Cost of private timber management practices in the United States are identified, and their relationship to timber production in general is highlighted. Costs across timber-producing regions and forest types are identified by forest type and timber management practices historically applied in each region. This includes cost estimates for activities such as forest establishment practices such as reforestation and afforestation on crop and pastureland. Establishment costs for reforestation in the Southern United States are less than in other regions, although regional differences in establishment costs are less evident in hardwood than in softwood stands. Also, included in the list of timber management costs ate the intermediate management treatments of precommercial thinning, herbicide, and fertilizer application. Intermediate management treatments are less costly in the southern United States than in other regions. Trends in timber management costs reported as part of the management costs reporting.

This report summarizes timber resource statistics for the 20 counties in eastern Washington. The inventory sampled all private and public lands except those administered by the National Forest System in 2001, and those that were reserved from management for wood products.

Incidence and effects of tree damage by black bear (Ursus americanus altifrontalis) in a 50-year-old, coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) plantation are described. Bears girdled or partially girdled 35 dominant or codominant Douglas-fir trees per acre, but only in that portion of the plantation that had been interplanted at age 4 with red alder (Alnus rubra Bong). No red alder were damaged. Bears damaged Douglas-fir in this stand on at least four occasions between 1929 (planting) and 1991. Fully girdled Douglas-fir (six per acre in 1976) died within 2 to 14 years. Of the 29 per acre partially girdled trees, 17 percent died in the 16 years of observation, compared to 9 percent of nondamaged trees. Crosssectional growth of surviving damaged trees exceeded that of matched, nondamaged trees by about 30 percent at three heights on the bole: 6 ft, 4.5 ft, and immediately above the damaged area. Death of six large Douglas-fir trees per acre reduced live stand volume of this species for about 6 years after bear damage until growth of the remaining trees compensated for the volume lost to mortality. Confirmation of the stimulating effects of bear damage on subsequent tree growth is needed at other locations.

The Fall River research site in coastal Washington is an affiliate installation of the North American Long-Term Soil Productivity (LTSP) network, which constitutes one of the world's largest coordinated research programs addressing forest management impacts on sustained productivity. Overall goals of the Fall River study are to assess effects of biomass removals, soil compaction, tillage, and vegetation control on site properties and growth of planted Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). Biomass-removal treatments included removal of commercial bole (BO), bole to 5-cm top diameter (BO5), total tree (TT), and total tree plus all legacy woody debris (TT+). Vegetation control (VC) effects were tested in BO, while soil compaction and compaction plus tillage were imposed in BO+VC treatment. All treatments were imposed in 1999. The preharvest stand contained similar amounts of carbon (C) above the mineral soil (292 Mg/ha) as within the mineral soil to 80- cm depth including roots (298 Mg/ha). Carbon stores above the mineral soil ordered by size were live trees (193 Mg/ha), old-growth logs (37 Mg/ha), forest floor (27 Mg/ha), old-growth stumps and snags (17 Mg/ha), coarse woody debris (11 Mg/ha), dead trees/snags (7 Mg/ha), and understory vegetation (0.1 Mg/ha). The mineral soil to 80-cm depth contained 248 Mg C/ha, and roots added 41 Mg/ha. Total nitrogen (N) in mineral soil and roots (13 349 kg/ha) was more than 10 times the N store above the mineral soil (1323 kg/ha). Postharvest C above mineral soil decreased to 129, 120, 63, and 50 Mg/ha in BO, BO5, TT, and TT+, respectively. Total N above the mineral soil decreased to 722, 747, 414, and 353 Mg/ha in BO, BO5, TT, and TT+, respectively. The ratio of total C above the mineral soil to total C within the mineral soil was markedly altered by biomass removal, but proportions of total N stores were reduced only 3 to 6 percent owing to the large soil N reservoir on site.

