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Fall 2004, Volume 5, No. 1
Table of Content
A PDF copy of this Newsletter is available here!
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u.washington.edu RTI Promotes TechnologyRTI has been working this fall to promote broader use of new and existing technologies, such as the Landscape Management System (LMS), Inventory Wizard, and other associated tools. Numerous presentations on these tools were made to landowners and forestry professionals throughout Western Washington. These presentations have been very well received and have generated a lot of interest in forest technology, particularly its applications for family tree farms. Several of these presentations included hands-on demonstrations. On September 18th, RTI hosted a station at the Family Forest Field Day, which was held this year at the Custer Creek Tree Farm in Frances, WA. Despite heavy rains, slippery mud, and steep hills, a "theater in the woods" was set up, complete with chairs, a movie screen, and a generator-powered projector. Visitors to the station enjoyed shelter from the elements and even a portable heater and snacks while listening to Kevin Zobrist, RTI staffer (UW), and Don Hanley, WSU Extension Forester, introduce LMS, the Inventory Wizard, and how to do a forest inventory for these applications. The two-hour presentation was given both in the morning and again in the afternoon, including live demonstrations of the software and hands-on learning with field inventory equipment. The sessions were popular, and there was a packed house through the afternoon. Each attendee received a copy of LMS on CD-ROM, along with several handouts covering the use of LMS and field inventory techniques. Some of the attendees were so enthusiastic about the technology that they took home multiple CD-ROMs to share with their friends and neighbors. Streaming video of the RTI presentation at the Field Day is available at http://ext.nrs.wsu.edu/Video/CP/index.htm. |
On November 5th, RTI was featured for the annual College of Forest Resources (CFR) Alumni Showcase, which was held on the UW campus. CFR alumni were treated to a comprehensive overview of the RTI program and its accomplishments. Eight presentations by RTI staff and graduate students covered popular software tools such as LMS, fire risk analysis models, habitat suitability models, Inventory Wizard, Economatic, Pegger, and CULSED. Other presentations included Eastside and Westside management applications, streaming video demonstrations, and the RTI website. The response from audience members was very positive, and several requested LMS CD-ROMs. After the showcase, CFR Dean Bruce Bare offered his congratulations to the RTI team, saying: "I believe that it is extremely important to demonstrate to friends of the College that we are generating forestry programs of high quality and high impact to our constituents…it is exceedingly important to demonstrate to our alumni that we still "do forestry" here at the UW. And, more importantly, we will continue to do forestry in the future as well. Your presentation and your work with RTI is a testament to this aspect of our College's mission." |
(RTI Promotes Technology continued)
RTI was also featured on November 13th, this time at the 18th Annual Fall Forestry Education Seminar sponsored by WSU Extension at Pack Forest in Eatonville, WA. The theme of this year's seminar was "Technology in the Woods." Jim McCarter gave a presentation featuring the new LMS 3.0. Kevin Zobrist did a live demonstration using the Inventory Wizard to quickly and easily build LMS portfolios, Luke Rogers covered Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Don Hanley spoke about streaming video and the RTI website as tools for expanding outreach capabilities. In addition, the RTI group was joined by Steve Reutebuch from the USDA Forest Service, PNW Station who did a presentation on LIDAR (light detection and ranging) technology and CFR GIS Specialist Phil Hurvitz who talked about Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Approximately 80 people attended this event, and they were able to participate in hands-on demonstrations after each session. Many positive comments were received about the content of the seminar, and there were dozens of requests for LMS CD-ROMs by attendees who were excited to try the technology at home. Streaming videos of the Fall Education Seminar presentations are available at http://www.ruraltech.org. |
RTI plans to continue promoting this technology with the objective of getting landowners excited about using it on their tree farms. LMS applications were featured again on November 18 at a meeting of the South Puget Sound Chapter of the Society of American Foresters. On January 21, 2005, LMS
presentations will be made east of the Cascades at the annual Family Foresters Workshop in Coeur d'Alene, ID. On January 13, a special invitation-only training of the new LMS 3.0 will be held at Pack Forest for attendees of the Field Day and Education Seminar who have expressed interest. This workshop is already oversubscribed, but additional offerings to learn LMS 3.0 and other core technologies will be offered in 2005—see the calendar of upcoming events in this newsletter for details.
- Kevin Zobrist, RTI Staff - |
Streaming Video is ExpandingIn the Winter 2004 RTI Newsletter, streaming video was introduced as a technology that "dramatically increases the accessibility of information presented at seminars, conferences, and workshops, making it available to a worldwide audience." Since then, new, informative streaming video presentations have been added to the RTI and WSU Cooperative Extension websites, a streaming video tutorial to help others use the technology has been produced, and a presentation on the benefits of streaming video media was given at the Annual SAF meeting. These steps have been taken to expand the use of streaming video technology to other organizations and institutions. New Streaming Video Presentations RTI faculty, staff, and associates presented at several workshops,
conferences, and seminars in 2004. Many of these forest technology
presentations were captured on digital video and are now streaming
to a worldwide audience over the internet. RTI associates at
WSU Cooperative Extension have added a new webpage to their
site for the sole purpose of delivering these new streaming
video presentations. A range of topics are covered, from a
stand-alone presentation about managing for wildlife on private
forests, to a complete series of presentations about managing
timber sales. The RTI streaming video webpage has grown to
over 100 videos, including new presentations about wildlife
habitat modeling and fire risk modeling at a stand level. These
presentations and more can be found at: |
RTI recently produced a streaming video tutorial in an effort
to spread the use of the technology. Inspired by positive
feedback and the vision of numerous possible uses of streaming
video, the tutorial has been created to be used by other
individuals and organizations to increase their outreach
capabilities. The tutorial is available via streaming video
and as a PDF file at the following address: RTI Presents Streaming Video at the 2004 SAF Meeting RTI presented streaming video at the Joint 2004 Annual General Meeting and Convention, hosted by the Canadian Institute of Forestry and the Society of American Foresters. The presentation focused on the need for forestry educators and researchers to better communicate their work to a broader audience. The inexpensive streaming video technology used by RTI enables anyone with a digital video camera to reach a worldwide audience even if they do not have a web server. In addition to streaming over the World Wide Web, streaming video can be published to compact disc and distributed for only pennies per disc. Since the introduction of the RTI streaming video tutorial at the October conference, over 35 individuals have watched the hour-long presentation on the web.
