bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Firewood Use in Idaho: Implications for Forest Management
Authors: Ellen Force Jo
Published: April 2024

A survey shows that, demographically, firewood collectors on national forests in Idaho are fairly typical of Idahoans in general, if somewhat wealthier. The most important reason they collect firewood is to save money. However, the statewide average of 50.5 miles driven one way, each trip, to obtain an average of 5.9 cords of wood--and other collecting behaviors reported--challenges this motive. Contrary to many forest managers' belief that recreation is the primary motivation, respondents said recreation was the least important. Forest management decisions regarding permit fee structure, availability of wood, and collecting practices could have important consequences for collectors.
Gaming Aids for Resource Managers
Authors: Joseph Chris A. , Gardner Philip D. , Mills Thomas J. , Hunter T. Parkin
Published: April 2024

Development of mathematical models to aid resource managers in decision-making has frequently out-stripped empirical databases. The experience of resource managers and specialists can be used to augment limited databases. The challenge is in integrating expert opinion with empirical data to obtain new information that neither alone possesses. Structured gaming exercises can help. We have drawn from gaming literature and resource management applications, specifically wildfire suppression gaming, to suggest gaming aids for resource managers.
Have Controls Reduced Log Exports in the Pacific Northwest?
Authors: Wiseman A. Clark , Sedjo Roger A.
Published: April 2024

Patterns of U.S. softwood log exports are reviewed, along with salient features of restrictions on exports of logs from federal lands. Theoretical conditions under which restrictions will affect log exports are discussed, and an indirect test is made of the hypothesis that restrictions have no effect. Results suggest that restrictions have curtailed the volume of exports for higher quality logs only, leaving the lower and medium grades that constitute over 50 percent of U.S. softwood log exports unaffected.
Carbaryl Prevents Attacks on Lodgepole Pine by the Mountain Pine Beetle
Authors: Gibson Kenneth E. , Bennett Dayle D.
Published: April 2024

A pilot project was conducted during 1977 on the Targhee National Forest, Idaho, to test the effectiveness of carbaryl insecticide in preventing attacks by the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta). For comparison, lindane was applied to alternate blocks of trees. The insecticides were applied as water-based sprays using hand-held spray apparatus. Carbaryl was applied at 2.0 percent, and lindane at 1.3 percent. Success of each chemical was based on comparisons between treated trees and adjacent untreated ones. Carbaryl was 100-percent effective while lindane was only 45-percent effective. Follow-up evaluations after beetle flight in 1978 and 1979 showed a single treatment of carbaryl was 98.4-percent effective in preventing beetle attacks after a second season but only 66.6-percent effective following a third season. In stands of high-value trees, carbaryl can be a safe, economical, and highly efficient way to protect individual trees.
Costs and Benefits of a Mature First-Generation Loblolly Pine Tree Improvement Program
Authors: Talbert J. T. , Weir R. J. , Arnold R. D.
Published: April 2024

First-generation tree improvement programs with loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) are now reaching maturity. Yields from first-generation seed orchards in the North Carolina State University-Industry Cooperative Tree Improvement Program are now great enough to allow most members to meet all of their regeneration needs with improved stock. Progeny test measurement is a major activity of the cooperative, with the final first-generation progeny tests established in 1983. Final crop gains on 25-year rotations from one generation of loblolly pine tree improvement are estimated to be as high as 7 percent in height (site index), 12 percent in cubic foot volume, and 32 percent in harvest value. Tree improvement continues to be an attractive investment opportunity. Rates of return for investments in loblolly pine tree improvement depend on seed orchard yields, but appear to be on the order of 17 to 19 percent after taxes.
Logging and Forest Roads Related to Increased Debris Slides in Southwestern Oregon
Authors: Amaranthus Michael P. , Rice Raymond M. , Barr Nicholas R. , Ziemer Robert R.
Published: April 2024

Debris slides over a 20-year period were inventoried on 137,500 acres of forested land in the Klamath Mountains of southwest Oregon. Frequency during the study period was about one slide every 4.3 years on each 1,000 acres--an erosion rate of about ½ yd³ per acre per year. Erosion rates on roads and landings were 100 times those on undisturbed areas, while erosion on harvested areas was seven times that of undisturbed areas. Three-quarters of the slides were found on slopes steeper than 70 percent and half were on the lower third of slopes. The study area was subdivided into nine geomorphological erosion response units which exhibited profound differences in natural erosion rates and responses to disturbance. The results serve as a guide to appraising slide risk associated with planned timber harvests or road construction on forested slopes.
Integrating Research and Extension to Organize a Forest Landowners' Association
Authors: Broderick Stephen H. , Miller David R. , Holmes Thomas P.
Published: April 2024

