Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1963)
SUNDAY, The Story of (Editor's Nate: Following is a story about the planting and seeding of a clear cut, or logged off area, in the Pros pect Ranger District. The area described, called Jim Top, Is at the headwaters of Jim Creek, which starts at the Elk Creek Divide, high above the Woodruff Meadow area, then empties into the Rogue River near the meadows.) By JIM REILLY Prospect Forester, Prospect Ranger District It was a cool, overcast, not unusual winter morning last December. A light skiff of snow covered the ground and flocked the tops of the pines, cedar, and Douelas fir on the flat. A thousand feet higher, near the divide, the snow was a pure, white, heavy blanket; bending the hemlock and noble fir with its weight. A light drizzle was falling in the middle of the hill, i drizzle too cold to be rain and not quite cold enough to be snow. It was a lime ol silence for the moun tain forest, a peaceful scene: the hills and trees, the stream, the ever-pressing sky, the soli. tary, lonely, winding logging road and the clcarcut. Clcarcut Is Newcomer The clearcut was a newcomer. A steep, bare, 40-acre piece of land, it had not been there two years ago. Two springs ago this opening in the forest was the scene of, daily activity. First came the fallers and buckers to down the trees and cut them into lengths suitable for process ing, then a huge, stationary log ging engine with a cable system ultachcd to it winched log after log up the steep slopes to a flat spo t near the road called a landing. There they were piled to form a "deck." When a suf ficient number of logs were in the deck they were loaded onto trucks, which shuttled back and forth along the road to and from the sawmill. The clcarcut was called Jim Top 2 and was the second log ging unit in a timber sale which opened this mountain forest country for the use and enjoy ment of people. Timber from this clearcut would soon find use for a variety of pur poses from wooden toys for children to studs, joists, and beams in building construction. But now, logging had long since been completed, the slash and debris had been windrowed, '. and the ground was bare. The ry J 4 J0 Ills JSSSS3? " " ' " " """ " ?"( LI L-TrrruTtfn 1 We're Proud To Have Served As General ili,VW ur Congratulations Contractor for This Fine New Store UjnlKivHuj' To Oregon Food Stores C. E. John Construction Co. ARDEN FARMS Vancouver, Wn. Supplier of All the Delicious Arden Product! Congratulations and Success in the Congratulations-Oregon Food Store Future From Your Land & Building Owners SISKIYOU ELECTRIC THE MEDFORD 300 E. MAIN ASHLAND 482-2711 FAfil FQ I nnftlT Suppliers of All Electric Work in The kfiULbU LUEJIIb New Stevens Street Ore. Food Store V Congratulationi from your major lubcontractors, iupplier! Congratulations ... of site work paving, concrete and iteel supplies. OREGON FOOD STORE NO. 9 ' "Since 1921" A CONCRETE-STEEL MODERN PLUMBING csc CARP0RATI0N 613 OF MEDFORD ALL ELECTRIC SIGN ADVERTISING SUPPLIED BY: . FEDERAL SIGN AND SIGNAL CORPORATION 1228 COURT STREET-MEDFORD DKCEMBEK 15, 11)83 It STORAGE SHED Dave Richey, foreman of the Prospect plant ing crew, stands in the Prospect Ranger District's tree storage shed. The young trees are packaged in plastic impregnated paper bags which aid in controlling humidity during storage. The shed is fully insulated. area seemed deserted except for faint, almost inaudible sounds coming up from the bottom of the clearing. Trays With Trees Then, coming on into view, trudged a line of six men carry ing planting hoes and metal trays filled with small trees. Up the hill they went, about eight feet apart, pausing every few paces to scalp the ground clear of snow and debris, lift their hoc, bite deep into the earth, put a tree in the opening and tamp down around it to compact the soli. The men were part of Pros pect Ranger District's project work crew, doing a portion of their annual planting and seed ing ot trees to replenish ine tim ber that was cut in order to keep the forest growing and keep its values intact. At this time of year when the forest was resting, when plants were dormant, and the activi ties of most men and wildlife Replanting Logged Off Area in National -u had ceased in this locale, it was time to plant tree seedlings. For the seedlings were also dor mant, and the disturbance of being lifted from the nursery and planted on the clcarcut would do a minimum amount of root damage at this time. Just as there is a story behind the creation of the forest, so also is there a story behind man's use of the forest a story behind our particular clearcut, Jim Top 2, and the tree planters trudging up its slope with their planting trays and hoes. The clearcut actually had its origin