Cover photo : Tom Iraci

Table of Contents

	 5	 A Message From the PNW Station Director	

	 6	 PNW Research Station: The Setting

	 7	 Goal Accomplishments

	 8	 Goal 1: Develop a Fundamental Understanding of Ecological,

	 	 Social, and Economic Systems and Their Interactions

	22	 Goal 2: Assess the Status and Trends of Ecosystems and

	 	 Natural Resources and Their Uses

	30	 Goal 3: Develop Science-Based Options for

	 	 Informed Management

	54	 Goal 4: Communicate Science Findings and Enhance

	 	 Their Application
	67	 Publications

	68	 Symposia, Workshops, and Tours

	70	 Conservation Education

	73	 Honors and Awards

	77	 Research Context

	78	 Finances and Workforce

	79	 Cooperators Who Received Funding for Studies

	79	 Clients Who Provided Funding for Studies

	80	 PNW Research Station Organization

Bob Szaro

Vision and Mission:

We are highly sought for our scientific leadership and impartial 

knowledge. Our mission is to generate and communicate scientific 

knowledge that helps people understand and make informed choices 

about people, natural resources, and the environment.


SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006


S

ince assuming the position of Station Director at the 

Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station in spring 

2006, I have had the pleasure of visiting employees, 

demand for their products and services. In 2006, about 

6,600 people attended symposia, workshops, field tours, 

and conservation education events sponsored by the Station. 

Over 120,000 hardcopy publications were distributed and 

hundreds of thousands of publications were downloaded. 

Truly impressive.

In my visits to the Station’s labs, I have seen that the scientific 

workforce of PNW Research Station depends on an administrative support staff to keep our facilities functioning, hire and 

support our field crews, administer budgets, process grants 

and agreements, oversee the civil rights program, maintain 

our fleet of vehicles, and make our safety program the best 

it can be. In times of great change for the Forest Service in 

most of these areas, I am particularly grateful for the Station’s 

excellent administrative support staff. 

I look forward to the opportunity to lead an already excellent 

Station as we work to reach great heights in the future. For 

starters, we will strengthen our partnerships with stakeholders 

and customers in the coming year. As this report shows, 

partners are enormously important in accomplishing our 

work. And the satisfaction of a job well done comes when 

we know that our customers are putting our science to use. 

From my angle, our future looks bright. It is with this sense 

of optimism that I look forward to the year ahead.

Bov Eav

PNW Station Director 

January 2007

A MESSAGE FROM THE STATION DIRECTOR

partners, customers, and stakeholders. It is apparent to me 

that their collective dedication makes possible the high 

volume of quality publications, technology, products, and 

services that are produced by the Station year after year. 

Some highlights for 2006:

➤ The Pacific Northwest is generally well positioned as a 

world leader in wood production; challenges include forest 

fragmentation, parcelization, and international competition. 

➤ Alaska yellow-cedar heartwood, its essential oil, and 

compounds from the heartwood prevent reproduction 

of the fungus that is responsible for sudden oak death.

➤ Sagebrush habitats are declining rapidly across western 

North America, with populations of over 350 associated 

plant and animal species at risk of extirpation.

➤ The Coastal Landscape Analysis Modeling Study 

(CLAMS) shows that hardwood and vegetation diversity 

may decline under current policies.

➤ An incident command tool for protecting drinking water 

(ICWater) was made available to all 50 states.

The hard work of scientists at PNW Research Station is 

evident in their productivity. Last year they produced 500 

publications—255 of which were journal articles. Their 

attention to quality and relevancy is what makes this Station 

a leader in the scientific community and is reflected in the 

John Laurence STATION DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
➤	 11 laboratories and centers in Alaska, Oregon, and

Washington

➤	 11 active experimental areas (watershed, range,

and experimental forests)

➤	 Research also conducted in more than 20 research

natural areas (RNAs)

➤	 Headquarters in Portland, Oregon

PNW Research Station: The Setting

A L A S K A

Anchorage

Y

Y

Y

Sitka

Juneau

Y

Fairbanks

Laboratory or Center

Experimental Forest, Watershed, or Range

> Headquarters

Y

Seattle

Olympia

Wenatchee

W A S H I N G T O N

O R E G O N

Corvallis

La Grande Portland

Prineville

Y >

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

➤	 PNW is 1 of 5 research stations in the U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

➤ 479 employees (298 permanent, 181 temporary)

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006


GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS Tom Iraci


SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Goal 1:

Develop a fundamental understanding of 

ecological, social, and economic systems and 

their interactions

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

K e y F i n d i n g s

➤ Population growth, rising incomes, and land 

development are shown to stimulate public 

support for protecting forest, range, and other 

open-space lands. 

➤ Different land use policies can result in different 

patterns of forest fragmentation, which in turn 

can have widely differing effects on wildlife 

and biodiversity. New models can be used to 

analyze the possible outcomes from various 

land conservation policies.

➤ The Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling 

Study (CLAMS) shows that in the Oregon Coast 

Range, hardwood and vegetation diversity may 

decline under current policies.

➤ After the devastating eruption of Mount St. Helens 

in 1980, Spirit Lake recovered rapidly, with plankton, 

insects, amphibians, and eventually fish, returning 

more quickly than expected.

➤ In western Oregon headwater streams, 

macroinvertebrate species richness is similar 

in young and old forests.

➤ Alaska yellow-cedar heartwood, the essential 

oil, and individual compounds from the 

heartwood prevent reproduction of the 

fungus that is responsible for sudden oak 

death. 

➤ During summer drought, networks of 

mycorrhizal fungi transfer water from 

roots of large ponderosa pines to roots 

of seedlings.

➤ In the Olympic Peninsula and Vancouver 

Island region, marbled murrelets’ home 

range in 2005 was five times that of 2004, 

suggesting the birds had to travel greater 

distances to find food in 2005.


GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS



Public support for open space increases 

with population growth and rising incomes

Local support for open-space protection increases with population growth.

Research shows that local support depends on socioeconomic factors. Public support for local preservation funding 

increases with population growth, land development, and 

loss of open space. Local residents must also be able to afford 

preservation financing. Thus windows of opportunity open 

when public support for local preservation is most likely, 

but often only after significant open space is already lost. In 

places where key areas are at risk, education and outreach 

may help build local support to protect open spaces.

The Trust for Public Land, the national open-space preservation organization that provided data for the study, will 

use the findings to better target their public education and 

outreach programs. Other national and local open-space 

organizations, which frequently partner with the Forest 

Service in open-space programs, are expected to use the 

findings also. The findings were presented at an open-space 

protection workshop in 2006.

Contact: Jeff Kline, jkline@fs.fed.us, Human and Natural Resources

Interactions Program

Partner: Trust for Public Land

Different land use policies affect patterns 

of forest fragmentation

Population growth and rising personal incomes lead to 

changing land uses and often to forest fragmentation, which 

can affect wildlife habitat and biodiversity. New research 

shows that different land use policies can result in different 

forest fragmentation patterns, and different effects on wildlife 

The Forest Service recognizes the loss of open space, 

which fragments landscapes and reduces wildlife habitats, 

as one of the four biggest threats to wildlife and biodiversity 

resources on national forests. Forest Service policies promote 

managing open-space lands across public and private landowner boundaries, and protecting private lands with valuable 

ecological and recreational resources. Because protection often 

involves local public financing to purchase conservation easements and land, local support is essential. Tom Iraci
10

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

and biodiversity. For example, a policy that targets land parcels for conversion based on the least cost of achieving a total 

area target may create a substantially different landscape than 

a policy that targets the creation of interior forest patches. The 

study found that in western Oregon, attributes such as soil 

fertility or the distance of urban plots to amenities are significant determinants of forest fragmentation.

New models based on this finding compare the different 

effects that various land use policies would have on a region’s 

forests, including fragmentation, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity. Policymakers and planners at different government 

levels can use model outputs to better understand the possible 

outcomes of policies and design land conservation policies In Oregon Coast Range, current policies 

may not produce the desired biodiversity

In the Oregon Coast Range, landowners’ current policies may not always 

achieve their intended outcomes.

The Northwest Forest Plan provides a valuable model 

for ecosystem management because it aims to 

connect environmental and socioeconomic goals by 

creating local jobs linked to forest stewardship.

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Since 1995, scientists involved with the Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS) have been 

conducting research on the ecological, economic, and social 

consequences of forest policies in Oregon’s Coast Range. The 

collaborative study has yielded detailed models that simulate 

historical and current conditions of the area’s nearly 5 million 

acres as well as projected conditions under different management scenarios.

Recently, the CLAMS work was highlighted in the journal 

Ecological Applications. Findings were presented about potential cumulative effects of different landowner policies on 

biodiversity and timber. Some projected outcomes of current 

policies are consistent with management goals; for example, 

the area of diverse conifer forests is projected to increase. 

Other projected outcomes are not consistent with current 

that align private incentives with broader public goals. 

Nongovernment organizations with land conservation 

interests can also use the research. Results were presented 

at a workshop on open-space protection in 2006.

Contact: Ralph Alig, ralig@fs.fed.us, Human and Natural

Resources Interactions Program

Partners: NatureServe; Oregon State University, Department

of Agricultural and Resource Economics

More information: Science Findings 88. Society’s Choices: 

Land Use Changes, Forest Fragmentation, and Conservation.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/sciencef/scifi88.pdf.

Bob Szaro
11

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

policies, however. The models showed that hardwood and 

vegetation diversity are projected to sharply decline. These 

results can help construct alternative policies that better provide the desired mix of forest values.

The CLAMS results have been used by managers and policymakers from the Oregon Department of Forestry and the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to understand how 

their individual actions might affect biodiversity and economics. Some individual models from the study also have been 

used to analyze alternatives in the Interagency Modeling and 

Analysis Program (IMAP) assessment conducted by the State 

of Oregon and the USDA Forest Service, and in the BLM’s 

Western Oregon Plan Revision analysis.

Contact: Thomas Spies, tspies@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem Processes Program

Partners: Oregon Department of Forestry; Oregon State University;

USDI Bureau of Land Management

More information: Ecological Applications, 2007, Vol. 17, No. 1

In developing countries, plantation forestry 

rarely provides local socioeconomic benefits

In many developing countries, the establishment of 

intensively managed tree plantations often results in land 

ownership concentration, loss of customary rights to resource 

access, displacement of rural people, and local socioeconomic 

decline. Plantations do not often provide many local jobs 

or benefit people who are already poor and powerless. On 

the other hand, examples can be found around the world 

in which plantation forestry is integrated with surrounding 

communities and provides local socioeconomic benefits as 

well as forest products. These examples can provide decisionmakers with guidance on forest management approaches that 

contribute to local community development, promote social 

justice, and avoid negative social and economic effects.

Contact: Susan Charnley, scharnley@fs.fed.us, Human and

Natural Resources Interactions Program

Wildland-urban interface maps are available on 

the Internet

The wildland-urban interface (WUI), where homes and 

other structures are built among forests, grasslands, or shrubs, 

has received much attention owing to the growing number 

of structures destroyed in WUI wildfires and the increasing 

number of people and resources at risk in these areas. Forest fragmentation, habitat loss, and declining biodiversity in 

WUI areas are also concerns.

A new assessment has produced maps and other data on the 

WUI for the coterminous United States, by using a standard, 

legislatively relevant definition and consistent mapping 

techniques. Most of the WUI is in the Eastern United States, 

especially in northern Florida, the southern Appalachians, 

and coastal areas of the Northeast. Other major WUI areas 

are located along the west coast, the Colorado Front Range, 

southeast Texas, and the northern Great Lakes States. The 

digital maps and other spatial data on the WUI are available 

on the Internet. The maps and databases are compatible with 

vegetation and fuel maps currently under development, which 

makes them useful for midscale analyses of fuel treatment 

needs, determining economic values at risk, and allocating 

federal cost-share, and as a partial basis for stationing 

wildland firefighting resources.

The assessment is now publicly available on the Internet. The 

Web site includes WUI maps, statistics, and a nationally 

standardized geographic information system data library for 

the WUI. Information is presented on change in the west 

coast WUI and Midwest housing growth.

Contact: Jeremy Fried, jsfried@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory

and Analysis Program

Partners: University of Wisconsin; USDA Forest Service, Northern

Research Station

How to get it: See the Web site at http://www.silvis.forest.wisc.edu/

projects/WUI_Main.asp

Successful approaches to linking socioeconomic 

and forest management goals provide models

Many forest managers are concerned with how forest 

management affects social and economic conditions in local 

communities. In the Pacific Northwest, economic development and social justice goals were included with environmental goals in the Northwest Forest Plan. Success in meeting 

the socioeconomic goals has been mixed so far, because key 

assumptions underlying the strategies were flawed and the 

agencies had limited institutional capacity to achieve the 

goals. However, the Plan still provides a valuable model for 

broad-scale ecosystem management, because it aims to connect environmental and socioeconomic goals for forest management by creating local jobs linked to forest stewardship.

Contact: Susan Charnley, scharnley@fs.fed.us, Human and

Natural Resources Interactions Program

Managing Disturbance Regimes Program
12

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aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Consume, a fuel consumption model, 

helps prepare burn plans and meet smoke 

requirements

Seventy-one sites were inventoried and burned in black 

and white spruce/hardwood forests (Alaska), chaparral 

(California), ponderosa pine/mixed-conifer forests (Oregon), 

and pine/hardwood forests (South Carolina, Tennessee, and 

Florida). Data from all burns were used in building Consume 

3.0, a significant upgrade of this fuel consumption model.

New research measured fuel 

consumption on sagebrush, pine 

flatwoods, and chaparral prescribed 

fires throughout Oregon, California, 

Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Florida, 

and Georgia. Sagebrush fuel load 

and consumption equations were 

incorporated into Consume 3.0. Fuel 

loading equations are in development 

for pine flatwoods, chaparral, and 

pitch pine scrub.

Land managers and researchers input 

fuel characteristics, lighting patterns, 

fuel conditions, and meteorological 

attributes; then Consume outputs fuel consumption and 

emissions by combustion phase and by fuelbed category. 

Consume 3.0 is designed to import data directly from the 

Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS), and the 

output is formatted to feed other models and provide usable 

outputs for burn plan preparation and smoke management 

requirements. A tutorial and a user’s manual are available. 

Consume can be used for all forest, shrub, and grasslands in 

North America.

Consume 3.0 was released in beta format in November 2005 

and is available for download at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/

fera/consume/. Consume is being used in the BlueSky smoke 

modeling framework. It is also being used to track fuel consumption and emissions for smoke management reporting 

by the USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and 

National Park Service. The software 

system has been taught at 3 regional 

fuel workshops and at 12 regional and 

national training sessions. The USDA 

Forest Service, Pacific Northwest 

Region, is considering establishing a 

Consume 3.0 teaching curriculum, 

and the University of Idaho is incorporating Consume 3.0 into a 2-credit 

continuing education class.

Contacts: Roger Ottmar (forest types),

rottmar@fs.fed.us; and Clint Wright (shrub

ecosystems), cwright@fs.fed.us, Managing

Disturbance Regimes Program

Partners: Alaska Fire Service; Florida Department of Environmental

Protection; Joint Fire Science Program; The Nature Conservancy; U.S.

Air Force; USDA Forest Service, National Forest System, National Fire

Plan; USDI Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and

National Park Service; U.S Environmental Protection Agency; University

of Washington

Crew weighs fuel-load sample before burning in 

sagebrush fuel type.

Dave Peter

Sudden oak death has killed thousands of oak trees in 

California since it was first observed in 1995.

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Managing Disturbance Regimes Program
13

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Essential oils from Alaska yellow-cedar 

heartwood combat sudden oak death fungus

Sudden oak death has killed thousands of oak trees in 

California since it was first observed in 1995, and millions 

of acres are at risk in coastal California and southwestern 

Oregon. The national strategy for managing the disease 

focuses on preventing the spores of the nonnative fungus 

from moving into new areas. Scientists looking for natural 

fungicides have found that Alaska yellow-cedar heartwood, 

the essential oil, and individual heartwood compounds 

nootkatin and carvacrol, all prevent the fungus spores 

from germinating. These compounds appear to damage 

the spore’s membrane, releasing the spore’s contents, and 

were 100-percent effective in laboratory cultures.

As an immediate action, the use of yellow-cedar chips or 

shavings at trailheads, picnic areas, and parking lots in 

recreational areas might prevent hikers’ boots, bicycle wheels, 

and car tires from carrying the fungus spores from infested 

woodlands to new areas. There may be potential to develop 

a fungicidal spray by using the bioactive compounds from 

yellow-cedar. Scientists have expanded their search for 

additional antifungal compounds in the heartwood of 

other conifers.

Contact: Rick Kelsey, rkelsey@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: USDA Agricultural Research Service and Forest Service,

Pacific Southwest Research Station; Oregon State University

Study sheds light on complex interactions 

between wildfires, insects

One goal of the Station’s new Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center is to better understand the 

complex relationships among threats acting synergistically. As 

part of this focus, the center’s scientists studied the effect of 

insect outbreaks on wildfire risk and, in turn, how wildfires 

may promote insect outbreaks.

Using a quarter-century of data on fire occurrence and 

insect damage on public lands in Oregon and Washington, 

scientists developed a model that uses a site’s fire and insect 

outbreak history to predict the likelihood of future insect 

outbreaks and fires. They found a slight increase in the probability of wildfire after bark beetle outbreaks, but no increase 

in wildfire probability after outbreaks of defoliating insects. 

This work is the beginning of a framework for understanding 

wildfire and insect interactions.

Contact: Jerry Beatty, jbeatty@fs.fed.us, Western Wildland

Environmental Threat Assessment Center

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station

In pines, mutation rates are highly variable

Trees accumulate mutations during their growth and 

reproductive processes. These mutations, or genetic changes, 

introduce variation into a population and can sometimes 

result in traits that help a tree adapt to its environmental 

John Laurence
14

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

In summer droughts, mycorrhizal fungi networks transfer water brought up by deep roots of large 

pines to the shallower roots of seedling pines.

conditions. Estimates of the rate at which mutations occur 

are fundamental to genetic models that predict, among other 

things, how well genetic variability is being maintained in a 

population. To better understand mutation in pines—species 

common across the Western United States—scientists did 

a comparative study of 60 genes across different pine species and characterized the pace and pattern of their genetic 

mutations.

They found that yearly mutation rates for pines were onehalf to one-sixth of those of most flowering plants. When 

combined with pines’ typically long lifespans, however, 

this relatively slow mutation rate results in a per-generation 

mutation rate far exceeding that of most short-lived flowering 

plants. Results will help scientists to predict the response 

of genetic variants to selective events, like white pine blister 

rust outbreaks, which favor certain genes 

over others. This information also is helping 

scientists identify which pine genes likely 

have responded to recent selective pressures 

such as environmental conditions and human 

influences.

Contact: Richard Cronn, rcronn@fs.fed.us, Resource

Management and Productivity Program

Partners: Oregon State University; USDA Forest Service,

Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest Regions

In the Pacific Northwest, conifers are 

well-adapted to withstand the region’s summer 

drought. They possess deep roots that allow 

them to extract water from deep soil layers and 

redistribute it to the upper portion of the soil, 

slowing the drying of these layers and the seasonal dieback of shallow roots.

In a study conducted in the semiarid ponderosa pine forests 

of eastern Oregon, scientists found that this hydraulic 

redistribution in ponderosa pine is aided by the trees’ 

mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi grow symbiotically on certain 

tree species’ roots, assisting in the transfer of nutrients. 

By injecting trees with a nontoxic tracer, a substance that 

allows the movement of water through a tree and the rest 

of the ecosystem to be monitored, scientists demonstrated 

that mycorrhizal fungi hydraulically transferred water from 

larger trees to seedlings through the network comprising 

their filaments. This suggests that seedlings linked in a 

common mycorrhizal network to larger ponderosa pine may 

be at an advantage during drying conditions. These findings 

underscore the importance of mycorrhizal networks’ role in 

stand regeneration.

Contact: Rick Meinzer, fmeinzer@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem Processes Program

Partner: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Tree height limited by the tradeoff between 

upward water transport and safety

Have you wondered why trees grow to the height that 

they do? Xylem, the tissue that transports water from the 

roots to the leaves of trees, must be efficient and at the same 

time resist entry of small air bubbles that could permanently 

disrupt water transport, leading to the tree’s death. In 

conifer xylem, water passes from one tracheid (a xylem 

element) to the next through structures called “bordered 

pits.” Larger pits result in greater efficiency of waterflow 

but greater susceptibility to entry of air bubbles. Studies of 

Douglas-fir tracheids along a height gradient from roots to 

upper branches have found that the efficiency of moving 

water decreases and the ability to prevent disruptive air entry 

increases with height. These findings indicate a tradeoff 

For pine seedlings, membership in 

mycorrhizal network may be key to 

summer survival

of efficiency against safety and imply that there may be a 

maximum height at which tracheids can still resist air entry 

but become unable to transport enough water to replace 

transpirational losses from leaves.

The findings contribute to the basis for understanding interactions between site quality and tree height and are of interest 

to wood scientists and engineers, particularly those involved 

in pressure treatment of wood.

Contact: Rick Meinzer, fmeinzer@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem Processes Program

Partner: Oregon State University

Arboreal rodent demography informs ecosystem 

management of interior dry forests

A series of studies was completed on the ecological web 

supporting the threatened northern spotted owl in interior 

dry forests, with findings on northern flying squirrel demography and bushy-tailed woodrat abundance. Flying squirrels 

Tom Iraci
15

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

New GPS-based telemetry system

for monitoring movements of

large animals

Description: The new global positioning system (GPS)-

based, automated telemetry system at Starkey Experimental Forest and Range allows scientists to obtain

real-time location and activity data on elk, deer, and

cattle as often as every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, for

an entire year or longer. The system includes analytical

software and databases that store and analyze

telemetry data.

Outcomes: The new system provides the most accurate and frequent data on animal movements and

activities ever collected, thus providing real-time

studies of elk, deer, and cattle responses to human

activities and forest management. Scientists are able

to obtain the data remotely and efficiently. The data

serve a variety of research objectives that could not

be met with past telemetry systems.

How to get it: For Starkey data, contact Michael

Wisdom, mwisdom@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program, or visit the Starkey Web site at

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/starkey/.

For information about the telemetry system and its

components, go to http://www.lotek.com/, the Web

site for Lotek Wireless, Inc.

Partner: Lotek Wireless, Inc.

New Tool and woodrats make up about 60 percent of the owl’s diet and 

potentially drive patterns of owl habitat selection and demography. Past research addressed the abundance and use of 

mycorrhizal fungi and arboreal lichens, both key biodiversity 

elements and food of many arboreal and terrestrial mammals. The study quantified the demography and habitat use 

of arboreal rodent prey in three forest types over 4 years in a 

portion of the Cle Elum long-term spotted owl demography 

study area. The dry forests studied are those targeted for large 

fuel-reduction programs.

The flying squirrel data have already been used for several 

significant programs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(USFWS) used the data and findings in their 5-year status 

review of the northern spotted owl. The data and findings 

have also been used by government and private scientists 

analyzing 10-year demographic trends of the northern 

spotted owl. The principal investigator presented findings 

to the USFWS northern spotted owl recovery team, and 

serves on its science advisory committee. In addition, these 

findings will influence wildlife viability modeling for forest 

plan revisions on the Colville, Okanogan, and Wenatchee 

National Forests, and ultimately all forests in the Pacific 

Northwest Region.

Contact: John Lehmkuhl, jlehmkuhl@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: Central Washington University; Oregon State University;

USDA Forest Service, Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS
16

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aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

In the quarter-century since the eruption of Mount St. 

Helens, scientists have documented Spirit Lake’s rapid 

and unexpected recovery. 

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Wildlife biologists radio-collar a temporarily sedated male wolverine in northern Washington to learn about 

wolverines’ current range in the United States.

Wolverine range contracted substantially over 

the past century

Wolverines are a species of concern, but reliable information on their habitat and distribution has been scarce. A new 

analysis of historical and current wolverine range in the contiguous United States found that wolverine range contracted 

substantially during the 20th century. In the West, current 

distribution is limited to north-central Washington, northern and central Idaho, western Montana, and northwestern 

Wyoming. Historically, wolverines occurred in or near 

alpine habitat, especially at the periphery of their range in 

the Pacific Coast mountains and southern Rockies. The only 

variable that accounted for the historical distribution pattern 

was late-spring snow cover. Causal factors for the extirpation 

of wolverines from the southern portions of their range in 

the contiguous United States are 

unknown, but are likely related 

to high levels of human-caused 

mortality and low or nonexistent 

immigration rates.

Petitions have been filed twice 

to list the wolverine under the 

federal Endangered Species Act, 

but both petitions were denied 

owing partly to a lack of reliable 

information regarding their historical and current distributions 

and broad-scale habitat relations. 

The new information on wolverine range should be a significant 

contribution to conservation 

planning for the species in the 

contiguous United States.

Contact: Keith B. Aubry, kaubry@fs.fed.

us, Ecosystem Processes Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Rocky

Mountain Research Station

Ecosystem Processes Program

Tom Iraci
17

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Small mammals and amphibians showed varied 

responses to headwater stream buffers after 

forest harvest

Forest-floor small mammals and stream/land amphibians showed varied responses to headwater stream buffers after 

timber harvest. Overall, small-mammal diversity increased in 

the patch-cut and no-buffer treatments, but particular species 

had differing population responses, with populations increasing for some species and declining for others.

For amphibian responses, seven land species were found, but 

only western red-back salamanders were common. Neither 

red-backed salamanders nor total land amphibian numbers 

differed significantly by buffer type. Four aquatic and five 

streambank amphibian species were found. In the year after 

treatments, overall amphibian detections dropped in harvested sites, but the amount of change was not statistically 

different from amount of change in control sites. Populations declined for all stream amphibian species after timber 

harvest.

These findings will be used by the Washington Department 

of Natural Resources in developing a long-term conservation 

strategy for headwater streams as part of a habitat conservation plan for state forest lands in Washington.

Contact: Randall Wilk, rwilk@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem Processes Program

Partner: Washington Department of Natural Resources

Updated DecAid Advisor for managing snags and 

down wood now includes east-side forest types

A major update was completed for the Web-based DecAid 

Advisor, which is a tool for managing snags, partially dead 

trees, and down wood for biodiversity in Washington and 

Oregon forests. DecAid Advisor 2.0 now includes east-side 

forest types and postfire conditions. The tool is a statistical 

compilation of data, along with publications and narratives 

interpreting the data, for helping guide management of snags 

and down wood. The upgrade includes new data, a revised 

tutorial, and explanation of the tool’s statistical underpinning. 

