Forest density a growing problem

Early in the last century, wildfires seared nearly half
of the Colville National Forest’s 1 million acres.

Becky Kramer – Staff writer Spokesman Review

The trees grew back vigorously, leading to dense,
weedy patches in areas with poor soil.

Forest Ecologist Jay Berube knows of sites where
90-year-old lodgepole pines — puny and unhealthy —
are packed 2,000 or more to the acre.

"If you went in there and tripped, you’d never hit the
ground," Berube said.

Last week’s conference on small-diameter timber in
Spokane drew 500 foresters to Spokane from 18
states and two Canadian provinces.

"Maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised at the turnout,"
Ed Depuit, a Forest Service official from Wenatchee,
told the crowd. "Overstocked stands represent one of
the most significant challenges we face here in the
Inland Northwest."

Crowded stands of trees have less vigor. They’re
more susceptible to insect outbreaks, large forest
fires and disease. In addition, they provide habitat for
fewer animals.

In the Inland Northwest, those small-diameter trees
cover 63 million acres, or 44 percent of the forested
landscape, said researchers at the conference,
which was sponsored by Washington State
University, University of Idaho, the Forest Service
and industry groups.

Many forested areas of the world are grappling with
the same problems, said Chad Oliver, a former
University of Washington forestry professor who now
works at Yale.

"For thousands of years, forest have been under the
influence of burning," he said.

Frequent, low-intensity fires once cleared out brush
and small trees, leaving open, park-like stands.
Where those fires have been extinguished, forests
have become denser and less diverse, Oliver said.
High-grade logging — the practice of removing the
best trees and leaving the scrub — also contributed
to the problem, he said.

Thinning the trees and reintroducing fire through
controlled burns helps reverse the problem. But cost
is often an issue, said Nora Rasure, forest supervisor
on the Colville National Forest, which is about 60
miles north of Spokane.

"It’s very challenging," she said. The work is labor
intensive, and the stands have low commercial value.

The Colville has about 110,000 acres that need
treatment, Rasure said. For the past five years, the
forest has received a $300,000 congressional
appropriation to address overstocked stands. The
forest has teamed up with the Pacific Northwest
Research Lab in Wenatchee to identify problem
areas, develop treatments and research products
that can be made out of small-diameter trees, Berube
said.

Lumber made out of the small-diameter trees actually
stands up very well in stress tests, he said. The
narrow growth rings produce a very dense material.

Duane Vaagen, who operates Vaagen Bros. Lumber
in Colville, Wash., has been an industry leader in
utilizing small-diameter trees in his mill.

Vaagen converted the equipment in his mill to make
dimension lumber out of trees with tops down to 41/2
inches in diameter. Smaller trees are chipped and
sold for pulp.

"We believe you need to thin the forest, for its health
and vigor," Vaagen said. But poor markets for the
products make it difficult to do that and still make
money, he said.

"The last two years have been a terrible market for
lumber," Vaagen said. "Pulp has been bad for the
last year."

LEAP program being offered

Loggers who want to know more about biology, forest
ecology and the effect of harvesting on streams
should consider the "Logger Education to Advance
Professionalism" program.

LEAP is a nationally acclaimed university extension program started at
the request of loggers in the Northeastern United States who wanted to
improve their skills and market their services more effectively.

The course will be held in several North Idaho locations from March
through May. It is put on by the University of Idaho and the Idaho
Department of Lands, featuring two days in the classroom and one day
in the field.

More than 700 Idaho loggers have attended the program.
Cost is $75.

Sessions run from March 20-22 in Coeur d’Alene, March
27-29 in Bonners Ferry, April 10-12 in St. Maries, April
24-26 in Sandpoint, and May 1-3 in Moscow. Class size
is limited to 30 people per session. Call (208) 667-6426 for
more information.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=030502&ID=s1110965&cat=section.business