Treesearch

The University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, in conjunction with the Interior West Forest Inventory and Analysis Program of the U.S. Forest Service, conducted a census of Wyoming’s timber processors that operated during calendar year 2014. Through a written questionnaire, phone or inperson interview, timber-processing and residue-utilizing facilities provided information about their 2014 operations, including: * plant location, production, capacity, and employment; * volume of raw material received, by county and ownership; * species of timber received and live/dead...

This Resource Bulletin contains findings from a census of Wyoming’s primary forest products industry for calendar year 2014. Part I of the series presents information on the volume of timber harvested in the State by ownership, species, product, and resource area. It also describes timber flow within the State and across State lines. This effort is the fifth application of its kind in Wyoming and presents information from primary manufacturers in the State as well as facilities in surrounding States that receive timber harvested from Wyoming. Primary forest product manufacturers are firms...

This Resource Bulletin contains findings from a census of Wyoming’s primary forest products industry for calendar year 2014. Part II of the series presents information on the forest products sectors that processed timber and mill residue into finished products, including: sawmills, house log and log home manufacturers, log furniture producers, post and pole manufacturers, commercial firewood operations and wood pellets and animal bedding producers.

This Resource Bulletin presents findings from a census of Wyoming’s primary forest products manufacturers for calendar year 2014. Part III of the series presents information on sales value and employment associated with primary wood products manufacturing, the economic impact of forest products manufacturing in the State, and an analysis of the broader forest industry and how it has changed over time.

This paper evaluates the potential effects of future commercial shipping through the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage on the spread of nonindigenous species (NIS) between Europe, the United States, and the Asia-Pacific region. We modeled NIS spread risk as a function of two factors: NIS introduction and NIS establishment. The change in risk of NIS introduction from one region to another is based on the expected commodity trade flow between the two regions given Arctic shipping routes. The risk of NIS establishment is based on current marine climate similarities between regions and...

Western United States wildfire increases have been generally attributed to warming temperatures, either through effects on winter snowpack or summer evaporation. However, near-surface air temperature and evaporative demand are strongly influenced by moisture availability and these interactions and their role in regulating fire activity have never been fully explored. Here we show that previously unnoted declines in summer precipitation from 1979 to 2016 across 31-45% of the forested areas in the western United States are strongly associated with burned area variations. The number of...

The flow of ecosystem services derived from forests and grasslands in the Southwestern United States may change in the future. People and communities may be vulnerable if they are exposed, are sensitive, and have limited ability to adapt to ecological changes. Geospatial descriptions of ecosystem services, projected climate-related ecological changes, and socioeconomic conditions are used to assess socioeconomic vulnerability to changes in the provision of ecosystem services by national forests and grasslands in the Southwest. Vulnerability is uneven in the Southwest due to varying...

Western toads (species complex comprised of Anaxyrus boreas, A. canorus, A. exsul, and A. nelsoni) are widely distributed in the western United States but are declining, particularly in the southeastern extent of their range. The subspecies A. b. boreas is listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Reliable and sensitive methods for delineating distributions of western toads are critical for monitoring the status of the species and prioritizing conservation efforts. We developed two qPCR assays for detecting western toad DNA in environmenta...

Native and agricultural forests in the Northern Plains provide ecosystem services that benefit human society—diversified agricultural systems, forest-based products, and rural vitality. The impacts of recent trends in temperature and disturbances are impairing the delivery of these services. Climate change projections identify future stressors of greater impact, placing at risk crops, soils, livestock, biodiversity, and agricultural and forest-based livelihoods. While these native and agricultural forests are also a viable option for providing mitigation and adaptation services to the...

The use of biological agents to control plant diseases is an attractive approach, especially at a time when managers and other stakeholders seek to limit the impact of synthetic pesticides. Further, chemical pesticides cannot be used in natural habitats because of their expense and potential negative effects on ecosystems.