Background references were also updated.

DecAID Advisor 2.0 has been posted on the Internet for 

use by all forest managers and results reported in an issue of 

Science Findings. The new version is being used by the Pacific 

Northwest Regional Office and national forests to help guide 

management of wood decay elements for biodiversity and 

wildlife.

Contact: Bruce G. Marcot, bmarcot@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem

Processes Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region

More information: Science Findings 83. If a Tree Falls in the 

Woods, Who Will Measure It? DecAid Decayed Wood Advisor.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/sciencef/scifi83.pdf.

Scientist finds evidence of Spirit Lake’s ecological recovery since the 

1980 Mount St. Helens eruption poured hot debris into the lake.

Spirit Lake recovered rapidly after Mount 

 St. Helens’ 1980 eruption

Before the catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens 

in May 1980, Spirit Lake—which lies at the volcano’s north 

base—was cool, clear, and nutrient-poor. After the summit of 

the volcano slid into the lake as a massive avalanche and tremendous amounts of shattered forest entered the lake’s water 

from the eruption’s massive lateral blast, however, Spirit Lake 

became much shallower and immediately turned tepid, black, 

and nutrient-rich. Although these new conditions killed 

the lake’s pre-eruption inhabitants, they also set in motion 

a series of biophysical changes that ultimately increased the 

lake’s productivity. 

In the quarter-century since the eruption, scientists have 

documented Spirit Lake’s rapid and unexpected recovery. 

Within 18 months of the eruption, they found, the lake’s 

waters cleared and oxygen returned. Next, numerous species 

of plankton, insects, and amphibians colonized its waters. 

Most recently, from 1990 to 2006, extensive aquatic vegetation developed along the lake’s shores, supporting insects for 

Spirit Lake’s growing rainbow trout population. 

These findings are important to other researchers and 

managers working in volcanic regions around the world. 

This well-documented case study is helping researchers and 

managers better understand the resilience of ecosystems. 

Contact: Charlie Crisafulli, ccrisafulli@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and Land

Interactions Program 

Partners: Oregon State University, Portland State University, University

of Washington, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Aquatic and Land Interactions Program
18

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006 SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

In headwater streams, macroinvertebrate 

species richness is similar in young and 

old forests

Scientists are studying the many ways that headwater streams, forests, and watershed food webs 

are connected.

In riparian and headwater-stream ecosystems, both 

macroinvertebrate diversity and density can be important 

components of the forest’s overall health. Headwater streams 

play an important role in distributing nutrients and prey 

species, like macroinvertebrates, downstream.

At sites in Oregon’s H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, 

scientists studied the long-term responses of macroinvertebrate 

communities to forest harvest and the natural variation and 

diversity of these macroinvertebrates in headwater streams. 

The scientists found that species richness was similar in 

streams through young- and old-growth stands throughout 

the year. The type of species, however, changed with season. 

Densities of stream-bed macroinvertebrates were highest in 

summer, and densities were slightly higher 

in streams through young stands. Streams 

through old-growth forests did not have 

consistent “indicator” macroinvertebrate 

species, as community composition differed 

among old-growth basins at different 

elevations.

By documenting the long-term legacies of 

forest harvest, scientists provide managers the 

data for evaluating the ecological recovery of 

streams flowing through timber harvest areas. 

A better understanding of natural variability 

in headwater stream macroinvertebrates 

provides a context for evaluating streams 

across landscapes and using streams as 

indicators of ecological disturbance.

Contact: Sherri Johnson, sherrijohnson@fs.fed.us,

Ecosystem Processes Program

Partner: Oregon State University

Aquatic and Land Interactions Program
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GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

In headwaters, food, conditions, 

and interactions control fish 

productivity

Headwaters are central to stream 

food webs; being most directly linked 

to the land ecosystem, they can play an 

important role in delivering materials, 

nutrients, and prey species, like macroinvertebrates, to downstream fish 

communities.

Scientists studied the relationship 

between headwater conditions and 

downstream lake communities. 

They found that both fish and 

macroinvertebrate abundance were 

greater at stream junctions. One native 

fish species, the resident sculpin, 

was as much as twice as abundant at 

stream junctions, compared to control 

sites, showing a strong link with food 

resources delivered by the streams. 

Juvenile sculpin also congregated at 

these sites, risking predation by adult 

sculpins for enhanced foraging.

These findings are helping managers to better understand the 

role of headwater streams in watershed food webs relevant 

to managing habitats for some threatened and endangered 

species. The findings also demonstrate the importance of a 

healthy watershed in the lifecycles of native fish.

Contact: Karl M. Polivka, kpolivka@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and Land

Interactions Program

Partners: University of Washington, Washington Department of

Fish and Wildlife

Stream temperatures may be reduced by 

adding gravel

Dams block the downstream movement of gravel, and 

river reaches downstream can become depleted of gravel, an 

important part of healthy stream ecosystems. A new approach 

to river restoration adds gravel to rivers whose sediment 

supply has been depleted by dams and reservoirs. Although 

gravel augmentation is primarily used to allow rivers to 

rebuild habitat features, it may also help mitigate the thermal 

effects that reservoirs can cause downstream. The gravel can 

increase the interchange between surface flows in the river 

and groundwater, thereby reducing temperature peaks.

The research includes field investigations on Oregon’s 

Clackamas River and laboratory investigations at the 

National Center for Earth-Surface Dynamics in Minnesota. 

Field and lab data will be used to model the likely temperature benefits of gravel augmentation, design augmentation 

strategies, and contribute information needed for relicensing 

and managing hydropower dams on the Clackamas River. 

Specific users include the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Portland General Electric, and the U.S. 

Geological Survey, among others.

Contact: Gordon E. Grant, ggrant@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem Processes

Program

Partners: Oregon State University, Pacific Northwest National

Laboratory, Portland General Electric

Aquatic and Land Interactions Program

FLOW: watershed streamflow data sets

Description: The online FLOW tool interactively delivers

streamflow data for a number of gauged small watersheds. Currently, the streamflow data are available for

specific watersheds in the H.J. Andrews Experimental

Forest, Alsea basin, Coyote Creek area, and Fox (Bull Run)

watershed. The user can request data by time interval and

date range.

Outcomes: The FLOW tool has been used by scientists

and modelers to obtain customized streamflow data

products. For example, on the H.J. Andrews, FLOW has

been used with a hydrologic model that analyzes the

hillslope water-residence times in a small watershed.

How to get it: See the Web site at http://www.fsl.orst.

edu/lter/data/abstract.cfm?dbcode=HF004&topnav=97.

PNW Research Station contact: Don Henshaw,

dhenshaw@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem Processes Program

New Tool
20

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

When in search of food, marbled 

murrelets travel far and wide

The marbled murrelet relies on both oceans and forests to 

survive. During the breeding season, the female and male of 

each nesting pair alternate between foraging in coastal ocean 

waters and nesting inland on the branches of large, old trees. 

In previous studies, Station scientists documented the species’ 

tendency to travel widely between their foraging and nesting 

sites—sometimes crossing the entire Strait of Juan de Fuca as 

they switch places with their mate. 

New research on the murrelet, a threatened species, used 

ground, boat, and aerial surveys to track 107 radiotagged 

murrelets throughout the breeding season and also collected 

blood samples for genetic analyses. Scientists confirmed and 

documented 14 murrelet nests within the older forests of 

Olympic National Park, Olympic National Forest, and Vancouver Island. They also found that murrelets’ home range in 

2005 was five times that of 2004, suggesting the birds had 

to travel greater distances to find food in 2005, when delayed 

upwelling of nutrient-rich waters likely resulted in less food.

In Alaska’s boreal forests, links revealed 

between prefire forest conditions and 

postfire forest recovery

In the boreal forests of interior Alaska, research that 

began in 2001 to study vegetation in black spruce stands 

provided 3 years of valuable baseline data when much of the 

study area burned in 2004, a record fire year in Alaska. The 

before-fire data provided a rare opportunity to directly assess 

relationships among prefire vegetation patterns, fire behavior, 

and fuel consumption, and postfire vegetation in Alaska’s 

flammable black spruce forest.

Using data from an extensive network of sites, scientists were 

able to link early postfire species colonization, recovery, and 

establishment to prefire species composition, fire severity, and 

site moisture. Results show that wetter, less severely burned 

sites will likely regenerate as black spruce, whereas drier, 

more severely burned sites provide excellent seedbeds for 

colonizers such as white spruce, aspen, birch, and fireweed. 

These findings are being included in a field guide that can be 

used by Alaska land managers after a wildfire to determine 

postfire recovery and vegetation establishment. Understanding successional trajectories is critical to management of these 

forests for large mammal habitat, prescribed burning, and 

timber harvest.

Contact: Teresa Hollingsworth, thollingsworth@fs.fed.us,

Ecosystem Processes Program

Partners: Joint Fire Science Program; University of Alaska Fairbanks

Invasive white clover is spreading on 

Alaskan river flood plains

Unlike alders and willows, woody shrubs that play 

decades and even centuries-long roles in the development 

of flood-plain vegetation, the effects of the invasive white 

clover appear to flicker briefly but intensely across recently 

deposited flood-plain surfaces. Where white clover becomes 

established, it grows in dense stands producing copious 

Marty Raphael

In interior Alaska, smoke rises from a distant wildfire, while fireweed 

blossoms in area burned the previous year.

Teresa Hollingsworth

These findings will be critical to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service’s upcoming rangewide status review of the marbled 

murrelet. Information on murrelets’ at-sea movement also 

will help managers connect population monitoring results 

to inland nesting habitat.

Contact: Martin G. Raphael, mraphael@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem

Processes Program

Partners: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region;

USDI Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and

Olympic National Park; Washington Department of Natural

Resources
21

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

amounts of seed leading to rapid 

spread of the species downriver. 

Cameras mounted on a tethered blimp 

provided low-cost, high-resolution 

imagery of the Matanuska River 

flood plain over two growing seasons. 

Scientists mapped small patches of 

both first- and second-year white 

clover plants. They found that, owing 

to the species’ biennial habit, the 

small-scale distribution of this plant 

shifted markedly at 2-year intervals. 

On this site, surfaces dominated in 

2004 by second-year plants were 

completely devoid of the plant in 2005, 

a finding with significant implications 

for assessing the role of this invader in 

the flood-plain successional sequence.

Understanding the dynamics of colonization and dispersal of white clover 

will help characterize its ecological 

impacts, including those on wildlife 

habitat, and will aid in the development of pathway risk analyses and 

mitigation measures.

Contact: Tricia Wurtz, twurtz@fs.fed.us,

Ecosystem Processes Program

Partners: ABR Inc., University of Alaska

Fairbanks

WatershedDB interactive mapping site

Description: The pilot WatershedDB Web site organizes and

manages the data stored by ClimDB and HydroDB, which

continually collect climate and hydrology data from watershed studies across the Nation. WatershedDB is managing

data from 47 sites from Alaska to Antarctica, including

Forest Service experimental watersheds and all the LongTerm Ecological Research sites. The tool gives researchers

multiple options for working with the data; users can

access data directly through pull-down tabs or zoom into

sites on a map.

Outcomes: This pilot site shows how data can be organized

and managed for multiple research sites. WatershedDB has

been demonstrated at several user-group meetings.

How to get it: See the Web site at http://wwwgis.forestry.

oregonstate.edu/website/wsheddb1/wsheddb.htm.

PNW Research Station contact: Theresa Valentine,

tvalentine@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem Processes Program

Partners: Oregon State University, College of Forest

Resources; USDA Forest Service, Wildlife, Fish, Water,

and Air Research (WFWAR)

New ToolS

Forage Resource Evaluation System

for Habitat (FRESH)

Description: The FRESH system quantitatively evaluates the

nutritional quality of habitat for deer and moose. Users input

the biomass of forage for a given area, the concentrations of

digestible energy and protein in the forage, and also specify

the animal’s metabolic requirements. The FRESH system then

calculates the number of animal days that could be provided

by the forage resources, at the specified level of animal

requirements. The system consists of a Web-based application

for stand-level analysis and a geographic information systembased application for landscape-level analysis.

Outcomes: The FRESH system has already been used in

limited research applications. The Tongass National Forest

intends to replace their current deer habitat models with

FRESH, after collecting the necessary field data. Also, the

Sealaska Corporation has been using it to evaluate their

lands and in limited research applications.

How to get it: FRESH is available on a University of Alaska

Anchorage Web site: http://cervid.uaa.alaska.edu/.

PNW Research Station contact: Tricia Wurtz, twurtz@fs.fed.us,

Ecosystem Processes Program

Partner: University of Alaska Anchorage

Alders and willows colonize river flood plains in interior Alaska; spreading invasive plants may affect 

those dynamics.

John Laurence
22

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

K e y F i n d i n g s

Goal 2: 

Assess the status and trends of ecosystems 

and natural resources and their uses

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

➤ Western juniper forest and savanna have expanded in eastern Oregon 

from an estimated 1.5 million acres in the 1930s to about 6.5 million 

acres in 1999, and juniper expansion seems likely to continue. 

➤ A stream’s biological productivity is a result of both local and 

regional factors.

➤ An updated timber inventory for south-central Alaska found 

that 4 million acres, slightly over one-fifth of the region, is forested. 

Of that total, about 1.9 million acres is timberland.

➤ Three tree species vulnerable to sudden oak death, California 

black oak, coast live oak, and tanoak, predominate on about 

1.52 million acres in quarantined California counties.

➤ Sagebrush habitats are declining rapidly across western North 

America, with populations of over 350 associated plant and 

animal species at risk of extirpation.

22
23

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

New inventory shows extent of western 

juniper expansion in eastern Oregon

Wheeler County with 46 percent and Jefferson County with 

34 percent. The expansion of juniper changes the landscape 

not only visually but also in many other ways: the types of 

wildlife habitat available, grazing carrying capacities, and 

amount of precipitation reaching the soil and available to 

other plants.

Contact: David Azuma, dazuma@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory and

Analysis Program

More information: Resource Bulletin PNW-RB-249. The Western 

Juniper Resource of Eastern Oregon. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/

pubs/pnw_rb249.pdf

Western juniper forest and savanna have expanded in 

eastern Oregon from an estimated 1.5 million acres in the 

1930s to about 6.5 million acres in 1999. The area classified as 

juniper forest, defined as tree cover of at least 10 percent, has 

increased from about 420,000 acres in the 1930s to almost 

3.5 million acres. A large increase recorded since a 1987 

inventory is partly a reflection of better inventory methods 

and partly the actual expansion of juniper forest. The new 

inventory methods also found juniper on over 2 million acres 

classified in 1987 as not having 

juniper; most of these acres were 

classified as juniper savanna. Over 

one-third of the savanna acres 

had juniper seedlings, suggesting 

that tree density will increase and 

some savanna lands will become 

juniper forest.

About 52 percent of juniper 

forest and savanna lands are 

privately owned, the Bureau 

of Land Management (BLM) 

manages another 43 percent, 

and the remaining 5 percent is 

on national forests and other 

public lands. In terms of counties, 

Crook County has the greatest 

proportion of its area in juniper 

with over 58 percent, followed by Western juniper forest and savanna cover four times as much area in eastern Oregon as they did in the 1930s.

Tom Iraci

Tom Iraci
24

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Scientists are studying the effects of regional factors such 

as geology, climate, and land use on headwater streams, 

as well as how the condition of these streams influences 

biological productivity downstream.

Tom Iraci

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Scientists map occurrence, risk of invasive shrub

The invasive shrub tamarisk is disrupting riparian and 

aquatic ecosystems along streams in the semiarid Western 

and Southwestern United States. It is dominating the banks 

of some Washington, Oregon, and Idaho streams, potentially 

threatening native plant communities, wildlife habitat, recreation, and municipal water supply. Because of its potential 

to disrupt aquatic ecosystems and stream food web dynamics, 

tamarisk could imperil salmon recovery and management in 

the interior Columbia River basin.

Its recent spread along the streambanks of 

Washington, Oregon, and Idaho has been 

mapped for the first time. Local reports of 

tamarisk infestation were combined with 

a habitat suitability model into one geographic information system map. The map 

is part of the Westwide tamarisk mapping 

work and can be accessed at the Tamarix 

Cooperative Mapping Initiative (T-Map) 

Web site, at http://www.tamarixmap.org. 

The map is the first comprehensive documentation of tamarisk in these states and 

provides the foundation for tamarisk management in the Pacific Northwest. Scientists 

are now working to refine the map with 

high-resolution imagery and additional 

field observations.

Contact: Becky Kerns, bkerns@fs.fed.us,

Western Wildland Environmental Threat

Assessment Center

Maps provide county-wide view of invasive 

plant occurrence and spread

In 2006, scientists with the Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center worked with specialists in 

Crook County to integrate local knowledge and data from 

state, county, and federal sources on the current and historical 

distribution of invasive weeds in Crook County, located in 

central Oregon. Maps of 17 potentially controllable noxious 

weed species were generated, yielding a county-wide view of 

problem locations for invasive plants, for the first time.

Scientists are now overlaying the weed distribution maps with other county-wide data, 

such as rainfall and road locations, to reveal 

possible influences of these attributes on 

the occurrence, distribution, and spread of 

invasive plants in the county. These maps will 

be used by managers as part of their invasive 

plant control programs to help predict the 

movement of invasive plants to new locations 

in the county. The technology developed 

during this project will be shared with others 

to begin building an invasive plants database 

for federal, state, county, and private land 

managers throughout central Oregon.

Contact: Terry Shaw, cgshaw@fs.fed.us,

Western Wildland Environmental Threat

Assessment Center

Partner: Crook County, Oregon

More information: http://gis.co.crook.or.us/

Portals/3/CC_Weeds.pdf.

Bob Conrad, Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station

Tamarisk.
25

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

LIDAR reveals effects of Biscuit Fire on southern 

Oregon’s biodiversity

In 2002, the Biscuit Fire burned nearly half a million acres 

of forest land in southwestern Oregon, making it one of the 

largest wildfires in the state’s history. To evaluate the fire’s 

effects on biodiversity, scientists used LIDAR (light detection and ranging)—a remote-sensing technology that uses 

airborne laser scanning to generate three-dimensional images 

of forests—to study a variety of forest structure and composition attributes often used as biodiversity indicators. LIDAR 

was most accurate, scientists found, for assessing live and 

dead tree density and basal area, which is a measure of a tree’s 

girth. LIDAR data also provided good estimates of conifer 

density. This study is the first time LIDAR has been used 

to estimate postfire tree mortality, especially over such a 

vast expanse.

Contact: Jerry Beatty, jbeatty@fs.fed.us, Western Wildland Environmental

Threat Assessment Center

Partners: National Commission on Science and Sustainability;

USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station

Stream productivity is determined by 

combination of local, regional processes

Scientists continued their work with regional and 

national partners to test and enhance ways to monitor the 

health of aquatic habitats within the Wenatchee River subbasin. Their initial findings suggest that the factors that lead 

to physical differences in streams, like a landscape’s geology, 

climate, and land use, explain only a portion of the stream’s 

biological productivity—measured by invertebrate biomass, 

for example. Thus, a stream’s biological productivity is a result 

of both local and regional factors.

With this knowledge, scientists are now studying what 

effects regional factors like geology, climate, and land use 

have on headwater streams—which are streams closest to the 

water’s source. They also are looking at how the condition 

of these streams, in turn, influences biological productivity 

downstream. By linking downstream fish response to these 

upstream conditions, scientists are helping to better understand how land management practices might influence stream 

food web productivity.

These findings are important to land managers and fish 

conservationists who benefit from increased awareness of the 

connectedness of ecosystems in maintaining fish populations.

Contact: Karl M. Polivka, kpolivka@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and Land

Interactions Program

Partners: USDC Bonneville Power Administration, National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries Service; University of Alaska

Fairbanks; Upper Columbia Regional Technical Team

Forest sector in United States can weather 

changes in climate and society

The forest sector in the United States has faced major 

challenges over the past decade, including forest damage 

from severe fires and major hurricanes, changing social views 

on forest management, and declines in timber harvests on 

federal and state lands. However, a new assessment finds that 

the U.S. forest sector is highly robust and capable of adjusting 

to changes in climate, expectations for private land management, and public timber harvests. Four scenarios for climate 

change were examined, with the model showing how regional 

forest inventories and timber prices might be affected. Possible landowner behavior was projected by using the timber 

returns that might be expected from different management 

regimes and investment choices.

The U.S. forest sector is highly robust and can adjust to changes in forest management policies.

Resource Management and Productivity Program
26

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

The updated forest inventory of south-central Alaska 

found that about 4 million acres are forested, with 

1.9 million acres available for timber harvest.

Ray Koleser

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Methodologies and results will be published in the Resource 

Planning Act Assessment Update. The models have applications in various assessments and are available for other studies. The information on regional forest inventories and timber 

prices is of interest to the public, policymakers, forest industry 

personnel, and others.

Contact: John Mills, jmills@fs.fed.us, Human and Natural Resources

Interactions Program; Darius Adams, darius.adams@oregonstate.edu,

Oregon State University, Department of Forest Resources

Partners: Oregon State University, Department of Forest Science;

USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory

Spruce bark beetle impacts are variable across 

Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula

Over the past 15 years, a spruce bark beetle infestation 

killed many spruce trees in the Kenai Peninsula forests of 

south-central Alaska. A study of the impacts found that 

spruce mortality and related changes in vegetation were quite 

variable across the peninsula. Tree mortality was high in the 

southern Kenai lowland forests, with an 87-percent reduction 

in basal area. With much tree cover gone, southern Kenai 

lowlands also showed the most marked change in vegetation 

composition; most notably, early-successional species such 

as bluejoint grass and fireweed greatly increased their cover. 

The lowest levels of tree mortality were in the Gulf Coast 

and northern Kenai lowland forests, and the related vegetation changes were variable in these forests, with no consistent 

pattern.

The study found no evidence of widespread reductions in tree 

regeneration after the massive spruce bark beetle infestation, 

although some areas will be slow to reforest owing to having 

few surviving trees and no seedlings. The regeneration of 

white spruce and paper birch did not change in response 

to the beetle outbreak or related increases in bluejoint 

grass cover. The findings on vegetation change and tree 

regeneration should be useful for land management planning 

on the Kenai Peninsula.

Contact: Willem van Hees, bvanhees@fs.fed.us, for Tina Boucher

and Bert Mead, Forest Inventory and Analysis Program

Ray Koleser
27

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

The forest inventory was updated for south-central Alaska, which includes 

popular recreation areas such as Turnagain Pass, seen here, as well as 

remote wilderness.

Tom Iraci

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Scientists measure timber resources of 

south-central Alaska

South-central Alaska encompasses the region with 

Kodiak Island, the Cook Inlet Basin, Kenai Peninsula, and 

Gulf of Alaska coastal region east to Icy Bay. The updated 

forest inventory of this 18.5-million-acre region found that 

about 4 million acres, or slightly over one-fifth, is forested. 

About two-thirds of the other 14.5 million acres has shrub, 

herb, and grass plant communities. Species diversity is 

greatest in the closed and open Sitka spruce forests, spruce 

woodlands, closed tall alder shrub type, and low shrub willow 

type. Nearly 1.3 million acres of forest land are reserved from 

timber harvest; reserved areas are primarily on the Kenai 

National Wildlife Refuge, national parks, and the Chugach 

National Forest.

On the 1.9 million acres of timberland, defined as forest 

available for timber harvest and productive enough to regenerate after harvest, the net volume of timber was estimated 

at 5,087 million cubic feet. Of that total volume, 44 percent 

is on state and local government lands, 28 percent on private 

lands, and 27 percent on national forest. Fifty-seven percent 

of timberland acres and 93 percent of growing-stock volume 

is in sawtimber stands, with the Sitka spruce forest type 

predominating. Most timberland in south-central Alaska 

produces less than 50 cubic feet of wood per acre annually, 

considered a low productivity level. Inventory results are used 

in strategic planning, policy analyses, and environmental 

monitoring.

Contact: Sally Campbell, scampbell01@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory

and Analysis Program

Vulnerable species are widespread in 

counties quarantined for sudden oak death

Sudden oak death in the United States was first observed 

in tanoaks in California in 1995. Since then, sudden oak 

death has spread rapidly through many host species, and 

counties in California and one forest site in Oregon have been 

quarantined for the fungus causing the disease. Three of the 

tree species most vulnerable to the disease, California black 

oak, coast live oak, and tanoak, predominate by basal area on

This leaf shows early signs of damage from the sudden oak death fungus, 

which injures and kills many species of oak and other plants.

Tara Barrett

about 1.52 million acres in the California counties quarantined so far: Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, 

Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, 

Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma.

Within those 12 counties, most forests with the vulnerable 

species are privately owned. A wide range of forest structures 

(tree ages, sizes, spacing, and species mix) is found across 

these forest lands. Where tanoak predominates, average 

annual precipitation is estimated at 61 inches and average 

tree basal area at 134 square feet per acre. In contrast, where 

coast live oak predominates, average annual precipitation is 

only 33 inches and average tree basal area is 93 square feet 

per acre. Research is underway on how climate factors affect 

the spread of the disease. Because vulnerable species are a 

large component of forests in the quarantined area, sudden 

oak death could have major effects on the forest ecosystems, 

including wildlife that depend on acorns as a food source.

Contact: Tara Barrett, tbarrett@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory

and Analysis Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Protection,

State and Private Forestry

Lichens as bioindicators show high ammonia 

deposition in parts of Sierra Nevada Range

Chronic, excessive nitrogen deposition is potentially an 

ecological threat to forests of the greater Sierra Nevada in 

California. Scientists have developed a model that uses lichen 

communities as bioindicators for excessive nitrogen deposition in forests, which typically shows up as raised levels of 

ammonia, a nitrogen compound. Ammonia is not monitored 

by existing air quality networks.
28

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Scientists found that sagebrush habitats are declining 

rapidly across western North America, with populations 

of over 350 associated plant and animal species at risk 

of extirpation.

Certain lichen species, known as nitrophytes, thrive in 

high-ammonia environments. Although elevation partially 

confounded the data, scientists found an ammonia deposition 

gradient that correlated with the presence of nitrophilous 

lichens. Lichen communities indicated relatively high 

deposition of ammonia to forests of the southern Sierra 

Nevada, the Modoc Plateau, and forest stands near urban 

areas. Ammonia levels were somewhat elevated in popular 

recreation areas such as Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks. 

