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A GUIDE TO THE
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McCLEARY
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EXPERIMENTAL FOREST
Me CLEARY,
WASHINGTON
About This File:
. This file was created by scan
ning the printed publication.
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ware have been corrected;
ho\f\/ er-_ some mistakes may
remain.
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MAINTAINED JOINTLY BY THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST FOREST S RANGE EXPERIMENT STATION
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Adams
PUGET SOUND RESEARCH CENTER AND THE SIMP SON LOGGING COMPANY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
FOREST SERVICE
PORTLAND,
1954
OREGON
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A GUIDE TO THE
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McCLEARY EXPERIMENTAL FOREST
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The McCleary Experimental Forest is a co­
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Here, the Simpson Logging Company and
the Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment
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studies and demonstrations in management of young­
growth forests.
This is one of four experimental
forests in the Puget Sound region dedicated to
improvement of management practices through coop­
erative research.
Under a long-term agreement,
the Forest Service prepares the management plan,
outlines experiments, and regulates cutting
schedules.
The Simpson Logging Company provides
fire protection, develops roads, and cuts and
markets the products.
An Advisory Committee of
foresters actively engaged in forest management
in the Puget Sound area helps to guide the re­
search program.
Established in January 1948, the forest is
part of Simpson Logging Company1s forest holdings
of approximately 160,000 acres in western Mason
and northeastern Grays Harbor Counties.
It is
typiqal of the better stands of mixed Douglas-fir
and alder that follow logging or burning of
virgin f orests.
Objectives of the research program at McCleary
are, first, to explore thinning and partial cutting
as· a means for increasing the value of young-growth
stands;
second, to determine whether such cuts can
yield a net income after meeting all e±penses; and
finally, to offer practical aid to forest landotiners
Qy demonstrating thinning and partial cutting prac­
tices on a commercial scale •
Location and General Characteristics
.
The forest consists of 340 acres northeast of
the town of McCleary in eastern Grays Harbor County
(see map on back cover) • It is midway between
Olympia and Aberdeen and occupies gentle to medium
slopes at an elevation of 300 to 600 feet. Princi­
pal drainage is into Wildcat Creek at .the north
boundary, then through the Chehalis River to Grays
Harbor. The forest lies just south of the glaci­
ated section of the Puget Sound region, and is
covered with residual soils except for a narrow
band of alluvial soil (Elma ·sandy loam) along
ldcat Greek. Olympic loam, the major soil type;
is derived from a basalt cap overlying marine
strata deposits.
The forest is largely Douglas-fir that or1gL­
nated after cutting in the western portion of the
forest and burning in the eastern portion. As of
1954, two age classes have resulted: 50 years on
the logged area and 60 years on the burned. The
stand is better stocked and contains more Douglas­
fir on the east side than on the west, where
mixtures of cedar, hemlock and alder are common.
Alder is dominant in the north quarter bordering
Wildcat Greek, and is also present in the_ south­
west portion.
Climate and soil favor rapid tree growth
Rainfall is abundant and temperatures moderate.
Records from Elma, the nearest weather station,
show an annual precipitation of 59 inches--14 inches
during the period April-September.. Snowfall is rare.
Average annual temperature is 49.4°Fe; April-Septem­
ber average is 57e5°Fo Average frost-free growing
season is 184 days. Strong winds occur frequently
during late w.inter and early sprl.ng.
-2­
Sixty-year-old Douglas-fir growing
on a high I site q:uality; total height
156 feet; 1,025 board feet.
-3­
Tree species
S ixteen tree species grow on the forest, six
conifers and ten hardwoods.
Eight are commercially
important.
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Common and botanical names are:
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S cientific name
Douglas-fir
Pseudotsuga menziesii
livestern hemlock
Tsuga heterophylla
Western redcedar
Thuja plicata
Sitka spruce
Picea sitchensis
Grand fi,r
Abies grandis
Pacific yew
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Conifers
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Bigleaf maple
Acer macrophyllum
Black cottonwood
Populus trichocarpa
Oregon ash
Fraxinus latifolia
Willm·l
Salix spp.
Cascara buckthorn
Rhamnus purshiana
Bitter cherry
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Prunus emarginata
Pacific dogwood
Comus nuttallii
Vine maple
Acer circinatum
Black hawthorn
Crataegus douglasii
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A forest inventory in June 194tl showed
about 2,100,000 cubic feet or
11,4oo,ooo
feet lumber tally on the en tire forest.
fir is the predominant specie
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board
Douglas­
a.ccounting for
68 percent of the cubic volume, followed by
Average site index is
alder with 16 percent.
168 feet (Site quality II) ..
