Ken Guenther

Class of 1950

Current project:

My daughter and I are developing a 5 acre tract in Portland, Oregon. The site has been in the family for 55 years. It is a south-facing 30% sloped property that was partially logged in the late 1800s. There are about a dozen up to 60 feet DBH doug fir. The balance of the forest cover is volunteer big leaf maple and lots of invasive english hawthorn. The approved plan is 1 acre for a 20-unit condo development balanced with 4 acres for establishing a climax forest of doug fir.

We will be planting 500 doug fir seedlings and 400 oregon grape shrubs. There is a lot of ivy and hawthorn to deal with prior to planting, which will hopefully be this winter. (2020-2021) It’s an opportunity to convert mixed hardwoods to a climax stand of doug fir. I planted two sequoia seedlings on this site 50 years ago that are now 30 feet DBH. The future forest will be a tribute to the land.

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