Issue No. 52

Photograph of a conifer forest in the fall with a wide variety of tree heights. Some trees have yellow needles because they are larch, or tamarack, trees, which loose their needles every year..

Cover Photo: Peter Kolb, MSU Extension Forestry Specialist

This newsletter is possible through funding from the Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA). It highlights numerous articles focused on information and resources that forest landowners can use to better their knowledge and potentially implement on their own land. The overall concept is to provide articles that capture one’s attention based on current issues and updates on various organizations on a state and national level. Our goal is to provide articles that will give important information and encourage landowners to develop new ideas toward their land.

Every year our newsletter has a specific forestry related topic. Past newsletters can be viewed on our website under “Montana Family Forest News.”

Editor
Peter Kolb, MSU Extension Forestry Specialist

Advisors
Lexi Brown, MSU Extension Forestry
Forest Stewardship Coordinator

Christina Oppegard, MSU Extension Forestry
Program Manager

Financial Contributors
Montana Tree Farm
Montana Stewardship Foundation
Montana Forest Owners Association
Montana State University Extension

MSU Extension Forestry Program logoCertified Family Forest logo is framed by the words: wood, water, recreation, and wildlife.Forest Stewardship Foundation logoMontana DNRC logoMontana Forest Owners Association (MFOA) logo.

About the Cover

This mixed stand of western larch, Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine and spruce resulted from logging in the 1910-1920s and another entry 30 years ago. Located in the Lolo National Forest adjacent to private lands, the first harvest occurred with axes, crosscut saws, horses, oxen and steam engines, where all large, old trees that had value were clearcut. Some old trees with stem defects were left along with any advanced regeneration. The level of disturbance created provided a good seedbed for natural regeneration, especially for shade-intolerant species such as western larch and lodgepole pine. The relatively flat bench on an east-facing slope allowed for adequate moisture, less intense sunlight and drying common on nearby south and west-facing slopes, and thus, greater tree species diversity. A prolonged cool and wet phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation that lasted from about 1944 until 1984 provided summer moisture, a lack of severe fire weather and good growing conditions for developing a productive forest that provided plenty of volume for another timber harvest in the 1980s. Planning and foresight left a mixture of species and good crowns on residual trees that provided seeds for a new young cohort of trees.

What isn’t seen is that every harvest entry into this stand resulted in millions of seeds spreading out, with only a fraction of one percent turning into surviving seedlings competing for light and water on this site. Two harvests over the past 100 plus years resulted in two additional genetic selection processes for each tree species suited to this site for the moisture, nutrients and temperature fluctuations unique to this spot. No harvesting would likely have resulted in bigger and older and more dead trees, but also trees whose genetics were selected for the conditions (including climate) that existed 300 years ago. Whereas it is important to retain old genetic diversity, it is also important for the continued selection of genetics and species that reflect more current climatic conditions after each harvest, a climate that based on recorded data, grew warmer and drier over the past century, especially over the past 40 years. The mosaic of species and age classes shown on the cover page conserves a process where the selection for genetic adaptiveness, and therefore survivability for each species, remains on this site. For forests to be given the best chance to survive future climatic trends and associated weather variability, managing for a diverse forest structure, species variability and broad genetic adaptability may well be the best strategy.

A middle-aged man wearing a ball cap smiles at the cameraPeter Kolb, PhD

MSU Extension Forestry Specialist

 

 

 

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