Yellow-Cedar Decline in the 

North Coast Forest District 

of British Columbia

Paul E. Hennon, David V. D’Amore, Stefan Zeglen, and 

Mike Grainger1

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Forest Service

Pacific Northwest 

Research Station

Research Note

PNW-RN-549

October 2005

1 Paul E. Hennon is a research pathologist and David V. D’Amore is a research soil scientist, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, 2770 Sherwood Lane, Suite 2A, Juneau, AK 99801; Stefan Zeglen is a forest pathologist, British Columbia 

Forest Service, Coast Forest Region, 2100 Labieux Road, Nanaimo, BC V9T 6E9; and Mike 

Grainger is a stewardship officer, British Columbia Forest Service, North Coast Forest Service, 

125 Market Place, Prince Rupert, BC V8J 1B9.

2Recently, yellow-cedar was moved from the genus Chamaecyparis Spach (e.g., C. nootkatensis

(D. Don) Spach) to Callitropsis Örsted based on its affinity with a newly discovered tree species 

in northern Vietnam (Little et al. 2004).

Abstract

The distribution of a forest decline of yellow-cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis (D. 

Don) Örsted) has been documented in southeast Alaska, but its occurrence in British 

Columbia was previously unknown. We conducted an aerial survey in the Prince 

Rupert area in September 2004 to determine if yellow-cedar forests in the North 

Coast Forest District of British Columbia were experiencing a similar fate as in 

nearby Alaska. Numerous large areas of concentrated yellow-cedar mortality were 

found, extending the known distribution of the decline problem 150 km south of the 

Alaska–British Columbia border. The forests with the most concentrated tree death 

occurred at 300 to 400 m elevation, frequently on south aspects. The appearance of 

these forests including proximity to bogs; mixtures of dying, recently killed, and 

long-dead trees; and crown and bole symptoms of dying trees were all consistent 

with the phenomenon in southeast Alaska.

Introduction

Yellow-cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis (D. Don) Örsted)2 decline (fig. 1) extends 

over 200 000 ha in a broad band through southeast Alaska to the Alaska–British 

Columbia border along Portland Canal (fig. 2) (Wittwer 2004). The problem is 

specific to yellow-cedar and is characterized on the landscape as a progressive 

and intensifying process that results in fading trees with thin or offcolor crowns 

and numerous standing dead trees, some killed recently and others up to 100 


Research note pnw-rn-549

Figure 1—A large patch of yellow-cedar in decline near sea level close to the northern limits of the 

decline on Chichagof Island, Alaska.

years ago (Hennon and Shaw 1997). Following death, slow deterioration owing to 

yellow-cedar’s unique heartwood chemistry (Barton 1976) allows snags to remain 

standing for up to a century. As these standing dead trees accumulate, 70 percent 

or more of yellow-cedar basal area is typically found dead in these forests. Thus, 

where mortality is this intensive, the problem is not difficult to detect by reconnaissance flights or other types of remote sensing. 

The primary cause of the decline is unknown, although no biotic factor appears to be the cause (Hennon et al. 1990b). Site characteristics including wet 

soils, open-canopy conditions, and elevation appear to be related to yellow-cedar 

decline (Hennon et al. 1990a). Current research emphasis in Alaska is on the contributing roles of hydrology, soil chemistry, air and soil temperature, snowpack, 

freezing injury, and climate. The susceptibility of yellow-cedar to spring freezing 

injury in areas of little snowpack forms a leading hypothesis for this forest decline 

(Hennon and Shaw 1994). Yellow-cedar is thought to be susceptible to frost injury, 

particularly in areas where soil is not protected from freezing by snow (Klinka et 

al. 2000). Previously, we investigated the northwestern edges of the yellow-cedar 

natural range in Prince William Sound, Alaska, where we found the tree to be 

thriving and without evidence of decline (Hennon and Trummer 2001). Information on the entire distribution of yellow-cedar decline, including the southern 

limits, is needed as we attempt to determine how significantly climate is involved. 


