What The Future Holds
For Young-Growth Timber
In Western Washington
BY NORMAN p. WORTHINGTON
P1'incipal Silvicttltu1'ist
Pacific No1'1!h·west Fo1'est and
Range Experiment Station Forest Se1'vice, USDA Portland, Oregon PAPER 65-51 :(0.112}
This pape1· was presented as pa1't of
a panel discttssion at A P A Weste1'n
Technical Committee meeting in Po1't
Angeles, Washington, June 23, 1965
• One way to judge the future is by
the past. Those of us with a past have
witnessed m a n y changes in young­
growth timber management in western
Washington since World War II and
beyond. Prior to the war was the pe­
riod of tax delinquencies and wholesale
abandonment of forest land by many
landowners.
Since the war, a com­
plete change has occurred, and a reali­
zation of management and investment
opportunities has taken place.
In­
creased demands for timber products
are depleting our old-growth stands
and pushing harvest back into our
most remote areas.
Simultaneously,
cutting of young growth has begun in
the more accessible and older stands
adjacent to the large inland waterways
of Puget Sound and lower Columbia
River.
Change is the only permanent fea­
ture of our social and physical environ­
ment. Timber management and utili­
zation will continue to change as our
economic and social needs demand.
A most obvious change will be better
coordination between o u r changing
forest resour-ce base and our manufac­
turing and utilization complex which
depends upon it.
Our heavy depen­
den-ce on old-growth timber must give
way to inclusion of greater proportions
of young-growth timber over the iln­
mediate future. In 1950, young growth
made up 33 percent of western Wash­
ington's total cut; in 1963, the propor­
tion was 19 percent, indicating not
much progress in this direction during
the 14-year period.
An examination of our land and
timber resource in western Washington
(as of 1963) indicates 11 million acres
of commercial forest land, approxi­
mately 42 percent in public ownership
and 58 percent private, with no signi­
ficant change over the past ten years.
These lands are 52 percent Douglas­
fir, 26 percent hemlock-spruce, 12 per­
cent hardwood, and 10 percent f i r spruce types. Our total timber inven­
tory in western Washington is 291
billion board feet, International %­
inch rule, 57 percent in public and 43
percent in private ownership. Doug­
las-fir (31 percent) is no longer the
principal tree species, but rather hem­
lock (37 percent), followed by true fir
(15 percent) and cedar (9 percent).
Of this 291 billion board feet, one-half
is in trees under 30 inches d. b. h., and
21 percent is in trees under 20 inches
d. b. h., i. e., largely young growth.
Looking at our net in-crement a n d
drain, we find them_ in approximate
balance, 4.9 billion board feet versus
4.7 billion, but with Douglas-fir show­
ing a 52 percent greater drain than in­
crement. Concentration of old growth
on National Forest lands causes drain
to be 4.4 times increment in this own­
ership.
An examination of estimated annual
increment possible over the next 25
years indicates a gradual increase to 29
percent over that of 1963, or 6.4 billion
board feet in 1990. To this might be
added 1.25 billion board feet (one-half
of the current annual mortality, log­
ging, and plant residues), making a
combined total of nearly 8 billion board
feet. If one accepts these estimates, it
becomes apparent that a considerable
increase in cutting of western Wash­
ington timber -can be expected if suit­
able changes in harvesting, manufac­
ture, and marketing procedures can be
devised.
The resource will be avail­
able; it will be the human element that
will be decisive as to whether an in­
crease in production occurs.
Growth
exceeds cut in all species except Doug­
las-fir, which will mean an increasing
relative availability of hemlock, true
firs, and hardwood.
Annual growth
percent is low-1.7 percent-and is
capable of being increased with im­
proved proportions of young-age class­
es and reduction of old-growth stands.
Helping to insure attainment of this
projected increase in net annual in­
crement and mortality and residue
salvage are timber management prac­
tices and techniques which have been
developed through research by many
agencies and individuals. This research,
inadequate to the task as it may be,
has already pointed the way toward an
expanding opportunity in our western
Washington timber economy.
Some specific areas where research
will prove effective are:
1.
Thinnings which will salvage
and prevent mortality in young
stands, concentrate growth on
fewer trees, and reduce time
necessary to grow merchantable
trees.
2. C 1 o s e r utilization of logging
and plant residues to increase
significantly the available raw
material. Engineering research
both in the woods and manu­
facturing plants will be parti­
cularly fruitful in this field.
3. Salvage of mortality in older
stands through both modifica­
tion in harvest cutting methods
and development of light, mo­
bile equipment.
4. Improved spacing through pre­
commercial thinnings and wild­
er planting for greater yields
i n merchantable volumes i n
much shorter time.
5. Rehabilitation of poorly stock­
ed areas through brush eradi­
cation, seeding, and planting to
bring into production l a r g e
areas not now contributing to
forest increment.
6. Fertilization of s l o w growth
areas to raise site quality and
increase productivity.
7. Genetie improvement in o u r
native tree species to insure
faster growth and better quali­
ty timber, particularly signifi­
cant to the pulp and paper
industry.
8. Reduction in animal damage
through chemical and silvical
means to increase u 1 t i m a t e
yields, particularly in planta­
tions.
9. Improved harvest cutting me­
thods to shorten the regenera­
tion period and insure better
stocking for the new crop.
It is reasonable to expect increasing
development of new and supporting
industries. This is a pleasing expecta­
tion since it will increase local markets
for primary forest products.
Th ere
will be increased use of the forest for
recreation, watershed protection, and
for game, all of which will in some
ways restrict the growth and use of
timber products to a varying extent.
As intensive forest management in­
creases, the need to determine just
where to invest the management dollar
to secure the greatest return will be
an urgent necessity.
Our future will
bring a clemand or market problem as
well as a supply or natural resource
•
problem.
About This
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Reprinted from Technical Papers of American Pulpwood Association, January 1966 Purchased by the U. S. Forest Service for official use.