This update reports changes in the Nation's timber resource since the Analysis of the Timber Situation in the United States was completed in 2003. Prospective trends in demands for and supplies of timber, and the factors that affect these trends are examined. These trends include changes in the U.S. economy, increased salvage of British Columbia beetle-killed timber, and a stronger U.S. dollar. Other prospective trends that might alter the future timber situation are discussed including changes in U.S. timberland area, reductions in southern pine plantation establishment, impacts of climate change on forest productivity, increased restoration thinning on Western public lands, and the impact of programs to increase carbon sequestration through afforestation. Various management implications such as the influence of prices on forest management, concerns about changes in forest area, the emerging open space issue, forests as a set of commons, seeking to find greater compatibility in forest management, and the stewardship agenda are discussed.

This study gives an overview of the current inventory status and the projection of future forest inventories on other public timberland. Other public lands are lands administered by state, local, and federal government but excluding National Forest System lands. These projections were used as part of the 2005 USDA Forest Service Resource Planning Act timber assessment update. The projections were made by region and forest type by using the modified Aggregated Timberland Assessment System and the forest inventory data with methods and procedures consistent with the methods used for private and national forest inventory projections. Although the projected inventory volume differs by region, both softwood and hardwood inventories on other public timberlands in the United States are projected to increase over 60 percent during the next 50 years. Forest net growth exceeds harvest in most regions pushing inventory volumes up. The one exception is the Pacific Northwest East (ponderosa pine region) where the softwood inventory is expected to decrease until 2030 owing to lower softwood net growth and then slowly increase. The mature and old mature stands for both softwood and hardwood are projected to increase significantly for all regions especially in the South region where proportion of mature and old mature increases from 9 to 54 percent for softwood and 4 to 55 percent for hardwood.

A primary mission of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service is multiple resource management, and one of the emerging themes is forest restoration. The National Silviculture Workshop, a biennial event co-sponsored by the Forest Service, was held May 7-10, 2007, in Ketchikan, Alaska, with the theme of "Integrated Restoration of Forested Ecosystems to Achieve Multiresource Benefits." This proceedings presents a compilation of state-of-the-art silvicultural research and forestry management papers that demonstrates integrated restoration to yield multiple resource benefits. These papers highlight national perspectives on ecosystem services, forest restoration and climate change, and regional perspectives on forest restoration and silvicultural practices to achieve multiple resource benefits from researchers and forest practitioners working in a broad array of forest types in the United States.

The effects of mechanical disturbance from traditional ground-based logging and site preparation on volcanic ash soil and associated tree growth were investigated by using two study approaches in a retrospective study. This research was conducted on volcanic ash soils within previously harvested units in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon and southwest Washington. We assessed soil and tree attributes and their association with higher and lower levels of soil disturbance. The two approaches were independent efforts that yielded very different results.

Timber markets in the United States are areas where timber prices tend to be uniform because of the continuous interactions of buyers and sellers. These markets are highly competitive, volatile, and change relentlessly. This paper looks at how market interactions in the Pacific Northwest have responded to changes in underlying determinants of market behavior and government actions that have influenced supply or demand. Several messages emerge from timber markets about price reporting and changing definitions of price, long-term price trends, timber as an investment, impacts of market intervention, relations among different markets, and implications for future stewardship. The enduring message is that landowners and managers respond to price signals arising from market interactions, and their actions create the forests inherited by future generations.

This publication provides estimates of total softwood harvest by owner for Alaska for 1910-2006. This information is a mix of reported and estimated data. These data are being used to develop assumptions needed in forest planning by both public and private forest managers.

In spring 2006 and 2007, sawmill capacity and wood utilization information was collected for selected mills in southeast Alaska. The collected information is required to prepare information for compliance with Section 705(a) of the Tongass Timber Reform Act. The total estimated design capacity in the region (active and inactive mills) was 289,850 thousand board feet (mbf) Scribner log scale in calendar year (CY) 2005 and 284,350 mbf in CY 2006. The estimated design capacity of active mills was 259,850 mbf for CY 2005 and 247,850 mbf for CY 2006. This is a 2.9-percent decrease in active design capacity from CY 2004 (255,350 mbf) to CY 2006. The estimated volume of material processed during CY 2006 was 32,141 mbf Scribner log scale. This is a 3.6-percent increase over CY 2004 (31,027 mbf Scribner log scale).

