An average 1.1 billion board feet of timber has been harvested annually in Eastern Washington by federal, state, private, and Native American forest landowners over the past 30 years. Available Timberland Of the 26.6 million acres that make up Eastern Washington, 5.6 million acres are forest land capable of producing industrial wood and available for commercial timber production. Forest types in Eastern Washington vary considerably, but the dominant commercial species are ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and western larch. The stand structure and age class distribution of Eastside forests are fundamentally different than those of the Westside, and forest health issues are a primary concern. Most Eastside forests are not clearcut but are under uneven-aged management.
Silvicultural alternatives are likely to play an increasing role in managing forest health problems.
The UW study projects several potential decade-average harvest levels for the next 100 years that differ according to the various ways Eastside forests can be managed. Forest Service harvests are held constant throughout the analysis at 133 MMBF per year based on the agency's recent management plans. Projections show that forest industry harvest levels are likely to decline by about 120 MMBF per year over the next decade compared to a 1985-92 base period, returning to the average level of the last three decades. The Washington DNR could increase potential harvest levels by 70 MMBF during the first decade, and both Native American groups and private non-industrial landowners could each increase harvests by 140 MMBF to offset the decline in federal and forest industry harvests. As mature inventories are harvested in the two timbersheds, the Inland harvest levels are expected to increase as the Central harvest levels decrease, with the average diameter of standing trees declining from 20 inches to 14 inches over 100 years.