Lichen communities from forests in the Tahoe basin, northern 

Sierra Nevada, southern Cascades, and eastern Klamath 

Range were considerably less affected.

These data provide the first comprehensive assessment of 

ammonia deposition patterns in the region. The model will 

be used for continual assessment of excessive ammonia levels, 

which over time can lead to reduced soil fertility, changes in 

the plant community, loss of mycorrhizal fungi, and greater 

susceptibility of trees to other stressors such as drought.

Contact: Sarah Jovan, sjovan@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory and

Analysis Program

Partner: Oregon State University

Innovative method works well to predict forest 

characteristics in southeast Alaska

Artificial neural network (ANN) methods worked well 

as inexpensive, quick methods to predict forest characteristics 

in southeast Alaska. The ANN methods are computational 

tools that can approximate solutions to a problem by finding 

patterns and relationships in a database of examples representative of the problem. In this study, ANN methods were used 

to model three forest characteristics (crown closure, species 

land cover, and tree/size structure) across the landscape. 

The distributions predicted by the ANN methods were as 

accurate as a classification based on interpretation of satellite 

imagery. Landscape-scale maps of forest characteristics help 

forest managers understand the regional context of their decisions in assessing how changes in management might affect 

landscape components. Managers can use ANN methods to 

compare the potential outcomes of management scenarios at 

landscape scales.

Contact: Willem van Hees, bvanhees@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory

and Analysis Program

Partner: University of Leeds, United Kingdom

Mary Rowland

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

A new method tested for mapping forest characteristics in southeast Alaska 

was as accurate as interpretations of satellite imagery.

Tom Iraci
29

GOAL a

D

CCOMPLISHMENTS

ecline in sagebrush habitats puts over 

350 plant and animal species at risk

Regional assessments of the sagebrush ecosystem were 

done in the Great Basin and Wyoming basins over the past 4 

years. Scientists found that sagebrush habitats are declining 

rapidly across western North America, with populations of 

over 350 associated plant and animal species at risk of extirpation. Restoration potential appears limited for populations 

and habitats of the greater sage-grouse; petitions have been 

filed to list the species under the Endangered Species Act, 

although it is not currently listed. With its strong reliance on 

sagebrush habitats, the greater sage-grouse can be considered 

an umbrella species for other sagebrush-dependent species but 

may not be a suitable umbrella for other species of concern in 

arid shrublands. In coming decades, sagebrush could be displaced by cheatgrass, a widespread invasive grass, or replaced 

with pinyon-juniper woodlands across extensive areas of the 

Great Basin.

The ferruginous hawk is one of over 350 animal and plant species at risk as 

sagebrush habitats decline over western North America.

Larry Ridenhour, Bureau of Land Management

Home range tools (HRT) for ArcGIS

Description: The HRT software extends ArcView and

ArcGIS to analyze the home ranges of animals. The tool

can use large data sets and carry out all required home

range analyses within a single software environment. The

HRT software is used by wildlife managers and scientists.

How to get it: Download from the Centre for Northern

Forest Ecosystem Research Web site at http://blue.

lakeheadu.ca/hre/; or contact John Kie, jkie@fs.fed.us,

Managing Disturbance Regimes Program

Partner: Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research

New Tool

Results from the Great Basin assessment have been used 

in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest plan revision 

in Nevada and in Bureau of Land Management field 

offices throughout the Great Basin. Also, the assessment’s 

methods of landscape analysis were used for a new sagebrush 

conservation assessment and strategy encompassing nearly 

40 million acres in Colorado. The findings on greater sagegrouse as a potential umbrella species are being used in 

development of a range-wide conservation strategy for this 

species.

Contact: Michael J. Wisdom, mwisdom@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station; USDI

Bureau of Land Management, Geological Survey

More information: Book, Habitat Threats in the Sagebrush Ecosystem: 

Methods of Regional Assessment and Applications in the Great Basin.

Wisdom, M.J.; Rowland, M.M.; Suring, L.H., eds. 2005. Lawrence, KS:

Alliance Communications Group

Walter Foss
30

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

➤ An analysis of 12 Western States estimated that 

fuel reduction treatments on 23 million acres of 

timberland could generate 12 million oven-dry 

tons of biomass annually; the Western Governors 

Association used this analysis in developing a 

regional biomass energy program.

➤ Climate change may result in significant changes 

in California ecosystems, annual acres burned in 

the state, and biomass consumed.

➤ Climate change may lead to changed fire behavior 

in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, with the 

number of fast-spreading fires in grass and brush 

fuel types increasing several-fold.

➤ The California Fire Economics Simulator version 

2 improves the analysis of initial attack resource 

needs, with more realistic assessment of initialattack success under worse-than-average 

conditions. 

➤ A software application using Ecosystem Management Decision Support was developed to help 

establish priorities for allocating the national 

budget for fuel treatment.

➤ The Fuel Characteristic Classification System was 

formally released in 2006 and is being used in 

national and forest-level applications.

➤ The BlueSky smoke modeling system shows 

promise for regional application, after evaluation 

of a Westwide field trial led to several improvements in BlueSky’s accuracy.

➤ The Pacific Northwest is generally well positioned 

to continue as a world leader in wood production; 

challenges faced include forest fragmentation, 

parcelization, and increasing international 

competition.

➤ Specific changes could improve the performance 

of adaptive management in the Northwest Forest 

Plan.

Goal 3:

Develop science-based options for informed management

K e y F i n d i n g s

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

30
31

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

➤	 Certain highly productive soil types in Washington 

were found to be less sensitive to soil disturbance 

than previously thought and are suitable for intensive management.

➤	 Seed zones for Douglas-fir were revised in light 

of new findings on cold-hardiness and frost 

adaptations in the species.

➤	 Thinning and underplanting can promote the 

development of old-growth characteristics in 

young, Douglas-fir-dominated forests.

➤	 Future demand for timber from Alaska national 

forests could range from 48 to 370 million board 

feet of logs annually, depending on the demand 

for lumber products and other factors.

➤	 In southeast Alaska, streams in wetland-dominated 

watersheds have higher concentrations of 

dissolved organic carbon than streams in 

watersheds not dominated by wetlands.

➤	 Public support for the management of rare and 

little-known species is more likely if scientists and 

managers clarify the rationale for and impacts of 

policies, are specific about the context for actions, 

outline specific actions to be taken, and identify 

when and where policies will be employed.

➤	 If escaped Atlantic salmon establish breeding 

populations in Pacific Northwest streams, they 

could pose a significant threat to native salmon.

➤	 Juvenile and adult coho salmon benefit from 

habitat in intermittent streams in the Oregon 

Coast Range, with these streams more important 

than previously thought.

➤	 An improved model better identifies the sites 

in western Oregon most likely to be sources of 

debris flows and landslides, analyzes the likelihood 

of these events reaching fishbearing streams, and 

estimates the amount of wood that would be 

carried into the stream channel.

31
32

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Westwide fuel reduction could generate 

12 million tons of biomass annually

An analysis of 12 Western States estimated that fuel 

reduction treatments on 23 million acres of timberland could 

generate 12 million oven-dry tons of biomass annually, about 

25 percent of current roundwood removals in those states. 

The study analyzed the timberland acres currently at high 

risk for stand-replacement fire and used a treatment scenario 

of 0.5 million acres per year. The analysis found thinnings 

that maintain an uneven-aged stand structure would meet 

hazard-reduction targets on more acres while simultaneously 

providing revenues to cover harvest costs, than would thinnings that maintain an even-aged structure.

The Western Governors Association (WGA) used the biomass analysis in their January 2006 report, “Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative: Biomass Task Force Report.” In June 

2006 the WGA adopted a policy 

resolution, based on the report’s 

recommendations, to develop an 

additional 30,000 megawatts of 

clean energy by 2015. The Western Regional Biomass Energy 

Program, part of the WGA 

clean energy initiative, promotes 

the increased use of bioenergy 

and biobased products through 

the conversion of biomass residuals from forest health projects 

and commercial agriculture.

Contact: Jamie Barbour, jbarbour01@

fs.fed.us, Focused Science Delivery

Program

Partners: USDA Forest Service,

Forest Products Laboratory, Northern

Research Station, Rocky Mountain

Research Station

An analysis of 12 Western States found thinnings that 

maintain an uneven-aged stand structure would meet 

hazard-reduction targets on more acres while also 

providing revenues to cover harvesting costs.

Twelve million tons of biomass could be generated annually from Western forests at high fire risk because of 

overstocking and insect outbreaks.

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Tom Iraci
33

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Small-scale power plants not profitable 

in southern Oregon forests at current 

electricity prices

Small trees and other low-value wood are being thinned 

from western forests to reduce fuels and fire hazard, but 

the work is expensive. Scientists examined the economic 

feasibility of using portable, small-scale power plants such 

as the BioMax to generate electricity from low-value wood at 

forest landings in southern Oregon. The BioMax gasification 

plant, manufactured by the Community Power Corporation 

of Littleton, Colorado, uses biomass such as forest 

thinnings to produce power. It could be used at 

forest landings, eliminating the cost of hauling 

wood to a centrally located processing plant.

The analysis found, however, that at current 

electricity prices in Oregon, and assuming a 23-

percent pre-tax nominal return on invested capital, 

it would not be economical to operate either a 

100-kilowatt or 1,000-kilowatt gasification plant 

at a forest landing without a subsidy or tax credit, 

even if fuel were delivered at no cost. Such subsidies would only make sense if the unmerchantable 

wood otherwise had to be disposed of at a higher 

cost. If it were possible to sell merchantable logs 

removed in the forest health treatments for an 

average of $175 per thousand board feet, in addition to generating power from low-value wood, 

then most acres on gentle slopes in southern 

Oregon could be treated and provide net operating 

surpluses. Most treatments on steep slopes would 

still have operating deficits.

The analysis found that for all 15 Western States, power 

generation from biomass could potentially produce 2 to 

14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, if 

merchantable timber is sold separately.

Contact: Jeremy Fried, jsfried@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory and

Analysis Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory

More information: General Technical Report FPL-GTR-157. Fuel to Burn: 

Economics of Converting Forest Thinnings to Energy Using BioMax in 

Southern Oregon. http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fpl_gtr157.pdf

Merchantable trees, not small-diameter wood, 

drive the economic feasibility of fuel treatment 

options in southern Oregon

The economics of proposed fuel-reduction projects are 

critical for getting the work done. Fuel treatments in Western 

States can potentially yield large amounts of woody biomass, 

which typically has low commercial value. Forest Inventory 

and Analysis (FIA) BioSum is a tool that can be used to 

assess the financial feasibility of fuel treatments, showing 

where “hot spots” of biomass supply are and the kinds of 

materials, both submerchantable and merchantable, that 

could be reasonably expected to flow from landscape-scale 

fuel treatments.

FIA BioSum was used to assess fuel treatment options for 

a 22-million-acre forested landscape that includes parts of 

northern California, southwest Oregon, and eastern slopes of 

the Cascade Range in both states, an area dominated by high 

fire hazard. The analysis found that under the most aggressive 

scenarios, enough biomass would be produced to supply 

four 50-megawatt power plants for decades. Under the most 

conservative scenarios (for example, treatment minimizes 

merchantable yield and only treats acres that could generate 

a positive net revenue despite this constraint), biomass supply 

would be far more limited. The merchantable wood from 

The FIA BioSum analytical tool found that in southern Oregon, the merchantable trees would yield 

90 percent of the total value recovered in fuel reduction projects.

treatments would yield 90 percent of the total value recovered, 

and scenarios that minimized merchantable yield fared poorly 

on a net revenue basis.

Thus, centralized, biomass electricity generation does offer an 

outlet for the small-diameter wood but does not drive feasibility—that role is played by the larger, merchantable trees 

removed in fuel treatments. FIA BioSum offers objective 

analysis of biomass options, allowing policymakers, managers, communities, and investors to discuss the outcomes and 

tradeoffs of policy choices.

Contact: Jeremy Fried, jsfried@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory and

Analysis Program

More information: Science Update 7. Reducing Fire Hazard: Balancing 

Costs and Outcomes. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/science-update-7.pdf

Cofiring biomass and coal in Fairbanks area is 

technically feasible, but supply is insufficient

Work is underway to reduce fuel loads and create defensible space around buildings on about 5,000 acres in the 

Fairbanks North Star Borough, which is Alaska’s secondlargest metropolitan area with a borough population of about 

86,000 people. Scientists examined the feasibility of mixing 

the woody biomass with coal in the area’s power plants. The 

potential benefits of cofiring coal and wood include improved 

John Laurence
34

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

air quality, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and local 

employment opportunities. The analysis found, however, that 

the biomass from defensible-space work would not be enough 

to replace 10 percent of the coal required by the area’s four 

electric power plants. Long-term cofiring operations would 

require additional biomass sources, which could possibly 

come from logging slash, sawmill wastes, and municipal 

wastes. Although cofiring biomass and coal at all four power 

plants is not a viable near-term option, short-term tests could 

be tried at a single plant. Important issues for cofiring include 

wood chip uniformity and quality, fuel mixing procedures, 

transportation and wood chip processing costs, infrastructure 

requirements, and long-term biomass supply. Natural resource 

managers and power plant managers from the borough can 

use the feasibility study in their planning.

Contact: David L. Nicholls, dlnicholls@fs.fed.us, Human and Natural

Resources Interactions Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry, Alaska Region

More information: Research Note PNW-RN-551. Wood and Coal Cofiring 

in Interior Alaska: Utilizing Woody Biomass From Wildland Defensible-Space 

Fire Treatments and Other Sources. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_

rn551.pdf

Climate change may cause extensive change in California ecosystems, including grasslands, shrublands, 

forests, and alpine meadows.

Climate change may cause significant 

changes in California ecosystems

The potential effects of climate change on California 

ecosystems were analyzed with the dynamic vegetation model 

MC1, by using three updated climate change scenarios. 

Results showed that climate change may cause extensive 

changes in ecosystems, carbon cycles, and fire seasons 

throughout the state. Alpine ecosystems may be greatly 

reduced from their current area. Shrublands and woodlands 

may become forests under the wetter scenario, or grasslands 

under the two dry scenarios.

The annual area burned in California increased under all 

three scenarios, ranging from 9 to 15 percent above the 

Climate change may result in more 

fast-spreading fires in California’s Sierra 

 Nevada foothills

California has diverse climates and ecosystems, ranging 

from snow-capped Mount Whitney to Death Valley, and 

coastal redwoods to Sonoran desert. Scientists worked across 

several disciplines to understand how climate change’s effects 

on rain, snow, wind, and vegetation may change fire behavior 

in different regions of California, and how that in turn affects 

the need for firefighting resources.

The scientists found that climate change’s 

effects on fire behavior will differ for California’s diverse regions. In the Sierra Nevada 

foothills, where grass and brush fuel types 

dominate, the number of fast-spreading fires 

is projected to increase several-fold. The 

number of large fires is also projected to rise 

in the Santa Clara region around San Francisco Bay. Very little change in fire behavior 

is expected on California’s wetter, forested 

northern coast. Regions where fire spread 

and intensity are predicted to increase the 

most—grasslands, chaparral, and oak woodlands—are the same areas where California’s 

population, already at 36 million, is growing 

the fastest.

The study found, however, that 10- to 

20-percent increases of initial attack forces 

would compensate for climate-related 

historical norm by the end of the 21st century. Under the 

wetter scenario, in which more vegetation would grow, 

annual biomass burned was projected to be about 18 percent 

greater than the historical norm. Even with more biomass 

burning, enough vegetation would grow under the wetter 

scenario that California would become a carbon sink (more 

carbon stored than released) of about 354 million tons total, 

by the end of the 21st century. Under the drier scenarios, in 

which less vegetation would grow, annual biomass burned 

was projected to be slightly less than the historical norm, and 

California would become a carbon source, losing carbon to 

the atmosphere.

The MC1 study was part of the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research program, and it was 

part of the first biennial report on the potential effects of 

global warming on the California economy. The full report 

was a multi-institution collaboration. Currently, the Station’s 

lead scientist on this research serves on a panel advising the 

governor of California on climate change.

Contacts: James M. Lenihan, jlenihan@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: California Energy Commission, Scripps Oceanographic Institute

More information: Science Findings 75. Climate Change and California: 

Potential Implications for Vegetation, Carbon, and Fire. http://www.fs.fed.

us/pnw/sciencef/scifi75.pdf.

Tom Iraci
35

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Scientists worked across several disciplines to understand how 

climate change’s effects on rain, snow, wind, and vegetation 

may change fire behavior in different regions of California.

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

A new analytical tool helps wildland firefighting agencies determine initial 

attack resource needs for worse-than-average conditions.

changes in weather and fire behavior. (Climate change would 

likely cause changes in vegetation and hence, fuels, also; these 

factors were not part of this study.) Study results were used 

in the California Energy Commission’s Governor’s Science 

Report, which is the scientific base for the state’s climate 

change action plan.

Contact: Jeremy Fried, jsfried@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory and

Analysis Program

Partners: ATMOS Research and Consulting; Lawrence Berkeley

National Laboratory, Center for Isotope Geochemistry; Universidad

Rey Juan Carlos; University of California Berkeley

More information: Science Findings 74. Fanning the Flames: Climate 

Change Stacks Odds Against Fire Suppression. http://www.fs.fed.us./

pnw/sciencef/scifi74.pdf.

New approach to initial attack needs has

more realistic treatment of extreme conditions

Wildland firefighting agencies have long sought 

analytical tools that can help them determine initial attack 

resource needs. The California Fire Economics Simulator 

version 2 (CFES2) provides a more realistic treatment of 

issues such as firefighting tactics, dispatch policies, fire 

behavior, and fireline production rates. Previous simulators 

evaluated scenarios based on average conditions, and thus 

failed to represent clustered fire starts such as lightning 

storms, arson, or severe fire weather. With CFES2, analysts 

can easily predict the outcomes for worse-than-average 

conditions—for example, assessing initial attack effectiveness 

in the 1-out-of-10-years worst case.

The California Department of Forestry (CDF) used CFES2 

to analyze initial attack effectiveness under a range of current 

and potential future scenarios in the central Sierra Nevada 

foothills. One significant finding was that if wildland firefighting resources are diverted to protecting homes and other 

buildings, more wildland fires escape initial attack. If local 

fire departments can handle structure protection needs during 

wildland fires, the CFES2 analysis found statistically significant drops in escaped wildland fires, owing to faster initiation 

of fire containment work such as building fireline. The CDF 

has been using CFES2 for several years, and other states (for 

example, Montana) and agencies (Bureau of Land Management) are now adopting or evaluating the system.

Contact: Jeremy Fried, jsfried@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory and

Analysis Program

Partners: California Department of Forestry; University of

California Berkeley

More information: The manual and software are publicly available

at http://jfried.tullyfried.net/programs/cfes/cfes2.htm

Tom Iraci

Tom Iraci
30

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

➤ An analysis of 12 Western States estimated that 

fuel reduction treatments on 23 million acres of 

timberland could generate 12 million oven-dry 

tons of biomass annually; the Western Governors 

Association used this analysis in developing a 

regional biomass energy program.

➤ Climate change may result in significant changes 

in California ecosystems, annual acres burned in 

the state, and biomass consumed.

➤ Climate change may lead to changed fire behavior 

in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, with the 

number of fast-spreading fires in grass and brush 

fuel types increasing several-fold.

➤ The California Fire Economics Simulator version 

2 improves the analysis of initial attack resource 

needs, with more realistic assessment of initialattack success under worse-than-average 

conditions. 

➤ A software application using Ecosystem Management Decision Support was developed to help 

establish priorities for allocating the national 

budget for fuel treatment.

➤ The Fuel Characteristic Classification System was 

formally released in 2006 and is being used in 

national and forest-level applications.

➤ The BlueSky smoke modeling system shows 

promise for regional application, after evaluation 

of a Westwide field trial led to several improvements in BlueSky’s accuracy.

➤ The Pacific Northwest is generally well positioned 

to continue as a world leader in wood production; 

challenges faced include forest fragmentation, 

parcelization, and increasing international 

competition.

➤ Specific changes could improve the performance 

of adaptive management in the Northwest Forest 

Plan.

Goal 3:

Develop science-based options for informed management

K e y F i n d i n g s

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

30
31

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

➤	 Certain highly productive soil types in Washington 

were found to be less sensitive to soil disturbance 

than previously thought and are suitable for intensive management.

➤	 Seed zones for Douglas-fir were revised in light 

of new findings on cold-hardiness and frost 

adaptations in the species.

➤	 Thinning and underplanting can promote the 

development of old-growth characteristics in 

young, Douglas-fir-dominated forests.

➤	 Future demand for timber from Alaska national 

forests could range from 48 to 370 million board 

feet of logs annually, depending on the demand 

for lumber products and other factors.

➤	 In southeast Alaska, streams in wetland-dominated 

watersheds have higher concentrations of 

dissolved organic carbon than streams in 

watersheds not dominated by wetlands.

➤	 Public support for the management of rare and 

little-known species is more likely if scientists and 

managers clarify the rationale for and impacts of 

policies, are specific about the context for actions, 

outline specific actions to be taken, and identify 

when and where policies will be employed.

➤	 If escaped Atlantic salmon establish breeding 

populations in Pacific Northwest streams, they 

could pose a significant threat to native salmon.

➤	 Juvenile and adult coho salmon benefit from 

habitat in intermittent streams in the Oregon 

Coast Range, with these streams more important 

than previously thought.

➤	 An improved model better identifies the sites 

in western Oregon most likely to be sources of 

debris flows and landslides, analyzes the likelihood 

of these events reaching fishbearing streams, and 

estimates the amount of wood that would be 

carried into the stream channel.

31
32

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Westwide fuel reduction could generate 

12 million tons of biomass annually

An analysis of 12 Western States estimated that fuel 

reduction treatments on 23 million acres of timberland could 

generate 12 million oven-dry tons of biomass annually, about 

25 percent of current roundwood removals in those states. 

The study analyzed the timberland acres currently at high 

risk for stand-replacement fire and used a treatment scenario 

of 0.5 million acres per year. The analysis found thinnings 

that maintain an uneven-aged stand structure would meet 

hazard-reduction targets on more acres while simultaneously 

providing revenues to cover harvest costs, than would thinnings that maintain an even-aged structure.

The Western Governors Association (WGA) used the biomass analysis in their January 2006 report, “Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative: Biomass Task Force Report.” In June 

2006 the WGA adopted a policy 

resolution, based on the report’s 

recommendations, to develop an 

additional 30,000 megawatts of 

clean energy by 2015. The Western Regional Biomass Energy 

Program, part of the WGA 

clean energy initiative, promotes 

the increased use of bioenergy 

and biobased products through 

the conversion of biomass residuals from forest health projects 

and commercial agriculture.

Contact: Jamie Barbour, jbarbour01@

fs.fed.us, Focused Science Delivery

Program

Partners: USDA Forest Service,

Forest Products Laboratory, Northern

Research Station, Rocky Mountain

Research Station

An analysis of 12 Western States found thinnings that 

maintain an uneven-aged stand structure would meet 

hazard-reduction targets on more acres while also 

providing revenues to cover harvesting costs.

Twelve million tons of biomass could be generated annually from Western forests at high fire risk because of 

overstocking and insect outbreaks.

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Tom Iraci
33

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Small-scale power plants not profitable 

in southern Oregon forests at current 

electricity prices

Small trees and other low-value wood are being thinned 

from western forests to reduce fuels and fire hazard, but 

the work is expensive. Scientists examined the economic 

feasibility of using portable, small-scale power plants such 

as the BioMax to generate electricity from low-value wood at 

forest landings in southern Oregon. The BioMax gasification 

plant, manufactured by the Community Power Corporation 

of Littleton, Colorado, uses biomass such as forest 

thinnings to produce power. It could be used at 

forest landings, eliminating the cost of hauling 

wood to a centrally located processing plant.

The analysis found, however, that at current 

electricity prices in Oregon, and assuming a 23-

percent pre-tax nominal return on invested capital, 

it would not be economical to operate either a 

100-kilowatt or 1,000-kilowatt gasification plant 

at a forest landing without a subsidy or tax credit, 

even if fuel were delivered at no cost. Such subsidies would only make sense if the unmerchantable 

wood otherwise had to be disposed of at a higher 

cost. If it were possible to sell merchantable logs 

removed in the forest health treatments for an 

average of $175 per thousand board feet, in addition to generating power from low-value wood, 

then most acres on gentle slopes in southern 

Oregon could be treated and provide net operating 

surpluses. Most treatments on steep slopes would 

still have operating deficits.

The analysis found that for all 15 Western States, power 

generation from biomass could potentially produce 2 to 

14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, if 

merchantable timber is sold separately.

Contact: Jeremy Fried, jsfried@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory and

Analysis Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory

More information: General Technical Report FPL-GTR-157. Fuel to Burn: 

Economics of Converting Forest Thinnings to Energy Using BioMax in 

Southern Oregon. http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fpl_gtr157.pdf

Merchantable trees, not small-diameter wood, 

drive the economic feasibility of fuel treatment 

options in southern Oregon

The economics of proposed fuel-reduction projects are 

critical for getting the work done. Fuel treatments in Western 

States can potentially yield large amounts of woody biomass, 

which typically has low commercial value. Forest Inventory 

and Analysis (FIA) BioSum is a tool that can be used to 

assess the financial feasibility of fuel treatments, showing 

where “hot spots” of biomass supply are and the kinds of 

materials, both submerchantable and merchantable, that 

could be reasonably expected to flow from landscape-scale 

fuel treatments.

FIA BioSum was used to assess fuel treatment options for 

a 22-million-acre forested landscape that includes parts of 

northern California, southwest Oregon, and eastern slopes of 

the Cascade Range in both states, an area dominated by high 

fire hazard. The analysis found that under the most aggressive 

scenarios, enough biomass would be produced to supply 

four 50-megawatt power plants for decades. Under the most 

conservative scenarios (for example, treatment minimizes 

merchantable yield and only treats acres that could generate 

a positive net revenue despite this constraint), biomass supply 

would be far more limited. The merchantable wood from 

The FIA BioSum analytical tool found that in southern Oregon, the merchantable trees would yield 

90 percent of the total value recovered in fuel reduction projects.

treatments would yield 90 percent of the total value recovered, 

and scenarios that minimized merchantable yield fared poorly 

on a net revenue basis.

