The Kings River Sustainable Forest 

Ecosystems Project: Inception, Objectives, 

and Progress1 

Jared Verner2 and Mark T. Smith3 

Abstract 

The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project, a formal administrative study 

involving extensive and intensive collaboration between Forest Service managers and 

researchers, is a response to changes in the agency’s orientation in favor of ecosystem 

approaches and to recent concern over issues associated with maintenance of late 

successional forest attributes and species that are closely associated with them, such as 

the California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis). Planning for the project began in 

mid-February, 1993. A prescribed burning program was already underway in the project 

area then, and the first vegetation treatments were initiated in 1997. Two additional 

projects involving treatment of vegetation are nearing implementation. A demographic 

study of the spotted owl, begun in 1990, already encompassed most of the project 

area, and it was enlarged in 1994 to cover the entire area. Other research projects were 

initiated in 1994 and 1995, and results of those are beginning to come in. An appendix 

lists 77 technical papers, abstracts, theses, and dissertations that were completed 

through 1999, based on work associated with the project, and one extensive database 

on the distribution and habitat associations of California’s plant species, which is 

now available on the Internet. 

Ecosystem management aligns different uses of the land with ecological 

parameters and goals of environmental quality. An important USDA Forest 

Service mission is to balance the multiple uses of its lands in an ecologically 

sustainable way. This challenge has been significant for National Forests of the 

Sierra Nevada, especially with controversies over the effects of even-aged timber 

harvest on old-growth forests and their associated wildlife, such as California 

spotted owls. Much of the concern stems from loss of habitat attributes—closedcanopied stands, very old trees, large snags and downed wood, and multiple 

structural layers—believed to be needed by the owl and other wildlife species. 

Several of these attributes are also believed to be vital for sustaining healthy, 

productive forests. 

The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project involves a formal 

administrative study and associated research, with joint leadership and 

collaboration among line officers and staff of the Sierra National Forest, the 

Kings River Ranger District, and the Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW). 

District personnel are implementing two landscape-level management options, 

at watershed scales, while researchers study the effects of those options on 

various forest resources and values. Persons involved with the project are 

optimistic that both options, with minimal “zonation” for special needs, will 

sustain all key resources (soil, water, vegetation, and wildlife) and functions of 

1 An abbreviated version of this 

paper was presented at the 

Symposium on the Kings River 

Sustainable Forest Ecosystems 

Project: Progress and Current 

Status, January 26, 1998, Clovis, 

California. 

2 Chief Research Wildlife Biologist 

and Senior Scientist, Forestry 

Sciences Laboratory, Pacific 

Southwest Research Station, 

USDA Forest Service, 2081 E. 

Sierra Ave., Fresno, CA 93710. 

3 	 Silviculturist, Sierra National 

Forest, USDA Forest Service, 

1600 Tollhouse Road, Clovis, CA 

93611. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183. 2002. 1 
Verner, Smith The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project: Inception, Objectives, and Progress 

the ecosystems involved, while reducing risks of catastrophic fire, restoring fire 

as a forest ecosystem process, promoting forest health, allowing sustainable 

levels of commodity extraction, and supporting recreational use by the public. 

Inception of the Project 

On January 13, 1993, Ronald E. Stewart, Regional Forester of the Forest Service’s 

Pacific Southwest Region, released the decision notice for an Environmental 

Assessment (USDA 1993) that provided interim guidelines for the California 

spotted owl, amending the Land and Resource Management Plans for all 

National Forests of the Sierra Nevada that have spotted owls. Better known as 

the CASPO EA (California Spotted Owl Environmental Assessment), this 

document markedly changed options for timber management in National Forests 

of the Sierra Nevada for an interim period of 2 years, effective on March 1, 1993, 

while longer-term plans were to be developed through a new Environmental 

Impact Statement covering those National Forests. It was evident from the EA 

that new directions were needed for managing National Forest lands in the 

Sierra Nevada, not just for the owl but for many other resources and values as 

well. In response to this new situation, and with encouragement from the Pacific 

Southwest Region to initiate an administrative study in ecosystem management, 

a small group of scientists and managers from the Sierra National Forest and 

PSW’s Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Fresno met in mid-February, 1993, to 

discuss options. A coordinating group with members from the forest, the district, 

and PSW was formed after this meeting. This group continued to meet over the 

next few weeks and soon agreed on the basic features of a study plan that 

eventually developed into the current project. 

The District has dedicated to the project two adjacent watersheds—Big Creek 

and Dinkey Creek—each of about 32,000 acres (fig. 1). The selection of these 

watersheds was based on their accessibility; their similarity in size; and the fact 

that a demographic study of the California spotted owl, begun in 1990, 

encompassed most of the project area. Forests in the Big Creek watershed are 

Figure 1—The Kings River 

administrative study area in the 

Sierra National Forest in central 

California includes the 64,000-acre 

Big Creek and Dinkey Creek 

watersheds (indicated by shading). 

