Welcome to our Spring Newsletter

and 2nd Quarterly Question!

Welcome to our second quarter newsletter! And let's hear it for lots of spring showers! As noted in our last newsletter, the OTFS Board, through the Communication & Landowner Journey working group, is launching a new quarterly Newsletter format. Although our first newsletter was only last month, our plan moving forward is to send Quarterly Newsletters in January, April, July and October. There will continue to be periodic mailings when something time sensitive needs to be shared (we're working on a News Flash format even now), but we are working toward a more consistent reminder of our shared connection to OTFS and the value we all find in membership and certification.

Gratitude to Mary Chamness for passing along these signs of spring photos. If any of you have photos to share, please do! Just send them to ortreefarmsystem@gmail.com and watch for an upcoming newsletter or social media post featuring the beauty you find on your land!

Although we said this last month, it bears repeating, so here it is:

If you want to learn more about the other six working groups, as well as a current list of Board members, feel free to check out the Board page on our website. If you're interested in learning more about the Landowner Journey working group in particular, you're really in luck because we have our own page on the website: The Landowner Journey. In a nutshell, the Landowner Journey working group exists to support YOU, Oregon forest landowners committed to sustainable forest management, wherever you are in your journey, from folks just starting out to long-time OTFS members.

Text in bold green is a live link: just click to follow it!

You read that right! OTFS is hiring!

You can find the link on our website

or just click on the link above to read more about the position.

Emergency Forest Restoration Assistance

for Deschutes & Jefferson Counties | Sign-up by April 16!

Shared by our friends at ODF:

Attached is a 1-pager from FSA for information about the Deschutes and Jefferson County EFRP sign-up period. Note that the handout indicates the end of the sign-up period is April 16. This is the date we are aiming for to have Restoration Plans written by ODF foresters for each property to FSA so that they can begin the contracting process with those landowners before the end of the 60-day open sign-up period on May 2, 2026. Technically landowners have until 05/02/2026 to sign-up for the program. But the later they wait to sign up, the more risk there is of foresters losing capacity to write plans as we approach what’s expected to be an earlier fire season… When you share this, please encourage landowners to contact FSA staff through the information listed at the bottom of the flyer. Or if landowners are already registered with FSA and have a farm and tract number designated for their properties, they can reach out directly to 

Austin Reimer
Stewardship Forester, Prineville
541-233-3160
Austin.B.REIMER@odf.oregon.gov

Watersheds are in the headlines a lot these days, but what do we really know about them? Where are they? What are their boundaries? What natural forces impact them? What about human impacts? Here's your chance to find out answers to these questions and more! Join OSU Watershed Specialist Annette Patton for an introductory webinar to learn more about watersheds. Learn more and register at beav.es/GRA

Dear fellow tree farmers:

The link below is to an article and 8.5 minute video describing the work scientists are doing down in the Crater Lake area to combat white pine blister rust. If you are curious about this disease and how it might affect you, please check it out.

https://www.opb.org/article/2026/03/12/oregon-scientists-crater-lake-blister-rush-fungus-pine-trees/

If you were at Tree School Clackamas last month and wandered by the OSWA-CCFFA-OTFS corner you probably saw this sign. Thanks to Dave Bugni for creating such a great visual of all the natural resource organizations just waiting to provide assistance to woodland owners like us!

Feel free to use the QR code above or go directly to the survey to answer the question: Quarterly Question #2

Your answer can be as short or long as you like, just know:

We really do want to hear from you!

(And if you missed out on telling us why your became part of OTFS, question #1, you can still answer it using this link: Quarterly Question #1)