Sept. 19, 2023

My last week at Starker Forests was a great one! We started the week off right with more stream surveying.

I got paired with Anthony and we drove to Snow Canyon Rehab to check to see if the streams

flowed into the unit. Sure enough, there was flowing water, and so we surveyed up the non-fish stream. It was very brushy, making it slow-going, but I still had a lot of fun. Stream surveying is kind of like a scavenger hunt. As you walk along the stream, you’re looking for places where it branches off. Sometimes, you lose sight of the stream, but if you keep walking you might find it pop up again, after it flowed underground.

Tuesday was a very different day, as all of us interns joined Starker forester Jennifer to see what a day as a forest engineer looks like. We drove to see where a bridge had fallen on Starker property. Unfortunately, the road hadn’t been cleared yet by the contractor, but Jennifer still got to show us the plans for the new bridge. It was amazing to see all the details that go into such a project. An important part of designing a bridge is assessing the problems with the previous bridge, which involved erosion of the soil around the bridge and the material (logs), which wasn’t quite as sturdy. Both of these, along with much more, went into play when constructing the design for this new bridge.

Afterwards, we picked up some hay bales and drove out to multiple culverts to mulch the bare soil around the stream. The process of mulching involves spraying

grass seed from seed bags over the soil and then covering the area with straw. This is to ensure that erosion does not take place and grass/other vegetation starts to grow again around the culvert and the stream.

Tuesday was Anthony and Joseph’s last day, so we had to take our long-awaited “shelfy” (selfie with a shelf, as Joseph calls it).

On Wednesday and Thursday, Kathy and I cruised timber on the coast with Lys. Starker was looking at some new property and wanted to know what type of timber was in this stand. The common species we ran into included Douglas-fir, western hemlock and Sitka spruce. We noted that there was a lot of evidence of Swiss needle cast, which is a foliage disease affecting Douglas-fir. There were multiple plots with dead or nearly dead Douglas-fir trees due to this fungal pathogen.

We finished cruising earlier on Thursday, so we had time for lunch with a nice view. When we got back to the office, Lys input our data into a computer and then she let me take over and, step by step, explained the process she goes through of grouping the data and then getting the program to run so that it outputs average height, average diameter and much more. This is helpful for multiple reasons, but one of them is making sure that the data that comes through matches the stand we just cruised. If the heights and diameters don’t make sense, then something in the program went wrong. When working with the data on computers, there is often a lot of troubleshooting involved, but when it works and the programs run smoothly, it is very beneficial, as it presents an overview of the timber that we just cruised.

Friday was my last day working for Starker this summer. Kathy and I went cruising in a very steep unit that had

very different plots throughout the stand. The first plot was all alder trees and in our second plot there was no trees. The third plot was a bit better, with two Douglas-fir trees, but this was still not ideal, as you want to have a plot between four and eight trees, six being the best. At our fifth plot, we decided to change the BAF (Basal Area Factor) from 35 to 25. This made it so our fifth plot had six trees instead of three. We continued on using this BAF for the rest of the stand, getting better numbers of trees. Kathy and I headed back a bit early for our exit interviews and packed up our gear, cleaned out our totes, and wiped down our D-tapes, which will be used by next year’s summer crew.

Working for Starker this summer has been an amazing adventure. I have learned so much from just three months of working in the woods, and I know that this hands-on experience will greatly impact my career path in the field of forestry. This internship was challenging and helped me learn to think for myself and be confident in my decision-making. You’re not always going to have someone else with you when you’re out in the woods, so it’s important to know how to solve problems and think quickly when making decisions.

I felt very welcomed at Starker and enjoyed getting to know everyone who worked there. Working at Starker feels like working within a big family, everyone is watching out for each other, but also pushing each other to do better and excel in their work. I know that this summer at Starker was time well spent and I hope to work again for Starker in the future. Thank you to everyone who made this experience such a great one!

– Sabrina Giulietti

Sept. 11, 2023

With one week left at Starker I thought, why not start writing a blog? So here I am, writing a blog.

