Treesearch

Each year, the general public and wildland firefighters in the US are exposed to smoke from wildland fires. As part of an effort to characterize health risks of breathing this smoke, a review of the literature was conducted using five major databases, including PubMed and MEDLINE Web of Knowledge, to identify smoke components that present the highest hazard potential, the mechanisms of toxicity, review epidemiological studies for health effects and identify the current gap in knowledge on the health impacts of wildland fire smoke exposure. Respiratory events measured in time series studies...

The Forest Landscape Assessment Tool (FLAT) is a set of procedures and tools used to rapidly determine forest ecological conditions and potential threats. FLAT enables planners and managers to understand baseline conditions, determine and prioritize restoration needs across a landscape system, and conduct ongoing monitoring to achieve land management goals. The rapid assessment process presents a cost-effective opportunity for landowners that include local governments, private owners, and nongovernmental organizations to use ecological data to guide decisionmaking and improve environmental...

This report traces the flow of Oregon’s 2013 timber harvest through the primary wood products industry and provides detailed description of the structure, timber use, operations, and condition of Oregon’s forest products sector. It is the third in a series of reports that update the status of the industry every 5 years, and is based on a census of timber-using facilities conducted during 2014. Historical forest products industry changes are discussed, as well as trends in harvest, production, mill residue, and sales. Also examined are employment and worker earnings in the state’s primary...

Outdoor recreation is a central way that people interact with the natural environment. Federal land agencies are key providers of settings, facilities, and landscapes for recreation. Outdoor recreation is also an important driver of economic activity in rural communities near recreation destinations and across the United States. Future participation in outdoor recreation, and associated economic activity, will be influenced by demographic changes in population, lowering per capita land available for recreation, and changing recreation resource conditions, influenced partially by climate...

This book is intended to help people better understand how wood energy is helping to revitalize rural Alaskan communities by reducing energy costs, creating jobs, and helping to educate the next generation. The village of Koyukuk shows how modern wood energy systems can meet the challenges of remote rural Alaska. To fully succeed, however, these systems need to become part of the fabric of community life. Remote rural villages have become part of a much broader Internet-enabled community. Alaskans have always been pioneers in using the latest telecommunication technology for telemedicine...

A study of commercial timber harvesting activities in Oregon and Washington was conducted from 2011 through 2015 to characterize current tree utilization, logging operations, and assist with estimating the amount of woody biomass left onsite after harvesting. Sample logging sites were selected within major geographic regions proportional to regional 5-year timber harvests. A two-stage sampling method was used to compute state-level utilization factors. Results of the study indicated that in Oregon, for every thousand cubic feet (MCF) delivered to the mill, harvesting removed 1,018 cubic...

Land use and climate change are two key factors with the potential to affect stream conditions and fish habitat. Since the 1950s, Washington and Oregon have required forest practices designed to mitigate the effects of timber harvest on streams and fish. Yet questions remain about the extent to which these practices are effective. Add in the effects of climate change—lower summer flow and warmer water temperatures in some streams— and more questions arise. Scientists with the multipartner Trask Watershed Study set out to learn more about how the effects of climate change and timber...

The 80 official experimental forests and ranges (EFR) administered by the U.S. Forest Service have provided a remarkable collection of research findings over the last 100 years, helping the agency address information needs related to forest and rangeland management. Long-term data sets are one of the most significant contributions of the EFR system, in particular, the ongoing, long-term studies of the effects of a changing climate on natural resources, streamflow, vegetation, and biogeochemistry from experimental watersheds. These data are crucial for examining ecosystem services from...

growing body of literature examines the vulnerability, risk, resilience, and adaptation of indigenous peoples to climate change. This synthesis of literature brings together research pertaining to the impacts of climate change on sovereignty, culture, health, and economies that are currently being experienced by Alaska Native and American Indian tribes and other indigenous communities in the United States. The knowledge and science of how climate change impacts are affecting indigenous peoples contributes to the development of policies, plans, and programs for adapting to climate change...

Healthy Rivers Connect Humans and Ecosystems James Nash says he is part trout. Growing up on a ranch in the Wallowa Valley of northeast Oregon, he disappeared as often as he could to the banks of the Wallowa River, which runs for more than two miles through his family’s land. Once, while exploring the bottomland, he discovered some old ruts and grooves in the ground. “At first I didn’t know what they were,” he said. “But even as an 8-year-old, I could tell those channels would be better fishing.” He had found an old natural channel of the Wallowa River.