�

Sierra National Forest 

Sierra National Forest 

Study Area 

Dinkey Creek Watershed 

Big Creek Watershed 

2 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183. 2002. 
The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project: Inception, Objectives, and Progress 

dominated by ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest, with a small component 

of mixed-conifer type. Shrubs, attributable in part to natural land potential and 

in part to past logging and fire history, dominate much of the landscape. 

Proposed management in this watershed emphasizes uneven-aged, small-group 

selection with a 200-year rotation. An expected benefit of this strategy is reduction 

in the reliance on zoning to meet various resource needs and public values. 

Riparian values, however, will be maintained by zone-specific standards and 

guidelines, but the final strategy there is open to adaptation as the current debate 

within the Sierra Nevada Conservation Framework may point to an approach 

that would benefit from applied research. Fuel reduction treatments will be 

situated strategically to reduce the likelihood of wildfires spreading up the 

canyon into the community of Shaver Lake. 

The Dinkey Creek watershed is dominated by mixed-conifer forests with a 

small component of ponderosa pine forest, and influences of past logging and 

fire are less extensive there than in the Big Creek watershed. The management 

emphasis for Dinkey Creek is to develop a three-tiered landscape with different 

objectives in each—a late-seral riparian area with infrequent fire and little or no 

timber harvest and an emphasis on habitat maintenance and/or restoration 

(about 20 percent of the watershed); a mid-slope transition area (about 50 percent 

of the watershed) with forest cover averaging at least 40 percent crown closure; 

and an upper-slope/ridge-top area (about 30 percent of the watershed) managed 

by thinning and prescribed burning to create fuelbreaks in the form of open, 

park-like forests of evenly spaced trees and canopy closure of about 40 percent. 

The management strategy for the mid-slope transition area is still pending, with 

approaches like uneven-aged, single-tree selection or perpetuation of a twolayered forest structure under active consideration. The Dinkey Creek watershed 

includes an existing furbearer management area, established in 1992 by the 

Sierra National Forest’s Land and Resource Management Plan, which will 

influence the choice of an approach for sustaining the forest. 

In spite of the substantial commitments of time and funding by all 

participating entities, it was clear from the beginning that available funds would 

substantially limit both the management and research activities needed to 

generate a worthwhile administrative study. Coincidentally, the Forest Service 

proposed for fiscal year 1994 a special appropriation for ecosystem research and, 

in March of 1993, the Washington Office issued a request for proposals from all 

research stations to compete for these funds, assuming that Congress would 

allocate them. PSW submitted a successful proposal, based on the study design 

developed by the coordinating group, and Congress did pass the special 

appropriation for ecosystem research. The result was a near doubling of PSW’s 

operating budget available to support research in the project area. This additional 

funding was renewed each year through fiscal year 1998. Beginning with fiscal 

year 1999, it was added to the base funding for PSW’s laboratory in Fresno, 

which provided secure funding for this research, at least for several years. 

At about the same time, the Pacific Southwest Region requested proposals 

from all National Forests in the Sierra Nevada for support of projects in ecosystem 

management. Again, based on the study design being developed for the Kings 

River Project, the Sierra National Forest submitted a successful proposal to the 

Regional Office for funds to offset administrative costs of implementing its part 

of the collaborative study. Since that time, the forest has been successful in its 

yearly request for this additional funding. 

Objectives 

General Objectives 

A primary goal of the project is to maintain nearly continuous forest cover 

with significant numbers of older trees, large snags, and large logs welldistributed throughout both watersheds, while restoring fire to its former role as 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183. 2002. 

Verner, Smith 

3 
Verner, Smith The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project: Inception, Objectives, and Progress 

a dominant process in these ecosystems. A second general objective, though 

without the rigor of classical adaptive management, is to learn something 

through research and monitoring from every management action. Implementing 

the landscape-level silvicultural treatments, with accompanying research into 

the effects of those treatments on various ecosystem components and functions, 

provides an inherent feedback system. Results from studies can be applied in the 

next round of management planning, leading to modifications more likely to 

result in desired future conditions. Thus, the two processes advance together, 

each complementing the other. 

Specific Objectives 

Specific objectives of the project include: 

• Determining the feasibility of applying small-group selection as a 

landscape-level silvicultural treatment in ponderosa pine and mixedconifer forests of the western Sierra Nevada of California, following the 

planning and implementation procedures of a typical Forest Service 

Ranger District. 

• Comparing two promising, landscape-level alternatives for multiobjective management to ensure long-term maintenance of California 

spotted owls, while retaining all other resource values, improving forest 

health, and developing a sustainable level of land productivity. 

• Determining interrelations of various forest components and their 

responses to small-group selection harvests and to a three-tiered forest 

landscape treatment of watersheds. 

• Evaluating effects of these alternate strategies on multiple forest 

components, wildlife species, biodiversity in general, ecosystem 

functions, soil/plant processes needed to sustain long-term forest 

productivity, and on plant species likely to become locally rare. 

• Demonstrating the use of distributional data sources and geographic 

information systems (GIS) to identify concerns about critical plant 

biodiversity at the landscape level. 

