The Pacific Northwest Research Station launched a Biodiversity Initiative to assist natural resource professionals in integrating complex biodiversity concepts into natural resource management processes. We canvassed clients from various affiliations to determine the main challenges they face in biodiversity management, to define their information needs, and to understand how best to deliver biodiversity information within a collaborative framework. The biodiversity management challenges that emerged included (1) the lack of well-defined biodiversity management policies, (2) understanding and quantifying the interaction effects between a number of factors (e.g., disturbance types, management practices) and biodiversity, (3) the lack of applied biodiversity monitoring strategies, (4) difficulty in locating and accessing biodiversity information, and (5) balancing conflicting values relating to biodiversity. We also list the biodiversity information product needs of clients, as well as preferred technology transfer methods, and we discuss the future direction of the Biodiversity Initiative.

The Community Socioeconomic Information System (CSIS) is a tool that allows users to retrieve 1990 and 2000 U.S. census data to examine conditions and trends for communities in western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California. The tool includes socioeconomic data for 1,314 communities in the entire region, including incorporated and unincorporated places. The tool delivers socioeconomic data using mapping and database features. In addition to providing data for one community, the tool produces community-level data at a variety of scales, including communities in areas surrounding Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands, all communities in the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) region, and communities within planning provinces within the NWFP region. One feature allows users to customize community data by creating boundaries and socioeconomic data for group of selected communities. The CSIS tool was designated to increase the usefulness of socioeconomic information at the small scale. Typically community socioeconomic assessments use U.S. census designations called census places. However, census places only represent a portion of the rural population. The CSIS uses a smaller unit of analysis (block groups) that we have aggregated to represent contiguous communities across the landscape, thereby representing the entire population. Community data can be printed as reports with graphs and tables, queried within an Access database, mapped and queried as geographic information system (GIS) data within ArcExplorer (a free GIS software included), exported as a table for use in Excel, or exported as GIS data for use in ArcGIS. The tool has features that allow users to locate communities by county or state and become familiar with local geography. The CSIS includes GIS data, such as major land ownerships, political boundaries, and physical landscape features. Applications produce maps that can be printed for specific communities showing community boundaries, water features, roads, metropolitan areas, community population centers, public land ownership, census places, planning provinces, counties, and state boundaries. Or, using the spatial data provided on the CD and ArcExplorer, users can produce custom maps.

The Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) is a large-scale ecosystem management plan for federal land in the Pacific Northwest. Marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) populations and habitat were monitored to evaluate effectiveness of the Plan. The chapters in this volume summarize information on marbled murrelet ecology and present the monitoring results for marbled murrelets over the first 10 years of the Plan, 1994 to 2003.

WestProPlus is an add-in program developed to work with Microsoft Excel to simulate the growth and management of all-aged Douglas-fir-western hemlock (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco-Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) stands in Oregon and Washington. Its built-in growth model was calibrated from 2,706 permanent plots in the Douglas-fir-western hemlock forest type in Oregon and Washington. Stands are described by the number of trees per acre in each of nineteen 2-in diameter classes in four species groups: Douglas-fir, other shadeintolerant species, western hemlock, and other shade-tolerant species. WestProPlus allows managers to predict stand development by year and for many decades from a specific initial state. The simulations can be stochastic or deterministic. The stochastic simulations are based on bootstrapping of the observed errors in models of stand growth, timber prices, and interest rate. When used in stochastic simulations, this bootstrap technique simulates random variables by sampling randomly (with replacement) from actual observations of the variable, rather than from an assumed distribution. Users can choose cutting regimes by specifying the interval between harvests (cutting cycle) and a target distribution of trees remaining after harvest. A target distribution can be a reverse-J-shaped distribution or any other desired distribution. Diameterlimit cuts can also be simulated. Tabulated and graphic results show diameter distributions, basal area, volumes by log grade, income, net present value, and indices of stand diversity by species and size. This manual documents the program installation and activation, provides suggestions for working with Excel, and gives background information on West-ProPlus's models. It offers a comprehensive tutorial in the form of two practical examples that explain how to start the program, enter simulation data, execute a simulation, compare simulations, and plot summary statistics.

