Historical Documents

Aldous, A. E. 1914. Memorandum office report of trip on Umatilla Forest, September 15 to 18, inclusive. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 18 p.

Abstract: This accession consists of a 13-page report by Grazing Examiner A. E. Aldous, and two memoranda – a 3-page memorandum (dated 2/1/1915) from an Acting Assistant Forester (Chief) to the District (Regional) Forester in Portland, and a two-page memo (dated 2/6/1915) from the District Forester to Forest Supervisor Cryder in Heppner, Oregon. The report by Aldous describes a 4-day examination that he completed during September of 1914, when he visited areas near the Dixon Ranger Station, Herron Ranger Station, Tupper Ranger Station, and Arbuckle Mountain. It includes the following sections: itinerary; description; grazing types; type 6 (conifer type); and grazing reconnaissance. The author noted that “practically all of the more readily accessible range on the Forest had been very heavily grazed for years before the Forest was created. As a result, large areas have been badly overgrazed. Included in these are the scab lands described previously, and a large part of the open and scattering yellow pine lands.” He also commented on forest conditions: “throughout the conifer type there is ample reproduction to more than replace the present stand of timber. The major part of the reproduction has come in since the Forest has been protected against fires. Several areas were noticed where the yellow pine seedlings were so thick that it was almost impossible to ride through them. Practically all of the stockmen were complaining that the reproduction is coming in so thick on their allotments that it is greatly decreasing the carrying capacity of the range.” The report includes two excellent black-and-white photographs, one showing a scabland area where the lava occupies less than 7/10 of the exposed surface cover, the other showing a scabland where protection would not be advisable on account of the lava occupying at least 8/10 of the exposed surface cover. The memoranda summarize salient points from Aldous’ report and offer recommendations about an appropriate response to it.

Allen, E. T. 1906. Report on the Wenaha Forest Reserve. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Tacoma, WA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 40 p.

Abstract: After establishment of forest reserves and national forests early in the twentieth century, inspections were supposed to be made at regular intervals. Initially, they were conducted by Forest Inspectors stationed at the District (Regional) Offices. Later, that responsibility was transferred to the Forest Supervisors, who were responsible for inspecting their own Forest (see G. H. Cecil, 1910, “Memorandum regarding Supervisor’s inspections” for more information). This inspection report includes the following sections: timber sales; grazing; planting; dendrology; claims and privileges; additions and eliminations; personnel, equipment and protection; and miscellaneous and concluding remarks. Allen offers some interesting insights about forest ecology, as illustrated with this quote: “The timbered area is gaining, rather than decreasing, and apparently only the simplest precautions are needed to provide for restocking cut over tracts, such as proper disposal of refuse protection of small yellow pine, and, when possible, taking the latter species chiefly from north and east slopes or flats. Generally it will not be necessary to watch cutting methods very closely to insure perpetuation of the forest, for it will be attained with ordinary care.”

Ames, F. E. 1909. Record of cut-over areas. Memorandum with SS file designation. [Portland, OR]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 3 p.

Abstract: This document is a fairly short memorandum from F. E. Ames, Chief of Silviculture (for the Pacific Northwest District?), to the forest officers. It was shown with an SS (Silvicultural Studies?) file designation (District - Studies). The memo references a May 20, 1907 memo regarding a “Record of Cut-over Areas” form, as well as direction in the annual field program guidance for September 1908. The primary purpose of the memo was to emphasize that forest officers should be making better use of form 248 (Record of Cut-over Areas) and to stress that all cut-over areas should be examined at least once every three or four years. Although the Forest Service had been in existence for only 2 years when the 1907 memorandum was written, it was already apparent that the District Office believed that forest officers were deficient in their record keeping responsibilities, at least as far as timber sale areas were concerned. Portions of the memo were designed to convince the forest officers that record keeping was a good idea and worth their valuable time. Ames also requested that forest officers send copies of any completed Form 248s to him for his files.

Ames, F. E. 1910. The conduct of timber sales. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 17 p.

Abstract: This paper was delivered at the District 6 Supervisor’s Meeting on March 22, 1910. It describes the early timber sale program on national forest lands of the Pacific Northwest. The following topics are discussed: the place silviculture occupies in national forest work, examination of timber for sale, payment on the basis of an estimate, prices, cost data, and reports of timber sold and cut.

Andrews, W. T. 1911. Proposed timber sale, Dry Fork Clear Creek, application of Sumpter Timber and Lumber Company. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95 obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 36 p.

Abstract: This report describes a tract of timber that was cruised and mapped by an intensive reconnaissance crew comprised of students from forestry schools in the eastern United States. After the Sumpter Timber and Lumber Company applied for a timber sale in the area that had been cruised, namely the Dry Fork Clear Creek drainage in the Whitman NF, the area was inspected by Assistant District (Regional) Forester Ames and Lumberman Andrews, who was presumably representing the applicant. Ames and Andrews did not find the reconnaissance crew’s estimates to be entirely satisfactory, so a hasty check of 34 of their acre-estimate lines was made and it was decided that yellow pine volumes should be increased by 12% and that the volume of other species should be reduced by 14%. This report includes the following sections: foreward; description of the tract; private interests; old cuttings; topography; soil; reproduction; character and condition of the forest; accessibility; general information; marking timber and handling the sale; summary of the reconnaissance crew’s estimate (detailed estimates, by 40s, of the surveyed portion of the tract is provided in a series of tables); and an appendix. Although this report does not include a map, it appears that the examined area is now within the Malheur NF (Long Creek Ranger District).

Andrews, W. T.; Merritt, Melvin L. 1910. Head watershed: Middle Fork John Day River; Whitman National Forest, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 83 p.

Abstract: This report describes a timber sale examination made in July and August of 1910 by a private lumberman (W. T. Andrews) and a Forest Service Forest Assistant (Melvin L. Merritt). The examination was made in the expectation that either of two private timber companies, the Sumpter Lumber & Timber Company of Baker City, Oregon or the Garrow and Bannon Company of Sumpter, Oregon, would request a government timber sale in a particular area of the Whitman National Forest. The tract they examined was 27,622 acres about 5 miles from Austin, Oregon, and included lands within the Squaw Creek, Idaho Creek, and Summit Creek watersheds (referred to as blocks in the report). All of the examined area is apparently located within the Malheur NF at the present time. The report includes the following sections: block descriptions, private and other related interests, old cuttings, topography and surface characteristics, soils, character and condition of the forests, reproduction, accessibility, additional information, rules for marking and sale administration, and recommendations. Appendix materials include large-format tables that show species information (grouped by western yellow pine and other species) for individual forties (forty-acre subdivisions of a section) within each of the three blocks.

Anonymous. 1933. Pioneer eastern Oregon lumber firm. The Timberman. 34(September): 48-49.

Abstract: The subtitle of this article is: David Eccles cuts ties for Oregon short line in 1887 and founds Oregon Lumber Company in 1889. This short article discusses how David Eccles emigrated to eastern Oregon from Utah in 1887 and constructed railroad tie mills at North Powder, 20 miles west of Baker City, and at Pleasant Valley, 13 miles east of Baker City. His mills manufactured the ties used for the Oregon Short Line railroad, which was developed in northeastern Oregon as a connecting link between the Union Pacific and Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company lines. He built the first sawmill located at Baker City in 1889, calling it the Oregon Lumber Company. At that time, he purchased extensive tracts of private timberland, including a large parcel on the Middle Fork of the John Day River. Eventually, Eccles acquired or built other sawmills in the state, including operations at Hood River and Ingles. He secured large holdings around the base of Mount Hood and became well known for his "Mt. Hood" Douglas-fir and hemlock lumber, and the "John Day" ponderosa pine valued for its excellent quality and texture.

Anonymous. 1945. Decline of the forests. Fortune. 31: 169-175.

Abstract: This interesting historical perspective of forest management in the Pacific Northwest area of the United States begins with this observation: "Loggers are cutting the last virgin stands in the Northwest; soon they must slow down to let growth catch up with depletion.

[Author unknown]. [Date unknown]. Analysis of Dayton Working Circle, Umatilla National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 15 p.

Abstract: This report includes the following sections: introduction (purpose, data sources, previous cutting); physiographic features (location, acreage, topography); forest description (types, probable use of various species, tables of volume and area); economic situation (towns and communities, wood-using industries, transportation, labor situation, ownership problems, private cutting practices); and plan of action (ultimate forest boundary, ultimate circle boundary, sales policy, administrative correlation). This report includes tables summarizing volumes and acreages by block (this working circle included 2 blocks: Walla Walla and Dayton).

[Author unknown]. [Date unknown]. Report upon the proposed Colville Forest Reserve, Washington. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry]. 13 p.

Abstract: This short report covers the following topics as they relate to the Colville Forest Reserve in northeastern Washington: location; area; topography; climate; the forest; list of woody species (trees, and shrubs); industries; mining; settlements; roads and trails; lumbering; fires; sentiment; conclusions and recommendations, and administration necessary.

Barnes, Ephraim. 1912. Report on insect infestation control work conducted by the Bureau of Entomology and the Forest Service, Whitman National Forest, spring of 1911. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 15 p.

Abstract: This report describes in detail an insect control project that was conducted on and adjacent to the Whitman National Forest during the spring of 1911. The project was directed and managed by the Bureau of Entomology in cooperation with the Forest Service, and involved a small degree of involvement by private land owners in the infested area. Control operations began on April 5th and ended on June 30th. The Bureau directed the technical work of insect control and the method of selecting and treating the trees. H. E. Burke, W. D. Edmonston, and W. B. Turner were the Bureau agents with responsibility for the project; Forest Supervisor Henry Ireland and Deputy Supervisor Ephraim Barnes represented the Forest Service. It seems that Forest Ranger R. E. Smith and Forest Assistant B. T. Harvey may have completed some of the preliminary cruising work prior to initiation of the control project. The Bureau’s men seemed to have no definite plan of action for the control work and generally action was only taken after suggestions from Mr. Ireland or the author. Much of this report describes the problems inherent in a large project in which the overall responsibility is shared by two different agencies or entities. Logistical details, camp assignments, work responsibilities, supervision, the handling of employees who were incompetent or unsatisfactory for the control work, and so forth are discussed in great detail. Some of the accounts are humorous, such as the Bureau’s employment of a Mr. Farnum who, after reporting to a work camp, promptly became lost in an open yellow pine stand not 400 yards from camp. Another account describes a Bureau employee who was finally able to wrangle a trip into town (Baker City in this instance), ostensibly to get supplies, but he actually spent the whole time drinking and drunk. Barnes ends this report by stating that “these incidents which have been cited are all either directly or indirectly the result of an uncertain division of authority. There was no well defined agreement as to just what the Bureau of Entomology’s representatives should do and just what should be done by the Forest Service. Therefore, from past experience it would not seem to be sound business to undertake work of this nature on a large scale at any future time.” The report is also accompanied by a three-page memorandum dated February 24, 1912, from Forest Supervisor Henry Ireland to the District Forester in Portland, Oregon; it summarizes some of the findings from Barnes’ report while also providing the Supervisor’s perspective on the inefficiencies of the cooperative insect control project.

Bartrum, S. C. 1910. Fire protection on the national forests: cooperation with states, counties, and organizations. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 15 p.

Abstract: This paper was delivered at the District 6 Supervisor’s Meeting, held in Portland, Oregon on March 21-26, 1910. It discusses early fire protection efforts in the Pacific Northwest region. The number and acreage of fires is described, as is the value of timber lost to fires. This account provides good insights into fire protection attitudes and policies near the beginning of an era of widespread fire suppression.

Beckham, Stephen Dow. 1995. An interior empire: historical overview of the Columbia Basin. Walla Walla, WA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Eastside Ecosystem Management Project. 144 p.

Abstract: This historical overview addresses important historical themes influencing the interior Columbia River basin, with sections covering Native Americans, exploration and fur trade, missions, overland emigration, early federal Indian policy, Euroamerican settlement, transportation, economic development, federal projects, population, and conclusions.

Beckham, Stephen Dow. 1995. Grande Ronde River, Oregon: river widths, vegetative environment, and conditions shaping its condition, Imbler vicinity to headwaters. Unpublished report submitted to Eastside Ecosystem Management Project. Lake Oswego, OR: Stephen Dow Beckham. 85 p.

Abstract: This report describes historical conditions associated with the Grande Ronde River in northeastern Oregon, ranging from the river's headwaters in the Blue Mountains to the vicinity of Imbler, Oregon. Although several historical sources were used during its compilation (diaries of fur trappers and overland travelers; newspaper accounts for the first decade of the 1900s, and cadastral survey notes), it is based primarily on an analysis of survey notes and maps prepared by the General Land Office during establishment of the public land survey (townships, ranges, sections) during the late 1800s (from 1863 to 1884). Since land surveyors were required to record the river's width and course whenever they crossed it while surveying exterior (township, range) or interior (section) lines, the GLO survey notes were used to examine the historical width of the river itself and its associated floodplain. Survey notes also provide early records of vegetative composition (species of trees and shrubs) found along the river's edge for the pre-settlement era.

Beckham, Stephen Dow. 1995. Tucannon River, Washington: river widths, vegetative environment, and conditions shaping its condition, mouth to headwaters. Unpublished report submitted to Eastside Ecosystem Management Project. Lake Oswego, OR: Stephen Dow Beckham. 63 p.

Abstract: This report describes historical conditions associated with the Tucannon River watershed in southeastern Oregon, ranging from the river's headwaters in the Blue Mountains to its confluence with the Snake River in southwestern Washington. Although several historical sources were used during its compilation (including diaries associated with early travels along the Nez Perce Trail from the mouth of the Clearwater River west to the Walla Walla River), it is based primarily on an analysis of survey notes and maps prepared by the General Land Office during establishment of the public land survey (townships, ranges, sections) during the late 1800s (from 1864 to 1912). Since land surveyors were required to record the river's width and course whenever they crossed it while surveying exterior (township, range) or interior (section) lines, the GLO survey notes were used to examine the historical width of the river itself and its associated floodplain. Survey notes also provide early records of vegetative composition (species of trees and shrubs) found along the river's edge for the pre-settlement era.

Blake, Grover C. 1957. Sowing the seed. Timberlines. 10 (May Memoirs): 1-33.

Abstract: This interesting memoir recounts experiences of the author while employed on national forests in the Blue and Ochoco Mountains of northeastern Oregon. Blake started on the Blue Mountains West National Forest in Prineville in 1909. His accounts began before that, when he worked as a stock tender in central Oregon, and end with his service on the Umatilla NF (Pomeroy RD) in the late 1920s.

Booth, Robert W. 1963. 1928 burn reforestation survey. Report Filed Under 2530 (2460) Designation. Heppner, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest, Heppner Ranger District. 28 p.

Abstract: This report describes results from a reforestation survey that examined approximately 28,000 acres of the Heppner Ranger District burned by one or more wildfires in 1928. Much of the area was burned by a surface fire that consumed flashy fuels (grass and litter) and left most of the timber undamaged. Reforestation efforts were not attempted on the portion of the stand-replacing portion of the fires until 1949. At the time of the reforestation survey in 1962, reforestation success ranged from complete failure to moderate stocking. Plantations on north aspects, particularly on slopes of 20 percent or greater, were generally most successful; plantations on south slopes were failures in most instances. Primary causes of reforestation failure were drought, deer damage, domestic grazing, and competition from snowbrush ceanothus and other plants. This report includes the following sections: title and signature page; index (table of contents); introduction; coordination with other uses; organization of the survey; the survey; summary; recommendations; appendix: cost estimates; large-scale map showing location of 1928 burn survey (Heppner-Big Wall plantation P-5; Heppner-Big Wall plantation P-3 and P-4; Heppner Kahler plantation P-2); two small-scale maps showing prioritized reforestation treatment recommendations; 2 pages of black-and-white prints (size: 3½” x 3½”) with captions (a total of 7 prints); and an envelope containing a box of Ektachrome duplicate slides (total of 15 slides).

Brewer, William H. 1870. The woodlands and forest systems of the United States. Washington, DC: Bureau of the Census. 16 p.

Abstract: This accession is a transcribed version of a report prepared by William H. Brewer of New Haven, Conn., suggesting that perhaps he was a forestry professor or otherwise associated with Yale University. The report was one of the subject-level reports often included with published syntheses of the decennial censuses for the United States. This particular report provides a color map showing, in five degrees of density, the distribution of woodland within the territory of the United States. Much of the accompanying text explains the map and provides representative or common species associated with each woodland area of the country. The report begins by explaining that the scope of the mapping is “woodland” because that is the term used for tree-covered areas in the official census lexicon. The comments in this report about the Blue Mountains area (which demonstrates that this portion of Oregon and Washington was widely known by that name in 1870) are very cursory: “the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon have heavy forests of pine, fir and spruce of the same species found in the northern Rocky Mountains.” If available in digital form suitable for use with a geographic information system, the map showing five degrees of density (with density referring to abundance, not to stand or tree density in the way that we would use the term today) would be valuable for trend analysis.

Bright, George A. 1911. Annual silvical report. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Heppner, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest. 17 p.

Abstract: This report describes a study to determine the important factors affecting western yellow (ponderosa) pine regeneration. The material for this report was gathered during the summer of 1910 on the Whitman National Forest, where the reproduction of western yellow pine was excellent over most of the area. Bright found that partial shade and protection from sun and wind is beneficial to very young seedlings. Optimum growth of western yellow pine was found on transition (mixed conifer) sites, where Bright measured mature trees from 150 to 177 feet tall. Bright recommended that regeneration cutting occur during winter after a good seed year, and that slash be lopped and scattered, rather than burned, so it could provide protection for seedlings. The surest method of artificial reproduction was to plant 2 or 3-year old nursery stock, especially on steep south or west slopes. Bright found sheep grazing to be beneficial to regeneration as a site preparation and vegetation control measure, although overgrazing was detrimental. The report includes numerous tables showing the results of sample plots. Bright recommends that 435 surviving seedlings are needed to assure stand establishment, and his plots indicate that 62,000 seeds would be needed to assure that 435 seedlings are established, per acre.

Bright, G. A. 1912. A study of the growth of yellow pine in Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 106 p.

Abstract: During 1910 and 1911, an extensive study of western yellow pine was conducted throughout its range in Oregon. This report, a compilation of the growth and yield data from that study, was based on a very large number of measurements. The report was not intended for publication in this form, but was prepared as an office report to summarize and tabulate the growth data that had been collected to that point. The data from this and other office reports was eventually used to prepare an important and influential government bulletin called “Western yellow pine in Oregon” (see Munger 1917 for more information). It includes many interesting conclusions, including the fact that young trees were growing at the same rate as the old trees did when they were young, demonstrating that virgin yellow pine forests developed under similar structural and density regimes as the sampled stands. The report also describes an interesting crown space study in which it was attempted to show that a tree’s growth rate increases in direct proportion to the amount of available growing space. The report includes the following sections: organization of party; region covered; tracts; occurrence of yellow pine; region of gravelly or sandy soils; region of decomposed lava soils; comparison of diameter growth for the various tracts; the Lapine first, Lapine second, and Deschutes River diameter growth tables; Fort Klamath growth tables; the Bend growth tables; the Sisters first and Sisters second growth tables; the Odessa growth tables; the Embody growth tables; the Whitney and Austin growth tables; Palmer Junction growth tables; Parker’s Mill and Winlock growth tables; the Ochoco Creek growth tables; Mill Creek growth tables; the Metolius Creek growth tables; the Meadow Lake and Keno growth tables; the Tamarack Creek growth tables; the Crystal Creek growth tables; present and past rate of diameter growth of yellow pine by age classes; increased growth due to unnatural causes; seedling height growth; mean and current annual height growth; volume growth; types of yellow pine forest (south slope, north slope, flat or bench, juniper, and canyon); factors affecting growth (altitude, soil, aspect, slope, competition with other trees); and summary. This accession also includes three memoranda that are related to the study or the report: a 3-pager dated April 27, 1912 from the Acting District (Regional) Forester to the Forester (Chief) in Washington; a 5-pager dated April 29, 1912 from the Assistant District Forester to a Forest Supervisor; and a 1-pager to the District Forester from the Assistant Forester (Chief) in Washington. In the short memo from the Washington Office, the District Forester is encouraged to consider conversion of many of the uneven-aged stands of ponderosa pine to an even-aged structure, in light of the species’ intolerance.

Reports: 

Bright 1912

Bright 1912 Original

Bright, George A. 1913. Umatilla National Forest annual silvical report: relative merits of western larch and Douglas fir in the Blue Mountains, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 16 p.

Abstract: This report deals with Douglas-fir and western larch as they occur in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon, especially on the Umatilla and Whitman National Forests. In that locality, they are the two species that were next in commercial importance to western yellow (ponderosa) pine. Both western larch and Douglas-fir had very little commercial use at the time this report was written – the reason was not that the wood of those species was bad, but that the wood of yellow pine, which was abundant, is exceptionally good in quality. The report also includes the following topics: technical qualities of larch, faults of larch wood, longevity of larch, natural enemies of larch, management of larch, technical qualities of Douglas-fir, forest types in which Douglas-fir is found, resistance of Douglas-fir to insects and diseases, management of Douglas-fir, growth and yield of Douglas-fir and western larch trees and stands, and a summary.

Bright, George A.; Powell, David C. (editor). 2008. An extensive reconnaissance of the Wenaha National Forest in 1913. Technical Publication F14-SO-06-08. Pendleton, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Umatilla National Forest. 65 p.

Abstract: This document recreates an historically valuable report prepared by George A. Bright in 1914. It describes an extensive reconnaissance of the Wenaha National Forest completed by Bright in 1913. In addition to narratives about the natural resources, existing uses, and management opportunities of the Forest, the report includes 42 photographs, many of which were acquired by Martin N. Unser when he worked in the field with Bright in 1913. Additional photographs were included by the editor: four are recent retakes of Bright or Unser photographs from approximately the same location as the original, and 13 are historical photographs from the same era as the 1914 reconnaissance report. The original report is reproduced in its entirety, with occasional comments added by the editor.

Buck, C. J. 1934. Memorandum regarding a proposed change in policy from clearcutting to selective logging. Unpublished typescript memorandum. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Region Six. 2 p.

Abstract: This accession consists of a 2-page (single spaced) memorandum from Regional Forester C. J. Buck to a Forest Supervisor (of which national forest is not known). It describes a proposed change in management policy to rely less on clearcutting as a timber harvest method, and more on selective logging. According to Buck, “clear cutting has always been questionable because of its tremendous losses in forest productivity, partly because of its attendant extreme fire hazard, frequently resulting in reburns and forest devastation, also because of the low degree of timber utilization. It is concluded that clear cutting practices on National Forest lands should be abandoned if possible and systems of selective logging devised and substituted.” He then notes that clearcutting changed the ambient site conditions (which were naturally moist) by exposing a harvested area to the full sunlight. The losses due to site drying and resulting forest fires were too costly, in his opinion. He then states that the immediate future policy will be to develop, test and put into effect selective logging with individual-tree and small group selection in western Oregon and Washington. Under that system, clearcut areas of as much as 5 or 10 acres would be infrequent. Light cuttings that removed 10 to 20% of the standing volume were recommended, with subsequent cuttings scheduled in such a way as to avoid accumulating fire hazard. Buck then asked the Forest Supervisors to turn their minds toward selective cutting in future sales work, but to do it without publicity for the moment since it was necessary to accumulate some experience before adopting the practice in a wholesale manner.

Buckhorn, Walter J. 1947. Pine beetle survey of 1946 on the Umatilla National Forest. Unpublished Typescript Report. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, Forest Insect Laboratory. 7 p.

Abstract: An outbreak of the western pine beetle began in Oregon around 1930; the year of greatest intensity was 1932. It would have continued upward from there if an unusually cold winter in 1932-33 had not killed much of the brood as it was attempting to overwinter. Although the outbreak flared up occasionally in the late 1930s, it generally continued downward until reaching a low point in 1943. Beginning in 1944, the outbreak surged upward again in response to a drought. This report documents results of annual surveys that were begun in 1935. A general increase that began in 1944-45 continued upward in 1946, with heavy infestations present near Wilson Prairie, Dixon Guard Station, Kahler Creek, Alder Creek, Deerhorn Creek, Fivemile Creek, and Camas Creek. On the north end of the Forest, an aggressive center existed near the Grand Ronde River west of Troy, Oregon. Extensive losses caused by fir engraver and Douglas-fir beetle were also noted north of Elgin, Oregon. Spruce budworm was still causing problems over a wide area extending as far east as La Grande, and a Douglas-fir tussock moth outbreak was affecting 10 to 12 thousand acres near Troy, Oregon. The report contains one black-and-white photograph showing pole-size Douglas-fir defoliated by tussock moth. In addition to the report itself, this copy includes 4 memoranda pertaining to the report (transmittal of it, response to it, etc.).

Buckhorn, Walter J. 1947. Second memorandum on the Douglas fir tussock moth outbreak near Troy, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, Forest Insect Laboratory. 8 p.

Abstract: This report is a detailed supplement to a memorandum dated September 23, 1946, in which a Douglas-fir tussock moth outbreak near Troy, Oregon was briefly described. The outbreak was first found on August 20, 1946, when a pine beetle survey crew was cruising a check plot near Troy. On September 18 and 19 of that fall, the author made a general examination of the general area and estimated that the infestation involved some 10,000 to 12,000 acres. Almost complete mortality of Douglas-fir and white fir had occurred on 500 to 600 acres in patches ranging up to 50 acres. Due to extremely rough terrain and the general lack of roads, the area could not be adequately examined from the ground in the time remaining that fall. Reports from local residents indicated that 1946 was the second year of the outbreak. Heavy deposits of eggs throughout the examined area indicated that the tussock moth population was still increasing and that considerable timber would probably be killed in 1947. The presence of this outbreak was of particular interest because of a concurrent, though much larger, outbreak in Idaho. The proximity of the two outbreaks offered an opportunity to coordinate control efforts if it was decided that direct control measures were warranted for the Troy outbreak. Since the ground examination in September had been incomplete, it was decided to conduct an aerial examination in late March of 1947. Aerial observations of the outbreak area were made on March 24th and 25th. A major complication associated with the March timeframe was that western larch was still dormant, which made it difficult to discern whether brownish trees were defoliated fir or Douglas-fir, or undamaged western larch. Since western larch often comprised a significant proportion of the mixed-conifer stands in the outbreak area, this complication posed a major problem in deriving an accurate damage estimate. Results of the aerial survey showed heavy defoliation on approximately 1265 acres, moderate defoliation on 23,890 acres, and light defoliation on 30,910 acres. In all, about 56,065 acres supporting 140 million board feet of timber were infested to some extent. Most of the infested acreage occurred on the divide between the Wenaha and Grande Ronde rivers in townships 5 and 6 north, ranges 40, 41, and 42 east. The author believed that the outbreak would eventually subside due to parasites, disease, and other natural factors, but preliminary indications were that it had not yet peaked at the time this report was written and that extensive timber mortality was possible during 1947. Although the author did not yet have enough information to definitively recommend whether aerial control should be initiated, it is clear that he felt that it was feasible and should be considered in conjunction with the Idaho project. The Idaho project was proposing to spray DDT at the rate of one pound in one gallon of oil and at an estimated cost of $1.70 per acre. The author recognized that salvage logging of insect-caused mortality was also an option, although the lack of roads and milling capacity in the area made salvage an unattractive alternative. In 1946, a small lumber mill had just been constructed in Troy and the area opened to logging for the first time. This report includes a colored map showing light, medium, and heavy infestation areas in the area. It is unknown if the map could be digitized; if it could, it certainly should be.

Buckhorn, W. J. 1948. Defoliator situation in the fir stands of eastern Oregon and Washington. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Insect Laboratory. 21 p.

Abstract: Early in the spring of 1947, control of a tussock moth outbreak on the Umatilla National Forest near Troy, Oregon was being considered. Since the outbreak had been discovered but not delineated in the fall of 1946, information was needed about its extent and intensity. The only feasible way to obtain that information in time to consider a control project was to make an aerial survey. A survey was completed on March 24 and 25, 1948 by the author and District Ranger W. W. Ward. Delineation of the infested area was difficult because of problems distinguishing defoliated fir from dormant western larch. The principal infestation area was mapped from the air and then checked from the ground later in the season. A control project was completed on 14,000 acres of heavily-infested, economically-valuable timber. Some 41,000 acres were not treated due to unmerchantability or a light infestation of tussock moth. The treated area was sprayed as a portion of the north Idaho control project with a C-47 airplane carrying 1000 gallons of spray per trip and operating out of Moscow, Idaho, located 65 miles from the project area. The spray was a solution of DDT in fuel oil applied at the rate of one pound of insecticide in one gallon of diluent per acre. The results were “phenomal” with practically 100 percent control resulting. On the unsprayed areas in the Umatilla NF, a polyhedral virus disease appeared near the end of the feeding period and caused widespread mortality of the larvae and pupae. In some instances, as on four small areas to the north and east of Troy, the virus in combination with natural predators virtually wiped out the tussock moth population. Later in the season, the tussock moth infestation developed to a greater extent than anticipated in untreated stands, and in other localities such as one eight miles south of the project area near Promise, Oregon. Other reports came in regarding tussock moth defoliation that ultimately turned out to be western spruce budworm defoliation. In order to help sort out this confusing situation, it was finally decided to make an aerial survey of the 7,755,000 timbered acres of the Blue Mountain region, and to make supplementary ground surveys in the Blue Mountains and elsewhere. This turned out to be the first aerial survey conducted in Region 6 to determine the extent and severity of insect damage. An aerial survey has been conducted every year since then. This report, which describes the results of that first-ever aerial survey, contains the following sections: introduction; Douglas-fir tussock moth (history, situation by forests); spruce budworm (history, situation by forests); summary and discussion; recommendations; tables (summary of survey flights, summary of defoliator situation in fir stands of eastern Oregon and Washington – season of 1947); and maps (Blue Mountains, northern Washington, southern Oregon). Not all of the maps were copied, but the color map showing the Blue Mountains situation (tussock moth – sprayed, tussock moth – unsprayed, spruce budworm) was copied although in 8½” x 11” pieces since the original map was larger than letter size. With respect to western spruce budworm, the most severe defoliation anywhere in the region was on parts of the Umatilla NF near Dale in the Meadow Creek-Desolation Creek drainages. Another large area of budworm infestation on that Forest was a 160,000-acre center near Wall Creek, ranging from Swale Creek on the east to the Spray-Heppner highway on the west. A small infestation center near Battle Mountain State Park was causing considerable public attention. On the northern half of the Umatilla NF, the largest center embraced some 67,000 acres near the headwaters of Phillips Creek, Umatilla River, and Willow Creek.

Cecil, G. H. 1910. Memorandum regarding Supervisor’s inspections. Unpublished Typescript Correspondence. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, District 6 Office. 16 p.

Abstract: This memorandum is from the District (Regional) Forester to Forest Supervisors in the Pacific Northwest (District 6). It provides instructions for completing inspection reports, which were supposed to be completed by each Forest Supervisor. The format of the inspection reports is similar to that used by the District Office in their earlier inspection efforts (for example, see individual national forest inspection reports prepared mainly by M. L. Erickson). The inspection reports were intended to include the following sections: timber sales; silvics; planting; operation (organization, equipment, etc.); permanent improvements; claims; settlement; uses; grazing; products; and accounts.

Chaffee, R. R. 1910. Annual silvical report: Deschutes National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 36 p.

Abstract: This early silvical report pertains to the Deschutes NF, which included two units or divisions at that time: the Blue Mountains unit (western part of current Ochoco NF?), and the Paulina Mountains unit. The report includes the following sections: list of trees; list of shrubs; fundamental forest types; general silvical description of each type; silvics of each species; silvical problems; and remarks. A wide variety of silvical characteristics are described for each species (habit, occurrence, soil and moisture, shade tolerance, growth and longevity, reproduction, susceptibility to injury, etc.).

Chidsey, Thomas E. 1910. Annual grazing report, Umatilla National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest]. 10 p.

