WFPA - Washington Forest Protection Association

East vs. West

The climate in Washington is quite different between the western and eastern halves of the state. In the west, the climate is wet and cool. In the east, it's dry and warm. The dividing line, of course, is the Cascade Mountain range. This disparity in climate can even influence which reforestation method is used: planting or natural reseeding.

Forest managers in western Washington prefer planting to help ensure desirable species and spacing. In eastern Washington, forest managers favor natural reseeding due to the tree species found there, which are mainly ponderosa pine and western larch. Soil conditions, shaped by the climate, also play an important role in deciding which reforestation method to use.

Washington has some of the toughest forest practice laws in the country, requiring a harvested area to be replanted within three years.

Each year WFPA's members plant more than 35 million tree seedlings in areas that have been harvested. On average, that's three seedlings planted by hand for every one tree removed. Private landowners take a proactive approach, not only to reach the state requirement of reforestation within three years of harvesting an area, but to ensure growth of desirable tree species, to allow for proper spacing between the planted trees, and to restore wildlife habitat. Actually, you can usually find private forest landowners replanting within 12 to 18 months of the harvest to promote faster growth, before wild plants can move in and block out the sun.

Tree Nurseries Ensure Strong and Healthy
Third-Growth Forests

Where do these 35 million tree seedlings come from? Nearly all come from tree nurseries right here in Washington. New forests are grown from seed collected from cones within the same seed zone or region that has the distinctive environmental conditions for a particular tree. While the first seed zone maps were published in 1966, a lot of new information has been incorporated since then. The use of seed zones help landowners replant trees that are best adapted to the site, thus producing long-lived and healthy stands, limiting damage from climate and pests and maintaining locally adapted gene pools.

Replanting Private Forests with Accountability
and Expertise

The successful reforestation of a harvested area, although complex and challenging, is a private forest landowner's springboard to the next generation of forest. That's why Washington's private foresters take a lot of pride in knowing the intricacies of reforestation. Whether it be preparing a site for planting by reducing logging debris, correctly matching the right tree species to the right growing conditions, or not compacting the soil with heavy machinery before planting because it lessens a young tree's chance to survive, WFPA's members are taking the lead in what is the responsible and the right way to regenerate their private forests.

Why Habitat Protection is Our Special Obligation