Treesearch

Lightning is the leading cause of fires in southwestern forests. On all protected private, state and federal lands in Arizona and New Mexico, nearly 80 percent of the forest, brush and range fires are ignited by lightning. The Southwestern region leads all other regions of the United States both in total number of lightning fires and in the area burned by these fires.

Relationships between live and dead crown weight and d. b. h. (ranging from 0 to 40 inches), crown length, tree height, and crown ratio are presented for 11 conifer species in the Rocky Mountains.

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.

Describes a method for determining historic fire frequency, intensity, and size from cross sections collected from fire-scarred trees and tree age classes determined through increment borings. Tells how to interpret the influence of fire in stand composition and structure and how to identify effects of modern fire suppression.

This report provides a general overview of work done on the Fraser Experimental Forest. It replaces Station Paper No.8, published in 1952 and revised by L. D. Love in 1960. Included are descriptions of physical features and resource values, and highlights of past and current research programs.

Seasonal occurrence, relative abundance, and habitat preference are listed for 90 bird and 41 mammal species that can be found at Manitou Experimental Forest. An annotated list is given also for an additional 70 casual or accidental bird species. Manitou Experimental Forest is located near Colorado Springs in the montane zone of the Colorado Front Range.