OLYMPIA — Forest health, noxious weeds and lions, bears and fishers are topics presented in a series of free live webinars hosted by Washington State University Extension Forestry and Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
The classes follow the same model as the 2020 virtual offerings from WSU Extension and Department of Natural Resources, which won awards from the Association of Natural Resources Extension Professionals.
The free classes are offered Thursdays through August. Each webinar is offered twice, from noon to 1 p.m. and from 7 to 8 p.m. Those who cannot attend can receive a link to the recording. Pre-registration required. To register, go to wwrld.us/3zVWmwu.
Here is the schedule:
- Thursday: The Bradley Method of Noxious Weed Control. Instructor Steven Burke, manager of the King County Noxious Weed Control Program, will talk about using the slow favoring of native plants to control noxious weeds.
- Aug. 12: Variable Density Thinning. Instructor Matt Provencher, stewardship forester with the Department of Natural Resources, will discuss how variable density thinning can add structural, age-class and species diversity to almost any forest.
- Aug. 17: Washington State Forest Health Highlights. Glenn Kohler, a Department of Natural Resources forest entomologist, will present current forest health issues, concerns and trends.
- Aug. 19: Lions and Fishers and Bears, Oh My! Current Events in Northwest Wildlife Management. Ken Bevis, stewardship wildlife biologist, will present a biologically based discussion about everything from bears and wolves to fishers and owls.
- Aug. 26: Healthy Forest Understories and the Weeds That Get in the Way. Instructor Skye Pelliccia, noxious weed control specials with the King County Noxious Weed Control Program, will talk about how the forest’s understory helps resiliency, health and diversity.