Abstract: This double-spaced typescript report describes livestock grazing conditions on the Umatilla National Forest as of 1910. The report begins by stating “the grazing conditions on the Umatilla Forest for the past three years have been very bad owing to the light rainfall and almost total absence of snow in the mountains. The average annual precipitation is from ten to fifteen inches, but during the last three seasons it has fallen below the average, the last season rain and snowfall being only about five inches.” After describing general conditions for both cattle and sheep, not just in terms of forage and water availability but also with regard to market conditions, the report also contains these sections: range divisions, protection, permit allotments, and recommendations. The recommended number of cattle and horses, and sheep, is enumerated for each of the Forest’s allotments. Chidsey ends the report by recommending a reduction in permitted numbers, which had been 75,000 sheep and 11,500 cattle during the previous year, but the reduction was based mostly on the elimination of almost 70,000 acres from the national forest, although he admitted that a further reduction would be necessary if the drought continued or destruction of the forage resource would ensue.

Clark, F. A. 1904. The proposed Chesnimnus Forest Reserve, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry. 3 p.

Abstract: This short report provides some information about the proposed Chesnimnus Forest Reserve, an area of about 185,140 acres located in the extreme northeastern portion of Oregon. Limited information about forest conditions, alienated lands, and grazing is provided, as are recommendations supporting establishment of a Reserve.

Clarke, Frank A.; Langille, H. D. 1904. The proposed Wallowa Forest Reserve, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry. 4 p.

Abstract: This short report provides limited information on the following topics: location and area; topography; forest; estimated stand of timber; land classification; industries; sentiment; and recommendations.

Cliff, Edward P. 1939. Relationship between elk and mule deer in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. Transactions of the North American Wildlife Conference. 4: 560-569.

Abstract: This accession provides a detailed and interesting account of Rocky Mountain elk and mule deer population trends for the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. An early history of these animals is provided, discussing how a native elk population survived in the Trout Meadows area (located on the boundary of the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman national forests and near the 52 road) and how this remnant population eventually expanded to occupy much of the unoccupied elk habitat in the Blue Mountains, including elk range on the Malheur and Ochoco national forests. Cliff also describes how elk were transplanted from the northern Yellowstone herd and from Jackson, Wyoming to replenish declining elk numbers in the Blue Mountains. These importations occurred in 1911, 1912, 1913, 1918 and 1930. The mule deer numbers also declined precipitously in the late 1800s and early 1900s but were able to rebound on their own after hunting restrictions were implemented and enforced. This article provides a table showing winter food plants of both elk and mule deer; it shows the percentage composition of each species in the diet for both animals. A figure is provided showing long-term population trends for mule deer and elk from 1921 to 1938 for the Whitman National Forest. Much of the population description information is broken down by individual watershed, such as the Desolation and North Fork John Day watersheds on the North Fork John Day Ranger District. A large-scale map also shows the summer and winter range for deer and elk for the North Fork John Day River subbasin. The article concludes by noting that elk had been increasing at a faster rate than mule deer and were then dominant, a situation that was viewed as detrimental for winter range conditions.

Clouston, John G. 1942. Memorandum regarding big-game management in the Blue Mountains. Unpublished Typescript Memorandum. Pendleton, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest. 5 p.

Abstract: This accession is a memorandum to the files dated November 17, 1942. It concerns the proper management of big game in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon, particularly with regard to the following issues: number of game animals; distribution of game animals; condition of summer and winter forage for game; and the capability of particular areas to produce this forage or carrying capacity of the range. Winter range, consisting mostly of browse or shrubs, was more critical than summer forage because of its restricted usable area. Most of this memorandum consists of extensive quotes from surveys that were made during the summer and fall of 1942. Almost three pages of quoted material is from Mr. Mitchell, who was in charge of Wildlife Management in the Regional Office in Portland, and was based on a winter-range survey of the Ukiah District of the Umatilla NF and the north portion of the Whitman NF. That material provides interesting insights about elk browsing preferences, the beaver situation at that time, and the condition of specific plant species being used for browse or forage by big-game species. Minor quotes were also provided from a Mr. Douglas, who was Assistant Regional Forester in charge of the Division of Wildlife and Range Management. Douglas’ quotes concern a trip made during the fall of 1942 by him, Mr. Mitchell, and a Dr. Shantz from the Washington Office of the Forest Service. Clouston also provides a short table summarizing the number of deer and elk estimated to be using the Ukiah District of the Umatilla NF for the years 1937-1941. The elk population for the entire Umatilla NF was estimated to be 8,500 head in 1941, whereas the estimated carrying capacity of the Forest was thought to be 6,400 head, indicating that big-game ranges were already overstocked by 1941. Clouston then goes on to recommend annual kill rates for 1942 to 1944 that were designed to bring elk populations down to the carrying capacity level. The author also recognized that livestock grazing was contributing to a lack of forage for big game animals, and provided a short table summarizing permitted animal-units for the Forest between 1937 (32,077 units) and 1941 (22,270 units). He also mentioned that the all-time high livestock rate for the Forest was 85,444 animal units in 1907, with a war-time high of 57,156 units in 1918.

Conover, C. J. 1921. Descriptive and cost reports; Powwatka Ridge timber survey project, Wallowa National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 14 p.

Abstract: The Nibley Mimnaugh Lumber Company made application for the purchase of Government timber located near the northwestern edge of the Wallowa National Forest. This report documents the results of a timber survey project initiated in response to their application. The lumber company’s logging railroad had been extended to within a few hundred yards of the southern edge of the survey area and was a good route for the logs to travel if the Powwatka Ridge was to be logged by railroad. The survey was conducted with a five-man crew starting on August 10th and concluding on September 24, 1920, although the college students left on September 9th to return to school. The survey area included 12,766 acres, which excludes private lands in the area. Of the total timber stand in the area, 54% was yellow pine, 26% was Douglas-fir, 12% western larch, and 8% white fir, with small amounts of lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce. The yellow pine occurred in pure stands on dry areas with shallow soils, but the highest merchantable volume of yellow pine was along Washboard Ridge and in other transition areas with mixed stands. Stands comprised of inferior species covered nearly one third of the survey area, generally upon northern exposures and in the draws. They consisted of western larch and Douglas-fir in the overstory, and grand fir in the understory. The author strongly recommended that inferior species be discouraged or removed whenever possible, since excellent yellow pine timber will grow upon the sites that were occupied by them. Alder, dwarf maple, cottonwood, and hawthorne grow in the creek bottoms. Timber volumes per acre on the area were generally low, averaging about 8,000 feet per acre in the portions with mature timber. The timber was not deteriorating rapidly and could safely be held until a more favorable lumber market existed. Some insect damage was noted in the area, possibly fostered by the ranchers’ habit of girdling trees several years before they intended to cut them for firewood. The area was considered very flammable, as a fire was discovered and extinguished during the survey and several large fires were burning on private land to the south of the Forest. Snags were not particularly common; about three per acre or 120 per forty acres were encountered. Many of the snags were western larches below 20 inches in diameter that had been killed by dwarf mistletoe. The report includes the following sections: a project map (in color, showing the boundaries of the examined area, patented (private) lands, and homestead entries); introduction; status and ownership; silvical description; logging data; management; tables, and accuracy of work. The report includes 3 tables summarizing the survey results by township and range. Appended to this descriptive report is a separate 3-page Cost Report. The cost report includes the following sections: field work; office work; and total cost.

Courtney, A.G.; Shafer, F.E.; Burgess, L.; Clark, R.; Tucker, G.J. 1944. Report of the 1943-44 winter game survey, Asotin Ranger District. Pomeroy, WA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest, Asotin Ranger District. 13 p.

Abstract: This typescript report provides results of a game survey conducted during the winter period of 1943-1944. It describes how game survey work was initiated in 1939, continued in 1941, and then intensified during a winter survey in 1942-43. The 1942-43 survey found that "The outstanding facts brought to light in the survey of 1943 was, that due to the severe winter and deep snow, big game was forced into the lower country for a longer period and much lower than they normally are required to go to secure winter feed. This resulted in much damage to haystacks and farmer’s pastures, chiefly by elk. Many deer died of starvation and malnutrition, particularly in the Wenaha and Crooked Fork areas. The extent of this loss was not apparent until later in the spring, when many dead deer were found by our maintenance crews and during range inspections. Large areas near the mouth of Crooked Fork were browsed even to the extent of stripping all needles from Douglas Fir and Yellow Pine within reach of deer and elk. During the winter of 1943-44 it was decided to continue the game survey work and range utilization studies on a somewhat different basis. Two experienced men, Arthur G. Courtney and F. Eugene Shafer were assigned to make a winter long study of the big game, their habits, distribution, migrations, and forage utilization. Arrangements were made to work with the Game Protectors of Asotin and Garfield Counties, to the extent that the Game Protectors other duties permitted them. It was also planned to work with representatives of the Oregon State Game Commission. It was decided to make repeated trips into the same areas to observe the changing conditions, shifts of animals, extent of forage utilization, food preference, food availability and other factors effecting big game." This account describes the new survey methodology (the one adopted in 1943-44), and what was learned from the first year implementation of it. This accession includes the following sections: introduction; general description; cooperation with state; condition of game; occurrence of small game; condition of range; table showing actual game counts for winter of 1943-44; analysis of data; damage to hay or crops; intermingling of herds; sex ratio; carrying capacity; conclusions and recommendations; and two maps (one for deer and one for elk) showing herd boundaries, sub-areas, number and approximate location of animals observed, and winter camp locations.

Cowlin, Robert W. 1988. Background information about the 1930s forest surveys. Unpublished document. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 21 p.

Abstract: This accession consists of excerpts from a larger document called “Federal forest research in the Pacific Northwest: the Pacific Northwest Research Station.” This document was compiled by Robert W. Cowlin and is dated 1988. The excerpts in this background report were taken from pages 29 to 100 in the original report. They pertain to the 1930s forest survey program administered by the Pacific Northwest Forest Experiment Station and resulting in the first comprehensive mapping of forest lands for the states of Oregon and Washington. The original page numbers and footnotes from the parent document are maintained in this background report.

Cowlin, R.W.; Briegleb, P.A.; Moravets, F.L. 1942. Forest resources of the ponderosa pine region of Washington and Oregon. Miscellaneous Publication No. 490. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 99 p.

Abstract: This publication synthesizes the results of forest surveys completed during the 1930s for the eastern part of Oregon and Washington. It includes a discussion of the following topics: survey findings in brief; definitions and specifications associated with the surveys; description of the region; forest inventory statistics; forest depletion statistics; forest growth statistics; land use statistics; forest protection measures; forest industries in the area; forest management practices; timber supply statistics; and a summary of regional forest problems. An extensive appendix and summary maps (in color, showing generalized forest type groups) are also included. This report includes numerous black-and-white photographs of extremely high quality, many of which appear to depict conditions in the Blue Mountains during the mid to late 1930s. The authors offer interesting insights about stand conditions, as illustrated with this quote: the ponderosa pine type “is remarkably pure, averaging 94 percent ponderosa pine in Oregon and 92 percent in Washington. Stands are characteristically uneven-aged and open, with little heavy underbrush. The ground cover is chiefly grass or low shrubs.” Note that two of the maps at the end of this document were digitized for the Umatilla National Forest's geographic information system: survey unit no. 3 – north Blue Mountain unit – ponderosa pine region; and survey unit no. 5 – south Blue Mountain unit – ponderosa pine region. When combined, these two maps would depict general forest conditions for the entire Blue Mountains province as they existed in the late 1930s (ponderosa pine sawtimber, ponderosa pine second growth, other conifer sawtimber, other conifer second growth, noncommercial forest, deforested land, and nonforest land).

Chriswell, Harold C. 1989. Memoirs; Harold C. (Chris) Chriswell; 1933 to 1971. Unpublished Report. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region. 138 p. [This accession contains pages 22-51, recounting his Umatilla National Forest experiences only.]

Abstract: Many Forest Service retirees compile memoirs of their time in the organization. Most of these memoirs recount the good times, unusual adventures, and human interest stories. Occasionally an individual will delve into the administrative and social history of the organization. This accession includes candid and informative historical perspectives on a variety of forest management issues. The author started his Forest Service career by joining the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933 and retired as Forest Supervisor of the Mt. Baker National Forest in 1971. Possessed of a good memory for dates, names, and facts, Mr. Chriswell provides a detailed description of historical events and agency actions, including the study and creation of the North Cascades National Park. Mr. Chriswell served on several Region 6 national forests, and in the Regional Office in Portland.

Of particular interest and enjoyment is Mr. Chriswell's remarks about his time on the Umatilla National Forest, where he worked as an assistant Ranger on the Heppner District before World War II. Chriswell’s reminiscences about his life and times on the Umatilla National Forest are provided in this excerpt from his larger memoirs.

Darlington, H.T. 1915. A study of grazing conditions in the Wenaha National Forest. Bulletin No. 122. Pullman, WA: State College of Washington, Agricultural Experiment Station. 18 p.

Abstract: The principal forage plants of the higher part of the Wenaha NF are perennial, consisting mostly of shrubs. With the exception of the tops of some ridges, there seems to be no deterioration in the grazing areas. The tops of the ridges are being used as highways for the sheep. On account of snow, the range is limited to about 5 months of grazing, which is helping to hold down grazing impacts. An inventory of the relative distribution and abundance of principal forage plants should be made occasionally to indicate if any undesirable plant succession is occurring. The full carrying capacity of the range is not being used. A more complete utilization of the range would require development of additional sheep trails. So far as the regulation of the sheep industry and the enforcement of law and order are concerned, Government leasing to single individuals has been a marked success.

Drake, George L. 1920. Timber sale report: Looking-glass Creek area. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 6 p.

Abstract: This report describes an area that was examined after the Grande Ronde Lumber Company of Perry, Oregon applied for a timber sale in the Lookingglass Creek area. This report includes the following sections: description of the tract; estimate of timber volume; private interests; agricultural lands; silvical description (merchantable timber, reproduction, undergrowth, soil); silvical system recommended; accessibility; operating methods; market; appraisal; and general information. The report includes a multi-color reconnaissance map of the area showing the boundary of the area applied for, and some general vegetation types (yellow pine, larch-Douglas-fir-white fir, and open areas)

Dutton, Walt L. [1931]. Report on 1930 driveway investigation. Unpublished Typescript Report. [Portland, OR]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region]. 35 p.

Abstract: This report describes the results of an examination of sheep driveways on portions of the Umatilla, Whitman, and Malheur national forests. A three-week examination was made in the summer of 1930, and it consisted of on-the-ground reviews of driveway conditions along with interviews of sheepmen (band owners), shepherds, private landowners located along the driveways, and national forest supervisors and rangers concerned with administration and regulation of the grazing program on their units. This report includes the following sections: introduction; change in driveway location; regulation of entry; re-routing of bands; water developments; holding corrals, pastures and shelters; clearing and widening; traversing and posting driveways; shipping vs. trailing; reduction through establishment of driveway priorities; providing feed enroute; feed enroute outside the forests; feed enroute inside the forests; driveway association; need for uniformity of driveway policy; driveway supervision; two tables summarizing driveway usage in 1930 (including numbers of sheep by season of the year); summary; recommendations; and a large collection of excellent black-and-white photographs at the end of the report (a total of 18 photographs with a nominal size of 3¼ inches by 5½ inches, although one photograph is missing and appears to have never been mounted or included in this particular copy of the report)

Eaton, C. B.; Beal, J. A.; Furniss, R. L.; Speers, C. F. 1949. Airplane and helicopter spraying with DDT for spruce budworm control. Journal of Forestry. 47: 823-827.

Abstract: This article describes an experimental control project against western spruce budworm on 4,200 acres of defoliated mixed-conifer forest on the Umatilla National Forest and on lands owned by the Kinzua Pine Mills Company of Heppner, Oregon. Aerial surveys in 1948 showed that almost 1,500,000 acres of mixed-conifer forest in eastern Oregon and Washington were infested with western spruce budworm. Several experiments involving an insecticide called DDT were in progress against budworm in New York state and eastern Canada, and it was proposed to try DDT as a control agent against budworm in the Blue Mountains area. An area of 6,300 acres was delineated within a larger, 160,000-acre infestation affecting the Heppner Ranger District for an experimental application of DDT during the later half of June in 1948 (the infested area ranged from Swale Creek on the east to the Spray-Heppner highway on the west). The experimental area consisted of a two-storied stand of the mixed fir-ponderosa pine type, with Douglas-fir and grand fir comprising about 20% of the merchantable overstory but a considerably higher percentage of the understory. The experiment included 14 plots of 350 acres each, with twelve plots treated and 2 plots untreated as controls (all of the plots were situated within a 5-mile radius of Opal Butte). The insecticide was an oil solution of DDT mixed at a rate of 1 pound of technical grade DDT in 1.2 quarts of a hydrocarbon auxiliary solvent diluted to 1 gallon with fuel oil. Five combinations of dosage and application method were involved in the experiment: 1/2 pound DDT per acre applied by helicopter; 1 pound DDT per acre applied by helicopter; 1 pound DDT per acre and applied by helicopter in a criss-cross pattern; 1 pound DDT per acre applied by airplane; and 2 pounds DDT per acre applied by airplane. Insecticide was applied between June 22nd and July 2nd of 1948. One interesting aspect of the experiment was a new technique for marking the corner trees of each plot – it involved shooting a line over the trees (100 to 140 feet tall) with a line-throwing shoulder gun, and then using the line to haul up a paint bomb consisting of a quart of aluminum paint in a fiber container in which was inserted a detonator and one quarter of a stick of dynamite. The paint bomb was electrically detonated from the ground, with the explosive force effectively distributing the paint throughout the upper tree crown. The tree crown was visible for some distance from the air, but no apparent damage was caused to the tree. Daily measurements of the budworm larvae and the tree foliage were made to insure that the treatments were applied when the insect was most vulnerable. The results of the experimental applications were impressive. The three airplane plots sprayed with the one-pound dosage showed an average control of 99.6%. The plots sprayed with the 2-pound dosage had a control rate of 99.5%. Plots sprayed by helicopter had a lower control rate than those sprayed with an airplane, ranging from 91.2% to 98.6%. The one plot sprayed with one-half pound of DDT per acre (an error) showed a control rate of only 68.3%. No foliage burning from the spray mixture was noted on any of the treated plots. Treated trees showed an immediate response, with Douglas-fir greening up within three weeks of the spraying.

Edmonston, W. D. 1913. 1912 report on northeastern Oregon project no. 38. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology, Branch of Forest Insects. 29 p.

Abstract: A mountain pine beetle outbreak occurred in ponderosa and lodgepole pines in the northern Blue Mountains and Wallowa Mountains in the early 1900s (beginning no later than 1905, according to the figures in this report). This report describes an examination of the areas that received pine beetle control treatments in 1911 (control work began on April 5th and was completed on June 30th), not only to determine treatment effectiveness but to ascertain whether further control work was warranted. Although this report does not go into the outbreak history in much detail, it is surmised that this control project was one of the first of its kind, at least for northeastern Oregon and possibly the entire western United States. A. D. Hopkins, a preeminent entomologist of that era, states that “the project must be considered as a big experiment.” This report includes the following sections: general instructions for inspection of the area; special instructions and introduction; tree table for camp areas; totals for camp areas; totals for district areas or units; resume, diameters, heights; acreage; diameters; totals for entire area, Dendroctonus species; number of saplings; results and percentages; volume in board feet; lodgepole pine rate of infestation; check area, showing percentages and increase; lodgepole pine in the adjacent untreated areas; the southern Wallowa (Minam National Forest); and map of treated areas. It appears that the 1912 project was completed entirely by the Bureau of Entomology, since the author states early on in the report that “it was expected and understood that the Forest Service would cooperate and assist in making the examination. It will be sufficient to state that they did not do so; nor did they render any assistance in any way whatsoever.” A series of tables summarizes the field survey, with results reported by “camp:” Anthony Creek, Big Gulch, Bulger Flat, North Powder River, Muddy Creek, Pine Creek, Marble Creek, Hibbard Gulch, Elk Creek, Poker Creek, Union Creek, Miners Creek, Deer Creek, Sheep Creek, Snow Ball, White Face, Sumpter, Slim Creek, Cracker Creek, Fruit Creek, Silver Creek, Sheep Rock, and Cold Springs. A summary tables shows that 76,430 acres were examined and that 12,219 yellow pines (ponderosa pine) and 16,279 lodgepole pines were treated on those acres. The number of red-top and current-year infested trees are also provided for each of the tree species. The “Baker Forest Protective Association” presumably represented private lands in the outbreak area – figures for treated and infested trees for their portion of the outbreak area are also provided in the tables. The summary showed that 14,483 yellow pines had been treated (counting private lands) as compared to 3,083 newly-infested trees, representing a reduction of almost 79%. The corresponding reduction for lodgepole pine was almost 92% (treated: 20,007; new infested: 1,615). The outbreak was still quite heavy in untreated lodgepole and whitebark pine stands as of 1912: the author judged that at least 200,000 infested lodgepole and whitebark pines existed between 5,000 and 7,000 feet elevation in an area ranging from Anthony Creek on the north to Elk Creek on the south, and then west to the Elkhorn Range. The Whitman National Forest map that accompanies this report (dated 1912) shows the treatment and infestation areas in color; it was copied on 8, 8.5” x 11” sheets since the National Archives did not have large-format color copying capability.

Erickson, M. L. 1906. Report: Blue Mountain Forest Reserve (E). Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. Variable p.

Abstract: After establishment of the forest reserves and national forests early in the twentieth century, inspections were supposed to be made at regular intervals. Initially, inspections were conducted by Forest Inspectors stationed at the District (Regional) Offices. Later, that responsibility was transferred to the Forest Supervisors, who were responsible for inspecting their own Forest (see G. H. Cecil, 1910, “Memorandum regarding Supervisor’s inspections” for more information). This forest reserve inspection report was prepared by an inspector from the District Office; it includes the following sections: timber sales (24 p.); products (1 p.); grazing (14 p.); claims and privileges (16 p.); additions and eliminations (3 p.); and personnel, equipment, and protection (37 p.)

Erickson, M. L. 1906. Report on Blue Mountains (West) Reserve, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. Variable p.

Abstract: After establishment of the forest reserves and national forests early in the twentieth century, inspections were supposed to be made at regular intervals. Initially, inspections were conducted by Forest Inspectors stationed at the District (Regional) Offices. Later, that responsibility was transferred to the Forest Supervisors, who were responsible for inspecting their own Forest (see G. H. Cecil, 1910, “Memorandum regarding Supervisor’s inspections” for more information). This forest reserve inspection report was prepared by an inspector from the District Office; it includes the following sections: timber sales (22 p.); boundaries (5 p.); privileges and claims (5 p.); dendrology (1 p.); planting (1 p.); products (2 p.); protection and equipment (19 p.); and allotments and expenses (3 p.). The Blue Mountains West Reserve included lands in the Malheur, Ochoco, Umatilla, and Deschutes (?) National Forests. It includes interesting insights about early conditions in the Blue Mountains, as illustrated with this quote: “The forest in the region south of the Strawberry range that bears excellent yellow pine and tamarack covers approximately 800,000 acres. The yellow pine is more abundant and is found in more suitable situations on this reserve than I have seen its occurrence in any other part of Oregon. It grows tall and straight, maintains a uniform taper, and furnishes a large percentage of clear length. Trees thirty to fifty inches in diameter, with height of 150 feet, are not uncommon.”

Erickson, M. L. 1906. Report on Wallowa Forest Reserve, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. Variable p.

Abstract: After establishment of the forest reserves and national forests early in the twentieth century, inspections were supposed to be made at regular intervals. Initially, inspections were conducted by Forest Inspectors stationed at the District (Regional) Offices. Later, that responsibility was transferred to the Forest Supervisors, who were responsible for inspecting their own Forest (see G. H. Cecil, 1910, “Memorandum regarding Supervisor’s inspections” for more information). This forest reserve inspection report was prepared by an inspector from the District Office; it consists of a series of smaller documents covering the following topics: timber sales (9 p.); claims and privileges (4 p.); protection (10 p.); personnel (10 p.); and grazing (11 p.).

Erickson, M. L. 1907. Report on Chesnimnus Forest Reserve, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. Variable p.

Abstract: After establishment of the forest reserves and national forests early in the twentieth century, inspections were supposed to be made at regular intervals. Initially, inspections were conducted by Forest Inspectors stationed at the District (Regional) Offices. Later, that responsibility was transferred to the Forest Supervisors, who were responsible for inspecting their own Forest (see G. H. Cecil, 1910, “Memorandum regarding Supervisor’s inspections” for more information). This forest reserve inspection report was prepared by an inspector from the District Office; it includes the following sections: protection, equipment, personnel (16 p.); grazing (6 p.); boundaries (7 p.); timber sales (16 p.); claims (9 p.); planting (2 p.); privileges (7 p.); and products (2 p.).

Erickson, M. L. 1907. Report on Heppner, Oregon, National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. Variable p.

Abstract: After establishment of the forest reserves and national forests early in the twentieth century, inspections were supposed to be made at regular intervals. Initially, inspections were conducted by Forest Inspectors stationed at the District (Regional) Offices. Later, that responsibility was transferred to the Forest Supervisors, who were responsible for inspecting their own Forest (see G. H. Cecil, 1910, “Memorandum regarding Supervisor’s inspections” for more information). This national forest inspection report was prepared by an inspector from the District Office; it includes the following sections: [timber] sales (10 p.); silvics (9 p.); grazing (24 p.); boundaries (2 p.); protection and improvement (27 p.); equipment (2 p.); and organization (13 p.). Erickson offers some interesting insights in this work, as illustrated by this quote: “Game is not at all abundant. The cause of the lack of deer and other game is probably due to the annual hunt of the Warm Springs and Umatilla Indians who come into the country en masse with large bands of horses. The Forest officers should see that each Indian complies with the game laws.”

Erickson, M. L. 1907. Supplementary report on Wallowa Forest Reserve, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. Variable p.

Abstract: After establishment of the forest reserves and national forests early in the twentieth century, inspections were supposed to be made at regular intervals. Initially, inspections were conducted by Forest Inspectors stationed at the District (Regional) Offices. Later, that responsibility was transferred to the Forest Supervisors, who were responsible for inspecting their own Forest (see G. H. Cecil, 1910, “Memorandum regarding Supervisor’s inspections” for more information). This forest reserve inspection report was prepared by an inspector from the District Office; it supplements information contained in Erickson’s primary report on the Wallowa (1906). It includes the following sections: boundaries (3 p.); protection (3 p.); personnel and improvements (5 p.); timber sales (4 p.); and privileges (4 p.).

Ericson, O. F.; Conover, C. J. 1918. Descriptive report: Upper North Fork timber survey project. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 10 p.

Abstract: Five small forest areas totaling 2,015.92 acres, located in T. 10 S., R. 35½ and 36 E., and T. 11 S., R. 36 E. were cruised during March 1918. The examined areas were scattered over the upper part of the North Fork Burnt River drainage, except for part of the “Tipton chance” which lapped over the ridge and drains west to the John Day River. The areas were widely separated, so that each one comprised a separate logging chance. The chances varied in size from 80 to 1,050 acres and all were very accessible. All of the timber was tributary, by siding or spur, to the Sumpter Valley narrow-gauge railroad. A color map shows the location of the cruised areas, all of which were fairly close to Whitney in the Sumpter Valley. The examined areas consisted primarily of cancelled claims scattered among the patented (private) land in the valley. The yellow pine type covered 1,461 acres and 97% of it was mature, comprising practically all of the merchantable timber in the logging chances. The yellow pine timber was 10,333 board feet per merchantable acre. Several interesting tables summarize the species composition and volumes encountered on the tracts. One table summarized the North Fork, Camp 3, and Whitney chances; it showed that the total number of stems per acre was 49, with 31 of those being yellow pine ranging from 4 to 32 inches DBH, with the remaining 18 stems being lodgepole pines in the 4-7” and 8-11” diameter classes. For the Tipton tract, the total stocking was 69 stems, with 25 being yellow pine (4-36 inches), 13 Douglas-fir (4-20”), 4 western larch (4-14”), 9 white fir (4-11”), and 18 lodgepole pine (4-11”). On the Tipton chance, about 5% of the trees were fire scarred, but on the other areas about 20% were so affected. Some evidence of insect killed trees and recent windthrow was also noted on the areas. The examiners noted that many areas had an open understory of lodgepole pine beneath the mature yellow pine overstory. The authors did not know if overgrazing, fires, or natural causes could be used to explain the lodgepole pine reproduction under a yellow pine overstory, although they believed that by protecting the area carefully after logging, the yellow pine would eventually prevail over the shorter-lived lodgepole. However, they recommended the situation be closely monitored since encroachment by lodgepole pine was noted as a problem in many localities. In the Tipton chance especially, they noted that every effort should be made to keep the area as a yellow pine forest by discouraging the advance growth of lodgepole pine. They recommended that slash be piled and burned following logging, except in the open stands near juniper barrens where lopping and scattering should be thoroughly tried since it should effectively conserve moisture for regenerating seedlings. The larch-Douglas-fir type was indefinite in these tracts since Douglas-fir grew most often with yellow pine and larch was commonly associated with lodgepole pine. It was observed that larch dwarf mistletoe seems to suppress and kill much of the western larch in the area and seldom were larch trees able to reach merchantable size. A stand table is provided for the fir-larch forest type. Pure lodgepole pine was minor, occurring mostly on moist sites in the Tipton area. It was notable that lodgepole pine was extending itself aggressively. Many small groups of dead lodgepole pines were observed, having been killed by insects (Dendroctonus monticola). Juniper barrens (found on dry, rocky ridges), grass and sagebrush communities at lower elevations, three meadows (37 acres), and brushy river bottoms (54 acres) also occurred in the tracts. The report ends with a series of tables summarizing snags by section (within townships and ranges), areas and volumes by section, volume by logging chances and species, and types of logging chances.

Evans, R. M. 1912. General silvical report: Wallowa and Minam Forests. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 54 p.

Abstract: This report includes the following sections: list of coniferous trees; list of deciduous trees; list of shrubs; general description of topography and soil; fundamental forest types; general silvical description of vegetation zones (yellow pine, transition, alpine, and arctic-alpine or timberless zones); silvics of individual species; and silvical problems. A variety of silvical characteristics are described for each species (habit, occurrence, soil and moisture, shade tolerance, growth and longevity, reproduction, susceptibility to injury, etc.). The descriptions of the vegetation zones, including predominant forest types associated with each of them, are especially thorough. It provides interesting observations about plant succession, as illustrated with this quote: “There are patches of “scabland,” characterized by very shallow soil, many rock fragments and a total absence of vegetation except in the spring months. It is interesting to note that some of these areas are being occupied by sagebrush where a few years ago, there was none. A possible explanation is that the annual fires of the Indians kept it killed out and now it has a chance to develop. Yellow pine is slowly encroaching upon the sagebrush, the chief factor in its rate of advance being moisture, provided fire is kept out. The same statement will hold true in regard to the other open areas as well. As fast as the reproduction has pushed out from under the protection of the parent trees, the periodical fires have killed it back, thus keeping the timber line practically stationary. In recent years, conditions have improved, and it is noticeable that the pine is reaching out, although slowly. The north slopes [are] being occupied by a thick stand of fir reproduction. Even pine is gaining a foothold here, and is gradually creeping across the ridge to the south slopes.”

Ewing, Carl. 1939 (November 21). Memorandum: historical information about the Umatilla National Forest. Unpublished Report. Pendleton, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Umatilla National Forest. 6 p.

Abstract: This accession consists of a 1-page memorandum by Forest Supervisor Carl Ewing, and a 5-page enclosure providing the following historical information about the Umatilla National Forest: location; forest description; forest contribution to community welfare; administration (Asotin District, Touchet District, Walla Walla District, Meacham District, Ukiah District, Heppner District); and history (Heppner Forest Reserve, Blue Mountain Forest Reserve, Wenaha Forest Reserve).

Farquhar, Henry H. 1912. Western white pine seed collection, fall of 1911. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Missoula, MT]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region]. 40 p.

