Winter 2001, Vol. 1, No. 1

RTI seeks to provide rural forest managers with increased access to sophisticated technical information and tools.

Regionally located WSU Extension Agents provide a unique Partner to RTI for networking with rural landowners. Extension agents seek out local NIPF cooperators who are interested in using technology to enhance their management capabilities. The traditional role of WSU Cooperative Extension is strengthened by this partnership. Faculty from both the College of Forest Resources at UW, and the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at WSU, contribute to the full educational program offerings. Three main thrusts support this effort: Rural education programs, Forest Stewardship Notes newsletter (see below) and the development and distribution of Extension publications.

For a complete listing of available extension publications click on http://pubs.wsu.edu/ or call the WSU Bulletins office at 1-800-723-1763.

20 Years Later and Still Going Strong

Forest Stewardship Notes newsletter is not just a newsletter, but an important information resource for NIPF landowners. It has had different names in the past, beginning with Forest Knotes in 1981, Forest Overstory in 1985, and finally Forest Stewardship Notes, in 1992. "Notes" is distributed to over 16,000 NIPF landowners in the Pacific Northwest twice a year, free of charge. It is also available on the WSU Natural Resource Sciences extension web site at ext.nrs.wsu.edu, and at all WSU Extension offices statewide.
Faculty from UW and WSU, and natural resource professionals from state and federal agencies frequently contribute articles on a wide array of topics. RTI was featured in the Fall 2000 edition.

If you would like to begin receiving 'Notes" please call 509-335-2963 or email; mgusewsu.edu and ask to be placed on the Forest Stewardship Notes mailing list.

Results of the RTI Survey of Forestry Consultants, Spring 2000

In the Spring of 2000, the Rural technology Initiative developed a survey of Washington's forestry consultants. The questionnaire was mailed to 106 consulting companies.
Consultants indicate that their most important customer services are forest practice permits, timber sale oversight, forest products marketing and silviculture prescriptions.

The technologies that consultants indicated would be the most important tools to their businesses (in percentages) :

Regulatory Interpretation 95
Flexibility in Riparian Management 85
Forest Taxation and Estate Planning 83
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) 75
Geographical Positioning Systems 68
Road Layout and Density 63
Unstable Slopes 63
Computer Spreadsheets and Data Management 60
The Landscape Management System (LMS) 60
Growth and Yield Models 55

What consultants indicated to be the services that are most important to their customers (in percentages):

Timber Sale Oversight/ Logging Compliance 95
Forest Practice Permits 95
Forest Products Marketing 90
Timber Cruising and Field Measurements 76
Surveying and mapping 68
Silviculture Prescriptions 68
Regulatory Protocols and Environmental Law 65
Disease and Pest Control 65
Data Management 63
Forest Engineering 58
Financial and Estate Planning 55
Management Planning 53
Restoration Techniques 45
Forestland Investment Planning 43
Fire Management 40
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 33
Growth Modeling and Biometrics 25