One of the more tangible successes enjoyed by the collaborative group over the past year has been its contractor workshops. Organized by the Gifford Pinchot Task Force with the help of the American Forest Resource Council, they were a hit with local area contractors. There clearly is an interest in the restoration work we are creating in the Forest and there is a skilled workforce ready to make the most of new opportunities and challenges.

In addition to information gathered at the contractor workshops, the Partners have completed 32 assessments of local area contractors to find out more about their skills, capacity, interests and obstacles. In conjunction with the assessments, the Partners prepared a summary of economic studies that have been completed on the Cowlitz Valley to date.

To round out our research on the Cowlitz Valley's capacity and potential, two members of the Pinchot Partners traveled to Hayfork, California to visit a well-known value-added wood products business and restoration project sites in that area.