2024 Puget Sound Forest Owners’ Field Day – Fall City July 27th

An out-in-the-woods education event

WSU Extension, in cooperation with WA DNR and King County, presents the 2024 Puget Sound Forest Owners’ Field Day to help you learn about forest issues, foster healthy and resilient forest conditions, pursue fun new projects, and achieve your goals for your property. The Field day will feature different outdoor workshops with a number to choose from that cover a wide variety of topics.

Learn about current forest health issues, drought and climate impacts, fire risk reduction, wildlife, making your own maple syrup, new forestry research, and much more in an out-in-the-woods setting with local experts. See the below for more details. The Field Day will also feature exhibits by local agencies and organizations that assist owners of forested property.

When and Where

Schedule of Events

8:00 a.m. – Gates open, time to mingle with vendors
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Field Day workshops rotating every hour
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch (not provided – please bring your own picnic lunch)
1:00 – 4:00 p.m. – Field Day workshops rotating every hour

Location

This year’s Field Day will be at the Keller property near Fall City. Additional location info, including directions, will be coming soon.

What to Expect

Field Day logistics

Water and restrooms will be available at the Field Day
Please bring your own lunch and snacks!
This is an outdoor field day. Please come ready for the elements (comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen, hat, rain jacket, layers).
There will be vendor exhibits where you can browse and network with forestry professionals during the Field Day and during the lunch hour.
The workshop stations are located in the woods, within a 5-10 minute walk from the registration and exhibit area unless otherwise noted.
There will be six workshop sessions. For each workshop session, you will get to pick from the workshops offered for that session time. A schedule showing what workshops are offered at what times (and the station locations) will be provided when you arrive. The sessions will run approximately fifty minutes, followed by ten minutes to walk to your next workshop.

Field Day Topics

Bats on small woodlands – Learn about our local bat species, the special adaptation that helps them thrive, why they are so important to our ecosystems, and what we can do on our own properties to support local bat species.
Bigleaf maple sugaring – Learn how to tap your maple trees and process the sap into a delicious homemade maple syrup.
Fire risk reduction around your home – Learn how to assess your home’s wildfire risk and practical steps to take to reduce the chance of your home igniting during a wildfire event.
Insects in western WA forests – Learn about common insect pests in western Washington forests and how to prevent and address insect problems with your trees.
Invasive weed control – Learn how to identify invasive weeds and both chemical and non-chemical methods to effectively control them.
Measuring trees for growth and health assessment – Learn how to measure trees and use the data to track growth and assess stand health.
Shiitake mushroom cultivation – Learn how to grow your own gourmet mushrooms with logs from your forest.
Soil assessment and interpretation – Learn how to assess the soils on your property and what it means for the growth and health of your trees.
Thinning for ecosystem health – Learn how to assess a stand to see if it needs to be thinned and how to develop a thinning prescription to improve health and resilience.
Tree planting and seedling care – Learn about selecting seedlings, proper site preparation, proper planting technique, and post planting seedling care for successful regeneration.
Variable density thinning – Learn the art of this variant of forest thinning that will increase complexity and result in a more diverse, natural stand structure.
Wildlife habitat enhancement – Learn how to make your property more attractive to wildlife.
Wildlife species and habitats – Learn about the wildlife species that call western Washington forests home and what their habitat needs are.

Cost and Registration

Pre-registration is required. Registration will NOT be available on site. The registration deadline is 5:00 p.m. Thursday, July 25, 2024. Cancellation requests must be received by 5:00 p.m. Thursday, July 25, 2024 to be eligible for a refund. Eventbrite processing fees are non-refundable.

Registration fees

Registration deadline is 5:00 p.m. July 25, 2024

Individual registration: $20
Household registration (2-4 adults): $30

Registration is open!

Register online

Register online via Eventbrite. Online registrations are subject to a non-refundable credit card processing fee. Online registration will be open until 5:00 p.m. July 25, 2024.

Register by mail

Mail-in registrations must be received by 5:00 p.m. July 25, 2024. Download the mail-in registration form (PDF). To fill out the mail-in registration form, we recommend that you right-click the download link and select “Save link as” to save the PDF file, and then open it in Adobe Acrobat or the free Adobe Reader rather than viewing it within your web browser. The form functions do not work when viewed in a browser window. Fill it out on your computer and then print it out and mail it in with a check made out to “Washington State University Extension” to:

WSU Extension Forestry
Attn: 2024 Field Day Registration
6705 Puget Park Dr
Snohomish, WA 98296

Additional information

This is family-friendly! Youth under 18 may attend free so bring your next generation of forest stewards. Discounts are available for students and active Master Gardeners – call 425-738-0103 for details.

Acknowledgements and Accommodations

This program is an educational partnership between Washington State University Extension and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Additional funding support is provided by the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks.

Extension programs and employment are available to all without discrimination. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension office. Reasonable accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities and special needs who contact Sarah Stewart at sarah.stewart1@wsu.edu or 425-738-0103 at least three weeks prior to the event.