Thus, centralized, biomass electricity generation does offer an 

outlet for the small-diameter wood but does not drive feasibility—that role is played by the larger, merchantable trees 

removed in fuel treatments. FIA BioSum offers objective 

analysis of biomass options, allowing policymakers, managers, communities, and investors to discuss the outcomes and 

tradeoffs of policy choices.

Contact: Jeremy Fried, jsfried@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory and

Analysis Program

More information: Science Update 7. Reducing Fire Hazard: Balancing 

Costs and Outcomes. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/science-update-7.pdf

Cofiring biomass and coal in Fairbanks area is 

technically feasible, but supply is insufficient

Work is underway to reduce fuel loads and create defensible space around buildings on about 5,000 acres in the 

Fairbanks North Star Borough, which is Alaska’s secondlargest metropolitan area with a borough population of about 

86,000 people. Scientists examined the feasibility of mixing 

the woody biomass with coal in the area’s power plants. The 

potential benefits of cofiring coal and wood include improved 

John Laurence
34

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

air quality, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and local 

employment opportunities. The analysis found, however, that 

the biomass from defensible-space work would not be enough 

to replace 10 percent of the coal required by the area’s four 

electric power plants. Long-term cofiring operations would 

require additional biomass sources, which could possibly 

come from logging slash, sawmill wastes, and municipal 

wastes. Although cofiring biomass and coal at all four power 

plants is not a viable near-term option, short-term tests could 

be tried at a single plant. Important issues for cofiring include 

wood chip uniformity and quality, fuel mixing procedures, 

transportation and wood chip processing costs, infrastructure 

requirements, and long-term biomass supply. Natural resource 

managers and power plant managers from the borough can 

use the feasibility study in their planning.

Contact: David L. Nicholls, dlnicholls@fs.fed.us, Human and Natural

Resources Interactions Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry, Alaska Region

More information: Research Note PNW-RN-551. Wood and Coal Cofiring 

in Interior Alaska: Utilizing Woody Biomass From Wildland Defensible-Space 

Fire Treatments and Other Sources. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_

rn551.pdf

Climate change may cause extensive change in California ecosystems, including grasslands, shrublands, 

forests, and alpine meadows.

Climate change may cause significant 

changes in California ecosystems

The potential effects of climate change on California 

ecosystems were analyzed with the dynamic vegetation model 

MC1, by using three updated climate change scenarios. 

Results showed that climate change may cause extensive 

changes in ecosystems, carbon cycles, and fire seasons 

throughout the state. Alpine ecosystems may be greatly 

reduced from their current area. Shrublands and woodlands 

may become forests under the wetter scenario, or grasslands 

under the two dry scenarios.

The annual area burned in California increased under all 

three scenarios, ranging from 9 to 15 percent above the 

Climate change may result in more 

fast-spreading fires in California’s Sierra 

 Nevada foothills

California has diverse climates and ecosystems, ranging 

from snow-capped Mount Whitney to Death Valley, and 

coastal redwoods to Sonoran desert. Scientists worked across 

several disciplines to understand how climate change’s effects 

on rain, snow, wind, and vegetation may change fire behavior 

in different regions of California, and how that in turn affects 

the need for firefighting resources.

The scientists found that climate change’s 

effects on fire behavior will differ for California’s diverse regions. In the Sierra Nevada 

foothills, where grass and brush fuel types 

dominate, the number of fast-spreading fires 

is projected to increase several-fold. The 

number of large fires is also projected to rise 

in the Santa Clara region around San Francisco Bay. Very little change in fire behavior 

is expected on California’s wetter, forested 

northern coast. Regions where fire spread 

and intensity are predicted to increase the 

most—grasslands, chaparral, and oak woodlands—are the same areas where California’s 

population, already at 36 million, is growing 

the fastest.

The study found, however, that 10- to 

20-percent increases of initial attack forces 

would compensate for climate-related 

historical norm by the end of the 21st century. Under the 

wetter scenario, in which more vegetation would grow, 

annual biomass burned was projected to be about 18 percent 

greater than the historical norm. Even with more biomass 

burning, enough vegetation would grow under the wetter 

scenario that California would become a carbon sink (more 

carbon stored than released) of about 354 million tons total, 

by the end of the 21st century. Under the drier scenarios, in 

which less vegetation would grow, annual biomass burned 

was projected to be slightly less than the historical norm, and 

California would become a carbon source, losing carbon to 

the atmosphere.

The MC1 study was part of the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research program, and it was 

part of the first biennial report on the potential effects of 

global warming on the California economy. The full report 

was a multi-institution collaboration. Currently, the Station’s 

lead scientist on this research serves on a panel advising the 

governor of California on climate change.

Contacts: James M. Lenihan, jlenihan@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: California Energy Commission, Scripps Oceanographic Institute

More information: Science Findings 75. Climate Change and California: 

Potential Implications for Vegetation, Carbon, and Fire. http://www.fs.fed.

us/pnw/sciencef/scifi75.pdf.

Tom Iraci
35

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Scientists worked across several disciplines to understand how 

climate change’s effects on rain, snow, wind, and vegetation 

may change fire behavior in different regions of California.

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

A new analytical tool helps wildland firefighting agencies determine initial 

attack resource needs for worse-than-average conditions.

changes in weather and fire behavior. (Climate change would 

likely cause changes in vegetation and hence, fuels, also; these 

factors were not part of this study.) Study results were used 

in the California Energy Commission’s Governor’s Science 

Report, which is the scientific base for the state’s climate 

change action plan.

Contact: Jeremy Fried, jsfried@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory and

Analysis Program

Partners: ATMOS Research and Consulting; Lawrence Berkeley

National Laboratory, Center for Isotope Geochemistry; Universidad

Rey Juan Carlos; University of California Berkeley

More information: Science Findings 74. Fanning the Flames: Climate 

Change Stacks Odds Against Fire Suppression. http://www.fs.fed.us./

pnw/sciencef/scifi74.pdf.

New approach to initial attack needs has

more realistic treatment of extreme conditions

Wildland firefighting agencies have long sought 

analytical tools that can help them determine initial attack 

resource needs. The California Fire Economics Simulator 

version 2 (CFES2) provides a more realistic treatment of 

issues such as firefighting tactics, dispatch policies, fire 

behavior, and fireline production rates. Previous simulators 

evaluated scenarios based on average conditions, and thus 

failed to represent clustered fire starts such as lightning 

storms, arson, or severe fire weather. With CFES2, analysts 

can easily predict the outcomes for worse-than-average 

conditions—for example, assessing initial attack effectiveness 

in the 1-out-of-10-years worst case.

The California Department of Forestry (CDF) used CFES2 

to analyze initial attack effectiveness under a range of current 

and potential future scenarios in the central Sierra Nevada 

foothills. One significant finding was that if wildland firefighting resources are diverted to protecting homes and other 

buildings, more wildland fires escape initial attack. If local 

fire departments can handle structure protection needs during 

wildland fires, the CFES2 analysis found statistically significant drops in escaped wildland fires, owing to faster initiation 

of fire containment work such as building fireline. The CDF 

has been using CFES2 for several years, and other states (for 

example, Montana) and agencies (Bureau of Land Management) are now adopting or evaluating the system.

Contact: Jeremy Fried, jsfried@fs.fed.us, Forest Inventory and

Analysis Program

Partners: California Department of Forestry; University of

California Berkeley

More information: The manual and software are publicly available

at http://jfried.tullyfried.net/programs/cfes/cfes2.htm

Tom Iraci

Tom Iraci
36

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Funding priorities to address the emerging threat of 

intense wildfires throughout the United States are largely 

determined from scientific data provided by fire management personnel. A software application was developed with 

the Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) 

system to evaluate wildfire potential, and establish priorities 

for fuel treatments over broad landscapes. Logic is used to 

evaluate wildfire potential in terms of forest cover conditions 

derived from LANDFIRE data, fire behavior characteristics 

derived from advanced fire models, and climate variables 

derived from the USDC National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. The application also has a simple example of 

how additional logistical considerations, such as proximity to 

populated areas, can easily be factored into the decision process. The application was developed for one U.S. Geological 

Survey map zone but is easily extendable to the entire Nation. 

Importantly, it effectively demonstrates how decision-support systems can deliver rational, transparent solutions that 

are readily usable by senior managers for complex strategic 

problems.

The project team is now adapting the application to support 

the national budget allocation process for fuels treatment for 

both the USDA Forest Service and the USDI Bureau of Land 

Management. Oversight agencies such as the Government 

Accounting Office are examining the application for possible 

use in the interagency Fire Planning Analysis program.

Contact: Keith M. Reynolds; kreynolds@fs.fed.us, Communications

and Applications Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station

More information: General Technical Report PNW-GTR-688.

Decision Support for Forest Fuel Evaluation and Fuel Treatment 

Planning. Proceedings of the IUFRO Conference on sustainable

forestry in theory and practice.

Decision-support technology aids decisions 

on allocation of national budget for fuel 

treatment

The Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) is based on years of 

research into fuel types and fuel consumption.

Fuel classification tool is used in a national

inventory of fire emissions

The Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) 

enables land managers, prescribed fire regulators, and 

scientists to classify fuelbeds by their capacity to consume 

fuels and carry fire and to create customized fuelbeds when 

needed. The FCCS system was formally released in 2006 

with a user’s manual and tutorial (http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/

fera/fccs/). Using remotely sensed data, scientists classified 

the fuelbeds of the coterminous United States into the 115 

FCCS fuel types at a 0.6-mile resolution. The data-rich fuels 

map can be used for fire-effects modeling at the regional 

to national scale, including air quality modeling to meet 

national standards under the Clean Air Act and Regional 

Haze Rule. The Environmental Protection Agency is using 

FCCS outputs in a national inventory of wildland fire 

emissions.

The FCCS is also being used at regional and forest-level 

scales. In the Pacific Northwest, scientists and managers have 

classified fuelbeds on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Dave Peter

Managing Disturbance Regimes Program
37

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Fire Scenario Builder (FSB)

Description: Statistical models such as the Fire Scenario

Builder (FSB) can predict annual or seasonal averages of

fire extent at scales from watersheds to ecoregions, but

both fire forecasting and estimation of fire effects—such

as smoke production, carbon release, and air-quality

reduction—require daily or hourly time steps to be

useful. The FSB uses a simultaneous weighting of known

influences on fire occurrence to create mapped distributions of fire probabilities, including both the likelihood

of a fire occurring and the probabilistic distribution of

fire sizes. The FSB model then produces daily, weekly,

or monthly estimates of fire-occurrence probability and

fire sizes.

Outcomes: The FSB provides a realistic means for simulating future fire probabilistically at time scales relevant

for air-quality and ecosystem-dynamics modeling. It is

currently being used with the BlueSky smoke modeling

framework, and provides necessary inputs to run current fuel consumption and emission production models

such as Consume 3.0 and the Fire Emissions Production

Simulator.

How to get it: Contact Don McKenzie, donaldmckenzie

@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance Regimes Program

New Tool Forest at an 82-foot resolution, to be used in forest planning 

and fire-effects modeling. Similar work is underway in the 

Deschutes National Forest and eastern Oregon. The FCCS 

has been taught at 3 regional fuels workshops and 12 regional 

and national training sessions and is being taught at the University of Idaho.

Contact: Roger Ottmar, rottmar@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: Alaska Fire Service; Carolina Environmental Program; Joint Fire

Sciences Program; National Center for Atmospheric Research; National

Fire Plan; The Nature Conservancy; USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region and Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forests; USDC National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries Service; USDI Bureau

of Land Management, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service;

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; University of Washington; Washington State University; Western Regional Air Partnership

Accuracy of BlueSky smoke forecasting 

system improves

The BlueSky smoke modeling system forecasts smoke 

concentrations and trajectories, including the cumulative 

effects of smoke from multiple wildfires or prescribed fires, 

long-distance smoke movements, and smoke movement 

over a 24- to 48-hour period. Its forecasts are turned into 

easy-to-read maps through the rapid access information 

system (RAINS), a modification of an Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) product. The BlueSkyRAINS West 

demonstration project was a Westwide field trial conducted 

by the USDA Forest Service, EPA, and the Department 

of the Interior. Eleven Western States were included: 

Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, 

Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Results showed where BlueSky needed to improve, and 

changes made in response have improved BlueSky’s accuracy. 

Other progress from the field trial included development 

of the first Westwide smoke weather forecast, better 

understanding of user needs in smoke forecasting, and close 

interagency cooperation through the regional fire consortia. 

Through the demonstration project and a smaller field trial 

in the Southeast, scientists tested BlueSky’s accuracy on 

two large wildfires in the West and four prescribed burns 

in Southeastern ecosystem types. Overall, BlueSky shows 

promise for regional use as a smoke forecasting and air 

quality planning tool. The regional use and refinement of 

BlueSky will continue through the regional fire consortia, 

with potential for eventual use as a national, interagency 

tool for air quality planning.

Contact: Sim Larkin, larkin@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: Joint Fire Science Program; Sonoma Technologies;

USDA Forest Service, Northern and Pacific Northwest Regions,

Rocky Mountain Research Station; U.S. Department of the Interior;

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

More information: Science Update 14. A Clear Picture of Smoke: 

BlueSky Smoke Forecasting. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/

science-update-14.pdf.

Methodology helps predict how fuel treatments 

affect wildfire risk

In the Western United States, many models and a wealth 

of literature are available to help land managers classify a 

landscape’s wildfire risk. Few frameworks and tools exist, 

however, for helping managers measure how fuel treatments 

actually affect wildfire risk.

Scientists developed a methodology that applies quantitative 

and probabilistic risk assessments to wildfire risk management 

and fuels treatment planning. They tested this methodology 

on a large wildland-urban interface in eastern Oregon by using 

several hypothetical scenarios. Initial results suggest that the 

risk of probable loss from wildfire decreases as fuel treatment 

area increases. By simulating fuel treatment scenarios and 

evaluating their performance, this framework will help federal 

land managers identify the tradeoffs between different fuel 

treatment approaches.

Contact: Alan Ager, aager@fs.fed.us, Western Wildland Environmental

Threat Assessment Center

Partners: USDA Forest Service, Deschutes, Wallowa Whitman, and

Umatilla National Forests; Pacific Southwest Region; Rocky Mountain

Research Station
38

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006 SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

New ToolS

Nationally consistent smoke and 

fire weather predictions

Description: Station scientists are working with the

regional Fire Consortia for the Advanced Modeling

of Meteorology and Smoke (FCAMMS) on developing nationally consistent smoke and fire weather

predictions.

Outcomes: A more consistent national interface is

now available for products used in smoke and fire

weather predictions. The predictions themselves are

still research tools, under further testing and refinement to become operational tools.

How to get it: See the Web site at http://www.fs.fed.

us/fcamms/.

PNW Research Station contact: Sim Larkin, larkin@

fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance Regimes Program

Partners: Montana/Idaho Airshed Group; Nez Perce,

Quinault, and Colville Tribes; National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration; Northwest Airquest Consortium; Northwest Regional Modeling Consortium;

Oregon Department of Forestry; University of Washington; USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain, Southern,

North Central, and Pacific Southwest Research Stations,

and Pacific Northwest and Northern Regions; USDI

Bureau of Land Management; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Washington Departments of Ecology

and Natural Resources; Washington State University.

Near-Real-Time Gridded Climate Data 

Description: Seasonal fire risk forecasts require updated, gridded climate data to get the best results from fire risk and vegetation models. A new system now delivers monthly, spatially

gridded climate data for the coterminous United States by using

the PRISM model. Data are included on precipitation, maximum

temperature, minimum temperature, and vapor pressure (dew

point). The data sets are created 1 to 2 weeks after the end of

each month. A comprehensive Web site allows public download

of all data sets, metadata, reports, and papers, and also includes

a data alerts forum and many other services.

Outcomes: Products are fine-scale (2.5-mile) and coarse (31-

mile) grids covering the coterminous United States. The data

sets provide over 110 years of climate data, from January 1895

to the month just ended, and they are important inputs to the

Forest Service’s wildfire risk assessment and prediction system. These data sets are now providing valuable data to other

user groups, including the U.S. Drought Monitor, the National

Weather Service, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation

Service, and state and regional climate offices across the country. The Web site averages about 7,500 hits each month on the

home page, and at least 5,000 climate grid downloads each

month.

Contact: Ronald P. Neilson, rneilson@fs.fed.us, Managing

Disturbance Regimes Program

Partners: Desert Research Institute, Western Regional Climate

Center; Oregon State University, Spatial Climate Analysis Service

Tom Iraci
39

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Specific symptoms of fire-caused damage to 

ponderosa pine during prescribed burns can 

be used to assess the probability of individual 

tree mortality

Managers of ponderosa pine stands have been using 

prescribed burns in spring, as well as in fall, to increase their 

window of opportunity for conducting burns. This study 

demonstrated that for stands in the southern Blue Mountains 

of Oregon, the percentage of ponderosa pine mortality was 

higher after fall prescribed burns than after burns conducted 

in the spring, but that the mortality was caused by specific 

damage done to individual trees that was not related to the 

season. An easy-to-use model has been developed that will 

allow managers to predict the probability of mortality given 

five or even two easily measured, specific damage symptoms.

could affect wildfire behavior and the susceptibility of forests 

to a future bark beetle outbreak. As hypothesized, projected 

wildfire behavior was significantly moderated by thinning, 

although substantial acreages required repeated thinning 

to meet and maintain long-term forest restoration goals. 

Thinning treatments favored bark beetle host species resulting 

in more and larger diameter host trees. When an outbreak 

was simulated at year 30, substantially higher mortality from 

bark beetles was predicted for the thinning scenario.

Wildland fire and bark beetle outbreaks are generally 

considered the most important disturbance factors in dry 

coniferous forests of the West. Federal land management 

agencies have adopted forest restoration strategies that call 

for thinning, reintroduction of natural and prescribed fire, 

and fuel reduction over wide areas in the Western United 

States. Although most agree that these 

activities have beneficial effects in terms 

of moderating wildfire, the effects on 

bark beetle dynamics and potential for 

widespread beetle-caused tree mortality 

are less clear, in part because the tools to 

analyze the problem are not well developed. 

This work resulted in a modeling framework that can be used to integrate the 

long-term potential impacts of bark beetles 

and other natural disturbance factors into 

landscape planning for wildfire risk and 

fuel treatments.

Contact: Alan Ager, aager@fs.fed.us, Western

Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center

Partners: Forest Health Technology Enterprise

Team (Fort Collins, CO); USDA Forest Service,

Rocky Mountain Research Station An easy-to-use model helps managers predict which fire-damaged ponderosa pines will die in coming 

years and which pines will survive.

Tom Iraci

Forest managers responsible for ponderosa pine stands in the 

southern Blue Mountains of Oregon can be less concerned 

that season alone limits their opportunity for conducting 

prescribed burns. The tree mortality model, when refined and 

validated, will provide managers a practical means of predicting postfire tree mortality and thereby improve the basis for 

both pre- and postfire management of fuels and vegetation. 

Additional data and development are needed to validate the 

model and to define the usable geographic range of this tool 

and extend its use to other sites.

Contact: Walter G. Thies, wthies@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: USDA Forest Service, Malheur National Forest and

Pacific Northwest Region, Forest Health Protection

Surprising relation found between tree thinning 

and bark beetle outbreaks

Using the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) system, 

60 years of fuel management treatments were modeled on 

a 16 000-hectare wildland-urban interface landscape in 

northeastern Oregon to predict how thinning treatments 

Ponderosa pine delayed-mortality 

model

Description: A predictive tool was developed that uses

easy-to-measure features—such as the percentage of

crown scorch and height of scorch on the trunk—that

can assist managers in determining the probability of

survival for fire-damaged ponderosa pines. The tool will

be most effective in areas similar to Oregon’s southern

Blue Mountains, where it was developed.

Outcomes: Marking crews are doing additional field testing of the model. The model should be useful in planning management after prescribed burns in ponderosa

pine stands.

How to get it: A field-usable graph of the two-factor

model is presented in the PNW Science Findings 81,

available at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/sciencef/scifi81.

pdf. The full model is presented in International Journal

of Wildland Fire 15(1): 19–29.

PNW Research Station contact: Walter G. Thies, wthies@

fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance Regimes Program

New Tool
40

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

In the Pacific Northwest, more timber is growing than is 

being cut; under current policies and investment levels, 

private forest lands should be able to maintain recent 

harvest levels.

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Verbenone is effective only as short-term 

deterrent in bark beetle attack

Mountain pine beetle is one of the most aggressive bark 

beetles in North America, attacking healthy green host trees. 

Severe outbreaks often kill most large, dominant lodgepole 

pine over large areas. A 5-year study in central Idaho found 

that verbenone, a commonly used bark beetle antiaggregant, 

lost its effectiveness for protecting trees after 2 years. Verbenone deterred mountain pine beetle for the first 2 years, but in 

the third year beetle attack was nearly equal between treated 

and control plots, in the fourth year beetle attack was higher 

in the verbenone-treated plots, and in the fifth year beetle 

attack was similar between treated and control plots again.

The change in beetle response after 2 years may be a result of 

the large numbers of beetles built up with fewer green, large 

trees to attack. Although verbenone alone appears not to be 

Verbenone deterred bark beetle attack for 2 years, 

but then lost its effectiveness as large numbers of 

beetles built up with fewer green trees to attack.

Managing Disturbance Regimes Program

a long-term solution during a sustained pine beetle outbreak, 

it deterred mass attack for 2 years, a delay long enough for 

managers to use other tactics against a mountain pine beetle 

outbreak.

Contact: Rob Progar, rprogar@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Region

Model of bark beetle pressure for

pine forests in Mexico

Description: Bark beetles are significant causes of

mortality for many of the pine species in Mexico, and

forest managers have asked for a tool that will help

them predict the potential for bark beetle outbreaks.

An index of beetle pressure was devised that provides

a broad-scale indicator of the potential for bark beetle

impacts on pine forests in Mexico.

Outcomes: The beetle pressure index will help

managers assess risks and plan mitigation.

How to get it: Contact Alan A. Ager, aager@fs.fed.us,

Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment

Center

Partners: Comision Nacional Forestal de Mexico;

Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Escuela Nacional de

Ciencias Biologicas

New Tool

Tom Iraci
41

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Pacific Northwest well positioned 

to continue as world leader in 

wood production

The Pacific Northwest is well positioned to 

continue as a world leader in wood production, 

with its location on the Pacific Rim and its existing 

infrastructure of mills and transportation systems. 

Overall, in the region more timber is growing than is 

being cut, and under current policies and investment 

levels, private forest lands should be able to maintain 

recent harvest levels. Tree species such as red alder are 

becoming more valuable and help diversify the portfolio of forest products from the region.

More timber is growing than is being cut in the Pacific Northwest, but some low-elevation 

forests are being converted to residential and other developed uses.

Aquatic and Land Interactions Program

However, challenges are faced. The amount of forest land in the Pacific Northwest is decreasing, with 

most losses to residential and other development, 

not to clearing for agriculture. The region’s population is expected to continue growing faster than the 

national average, and thus loss of forest land is likely 

to continue. Low-elevation forests west of the Cascade 

Range crest, which are some of the most productive 

forests in the world, are the forest lands most often 

converted to other uses. Along with the effects on 

timber production, forest fragmentation and parcelization 

also reduce wildlife habitat and can be a problem for biodiversity conservation. Growing international competition for 

wood products and relatively stable prices for Douglas-fir are 

additional concerns.

Changes identified that could make 

adaptive management more successful

Adaptive management, or learning while implementing 

policies, is a central strategy for implementing the Northwest 

Forest Plan because it is well suited for situations with high 

levels of uncertainty, limited knowledge, and unpredictability. 

However, the concept of adaptive management remains primarily an ideal rather than a demonstrated reality. A systematic evaluation of adaptive management, including literature 

review, interviews with resource managers and scientists, and 

a survey of over 400 involved citizens, documented people’s 

experiences with adaptive approaches and identified what 

helped and what blocked adaptive approaches.

These and other findings were presented at a conference 

attended by state forest land managers, family forest landowners, nongovernmental organization members, timber 

investment management organizations, Native American 

tribal officials, and private forest industry representatives. 

Also, a partnership among Oregon State University Extension, the Oregon Small Woodlands Association, and the 

Oregon Forest Resource Institute produced an online forest 

directory that helps forest owners, log buyers, and wood 

products manufacturers connect with each other. The Web 

site is http://www.orforestdirectory.com.

Contact: Robert Deal, rdeal@fs.fed.us, Focused Science Delivery Program

Partners: Oregon Small Woodlands Association; Oregon State University,

College of Forestry; University of Washington, College of Forest

Resources; Western Forestry and Conservation Association

More information: Science Findings 84. Knock on Wood: Is Wood 

Production Sustainable in the Pacific Northwest? http://www.fs.fed.us/

pnw/sciencef/scifi84.pdf.

The study identified changes needed to improve the performance of adaptive management in the Northwest Forest Plan:

➤ A closer alignment of adaptive management with 

organizational goals

➤ A demonstrated organizational commitment and 

will to act adaptively

➤ Increased capacity (skills, resources)

➤ Clear, shared language

➤ Agreement on expectations, both within and outside 

the management organizations

➤ A reasonable likelihood of continuity to allow the 

process a fair chance to succeed

➤ Clear performance benchmarks

➤ Formal and explicit documentation protocols

Effective use of adaptive management has the potential 

to improve management of the region’s forests and secure 
42

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

adequate protection for a range of public values and uses, 

including endangered species, old growth, commodity 

production, and community resiliency.

Contact: Bernard Bormann, bbormann@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem Processes

Program, for George Stankey (retired), Human and Natural Resources

Interactions Program

More information: Research Paper PNW-RP-567. Learning to Manage a 

Complex Ecosystem: Adaptive Management and the Northwest Forest Plan.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_rp567.pdf.

Research in second-growth forests is testing management options for 

uneven-age stands, soil protection, and other goals.

Tom Iraci

Some western Washington soils more 

resilient to harvest effects than previously 

thought

Forest harvests can affect soils in two ways—by 

removing nutrients and by altering soil properties through 

the movement of heavy equipment across the site. Preventing losses in site productivity requires knowledge of how to 

design harvesting practices for individual sites.

Scientists studied the impacts of normal harvest-related tree 

removal and compaction on highly productive soils in the 

Fall River long-term study site in the Coast Range of Washington State. They found that these soils are so rich in nitrogen—a nutrient critical to plant growth—the removal of tree 

boles, branches, and needles during harvest had only negligible effects on the total amount of nitrogen available. This 

small reduction would be unlikely to influence future plant 

growth. In an experimental compaction treatment, scientists 

also found that, although the physical characteristics of the 

soils were altered, subsequent tree growth was not affected.