Some research projects at the University of Connecticut were specifically designed to serve an Extension effort to organize a forest landowners' association. The association was provided with current, accurate information on the forest, its owners, and the local timber markets. This information was used to focus organizational efforts and to set goals and priorities.
Economic Costs of Fire-Suppression Forces
Authors: McKetta Charles W. , González-Cabán Armando
Published: April 2024

A procedure to estimate costs of fire management inputs for presuppression and large fire suppression found significant hourly cost differences by deployment status among 12 units--ranging from small engines to 20-person handcrews--in three western states and three USDA Forest Service regions. Estimated suppression costs were 32 to 138 percent higher than current planning figures. Overhead, training, facilities, and equipment were major sources of cost variation. Fiscal 1981 hourly suppression costs ranged from $40 for small engines on standby in the Forest Service's Southwestern Region to $595 for a 20-person handcrew in the Pacific Northwest Region during large fire suppression.
Availability, Quality, and Selection of Browse by White-Tailed Deer After Clearcutting
Authors: Hughes Jeffrey W. , Fahey Timothy J.
Published: April 2024

We evaluated the effect of large-scale forest harvest on the production, nutritive quality, twig size, and use of four preferred species of browse by white-tailed deer in a spruce-fir forest in New Hampshire. Red maple produced the most new twigs (44-fold increase 3 years after harvest), and 99% of these were sprouts from stumps. Mountain maple and mountain ash twig production increased by factors of 3.5 and 1.9, respectively, and most twigs were borne on stems that survived the clearcutting. Most yellow birch (4-fold increase after 3 years) colonized from newly dispersed seed. For all species of browse except yellow birch, clearcutting resulted in (1) significantly larger, heavier twigs, and (2) significantly higher concentrations of protein and soluble carbohydrates. Deer removed a higher proportion of twigs from the clearcut than from the uncut forest. Mountain ash and mountain maple were the preferred species on both sites. Management implications are discussed.
Shifting Southern Softwood Stumpage Supply: Implications for Welfare Estimation from Technical Change
Authors: Newman David H.
Published: April 2024

This paper estimates the economic benefits from increasing timber inventory in the southern softwood forest over the period from 1950 to 1980. The analysis measures the benefits arising to consumers and producers of stumpage from increases in softwood stumpage availability. Over the period of the analysis, average total benefits are roughly equal between the pulpwood and solidwood (combined lumber and plywood) stumpage markets. Average combined benefits range from $1.3 million to $5.3 million per year (1967 $). The size of the total benefits are more greatly affected by the level of shift assumed than they are by the structural characteristics of the market. The distribution of the benefits, however, differs quite markedly depending on the market structure. Pulpwood consumers (pulp and paper mills), for instance, receive greater than 150% of the total benefits from increased productivity effects on stumpage production as producers receive negative benefits. Solidwood producers receive positive benefits from increasing supply, although only 10% of the total benefits that are created. These distributional imbalances in the effects of policies designed to improve forest productivity should be considered in future analyses which assess the impacts and returns of these policies.
A Critical Examination of "Another Look at Leopold's Land Ethic"
Authors: Callicott J. Baird
Published: April 2024

Reevaluating Aldo Leopold's land ethic is timely, but Boris Zeide's critique of it is both biased and logically flawed. The real target of Zeide' essay is ecosystem management. The real sciences in which the land ethic is grounded are evolutionary biology, community ecology, and ecosystem ecology, not the outmoded Clementsian superorganism paradigm in ecology. Although Zeide believes in a strictly zero-sum world, Aldo Leopold had faith that we could achieve win-win solutions: log our forest and maintain their health and integrity; prosper economically and protect out ecological heritage.
Defending the Ethics of Ecological Restoration
Authors: McQuillan Alan G.
Published: April 2024

Ecological restoration has been attacked as a morally repugnant attempt to take nature. "Postmodernism," or poststructuralist epistemology, has been similarly attacked for its rejection of belief in "real nature." The essentialism of these attacks is inconsistent with the empirical basis of science and value. The science of complexity theory is supportive of poststructuralism and ecological restoration, and an understanding of poststructuralism in facts enables us to defend ecological restoration as a joyful and creative act.
Professionals in Environmental Education: Helping Kids Learn about Forestry
Authors: Anderson Dorothy H. , LaVarre Thompson Jerrilyn , Jakes Pamela J.
Published: April 2024

A K--8 school in a suburb of St. Paul has formed a partnership with natural resource professionals to create a school forest for environmental education in the field. The university and agency professionals worked with students to teach them the skills necessary to map and inventory their school grounds. Students then used the inventory data to develop a school forest plan. Over the past four years students have been implementing their plans for both field and classroom work and cross-curricular activities. With the program entering its fifth year, we can advise others looking for similar opportunities.
Entry-Level Competency and Skill Requirements of Foresters: What Do Employers Want?
Authors: Brown Tommy L. , Lassoie James P.
Published: April 2024