Many stands in southeast Alaska harvested since 1950, especially where there has been a high degree of disturbance of mineral soil, have regenerated to red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) and are now approaching maturity. The availability of red alder raises questions addressed in this study about the recovery of lumber from this resource. Information in this study was obtained from trees estimated to be 46 years old on a site outside of Ketchikan. Rates of recovery using a thin-kerf portable band mill were higher than those reported by larger production mills in Washington and Oregon. Grade yields of the Alaska material are comparable to those attained in other regions. This study determined that there were no significant differences in material characteristics that would set this Alaska log resource apart from red alder in the other regions of North America. The potential value of the products is sufficient to allow production in Alaska for use in the manufacturing of value-added products within the state or shipment of finished lumber to domestic or export markets.

Timber harvest following wildfire leads to different outcomes depending on the biophysical setting of the forest, pattern of burn severity, operational aspects of tree removal, and other management activities. Fire effects range from relatively minor, in which fire burns through the understory and may kill a few trees, to severe, in which fire kills most trees and removes much of the organic soil layer. Postfire logging adds to these effects by removing standing dead trees (snags) and disturbing the soil. The influence of postfire logging depends on the intensity of the fire, intensity of the logging operation, and management activities such as fuel treatments. In severely burned forest, timing of logging following fire (same season as fire vs. subsequent years) can influence the magnitude of effects on naturally regenerating trees, soils, and commercial wood value. Removal of snags reduces long-term fuel loads but generally results in increased amounts of fine fuels for the first few years after logging unless surface fuels are effectively treated. By reducing evapotranspiration, disturbing the soil organic horizon, and creating hydrophobic soils in some cases, fire can cause large increases in surface-water runoff, streamflow, and erosion. Through soil disturbance, especially the construction of roads, logging with ground-based equipment and cable yarding can exacerbate this effect, increasing erosion and altering hydrological function at the local scale. Effects on aquatic systems of removing trees are mostly negative, and logging and transportation systems that disturb the soil surface or accelerate road-related erosion can be particularly harmful unless disturbances are mitigated. Cavity-nesting birds, small mammals, and amphibians may be affected by harvest of standing dead and live trees, with negative effects on most species but positive or neutral effects on other species, depending on the intensity and extent of logging. Data gaps on postfire logging include the effects of various intensities of logging, patch size of harvest relative to fire size, and long-term (10+ years) biophysical changes. Uncertainty about the effects of postfire logging can be reduced by implementing management experiments to document long-term changes in natural resources at different spatial scales.

Can management of 40- to 80-year-old forests on the Olympic Peninsula accelerate the development of stand structures and plant and animal communities associated with much older forests?

The compilation of papers in this proceedings is based on a symposium sponsored by the Insect and Diseases Working Group (D5) at the 2007 Society of American Foresters (SAF) convention in Portland, Oregon. The selection of topics parallels the research priorities of the Western Bark Beetle Research Group (WBBRG) (USDA Forest Service, Research and Development), which had been recently formed at the time of the symposium. Reflecting a unique partnership within the Forest Service, each paper was jointly prepared by a research scientist with the WBBRG and one or more entomologists with Forest Health Protection (USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry). Among these papers is a description of the currently elevated impacts of bark beetles in the Western United States; descriptions of the current state of knowledge of bark beetle response to vegetation management and also to climate change; discussions of the complex interactions of bark beetles and fire and of the complex ecological and socioeconomic impacts of infestations; an overview of the use of semiochemical (behavioral chemicals)-based technology for conifer protection; and a case study exemplifying efforts to assess risks posed by nonnative invasive bark beetles.

This guidebook describes Benjamin Research Natural Area, a 258-ha (637-ac) tract originally established to represent an example of the western juniper/Idaho fescue (Juniperus occidentalis/Festuca idahoensis) plant association. Subsequent field surveys indicate the predominant vegetation is best characterized as the western juniper/low sagebrush/Idaho fescue plant association. Current vegetation is dominated by western juniper woodland with an understory vegetation mosaic that varies with soil depth. Low sagebrush (Artemisia arbuscula Nutt.) occurs as the major shrub in shallow or rocky soils, and Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle and Young) predominates in areas with deeper or more finely textured soil.

