Treesearch

In June, those large, black, hairy caterpillars really begin to get your attention as they devour your trees, pelt you car with unpleasent dropping, and lounge about on your porch. I am describing the gysy moth, of course, an annoying caterpillar because of its voracious appette, large size, and abundance in many parts of eastern North America.

An indicator of the level of conflict over natural resource management was developed and applied to the case of U.S. national forest policy and management. Computer-coded content analysis was used to identify expressions of conflict in a national database of almost 10,000 news media stories about the U.S. Forest Service. Changes in the amount of news media discussion involving conflict were tracked over the 5-year period from 1992 through 1996. The relative level of conflict over national forest policy and management measured by this indicator was found to correspond with major conflict-rel...

This article presents an innovative methodology for evaluating strategic planning goals in a public agency. Computer-coded content analysis was used to evaluate attitudes expressed in about 28,000 on-line news media stories about the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and its strategic goal of conservation leadership. Three dimensions of conservation leadership were distinguished and evaluated separatety: stewardship and ethics, use of collaborative planning and decision making, and use of science-based management. Analysis of on-line news media text is a way to quickly and...

Impacts of clearcutting and selective harvesting on pure aspen/mixed aspen hardwood stands were examined in northern Minnesota. We studied these impacts on 18 stands, which were harvested 4 to 11 years ago and received no further treatment. In each stand, residual composition, soil compaction, and tree regeneration were determined along a gradient of disturbance in the summer of 1998. This preliminary assessment investigates interacting effects of soil compaction, residual overstory conditions, and timing of harvests. Compaction levels were much more variable in areas that were harvested...

Roads and road building on the US national forests have become the focus of intense public debate in recent years. Timber companies and others argue that forest roads are an essential transportation system for the production of commodities that society needs. Environmentalists and others reply that national forest roads constitute ecologically destructive "corporate welfare." Recreation is the main use of national forest roads (Coghlan and Sowa 1998), but recreationists sharply disagree about their appropriate role. For enthusiasts of motorized recreation, forest roads are an integral part...

Detailed descriptions of barriers to enviromuental education (EE) can provide opportunities for educators to foresee potential problems in programs. High disgust sensitivity is an intrapersonal barrier that constrains preference for learning opportunities involving manipulation of some organic materials. Middle school students in Texas (N = 450) completed a science activity preference scale and a disgust-sensitivity scale. Respondents who expressed the lowest interest in activities that required manipulation of organic substances also had the highest disgust-sensitivity scores. However, no...

The USDA Forest Service has a long-established program to identify areas in national forests for designation as protected Research Natural Areas (RNAs). One of the goals is to protect high quality examples of regional ecosystems for the purposes of maintaining biological diversity, conducting nonmanipulative research and monitoring, and fostering education. When RNA designation conflicts with other land uses, difficult choices must be made about the best number and location of sites.We addressed this problem by adapting a classic optimization formulation from the location science literature...

Using field measurements of air temperature, wind, and relative humidity from a clear-cut site and two wooded sites in northern Wisconsin, we used a radiative transfer model to simulate temperatures on seven calm, clear nights similar to those on which freezes typically occur. Each night was simulated twice for the wooded sites. One simulation ignored the presence of vegetation, the other approximated the vegetation's heat storage capacity and its influence on air temperatures. The simulations including biomass heat storage showed smaller mean absolute temperature errors and decreased...

Forest management activities and environmental concerns have accelerated significantly in the past 10 years. Worldwide expansion of economies and population has increased the demand for forest products and other uses of forests. These demands have the potential to negatively affect wetlands and streams. Wetlands, as referred to here, are areas containing soil with poor load-bearing capacity and high moisture content or standing water. They will include unstable sections on a haul road and are frequently affected by seasonal water fluctuations. Forest road and skid trail crossings of...

The interaction between physical environment and land ownership in creating spatial heterogeneity was studied in largely forested landscapes of northern Wisconsin, USA. A stratified random approach was used in which 2500-ha plots representing two ownerships (National Forest and private non-industrial) were located within two regional ecosystems (extremely well-drained outwash sands and moderately well-drained moraines). Sixteen plots were established, four within each combination of ownership and ecosystem, and the land cover on the plots was classified from aerial photographs using a...