Results from this study are being used to reclassify this and 

similar soil types to a less sensitive category. This reclassification will reduce current restrictions on harvesting equipment 

and should demonstrate to managers that these soils are 

ArcFuels

Description: ArcFuels is a library of macros embedded

in the ArcGIS system. It provides better linkages among

models commonly used in planning fuel treatments.

These macros simplify the analysis and visualization of

forest management scenarios’ effects on potential fire

behavior at the stand and landscape scales.

Outcome: Field units are using ArcFuels to design

landscape projects for fuels management and forest

restoration.

How to get it: Contact Alan Ager, aager@fs.fed.us, Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research

Station

New Tool

suitable for intensive management, including high biomass 

removal levels. Managers also are removing plants that compete with the crop trees, based on another finding from the 

study, that this action will result in increased soil water content and tree growth.

Contact: Constance Harrington, charrington@fs.fed.us, Resource

Management and Productivity Program

Partners: University of Washington, Weyerhaeuser Company

More information: General Technical Report PNW-GTR-691. The Fall 

River Long-Term Site Productivity Study in Coastal Washington: Site 

Characteristics, Methods, and Biomass and Carbon and Nitrogen Stores 

Before and After Harvest.

Seedling growth can be increased when 

competition is reduced

The early growth of conifers is affected by intense 

competition from overstory trees and understory vegetation. 

Scientists compared the seedling growth rate of three common 

conifer species—Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and western 

redcedar—in plots with different levels of over- and understory 

competition in Washington’s Capitol State Forest.

Five years after the seedlings were planted, scientists noted 

dramatic differences. In plots with no overstory competition, 

the stems of seedlings were, on average, four to eight times the 

size of those in plots with high levels of overstory competition. 

When understory competition was compared, stems in plots 

without understory competition were two to four times those 

in plots with high levels of understory competition. For 

Douglas-fir, responses to removal of understory competition 

were even greater if overstory trees were absent. The benefits 

of no competition came with a price: redcedar seedlings 

were more visible and, thus, browsed by deer as competing 

vegetation was removed.

Contact: Tim Harrington, tharrington@fs.fed.us, Resource Management

and Productivity Program

Partner: Washington State Department of Natural Resources
43

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

The adoption of the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994 shifted the 

management of forests from a focus on timber production to 

a broader concern with the entire range of ecosystem services.

Douglas-fir seed zones were revised, based on findings that cold-hardiness and frost 

adaptations are key traits in Douglas-fir genetic fitness.

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Tom Iraci

Tom Iraci

After thinning, growth of understory trees is 

constrained by other factors

In the Pacific Northwest, forestry practices are shifting 

from even-age to uneven-age stand management that 

involves partial thinning. Scientists found that after thinning, 

intended to reduce shade on understory trees and thereby 

increase their growth, other factors can still constrain tree 

growth.

The study compared growth of western hemlock and 

Douglas-fir saplings in adjacent mixed stands, one of 

which was thinned to partially remove shade limiting 

their growth. Although absolute height growth of 

shade-tolerant western hemlock was greater than 

that of shade-intolerant Douglas-fir in both stands, 

the relative height growth after thinning versus 

before thinning was twice as great in Douglas-fir. 

Initially, tree growth after thinning was constrained 

by photosynthetic capacity until the trees were able 

to replace shade-adapted needles with sun-adapted 

needles that could fuel more growth. In Douglas-fir, 

response after thinning was further constrained by 

the efficiency with which roots and stems supply 

the leaves with water. These results should be useful 

to silviculturists developing thinning treatments to 

maintain Douglas-fir in uneven-aged stands.

Contact: Rick Meinzer, fmeinzer@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem

Processes Program

Partner: Oregon State University

Cold-hardiness and frost adaptations are 

key traits in Douglas-fir genetic fitness

Foresters long ago established seed zones for Douglasfir, recognizing that genetic adaptation to environmental 

conditions affected tree survival. In new work on genetic 

variation among Douglas-fir populations in western Oregon 

and Washington, scientists studied adaptive traits such as 

growth and cold-hardiness. They found the greatest 
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population differentiation among traits for cold-hardiness 

and bud-set and emergence. This differentiation was strongly 

related to an area’s elevation and cold-season temperature. 

Variation in bud-burst and partitioning was related to latitude 

and summer drought. 

Results from this study—which demonstrated the overriding importance of winter temperatures and frost dates to 

Douglas-fir’s environmental adaptation—were used during 

a recent revision of Douglas-fir seed and breeding zones. 

Samples taken from trees in the experiment will be used in 

another study to determine the specific genes responsible 

for adaptive variation in Douglas-fir.

Contact: Brad St. Clair, bstclair@fs.fed.us, Resource Management and

Productivity Program

Partners: Northwest Tree Improvement Cooperative; Oregon Department

of Forestry; Oregon State University; University of California Davis;

USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region; USDI Bureau of Land

Management

For young forests, thinning and underplanting may promote old-growth features

Throughout the Pacific Northwest, portions of federal 

land are being managed to promote the development of 

habitat for the threatened northern spotted owl and other 

species associated with old-growth forests. For hundreds of 

thousands of acres in the region’s Coast Range, this involves 

converting young forests to more complex structures.

In 1992, Station scientists began a study to evaluate whether 

the development of old-growth characteristics in young, 

Douglas-fir-dominated forests could be promoted through 

thinning and underplanting. Thinning, especially, is increasingly used by managers to increase diversity in forest structure. Scientists found that Douglas-fir and western hemlock 

seedlings underplanted in thinned stands grew, but the same 

species underplanted in unthinned stands frequently died. 

Seedlings in the thinned stands also grew taller and were 

more vigorous than surviving seedlings in unthinned stands. 

Shrubs initially decreased after thinning, but recovered to 

prethinning levels in 5 years.

Managers on the Siuslaw National Forest have used these 

results to create a local version of the Forest Vegetation 

Simulator, a program that simulates forest growth and yield 

under a variety of conditions.

Contact: Paul D. Anderson, pdanderson@fs.fed.us, Resource Management

and Productivity Program

Partners: Oregon State University; USDA Forest Service, Siuslaw

National Forest

Database provides reference data on 

old-growth characteristics

Accelerating the development of old-growth, or 

late-successional, characteristics in young forests through 

management techniques often is complicated by the lack of 

clear structural targets. Clear and specific guidelines for stand 

structure have not been available for managers.

Scientists created a database to provide managers with the 

structural targets they need. The database features information gathered from over 16,000 acres of old-growth forest in 

western Oregon, consisting of measurements of all conifers 

greater than 1 foot in diameter on nearly 600 forest sites. 

The database provides managers with an estimate of the total 

number of trees per acre in this vast and structurally varied 

area as well as the diameter classes of 13 species.

Using the database, managers can find old-growth stands 

close to the young stands they are managing and use the 

complexity and structure of the old forest as a guide. The 

database is especially useful to managers working to implement the Northwest Forest Plan.

Contact: Paul D. Anderson, pdanderson@fs.fed.us, Resource

Management and Productivity Program

Partners: USDI Bureau of Land Management and Geological Survey,

Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

More information: BLM Late-Successional and Old-Growth Conifer

Data Series. http://fresc.usgs.gov/ArcIMS/Website/lsog/viewer.htm

Large-scale management experiments 

yield new knowledge about effectiveness 

of silvicultural treatments

The adoption of the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994 shifted 

the management of west-side federal forests from a focus on 

timber production to a broader concern with the entire range 

of ecosystem services. Scientists and managers initiated largescale management experiments (LSMEs) to test innovative 

silvicultural treatments designed to meet the new goals. These 

experiments are planned to be long term, typically over 20 to 

200 years, and are at a broad scale highly relevant to management decisionmaking. But, because LSMEs typically have 

been conducted independently, the results of their long-term 

monitoring of ecological, environmental, and social responses 

to silvicultural treatments are difficult to synthesize.

To summarize early results, Station scientists compiled 

data from 14 LSMEs underway in western Oregon and 

Washington. The summarized data conclusively demonstrated 
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Large-scale silvicultural studies across the Pacific Northwest have yielded new findings only a few years into the 

20- to 200-year research plans.

Updated estimates of Alaska timber demand are being used in Tongass 

National Forest plan revisions.

Tom Iraci

Dave Nicholls

that it is, in fact, feasible to implement 

a wide range of alternative silvicultural 

treatments designed to promote 

ecosystem services in the Pacific 

Northwest—something that was not 

commonly thought possible a decade 

ago. The comprehensive summary 

defines the body of knowledge from 

these studies and will be published 

in an upcoming General Technical 

Report.

Contact: Paul D. Anderson, pdanderson@

fs.fed.us, Resource Management and

Productivity Program

Partners: Oregon State University; University

of Washington; USDA Forest Service, Pacific

Northwest Region; USDI Bureau of Land

Management, Oregon; U.S. Department of

Defense, Fort Lewis Military Reservation;

Washington Department of Natural Resources

Estimates of timber demand from 

 Alaska national forests updated

From 1990 through 2004, harvests from Alaska national 

forests declined by 92 percent as a result of changes in the 

Alaska forest sector, markets for Alaska products, and conditions faced by Alaska’s competitors. With the cancellation of 

the long-term contracts and the closure of the two southeast 

Alaska pulp mills, demand for Alaska national forest timber 

now depends on domestic and export markets for sawn wood 

and the ability to export manufacturing residues and lowergrade logs.

The Alaska Wood Utilization Research and Development 

Center analyzed four alternative futures for Alaska’s forest 

sector and estimated the resulting demand for timber from 

Alaska national forests. All the scenarios assume there will 

be a timber sale program on the Tongass National Forest. 

The limited lumber production scenario estimated timber 

demand from Alaska national forests at 48 million board feet 

(MMBF) annually. In the expanded lumber scenario, Alaska 

regains market share of Pacific Rim shipments comparable 

to the state’s levels in the 1990s, with demand estimated at 

143 MMBF annually. In the medium and high integrated 

industry scenarios, new uses develop for low-grade wood, and 

facilities are built to meet the increased demand. In the high 

scenario, estimated timber demand from Alaska national 

forests reaches 370 MMBF annually. The Forest Service 

Alaska Region is using this report as they update the Tongass 

Land Management Plan of 1997.

Contact: Allen Brackley, abrackley@fs.fed.us, Human and Natural

Resources Interactions Program

More information: General Technical Report PNW-GTR-677.

Timber Products Output and Timber Harvests in Alaska: Projections 

for 2005–25. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr677.pdf

In southeast Alaska, adaptive management 

of young stands can provide ecological, 

social benefits

The 17-million-acre Tongass is the largest national forest 

in the country. Scientists are partners with managers in the 

Tongass-Wide Young-Growth Studies. To date, the group 

of studies has demonstrated that a combination of thinning, 

pruning, and mixed conifer-red alder stands can improve 

not only wood production from young stands, but ecological 

services, such as wildlife habitat and biodiversity.

Thinning, pruning, and other techniques for improving 

young stands form the basis of the Tongass and The Nature 

Conservancy’s endeavor to develop a restoration economy in 

southeast Alaska. These findings also are being used as part 

of a multiagency initiative to improve deer habitat on Prince 

of Wales Island and, thus, increase sport and subsistence 

hunting opportunities and support a healthy population of 

predators, such as wolves and bears.

Contact: Michael H. McClellan, mmcclellan@fs.fed.us, Resource

Management and Productivity Program

Partners: State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game; The Nature

Conservancy; USDA Forest Service, Tongass National Forest
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In southeast Alaska’s temperate rain forests, scientists 

found that wetlands play a major role in transferring 

carbon and other nutrients from the soil to streams.

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Research led to recommended mixes of native plant seeds for success in 

restoring native ecosystems.

Nan Vance

Tom Iraci

Wetlands provide carbon to streams in 

southeast Alaska

As their name implies, wetlands are a transitional habitat 

type between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In southeast 

Alaska’s temperate rainforests, scientists found that wetlands 

play a major role in transferring carbon and other nutrients 

from the soil to streams.

In studies conducted in the Tongass National Forest, 

scientists found higher concentrations of dissolved organic 

carbon in streams flowing in wetland-dominated watersheds 

than in non-wetland-dominated watersheds. Dissolved 

organic carbon, known as DOC, is created when organic 

matter, like plants, decays and releases carbon and other 

nutrients into the soil, where it then seeps into nearby bodies 

of water. By detecting greater concentrations of DOC in 

wetland-dominated watersheds, scientists confirmed that 

wetlands play an important role in transferring carbon from 

the soil to water, where it is used by plants and microscopic 

organisms. 

This important wetland function was used by the state of 

Alaska as evidence that the city and borough of Juneau’s 

Coastal Zone Management Program complied with the 

state’s requirement that wetlands exerting a significant 

influence on surface and coastal waters be protected.

Contact: David D’Amore, ddamore@fs.fed.us, Resource Management

and Productivity Program

Partners: University of Alaska, Southeast; USDA Forest Service,

Tongass National Forest

Diverse native plant mixes best at preventing 

invasive plant infestations

Native plant seed mixes are used to restore the diversity of 

plant communities and thwart the growth of invasive species. 

Scientists studied how well eight species of native grasses and 

forbs established and grew in Fort Hoskins Historical Park. 

The 140-acre park in Oregon’s Willamette Valley is managed 

with the primary goal of restoring its once-dominant oak 

forests, now threatened.
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Native grasslands with less disturbance are more resilient and less likely to be 

dominated by invasive plants.

Bridgett Naylor

Scientists also evaluated 18 grass and forb species sown on a 

23,000-acre burned area on the Deschutes National Forest. 

They found that the native species differed in their rate of 

germination on the harsh site. They determined that to 

include the range of natural variability and ensure maximum 

resistance to invasives, the best reseeding operations would 

use mixes of a variety of native plants with different growth 

rates and life forms. Twelve of the tested species are now 

being grown for seed evaluation at Lucky Peak Nursery in 

Boise, Idaho.

These findings have been shared with agency land managers, 

nursery personnel, county park managers, and the International Park Managers Association. The findings are 

important for successful restoration and management of 

oak savannas and dry ponderosa forests.

Contact: Nan C. Vance, nvance@fs.fed.us, Resource Management and

Productivity Program

Partners: (Director of Rangeland Management) Benton County Natural

Areas and Parks; Lucky Peak Nursery; Oregon State University Seed

Laboratory; Shoulder to Shoulder Farms; USDA Forest Service, Deschutes

National Forest, Sisters Ranger District; USDA Natural Resources

Conservation Service, Plant Materials Center

Past land use and a lack of native plant 

seeds lead to invasive plant domination 

in bunchgrass ecosystems

Scientists found that specific factors strongly influenced 

which bunchgrass ecosystems are dominated by invasive 

plants. Grasslands that were heavily disturbed in the past 

(abandoned cultivated fields) had the greatest density 

and dominance of invasive plants. Adjacent grassland 

communities that were not previously tilled were still 

dominated by native, perennial bunchgrass species and 

had very low numbers of invasive plants. Invasive-dominated 

sites also appeared to be limited in native seeds, with less 

than 1 percent of the soil seed bank composed of native 

species and less than 0.001 percent composed of native 

perennials.

These findings suggest what ecological mechanisms have 

damaged the resilience of native grasslands, important 

information needed to develop long-term, efficient, and 

cost-effective approaches to control invasive plants and 

restore native plant communities.

Contact: Catherine Parks, cparks01@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: Oregon State University, The Nature Conservancy, Oregon

Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wallowa Resources

Fuel treatment effects on wildlife synthesized

Scientists at the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain 

Research Stations synthesized available information on 

the effects of fuel treatments on terrestrial wildlife and 

invertebrates in dry coniferous forests in the West. A few 

general relationships emerged despite the difficulties in 

Specific steps build public support for 

conservation of rare, little-known species

Species conservation policies must have public support, 

along with being biologically sound and cost effective, if they 

are to succeed. Although conservation of species like wolves 

and spotted owls has been controversial, at least a sizable 

segment of the public supports the policies. However, few 

people have opinions on rare, little-known species such as 

the warty jumping-slug or a rare fungus, yet federal laws and 

policies require agencies to conserve these and many more 

rare, little-known species.

Social science studies have found that specific steps can 

build public support for the management of rare and littleknown species. The first step is to clarify the rationale 

behind policies. Rare species management competes with 

urgent needs such as health and education; thus management 

actions that can be linked with public concerns such as 

healthy ecosystems are more likely to be found acceptable. 

Specific information on the context for action and specific 

actions planned can improve public understanding and begin 

discussions that lead to creative solutions protecting other 

values, gaining wider public support. A commitment to 

monitoring and adaptive management is not only a sound 

management practice but may also result in people being 

more willing to try new options. The challenge of building 

and sustaining public support for conservation of little-known 

species requires time and thought, but without it, the best 

scientific plans can fail.

Contacts: Linda Kruger, lkruger@fs.fed.us, Human and Natural

Resources Interactions Program, for George Stankey, retired; Bruce

Shindler, bruce.shindler@oregonstate.edu, Oregon State University,

Department of Forest Resources

Partners: Oregon State University, Department of Forest Resources;

USDI Bureau of Land Management
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generalizing across a wide variety of studies and significant 

knowledge gaps. In general, fire-dependent species, species 

preferring open habitats, and those associated with earlysuccessional vegetation or that consume seeds and fruit 

appear to benefit from fuel reduction activities. In contrast, 

species that prefer closed-canopy forests or dense understory, 

and those closely associated with habitat elements removed 

or consumed by fuel reductions, will likely be negatively 

affected. Some habitat loss may persist for only a few 

months or years, such as understory vegetation and litter 

that recover quickly. Loss of large-diameter snags and down 

wood—important habitat elements for many wildlife and 

invertebrate species—may take decades to recover and thus 

represent important habitat elements to conserve during 

fuel treatments. Treatments on a small percentage of the 

landscape will have less effect on wildlife and invertebrate 

populations than treatments covering a large percentage of 

the landscape.

This synthesis should be helpful to fuel planners, fire managers, and National Environmental Policy Act specialists. Until 

some of the knowledge gaps are filled, an overall approach 

using prudence and conservation may be most appropriate. 

Management activities that retain habitat structures such 

as snags, down wood, and refugia of untreated stands may 

increase habitat diversity and benefit the greatest number of 

species in the long run.

Contact: Evelyn Bull, ebull@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station

Study helping to improve success of 

postfire restoration

Large wildfires can disrupt a forest in many ways, from 

altering its productivity to reducing its habitat quality. After 

a wildfire, one goal of forest managers often is ecosystem 

restoration, where planting and other silvicultural practices 

are used to encourage forest recovery. In the Timbered Rock 

Stand Development and Fuels Study, scientists are studying 

different postfire restoration treatments and their effects, 

including effects on fuels.

To date, they have learned that planting location, not planting density or the removal of competing vegetation, is a 

greater determinant of how well planted conifers grow. The 

initial growth of planted conifers differed substantially among 

species. The amount of naturally regenerated conifers and 

hardwoods differed widely among the study sites, and some 

species were more closely associated with specific restoration 

treatments. As the forests in the study sites develop, scientists 

will study differences in plant communities and potential 

fire risk resulting from the restoration treatments. Findings 

should be helpful to land managers in planning postfire 

activities.

Contact: Paul D. Anderson, pdanderson@fs.fed.us, Resource Management

and Productivity Program

Partners: Oregon State University; USDI Bureau of Land Management,

Butte Falls Resource Area, Medford District

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006
49

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Severe wildfires can damage soils, affecting soil properties and forest recovery for years after the fire.

Molecular methods characterize the 

impact of burn severity and postfire 

salvage logging operations on soil 

microbial communities

More stand-replacing wildfires are occurring in Western forests, prompting evaluation 

of the effects of postfire treatments on ecosystem recovery. Intense fire and compaction 

are leading causes of soil degradation, and 

soil microbes are critical to maintaining forest 

resiliency after fire for cycling nutrients and 

contributing to tree establishment and survival.

Scientists used a molecular technique of 

genetic analysis to isolate microbial DNA 

directly from soil after fires, taking their 

first sample as soon as they could safely enter 

burned areas. Samples were taken again after 

postfire logging treatments. The scientists 

detected 18 dominant fungal species in soil immediately after 

a fire. Six species were detected at all sample times including 

in severely burned soils. One species was found immediately 

after the fire was extinguished and before any rain fell; scientists continued to find that species throughout the year and 

on each site. One morel species was also detected during the 

first spring after the fire. These findings provide land managers with estimates of the effects of severe fire and soil compaction on belowground microbial health, information useful 

in designing postfire recovery treatments.

Contact: Jane E. Smith, jsmith01@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem Processes Program

Partners: Oregon State University; USDA Forest Service, Deschutes and

Willamette National Forests

Panel ensures plans for protecting Columbia River 

Basin’s fish and wildlife are scientifically sound

The powerful Columbia River is ideal both for species 

of fish and wildlife and for hydroelectric activities. In 

Washington, where much of the state’s electric power 

is derived from the river, the Northwest Power and 

Conservation Council created subbasin plans for main 

segments and tributaries of the river that outline measures 

for protecting and managing fish and wildlife populations 

affected by hydroelectric facilities. 

In 2006, a Station scientist, along with fellow members 

of the Independent Scientific Review Panel, conducted a 

scientific peer review of more than 600 of these plans and 

project proposals to ensure their soundness. The panel’s 

review found that many of the plans did not reflect current 

scientific knowledge in the field of ecological restoration. By 

offering suggestions on how the proposals and plans could 

be improved, the panel is helping to improve the likelihood 

that the $150 million worth of projects outlined by the 

plans—among the largest ecological restoration programs in 

the Nation—are successful.

Contact: Pete Bisson, pbisson@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and Land

Interactions Program

Partners: Columbia River Basin Indian tribes, Northwest

Power and Conservation Council, USDC National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries Service

Atlantic salmon could become invasive in 

Pacific Northwest if they establish breeding 

populations

Commercial salmon farms are common along the north 

Pacific coast, especially in British Columbia. Although they 

contribute to the coastal economy, they also regularly introduce nonnative salmon to the region’s ecosystems. Each year, 

hundreds of the Atlantic salmon raised at these farms escape 

from their hatcheries and pens and end up in the rivers of 

Washington and British Columbia.

Station scientists examined the risk of these Atlantic salmon 

becoming an invasive species in the region. They found that, 

so far, the escaped fish have been able to reproduce only in a 

few streams on Vancouver Island, which limits their ability 

to become invasive. However, if Atlantic salmon adapt to 

the region’s watersheds and establish successful breeding 

populations, they could pose a significant threat to native 

salmon. Especially at risk would be native salmon populations 

in Puget Sound streams, the Straits of Juan de Fuca and 

Georgia, and the rivers of southeastern Alaska.

Tom Iraci

Jim Hughes
50

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Juvenile coho salmon that spent winter in intermittent 

streams had higher survival rates and were larger than 

fish reared in the mainstem stream.

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Bob Szaro

These findings can be used by managers and fishery biologists 

with Washington’s and Alaska’s national forests and tribes and 

by others who conduct routine stream surveys and manage the 

region’s waters. 

Contact: Pete Bisson, pbisson@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and Land Interactions

Program

Partners: Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans; University of

Washington; USDC National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,

Fisheries Service; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Large numbers of fish and presence of hatcheryraised salmon reduce steelhead foraging

Scientists continued their study of the effects of hatchery-raised salmon on wild salmonid (steelhead and salmon) 

foraging in streams of the interior Columbia River basin. They 

found that wild steelhead trout foraged less intensively when 

they fed alongside hatchery-raised coho salmon. Steelhead 

trout foraging also was inhibited by the number of foraging 

fish present. Group size reduced foraging rates for these trout 

as well as for wild chinook salmon.

These findings are being used to inform decisions about introducing hatchery-raised salmon to supplement seasonal runs. 

They also are helping to predict what effects invasive fish species, like the Atlantic salmon, might have on native fish, especially sensitive species like steelhead trout and chinook salmon.

Contact: Karl M. Polivka, kpolivka@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and Land

Interactions Program

Partners: USDA Forest Service, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest;

USDC National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries

Service; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; Yakama Nation

Scientists identify landscape characteristics that 

influence salmon habitat features

To determine the influence landscape characteristics exert 

on the development of salmon habitat, scientists surveyed 

stream segments in the Elk River in southwest Oregon. 

They found that the depth and volume of pools in the stream 

segments, features important to juvenile salmon, were more 

strongly related to the amount of land area draining into 

the stream than to type of forest management. In contrast, 

the average density of large wood in the pools was at least 

partially an indicator of forest management. (Large wood is 

a key salmon habitat component.) The amount of large wood 

in the streams increased with the size of the trees in the 

surrounding forest.

The identification of specific landscape characteristics that 

may affect salmon habitat is critical to forest planning and 

habitat restoration activities. The Aquatic and Riparian 

Effectiveness Monitoring Program for the Northwest Forest 

Plan is using approaches developed by the scientists to reduce 

monitoring costs. When landscape characteristics can be 

linked to habitat conditions, as this study has shown, fewer 

field studies are needed.

Contact: Kelly Burnett, kmburnett@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and Land

Interactions Program

Partners: Oregon State University; USDA Forest Service,

Pacific Northwest Region; USDI Bureau of Land Management,

Oregon State Office
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The average density of large wood in stream pools, important for salmon 

habitat, is related to the percentage of large wood in the surrounding forest.

ICWater: Incident command tool for

protecting drinking water

Description: The ICWater tool provides incident commanders

with key information rapidly, enabling them to evaluate the risks

to the public when drinking water sources are contaminated

by terrorist attacks or accidental spills and to direct effective

action by first responders. ICWater can be used by Forest Service

incident commanders as well as incident commanders from

many other federal, state, and local agencies. The Pacific Northwest Research Station led a consortium in developing this tool,

because over 3,000 towns and cities across the country depend

on drinking water that flows from national forest land. The final

tool covers drinking water sources on all lands in the 50 states

regardless of ownership.

Outcomes: Hazardous materials teams from the states of Oregon

and Washington and at the federal level are using ICWater. The

tool was available for all 50 states at the end of 2006. ICWater has

been adopted by the Department of Defense, and an agreement

is in place for them to distribute the tool and provide training.

How to get it: For information on ICWater, see: http://eh2o.saic.

com/ICWATER/ or contact Doug Ryan, dryan01@fs.fed.us, Aquatic

and Land Interactions Program. Registration for distribution to

government agencies is at ACECenter (https://acecenter.cnttr.

dtra.mil/acecenter/_login.cfm).