A survey of US forestry employers, asked about the skills and courses they require of entry-level foresters, reveals that today's forestry curricula, supplemented with on-the-job training specific to each position, adequately prepare most four-year graduates starting their careers in government and industry. The dynamic nature of the profession, however, dictates the need for periodic reassessments of curricula. Programs that have not undergone significant change in the last five years are likely out of date. Results of this study show employers' desire for new hires with broad science backgrounds and good communications skills.
The Value of Mesquite for the Rural Southwest: Fine Lumber and Soil Improvement
Authors: Felker Peter
Published: April 2024

Mesquite has great value as lumber and fuel-wood, and its high-carbohydrate pods are suitable as food for humans, domestic live-stock, and Wildlife. It is, however, detested by ranchers because it invades cattle pastures. Recent evidence suggests that silvicultural practices of thinning and intercropping may provide a permanent reduction in encroachment of young seedlings, an increase in soil fertility from nitrogen fixation, and a source of fine, reddish brown furniture-grade lumber on which significant new industries can be based. Such industries would benefit rural areas in many parts of the world as well as the American Southwest.
Forestry for Sustainable Development: Making It Happen
Authors: Gregersen Hans , Lundgren Allen , Byron Neil
Published: April 2024

Sustainable development is a process of meeting the continuing, evolving needs of people while protecting and enhancing the resource base on which all production of goods and environmental services depends. Good forest management is an essential part of the sustainable development process. Given the need to share the benefits from forests, and given the uncertainty we face concerning the future, a participatory adaptive management approach is needed, one that lets us most easily adapt if we find in the future that we are on a path of unsustainable development.
Beyond "Scoping": Citizens and San Juan National Forest Managers, Learning Together
Authors: Richard Tim , Burns Sam
Published: April 2024

In a community-public land initiative, southwest Colorado citizens and Forest Service staff worked for two years before starting the revision of the San Juan National Forest land and resource management plan. Community groups studied community values and forest science and management through informal exchanges on resource management issues. Topical working groups followed up with more detailed examinations to help ensure that the plan would reflect commitment to public land stewardship.
Sense of Place: An Elusive Concept That is Finding a Home in Ecosystem Management
Authors: Williams Daniel R. , Stewart Susan I.
Published: April 2024

"Sense of place" offers resource managers a way to identify and respond to the emotional and spiritual bonds people form with certain spaces. We examine reasons for the increasing interest in the concept and offer four broad recommendations for applying sense of place to ecosystem management. By initiating a discussion about sense of place, managers can build a working relationship with the public that reflects the complex web of lifestyles, meanings, and social relations endemic to a place.
The Boom in Forest Owners--A Bust for Forestry?
Authors: DeCoster Lester A.
Published: April 2024

Private forests are breaking into smaller ownerships. The largest parcels remain intact for now, but the acreage in midsize woodlots is shrinking and the bottom class is growing. As the size of their ownerships decreases, owners are less likely to see the relevance of forestry. Without significant investments in public relations and marketing, forestry will become less and less relevant to more and more people, and we will lose vital forests that can produce both environmental and economic benefits. We need new approaches and technologies designed for small parcels.
Has Ecosystem Management Really Changed Practices on the National Forests?
Authors: Phillips Claudia Goetz , Randolph John
Published: April 2024

In 1992 the USDA Forest Service adopted ecosystem management as a holistic approach to manage its forests and grasslands. Three recent forest plans were evaluated to ascertain whether they more closely reflect ecosystem management principles than earlier plans. On the George Washington and Francis Marion National Forests, ecosystem management principles have measurably influenced planning and decisionmaking processes, but the new policy has had limited influence on the National Forests & Grasslands in Texas.
Honesty and Foresight in Computer Visualizations
Authors: McQuillan Alan G.
Published: April 2024

The starting realism of data visualizations (see "Techniques for Visualizing the Appearance of Forestry Operations," p.9) raises ethical concerns because of this technology's potential to mislead or misinform public stakeholders. Unless we acknowledge the difference between the realistic and the real, what could be a tool for winning public understanding of forestry activities will be just one more apparent ruse that already-untrusting citizens suspect is an attempt to pull the wool over their eyes. We must therefore be scrupulously honest in our presentations.
New Ways to Predict Aerial Spray Deposition and Drift
Authors: Teske Milton E. , Thistle Harold W. , Eav Bov
Published: April 2024

Computer modeling of the behavior of a spray after it is released from an aircraft is intended to reduce the inherent complexity of pesticide application. Two new models developed by the USDA Forest Service seek to predict the effects of the atmosphere and the aircraft wake on sprays, and their predictions compare favorably with field studies. The models can improve application practices and enhance public confidence in the use of chemicals and biorational agents in forestry.
Information Technologies: Overcoming Challenges, Capturing Opportunities
Authors: Nodine Stephen K.
Published: April 2024