Progress 

Management 

The Kings River District has established a core interdisciplinary (ID) team that 

includes a planner, a forester, a biologist, and a GIS specialist to develop a 

Landscape Analysis Plan consistent with the existing Land Management Plan for 

the Sierra National Forest. Other specialists are engaged in this process as 

needed. In 1997, the ID team released a draft Landscape Analysis Plan for review 

and comment, and the plan is currently in revision based on comments received. 

The draft plan proposed desired future conditions for both watersheds and 

delineated mechanisms for using feedback from implementation of the two 

strategies to gauge progress toward desired future conditions. To better 

understand effects of the treatments on various forest resources, the district is 

collecting data on existing vegetation (both live and dead), comparing two 

approaches to watershed analysis, chronicling past fire history in each watershed, 

and monitoring the effects of prescribed burning. 

GIS mapping layers are now in place for a variety of general elements 

(topoquads, CALWATERSHEDS [as designated by the California Interagency 

Watershed Mapping Committee], soils, roads, streams, vegetation, and fire 

history) and special features (Ecologic Unit Inventory study plots; District 

vegetation sampling plots; Protected Activity Centers for California spotted 

owls; spotted owl nest tree locations; forest bird study plots; deer holding areas, 

4 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183. 2002. 
The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project: Inception, Objectives, and Progress 

migration routes, and winter ranges; and furbearer management zones). Other 

layers are being developed. These electronic files are essential for efficient 

evaluation of the effects of projects and for effective cumulative effects analyses 

over the full project area. 

To date, progress is underway on three projects in both watersheds, using 

timber sales, prescribed fires, and mastication of shrubs and small trees to 

accomplish the work. In Dinkey Creek, the Indian Rock Upper Tier Project is 

under contract, but harvesting has not yet occurred. In the Big Creek watershed, 

the Bear Meadow project is currently in an advanced stage of planning, and the 

first stage of the 10S18 Fuel Reduction Project has been completed by using an 

uneven-aged, small-group selection strategy. This involved removal of 

commercial timber and treated approximately 1,000 acres near the upper end of 

the watershed. The project included extensive commercial thinnings to 

accentuate the existing uneven-aged structure and a large “defensible fuelprofile zone,” essentially a shaded fuel break intended to alter the behavior of 

wildfire moving up the canyon from below in a way that would facilitate 

suppression efforts. The second stage of this project—mastication of the 

remaining surface fuels and standing small trees that contribute to fuel ladders— 

began in 1998; the first 200 acres is scheduled for completion in 1999. The final 

stage of this project, prescribed burning of residual fuels, will occur during the 

year after mastication. Substantial progress has been made with prescribed 

burning—a total of about 7,000 acres burned to date. More details of this activity, 

the uneven-aged management strategy, and project planning are covered in 

other chapters of this volume. 

Research 

The project allows scientists to work closely with professionals on the Forest and 

District and to foster directly the application of current scientific information for 

developing ecologically based management strategies, maximizing the public’s 

investment in science, and adapting management to current information. Because 

the number, scope, and intensity of studies underway in the project area are 

limited by available funding, not all topics fundamental to a project in ecosystem 

research are presently under investigation. We present only a brief overview 

because details of the various studies form the basis of other chapters in this 

volume. 

The largest study involves the demography of California spotted owls in the 

project area and in an additional 100,000 acres surrounding the 64,000-acre 

project area. As a further control, a demographic study of spotted owls is 

underway in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks in unharvested forests of 

the same types found in the project area. These studies were initiated in 1990 and 

include annual efforts to locate and color band (for individual recognition in the 

field) all spotted owls within boundaries of the study areas. In addition, diets of 

the owls are sampled annually by collection and analysis of pellets (aggregations 

of bones, fur, feathers, etc. of captured prey, which are periodically regurgitated 

by the owls and can be collected from the ground beneath their roosts and nests). 

Productivity of the owls in relation to forest stand structure and composition, 

and to precipitation and temperature, are under investigation. 

Other studies are investigating the abundance, nest success, and productivity 

of all species of forest birds; ecology and population status of small mammals; 

ecological relations of below-ground fungi (truffles); plant species diversity in 

relation to stand treatments; effects of treatments on soil structure and 

productivity; and distribution and relative abundance of martens and fishers. 

Plans are underway to initiate studies of aquatic ecology in the project area. 

Verner, Smith 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183. 2002. 5 
Verner, Smith The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project: Inception, Objectives, and Progress 

Coordination 

The collaborative nature of the project, and the shared leadership between Forest 

Service research and management branches, has required continual dialogue 

among all parties. To facilitate this activity, representatives of the Sierra National 

Forest, the District’s ID team and District Ranger, and one or more scientists from 

PSW’s Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Fresno have bimonthly coordination 

meetings. In addition, we meet in the intervening months for “brown bag lunch” 

sessions with the same group and any others from these administrative units 

who wish to participate. These meetings have proven to be invaluable and may 

be a primary reason why the project has run so smoothly. 