Partners: Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Federal Emergency

Management Agency, Science Applications International Corporation, Technical Support Working Group (interagency), USDC

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

New Tool

Aquatic and Land Interactions Program

Coho salmon benefit from 

intermittent streams

During the dry summer months, some streams in 

the region stop flowing and become isolated pools 

disconnected from their source. These streams flow 

again during fall, when precipitation increases. 

Scientists found that these intermittent streams are 

important habitat for coho salmon in the Oregon 

Coast Range. 

The standing pools left in these streams offer highquality habitat and abundant food resources to fish, 

such as coho salmon. Juvenile coho salmon survived in 

these pools during summer and returned to the mainstem when fall rains increased waterflow. Juvenile fish 

that spent winter in these streams had higher survival 

rates and were larger than fish reared in the mainstem, 

owing to the habitat conditions and food intermittent 

streams provided. Adult coho salmon, too, benefit from 

intermittent streams. Ten to twenty percent of the adult 

fish that spawned in the study area did so in intermittent streams. 

Results from this study are providing management and 

regulatory agencies with a basis for developing practices 

and policies that promote intermittent streams. Knowledge of the importance of these streams also may help 

establish criteria for prioritizing culvert replacements. 

Contact: Bruce Hansen, bhansen@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and Land

Interactions Program

Partners: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State

University, USDI Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency

Improved model better identifies likely 

sources of landslides

The impact of landslides on fish has long been a source 

of debate. Some regard them as undesirable disturbances, 

whereas others point to recent studies that show landslides’ 

deposition of wood and sediment in streams as potentially 

improving fish habitat. Scientists enhanced a model that 

both identifies probable sites where landslides may begin 

and assesses their likelihood to reach fish-bearing streams. 

The western Oregon model now allows users to estimate 

the amount of wood a landslide may introduce into a stream 

based on vegetation conditions surrounding the stream 

channel.

This model allows managers to determine which sites have 

the greatest potential for introducing materials into fishbearing streams. With this knowledge, managers can tailor 

activities to reduce the negative effects of landslides and 

promote their potential positive effects for streams and fish.

Contact: Kelly Burnett, kmburnett@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and Land

Interactions Program

Partners: Earth Systems Institute; USDI Bureau of Land Management,

Oregon State Office
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People’s different reasons for loving a place can lead to disagreements about how an area should be managed.

Tom Iraci

People’s sense of place has implications for 

recreation management

“Sense of place” is generally understood as the way people 

feel about particular places and the meanings that those 

places hold. A new synthesis of research on sense of place in 

recreation and tourism explains the concept’s implications for 

management of public lands. Understanding people’s attachments to place may help managers understand stewardship 

behaviors, sources of disagreements between groups, and 

people’s attitudes about the environment. For example, people 

with strong attachments to place often react intensely to ecological changes, especially when those changes are perceived 

to be negative, as was the case with the large wildfires in 

Yellowstone National Park in 1988. Conflicts—for instance, 

differences between newcomers and long-term residents—

often occur because places hold different meanings for people 

according to their cultural, racial, and religious backgrounds.

Sense of place can influence community viability and economy. For example, the town of Estes Park, Colorado, known 

as the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, chose to 

turn down an opportunity to make substantial money from a 

tourism venture, because townspeople felt the venture threatened their sense of place. Overall, the sense of place research 

can help managers in their relations with the public and help 

managers anticipate how people will react to management 

proposals.

Contact: Jennifer Farnum, jfarnum@fs.fed.us, Human and Natural

Resources Interactions Program

Partner: University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources

More information: General Technical Report PNW-GTR-660. Sense 

of Place in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism: An Evaluation and 

Assessment of Research Findings. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/

pubs/pnw_gtr660.pdf

Pacific golden chanterelle recovers 6 years 

after light stand thinning

The commercial harvest of wild edible mushrooms is a 

multimillion dollar industry in the Pacific Northwest. The 

Pacific golden chanterelle is one of the fungal species more 

highly valued, not only by commercial harvesters, but also by 

the general public. This chanterelle species is most productive 

in young Douglas-fir stands 20 to 60 years of age.

A major concern by managers and the public has been the 

effects of forest thinning on this valuable resource. As part of 

an integrated, replicated young-stand thinning study in the 

central Cascade Range of Oregon, scientists monitored the 

productivity of the Pacific golden chanterelle after both light 

and heavy thinning. The mushroom’s productivity significantly declined for the first 4 years in all thinning treatments. 

However, by year 6, the mushroom’s productivity had nearly 

recovered to control levels in the light thinning treatment. 

Productivity remained far below control level in the heavy 

thinning treatment. This finding can provide guidelines for 

integrating edible mushroom management with other forest 

management goals.

Contact: Randy Molina, rmolin@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem Processes Program

Partners: Willamette National Forest, Oregon State University, Cascade

Center for Ecosystem Management

Think-tank group works on bringing landscape 

science into forest planning

Station scientists hosted a think-tank group on 

questions of integrating landscape ecology and modeling 

research with the landscape analysis and planning that 

managers do, from the project level to forest plan revisions. 

The Suttle Lake, Oregon, workshop included scientists from 

multiple disciplines, resource specialists 

from the Forest Service Pacific 

Northwest Region, and specialists from 

the Washington Office Inventory and 

Monitoring Institute. The workshop 

enhanced understanding of applied 

and basic research methods that 

could be used for midscale landscape 

assessments. Station scientists and 

regional staff developed stronger 

working relationships. They will 

continue working together on bringing 

landscape science into forest planning.

Contact: Miles Hemstrom, mhemstrom@

fs.fed.us, Focused Science Delivery Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Pacific

Northwest Region
53

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Landscape Age-Class Dynamics 

Simulator (LADS 4.4)

Description: The LADS 4.4 model is a landscape tool

useful for long-term, broad-scale assessments of historical and future fire regimes and their effects on forests.

The new upgrade incorporates the dynamics of three fire

regimes (stand replacement, mixed severity, nonlethal).

Outcomes: The LADS 4.4 model can be used to understand the historical range of variability in forest structures and changing age-class patterns and to simulate

the possible outcomes of forest management and

climate-change scenarios. It can be applied at the scale

of a late-successional reserve, a national forest, and also

for regional assessments. This complex model is run by

researchers using input from managers.

How to get it: Contact Rebecca Kennedy, rebecca.

kennedy@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem Processes Program

New Tool

Pockets of insect-killed trees become fuel jackpots for wildfires, in dense, 

east-side forests.

Tom Iraci

Stand structure attributes of east-side old-growth 

ponderosa pine forests in central Oregon and 

northern California can be used to guide and 

evaluate treatments

Low-elevation ponderosa pine forests east of the Cascade 

Range crest in Oregon and northern California have changed 

substantially in the last 100 years. To develop a set of oldgrowth reference conditions for managers, Station scientists 

studied the age, size structure, and spatial patterns of oldgrowth ponderosa pine forests at three protected study areas. 

The oldest trees were 618 years old and stands were multiaged. Density of old-growth ponderosa pine in the upper 

canopy averaged 20 trees per acre with average diameter of 

24 inches at breast height. Large dead ponderosa pines were 

common at all three study areas, averaging 4 per acre. The 

most common spatial pattern of upper canopy trees was a 

clumped distribution. Density of downed logs was 19 logs 

per acre, and most logs were decomposing, suggesting that 

they had been down for many years.

Managers can use these reference conditions as a guide in 

projects to restore ecological integrity of ponderosa pine 

forests (including frequent surface fires) and projects to 

develop late-successional and old-growth characteristics. The 

reference conditions are used by Lassen National Forest and 

Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin Tribes (Klamath Tribes) 

in northern California and southern Oregon to guide development of a management plan for the nearly 700,000-acre 

Klamath Reservation Forest.

Contact: Andrew Youngblood, ayoungblood@fs.fed.us,

Managing Disturbance Regimes Program

Partners: USDA Forest Service, Deschutes National Forest and

Pacific Southwest Research Station

Multistory forests on the east side would be 

vulnerable to wildfires and insect outbreaks

Over the past century, many dry forests on the eastern 

slopes of the Cascade Range have developed into dense, 

multistoried forest, which historically was less common 

than it is today. The multistoried forest has become habitat 

for spotted owls, a threatened species, and thus presents 

a conundrum. Dense forests on drier sites are susceptible 

to fire and insect outbreaks, and if the forest burns, owl 

habitat and much more may be lost. Thus managers are faced 

with balancing the need for multistory habitat with the 

sustainability of those habitats and the fire risks they pose.

With these issues in mind, management scenarios were 

studied for a 650,000-acre subbasin of the upper Deschutes 

River in central Oregon. Integrated landscape modeling was 

done on four alternatives: (1) no management on federal lands 

except fire suppression; (2) develop multistory large and very 

large trees in federal forests to increase spotted owl habitat; 

(3) manage federal forests to achieve historical conditions, 

to the extent possible; and (4) a combination of 2 and 3. All 

scenarios include active fuel treatment on private lands. Initial results show that managing for extensive areas of dense, 

multistory old forests in the upper Deschutes subbasin, and 

likely in similar east-side forests, would be a chancy proposition, and amounts of multistory old forest would fluctuate 

widely over time owing to wildfire and insect outbreaks. The 

modeling also showed how the scenarios would affect wildlife 

habitat and yields of forest products.

Contact: Miles Hemstrom, mhemstrom@fs.fed.us, Focused Science

Delivery Program

Partners: Joint Fire Science Program; Oregon Department of

Forestry; USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region
54

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Key Findings

Goal 4:

Communicate science findings and enhance 

their application

K e y F i n d i n g s

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

➤ New book, Alaska’s Changing Boreal Forest, is a 

synthesis of 20 years of research on ecosystem 

processes in Alaska’s boreal forest biome.

➤ A series of general technical reports presented 

key monitoring findings and syntheses of scientific 

information from the Northwest Forest Plan 10-year 

review.

➤ A forest threats conference began a synthesis of 

scientific information on forest environmental 

threats, the first step in an online encyclopedia 

on that topic.

➤ New information from the Joint Fire Science 

Program, a partnership of six federal organizations, 

is getting to the field faster through improved 

science delivery programs.

➤ A conference delivered tools and information to 

managers on managing for biodiversity.

➤ New online resources have been added on 

FishXing, riparian roads, and watershed restoration, 

making this information widely available.

➤ A user-friendly software program and tutorial 

help people understand, visualize, and process data 

generated by LIDAR, an airborne laser scanning 

technology.

➤ The Station added really-simple syndication to 

its Web site, allowing visitors to customize the 

information they receive.

➤ Landscape models and data from the Interagency 

Mapping and Assessment Project (IMAP) are being 

used in forest planning by the Oregon Department 

of Forestry and the USDA Forest Service Pacific 

Northwest Region.

54
55

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS 55

New book provides synthesis of the 

ecology of Alaska’s boreal ecosystems

Boreal forests are the second most extensive land biome 

in the world. Found in northern latitudes, such as Alaska’s 

vast interior, they are the focus of research conducted by the 

Station as part of the Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological 

Research program, established in 1987.

Long-Term Ecological Research Network series, summarizes 

the wide range of scientific work conducted on boreal topics 

as diverse as climate and soils, vegetation and wildlife, 

and aquatic systems and human uses. It is the first such 

comprehensive synthesis of the ecology of Alaska’s boreal 

forest ecosystems.

The book serves as a primary reference for scientists and 

land managers, helping them understand what is known of 

Alaska’s boreal forests and how the forests might be affected 

by climate change in the future.

Contact: Thomas A. Hanley, thanley@fs.fed.us, Ecosystem

Processes Program

Partners: National Science Foundation; University of Alaska Fairbanks

More information: Alaska’s Changing Boreal Forest, Oxford

University Press

Science support provided to Alaska Region of 

Forest Service

The Station is providing science support to federal land use 

planning in Alaska. This support includes the development of 

new products, consultations on key topics, and science reviews 

for the Tongass Forest Plan Amendment. Progress to date 

includes completion of a new timber demand analysis for the 

Tongass National Forest and consultations. Station scientists’ 

involvement is to promote use of the best available science in 

revising land use plans.

Contact: Sandy Boyce, daboyce@fs.fed.us, Station Director’s Office

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region

A new book on Alaska’s 

boreal forests includes 

science on soils, permafrost, and carbon cycles, 

as well as on people, 

wildlife, water, and plants.

This year, Oxford University Press published Alaska’s 

Changing Boreal Forest, a book synthesizing the findings of 

Station scientists and their colleagues. The book, part of a 

John Laurence
56

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Station supports Forest Service regional planning 

activities in Oregon and Washington

The Station provides science support to federal land use 

planning by developing new products, synthesizing findings, 

and providing consultations and scientific reviews. Recently, 

a four-level science consistency review process the Station 

developed jointly with the Pacific Northwest Region was 

incorporated into the Forest Service Handbook. The review 

process ensures that key components of land use plans are 

scientifically reviewed and consistent with the best available 

science. Two land use plan components—the selection of 

aquatic focal species and the draft aquatic and riparian conservation strategy—were reviewed by using the process.

Scientists have consulted on the 

development of a regional process 

for terrestrial species sustainability, 

which will be incorporated into land 

use plans. Also, scientists organized 

a workshop for managers on current 

Station research related to tree mortality and are working with managers 

to refine, evaluate, and apply tree 

mortality rating systems within the 

Pacific Northwest.

Contact: Becky Gravenmier, bgravenmier@

fs.fed.us, Station Director’s Office

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Pacific

Northwest Region

Adaptive management and monitoring processes 

improved for Northwest Forest Plan

The Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) pioneered efforts 

to make adaptive management a standard practice in forest 

management. Because it includes a built-in learning process, 

adaptive management is ideal for addressing the uncertainties 

inherent in management strategies. A 10-year review revealed 

that, in spite of its benefits, adaptive management did not 

meet these high expectations during the Plan’s first decade. 

A team of Station scientists and Pacific Northwest Region 

specialists are evaluating how adaptive management might be 

improved and how the Plan’s monitoring program might be 

refined.

To date, the team has developed a framework for 

a regional adaptive management process and created a set of priority questions that will help focus 

monitoring and research. The team also created a 

process for reporting regional adaptive management accomplishments, which will highlight 

new information for managers’ consideration. 

Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management 

managers plan to use these tools to improve their 

adaptive management and regional monitoring 

programs across the region.

Contact: Becky Gravenmier, bgravenmier@fs.fed.us,

Station Director’s Office, Ecosystem Processes Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

A series of reports present a synthesis of key findings 

and monitoring results from the first 10 years of the 

Northwest Forest Plan.

Tom Iraci
57

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Northwest Forest Plan 10-year review 

publications available

Key findings and monitoring results from the first 10 

years of the Northwest Forest Plan were presented at a major 

conference in April 2005, sponsored by the PNW Research 

Station, Pacific Northwest Region, Bureau of Land Management, and other partners. Central themes were to evaluate 

the success of the Plan in achieving its objectives over the last 

10 years and to review relevant new scientific information. 

Scientists presented key monitoring findings and syntheses 

of scientific information on topics such as old-growth forests, 

watersheds, spotted owls, marbled murrelets, other threatened 

and endangered species, aquatic conservation, socioeconomic 

changes, and adaptive management.

McLain, R.J.; Tobe, L.; Charnley, S. [et al.]. 2006. 

Northwest Forest Plan—the first 10 years (1994–2003): 

socioeconomic monitoring of Coos Bay District and three 

local communities. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-675.

Moseley, C. 2006. Northwest Forest Plan—the first 10 

years (1994–2003): procurement contracting in the affected 

counties of the Northwest Forest Plan: 12 years of change. 

Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-661.

Moeur, M.; Spies, T.A.; Hemstrom, M. [et al.]. 2005. 

Northwest Forest Plan—the first 10 years (1994–2003): 

status and trend of late-successional and old-growth forest. 

Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-646.

Contact: Frank Vanni, fvanni@fs.fed.us, Communications and

Applications Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region

More information: Find reports at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/

Science reviews, consultations improve science 

credibility of BLM’s planning process

Several Station scientists are assisting the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) with its western Oregon plan 

revision project, which will amend land use plans for six 

western Oregon and Washington BLM districts. Scientists 

are providing crucial information defining the state of science 

for topics such as community resiliency, landscape dynamics, 

streamflow, aquatic habitat management, and young stand 

management. They also are participating in public meetings, 

consultations, and science reviews. Their involvement should 

provide managers and others with an understanding of current scientific knowledge and promote use of the best available science in BLM’s plan revisions.

Contact: Becky Gravenmier, bgravenmier@fs.fed.us, Station

Director’s Office

Partner: USDI Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State Office

Since that conference, a series of general technical reports 

have been published through the PNW Research Station. 

These reports present a synthesis of all the 10-year monitoring and research results. The collection of reports includes a 

series of status and trends reports, a synthesis of all regional 

monitoring and research results, a report on interagency 

information management, and a summary report. Publications to date include:

Buttolph, L.P.; Kay, W.; Charnley, S. [et al.]. 2006. 

Northwest Forest Plan—the first 10 years (1994–2003): 

Socioeconomic monitoring of Olympic National Forest and 

three local communities. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-679.

Charnley, S., tech. coord. 2006. Northwest Forest Plan—

the first 10 years (1994–2003): socioeconomic monitoring 

results. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-649. 6 vols.

Donoghue, E.; Sutton, L. 2006. Community socioeconomic 

information system: making socioeconomic data available 

at the community level. [CD-ROM.] Gen. Tech. Rep. 

PNW-GTR-672.

Gallo, K.; Lanigan, S.H.; Eldred, P. [et al.]. 2005. 

Northwest Forest Plan—the first 10 years (1994–

2003): preliminary assessment of the condition of 

watersheds. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-647.

Haynes, R.W.; Bormann, B.T.; Lee, D.C.; 

Martin, J.R., tech eds. 2006. Northwest Forest 

Plan—the first 10 years (1994–2003): synthesis of 

monitoring and research results. Gen. Tech. Rep. 

PNW-GTR-651.

Huff, M.H.; Raphael, M.G.; Miller, S.L. [et al.], 

tech. coords. 2006. Northwest Forest Plan—the 

first 10 years (1994–2003): status and trends of 

populations and nesting habitat for the marbled 

murrelet. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-650.

Lint, J., tech. coord. 2005. Northwest Forest 

Plan—the first 10 years (1994–2003): status and 

trends of northern spotted owl populations and 

habitat. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-648.

Stream survey crews and many other field crews helped monitor the status and trends of 

natural resources under the Northwest Forest Plan.

Tom Iraci
58

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Forest threats conference fosters muchneeded dialogue between researchers, 

managers

Many environmental threats face the Nation’s forests 

and rangelands, including invasive species, uncharacteristic 

fire, and disease. Because these threats often cross ownership 

and administrative boundaries, collaborative solutions offer 

the best chance of their management and control. In July, 

more than 170 researchers and managers from the United 

States, Canada, and Mexico attended “Advances in Threat 

Assessment and Their Application to Forest and Rangeland 

Management,” a conference on applying risk assessment 

information to management and policy issues. 

The 3-day conference, held in Boulder, Colorado, 

featured more than 100 oral and poster 

presentations on topics ranging from severe 

weather, to risk mapping, to wildland arson. 

Many past scientific conferences have addressed 

threats individually, but few examined their 

interactions, as this conference did.

New fire science information gets to field 

faster through new delivery programs

The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP), a partnership of 

six federal wildland fire and research organizations, has completed over 300 research projects in the past decade, including 

better infrared technology for airborne thermal mapping, 

online fuel photo series, community fire preparedness, 

improved fire weather and fire risk forecasting, and smoke 

management. New science-delivery projects are getting the 

wealth of new information and tools to the field faster. The 

first product was concise summaries of individual JFSPfunded research projects, with emphasis on management 

implications. Syntheses of all research on a particular topic, 

such as invasive species, are underway. Information can be 

packaged to meet the different needs of managers, decisionmakers, and policymakers.

Nearly 50 of the synthesis and case study papers 

presented will form the initial content of the 

Encyclopedia of Forest Environmental Threats, the 

newest of six online encyclopedias in the Forest 

Encyclopedia Network. The encyclopedia, which 

will officially be launched in May 2007, will 

provide researchers, managers, and policymakers 

with the scientific knowledge they need about 

environmental threats to their objectives. For 

more information, visit http://www.threats.

forestencyclopedia.net.

Contact: Jerry Beatty, jbeatty@fs.fed.us, Western Wildland

Environmental Threat Assessment Center

Partners: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension

Service; Southern Forest Research Partnership; Southern Regional

Extension Forestry; USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station,

Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center

Fire science supports firefighting operations through new tools such as improved fire weather and 

fire behavior forecasts.

Over 300 principal investigators from the research projects 

responded to a survey on the science delivery process. Over 

95 percent of respondents viewed field collaboration as an 

important source of ideas, as well as being personally and 

professionally rewarding. The new science-delivery program 

is being shared with other fire research clearinghouses, 

including FRAMES and the Wildland Fire Lessons 

Learned Center.

Contact: David Seesholtz, dseesholtz@fs.fed.us, Focused Science

Delivery Program

Partner: Joint Fire Science Program

More information: http://jfsp.nifc.gov/news/index.htm

Consumer’s guide synthesis assists with planning 

fuel and vegetation treatments

Land managers are faced with a wide variety of analytical 

and decision-support tools for fuel and vegetation treatments. 

Station scientists created a General Technical Report that 

serves as a “consumer’s guide,” providing a state-of-science 

summary of tools for managing vegetation and fuels. The 

guide includes tools’ analyst and data requirements, scale 

(stand, landscape, etc.), linkages to other tools, and outputs. 

It also offers streamlined tables that allow managers to 

quickly identify tools that could be applied to their situation. 

The guide, developed at the request of land managers, enables 

managers and technical specialists to choose tools appropriate 

to their specific needs.

Contact: David Peterson, peterson@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region; USDI Bureau of

Land Management, Oregon State Office

More information: General Technical Report PNW-GTR-690. Analytical and 

Decision Support for Managing Vegetation and Fuels: A Consumer’s Guide.

Tom Iraci
59

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Natural fuels photo series now online

The Digital Fuels Photo Series is a Web-based project 

that provides the Natural Fuels Photo Series data in electronic form. The site includes data from all 11 volumes, with 

31 photo series and 323 sites, all in database form for easy 

search and downloading. The online photo series has additional information not in the published volumes; also, some 

data have been rearranged and terminology has been standardized. The Digital Fuels Photo Series Web site is being 

used by land managers who already rely on the fuels photo 

series field guides.

Contact: Roger Ottmar, rottmar@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: Joint Fire Science Program, National Fire Plan, University

of Washington

How to get it: http://depts.washington.edu/nwfire/dps/

Online tutorials are available for fire and 

fuel management tools

The Natural Fuels Photo Series, Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS), Consume 3.0, and Fire Emissions 

Production System (FEPS) have become important tools in 

fire and fuels management. A set of online tutorials, instructor’s guides, and student workbooks help land managers and 

others learn how to use the tools, appropriate applications 

for each tool, and technical background on the four tools. 

The tutorials have step-by-step instructions for learning the 

tools and case studies showing applications of the tools in the 

boreal, southern, and western regions of the United States. 

Each case study also shows how the four land management 

tools can be used in combination with one another. Entrylevel people can use these tutorials to quickly learn the four 

tools, and experienced users can become advanced users.

Contact: Don McKenzie, donaldmckenzie@fs.fed.us, Managing

Disturbance Regimes Program

Partners: Alaska Fire Service; Carolina Environmental Program; Joint

Fire Science Program; National Center for Atmospheric Research;

National Fire Plan; University of Washington; USDA Forest Service,

Pacific Northwest Region; USDC National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration, Fisheries Service; USDI National Park Service; U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency; Washington State University;

Western Regional Air Partnership

How to get it: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/products/tutorials/

FIREHouse: The Northwest and Alaska Fire 

Research Clearinghouse

Fire research information is not always easily accessible. 

FIREHouse now helps get fire research findings out to 

resource managers, decisionmakers, and the general public. 

The user-friendly Web site provides information about fire 

science and technology relevant to Washington, Oregon, 

Idaho, and Alaska. For each project posted, FIREHouse 

provides searchable access to (1) project and tool descriptions, 

contact information, and links; (2) online publications; (3) 

proposals and study plans; and (4) metadata. Many projects 

also include an educational component explaining important 

findings. FIREHouse also offers server space and Web and 

database support for researchers who choose to post their 

primary data on FIREHouse.

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS
60

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Two additional online products are relevant to Alaska: (1) 

the Alaska Fire and Fuels Research Map, an interactive map 

displaying information about fire and fuels research plots in 

Alaska, and (2) the Alaska Fire Effects Reference Database, 

a searchable database of fire research publications, as well as 

unpublished agency reports.

Contact: Diana L. Olson, dlolson@fs.fed.us, Managing Disturbance

Regimes Program

Partners: Fire Research and Management Exchange System (FRAMES);

Joint Fire Science Program; USDI Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire

Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service; University of

Washington; USGS National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII).

How to get it: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/firehouse/

DVD and companion guide on communication 

strategies for fire management

A new DVD is available titled “Communication Strategies 

for Fire Management: Creating Effective Citizen-Agency 

Partnerships.” The companion guide is titled “A Practical 

Guide to Citizen-Agency Partnerships: Public Outreach 

Strategies for Fire and Fuel Management.” These products 

convey findings from research funded by the National Fire 

Plan and Joint Fire Science Program. They were developed to 

help land managers work with citizens on community fire and 

fuel reduction strategies.

The DVD uses real, on-the-ground examples of fire and fuel 

management, highlighting effective public outreach programs 

Biodiversity conference delivers tools 

to managers

A biodiversity initiative delivered existing tools and 

information to about 150 managers from the private sector 

and state and federal agencies at its June 2006 conference on 

“Managing for Biodiversity.” Over 40 presentations gave a 

synthesis of current knowledge related to managing for biodiversity in Pacific Northwest forests. Topics included social 

and economic considerations of biodiversity management, the 

effects of invasive species on biodiversity, wildlife and plant 

responses to silvicultural practices and natural disturbances, 

sensitive species management, and management of special 

habitats such as wetlands, riparian areas, and oak savannas.

The FIREHouse Web site provides information about fire science and 

technology relevant to Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

and featuring agency personnel responsible for their success. 

It examines essential attributes for developing partnerships, 

initiating an outreach program, or improving an existing 

program. The supplemental guide gives viewers hands-on 

materials for planning and action and also provides indepth 

commentary.