Imaging computer and information technologist have great potential to dramatically improve not only our efficiency but also the quality and type of work that we can do. Preconceptions that these technologies are only for big companies or take too much time to learn to use can be an obstacle to their adoption, but in fact, small companies may see the most gain in efficiency and the fastest return on their investment. Improving one's competitive advantage today means staying on top of these new opportunities.
Selection System in Northern Hardwoods
Authors: Nyland Ralph D.
Published: April 2024

Northern hardwood stands with multiple age classes allow immediate use of selection system to control the diameter and age-class distributions. This ensures consistency in yields, ecological conditions, visual qualities, and other values. To convert even-aged communities, landowners must partition the cut of upper canopy trees over many decades, regenerating a new age class with each entry. In both cases, landowners must commit to the long-term program of deliberate management that selection system requires.
Ecosystem Management in the Northeast: A Forestry Paradigm Shift?
Authors: Egan Andrew F. , Waldron Kathy , Raschka Jason , Bender John
Published: April 2024

A survey of professional foresters in the northeastern United States was conducted to determine (1) whether professional forest resource managers viewed forest ecosystem management and other "new" forestry language as representing practical constructs, and (2) whether there is a difference between USDA Forest Service foresters and private-sector foresters in the degree to which they have applied "new" forestry. Results suggested that the forest management behaviors of most foresters in the region may be influenced more by traditional forestry concepts and language than by "new" forestry.
Comments on "The Religion of Forestry: Scientific Management"
Authors: Thomas Jack Ward , Burchfield James
Published: April 2024

If "scientific management" means that elite experts are isolated from outside influence and make decisions based solely on "science," we agree that such should be abandoned. However, we don't believe such a circumstance ever existed. Foresters strive to satisfy the objectives of their employers within the boundaries of law, economic rationality, and ecological feasibility. We doubt that many, if any, worship at the altar of the Church of Scientific Management -- or ever did.
Even-Aged Silviculture in Tropical Rainforests of Asia: Lessons Learned and Myths Perpetuated
Authors: Ashton Mark S. , Peters Charles M.
Published: April 2024

In the past three decades tropical rainforests of the Far East have been managed using systems based almost exclusively on cutting cycles. Much recent research concerning this management approach has focused on reducing logging impacts on the residual forest. Evidence from historical records and research suggests that in certain circumstances shelterwood systems and their variants that provide both structural and age-class diversity can be appropriate. We give examples of such systems in India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia.
The Dauerwald: Its Role in the Restoration of Natural Forests
Authors: Schabel Hans G. , Palmer Siegfried L.
Published: April 2024

Following an almost 80-year discussion, several European countries recently mandated natural forest management based on uneven-aged silvicultural systems. This shift from traditional forestry is envisioned to eventually restore forests to a near natural condition, while promoting large volumes of high-quality wood. We review the evolution of the Dauerwald concept, which greatly influenced this significant shift, and briefly assess its relevance for American conditions.
Forest Regeneration Practices: How Regional Certification Standards Compare
Authors: Friedman Sharon T.
Published: April 2024

A review of standards for forest regeneration in 11 regional certification schemes reveals some slight shifts from current local practices. Although forest management in much of the United States is already incorporating many of the practices the standards seek to promote certification under these schemes would likely result in more natural regeneration and maintenance of a greater diversity of species. Except in special cases, there would be less need for genetic engineering and more attention to local seed collection and seed zoning, and thus a need for better seed certification. Economic consequences for industrial forestry might include some forgone opportunities.
The Challenges of Certifying Nontimber Forest Products
Authors: Pierce Alan R.
Published: April 2024

Certifying the ecological, economic, and social aspects of nontimber forest product management is complex and requires prudent application. The social issues surrounding access and utilization of nontimber forest products, and the informal economic systems under which many of these goods are traded, may be poorly addressed by a market-based initiative such as certification. Nevertheless, certification may benefit certain products, and the process of developing and testing certification standards for best management practices of nontimber forest products will benefit researchers and managers, and perhaps also the communities that harvest these critical forest resources.
Wood Rats and Northern Spotted Owls in the Coastal Redwoods
Authors: Giusti Gregory A.
Published: April 2024

Foresters often face the challenge of maintaining a flow of timber while managing for nontimber resources. In coastal redwood forests the need to protect dusky-footed wood rats--a potential prey for the spotted owl--while minimizing the damage caused by their feeding has created contradictory wildlife management objectives. Based on prior experience and preliminary field reconnaissance, however, it appears that stand prescriptions can be manipulated to control wood rat abundance and feeding behavior.
The Advantages of Equal Income Tax Rates for All Businesses
Authors: Klemperer W. David
Published: April 2024

Society of American Foresters position statements on income taxes have historically advocated federal tax policies that encourage forest management investment. This paper recommends a different approach, based on the economic theory that from a financial view economies tend to be most efficient if taxes are evenhanded and no less discouraging to one type of investment than to another. The analysis points out problems in justifying lower tax rates for timber production than for other ventures.
Nonscience from the Committee of Scientists
Authors: Geisinger Jim
Published: April 2024