Abstract: This interesting report describes a very large seed collection program that occurred in the fall of 1911 on the Kaniksu National Forest in northern Idaho. Most of the collections occurred on the West Branch of the Priest River, due north of the towns of Priest River and Newport, Washington. The objective was to collect 20,000 bushels of western white pine, although no particular reason was given for a program of that size (perhaps due to increased planting and seeding needs following the extensive forest fires of 1910?). The report mentions that western white pine had an exceptionally large crop of cones in 1911, whereas other species had a correspondingly low cone crop that year. This meant that squirrel caching was confined almost exclusively to white pine and, since most collecting was from squirrel caches, this combination of circumstances was viewed as ideal for a large seed collection program. This report includes the following major sections: introduction; organization; the work; criticism; data; and costs. It includes detailed information on production rates, costs, labor forces, logistics, cone shipment forms, etc. A portion of a small-scale map of the Kaniksu (dated 1911) shows the actual areas from which cones were collected. Ten high-quality black-and-white photographs are included, several of which are 8" x 10" in size. Humorous accounts of camp life, Swedish laborers, union agitation among the pickers, competition between the pickers and squirrels for the cones (including squirrels robbing cones from sealed cone sacks), and other aspects of the project are provided in the report.

Flory, Charles H. 1910. Organization of national forest force. Unpublished Typescript Paper. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 33 p.

Abstract: This long paper, which was delivered at the District 6 Supervisor’s Meeting on March 22, 1910, begins with a history of forestry in the world, including the history, administration, and organization of forestry programs in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The author uses the historical context as a way to set the stage for his recommendations concerning the training and organization of the national forest work force. Two types of organization had been tried to that point on Pacific Northwest national forests: one involved dividing the forest into many small Districts, with each Ranger in the work force being assigned the administration of a particular District. If 10 Rangers are employed on the forest, then the forest would have 10 Districts. On other forests, the forest is divided into a set number of Districts, a senior Ranger is assigned to administer each of them, and one or more junior Rangers are assigned to each District to be “seasoned” by the more experienced Ranger in charge. Although no particular organizational scheme is endorsed, several alternatives are discussed.

Foster, H. D. 1905. Two silvics narratives for the Wenaha National Forest, Washington. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 6 p.

Abstract: This accession consists of two miscellaneous silvical narratives: a 3-page document called “Reproduction,” which was written in August of 1906 and includes a short discussion about planting; and a 3-page document called “The Forest,” describing 5 blocks or divisions that the Forest was divided into for timber management purposes. “The Forest” document was prepared in 1905.

Foster, H. D. 1906. Report on the silvics of the Wenaha Forest Reserve, Washington and Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 39 p.

Abstract: This report includes the following sections: topography; climatic conditions of the region; general forest conditions; forest types (summit, flat, and canyon types); yellow pine; lodgepole pine; tamarack; Engelmann spruce; sugar pine-blue spruce; red fir; lowland white fir (grand fir); white fir; general silvical notes; and forest enemies. A wide variety of silvical characteristics are discussed for each of the species described. Foster provides some interesting insights about forest ecology, as illustrated with these quotes: “Forest types conform to the general topography of the country, each topographic type having a different class of forest which varies in the nature of the species found on each, and in the condition of the timber and the forest floor. The forest types may be divided into the summit type, the flat, and the canyon.” “Occasionally along the ridges in open spaces groups of aspen are found, and around springs alder grows. Along streams conttonwood and balm of Gilead is found with mountain maple, wild cherry, and other broadleaf species.” “Reproduction after burns is usually very prolific, the principal species which come in as second growth being lodgepole pine and tamarack, with a lesser proportion of white fir, lowland fir, and the spruces. On unburned areas, reproduction is rather backward, especially in thick stands of timber, but in blanks reproduction often is rather abundant and of the same proportion as the surrounding forest.” “The slopes are thin-soiled and usually not well watered. If it were not for the forest growth upon them, the soil should soon wash off, exposing the bare rock. This has happened where the bunch grass has been overgrazed by sheep, and there are no trees to hold the soil.”

Foster, H. D. 1908. Report on the silvics of the Blue Mountains (E) National Forest, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 30 p.

Abstract: Discusses the vegetation and general characteristics of the Blue Mountains (E) National Forest, much of which was later divided among the Whitman, Umatilla, and Malheur National Forests. Most of this report is based on a reconnaissance examination of an area near Sumpter, Oregon and as far west as Susanville. The following topics are described: topography (including geology), climate, economic aspects, and forest types (yellow pine, spruce, lodgepole pine, white fir, and mixed conifer types). The balance of the report provides descriptions for individual species, in which the general characteristics, site requirements, tolerance, reproduction, relationships with other species, and fire effects are discussed. The following species are described: yellow (ponderosa) pine, lodgepole pine, tamarack (western larch), Engelmann spruce, Douglas-fir, white (grand) fir, and other species (western white pine, juniper, etc.). Species rankings are provided in a section called “General Silvical Notes,” where shade tolerance, demands upon soil and moisture, altitudinal range, and forest enemies are rated. The final page of the report is a list of the trees found on the Forest; 16 species are shown. This document includes some interesting insights about early forest conditions and management activities in the Blue Mountains, as illustrated with these quotes: “In all sales on this Forest, care should be exercised in marking the timber not to leave the cutting area in such condition that a valuable stand be supplanted by inferior species. White fir, though occasionally used for fuel when no better species are available, makes poor fuel wood, while for saw timber it is all but valueless owing to the fact that nearly all mature trees are badly rotted by a prevalent polyporus, and the wood season-checks badly. Unless care is taken this species is prone to supplant such species as yellow pine and tamarack since it is much more tolerant of shade in early life.” “The forest floor is open, free from underbrush in any quantity, so much so that it is possible to ride in almost any direction through the forest without following trails.” “Ten or twelve years ago a storm with the typical funnel-shaped cloud of a cyclone passed through Fox Valley, snapping large pine trees off eight or ten feed from the ground, uprooting others, and demolishing buildings in the town of Long Creek. It cut a swathe two miles wide through the forest. The storm was accompanied by hail-stones of irregular shape some of which measured 6¾ by 7¼ inches in circumference.”

Furniss, R. L.; Buckhorn, W. J.; Wright, K. H. 1948. The spruce budworm in Oregon and Washington; season of 1948. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Insect Laboratory. 19 p.

Abstract: This is a report about the status of a widespread spruce budworm outbreak in the Douglas-fir and balsam (grand) fir stands of Oregon and Washington. The purpose of this report was to record what is known about the budworm outbreak and to discuss the control possibilities. The data presented were based on five years of observations, intensive surveys in 1947 and 1948, and an experimental control project and detailed biological studies in 1948. Maps and tables are included that show the extent and intensity of the infestation. The possibilities for control are also discussed. The report includes the following sections: introduction; the budworm and its habits; the current outbreak (history, survey of 1948, situation in the Blue Mountains, situation in the Oregon Cascades, and situation in other areas); control considerations; and recommendations. Two tables (intensity of infestation; ownership of infested areas) and two maps (Blue Mountains area; Oregon Cascades area) are present at the end of the report, although map 1, Blue Mountains area, was the only one copied since both maps were in color and oversized. This report builds on work initiated in 1947 (see an item in the history archives called “Defoliator situation in the fir stands of eastern Oregon and Washington” by W. J. Buckhorn for detailed information about the 1947 situation) when it was proposed to conduct a large-scale control experiment on the Heppner Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest. That experiment was completed in late June and early July of 1948 when it was demonstrated that aerial application of one pound of DDT in one gallon of fuel oil per acre, when properly timed, provided control at levels ranging up to 95 percent. An intensive study of the budworm was made throughout the 1948 season on the Heppner Ranger District and other representative areas in the Blue Mountains. The habits of the budworm were studied and records were kept on the degree of parasitism and the incidence of disease. During August and September of 1948, an intensive survey of budworm defoliation was made by aerial and ground methods; the results of that survey are given area by area (the results are generally summarized by national forest) in this report. As of this report, the budworm outbreak in the Blue Mountains was the most extensive in the region, comprising some 1,243,000 acres. Defoliation was rated as very high on 203,000 acres, and high on 256,300 additional acres. For the Umatilla NF, the total budworm infestation increased more than 100% from 1947 (374,000 acres) to 1948 (807,000 acres). Heavy and very heavy defoliation on the Umatilla NF comprised 392,000 acres of the total. The heavy and very heavy defoliation had weakened trees to the point that outbreaks of Douglas-fir beetle and other bark beetles were expected. The author concludes by noting that control of the spruce budworm was not a simple matter. It was difficult to know when, or if, control was necessary. He also recognized that one treatment may not be enough since the budworm often had a long infestation cycle, especially as compared to Douglas-fir tussock moth. The possibility that repeated treatments may be necessary was one reason that protected stands had to be of sufficient value to warrant the cost of more than one treatment.

Galbraith, William A.; Anderson, E. William. 1971. Grazing history of the northwest. Journal of Range Management. 24(1): 6-12.

Abstract: The earliest grazing in the northwest, which probably began around 1700, was by Indian horses. Livestock, a few head of cattle, were first brought to the northwest by spaniards in 1789 at Nootka Bay on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Marcus Whitman brought cattle to the area east of the Cascade Mountains in 1836. Mass movements of cattle took place from western Oregon to eastern Oregon during the 1860s. After cattle numbers in eastern Oregon skyrocketed, sizable exports of livestock to regions east of the Rocky Mountains occurred in the late 1800s, although these drives were largely neglected by early writers who chose to popularize cattle drives from Texas and the southwestern United States.

Gaskill, A. 1903. Blue Mountains Reserve. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry]. 8 p.

Abstract: This early report provides a brief description of the area being considered for a Blue Mountains Forest Reserve. A short discussion of the forest vegetation in each township is included. No introductory remarks or overall descriptions (topography, soils, etc.) are provided, even though that was typical for other reports of the same era by this particular author.

Gaskill, A. [1903]. La Grande Forest Reserve. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry]. 8 p.

Abstract: This short report discusses the following topics as related to the proposed La Grande Forest Reserve, which was located in extreme northeastern Oregon and a small portion of southeastern Washington: location; topography; water; soil; forests; and culture. Very short descriptions of the vegetation are provided for each of the 17 townships that were contained in the area being examined.

Gaskill, A. 1903. Wallowa Reserve. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry]. 7 p.

Abstract: This short report includes the following sections: location; topography; water; soil; forest; culture; and the Wallowa Reserve (general description of vegetation for groups of townships). 

Gilkey, Harold P. 1912. Study of western larch. Annual Silvical Report. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 18 p.

Abstract: This report describes the ecology of western larch on the Whitman National Forest. The report begins with the following quote: “western larch is not in its optimum range in the Whitman National Forest. This is due to a lack of moisture. According to Sudworth this tree demands an annual rainfall of from 20 to 30 inches, coming very largely in the winter and spring. In this Forest the rainfall is on an average 20.7 inches. This is sufficient to permit larch to grow, but not enough to produce a vigorous and thrifty tree. As a result of insufficient moisture it is of slow growth and often dies early.” The author believed that the forested area of the Whitman NF could be divided into three types, based on soil moisture availability: the yellow pine slope type; the north slope type; and the transition type. The yellow pine slope type was characterized by a high proportion of yellow (ponderosa) pine in the stand (75-100%). These areas typically occurred on dryer south and west facing slopes up to 7,000 feet elevation, and on dry benches. Although it was comprised chiefly of yellow pine, the yellow pine slope type also contained small amounts of western larch, Douglas-fir, white fir, and lodgepole pine. The north slope type was found on north- and east-facing slopes where soil moisture was relatively abundant. Although comprised of the same species as the yellow pine slope type, the predominant ones were white fir, Douglas-fir, and western larch, with minor amounts of yellow pine and lodgepole pine. The transition type occurred on moist sites and at high elevations, where yellow pine did not grow. The subalpine form of the transition type occurred at elevations above 6,500 feet and was typically dominated by stands of lodgepole pine. Western larch grew best on well-drained bottom lands where the roots had access to abundant moisture, but it did not grow well on saturated sites with an excessive amount of soil moisture. Gilkey ranked the moisture requirements of the five most common tree species as follows: yellow pine (lowest), Douglas-fir, western larch, lodgepole pine, and white fir (highest). Larch was considered to be the most shade intolerant species on the Forest, with the trees ranked in this order: white fir (most tolerant), Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, yellow pine, and western larch (least tolerant). The author noted that dwarf mistletoe was abundant throughout the larch type, with saplings frequently infected by the time that they were an inch or less in diameter. It was noted that mistletoe infections varied for the various physiognomic types: 79% of the larch was found to be infected in mixed stands on the dry (yellow pine) slope type, while only 27% of the larch was infected on the moister north slope and transition sites. Larch was observed to start producing good quantities of seed by the time it had reached a diameter of six inches or more (generally about 60 years of age). It was also noted that larch often formed pure stands, especially after wildfire, but that pure stands seldom persisted past the pole size class. At that point in its development, snow often bends the slender trees over and breaks many of them off, thereby thinning the stand and allowing the shade tolerant firs to come in underneath and persist to maturity. In terms of economic value, the larch was considered to rank third behind yellow pine (which brought $2.97 per thousand board feet back then) and Douglas-fir ($1.14 per thousand board feet). Although larch returned the same stumpage price as Douglas-fir, it was considered less valuable due to its greater defect (shake, etc.) and its generally smaller size. The original report included 5 high-quality black-and-white photographs.

Gillis, George. 1937. Remote past of the Heppner District vicinity. Unpublished Typescript Report. [Pendleton, OR]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest. 11 p.

Abstract: This accession consists of a 1-page cover memorandum and a 10-page, double-spaced, typescript report. The report was written in an entertaining and engaging language by a "Lookout Foreman" stationed at the Arbuckle Mountain fire lookout on the Heppner Ranger District. The report describes some of the primary geological processes responsible for the topography and physiography of the Columbia River basalt lava flow portion of the Blue Mountains in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. The author spends even a greater portion of the report describing fossil evidence found on the Heppner Ranger District, both for plants and animals, and speculates as to what the evidence might mean and how it was formed during various geological epochs. Although this report imparts valuable information, it is perhaps most enjoyable for its unusual writing style and the manner in which the information is presented

Government Printing Office. 1927. Herrick timber contract, Malheur National Forest, Oregon. Unnumbered Report. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office. 1100 p.

Abstract: This accession consists of a report transcription completed by Martin Gabrio Morisette of Prineville, Oregon. It describes hearings conducted before the Committee on Public Lands and Surveys of the United States Senate, Sixty-ninth Congress (Second Session). Hearings were stipulated pursuant to Senate Resolution 332, “a resolution to investigate all matters relating to contract between Fred Herrick and the United States Forest Service for the purchase of certain timber in the Malheur National Forest.” Hearings were conducted on January 28, and February 11 to 24, 1917. According to Morisette, the Portland Chamber of Commerce was actively engaged in recruiting eastern lumberman to Oregon. The Chamber became associated with Edward Barnes and helped Barnes get to Washington, D.C., where he convinced W.B. Greeley, Chief Forester, to make the first sale of timber on the Malheur National Forest: 890,000,000 board feet, the largest sale in the West at that time. It is assumed that after the timber sale was offered for bid, Barnes was not the low bidder and Herrick actually got the sale. In 1927, some rabble rousers (mostly friends of Barnes') in Grant County got the Oregon Legislature to memorialize the U.S. Senate to look into the timber sale that Fred Herrick was stumbling along in completing. The U.S. Senate convened a committee that convened a subcommittee and for several weeks in February 1927, the words really flew! This accession is derived from the Government Printing Office's rendering of the hearing notes.

Griffin, Alfred A. 1916. Descriptive report of the Burnt River timber survey project, Whitman National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 36 p.

Abstract: This report describes a continuation of timber survey work initiated in 1915 by Fred A. Matz (see the history archives for a report entitled “Cost report on the reconnaissance examination of the Burnt River project, 1915” for limited information about the 1915 survey). It includes the following sections: introduction; map (in color, showing the 1916 timber survey project area, patented (private) land within the area, adjacent Forest Service lands that had been previously cruised, working circle boundaries, block boundaries, and camp locations used by the timber survey party); status and ownership; silvics (western yellow pine, fir-larch, lodgepole pine, alpine, woodland, open land, forest enemies, reproduction, and undergrowth); logging conditions; management recommendations; silvical summary; and statistical summary (summary of types, defect and breakage tables, and grand summary). The survey area totalled 59,701 acres, and contained an estimated 475 million board feet of timber (the average stand on national forest lands was 8,400 board feet per acre, of which 5,000 feet was yellow pine, 1,000 feet white fir, 1,000 feet western larch, and the balance Douglas-fir). The recommendation for handling “inferior species” was to continue to offer free-use permits and to emphasize removal of white fir over 16 inches in diameter and lodgepole pine under 10 inches in diameter. That policy was believed to represent the best option for cleaning out the “old rotten fir and lodgepole thickets on Bullrun, Elk and Last Chance creeks.” The report also mentions that recreation and watershed protection was important in this area, with significant camping use by local residents and a high demand for water that was tied to irrigated areas on Burnt River and Camp Creek. The report includes numerous tables that summarize statistics by townships, species, snags, defect, and so forth. This document also includes a 6-page “Cost Report” with its own title page and contents. The cost report includes the following sections: statement of conditions; acreage and mileage; expenses; field work; office work; distributed costs; total cost; and costs per acre and per thousand board feet.

Griffin, Alfred A. 1918. Descriptive and cost reports of the Swamp Creek timber survey project, Wallowa National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 25 p.

Abstract: This report describes a timber survey project completed in 1917 by an eight-man crew (not counting the crew’s cook). It includes the following sections: introduction; map (in color, showing the timber survey project area, alienated (private) land within the area, and the East Oregon Lumber Company timber sale located to the west of the project area); status and ownership; silvical description (yellow pine type, larch-fir type, grassland, and damage); logging damage (undergrowth, windfall, rock outcrops, and railroad locations); recommendations for management (local needs, timber sale policy, marking rules, brush disposal, grazing, and watershed protection); statistical summary (estimate by sections, and number of snags per section); and conclusion. The survey area was located in a trough 2 miles by 14 miles in extent on the north end of the Wallowa horseshoe, from 12 to 25 miles due north of Enterprise, Oregon. Elevations ranged from 4,700 feet on Elk Mountain at the southern end to 2,850 feet on lower Swamp Creek. The project area included 12,444 acres of government-owned land, and contained an estimated 71,636 thousand board feet of timber, almost all of which was western yellow (ponderosa) pine. A table that provides average stocking conditions for the western yellow pine type showed 39 trees per acre total (from 4 inches diameter and greater), with 24 being yellow pine, 12 Douglas-fir, and 3 western larch. The larch-fir type was noted as occurring in a narrow strip along Swamp Creek and its branches, as there was not a single solid forty [acre tract] of larch-fir anywhere in the survey area. A relatively large proportion of the area was supporting grassland (5,397 acres) dominated by bunch grass, lupine, arnica, pine grass, sedges, and weeds. It was noted that “fires have burned over all of this area repeatedly at varying intervals, resulting in a large amount of accumulated damage in fire-scarred butts, fungus and insect infestations. The repeated damage, however, is so great that over 25% of the trees show signs of firescar.” The larger lodgepole pine in the area were killed out several years previously by an insect (mountain pine beetle) outbreak, although most of the lodgepole saplings were still alive. Mistletoe was a serious danger to the yellow pine reproduction, to western larch, and to Douglas-fir. Windfall was moderate except in small areas of dead lodgepole pine. The author stated that standard East-side marking rules for District 6 could be used in this area and that a large proportion of the existing overstory could be marked because of the ample reproduction and poles already established in the area. The report mentions that recreational use in the area was “nearly nothing” and that watershed protection was important in this area. The report includes numerous tables that summarize statistics by townships, species, snags, defect, and so forth; it also included three photographs or plates, none of which were present in the copy at the National Archives. This document also includes a 5-page “Cost Report” with its own title page. The cost report includes the following sections: statement of conditions; acreage and mileage; field expenses; field work costs; and office work.

Griffin, Alfred A.; Conover, Charles J. 1917. Descriptive report of the Powder River timber survey project, Minam National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 26 p.

Abstract: The Powder River timber survey project area covered 28,604 acres of government land, with nearly the same amount of intermingled private land. Private lands included timber patents, nine mining claims, two mill sites, several homesteads, and 720 acres of school land. There were also two homestead entries pending and a great many mining claims, all but a few of which had been long abandoned. Other private interests in the survey area included ten miles of the Sparta irrigation ditch, a short stretch of the Hogem ditch, the Balm Creek irrigation reservoir, three small sawmills with timber sales, five miles of unused transmission and telephone line of the Eagle River Electric Power Company (at that time, it was in receivership), about fifty salt troughs built by the local stock association, and a cooperative fire lookout house on Sparta Butte. The old Union-Cornucopia stage road, then a county road, traversed the project area from east to west. The survey area was located on the southwest side of the Minam National Forest between 3,500 and 6,450 feet elevation, about 20 miles north of Baker, Oregon. The area lies between the Catherine Creek-Big Creek divide on the north, the Eagle Creek Canyon on the east, and the Forest boundary on the south and west. The project was initiated in response to an application for a timber sale by Mr. Alex Allardyce of Spokane, Washington, who was interested in the timber on the associated private land. Work began on August 30th and was completed on October 15th, 1917 by a party that averaged eight men. Recommendations about logging chances were constrained by the numerous land alienations and encumbrances, and by local demands (wood requirements of local ranchers), as well as topography and merchantability. The report includes these sections: introduction; map (½” = 1 mile, in color, showing the surveyed areas, reserved areas, private land, and the project boundary); status and ownership; silvical description; logging data; recommendations for management (marking rules, etc.); statistical summary (estimates by sections, number of snags per section); and conclusion. The average standing volume for the survey area was 6,300 board feet per acre, of which 4,700 feet was ponderosa pine and the rest primarily Douglas-fir. Mature stands of western yellow (ponderosa) pine comprised over one half of the project area. A table providing average stocking conditions for the western yellow pine type showed 24 trees per acre total (from 4 inches diameter and greater), with 15 being yellow pine, 5 Douglas-fir, 1 western larch, and 3 white (grand) fir. About one-seventh of the survey area consisted of the larch-fir type, occurring mostly at high elevations and on north and east aspects. Douglas-fir was the predominant species in that type below 5,500 feet elevation and going east from the Goose Creek area. An average stand table for the larch-fir type had 68 trees per acre, with 6 being yellow pine, 22 Douglas-fir, 11 western larch, 20 white (grand) fir, 5 Engelmann spruce, and 4 lodgepole pine. Sagebrush and grassland types also occurred in the area. Fires had been noted as having “burned over all of this area repeatedly, resulting in a large amount of accumulated damage in fire-scarred butts, fungus and insect infestations, destroyed humus and deficient reproduction. Most of the burns are 20 to 40 years old or older. There are also two small areas on Velvet Creek burned over in 1917 on one of which, in fir-larch timber, most of the trees appear to be dead over about 80 acres. The big fire of 1910 denuded an area of about one thousand acres on the high flat between Big and Lick Creeks. This is rapidly being recovered with lodgepole and larch-fir, the natural forest types.” Dwarf mistletoe was found to be a serious damage on the western larch, having killed many of the larger trees. Harvest areas were already common in the area. The west side of Medical Springs had already yielded a large amount of free-use material and more was being required each year for posts, firewood, and construction on the ranches in the valley below. In an area south of Sparta, cuttings had been made by prospectors and by some of the mines. Much of the survey area was also important for spring and fall cattle grazing. It was important to practice conservative logging and careful grazing due to the high watershed protection values of the area. Many tables are included that summarize the survey results by species, location, logging chance, etc. Attached is a four-page Cost Report dated January 26, 1918. It includes the following sections: conditions; acreage and mileage; field expenses; field work costs; office work; and total cost of the project.

Guthrie, John D. 1924. Development of new Oregon pine section. The Timberman. 25(October): 49-51, 127-128.

Abstract: This informative article describes how the Union Pacific Railroad came to Burns, Oregon, a development that was instrumental in allowing the extensive pine timberlands of the southern Blue Mountains to be developed and exploited for the first time. As a result of informal applications in 1922, the Forest Service began cruising and laying out a huge block of timber on the Malheur National Forest. It was known as the Bear Valley unit. One of the main conditions of a timber sale involving this timber block was that a standard-guage, common-carrier railroad be built from Crane into the yellow pine timber of the Malheur NF. A block containing 890 million board feet of timber was advertised in the spring of 1923. Although considered huge by current standards, that offering was viewed as only a small part of the 6.7 billion board feet that was tributary to Burns and the proposed railroad. The Bear Valley block included in the sale comprised 67,400 acres of the headwaters of the Silvies River. The volume included in the sale comprised 770 MMBF of ponderosa pine, 78 MMBF of Douglas-fir, 30 MMBF of western larch, 10 MMBF of white fir, and 2 MMBF of lodgepole pine. The article also includes an interesting and detailed account of how the railroad was developed into northern Harney and southern Grant counties.

Hanzlik, E. J. 1925. Growth of reserve trees on western yellow pine cut-over areas in Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 4 p.

Abstract: The growth of reserve trees in cut-over areas in the pine type of eastern Oregon was investigated because it was known that certain trees had a greatly increased growth rate after cutting, whereas other trees had very little growth increase or none at all. Since published literature and prevailing attitudes of the time assumed that all reserve trees experienced a greatly increased growth after cutting, it was also believed that volume increment was increasing at a high rate. In this study, a timber sale unit (the Davis Creek unit on the Wallowa National Forest) was examined about ten years after cutting (harvest occurred in 1915-1916). A number of increment borings were taken on reserve yellow pine trees in the unit; sampled trees were classified as either bull pines or mature pines. Reserve trees were also classified as to their relationship in the uncut stand by determining how many trees had been removed within a 50-foot radius of them. For analysis purposes, the sampled trees were grouped into three classes: trees always in the open; trees growing in clumps and natural stands; and trees which had been released on one or more sides by the harvest. Two tables are included that present the results of the analysis: one table pertains to mature yellow pine, the other to bull (young) pines. The tables clearly show a substantial increase in diameter growth for trees that were released (60.2% for mature pines; 50.9% for bull pines). They also show that growth continues pretty much as it had been for trees that were not released, as if the harvest had not occurred. Based on this study involving a limited number of sample trees, and based on observations made in other timber sale areas in the east-side pine type, the author concludes that reserve trees which have always grown in the open or were left in natural clumps (i.e., the trees were in a clump before the harvest, and the whole clump was retained as reserve trees) will show little or no increased growth on cut-over areas. Reserve trees that were released or partially released (released on less than all four sides) could be expected to demonstrate a considerable increase in diameter growth following cutting.

Harrington, Constance A., compiler. 2003. The 1930s survey of forest resources in Washington and Oregon. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-584. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 123 [plus CD-ROM] p.

Abstract: Forest resources in Washington and Oregon were surveyed in the early 1930s by employees of the Pacific Northwest Forest Experiment Station (the original name of the current Pacific Northwest Research Station). This was the first of many periodic forest surveys conducted nationwide by the USDA Forest Service. Many publications and maps were produced from the Washington and Oregon 1930s survey data. Forest cover maps created from that data (at an original scale of 1:253,440) have recently become available in digital formats, but little documentation was provided with the electronic files, and the older publications are not readily available to most users. This report provides a brief overview of the survey and reprints excerpts from, or complete versions of, early publications that dealt with the planning, conduct, or results from the survey. A list of county-level maps, prepared at a scale of 1:63,360, that have been located is also included. A companion CD-ROM includes (1) the overview of the survey and the early publications in PDF format, (2) a link to the free Adobe Acrobat® Reader. to enable users to read the PDF files, (3) the forest type maps in several geographic information system (GIS) or graphics formats (ArcView. shape files, ArcExplorer. project files, and .jpg, a graphics file format), and (4) a copy of ArcExplorer. (to view and print the ArcExplorer. files).

Headsten, Edward W. 1910. Annual silvical report: Colville National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Colville National Forest]. 15 p.

Abstract: This report describes the following topics as they pertain to the Colville National Forest in northeastern Washington: forest trees of the Colville National Forest; shrubs of the Colville National Forest; forest types; silvics; and dangers and diseases.

Heintzleman, B. F. 1913. North slope sub-type of the Blue Mountains. Annual Silvical Report. Sumpter, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 10 p.

Abstract: The north slope sub-type was delineated as a subdivision of the general yellow pine slope type of the Blue Mountains region. The designation of this sub-type recognized that the physical conditions of the sites on which it occurs differ sufficiently from those of the main slope type to produce a stand of different quality and mode of growth, and one that demanded a different type of management. It was not classified as its own type because it had several points of similarity with the slope type. It was found at the same elevations and on soils of about the same quality. Both had the same tree species, although the percentage of each species may have varied significantly from one type to another. The typical stand of the slope type was almost pure western yellow pine, with a small percentage (generally less than 20%) of western larch, Douglas-fir, grand fir, and lodgepole pine. The slope-type stand was open and the ground remarkably free of debris. The typical north slope sub-type stand was comprised largely of western larch, lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, and grand fir, with an occasional yellow pine in the mixture. The stands were very dense and the amount of debris on the ground was very large. This report includes the following sections: occurrence of the north slope sub-type; life history of north slope stands; economic value; and management. The physical feature that determined to a large extent if an area was “north slope” or “slope” was moisture in the soil and the air. A good supply of moisture during the growing season was very favorable to the four inferior species named above and yellow pine cannot compete with them successfully. Their reproduction was so dense and fast-growing that yellow pine was choked out. The few yellow pines occurring in the north slope sub-type undoubtedly secured a foothold in openings made by windfall or another disturbance. The name “north slope sub-type” was rather misleading because slope direction or aspect was not always useful as an indicator for this type. A cool, moist situation was the only prerequisite for its presence since it was often found on moist flats, the lower slopes and bottoms of canyons regardless of aspect, and the summits of flat-topped ridges. The best yellow pine trees were often found near the boundary between the slope type and the north slope sub-type. Areas on which yellow pine reproduction could not be counted upon were classified as the north slope sub-type. Fire was the most important factor determining the life span of north slope stands as well as their species composition. When a fire occurred, much of the lodgepole pine was killed outright. Grand fir, Douglas-fir, and larch were badly injured, but were seldom killed. Reproduction following fire was generally a mixture of lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, and grand fir on the greater part of the burned area, with larch and lodgepole pine predominant in the moister areas. When lodgepole pine regeneration occurred, it would grow rapidly to a size of about 6 inches in diameter, but would then slow down and would eventually be overtopped and killed by the other species in the mixture. The timber of this type had very little value at the time this report was written. However, the author felt that they would increase in value in 10 or 15 years due to a general increase in lumber prices and the decreasing supply of better species. It was very evident that natural reproduction of yellow pine could not be obtained in this type. If natural reproduction was necessary, the author believed that the best composition that could be hoped for was one featuring Douglas-fir and larch, which would require discriminating against lodgepole pine and grand fir during logging. The author believed that if large timber sales in the north slope sub-type became feasible in the future, then artificial regeneration (tree planting) should be considered as a way to control the species composition. The author concludes by stating that western white pine should be considered for this type, especially if a planting program is initiated at some point in the future.

Hodgson, Allen H. 1913. The Ochoco National Forest: a history. Unnumbered Report. Prineville, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Ochoco National Forest. 44 p.

Abstract: This document was recreated from a photocopy of a Forest Service carbon copy by the A.R. Bowman Memorial Museum in Prineville, OR. It was part of a collection of 573 pages of documents pertaining to the history of Crook County or the Forest Service. This interesting and comprehensive report includes the following sections: introduction; the region before forest reserves were established; the proposed Elk Creek and Blue Mountains forest reserves; the proposed Maury Mountain forest reserve; the creation of the Blue Mountains and Maury Mountains forest reserves; the proposed redivision of forest boundaries making the old Deschutes National Forest; the Maury Mountain National Forest becomes a part of the Blue Mountains (W); boundary report made by forest expert L. Wernstedt; receipts and disbursements fiscal year 1907; public sentiment; creation of the Malheur National Forest; the Supervisor's first grazing report; the change of the Supervisor's headquarters; the field force of 1908; plan for redistricting the national forests; creation of the Deschutes National Forest; establishment of District headquarters at Portland; reexamination of forest boundary; creation of the Paulina, Deschutes and Ochoco national forests; the Ochoco National Forest; and conclusion.

