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Thur« Sept 21, 1878 ($•< I) SANDY (O r»., POST— '
Forest Service harvests cones for seeds
The U S. Forest Service has its own
version of "coneheads.”
They’re not aliens with pointed heads
claiming to be from France, a la
“ Saturday Night Live,” but forest
technicians working to ensure that an
ample supply of seeds w ill be available
for planting
Gathering cones for seeds is not an
idle pastime, but an important aspect of
reforestation and a very competitive
venture among private companies such
as Weyerhauser.
Private individuals have also gotten
into the act, selling cones to nurseries
who usually pay $5-7 per bushel
Approximately 100 cones, depending on
size, comprise a bushel. The Forest
Service also used to pay individuals for
cones, a practice it has continued in
recent years, according to Shelley
Butler, a forest technician at the Zigzag
Ranger Station
“ We get all our own cones except
those we trade with other districts,”
Butler said. “ The Forest Service used
to buy from other people, but it couldn't
track the seed source.
“ A lot of people would bring in cones
from other areas,” she added.
Cones need to be traced to a specific
area so that their seeds can be planted
in a location with a sim ilar climate,
elevation and soil type.
Cones are being sought by the various
Forest Service districts in the north
west. The Zigzag district has a surplus
of Douglas F ir seeds and is concerned
p rim arily with obtaining cones from
Noble Firs.
Retrieving the cones is no easy task.
The seeds are ready for picking for one
month only in the fall when 50 percent
of the shells have seeds in them. Since
climbing the trees is the major method
of retrieving the cones in this area,
climbers must wait until a good, dry
day.
This year the rain has limited the
crew out of Zigzag Tuesday was the
first day that Butler and forest
technician Dave Hanken could scale the
120 foot Noble firs to throw the cones to
the ground
Their method is easy. They select a
tree loaded with cones and Hanken
climbs to the top, aided with equipment
sim ilar to that of a mountain climber
He throws a couple of cones down to
Butler who checks to see if the seed
percentage is high enough to continue
the harvest. If so, Hanken w ill throw or
shake nearly every cone down from the
tree, usually about three bushels.
Other areas use different methods,
such as mechanical climbers or tree
shakers, but the trees in the Zigzag
district are too large or too isolated for
these tactics.
From the Kinzel Lake area, where
Butler and Hanken collected three
bushels, the cones w ill go to the
Columbia Gorge district, where the
cones w ill be placed on racks to dry for
1-2 weeks. They w ill be examined by a
state seed certifier who w ill document
the source and type of the cone.
From there, the cones w ill be sent to
the Wind River Nursery in Carson,
Wash., where the seeds are extracted
from the cones. The nursery w ill
develop them into seedlings, holding
the young trees for two years until a
district puts in a request during
planting time.
Eventually, the seedlings w ill replace
trees which have been logged or bur
ned.
So the next time you see a guy in a
forest service outfit at the top of a 100-
foot Noble F ir don’t be alarmed, he’s
just your average conehead.
S to ry and photos
b y M a rk F lo yd
** Dave Hanken picks at the 100-foot level.
Rapelling is a fast way down, if there are no limbs.
SEWING MACHINE
I <■
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j
- ’’Shop & Compare. . .We’re Lowest!” -- >
Cones should be 50 percent full of seeds.
Now YOU can enjoy
good nutrition
4-wheelers to gather
Four-wheel-drivers from
Salem to Seattle w ill gather
at the Gresham Fairgrounds
Sunday to oppose a federal
proposal to convert more
than 13 m illio n P a cific
Northwest
acres
to
wilderness.
SHOE
REPAIR
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No. 21
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US. Rep. Les Aucoin has
said he w ill attend the rally
and speakers w ill include
representatives from the
governor’s office and Joe
Poppino from the Forest
S ervice’s P ortland office.
Poppino is the RARE II
coordinator
for the Pacific
The press conference and
Northwest region.
rally is set for 1 p m and is
Four wheel-drive
assoc
sponsored by the Pacific
iation members are planning
N orthwest 4-Wheel D rive
convoys to the rally, one
Association representing
s ta rtin g in Seattle and
members
in
Oregon,
Washington and Idaho A p icking up members in
Tacoma, Longview and
spokesperson said F rid a y
that 5,000 persons are ex Vancouver, and another
coming north from Salem
pected for the rally.
and collecting support up the
The group is gathering to
valley.
voice its feelings about the
The forest service has been
U S. Forest Service study on
conducting a review and
RARE H
evaluation of roadless areas,
and Oct. 1 is the end of the
RARE 11 (Roadless Area
period for comments and
Review and Evaluation) is a
study being conducted on 2 9 proposals from the public.
million acres in Oregon, 2 6 Some of the areas w ill be
proposed for w ilderness,
million acres in Washignton
and 8 million acres in Idaho others fo r non-wilderness
with the possibility of these purposes, and some w ill need
further study. Worthington
lands being converted to
said
wilderness
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