Assessing the Response of Streams to Contemporary Forest Practices:
A Conference on Paired Watershed Studies
October 13-14, 2008 - CH2M Hill Alumni Center
Oregon State University - Corvallis, OR

Over the past several decades in response to environmental concerns, the annual harvest in the timber-producing states of the Pacific Northwest was reduced and forest practices were improved. However, there is still concern that the intensity of contemporary forest practices used to manage commercial forest land is not environmentally sustainable. To address this concern, the Watersheds Research Cooperative (WRC), under the administration of the College of Forestry at Oregon State University, is conducting research on the impacts of contemporary forest practices on aquatic ecosystems. This research is carried out in three paired watershed studies in western Oregon: Hinkle Creek, the Alsea Study, and the Trask Watershed.

The purpose of this conference is to report on the state-of-the-science of the environmental effectiveness of contemporary forest practices. The conference will feature reports on preliminary results, current status, and future directions for the three WRC paired watershed studies. Also, results will be presented from similar research from throughout the Pacific Northwest.