On April 24, 2025, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) hosted the 7th annual Olympic Experimental State Forest (OESF) Science Conference at the Rainforest Arts Center in Forks. With the theme of connecting science to natural resource management, the event brought together more than 115 participants from state agencies, Tribes, conservation organizations, the timber industry, universities, and the public.
The conference highlighted a wide range of ongoing research and monitoring efforts in the OESF. Oral presentations covered topics such as salmonid use of the Clearwater River, where DNR’s Kyle Martens described the impacts of past logging practices and restoration efforts. Teodora Minkova introduced the Type 3 (T3) Watershed Experiment, outlining its design, partnerships, and goals. Emily Gardner provided updates on its implementation, including plans to plant 760,000 seedlings across 136 units using five different tree species.
Additional presentations included Bernard Bormann from the University of Washington’s Olympic Natural Resources Center (ONRC) discussing the expansion of learning-based collaboration into the Olympic National Forest, and Jill Silver of the 10,000 Years Institute presenting remote sensing approaches for monitoring invasive Scotch broom in the OESF.
This year’s conference introduced concurrent afternoon activities. Attendees had the option to tour active T3 Watershed Experiment sites focused on novel upland and riparian logging prescriptions or attend a panel discussion on ungulate monitoring on the western Olympic Peninsula.
The panel featured Shelly Ament from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife on the current status of deer and elk; Sara Cendejas-Zarelli of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe on camera trapping; Kristen Phillips of the Quinault Nation on elk radio collar monitoring; Courtney Bobsin from ONRC on the Cedar Browse Experiment; Maia Murphy-Williams of The Nature Conservancy on wildlife monitoring; and Rebecca McCaffery from the U.S. Geological Service on camera trapping for the T3 experiment.
The Olympic Experimental State Forest, spanning 270,000 acres on Washington’s western Olympic Peninsula, is managed by DNR as both a working forest and a living laboratory. Through sustainable timber harvest and science-driven management, the forest supports public schools and counties while protecting habitat and water quality. DNR continues to partner with researchers to monitor key ecosystem indicators and adapt management strategies based on emerging findings.
The full conference program is available online, and presentation videos will soon be posted to DNR’s YouTube channel.