Some federal forest managers working in late-successional reserves find themselves in a potential no-win situation. The Northwest Forest Plan requires that the reserves be protected from large-scale natural and human disturbances while simultaneously maintaining older forest habitat.

The Community Socioeconomic Information System (CSIS) is a tool that allows users to retrieve 1990 and 2000 U.S. census data to examine conditions and trends for communities in western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California. The tool includes socioeconomic data for 1,314 communities in the entire region, including incorporated and unincorporated places.

In spring 2004 and 2005, sawmill capacity and wood utilization information was collected for selected mills in southeast Alaska. The collected information is required to prepare information for compliance with Section 705(a) of the Tongass Timber Reform Act. The total capacity in the region (active and inactive mills) was 370,350 thousand board feet (mbf) Scribner log scale during both calendar (CYs) 2003 and 2004. The capacity of active mills for the same periods was 255,350 mbf. This is a 7.4-percent increase in active capacity from CY 2002 (237,850 mbf) to CY 2004. The actual volume of material processed during CY 2004 was 31,027 mbf Scribner log scale. This is a 21.9-percent reduction over CY 2002 (39,702 mbf Scribner log scale).

We evaluated the effects of vegetation control and organic matter (OM) removal on soil water content (SWC) in a Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) plantation from age 3 through age 5. Treatments were presence versus absence of vegetation control through year 5 and bole-only harvest of the previous stand versus total-tree harvest of the previous stand including removal of all coarse woody residues.

The condition of aquatic habitat and the health of aquatic species, particularly salmon, are a significant concern in the Pacific Northwest. Land management agencies use fish and riparian guidelines intended to maintain or improve aquatic habitat.

Participatory (collaborative, multiparty, citizen, volunteer) monitoring is a process that has been increasing in popularity and use in both developing and industrialized societies over the last several decades. It reflects the understanding that natural resource decisions are more effective and less controversial when stakeholders who have an interest in the results are involved in the process. An adequate number of such projects have now been organized, tried, and evaluated such that sufficient information exists to recommend a comprehensive approach to implementing such processes. This handbook was written for managers and scientists in the United States who are contemplating a participatory approach to monitoring biological resources, especially biodiversity. It is designed as a how-to manual with discussions of relevant topics, checklists of important considerations to address, and resources for further information. Worksheets for developing, implementing, and evaluating a monitoring plan are posted on a companion Web site. The subject matter is divided into 3 stages of a monitoring project encompassing a total of 22 topical modules. These modules can be used in any sequence on an ongoing basis. Stages and modules include (1) planning-documentation, goals, indicators, collaboration, decisions, context, organization, participants, communication, incentives, design, and resources; (2) implementation-training, safety, fieldwork, sampling, data, and quality; and (3) followthrough-analysis, reporting, evaluation, and celebrations. Collaboration always involves colearning, so documenting choices, plans, and activities with the Web site worksheets is integral to the manual's effectiveness.

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

The Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) identifies adaptive management as a central strategy for effective implementation. Despite this, there has been a lack of any systematic evaluation of its performance.

The importance to society of environmental services, provided by forest ecosystems, has significantly increased during the last few decades. A growing global concern with the deterioration of forests, beginning perhaps most noticeably in the 1980s, has led to an increasing public awareness of the environmental, cultural, economic, and social values that forests provide. Around the world, ideas of sustainable, close-to-nature, and multi-functional forestry have progressively replaced the older perception of forests as only a source for timber. The international impetus to protect and sustainably manage forests has come from global initiatives at management, conservation, and sustainable development related to all types of forests and forestry. A few of the more notable initiatives include: the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, UNCED); regional follow-ups to the Earth Summit such as the Montreal Process and Helsinki Accords; the forest elements of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC).