This week has been an adventure. We had Monday off due to Labor Day, so things started Tuesday. We went back to Mid North Norton Hill to continue stream surveying one of our hardest streams. This included walking through thick brush, navigating rock slabs with little waterfalls running down the face, and going over and under many logs. At the end of the day, we still had six tributaries left to survey, so we will most likely be going back at some point. This was an interesting day for me because I got a slug on my jacket and in my hair and later, I slipped on some rocks and fell face first into a stick. It missed my eye though, so that was good!

On Tuesday, Kathy and I visited PRT nurseries with Stephen, one in Cottage Grove and one in Woodburn. We were given a tour at each nursery where we were shown how Starker’s seedlings were doing, including Douglas-fir, grand fir, western hemlock, Noble fir, western red cedar, California redwood, Willamette Valley pine, and Sitka spruce.

There is a lot that goes into growing trees at nurseries – from monitoring the pH level (this is especially important

when using peat as a fertilizer), making sure the trees have the right balance of macro-nutrients and micronutrients, keeping a warm temperature, making sure the trees get enough water and much more.

 

At the nursery in Woodburn, there were quite a few greenhouses, and navigating them was fun as they led us into one greenhouse and found Starker’s block number and the tag that marked Starker’s trees, what kind of block the trees were in (either a styro block, open air block, or a treated block), when the trees were sowed, what day they were to be planted, and other important information.

Thursday, Kathy and I check-cruised nine plots that Anthony and Joseph had cruised the previous day. Afterwards, we drove to another unit (Moss Creek) to help Reece with unit layout, stream buffers, and marking property lines. With stream buffers, we marked flagging 70 feet perpendicular to the stream, using our D-tape and lasers to gage the distance.

I enjoyed marking property lines, as we looked for blazes and eventually found a section corner.

Continuing on, we sprayed circles around blazes with blue spray paint and hung blue flagging next to each tree we marked. It was along this property line that Reece yelled “Bees!” and we both started running. I ended up getting stung not once, but five times! The yellow jackets did not seem happy.

Friday, Kathy and I helped Stephen pin flag a research plot, which was measured seven flags by seven flags with 10 feet between each flag. Each block of 49 flags had a specific color to mark out each section.

We then joined Anthony and Joseph at the Moss Creek unit to help them finish cruising. Kathy took tree heights while I worked at plot center taking tree diameters. At one point, I heard some rustling and looked over to see a single deer loping through the trees. Thankfully, no one got stung on Friday, although we all had our share of poison oak, so time will tell who is starting to itch next week.

This week is my last week with Starker, which is hard to believe. Time flies when you’re having fun! I look forward to working with the interns and everyone at Starker for one more week and I am very thankful for this amazing opportunity to be an intern at Starker Forests.

• – Sabrina Giuletti

Sept. 11, 2023

Last week was my second to last week at Starker Forests. Monday was off for Labor Day, but we got right back into the swing of things Tuesday.

Again, we were surveying streams in the “Mid N Norton Hill” unit in the Norton Hill Tree Farm outside of Eddyville. This is the same unit we had been working last week and the stream system is not completely finished. It was another day of battling slick rock formations and going up steep slopes, but it was fun!

That day I was working with Sabrina again and while we were conducting our survey, a medium sized slug managed to get on the hood of her jacket and got slug slime all over it and her hair. I thought it was funny, however, Sabrina thought it was pretty gross. We still have no idea how it got there.

For the rest of the week, I was paired with Joseph working on timber cruising, stream buffers, and basal area reduction. Reece taught us about stream buffering and basal area reduction. The units we visited were to be harvested this year, so the “old PFA (Private Forests Accord) rules” still apply.

Learning about the basal area reduction was very interesting. This is the process of selecting trees in the buffer to be cut, even though the tree is within the buffer boundary. This is done by measuring the diameter of every tree in the boundary and once a minimum basal area is achieved, then any tree that is not contributing to the minimum basal area can be cut.

There are other restrictions as well depending on the stream size. Joseph, Reece and I measured trees with our “D-tape” and marked trees to be cut with bright orange spray paint. The timber cruising was also for the units that we buffered, which was cool to do multiple steps for the same unit.

This was “pre-harvest” cruising so the trees were much larger and the brush was more dense than a recently thinned stand. I was glad to get more timber cruising practice in and I feel more confident.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday afternoon and Friday, was a battle against poison oak. It was all over the ground and up in the trees. It would take a miracle for all of us interns to make it through without getting poison oak rashes. It is still too soon to tell, but I am holding out hope.

