Treesearch

After three-quarters of a century of introduction of 152 conifer and broadleaf species, no promising candidate exotic was found for the Douglas-fir region. Growth curves spanning 50 years or longer are figured for many species. Firs, pines, larches, spruces, hemlocks, and cedars originating in northwestern North America had superior growth rates to those from other forest regions. The probable basis for these differences is discussed. The record highlights a general failure of introduced hardwoods, the slow decline of most introduced conifers, the long time needed to express failures,...

Several recently emplaced and potential Northwest timber policies are causing considerable market turbulence. Estimated were price and volume changes induced by three supply-side policies (a state-log export embargo, forest replanning, and spotted owl reservations) and the demand slide of 1990-91. Impacts were gauged separately and together by using a four-sector model encompassing interactions between Pacific Rim and onshore markets and between logs and lumber. Log prices are expected to rise markedly despite the industry recession. Shipments onshore and abroad are declining, and our...

Integral to maintaining wilderness quality is the implementation of ecological, social, and management standards. A substantial body of wilderness research management experience exists nationwide as a common-pool resource for professionals with a specialized interest in incorporating standards into planning processes. In a 2-day interactive workshop, wilderness managements and researchers joined together to assess the current use of standards, summarize and integrate what has been learned, capitalize on the diversity of this work, and develop ideas about directions for the future. The 14...

The relations between arboreal rodents and trees causes the animals to be particularly sensitive to the effects of timber harvesting.Among arboreal rodents,we consider the redtree vole to be the most vulnerable to local extinctions resulting from the loss or fragmentation of old-growth Douglas-fir forests. Redtree voles are nocturnal,canopy dwelling, and difficult to study. The following habitat characteristics are potentially important for this species: tree species, stand development,tree size, moisture conditions, topographic positions, elevation, and stand size. Based on these character...

The Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington are among the most insect- and disease-infested forests of North America. The communities, industries, rural residents, and economies that are highly dependent on the flow of natural resources are being stressed as uncertainty increases over future resource availability. This paper examines, from social and economic perspectives, the historical circumstances that brought about the current conditions; the links that currently exist among natural resources, institutions, and people; and some implications about future direction.

A long-term decomposition experiment was established at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, Oregon, during 1985to test the importance of substrate heterogeneity, colonization patterns, and invertebrates on the decomposition of logs. The duration of the study is anticipated to be 200 years. A total of 530 logs (50 centimeters in diameter and 5.5 meters long) were placed at six old-growth forest sites. Characteristics measured for each log at the start of the experiment included diameter, length, volume, surface area, bark cover, and the total volume, density, and moisture content of outer...

The decisions of natural resource managers are not simply scientific issues but involve fundamental questions of ethics. Conflicts in fisheries management, forestry, and other applied sciences arise from social and economic factors that affect natural resource values. Administrative processes, cost-benefit analyses, and various management "myths" have been constructed to avoid responsibility for difficult value-based decisions. Through these and other means, individuals and organizational systems tend to "filter" information to minimize conflict. The duty to inform the public of the...

The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act established 13 Native corporations in southeast Alaska. There are 12 "village" corporations and 1 "regional" corporation (Sealaska Corporation). The Native corporations were entitled to select about 540,000 acres of land out of the Tongass National Forest; about 95 percent have been conveyed. This study reviews Native corporation timber resources, harvests to date, and projected future harvest levels. Publicly available data on the volume of timber conveyed to Native corporations are subject to a wide margin of error. Estimates based on USDA Forest...

National Forests in the Pacific Northwest Region have incorporated elk habitat standards into Forest plans to ensure that elk habitat objectives are met on multiple use land allocations. Many Forests have employed versions of the habitat effectiveness index (HEI) as a standard method to evaluate habitat. Field application of the HEI model unfortunately is a formidable problem, owing largely to the detailed calculations of "spacing bands" that describe the spatial arrangement of forage and cover areas. This paper describes a DOS microcomputer program that automates the calculation of HEI....

Forest Service air resource managers in the Pacific Northwest are responsible for protecting class I wilderness areas from air pollution. To do this, they need scientifically defensible information to determine critical concentrations of air pollution having the potential to impact class I wilderness values. This report documents the results of a workshop where current information on air pollution effects on aquatic and terrestrial resources and visibility was gathered from participating scientists and managers. Critical air pollution concentrations were determined for sulfur dioxide,...