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

Current efforts to improve the scientific basis for fire management on public lands will benefit from more efficient transfer of technical information and tools that support planning, implementation, and effectiveness of vegetation and hazardous fuel treatments. The technical scope, complexity, and relevant spatial scale of analytical and decision-support tools differ considerably, which provides a challenge to resource managers and other users who want to select tools appropriate for a particular application. This publication provides a state-of-science summary of tools currently available for management of vegetation and fuels. Detailed summaries include a description of each tool, location where it can be obtained, relevant spatial scale, level of user knowledge required, data requirements, model outputs, application in fuel treatments, linkage to other tools, and availability of training and support. Streamlined summaries in tabular format allow users to rapidly identify those tools that could potentially be applied to a specific management need. In addition, an interdisciplinary team process is described that facilitates application of tools and decisionmaking at different spatial scales.

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

A recurrent theme in the development of U.S. forest policies has been the assertion of strong positive relations among communities, economies, and natural resource management. Now as a new round of federal land management planning is getting underway, questions are being raised about the strength of that assertion and how to view communities following a decade of reduced federal harvests. This report examines these questions considering the 433 communities in six Bureau of Land Management districts in western Oregon. It discusses the ways that forest-based communities have been considered in the context of federal forest management planning, and it summarizes information on socioeconomic conditions and trends for communities in western Oregon.

On October 18, 2006, a workshop was held in Vancouver, WA, with the title "Managing for wildlife habitat in Westside production forests." The purpose of the workshop was to provide prescriptions and guidelines for people who manage Westside forests (those west of the Cascade Mountains' crest) primarily for wood production, but because of mandate or personal preference, want to integrate wildlife values. The audience included over 150 professionals from forest industry, consulting firms, and public and tribal forest and wildlife management agencies. This proceedings includes ten papers based on oral presentations at the workshop plus a synthesis paper summarizing workshop themes, discussions, and related information. Topics include a history of wildlife management research in the Pacific Northwest, elements of habitat and how to manage for them, the challenges of appropriately implementing ecosystem management, and economic implications to private forestland owners.

The kitchen cabinet industry has shown significant growth recently, with expanding residential markets, new cabinet styles, and larger kitchens. This industry represents an opportunity for small Alaska wood producers to create high-value secondary products. In response to recent trends in kitchen cabinet manufacturing and the need to identify opportunities for underutilized species, the Alaska Wood Utilization Research and Development Center has conducted numerous studies evaluating consumer preferences for Alaska's primary hardwoods-Alaska birch (Betula papyrifera var. humilis )Reg.) Fern & Raup) and red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.). These studies explored consumer preferences under a range of marketing parameters, cabinet appearances, and regional market locations. This paper summarizes these studies and offers insights into the potential market for Alaska's hardwoods as secondary wood products such as kitchen cabinets.

Morels are prized edible mushrooms that fruit, sometimes prolifically, in many forest types throughout western North America. They are collected for personal consumption and commercially harvested as valuable special (nontimber) forest products. Large gaps remain, however, in our knowledge about their taxonomy, biology, ecology, cultivation, safety, and how to manage forests and harvesting activities to conserve morel populations and ensure sustainable crops. This publication provides forest managers, policymakers, mycologists, and mushroom harvesters with a synthesis of current knowledge regarding these issues, regional summaries of morel harvesting and management, and a comprehensive review of the literature.

Estimates of national forest recreation use are available at the national, regional, and forest levels via the USDA Forest Service National Visitor Use Monitoring (NVUM) program. In some resource planning and management applications, analysts desire recreation use estimates for subforest areas within an individual national forest or for subforest areas that combine portions of several national forests. In this research note we have detailed two approaches whereby the NVUM sampling data may be used to estimate recreation use for a subforest area within a single national forest or for a subforest area combining portions of more than one national forest. The approaches differ in their data requirements, complexity, and assumptions. In the "new forest" approach, recreation use is estimated by using NVUM data obtained only from NVUM interview sites within the area of interest. In the "all-forest information" approach, recreation use is estimated by using sample data gathered on all portions of the national forest(s) that contain the area of interest.

