees are removed, healthy trees are nurtured to insure continued growth, and new species are added to provide diversity. The natural state of the forest will be respected while at the same time some man-made disturbances will occur. Only Washington native species will be introduced into the forest. This new stocking will be designed to enhance the beauty and diversity of the forest and to provide additional educational opportunities to patrons.
Selected information about the forest and our proposed thinning protocol can be found on various file stored on our website's
forest directory.
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