Hopkins, A. D. 1910. Summary, evidence, conclusions, and recommendations relating to insect depredations on the pine timber of northeastern Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology. 8 p.

Abstract: This report was based on correspondence, special investigations by agents of the Bureau of Entomology, Forest officials, and private owners of timber. It appeared from the evidence secured that isolated and small areas of dead and dying timber had been noticed by Forest officials and others in the Wallowa National Forest in 1905, and in the Whitman National Forest in 1906. After the Forest Service supplied the Bureau with information and insect specimens for identification, it was determined that the damage was caused by mountain pine beetle. In August of 1907, an agent of the Bureau, Mr. H. E. Burke, was instructed to make an investigation in the vicinity of Joseph, Oregon and then report, which he did. That report, in conjunction with information supplied by the Forest Service, indicated that insect depredations were so extensive, and facilities for utilizing the infested timber so poor, that it was not practical to initiate control work. The first information from the Whitman NF was supplied by a private land owner who stated that white pine was dying in T. 5 S., R. 38 E., section 6. The insect specimen that was submitted proved to be mountain pine beetle. In November of 1907, the Forest Supervisor of the Imnaha (Wallowa) NF reported that lodgepole pine was affected by an insect outbreak across the entire Forest, with 50% of some stands already killed by the beetle; that it was impossible to utilize the infested timber; and that he believed that yellow (ponderosa) pine would eventually be affected after all of the lodgepole pines had been killed. In March of 1909, the District Forester for District 6 requested all available information from the Bureau pertaining to control of bark beetles affecting pines, Douglas-fir, and Engelmann spruce; that information was provided to him. In January of 1910, private land owners adjacent to the Wallowa and Whitman NFs reported increasing beetle problems on their lands, and suggested that a cooperative control project be initiated involving them and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Early in February of 1910, the District Forester offered the Forest Service’s cooperation in a control project, and requested that an agent of the Bureau be located in District 6. In April of 1910, Hopkins prepared a proposed control plan and circulated it to the District Foresters of Districts 4 and 6, and to private landowners near the Wallowa and Whitman NFs.

Horton, F. V. 1917. Report on extensive grazing reconnaissance, Umatilla National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest]. Variable p.

Abstract: This document reports the results of an extensive grazing reconnaissance of the Umatilla National Forest. The following individual sections are included in this document: Five-Mile cattle and horse division (10 p.); Lonerock cattle and horse division (4 p.); Hardman cattle and horse division (6 p.); Tamarack-Monument cattle and horse division (15 p.); Cherry cattle and horse range (13 p.); Starkey cattle and horse division (11 p.); Camas and Hidaway cattle and horse range (11 p.); Madison cattle and horse range, Stanfield brothers sheep allotment, Smith and Barker sheep allotment (7 p.); and Black Mountain cattle and horse range (3 p.).

Humphrey, R. R. 1943. A history of range use and its relation to soil and water losses on the Walla Walla River watershed, Washington and Oregon. Northwest Science. 17: 82-87.

Abstract: This interesting and informative article describes historical conditions on the Walla Walla River watershed. It contains the following sections: vegetation prior to white settlement; original grazing by game animals; introduction of horses; expansion of the livestock industry; development of dry-land wheat raising; effect of wheat raising on horse numbers; overgrazing and its effect on the plant cover; national forest areas; closure of Mill Creek watershed to grazing; effect of fires; and early floods and flood damage. A bibliography is also included.

Huntington, J. W. Perit. 1956. J.W. Perit Huntington to Hon. N.S. Taylor, Umatilla Reservation, December 22, 1868. Ethnohistory. 3(2): 163-179.

Abstract: This article provides a narrative, in letter form, from J.W. Perit Huntington about a trip from Klamath to Burns (Fort Harney) and then north through Canyon City, all of which occurred late in 1868. Although most of this accession involves ethnography, there are a few descriptions of the vegetation, such as “miserable desert” from Warner to Harney and very little scattering bunchgrass and basalt rock. From Fort Harney to Canyon City, the country was very high and sparsely timbered. It also provides an interesting summary of the relationship between whites and the Paiute tribes at that point. Keep in mind that this is written from the perspective of a white settler and many of his accounts are second and third hand. Some of the details are likely exaggerated but the general descriptions appear quite accurate. The term “snake” Indians was used to refer to several tribes in the Great Basin but in this case it refers primarily to several bands of the Northern Paiute in central and eastern Oregon.

Iler, J. C.; Beeman, W. H. 1938. Analysis of Grande Ronde Working Circle, Umatilla National Forest, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest]. 13 p.

Abstract: This report describes the Grande Ronde Working Circle. It includes the following sections: introduction; physiographic features; forest description; economic situation; plan of action; and administrative correlation. Two tables are also included: volume by species in thousand board feet, and types in acres. A rough map showing the boundaries of the Wenatchee, Wenaha, and Elbow blocks, all of which are contained in the Grande Ronde Working Circle, is included.

Iler, J.C.; Beeman, W.H.; Bottcher, R.P.; Stewart, L.L. 1938. Policy statement for La Grande Working Circle; Umatilla, Whitman, and Wallowa national forests, Oregon. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest. 28 p.

Abstract: Note that this accession is missing 6 pages (pages 8-13). It includes the following sections: summary page; introduction; physiographic features; forest description; [missing section]; economic situation; silvicultural policy; plan of action; a table showing volume by block and then by species; a table showing types in acres; and a table showing volume of accessible ponderosa pine in thousand board feet.

Jaenicke, A. J. 1948. Miscellaneous memoranda regarding a proposal to control budworm in the vicinity of the Umatilla National Forest. Unpublished Typescript Memoranda. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 4 p.

Abstract: This accession consists primarily of a 3-page memorandum to the files that describes a proposal to complete an experimental control project against western spruce budworm on a mix of federal (U.S. Forest Service) and private lands near Heppner, Oregon. Aerial surveys in 1947 showed that almost 1,000,000 acres of mixed-conifer forest in eastern Oregon and Washington were infested with western spruce budworm. The bulk of the defoliated area was in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington, with 710,000 acres. As of 1947, tree mortality was minimal, but it was believed that the outbreak was spreading and building, and that the worst of the damage was yet to come. Several experiments involving an insecticide called DDT were in progress against budworm in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada, and it was proposed to try DDT as a control agent against budworm in the Blue Mountains area. An area of 6,300 acres was delineated within a larger, 160,000-acre infestation affecting the Heppner Ranger District for an experimental application of DDT during the later half of June in 1948 (the defoliated area ranged from Swale Creek on the east to the Spray-Heppner highway on the west). The experimental area was located near Opal Butte and consisted of 15 plots of 1,260 acres each, with the treatments being: 1 pound DDT in 1 gallon of diesel oil per acre and applied by helicopter (3 plots); 1 pound DDT in 1 gallon of diesel oil per acre and applied by airplane (3 plots); 1 pound DDT in 1 gallon of diesel oil per acre and applied by airplane in two flights of 1/2 gallon per acre (3 plots); 2 pounds DDT in 2 gallons of diesel oil per acre and applied by helicopter (3 plots); and 3 untreated control plots. The State of Oregon contributed $5,000 to the project along with the Forest Service’s allotment of $5,000. The total cost of the project was estimated to be $11,228, so the funding was actually a little short of what was needed for the project. If additional funding could not be found, Jaenicke recommended that the size of the plots be reduced somewhat, although that contingency should be avoided if at all possible. Note that the actual results of this proposal, which was modified somewhat from this proposal, are described in a Journal of Forestry article entitled “Airplane and helicopter spraying with DDT for spruce budworm control” and authored by C. B. Eaton and others (1949).

Jones, Ira E. [Date unknown]. Recollections by Ira E. Jones, Whitman National Forest. Typescript Report. [Place of publication unknown]: [Publisher unknown]. 9 p.

Abstract: This interesting memoir recounts experiences of the author while employed on national forests in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. Jones started in 1908 as a Forest Guard on the Whitman National Forest; his first task was to help build a telephone line from the Grande Ronde River to Cable Cove outside of Sumpter, Oregon. In 1909, he was assigned to the North Powder Ranger District of the Whitman National Forest. He then recounts experiences of his Forest Service employment near Granite, Sumpter and at many other places in the Blue Mountains. He ends the memoir with a description of a detail assignment to the Siuslaw National Forest in western Oregon, where he supervised CCC crews performing a variety of projects.

Jorgensen, Glen. 1948. Timber disposal plan: Elgin Block, La Grande Working Circle. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Pendleton, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest. 11 p.

Abstract: This short report includes the following sections: introduction; management objectives; analysis of national forest resources; calculation of allowable annual cut; and sale program. Tables providing timber volumes and forest type acreages are also included in this document.

Jorgensen, Glen. 1948. Timber disposal plan: Pendleton-Pilot Rock Working Circle. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Pendleton, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest. 29 p.

Abstract: This report includes the following sections: introduction; management objectives; analysis of national forest resources; calculation of allowable annual cut; and sale program. It includes many tables summarizing timber volumes and forest type acreages. The Pendleton-Pilot Rock Working Circle included the following blocks: Gibbon, McKay, Pilot Rock, Gurdane, Ukiah, Camas, Desolation, and North Fork.

Keen, F. P. 1936. Relative susceptibility of ponderosa pines to bark-beetle attack. Journal of Forestry. 34: 919-927.

Abstract: Heavy killing of ponderosa pine in the Pacific Northwest from attacks by western pine beetle, particularly in the early and mid 1930s, raised concerns about how to control or eliminate such losses. Both from the immediate viewpoint of timber salvage and from the forestry objective of a satisfactory silvicultural situation, one of the first requirements in solving the pine beetle problem was to determine what type of tree presents the greatest risk of beetle attack. Once that type of tree was recognized, it was possible to make partial cuttings to remove beetle-susceptible trees, either in anticipation of salvage or to reduce the risk of future mortality from bark beetles. During the previous decade, silviculturists and entomologists had extensively studied the relative susceptibility of different types of ponderosa pine to pine-beetle attack. The studies revealed that the risk of being killed by western pine beetles was significantly greater for trees of certain types than it was for other trees in the same stand. In general, the trees most susceptible to attack were the weaker, less vigorous individuals and, to a certain degree, the oldest pines. A “bark-beetle susceptibility classification” was eventually developed after extensive field study. It was initially based on the Dunning tree-vigor classification system developed for northern California. However, it was soon noticed that marked differences in bark-beetle susceptibility existed within some of the Dunning tree classes and, in some cases, the differences within a Dunning class might be greater than differences between classes. So, it was decided to develop a more detailed classification consisting of a larger number of small, homogenous, easily-recognized tree types that could be readily used in the field. The new classification was based to a large extent upon the same considerations of age, dominance, and vigor that Dunning used to delineate his seven classes, but trees are grouped into a larger number of classes. The two characteristics of age and vigor were given the most importance. Four age groups were recognized, designated 1 to 4 (young, immature, mature, and overmature, as based on “physiological” age rather than chronological age); four categories of crown vigor were used, designated A to D (full, fair to moderate, fair to poor, very poor). Combining these two factors produced a classification with 16 groups (illustrated in figure 1 of the article). Field studies showed that in each age group, susceptibility increased with a decrease in crown vigor, except that in older groups there was a slight tendency for trees in vigor class C to be more susceptible than those in class D. The study also showed that bark beetles appeared to be carrying on a natural selection process in which the weaker trees are thinned out of the stand by the beetles and that survival of the dominant trees was favored. Trees with crown vigor classes of C or D were susceptible to pine-beetle attack, those with B crowns had intermediate susceptibility, and dominant, A-crown trees were resistant. Keen believed the beetles to be Nature's silvicultural agents, serving to relieve the “pressure” of severe tree competition and overcrowding. Keen also provides an example of how the susceptibility classification could be applied in marking.

Keen, F. P. 1950. The influence of insects on ponderosa pine silviculture. Journal of Forestry. 48: 186-188.

Abstract: The silvics of any forest type are determined by the interaction of climatic, edaphic, and environmental factors on the tree species involved. This “law” was well recognized by most foresters, but Keen wondered how often it was recognized that insects may be the dominant environmental factor determining the silvics of a forest type. He then described how bark beetles were nature's principal silvical agent in regulating, thinning, and harvesting ponderosa pine stands before the advent of anthropogenic management based on European precedents. What impressed Keen was that the “silvicultural” process applied by the beetles was often indicative of the best natural silvicultural system that could be used with the ponderosa pine type. He then observed that there were several different species of bark beetle operating across the wide geographical range of ponderosa pine, and that there appeared to be at least two races or forms of the species in that same area (the Pacific Coast form, and the Rocky Mountain form). The article then goes on to describe the ecological or silvical effects of various bark beetle species in the ponderosa pine forests of the western United States. It has the following sections: mountain pine beetle; western pine beetle; Black Hills beetle; other insects; and literature cited. Keen ends with this quote from Solomon: “go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise,” which he translated into this advice for the silviculturist – study the insects, and learn of their ways.

Kent, W. H. B. 1904. The proposed Wenaha Forest Reserve, Washington and Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry. 22 p.

Abstract: This report describes an examination of the proposed Wenaha Forest Reserve in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. The report includes these sections: topography; climate and precipitation (including mean monthly temperature and precipitation amounts for Walla Walla, Washington); the forest; industries; the forest as a protection cover; settlements; roads and railroads; lumbering; grazing; fire; game; sentiment; conclusions; and administration. It includes some interesting insights about early forest conditions, as illustrated with these quotes: “White fir, though of slower height growth, is far more tolerant than bull pine, reproduces fairly freely, and under normal conditions would naturally supplant the pine in time. This condition has been greatly aggravated in the portions that have been lumbered by cutting the pine and leaving the white fir. The fir, often already on the ground under the pine, springs up, and pine reproduction is thus impossible.” “Thirty-five years ago the summits and upper slopes of the high interior hills probably had but little more forest cover than at present, but these high hills were then covered with a profuse growth of bunch grass, weeds, and shrubs, which have since been destroyed by small fires and sheep grazing. This growth of weeds and shrubs has been replaced largely by hard, baked earth, and often bare rock from which the scanty soil has been completely eroded.” “There has been practically no lumbering on the area included in the proposed reserve. Considerable timber has been cut, however, from the foothills of the west and southwest sides. As a rule, these foothill lands are cleared after lumbering and make excellent farms. This lumbering is done on a very small scale, the mills cutting but a few thousand feet a day. The logs are sawed on the ground and the lumber marketed in the nearby towns.” “Practically every portion of the reserve has suffered more or less from fire. The largest and most important of these was one which came from the present Umatilla Indian Reservation about fifty years ago, burned up the river Umatilla, into the Reserve, then turned north along the west slope, across the heads of the Walla Wallas, and reached as far as the head of the Wenaha. This burn has generally restocked finely, principally to tamarack and lodgepole pine.”

Kent, W. H. B. 1907. Silvics report, Cascade (S). Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 2 p.

Abstract: This short report describes an examination of on-going timber sales in the Cascade (S) National Forest(?). The author discusses in some detail the timber sales purchased by D. M. Griffith (sold in 1906) and by Klamath Lake Mill and Lumber Company (sold in 1906). He ends the report with some general comments on the silvicultural situation for the Cascade (S) Forest, including observations such as: “the principal difficulty in securing reproduction will be in contending with inferior species.”

Koch, Elers. 1942. History of the 1910 forest fires in Idaho and western Montana. Unpublished report. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 25 p.

Abstract: The 1910 forest fires in the northern Rocky Mountains did much to shape subsequent fire policy for not only western Forest Service regions but the entire country. This history of the 1910 fires in the northern Rockies was prepared by an individual who took part in it – as both Forest Supervisor of the Lolo National Forest in 1910 and as active participant in fire fighting and logistics efforts. Koch mentions that Fred Morrell compiled a lot of historical documentation about the 1910 fires in 1926, and that he (Koch) made liberal use of that material when preparing this history report. This accession has the following sections: foreward; the organization in 1910; the great fire; the Coeur d'Alene and St. Joe; the burning of Wallace; Pulaski's crew – Placer Creek; Bell's crew – Middle Fork Big Creek; Rock's crew – Setzer Creek; Debitt's crew – Setzer Creek; Hollingshead's crew – West Fork Big Creek; Danielson's crew – Stevens Peak; Taylor's crew – Bullion mine; Joe Helm's crew – St. Joe River; the Milwaukee Railroad; individual experiences; burying the dead and payment of claims; Lolo forest; Roy A. Phillips' story; Cabinet National Forest; Tuscor Fire; Pend Oreille National Forest; DeFaut Fire; Kaniksu National Forest; Clearwater Forest; Moose Creek Crew; Kootenai forest; Nezperce forest; damage; salvage of timber; Coeur d'Alene; St. Joe; Lolo (St. Regis drainage, now on Cabinet); Cabinet; after effects of the fire; and references, 1910 fire history, Region One.

Kummel, J. F. 1910. Planting on the national forests. Unpublished Paper. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 23 p.

Abstract: This paper, which was delivered at the District 6 Supervisor's Meeting on March 25, 1910, describes reforestation practices, and attitudes, at a very early point in the administration of national forests in the Pacific Northwest. At the time of this paper, an extensive reconnaissance had been completed of the westside national forests, and approximately 600,000 acres were found to be in need of reforestation. No similar figures were available at that time for the eastside forests. Much of the early portion of this report is devoted to making the case that planting makes good financial sense, at least in the productive, westside Douglas-fir forests. The author recommends that studies be continued, and new ones begun, in order to answer the many questions surrounding reforestation. Seeding is recommended over planting, mostly because it is cheaper and was viewed as obtaining results quicker. The importance of an aggressive seed collection program is emphasized, regardless of whether future reforestation efforts concentrate on direct seeding, or planting.

Kummel, Julius F. 1918. Final report: Fp-102(c) – test of season of planting western white pine in the Blue Mountain region. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 8 p.

Abstract: In connection with experiments designed to test the adaptability of western white pine in the Blue Mountains region of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington, various plantations were established on the Whitman National Forest in 1914, 1915 and 1916. Since the experiments were repeated in two successive fall seasons and in two successive springs, they afforded an excellent opportunity to compare season of planting. The first series of plantations were installed at five different localities in the fall of 1914 and the spring of 1915, with three being in the north slope sub-type and two in the transition type. In the fall of 1915 and spring of 1916, the tests were repeated in each locality in the transition type, in two of the former localities in the north slope sub-type, and in an entirely new location in the north slope sub-type. The tests varied in size from 25 to 100 trees each. Every tree was marked by a numbered stake. According to Table 1 in this report, the seed sources for the planting stock were Crater, and Wenatchee; there is no mention of where the planting stock was grown. This report provides preliminary results from the study; results are reported separately for the north slope sub-type tests and the transition type tests. In the north slope sub-type plantings, fall planting had much lower survival than spring planting for the tests established in 1914-1915 (56 versus 86 percent), but slightly higher survival for the 1915-1916 tests (87 percent for fall; 81 percent for spring). Results were somewhat similar for the tests in the transition type. Weather, particularly winter conditions that featured severe cold directly after planting and before a protective blanket of snow had fallen, were believed to be the reason for the relatively poor performance of the fall-planted stock for 1914-1915. Weather Bureau records described December of 1914 as the “coldest and driest December in the last 25 years.” Snowfall was deficient throughout that winter. In contrast, the winter of 1915-1916 featured snowfall during November and December that was above normal. The author noted that the effects of the poor winter of 1914-15 were also felt during the following growing season, since some trees were killed that winter while others survived but were weakened to the extent that they eventually died in the following summer. The report ends with these conclusions: western white pine could be planted successfully in both the north slope and transition types of the Blue Mountains and in either fall or spring; spring planting appeared to give more uniform results since there was less influence by weather conditions; fall planting is subject to heavy winter killing if weather conditions are unfavorable; due to uncertainty associated with weather conditions, fall planting was riskier than spring planting; and bud swelling before planting does not necessarily produce excessive mortality.

Kummel, Julius F. 1924. Methods and season of direct seeding western yellow pine. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 21 p.

Abstract: In the early years of reforestation work in District (Region) 6 of the Forest Service, a large number of studies were made to determine whether direct seeding could be used to restock denuded area with western yellow pine. A few of the studies were initiated by men from the District Office, but the majority were installed and examined by local Forest officers in accordance with general instructions issued by the District Office. The studies were well distributed throughout the yellow pine region, spanning sites from those that were quite favorable to yellow pine to some where the suitability for yellow pine was questionable. Some studies were initiated in the fall, others in the spring. Unfortunately, some studies included a range of sowing densities, treatment methods, etc., whereas others included a single test only. Some study plots were examined regularly and frequently, while some were measured sporadically depending upon the press of other duties. This report includes the following sections: results (general averages, destruction of seed, methods to protect seed, mortality after germination, effect of method of seeding, pregermination of seed, season of sowing, sowing on snow, and seeding vs. planting); and conclusions. It also includes several tables, one of which (Table 1) is a long table that summarizes all studies that were installed to examine direct seeding of western yellow pine. For the Blue Mountains area, Table 1 shows that studies were installed on the Malheur NF in Little Bear Creek, on the Minam NF at Jeldnes & Perry, on the Umatilla NF at Henry Creek and Kahler Creek, on the Wallowa NF at Bear Creek, Chalk Lick, Hurricane, and Falls Creek, and on the Whitman at Columbia, Wildcat, Old Burn, Woodrat, Switchback, and Crawford Meadow. The conclusions in this final report were: at best, direct seeding is a very unreliable method for restocking denuded areas in the yellow pine region; destruction of seed by birds and rodents is one of the major factors responsible for its failure, as no practical methods were known for protecting the seed from those losses; drought was often a major factor, affecting both germination and survival after germination; seeding methods in which the seed is covered, such as seed-spotting and raking or harrowing after seeding, appeared to be superior to simply broadcasting the seed upon the ground; soaking seed before sowing may have increased germination under certain conditions; results were inconclusive regarding direct seeding in spring versus fall; and sowing seed on the surface of the snow gave no better results than sowing on bare ground.

Kuhns, Edith Y. 1964. The Mottet Meadows Fire, Wenaha National Forest, 1919. Timber-Lines. 18(June): 45-49.

Abstract: This interesting article was written by a relatively new forest clerk who reported to work one day to find a note that said there was a bad fire at Mottet Meadows, and that she should start trying to find tools, buy grub (3 lists were left her – one for 25 men, one for 50, and one for 100), and stay by the phone awaiting further instructions. She spent the next 6 weeks doing the office work associated with this fire. Although it begins with the fire episode, most of this article deals with the life of a forest clerk, especially a female one working at locations that had never had a female clerk before (previously, only male clerks had been allowed to work at the Forest or District levels),

Langille, H. D. 1903. The proposed Heppner Forest Reserve, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry. 32 p.

Abstract: This early establishment report includes the following topics as they pertain to the Heppner Forest Reserve: introduction; area; topography; climate, precipitation, etc.; the forest; industries; the forest as a protection cover; settlements; roads and railroads; lumbering; grazing; forest fires; administration necessary; and sentiment. This excellent accession was originally accompanied by a map and some photographs, both of which would provide valuable information if they could be located. As was the case with other reports, Langille offers some interesting insights in this document: “It was everywhere observed that upon tracts upon which there is no forest cover there is no soil. At one time these areas were covered with soil to a depth of from one to two feet, and sufficient soil binding vegetation grew upon it to resist the destructive elements – wind and water – but persistent overgrazing destroyed this cover, and, there being no tree growth to protect the soil, it rapidly disappeared, leaving nothing but a bed of exposed rocks.” “I have long contended that sheep would not browse upon coniferous species unless driven to it by hunger, but while watching a band ranging in open pine woods I saw an old ewe approach a pine about 3 feet in height, rise upon her hind feet, and deftly gather in, in a manner born of practice and long experience, the tender spring growth which topped the seedling.” “You who have studied this question know more about it than any of us can know. Go up into the mountains and look over the situation; if you think a Reserve will benefit our county, go ahead and create it. I have confidence enough in my Government to believe that nothing will be done which will injure our county or community, and I am willing to leave it to you” (Mr. George Couser, Mayor of Heppner, as quoted in this report).

Langille, H. D. 1904. Supplemental report on the proposed Chesnimnus Forest Reserve, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry. 15 p.

Abstract: This report describes the proposed Chesnimnus Forest Reserve, an area of 185,140 acres in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. The following topics are included in the report: location and topography; area; climate; the forest; stand of timber; alienated lands; industries; grazing; sentiment; administration; and recommendations. This report supplements a very short one prepared in the same year by F. A. Clark; a copy of Clark’s report is also present in the silviculture library history archives.

Langille, H. D. 1906. Report on the proposed Blue Mountains Forest Reserve. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 40 p.

Abstract: This important report describes conditions on approximately 3,000,000 acres that were contained in a proposed Blue Mountains Forest Reserve. The following topics were discussed: boundaries and topography; climate, including average annual precipitation amounts for 12 locations in Oregon and Washington; agricultural settlements; alienated lands; timber; the stock industry; mining camps; roads and trails; examination; public sentiment; the miner’s objections; recommendations (eliminations, additions); future management of the reserves; and placer mining in the proposed Blue Mountain Forest Reserve. A short transmittal memorandum to the Secretary of the Interior, from Langille, dated April 30, 1906 is also included with the report. According to that memorandum, the report was accompanied by two maps: a map of the reserve, and a map of the mining district. Neither of those maps were contained on the microfiche material from the University of Washington, or in the report’s folder at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. The report also references some photographs (perhaps a half dozen or so), and they also were missing from the microfiche and National Archives copies. Unfortunately, the microfiche version of this report was scratched near the bottom, resulting in several instances where one or more lines at the bottom of a page were unreadable. The version at the National Archives is very ledgible, but it was not copied – unfortunately, I forgot about the unreadable portions and didn’t copy the Archives one because I knew we already had a copy. This report offers a wealth of interesting insights, as demonstrated by the following quotes: “During a number of years past the Grande Ronde Lumber Company has been operating along the Grande Ronde river and the destruction of the forests which has followed this cutting is deplorable indeed. The hillsides have been wiped clean of every thing large enough for saw timber of any kind. In many places fire has followed the cutting and the destruction is complete.” “The Company’s mills are located at Perry, and the logs are driven down the river. At the time of my visit millions of feet of logs were being banked along the small streams which form the headwaters of the Grande Ronde. A very few years of such work as is being done by the Company would denude the entire watershed of this stream.” “During the past 20 years this Company has been actively engaged in acquiring title to timber lands, not only in this part of the State but elsewhere. It is common knowledge that their employees have been supplied with funds with which to purchase lands under the Timber and Stone Act, and it is a matter of record that these claims have been transferred to the Company on the same day or the day following receipt of patent.” “Sheep from Wasco, Crook, Sherman, Gilliam, Umatilla and Morrow Counties are driven to the mountains early each season and ranged up to the very doors of the actual settlers and cattle owners. There has been some trouble in the past resulting in bloodshed, but nothing as serious as that which threatens to come about in the near future.” “A few years ago Eastern Oregon was one of the best range sections of the West. The rich bunch grass waved knee deep on hill and plain in such close growth that it was mowed with machines for hay.” “At high elevations there are numerous tracts of a swampy nature in which different grasses and weeds of characteristic species occur and on the hills and in old burns peavine and other forage plants grow in greatest profusion. I was told by an ex-sheepherder that about 15 years ago he drove a band of sheep into these hills and camped 40 days in one place.” “The timber and water supply of the Blue Mountains is invaluable to the entire surrounding country. As I have shown the timber is in demand from points 150 miles distant; the streams flow through semi-arid plains in all directions and the latent resources of these distant lands can be developed only by the application of the waters from these mountains.”

Langille, Harold D. 1956. Mostly Division "R" days. Oregon Historical Quarterly. 57(4): 301-313.

Abstract: Subtitle of this article is: reminiscences of the stormy, pioneering days of the forest reserves. Langille was instrumental in the establishment of forest reserves in the Blue Mountains: he was the author of establishment reports for the Heppner Forest Reserve (1903), the Chesnimnus Forest Reserve (1904), and the Blue Mountains Forest Reserve (1906). In this article, Langille explains that he first became familiar with the Cascade Mountains after accepting a position as handyman at the Cloud Cap Inn on Mount Hood in 1892. While working there, he became involved in guiding tourists and his main hobby was collection of the alpine flora. Since the Inn was used as a base for scientific explorations of the area, he was exposed to leading scientists of the day, including Gannett, Pinchot, Newell, Coville, Merriam, Bailey, Sargent, Brewer, and Professor J. G. Lemmon of California. President Cleveland created the Cascade Range Forest Reserve on September 28, 1893, a withdrawal that included the Mount Hood area Langille had been working in. He discusses early grazing controversies involving sheep use of the reserve, and describes a visit from the Forest Commission of the National Academy of Sciences in 1896. During the Commission's visit, Langille interacted with Sargent and corrected his classification of Abies nobilis and pointed out a variety of Engelmann spruce that Sargent had not previously described. In 1900, Gannett asked Langille to join government service and examine the Cascade Range Forest Reserve. Early in 1902, Langille was appointed an inspector in Division R of the General Land Office, chiefly on the recommendation of Gifford Pinchot. He then describes inspection activities in eastern Oregon, including one occasion where he visited the G.L.O. office in La Grande and learned that a train car load of timber locators had arrived that morning from Minnesota and immediately left for the Wallowa country. Langille wired the Secretary and requested temporary withdrawal of all forested townships, thereby heading off the Minnesota applications. The later part of this article discusses the most controversial of all the reserve withdrawals that Langille ever worked with: the Blue Mountains Forest Reserve. He discusses meetings in Canyon City, Prineville, Greenhorn, and other towns that were instrumental in building support for the reserve, although some of those meetings were controversial and stressful.

Leve, Walter H. 1920. Review of results to date in experiments 2, 4, 14, 15, 16. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 9 p.

Abstract: The subtitle of this accession is “Test of species, western yellow pine and western white pine in the Blue Mountain Region and test of season of planting, western yellow pine and western white pine, in the Blue Mountain Region, District 6.” In 1914, 1915, and 1916 a number of experimental plantations of western yellow (ponderosa) pine and western white pine were established on certain logged-off and burned areas in the Douglas-fir-larch type on the Whitman National Forest. The experimental areas had been previously covered by a stand of Douglas-fir, western larch, lodgepole pine, white fir and other true firs in varying proportions. One of the areas had been covered by a young lodgepole pine stand that had burned in 1910. Another, the Columbia area, was on the upper edge of the type in what would probably have been called the transition type under the old classification system. Western yellow pine was occasionally found in the type but not usually in any great quantity. Western white pine was not usually found in the type but was more valuable than the tree species that did occur there. Because of the fact that timber sales were being conducted in the Douglas-fir-larch type, it was desired to ascertain whether the cut-over areas could be restocked with the more valuable western yellow pine and western white pine. The experiments were designed to test season of planting as well as species, so every precaution was made to make the comparison plantations identical in every respect possible. All planting stock came from the Wind River Nursery. Preliminary results were extremely varied, ranging from 8 to 98 percent survival for yellow pine and 8 to 100 percent for white pine. Some of the heavy losses could be attributed to “extraneous” factors such as damage from gophers, porcupines, other rodents, and from trampling by sheep and cattle. As of the 1919 examination, the yellow pine seemed to be making better growth than the white pine, as described in a planting report: “thus far the yellow pine seems to be better acclimated than the white pine, the latter taking on a very bushy form with several leaders to each small tree.” This report includes four tables, one of them quite long, that include information about study area locations, results, and so forth. The major conclusions of this report were: preliminary results indicated that western yellow pine was well adapted to the Douglas-fir-larch forest type in the Blue Mountains and makes thrifty growth there; weather conditions immediately following planting were the factor controlling success of either fall or spring planting; rodent injury was probably more prevalent and more severe in winter than in summer; and advanced growth before planting (such as bud burst and shoot elongation associated with healing-in of planting stock) in the spring does not necessarily result in heavy mortality.

Lowdermilk, W. C.; Hamilton, George. 1922. The secondary species problem. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 29 p.