As this is my last week at Starker, I need to say that I have learned lots and had many positive experiences working for Starker Forests. Even the fires, poison oak, and the rain gave a glimpse as to a day in the life as a full time Starker Forester and I thought it was awesome.

Everyone looks out for one another, and it seems to me that everyone is a part of a large family. Thank you to all the amazing people at Starker who taught me new skills and looked out for me, you make Starker a great place to work. I hope this is not the end of my story at Starker Forests, I still have two days and I intend to make the most of my time!

• – Anthony Cafferata

Sept. 4, 2023

Week 11 at Starker was a short one for me; I started Tuesday. I had the opportunity to work with Reece and Sage (Reece’s dog) that day and it was fun. I helped Reece complete a unit layout by finding timber typelines and learned about flagging property lines. This work is important because it lets the loggers and operators know where to stop cutting trees. The property line is super important to get right so we do not accidentally cut trees that do not belong to Starker.

When finding the property line, Reece and I would look for old “blazes,” permanent and obvious inscriptions marking the line. However, we were only able to find the first three blazes. We flagged those with blue ribbon and decided that the unit needed to be resurveyed to establish an obvious property line. Sage tagged along with us happily scouting ahead and visiting the streams and eating blackberries. Moving on, we addressed the second task of the day; flagging in old roads that need to be reconstructed. We flagged in the first with no problem and the second one seemed to meander and switch around quite a bit. We looked at it from a few different angles and walked a few different possible routes. In the end, we decided to look at the Lidar high definition on ARCGIS to get it right. While working, Reece found a very nice Elk shed. (Do not let the picture fool you, Sage did not find it but is gladly taking credit.)

Wednesday was a fun day as all the interns and Reece went to a unit that even Fred would have to classify as steep for stream surveys. “NE Pala” is a unit that has been inaccessible for quite some time. Reece said that Jeff, a Starker forester, had been trying to lay out a road to the unit for nearly five years. I commented on Jeff’s determination and suggested that the trees probably had nightmares about him. Getting to the bottom of the unit to start our survey, we were making our way down 87% grade. The area was full of big trees and beautiful waterfalls.

Reece measured a tree that was 196 feet tall. The trek was difficult, but we managed to finish surveying the streams with plenty of time, so we checked two other units for streams before making our way back to the office.

 

Thursday and Friday all the interns were together again to attempt a lengthy stream survey. I will say, it is not yet completed, even after two full days working on it. On Thursday, it rained most of the day, so all of us were soaked after tromping through the brush. We had split up to cover more ground but because of all the rain and moisture, both groups were struggling to get our iPads and GPS to work. We ended up not using either and just putting in flagging to come back and input the areas on the GPS. By the end of the day, we all concluded that it felt like we walked through a lake with our squishy boots and cold pants.

Friday was much better; the brush was still wet resulting in wet boots and pants again, but we were happy because our technology was working. Working as two groups again, Sabrina and I went to GPS our flagging from the previous day while Joseph, Kathy and Caroline continued. This unit was full of waterfalls that were easily 10-15 feet tall with very steep sides, making it quite difficult to get to some tributary junctions and channel initiation points. The going is tough, but we are making progress.

I would like to say that this week was Caroline’s last week as a Starker Forests’ intern. She is a hard worker and eager to learn, working with her has been a pleasure so we all wish her the best of luck in this coming year.

 

– Anthony Cafferata

Sept. 1, 2023

After 11 weeks of learning new skills and hanging out with the other interns, my time at Starker for this summer has come to an end.

Monday, our morning started with making sure the fire trucks had everything they needed. We took inventory, wiped the windows down, and vacuumed. Joe and I then went out to work on stream surveys. It was an easy job as our first stand didn’t even have any water going into it other than the fish stream going through the bottom corner. Our second stand was a little steep, so it took us some time getting down to the fish stream. We ended up only finding a little bit of water going into it but didn’t have time to follow it completely.

Tuesday was fun as we finally got some rain, well at least Joe and I did. We spent the day out in Alsea doing stream surveys. We found some water at our first stand, but it just barely went into the stand. At our second stand, we didn’t find anything. Our third and final stand had some water and there were supposedly about five streams that went into it. It was a little brushy on the first stream so that one took the longest to get up and find the CIP (channel initiation point). We unfortunately didn’t finish the stand, so we’ll have to come back.

