http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/gtrs.shtml Pacific Northwest Research Station - Range Management Publications en-us http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr850.pdf This is the second in a series of periodic monitoring reports on northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) population and habitat trends on federally administered lands since implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994. Here we summarize results from a population analysis that included data from longterm demographic studies during 1985–2008. This data was analyzed separately by study area, and also in a meta-analysis across all study areas to assess temporal and spatial patterns in fecundity, apparent survival, recruitment, and annual rates of population change. Davis, Raymond J.; Dugger, Katie M.; Mohoric, Shawne; Evers, Louisa; Aney, William C. Fri 04 Nov 2011 10:02 PDT Gen. Tech. Rep. PNWGTR-850. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 147 p. Douglas Beebe http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr823.pdf In dry, open coniferous forests of the montane West, stand-replacing wildfires and land use activities alter the composition and abundance of native grasses and forbs by degrading the habitat and accelerating the invasion of exotic annuals. On these lands, native forbs and grasses delayed or prevented from recovery by natural processes may require intervention through supplementary seeding. However, effective seeding of native plants requires that their seed traits and the potential outcome of the seeding be better understood. Vance, Nan C. Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:08:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-823. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 85 p. Douglas Beebe http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr802/pnw_gtr802a.pdf In July 2006, more than 170 researchers and managers from the United States, Canada, and Mexico convened in Boulder, Colorado, to discuss the state of the science in environmental threat assessment. This two-volume general technical report compiles peer-reviewed papers that were among those presented during the 3-day conference. Papers are organized by four broad topical sections—Land, Air and Water, Fire, and Pests/Biota—and are divided into syntheses and case studies. Pye, John M.; Rauscher, H. Michael; Sands, Yasmeen; Lee, Danny C.; Beatty, Jerome S. Tue, 14 Oct 2010 10:37:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-802. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 708 p. Douglas Beebe http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr724.pdf Rangeland exclosures installed primarily in the 1960s, but with some from the 1940s, were resampled for changes in plant community structure and composition periodically from 1977 to 2004 on the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests in northeastern Oregon. They allow one to compare vegetation with all-ungulate exclusion (known historically as game exclosures), all-livestock exclusion (known historically as stock exclosures), and with no exclusion (known as open areas). Thirteen upland rangeland exclosures in northeastern Oregon were selected and are presented with plant community trend data and possible causes of changes over time. Key findings are that moderate grazing by native ungulates afforded by the livestock exclosures generally stimulated bunchgrasses to retain dominance and vitality; native bunchgrasses can replace invasive rhizomatous plants given a reduction in disturbance over time; shrubs increased without ungulate use in shrubland communities; and invasive annuals that established following severe disturbances to the grassland community diminished with aggressive competition from perennial bunchgrasses. Johnson, Charles Grier, Jr. Fri, 31 Aug 2007 08:45:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-724. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 33 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/gtr699/ 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. Haynes, Richard W.; Adams, Darius M.; Alig, Ralph J.; Ince, Peter J.; Mills, John R.; Zhou, Xiaoping. Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:40:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-699. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr704.pdf Study objectives were to evaluate yearly fluctuations in herbage canopy cover and production to aid in defining characteristics of range condition guides. Sites are located in the forested Blue Mountains of central Oregon. They were selected from those used to develop range condition guides where soil, topographic, and vegetation parameters were measured as a characterization of best range condition. Plant community dominants were ponderosa pine/pinegrass, ponderosa pine/bitterbrush/Idaho fescue savanna, low sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass, and rigid sagebrush scabland. None of the sites were grazed during the previous 30 years or during the 27-year study. Each location was permanently marked by fence posts, and a meter board was placed 10 m down an established transect line. Photographs (color slides) were taken down the transect with closeups left and right of the meter board. Sampling was limited to August 1-4 each year when canopy cover and herbage production were determined. Both total canopy cover and herbage production varied by about a 2.4-fold difference on each site over the 27 years. Apparently "good range condition" may be something of a "running target" and lacks a well-defined set of parameters. Canopy cover is a poor parameter for characterizing range condition. Three of the four plant communities were dominated by bunchgrasses. Abundance of seedheads is commonly used to indicate good range health. But on these sites, seedheads were not produced about half the time. Because these sites were in "good range condition," lack of seedhead production may indicate maximum competition in the community. Maximum competition and maximum vigor do not seem to be synonymous. These bunchgrass communities varied in their greenness on the first of August each year from cured brown to rather vibrant green suggesting important annual differences in phenology. The pinegrass community, being dominated by rhizomatous species, showed surprising variance in seedhead production. Pinegrass did not flower, but Wheeler's bluegrass, lupine, and Scouler's woolyweed were quite variable, averaging inflorescences only 75 percent of the time. Hall, Frederick C. Fri, 30 Mar 2007 09:30:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-704. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/pnw_gtr682/ This guide presents a classification of the deep canyon and subalpine riparian and wetland vegetation types of the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests. A primary goal of the deep canyon and subalpine riparian and wetland classification was a seamless linkage with the midmontane northeastern Oregon riparian and wetland classification provided by Crowe and Clausnitzer in 1997. The classification is based on potential natural vegetation and follows directly from the plant association concept for riparian zones. The 95 vegetation types classified across the three national forests were organized into 16 vegetation series, and included some 45 vegetation types not previously classified for northeastern Oregon subalpine and deep canyon riparian and wetland environments. The riparian and wetland vegetation types developed for this guide were compared floristically and environmentally to riparian and wetland classifications in neighboring geographic regions. For each vegetation type, a section was included describing the occurrence#40;s#41; of the same or floristically similar vegetation types found in riparian and wetland classifications developed for neighboring geographic regions. Lastly, this guide was designed to be used in conjunction with the midmontane guide to provide a comprehensive look at the riparian and wetland vegetation of northeastern Oregon. Wells, Aaron F. Thu, 09 Nov 2006 09:26:36 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-682. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 277 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/gtr669/ In March 23-25, 2005, an international symposium on red alder was held at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle, WA. The symposium was entitled “Red Alder: A State of Knowledge” and brought together regional experts to critically examine the economic, ecological and social values of red alder. The primary goal of the symposium was to discuss new advances in the understanding of red alder biology and silviculture, changing market and nonmarket values, and the current regulatory climate for management of alder. This proceedings includes 14 papers based on oral presentations given at the symposium. These papers highlight some of the key findings from the history, ecology, biology, silviculture and economics sessions presented at the red alder symposium. Deal, Robert L.; Harrington, Constance A., eds. Wed, 12 Apr 2006 15:25:36 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-669. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 150 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr670.pdf The Pacific Northwest Research Station launched a Biodiversity Initiative to assist natural resource professionals in integrating complex biodiversity concepts into natural resource management processes. We canvassed clients from various affiliations to determine the main challenges they face in biodiversity management, to define their information needs, and to understand how best to deliver biodiversity information within a collaborative framework. The biodiversity management challenges that emerged included (1) the lack of well-defined biodiversity management policies, (2) understanding and quantifying the interaction effects between a number of factors (e.g., disturbance types, management practices) and biodiversity, (3) the lack of applied biodiversity monitoring strategies, (4) difficulty in locating and accessing biodiversity information, and (5) balancing conflicting values relating to biodiversity. We also list the biodiversity information product needs of clients, as well as preferred technology transfer methods, and we discuss the future direction of the Biodiversity Initiative. Nelson, Peter; White, Rachel; Molina, Randy Wed, 05 Apr 2006 15:25:36 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-670. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 32 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr657.pdf 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. Richards, Rebecca T.; Alexander, Susan J. Thu, 23 Mar 2006 15:25:36 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-657. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 113 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr666.pdf Oregon white oak savannas and woodlands represent a biological and cultural legacy in the Pacific Northwest. Many Oregon white oak stands are deteriorating owing to invasion and eventual overtopping by Douglas-fir or other conifers. Releasing the shade-intolerant oak trees from overtopping conifers can often restore these oak stands. When planning a release operation, there are many factors to consider such as timing and intensity of release, which trees to select for release, and management of the understory. A carefully executed oak release can minimize damage to oak trees, and followup treatments may reduce the spread of invasive plants. This guide answers the most commonly asked questions related to oak release. Harrington, Constance A.; Devine, Warren D. Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:25:36 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-666. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 24 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr668.pdf The Fuel Reduction Cost Simulator (FRCS) spreadsheet application is publicdomain software used to estimate costs for fuel reduction treatments involving removal of trees of mixed sizes in the form of whole trees, logs, or chips from a forest. Equipment production rates were developed from existing studies. Equipment operating cost rates are from December 2002 prices for new equipment and wage rates for the Pacific Northwest. These cost assumptions can be modified by the user. There are four ground-based systems, four cable systems, and two helicopter systems. Cost estimates are in U.S. dollars per 100 cubic feet, per green ton, and per acre. Fight, Roger D.; Hartsough, Bruce R.; Noordijk, Peter Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:25:36 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-668. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 23 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr661.pdf As part of the 10-year socioeconomic monitoring of the Northwest Forest Plan, this report evaluates changes in Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) procurement contracting between 1990 and 2002 by asking, (1) How much and what kind of work did the Forest Service and BLM contract during this period, and (2) who received economic benefits from this procurement contracting? Procurement contracting is a particular focus of the socioeconomic monitoring because one expectation of the Northwest Forest Plan was that the Forest Service and BLM would create high-skill, high-wage private sector jobs in public land restoration through contracting to partially offset job losses in timber production, harvesting, and processing. This report finds that, to the contrary, the Forest Service reduced its contracting of land management activities on national forests in the Northwest Forest Plan area from a high of $103 million in 1991 to a low of $33 million in 2002. By contrast, BLM spending was fairly constant at just under $20 million annually. Both the Forest Service and the BLM changed the type of activities that they contracted, shifting from activities associated with intensive forest management such as tree planting in clearcuts to activities associated with ecosystem management. Contractors located near national forests and BLM lands and rural communities captured a similar proportion of contracts in both the earlier and later parts of the study period. However, the significant decline in Forest Service contract spending resulted in considerable decline in the amount of money flowing to rural communities through contracting. Thus, it is unlikely that federal land management contracting created a net increase in jobs to replace jobs lost in mills and logging operations in public lands communities. Moseley, Cassandra Fri, 13 Jan 2006 12:00:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-661. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 44 p. Tiffany Dong