Abstract: In the western white pine stands of northern Idaho, particularly in the area of the Coeur d'Alene and Kaniksu National Forests, a considerable portion of the timber volume was considered unmerchantable for one of two reasons – there was no market demand for it, or because the trees were defective due mostly to stem rots. This presented a problem because when the valuable white pine was harvested, a moderately dense stand of tolerant, low-value trees (primarily western hemlock and grand fir) was left behind and they created too much shade to allow white pine reproduction. Since the tolerant species were unmerchantable, their removal or disposal was generally an expensive proposition. This report describes the results of a study that had two objectives: 1) determine the proper treatment for stands containing unsound hemlock and grand fir; and 2) determine the most economical and satisfactory method of opening up a stand so as to secure restocking by western white pine. The report includes the following sections: introduction; the problem; premises; the object and scope; discussion; sanitation marking; summary; general conclusions; and an addendum. The general conclusions of this study were: 1) the destruction of sound hemlock or grand fir is not justifiable; 2) the liability of girdled trees is equal to the expense of disposing of the mat of slash caused by the windthrown trees; 3) portions of the stand which will not pay their own way in sanitation measures should be excluded from the timber sale area; 4) the girdling of defective secondary species is justifiable within certain restrictions; 5) the girdling of trees along trails, roads, and streams to a distance of one chain on each side is unwise and unsafe; and 6) a method of treatment involving a sanitation marking will more nearly satisfy the requirements for restocking and reduction of the fire hazard to a safe level than other methods that were traditionally used. The report includes numerous tables and four figures comprised of black-and-white photographs that depict the plot areas after treatment.

Mansfield, H. Robert. 1939. A plan of management for Clearwater Working Circle. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest]. 35 p.

Abstract: This management plan was prepared for the Clearwater Working Circle, which was contained in the Asotin Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest. It includes the following sections: introduction; description of the working circle (location, topography, soils, climate); management problems (social and economic situation, forest resources and conditions (ownership, forest types, timber volumes, depletion, growth, sustained yield capacity, transportation facilities, fire, insect, and disease protection, silvicultural practices, marketing, acquisition possibilities, planting, and research problems); and solutions and plans (management of national forest timber, cooperation and coordination with other owners, plan for social stability, and miscellaneous). This document also contains 5 maps and numerous tables that are not reflected in the page count.

Matz, Fred A. 1926. Descriptive report, Hilgard timber survey project, Umatilla National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 38 p.

Abstract: In February of 1925, the Mt. Emily Lumber Company (whose office and mill were located at La Grande, Oregon) made application for the purchase of Government timber located at the head of Five Point and Owsley Creeks in the Umatilla NF due north of Hilgard, Oregon. This report documents the results of a timber survey project that was initiated in order to respond to Mt. Emily’s application. It includes the following sections: a project map (in color, showing the boundaries of the examined area and delineation of 5 compartments within the Starkey Block); introduction; field work and computations; silvicultural description; logging data; statistical summary; and conclusion. The report includes 21 tables summarizing the survey results by species, size class, compartment, etc. Appended to this descriptive report is a separate 4-page Cost Report, which has its own title page. The cost report includes the following sections: acreage and mileage; field expenses; field work; headquarters office work; and totals. The survey project area is now located within the Umatilla NF and the Wallowa-Whitman NF. The northeastern portion (shown as compartment 1 on the map) extended from west of Mt. Emily on the east (La Grande RD, Wallowa-Whitman NF) to Owsley Creek and upper Pelican Creek on the west (Walla Walla Ranger District, Umatilla NF). Most of the remainder of the survey area (the southwestern portion consisting of compartments 2-5) includes lands now administered by the La Grande RD, with the exception of a small tract located in the North Fork John Day RD that includes Bowman Spring.

Matz, Fred A. 1928. Descriptive report, Malheur River timber survey project, Malheur National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 108 p.

Abstract: The area included in this survey was traversed by The Dalles Military Road, a grant for which was given on February 25, 1867. The route of that road was defined as The Dalles via Canyon City to Fort Boise, with a total length of 357 miles (35 of which are located within the survey area). The grant provided the recipient with the odd-numbered sections in a strip 3 miles wide on each side of the road, and further provided indemnity limits of 10 miles on each side of the road, once again for the odd sections. Since there was only 35 miles of the road in the survey area, but almost 86,000 acres of land patented under the grant, it was quite evident that a considerable acreage was acquired within the indemnity limits. Throughout the survey area, the lands patented as a result of the Road Grant were owned by the Eastern Oregon Land Company. They owned practically every other section of land and many of the original school grant sections. They desired for many years to dispose of the timber on their property, and issued grazing permits for their land, mostly to sheepmen. Since the grazing policy of the land company had a great bearing on the range program of the national forest, it was decided to complete a timber survey first, to be followed later with a forage or grazing survey. The land company entered into an agreement with the Forest Service whereby a timber cover-type survey would be completed for all lands within the survey area, with the survey of the company’s land being reimbursed to the Service at a rate of 5 cents per acre. Forage survey maps would be provided to the company at an additional cost of 1 cent per acre. Most of the field work was completed during the 1927 field season, although a relatively small percentage of the total area was completed during 1928. This survey project included an area of 192,298 acres, of which 113,239 were national forest lands, 78,659 acres owned by Eastern Oregon Land Company, and 400 acres of other patented (private) land. Most of the survey area was located in the Malheur River and John Day River drainages; Prairie City, Oregon is located about 13 miles north of the survey area boundary. The Drewsey Road was the main north-south route through the survey area, with east-west roads leading from Crane Prairie to the North Fork of the Malheur River and from Summit Prairie west to Logan Valley. The report includes the following sections: two project maps (in color, showing the boundaries of the examined area, the portion of the project completed in 1927 and 1928, lands owned by the Eastern Oregon Land Company, other patented lands, Oregon state school lands pending patent, the boundary of an area designated to be covered for the Office of Grazing if time would permit, G.L.O. survey lines that were re-traced for control, and block and compartment boundaries); introduction; field work and computations; silvicultural description; logging data; statistical summary; and conclusion. It also includes very many tables summarizing the survey results by species, size class, compartment, etc. Tables pertaining to national forest lands are separate from those for the Eastern Oregon Land Company. The report mentions that timber estimates and forest type information was recorded on blue-line maps at a scale of 4-inches-to-the-mile. Unfortunately, those maps were not included with this report or located elsewhere in the National Archives. Included with the descriptive report is a series of memoranda related to this timber survey project. Appended to this descriptive report is a separate 4-page Cost Report, dated December 15, 1928, which has its own title page. The cost report includes the following sections: acreage and mileage; field expenses; field work; headquarters office work; totals; and conclusion.

Matz, Fred A. 1929. Descriptive report, Chesnimnus timber survey project, Wallowa National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 60 p.

Abstract: The Chesnimnus timber survey project was initiated after the East Oregon Lumber Company (whose office and mill were located at Enterprise, Oregon) made informal application for the purchase of Government timber that was tributary to their logging railroad line near Joseph Creek. However, that company suffered financial reversals shortly after their application, although the Bowman-Hicks Lumber Company (La Grande, Oregon) was also interested in a timber sale in the project area. This survey project included an area of 81,717 acres of government-owned land approximately 24 miles northeast of Enterprise, Oregon. All but 25,000 or 30,000 acres of that total was surveyed in this project. The report includes the following sections: a project map (in color, showing the boundaries of the examined area, the portion of the project completed in 1928, alienated lands, section lines that were re-traced for control, and delineation of 3 blocks and numerous compartments within the area); introduction; field work and computations; silvicultural description; logging data; statistical summary; and conclusion. It also includes 14 long tables summarizing the survey results by species, size class, compartment, etc. The report mentions that timber estimates and forest type information was recorded on blue-line maps at a scale of 4-inches-to-the-mile. Unfortunately, those maps were not included with this report or located elsewhere in the National Archives. Appended to the descriptive report is a separate 4-page Cost Report, dated March 20, 1930, including a separate title page. The cost report includes the following sections: acreage and mileage; expenses; field work; headquarters office work; and summarized cost of project.

Matz, Fred A. 1931. Descriptive report, Middle Fork John Day River timber survey project, Malheur National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 60 p.

Abstract: The area included in this survey totaled 32,154 acres, of which 29,674 was public lands administered by the Forest Service. The survey stretched from Bum Canyon on the north to the Magone Lake area on the south, and included lands contained within four blocks: Camp Creek, Slide Creek, Beech Creek, and Long Creek. Long Creek, Oregon is located about 5 miles west of the survey area boundary; Fox is about 11 miles west of the area. The Oregon Lumber Company owned most of the patented timber land in the Camp Creek watershed and adjacent areas. That company had been cutting private and government timber in the head watershed of the Middle Fork of the John Day River for many years and it was understood that they were about cut out. They had stated a desire to extend their logging railroad on down the river to tap their holdings on Camp Creek in the Malheur NF. That company’s holdings constituted about 50% of the entire acreage in the Camp Creek block. If the company’s operations did shift to the Camp Creek area, it was expected that the government’s intermingled timberland could be logged to best advantage at the same time as the company’s land. Most of the government timber on the Whitman NF portion of the Middle Fork John Day River drainage was cruised in 1912 (see a report in the history archives entitled “Head watershed: Middle Fork John Day River; Whitman National Forest, Oregon” by Andrews and Merritt in 1910 for additional information on this area. The 1912 cruise was related to a reconnaissance survey completed by Hastings; a copy of that report has not been located). The Middle Fork John Day River project area, which was comprised of several different survey areas, included the portion of the river drainage that was not cruised in 1912. This survey area adjoins another one to the north that was also cruised in 1930; it is described in a report authored by Matz in 1934. The field work for this project was completed in late summer and fall of 1930. The report includes the following sections: project map (in color, showing the boundaries of the examined area, patented land in an adjacent to the project, survey control lines that were established, G.L.O. lines that were retraced and control lines established thereon, and block boundaries); introduction; field work and computations; silvicultural description; logging data; statistical summary; and conclusion. It also includes many detailed tables summarizing the survey results by species, size class, compartment, etc. In the silvicultural description section, it mentions that only small acreages of pure ponderosa pine occurred in the area, and that Douglas-fir and white fir were widely distributed with some western larch also present. The yellow pine type comprised 59% of the total survey area, ranging from a high of 66% in the Camp Creek block to a low of 28% in the Long Creek block. It was noted that dwarf mistletoe was present in the ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir, especially stands established on poorer sites, but that there was little mortality associated with bark beetles. Non-forest types in the survey area included hardwoods, juniper, mountain-mahogany, brush, grass, and barren areas. The report mentions that timber estimates and forest type information was recorded on blue-line maps at a scale of 4-inches-to-the-mile. Unfortunately, those maps were not included with this report or located elsewhere in the National Archives (although they may very well exist in the Archives in a record group that we did not have time to check). Included with the descriptive report is a separate 4-page Cost Report, dated November 14, 1931, which includes the following sections: acreage and mileage; field expenses; field work; headquarters office work; and summarized cost of project.

Matz, Fred A. 1932. Descriptive report, Camas Creek timber survey project, Umatilla National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 71 p.

Abstract: In anticipation of an application by the Mt. Emily Lumber Company (whose office and mill were located at La Grande, Oregon) for the purchase of Government timber located in the Camas Creek area of the Umatilla NF, a timber survey project was authorized and field work conducted during the fall of 1930 and the summer of 1931. This report documents the results of that survey project. It includes the following sections: project maps (2 maps in color, showing the boundaries of the examined area, the portion of the project that was completed in 1930, Government Land Office land lines that were retraced using a compass and chain (vertical control established with an altimeter), the boundaries of blocks, the boundaries of compartments, and patented or private lands); introduction; field work and computations; silvicultural description; logging data; statistical summary; and conclusion. The report includes 13 long tables summarizing the survey results by species, size class, compartment, etc. The report mentions that timber estimates and forest type information was recorded on blue-line maps at a scale of 4-inches-to-the-mile. Unfortunately, those maps were not included with this report or located elsewhere in the National Archives. Survey work was completed by a large crew of estimators, most of whom were forestry students or recent forestry graduates (from Iowa State College, Oregon Agricultural College, New York State College, University of Minnesota, University of Washington, Washington State College, Royal School of Forestry in Sweden, etc.). This project area included lands now administered by the Umatilla NF and the Wallowa-Whitman NF. The eastern portion included parts of the Starkey Experimental Forest and an area north of Frog Heaven Meadow (La Grande RD, Wallowa-Whitman NF). The majority of the survey area (the western two-thirds) encompassed lands now administered by the North Fork John Day RD, including a small tract southeast of Ukiah, Oregon near Hello Boy Spring. It is interesting to note that prior to the 1931 field season, the Forest Service entered into an agreement with the Mt. Emily Lumber Company to map patented lands within the project area, for which the Service was paid 4 cents per acre. [Note that the results of this timber survey were used to prepare a large timber sale that was eventually offered to the Mt. Emily Lumber Company of La Grande, Oregon in 1937; see Stevenson’s (1937) “Sale prospectus and timber appraisal report; Camas Creek Unit” in the history archives for more information.]

Matz, Fred A. 1933. Descriptive report, Bear [Rock] Creek timber survey project, Umatilla National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 20 p.

Abstract: Note that this report references Bear Creek on the cover and the title page but, according to the map and the narrative in the introduction, it actually pertains to the Rock Creek area. In anticipation of an application by the Kinzua Lumber Company (whose mill was located at Thirty Mile Creek about five miles west of the Forest boundary and about 20 miles southeast of Condon, Oregon) for the purchase of Government timber located in the Rock Creek watershed of the Umatilla NF, a timber survey project was authorized and field work conducted during the summer and fall of 1933. The project area was situated at the western end of the Heppner Ranger District and within the Condon Working Circle. The town of Heppner was located about forty miles northeast of the tract. Condon was about 20 miles northwest of the western boundary of the project area. The project area included 17,347 acres within portions of the Heppner and Spray blocks (a block was a subdivision of a working circle). This report documents the results of the survey. It includes the following sections: project map (in color, showing the boundaries of the examined area, the portion of the project area that was recommended to be surveyed, the portion that was actually covered, the boundaries of blocks, the boundaries of compartments, and alienated or private lands); introduction; field work and computations; silvicultural description; logging data; statistical summary; and conclusion. The report includes three long tables summarizing the survey results by species, size class, compartment, etc. The project area consisted of the ponderosa pine cover type (61% of the area), the white fir/larch/Douglas-fir type, and grass and sagebrush types. The report mentions that timber estimates and topographic information was recorded on 4-inch-to-the-mile blue-line maps for each township in the project area. Unfortunately, those maps were not included with this report or located elsewhere in the National Archives. Survey work was completed by a large crew of estimators (14 in total), most of whom were forestry students or recent forestry graduates. However, not all of those employees were able to stick with the job, as three of them served only a few days and quit because they “couldn’t stand the strain.” The author stated that the three men probably quit due to lack of interest in the work or no desire for it, rather than any physical incapacity to complete the job. When working in the west end of the project area, a “side camp” was established at “the Notch” and was eventually moved seven miles east of there to Long Prairie. Appended to the descriptive report is a separate 3-page Cost Report, dated November 14, 1934. The cost report includes the following sections: acreage and mileage; expenses; field work; headquarters, office work; and summarized cost of project.

Matz, Fred A. 1934. Descriptive report, Middle Fork John Day River timber survey project, Malheur National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 19 p.

Abstract: The area included in this survey totaled 26,243 acres, of which 21,745 was public lands administered by the Forest Service. The survey area stretched from Putney Mountain and Little Indian Creek on the north to Mosquito Creek and an area south of Big Creek on the south. At least half of the survey area is now within the Umatilla National Forest (North Fork John Day Ranger District) with the remainder administered by the Malheur National Forest (Long Creek Ranger District). Long Creek, Oregon is located about 13 miles west (slightly southwest) of the survey area boundary. The Oregon Lumber Company owned most of the patented timber land in the Indian Creek watershed and adjacent areas. That company had been cutting private and government timber in the head watershed of the Middle Fork of the John Day River for many years and it was understood that they were about cut out. They had stated a desire to extend their logging railroad on down the river to tap their holdings on Camp Creek in the Malheur NF. That company’s holdings constituted about 50% of the entire acreage in the Camp Creek block. If the company did shift their operations to the Camp Creek area, it was believed that the government’s intermingled timberland could be logged to best advantage at the same time as the company’s land. Most of the government timber on the Whitman NF portion of the Middle Fork John Day River drainage was cruised in 1912 (see a report in the history archives entitled “Head watershed: Middle Fork John Day River; Whitman National Forest, Oregon” by Andrews and Merritt in 1910 for additional information on this area. The 1912 cruise was related to a reconnaissance survey completed by Hastings; a copy of that report has not been located). This survey area included the portion of the river drainage that was not cruised in 1912. The Middle Fork John Day River project area, which was comprised of several different survey areas, included another area to the south that was also cruised in 1930; it is described in a report authored by Matz in 1931. The field work for this project was completed in late summer and fall of 1930. The report includes the following sections: maps (a project map in color, showing the boundaries of the examined area, the adjacent area covered in 1912, alienated lands, survey control lines that were established, and block boundaries); introduction; field work and computations; silvicultural description; logging data; statistical summary; and conclusion. It also includes many detailed tables summarizing the survey results by species, size class, compartment, etc. In the silvicultural description section, it mentions that only small acreages of pure ponderosa pine occurred in the area, and that Douglas-fir and white fir were widely distributed with some western larch also present. It was noted that dwarf mistletoe was present in the ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir, especially stands established on poorer sites, but that there was little mortality associated with bark beetles. The report mentions that timber estimates and forest type information was recorded on blue-line maps at a scale of 4-inches-to-the-mile. Unfortunately, those maps were not included with this report or located elsewhere in the National Archives (although they may very well exist in the Archives in a record group that we did not have time to check). Included with the descriptive report is a separate 4-page Cost Report, dated December 27, 1934, which includes the following sections: acreage and mileage; field expenses; field work; headquarters office work; and summarized cost of project.

Merritt, Melvin L. 1911. Lodgepole pine in the Whitman National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Sumpter, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 18 p.

Abstract: This report was based on observations that the author made of the lodgepole pine type on the Whitman National Forest during the 1910 field season. Since they were based on only a single field season, the author was not certain that his conclusions would still be correct after a more extensive examination. The report includes the following sections: factors influencing the growth of lodgepole pine and related tree species (temperature, altitude, soil, light, moisture, reproduction habits, pure stands of lodgepole, areas not adapted to lodgepole, regions adapted to the growth of both lodgepole and other species); management (pure lodgepole stands, yellow pine stands, mixed conifer stands); and general conclusion. The report provides some silvical information, such as this ranking of tree species in terms of their ability to grow successfully in poor soils: yellow pine (most able), lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, white fir, western larch, and Engelmann spruce (least able). The tolerance of tree species to low light (shade) was given as: Engelmann spruce (most tolerant of shade), white fir, Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, western larch, and yellow pine (least tolerant). The author believed that the Whitman NF presented three situations with respect to lodgepole pine: sites better adapted to the growth of lodgepole pine than anything else; sites not adapted to the growth of lodgepole pine at all (yellow pine sites); and sites adapted to the growth of lodgepole pine and other species concurrently (mixed conifer sites). Merritt noted that the cones of lodgepole pine tended to open immediately upon maturing, indicating that the species was not serotinous on that Forest. It was noted that the most common situation supporting pure stands of lodgepole pine was damp, poorly-drained floodplains and benches along streams, although pure stands also occurred on flat ridges and gentle slopes at higher elevations (over 5,000 feet). About one-third to one-half of the Forest contained sites that were suitable for a mixed-conifer forest composition, in which lodgepole pine competed with larch, Douglas-fir, and white fir for growing space. Merritt noted that seedlings of the other species often got established concurrently with lodgepole following disturbance, but that lodgepole quickly outgrew them (except for the larch) and dominated the stand for a while. Eventually, though, the lodgepole would be overtaken by the more tolerant species after it reached its normal height growth. It seemed that the location and distribution of lodgepole pine on the Forest depended mostly on past fire history. The author’s conclusions include: the popular idea that yellow pine was the only valuable timber type in eastern Oregon was untenable; and the north slope type (mixed conifer type) was capable of producing a timber yield that would equal or surpass that produced by the yellow pine type, but only under proper management.

Merritt, M. L. 1916. Yellow pine fire damage. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Bend, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Deschutes National Forest. 25 p.

Abstract: There was much conjecture among forest managers about the actual amount of damage done to yellow (ponderosa) pine by fires, even in cases where the fires were severe enough to kill much of the foliage. Many foresters believed that a majority of the yellow pines damaged in that way would normally recover. Since a 10,000-acre fire occurred on the Deschutes NF (it was locally referred to as the South Ice Cave Burn) in late summer (August 29 to September 14) of 1915, it was decided to conduct a study to obtain definite information about the mortality of yellow pine following a fire in which extensive crown scorch occurred. The primary objective of the study was to determine the extent of damage done to yellow pine timber by severe surface and crown fires, especially where all of the foliage was killed, and to determine an approximate mortality percentage for mature trees that have had all their foliage killed by fire. This document was a progress report for that study. It includes the following sections: purpose; use of results; place; assignment; methods; future work; report; and history of burn. Since it is a progress report, there are no conclusions and little discussion about the results of the study. Most of the document (17 pages) consists of a series of tables that describes every sample tree (100 such trees were selected on each of the three plots) on each sample plot. The plot tree summary tables included the tree number, the tree’s diameter, the portion of the tree’s foliage that was browned, the portion of the tree’s bole that was blackened, and general notes about the tree. The “history of burn” section mentions an accompanying map, but none was present in the folder at the National Archives that contained this report.

Merzenich, James; Ferro, Michael; Nichols, David; Roberts, Keith; Taylor, Avery; Reed, Jaylen; Hulbert, Karl; Ferril, John. [1974]. Plants and vertebrates of the Wenaha drainage. Unpublished Report. [La Grande, OR]: Eastern Oregon State College. 72 p.

Abstract: The Wenaha River drainage, a 200,000 acre roadless area characterlzed by deep canyons and timbered benches, lies in the Blue Mountains along the border of 0regon and Washington. It includes a 112,000 acre "Wenaha Backcountry" set aside by the U.S. Forest Service for elk and deer hunting. Interest as to the future of the area has arisen among conservation groups, lumber interests, and the Forest Service. In 1971, the Umatilla National Forest Office, which has jurisdiction, concluded that the area was already adequately protected. The Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness Council, a citizens' group, feels that the drainage and portions of adjacent drainages ought to be classified as wilderness. Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon recently included the area in a wilderness omnibus bill. Because long-lasting management decisions will soon be made and no basic ecological data was available, five Eastern Oregon State College students proposed a preliminary survey of the plants and vertebrates. Objectives of the study were:

1. To investigate and classify the vegetation on an ecosystem basis.
2. To determine vertebrate species present and their distribution within vegetation habitat types.
3. To obtain baseline data so that changes in the biota can be correlated with environmental management practices.

A 6,000 acre study area was chosen which was believed to contain all the vegetation habitat types typical of the area as a whole.

Three students were recruited from other schools in Oregon and Washington once the grant was received. The interdisciplinary team that went into the field on 12 June 1974 included four botanists, two mammalologists, an ornithologist, and a herpetologist.

Miles, Herbert J. 1911. Annual silvical report: Malheur National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 38 p.

Abstract: This report includes the following sections: list of trees; list of shrubs; fundamental forest types (bottomland, slope, alpine, and transition types); general silvical descriptions by forest type; silvics of species; and silvical problems (subjects for special silvical studies which would be of value to this Forest). A variety of silvical characteristics are described for each species (habit, occurrence, soil and moisture, shade tolerance, growth and longevity, reproduction, susceptibility to injury, etc.). Many silvical characteristics are summarized for the 6 major tree species of the Malheur in a hand-written table.

Moravets, F. L. 1923. Descriptive and cost report; McAllister Creek, Powwatka Ridge, and Wildcat Creek timber survey projects, Wallowa National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 15 p.

Abstract: The McAllister Creek survey area included 3,311 acres, which excludes private lands in the area. This survey area included all accessible Government timber on McAllister Ridge and was separated from the Mud Creek-Davis Creek timber sale on the east by the deep canyon of Mud Creek, and from the Powwatka Ridge survey unit on the west by the canyon of McAllister Creek. Of the total timber stand in the area, 40% was yellow pine, 35% was Douglas-fir, 14% western larch, and 10% white fir, with the remainder being small amounts of lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce. The yellow pine occurred in widely scattered stands along the ridges and on dryer eastern and southern exposures. Stands comprised of larch and Douglas-fir covered the majority of the survey area, generally upon northern exposures and in the draws. They had relatively equal amounts of western larch and Douglas-fir, with small amounts of white fir in the draws. The timber was not deteriorating rapidly and could safely be held until a more favorable lumber market existed. The McAllister Creek report includes the following sections: introduction; a project map (in color, showing the boundaries of the examined area and patented (private) lands); status and ownership; silvical description; logging data; description of cruise; and tables. The report includes a decimal “C” volume table for Douglas-fir, white fir, lodgepole pine, and Engelmann spruce (all four species in one table), and four tables summarizing the survey results by township and range. The Powwatka Ridge and Wildcat Creek report includes the following sections: location and acreage; description of cruise; silvical description, logging data, and management; and volume tables. It also includes three tables summarizing survey results by township and range. There is also a table comparing timber volume estimates from the Powwatka Ridge timber survey of 1920 (see Conover 1920 in the history archives for a description of that earlier survey) with the survey completed in 1923 and described in this report. Following the descriptive reports is a 3-page Cost Report that includes the following sections: field work; office work; and total costs.

Munger, T. T. 1909. Notes on brush disposal in eastern Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 7 p.

Abstract: It is noted on this report that it was prepared for the Society of American Foresters and was not published. The report pertains to a recent trip that the author made across central Oregon in which he made notes about the methods of brush disposal that seem to be suited to the various regions he visited. The two methods that were considered applicable were 1) piling and burning; and 2) lopping and scattering. The general conclusion he reached is that conditions are so variable in the yellow pine region of eastern Oregon that neither of those methods could be recommended to the exclusion of the other. Munger believed that the decision as to which method to use should be made by the Forest officer on the ground, although the officer’s recommendation should be based on these general principles: 1) in dry regions, yellow pine reproduction is usually better where brush or some other ground covering is available to conserve soil moisture; 2) in regions where livestock grazing was abundant, brush could be helpful for protecting them from trampling and browsing damage; 3) the presence of dry brush increases the risk and severity of forest fires; and 4) the presence of logging debris may help to increase the number of bark beetle attacks by serving as brood sites. The author also felt that burning the brush (broadcast) could be detrimental in mixed stands, especially on the yellow pine/lodgepole pine mixtures prevalent in central and south-central Oregon because it would favor lodgepole over yellow pine. One of the places that Munger visited was the Heppner division of the Umatilla National Forest. He noted that where soils were deep and forest conditions were well established, that natural reproduction of western larch and yellow pine were very good – dense thickets of seedlings or small saplings were common. That situation was particularly common on the north side of the divide (the main east-west ridge system of the Heppner Ranger District). To leave brush unburnt on that portion of the Heppner division would not only be unnecessary from a regeneration standpoint, but would constitute a serious fire hazard that could jeopardize long-term survival of the advance reproduction. Munger also provides notes about the area along the base of the Cascades from Bend to the Klamath Indian Agency, and for the Fremont National Forest area.

Munger, T. T. 1909. Annual report of the section of silvics, District VI. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 3 p.

Abstract: This report describes studies initiated or continued by the Section of Silvics after the establishment of a District Office in Portland. The following studies or projects were mentioned: “the encroachment of lodgepole pine on western yellow pine on the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon” (recommends forms of management to be used for the yellow pine and lodgepole pine types, and identifies that extensive artificial reforestation is needed in many poorly forested areas in those types); an extensive study of Douglas-fir on the west side of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington; an effort to bring all of the records pertaining to cut-over areas up to date for every national forest (in 1909, it was already seen that these records were being neglected, and that training and an emphasis on them were going to be needed to have them kept up sufficiently); the Forests were cooperating in the establishment of meteorological stations; and a study of Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana) conducted by Professor Jepson.

Munger, Thornton T. 1910. Silvical problems of the northwest. Unpublished Paper. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Pacific District. 25 p.

Abstract: This paper was delivered at the District 6 Supervisor’s Meeting in Portland, Oregon on March 23, 1910. It describes early silviculture programs on the national forests of the Pacific Northwest. The author provides some opinions and interpretations about early logging operations in the region, as well as observations about pressing silvicultural problems in the area, such as encroachment in yellow pine stands by white fir and lodgepole pine. The paper also discusses the following topics: annual silvical reports, cut-over areas, and insect infestations.

Munger, T. T. 1911. Annual report to the forester, section of silvics – District VI. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 20 p.

Abstract: This report describes the following silvicultural studies or projects that were initiated or ongoing during 1910-1911: Douglas fir study (included areas west of the Cascades); yellow pine study (covered entire range in Oregon; study initiated during field season of 1910 and eventually published in 1917 as “Western Yellow Pine in Oregon” (see USDA Bull. 418); sand dune study (dunes on the Siuslaw NF); avalanche study (covered Cascades in Washington); permanent sample plot installation (3 plots established in pure Douglas-fir stand, 54-years old, on the Umpqua NF); Douglas-fir cut-over study (established in the Wind River Valley area); brush disposal experiments (mostly involving the yellow pine type); surface fire experiments (examines fire effects of surface fires on 6 Forests in both western and eastern Oregon); insect infestation investigations (reconnaissance surveys of the entire Blue Mountains area and Deschutes NF, and description of beetle control work initiated in fall of 1910); western red cedar study; experimental sowing and planting (studies begun on the Wallowa and Wenatchee NFs); herbarium, library, computing clerk, and lectures at forestry schools; tax study; clover fire line experiment; annual silvical reports (prepared and submitted by each national forest in the District); special reports; and standardization of tree measurements.

Munger, T. T. 1912. Annual silvical report; District VI. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 19 p.

Abstract: This report describes the following studies or projects that were initiated or continued during 1911-1912: yellow pine study (continuation); Douglas fir study (continuation); red cedar study (continuation); sand dune control (continuation); fire damage study (continuation); insect control operations (continuation of bark beetle control on 84,000 acres on the east side of the Whitman NF); avalanche study (continuation); silvical examination of timber on the Malheur NF (a survey of the general health and condition of mature yellow pine forest on a large portion of the Malheur NF); brush disposal experiment (continuation); effect of sheep grazing on yellow pine reproduction; study of cut-over areas (continuation); permanent sample plots (continuation, with additional plots established on the Siuslaw and Crater NFs); tax study in Washington (continuation); herbarium, library, computing, annual silvical reports (continuation); experimental sowings and plantings (continuation); and a description of upcoming work, including a streamflow study planned for the Whitman NF near the Blue Mountain Ranger Station at the headwaters of the John Day River.

Munger, T. T. 1912. The future yield of yellow pine stands in Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 33 p.

Abstract: A silvical study of western yellow pine (ponderosa pine) was made in the summers of 1910 and 1911 in eastern Oregon. The principal objectives of the study were to determine 1) the future yield of yellow pine stands that were harvested using the selection system; 2) the factors which have the most influence on yellow pine volume yield; and 3) the comparative yield associated with various cutting cycle lengths. The study was extensive and collected a large amount of data, consisting of stump analysis for 5,700 trees and the measurement of many sample plots aggregating 1,019 acres in typical yellow pine stands of central and eastern Oregon. This report focuses on the future yields of yellow pine stands as based on an analysis of the collected data. It includes the following sections: method of preparing the tables; analysis of tables; description of each tract; and conclusions. Most of the report consists of tables that were prepared for each of the primary sample areas. Sample areas (“tracts”) located in the Blue Mountains included Crawford Creek near Austin (Malheur NF), Austin & Whitney (Malheur NF, Wallowa-Whitman NF?), Lookingglass Creek (Umatilla NF), and Winlock’s Mill (near Umatilla NF, Heppner RD). The yellow pine study described in this report formed the basis for several other publications, such as George Bright’s growth study (see Bright 1912) and Munger’s definitive, landmark bulletin called “Western Yellow Pine in Oregon” (1917). Both of those publications are also contained in the history archives.