Wednesday was a pretty good day as all us interns packed into one truck to go and do a big and steep stream survey together. We worked with Reece and ended up getting it done by lunch, so we were able to check in two other stands before going back to the office.

We ended up getting back to the office at 2 p.m. and spent the afternoon rolling hoses and washing fire trucks.

Wet. That’s pretty much the best way to describe Thursday. All of us interns stuck together today to try and tackle a huge stream with about a dozen possible tributaries. It rained all day and almost all of the tributaries were actually visible. However, our GPSs were not working, and we eventually had to give up trying to get them to work. We were only able to flag the points we would normally put on the GPS, which means we would have to come back another day to enter them into the iPad. Even after skipping lunch, we hardly made a dent into the possible streams.

Friday came quickly. Since Thursday’s stand was so huge, we weren’t able to finish it and had to come back again. Luckily it didn’t rain today but most of the plants still had some moisture on them so we all still got soaked. Besides the fact that Kathy, Joe and I had a section of the stand that was very steep and very brushy, it was a very good day. Getting to work together on my final stand and have one final lunch as a group was great.

I’m so glad I got the chance to work with this group of interns. Being the youngest one in the group, I never felt left out and they were always willing to answer a question, whether it was about tree identification or college. So, thank you to Kathy, Emily, Sabrina, Joe, and Anthony. You guys made this summer a little easier to navigate and I’m so glad I got to know you guys.

This week was my last week for this summer with Starker. I went into this experience with pretty much no idea what I was going to be doing. I’ve loved almost every minute of it and I’ve gained so much knowledge from not only the foresters but from my fellow interns and from the other starker employees. I’m so grateful I got to have this experience and I hope I get the chance to work with everyone again in the future.

Thank you, Starker, for having me and for everything you’ve taught me.

– Caroline Puckett

 

Aug. 29, 2023

This week was another fun and exciting week at Starker Forests consisting of stream surveys, timber cruising and firefighting.

Monday, I did stream surveys with Joseph. This one particular stream we did was quite steep and offered a terrific view from the channel initiation point. Quite a few factors led to the view being terrific; getting to the top was difficult as there was stinging nettle over my head on uneven steeper ground (not Fred’s definition of steep) and it was bar time. Joseph and I took the time to eat a Clif Bar while we appreciated the view after the hard work to get there.

Sabrina and I paired up from Tuesday to Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday were stream surveys and Thursday was timber cruising. The unit “Sand Pit View” was our first stop. Lys warned us it would be miserable because it was overgrown with salmonberry bushes. We ended up completing 2.5 units that day. Wednesday, we finished the unit we hadn’t finished (“PG Corner”) and moved on to North Buel. The first stream here was very difficult to find and mark. It was in a wide expanse of grasses and blackberry bushes. Finding the tributary junction and channel proved a challenge. Sabrina and I had several close calls barely escaping falls into the stream because we could not see it until we put our feet down.

A change of pace on Thursday from stream surveys to timber cruising had Sabrina and I finishing up a unit that Joseph and I had started (“Post Grey CTL”). We finished up the last 14 plots at that stand and on our way out, we saw a cow elk. It was very exciting, as it is always fun to discuss the different types of wildlife we see each day. We did not get a picture as it happened too fast and we weren’t prepared to take a photo.

Friday was exciting. The lightning storm that happened on Thursday night gave way to many fires in the coast range. Upon arriving at work the next morning, Lys told us that we would have a day at the office so if, and when, they needed us on a fire we would not be out of cell range. We occupied ourselves until 11:30 or so when Lys called to give us a township, range, and section to meet her to help put out a fire that had started due to lightning hitting a tree.

We showed up to find a small fire, not exceeding half an acre. We (the interns) quickly took up the task of digging a fire line around the fire’s flanks coming off the road going down and around the heat and flames. As a line was being built, the Starker fire engine was supplying water to the hose lay. Carefully, and as to not waste water, we gradually worked into the “black,” spraying a slow but constant stream of water and digging out hotspots.

