Oregon’s Post-Fire Forest Recovery Inspires South Korean Delegation to Reshape Their Woodlands
A delegation of South Korean researchers, who recently visited Oregon to learn from recovery efforts in the Santiam Forest following the devastating 2020 wildfires, will apply the lessons they learned to help reshape forests back home.
Basic Roads Giving Access to Forests Was a Valuable Lesson Learned
The most important lesson learned by the South Koreans was the importance of a basic road system to give good access to forests.
The delegation met with members of the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) for a day-long field trip in the Santiam. They visited areas of the forest badly damaged in the 2020 fires, as well as rehabilitated areas that have been replanted.
This exchange of knowledge was applauded by Dr. Sanghoon Chung from the South Korean National Institute of Forest Sciences.
“I was struck by how Oregon forest roads play a vital role in enabling the deployment of ground-based equipment for building firebreaks and controlling wildfires, and also in supporting post-fire recovery by transporting seedlings and facilitating salvage logging.”
Oregon is a Global Leader in Forest Management
His sentiments were echoed by Dr. Heesung Woo, Assistant Professor of Advanced Forestry Systems, Forest Engineering, Resources and Management at Oregon State University, who said Oregon is a global leader in forest management.
South Korea is a small country, only 40 percent the size of Oregon, with 63 percent of the land taken up by forests. Estimates are that the country has 7.2 billion trees growing in its forests.
The income earned by South Korean forests in 2021 was an impressive $124 billion. The country has a total of 163,000 industries and 612,000 people involved in the creation, management, preservation, restoration, development, production, and utilization of forest resources.
South Korea’s forests provide various public benefits, such as absorbing greenhouse gases and offering landscapes and recreational spaces.
Dr. Woo is optimistic about the future of forests in South Korea following the trip to Oregon. Another lesson learned, he said, was how Oregon cooperates with other industry leaders who work together to improve forests.
“We hope to gain interest from our people to value and care about the forest in the same way,” said Dr. Woo.
Although there is no formal agreement between South Korea and Oregon on sharing forest research and management, the exchange of knowledge relationship has been strong for many years.