Wild Thyme Farm is 150 acres of forests, pastures, gardens, orchards and streams, showcasing an evolving model of wild forest management, permaculture, agroforestry and biological diversity. Our primary objective is creating visionary landscapes that work, growing value for generations. Wild forest management enhances forest health, diversity, local economic value, carbon sequestration.
Wild Thyme was established as a farm around 1909. The original farm owners did not actively manage the forest and the old growth Douglas Fir was cut over time in the early 1900s. Patch clear-cutting of the second-growth timber occurred between 1967 and 1985 on 90% of the forest landscape. Forest History.
The current owners acquired the property in 1987, started developing the infrastructure and agricultural landscape, then began active forest management in 1997. Visionary Forestry.
The 100 acre forest is currently managed according to FSC® guidelines. The NW Neutral Carbon Model evaluates carbon benefits that can be generated by this improved forest management above and beyond ‘business as usual’ of the conventional short term rotation model.
The forest currently contains over 2 million board feet of timber in Red Alder, Douglas Fir, Big Leaf Maple, Western Red Cedar, Western Hemlock and Grand Fir. Timber Products.
A carbon model conservatively estimated the current live mean carbon stock at 45 tons of carbon per acre (165 tons of CO2 equivalent per acre). Maintaining an FSC-based management system, rather than reverting to conventional commercial harvesting, the net difference in live tree stocks, wood products and dead wood at the end of a 100 year period is estimated to be 6,500 tons of carbon (24,000 tons of CO2). Carbon Offsets.
“Wild forest management involves maintaining our forest in the most natural and vigorous condition possible. Natural forestry allows high quality trees to grow to maturity. Timber is harvested from suppressed, damaged and downed trees. The ultimate objective is an ecosystem dominated by big trees with structural and biological diversity, while providing steady income from high quality, selectively harvested timber - attuned to nature’s own culling process.” - John Henrikson.