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&I Growth
Growth will be measured by the continuous in­
ventory
stem, using permanent plots. This
method accounts for mortality directly, providing
a measurement of both net and gross gro h. These
estimates are needed to manage·· a forest intensive­
ly, because light and frequent cuttings have a
marked influence on increment through salvage of natural mortality and stimulation of diameter growth. The first growth estimates under this
method will not be available until the plots have
been remeasured.
Increment was- estimated rqughly to serve as
a tentative. guide. This showed annuai increment
for the next 10-year period would average 1,150
board feet (International 1/4-incnkerf) per acre,
of which 1,050 feet are conifers and 100 feet are
alder. Annual increment is estimated to total 132
cubic feet per acre (107 conifers, 25 alder). The
current rate of growth is estimated to exceed ean
annual increment by 40 percent and probably will
continue to do so .for at least 30 years. During
this period, light and frequent tpinnings may be
expected to raise net increment and prolong the
period of maximum growth ..
Administration Timber sales are made according to terms of a
cooperative agreement with the company. Research
foresters mark all trees to be cut and supervise
¢he harvest operation.. A local contractor logs
the timber and converts it into lumber·at a mill 8
miles from the forest.. Thus far, five annual cuts
have been made, starting in 1949. Through experi­
ence, the contractor has learned to. handle the
marked tiiaber economica.J..ly and· to remove it with
minimum damage to the residual trees ..
.-6
All tnnber is cut for L ediate commercial
use. Stumpage has been sold by the Simpson Log­
ging Company on a log scale basis with the ex.:.
ception of one small cedar pole sale in 1951.
r1inimum conifer tree cut is 10 inches d.b.h., and
utilization is to a min:L11um merchantable 7-inch
top. · The minLmum tree for alder is 12 inches d.b.,h.
cut to an 8:-:inch top., Trees are handled mainly in
32-foot lengths, altpough scaled in 16-foot lengths.
Lumber is sold to concentration and resaw yards in Olympia and Shelton; All slabs and refuse . are hogged and sold in Shelton for fuel.
· T e following annual cuts have been made:
Year
Cubic feet
Conifers
Alder
-
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
38,137
86,338
43,661 45,431
25,767
239,3 34
0
1,143
0
3,809
4,571
9,523
N board feet..
Scribner rule
Conifers Alder
199
439
222
231
131
1,222
0
6
0
20
24
55
Board feet-cubic feet ratio: conifers, 5.. 084 to 1;
alder, 5.,250 to 1.. Increase by ll percent for
International 1/4-inch kerf, the approximate equiv­
alent of lumber tally.
Protection
Fire protection on the forest is a primary
responsibility of the State, but is supplemented
by additional help from the company•s regular fire
protection organization. A continuous, closed
.·canopy keeps wind circulation to a minimum, and
helps to prevent rapid drying of litter and
other forest fuels. Fire hazard is only slightly
increased by light partial cuts since slash is
-7­
closely lopped and scattered during logging.
, Usually fire hazard is back .to normal wo year.s
follov-i.i.ng ·cutting.,
·
The most serious tree disease is root rot.
(Poria weirii), Which is scattered throughout the
forest. No easy means of detecting .the disease
has been found; foliage often shows no evidence
of infection until two to eights rnonths·prior to
death of the tree. Under a 5-year cycle of cutting
most root rot trees are salvaged.
Some brown,
crumbly rot (Fornes pinicola) occurs in suppressed
and intermediate trees where their tops have been
broken out by sleet and ice.storrns., Otherwise the
forest is singularly free of injurious tree dis­
eases.
against the first cut of 1,272,000 board
feet in
the period 1949-53. Beginning in 1955,
there will
b no further road construction costs. Maintenance
costs should be light because the· roadbed
is ade­
quately drained. and well constructed.
Research Program
The research program is focused on forest
management and economic problems of a small
forest
of mixed conifers and alder. The purpose
is to
work out improved practices that will be
both
profitable to the owner and beneficial
to the for­
est. Main features of 4 major studies,
along with
prelirninar,y results and trends, are given
in the
following sections.,
·
Thus far;·no insect problems have developed
.in colli,ection With cutting. Since the forest is
young and vigorous, no insect-trouble is antici­
pated.,
Road Construction·
Road development has been financed out of part
of each year's stlli page receipts. All necessary
road grading was completed in 1952 and most road
surfacing will be done by 1954
Altogether, 1 95
miles of road have been built and .the road system
is fully adequate for light and frequent cuts.
This places 90 percent of the area less than
1,000 feet from a road, with an average distance
of 500 feet., Thus, l mile of road serves 174
acres, a rather efficient use. The road has been
built to Forest Service standards by the logging
contractor.
Costs have averaged $3,062 per mile for
grading and ditching and $1,769 per mile for surfac­
ing, or a total cost of $4,831. These costs equal
$0.52 per M based on total volume of the forest in
1948 or $3 .. 80 per M if the entire cost is charged
.;,;8­
Field meeting of Advisory Committee.