This report traces the flow of timber harvested in Alaska during calendar year 2005, describes the composition and operations of the state's primary forest products industry, and quantifies volumes and uses of wood fiber. Historical wood products industry changes are discussed, as well as trends in timber harvest, production, and sales of primary wood products.

Over half (56 percent) of America's forests are privately owned and managed and provide a vast array of public goods and services, such as clean water, timber, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities. These important public benefits are being affected by increased housing density in urban as well as rural areas across the country.

Timber availability, aboveground tree biomass, and changes in aboveground carbon pools are important consequences of landscape management.

Scientists, land managers and policy makers discussed whether riparian (stream side) forest management and policy for state, federal and private lands in western Washington are consistent with current science. Answers were mixed: some aspects of riparian policy and management have a strong basis in current science, while other aspects may not.

The United States, in partnership with 11 other countries, participates in the Montreal Process. Each country assesses national progress toward the sustainable management of forest resources by using a set of criteria and indicators agreed on by all member countries. Several indicators focus on nontimber forest products (NTFPs). In the United States, permit and contract data from the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, in addition to several other data sources, were used as a benchmark to assess harvest, value, employment, exports and imports, per capita consumption, and subsistence uses for many NTFPs. The retail value of commercial harvests of NTFPs from U.S. forest lands is estimated at $1.4 billion annually. Nontimber forest products in the United States are important to many people throughout the country for personal, cultural, and commercial uses, providing food security, beauty, connection to culture and tradition, and income.

Scientists have had little information about how prescribed fire and cattle grazing—common practices in many Western ponderosa pine forests—affect plant abundance and reproduction in the forest understory. Pacific Northwest Research Station scientists began to explore how these practices affect vegetation in a five-year study of postfire vegetation in eastern Oregon ponderosa pine forests where cattle have been routinely pastured from late June or early July through early to mid August. For this area of eastern Oregon, they found that excluding cattle grazing during peak growing season increased native plant cover and grass flowering capability in ungrazed areas compared to grazed areas. Because vegetation was measured prior to releasing cattle on the land, the study's results tend to reflect lasting grazing impacts rather than simple consumption.

In spring and summer of 2010 and 2011, sawmill production capacity and wood utilization information was collected from major wood manufacturers in southeast Alaska. The estimated mill capacity in southeast Alaska for calendar year (CY) 2009 was 249,350 thousand board feet (mbf) (log scale), and for CY 2010 was 155,850 mbf (log scale), including idle sawmills. Mill consumption in CY 2009 was estimated at 13,422 mbf (log scale), and for CY 2010 was 15,807 mbf (log scale). Wood products manufacturing employment in southeast Alaska increased from 57.5 full-time equivalent positions in 2009 to 63.5 in 2010 despite the loss of 23,500 mbf of capacity in two sawmills owing to fires, the decommissioning of one large sawmill (65,000 mbf), and equipment sales at two small mills (5,000 mbf).

Cofiring of biomass and coal at electrical generation facilities is gaining in importance as a means of reducing fossil fuel consumption, and more than 40 facilities in the United States have conducted test burns. Given the large size of many coal plants, cofiring at even low rates has the potential to utilize relatively large volumes of biomass. This could have important forest management implications if harvest residues or salvage timber are supplied to coal plants. Other feedstocks suitable for cofiring include wood products manufacturing residues, woody municipal wastes, agricultural residues, short-rotation intensive culture forests, or hazard fuel removals. Cofiring at low rates can often be done with minimal changes to plant handling and processing equipment, requiring little capital investment. Cofiring at higher rates can involve repowering entire burners to burn biomass in place of coal, or in some cases, repowering entire powerplants. Our research evaluates the current status of biomass cofiring in North America, identifying current trends and success stories, types of biomass used, coal plant sizes, and primary cofiring regions. We also identify potential barriers to cofiring. Results are presented for more than a dozen plants that are currently cofiring or have recently announced plans to cofire.