Reports:

Deschutes 2

Munger 1914a

Munger, Thornton T. 1913. Memorandum concerning the suitability of holding as national forest the lodgepole-covered pumice lands of Crook and Klamath Counties, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 13 p.

Abstract: This memorandum summarizes the results of an examination of lodgepole pine forests established on pumice lands in southern Crook and northern Klamath counties, of which there was uncertainty about their suitability for inclusion in the Paulina National Forest. This report includes the following sections: introduction; forestal value of the lodgepole flats; and recommendations. Munger recommended that the lands in question be retained in the national forest, even though their removal would undoubtedly quiet the local clamor for their elimination. This document also includes a 2-page memorandum from Assistant District (Regional) Forester Ames that supports Munger’s recommendation to retain the lands as national forest. [Note that some of the information and recommendations in this report seem to be derived from Munger’s 1908 report entitled “Report on a study of the encroachment of lodgepole pine on western yellow pine on the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon,” a copy of which is contained in the history archives. The same area and the same issue described in this accession is also discussed in an article called “Replacement of yellow pine by lodgepole pine on the pumice soils of central Oregon” (Munger, 1914).]

Munger, T.T. 1914. Damage by light surface fires in western yellow-pine forests; Wallowa and Whitman National Forests. Proceedings of the Society of American Foresters. 9: 235-238.

Abstract: This article describes preliminary results from a field study in eastern Oregon of typical yellow-pine stands in which surface fires had occurred, probably for centuries, at irregular but rather frequent intervals. The objectives of the study were to find out how many trees are killed and fire scarred by an average light surface fire in eastern Oregon, and to find out how many yellow-pine butt logs are actually damaged by these light fires. Table 1 provides a percentage tally of those trees that were burned to death, felled by fire, scarred by fire, and apparently OK by size class and tree species. Table 2 summarizes fire-caused damage to butt logs as a result of repeated fires.

Munger, Thornton T. 1917. Western yellow pine in Oregon. Bulletin No. 418. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 48 p.

Abstract: This is the definitive early work on ponderosa pine in Oregon, including a map showing the distribution of Oregon's pine forests around 1915. Included is the following information about ponderosa pine forests in Oregon: distribution, silvical requirements, reproduction, fire effects, insect and pathogen influences, stand characteristics, timber volumes, tree growth, wood characteristics, utilization, logging and milling, planting, stock grazing, and forest management practices. Appendices provide 2 regional volume tables, including one for the Blue Mountains, as well as marking guides and slash disposal specifications. Several excellent black-and-white photographs are also included. Note that several of the office reports that formed the basis for this bulletin are also included in the history archives, such as “A study of the growth of yellow pine in Oregon” by G. A. Bright (1912). This excellent work includes interesting insights about early forest conditions in eastern Oregon and the Blue Mountains, as illustrated here: “In most of the pure yellow-pine forests of the State the trees are spaced rather widely, the ground is fairly free from underbrush and debris, and travel through them on foot or horseback is interrupted only by occasional patches of saplings and fallen trees. The forests are usually not solid and continuous for great distances, except along the eastern base of the Cascades, but are broken by treeless “scab-rock ridges,” or natural meadows;” “In the Blue Mountains the herbage is rather more luxuriant and varied than on the eastern slopes of the Cascades and their outstanding ranges. In the early summer the open yellow-pine forests are as green with fresh herbage as a lawn, except here and there where the green is tinged with patches of yellow or purple flowers. Some of this luxuriant herbage is pine grass (Calamagrostis sp.), a plant which is not eaten by stock except very early in the season; but much of the ground cover makes excellent range for cattle and sheep;” “In the Blue Mountains western larch (Larix occidentalis) is its [western yellow pine] usual companion and grows with it in an intimate and harmonious mixture. In the moister situations white fir (Abies concolor) is a common associate, as is also Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia) in most parts of the State. In the Blue Mountains it is common for the south slopes to be covered with a fine stand of yellow pine, while the north slopes are covered almost entirely with larch, white fir, and Douglas fir;” “In the Blue Mountains the reproduction of yellow pine is very abundant, both in the virgin forest and after cuttings. Perhaps it is more prolific here than anywhere else. In this region where an area has not been burned over by a surface fire for a number of years, there is quite commonly a veritable thicket of little trees from a few inches to several feet high. Actual counts have shown that there are sometimes 14,000 seedlings on a single acre, the ages ranging from 13 to 21 years;” “In pure, fully stocked stands in the Blue Mountains region there are commonly from 20 to 30 yellow pines per acre over 12 inches in diameter, of which but few are over 30 inches. Over large areas the average number per acre is ordinarily less than 20. In mixed stands the number of yellow pines of merchantable size is naturally less, though the total number of trees of all species is as a rule larger, the moist soil on which the mixed forest grows being able to carry a denser stand;” “Yellow pine grows commonly in many-aged stands; i.e., trees of all ages from seedlings to 500-year-old veterans, with every age gradation between, are found in intimate mixture. Usually two or three or more trees of a certain age are found in a small group by themselves, the reason being that a group of many young trees usually starts in the gap which a large one makes when it dies;” “Light, slowly spreading fires that form a blaze not more than 2 or 3 feet high and that burn chiefly the dry grass, needles, and underbrush start freely in yellow-pine forests, because for several months each summer the surface litter is dry enough to burn readily. Practically every acre of virgin yellow-pine timberland in central and eastern Oregon has been run over by fire during the lifetime of the present forest, and much of it has been repeatedly scourged. It is sometimes supposed that these light surface fires, which have in the past run through the yellow-pine forests periodically, do no damage to the timber, but that they “protect” it from possible severe conflagrations by burning up the surface debris before it accumulates. This is a mistake. These repeated fires, no matter how light, do in the aggregate an enormous amount of damage to yellow-pine forests, not alone to the young trees, but to the present mature merchantable timber;” “A careful cruise of every tree on 154½ sample acres in typical yellow-pine stands in several localities in the Blue Mountains showed that 42 out of every 100 trees were fire-scarred;” “Ordinarily, a fire in yellow-pine woods is comparatively easy to check. Its advance under usual conditions may be stopped by patrolmen on a fire line a foot or so wide, either with or without backfiring. The open character of the woods makes the construction of fire lines relatively easy, and in many places horses may be used to plow them.”

Munger, T.T.; Westveld, R.H. 1931. Slash disposal in the western yellow pine forests of Oregon and Washington. Technical Bulletin No. 259. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 58 p.

Abstract: This bulletin describes the alternatives for slash disposal after logging in ponderosa pine forests of the Pacific Northwest. Considerations affecting slash disposal are discussed, including quantity and distribution of slash, its decay rate, slash effects on regeneration, fire hazard concerns, and the effects of slash on soil, insects and pathogens, and range management. The economics of slash treatment are discussed. Common treatment methods are described, including broadcast burning, spot burning, piling and burning, swamper burning, no burning, strip burning, and partial burning with fire protection. An example of a slash disposal plan is provided. Appendix material describes different techniques of slash piling.

Reports:

Munger et al 1936a

Munger et al 1936b

Munger, T.T.; Brandstrom, A.J.F.; Kolbe, E.L. 1936. Basic considerations in the management of ponderosa pine forests by the maturity selection system. Unnumbered Report. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest Experiment Station. 4 p.

Abstract: This short mimeographed report or long memorandum summarizes the conclusions and recommendations of studies made by the Pacific Northwest Forest Experiment Station relating to the maturity selection system. The maturity selection system was a silvicultural or management system involving rather light and frequent cutting predicated on the financial and biological maturity of the trees. To clarify the concepts of this new system of management for ponderosa pine forests, this paper provides 18 basic considerations for how the maturity selection was intended to be used. [See Munger 1941 for another article concerning the maturity selection system and its use in ponderosa pine forests. Note that this report was used as the basis for the Munger et al. 1936 journal article in West Coast Lumberman (2 pages).]

O’Brien, Howard K. 1909. Umatilla National Forest inspection report. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. Variable p.

Abstract: After establishment of the forest reserves and national forests early in the twentieth century, inspections were supposed to be made at regular intervals. Initially, inspections were conducted by Forest Inspectors stationed at the District (Regional) Offices. Later, that responsibility was transferred to the Forest Supervisors, who were responsible for inspecting their own Forest (see G. H. Cecil, 1910, “Memorandum regarding Supervisor’s inspections” for more information). This national forest inspection report includes the following sections: grazing (22 p.); boundaries (6 p.); protection and improvements (29 p.); and organization (18 p.).

Oregonian. 1906. Forest reserve created at last; President sets aside Blue Mountains for timber purposes. Oregonian. March 18; Portland, OR.

Abstract: In 1901 residents of Baker County sent a petition to their congressional representative requesting that the mountains around Baker City and Sumpter be withdrawn from the public domain in order to protect the area's water supply. The following year residents of Malheur and Harney counties submitted petitions asking that the Strawberry Mountains and the headwaters of the Malheur, Silvies, and South Fork of the John Day rivers be withdrawn to protect water, timber, and grazing resources. The Secretary of the Interior responded in July 1902 by authorizing the temporary withdrawal of more than 3 million acres of land in the forested areas of northeastern Oregon.

Federal surveyor Harold Langille later noted that the 1902 withdrawal was “doubtless the most controversial of all the withdrawals….It bore upon the economic life and welfare of almost the entire northeastern quarter of Oregon. Agriculture, stock-raising, mining, lumbering and all of their adjunctive interests were actually or potentially concerned.” Langille recalled a meeting in Canyon City with area stockmen, many of whom were initially against the proposed reserve. He explained to them that the reserve was not intended to keep them off the land but rather to prevent destructive exploitation of forest resources and to reduce conflict over grazing and logging activities. He noted that “many of the strongest opponents of the proposed reserve afterward came to me and said that if the facts were as I had stated them they would welcome the reserve.”

More problematic than local opposition were the land speculators who claimed land in the proposed reserve with the intention of trading it for more valuable land elsewhere in the state. This practice was at the heart of a major land fraud scandal that resulted in the indictment of dozens of Oregonians, including most of Oregon’s congressional delegation.

This land fraud scandal delayed the establishment of the Blue Mountain Forest Reserve, but in March 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt finally authorized the permanent withdrawal of 2,627,270 acres of land in the Blue Mountains. The reserve was intended to conserve the area’s water supply for farmers, as well as to reduce conflict between stockmen and to protect timberlands and summer rangelands from “destruction and wasteful use,” as explained in this Oregonian article.

In 1908, the Blue Mountain Forest Reserve was broken up into several different administrative units, which later evolved into the Wallowa-Whitman, Malheur, Ochoco, and Umatilla national forests.

Parsons, Glenn B. 1948. Timber disposal plan, Heppner Working Circle. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Pendleton, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest. 34 p.

Abstract: This report includes the following sections: introduction; management objectives; analysis of national forest resources; calculation of allowable annual cut; and sale program. Volume summary tables are provided for the following blocks: Ditch Creek, Fossil, Lonerock, Potamus, Rock Creek, Service Creek, Spray, Wall Creek, Willow Creek, and Winlock.

Pearson, G. A. 1907. Grazing lands by life zones. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Wallowa National Forest]. 15 p.

Abstract: This report describes grazing resources and conditions for four life zones as classified by Merriam: the transition zone, characterized by ponderosa pine; the Canadian zone, characterized by lodgepole pine; the Hudsonian zone, characterized by subalpine fir; and the Arctic zone, characterized by an absence of forest growth. Forest and grassland conditions are described for each zone, including a discussion of the primary plants found in the zone and their suitability as livestock forage. This report provides good ecological insights into vegetational zonation as found on the Wallowa NF.

Pernot, J. F. 1913. The insect situation in 1913 on the Whitman National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 13 p.

Abstract: During July and August of 1913, a study was made of the insect infestations on the Whitman National Forest. The main objective of the investigation was to examine the progress and status of an on-going mountain pine beetle outbreak, and to determine if further insect control operations were warranted. This report includes the following sections: introduction; the infestation of the mountain pine beetle (distribution, occurrence, condition of the broods), the western pine beetle (Dendroctonus brevicomis); the Douglas fir beetle (Dendroctonus pseudotsugae); and the western larch borer (Tetropium velutinum). At the time this report was written, mountain pine beetle was found wherever lodgepole pine occurred. The distribution of the beetle followed so closely the range of lodgepole pine that it could be considered a lodgepole pine beetle, at least in the Blue Mountains. In 1913, the infestation on the Whitman NF was centered on the Anthony Lakes area, the entire headwaters area for the North Powder River, the upper watersheds of the Grande Ronde River, and the upper watersheds of the North Fork of the John Day River, especially in Crawfish Creek, on upper Trail Creek, and on Trout Creek and in the vicinity of Trout Meadows. The Crane Creek and Crane Flats areas, which are southern tributaries of the North Fork of the John Day River, were also heavily infested. On a sample acre near Anthony Lakes, the stand consisted of lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, and subalpine fir, with lodgepole pine comprising 83% of the stand. Of the 194 lodgepole pines per acre in the 6 to 13 inch diameter class, 47% had been killed in the last 3 years, 35% were infested in August of 1913 with the 1912-1913 brood of beetles, and 18% were healthy and not attacked. The occurrence of mountain pine beetle in whitebark pine was irregular and very scattered. Trees along the summit of the North Fork of the John Day – Powder River divide were infested, as were some on the summit of Bald Mountain. In 1913, there was little or no mountain pine beetle infestation in yellow (ponderosa) pine, with limited tree killing noticed in that species in the North Fork of the John Day River drainage and in the Crane Creek area. Western pine beetle was noted throughout the yellow pine zone on the Forest, causing regular and steady losses each year. It was estimated that at least one yellow pine was killed by western pine beetle in mature or decadent stands each year. Many of the attacked trees had been weakened by another factor first, such as lightning, fire, drought, or decay. Douglas-fir beetle was active in mixed-conifer stands, especially in the area near White Pine and Austin, Oregon. The western larch borer was considered to be partly responsible for the death of a considerable percentage of the mature western larch in the Blue and Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon. It was noted that dwarf-mistletoe infections were particularly severe in mature larches, and that the borer was found most abundantly in the mistletoe-weakened trees. A map also accompanied this report (also authored by Pernot in 1913); see the historical documents database for further information.

Porter, Oliver M. 1915. The fire problem on the Malheur National Forest. Annual Technical Report. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 55 p.

Abstract: The Malheur NF, located in the heart of the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon, comprised a gross area of 1,262,840 acres when this report was written. It contained an open but valuable timber stand that was estimated at six and one-half billion board feet of western yellow pine, Douglas-fir, western larch, and several minor species. The timber was conservatively estimated to be worth thirteen million dollars. Due to its openness, nearly every acre of the Forest provided forage for domestic livestock – 24,300 cattle and horses, and 135,500 sheep, grazed on it each year. Settlers and ranchers of the John Day and Harney valleys depended on the timber and forage resources of the Forest for their livelihoods. As a result of its value for timber production and livestock grazing, fire protection was important on the Malheur NF. This report describes the methods and policies pertaining to fire protection on the Forest. It includes the following sections: introduction; hazard; fire season; character of fires (types, causes, speed of burning); cooperation (advantages, results, suggested system of cooperation); methods of prevention (enforcement of fire laws, signs); method of detection (present system, suggested system); methods of suppression (tools, trenching and fire lines, back firing); and conclusion. In the five years previous to the preparation of this report, an average of 16.4 fires had occurred per year on the Forest. The author noted that the incidence of fires had been slowly increasing since establishment of the national forests, but was unsure of the reasons for the increase. There were three main types of fire on the Malheur: timber fires, brush fires, and sagebrush fires. Primary causes of fires for the previous five-year period included: lightning (33%), brush burning (1%), campers (28%), saw mills (1%), miscellaneous (10%), and unknown (27%). The unknown category included carelessness in the use of matches and tobacco, and any malicious fires. A two-page table summarizes information from all of the annual fires reports for the period of 1911 to 1915, inclusive. In the section discussing prevention, the author poses several ideas for handbills and other materials that could be provided to school children so that they could bring them home to their parents. At the time this report was written, the Forest had one operating fire lookout on Strawberry Mountain. The author was not in favor of the lookout system because so few existed on the Forest; he believed that systematic patrols during the fire season was a more effective detection method.

Sampson, Arthur W. 1919. Effect of grazing upon aspen reproduction. Bulletin No. 741. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 29 p.

Abstract: This bulletin reports the results of a study in commercial aspen forests of central Utah (Manti NF). Information was collected over a five-year period, 1912-1916. The effect of sheep and cattle grazing on aspen regeneration was examined in recent clearcuts. Varying grazing intensities were used, so that the differences between light and heavy grazing would be apparent. On sheep range, it was necessary to exclude grazing for 3 years after harvest to obtain satisfactory reproduction. No modification of cattle grazing was necessary in aspen clearcuts, as long as the range was not overstocked.

Sargent, Charles S. 1884. Report on the forests of North America (exclusive of Mexico). Unnumbered Report for the Tenth Census of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Interior, Census Office. Variable p.

Abstract: This report had 3 parts, as follows: part 1, the forest trees of North America, exclusive of Mexico; part 2, the woods of the United States; and part 3, the forests of the United States in their economic aspects. Not all of this report was copied due to its length. The following sections were copied: description of the forests of North America (pages 3-16 from part 1), and the description of the “western division” from part 3 (564-580, not counting maps which did not have page numbers). The western division narratives describe forest conditions on a state-by-state basis. For many states, forests are also described by county or for groups of counties. Each state narrative is accompanied by a map showing forest distribution, and a classification of forests based on density. Density mapping was based on volume (cords) per acre. Unfortunately, the maps are very large scale and were in color, so did not photocopy very well.

Schmitz, J. M. 1906. Report on an examination of the proposed addition to Wenaha Forest Reserve, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 9 p.

Abstract: This short report describes conditions in a proposed addition to the Wenaha Forest Reserve in Umatilla County, Oregon. The examined area comprised about 70,000 acres. The report includes the following sections: topography; climate and precipitation; the forest; industries; settlement; roads and trails; lumbering; grazing; fires; sentiment; conclusion; administration; and rangers camps. Schmitz provides some interesting insights, as demonstrated with these quotes: “Very little damage has been done by fire. There are a few small burnt tracts but they are so scattering and of small area that they are hardly worth considering. There is very little cultivated land. The country is too rough for cultivation. A few small patches are being cultivated in the canyons.” “Very little lumbering has been done on the proposed addition. About 500,000 feet B.M. has been cut on the east fork of Meacham Creek. It was only culled over and no harm was done to the forest cover. There will be little or no lumbering for several years. The timber is too scattering to make it profitable. Some cordwood may be cut in the southwestern part.”

Schmitz, J. M. 1962. The early days of the Wenaha Forest Reserve. Timber-Lines. 16( June): 90-94.

Abstract: This account begins with Schmitz arriving in Walla Walla, Washington on August 8, 1905. He was the first Supervisor of the Wenaha National Forest. His first order of business was to straighten out the grazing situation on the Forest, since it was being severely overgrazed. He describes taking compass measurements showing that the Forest map was incorrect, requiring that he correct the location of Table Rock and other important landmarks by as much as 2 miles. Schmitz describes a major meeting of stockmen in Walla Walla during December of 1905, when hundreds of cattle and sheep grazers formed a committee to divide up the grazing ranges into allotments and apportion them between cattle and sheep. He also describes his first instance of timber trespass, when 2 men from Dayton came to the office and admitted they had cut some wood on the national forest. Schmitz made a sale to the men, but was criticized by the Regional Office for not handling it as a trespass (law enforcement action). He also describes a 1000-acre wildfire in 1910 that burned in the Eden country. It was finally controlled when backed into a bluff near the Grande Ronde River. This article was based on notes taken by Mr. Schmitz's daughter during reminiscences by her father around 1943

Smith, Kan; Weitknecht, Robert H. 1915. Windfall damage on cut-over areas, Whitman National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 85 p.

Abstract: This comprehensive report describes a study to determine the impacts of windfall associated with cut-over areas on the Whitman National Forest. As of 1915, about 6,000 acres of yellow pine forest had been cut over using the selection silvicultural system; all of the sales had been sold since 1910. The marking on selection sales emphasized leaving about 20% of the thriftiest, soundest, and youngest treees distributed evenly across the sale area. On May 26, 1913, a windstorm blew down 792 yellow pines on 880 acres of cut-overs on the W. H. Eccles sale area. Then, on September 18, 1914, another severe storm blew over 808 yellow pines on the 1,624 acres that had been cut-over up to that time. This meant that in aggregate, almost 18% of the reserve stand had been blown over in just two years. Following those windthrow episodes, this study was initiated in an attempt to correlate windfall with site factors (topography, aspect, etc.) or tree characteristics (tree height, crown size, crown density, etc.). The report includes the following sections: introduction; objectives of the investigation; description of study areas (Eccles area, PW-1 plot, Baker white pine area); methods of gathering data; tabulations and numerical results; height curves; influence of crown class on windfall; influence of trunk character on windfall risk; relation of windfalls to soil, rock and root systems; effects of distribution on windfalls; influence of topography on windthrow; meteorology; general topography; volumes of windthrown timber; windfall in areas other than those studied; other forests; reproduction; maps; conclusions; recommendations; and photographs. The report ends with 9 pages of photographs (10 photographs). An extremely detailed, large-format map (1-inch equals 50 feet) of the PW-1 plot on the W. H. Eccles sale area is also included. The map shows the location of every stump on the surveyed area, along with all live or windthrown trees. For the windthrown trees, their direction of fall is shown with an arrow. A 4-page memorandum from the District (Regional) Forester to the Forest Supervisors in District 6 is also included. The memo, signed by Assistant District Forester Ames, summarizes important results of this study and states that marking guides will not be changed as a result of this study because the “information was collected in a single locality, and in other timber sales in yellow pine throughout the District the loss by windfall has not been excessive.” According to the Ames memo, a 16-inch to the mile topographic map of the study areas was also prepared, but a copy of that map was not found at the National Archives. A 2-page memo from a Forest Inspector (name unknown) is also included (dated July 31, 1917); it describes the inspector’s visit to the Whitman NF in June of 1917, along with Assistant District Forester Ames, and their discussions with the local force regarding their use of the windfall report and its effect on their marking. Ames and the inspector felt that concern for windfall was being over-emphasized on the Forest, and that windfall risk not be given so much weight during timber sale marking.

Smith, R. E. 1907. Mistletoe (Razoumofskya campglopoda) in the Blue Mountains (E) National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2 p.

Abstract: This very short report was actually an excerpt from a letter dated November 25, 1907 from R. E. Smith to Henry Ireland, Forest Supervisor of the Blue Mountains (E) National Forest. The report is shown under three topic headings: “Silvics,” “Western Yellow Pine” and “Dangers and Diseases.” It describes a mistletoe that grows on the branches of yellow pine and often on the bole of pine seedlings and saplings and seems to be most common in about Range 33 East (no townships given). It was also noticed in Ranges 27 and 28 East. Wherever it grows on trees, the infected part becomes enlarged and in the case of branches on large trees, the tendency is to form a cluster of small branches, gnarled and drooping (evidently a reference to mistletoe brooms). Large, badly-infected trees seem to become stunted and ripen (mature) at from 12 to 24 inches in diameter (breast high) and finally die. The author could find no other cause for their death, yet he was unable to find a sapling that had been killed by the mistletoe. A photo is mentioned, showing a specimen, that was taken on the Susanville Ranger Station. The mistletoe seeds are dispersed around the last part of September, when they are forcibly ejected from the seed pod. Seeds are coated with a semi-fluid substance that causes them to stick to whatever they touch. Smith concludes by stating that there is magnificent pine reproduction here and it is badly infected with the mistletoe, and that quite a percent of large timber is badly infected if not altogether killed by it.

Smith, R. E. 1910. Final report of insect control, for fall of 1910, ending November 19, 1910. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 14 p.

Abstract: This item actually consists of three related documents: a “report of insect control for week ending October 29, 1910” (one page), a “report of insect control, for week ending November 5, 1910” (3 pages), and a document with the same title as was used for this entry (10 pages). The main document (the final report) is labeled as being from Camp Fidelity, which was the main field camp used during the control project. The camp was named after Fidelity Gulch, a tributary of Wind Creek which rises near the summit of the Elkhorn Mountains at about 7,000 feet. The control project occurred in the Wind Creek drainage. The report mentions that the weather cleared after the previous weekly report (November 5th), and the work force was quickly increased to four crews in order to burn as many of the cut trees as was possible before being snowed out completely. Piles with only logs burned fairly well, but piles with slash and logs mixed and those comprised mostly of slash were very difficult to burn, especially after they received a four-inch snowfall and some rain. However, since burning conditions were problematic in spring, and since their field work was quite heavy then, they decided to continue the fall burning even though it became expensive due to the adverse burning conditions. He mentions that a large camp can be advantageous, but that locating a camp further than two miles from an infestation should be avoided because walking a large crew any great distance becomes expensive. The plan that was used for this control project was for the officer in charge to cruise and mark the timber to be cut, and then direct or take the crews to the marked timber; the crews, which consisted of three men, would then cut, pile and burn the marked infested timber. Usually the foreman and one other man fells a tree, at which time the third man begins barking the area of the tree below the point at which they will be cut. This third man, known as the trimmer, also trims up the tops of fallen trees. After falling a group of trees, the foreman measures the infested length of each tree and records that and other data in a book – species, DBH, infested length, total length (height), and other notes. The foreman also recorded the DBH and infested length figures on the stump (this was done at the request of agents of the Bureau of Entomology, who would inspect the area later). While the foreman completed the record keeping and measurements, the other two crew members were bucking up the trees into logs and then igniting the slash and logs. At the close of each day, the foreman transferred data to the officer in charge, data which was eventually summarized to form the basis of weekly reports for the project. The Bureau’s agent, Mr. Edmonston, remained at the camp throughout the project and assisted in marking timber and training new men as they reported for work. The Bureau’s expert, Mr. H. E. Burke, visited Camp Fidelity during the last week of its operation and expressed his approval of the work and plans. This project found the mountain pine beetle to be quite healthy and vigorous – egg galleries were long (8 to 17 inches) and the larvae large and well developed. Very little evidence of disease or natural predators was noted. In the lodgepole pines, several species of Tomicus were found, often working the tops of the trees above the mountain pine beetles. In many cases, it was difficult to pick out the infested by observing pitch tubes, since tubes were not always present in aggressively-attacked trees and because of dryer than normal conditions in 1910. Bluing was noticed immediately after the trees were attacked, but only in association with mountain pine beetle; bluing did not accompany western pine beetle attacks. Bluing seemed to dry out the timber very quickly, which made the trees easier to burn. The Wind Creek watershed contains about 2,300 acres, of which 1,300 acres lies on one side of the creek and 1,000 acres on the other. In the side with 1,300 acres, infestation was found on about 300 acres, all of which was treated. In conjunction with 40 acres treated on the other side of the drainage, it was believed by Agent Edmonston that the entire 1,300 acre portion should be considered free from infestation. Since the city of Sumpter obtains its water supply from that drainage, the grounds were thoroughly cleaned up and all refuse either burned or buried after breaking camp. The main report ends with a 1-page table summarizing accomplishments for the fall of 1910 (statistics on number of trees cut by species; diameters, heights, and infested length summaries by species; costs; etc.).

Smith, R. E. Kan. 1912. Report of the present condition of insect infestation on the Whitman National Forest, Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 13 p.

Abstract: The objective of this report was to provide a general idea of the effect of the 1911 insect control work completed on the Whitman National Forest, the present status of the infestation, and the increase or decrease of their natural enemies. Generally speaking, the infestation in yellow (ponderosa) pine on the treated areas was as extensive as it was at the beginning of the control operations. Since the treated areas were often bordered by untreated areas that could have contained insect broods, it was difficult to say whether the treatments were uneffective, or if the treated areas were quickly re-infested by insects from the untreated stands. It was commonly noted that new infestations came from trees located within 150 to 200 yards; often, they originated from adjoining trees which from outward signs had been infested in 1911. This indicates that at least some of the control work was carelessly done, since infested trees were missed by the control crews. While the yellow pines of all ages were “suffering” heavily, the lodgepole pine was much more numerously attacked – practically all of the lodgepole pine above six inches DBH was infested or killed. Since the lodgepole pine had been basically destroyed by the beetles, the author speculated that had control work been effective and reasonably complete, it would have been possible to reduce insect populations to the point where natural enemies could have kept them in check. The author then notes that beetle infestations in yellow pine forests of the Grande Ronde drainage were fully as bad, in 1912, as outbreaks had been in the Powder Valley in 1909 and 1910. Smith also describes a healthy, young, vigorous, pine stand, about 20-30 years old, 10-20 feet tall, and averaging 20,000-30,000 stems per acre, where fully 25% of the trees were dead or dying from insect infestation, almost all of which he attributes to mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus monticolae). Smith presents cruise data for two sections in the Deer Creek watershed, where 32.5% of the trees were infested in 1912, and 27.5% of the trees had been cut in the 1911 control project. Smith provides the following observations regarding previous insect depradations: extensive infestations similar in extent and intensity to the present one have occurred in the lodgepole pine type; many extensive areas of long-dead lodgepole pine were actually due to pine beetle outbreaks, rather than fire as had been suspected; when beetle-killed lodgepole burns, the result can be a severe conflagration, as was demonstrated in the Ladd Creek fire of 1910 – fire severity in those instances was greater than anything ever observed in living forests lacking a high quantity of dead timber; historical infestations have been confined to the lodgepole pine type, seldom affecting yellow pine except when it occurs in mixed stands; evidence of very heavy mountain pine beetle attacks in pure yellow pine forests were lacking in Smith’s examinations; outbreaks arose quickly, subsided rather quickly, and then remained at low levels until another extensive infestation took place. Smith was unsure about what caused their collapse, although he noted that climatic conditions did not seem to have an effect. He also speculates that the small size of lodgepole pine in the Blue Mountains, as compared to Montana and the Rocky Mountains, may be due to the fact that bark beetles tend to attack it as soon as the trees reach six inches in diameter. The author describes conditions in dead lodgepole pine stands as follows: “to ride through the lodgepole forests in the vicinity of Porcupine Ranger Station, T. 5 S., R. 37 E., W. M., that were infested in 1909-10 gives one the impression of an eastern hardwood forest in the dead of winter. The lodgepole all stands dead and bare, with here and there an occasional green tree of other species, such as larch, fir, etc. The earliest-attacked lodgepole is beginning to fall and it is only a matter of a short time when the great mass of it will fall.” He notes that up to 50% of current year (1912) beetle broods were destroyed by natural enemies, presumably parasites and predators. Predatory and beneficial beetles and other insects were much more numerous than was observed in 1910. He had thought that ants might prey upon the adult beetles, but observations did not confirm that and the beetles’ hard shell coverings were suspected of protecting them from ant bites. He noted that western pine beetle levels were normal, as were those of Dendroctonus valens, which attacked the base of infested trees and those that had been windthrown. Among others in a list of deductions, Smith concluded that the present infestation had reached its zenith and was beginning to decline, and that the natural enemies of mountain pine beetle had increased significantly. A map may have accompanied this report (entitled “Insect control project, northeastern Oregon, 1911” by unknown author); see the historical documents database for further information.

Sparhawk, W.N. 1918. Effect of grazing upon western yellow pine reproduction in central Idaho. Bulletin No. 738. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 31 p.

Abstract: This bulletin describes the results of a study completed in 3 sheep grazing allotments on the Deadwood, Middle Fork Payette, and South Fork Payette rivers. Information was collected from the Payette NF allotments between 1912 and 1914. Tree injuries and damages are described for differing height classes, locations on the tree (bole, branches, etc.), and by cause (trampling, browsing, etc.). The extent and severity of sheep damage is compared to injuries from other causes. Recommendations about management of grazing to minimize tree damage are provided.

Spence, L. E.; White, W. T. 1935. Erosion range survey report, Squaw Creek watershed, Umatilla Indian Reservation, Umatilla County, Oregon. Unnumbered Report. Pullman, WA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 18 p.