Yellow-Cedar Decline in the North Coast Forest District of British Columbia

Figure 2—Distribution of yellow-cedar decline in southeast Alaska and inset map of the natural range of yellow-cedar.
Research note pnw-rn-549

Nothing suggests that yellow-cedar decline would stop at the U.S.-Canada 

international border near Dixon Entrance and Portland Canal. Yellow-cedar decline 

has been acknowledged as probably occurring in British Columbia (Banner et al. 

1993), but it has not been investigated to any extent. 

In British Columbia, yellow-cedar commonly occurs in the windward portion 

of higher elevation Mountain Hemlock (MHmm1 and MHwh1) subzones (table 

1). It is also widely distributed throughout the Coastal Western Hemlock zone at 

low elevations in the very wet hypermaritime (CWHvh2) and very wet maritime 

(CWHvm1) subzones and at higher levels in the CWHvm2 subzone (Banner et al. 

1993, Klinka et al. 2000, Pojar et al. 1987). These areas encompass much of the 

outer coast of British Columbia including the Queen Charlotte Islands, the western 

side of the Coast mountains, and the Hecate Depression.

Table 1—Ecological distribution of yellow-cedar in north coastal British Columbia

Subzone or varianta

CWHvh2 CWHvm1 CWHvm2 MHmm1 MHwh1

Elevation range 0–600 m 0–400 (500) m 400–800 m 800–1200 m 600–1100 m

Physiographic region Hecate Lowland Western slope of Western slope of Western slope of Hecate Lowland

 Coast mountains Coast mountains Coast mountains

Climate Hypermaritime; Wet, humid, mild Cooler with shorter Maritime, cool and Hypermaritime; mild,

cool, very mild maritime climate growing season very wet year foggy, wet with

with very little with relatively and much heavier round with deep, wet intermittent

snow; foggy and little snow and snow pack than wet snow (up snowpack (<0.5 m)

rainy year round long growing CWHvm1 to 3 m); soils

season never freeze

Associated tree species Western redcedar, Western hemlock, Western hemlock, Mountain hemlock, Mountain hemlock,

(in decreasing order western hemlock, amabilis fir, amabilis fir, amabilis fir, western redcedar,

of occurrence) lodgepole pine, western redcedar, mountain hemlock western hemlock western hemlock,

mountain hemlock Sitka spruce Sitka spruce

 lodgepole pine

aCWHvh2 = Coastal Western Hemlock Zone very wet hypermaritime central variant, 

CWHvm1 = Coastal Western Hemlock Zone very wet maritime submontane variant, 

CWHvm2 = Coastal Western Hemlock Zone very wet maritime montane variant, 

MHmm1 = Mountain Hemlock Zone moist maritime windward variant, and 

MHwh1 = Mountain Hemlock Zone wet hypermaritime windward variant. 

Source: Banner et al. 1993.

Yellow-cedar can be found in mixed-species forests at low elevation along 

with western redcedar (Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don), western hemlock (Tsuga

heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), and other species (such as lodgepole pine or shore 

pine [Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.], mountain hemlock [Tsuga mertensiana

(Bong.) Carr.], Pacific silver fir [Abies amabilis Dougl. ex Forbes], Sitka spruce 

[Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.]) (table 1), but it reaches its greatest concentrations at middle and higher elevations in the North Coast Forest District (Banner 
Yellow-Cedar Decline in the North Coast Forest District of British Columbia

et al. 1993, Klinka et al. 2000). Yellow-cedar has the same affinity for middle and 

higher elevations in southern portions of southeast Alaska, but north of latitude 55°, 

the northern extent of western redcedar, yellow-cedar is also abundant at low elevations down to sea level. Here, the decline problem is restricted to low elevations, in 

places occurring only from sea level to 150 m elevation. 

Kayahara and Klinka (1997) recommended that a survey was needed to confirm that yellow-cedar decline was not a factor in the low-productivity forests of 

British Columbia. Thus, in late summer 2004, we organized a cooperative project 

to combine experience mapping yellow-cedar decline in southeast Alaska with local knowledge of forest conditions and landscape characteristics to document any 

occurrence of yellow-cedar decline in British Columbia. This report documents 

evidence of yellow-cedar decline through photographs and gives observations of 

several areas of the North Coast Forest District of British Columbia.