Frequent consultations keep research program
balanced to public and private requirements"'
-9­
.McCLEARY EXPERIMENTAL FOREST
t 18N., R.5W.,W.M..
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Alder ®
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Temporary sample plot
Permanent sample plot
Soi I type lines
Timber type lines
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1980'
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1/ZI!iin.
Commercial thinnings
To set the stage for studies of commercial
thinning, the entire .forest was divided into 3
blocks (see map on previous page) representing
fairly distinct forest types and condition.S. Types
and areas to be thi:nne d or le.ft unthinnec;t are as
follows:
Area
Area
thinned unthinned
Type description
Block
acres - - ­
Uneven-aged conifers
15
85
A
and alder, age 45
Even-aged Douglas­
30
115
.fir, ge 55
B
Alder with coni.fer
mixture, age 45
80
c
15
.
area will have been cut at least 5 years. Among
other things, records will show how long a satis­
be
.factory growth rate o.f high quality wood can
ule.
sched
ng
thinni
r
5-yea
a
under
maintained
During the second cutting cycle, an average
acre.
o.f about 4,000 board feet will be cut per
of the
ths
-.four
three
to
ly
rough
s
spond
This corre
g of
timin
and
d
metho
The
ent.
increm
al
u
net ann
.final harvest cutting will not be decided until
can
success or failure of the periodic thinriings
be appraised.
Light, partial cuts will be made on areas
designated for thinning at 5-yea,r intervals.· For
Blocks A and B, the· fifth armual cut was made in
the .fall of 1953, thlis completing the first cutting
cycle. Altogether. 1,272,000 board feet Scribner
(including 50 M alder) was removed from 200 acres.
The first harvest averaged about 5,350 board feet
per acre (excluding some 203 M cut .from road rights­
of .-:way). This fii-st cut removed mainly rough domi­
nants and poorly formed or dying trees; a few c;:o­
dominant and intermediate trees were also taken out
to improve spacing.
Scattered throughout the three blocks are a
number of 1/5-acre permanent sample plots,.. which
will be used to measure effect of thinning on
growth, mortality, and total yields. All plots w.ill
be remeasured at 5-year intervals, coinciding with
the length of the cutting cycle. The first ap­
proximation of growth following cutting will be
made in 1954,. and a more complete report will be
possible in 1959 when all parts of the thinned
-12-
Thinned stand along west edge of Block B.
Light, frequent cuts forestall mortality and
concentrate growth on larger trees.
-13-
Financial aspects of thiru1ing
Determining costs and returns of thinning . is
another research objective.,
In stands of this
size.and age, successful thinP2ngs should return a
profit, ·even though a small one.,
Experience gained
during 5 years of operation has. ·reduced logging
costs. to a low of $0
2 ., 00 per :iVI.
Stumpage brought
0 00 for hem­
$1.
2 0
5 per H for the Douglas-fir; $1.,
lock and cedar; and-$6.00 for alder timber in 1953.
Labor ef.ficiency was also high; production per man­
hour was 3 4 .. 7cubic feet or 194 boardfeet, Scrib­
ner rule.
Both figures are close· to average for
clear-cutting operations in similar stands of the
Puget Sound region. Average diameter of tree c ut
in 1953 was 1.
5 6 inches d.,b.,h.,
Experience shovm
that size of average tree cut has a greater effect
on log ing costs than volQme removed per acre.,
Analysis of logging records shows how various
logging operations contribute to total cost. These
figures should be generally applicable to other
thinnings in accessible young-growth stands of
similar size and age.
Percent of
total cost
Operation
Skidding
Felling
Hauling
Loading
Administration and misc.,
Taxes
Road maintenance
30.5
22.,}+
18.9
13.8
6.,2
6.,0
2.,2
roo .. o
·
Logs, mostly 32 feet long, are slCLdded to the
roadside with a tractor where they are later loaded
with a mobile, self-propelled loader and hauled 8
.miles to the mill.
Thinnings are removed by modern logging
Logs are skidded to roadside in 30machinery.
4 -foot lengths.,
0
to
75 percent of net annual in­
Assuming that
forest Has harvested in
entire
crement over the
stumpage return of
aru1ual
an
periodic thinnings,
Such an
possible.
be
would
acre
per
$9.05
about
for
labor
of
man-days
2
17
require
would
operation
In addition the volume in reserve
logging alone.
trees would be increasing at the yearly rate of
260 board feet Scribner per acre for at least the
The stand would then have grovm
next 25 years.
,179board feet to 33,620 board feet per
from 2 7
acre.
·
--14-·
15
-
-
Farm woodland area
Forty acres of typical mixed conifer-alder
type common to the farming area of the vicinity
is set aside in Block A as a farm woodland
demonstration. Here, possibilities of harvest­
ing and utilizing increment on_a small area on
an annual basis, while· building up quantity and
quality of growing stock will be explored.
