Sold prices for national forest stumpage provide geographically specific price references for timber. This report presents "sold" price series for western national forests between 1984 and the first 3 months of 2007. Selected trends in stumpage prices and sold volumes as well as issues related to species aggregation in the data are also discussed.

Provides current information on lumber and plywood production and prices; employment in the forest industries; international trade in logs, lumber, and plywood; volume and average prices of stumpage sold by public agencies; and other related items.

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).

The Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) project is a large long-term metastudy established to assess the effectiveness and ecological impacts of burning and fire "surrogates" such as cuttings and mechanical fuel treatments that are used instead of fire, or in combination with fire, to restore dry forests. One of the 13 national FFS sites is the Northeastern Cascades site at Mission Creek on the Okanogan- Wenatchee National Forest. The study area includes 12 forested stands that encompass a representative range of dry forest conditions in the northeastern Cascade Range. We describe site histories and environmental settings, experimental design, field methods, and quantify the pretreatment composition and structure of vegetation, fuels, soils and soil biota, entomology and pathology, birds, and small mammals that occurred during the 2000 and 2001 field seasons. We also describe the implementation of thinning treatments completed during 2003 and spring burning treatments done during 2004 and 2006.

Based on an in-grade testing program, the Ketchikan Wood Technology Center has registered three proprietary grademarks for Alaska species of hemlock (Tsuga heteraphylla (Raf.) Sarg.), yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (D. Don) Spach), and spruce (combined Sitka spruce [Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.] and white spruce [Picea glauca (Moench) Voss]). The Ketchikan Wood Technology Center conducted tests to establish glulam beam manufacturing specifications. In conjunction with this program, there is a need to measure the market for glulam beams in Alaska. The purpose of this research was to compare Alaska residential builder adoption rates of glulam beams and other engineered wood products to those of the continental United States. The results showed that a higher percentage of Alaska builders use glulam beams compared with builders in the rest of the United States.

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

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

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

This paper analyzes patterns of forest products trade between Asia and Alaska.

This study's objective was to document and describe the current seedling bank of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) stands in southeast Alaska that were partially cut between 1900 and 1984.

Provides current information on lumber and plywood production and prices; employment in the forest industries; international trade in logs, lumber, and plywood; volume and average prices of stumpage sold by public agencies; and other related items.

Development of a regional lichen gradient model from community data is a powerful tool to derive lichen indexes of response to environmental factors for large-scale and long-term monitoring of forest ecosystems. The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service includes lichens in its national inventory of forests of the United States, to help monitor the status of forested ecosystems.

Lichens are one of several forest health indicators sampled every year for a subset of plots on the permanent grid established by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. This report reviews analysis procedures for standard FIA lichen indicator data. Analyses of lichen data contribute to state, regional, and national reports that evaluate spatial pattern and temporal trends in forest biodiversity, air quality, and climate.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aimed to create jobs and jumpstart the economy while addressing the Nation's social and environmental needs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, received $1.15 billion in recovery funding to support projects in wildland fire management, capital improvement and maintenance, and biomass utilization. This volume contains eight individual case-study reports that describe how Forest Service economic recovery projects from around the United States are contributing to socioeconomic well-being in rural communities and investigates how forest restoration, conservation, and rural community development goals can be linked to promote healthy forests and healthy communities.

Traditionally, there has been a strong forest products trade between Alaska and Asia. This trade relationship has developed owing to Alaska's proximity to Asia and, in the past, an abundance of high-quality timber. Although forest products markets in North America remain soft, markets in Asia are growing. However, to benefit from Asia's growing forest products market, it is important to understand the concepts of global shipping including containerization, intermodal transport, non vessel operating common carriers, and freight forwarders. One key development that could have a major impact on Alaska's forest products trade is the opening of the Port of Prince Rupert (British Columbia) in 2007. The Port of Prince Rupert ships lumber, logs, and wood pellets to Asia and is much closer to southeast Alaska than are the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. The Prince Rupert port is also 1 day closer to Asia. Despite Prince Rupert's proximity to Alaska, however, there is still no regularly scheduled barge service between the Port of Prince Rupert and southeast Alaska. Potential connections that may develop are examined in this paper. This paper also examines the changing concepts of global shipping and how they affect Alaska's forest products industry.