Observations 

We investigated two low-elevation forests with road access near Prince Rupert 

(fig. 3) on 26 September 2004: Rainbow Summit and Diana Lake (fig. 4). We found 

dead yellow-cedar trees at both sites, but yellow-cedar was not the predominant 

species in these forests. Western redcedar was much more abundant and was often 

found with a spike top (dead top), a characteristic of the tree throughout its natural 

range (Hosie 1979). Thus, the relatively sparse occurrence of yellow-cedar made 

judging the status of yellow-cedar decline difficult. Also, the abundance of 

spike-top western redcedar trees added confusion because they produce an appearance similar to scattered yellow-cedar mortality when viewed from a distance 

(fig. 5). 

On 27 September 2004, we conducted observations on a Bell 206 Long Ranger 

helicopter approximately 50 km north and 100 km south of Prince Rupert. The 

helicopter allowed us access to predetermined locations known to have an abundance of yellow-cedar and slow so as to carefully observe the forest. During our 

flights, we located and mapped a number of stands of dead and dying yellow-cedar 

(figs. 6 through 14) that exhibited an appearance typical of the decline problem in 

Alaska (fig. 1). 

Dense patches of dying and standing dead trees were observed often in proximity to bogs. The snags consistently represented mixtures of trees that died at different times; some recent mortality had fine or secondary branches retained, whereas 

other older mortality had intact tops but no attached limbs. From the air, dead 

yellow-cedar trees can often be distinguished from all species other than western 

redcedar because their tops do not break as they deteriorate. Upon ground observa-


Research note pnw-rn-549

Figure 3—North Coast Forest District of British Columbia depicting the sites where we found yellow-cedar decline. Also 

shown are the two low-elevation sites that we accessed by road (Rainbow Summit and Diana Lake), where the status of 

yellow-cedar decline is less certain.


Yellow-Cedar Decline in the North Coast Forest District of British Columbia

tion, we confirmed that the majority of the completely dead snags were yellow-cedar 

by visually inspecting and smelling exposed wood after chopping with a hatchet, 

or, for snags with bark retained, by the presence of resin ducts in the bark. Dying 

yellow-cedar trees with thin or off-color crowns were present in each of the declining stands that we mapped from the air. On the ground, we observed necrotic lesions 

emerging from dead roots and extending up the bole of dying trees, a symptom of 

yellow-cedar decline in Alaska (Hennon 1990b). The remaining live forest comprised western hemlock, western redcedar, Sitka spruce, shore pine, and some 

yellow-cedar, the latter usually present as understory trees. 

Most of the forests with concentrations of dead trees that we mapped were 

located at approximately 300 to 400 m elevation, areas that favor forests with high 

components of yellow-cedar. As yellow-cedar is the principal species that dies in 

this syndrome, only scattered mortality would be expected at lower elevations where 

yellow-cedar is often present as a minor component. Perhaps yellow-cedar decline 

is severe, and thus easily detectable, only at elevations high enough to have a large 

component of yellow-cedar. We speculate that yellow-cedar growing at even higher 

elevations may be protected from freezing by snow in early spring, either directly 

by snow covering shallow fine roots or indirectly by snow delaying the dehardening 

process (i.e., loss of cold tolerance). 

Our brief survey confirms that yellow-cedar decline is present in British 

Columbia, extending in concentrated patches of dead trees at least 100 km south 

of Prince Rupert, or 150 km from the Alaska–British Columbia border. Clearly, 

this is just an initial step that should be followed by a more extensive survey. 

Ground plots or forest inventory data could be used to evaluate the condition of 

yellow-cedar, particularly in low-elevation areas where yellow-cedar is not a 

dominant component. This could help resolve the status of yellow-cedar and 

western redcedar in the low-elevation forests that have an abundance of dead 

trees or spike-topped trees. We recommend extending the aerial survey farther 

south to determine the southern extent of the distribution of yellow-cedar decline. 

This will aid in our interpretation of the causes of the problem, including the role 

of climate. Information on the process that damages yellow-cedar trees in British 

Columbia and Alaska is needed to develop a management strategy for this valuable 

species tailored to areas where it is dying now, where it is expected to die in the 

future in a warming climate, and where the decline problem is not expected to 

occur. 