This report reviews the growing literature on the concept of agency-citizen interactions after large wildfires. Because large wildfires have historically occurred at irregular intervals, research from related fields has been reviewed where appropriate. This issue is particularly salient in the West where excess fuel conditions indicate that the large wildfires occurring in many states are expected to continue to be a major problem for forest managers in the coming years. This review focuses on five major themes that emerge from prior research: contextual considerations, barriers and obstacles, uncertainty and perceptions of risk, communication and outreach, and bringing communities together. It offers ideas on how forest managers can interact with stakeholders for planning and restoration activities after a large wildfire. Management implications are included.

The marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) ranges from Alaska to California and is listed under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species in Washington, Oregon, and California. Marbled murrelet recovery depends, in large part, on conservation and restoration of breeding habitat on federally managed lands. A major objective of the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) is to conserve and restore nesting habitat that will sustain a viable marbled murrelet population. Under the Plan, monitoring is an essential component and is designed to help managers understand the degree to which the Plan is meeting this objective. This report describes methods used to assess the status and trend of marbled murrelet populations under the Plan.

This publication provides information about prescribed fire effects on habitats and populations of birds of the interior West and a synthesis of existing information on bird responses to fire across North America. Our literature synthesis indicated that aerial, ground, and bark insectivores favored recently burned habitats, whereas foliage gleaners preferred unburned habitats.

Given increasing need and decreasing capacity, the Forest Service outdoor recreation research program must strategize how best to address current and future priorities. The papers compiled here were presented at the National Workshop on Recreation Research and Management held in Portland, Oregon, February 8-10, 2005. Papers are organized around four themes: Understanding Forest Recreation Visitors, Recreation Planning & Monitoring, Recreation Management, and Special Issues in Recreation.

Operational-scale experiments that evaluate the consequences of fire and mechanical "surrogates" for natural disturbance events are essential to better understand strategies for reducing the incidence and severity of wildfire. The national Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) study was initiated in 1999 to establish an integrated network of long-term studies designed to evaluate the consequences of using fire and fire surrogate treatments for fuel reduction and forest restoration. Beginning in September2005, four regional workshops were conducted with selected clients to identify effective and efficient means of communicating FFS study findings to users. We used participatory evaluation to design the workshops, collect responses to focused questions and impressions, and summarize the results. We asked four overarching questions: (1) Who needs fuel reduction information? (2) What information do they need? (3) Why do they need it? (4) How can it best be delivered to them? Participants identified key users of FFS science and technology, specific pieces of information that users most desired, and how this information might be applied to resolve fuel reduction and restoration issues. They offered recommendations for improving overall science delivery and specific ideas for improving delivery of FFS study results and information. User groups identified by workshop participants and recommendations for science delivery are then combined in a matrix to form the foundation of a strategic plan for conducting science delivery of FFS study results and information. These potential users, their information needs, and preferred science delivery processes likely have wide applicability to other fire science research.

Current resource statistics for the Umatilla National Forest, based on two separate inventories conducted in 1993-96 and in 1997-2002, are presented in this report. Currently on the Umatilla National Forest, 89 percent of the land area is classified as forest land. The predominant forest type is grand fir (26 percent of forested acres) followed by the interior Douglas-fir (25 percent) and ponderosa pine (17 percent) types. The majority of net cubic foot wood volume (55 percent) comes from trees ranging in size from 11 to 23 inches diameter at breast height. The most commonly recorded cause of tree death was bark beetle (primarily Dendroctonus spp.) attack, with over half of the mortality volume attributed to these insects.

Hemlock dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium tsugense [Rosendahl] G.N. Jones) is a small, inconspicuous parasite that has significant effects on tree growth and stand structure in coastal forest ecosystems of western North America. Most previous research focused on the effects of hemlock dwarf mistletoe on timber production. Previous clearcut harvesting of large areas that removed virtually all infected trees and forestry practices that established even-aged stands of trees effectively prevented or minimized future hemlock dwarf mistletoe impacts. Under this regime, further research on hemlock dwarf mistletoe was considered unnecessary. However, current forestry practices that restrict clearcut harvesting to small openings and retain live trees to preserve attributes of old-growth forests create conditions that appear highly favorable for enhanced seed production by hemlock dwarf mistletoe, early spread of the mistletoe to infect young trees, and, consequently, increased growth impacts to residual trees over time. More information is needed on the biology and impacts of hemlock dwarf mistletoe in coastal western hemlock retention harvested forests in the United States of America and Canada. Further work is recommended to develop sampling and monitoring procedures to determine hemlock dwarf mistletoe spread and impacts. We also need to investigate several unusual aspects of hemlock dwarf mistletoe biology and development such as long-distance seed dispersal and persistence in old-growth forests. Detailed tree, stand, and forest-level models are needed to monitor and project hemlock dwarf mistletoe effects over a wide range of ecological conditions and management regimes in coastal forests.