Public Involvement 

Some members of the public have taken an active interest in the project and 

participate regularly in field trips, comment on project plans, suggest alternate 

management scenarios, and in other ways contribute significantly and positively 

to the planning and implementation of the project. In addition to the usual 

procedure of soliciting public comments on planning documents, we have 

actively sought public input through direct experience with the project area via 

field trips during periods when weather and road conditions permit. The first of 

these occurred on August 4, 1994. Since then, we have hosted 23 additional field 

trips involving congressional staffers; academicians; representatives from the 

timber industry and the environmental community; scientists with specialties in 

forestry, botany, wildlife biology, fire and fuels, silviculture, atmospheric 

pollution, hydrology, soils, and others; top line and staff officers from the Forest 

Service’s Pacific Southwest Region and PSW; interested citizens; and even a 

reporter from the Fresno Bee, which resulted in a complimentary article in the 

1 December 1997 issue of the Bee. 

Technology Transfer 

The application of new information to management planning and applications is 

typically a slow process. In the present case, however, relevant new information 

can be shared immediately among members of the team, undergo scrutiny and 

discussion, and be evaluated in relation to our existing plans. This is the starting 

point for adaptive management. Plans typically identify desired future conditions 

and set forth procedures for attaining those conditions. If implementation of the 

plans fails to produce the desired conditions, feedback of that information into 

later planning should result in adapting management accordingly in the hope of 

doing a better job the next time. In the beginning, we anticipated a marked lag 

between implementation of a project and any realization that we might do it 

better, and in what ways. Certainly this will be true for much of what we learn 

during the life of this project. On the other hand, we’ve come to realize that the 

field trips—when various specialists have an opportunity to walk through and 

directly assimilate the results of a project in relation to their special knowledge— 

generate lively discussions and a surprising number of concerns, insights, and 

constructive suggestions. Already, initial visions have undergone some changes, 

even without results from formal studies. These have involved such items as 

crown volume as a structural attribute of forests important for various wildlife 

species, implications of different methods for estimating canopy cover, and ways 

to sustain some number of trees that can become very old and decadent and 

eventually die as a result of some natural agent. 

Even though most of the project’s studies are relatively young, several 

technical papers have reported on results (appendix A), and several talks have 

been presented at workshops, symposia, and meetings of professional societies. 

The small group of persons who initially proposed the Kings River Sustainable 

Forest Ecosystems Project, in mid-February of 1993, envisioned a very long-term 

effort to get answers to some of the critical questions—on the order of 50 to 100 

6 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183. 2002. 
The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project: Inception, Objectives, and Progress 

years! Obviously, this will outlive most or all persons presently engaged. The 

longer the project survives, however, the more likely it is to produce important, 

and unequivocal, findings. We believe this is a role that the Forest Service can 

serve, probably better than any other entity. This agency not only manages an 

extraordinarily large landbase but also has the potential to sustain individual 

projects well beyond the lifespan of any one person. As we move forward with 

an emphasis on ecosystem management and ecosystem research, the Forest 

Service might profitably emphasize its truly unique position to carry on largescale, long-term projects and studies. Finally, we re-emphasize the experimental 

nature of the Kings River Project. It is envisioned as continuing for decades, and 

its directions are expected to change with time as we learn from studies along the 

way. The work is intentionally manipulative so that responses can be gauged 

and new directions crafted accordingly, in the spirit of adaptive management. 

Acknowledgments 

We have benefited from review comments on a draft of the manuscript by Ray 

Porter, Bill Laudenslayer, and Nancy Fleenor. 

Reference 

USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture). 1993. California spotted owl: Sierran Province interim 

guidelines. Environmental assessment. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region. 

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 272 p. 

Appendix A 

This appendix lists products resulting from research associated with the 

Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project. This list is current through 

1999, with citations updated for “In press” papers that were published by the 

end of 2001. 

Publications, Papers In Press, and Papers Submitted 

Bidartondo, M. I.; Kretzer, A. M.; Pine, E. M.; Bruns, T. D. [In press]. High root concentration and 

uneven ectomycorrhizal diversity near Sarcodes sanguinea (Ericaceae): a cheater that stimulates 

its victims? American Journal of Botany. 

Boyle, J. R., Powers, R. F. 2000. Editorial: forest soils and ecosystem sustainability. Forest Ecology 

and Management 138:1. 

Busse, Matt; Rappaport, Nancy; Powers, Robert. 2001. Hexasinone effects on soil biota and 

processes: initial findings. In: Cooper, S. L., compiler. Proceedings, 22nd Forest Vegetation 

Management Conference. 16-8 January 2001, Redding, CA. Redding, CA: University of California, 

Shasta County Cooperative Extension; 66-72. 

Busse, Matt D.; Ratcliff, Alice W.; Shestak, Carol J.; Powers, Robert F. 2001. Glyphosate toxicity and 

the effects of long-term vegetation control on soil microbial communities. Soil Biology and 

Biochemistry 33: 12-13. 

