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Abstracts:
GILKEY to JORGENSON - PAGE 4 OF 7
WHITMAN11
Gilkey, Harold P. 1912. Study of western larch.
Annual Silvical Report. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 18 p.
Abstract: This report describes the ecology
of western larch on the Whitman National Forest. The report begins
with the following quote: “western larch is not in its optimum
range in the Whitman National Forest. This is due to a lack of
moisture. According to Sudworth this tree demands an annual rainfall
of from 20 to 30 inches, coming very largely in the winter and
spring. In this Forest the rainfall is on an average 20.7 inches.
This is sufficient to permit larch to grow, but not enough to
produce a vigorous and thrifty tree. As a result of insufficient
moisture it is of slow growth and often dies early.” The
author believed that the forested area of the Whitman NF could
be divided into three types, based on soil moisture availability:
the yellow pine slope type; the north slope type; and the transition
type. The yellow pine slope type was characterized by a high proportion
of yellow (ponderosa) pine in the stand (75-100%). These areas
typically occurred on dryer south and west facing slopes up to
7,000 feet elevation, and on dry benches. Although it was comprised
chiefly of yellow pine, the yellow pine slope type also contained
small amounts of western larch, Douglas-fir, white fir, and lodgepole
pine. The north slope type was found on north- and east-facing
slopes where soil moisture was relatively abundant. Although comprised
of the same species as the yellow pine slope type, the predominant
ones were white fir, Douglas-fir, and western larch, with minor
amounts of yellow pine and lodgepole pine. The transition type
occurred on moist sites and at high elevations, where yellow pine
did not grow. The subalpine form of the transition type occurred
at elevations above 6,500 feet and was typically dominated by
stands of lodgepole pine. Western larch grew best on well-drained
bottom lands where the roots had access to abundant moisture,
but it did not grow well on saturated sites with an excessive
amount of soil moisture. Gilkey ranked the moisture requirements
of the five most common tree species as follows: yellow pine (lowest),
Douglas-fir, western larch, lodgepole pine, and white fir (highest).
Larch was considered to be the most shade intolerant species on
the Forest, with the trees ranked in this order: white fir (most
tolerant), Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, yellow pine, and western
larch (least tolerant). The author noted that dwarf mistletoe
was abundant throughout the larch type, with saplings frequently
infected by the time that they were an inch or less in diameter.
It was noted that mistletoe infections varied for the various
physiognomic types: 79% of the larch was found to be infected
in mixed stands on the dry (yellow pine) slope type, while only
27% of the larch was infected on the moister north slope and transition
sites. Larch was observed to start producing good quantities of
seed by the time it had reached a diameter of six inches or more
(generally about 60 years of age). It was also noted that larch
often formed pure stands, especially after wildfire, but that
pure stands seldom persisted past the pole size class. At that
point in its development, snow often bends the slender trees over
and breaks many of them off, thereby thinning the stand and allowing
the shade tolerant firs to come in underneath and persist to maturity.
In terms of ecomonic value, the larch was considered to rank third
behind yellow pine (which brought $2.97 per thousand board feet
back then) and Douglas-fir ($1.14 per thousand board feet). Although
larch returned the same stumpage price as Douglas-fir, it was
considered less valuable due to its greater defect (shake, etc.)
and its generally smaller size. The original report included 5
high-quality black-and-white photographs.
Heppner4.pdf
Gillis, George. 1937. Remote past of the Heppner District
vicinity. Unpublished Typescript Report. [Pendleton, OR]: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest. 11 p.
Abstract: This accession consists of a 1-page
cover memorandum and a 10-page, double-spaced, typescript report.
The report was written in an entertaining and engaging language
by a "Lookout Foreman" stationed at the Arbuckle Mountain
fire lookout on the Heppner Ranger District. The report describes
some of the primary geological processes responsible for the topography
and physiography of the Columbia River basalt lava flow portion
of the Blue Mountains in northeastern Oregon and southeastern
Washington. The author spends even a greater portion of the report
describing fossil evidence found on the Heppner Ranger District,
both for plants and animals, and speculates as to what the evidence
might mean and how it was formed during various geological epochs.
Although this report imparts valuable information, it is perhaps
most enjoyable for its unusual writing style and the manner in
which the information is presented
HERRICKHEARING
Government Printing Office. 1927. Herrick timber
contract, Malheur National Forest, Oregon. Unnumbered Report. Washington,
DC: United States Government Printing Office. 1100 p.
