OSU Climate Change Conference Offers Ideas To Foresters

Scientist outlined Tuesday, the dramatic changes they expect in Oregon's forestlands over the next few decades -- because of global warming. Now that there's virtual scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change, there's more talk about what can be done about it.

CORVALLIS, OR 2007-02-13 Scientist outlined Tuesday, the dramatic changes they expect in Oregon's forestlands over the next few decades -- because of global warming.

More wildfires, increased bug infestations, and shifting species are a few of the problems highlighted at the Oregon State University "Forests, Carbon and Climate Change" conference.

But as Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, now that there's virtual scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change, there's more talk about what can be done about it.

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Hundreds of scientists, foresters, environmentalists and students converged on Corvallis for the conference. A new book was unveiled called "Forests, Carbon and Climate Change."

Hal Salwasser, the Dean of the College of Forestry, says attendees are exploring everything from reduced snow packs to lower summer stream flows. But he says, what strikes him most, is the new feeling that a window for change is now open.

Hal Salwasser: "At the federal level, the window wasn't open until the new Congress and the state of the union speech, but it's open now and we need to take advantage of the fact that the time is right now to start taking action and to put together a comprehensive strategy to deal with climate."

Salwasser says forests have repeatedly undergone vast temperature changes -- during ice ages and other natural events. But those changes came slowly.

Now he says, the mercury is rising quickly and forests are in trouble. He says one big issue really concerns him.

Hal Salwasser: "More big wildfires."

Salwasser says a recent study shows catastrophic forest fires in the last 15 years.

Massive fires like the Biscuit Fire and the B and B complex gobbled up thousands of acres of woodlands.

He says warmer temperatures also mean beetles and other bugs can better spread disease.

Hal Salwasser: "We don't have the really hard winter frosts that kill the adults so the adults are surviving at higher rates so they've got a longer season to reproduce so instead of having one reproductive clutch, in some years they're having two, so you get an exponential explosion in the bugs."

It's one thing for a university dean to talk about coming problems, but it's another for businesses to take action in the woods.

Peter Sikora is the lands manager for a medium sized timber company, Guistina Resources, in Eugene.

He attended the conference and says he was intrigued to hear scientists recommend that foresters consider growing seedlings from warmer climates.

Peter Sikora: "With this research, we might be looking at extending the range of our seed collection to maybe include some percentage of our seed from areas that maybe further south that maybe a dryer climate."

Sikora says that it's his big hope that people realize most foresters have embraced the idea of sustainability for years. And that they're taking the idea of global warming seriously.

He says wood is the most environmentally sensitive building product there is -- because it absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and releases oxygen.

He says his company leaves trees to grow for 40 - 60 years.

Doug Heiken is with the environmental group Oregon Wild. He says foresters should consider keeping their trees standing even longer -- say for 120 years, rather than 60 or fewer.

Doug Heiken: "On private land they need to lengthen the rotation, so that they let forests grow for as long as possible before they're logged. And then don't clear cut but thin instead. And then on federal lands we need to expand our protected areas so that protected species can move and migrate with the changing temperatures. And we need to allow forests to grow and become old growth forests on our federal forests."

Such conflicts -- between environmental groups and loggers -- are unlikely to be solved by one conference. But nowadays there appears to be more agreement than before on the direction of global temperatures.

Indeed, scientists attending this conference predict that the Pacific Northwest will see a significant temperature increase by the end of this century -- perhaps as much as 8 degrees Fahrenheit.