Fargo, Roberta J.; Laudenslayer, William F., Jr. 1995. Morphological differences between two 

white-footed mice, Peromyscus boylii and Peromyscus californicus, in oak woodlands of 

Fresno County, California. Transactions of the Western Section of The Wildlife Society 31: 58-62. 

Fargo, Roberta J.; Laudenslayer, William F., Jr. 1997. Use of night-vision goggles, light-tags, and 

fluorescent powder for measuring microhabitat use of nocturnal small mammals. Transactions 

of the Western Section of The Wildlife Society 33: 12-17. 

Gressel, N.; McColl, J. G.; McGrath, A. E.; Powers, R. F. 1995. Spectroscopy of aqueous extracts of 

forest litter. I: suitability of methods. Journal of the Soil Science Society of America 59: 

1,715-1,723. 

Gressel, N.; McColl, J. G.; Powers, R. F.; McGrath, A. E. 1995. Spectroscopy of aqueous extracts of 

forest litter. II: effects of management practices. Journal of the Soil Science Society of America 

59: 1,723-1,731. 

Gressel, N.; McColl, J. G.; Preston, C. M.; Newman, R. H.; Powers, R. F. 1996. Linkages between 

phosphorus transformations and carbon decomposition in a forest soil. Biogeochemistry 

33: 97-123. 

Verner, Smith 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183. 2002. 7 
Verner, Smith The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project: Inception, Objectives, and Progress 

Harris, Richard; Laudenslayer, Bill. 1998. Dead and dying trees: part of a healthy forest. Forest 

Land Steward (newsletter, Cooperative Extension, University of California): Winter: 1, 4. 

Hunsaker, Carolyn T.; Steger, George N.; Boroski, Brian B. [In press]. Relations between occurrence 

and productivity of California spotted owls and canopy cover. In: Scott, J. Michael; Heglund, 

Patricia J.; Haufler, Jon; Wall, William A.; Samson, Fred, eds. Predicting plant and animal 

occurrences: issues of scale and accuracy. Proceedings of symposium, 1999 October 19-22, 

Snowbird, UT. Covelo, CA: Island Press. 

Kretzer, A. M.; Bidartondo, M. I.; Grubisha, L.; Szaro, T. M.; Bruns, T. D. 2000. Regional 

specialization of Sarcodes sanguinea (Ericaceae) on a single fungal symbiont from the 

Rhizopogon ellenae (Rhizopogonaceae) species complex. American Journal of Botany 87: 

1778-1782. 

Laudenslayer, William F., Jr. 1997. Dead, dying, and diseased trees and their values to wildlife. In: 

Adams, David H.; Rios, Joseph E., eds. Proceedings of the 45th annual meeting of the California 

Forest Pest Council; 1996 November 13-14; Sacramento, CA. Sacramento, CA: California 

Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; 9-14. 

Laudenslayer, William F., Jr.; Fargo, Roberta J. 1997. Small nocturnal mammals in oak woodlands: 

some considerations for assessing presence and abundance. In: Pillsbury, Norman H.; Verner, 

Jared; Tietje, William D., technical coordinators. Proceedings of a symposium on oak woodlands: 

ecology, management and urban interface issues; 1996 March 19-22; San Luis Obispo, CA. Gen. 

Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-160. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture; 373-380. 

McColl, J. G.; Powers, R. F. 1998. Decomposition of small diameter woody debris of red fir 

determined by nuclear magnetic resonance. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 

29: 2,691-2,704. 

Munton, Thomas E.; Johnson, Kenneth D.; Steger, George N.; Eberlein, Gary P. 1997. The diet of 

California spotted owls in riparian deciduous and oak habitats of the southern Sierra Nevada. 

In: Pillsbury, Norman H.; Verner, Jared; Tietje, William D., technical coordinators. Proceedings 

of a symposium on oak woodlands: ecology, management and urban interface issues; 19-22 

March 1966; San Luis Obispo, CA. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-160. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest 

Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; 683-687. 

North, Malcolm; Steger, George; Denton, Renee; Eberlein, Gary; Munton, Tom; Johnson, Ken. 2000. 

Association of weather and nest-site structure with California spotted owl reproduction. 

Journal of Wildlife Management 64: 797-807. 

Powers, R. F.; Alves, T. M.; Spear, T. H. 1999. Soil compaction: can it be mitigated? Reporting a 

work in progress. In: Proceedings, 20th annual forest vegetation management conference. 1999 

January 19-21, Redding, CA. Redding, CA: Forest Vegetation Management Conference; 47-56. 

Powers, R. F.; Morrison, I. K. 1996. Soil and sustainable forest productivity: a preamble. Journal of 

the Soil Science Society of America 60: 1,613. 

Powers, R. F.; Tiarks, A. E.; Burger, J. A.; Carter, M. C. 1996. Sustaining the productivity of planted 

forests. In: Carter, Mason C., ed. Growing trees in a greener world: industrial forestry in the 21st 

century. Proceedings, 35th forestry fymposium, School of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries. Baton 

Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University; 97-134. 