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

Provides current information on lumber and plywood production and prices; employment in the forest industries; international trade in logs, lumber, and plywood; volume and average prices of stumpage sold by public agencies; and other related items.

A gradient-analysis-based model and grid-based map are presented that use the potential vegetation zone as the object of the model. Several new variables are presented that describe the environmental gradients of the landscape at different scales. Boundary algorithms are conceptualized, and then defined, that describe the environmental boundaries between vegetation zones on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, USA.

Provides historical information on log harvest; employment in the forest industries; international trade in logs, lumber, and chips; and volume and average prices of sawtimber stumpage sold by national forests.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act) aimed to create jobs and promote economic growth while addressing the Nation's social and environmental needs. The USDA Forest Service received $1.15 billion in economic recovery funding. This report contains key findings and lessons learned from a socioeconomic assessment of Forest Service Recovery Act projects. The assessment examines how Forest Service economic recovery projects at eight case-study locations around the United States are contributing to socioeconomic well-being in rural counties affected by the economic recession of 2007-2009. It also investigates how Forest Service mission-related work can be accomplished in a manner that creates local community development opportunities. This report is a companion to general technical report PNW-GTR-831, which contains the full case-study reports.

This document introduces a computer software named SNAP for ArcGIS®, which has been developed to streamline scheduling and transportation planning for timber harvest areas. Using modern optimization techniques, it can be used to spatially schedule timber harvest with consideration of harvesting costs, multiple products, alternative destinations, and transportation systems. SNAP for ArcGIS attempts either to maximize a net present value or minimize discounted costs of harvesting and transportation over the planning horizon while meeting given harvest volume and acreage constraints. SNAP for ArcGIS works in the ArcGIS environment and provides an easy-to-use analytical tool for sophisticated spatial planning of timber harvest.

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

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

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

Provides current information on lumber and plywood production and prices; employment in the forest industries; international trade in logs, lumber, and plywood; volume and average prices of stumpage sold by public agencies; and other related items.

This report documents the results from the first “5-year” round of understory responses to the Tongass-Wide Young-Growth Studies (TWYGS) treatments, especially in relation to their effects on food resources for black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis). Responses of understory vegetation to precommercial silviculture experiments after their first 4 to 8 years posttreatment were analyzed with the Forage Resource Evaluation System for Habitat (FRESH)-Deer model. The studies were conducted in western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)-Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) young-growth forests in southeast Alaska. All four TWYGS experiments were studied: (I) planting of red alder (Alnus rubra) within 1- to 5-year-old stands; (II) precommercial thinning at narrow and wide spacings (549 and 331 trees per hectare, respectively) in 15- to 25-year-old stands; (III) precommercial thinning at medium spacing (420 trees per hectare) with and without pruning in 25- to 35-yearold stands; and (IV) precommercial thinning at wide spacing (203 trees per hectare) with and without slash treatment versus thinning by girdling in >35-year-old stands. All experiments also included untreated control stands of identical age. FRESHDeer was used to evaluate the implications for deer habitat in terms of forage resources (species-specific biomass, digestible protein, and digestible dry matter) relative to deer metabolic requirements in summer (at two levels of requirements—maintenance only vs. lactation) and in winter (at six levels of snow depth).

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

These are the proceedings of the 2005 workshop titled implications of bringing climate into natural resource management in the Western United States. This workshop was an attempt to further the dialogue among scientists, land managers, landowners, interested stakeholders and the public about how individuals are addressing climate change in natural resource management.

The U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station today released a new report that outlines a climate adaptation strategy for yellow-cedar in Alaska.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station is pleased to announce the arrival of Matt Rollins as the Threat Characterization and Management (TCM) Program Manager.

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

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

On February 4, 2014, a seven-member expert panel provided objective technical information on the potential effectiveness and feasibility of activities to manage raptors (northern harriers and great horned owls) to aid the recovery of western snowy plovers.

