Treesearch

Three species of wild cats (felids) occur in the temperate forests of North America: the cougar (Fells concolor), bobcat (Lynx rufus), and lynx (Lynx canadensis). The cougar is found in both temperate and tropical forests from the mountains of southern British Columbia to the southern tip of South America, whereas the bobcat and lynx are restricted to the temperate zone of North America. Bobcats are common throughout a variety of habitats in the conterminous United States, southernmost Canada, and northern Mexico. The lynx, in contrast, occurs primarily in the boreal forests of Alaska and...

Controversy over managing public lands is neither an unexpected nor recent development. In the 1970's, debate over land management began to focus on the effects of timber management practices on wildlife. This was most evident in the Pacific Northwest where the public was beginning to express strong concerns about the effects of timber harvest in late-successional forests on northern spotted owls and other vertebrates. The focus on all vertebrates and not just "game animals" distinguished these concerns from earlier wildlife-related issues. In 1976, Congress passed the National Forest...

This guide describes underwater methods using snorkeling gear to study fish populations in flowing waters of the Intermountain West. It outlines procedures for estimating salmonid abundance and habitat use and provides criteria for identifying and estimating the size of fish underwater.

Photographic guides are presented to help estimate grazing utilization of important riparian grasses and grasslike plants. Graphs showing the percent of a plant's weight that has been consumed based on the percent of its height left after grazing allow utilization estimates to be refined further.

This report lists 441 vascular plant taxa in 228 genera and 63 families encountered on the 9,300-ha Fraser Experimental Forest in central Colorado. Synonyms appearing in previous publications and other works pertaining to the Fraser Experimental Forest, as well as appropriate Colorado floras and less-technical field guides, are included. Plant communities and habitats are discussed, and a list of 54 lichens is also presented. A glossary of related terms is included.

It is generally agreed that populations of many North American landbird species, especially forest-inhabiting Neotropical migratory species in eastern North America, are declining. Existing population-trend data, however, provide no information on primary demographic parameters (productivity and survivorship) and thus provide no means for determining at what point in the life cycle problems are occurring or to what extent observed population trends are driven by causal factors that affect avian birth rates (e.g., temperate forest fragmentation) or death rates (e.g., tropical deforestation),...

Tree ring chronologies from 24 mixed-conifer stands were used to reconstruct the long-term history of western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis) in northern New Mexico. Temporal and spatial patterns of budworm infestations (within-stand occurrences) and outbreaks (more-or-less synchronous infestations across many stands) were investigated to identify local-scale to regional-scale forest disturbance patterns. Nine regional-scale outbreaks were identified from 1690 to 1989. One ancient stand of Douglas-fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii) exceeding 700 yr in age revealed that budworms...

Presents a method of quantitatively representing the mosaic of stand types on a small landscape in the subalpine lodgepole pine forest type. The method utilizes macroplots placed systematically on a transect grid. Structure and composition of both current and past stands are inventoried. Procedures for data analysis and interpretation are illustrated for a lodgepole pine landscape in Montana.

Conifer establishment following regeneration timber harvests is predicted by version 2 of the Regeneration Establishment Model, a submodel of the Prognosis Model. The regeneration model covers 1 O species for forests in Montana, central Idaho, and northern Idaho. Most harvest and site preparation methods can be simulated so that alternative treatments can be evaluated. Also included in the model is the influence of western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis) on regeneration success. The model predicts the probability of stocking, seedling density, species composition, and seedling...

Presents highlights of the forest resource in Montana as of 1989. Describes the extent, condition, and location of the State's forests with particular emphasis on timberland. Includes statistical tables: area by land classes, ownership, and forest type; growing-stock and sawtimber volumes, growth, mortality, and removals for timberland.