in 19S8 when it was in cluded as part of the Prospect Ranger District's annual "Five- Year Action Plan a plan of proposed timber sales to be laid out each year during the subsequent five-year period. The plan guides tne district in a sys tematic and orderly develop ment of the timber resources to better serve the public interests. A few months before work was started in laying the sale out on the ground, a rough esti mate was made of the amount, kind, and age of seedlings that would probably be needed to adequately restock the area fol lowing logging. FORWARDED TO NURSERY This estimate was placed on a sowing schedule and for warded to a forest nursery to allow them enough time to grow the seedlings. Usually, seedlings are not used until they are at least two years old. After groundwork was done on the proposed sale (marking of clearcut unit boundaries, lo cating main and spur roads, and determining the amount and quality of timber), an appraisal was made of various costs and profits of logging. The apprais al included a "Sale Area Bet terment" plan which assured that an adequate amount of money would be set aside from the stumpage value of the tim ber to provide reforesting the area cut over. The summer following logging of the Jim Top sale, as happens every summer, inventory lists were sent from the various nur series to the national forests of the region. Prospect Ranger District received a copy of this list from the Rogue River Na tional Forest supervisor's office in Medford. The list described the trees that were on hand at the nurseries. Tree Are Ordered From this list, along with trees needed for other sales, trees were ordered that would have the necessary characteris tics to survive and grow on Jim Top 2. A few weeks later, a let ter was received from the nur series allocating to Prospect the trees sought. This meant that Prospect district was assured of a certain supply of seedlings and that later on, during the planting season, the trees could be picked up at the nursery as they were needed. Starting in early October, the district's project work crew began spot seeding in the high country with tree seed. Later, as more soil moisture was pres ent following light rain and snow, planting began. One day, early in December, tree seed lings were picked up at the nur sery for use on Jim Top 2. Even the process of placing trees in the ground is not neces sarily a simple job. The roots of each layer of seedlings in the planters' tree-carrying trays were covered with moistened MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, .tv- ''.- t j BRUSH CLEARING Part of the site prepa ration work done prior to tree planting is depicted in this photo. Personnel of the Pros vermiculite, a silicate made from mica. Across the top layer of roots was a double thickness of wet burlap. These precau tions had been taken to prevent drying out of the fine root hairs. Spot Is Selected Typically, a planter selected a spot which provided some shade, such as a rock or a cull log, cleared the area of debris, and plunged the head of the planting hoe into the soil. By lifting the handle up and then moving it downwards, a hole was made which was large enough to insert a tree. The rocking action on the hoe, how ever, also made a hole beneath the seedling root level, so that the top and bottom of the hole formed an hourglass shape, making an air gap at the bottom that could dry out and kill the roots. The planter carefully pulled a seedling from the tray in a manner to prevent the roots from meshing, tangling, and breaking against the remaining seedlings. The seedling was placed in the hole, and the hoe was gently removed, allowing the seedlings to slide into place. The tree was held high OREGON a w 7U-X : enough so the root collar, a slight swelling at the juncture of the stem and roots, was at ground level. Then the planter pushed the loose soil back into the hole, and, with a hard kick, angled toward the tree about a foot away from the stem, com pacted the soil around the tree roots, closing the air gap at the base of-the hourglass. Procedure Is Repeated This procedure was repeated as the panters worked their way up the hill. Each tree seedling and each planting spot present ed a slightly different problem, a slightly different manner in which to do an effective planting job. At times, a piece of bark was used for shade. Sometimes a spot proved too rocky and the planter would move ahead to the next potential site. Taking all things into consid eration the length of the seed ling roots, soil moisture and rockincss, available shade, the amount of competition to be ex pected from nearby brush or grass sprouts, and the spacing needed lo fully utilize the poten tial of the area for growing trees, the job of the planter had its complexities and required P MEDFORD 545 Stevem Street -ll . " MEDFORD Westgate Center M f MEDFORD 13th and Central V S tJr rMr I J tntn etfectivt through Wed., Dec. 18 v ... i to. pect Range.