From the Blog

In every discussion of forest restoration or climate adaptation, someone asks the question: What about the assisted migration of trees? Should we be doing it? What are the potential impacts? It’s a big topic, and one nuanced enough that it could easily fill a hundred discussions, a dozen doctoral theses, and several books. Our recent presentation […]

Professor Jerry Franklin, far right, lectures a University of Washington class in a ponderosa pine forest in Oregon. Photo by Debbie Johnson. If you’re interested in a career involving forest management, natural resources, or environmental science the Pacific Northwest has a wonderful range of higher education programs covering those topics. In fact, several NNRG staff […]

Unless you own a forest and have had an NNRG forester out for a site visit, the details of a forester’s job might be a little murky to you. You suspect it involves wearing a cool vest, tree puns, and something called DBH tape…right?  In the interest of pulling back the curtain on the critical […]

Biochar is a form of charcoal sometimes used as a soil amendment in agriculture. But that’s really only half the story. It’s produced when organic waste material, such as forest slash, is combusted in the presence of limited oxygen. Though often described as a soil amendment, in Pacific Northwest forests it might be better thought […]

Forest stewardship can be thought of as synonymous with soil stewardship. Healthy soils sustain wildlife habitat, grow high-quality timber, improve your forest’s resilience to stressors like drought, heat, and pests, and store carbon.  So how does one become an expert in forest soils? Below we outline the fundamentals of soil stewardship and direct you to […]

Photo credit: Joe Walsh.  On Washington’s Kitsap Peninsula – that arrow-shaped piece of land between Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula – Great Peninsula Conservancy is working to conserve and restore degraded shorelines, peat bogs, forests, saltwater marshes, and salmon-bearing streams. The lands and waters under Great Peninsula Conservancy’s care are protected – forever. Through […]

NNRG is pleased to announce the addition of the Hoh River Recreation and Conservation Area to our FSC® Group Certificate!

Every two years, the King County Executive recognizes individuals and organizations that are leading the way on environmental issues in our region. NNRG is proud and honored to be selected as this year’s winner of the Green Globe Award for Leader in Forest Stewardship!

By David Diaz, Ecotrust​
I’m a forest modeling, mapping, and number-crunching nerd. Seven years ago, I got pulled into an investigation of the social and ecological impacts involved with construction of the first office building in the world to achieve Living Building certification, the Bullitt Center in Seattle. I was given what seemed like a straightforward task, yet I’m still wrestling with the same underlying question. The journey I’ve been on is not unique in the forest sector, though, and today I’d like to share that story with you.

How do we address past mismanagement while also preparing for the future climate?
Northwest Natural Resource Group and partners are launching a new demonstration project to test techniques that can help forests better endure the kinds of climatic change that we expect in the Pacific Northwest.

Jason Lee let his gaze drift past the Roomba ambling across his living room, and out the floor-to-ceiling window framing a view of the forest behind his Issaquah home. A software programmer at one of the region’s leading high-tech firms, he was looking for a new quarantine challenge after making homemade sourdough for the umpteenth […]

This article was written by Tim Schomberg, prior of North Cascades Buddhist Priory, which is a member of NNRG’s Group FSC Certificate. By Tim Schomberg I manage over 200 acres of forest owned by our church.  This forest was once part of a Weyerhaeuser Corporation tree farm of about 900 acres. The whole of the 900 […]

This article, by Jim Merzenich of Oak Basin Tree Farm, was first published in the Fall 2020 edition of Northwest Woodlands, a publication of the Oregon Small Woodlands, Washington Farm Forestry, Idaho Forest Owners & Montana Forest Owners Associations. Northwest Woodlands magazine is a benefit of membership in one of these associations – click on […]

Before the holidays, NNRG and partners in the Forest Adaptation Network (FAN) conducted an initial survey to inform some of the work done by the Network, which is focused around the Puget Sound. While this survey had a small sample size of local restoration professionals, we think the results are of interest to many of […]

The winter wet season in the Pacific Northwest is an ideal time to plant young trees and native shrubs! Planting native trees and shrubs enhances forest biodiversity by providing habitat for wildlife and forage for pollinators. It’s also a great way connect to the land and increase your aesthetic and recreational appreciation for the forest.

In a year marked by unusual challenges, NNRG found a lucky break in Spencer Vieira, who joined our forestry team in November as Forestry Technician. 

For compelling holiday reading, start here. We asked NNRG staff to send over their top book recommendations in the forestry/ecology genre. The list includes fiction and non-fiction, classics and new hits.  NNRG Director of Programs Rowan recommends: Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe by Charlotte Gill Gill uses stories about […]

When forest owners reach out to NNRG for help writing a Forest Management Plan, they’re taking an important step in improving the long-term health of their forest. NNRG’s latest addition to our Forestry Team, Teo Rautu, is just the person to help forest owners take that step. We first met Teo in 2019 when she […]

Nothing typifies the beautiful San Juan Islands more than the peeling, tri-color branches of a madrone snaking through a canopy.

Delicious dishes can be made from the bounties found within our forests. Below are recipes for a few of them.