Abstract: This report describes results from an erosion control survey conducted by the Soil Conservation Service during a 3-month period in fall of 1935. The survey area included the Squaw Creek drainage in the Umatilla River watershed, Umatilla Indian Reservation, Umatilla County, Oregon. Maps and vegetation type quadrat data are included as exhibits, and a tentative grazing management plan is attached as an appendix. This report includes the following sections: brief of findings and recommendations; Gibbon Project tabulated acreage by type and slope class; erosion range survey report for Gibbon Project; Gibbon Project types; and grazing and soil conservation plan for soil conservation in the Indian reservation portion of the Squaw Creek, Oregon, watershed.

Starker, T. J. 1915. Recommendations for cutting inferior species on the Whitman National Forest, Oregon. Annual silvical report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Sumpter, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 10 p.

Abstract: As the national forests in the Blue Mountains began to be managed, there quickly arose a concern about how to deal with the “inferior” species, i.e., anything that wasn’t yellow (ponderosa) pine. This document is the annual silvical report for the Whitman NF. It describes some options for dealing with inferior species on that Forest. Discussion and recommendations are provided for the two main situations in which inferior species were found: as a North Slope type comprised mostly of western larch and firs, and in the yellow pine areas where they occurred singly or in scattered groups. On north-slope sites, the timber sales of that era resulted in all of the yellow pine being removed, along with most of the Douglas-fir and larch. That approach resulted in lodgepole pine and grand/white fir being left. The report mentions a visit by Raphael Zon, an early ecologist with the Forest Service. Mr. Zon recommended that the Forest not touch the north slopes since they were a losing proposition commercially (the loggers claimed that they lost $3 to $4 for every thousand feet of inferior species), the post-logging stand had doubtful character and value (silviculturally), and because the north slopes had a tremendous influence on stream flow. On the areas where inferior species are intermixed with yellow pine, the author felt that they should be cut very heavily. By removing the inferior species, it would be possible for those areas to regenerate to the commercially valuable yellow pine. It was also felt that larch and fir were “out of their place” on the dryer sites supporting a high percentage of yellow pine, so their removal was desirable from a silvicultural standpoint as well. It was estimated, using experience from the W. H. Eccles and Baker White Pine Lumber Company timber sale areas, that inferior species comprised 15% of the yellow pine areas. Starker felt that no less than one third of the inferior species should be removed in a timber sale, not just for the reasons mentioned above but because they were more prone to windthrow than yellow pine. Starker also recommended that creek bottom sites be deferred from logging until the inferior species problem was solved, since those areas also contained a very high proportion of inferior species. Starker provides a table showing the percentage of volume removed on seven Whitman sales ranging from 1910 to 1913; the percentage of inferior species for those sales ranged from a low of 11.4% to a high of 31.9%, showing that inferior species were in fact being removed. The report states that the yellow pine in the central Blue Mountains was considered the best that was grown anywhere, and was advertised in the lumber trade as “Sumpter Valley Soft White Pine.” It was in high demand for making patterns for iron work and would sometimes sell for $50 per thousand when purchased for that purpose. The author states that larch had very low value due to several defects and widespread infections of dwarf mistletoe. White fir was also classed as worthless due to frequent stem rot caused by Indian paint fungus. In summary, Starker recommended that the north-slope types be left alone for the time being, and that inferior species should supply at least 10% of the volume on all yellow pine sales. This report includes some interesting insights, as illustrated with this quote: “Under the present system of conducting our timber sales we are cutting all the yellow pine and most of the Douglas fir and larch on the north slopes. This leaves a majority of lodgepole pine and white fir, which soon becomes so dense that no other species can get a foothold and the resulting stand will be a very inferior jungle.”

Starker, T. J. 1916. Defectiveness of western yellow pine, Whitman National Forest, Oregon. Annual silvical report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Sumpter, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 7 p.

Abstract: The reason for this study was to determine the accuracy of past timber defect deductions made during reconnaissance (inventory) examinations, and to form a basis for future defect calculations in western yellow pine forests in the Blue Mountains. Three different areas were used in this study: two on the W. H. Eccles sale and one on the areas sold to the Hilgard Lumber Company. On a portion of the first tract, the soil was shallow with much loose rock and the author believed that the poor site conditions had a direct influence on the soundness of the timber growing there. That same situation was noticed on several parts of the Baker White Pine Lumber Company timber sale area, where timber would be of good size and possessed fairly clear boles, but would be very rotten. Very little breakage was noticed on the first tract, which was not unexpected since the timber was short, of small size, and the stand was open. Defect factors recorded on the first tract included heart rot, stump rot, fire scar, crook, split and broken ends, pitch, and check and shake. The percentages of total defect by species for the first tract were 14.7% for yellow pine, 10.2% for western larch, 5.7% for Douglas-fir, and 2% for lodgepole pine. The second tract included a fairly heavy stand from which 22.35 thousand board feet per acre were harvested; total defect for all species combined averaged only 4.7%. The third tract had good-quality yellow pine and a medium to heavy stand of inferior species. The percentages of total defect by species for the third tract were 5.4% for yellow pine, 2.7% for western larch, and 3.4% for Douglas-fir. The author concluded that defect estimation was largely a matter of judgment coupled with an ability to observe certain indicators of unsoundness in a tree, such as fungus fruiting bodies, rotten limbs, spike tops, etc. Based on this study, the author believed that seldom will a mature forest of any extent in the Blue Mountains have less than 4% defect for yellow pine, nor more than 15%. One interesting result of this study was the low defect percentages for Douglas-fir and western larch; reconnaissance parties had commonly assumed a defect percentage of up to 12% for those species.

Starker, T. J. 1916. Instructions for marking timber in the western yellow pine region, Pacific Northwest District. Annual technical report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Sumpter, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 11 p.

Abstract: East of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington, the commercial forests consist largely of yellow pine, either in pure stands or in mixed stands with Douglas-fir, white fir, western larch, and lodgepole pine. Since these forests were primarily uneven-aged, they should be managed by the selection system (or a modification of it). [However, Starker states later in this paper that yellow pine often occurs as even-aged groups, although the forest as a whole could be classified as uneven-aged.] From the data available, it was recommended that yellow-pine and mixed forests be managed using a cutting cycle of 60 years and a rotation period of 180 years. This document, which provides general marking rules for use with yellow pine forests, consists of the following sections: general marking rules; forest floor; most desirable species; health; form of reserved trees; practically pure stands of yellow pine; mixed stands with considerable yellow pine; stands with little or no yellow pine; and conclusion. The aim of the instructions was to reserve as a basis for the next crop an evenly distributed stand of thrifty saplings, poles, and young standards, each of which is capable of living and growing until the next cutting. Since the stands had much variability, the first entry was fundamentally an improvement cut, with the objective being to leave the stand in the best possible condition for the next cutting. Starker had four criteria as to whether the forest was left in good condition: 1) will a dense cover of reproduction form quickly; 2) does the resulting forest contain as large a percentage as possible of the desirable species; 3) are the reserve trees in a good healthy condition; and 4) do the reserve trees possess good, straight trunks and thrifty, pointed crowns? Tree species desirability was ranked in this order: western yellow pine, Douglas-fir, western larch, lodgepole pine, and white fir. Starker recommended that small areas (one-half acre in size) be marked as a sample or example plot before selling the entire sale. And finally, the author recognized that timber marking involved a high degree of flexibility: “do not think that the marking must be done according to any iron-clad rules, nor that any set method must be followed. Use judgment, adapt the methods to suit conditions, but do not bankrupt the logger or ruin the forest.” He also noted that “white fir in this region is very poor and should be considered a weed. If merchantable, heavy marking should be the rule, especially on the yellow pine areas. Trees of this species over 16 inches D.B.H. are seldom sound because of the heavy attacks of Indian paint fungus which gain access to the tree through frost cracks and fire scars.” This document also contains two black-and-white photographs, one showing cut-over conditions on the W. H. Eccles timber sale area, and the other a fast-growing ponderosa pine reserve tree that was left during logging. A short, one-page memorandum from the Assistant District (Regional) Forester (F. E. Ames) is also included with this paper.

Steffen, E. H. 1917. Annual technical report: the forage acre. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Wallowa National Forest]. 10 p.

Abstract: This report specifies how forage acreages should be calculated during grazing reconnaissances of the Wallowa National Forest. A forage acre is defined as “an acre having complete ground cover (10/10 density) of palatable vegetation possible of use.” The forage acre was intended to be an arbitrary measure to standardize the results obtained from grazing reconnaissances, thereby allowing the results obtained from different areas to be compared. A “forage acre factor” was calculated by multiplying the proportion of area covered by vegetation (70%), times the density of that vegetation (80%), times the palatability of the vegetation (80%). In the example above, the forage acre factor would be .448 (.7 x .8 x .8), which when multiplied by the acreage of the area being considered (80 acres), would yield a forage acre value (36 forage acres in this example).

Stevenson, G. E. 1936. Report on appraisal of damages; Bowman-Hicks Lumber Company. Unpublished Typescript Memorandum. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 18 p.

Abstract: This accession consists of a report and a large-format color map that was copied in sections (8½” x 11”) due to the difficulty in copying over-size color materials at the National Archives. The Bowman-Hicks Lumber Company was awarded a large timber sale on June 4, 1924 that was located in the Wallowa National Forest in the general vicinity of Powwatka Ridge. The contract was extended on April 11, 1934. Under a Congressional Act of April 17, 1935, the Company made application for cancellation of its timber-sale agreement. This report describes the damages to the government resulting from cancellation of the contract. It includes the following sections: history of the sale; estimate of timber to be cut; summary; timber remaining uncut; contract cutting requirements; description of timber to be cut; accessibility of remaining timber; appraisal; conclusions of analysis; and indicated damages. When developing the sale area, the Company extended its main tap-line railroad north along the main Powwatka Ridge, approximately through the center of the sale area. Short spur lines were run off from the mainline and cutting was confined mostly to the most accessible timber. A large part of the uncut portion of the sale was partially accessed by some of the abandoned railroad grades, which could easily and cheaply be converted into truck roads. There was also an unimproved County road traversing Powwatka Ridge through the sale area and eventually leading directly into the town of Wallowa, where a Bowman-Hicks Lumber Company sawmill and a railroad shipping point were located. It was quite evident that when the remainder of the timber was cut and logged, it would have to be done with trucks and perhaps tractors. The great majority of the uncut timber was located in Township 3 North, Range 43 East. After computing its value and deducting for logging and hauling costs, the total increase in cost was $1,486.08 for 8,256 MBF of uncut ponderosa pine timber. After applying a $1200 credit for 8 miles of abandoned railroad grade that would be suitable for conversion into truck roads, and accounting for the Company’s existing credit balance with the Forest Service, the final damages were assessed at $286.08.

Stevenson, George E. 1937. Sale prospectus and timber appraisal report; Camas Creek Unit. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest. 23 p.

Abstract: This item consists of a timber sale prospectus and a timber appraisal report for the Camas Creek unit, a timber sale containing 221,308,000 board feet of national forest timber located on the Umatilla National Forest. The sale area comprised an area of about 69,645 acres in townships 3, 4, 5, and 6 south, ranges 32, 33, 33½, and 34 east of the Willamette Meridian. It occurred in the watersheds of Camas and Meadow Creeks, with the western boundary of the unit being about 10 miles east of Ukiah, Oregon. Timber on the unit consisted of a mixed stand of ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, western larch, lodgepole pine and other species. All of the advertised volume was ponderosa pine; cutting of the other species was optional with the purchaser. The prospectus was dated August 7, 1937; the contract would require the volume to be removed by November 30, 1955. Slash disposal for the sale was to consist of piling and burning along permanent roads, around camps, and in other areas of high hazard and on fire lines. The appraisal report indicates that the timber sale and prospectus were the result of an application by the Mt. Emily Lumber Company of La Grande, Oregon (dated March 4, 1937) that requested “the remaining National Forest saw timber within the Camas Creek Block of the Umatilla National Forest.” As a result of their request, a meeting was held in Burns, Oregon on June 3rd which was attended by a representative from the Washington Office of the Forest Service (E. E. Carter), the Regional Forester of Region 6 (C. J. Buck), two other representatives from the Regional Office, and several representatives of the Mt. Emily Lumber Company. The meeting resulted in the preparation and advertising of a prospectus for a new timber sale. Calculations in the timber appraisal report show that the sustained yield for the Camas Creek Block was 13,780,000 board feet per year, and that the timber sale represented an “over-cut” of 71,100,000 for a five-year period. The Mt. Emily Lumber Company was formed principally by the Stange and Kinzel families, successful lumber operators from Wisconsin. They made heavy investments in the Grande Ronde Working Circle in 1912 and 1913. In 1925, they constructed a modern, 3-band sawmill and drying facility, along with a complete remanufacturing and fininshing plant, at La Grande, Oregon. The rated capacity of their sawmill and associated operations was 50 million board feet per year. At the time of the appraisal report, the Mt. Emily Lumber Company had been operating in the Working Circle for 8½ years, with about half of the volume coming off their own lands and the remainder from national forest lands located east of this proposed sale. They used horse teams to skid and bunch logs to truck roads except for uphill skids, which were completed using tractors. The truck roads were used to transport logs to the company’s mainline logging railroad, which was then used to transport logs to Union Pacific’s line at Hilgard for eventual delivery to the sawmill in La Grande. This accession also includes a color map showing the Camas Creek area, but it is unknown if it applies to this specific timber sale or to previous operations in the area. [Note that Matz’s timber survey results from 1932 were used to prepare this timber sale offering; see “Descriptive report, Camas Creek timber survey project, Umatilla National Forest” in the history archives for more information. Also, it is interesting that when the sale was finally advertised in the fall of 1937, the highest bidder was not the Mt. Emily Lumber Company but the Milton Box Company of Milton, Oregon, who outbid their competitor by $0.16 per thousand board feet. That situation resulted in a storm of protest and an extremely controversial situation; see USDA Forest Service, “Miscellaneous memoranda regarding a timber sale award appeal, Camas Creek unit” for more information.]

Tucker, G. J. No date. Historical notes on early day cordwood production in the Meacham area. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1 p.

Abstract: This short accession consists of a one-page report summarizing cordwood production in the vicinity of Meacham, Oregon. It begins by stating that average cordwood production was about 15,000 cords per year for the period of 1900 to 1909. The period immediately preceding that one, 1884 to 1899, was estimated to have averaged around 10,000 cords per year. For the following periods, the annual production averaged: 1910-1915, 8,000 cords; 1916-1920, 3,500 cords; and 1921-1924, 2,500 cords. Tucker also mentions that cordwood production was as high as 50,000 cords annually for a few years when electric power was generated in Pendleton using wood-fired boilers. He also recounts how cordwood was shipped from the area and the points to where it was shipped. He mentioned that most wood cutters worked alone at their job and averaged between 200 and 250 cords per year per man.

Tucker, Gerald J. 1940. History of the northern Blue Mountains. Unpublished Report. Pendleton, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Umatilla National Forest. 170 p.

Abstract: Provides a prehistory and history for the northern Blue Mountains, primarily pertaining to the portion located in southeastern Washington (Columbia, Garfield, and Asotin counties, Washington). The following subjects are covered: geology of the northern Blue Mountains, the coming of Lewis and Clark, the Nez Perce and Captain B.L.E. Bonneville, early Indian trails, the Treaty of 1855, early pioneer accounts, early Garfield County history, pioneer history of Columbia Center, pioneer history of the Alpowa region, pioneer history of the Asotin sections, pioneer history of the Anatone section, pioneer history of the Clarkston section, pioneer Eden and Grouse Flat history, the beginning of the livestock industry in the Blue Mountains, history of the livestock industry in the national forest area of the northern Blues, wildlife ups and downs, roads of the northern Blues, timber cuttings in the northern Blues, forest fires of the northern Blues, Forest Service improvements in the northern Blues, and Forest Service personnel of the northern Blues.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1908. General instructions for marking timber on the [blank] national forest; Engelmann spruce region. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 15 p.

Abstract: This document provides general rules, to be varied at the discretion of the forest officers in charge, for marking timber on the [fill in the blank] national forest. The rules were supplementary to the general instructions in “The Use Book.” These rules pertain to the “Engelmann spruce region,” which apparently meant those national forests where the Engelmann spruce forest type was a major component. The instructions begin by stating that in moist situations where Engelmann spruce is well adapted, it should be favored over other species. In dense, pure stands of spruce on cold, moist sites at high elevations, the recommendation was to not cut any heavier than a thinning – removing overripe, suppressed, and defective trees but not to the extent where less than one-half to two-thirds of the stand would remain after harvest. That and other recommendations were based primarily on the shallow-rooted nature of spruce and its high windthrow risk, especially on exposed sites. In mixed stands, the instructions state that subalpine fir should be discriminated against whenever possible, although it too could be thinned if growing in almost-pure stands where spruce could not be favored. Instructions are also provided for selection cutting in pure stands of lodgepole pine; windthrow considerations were also important for that type. When marking uneven-aged lodgepole stands, the primary considerations were the danger from windfall, leaving enough trees to form the basis for a future cut, and the removal of all undesirable individuals. For the more common situation of even-aged stands of lodgepole pine, the instructions recommend clean (clear) cutting in strips, with alternate strips either uncut or lightly thinned to remove diseased and defective trees only. Next, the instructions cover pure yellow (ponderosa) pine stands, followed by a short narrative for mixed stands of various species. The final section (3½ pages) is entitled “General Rules.” It describes general policies such as: “as a general rule, at least one-third of the present merchantable stand should be left on every sale area to form the basis for a second cut.” The balance of that section provides recommendations about how to handle stands with insect or disease problems, form defects, scenic concerns, previous harvest impacts, and other considerations. The instructions end with two admonitions: “when in doubt whether a defective tree contains merchantable material, mark it;” and “when in doubt whether a tree is needed for seed or protection, or is a proper tree to leave for the future crop, leave it.”

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1908. General instructions for marking timber on the [blank] national forest; lodgepole pine region. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 11 p.

Abstract: This document provides general rules, to be varied at the discretion of the forest officers in charge, for marking timber on the [fill in the blank] national forest. The rules were supplementary to the general instructions in “The Use Book.” These rules pertain to the “lodgepole pine region,” which apparently meant those national forests where the lodgepole pine forest cover type was a major component. This document contains the following sections: pure lodgepole pine stands; pure yellow pine stands; mixed stands of lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce and other species; and general rules. For pure, uneven-aged lodgepole pine stands, it was recommended that partial cuttings take the form of either a very light “thinning,” or a very heavy harvest that left only enough trees for another entry at some point in the distant future. When marking those stands, the primary considerations were the danger from windfall, leaving enough trees to form the basis for a future cut, and the removal of all undesirable individuals. In the more common situation of even-aged lodgepole pine, it was recommended to clearcut in strips, with the orientation of the strips based on the risk of windthrow, avalanches, or soil erosion. The alternate strips were to be either uncut or lightly thinned to remove diseased and defective trees only. There were four considerations for pure yellow pine stands: 1) leave all young trees unless plainly undesirable from serious unsoundness or overcrowding, or so misshapen that they will not develop into valuable timber trees, and in general all thrifty trees which will plainly be much more valuable at the time a second cut may reasonably be expected in from thirty to fifty years; 2) never make an opening of more than one-quarter of an acre, unless good reproduction was already well established; 3) before marking a tree for removal, be sure that it is not needed for seed, especially if it is a young, thrifty yellow pine or a large, thrifty black jack; and 4) when an area includes enough thrifty pine timber to make it possible to leave from 1,500 to 2,000 board feet of merchantable timber per acre without jeopardizing the economic viability of the present cut, it should be left as the basis for an early second crop. In partial cuttings without advance regeneration, the recommendation was to leave two to five young, thrifty yellow pines with full crowns on each acre. The leave trees should be left in groups or clumps, since they were more windfirm that way and tended to replicate the natural “clumpy” pattern of virgin yellow pine forest. In mixed stands, market considerations and site conditions were the main factor dictating the species to be favored. It was recommended that subalpine fir or other low-value species be removed whenever possible in order to provide more growing space for Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, or any species more economically valuable than the true firs. Spruce was to be favored on moist sites; lodgepole pine on areas that were sterile and drier. Douglas-fir tended to be most windfirm species in mixed stands, so it was recommended for retention on exposed sites. The final section (3½ pages) is entitled “General Rules.” It describes general policies such as: “as a general rule, at least one-third of the present merchantable stand should be left on every sale area to form the basis for a second cut.” The balance of that section provides recommendations about how to handle stands with insect or disease problems, form defects, scenic concerns, previous harvest impacts, and other considerations. The instructions end with two admonitions: “when in doubt whether a defective tree contains merchantable material, mark it;” and “when in doubt whether a tree is needed for seed or protection, or is a proper tree to leave for the future crop, leave it.”

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1908. General instructions for marking timber on the [blank] national forest; western yellow pine region (northern division). Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 16 p.

Abstract: This document provides general rules, to be varied at the discretion of the forest officers in charge, for marking timber on the [fill in the blank] national forest. The rules were supplementary to the general instructions in “The Use Book.” These rules pertain to the “western yellow pine region,” which apparently referred to national forests where the western yellow (ponderosa) pine forest cover type was a major component. The instructions begin with these directions for pure yellow pine stands: “leave all young trees unless plainly undesirable from serious unsoundness or overcrowding, or so misshapen that they will not develop into valuable timber trees, and in general all thrifty trees which will plainly be much more valuable at the time a second cut may reasonably be expected in from thirty to fifty years.” It also states that an opening of more than one-quarter of an acre should never be made in the pure yellow pine forest, unless good reproduction was already well established. In partial cuttings without advance regeneration, the recommendation was to leave two to five young, thrifty yellow pines with full crowns on each acre. The leave trees should be left in groups or clumps, since they were more windfirm that way and tended to replicate the natural “clumpy” pattern of virgin yellow pine forest. For pure, uneven-aged lodgepole pine stands in the western yellow pine region, it was recommended that partial cuttings take the form of a very light “thinning” or a very heavy entry that left only enough trees for another entry at some point in the distant future. When marking those stands, the primary considerations were the danger from windfall, leaving enough trees to form the basis for a future cut, and the removal of all undesirable individuals. In the more common situation of even-aged lodgepole pine, it was recommended to clearcut in strips, with the orientation of the strips based on the risk of windthrow, avalanches, or soil erosion. The alternate strips were to be either uncut or lightly thinned to remove diseased and defective trees only. When dealing with Engelmann spruce stands at high elevations, it was recommended that cuttings be light, thinning-type entries that would serve to protect the site and prevent the soil from drying out. Windthrow risk was the primary concern in spruce stands. In mixed stands, it was recommended that subalpine fir be removed whenever possible in order to provide more growing space for Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, or any species more economically valuable than the true firs. The final section (3½ pages) is entitled “General Rules.” It describes general policies such as: “as a general rule, at least one-third of the present merchantable stand should be left on every sale area to form the basis for a second cut.” The balance of that section provides recommendations about how to handle stands with insect or disease problems, form defects, scenic concerns, previous harvest impacts, and other considerations. The instructions end with two admonitions: “when in doubt whether a defective tree contains merchantable material, mark it;” and “when in doubt whether a tree is needed for seed or protection, or is a proper tree to leave for the future crop, leave it.”

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1908. General instructions for marking timber on the [blank] national forest; western white pine region. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 16 p.

Abstract: This document provides general rules, to be varied at the discretion of the forest officers in charge, for marking timber on the [fill in the blank] national forest. The rules were supplementary to the general instructions in “The Use Book.” These rules pertain to the “western white pine region,” which apparently meant the national forests where the western white pine forest cover type was a major component. This document contains the following sections: pure white pine stands; pure yellow pine stands; pure lodgepole pine stands; Engelmann spruce; Blue spruce; mixed stands of various species; and general rules. For pure white pine stands, the objective of marking was to remove undesirable individuals (diseased, unsound, insect-attacked, dead, overmature, etc.). If possible, the marking should leave 50 to 75 young, thrifty, well-formed trees per acre. These directions are provided for pure yellow pine stands: “leave all young trees unless plainly undesirable from serious unsoundness or overcrowding, or so misshapen that they will not develop into valuable timber trees, and in general all thrifty trees which will plainly be much more valuable at the time a second cut may reasonably be expected in from thirty to fifty years.” It also states that an opening of more than one-quarter of an acre should never be made in the pure yellow pine forest, unless good reproduction was already well established. In partial cuttings without advance regeneration, the recommendation was to leave two to five young, thrifty yellow pines with full crowns on each acre. The leave trees should be left in groups or clumps, since they were more windfirm that way and tended to replicate the natural “clumpy” pattern of virgin yellow pine forest. For pure, uneven-aged lodgepole pine stands, it was recommended that partial cuttings take the form of either a very light “thinning,” or a very heavy harvest that left only enough trees for another entry at some point in the distant future. When marking those stands, the primary considerations were the danger from windfall, leaving enough trees to form the basis for a future cut, and the removal of all undesirable individuals. In the more common situation of even-aged lodgepole pine, it was recommended to clearcut in strips, with the orientation of the strips based on the risk of windthrow, avalanches, or soil erosion. The alternate strips were to be either uncut or lightly thinned to remove diseased and defective trees only. When dealing with the Engelmann spruce stands that occurred at higher elevations or on moist sites, it was recommended that cuttings be light, thinning-type entries that would serve to protect the site and prevent the soil from drying out. Windthrow risk was the primary concern in spruce stands. In mixed stands, market considerations were the main factor dictating the species to be removed. It was recommended that subalpine fir or other low-value species be removed whenever possible in order to provide more growing space for white pine, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, or any species more economically valuable than the true firs. The final section (3½ pages) is entitled “General Rules.” It describes general policies such as: “as a general rule, at least one-third of the present merchantable stand should be left on every sale area to form the basis for a second cut.” The balance of that section provides recommendations about how to handle stands with insect or disease problems, form defects, scenic concerns, previous harvest impacts, and other considerations. The instructions end with two admonitions: “when in doubt whether a defective tree contains merchantable material, mark it;” and “when in doubt whether a tree is needed for seed or protection, or is a proper tree to leave for the future crop, leave it.”

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1911. District Forester’s Annual Report, Fiscal Year 1911, District 6. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, District Office]. 63 p.

Abstract: This report covers the following topics for all of District (Region) 6: claims and settlement; law enforcement; executive force; forest management; losses by forest fires; reforestation; stream flow studies; range management; range conditions; use of private lands; game preserves; studies of forest products; and silviculture.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1911. Report of offices in District Office, District 6. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 241 p.

Abstract: This report describes the programs and status of District 6 for fiscal year 1911. The following topics are covered: public sentiment, education, ranger schools, Supervisor and Ranger meetings, information, water power, stream measurements, forest management, lands, forest fires, permanent improvements, range management, game, and a variety of others.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1912. Instructions for making forest surveys and maps. Unnumbered Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 85 p.

Abstract: This document was designed to improve consistency in Forest Service surveys and map compilation. It provides instructions for completing relatively simple surveys (such as careful timber cruising or in surveying with a magnetic compass) and tables for use with common surveying instruments of the era. Over a dozen illustrations are included. The following sections or chapters are included: elements of surveying and mapping; instruments used; details of surveying; map-making in the field; determination of areas by planimeter; land office surveys; and physiographic features.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1912. Instructions for marking timber in the yellow pine region, District VI. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 4 p.

Abstract: Much of the commercial forest east of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington was comprised mostly of western yellow (ponderosa) pine. Since those forests were primarily uneven-aged, it was recommended that they be managed by the selection system. Based on the information available, it was thought that the period between cuttings (cutting cycle) should be 60 years, and that no trees should be cut until they were at least 180 years old (i.e., a rotation age of 180 years). The following general principles pertained to the yellow pine region: 1) the cutting should be fundamentally an improvement cutting, with the forest officer doing the marking first deciding what should be left, and then marking whatever remains; 2) aim to mark the thoroughly mature trees of all species and those trees that will not survive and grow until the next cutting 60 years hence; 3) reserve a well distributed stand of thrifty saplings, poles and young standards that are capable of surviving to form the next crop; 4) reserve on average from 20 to 25 percent of the estimated volume of trees over 12 inches in diameter; 5) exclude areas from timber sales that do not have enough mature volume to make logging viable, since that would result in immature timber being cut in order to make the unit profitable; 6) make the marking group-wise if all the trees in an area are mature, although cleared areas of more than an acre should be avoided; 7) mark the following tree classes in this order of preference: a) all defective and damaged trees, although small basal scars or similar injuries should be ignored since few perfect trees are to be found in the forest; b) all insect-infested trees; c) all suppressed trees; and d) all mature trees that will apparently not survive until the next entry; and 8) marking should favor tree species in this order: yellow pine, sugar pine, western larch, Douglas-fir, grand fir, and lodgepole pine (the last two species were considered forest weeds). Pure stands of yellow pine occurred on the “slope” type; it was recommended that dense groups of young “blackjack” pine be thinned when possible in a timber sale. Mixed stands tended to occur as the “north slope” sub-type in the Blue Mountains. Yellow pine should be favored in those stands, although not necessarily at the expense of western larch or Douglas-fir. Although those two species had low value at the time this report was written, it was expected that their value would increase with time and they should not be sacrificed for no good reason. Even though neither larch nor Douglas-fir were considered to be inferior species, it was recommended that larch be preferred over the Douglas-fir when both occurred on the same site. Stands with little or no yellow pine were referred to as the “transition” type – they were typically not included in a timber sale unless it was impossible to exclude them. As was the case for the north slope stands, it was recommended that inferior species in the transition stands (grand fir, lodgepole pine) be marked to the lowest possible diameter limit in order to remove as many of them as possible. If the whole stand was comprised of inferior species and their removal would result in a clearcut, it was recommended that the stand not be harvested.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1913. Memorandum of general extent of insect infested areas on the various forests of District 6. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, District 6. 12 p.

Abstract: This memorandum provides comments about insect infestations for each of the national forests in District (Region) 6. For the Malheur NF, it notes that a 1910 report showed that much lodgepole and considerable yellow pine over much of the Forest has been and was continuing to be killed by bark beetles. Conditions in 1912 were reported to be much the same as in 1910. For the Umatilla NF, heavy attacks in lodgepole pine were occurring in T. 3 S., R. 33 E. and T. 5 S., R. 33 E. (North Fork John Day Ranger District, Camas Creek watershed), with severe attacks occurring in T. 4 and 5 S., R. 29 E. (NFJD District, Western Route area). A belt of infested lodgepole and yellow (ponderosa) pine ranged from T. 6 S., R. 29 E. to T. 6 S., R. 27 E. (NFJD and Heppner Districts). A large bark beetle outbreak occurred in yellow pine in sections 19-20 in T. 7 S., R. 25 E. and sections 19-29 in T. 7 S., R. 24 E. (Heppner RD, ranging from Davis Creek on the east to Alder Creek and south of Wheeler Point on the west). On the Wallowa NF, it was reported that very little insect work was done during 1912 and it appeared that the beetles had ceased working on both the Wallowa and Minam NFs. However, there was still an active infestation in lodgepole pine, and a particularly severe infestation in whitebark pine at higher elevations around Wallowa Lake. On the Whitman NF, bark beetle infestations were widespread. Bark beetle attacks had first been noticed on that Forest in 1906; by 1912, an outbreak was almost general throughout the entire lodgepole and yellow pine types on the northern end of the Forest (300,000 to 400,000 acres). Control efforts were begun in the fall of 1910 and continued in 1911 and beyond (see Edmonston’s report in the history archives for more information about that outbreak). It was reported that the area was almost as badly infested as when control efforts began, but that the spread of beetles toward the southwest had been checked and that the infestation was finally starting to decline. For the Wenaha NF in Washington, it was noted that occasional yellow and lodgepole pines were being killed throughout the Forest, but there were no infested areas of any importance.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1921. Sample range appraisal vegetative types east of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington. Unpublished Typescript Report. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, District 6. 15 p.

Abstract: This is a short report bound in a standard, 2-post hardboard cover (shown as a Form 406 on the front cover). It includes of a table showing the vegetative type numbers, subtype identifiers, and a type discussion or narrative. The bulk of the report consists of high-quality, black-and-white photographs that illustrate the various vegetative types. Although each photo includes the standard 6-digit negative number in the lower right-hand corner, it is unfortunate that no other location information is provided that would help link the photos with a Forest Service administrative unit (a National Forest or Ranger District).

