The World Forestry Center is a nonprofit educational institution in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. Located near the

Oregon Zoo The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo located in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, approximately southwest of downtown Portland. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi R ...

in Washington Park, the organization was established in 1964 as the Western Forestry Center, with the actual building opening in 1971."New forestry center opens" (June 6, 1971). ''The Sunday Oregonian'', p. 34.

History

Forestry Building at Lewis and Clark Exposition

The World Forestry Center has its roots in the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair for which an enormous log cabin was built of huge native trees and advertised as the world's largest. Public interest in the Forestry Building, which was turned over to the

State of Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

, lasted long after the exposition ended, right up until it was destroyed by fire on August 17, 1964. The day after the fire, a group of civic and industry leaders conceived The Western Forestry Center. A new, more fire-resistant forestry building designed by Oregon architect John Storrs was built in Washington Park. It opened to the public on June 5, 1971. The name was changed to "World Forestry Center" in 1986 to reflect the center's revised focus on forestry on a global scale.Hill, Alma (January 4, 1986). "Forestry center gets new name". ''The Oregonian'', p. C2. On June 30, 2005, after a $7 million, 6-month renovation, the museum reopened with new interactive exhibits about the sustainability of forests and trees of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

and the world.

Programs

The World Forestry Center's mission is to "educate and inform people about the world's forests and trees, and their importance to all life, in order to promote a balanced and sustainable future." The center achieves its mission with three programs: the Discovery Museum, two donated working forests—the Magness Memorial Tree Farm and the Johnson-Swanson Tree Farm—and the World Forest Institute which was established in 1989. The primary program is the International Fellowship Program. In 1989, the World Forestry Center established the World Forest Institute to meet a growing demand for forestry information. As the forestry sector becomes increasingly complex, there is a greater need for international collaboration and exchange of information on forest trade, regulation, management, and forest resources. The World Forest Institute was created through the vision and support of Harry A. Merlo, a pioneer of the forest products industry, and an early visionary of the globalization of the forestry sector.

The fellowship program brings young forestry and forest products professionals from around the world to work at the World Forest Institute for 6 to 12 months. Fellows are commonly sponsored by their employer, government institutions, the forest industry, or an NGO, and carry out applied research projects of interest to their sponsors. In addition to completing a practical research project, the program works to get Fellows a broad exposure to natural resource management in the U.S. so that when they return to their home countries they have a basic understanding of the owners and managers of land and natural resources throughout the country. The institute won the 2012 Portland Mayor's International Business Award from the Oregon Consular Corps. This award recognizes businesses that contribute to a global environment in Oregon. The World Forestry Center campus also accommodates three other buildings: Julian N. Cheatham Hall, Harold A. Miller Hall and Harry A. Merlo Hall, which houses the administrative offices and the World Forest Institute.

The Leadership Hall of Fame

The Leadership Hall of Fame commemorates people who have made important contributions to

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

. The photographs and biographies of nearly 200 forestry leaders are displayed in three chests constructed of select Black Walnut from the

eastern U.S. The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East ...

Public access

Parking at the World Forestry Center costs $2 per hour, to a maximum of $8 per day. The Washington Park light rail station provides regional

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...

access to the World Forestry Center. Additionally,

TriMet TriMet, formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Created in 1969 ...

bus route 63-Washington Park provides daily service to the World Forestry Center via Washington Park.

References

External links