Treesearch

Spruce-fir is one of the major forest types in the central Rocky Mountains. Engelmann spruce, Picea engelmanni Parry, is usually the predominant species with subalpine fir, Abies lasiocarpa (Hook. ) Nutt., making up one-fourth or less of the total volume. Lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud., is frequently present at the lower elevations of the spruce-fir type.

Seeding ranges for the improvement of forage values is now a recognized practice. Depleted ranges and abandoned farmlands in the ponderosa pine zone of Colorado can be successfully seeded (Hull and Johnson, 1955). The kind of grass to plant, when, where, and how, have been determined through research, but comparable information on how to graze seeded ranges is scarce. Proper grazing use of established stands is essential to good management.

Rangeland watershed management deals with the problem of how to use rangelands, not in terms of forage and livestock production alone, but on the basis, that forage production and water yield are interdependent and must therefore be considered together. Forage production and water yield form a natural unit and reflect the interactions of soil, geology, climate, and vegetation by providing a common end product - runoff or streamflow - that can be measured and appraised.

Western redcedar (Thuja plicata) is one of the most important commercial species in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and British Columbia. Local common names include giant arborvitae, canoe cedar, shinglewood, Pacific redcedar, giant cedar, arborvitae, and cedar (24).

Grand fir (Abies grandis) is one of the two balsam firs found in the northern Rocky Mountain region and one of seven in the Pacific Northwest. Except in the southern part of its range, where it is often confused with white fir (Abies concolor), it is distinguished from other firs in its range by its needles, which are distinctly two-ranked. Grand fir differs anatomically from white fir only by the absence of stomata from the upper surface of grand fir leaves and the presence of stomata on the upper surface of white fir leaves. Other common names include balsam fir, lowland fir, lowland...

The control of thunderstorms is a challenging objective in experimental meteorology. For the past five years it has been the long-range goal of Project Skyfire. The lightning storm season in western Montana, northern Idaho, eastern Oregon and Washington normally extends from June to September with the greatest storm intensity occurring in July and August. Over the past twenty year period approximately 70% of all fires occurring in the forests of the northwestern United States were caused by lightning.

The management of western white pine (Pinus monticola) requires the production of a high proportion of valuable white pine crop trees in order to defray the costs of protection from blister rust. Current average selling prices of lumber give white pine about $50 per m.b.f. advantage over western larch (Larix occidentalis) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), the next most valuable species common to the type. On the average site, yielding 50 m.b.f. per acre at 120 years of age, a 10 percent difference in white pine volume would amount to $250 per acre.

A severe windstorm in 1939 blew down extensive patches of Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry) in western Colorado. A major epidemic of the Engelmann spruce beetle (Dendroctonus engelmanni Hopk.) developed from the windthrown trees and by 1952, when the epidemic was controlled by a combination of chemical and natural-control factors, an estimated four billion board-feet of Engelmann spruce and a half billion board-feet of lodgepole pine had been killed.

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) stands are extensive in the central Rocky Mountains. The species reaches its maximum development in the mountains and high mesas west of the Continental Divide in Colorado (Baker, 1925). On the better sites aspen yields a greater volume of wood in a shorter period than most of the conifers growing at comparable elevations. The present study was undertaken to determine the relationship of decay in stands in different areas and of different ages.

To manage any range effectively, the operator needs to know what plants make up the forage supply, their relative value as forage, their ability to withstand grazing, and when and how they are grazed. This paper presents the results of studies to determine how cattle utilize several important species on ponderosa pine-bunchgrass ranges in Colorado.