Lichens are highly valued ecological indicators known for their sensitivity to a wide variety of environmental stressors like air quality and climate change. This report summarizes baseline results from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Lichen Community Indicator covering the first full cycle of data collection (1998-2001, 2003) for Washington, Oregon, and California. During this period, FIA conducted 972 surveys of epiphytic macrolichen communities for monitoring both spatial and long-term temporal trends in forest health. Major research findings are presented with emphasis on lichen biodiversity as well as bioindication of air quality and climate. Considerable effort is devoted to mapping geographic patterns and defining lichen indicator species suitable for estimating air quality and climate.

Estimates of forest carbon stores and flux for California circa 1990 were modeled from forest inventory data in support of California's legislatively mandated greenhouse gas inventory. Reliable estimates of live-tree carbon stores and flux on timberlands outside of national forest could be calculated from periodic inventory data collected in the 1980s and 1990s; however, estimation of circa 1990 flux on national forests and forests other than timberland was problematic owing to a combination of changing inventory protocols and definitions and the lack of remeasurement data on those land categories. We estimate annual carbon flux on the 7.97 million acres of timberlands outside of national forests (which account for 24 percent of California's forest area and 28 percent of its live tree aboveground biomass) at 2.9 terragrams per year.

In recent years, interest has increased in restoring Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana Dougl. ex Hook.) and prairie landscapes in the Pacific Northwest, especially where elements of historical plant communities are intact. We evaluated the effect of alternative management scenarios on the extent and condition of Oregon white oak, the extent of prairie, and the harvest and standing volumes of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) within a 2934-ha portion of Fort Lewis, Washington (named the Tenalquot Planning Area for the purpose of the project). A landscape-level analysis of the scenarios was completed using a geographic information system, a forest growth model (ORGANON), and landscape visualization software (EnVision). The scenarios ranged from no active management to restoration of the historical extent of oak and prairies within the planning area. The results indicate that the window of opportunity for restoring oak and prairie landscapes in the Puget Sound lowlands and other regions is small, and aggressive management is needed to maintain or enhance these landscapes. The project demonstrates the value of landscape level analyses and the use of new technologies for conveying the results of alternative management scenarios.

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

We describe a protocol to monitor the effectiveness of the Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP) management standards for maintaining fish habitat. The protocol uses juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in small tributary streams in forested watersheds. We used a 3-year pilot study to develop detailed methods to estimate juvenile salmonid populations, measure habitat, and quantitatively determine trends in juvenile coho salmon abundance over 10 years. Coho salmon have been shown to be sensitive to habitat alterations, and we use coho salmon parr as the primary indicator in the protocol. A priori criteria for type I and type II error rates, effect size, and sample sizes for the protocol were derived with estimates of variance computed from the 3-year pilot study. The protocol is designed to detect trends in abundance of coho salmon parr, as well as coho salmon fry and Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma), in small streams managed according to TLMP standards and guidelines and to compare these to trends in unmanaged (old-growth) watersheds. Trends are adjusted to account for statistically significant habitat covariates. This information provides an important element in monitoring land management practices in the Tongass National Forest. The methods we describe may have application to monitoring protocols elsewhere for fish populations and land management practices.