Powers, Robert F. 1999. If you build it, will they come? Survival skills for silvicultural research. 

Forestry Chronicle 75: 367-373. 

Powers, Robert F. 1999. On the sustainability of planted forests. New Forests 17: 253-306. 

Powers, Robert F. 1999. On the sustainable productivity of planted forests. In: Boyle, James Reid; 

Winjum, Jack K.; Kavanagh, Katy; Jensen, Edward C., eds. Planted forests: contributions to the 

quest for sustainable societies. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 263-306. 

Powers, Robert F. 2001. Assessing potential sustainable wood yield. In: Evans, Julian, ed. The 

forests handbook. Oxford, England: Blackwell Science; 105-128. 

Powers, Robert F.; Aune, Philip S. 1998. Keynote: Communicating silviculture: values and benefits 

for the new millennium. In: Communicating the role of silviculture in managing the National 

Forests. Proceedings, National Silviculture Workshop, 1998 May 19-22, Warren, PA. Gen. Tech. 

Rep. NE-GTR-238. Radnor, PA: Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture; 3-9. 

Powers, Robert F.; Avers, Peter E. 1995. Sustaining forest productivity through soil quality 

standards: a coordinated U.S. effort. In: Abboud, S. A.; McGill, W. B., eds. Environmental soil 

science: anthropogenic chemicals and soil quality criteria. Brandon, Manitoba, Canada: Canadian 

Society of Soil Science; 147-190. 

Powers, Robert F.; Fiddler, Gary O. 1997. The North American long-term soil productivity study: 

progress through the first 5 years. In: Proceedings, 18th annual forest vegetation conference, 

1997 January 14-16, Sacramento, CA. Redding, CA: Forest Vegetation Management 

Conference; 88-102. 

8 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183. 2002. 
The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project: Inception, Objectives, and Progress 

Powers, Robert F.; Hauxwell, Donald L.; Nakamura, Gary M., eds. 2000. Forest soils biology and 

forest management. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-178. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research 

Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; 113 p. 

Powers, Robert F.; Hauxwell, Donald L.; Nakamura, Gary M. 2000. Forest soils biology and forest 

management: a preface. In: Powers, Robert F.; Hauxwell, Donald L.; Nakamura, Gary M., eds. 

Forest soils biology and forest management. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-178. Albany, CA: Pacific 

Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; 1-5. 

Powers, Robert F.; Reynolds, Phillip E. 1999. Ten-year responses of ponderosa pine plantations to 

repeated vegetation and nutrient control along an environmental gradient. Canadian Journal 

of Forestry Research 29: 1,027-1,038. 

Powers, Robert F.; Reynolds, Phillip E. 2000. Intensive management of ponderosa pine plantations: 

sustainable productivity for the 21st century. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 10: 249-255. 

Powers, Robert F.; Tiarks, Allan E.; Boyle, James R. 1998. Assessing soil quality: practicable 

standards for sustainable forest productivity in the United States. In: Davidson, Eric A., ed. 

Criteria and indicators of soil quality for sustainable forest productivity. Madison, WI: Special 

Publication 53, Soil Science Society of America; 53-80 

Powers, Robert F.; Tiarks, Allan E.; Buford, Marilyn A. 1995. Influence of site disturbance on 

fundamental productivity and soil processes in pine plantations of the U.S.: the “LTSP 

experiment.” In: Gaskin, R. E.; Zabkiewicz, J. A., compilers. Second international conference on 

forest vegetation management; 1995 March 20-24: Rotorua, New Zealand. FRI Bulletin 192. 

Rotorua, New Zealand: New Zealand Forest Research Institute; 68-70. 

Purcell, Kathryn L. 1997. Use of a fiberscope for examining nest cavities. Journal of Field 

Ornithology 68: 283-286. 

Purcell, Kathryn L.; Verner, Jared. 1999. Abundance and rates of nest parasitism by brown-headed 

cowbirds over an elevational gradient in the southern Sierra Nevada. In: Morrison, Michael L., 

ed. Proceedings of the symposium: research and management of brown-headed cowbirds in 

western and eastern landscapes; 1997 October 24-25; Sacramento, CA. Studies in Avian 

Biology 18:97-103. 

Reynolds, Phillip E.; Powers, Robert F. 2000. Gas exchange for managed ponderosa pine stands 

positioned along a climatic gradient. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 10: 257-265. 

Steger, George N. 1995. Sex ratios of fledgling and recaptured subadult spotted owls in the 

southern Sierra Nevada. Transactions of the Western Section of The Wildlife Society 31: 36-39. 

Steger, George N.; Eberlein, Gary P.; Munton, Thomas E.; Johnson, Kenneth D. 1997. Characteristics 

of California spotted owl nest sites in foothill riparian and oak woodlands of the southern 

Sierra Nevada, California. In: Pillsbury, Norman H.; Verner, Jared; Tietje, William D., technical 

coordinators. Proceedings of a symposium on oak woodlands: ecology, management and urban 

interface issues; 1996 March 19-22; San Luis Obispo, CA. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-160. Albany, 

CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; 355-364. 

