Treesearch

An experimental logging road designed to minimize environmental and esthetic impact was constructed in northwest Montana. The road was single-lane (14-foot finished surface, 3-foot ditch), constructed along the contour. Esthetically, the single-lane experimental road was judged far superior to existing roads on the forest.

Large wildfires are frequently destructive to the timber resource, but wildlife may not be so adversely affected. A study of selected species of wildlife (deer, elk, rodents, and birds) that were present on large burned areas, 1, 3, 7, and 20 years old, indicated population fluctuations and habitat changes that are, for the most part, predictable, and can be expressed in economic terms. An "Index to Benefits" was developed that converts the flows of benefits or losses after fire to annuities. By assuming values for wildlife use, the manager can interpret these changes in terms of dollars...

A classification system based upon potential natural vegetation is presented for the grasslands and shrublands of the mountainous western third of Montana. The classification was developed by analyzing data from 580 stands. Twenty-nine habitat types in 13 climax series are defined and a diagnostic key provided for field identification. Environment, vegetative composition, forage production, changes with grazing, and range management practices are described for each habitat type.

The 1978 Silviculture Workshop was held in Missoula, Montana, September 26-28, 1978. The objective of the meeting was to discuss Silvicultural prescriptions, standards of certification for silviculturists, certification of planting and thinning projects, and other related items of interest. These proceedings includes the presentations that were available for publication.

Density of nests and productivity of Sharp-shinned Hawks (Accipiter striatus), Cooper's Hawks (A. cooperii), and Goshawks (A. gentilis) within Oregon are of interest because of recent declines of accipiter hawks in the eastern United States (Schriver 1969, Hackman and Henny 1971, Henny and Wight 1972). One factor implicated in this decline was contamination with chlorinated hydrocarbons (Ratcliffe 1970, Cade et al. 1971, Anderson and Hickey 1972, Wiemeyer and Porter 1970). Snyder et al. (1973) presented data on levels of DDE in eggs of accipiter hawks from various regions in North America,...

Provides a standard format and checklist to guide the land manager through the important steps for prescribed burning. Describes the kind of information needed to prepare fire prescriptions and burning plans. Identifies the elements of a fire prescription, a burning plan, and a prescribed fire evaluation. A plan written for an actual prescribed burning is included as an appendix.

Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers were applied to the soil surface in a 2-0 ponderosa pine plantation on the Payette National Forest in west-central Idaho. The study area was located in an Abies grandis/Acer glabrum habitat type on a basalt soil. The fertilizer treatments did not increase survival or growth of the trees, nor did they increase the amount of competing vegetation. The only significant response was a reduction in survival caused by the high level nitrogen treatments.

The 1978 National Fire-Danger Rating System (NFDRS) updates the danger rating system developed in the early 1970's and published by Deeming and others in 1972. Numerous changes have been made to correct deficiencies and to incorporate new technology. The results of this work are presented in two publications. This publication covers the general information on the NFDRS and its application; a second publication (Burgan and others 1977) contains the nomograms and directions for calculating fire-danger ratings manually.

Natural regeneration success of Engelmann spruce in clearcut openings, with adequate seed, is controlled by weather and aspect and modified by seedbed conditions. Small clearcut openings of 1-2 hectares can be successfully regenerated on north exposures with mineral soil seedbeds and shade. However, successful natural regeneration in openings on south aspects is not possible, and shade is absolutely essential for any survival. Drought was the most serious cause of mortality, but significant losses also resulted from heat girdle, frost heaving, and clipping by birds.

Several rating systems have been proposed to describe the intensity of dwarf mistletoe infection in individual trees or stands, but the 6-class dwarf mistletoe rating (DMR) system, described in 1956, has been most widely adopted. This system is being used for several dwarf mistletoe host/parasite combinations in western North America. Uses and limitations of the 6-class system are discussed, and several applications of the system are cited.