Wildlife and vegetation of unmanaged Douglas-Fir forests

Abstract

Old-growth Douglas-fir forests in the Pacific Northwest—and their most celebrated inhabitant, the northern spotted owl—have engendered an acrimonious controversy that has been raging for over a decade. Should ancient forests be protected for their aesthetic appeal and because they provide a broad range of ecological values, including the most amenable environment for some plants and animals? Or, should they be harvested because the revenue they provide affects the economic stability of the entire region? These questions encapsulate one of the most heated and socially significant conservation and natural resource management debates of this century. This book is an outcome of that debate, and represents the major findings of the USDA Forest Service's Old-Growth Forest Wildlife Habitat Research and Development Program.

Citation

Ruggiero, Leonard F.; Aubry, Keith B.; Carey, Andrew B.; Huff, Mark H., tech. eds. 1991. Wildlife and vegetation of unmanaged Douglas-Fir forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-285. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 533 p