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

The Community Biomass Handbook Volume 4: Enterprise Development for Integrated Wood Manufacturing is a guide for creating sustainable business enterprises using small diameter logs and biomass. This fourth volume is a companion to three Community Biomass Handbook volumes: Volume 1: Thermal Wood Energy; Volume 2: Alaska, Where Woody Biomass Can Work; and Volume 3: How Wood Energy is Revitalizing Rural Alaska. This volume is designed to help business partnerships, forest managers, and community groups rapidly explore and evaluate integrated manufacturing opportunities.

Southeast Alaska is a remote area, located approximately 700 miles north of Seattle, Washington. Most of the region’s goods are imported by barge, creating logistical and economic challenges not faced by many other parts of the United States. In this context, we used life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the potential environmental impact on global warming potential (GWP) of converting home heating systems from heating oil to wood pellets in southeast Alaska. Once the current level (status quo) was established, we evaluated imported pellet utilization at 20-, 40- and 100-percent penetration into the residential heating oil markets. We also modeled local production of wood pellets in southeast Alaska, assuming a 20-percent penetration. Our research found that reductions in GWP resulting from the conversion to wood pellets ranged from 10 to 51 percent, with the greatest reductions being associated with the highest levels of imported pellets. The scenario of producing wood pellets in southeast Alaska to meet local needs had a reduction in GWP of 14 percent (versus the status quo).

The ‘Gene Conservation of Tree Species—Banking on the Future Workshop’ provided a forum for presenting and discussing issues and accomplishments in genetic conservation of trees, and notably those of North America. The meeting gathered scientists, specialists, administrators and conservation practitioners from federal, university, non-governmental and public garden institutions worldwide. The 81 submissions included in this Proceedings are from oral and poster presentations at the 2016 workshop held in Chicago, Illinois. They update the science and policy of genetic conservation of trees, showcase current successes, and provide guidance for future efforts. This Proceedings is complemented by 11 related papers gathered in a special issue of the journal New Forests (Vol 48, No. 2, 2017). In addition to plenary talks that provided overviews of some national and international efforts, there were concurrent sessions with themes of Conservation Strategies, Pest and Pathogen Resistance, Genetic Conservation, Tools for Tree Genetic Conservation, Conservation Program Case Studies, Designing Seed Collections, Ex Situ Conservation, and Science in Support of Conservation. The meeting was also the venue for special sessions on Coordinating the Red List of North American Tree Species, Innovative Approaches for Assessing and Prioritizing Tree Species and Populations for Gene Conservation, Community Standards for Genomic Resources, Genetic Conservation and Data Integration, and Development of Seed Zones for the Eastern U.S., and a group discussion on Improving Genetic Conservation Efforts.

As part of the 10-year socioeconomic monitoring of the Northwest Forest Plan, this report evaluates changes in Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) procurement contracting between 1990 and 2002 by asking, (1) How much and what kind of work did the Forest Service and BLM contract during this period, and (2) who received economic benefits from this procurement contracting? Procurement contracting is a particular focus of the socioeconomic monitoring because one expectation of the Northwest Forest Plan was that the Forest Service and BLM would create high-skill, high-wage private sector jobs in public land restoration through contracting to partially offset job losses in timber production, harvesting, and processing. This report finds that, to the contrary, the Forest Service reduced its contracting of land management activities on national forests in the Northwest Forest Plan area from a high of $103 million in 1991 to a low of $33 million in 2002. By contrast, BLM spending was fairly constant at just under $20 million annually. Both the Forest Service and the BLM changed the type of activities that they contracted, shifting from activities associated with intensive forest management such as tree planting in clearcuts to activities associated with ecosystem management. Contractors located near national forests and BLM lands and rural communities captured a similar proportion of contracts in both the earlier and later parts of the study period. However, the significant decline in Forest Service contract spending resulted in considerable decline in the amount of money flowing to rural communities through contracting. Thus, it is unlikely that federal land management contracting created a net increase in jobs to replace jobs lost in mills and logging operations in public lands communities.