-Matt McLaughlin and Luke Rogers, RTI Staff - |
Forest Management Coached Planning Classes To Start Soon Want to learn what makes your forest tick? Ever wonder why trees get sick and die? Are you interested in making a living off your forestland? If any of these questions caught your attention then don't miss this year's Coached Stewardship Planning course. This six week intensive evening program will give you the needed framework to turn your goals and objectives into reality through the creation of a management plan. The planning classes are scheduled for Spokane and Republic starting February 2, 2005 and running six consecutive evenings. The classes will give you valuable data and the opportunity to interact with various resource professionals. According to Peter Griessmann, WSU Area Forestry Educator, "Landowners will leave this program with a management plan for their ownerships. This is one of the most powerful and valuable planning tools available to landowners. Best of all the landowner plays a key role in structuring and eventually implementing the plan." A six week course recently finished in Spokane, Colville,
and Newport. Over 8,100 acres were represented in the classes,
comprising 37 ownerships. The importance of managing our
forests cannot be overemphasized, as it contributes long
term financial gain and security to family forest ownerships.
The program is sponsored by the Washington Department of
Natural Resources, Spokane and Ferry County Conservation
Districts, and WSU Extension. For further information and
program registration please contact the WSU Extension office
at 509-684-2588 or email Peter Greissmann at pgriessm |
Upcoming Workshop: Wood Utilization Solutions to Hazardous Fuels Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest Research Station will be hosting a workshop on Wood Utilization Solutions to Hazardous Fuels. The workshop will begin on Tuesday, December 14, 2004 at the Red Lion Hotel at the Park in Spokane, WA. On Wednesday, December 15, workshop participants will travel to the Wood Materials Engineering Laboratory at Washington State University campus in Pullman for a hands-on demonstration of wood plastic composite manufacturing. This workshop will benefit forest managers, planners, economic and community development practitioners, and forest products industry personnel. Information on a portfolio of wood utilization technologies that may be implemented to utilize a variety of wood fiber removed to reduce fire risk or restore forest health will be presented. This current set of technologies range from energy production to value-added opportunities at a variety of scales. The program will address volume and characteristics of wood fiber required, costs of capitalization, range of production, market potential, and supporting industry requirements. A workbook designed to provide information for local or regional utilization technologies will be distributed to workshop attendees. For more details and registration information, visit: http://www.emmps.wsu.edu/woodutilization/.
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Upcoming Events |
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Wednesday, Dec. 8 - Friday, Dec. 10,
2004 Friday, January 21, 2005 Thursday, February 3, 2005 Wednesday, March 23 - Friday, March 25, 2005 |
March - April, 2005 March - April, 2005 Monday, June 6 - Thursday, June 9, 2005 June, 2005
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Family Forest Owners Attend Red Alder Management WorkshopOn August 28, 2004, family forest owners from all around
Western Washington had the opportunity to get expert information
and advice about red alder ecology, stand management, quality
and sorts, processing, prices, and economics. Nearly 70 landowners
attended the event, which was sponsored by WSU Extension,
the DNR Forest Stewardship program, the Washington Farm Forestry
Association, and Washington Alder, in cooperation with RTI,
the Western Hardwoods Association (WHA), the Washington Hardwoods
Commission, the OSU Hardwood Silviculture Cooperative, and
OSU Cooperative Extension. |
well as the research of other alder specialists. His discussions focused on “how-to” types of information and rationale, including controlling competing vegetation, regeneration and stocking levels, thinning, and pruning. The participants also visited the Washington Alder mill, where the class was guided through the sawmill, kiln, and sorting warehouse. The mill was in full swing for the group, and they were given ample time for questions. WHA member Allan Feisst of Fencourt Farm said that, “The alder mill visit was an excellent addition to the educational program.” After the scaling and processing tour, Dick Whitmore,
resource manager at Washington Alder, shared his thoughts
on the positive outlook for managing for red alder. Larry
Mason from RTI shared his economic analysis research for
managing alder. The workshop wrapped up with a question-answer
session where landowners had a chance to ask follow-up
questions from the panel of speakers. Streaming video of
the workshop presentations are available at http://ext.nrs.wsu.edu/Video/index.htm.
To learn more about WSU Extension programs, contact WSU
Extension Forestry Agent Andy Perleberg at 360-427-4270
or andyp |
- LMS Update -LMS 2.0.45r9 – Released November, 2004 Inventory Wizard 2.1.5 – Released November, 2004 LMS 3.0 – Available January, 2005 Free downloads available from |
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Newsletter Delivery Preferences
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Readers may send comments to:Bruce Lippke, Director RTI
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