Forestry Programs
In the late 1980's the spotted owl controversy hit the Pacific Northwest's logging industry hard. Many loggers and sawmill workers lost their jobs and where forced to find new, less-skilled jobs in their communities or move away entirely. This lead to several communities loosing the backbone upon which their towns where built. The Watershed Research and Training Center (WRTC) was formed out of the necessity to try to rebuild the community of Hayfork, CA and to revitalize the town's logging industry by focusing less on extraction of timber and more on ecosystem management.
The WRTC's forestry programs are aimed at promoting community involvement through forest management and restoration. This is accomplished by training displaced loggers and sawmill workers for new jobs that restore and conserve the forest, streams, and rivers to sustain a healthy forest ecosystem. The WRTC'S forestry programs are aimed at building a stewardship ethic into the local culture and economic system in order to reward people for being good stewards of the land. Instead of hiring specialized outside crews to do the restoration work, local crews trained by the center are contracted to do the work which consequently gives the community an economic boost. Below are a list of links to the various programs and an overview of the specifics for each.