Steger, George N.; Munton, Thomas E.; Johnson, Kenneth D.; Eberlein, Gary P. 1997. Characteristics 

of nest trees and nest sites of California spotted owls in coniferous forests of the southern 

Sierra Nevada. Transactions of the Western Section of The Wildlife Society 33: 30-39. 

Stendell, E.; Horton, T. R.; Bruns, T. D. 1999. Early effects of prescribed fire on the structure of the 

fungal ectomycorrhizal community in a Sierra Nevada ponderosa pine forest. Mycological 

Research 103: 1,353-1,359. 

Tiarks, A. E.; Buford, M. A.; Powers, R. F.; Ragus, J. F.; Page-Dumroese, D. S.; Ponder, F., Jr.; Stone, 

D. M. 1998. North American long-term soil productivity research program. In: 

Communicating the role of silviculture in managing the National Forests. Proceedings, 

National Silviculture Workshop, 1998 May 19-22, Warren, Pennsylvania. Gen. Tech. Rep. 

NE-GTR-238. Radnor, PA: Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture; 140-147. 

Van Cleve, Keith; Powers, Robert F. 1995. Soil carbon, soil formation and ecosystem development. 

In: McFee, William W.; Kelly, J. Michael, eds. Carbon forms and functions in forest soils. Special 

Publication. Madison, WI: Soil Science Society of America; 155-200. 

Verner, Jared. 1996. Wildfire and species at risk: the California spotted owl. Proceedings of the 

17th annual forest vegetation management conference; 1996 January 16-18; Redding, CA. San 

Francisco, CA: Region 5, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; 166-167. 

Verner, Jared. 1997. Conservation strategies for spotted owls in relation to concepts of dynamic 

equilibria. In: Sommarstrom, Sari, ed. What is watershed stability: a review of the foundation 

concept of dynamic equilibrium in watershed management. Proceedings of the sixth biennial 

watershed management conference; 1995 October 23-25; Lake Tahoe, CA. Davis, CA: Water 

Resources Center Report No. 92; 23-33. 

Verner, Smith 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183. 2002. 9 
Verner, Smith The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project: Inception, Objectives, and Progress 

Internet 

Dennis, Ann. 1998. CalFlora occurrence database. http://galaxy.cs.berkeley.edu/calflora. 

This database contains geographic and ecological distribution information for 8,363 taxa of California 

vascular plants, as well as additional habitat information for rare taxa and species of the Sierra 

Nevada. 

Published Abstracts (indicating major oral presentations to 

other scientists) 

Busse, M. D.; Powers, R. F. 1997. The “Garden of Eden” experiment. II. Differential response of 

root and microbial respiration to intensive forest management. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, 

WI: American Society of Agronomy; 292. 

Gomez, A.; Horwath, W. R.; Singer, M. J.; Powers, R. F. 1999. Water and nutrient stress in ponderosa 

pine as a result of soil compaction. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, WI: American Society of 

Agronomy; 310. 

Gomez, A.; Singer, M. J.; Powers, R. F.; Horwath, W. R. 1998. Effects of soil compaction and forest 

floor removal on tree growth in California forest. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, WI: American 

Society of Agronomy; 303. 

Gressel, N.; McColl, J. G.; Powers, R. F. 1995. Carbon decomposition and phosphorus 

transformations in coniferous forests. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, WI: American Society of 

Agronomy; 308. 

Gressel, N.; McColl, J. G.; Preston, C. M.; Powers, R. F. 1994. Phosphorus and carbon linkages 

in forest soils: an NMR study. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, WI: American Society of 

Agronomy; 376. 

Hunsaker, C. T. 1999. Replicated watershed research for forest management in the Sierra Nevada. 

Abstract. Spokane, WA: The Ecological Society of America; 263. 

McColl, J. G.; Gressel, N.; Powers, R. F.; Waldrop, M. P. 1997. Nutrient release from forest litter by 

enzymatic digestion. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy; 293. 

McColl, J. G.; Powers, R. F.; Mikita, M. 1994. Decomposition of red fir woody debris: NMR analysis 

of management effects. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy; 

379. 

North, Malcolm P. 1999. Patch dynamics in mixed-conifer forest: shifts in ecosystem structure and 

function. Bullard seminar abstracts. Petersham, MA: Harvard Forest seminars. 

North, Malcolm P.; Oakley, Brian B. 1999. Vegetation pattern, scale, and plot replication in 

heterogeneous plant communities. Abstracts. Spokane, WA: The Ecological Society of America; 

159. 

North, Malcolm P.; Reynolds, Joel H. 1998. Efficient field sampling: a comparison of methods with 

spatially explicit data. Abstracts. Florence Italy: Seventh international congress of ecology; 103. 

Northup, R. R.; Dahlgren, R. A.; Yu, Z.; Powers, R. F. 1994. Edaphic regulation of phenolic content 

in pine: contradictory evidence from contrasting stress gradients. Agronomy Abstracts. 

Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy; 379. 