Research note pnw-rn-549

Observations at Each Location

The following are photographs of locations where we made observations in our 

search for yellow-cedar decline in the North Coast Forest District of British 

Columbia. 

Several other locations of dead trees were detected but photographs are not 

included in this report. Mortality was observed in a wet forested bog complex near 

Tuck Inlet. Scattered dead trees were noted at low elevation on the east side of 

Kennedy Island. At Captain Cove, relatively low concentrations of dead trees were 

observed on a hillside with south aspect at about 300 m. Two large bowls nearby 

at about 400 m elevation contained new and old yellow-cedar snags. One small 

patch with a concentration of dead cedars was observed on an exposed ridge. 

Concentrated mortality was detected on the north side of Holmes Lake on Pitt 

Island at about 350 m elevation, some of which was on steep terrain. A very large 

area of scattered snags could be seen extending at lower elevations along Petrel 

Channel on Pitt Island from Holmes Lake to Hevenor Inlet. 

Figure 4—Diana Lake. Small patch of dead trees of both cedar species at a low-elevation bog woodland–bog forest complex. Generally, yellow-cedar occurs only as a minor component in low-elevation 

forests in areas such as Diana Lake. Large concentrations of dead trees were not found at this site. 
Yellow-Cedar Decline in the North Coast Forest District of British Columbia

Figure 5—Scattered dead and dead-topped trees in a mixed western redcedar–yellow-cedar–western 

hemlock forested landscape at low elevation near Prince Rupert. Location is not shown on the map 

in figure 3. The abundance of spike-top, partially dead western redcedar confounds the identification 

of yellow-cedar decline in these mixed-cedar forests. The wood of both yellow-cedar and western 

redcedar is resistant to decay, and the slow deterioration of both tree species often leaves tree tops 

intact long after death. Thus, ground surveys would probably be needed to determine the live and 

dead populations of each species before judging whether forests such as this have a yellow-cedar 

decline problem.

Figure 6—Crow Lagoon. This dense patch of snags illustrates the typical appearance of yellow-cedar 

decline: a mixture of older mortality, recently killed trees, and some dying trees. An estimated 70 to 

80 percent of the overstory yellow-cedar trees was dead in this stand. This declining yellow-cedar 

forest was located above an open sloping bog on an east-southeast aspect at about 300 m elevation. 
10

Research note pnw-rn-549

Figure 7—Crow Lagoon. Several dead and dying overstory trees, as well as smaller surviving 

yellow-cedar trees. Nearly all of the dead and dying trees encountered during this brief ground 

survey were yellow-cedar. Western redcedar contributed a small percentage of the stand and was 

not dying in high numbers. Necrotic lesions in the cambium extending up from the root collar, a 

symptom of yellow-cedar decline, were found on several dying yellow-cedar trees here.
11

Yellow-Cedar Decline in the North Coast Forest District of British Columbia

Figure 8—Union Inlet. Extensive, more diffuse yellow-cedar decline on a concave hillslope at 

approximately 300 m elevation that covered hundreds of hectares (much of the area beyond the 

photograph).

Figure 9—Union Inlet. A high concentration of dead yellow-cedar trees on gentle terrain surrounding bogs. 
12

Research note pnw-rn-549

Figure 10—Worsfold Bay. Concentrated yellow-cedar mortality adjacent to a sloping bog in a cirque 

basin at 250 m elevation near Worsfold Bay. The appearance of large dead yellow-cedar trees with 

intact tops allows for simple detection of yellow-cedar decline.

Figure 11—Worsfold Bay. Concentrated yellow-cedar mortality adjacent to a bog. The fine branches 

on some dead trees in the foreground indicate recent tree death. 
13

Yellow-Cedar Decline in the North Coast Forest District of British Columbia

Figure 12—A concentrated patch of large yellow-cedar snags at about 300 m on a hillside above a 

cutting unit near Hayward Creek. Another patch of dead yellow-cedar (not shown) was found nearby 

at about 400 m elevation.

