Non-timber Forest Products

Want to interact with your woodland in ways other than timber harvests? Or maybe in between timber harvests?

Consider nontimber forest products!

The forests of Oregon have an abundance of nontimber forest products (NTFP) that forest landowners can find, manage, produce, and potentially generate additional income from. NTFPs broadly include all non-industrial vegetation in forests and agroforestry environments with, or potentially with, commercial value. Oregon has hundreds of NTFPs, including truffles, the Oregon grape, huckleberries, essential oil production, wood turning and more!

We have provided some fact sheets and other resources to help you get more informed about NTFP opportunities.  You will learn about different types of products, steps you can take to harvest and market NTFPs, and learn about other resources to support your efforts.

 

For more information, please conact: Alicia Christiansen, Oregon State University

 

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Non-Timber Forest Product Resources to get you started:

 

General Nontimber Forest Product Information

• A great first step in NTFP management exploration is connecting with the Oregon Woodland Cooperative. The group is a member-owned cooperative that serves its members by developing markets for their products and services, assisting them in acquiring services and production means, and providing them information to improve their forest management.
• Non-timber Forest Products Training Guide - This guide will provide landowners information on how to conduct a basic inventory of nontimber forest products on their land and digitally map their data.

 

Forest Based Food Products

• Nontimber Forest Products for Small Woodland Owners: Shiitake Mushrooms - This publication explains how to successfully cultivate shiitake mushrooms in your woodland property.
• Nontimber Forest Products for Small Woodland Owners: Bigleaf Maple Syrup - This publication describes how to tap bigleaf maple trees for sap that can be boiled down to make maple syrup.
• Interested in making maple syrup with your big-leaf maples? Check out this great informational video!
• Oregon Native Truffles - This factsheet introduces Oregon native truffles to small-to-medium sized forestland owners.
• Wild Mushrooms - A brief introduction to harvesting and marketing wild edible mushrooms from small private forestlands in the Pacific Northwest.
• Huckleberry - This factsheet will help you identify huckleberry species and explains how to harvest, process and market them.
• For a great read about Huckleberry foraging check out this fantastic NPR article!
• Want to learn more about fungi? Head on over to the Oregon Mycological Society website!

 

Woody Decorative plants

• Evergreen Boughs - This report provides a brief introduction to evergreen boughs as a potential source of supplemental income for small forestland owners.
• Wild Floral Greens - This factsheet provides a brief overview of the floral products that might be found on small private forestlands.

 

Medicinals and Botanicals

• Oregon Grape Root - This fact sheet briefly describes how to identify, harvest, process, and market Oregon grape root for medicinal purposes.
• Cascara Bark - This fact sheet briefly describes how to identify, harvest, process, and market Cascara bark for medicinal purposes.
• Forest Medicinals - This fact sheet describes general harvesting considerations for medicinal species with commercial value and introduces potential markets for these plants.
• Interested in making your own simple essential oil utilizing pine needles? Try this simple method!
•  Want to support other small woodland owners who create essential oils using materials gatherd from their property? Check out these products! Interested in joining them in this endevour? Contact the Oregon Woodland Cooperative.

 

Handicrafts and specialty wood products

• Figured Wood - This fact sheet provides an overview of figured woods in the Pacific Northwest as a supplemental income opportunity for small forestland owners.
• Want to see some examples of what other small woodland owners were able to do with wood products from their land? Check out the Oregon Heartwood website for inspiration!

 

Resources for those interested in income generation through NTFP production

• Nontimber Forest Product Resources for Small Forestland Owners and Businesses - This website provides information and tools to help advanced commercial development of nontimber forest products (NTFPs) on small forestlands in the US.
• Oregon Forest Industry Directory - This regional web-based directory lists buyers and sellers of forest products and has an extensive section devoted to nontimber forest products.
• Steps for starting a non-timber forest products business - This website was created to help small forestland owners commercially develop nontimber forest product resources on their land for extra income.