Study objectives were to evaluate yearly fluctuations in herbage canopy cover and production to aid in defining characteristics of range condition guides. Sites are located in the forested Blue Mountains of central Oregon. They were selected from those used to develop range condition guides where soil, topographic, and vegetation parameters were measured as a characterization of best range condition. Plant community dominants were ponderosa pine/pinegrass, ponderosa pine/bitterbrush/Idaho fescue savanna, low sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass, and rigid sagebrush scabland. None of the sites were grazed during the previous 30 years or during the 27-year study. Each location was permanently marked by fence posts, and a meter board was placed 10 m down an established transect line. Photographs (color slides) were taken down the transect with closeups left and right of the meter board. Sampling was limited to August 1-4 each year when canopy cover and herbage production were determined. Both total canopy cover and herbage production varied by about a 2.4-fold difference on each site over the 27 years. Apparently "good range condition" may be something of a "running target" and lacks a well-defined set of parameters. Canopy cover is a poor parameter for characterizing range condition. Three of the four plant communities were dominated by bunchgrasses. Abundance of seedheads is commonly used to indicate good range health. But on these sites, seedheads were not produced about half the time. Because these sites were in "good range condition," lack of seedhead production may indicate maximum competition in the community. Maximum competition and maximum vigor do not seem to be synonymous. These bunchgrass communities varied in their greenness on the first of August each year from cured brown to rather vibrant green suggesting important annual differences in phenology. The pinegrass community, being dominated by rhizomatous species, showed surprising variance in seedhead production. Pinegrass did not flower, but Wheeler's bluegrass, lupine, and Scouler's woolyweed were quite variable, averaging inflorescences only 75 percent of the time.

Invasive nonnative plants may be responsible for serious, long-term ecological impacts, including altering fire behavior and fire regimes. Therefore, knowing how to successfully manage invasive plants and their impacts on natural resources is crucial. We present a summary of research on invasive plants and fire that has been generated through the Joint Fire Science Program—focusing specifically on ecology of species invasions, the interactions between fire and invasives, and the responses of invasives to different management practices. Selected findings include (1) prescribed fire may increase invasive species in some ecosystems; (2) fuel treatments that leave some overstory canopy, minimize exposure of bare ground, and target sites that already host species capable of resprouting may be less likely to promote invasives; and (3) postfire seeding should be approached with caution, as it can increase invasives.

Oregon white oak savannas and woodlands represent a biological and cultural legacy in the Pacific Northwest. Many Oregon white oak stands are deteriorating owing to invasion and eventual overtopping by Douglas-fir or other conifers. Releasing the shade-intolerant oak trees from overtopping conifers can often restore these oak stands. When planning a release operation, there are many factors to consider such as timing and intensity of release, which trees to select for release, and management of the understory. A carefully executed oak release can minimize damage to oak trees, and followup treatments may reduce the spread of invasive plants. This guide answers the most commonly asked questions related to oak release.

This is a state-of-the-science synthesis of the effects of forest harvest activities on peak flows and channel morphology in the Pacific Northwest, with a specific focus on western Oregon and Washington. We develop a database of relevant studies reporting peak flow data across rain-, transient-, and snow-dominated hydrologic zones, and provide a quantitative comparison of changes in peak flow across both a range of flows and forest practices. Increases in peak flows generally diminish with decreasing intensity of percentage of watershed harvested and lengthening recurrence intervals of flow. Watersheds located in the rain dominated zone appear to be less sensitive to peak flow changes than those in the transient snow zone; insufficient data limit interpretations for the snow zone. Where present, peak flow effects on channel morphology should be confined to stream reaches where channel gradients are less than approximately 0.02 and streambeds are composed of gravel and finer material. We provide guidance as to how managers might evaluate the potential risk of peak flow increases based on factors such as presence of roads, watershed drainage efficiency, and specific management treatments employed. The magnitude of effects of forest harvest on peak flows in the Pacific Northwest, as represented by the data reported here, are relatively minor in comparison to other anthropogenic changes to streams and watersheds.

Steven Quinn was fined a total of £360 and ordered to pay £62 compensation after walking out without settling-up at Lau's restaurant, in Newcastle City Centre

The Voice UK coach Olly has apologised after the risque video of him and his girlfriend went viral

Gogglebox star Mary Killen has been slammed by some viewers over her impression of the North Korean accent

The notorious North East prison has been dubbed 'Monster Mansion' due to list of violent killers and rapists it houses

Premier League clubs will also hold a videoconference on Monday to discuss Project Restart

The former striker is now a fully-fledged member of the back-room team and wants Longstaff "locked down" to a new contract