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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 2003)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Study shows ODF annual report notes thinning can 2002 timber harvests at benefit trees highest volume in years 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 old- growth pine forests in the western United States, sci- entists 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 stress and pho- tosynthesis before and af- ter thinning, showed that even trees which are hun- dreds of years old can in- crease their growth and presumably 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 silviculture 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- wildland interface in parts of the West, the research- ers said, but very little use to date in vast areas of in- terior old-growth forests that are hugely crowded and in very poor health. This sets the stage for uncharacteristically 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 scientists 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. These healthy ecosys- tems supported a broad range of other plant and wildlife species that were associated with these park- like old-growth conditions. Oregon’s timber harvests last year reached the highest volume since 1997, according to a report issued by the Oregon Dept. of Forestry. The “2002 Annual Timber Harvest Report” shows that the state’s harvest during 2002 rose to 3.91 billion board feet (bbf), a 14 percent rise from the record low of 3.44 bbf harvested during 2001. The increase was not uniform across all forestland ownerships, said Gary Lettman, a forest economist. “Harvest levels on the 56 percent of Oregon’s forests managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management remained at extremely low levels,” he said, “accounting for only 5 percent of the state’s timber harvest volume.” A 15 percent rise in harvest on Western Oregon’s for- est industry land boosted overall timber harvest there by 14 percent from 2001 to 2002. Eastern Oregon harvests in- creased by 11 percent. The harvest increase of 340 million board feet (mbf) on Western Oregon forest industry land accounted for 72 percent of Oregon’s total harvest increase last year. State- wide, volume rose to nearly 3 bbf in 2002, its highest level since 1989. Clear-cutting on the state’s national forests continued to decline, with a total of 80 acres clear-cut during 2003 on the 12.8 million acres of forestland managed by the forest service. Lane and Douglas counties maintained their respective number one and two rankings for timber harvest. Lane pro- duced 470 mbf and Douglas 442 mbf. Klamath County accounted for 207 mbf, the largest harvest among Eastern Oregon counties. All Western Oregon counties -- excluding Benton, Co- lumbia, Multnomah, Polk and Washington -- removed a larger volume of timber in 2002 than during the previous year. Softwood, predominately Douglas fir, comprised 96 percent of Oregon’s timber harvest, while red alder in Western Oregon continued to account for most of the hard- wood species harvested in the state. Vending-machine toys pose serious health hazards, says DHS and public health officials A Deschutes County child was recently hospitalized with lead poisoning after swallowing a small medallion necklace purchased from a toy-vending machine, accord- ing to Dept. of Human Services (DHS) and Deschutes County Health Dept. public health officials. The child’s lead level was more than 10 times the level of concern for children, and laboratory tests showed the necklace contained 39 percent lead, said DHS epidemiolo- gist Michael Heumann. Such medallions pose several risks, he added. Children can not only potentially swallow one of the medallions, which presents both a lead and physical haz- ard, but they can also be exposed to lead by handling the medallion and then putting their hands in their mouths. The medallion of concern is round, almost an inch in diameter, grey in color, with a symbol on one side. The necklace comes plastic containers from vending machines that offer a mixed toy selection. Photos of the medallion are available online at www.healthoregon.org/lead/alerts.cfm. I llinois V alley S afe H ouse A lliance Invitation to learn to start your business or help IVSHA start theirs. Join our Dream Team! September 4, 2003 4:00-6:00 PM 535 E. River Street Cave Junction S outhern O regon W omen’s A ccess to C redit KBCC - LP 107.9 FM is open Saturdays: 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Hours: Mondays - Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information phone (800) 922-1025 Page 13
