Navigating forest regulations can be difficult sometimes, but thanks to programs like the Small Forest Landowner Office in the Washington Department of Natural Resources, there are people here to help! We sit down with Hollis and Brent from the DNR to discuss some of the do's and dont's, common pitfalls, and frequently asked questions around forest regulations in Washington State.

Wildfire is a regular part of the landscape in Washington State, but that doesn't make it less disruptive to communities and the forests they manage. In this episode, Collin Haffey, who manages the Washington Department of Natural Resource's Postfire Recovery Program, discusses the unique challenges facing forest owners and managers effected by wildfire and what resources are available to help.

Mentioned in the podcast:

WA DNR Landowner Assistance Portal: https://www.dnr.wa.gov/LandownerAssistancePortal

WA DNR Find Your Forester Tool: https://foresthealthtracker.dnr.wa.gov/FindYourForester/Index

After the Fire Washington: https://afterthefirewa.org/

Northwest Fire Science Consortium: https://nwfirescience.org/

Transcript (PDF): https://wpcdn.web.wsu.edu/cahnrs/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/ep32_CollinHaffey.pdf

The role agriculture and other land uses play in pollinator lifecycles are fairly well understood, but what about forests? Many species of pollinators utilize forestland for food or nesting habitat but some forests better serve that function than others. We invite Rachel Zitomer to discuss her doctoral work at Oregon State University where she studied how pollinators interact with intensively managed conifer forests. We also discuss what forest owners can do to enhance beneficial habitat on their land.

Swiss needle cast (SNC) is a native disease that affects Douglas-fir trees, particularly those growing in the coast region. SNC can cause a headache for anyone trying to grow Doug-fir in this region and the Swiss Needle Cast Coalition aims to support landowners and managers understand, plan for, and mitigate the effects. In this episode, we're joined by Brett Morrissette, Bernard Bormann, and Adam Carson from the coalition to discuss their work.

Forest cultivated shiitake is a traditional practice that is centuries old. These systems can be a great way for farmers and forest owners to utilize woodlots to grow mushrooms for personal use or commercial sale. Justin O'Dea from WSU Extension has been studying how to adapt these systems to the Pacific Northwest climate and forests. In this episode, we discuss the key findings of his research and how they can help forest owners grow shiitakes successfully.

Resources discussed in the episode:

PNW Forest-Cultivated Mushroom Growers Network (https://www.pnwforestmushroomgrowers.net/)

SW WA Extension Agriculture Program Instagram - @wsuextensionagswwa

Transcript link: https://wpcdn.web.wsu.edu/cahnrs/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/ep29_JustinODea_transcript.pdf

Many of us are familiar with managing forests for birds and mammals, but what about forestry for the frogs? In this episode of the Forest Overstory Podcast, we invite Lauren Grand of Oregon State University's Extension Forestry Program to discuss how forest management can influence amphibian habitat and what small forest owners can do to encourage a multitude of amphibious species on their properties.

In this episode of the Forest Overstory, we invite Skye Pelliccia of the King County Noxious Weed Control Program. Dealing with noxious weeds is a big part of forest management in Washington and Skye gives us a rundown on some of the common offenders, diverse strategies for removing them, and common misconceptions about the use of herbicides in this effort.

Forests provide immense benefits to society, but does everyone have equal access to those benefits? The field of environmental justice and equity is gaining increasing traction, including at the Washington Department of Natural Resources. Ashley Blazina is Environmental Justice Planner for the Department and joins the podcast to discuss some of the efforts the agency is making to ensure the benefits of their forestry work can reach underserved communities.

Community science is a powerful tool and one that our guest, Joey Hulbert, is utilizing it in his Forest Health Watch Program. Over the last several years, Dr. Hulbert has empowered "citizen scientists" to help track a number of forest health concerns in Washington State, including western redcedar dieback. In this episode, we dig into the roots of the program, it's progress, and what the future holds with our co-host, Dr. Molly Darr, joining as co-director.

To contribute to the western redcedar dieback program, go to: https://foresthealth.org/map

To recommend future forest health monitoring projects, go to:

https://foresthealth.org/projects/

For more than a century in the Pacific Northwest bigleaf maple has had a reputation as a "weed tree". Our guest and former conservation district forester, Al Craney, joins us to discuss why that's not a fair assessment. In this episode we discuss the benefits maple provides and the critical role it plays in our forests and riparian areas.

For more information on bigleaf maple syrup, try these sites:

https://forestry.wsu.edu/blmsyrup/

https://www.oregontreetappers.net/