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1922. Memorandum for Mr. Guthrie. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2 p.

Abstract: This short accession consists of a series of interesting quotes from Washington Irving’s book entitled “Adventures of Captain Bonneville U.S.A.” There are six passages quoted from the book, all of which pertain to when Captain Bonneville and his party of trappers were enroute across the Blue Mountains from the Snake River to the Columbia River in August of 1833. During that journey, they encountered “forest fires as fierce as any we have nowadays but no pen has pictured the fire demon any more effectively than did Washington Irving.” The quotes are extremely detailed and evocative, with extensive references to both fire and smoke conditions. They also refer to landmarks such as Gun Creek, Ice River (sometimes called the Grand Rond), and the headwaters of the Grand Rond where the “Skynses” pastured their horses as well as to banquet upon the salmon which abound in the neighboring waters.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1924. Marking instructions for the larch-fir type, District 1. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 6 p.

Abstract: These marking instructions include the following sections: type characteristics affecting marking; classification of stands; immature even-aged stands; mature even-aged stands; uneven-aged stands; treatment of minor species; tie cutting; slash disposal; and examples. The larch-fir type, which typically originated following fires, consists of larch and Douglas-fir, although yellow pine, white pine, white fir and lodgepole pine are frequent associates. Since larch is not tolerant of shade, the instructions recommend that Douglas-fir be removed at the expense of larch whenever possible because larch was considered the more desirable tree. Douglas-fir was described as a prolific seed producer, bearing good seed crops nearly every year. Larch also bore seed nearly every year, but good crops only occurred every 5 or 6 years. It was observed that larch was frequently infected with dwarf mistletoe and that infected trees often died. In mixed stands, it was stated that yellow pine and white pine should be encouraged whenever possible. The “examples” section provides actual “acres” marked under varying conditions. Acre 1 occurred on an east slope and had 18 mature larch, 3 mature yellow pine, four mature Douglas-firs, and a variety of reproduction dominated by 27 Douglas-firs. Acre 2 was on a flat ridge top and consisted of a fairly heavy mixed stand of larch and yellow pine. A table shows the cut and leave recommendations for that acre. Acre 3 was affected by fire and much of the area consists of reproduction 10 to 20 feet tall. Recommendations are provided for the cut and leave trees for larch, Douglas-fir and yellow pine. Acre 4 is on a north slope and consists mostly of Douglas-fir (70%) and larch (30%) saplings. Cutting recommendations for the mature trees on that acre are also described.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1932. The forest situation in the United States; a special report to the Timber Conservation Board. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 46 p.

Abstract: Note that the page count for this accession is misleading because it refers to numbered pages only; counting unnumbered pages containing tables and charts, the total page count is actually 101 pages. This report summarizes the extent of present forest areas, timber supplies, current and potential timber growth, forest depletion, and timber requirements in the United States as of the late 1920s or early 1930s. It was based on investigations conducted by the U.S. Forest Service during an 18-month period before this report's release on January 30, 1932. The objective of the report was to provide the best possible estimate of forest conditions in 1930 as was possible at the time. Although this accession consists of a scanned copy of an original, the scanning quality was high and it is very readable.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1936. Forest Service map standards. M-5192. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 31 p.

Abstract: This document provides a list of all symbols used on early Forest Service maps and a short description of what each symbol means. Each symbol is depicted with an illustration. The symbols are grouped into these categories: works and structures; boundaries and monuments; drainage; relief; lettering; administrative map title and legend; special map legends; marginal data, credit note, bar scale, gage for border and gage for main line of title; map sheet sizes; township plat layout; atlas folio sheet layout; abbreviations; color formulas; color legends; scales and equivalents; and planimeter chart.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. [Date unknown]. Historical information on the Walla Walla District as obtained from the Up-to-the-Times publication. [Place of publication unknown]: [Publisher unknown]. 17 p.

Abstract: This accession consists of a series of chronological excerpts from an early publication (magazine) called Up-to-the-Times. This publication was published monthly by the Walla Walla Publishing Company, beginning in 1906 and extending to the early 1930s. The excerpts contained in this accession pertain to the northern portion of the Umatilla National Forest (Walla Walla and Pomeroy Ranger Districts). The author must have gone through the Up-to-the-Times publication and excerpted any mention of the Wenaha National Forest or the Forest Service, although this document also includes items of general interest to the Forest Service, such as wildlife management and hunting or fishing accounts, that might not have directly referenced the Forest Service or the Wenaha NF.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology. 1910-1911. Miscellaneous memoranda regarding an insect infestation, Whitman National Forest. Unpublished typescript memoranda obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication varies]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology. 25 p.

Abstract: This document consists of a series of memoranda about a mountain pine beetle infestation in northeastern Oregon – in particular an outbreak and associated control measures on the Whitman National Forest. The earliest memo, a one-pager dated December 13, 1910 from Henry S. Graves (The Forester [Chief]) to the District (Regional) Forester for District 6 in Portland, references a memo from the District Forester (DF) to The Forester on November (actually October) 25th in which the DF stated that it would not be possible to give away the infested timber for free. The Forester asks the DF to check with the Forest Supervisor of the affected Forest because he was uncomfortable requesting a special appropriation from Congress to pay for control work based merely on the DF’s impression that it would not be possible to give them away. The second memo is a 2-pager from Henry Graves to Dr. L. O. Howard, Chief of the Bureau of Entomology. It is also dated December 13, 1910. This memo mentions that Graves had received correspondence from Dr. A. D. Hopkins on October 10th in which Hopkins stated that 30 to 50 thousand dollars would be required for effective control of the insect infestation on the Whitman NF. Graves mentioned that the $5,000 supplied by the Forest Service for experimental control measures in 1910 was taken from the fire fighting fund – and that fund was in arrears by $915,000 due to a devastating fire year in 1910. Graves then stated that he was in favor of seeking a special appropriation from Congress in the amount of $40,000, although he was going to follow up with the DF in Portland to be sure that the trees couldn’t be sold at a loss or given away to a lumberman for free (the first memo mentioned above). The third memo is a 2-pager from Howard to Graves, dated December 14, 1910, in which Howard states that the cooperative control project would probably have to be abandoned if the Forest Service was unable to obtain the special appropriation they were seeking from Congress. He states that agents of the Bureau estimated that the infestation had increased by 300% during the last year in certain yellow pine areas, and that the Bureau had already expended over $3,000 for field investigations and assistance they had rendered to the Forest Service and private landowners in northeast Oregon. Howard states that, in his opinion, a special appropriation of not less than $40,000 is needed for control work to be completed between April and July 1st, 1911, and that some of those funds be used for control work on private lands as well. The next 2-page memo is dated December 20, 1910 and is from A. F. Potter (?) to the Secretary (of Agriculture?). This memo lays out the previous history of the cooperative beetle control effort, as described in the other memos, and requests a special appropriation of $40,000 to continue the insect control project for the remainder of that fiscal year. The next memo, a 3-pager from the DF in Portland to The Forester in Washington, is dated December 20, 1910. The DF states that he had not taken up The Forester’s idea of giving away the infested timber because he had just returned from the Whitman NF prior to writing his memo of October 25th and felt certain that it would not be possible to convince the lumbermen to take the trees, since they could not afford to do it on their own lands. The DF then states that he thinks the idea of selling large timber sales, in which some of the trees are infested and could be offered for a reduced stumpage price, has merit. He mentions that a sale of about 20 million board feet had just been made in that area (W. H. Eccles sale?) and that they believed an application for another sale of 70,000,000 feet was imminent. The next memo is a 2-pager dated December 23, 1910 from Henry Ireland, Forest Supervisor for the Whitman NF, to the DF in Portland. In it, Ireland states that the Forest had given careful consideration to The Forester’s proposal, but that they had not had luck with that approach locally due to the isolation of the infested areas from transportation and market facilities. The next memo, a 3-pager dated December 26, 1910, is from H. W. Harris, Forest Supervisor for the Wallowa National Forest, to the DF in Portland. As was the case for Ireland, Harris states that it would be impossible to give the infested timber away due to its isolated location, the low volumes per acre, and the fact that most of it was low-value lodgepole pine. The next memo, a 4-pager from the DF in Portland to The Forester in Washington, was dated January 3, 1911. It reports the opinions from the Wallowa and Whitman Supervisors, and states that any control operations would probably have to be conducted with no thought of selling the timber that was cut, and without receiving any returns for the cost of the insect control project. The next memo, a short 1-pager from The Forester to Howard and dated January 19, 1911, states that there is definitely no possibility of selling or giving away the infested timber, and that a special appropriation would have to be obtained to continue the control work. The next memo is a short 1-pager from Howard to Graves, and dated January 21, 1911, in which he states that he had called at the Secretary’s office yesterday (the 20th) and left word that it was time for the Secretary (of Agriculture) to write to Senator Chamberlain about a Senate amendment to provide the special appropriation. The next memo, a 2-pager with a colored map enclosure, was from George Cecil, acting DF for District 6, to The Forester and dated January 27, 1911. This memo states that a map had been prepared, in anticipation of further control work on the Whitman, Wallowa, and Malheur NFs, showing the land ownership in 80 townships in the vicinity of those three Forests. It was felt that such a map would be helpful for any future control ventures where private landowners would cooperate. The township plat maps also showed general vegetation types (pure yellow pine, mixed conifers, cut-over land, open grazing land, cultivated land) in addition to ownership data. A copy of the colored map, which shows the townships for which plats were developed, was copied with this memo (the copy is in color too). The last memo, a very short 1-pager, is from F. E. Ames, Acting Assistant Forester, to the DF in Portland and dated February 1, 1911. It states that the memo of January 27th, along with the accompanying map, had been received, although it was doubtful that cooperative work would be resumed during the coming season.

USDA Forest Service.

1916.

Sale prospectus: 124,000,000 feet, western yellow pine and other species, lower Middle Fork John Day River unity. 

Whitman National Forest, Oregon. Portland, OR

USDA Forest Service, District Forester 18 p.

Wakeman, William J. 1936. Report and accompanying appraisal of First National Bank of Heppner lands in Morrow County, Oregon. Typescript Report. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 14 p.

Abstract: This report was prepared by a “timber expert.” It describes the land uses, characteristics, and timber values associated with a 4,870-acre land exchange located at the head of Willow, Ditch, and Potamus Creeks about 20 miles southeast of Heppner, Oregon. The report includes the following sections, all of which pertain to the “offered lands” in the exchange: description; acreage by dominant types (866 acres of merchantable ponderosa pine; 2,001 acres of merchantable white fir, larch, Douglas fir type; 43 acres of ponderosa pine seedlings and saplings; 224 acres of open grass and sagebrush; 4 acres of brush; 601 acres of lodgepole pine protection forest; and 1,111 acres of white fir, larch, Douglas fir type protection forest); physical and climatic conditions (elevation, topography, soil, precipitation, temperature, frost); agricultural possibilities; accessibility; existing uses, easements or forms of occupancy; actual or potential values of subsidiary character; grazing values; timber values (including a table showing net volumes in thousand board feet by township, range, and section for seven species or merchantability classes); appraisal; summary of logging costs (including logging, milling and selling, and interest charges); reduction to present net worth; distribution of income; and summary of appraised values and recommendations. This accession also included a full-color map contained in a back pocket. The map was removed and processed as a separate item (see “Land exchange – First National Bank of Heppner” by William J. Wakeman (1936) for more information about the map).

Weidman, Robert H. 1920. A study of windfall loss of western yellow pine in selection cuttings fifteen to thirty years old. Journal of Forestry. 18: 616-622.

Abstract: A few years before this article was written, several severe windstorms blew down a large volume of timber in timber sale cuttings in western yellow (ponderosa) pine forests in eastern and southern Oregon. For example, on a 1624-acre cutting unit on the Whitman National Forest in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon, nearly one million board feet of yellow pine timber was blown down during windstorms on May 26, 1913 and September 18, 1914. That volume of blowdown represented 17½ percent of all the reserved trees in the cutting unit. Since the blowdown occurred soon after the sale was completed, there was immediate concern about the longevity of reserve trees and whether partial (selection) cutting could ever be a viable, long-term silvicultural practice based on the high windfall losses experienced in this instance. In order to examine that question, the Forest Service initiated a study where plots were installed in old partial cuttings ranging up to thirty years in age. Plots of various sizes were installed in old cuttings (cut years ranging from 1889 to 1900) located in or near three national forests in the Blue Mountains region of eastern Oregon. The important conclusions from this study were: heavy windfall in the first few years after cutting does not presage the total destruction of the reserve stand or even endanger the method of cutting; losses as high as 25 percent by volume could be expected over the course of 20 years on high windrisk areas; of all the windthrow that could be expected to occur over a long period of years, two-thirds or more of it usually took place in the first four or five years after cutting, with the remainder occurring in rapidly decreasing percentages until about 20 years later when the windfall was so slight as to be negligible; and the selection cutting method was not prohibitive in the yellow pine stands of eastern Oregon based on the heaviest windfall losses encountered in this study.

Weidman, Robert H. 1921. Forest succession as a basis of the silviculture of western yellow pine. Journal of Forestry. 19: 877-885.

Abstract: Since the beginning of timber sales on the national forests 15 years before this article was published, the silvicultural system generally used in western yellow pine forests was characterized as selection cutting, often referred to as the “maturity selection system” (see articles by Munger in the history archives for more information about that system). In the beginning, the selection cuts aimed to remove about two-thirds of the virgin stand in the first entry. The silvicultural objective was to cut over the forest rapidly in order to save the decadent timber, to maintain an uneven-aged structure by leaving part of the original stand, and to leave an overwood as a seed source and to provide shelter or protection for young reproduction. By reserving part of the original stand, it was thought that periodic entries could be made at intervals of one-third or one-fourth of the rotation length. Tentatively, a rotation of 180 to 200 years was considered, with a cutting cycle of 40 to 60 years. The objective of this article was to describe the results of studies and observations made over the previous 15 years with respect to the national forests, and up to 50 years for private lands. All of the observations involved yellow pine cuttings in Oregon and Washington only. In general, pure yellow pine forests in that area were characterized as open, irregular or uneven-aged stands with a preponderance of mature and overmature trees, although there was usually an excellent ground cover of advance reproduction made up of dense groups of seedlings established in openings in the forest, but it often consisted of uniformly distributed and suppressed little seedlings struggling along directly beneath the overstory. The suppressed cohort of seedlings established under the overstory was small and inconspicuous, but had a great power of recovery and would respond quickly and favorably after the overstory was removed. The age range of these stands was unbalanced and could scarcely be referred to as uneven-aged. For example, two 20-acre plots from the Whitman NF showed that of all trees 4 inches DBH and greater, 9% was in the 20-100 year class, 22% in the 100-200 year class, 45% in the 200-300 year class, 6% in the 300-400 year class, 15% in the 400-500 year class, and 3% in the 500-600 year class. This meant that 69% of the virgin stands were over 200 years of age (not counting the reproduction less than 4 inches DBH), the maximum rotation age usually considered for yellow pine. On other plots totaling 417 acres, it was found that 67 to 74 percent of the trees were over 12 inches diameter at breast height. These figures showed that unmanaged yellow pine forests had a stand structure that was opposite what would have been expected for a balanced, uneven-aged condition, where the young (small) trees greatly outnumber the old (large) ones. The author then describes old cuttings (50 years previous) on private land near Galena, where the advance reproduction responded after the timber harvest and resulted in an even-aged stand of saplings and poles. As a result of these studies and observations, Weidman comes to the following conclusions: 1) an even-aged successional structure in western yellow pine is an established fact; 2) an even-aged forest is developing on older private cuttings and heavily-cut national forest sale areas regardless of the silvicultural intent; 3) the maturity selection system being practiced was not resulting in a balanced uneven-aged structure, as intended, and it could not do so based on the ecology of yellow pine; 4) if it was decided to continue the present system (maturity selection cutting), then it should be recognized that a “conversion” structure would result and persist for at least a hundred years before approaching a balanced uneven-aged distribution; and 5) clearcutting, with provision for protection of established advance regeneration, would be an acceptable silvicultural system for yellow pine forests in the Northwest, although four or five seed trees per acre should be reserved as a guard against fire and to seed up any openings created by timber harvest. The seed trees should be reserved for the entire rotation.

Weigle, W. G.; Frothingham, E. H. 1911. The aspens: their growth and management. Bulletin No. 93. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 35 p.

Abstract: This bulletin describes aspen forests of the United States, including a discussion of the following topics: the species of aspen and how to distinguish them; wood characteristics; uses for pulp, excelsior, and other products; logging practices; range and distribution of aspen forests; commercial range of aspen; silvics and dendrological characteristics of aspen; stand characteristics; stand development in the Northeastern U.S.; forest management practices for aspen stands; and volume tables (as an appendix).

Weitknecht, Robert H. 1915. Frost damage to larch in the Blue Mountains. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 3 p.

Abstract: This short report describes a frost damage episode involving western larch during the spring of 1915. An unusually warm April was followed by a rainy and cold May; several killing frosts occurred during May. Larch needles were only partially-developed and still very tender during the frosts. The result was a generalized killing of larch crowns throughout most of the Blue Mountains. During May and June, the larches presented a brownish appearance that was especially obvious and apparent when the trees were intermixed with the green crowns of other conifers. Most of the larches established new crowns by early summer and then had their normal summer appearance. Where damage was particularly severe, not only the tender needles were killed, but current-year and previous-year shoots were also killed. The author states that no case of a larch tree dying from frost damage was ever observed or reported. At the end of summer, Weitknecht removed increment borings from selected larches growing near Sumpter, Oregon. Of the cores examined, 75% showed a normal annual ring for the present year (1915). The author then recounts comments from Mr. R. M. Evans of the Whitman NF, who described a cold snap that occurred in early June of 1914, when for four days there was a light snowfall at Sumpter, followed by noticeable frost damage to larch crowns. The damage then was not as severe as in 1915 because the larch foliage had hardened off to a greater degree by early June.

Weitknecht, Robert H. 1915. Progress report; methods of cutting yellow pine. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 26 p.

Abstract: In the yellow pine forests of Oregon, the first extensive cuttings on national forest lands began about 1910. The predominant cutting method was a form of selective cutting in which about 25% of the stand was reserved. That method was considered the best for quick removal of preponderant overmature trees and for the safeguarding of advance reproduction. The study described in this report was initiated in 1914 to examine the effects of the selective cutting that had occurred since about 1910, and to determine if another cutting method would be more effective. A longer report on this study was published in 1916 (see “Study of methods of cutting yellow pine in Oregon” by Weitknecht, a copy of which is present in the history archives). The main objective of the study was to answer silvicultural questions such as these: is accelerated growth after selective cutting important enough to influence the selected cutting method, and would it appreciably shorten the rotation?; how great is the windfall danger in cut-over stands and is there a high risk that all of the reserved trees will eventually be blown down, or does windthrow of reserved trees gradually decrease with time?; does the dense reproduction that exists after cutting start before the cutting or is it a result of natural regeneration that occurs shortly after harvest?; and what is the effect of fire on cut-over stands, especially if some stands were clearcut due to abundant advance regeneration and then subsequently burned by a fire? The field work that formed the basis for this progress report was completed by the author during August and September of 1914. Field work had been scheduled for the whole summer but was cut short due to a lack of funds caused by a fire-related deficit. Field work occurred entirely on cut-over areas located within the Whitman National Forest. This report contains the following sections: manner of conducting the field work; accelerated growth of reserve trees; conclusions – tables I and II; quantity of reproduction; conclusions – table III; height growth of reproduction; conclusions – table IV and figures 1 and 2; and recommendations for field work next season. The report contains four tables and two figures. The author recommends that field work for the following season (1915) be completed by two men working for at least two months. He also recommended that future plots be installed in cuttings considerably older than 10 years, with extra effort made to locate at least two or three cuttings between 30 and 50 years old. Clearcut areas should also receive plots, so that information could be obtained about the source, amount and condition of reproduction.

Weitknecht, Robert H. 1916. Study of methods of cutting yellow pine in Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 99 p.

Abstract: In the yellow pine forests of Oregon, the first extensive cuttings on national forest lands began about 1910. The predominant cutting method was a form of selective cutting in which about 25% of the stand was reserved. That method was considered the best for quick removal of preponderant overmature trees and for the safeguarding of advance reproduction. The study described in this report was initiated in 1914 to examine the effects of the selective cutting that had occurred since about 1910, and to determine if another cutting method would be more effective. A progress report on one portion of this study was also published in 1917 (see “Yellow pine management study in Oregon in 1916” by Weitknecht, which is present in the history archives). The main objective of the study was to answer silvicultural questions such as these: is accelerated growth after selective cutting important enough to influence the selected cutting method, and would it appreciably shorten the rotation?; how great is the windfall danger in cut-over stands and is there a high risk that all of the reserved trees will eventually be blown down, or does windthrow of reserved trees gradually decrease with time?; does the dense reproduction that exists after cutting start before the cutting or is it a result of natural regeneration that occurs shortly after harvest?; and what is the effect of fire on cut-over stands, especially if some stands were clearcut due to abundant advance regeneration and then subsequently burned by a fire? The field work for this study was conducted almost entirely on cut-over areas located within the Whitman and Minam National Forests. This report contains the following sections: introduction; reserved trees and accelerated growth; windfall and other loss in reserved trees; reproduction under cutting conditions; reproduction as affected by fire; and conclusion. The report contains numerous tables and several figures. The author concludes that an abundance of advance reproduction in eastern Oregon’s yellow pine type would allow either an even-aged or uneven-aged cutting method to be used. An even-aged cutting method would offer advantages in areas where windfall risk was particularly high. However, in many of the cut-over stands the accelerated growth exhibited by reserve trees was greater than losses due to windthrow. And, if clearcutting was selected as the even-aged cutting method, there was always the risk that advance reproduction would be destroyed by fire, resulting in the site sitting “idle” for 15 years or more before trees gradually seeded back in. While the data seemed to show that the yellow pine forests of eastern Oregon were “roughly even-aged,” the author believed that the true habit of yellow pine was to occur in many-aged stands. From the results of this study and from personal observations, the author tentatively believed that a cutting method which produced a many-aged stand was the proper one for western yellow pine. The author also stated that the study did not reveal anything that would indicate that the existing cutting method (selective cutting with about 25% of the volume left as reserve trees) was radically out of harmony with the silvical habits and requirements of yellow pine in eastern Oregon.

Weitknecht, Robert H. 1917. Yellow pine management study in Oregon in 1916. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 46 p.

Abstract: This was a progress report on one portion of a large study of western yellow pine management. It deals with a permanent sample plot on the Whitman National Forest and a field study conducted on old cut-over areas. The results of the 1916 field season are described in this report; a larger report published in 1916 (see “Study of methods of cutting yellow pine in Oregon,” a copy of which is present in the history archives) disclosed the results of the two previous field seasons. The main objectives of the cut-over study were to determine the practical importance of accelerated volume growth after a partial cutting, to investigate loss of trees – particularly by windfall – as it occurs in the years following such a cutting, and to study reproduction in relation to cutting methods. Those objectives were met by the field studies of 1914 and 1915 on the Whitman and Minam National Forests. The purpose of the 1916 field work was to determine if findings from the first two years would also apply to the western part of the Blue Mountains. With that objective in mind, old cuttings on the Ochoco, Malheur, and Whitman National Forests were studied during 1916, with the work accomplished by the author and one field assistant. The report contains the following sections: introduction; accelerated growth of trees in a partial cutting; distribution of accelerated increment; relation of accelerated growth to yield tables; loss by windfall after a partial cutting; reproduction after cutting; reproduction in relation to stock grazing; reproduction problem on land exchange areas; age classes in the yellow pine forest; summary of results obtained in 1916; and present status of study and future work. Some of the results reported in this paper are: 1) accelerated growth in trees after a partial cutting was found to behave exactly the same in the western part of the Blue Mountains as in the eastern part; 2) it was found that accelerated area growth in the individual tree is greatest in the lower portion of the trunk and diminishes with increasing height; 3) for the first time for western yellow pine, yield tables were prepared in this study that make a quantitative allowance for increased growth and loss after cutting; 4) the windfall results of last year’s study show that heavy windthrow may occur anywhere in the Blue Mountains, but that some cut-overs have very light windfall losses amounting to less than 2% after 18 to 27 years; 5) it was found that on two 20-acre plots, 73% and 76% of all the yellow pines above 4 inches DBH were over 180 years old; 6) the reproduction on old cuttings in the western part of the Blue Mountains was found to be as uniformly abundant and thrifty as on cuttings elsewhere in the Blue Mountains; 7) although pine reproduction was abundant, it required from 20 to 30 years of gradual seeding and establishment to reach that point; 8) the density of reproduction in older open stands of virgin yellow pine is beginning to affect stock grazing and in a few years will present quite a serious problem; and 9) if large, privately-owned cut-overs near Austin and Whitney are acquired by the Government (via exchange of land for timber stumpage), a policy regarding reproduction on those areas should be adopted immediately. Weitknecht offers some interesting insights, as demonstrated with this quote: “And in open, overmature stands this [yellow pine] reproduction is even now so dense and large in many places as to practically prevent grazing. This advance reproduction has mostly come in during the last 25 or 30 years, and is due to the protection from fire which the forest has received partly by the Forest Service and partly by the unconscious efforts of the settlers and stockmen.”

Wernstedt, Lage. 1906. A favorable report on a proposed addition to the Blue Mountains Forest Reserve. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 18 p.

Abstract: This report describes an examination of a 273 square-mile area comprising the headwaters of the North and Middle Forks of the Malheur River in Grant, Malheur, and Baker counties in Oregon. The following topics are discussed: topography, waters, climate; agricultural possibilities; classes of range, forest types, amount of merchantable material; cuttings, roads; cultivated and cultivable lands; alienated lands; grazing; and reasons for recommendation, and arguments against.

Westveld, R. H. 1926. Preliminary report on brush disposal in the yellow pine region of Washington and Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest Experiment Station. 49 p.

Abstract: Disposal of brush (slash) after logging in the western yellow pine (ponderosa pine) forest was a matter of controversy in the early 1900s. The main question centered on economics – was the added expense of brush disposal worth the benefits from a fire protection, insect hazard, and silvicultural standpoint? That some sort of brush disposal is necessary was considered a foregone conclusion – the main question was how much (intensity) and to what extent. This question was particularly important from a silvicultural standpoint, since foresters noticed that young growth (advanced regeneration, residual or seed trees, etc.) was often damaged during piling and burning of slash, and that natural reproduction was most abundant and most thrifty when established in the protection of brush. To address these concerns and questions, a study was initiated in 1925 on the Deschutes, Crater, Whitman, and Wallowa National Forests to determine the effect of different brush disposal methods on advance and subsequent reproduction. This report presents the preliminary results from that study. It includes the following sections: introduction; scope of the study; composition and character of the yellow pine forest; brush disposal practices; fire lines; intensive fire protection on cut-over lands; brush in relation to fire hazard; silvicultural effects of undisposed brush; brush as a protection against erosion; brush as it affects grazing; entomological aspects of brush disposal; relation of logging to brush disposal; logging damage; and practical applications of brush disposal. Numerous hand-prepared bar charts and tables are also included in this report.

Reports:

GTR638a 

GTR638b

GTR638c

GTR638d

Wickman, Boyd E. 2005. Harry E. Burke and John M. Miller, pioneers in western forest entomology. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-638. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 163 p.

Abstract: This history was compiled from the memoirs, diaries, and other personal documents of the two forest entomologists in charge of the first forest insect laboratories on the west coast. It traces the lives of the two pioneers from 1902 to 1952 as they pursued their careers in the USDA Bureau of Entomology, Division of Forest Insect Investigations. Cooperative bark beetle control projects with the USDA Forest Service, Park Service, and private timber owners guided much of their early activities. Later, when the laboratories were located on university campuses, cooperative research was undertaken with Forest Service Research Stations. The focus shifted to more basic research and, particularly, studies on the silvicultural management of bark beetle populations.

Williams, Hubert C. 1912. Annual silvical report for the Idaho National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service]. 42 p.

Abstract: Discusses the vegetation and general characteristics of the Idaho National Forest (much of which is now included within the Boise National Forest?). The following topics are described: list of trees, list of shrubs, forest types (yellow pine, yellow pine and red fir, balsam- spruce, lodgepole pine, alpine, grassland, and barrens types). The balance of the report provides silvical descriptions of each forest type, as well as the silvics of each individual species, in which the description, habitat, growth, reproduction, and dangers and diseases are discussed. The following species are described: yellow (ponderosa) pine, lodgepole pine, limber pine, tamarack (western larch), Engelmann spruce, Douglas fir, white (grand) fir, subalpine fir, black cottonwood, quaking aspen, common juniper, water birch, thinleaf alder, mountain ash, Douglas hawthorne, mountain mahogany, buckthorne, serviceberry, cherry, and willow. Species are ranked in terms of soil and moisture requirements, shade tolerance, and susceptibility to damage from lightning. The effect of grazing on forest conditions is described, as is the condition of forest reproduction on cut-over lands. The final section of the report (4 pages) provides black-and-white photographs of the Forest.

Woolsey, Theodore S., Jr. 1911. Western yellow pine in Arizona and New Mexico. Bulletin 101. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 64 p.

Abstract: This bulletin describes the following as related to ponderosa pine in the Southwestern United States: characteristics of the tree itself (size, root system, tolerance, susceptibility to injurious agents, growth, etc.); characteristics of pine stands and the forest type; timber yields; wood characteristics and its uses; lumbering practices in the Southwest; markets for ponderosa pine; management of ponderosa pine on the National Forests; and conservative lumbering practices on private land.

Zon, Raphael; Cecil, George H.; Hopkins, A. D. 1909. Memoranda regarding identification of mountain pine beetle on the Wallowa National Forest. Unpublished typescript memoranda obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 6 p.

Abstract: This is a collection of three memoranda that relate to identification of mountain pine beetle on the Wallowa National Forest in northeastern Oregon. The oldest memorandum, signed by A. D. Hopkins of the USDA Bureau of Entomology, was dated February 18, 1907 and addressed to The Forester, care of Raphael Zon, in Washington DC. It mentions depradations caused by bark beetles in the lodgepole pine type on the Wallowa. As a result of a memo that Hopkins received on January 9th, he wrote to request that specimens of the beetles be collected and returned to him for definitive identification. A collection was made, and the specimens received by Hopkins on February 14th. The memorandum of February 18th was to notify The Forester (Chief of the Forest Service) that the beetles were identified as Dendroctonus monticola, the mountain pine beetle. Hopkins mentioned that they had studied the beetle in considerable detail and that a circular (publication) describing the insect and its control would be released in the near future. Hopkins also provides some control recommendations in the memo, stating that “it is necessary that at least seventy-five percent of the insects in the infested trees should be destroyed during the period between the middle of October and the middle of the following June.” He goes on to describe several alternative control methods, including use of a forest fire to kill beetles (and their host trees) in large infestations. The second memorandum, prepared by George H. Cecil, Acting District (Regional) Forester for District 6, was addressed to The Forester and dated November 6, 1909. It describes some bark beetle specimens that were forwarded to Dr. Hopkins from a yellow (ponderosa) pine tree in the T. W. Odell timber sale. The actual collection was made in section 18, Township 7 S., Range 47 E. in the Wallowa National Forest. Cecil mentions that yellow pines in that area had only recently been attacked, but that large areas of lodgepole pine had been destroyed over the last 5 years. Cecil mentions that the damage to lodgepole was not viewed as a serious problem due to the low value of the species, its general remoteness, and the fact that it was being replaced by western larch in the affected areas. Damage to the commercially-valuable yellow pine was considered very important, however. The third memo, prepared by Raphael Zon, was addressed to A. D. Hopkins and dated November 12, 1909. It acknowledges a memo from Hopkins on October 27th, and a reply to Hopkins from a Mr. Allen on November 2nd. Zon’s memo recapitulates Cecil’s memo of November 6th, quoting virtually all of the text in this memorandum. Zon asks that Hopkins provide any information about the insects and their control directly to Cecil.