Figure 13—A closer view of the patch of yellow-cedar decline near Hayward Creek. Note the dying 

orange-crowned yellow-cedar trees interspersed with the dead yellow-cedar snags. This illustrates 

the progressive intensification of this forest decline. 
14

Research note pnw-rn-549

Figure 14—Cypress Lake, Banks Island. Dead trees associated with the edges of a bog depression. 

We observed large areas of mortality in a mosaic of scattered dead trees and higher concentrations 

from Donaldson Lake to north of Cypress Lake at various elevations and aspects. The more concentrated mortality had large dead trees and occurred on steeper slopes with greater forest productivity. 

We landed on a boggy hillside north of Cypress Lake at about 300 m elevation. Here, we found new 

and old snags, nearly all yellow-cedar. Most of the western redcedar was live, although some had 

spike tops. All trees were relatively small at this wet site. 

Acknowledgments

We thank the British Columbia Forest Service for providing funds for use of a helicopter. Reviewers Alex Woods, Lori Trummer, and Dustin Wittwer made valuable 

suggestions on a draft of this report. 

English Equivalents

When you know: Multiply by: To get:

Meters (m) 3.28 Feet

Kilometers (km) .6214 Miles

Hectares (ha) 2.47 Acres
15

Yellow-Cedar Decline in the North Coast Forest District of British Columbia

Literature Cited

Banner, A.; MacKenzie, W.; Haeussler, S.; Thomson, S.; Pojar, J.; 

Trowbridge, R. 1993. A field guide to site identification and interpretation 

for the Prince Rupert Forest Region; Parts 1 and 2. Land Mgmt. Handb. 26. 

Victoria, BC: Research Branch, British Columbia Ministry of Forests.

Barton, G.M. 1976. A review of yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (D. 

Don) Spach) extractives and their importance to utilization. Wood and Fiber. 

8(3): 172–176.

Hennon, P.E.; Hansen, E.M.; Shaw, C.G., III. 1990a. Dynamics of decline 

and mortality of Chamaecyparis nootkatensis in southeast Alaska. Canadian 

Journal of Botany. 68: 651–662.

Hennon, P.E.; Shaw, C.G., III. 1997. The enigma of yellow-cedar decline: What 

is killing these long-lived defensive trees? Journal of Forestry. 95(12): 4–10.

Hennon, P.E.; Shaw, C.G., III. 1994. Did climatic warming trigger the onset and 

development of yellow-cedar decline in southeast Alaska? European Journal of 

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Hennon, P.E.; Shaw, C.G., III.; Hansen, E.M. 1990b. Symptoms and fungal 

associations of declining Chamaecyparis nootkatensis in southeast Alaska. 

Plant Disease. 74: 267–273.

Hennon, P.E.; Trummer, L.M. 2001. Yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis

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Hosie, R.C. 1979. Native trees of Canada. 8th ed. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry and 

Whiteside, Ltd. 380 p.

Kayahara, G.J.; Klinka, K. 1997. The potential for managing nutrient poor 

and low productivity yellow cedar-redcedar-hemlock forests of North Coastal 

British Columbia, a problem analysis. Vancouver, BC: University of British 

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Forest Region, 52 p.

Klinka, K.; Worrall, J.; Skoda, L.; Varga, P. 2000. The distribution and 

synopsis of ecological and silvical characteristics of tree species of British 

Columbia’s forests. Coquitlam, BC: Canadian Cartographics Ltd. 180 p.
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Little, D.P.; Schwarzbach, A.E.; Adams, R.P.; Hsieh, C.F. 2004. The 

circumscription and phylogenetic relationship of Callitropsis and the newly 

described genus Xanthocyparis (Cupressaceae). American Journal of Botany. 

91: 1872–1881.

Pojar, J.; Klinka, K.; Meidinger, D.V. 1987. Biogeoclimatic ecosystem 

classification in British Columbia. Forest Ecology and Management. 

22: 119–154.

Wittwer, D., comp. 2004. Forest health conditions in Alaska—2003: a forest 

health protection report. Gen. Tech. Rep. R10-TP-123. Anchorage, AK: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Alaska Region. 82 p. 


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