So far, over 600 copies have been distributed to fire management and outreach personnel at every level of government in 

the United States as well as citizen groups. Copies have also 

been requested by forest agencies in Canada, Australia, New 

Zealand, Spain, and Russia.

Contact: Linda Kruger, lkruger@fs.fed.us, for George Stankey, retired;

Human and Natural Resources Interactions Program

Partners: National Fire Plan; Oregon State University; USDA Forest

Service, Deschutes National Forest and Northern Research Station;

USDI Bureau of Land Management, Medford District, and National

Park Service, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks

How to get it: Copies of the DVD are available from Bruce Shindler,

bruce.shindler@oregonstate.edu, Oregon State University,

Department of Forest Resources

Symposium delivers new science on biodiversity 

conservation to wildlife biologists

Biodiversity conservation is a relatively new field and one 

that has been limited both by a lack of knowledge of ecological systems and the inherent complexity of land management. 

Station scientists presented the current science on biodiversity 

conservation to Pacific Northwest wildlife biologists at a symposium at Oregon State University. Eight review articles on 

the key biodiversity topics discussed at the symposium—such 

as forestry practices, invasive species, and habitat modeling 

techniques—were published as a special issue of Northwestern 

Naturalist. The special issue has been distributed locally to the 

more than 200 symposium attendees and internationally, such 

as to natural resource specialists in New Zealand, Southeast 

Asia, and Argentina.

Contact: Deanna H. Olson, dedeolson@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and Land

Interactions Program

Partners: Defenders of Wildlife; Oregon State University, Institute for

Natural Resources; U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division.

Managing Disturbance Regimes Program
61

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Although some single-species conservation and monitoring programs are well developed, the monitoring of overall 

biodiversity remains challenging. What do single-species 

data tell us about overall biodiversity? What else do we 

measure? How does project-level measurement scale up to a 

regional picture? The biodiversity initiative helped Oregon 

and Washington state natural resource agencies, which have 

federal mandates and funds to develop monitoring strategies 

for their wildlife conservation programs, develop a regional 

vision and framework for monitoring biodiversity. The states 

are now taking the lead on development of regional programs 

to monitor biodiversity. The private sector, state agencies, and 

their federal counterparts are now sharing resources related to 

monitoring biodiversity. Finally, the initiative team is working with partners to meet another pressing need identified by 

managers, the development of a Web portal that is a central 

clearinghouse for biodiversity information and resources.

Contact: Randy Molina, rmolina@fs.fed.us, Focused Science Delivery

Program

Partners: Defenders of Wildlife; Institute for Natural Resources, Oregon

State University; National Council for Air and Stream Improvement; The

Campbell Group; The Nature Conservancy; Oregon Department of Fish

and Wildlife; USDI Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State Office

and Regional Office, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service;

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; Washington Department

of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program

More information: General Technical Report PNW-GTR-670. The 

Pacific Northwest Research Station’s Biodiversity Initiative: Collaborating 

for Biodiversity Management. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/

pnw_gtr670.pdf

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

A key challenge in biodiversity monitoring is figuring out what data on 

individual species, such as the greater sage-grouse, tell us about regional 

biodiversity.

New field guide contributes to growing body of 

knowledge about amphibians

Over the last 15 years, scientists have made tremendous 

progress in understanding the status and biology of amphibians. In places like the Pacific Northwest—where more than 

half of the region’s amphibians have restricted distributions 

and are at potential risk from natural and human causes—this 

knowledge base is essential to managing these enigmatic 

creatures. 

To contribute to the growing body of amphibian species 

knowledge, scientists authored Amphibians of the Pacific 

Northwest, published by the Seattle Audubon Society. The 

book features a field guide of species accounts, with full-color 

photographs, as well as text covering topics such as amphibian habitats, taxonomy, and population declines. The book 

compiles information from numerous experts, drawing upon 

literature and personal experiences, to synthesize current 

understanding of the region’s frogs and salamanders. 

Amphibians of the Pacific Northwest appeals to a broad readership—from the general public and students, to professional 

biologists and naturalists. Copies of the book have been used 

extensively and distributed to numerous agencies, nonprofit 

groups, and universities throughout the region, including the 

partners listed below. 

Contact: Deanna H. Olson, dedeolson@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and Land

Interactions Program

Partners: Biolinx Environmental Research Limited; Camosun College

(Victoria, British Columbia); Central Washington University; E. Wind

Consulting; King County Department of Natural Resources (Washington

State); Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; Oregon State University;

Questa Engineering; Rana Resources; Seattle Audubon Society; Society

for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology; Spokane Falls Community

College; University of California at Berkeley; University of California at

Davis; University of California at Santa Cruz; University of Wisconsin;

USDA Forest Service, Southwestern and Pacific Northwest Regions;

USDI Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division; Washington

Department of Fish and Wildlife; Washington Department of Natural

Resources, Washington Natural Heritage Program; Washington

Department of Transportation; Western Washington University

A new field guide on Pacific Northwest amphibians includes new science findings as well as identification information.

G. Kramer

Tom Iraci
62

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Management guide is now available for the 

mountain lady’s slipper

A new guide provides comprehensive information and 

assessments for managing the mountain lady’s slipper, a 

sensitive species in the Intermountain Region and listed in 

Wyoming. The guide’s full title is “Cypripedium montanum

Douglas ex Lindley (Mountain lady’s-slipper): A Technical 

Conservation Assessment.” It is used by managers in the 

Intermountain Region and other regions also where this 

species is found. The guide can be accessed at http://www.

fs.fed.us/r2/projects/scp/.

The Forest Service is using a Web page on 

lady’s-slipper orchids to publicize the agency’s 

Celebrating Wildflowers Program. “Meet the 

Ladies: The Cypripedium orchids” introduces 

the public to this genus of orchids and to 

the broader biodiversity of plants and their 

management on National Forest System 

lands. The Web page is at http://www.fs.fed.

us/wildflowers/beauty/cypripedium/.

Contact: Nan Vance, nvance@fs.fed.us, Resource

Management and Productivity Program

Partners: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region

and Washington Office

Guide helps landowners, managers restore 

oak communities

Communities of Oregon white oak were once common in 

the Pacific Northwest’s lowlands. Today, however, close to 

95 percent of those present in the early 1800s have been lost. 

Decades of fire suppression following European settlement in 

the region have resulted in the loss of nearly all of the region’s 

oak communities. Historically, periodic fires cleared the lowlands of conifers that overtop—and shade out—oaks, which 

are tolerant of fire, but die in shade.

Many of the few remaining oak 

communities are on private land, and, 

until now, resource professionals had no 

single tool to help landowners manage 

their oak stands. Scientists developed 

A Practical Guide to Oak Release to fill 

this gap. In clear language, the guide 

describes the process of conducting 

oak release operations, which eliminate 

conifer competition, the greatest threat 

facing today’s oaks. 

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

This guide helps landowners restore Oregon 

white oak savannas and woodlands by 

releasing the oak from overtopping conifers.
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GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Written in a question-and-answer format and 

richly illustrated with full-color photographs, 

the guide is in high demand, with more 

than 1,000 copies distributed in the first few 

months after its publication. The guide is being 

used by the Natural Resources Conservation 

Service, county extension offices in Washington and Oregon, the Oregon Department of 

Forestry, Benton County Parks, The Nature 

Conservancy, and private consultants.

Contact: Constance Harrington, charrington@fs.fed.us,

Resource Management and Productivity Program

Partner: U.S. Army, Fort Lewis Military Reservation

More information: General Technical Report PNW-GTR666. A Practical Guide to Oak Release. http://www.fs.fed.

us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr666.pdf

Online resources for FishXing, riparian 

roads, and watershed restoration

FishXing 3.0 (pronounced “fish crossing”) has become widely 

used by engineers, hydrologists, and fish biologists to evaluate 

and design culverts for fish passage. An extensive learning 

system was added this past year, including a detailed user 

manual that is essentially a textbook on culvert hydraulics and 

fish locomotion. The online presentations and lectures, called 

PEPs (portable electronic presentations), have been expanded; 

they cover fish passage and closely related topics. The collection of case studies is growing. FishXing 3.0 can be accessed 

at http://www.stream.fs.fed.us/fishxing. 

A short course on “Riparian Roads and Restoration” was 

produced as a PEP, with partner San Dimas Technology 

and Development Center. The course was distributed on 

CD-ROMs and is available online at http://www.fsl.orst.

edu/geowater/RRR/. Another online group of presentations explains how science and technology were applied to 

watershed restoration securing key salmon habitat areas in 

the Upper Sacramento River system. This collection can be 

viewed at http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/topics/water/calfed/. 

The online and CD-ROM presentations are vital tools for 

distributing new science and science applications in a time 

when training budgets are constrained.

Contact: Michael Furniss, mfurniss@fs.fed.us, Communications and

Applications Program

Partners: CalFed; Federal Highway Administration; USDA Forest

Service, Lassen National Forest, San Dimas Technology Development

Center, Stream Technology Systems Center, and Washington Office

Multimedia Web presentation on “The 

Geomorphic Response of Rivers to Dams 

and Dam Removal”

At a time when dam relicensing, management, and possible 

removal are hot topics, this multimedia presentation makes 

sought-after information easily available. A 63-minute multimedia presentation on the Web summarizes the geomorphic 

response of rivers to dams and dam removals. Three windows 

show simultaneously the scientist lecturing on the topic, his 

accompanying graphics, and a list of headings for navigation. 

This presentation is part of the persistent electronic presentation (PEP) series on the FishXing Web site. It introduces 

managers, resource professionals, and the general public 

to tradeoffs associated with small dam management and 

removal, presents concepts related to the geomorphic effects 

of dams and dam removal, and explores lessons learned from 

case histories.

Contact: Michael Furniss, mfurniss@fs.fed.us, Communications and

Applications Program

How to get it: Access this presentation and other PEPs at the FishXing

Web site: http://www.stream.fs.fed.us/fishxing/V3publicbeta/PEPs.html

Review summarizes literature on hydrologic 

impacts of forestry

Forestry operations—through forest harvest or road 

building, for example—can change streamflow from forested 

watersheds. Although this potential is generally acknowledged, the extent of forestry’s impacts on hydrology is the 

subject of ongoing, vigorous debate, evidenced by a vast and, 

often contradictory, body of literature. 

Scientists synthesized the available literature into one easily 

accessible resource—an article published in the Journal of the 

FishXing 3.0 includes online presentations from experts, along with a detailed user manual and a 

growing number of case studies.

Mike Furniss

Scientists study the way water moves through soil and down hillslopes, 

working to answer questions about forestry’s effects on streamflow.

Aquatic and Land Interactions Program
64

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

American Water Resources Association. The article documents 

the current state of knowledge, reports effects of forest 

harvest practices that show consistent results across many 

studies, and highlights significant gaps in knowledge that 

future research could address. 

This extensive review is of interest and use to land managers 

charged with conducting forestry operations around aquatic 

ecosystems. 

Contact: Steve Wondzell, swondzell@fs.fed.us, Aquatic and

Land Interactions Program

Partner: University of British Columbia

Synthesis of science on forest roads gives 

managers up-to-date knowledge

Recent scientific information on forest roads was 

synthesized and presented to 200 state and federal agency 

resource managers from the Pacific Northwest, California, 

and Idaho. The conference, held in Eugene, Oregon, presented the newest information on the ecological effects roads 

have on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems; explanation of 

how roads have physical, biological, and economic influences 

on forests beyond the immediately obvious effects; social and 

economic costs and benefits of roads; and ways that roads can 

contribute to management objectives. The multidisciplinary 

synthesis of information should be useful to managers as they 

deal with the often-controversial issue of forest roads.

Contact: Gary Benson, gbenson@fs.fed.us, Focused Science

Delivery Program

Partner: Western Forestry and Conservation Association

Fact sheets spread the word about new findings 

in forestry science

Even the best and most interesting forestry research can 

end up on a one-way street to publication in scientific journal 

outlets, missing the chance to tell its story to a broader audience. To get new information out to people who can use it, 

science writers have collaborated with scientists to condense 

and simplify their research and create colorful, engaging fact 

sheets. These 1- to 2-page briefing sheets provide a summary 

of significant findings in an easy-to-read format, as well as 

references and contact information for the researcher. They 

cover topics in landscape analysis, environmental assessment, 

and fire economics.

These fact sheets have been proven successful at generating 

interest in ongoing PNW Research Station studies, as well as 

for outreach and education. For example, the fact sheets have 

been handed out at conferences and meetings and used for 

briefing a congressional committee. They have been requested 

by the media, the California state legislature, Web-based 

knowledge portals, private citizens, and policymakers.

Contact: Rachel White, rachelwhite@fs.fed.us, Focused Science

Delivery Program

Methods shared for linking the national LANDFIRE project to midscale landscape analysis

The Interagency Mapping and Assessment Project 

(IMAP) landscape models and methods developed by PNW 

Research Station are being used in forest planning by the 

Oregon Department of Forestry and the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region. The IMAP models are midscale refinements of the national LANDFIRE, a wildland 

fire, ecosystem, and fuel mapping project that will generate 

consistent, comprehensive, landscape-scale maps and data 

describing vegetation, fire, and fuel characteristics across 

the United States.

At the LANDFIRE Rapid Assessment Rollout conference, 

Station scientists explained how the IMAP methods are 

being used in the Pacific Northwest to meet landscape 

analysis needs at forest planning and finer scales. They also 

discussed how these methods could be used in other regions 

in forest plan revisions. Conference attendees were from other 

Forest Service regions and research stations. Station scientists 

are also developing a business model for using the Vegetation 

Development Dynamics Model as a nationally supported 

planning tool for national forests.

Contact: Miles Hemstrom, mhemstrom@fs.fed.us, Focused Science

Delivery Program

Partner: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region

Airborne laser scanning software and 

tutorial available on the Web

LIDAR (light detection and ranging) is a sophisticated 

remote-sensing technology that uses airborne laser scanning 

to produce three-dimensional point clouds representing forests and landscapes. Scientists developed a user-friendly software program and tutorial to help users better understand, 

visualize, and process their LIDAR data.

The program, known as FUSION, displays and processes 

LIDAR data, allowing users to interactively explore large 

data sets. Key to using the software is an online tutorial and 

installation guide, produced in collaboration with the USDA 
65

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Forest Service’s Remote Sensing Applications Center. The 

tutorial features a sample LIDAR data set, which enables 

users to explore the characteristics of LIDAR data and 

process data to produce information describing vegetation 

attributes for large land areas and individual trees. Users also 

learn how to integrate LIDAR data with more traditional 

remote-sensing technologies, such as aerial photographs, 

topographic maps, and satellite images.

FUSION has been used to analyze terrain and vegetation 

conditions by the Idaho Panhandle, Rogue River-Siskiyou, 

and Siuslaw National Forests; researchers at the University of 

Washington and Mississippi State and Oregon State Universities; and many other federal, state, and private agencies.

Contact: Bob McGaughey, bmcgaughey@fs.fed.us, Resource

Management and Productivity Program

Partners: Joint Fire Sciences Program; University of Washington,

Precision Forestry Cooperative

More information: Visit http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/rsac/fusion/

Process outlined for achieving effective 

integrated research programs

Ecosystem management, stewardship, forest health—all 

these concepts call for integrated resource management, and 

integrated research to provide holistic solutions to management issues. However, many well-intentioned efforts at 

integrated research have failed to break out of traditional 

disciplines.

A new report outlines a three-phase approach to framing 

integrated research questions, discusses barriers and solutions, 

and recommends an approach for monitoring progress in 

integrated research. Problem framing is the most important 

and perhaps most difficult phase; it has a profound effect on 

outcomes. An integrated research approach requires clear 

definition of the problems, teams committed to mutual learning and team approaches, and a willingness to be adaptive to 

change as situations change. Barriers that block progress can 

occur at individual, team, and institutional levels. Monitoring 

of research progress should assess relationships, processes, 

and outcomes.

Contact: Linda Kruger, lkruger@fs.fed.us, for Roger Clark and George

Stankey, both retired, Human and Natural Resources Interactions Program

More information: General Technical Report PNW-GTR-678. Integrated 

Research in Natural Resources: The Key Role of Problem Framing. http://

www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr678.pdf
66

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Station launches RSS feeds, putting visitors 

in control of information they receive

The Station’s Web site—which received more than 30,000 

hits in 2006—is an important source of information for 

resource managers, media, researchers, policymakers, and the 

public. For the convenience of Web visitors, the Station began 

offering them the ability to customize the information they 

receive.

evening hike to Mary’s Peak. Station scientists were actively 

involved in the camp. The highlight of this year’s camp was 

being guided by PNW scientist Eric Forsman through the 

old-growth stands in McDonald Dunn Forest, where the 

students saw three spotted owls called in by Eric.

Contact: Becky Bittner, bbittner@fs.fed.us, Communications and

Applications Program

Partners: Audubon Society of Portland; Oregon State University;

USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region; USDI Bureau of

Land Management In July, the Station made its popular content available by 

using a technology known as really-simple syndication (RSS). 

The RSS automatically sends selected feeds of Station information to subscribers when new content is available. This 

means users can access customized information from the 

Station without actually visiting the Station’s Web site. 

Whenever a new event announcement, news release, or publication is published to the Web, subscribers automatically 

receive a posting of the document along with a summary and 

access to a full-text version of the document. Feeds are collected by, and viewed in, software programs known as readers, which are available for free download from the Web. To 

subscribe to a feed, users need only click its link.

The Station’s RSS feeds put visitors in control of how much 

information they receive from the Station. For more information and a complete listing of available feeds, visit http://

www.fs.fed.us/pnw/RSS/.

Contact: Tiffany Dong, tdong@fs.fed.us, Communications and

Applications Program

Interagency landscape models are being 

used in state and federal forest planning

The Interagency Mapping and Assessment Project 

(IMAP) pools scientific expertise, landscape models, and 

data in support of improved forest planning for state and 

federal agencies. Landscape models are most useful when all 

landowners contribute data, and, in turn, all landowners can 

benefit by using the improved models to analyze management 

possibilities. Using IMAP, landowners with different objectives—whether it be maintaining old growth, reducing fire 

risk, or producing timber—can translate their ideas and goals 

into landscape models and understand how different scenarios 

might play out over time and large areas.

At this year’s Inner City Youth Institute, middle school students saw a Station 

research biologist call in spotted owls.

After a successful pilot, the central Oregon landscape analysis, the Oregon Department of Forestry is now using IMAP 

for their 2010 assessment of all 28 million acres of forest in 

the state and the resulting Forestry Program for Oregon. 

The IMAP models and data are also being used for most 

national forest plan revisions in the Pacific Northwest Region 

(13 national forests and 5 other areas such as national grasslands in Oregon, and 3 national forests west of the Cascade 

Range crest in Washington) and for monitoring under the 

Northwest Forest Plan. The IMAP models can also be used 

to study other issues such as fire and fuel risk, conversion of 

wildlands to developed areas, carbon storage, and wildlife 

habitats.

Contact: Miles Hemstrom, mhemstrom@fs.fed.us, Focused Science

Delivery Program

Partners: Oregon Department of Forestry; The Nature Conservancy in

Oregon; USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region; USDI Bureau of

Land Management, Regional Office

Inner City Youth Institute Summer Camp

The Station provided support to the Inner City Youth 

Institute (ICYI), a program that encourages underrepresented youths to pursue higher education and careers in the 

natural resource and environment fields. The ICYI sponsors 

ecology clubs in inner-city middle and high schools and a 

summer camp program for middle school students, held in 

Corvallis, Oregon. This summer the ICYI sponsored its 8th

natural resources camp at Oregon State University. Twentysix middle school students from inner city Portland, Oregon, 

engaged in a week of intense natural resource education 

while living in a college environment. Activities included 

day trips to Alsea Falls and Finley Wildlife Refuge and an 

The Oregon Department of Forestry is using models tested in a central 

Oregon landscape analysis for their assessment of all Oregon forests.

Bob Szaro

Edna Mo
67

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Fiscal year

Publications

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

2002

2003

2004

Total Publications

20052006

Theses and

dissertations 

2%

Proceedings

5%

Journal

articles

51%

Types of Publications

499 total publications for FY2006

Station 

series

11%

Other

18%

Books or 

chapters 

12%

➤ 10 issues of PNW Science Findings published; 

about 9,800 copies distributed each issue.

➤ 3 issues of PNW Science Update published; 

about 9,800 distributed each issue.

➤ 2 CD-ROMs produced.

➤ 47 multimedia presentations produced.

types of PUBLICATIONS

Journal articles 255

Station Series 57

Books 60

Proceedings 24

Theses 12

Other 91

➤ 499 total publications. (Includes Station series publications, 

journal articles, proceedings, books or book chapters, theses 

and dissertations, and other publications.)

➤ Over 120,000 hardcopies of Station series publications 

distributed.

➤ Over 150,000 (estimated) downloads of Station publications 

from Web site.

➤ 1,883 Station publications available online (via Station’s 

Web site and Treesearch, http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us).

➤ 11,000–13,000 journal article reprints distributed by 

scientists in response to requests.

PUBLICATIONS Frank Vanni

Frank Vanni
68

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

lEARNING EVENTS

➤ 2,425 people participated in symposia and workshops.

➤ 1,710 people went on field tours.

➤ 5,300 people participated in conservation education activities.

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER EVENTS

The PNW Research Station sponsors many scientific 

and technical events every year, many with the help of 

partners, including universities, state and federal agencies, 

and nongovernmental organizations. Following is a 

description of many of these events.

Andrews Forest and Mount St. Helens. About 95 people 

participated in nine, 1-day tours to the Andrews Forest and 

two, 1-day tours to Mount St. Helens where science findings 

and management implications of research in these places 

managed by the USDA Forest Service were explained to 

public and professional groups. 

BlueSky consortium meeting. Scientists, land managers, and 

agency administrators met in Seattle, Washington, to discuss 

progress on the BlueSky modeling framework, user concerns 

and needs, and to plan direction for the next year. This year’s 

meeting focused on user interfaces, what user communities 

are best served by the current version of BlueSky, and how to 

balance regional and national user interest in the modeling 

framework. The meeting was attended by 22 participants.

Capitol State Forest Silviculture Research tour. Station 

researchers in Olympia provided tours for about 55 professionals to the Silvicultural Options for Young-Growth 

Douglas-fir study and 60 professionals to the Tree Damage 

study site.

Engaging communities in fire and fuels management and 

restoration on public lands workshop. A diverse audience 

of 802 attendees (48 percent from outside the United States) 

from 23 countries attended the international symposium 

for society and resource management. The meeting, held in 

Eugene, Oregon, was cosponsored by the Forest Service and 

University of Oregon.

Exploring the scientific basis for stewardship and restoration of coastal rivers, conference. About 235 attended a 

meeting in Seattle, Washington, presented by the Coastal 

Rivers Research Consortium, on the scientific basis for 

stewardship and restoration of coastal rivers by identifying 

emerging policy issues, synthesizing the current understanding of coastal rivers as ecological systems, and identifying key 

scientific challenges for the next decade.

Field tour for Oregon State University, Vegetation Management Research Cooperative. The Silviculture and Forest 

Models Team hosted 20 members from forest industry at the 

Capitol State Forest to review the recently published research 

from the Overstory Density Study. Participants also visited 

an installation of the new Tree Damage study designed 

to study the effects of bear damage on tree growth and 

development.

Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) Study field tour. About 32 

participated in the Blodgett Experimental Forest field tour, 

near Georgetown, California. The tour demonstrated the 

effects and results of FFS study treatments to forest-land 

managers, regulators, nongovernmental organizations, tribal 

members, and interested public members. It included feedback sessions to determine how to optimize research and 

research products for management use.

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) client meetings. At 

these annual meetings FIA shares with a total of about 75 

clients from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California 

information about its activities for the last year as well as the 

results of FIA research. This year FIA had a mixed agenda 

and invited clients to present results from their research 

based on the inventory data.

Forest Service national global change conference. An 

assessment of current knowledge about the effects of climate 

change on terrestrial ecosystems in the United States, with 

emphasis on research gaps and future programs was presented 

to 120 people in Wemme, Oregon.

Aquatic and Land Interactions Program

An additional 15 million students, teachers, and 

community members were reached through electronic 

field trips and other broadcast events sponsored by 

partners with contributions from Station scientists.
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GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Geographic information system (GIS) day 2005. This global 

event held at the LaSells Stewart Center and Oregon State 

University (OSU) campus in Corvallis, Oregon, is held to 

educate children and adults about how geography makes 

a difference in our lives through GIS. The OSU GIS day 

activities are sponsored by the Department of Geosciences, 

the Department of Forest Science (in conjunction with the 

USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Geological Survey), and 

the OSU Valley Library. Activities included a special program for over 450 students, teachers, and parents from Linus 

Pauling, Cheldelin, and Franklin middle schools, as well as a 

class from Jefferson High in Portland, Oregon. The students 

saw demonstrations of GIS applications, participated in a 

global positioning systems hike around campus, and listened 

to a keynote address on using GIS technology for salmon 

conservation. An adult seminar and poster session were held 

as well.

H.J. Andrews Experiment Forest. About 1,270 scientists, 

natural resource managers, public, students (K-16), and 

teachers participated in tours of the H.J. Andrews 

Experimental Forest. Participants were from throughout 

the world.

Large-scale management studies technology transfer 

workshop. Thirty-five scientists, managers, and planners 

gathered in Bonneville, Washington, to identify management 

information needs from silviculture research and to discuss 

how current large-scale silviculture studies are positioned to 

address current and near-future management information 

needs. Participants were from BLM, Oregon State University, PNW Research Station, Pacific Northwest Region, and 

U.S. Geological Survey.

Managing for resilience: an Oregon Sea Grant workshop 

on salmon, estuaries, and watersheds workshop. In Troutdale, Oregon, 60 scientists and resource managers met to 

examine salmon restoration, with special emphasis on the role 

of estuaries. Through presentations, case studies, and discussion groups, the workshop explored the scientific and social 

dimensions of a conservation approach based on the concept 

of resilience.

Meeting the challenge: invasive plants in Pacific Northwest ecosystems. About 200 people attended this 2-day conference at the University of Washington in Seattle; its mission 

was to create strategies and partnerships to understand and 

manage plant invasions in the Pacific Northwest. Keynote 

speakers included Ann Bartuska, Forest Service Deputy 

Chief for Research, and John Randall, Director of the Global 

Invasive Species Initiative, Nature Conservancy. A post-conference field tour took 30 attendees to view ongoing projects 

and discuss invasive plant and restoration opportunities 

within the Snoqualmie River Watershed.

