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General Information on Forestry Operations

Pack Forest is a working forest managed by the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington . Pack currently maintains one staff forester, several woods utility workers and a seasonal intern to perform the necessary duties of managing the 4,300 acre forest.

Pack's primary mission is as a research and demonstration forest. Demonstrations at Pack Forest link research findings to the every-day world of operations. Many research findings have been implemented into operations; results from these processes are generally available to the public. Field trips and tours are a major part of the Pack Forest program. Professionals and forest landowners participating in these tours benefit greatly from the catalog of information provided to them in field examples.

Demonstrations in methods of competitive control, effects of spacing on growth, yield and quality, methods for controlling the spread of root rot in Douglas fir, comparisons between sludge and commercial urea as fertilizers, and in a number of the biosolids program related areas, such as growth response, fiber production and vegetation control are available. These demonstrations are all long-term and require a land base that is controlled and will continue to be available to the end of the project.

Pack Forest is a working forest and holds regular timber harvests and sales. The principal timber sale method involves two contract procedures for each sale. The logs are offered by bid sale to companies buying delivered logs. A separate contract providing the logging and hauling service is then offered for bid. Both contracts are subject to University policies and processes.

This process permits Pack Forest to design its harvest areas according to physical and biological requirements, instead of having to yield to economic requirements. The result is that small sales have been made, even under depressed market conditions. Revenue is also generally higher because basic marketing tasks are performed by Pack Forest, not by the logger.

Pack Forest is third-party certified under both the American Tree Farm System and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

For more information on operations, timber sales, or other forestry-related business, please contact Duane Emmons, forest manager. He can be reached by email at emmons@u.washington.edu or by telephone at 001.206.685.4485 extension 212.