Continuous cover forestry as part of sustainable forest management in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Abstract

Continuous Cover forestry (CCF) is not a commonly recognized term in the USA, but the concept and objectives of CCF to “manage forests to provide structurally, visually and biologically diverse ecosystems and deliver multiple benefits to people” is an idea that resonates with both forest managers and the public in the USA. The concept of CCF (often referred to as adaptive management, forest restoration or sustainable forestry) is often applied on public lands in the USA in response to new regulations, for the restoration of forests degraded by insects or disease, to reduce the risk of wildfires, or to improve wildlife habitat and biodiversity while maintaining forest cover. In the Pacific Northwest region of the USA (PNW), strategies to increase stand diversity and enhance biodiversity are a common management objective but the incentives for implementing these management practices vary among landowners and between different ecoregions. For this article, I will summarize how forest management practices have shifted over the past 20 years in response to changing regulations and outline some of the important forestry issues and opportunities that I see in the next several years for forest management in the PNW.

Citation

Deal, Robert L. 2017. Continuous cover forestry as part of sustainable forest management in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Continuous Cover Forestry Group Newsletter. Spring-2017 10.1: 1-5