The Future of Forestry: Future Forest Management in the Pacific Northwest

In the spring of 2009, the Denman Forestry Issues Series was presented by the College of Forest Resources (now the School of Forest Resources in the new College of the Environment) at the University of Washington. The series featured 10 professors and a post-doctoral scientist from Forest Resources exploring the "Future of Forestry in the Pacific Northwest."Session 3 was devoted to examining the future of forest management in the Pacific Northwest. Professor of Forest Economics Bruce Lippke shows how wood products can be substituted for fossil fuel using products like concrete and steel, and be used for carbon sequestration and biofuels. Professor of Trade Analysis John Perez-Garcia speaks about the future of the sawmilling industry. Associate Professor of Forest Ecology and Sustainable Forestry and Director of the Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest Greg Ettl discusses the contrast between forest certification and regulation on multiple-purpose management. Finally, Professor of Operations Research Dave Briggs shares new precision tools for forest management such as remote sensing and Lidar and acoustic techniques for determining tree stiffness and density.
The Denman Forestry Issues series is intended to educate the public about topical issues in forest resources in the Pacific Northwest, as well as provide information to natural resource specialists and students.More than half of Washington state is forested, so trees are a familiar sight for its residents, particularly in western Washington. Our forests provide lumber and other forest products, clean water for drinking, salmon and wildlife habitat, as well as aesthetic and recreational opportunities. Forests must continue to fulfill these needs for society, but how can we ensure they do so in a way that is sustainable for future generations in the face of population increase, increasing urbanization, declining forest health, global warming and other threats to the forest? The science and practice of forestry is very complicated and multifaceted, and is always changing. The dynamics of land ownership further complicates forest management.
Forests and forestry will continue to be important in the future of Washington state, but both must be managed sustainably. Research and education conducted by faculty and students at the University of Washington will help us accomplish this.
Bruce Lippke|,Bruce Lippke, professor, Forest Economics, University of Washington John Perez-Garcia|,John Perez-Garcia, associate professor, UW College of Forest Resources, Center for International Trade in Forest Products (CINTRAFOR) Greg Ettl|,Greg Ettl, associate professor, Forest Ecology and Sustainable Forestry, University of Washington; director, Center for Sustainable Forestry, Pack Forest Dave Briggs|,Dave Briggs, professor, Operations Research, University of Washington