Oakley, B. B.; North, M. P. 1999. Long-term research at the Teakettle Experimental Forest. Abstracts. 

Spokane, WA: The Ecological Society of America; 288. 

Powers, R. F. 1997. The “Garden of Eden” experiment. I. Weeds, nutrients, bugs and heavy-footed 

people. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy; 282. 

Powers, R. F.; Busse, M. D.; Boyle, J. R.; Hammer, R. D. 1997. Breaking the lemming cycle: 

discomforting questions about forest soil science. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, WI: American 

Society of Agronomy; 282. 

Powers, R. F.; Tiarks, A. E.; Boyle, J. R. 1995. Soil properties as indicators of soil quality and forest 

health: a critique. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy; 312. 

Siegel, C. M.; Burger, J. A.; Powers, R. F. 1998. Root growth opportunity as a function of soil 

strength and moisture for several forest soils and tree species. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, 

WI: American Society of Agronomy; 301. 

Siegel, C. M.; Powers, R. F.; Spear, T. H. 1994. Compaction and weed competition affect soil 

strength, moisture availability and growth of young conifers on contrasting soils. Agronomy 

Abstracts. Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy; 381. 

Verner, J.; Hunsaker, C. T.; Smith, M. T. 1999. The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystem 

Project. Abstracts. Spokane, WA: Ecological Society of America; 317. 

Verner, Jared. 1998. Managing for spotted owls: fitting conservation strategies to existing forest 

landscapes. Program and Abstracts. East Lansing, MI: International Association of Landscape 

Ecology, 6. 

10 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183. 2002. 
The Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project: Inception, Objectives, and Progress 

Waldrop, M. P.; McColl, J. G.; Powers, R. F. 1997. Enzyme activity and litter decomposition in 

a California conifer forest. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, WI: American Society of 

Agronomy; 293. 

Winsome, T.; Horwath, W. R.; Powers, R. F. 1999. Earthworm activity and phosphorus 

transformations in California forest soils. Agronomy Abstracts. Madison, WI: American Society 

of Agronomy; 236. 

Theses and Dissertations 

Gomez-Guerrero, Armando. 2000. Soil compaction and forest floor removal effects on the initial 

growth of ponderosa pine in Sierra Nevada forests. Davis, CA: University of California; 132 p. 

Ph.D. dissertation. 

Gressel, Noam. 1996. Linkages between phosphorus and carbon cycling of forest soils. Berkeley, 

CA: University of California; 172 p. Ph.D. dissertation. 

Kadoch, Joyce L. 1997. Diet and behavior of the California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis 

occidentalis) in the southern Sierra Nevada. Davis, CA: University of California; 38 p. 

M.S. thesis. 

Mercer, Melanie. 1999. Influences of plant community composition at the Teakettle Experimental 

Forest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington; 89 p. Undergraduate thesis. 

Paz, Lucas W. 2001. Soil-water characteristics and hydrological implications following forest soil 

disturbance: the relative influence of organic residue and soil compaction on permeability 

and moisture capacity. A study in Cohasset soil in the Sierra Nevada mixed conifer zone. 

Berkeley, CA: University of California; 185 p. Ph.D. dissertation. 

Poopatanapong, Anne. 2000. Effects of California spotted owls (Strix occidentalis occidentalis 

predation of northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) populations, behavior, and 

demography. Reno, NV: University of Nevada; 96 p. M.S. thesis. 

Swearingen, Kurt A. 1999. Competitive relations in an experiment of soil compaction and 

organic residues in the central Sierra Nevada of California. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State 

University; 76 p. M.S. thesis. 

Tibstrea, Robert Michael. 1999. Juvenile dispersal ecology of California spotted owls in the 

southern Sierra Nevada. Fresno, CA: California State University, Fresno; 68 p. M.S. thesis. 

Troncoso, Guillermo. 1997. Effect of soil compaction and organic residues on spring-summer soil 

moisture and temperature regimes in the Sierra National Forest. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State 

University; 56 p. M.S. thesis. 

Waldrop, Mark P. 1997. Relationships between litter decomposition and enzyme activity in a 

California forest. Berkeley, CA: University of California; 70 p. M.S. thesis. 

Winsome, Thais. 1996. The ecology of Argilophilus papillifer (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) in a 

northern California forest. Berkeley, CA: University of California; 158 p. M.S. thesis. 

Theses in Progress 

Fargo, Roberta J. Nonrandom habitat use by dusky-footed woodrats. Fresno, CA: California State 

University, Fresno; M.S. thesis. 

Issem, Cristina M. Root growth opportunity as a function of soil strength and moisture for several 

forest soils and tree species. Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Polytechnic and State University; M.S. 

thesis. 

James, Cajun. Forest microclimate as a function of distance from the forest edge. Berkeley, CA: 

University of California; Ph.D. dissertation. 

Sue, Teresa. Small mammal populations in mixed-conifer forests. Fresno, CA: California State 

University, Fresno; M.S. thesis. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183. 2002. 

Verner, Smith 

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