Objectives and study design of the Colville study: silviculture, ecology, utilization, and economics of small-diameter densely stocked stands.

Abstract

Public land managers in the United States are increasingly interested in managing forests to provide a range of ecological and social outputs in addition to timber. These outputs might include healthy riparian areas, connected blocks of late-successional forests, habitat for threatened and endangered species, and high quality recreational opportunities. On National Forests in the Inter-mountain West, millions of acres of densely stocked small-diameter stands create large, structurally uniform areas. These areas present opportunities to improve biological diversity and ecosystem health through thinning and other silvicultural treatments. The purpose of the Colville Study was to help National Forest land managers understand when forest operations are a cost effective way to accomplish ecological objectives. The study was composed of four technical focus areas: silviculture and ecology, forest operations, timber conversion, and economic analysis. Results will help timber staffs and forest planners evaluate different kinds of treatments in a variety of stand types to understand their relative merchantability. The analyses considers silvicultural prescriptions, harvesting costs, distance to the mill, and the products manufactured. The procedures developed will help forest staff and local industry to communicate about each otheras needs while providing a detailed picture of the expected timber outputs from a forest over time. Cooperators included the Colville, Idaho Panhandle, and Ochoco National Forests; Boise Cascade Corp.; Riley Creek Lumber; Vaagen Brothers Lumber; Oregon State University; the University of Idaho; the University of Washington; Washington State University; the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory and Pacific Northwest Research Station.

Citation

Barbour, R.J.; Tesch, S.D.; McNeel, J.; Willits, S.A.; Fight, R.D.; Mason, A.; Skog, K.E. 1997. Objectives and study design of the Colville study: silviculture, ecology, utilization, and economics of small-diameter densely stocked stands. Role of wood production in ecosystem management : proceedings of the Sustainable Forestry Working Group at the IUFRO All Division 5 Conference, Pullman, Washington, July 1997. Madison, Wis. : USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, 1997. General technical report FPL ; GTR-100.:p. 67-72