By 4:30 p.m., we had mopped up the fire and completed a hand line around the fire. We left to go to the second fire, comfortable that the fire would not start up again. Even so, we left a hose lay ready to go just in case.

The second fire was in a younger “reprod” stand. The trees were probably 5-7 feet tall and spaced out quite a bit. By the time I got there with Stephen, I had gotten on the fire engine after the first fire to grab a portable tank from the office so I arrived about 30 minutes after the other interns, the fire was all but reduced to small flames, smoke and the occasional torching tree.

There was a dozer line around the entire fire, and I was super happy to hear that a hand line was not going to be necessary. I grabbed a shovel and paired with Caroline to help dig out hot spots while she used the hose. Our instructions were to work 25 feet into the “black” cooling off the hot spots with water to ensure that the fire couldn’t jump the fire line. We worked until the fire was under control. It was around 8 p.m. when we headed back to the office for the night.

– Anthony Cafferata

Aug. 26, 2023

After a week like last week, this week was very nice and Friday was very different from most of our days.

Very early Friday morning thunder and lightning struck across the valley resulting in multiple fires and a lot of stress for everyone at Starker.

After meeting with Lys in the morning, we were informed that we would be staying at the office all day in case we were needed to respond to a fire. We spent the morning building a second shelf in the truck bay.

After few hours, we sent Joe up to the office with a couple questions. When he got there, two fire trucks were gone along with all of the foresters. It turned out they were just patrolling and that we should get the truck ready incase we needed to leave. We waited around building the shelf until about noon and then headed out to the first fire of the day.

The first fire was in Starker’s Beaver Creek tree farm and relatively small. We had it all trailed and mopped up at 4:30 p.m.

We then moved onto the second fire of the day. This was the Starr Creek Fire and it was a bit bigger. It was our job to focus on mopping up a small portion. ODF wanted a 25 foot border so fire would not reach the other side of the line. It took us a couple hours using water to make sure there were no flames, smoke or hot spots in our section. We ended up leaving at about 8:30 p.m.

 

This made the first part of the week pretty uneventful, but it was a good week as the weather was cooler than last week and we mostly did stream surveys.

My work week started on Tuesday and I was partnered with Joe. We had quite a drive as our two stands were Eddyville. But, for the first time this summer, the stands were right next to each other so it was like one big stand. It was very hilly and had quite a bit of brush down by the streams. The walking wasn’t awful but we unfortunately didn’t finish it.

On Wednesday, we returned to Eddyville to continue the stands. Because of how close the fish stream was, we had a lot of streams that entered the stand. Sadly every single stream that could’ve been there, was there. Joe and I worked extremely hard, skipped lunch and still ended up having to stay a little late because we didn’t want to have to come out a third time. As Joe and I put it, we needed to WLLW, “Work Like Lys Would.” She’s very fast.

Thursday was a very nice day. Kathy, Joe and I got the opportunity to lay out a research plot with Stephen. When laying out a stand, pin flags are put down to designate where trees are supposed to be planted. We actually went back to the same stand where Emily and I previously helped flag where the burn piles were supposed to go. It was a little hot but it was pretty fun and the time flew by. I always enjoy learning new skills so I appreciated being able to see another part of the reforestation side of things.

Despite Friday being what it was, this has been a pretty great week and I hope next week can be the same, but maybe without the fires. We were productive and we’ve definitely made some progress with the stream surveys.

Next week is my last week at Starker so you’ll only read one more post from me.

— Caroline Puckett

Aug. 22, 2023

Every week presents new challenges and this last week seemed long for all of us interns albeit in different ways.

Monday started normal enough and Joseph and I went to tackle stream surveys. We get to the unit using the map “Field Maps” (this is also where we record our data for the surveys) and we park at the very top. According to “Field Maps,” it was the closest road anywhere near the unit. Unfortunately, Joseph and I had a long way to go downhill. Our general strategy is to park our truck where we will likely end up after the work on the unit is complete for that day. This was not really an option as all the streams were directly downhill and away from the truck.

We bushwacked our way through the unit, doing our best to maintain our footing, when all of a sudden, we came upon a road, unmarked on “Field Maps.” Taking it the rest of the way down, we got to the fish stream and started our survey of the tributaries that come from the unit.