Annual cuts of approximately 80 percent of esti­
mated net increment are being made, not over the
entire area but on some portion of the tract
each year. These annual cuts foster prompt
salvage of mortality losses and should add sig­
nificant
to net increment over a rotation.
Alder frequently encroaches on coniferous sites ­
following clear cutting and fire.. On many areas
it seeds in abundantly and grows rapidly in the
juyenile stage but fails to reach merchantable
size or quality within a reasonable time. On
such sites it is considered a weed rather than
a commercial forest tree. In other cases, alder
attains merchantable size and quality as the
climax species and merits special forest manage­
ment practices. Preliminary work has been
started to determine first, through soil and
moisture requirements, nat areas should be
managed for alder and·which sites have possibili­
ties for conversion. ­
Trees chosen for cutting are the rough
dominants, those dead or dying, and a few to
improve spacing. Five annual removals, averaging
770 cubic feet or 4, 090 board feet Scribner
rule, per acre, have been made. This represents
12 percent of the cubic volume and 16 percent of
the board-foot volume in the stand. Periodic
an_nual growth is estimated to be 210 cubic feet
or 1,500 board feet lumber tally. Products.cut
to date have been Douglas-fir, hemlock, and alder
sawtimber, and cedar poles. Excellent local
markets for both conifers and hardwoods make it
possible to realize good profits on relatively
light cuts. The entire 40 acres has now been
thinned once and annual cuts will probably be
continued another 30 years.
Alder management
Block c, running across the northern part of
the forest, is largely alder type.. Alder also·.
occurs in minor mixt e throughout Block-A. How
to manage alder and how to convert the· type to
conifers pose two additio:ria1 research J?roblems.,
-16­
Management of alder types is one major
objective on the forest.
-lT­
Selected Research Center Publications on DouglasFir Management
-. 1948 staebler,. G., Ro
.
.
Predicting stocking -improve ment in reproduction stands of' Douglas...-f'ir .
Research No.te No. 41, 5 pp., April 1948.
1948 steele,- R .. w. _Light thixu:rl.rig in century-o l d
3 pp.
Douglas-fir® Research Note- No®. .43,
May 1948..
Selected Research Center Publications on Douglas­
Fir Management
1952
Worthington, N .. .P. and Isaac,. L. A.. Experi­
mental thinnings in young Douglas-fir.,.
Northwest Science 26(1):1-9., Feb. 1952.
1952
Worthington_, N o P .. and Shaw, E .. W., Cost of'
thinning young Douglas-fir., Timberman
53(10):136-138.. August 1952 ..
1952
Shaw, E., W., and staebler, G. R. An analysis
Jour. Forestry
of' investments in pruning.
-
-
·
1948-
1949 G.. R • . Use of d om:i n a t tree heights
in determ2I.dng site index-for Douglas-fir .
Research Note No. !iLL, 3 pp.,
Sept., 19484> _
Staebler,
staebler, G. R .. and Shaw, Ee w..
Cordwood
volume tables for second-grqwth Douglas-fire
Research Note No ..
1949 Worthington, N. P.,
52, 3 pp.,
March 1949 ..
Lumber grade recovery
a d milling costs from second-growth Douglas­
fir of central western Washington.,
50(11):48, 6o, 62, 64, 66.- Sept
1949
Timberman
1949.
Shaw, E. w..
Minor forest products of the
Pacific Northwest., Research Note No. 59,
10 pp., Dec. 1949.
50:819-823 ..
Nov. 1952.
1953 Shaw, E. w..
u.. s. foresters study effects
of thinning on stands of Douglas-fir.,
Seattle Times, Sunday, May 10, l953o
1953 Staebler, Go Ro
Mortality estimation in
full y stocked stands of young-growth Douglas­
fir. Research Paper No. 4, 8 pp., June 1953.
Long logs or short logs with
the Scribner scale,. Timberman 54(10):6p, 6 8,
70.. August 1953.
1953. Staebler, G. R.
1950 WOrthington,
N. P. and Twerdal, M .. P.
Contents of a c ord of 8-.foot pulpwood., Pulp
Jan. 1950 ..
and Paper 24(1):74, 76, 79.
1950 Shaw, E .. w.. and Staebler, G. R.. Financial
aspects of pruning.. 45 PP• illus. August
1950.,.
1951 Shaw, E .. w.
-
ding -injury..
Jan. i95l.
A tree shield to prevent skid­
Jour. Forestry 49:45-46. -
-19­
-18- ­
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I
1\)
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Natural unthinned stand in the west check area, Block B. A.t age
6o, volume is 71,572 board feet (International rule) per acre or
109864 cubic feet. OVer 40 percent of board foo t growth is lost an­
nually through natural mortality on this 18•acre area.
•