Over a 3-day weekend in the spring of 2004 a group of scientists interested in extending understanding of place as applied in recreation research and management convened a working session in Portland, Oregon. The purpose of the gathering was to clarify their understanding of place-related concepts, approaches to the study of people-place relations, and the application of that understanding in recreation management for the purpose of integrating perspectives from different disciplines, discussing approaches to understanding and measuring sense of place, and other questions around the study and application of place-related concepts. Topics that generated the most discussion included how social processes influence place meanings, how place meanings are shared and negoitated within social groups, and when and how place meanings and attachments focus, reduce, or avert conflict in natural resource planning and management. This collection of papers is a result of that meeting.

The HCR (Harvest Cost-Revenue) Estimator is engineering and financial analysis software used to evaluate stand-level financial thresholds for harvesting smalldiameter ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) in the Southwest United States. The Windows-based program helps contractors and planners to identify costs associated with tree selection, residual handling, transportation of raw materials, and equipment used. Costs are compared against total financial return for regionally based market opportunities to arrive at potential net profit. Information is used to identify per-acre cost thresholds, for contract appraisal, and for prioritizing project planning for wildfire fuel reduction treatments and forest restoration efforts.

We examine the use of woody residues, primarily from forest harvesting or wood products manufacturing operations (and to a limited degree from urban wood wastes), as a feedstock for direct-combustion bioenergy systems for electrical or thermal power applications. We examine opportunities for utilizing biomass for energy at several different scales, with an emphasis on larger scale electrical power generation at stand-alone facilities, and on smaller scale facilities (thermal heating only) such as governmental, educational, or other institutional facilities. We then identify west-wide barriers that tend to inhibit bioenergy applications, including accessibility, terrain, harvesting costs, and capital costs. Finally, we evaluate the role of government as a catalyst in stimulating new technologies and new uses of biomass material.

This report synthesizes the literature on the role of informal economic activity in the United States postindustrial economy. Informal economic activity is expanding in the United States and is likely to continue in the foreseeable future. The formal and informal economic sectors are inextricably intertwined, with individuals and households combining elements of both sectors to construct their livelihoods. Although the informal economy is often thought of as the domain of economically marginal individuals and households, virtually everyone participates in the informal economy to some extent. However, the literature highlights how factors such as social status and household position in the formal economy affect whether participation in informal economic activity is exploitative or empowering. The nontimber forest products sector serves as a case study of why it is important to consider informal economic activity when developing natural resource and economic development policy. We recommend steps policymakers can take to identify and encourage positive aspects of the informal economic activity. We also highlight several areas of research to improve understandings of the role of informal economic activity in postindustrial societies.

Four types of tree shelters were evaluated in southwestern Washington for their effects on seedling microenvironment and performance of two tree species. Shelter types were fine-mesh fabric shelters, solid-walled white shelters with and without vent holes, and solid-walled blue unvented shelters. Summer mean and daily maximum air temperatures were increased by 0.8 degrees C and 3.6 degrees C, respectively, in solid-walled tree shelters. Shelter color and shelter venting did not influence air temperatures. Tree shelters only affected vapor pressure deficit late in the growing season. Midday photosynthetically active radiation within shelters ranged from 54 percent of full sun in fine-mesh fabric shelters to 15 percent of full sun in blue solid-walled shelters. In the first year after planting, height and diameter growth of western redcedar (Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don) were significantly increased by all shelter types, with blue solid-walled shelters resulting in the greatest height growth. However, in blue solid-walled shelters, photosynthesis and stem diameter growth of Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana Dougl. ex Hook.) seedlings were significantly less than for unsheltered seedlings.

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

Removing dams that are outdated, unsafe, or pose significant economic or environmental costs has emerged in the last 10 years as a major river restoration strategy.