The Northwest Forestry Association, whose mission is to ensure a favorable operating environment and a reliable timber supply for the forest industry in Oregon and Washington, sees flaws in the Committee of Scientists' report. In its own efforts to promote sustainable management of the region's forests, the association has found that the current plans, based on multiple use as required by law, adequately protect the sustainability of the resource. The committee's call for "ecological sustainability" to become the new mission of the Forest Service is therefore unwarranted. At the very least, the report should have been peer reviewed.
Our Forgotten Rangelands
Authors: Whittekiend J. Craig
Published: April 2024

Range resources played only a small role in the first round of national forest plans, the Society for Range Management believes, and the Committee of Scientists' proposal for identifying lands suitable for values other than timber production is still vague. But the committee's strong appeal for a collaborative approach to planning, the opportunity for involvement at multiple levels, and the emphasis on local input will help ensure that range managers can become involved. If they can't, controversy resulting from the past lack of direction for rangelands may continue.
Reforming the Forest Soviet
Authors: O'Toole Randal
Published: April 2024

The Committee of Scientists has ignored the prime lesson of the 20th century: centralized planning does not work. The Forest Options Group, a consensus group of industry, environmental, and Forest Service leaders who have been meeting for two years, believes that the Forest Service needs true alternatives: governance systems that promote cooperation, not polarization; decentralized budgeting, not congressional micromanagement. The way to find out what works best is to test a variety of alternatives on various national forests, and to that end the author describes five pilot programs.
The Guiding Star of Ecological and Rural Sustainability
Authors: Carey Henry H.
Published: April 2024

The Committee of Scientists' report signals a shift in land management planning, according to the Forest Trust, which seeks to protect the integrity of the forest ecosystem and improve the lives of people in rural communities. No longer will the Forest Service be the technical elite with sole responsibility for managing the forests, and the public the passive recipients of their benefits. The new planning process will enable citizens to become stewards of the land. In its sensitivity to the culture, concerns, and contributions of rural people, the report should win endorsement from resource-dependent communities.
Choosing a Forest Vision
Authors: Floyd Donald W. , Alexander Kelsey , Burley Charles , Cooper Arthur W. , DuFault Arthur , Gorte Ross W. , Haines Sharon G. , Hronek Bruce B. , Oliver Chadwick D. , Shepard Edward W.
Published: April 2024

It is unlikely, given the often-contentious history of the national forests, that incremental change in their administration can resolve fundamental differences in values. So concludes a task force appointed by the Society of American Foresters (SAF) to review federal forest management; its analysis and recommendations have been published in Forest of Discord: Options for Governing Our National Forests and Federal Public Lands. Whereas the Committee of Scientists was asked to stay within the framework of current laws and regulations, the SAF analysts were not so constrained. The following excerpts from Forest of Discord summarize the reasons that fundamental legislative and regulatory change is warranted and consider the purpose of having national forests and public lands.
Will Management of Vulnerable Species Protect Biodiversity?
Authors: Broberg Leonard E.
Published: April 2024

Selection of management indicator species has been used to ensure that the biodiversity of forest ecosystems is protected. Such species could be selected by their degree of imperilment. A coarse-scale review investigates whether this system finds species that are strongly associated in Idaho, Montana, and Washington. Inland vertebrates were selected based on global or national imperilment rankings and endangered species candidate lists. Their ranges were coarsely mapped and habitat associations determined. Among the findings: vulnerability criteria designate primarily fish species that are not associated with upland ponderosa pine forests, and fail to target any terrestrial vertebrate species strongly associated with this declining community.
Reducing Forest Road Erosion: Do Foresters and Logging Contracts Matter?
Authors: Egan Andrew F.
Published: April 2024

In West Virginia, as in several other states, loggers are solely responsible for implementing best management practices (BMP) to prevent soil erosion and protect water quality. A study reveals that not even the stipulation of provisions for BMPs in logging contracts results in above-average rates of compliance. Extending responsibility for BMP implementation to those individuals often most responsible for the timing and conduct of logging--the landowner--may promote better workmanship. Further, an ethic that translates landowners' satisfaction with logging into satisfaction with soil and water quality may be a useful component of extension education programs. Among the findings: Landowners who hired a professional forester to conduct their timber sales had a higher level of compliance.
The Three Rs of Roads: Redesign, Reconstruction, and Restoration
Authors: Swift Lloyd W. , Burns Richard G.
Published: April 2024

All too often, unpaved forest access roads in the southern Appalachian Mountains were located near streams and rivers, thereby contributing storm flow and sediment to the aquatic ecosystem. Landowners and managers may not have the resources to reconstruct and relocate all these roads to protect water quality. However, simple techniques for redesign of storm water drainage structures can provide low-cost alternatives where the forest floor can absorb and filter runoff from roads. These practices could apply not just in the Appalachians but wherever storms and roads are placing sediment in the stream. Land managers and consultants who assist nonindustrial forestland owners can use the principles for maintenance, reconstruction, or restoration of problem roads.
Forest Resources Research for the Next Decade: Minnesota Plots a Direction
Authors: Ellefson Paul V. , Kilgore Michael A.
Published: April 2024