The crazy part though was the fish stream was dry. All the water was in stagnant puddles with fish swimming around in them. The tributaries coming from the unit? Yup, also dry. The streams are brushed in so at some points we were quite literally army crawling under the vine maple and salmonberry. Joe and I finished all but one tributary on Monday.

On Tuesday, Joe and I arrived, taking care to drive to the bottom using the road we found the previous day. Thinking that this tributary would be dry like all the rest, and assuming there would not be much to survey, was our downfall. The stream was flowing a little bit so we surveyed like normal, but it was really tough going. The blackberry bushes were everywhere and covering the creek, in the trees, snagging whatever part of you that happened to be moving at the time.

Eventually, we made it out, but with a catch! The road closest to us was where we parked the first day, so it was way down and around to get back to the truck. Going back through the stand would have been much slower. The

walk around turned out to be close to 2.5 miles, at least there were no blackberry bushes to speak of. (Note: even if we went back through the blackberries, it would have taken far more time than if we didn’t use the road.)

Wednesday to Friday were more typical. On Wednesday, Sabrina and I went and surveyed streams in the unit

“Dean’s Ridge.” One stream system had a tributary that went into the unit by less than 50 feet, so we had to survey the entire thing. This was not awful, but as always with streams, it gets brushed in. Thursday was stream surveys with Sabrina and Kathy. Kathy had bad luck and was stung by a yellow jacket three times. We did not see a nest. The best we can come up with is that the insect was extra angry. On

Friday, Lys recruited Kathy, Sabrina and I to help cruise a stand of timber. Kathy and I worked together, and Sabrina cruised with Lys in a different section of the stand. My group hit a hornet nest but we got away without any stings. We met up with Lys and Sabrina at the end of the day, and as soon as we showed up Sabrina got stung.

 

A few of these days I happened to get back early and helped build a shelf for the garage. I said it was “blog worthy” but Joseph says that he wants to get a “shelfy” (selfie with a shelf) with all the interns when it is finished before it can go on the blog, so I will wait. Stay tuned to see the final product.

– Anthony Cafferata

Aug. 18, 2023

 

This week has been a little unbelievable. Each day felt like a whole week by itself and that wasn’t a good thing. Unfortunately, I had bad luck until Thursday.

On Monday I started the day with Lys. I got the opportunity to go back and go over a stand Kathy and I cruised last week. I always appreciate an opportunity to see what I need to work on, so it was very nice to be able to get immediate feedback from Lys. After that, I got dropped off with Kathy and Sabrina to work on some stream surveys. By the time I got there, they had marked nine tributaries and still had quite a bit of stream to follow. The stand was extremely humid and both Sabrina and I ended up with our feet stuck ankle to knee high in mud.

 

Tuesday was the worst day. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, went wrong. The day began with Sabrina and I heading out to finish up the stand from Monday. On our way there, we realized the truck was having some issues and, after calling Lys and Stephen, we returned to the office to swap for a different one. Once we finally got to our first stand, we met up with Kathy. The stand ended up having 12 tributary’s and we didn’t get finished until 11:30 a.m. 

     

Our next stand ended up not having any water in it, so we were able to just do a quick check and get moving to our final stand of the day. After a poor choice on which road to take, and some poor choices in

general, we ended up getting our truck stuck. We had no signal, so we had to walk 45 minutes until Kathy was finally able to get Lys on the phone. I regret a lot of the decisions I made on that day and, if I went back, I would do multiple things differently. I will definitely be thinking and doing things differently going forward.

 

Wednesday was the beginning of the end of my bad luck. We switched up partners today and I went out with Joe. We got two stands done. We’re almost done with all of the surveys near the office so we are going to have to drive a bit farther to get to them. We got back early today because of the heat and we were able to help Stephen with a couple small projects. Joe and I got to start cleaning off the top of the greenhouse.

 

Thursday was a very good day; the stands were great and we were able to get through two again. We went out to Norton Hill and ended up having some pretty enjoyable streams. The fish streams were super close, and we only had one tributary all day. I hope we have some more of these kinds of streams as we progress through the list.

 

I’m very excited that this nightmare of a week is ending. We’ve made some good progress on the streams and have gotten about half of them done. Hopefully, we finish the week strong and make some progress on the list next week. 

– Caroline Puckett