This report traces the flow of Oregon’s 2008 timber harvest through the primary timber processing industry and provides a description of the structure, operation, and condition of Oregon’s forest products industry as a whole. It is the second in a series of reports that update the status of the industry every 5 years. Based on a census conducted in 2009 and 2010, we provide detailed information about the industry in 2008, and discuss historical changes as well as more recent trends in harvest, production, and sales. To convey the severe market and economic conditions that existed in 2008, 2009, and 2010, we also provide updated information on the industry and its inputs and outputs through 2010.

Interactions between forests, climatic change and the Earths carbon cycle are complex and represent a challenge for forest managers - they are integral to the sustainable management of forests. In this volume, a number of papers are presented that describe some of the complex relationships between climate, the global carbon cycle and forests.

The latest data summarizing West coast log and lumber exports in the fourth quarter of 2015 were released today by the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station. The data-covering exports during October, November, and December 2015-were compiled and analyzed by Xiaoping Zhou, a research economist with the station.

The latest data summarizing West Coast log and lumber exports in the first quarter of 2016 were released today by the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station. The data-covering exports during January, February, and March 2016—were compiled and analyzed by Xiaoping Zhou, a research economist with the station.

This report traces the flow of timber harvested in Alaska during calendar year 2011, describes the composition and operations of the state’s primary forest products industry, and quantifies volumes and uses of wood fiber.

This report traces the flow of California’s 2012 timber harvest through the primary wood products industry and provides a description of the structure, condition, and economic impacts of California’s forest products sector.

Sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity of national forests and grasslands is the mission of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service.

Over the past decade, the use of wood for thermal energy in Alaska has grown significantly. Since 2000, nearly 30 new thermal wood-energy installations in Alaska have been established.

This report traces the flow of Oregon's 2013 timber harvest through the primary wood products industry and provides detailed description of the structure, timber use, operations, and condition of Oregon's forest products sector.

Natural resource professionals are often tasked with weighing the benefits and costs of changes in ecosystem services associated with land management alternatives and decisions. In many cases, federal regulations even require land managers and planners to account for these values explicitly. Outdoor recreation is a key ecosystem service provided by national forests and grasslands, and one of significant interest to the public. This report presents the most recent update of the Recreation Use Values Database, based on an exhaustive review of economic studies spanning 1958 to 2015 conducted in the United States and Canada, and provides the most up-to-date recreation economic values available. When combined with data pertaining to recreation activities and the quantity of recreation use, the recreation economic values can be used for estimating the economic benefits of outdoor recreation. The recreation economic value estimates provided in this report, whether from past research literature or from values constructed using our meta-analysis benefit function, are average consumer surplus per person per activity day.

This update reports changes in the Nation's timber resource since the Analysis of the Timber Situation in the United States was completed in 2003. Prospective trends in demands for and supplies of timber, and the factors that affect these trends are examined. These trends include changes in the U.S. economy, increased salvage of British Columbia beetle-killed timber, and a stronger U.S. dollar. Other prospective trends that might alter the future timber situation are discussed including changes in U.S. timberland area, reductions in southern pine plantation establishment, impacts of climate change on forest productivity, increased restoration thinning on Western public lands, and the impact of programs to increase carbon sequestration through afforestation. Various management implications such as the influence of prices on forest management, concerns about changes in forest area, the emerging open space issue, forests as a set of commons, seeking to find greater compatibility in forest management, and the stewardship agenda are discussed.

Once gathered only for subsistence and cultural purposes, wild huckleberries are now also harvested commercially. Drawing on archival research as well as harvester and producer interview and survey data, an inventory of North American wild huckleberry plant genera is presented, and the wild huckleberry harvesting patterns of early Native Americans and nonindigenous settlers are described. The social, technological, and environmental changes that gave rise to the commercial industry in the Pacific Northwest by the 1920s and the industry's demise after World War II are explained. The resurgence of the commercial wild huckleberry industry in the mid-1980s and national forest management issues related to the industry are presented as are possible strategies that land managers could develop to ensure wild huckleberry, wildlife, and cultural sustainability.

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