In 1998 the Minnesota Forest Resources Council carried out a comprehensive review of forest resources research. Of immediate concern were legal commitments to conduct research, organizations involved, and the amount of money being invested. Once these conditions were understood, a four-pronged research agenda was set forth. Successful implementation of the research agenda will require greater attention to planning, funding, coordination, supply of researchers, and transfer of research results to users. Minnesota's experiences with the review could be useful to other states.
State Forest Health Programs: A Survey of State Foresters
Authors: Billings Ronald F.
Published: April 2024

Even as forest health problems appear to be intensifying in many regions of the United States, a 1998 survey of all 50 state foresters revealed that the total number of state forest health specialists has remained constant since 1988. Jobs of specialists in many states now combine the responsibilities once handled separately by forest entomologists and forest pathologists. Individual states vary widely in staffing levels and funding for forest health programs. Although few in number in most states, the 107 forest health specialists are vital to state forestry programs.
Case No. 1: One Hundred Years of Forest Management
Authors: Ball John J. , Schaefer Peter R.
Published: April 2024

Stands of ponderosa pine in the Black Hills National Forest have been subject to management by professional foresters longer than any other western timber type. This management began with the first regulated sale of timber from a forest reserve, referred to as Case No. 1. While more than 5 bbf of timber were removed from this forest during the last 100 years, timber volume has grown from 1.5 bbf in 1899 to more than 5 bbf today. Case No. 1 is an excellent example of how effective forest management can sustain multiple forest resources.
Raphael Zon and Forestry's First School of Hard Knocks
Authors: Lewis J.G.
Published: April 2024

When he enrolled in the New York State College of Forestry in 1899, Zon—later editor of the Journal of Forestry—found a struggling program. But the difficulties did not prevent faculty and students alike from learning. In some cases, they provided greater lessons than success might have taught. Fernow, the college dean, espoused the European ideal of forestry and emphasized economic return over silviculture. Unable to get along with the school forest's Adirondack neighbors, to retain both professors and students, and to secure steady funding, the program was dissolved in 1903; aided by Pinchot's money and maneuvering, Yale then assumed preeminence in forestry education for the century's first four decades. Zon's diary provides a student's view of the forestry school in 1900.
When Sound Science Is Not Enough: Regulating the Blues
Authors: Langston N.
Published: April 2024

In the Blue Mountains of the inland West, early foresters attempted to use the best science of the day to transform old-growth into regulated, productive forests. Managers of the 1920s thought that maximizing outputs from public forests would avert a timber famine. In the effort to reshape the forests into scientifically efficient producers of timber, old-growth had to be liquidated quickly. But the plan backfired, helping to create a forest health crisis across the West as well as a policy nightmare. Understanding the motives of those early foresters and the forest history of the region can help those who seek effective strategies for restoration today.
History, Work, and the Nature of Beauty: A Massachusetts Community Forest
Authors: Donahue B.
Published: April 2024

Logging in a Massachusetts community forest upsets local residents who believe that the forest should be left in its natural state. A detailed history of a stand of pine and oak in this forest, however, illustrates the ecological propriety of an ecosystem management approach. Community forestry can protect biodiversity, educate and employ young people, and sustainably harvest wood products. The author's investigation of this small tract also reveals the inadequacy of “reading the landscape” simply by walking through it.
The Making of a New Western Hero: The Forest Ranger in Popular Fiction, 1900–1940
Authors: LaLande J.
Published: April 2024

Newcomers on the scene at the turn of the century, the first foresters in the American West sometimes faced a reluctant and even hostile public. But as the Old West waned, popular authors like Zane Grey chose the Forest Service ranger as a protagonist in their stories. More than simply another romantic and courageous hero, the steadfast forest ranger—as portrayed in numerous novels published during the early 20th century—popularized notions of conservation and scientific forestry among a national audience. The fictional ranger brought the “gospel of forest conservation” to countless readers, just as he converted most of his fictional antagonists to the very same principles.
Managing Forests for Water Yield: The Importance of Scale
Authors: Huff D.D. , Hargrove B. , Tharp M.L. , Graham R.
Published: April 2024

Examination of expected changes in water yield for a large area where vegetation thinning has been proposed in the Sierra Mountains of California indicates that the size of the area has an important bearing on annual runoff. At the smallest scales, some treated areas may have easily measured changes in water yield, with the potential for impacts on aquatic biota and water quality. The average changes in annual runoff per unit area for large tracts, however, are too small to be measured directly and thus must be quantified by using models to extrapolate existing knowledge.
Presenting Landscape-Scale Forest Information: What Is Sufficient and What Is Appropriate?
Authors: Wilson J.S. , McGaughey R.J.
Published: April 2024

