Treesearch

18 May 2005 marks the 25th anniversary of the massive eruption of Mount St. Helens. This eruption involved diverse geological processes (1) that disturbed forests, meadows, lakes, an drivers (2) (see the figure). A huge landslide and searing flows of hot gases and pumic framents (pyroclastic flows) inundated 60 km2 of land, obliterating preexisting ecosystems and landforms. A steam-driven blast left blown-down forest and scorched standing forest over more than 500 km2, but deposited generally 1000 km2 of live forest and aquatic systems with >5 cm of deposits (2). The initial impression of...

The Linking Healthy Forests and Communities conference brought together a diverse group representing government agencies, traditional forest users, landholders, scientists, and small enterprises and other businesses related to nontimber forest products. The purpose was to exchange information, encourage cooperation, and raise awareness of environmentally and economically viable wood-products-related opportunities in Alaska. These proceedings include extended summaries of presentations by speakers and panelists at the conference. Summaries were compiled and edited by the USDA Forest...

This report summarizes more than 30 years of the literature on net economic value of outdoor recreation on public lands. The report provides average net willingness to pay or consumer surplus per day for 30 recreation activities at the national level. Values per day by recreation activity are also presented by census region of the United States. Detailed tables provide the average value per day as well as the standard error for calculating confidence intervals. Guidance for using these values in performing benefit transfer to unstudied sites is also provided. The report provides a link to...

Researchers involved with the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station Sustainable Wood Production Initiative have outlined some of the barriers and opportunities for sustainable wood production in the region. Sustainable wood production is defined as the capacity of forests to produce wood, products, and services on a long-term basis and in the context of human activity and use. The collective findings of these papers suggest that in the future, the region’s wood supply will primarily come from private land, and the barriers and opportunities related to sustainable wood production will...

Estimates of timber resources for south-central Alaska are presented. Data collection began in 2000 and was completed in 2003. All forest lands over all ownerships were considered for sampling. The inventory unit was, roughly, the region between Icy Bay to the east and Kodiak Island to the west. Forest lands within national forest wilderness study areas and recommended wilderness areas were not sampled on the ground. Tables present supply estimates of area, timber volume, growth, mortality, and harvest.

We investigated the potential of using unclassified spectral data for predicting the distribution of three bird species over a -400,000 ha region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula using Landsat ETM+ imagery and 433 locations sampled for birds through point count surveys. These species, Black-throated Green Warbler, Nashville Warbler, and Ovenbird. were known to be associated with forest understory features during breeding. We examined the influences of varying two spatially explicit classification parameters on prediction accuracy: 1) the window size used to average spectral values in signature...

In the late 1980s, the Starkey Project was initiated to study interactions among North American elk (Cervus elaphus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and domestic cattle at Starkey Experimental Forest and Range (Starkey) in northeastern Oregon. As part of the Starkey Project, an automated radio telemetry system was developed to collect an unprecedented volume of location data on both wild and domestic ungulates (Rowland et al. 1997). That radio telemetry system was based on rebroadcast Long RAnge aid to Navigation- (LORAN-) C signals. In this paper, we provide an overview of the databases...

In the national forests of the Blue Mountains, a high percentage of commercial tree species, such as Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziessi) and true firs (Abies spp.), have died as a result of overcrowding on drier sites, drought and insects (Johnson et al. 1995, Quigley and Arbelbide 1997). These conditions are typical of forested land throughout the West (Covington and Moore 1994, Quigley and Arbelbide 1997). Traditional forest management practices (fire exclusion, harvest practices) (Johnson et al. 1995) and livestock grazing (Belsky and Blumenthal 1997) have contributed substantially to...

Managers have long been concerned about the welfare of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and elk (Cervus elaphus) on public lands in the western United States. These two species generate millions of dollars annually to state wildlife agencies from sales of hunting licenses, and elk viewing generates millions of additional dollars to local and regional economies (Bolon 1994, Bunnell et al. 2002). By contrast, the potential for elk and mule deer to compete with livestock, to damage agricultural crops and to modify plant succession make the two species obvious sources of controversy among...

The Starkey Project was conceived from intense debate about how best to manage habitats and populations of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and elk (Cervus elaphus) in western North America (Rowland et al. 1997). Founders of the research effort promised to provide definitive knowledge about effects of the dominant public land uses on mule deer and elk and to transfer that knowledge in relevant and synthesized forms for easy management application. In our paper, we review the commitments of the Starkey Project and summarize its major achievements. We also identify key research opportunities...