- District cleared the brush before planting seedlings on Peavine Burn, a 1,200 acre brushfield in the district. careful consideration of the work. At some earlier date, consid eration had been shown in selecting healthy tree seed from the proper elevation level, sow ing seed in the nursery, lifting the developed seedlings from the nursery beds, storing them in warehouses in which the hu midity and temperature were controlled, and in transporting them to Prospect Ranger Dist rict headquarters and ultimate ly to the planting site. Plant 706 Acres Last year Prospect's crews planted 706 acres and seeded 770 acres. The planting areas includ ed 245 acres on recent clearcuts, 254 acres on clearcuts that had been planted previously and needed supplemental stocking, and 207 acres on Peavine Burn, a large brushfield dating back before the turn of the century, that has been cleared. The seeding areas included 227 acres on recent clearcuts and 543 acres on Peavine Burn that had been planted previously and needed additional stocking. Units planted varied in eleva tion from 5.500 feet near the Rogue-Umpqua divide to 2,800 THE CONTRACTORS, SUPPLIERS AND LEASERS LISTED IN THIS AD TAKE PRIDE AND PLEASURE IN CONGRATULATING OREGON FOOD STORES ON THE OPENING OF THEIR ONE-STOP SHOPPING CENTER AT 545 STEVENS STREET. IT HAS BEEN A REAL PLEASURE TO BE A PART OF THIS FINE DEVELOPMENT AND WE WISH THE VERY FINEST SUCCESS FOR THE FUTURE. feet on Prospect flat. Steepness of slopes ranged from almost flat to over 45 degrees on units such as Round Top I on the Elk Creek divide. Almost 400,000 trees and 73 pounds of seed, averaging 23,500 seeds per pound, were used in this forcstation effort, which re quired upwards to 10,000 man hours of work and 6,000 miles of travel. On 346 acres of land window ing of logging slash and debris and brush was done to prepare planting sites, and 147 acres of dense brush was killed by herbi cides to give coniferous trees be neath the brush additional mois ture and sunlight necessary for survival and growth. According to Forest Service regional standards for Oregon and Washington, an area is con sidered successfully planted when there are 250 well estab lished, evenly distributed, vigor ously growing saplings per acre tall enough to prevent serious browse damage from deer or elk. In order to attain this mini mum standard, 680 trees per acre are usually planted initial ly. A variety of occurrences de termines the amount of survival that will be realized. Natural factors such as temperature, moisture, and light influence plant survival and growth. . Ground temperatures, for in stance, often reach as high as 150 degrees Fahrenheit on south facing slopes in the middle of summer. This is often hot enough to kill food and fluid carrying cambial cells which lie between the wood and thin bark on a seedling. The expansion of water into Congratulations TO THE NEW OREGON FOOD STORE 545 STEVENS ST. Painters of the Oregon Food Stor Modern Equipt Automatic Boom Truck for fast efficient service Commercial Painting 1417 E.Park St. Grants Pass 479-2127 or 479-3747 Forest ice crystals in the upper soil layers on cold winter days some times pushes small seedlings part way out of the ground, ex- . posing the roots. Brush may sprout from already developed root systems following logging and planting and may overtop nearby seedlings cutting out the necessary light. There arc, of course, varying ' weather conditions from year to year. Last spring, for instance, was quite cool and moist and conditions for seeding survival were generally beneficial. On an average, however, tak ing the bad years with the good ones, it has been determined that planting 680 trees per acre will usually insure survival of 250 sapling size trees at four or five years after planting. Sometime between the first and second growing seasons fol lowing planting stocking surveys are made to determine seedling survival on each planting area. If survival is poor an analysis is made of the reason for fail ure, and the unit is replanted as soon as possible. If survival is adequate an ad ditional survey is made between the fifth and sixth growing sea sons. If the plantation is still in good condition at the second sur vey it has an excellent chance of surviving and becoming a mature stand of timber. By advance planning, logging, planting, and follow-up record keeping as a basis for future plans, true conservation of for est resources is practiced by harvesting and utilizing the pro ducts of the forest and subse quently by managing the land to perpetuate its value and beauty.