Computer visualization techniques that integrate detailed information can communicate general characteristics of a landscape to audiences from diverse backgrounds. But credibility with viewers may be lost if details—characteristics for which data are lacking—are generated to make visualizations more realistic. One solution is to present obvious ions for landscape attributes that have not been measured. In most cases, presenting a landscape via several complementary techniques conveys information most successfully. A sampling of presentation tools describing an actual forest landscape reveals their advantages, disadvantages, and suitability for lay audiences.
The Blodgett Plan: An Active-Management Approach to Developing Mature Forest Habitat
Authors: Sessions J. , Johnson D. , Ross J. , Sharer B.
Published: April 2024

A nonreserve-based landscape plan for developing mature forest habitat has been developed for the Blodgett Forest, one of the research forest properties of Oregon State University. Intended to provide a study and demonstration site for an alternative to fixed reserves, the plan calls for efficiently achieving and maintaining both mature forest and income. The forest goals include a mature forest acreage target, a mature forest landscape connectivity goal, a conversion time goal, and a net income goal. Spatial issues required development of a new harvest scheduling algorithm.
The Impact of Logging on Wildlife: A Study in Northeastern Pennsylvania
Authors: Fredericksen Todd S. , Ross Brad D. , Hoffman Wayne , Ross Eric , Morrison Michael L. , Beyea Jan , Lester Michael B. , Johnson Bradley N.
Published: April 2024

Seeing and conserving wildlife are among the most important management objectives for nonindustrial private landowners in the eastern United States. Landowners want profitable timber harvests but also want to know how harvesting will affect their wildlife. The study examined associations between stand characteristics and wildlife abundance on 40 stands receiving different logging intensities in northeastern Pennsylvania and found that landowners have some choices when harvesting their stands for retaining or attracting different types of wildlife.
Aerial Photography in the Next Decade
Authors: Caylor Jule
Published: April 2024

Aerial photography for resource mapping and analysis remains an important tool in a geospatial toolkit that contains many kinds of imagery. Historical comparisons for tracking landscape changes are among today's uses, and there are many ways to extract information from aerial images by combining them with data from other sources. Until all the advantages shift to newer technologies, natural resource managers who continue to use aerial photography need to know how to keep the costs low and the quality high.
Intermediate Multispectral Satellite Sensors
Authors: Roller Norm
Published: April 2024

Multispectral satellite data with medium spatial resolution--from the familiar Landsat and SPOT satellites, among other platforms--represent a valuable source of current and historical forest cover and condition information. These satellites have a large "footprint," and the data can be interpreted with reasonable accuracy. The result is low cost per unit area of forest attribute information. Utility and value are greatly enhanced, however, by integrating the information with other sources of data.
Selecting and Interpreting High-Resolution Images
Authors: Green Kass
Published: April 2024

Over the next five years, several earth-observing satellites will be launched, greatly expanding the types of image data available for forest characterization and monitoring. The question is no longer whether to use satellite imagery but how to choose among the many types available. There remains the question of turning the data into information: Is automated classification of pixels by computer algorithms really an improvement over manual interpretation of aerial photos?
Forest Information from Synthetic Aperture Radar
Authors: Dobson M. Craig
Published: April 2024

Radar is often depicted as a promising technology not quite ready for prime time. Data are now becoming available on a routine basis from several existing satellites, but the satellites were not designed for this purpose and--with some exceptions--do not meet the needs of forest inventory and management. The next generation of spaceborne earth-imaging radar promises to change the situation, with multipolarized and high-resolution modes that are much more appropriate for forestry. The principal uses of radar will be to map forest structure and moisture; this information is largely complementary to that obtained by optical techniques.
Lidar Remote Sensing for Forestry
Authors: Dubayah Ralph O. , Drake Jason B.
Published: April 2024

Lidar remote sensing, which directly measures vertical forest structure, is a breakthrough technology with many forestry applications. Using the laser light equivalent of radar, lidar instruments accurately estimate such important forest structural characteristics as canopy heights, stand volume, basal area, and above-ground biomass. And because subcanopy vegetation height is a function of species composition, climate, and site quality, the results can be used for land cover classification, habitat mapping, and forest wildlife management.
Map Data in Support of Forest Management
Authors: Fosnight Eugene A. , Greenlee David
Published: April 2024

Now widely available and inexpensive, prepackaged map data are easy to use--and just as easy to use incorrectly. To select the proper scale and appropriate thematic attributes so that the data actually inform the project at hand, managers need to know the basics.
Image and Spatial Analysis Software Tools
Authors: Brown Daniel G.
Published: April 2024

