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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Forest thinning good for old growth Tree-talking,
pine trees according to OSU study gun-wielder
A new study by for-
estry researchers at Oregon
State University (OSU) has
found that old-growth pon-
derosa pine, even trees
more than 250 years old,
can increase their growth,
improve their health and
respond quickly to thin-
ning that provides the trees
with more water.
The research, just pub-
lished in the professional
journal Plant, Cell and En-
vironment, may have im-
portant implications for the
management of
old-
growth pine forests in the
western U.S., scientists
said.
Millions of acres of
these forests are in very
poor condition, suffering
from a century of fire sup-
pression that has led to
vastly overcrowded condi-
tions, inadequate water and
nutrients, poor tree growth,
catastrophic fire and huge
epidemics of insects that
prey on the weakened
trees.
The new study, which
used a technical analysis of
carbon isotopes to gauge
tree water tree and photo-
synthesis before and after
thinning, showed that even
trees which are hundreds
of years old can increase
their growth and presuma-
bly their ability to resist
insect attack if they are
given a chance.
“Some people believe
that old-growth ponderosa
pine forests are decadent,
that they can’t really re-
spond to the aggressive
thinning that would restore
conditions similar to those
we had before fire was
excluded from these for-
ests,” said Stephen Fitzger-
ald, an OSU extension sil-
viculture specialist and
expert on the types of pine
forests that dominate much
of the drier portions of the
American West.
“We found that simply
isn’t true,” Fitzgerald said.
“This research demon-
strates we can restore the
health and growth of these
forests even with trees that
are hundreds of years old.
Most likely, we will need
to use a combination of
mechanical thinning and
controlled fire or other
techniques that are appro-
priate to the site.”
Such approaches have
gained some interest and
use in areas near the urban-
‘Blind spot’ troubles cured
by adjusting your mirrors
By properly adjusting
your side-view mirrors and
continuing to use your
rear-view mirror, you can
reduce the “blind spot.”
For the driver-side
mirror, place the left side
of your face against the
inside driver’s-side win-
dow, and set the mirror to
you can just see the left
side of your vehicle.
For the passenger-side
mirror, sit on the center of
wildland interface in parts
of the West the researchers
said, but very little use to
date in vast areas of inte-
rior old growth forests that
re hugely crowded and in
very poor health. This sets
the stage fore uncharacter-
istically intense stand-
replacement fires or insect
attack, particularly by
mountain pine beetles, that
will eventually kill the
weakened old-growth
stands, Fitzgerald said.
Hi s t o r i c a l l y, fi re
moved through many dry
forest regions of the West
as often as every 10-15
years, the OSU scientist
said.
In areas suitable for
ponderosa pine, this
“thinning by fire” resulted
in a park-like setting of 12-
35 huge ponderosa pine
trees per acre, with very
little underbrush or other
trees.
Trees 300-500 years
old thrived - with some
trees living up to 800 years
- and these healthy ecosys-
tems supported a broad
range of other plants,
grasses and wildlife spe-
cies that were associated
with these park-like old-
If we are to preserve
civilization, we must first
remain civilized.
- Louis St. Laurent -
the front seat. If your vehi-
cle has bucket seats, lean
to get your head as close to
the center of the wind-
shield as possible. Set the
mirror so that you can just
see the right side of your
vehicle.
If you have adjusted
your mirrors properly, you
won’t be able to see either
side of your vehicle in the
mirrors while driving.
-State Farm Insurance
in custody
A gun-wielding man
Brookings Police officers
arrested recently had been
arrested earlier the same
day, but was turned loose
because there was no room
in Curry County Jail.
Shad S. Erbinger, 32,
had to be wrestled to the
ground by officers arrest-
ing him after he bran-
dished a gun at another
man during an argument,
police said.
Erbinger was charged
with two counts of reckless
endangerment, two counts
of domestic menacing, har-
assment, and pointing a
firearm at another person.
Erbinger had been ar-
rested by officers earlier
the same day for out-
standing warrants; one
from Josephine County
and two from Jackson
County.
The first arrest fol-
lowed an encounter a
woman had with Erbinger
while walking her dog in
Brookings, police said. She
said that Erbinger, who
“had been talking to a
tree,” jumped at her as she
tried to walk around him,
but was frightened away
by her dog barking.
-Brookings ‘Curry
Coastal Pilot
(541) 476-2127
Word of
the Week
Navigable:
1.Deep and wide
enough to provide
passage to ships.
2. Capable of being
steered or guided,
as a ship, aircraft, or
missile.
Webster’s College
Dictionary
Taylor’s Special:
Taylor’s Hot or Sweet
Italian Links - $2.19 lb.
Pilsner Urquell - $14 per 1/2 case
(plus deposit)
****August Events: 7-10 p.m.****
*Friday, Aug. 22
‘Route 66’ - Hot Country
Dinner Special -
Spaghetti with Meatballs, Garlic Bread, Salad - $5.95
*Saturday, Aug. 23
Kathleen McKee - from Arcata
*Friday, Aug. 29 - Sequoia - Bluegrass
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Come-one, Come-all Scrabble games
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Thursday, Friday & Saturday - Starting at 5 p.m.