Groundtruthing Volunteer Day

A close of coral root, with white flowers and a purple stem found in the Gate Creek Timber Sale.

Bark’s volunteer work falls under two broad categories: groundtruthing and wetland surveys. Groundtruthing includes walking areas of the forest which are being planned for a timber sale, monitoring areas after they’ve been logged, and documenting recently burned areas. 

We will all meet in Portland, OR at 9 am, coordinate carpooling to the site location from there, and return in time to be at our meetup location between 5 and 6pm. Our final destination will be sent out via email prior to the field day. 

This is an in-person event and will follow  Bark’s  COVID-19 volunteer work safety protocol. 

Before registering: Everyone interested in participating in Bark’s groundtruthing and timber sale monitoring efforts is welcome! If you have attended Groundtruthing 101 + 102, we’ll send you into the field to get started. If not, please review Bark’s recorded trainings prior to the date. 

Questions? Visit Bark’s pages what to expect on a volunteer day, what to expect on a campout, or for more information email Grace, Bark’s Summer Field Coordinator. 

Bark’s groundtruthing volunteer network helps us monitor logging projects in Mt. Hood National Forest and surrounding public lands. Groundtruthers explore and document an area proposed for a timber sale (or other project type) by the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management. 

The information gathered by groundtruthers enables Bark and the public to assess how accurately the agency’s project documents describe the forest and the impacts. By providing more transparent and accessible information, we can support the public’s understanding and engagement in decisions about public lands management together. Bark’s groundtruthers can and have found discrepancies in agency information and located rare or threatened plants and animal species leading to the cancellation of some or all of the proposed logging.

A close up of green coral root in a timber sale near Gate Creek.

What's groundtruthing?

Forest Watch works to combine the information documented through on-the-ground fieldwork (such as groundtruthing, post-logging monitoring, beaver habitat restoration, and wetland survey) with processes for public input as required by law.

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