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. This 

field tour hosted by the Pacific Northwest Research Station/

USDA Forest Service was for staff members of the Northwest 

Delegation and key partners to review long-term studies at 

the volcano and discuss how lessons from Mount St. Helens 

can be applied to managing the aftermath of large natural 

disturbances. About 15 participated.

National conference on advances in threat assessment and 

their application to forest and rangeland management.

This conference assembled 160 experts and practitioners in 

the field of risk assessment to present various approaches and 

applications of risk assessment to management and policy 

issues. A peer-reviewed proceedings will result from the conference, as well as an online encyclopedia of environmental 

risk assessment case studies and synthesis papers.

Natural resource journalist institute tour. Twenty-five people from across North America, Africa, and India toured the 

Starkey Experimental Forest and Range facilities and listened 

to discussion of past and present research on managing Western forests and wildlife, with emphasis on fuels reduction and 

wildfire.

North American dendrology workshop. Twenty-five people 

attended this meeting at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, 

which included two field days based at the H.J. Andrews 

Experimental Forest. The participants did field sampling for 

analysis of fire history and dendroclimatology from very old 

trees. They identified one tree nearly 1,000 years old, on a 

lava flow near Santiam Pass in the Oregon Cascade Range.

Olympia Forestry Sciences Laboratory monthly seminar 

series. The Resource Management and Productivity Program 

at Olympia hosted a monthly seminar series on a wide range 

of topics. About 25 natural resource professionals in the 

South Puget Sound Region attend each month.

Postdisturbance tree mortality models: regional briefing 

and discussion. About 25 people participated in a meeting 

and learned about current Station research related to tree 

mortality. They also helped identify strategies for cooperation 

between the Station and Pacific Northwest Region to refine, 

evaluate, and apply tree mortality rating systems. John Laurence
70

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Presentation on Alaska timber demand project. About 15 

people attended a public presentation in Sitka, Alaska, on 

“Scenario building: possible futures” on the timber demand 

project. This presentation allowed a chance for the public to 

review the results of the Tongass timber-demand report and 

ask questions of its authors.

SLICE (hillslope hydrology) conference. Thirty participated 

in this workshop at the H.J. Andrews Experiment Forest near 

Blue River, Oregon, for national and international hydrologists. The hydrologists focused on inter-site comparisons, data 

exchange, and discussion of site similarities and differences, 

with the ultimate goal of developing a hillslope typology.

South Puget Sound prairie tour. About 40 people attended 

this field trip organized for the South Puget Sound Prairie 

Working Group. This group works to promote and improve 

the management and planning of conservation actions on 

the prairies and associated habitats of South Puget Sound in 

Washington.

State of the science for risk assessment workshop. This 

workshop assembled a comprehensive group of about 25 

experts and practitioners in the field of risk assessment to 

discuss state-of-science risk assessment methodologies. This 

workshop helped Western Wildland Environmental Threat 

Assessment Center staff develop work plans.

The ecology of openings. Presentations on the ecology of 

nonforest openings in the otherwise forested landscape of 

western Oregon were given at the Salem, Oregon, BLM 

office to 45 land managers, scientists, and other interested 

people.

CONSERVATION

EDUCATION

Conservation education

introduces children and adults 

to the natural world. Electronic 

field trips are a new way that 

PNW Research Station scientists are sharing forest science, 

extending contacts to larger 

audiences. 

America’s Rain Forests, A Distance Learning Adventure. 

A 90-minute satellite, cable, and Web broadcast from Alaska, 

Puerto Rico, and the studios of the Prince William Network 

in Virginia reached several thousand fifth- to eighth-grade 

students. The program included video shot at Wind River 

Canopy Crane and a Station scientist as one of the temperate 

rain forest experts onsite in Alaska. The program is archived 

at http://rainforests.pwnet.org/.

Aquatic ecology monitoring program. A PNW Research 

Station scientist worked with Battle Ground High School 

students to develop a multiyear field program. Over 6 

months, about 120 students learned to design and implement aquatic scientific studies through hands-on activities. 

The program included field trips to Clark County Agricultural Science and Environmental Center, Brush Prairie, 

Washington.

John Laurence

Edna Mo

Regional fuels workshops: Southeast, Hawaii, and Pacific 

Northwest. A total of 56 people attended regional fuels 

workshops: 16 people in Ichauway, Georgia; 19 people in 

Hilo, Hawaii; and 21 people in Sunriver, Oregon. The 3-day 

course of classroom and field instruction taught participants 

how to use the FCCS, Consume 3.0, and the Natural Fuels 

Photo Series.

Science of critical loads. At the North Cascades National 

Park, about 45 scientists met to discuss issues around the scientific basis for determining critical atmospheric loads in the 

Pacific Northwest: what we do know, and what needs further 

study. The meeting was sponsored jointly by PNW Research 

Station, Pacific Northwest Region, and the National Park 

Service.

Season of burn workshop. Forty-five attended a field workshop held at the Emigrant Creek Ranger District Season of 

Burn study area. This workshop was requested by the Joint 

Fire Sciences Program (JFSP) and included members of 

the JFSP board of Governors, other interested persons, and 

foresters and silviculturists from the six national forests 

in eastern Oregon. The workshop focused on ecosystem 

responses to season of prescribed burn. The model developed 

from the meeting will be used to project a probability of mortality for ponderosa pine based on tree damage.
71

GOAL aCCOMPLISHMENTS

Boise Bug Day. This 1-day event at the Boise Botanical Garden in Boise, Idaho, was sponsored by organizations, including PNW Research Station, with an interest in entomology. 

Bug Day included displays, posters, discussions, and handson experiences for over 1,000 children and adults, introducing them to insects and their relatives.

Capitol Forest field trip. Station scientists led a field trip 

to Capitol Forest for 22 natural resource students from the 

Tumwater School District. In addition, four students from 

the district are following forest science research projects as 

part of their senior culminating project, in cooperation with 

the Pacific Education Institute.

Corvallis Outdoor School. Field 

and classroom sessions on the 

natural history of streams were 

presented to 200 middle school 

students in Corvallis, Oregon.

Fern Ridge Middle School. 

Fifteen Fern Ridge Middle 

School seventh graders studied 

macroinvertebrates and oldgrowth forests for 3 days at the 

H.J. Andrews Experimental 

Forest. They also learned treeclimbing techniques and spent 

time in the canopy with guides 

from the Pacific Tree Climbing 

Institute.

Forest Camp–Project Learning Tree. Forest Camp is an 

outdoor learning event for fifth and sixth graders near Sweet 

Home, Oregon. The curriculum is focused on the ecology 

of forests with a team of Station scientists teaching the “web 

of life” concept about connections among biotic and abiotic 

elements of forest ecosystems. Several Station scientists each 

contribute 1 day of instruction for 100 to 120 students.

Forest Ecology and Management Walk in the Woods. 

This program for 125 seventh- and eighth-grade students at 

Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School in Juneau, Alaska, took them 

hiking through a variety of forested sites with a Station forest 

ecologist, discussing forest succession, management issues, 

and forest health. Station scientists mentored students preparing projects for middle school and high school science fairs.

Green River Community College. Researchers in Olympia 

provided an overview of Forest Service activities and research 

program for 12 students and faculty from the Green River 

Community College natural resource program. Two students 

later completed their spring internship requirement with the 

Resource Management and Productivity Program.

H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest used by colleges and 

universities. Classes from 11 colleges and universities 

used the Andrews facilities and forest in 2006: Oregon 

State University, Portland State University, Lewis and 

Clark College, Willamette University, The Evergreen State 

College, Central Oregon Community College, Chemeketa 

Community College, Lane Community College, University 

of Washington, University of Oregon, and Lancaster University (England). Total participants numbered 350.

Inner City Youth Institute. The Station continued support 

to the Inner City Youth Institute (ICYI). The ICYI sponsors ecology clubs in inner-city middle and high schools and 

a summer camp program for middle school students, held 

in Corvallis, Oregon. The ICYI is a collaboration among 

the Forest Service; Oregon State University; the Audubon 

Society of Portland, Oregon; and BLM. About 200 students 

participated in ICYI programs.

Kids in the Creek. In this 

program, biology classes from 

Wenatchee High School 

were brought to a site in the 

Wenatchee River subbasin to 

perform hands-on watershed 

monitoring. About 150 students 

participated.

Lewis and Clark Elementary 

School. A Station scientist 

spoke to about 100 students in 

Wenatchee, Washington, on 

wildlife ecology and careers in 

wildlife biology.

McKenzie Arts Forum. McKenzie Arts Forum conducted 

workshops on three weekends in October on nature photography, nature writing, and watercolor in the H.J. Andrews 

Experimental Forest. There were a total of 30 participants.

McKenzie Outdoor School. Eighteen fifth graders from 

the McKenzie School District spent 3 days learning about 

nature journaling, orienteering, the salmon life cycle, riparian areas, and native plant identification at the H.J. Andrews 

Experimental Forest.

Natural resource management educational tour. Resource 

management professionals from Port Blakely Tree Farms, 

Louisiana-Pacific, and members of the Southwest Washington Chapter of Society of American Foresters (including 

a Station scientist) provided a half-day hands-on training 

session on how forests are managed for timber and wildlife, 

including visits to a forest plantation, riparian zone, and wildlife habitat area. About 80 students from Montesano High 

School, Montesano, Washington, attended the program.

Northwest Science Expo. The Station sponsored “Outstanding Forest Science” awards to a high school and 

middle school student at the Northwest Science Expo, 

which is a science fair for young scientists, engineers, and 

mathematicians, at Portland State University in March. 

The Station also participated in judging. Edna Mo
72

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Oak restoration tours. Tours hosted 25 natural resource and 

ecology students and instructors from Chemeketa Community College, Salem, Oregon, and Washington State University-Vancouver. The two tours featured the effects of conifer 

removals, fire, and establishment of new vegetation as tools 

in restoring oak savannas.

Orchard Middle School. Two presentations on wildlife 

biology were given to 75 seventh- and eighth-grade students 

in Wenatchee, Washington.

Oregon State University Extension outdoor school. Field 

and classroom sessions on ecology of riparian zones were 

presented to about 150 middle school students in Astoria, 

Oregon.

Outdoor School. Outdoor school is a program in which 

about 200 to 300 middle school students in Benton County, 

Oregon, receive environmental education in a natural setting. 

It meets for a single day in each of two weeks in spring. In 

fall, it meets as a residential program at Camp Tadmor near 

Sweet Home, Oregon. A Station scientist served as instructor 

and subject expert, wrote the plants curriculum, and coordinated 10 teachers/volunteers in teaching the hands-on course 

about plant and pollinator biology, conservation, and integration with soils, wildlife, forestry, and water.

Project Learning Tree. Oregon Forestry Education Program 

held their annual workshop for middle and high school teachers at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, with 10 attending. This year’s focus was on watersheds.

Salmon Watch. Field sessions on streams with spawning 

salmon were presented to 200 students in grade and middle 

schools in Corvallis, Oregon. Presentations covered stream 

and fish ecology.

SMILE workshop. Fifty teachers from across Oregon came 

to the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest to learn about field 

research and to help them better incorporate ecology into 

SMILE club activities for disadvantaged and minority youth. 

This is part of the long-term education partnership with the 

Andrews Long-Term Ecological Research.

Starkey Experimental Forest and Range tours. Three tours 

of the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range were presented 

for about 45 high school and university students. Students 

learned about Starkey research and its relevance to management of national forests.

Teaching ecosystem complexity. A new cross-site long-term 

ecosystem research (LTER) education project funded by 

the National Science Foundation has sites at H.J. Andrews 

Experimental Forest in addition to four other sites (Luquillo, 

Central Arizona Project, Jornada, Shortgrass steppe). In July, 

20 scientists, high school teachers, and science education folks 

from the five LTER sites met to plan the new project. Over 

the next 4 years, there will be teacher’s workshops at all these 

LTER sites as well as workshops that will train educators 

from nature centers.

Tree-mendous Technology: Studying the Life of a Forest 

From the Ground Up. The Station was involved in this electronic field trip sponsored by Ball State University, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and the Wind River 

Canopy Crane research facility. The live interactive field trip 

allowed more than 15 million students, teachers, and community members from 49 states to pose questions to the show’s 

experts (some from the Station) and participate in a live 

exploration of the forest. The broadcast also reached Mexico 

and Canada. The Station contributed 200 old-growth posters 

to participating classrooms. For more information, see http://

www.bsu.edu/eft/treetops/. Video archived at: http://ali.apple.

com/ali_sites/ali/exhibits/1001725/The_Field_Trip.html.

Trout Unlimited “Salmon Watch” Program. Over 1,800 

public visitors were hosted on interpretive field trips to a 

variety of salmon spawning locations in Thurston County, 

Washington. Additionally, three field trips for 200 fourthand fifth-grade students from Thurston County were held 

during fall 2005. A Station scientist helped these visitors 

and students better understand stream ecology, aquatic 

macroinvertebrates, and salmon. Edna Mo

Web of Life. In partnership with an Aloha Park Elementary 

School teacher (Aloha, Oregon), a Station scientist taught a 

fifth-grade class of 30 students about the web of life, ecology, 

and conservation.

Wolftree. Several PNW Station employees participated in 

ecology programs with Portland and Vancouver area middle 

and high schools. About 100 students were involved. The 

Station also contributed funds for supplies and equipment.

Undergraduate disturbance ecology field course. A PNW 

Station scientist worked with faculty at University of Washington-Tacoma and Tacoma Community College to develop 

curricula and plan field activities for undergraduate field 

ecology classes at Mount St. Helens. Eighteen undergraduate 

students participated.
73

HONORS AND AWARDS
74

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Station Director’s Award

Becky Bittner, technology transfer 

specialist of Communications and 

Applications Program, and Cynthia Miner, Communications and 

Applications Program Manager, 

were recognized among other 

partners responsible for founding 

and implementing the Inner City 

Youth Institute. The program helps 

increase the diversity in the agency 

by encouraging youth of color to 

pursue educations and future careers 

in natural resources.

Natural Resource 

Stewardship Award

Evelyn Bull, Research Wildlife 

Biologist with Managing Disturbance Regimes Program, was 

presented with the 2006 Natural 

Resource Stewardship Award from 

the PNW Research Station Director 

for her collaborative work with other 

agencies and nonprofits in the area 

of natural resources management.

Wings Across the Americas

Douglas Boyce, Alaska Coordinator 

for the Station, received an international cooperation award for his 

habitat sustainability findings for the 

Copper River Delta International 

Migratory Bird Initiative. Boyce was 

also honored by the Wings Across 

the Americas for 14 years of cooperative research to find ways to manage habitat for the northern goshawk 

in the American Southwest.

International Union of Forest 

Research Organizations 

Distinguished Service Award

Dennis Dykstra, research forest 

products technologist with Human 

and Natural Resources Interactions Program, was presented with 

the International Union of Forest 

Research Organizations Distinguished Service Award. He was 

cited for substantially contributing to 

furthering the scientific, technical, 

and organizational aims of IUFRO 

through his dedication, leadership, 

creativity, and enthusiasm.

Chief’s Honor Award for 

Superior Science

Sue Ferguson, atmospheric 

scientist with the Managing 

Disturbance Regimes Program, 

was posthumously awarded for her 

pioneering work and leadership in 

building communities of researchers 

and managers to address the 

toughest problems in atmospheric 

fire science and translating this 

research into useful applications. 

Prior to her death in December 

2005, Ferguson was leader of the 

AirFIRE Team.

National Fire Plan 

Science Award

The Fire and Environmental 

Research Applications Team of 

Managing Disturbance Regimes 

Program, along with Southern 

Research Station, was awarded for 

forming a partnership that improved 

prescribed fire management, ecological restoration, and wood-based 

bioenergy production. Other partners were the University of Georgia 

School of Public Health and Westinghouse Savannah River Company.

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006
75

HONORS AND AWARDS

Integrated Team Award

The San Dimas Aquatic Organism Passage Inventory and Design 

Instruction team received this award 

from Forest Service Deputy Chief 

Ann Bartuska for implementing an 

innovative approach to land management and making a difference on the 

ground. Michael Furniss, hydrologist with the Communications and 

Applications Program, a member 

of the integrated team, created the 

innovative software for the project.

Wallowa-Whitman 

National Forest Collaboration 

Leadership Award 

Jane L. Hayes, research biological 

scientist with Managing Disturbance 

Regimes Program, along with Paul 

Survis, silviculturist with Hells 

Canyon NRA, and Don Scott, 

entomologist with Blue Mountains 

Pest Management Service Center, 

was recognized by the WallowaWhitman National Forest for 

successful collaboration. The three 

worked together to design and 

implement a multiyear integrated 

pest management program to 

perpetuate the outstanding resource 

values of the Imnaha River corridor.

Toward a Multicultural 

Organization

Michael H. McClellan, supervisory 

research ecologist with Resource 

Management and Productivity Program, received the Station’s 2006 

multicultural organization award. 

The award recognized his work in 

creating a diverse workforce, mentoring students within the Juneau 

community, promoting interest 

in science among Alaska Native 

students, and especially for his outreach and recruitment of minorities, 

women, and people with disabilities.

Joint Fire Science Program 

Project With Best Web Site

Diana Olson, forester with Managing Disturbance Regimes Program, 

and Paige Eagle, research scientist, 

University of Washington, were recognized for their work developing an 

outstanding Web site for the FIREHouse Project. The project serves as 

a clearinghouse for fire research in 

the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

National Fire Plan Excellence 

in Research Award 

Roger D. Ottmar, research forester with Managing Disturbance 

Regimes Program received this 

Forest Service award for exemplary 

efforts in completing the Fuel Characteristic Classification System.

Chief’s Honor Award for 

Excellence in Technology 

Transfer 

Roger D. Ottmar, research forester with Managing Disturbance 

Regimes Program, was recognized 

for developing and teaching smoke 

management courses and designing, 

developing, distributing, supporting, and transferring applications 

that enable managers, regulators, 

and scientists to create, catalog, and 

classify fuelbeds.
76

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Oregon State University, 

Registry of Distinguished 

Graduates

Gordon H. Reeves, research fish 

biologist with the Aquatic and 

Land Interactions Program, was 

listed in Oregon State University’s 

Registry of Distinguished Graduates of the Department of Fisheries 

and Wildlife. The university honors 

departmental graduates who have 

distinguished themselves throughout 

their professional careers. The award 

mentioned Reeves’ many accomplishments with the PNW Research 

Station in helping to develop 

conservation plans and in modeling impacts of forest management 

policies on lands along the Oregon 

coast, as well as his work in courtesy 

faculty appointments with Oregon 

State University and Humboldt 

State University.

Western International 

Forest Disease Work 

Conference 2005 Outstanding 

Achievement Award

Walter G. Thies, research plant 

pathologist with Managing Disturbance Regimes Program, received 

this achievement award for sustained 

long-term high-quality research on 

laminated root rot and other root 

diseases of forest trees.

National Rangeland Research 

and Development Award

Martin Vavra, supervisory rangeland scientist and Disturbance 

Ecology and Management Team 

Leader for Managing Disturbance 

Regimes Program received this 

Forest Service award for outstanding 

scientific achievement in the field of 

rangeland ecology and management 

of national forests and grasslands.

Super Supervisor

Karen Waddell, forester with the 

Forest Inventory and Analysis 

Program, was named a super 

supervisor by the Association 

for Persons with Disabilities in 

Agriculture for excellent supervision 

of an employee with a disability. 

Waddell was one of just three 

USDA employees who received 

this award.

American Geophysical 

Union Editor’s Citation for 

Excellence in Refereeing

Steve Wondzell, ecologist with the 

Aquatic and Land Interactions Program, was presented with this award 

for excellence in reviewing scientific 

manuscripts for one of the Nation’s 

most widely read hydrology journals, 

Water Resources Research.

78

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Finances and Workforce

Two sources of funding support the work of the PNW Research Station: federal 

appropriations, which contribute the greatest percentage of funds; and direct client 

support, which comes from organizations in need of scientific information. 

WORKFORCE

2006 PNW Research Station finances 

and workforce, by the numbers

Fiscal year 2006:

October 1, 2005, to September 30, 2006

Incoming funding

Base research appropriations: $40.7 million

Client support: $11.4 million

Total funding: $52.1 million

Distribution of funds

Permanent employee costs: ($26.8 million)—51.5%

 Support and operations: ($16.3 million)—31.3%

 Distributed to cooperators: ($8.9 million)—17.2%

	 	 Of $8.9 million to cooperators, 84 percent went to

	 	 educational institutions.

Workforce statistics

Permanent workforce: 298 employees

	 	 Of the permanent workforce, 31 percent, or

	 	 92 employees, are scientists.

Temporary workforce: 181 employees

Total Station workforce: 479 employees

Dollars in millions

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Incoming funding

Base research appropriations

Support from clients

2002

2003

2004

2005

Year

2006

Cooperators

 17.2%

Employee

costs

51.5% Support and

operations

31.3%

Distribution of funds

Number of employees

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

2002

2003

2004

20052006

Year

Total number of employees

Permanent positions

Temporary positions

Number of employees

250

200

150

100

50

0

2002

2003

2004

20052006

Year

Permanent employees by type

Support

Scientists
79

RESEARCH CONTEXT

cooperators who receiveD funding for studies 

from the pnw research station in 2006

In 2006, the PNW Research Station distributed about $8.9 million to its cooperators. Below are the 

cooperators who currently have agreements and partnerships with the Station. 

Educational Institutions

Auburn University

Cornell University

Eastern Oregon University

Indiana University

Michigan State University

Oregon State University

Pennsylvania State University

South Dakota State University

Southern Oregon University

State University of New York

University of Alaska (Anchorage 

and Fairbanks)

University of Arizona

University of Idaho

University of Illinois

University of Oregon

University of Washington

Utah State University

Virginia Tech University

Washington State University

Western Washington University

Other Federal Agencies

U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Agricultural Research Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Foreign Agricultural Service

U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Land Management

U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Geological Survey

U.S. Department of the Interior, 

National Park Service

State Agencies

Oregon Department of Agriculture

Oregon Department of Forestry

Private Industry 

Portland General Electric

Carlson Small Power Associates

Cortner & Associates

clients who provided funding for studies to the

pnw research station in 2006

In 2006, the PNW Research Station received about $2.2 million in support from clients other than the USDA 

Forest Service, National Forest System; USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry; and other research 

stations. Below are the clients who currently have agreements and partnerships with the Station. 

Ketchikan Wood Technology Center

Lawrence Ruth & Associates

MacGregor-Bates, Inc.

Mazurek Sponsored Projects Services

Municipal Governments

Crook County

Nongovernmental Organizations 

Defenders of Wildlife

Earth Systems Institute

Resources for the Future

Society of American Foresters

The Nature Conservancy

Foreign Institutes

Forest Research, New Zealand

Educational Institutions

Notre Dame University

Other Federal Agencies

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration

Northwest Power Planning Council

U.S. Department of Defense, Fort Lewis

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Land Management

U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Geological Survey

U.S. Department of the Interior, 

National Park Service

Municipal Governments

City of Seattle

State Agencies

Oregon Department of Forestry

Washington Department of 

Fish and Wildlife

Washington Department of 

Natural Resources

Washington Department of 

Transportation

Private Industry 

Kelsey Creek Laboratories

Portland General Electric

Weyerhaeuser Company
80

SCIENCE

aCCOMPLISHMENTS 2006

Station Director

Bov Eav

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2100

E-mail: beav@fs.fed.us

Deputy Station Director

Cynthia D. West

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2104

E-mail: cdwest@fs.fed.us 

Assistant Station Director

Paul Dunn

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2115

E-mail: pdunn@fs.fed.us 

Director for Operations

Rolando Ortegon

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2102

E-mail: rortegon@fs.fed.us 

Program Manager and Communications 

 and Applications Director

Cynthia L. Miner

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2135

E-mail: clminer@fs.fed.us

Program Managers

Aquatic and Land Interactions

Douglas Ryan

Forestry Sciences Laboratory

3625 93rd Avenue SW

Olympia, WA 98512

Phone: 360-753-7652

E-mail: dryan01@fs.fed.us 

Ecosystem Processes

John Laurence

Forestry Sciences Laboratory

3200 SW Jefferson Way

Corvallis, OR 97331

Phone: 541-750-7357

E-mail: jalaurence@fs.fed.us

Focused Science Delivery

Jamie Barbour

Pacific Northwest Research Station

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2542

E-mail: jbarbour01@fs.fed.us

Forest Inventory and Analysis

Sue Willits

Forestry Sciences Laboratory

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2066

E-mail: swillits@fs.fed.us

Human and Natural Resources Interactions

Richard Haynes

Forestry Sciences Laboratory

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2002

E-mail: rhaynes@fs.fed.us

Managing Disturbance Regimes

Ed DePuit

Forestry Sciences Laboratory

1133 N Western Avenue

Wenatchee, WA 98801

Phone: 509-664-1715

E-mail: ejdepuit@fs.fed.us

Resource Management and Productivity

Charley Peterson

Forestry Sciences Laboratory

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2026

E-mail: cepeterson@fs.fed.us

Publications mentioned in this report can be requested by calling (503) 808-2138 or e-mailing pnw_pnwpubs@fs.fed.us. 

 Many publications can be downloaded from the PNW Research Station Web site at: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/.

Note: The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and does not imply endorsement by 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture of any product or service. 

CREDITS

Communications and Applications Program Manager — Cynthia L. Miner

Managing editor — Valerie Rapp

Writers — Valerie Rapp and Yasmeen Sands

Art direction and production management — Frank Vanni

Graphic design — Pilar Reichlein and Keith Routman

Map — Keith Routman

Photography — see credit with each photo

All uncredited photos — USDA Forest Service staff

PNW Research Station organizatioN
United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest

Service

Pacific Northwest

Research Station

The attached CD-ROM contains the following files:

➤	 2006 Science Accomplishments.

➤	 PNW Research Program Reports.

➤	 PNW Directory for Research Programs.

➤	 2006 PNW Research Station publications.

The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of multiple use

management of the Nation’s forest resources for sustained yields of wood, water, forage, wildlife, and

recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the States and private forest owners, and

management of the national forests and national grasslands, it strives—as directed by Congress—

to provide increasingly greater service to a growing Nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on

the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial

status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or

because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all

prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for

communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s

TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA,

Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call

(800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
January 2007

Pacific Northwest Research Station

333 SW First Avenue

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/