Last Saturday 33 four- to 15-year-old kids braved the February cold to search for native plants and wildlife just a few blocks from their homes in Mt. Vernon, Wash. Starting from North 26th Street and Kulshan Avenue, they hiked a mile down the Kulshan Trail, crossing Kulshan Creek, exploring the little tributaries along the Nookachamps Creek to Waugh Road. Western hemlock
The western hemlock, along with the western redcedar, is a dominant tree species in the wet forests of the Olympic Peninsula and Willapa Hills. While western hemlock is typically the most abundant tree species in many stands, it tends to be shortlived in these relatively warm and moist environments. Western hemlocks over 200 years old can be found, but invariably they have rotten centers and will not live to 300 years (In contrast, western redcedars over 1000 years old are not rare in the forests of the coastal plain.)At higher elevations, in the subalpine forest, the trees grow larger. The decay fungi so common in moist low-elevation forests is less aggressive at higher elevations. On the Olympic Peninsula, the record western hemlock measurements — a diameter of 290 cm and an age of 1,238 years – are found in higher elevations of their growing range.
From EAR TO GROUND
http://washingtondnr.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/western-hemlock-a-common-sight-in-washington-states-wet-coastal-forests/
Group B Water Systems: Current Rules:
Public meeting planned to seek ideas for permanently funding Forest Riparian Easement Program: a State program that helps small forest landowners.
Dale Hom, Forest Supervisor at Olympic National Forest, invites the public to participate in a discussion about restoration opportunities on National Forest System Lands in the Dungeness River drainage at an upcoming public meeting. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 8, from 5:30-7:30 pm at the Guy Cole Convention Center at Carrie Blake Park, 202 North Blake Avenue, in Sequim.