To make the most of remotely sensed images and apply them in natural resource management, foresters and other land managers need computer software systems. The ultimate goal is to extract meaningful information from raw images and communicate it to support effective decisionmaking. The following description of the state-of-the-art capabilities available in selected contemporary software systems is a starting point, but readers should compare all available systems that perform a particular function. In many cases there exist low-cost or free alternatives, some of which are mentioned here.
Integrating Data and Information for Effective Forest Management
Authors: Roller Norm , Bergen Kathleen
Published: April 2024

Effective and increased use of remote sensing data in forestry is likely to occur if appropriate procedures are developed to incorporate remote sensing data into operational systems. Central to this goal is the use of all available relevant information and resources: combining remote sensing with field measurements and ancillary information and, when appropriate, developing procedures that combine different types of remote sensing. When developing an integrated procedure, it is useful to combine data types so that their respective advantages and disadvantages complement one another and produce new information that is either unique or more cost-effective than the alternatives.
A Professional Code of Ethics for the 21st Century The Ethics Committee's Proposal
Authors: Radcliffe Samuel J.
Published: April 2024

Five years in the making, a revision to the 50-year-old SAF Code of Ethics comes before the membership this fall for a vote. In drafting the revision, the Ethics Committee endeavored to correct ambiguities, clarify the profession's values, and improve the code's language and format. Among the more controversial elements of the current and proposed code is the land ethic canon, about which a vigorous debate is expected.
Ratting on Your Colleagues Should the Code Require It?
Authors: Vicary Bret P.
Published: April 2024

The current SAF Code of Ethics requires members to report colleagues who violate the code, but the policy is not reflected in practice. A look at several other professional organizations reveals a similar disconnect between policy and practice. We need to acknowledge that our position differs from our practice, consider revising and relocating the reporting requirement, and encourage members to personally confront violators before reporting them.
Carbon Sequestration: A Working Example in Oregon
Authors: Cathcart James F.
Published: April 2024

Forestry carbon offsets offer an innovative mechanism to stimulate the forestation of thousands of acres of underproducing forest-land. In 1999, Oregon's Forest Resource Trust received $1.5 million from the Klamath Cogeneration Project, a natural gas—fired electricity and steam generation plant, for the forestation of 2,400 acres of underproducing nonindustrial private forests (NIPF). This forestation effort will accrue 1.16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emission offsets over a 100-year period. To encourage landowners to turn their land into productive forests that sequester carbon, the trust pays the full costs of the forestation. Landowners can use their new forests for any purpose, including timber production, but give up any claim to the carbon offsets. The offsets are passed back to the Klamath project as part of its emission offset portfolio.
Carbon Sequestration and Paper: A Carbon Balance Assessment
Authors: Young R.J. , Row C. , Tonelli J.P. , Côté W.A. , Lenocker C.
Published: April 2024

A carbon balance assessment estimates that growth of wood fiber and the production and use of paper from three integrated pulp and paper mills resulted in a net sequestration ratio of roughly 1.3 times as much carbon as is emitted to the atmosphere. The study shows the positive contribution of managed forests in mitigating emissions of carbon dioxide from paper manufacture, use, and disposal. The study treats emissions from biofuels and forest decay as equivalent to emissions from combustion of fossil fuels. Carbon emissions include those generated by sources of purchased electricity. As the analysis deliberately uses conservative assumptions, actual net sequestration rates for these mills using other carbon accounting rules may be higher.
Monitoring Compliance with BMPs: The Experience of State Forestry Agencies
Authors: Ellefson P.V. , Kilgore M.A. , Phillips M.J.
Published: April 2024

Thirty-four states implement compliance monitoring programs to determine whether voluntary or mandatory forest practices are being applied by landowners and timber harvesters. In only 20 states does the lead forestry agency have sole responsibility for monitoring. Since the early 1990s, some states have completed five or more monitoring survey cycles, the most recent costing an average of $60,000. Effectiveness of compliance monitoring is enhanced by positive landowners' and harvesters' attitudes, assignment of monitoring responsibility to a single agency, credible monitoring processes, and sufficient resources.
Commentary: Keeping Current: The Key to Professional Excellence
Authors: Smith D.W.
Published: April 2024

We can only perform at the highest level by continuing to learn and apply the latest science-based knowledge. As a fellow professional, I urge you to attend SAF technical meetings and conferences, enroll in courses, and expand your general knowledge.…
International Forest Resources Agreements: A Primer
Authors: Wisdom H.W. , Brooks D.J.
Published: April 2024

International agreements have become a favored instrument for addressing large-scale, complex natural resource issues. Not only has the number increased, but recent agreements tend to be multilateral instead of bilateral, and the scope of agreements has broadened from protection of groups of species and boundary waters to encompass habitat protection and, more recently, protection of entire ecosystems. With the recent increase in state and local government participation in foreign affairs comes the risk that agreement provisions may not reflect the full scope of domestic interests, or that subsequent agreements are difficult to implement for technical or political reasons.