This synthesis provides an ecological foundation for management of the diverse ecosystems and fire regimes of North America, based on scientific principles of fire interactions with vegetation, fuels, and biophysical processes. Although a large amount of scientific data on fire exists, most of those data have been collected at small spatial and temporal scales. Thus, it is challenging to develop consistent science-based plans for large spatial and temporal scales where most fire management and planning occur. Understanding the regional geographic context of fire regimes is critical for developing appropriate and sustainable management strategies and policy. The degree to which human intervention has modified fire frequency, intensity, and severity varies greatly among different ecosystems, and must be considered when planning to alter fuel loads or implement restorative treatments. Detailed discussion of six ecosystems--ponderosa pine forest (western North America), chaparral (California), boreal forest (Alaska and Canada), Great Basin sagebrush (intermountain West), pine and pine-hardwood forests (Southern Appalachian Mountains), and longleaf pine (Southeastern United States)--illustrates the complexity of fire regimes and that fire management requires a clear regional focus that recognizes where conflicts might exist between fire hazard reduction and resource needs. In some systems, such as ponderosa pine, treatments are usually compatible with both fuel reduction and resource needs, whereas in others, such as chaparral, the potential exists for conflicts that need to be closely evaluated. Managing fire regimes in a changing climate and social environment requires a strong scientific basis for developing fire management and policy.

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is a valuable species that is declining in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. This publication is a compilation of over 20 years of aspen management experience by USDA Forest Service workers in the Blue Mountains.

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

The Forest Service system of experimental forests and ranges (EFRs) and other sites of long-term silvicultural, watershed, and ecological research have contributed to science and natural resource management for more than a century. An important aspect of the success of EFR programs is strong collaboration between the research and land manager communities. This guide offers suggestions for effective research management partnerships based at EFRs and other long-term research sites. Keys to success include mutual understanding and respect, shared commitment to learning, and joint projects and communications programs.

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

This study presents results of statistical tests for stumpage market integration on 62 national forests in the Western United States. Quarterly stumpage prices from 1984 to 2007 obtained from cut and sold reports for USDA Forest Service Regions 1, 4, 5, and 6 (Northern, Intermountain, Pacific Southwest, and Pacific Northwest, respectively) were analyzed to establish the presence and extent of national forest timber markets.

This report is a compilation of four briefing papers based on literature reviews and syntheses, prepared for USDA Forest Service policy analysts and decisionmakers about specific questions pertaining to climate change. The main topics addressed here are effects of climate change on wildlife habitat, other ecosystem services, and land values; socioeconomic impacts of climate change on rural communities; and competitiveness of carbon offset projects on nonindustrial private forests in the United States.

This guidebook describes Camas Swale Research Natural Area, a 127-ha (314-ac) area that supports dry site, old-growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forest. Major plant associations present within the area include the Douglas-fir/salal/western swordfern (Pseudotsuga menziesii/Gaultheria shallon/Polystichummunitum) plant association, Douglas-fir/Oregongrape (Pseudotsuga menziesii/Berberis nervosa) plant association, Douglas-fir/poison oak (Pseudotsuga menziesii/Toxicodendron diversilobum) plant association, and Douglas-fir/hazelnut-trailing snowberry/western swordfern (Pseudotsuga menziesii/Corylus cornutavar. californica-Symphoricarpos mollis/Polystichum munitum) plant association.

Climate change presents a major challenge to natural resource managers both because of the magnitude of potential effects of climate change on ecosystem structure, processes, and function, and because of the uncertainty associated with those potential ecological effects. Concrete ways to adapt to climate change are needed to help natural resource managers take the first steps to incorporate climate change into management and take advantage of opportunities to counteract the negative effects of climate change. We began a climate change adaptation case study at Olympic National Forest (ONF) in partnership with Olympic National Park (ONP) to determine how to adapt management of federal lands on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, to climate change. The case study began in the summer of 2008 and continued for 1½ years. The case study process involved science-based sensitivity assessments, review of management activities and constraints, and adaptation workshops in each of four focus areas (hydrology and roads, fish, vegetation, and wildlife). The process produced adaptation options for ONF and ONP, and illustrated the utility of place-based vulnerability assessment and science-management workshops in adapting to climate change. The case study process provides an example for other national forests, national parks, and natural resource agencies of how federal land management units can collaborate in the initial stages of climate change adaptation. Many of the ideas generated through this process can potentially be applied in other locations and in other agencies.

The Forest Inventory and Analysis program collected, analyzed, and summarized field data on 37 field plots on the islands of Rota, Tinian, and Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).