Abstract: This accession consists of a report
transcription completed by Martin Gabrio Morisette of Prineville,
Oregon. It describes hearings conducted before the Committee on
Public Lands and Surveys of the United States Senate, Sixty-ninth
Congress (Second Session). Hearings were stipulated pursuant to
Senate Resolution 332, “a resolution to investigate all
matters relating to contract between Fred Herrick and the United
States Forest Service for the purchase of certain timber in the
Malheur National Forest.” Hearings were conducted on January
28, and February 11 to 24, 1917. According to Morisette, the Portland
Chamber of Commerce was actively engaged in recruiting eastern
lumberman to Oregon. The Chamber became associated with Edward
Barnes and helped Barnes get to Washington, D.C., where he convinced
W.B. Greeley, Chief Forester, to make the first sale of timber
on the Malheur National Forest: 890,000,000 board feet, the largest
sale in the West at that time. It is assumed that after the timber
sale was offered for bid, Barnes was not the low bidder and Herrick
actually got the sale. In 1927, some rabble rousers (mostly friends
of Barnes') in Grant County got the Oregon Legislature to memorialize
the U.S. Senate to look into the timber sale that Fred Herrick
was stumbling along in completing. The U.S. Senate convened a
committee that convened a subcommittee and for several weeks in
February 1927, the words really flew! This accession is derived
from the Government Printing Office's rendering of the hearing
notes.
WHITMAN18
Griffin, Alfred A. 1916. Descriptive report of
the Burnt River timber survey project, Whitman National Forest.
Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National Archives,
College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 36 p.
Abstract: This report describes a continuation
of timber survey work initiated in 1915 by Fred A. Matz (see the
history archives for a report entitled “Cost report on the
reconnaissance examination of the Burnt River project, 1915”
for limited information about the 1915 survey). It includes the
following sections: introduction; map (in color, showing the 1916
timber survey project area, patented (private) land within the
area, adjacent Forest Service lands that had been previously cruised,
working circle boundaries, block boundaries, and camp locations
used by the timber survey party); status and ownership; silvics
(western yellow pine, fir-larch, lodgepole pine, alpine, woodland,
open land, forest enemies, reproduction, and undergrowth); logging
conditions; management recommendations; silvical summary; and
statistical summary (summary of types, defect and breakage tables,
and grand summary). The survey area totalled 59,701 acres, and
contained an estimated 475 million board feet of timber (the average
stand on national forest lands was 8,400 board feet per acre,
of which 5,000 feet was yellow pine, 1,000 feet white fir, 1,000
feet western larch, and the balance Douglas-fir). The recommendation
for handling “inferior species” was to continue to
offer free-use permits and to emphasize removal of white fir over
16 inches in diameter and lodgepole pine under 10 inches in diameter.
That policy was believed to represent the best option for cleaning
out the “old rotten fir and lodgepole thickets on Bullrun,
Elk and Last Chance creeks.” The report also mentions that
recreation and watershed protection was important in this area,
with significant camping use by local residents and a high demand
for water that was tied to irrigated areas on Burnt River and
Camp Creek. The report includes numerous tables that summarize
statistics by townships, species, snags, defect, and so forth.
This document also includes a 6-page “Cost Report”
with its own title page and contents. The cost report includes
the following sections: statement of conditions; acreage and mileage;
expenses; field work; office work; distributed costs; total cost;
and costs per acre and per thousand board feet.
WALLOWA10
Griffin, Alfred A. 1918. Descriptive and cost reports of the Swamp
Creek timber survey project, Wallowa National Forest. Unpublished
typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park,
MD; record group 95. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, North Pacific District. 25 p.
Abstract: This report describes a timber survey
project completed in 1917 by an eight-man crew (not counting the
crew’s cook). It includes the following sections: introduction;
map (in color, showing the timber survey project area, alienated
(private) land within the area, and the East Oregon Lumber Company
timber sale located to the west of the project area); status and
ownership; silvical description (yellow pine type, larch-fir type,
grassland, and damage); logging damage (undergrowth, windfall,
rock outcrops, and railroad locations); recommendations for management
(local needs, timber sale policy, marking rules, brush disposal,
grazing, and watershed protection); statistical summary (estimate
by sections, and number of snags per section); and conclusion.
The survey area was located in a trough 2 miles by 14 miles in
extent on the north end of the Wallowa horseshoe, from 12 to 25
miles due north of Enterprise, Oregon. Elevations ranged from
4,700 feet on Elk Mountain at the southern end to 2,850 feet on
lower Swamp Creek. The project area included 12,444 acres of government-owned
land, and contained an estimated 71,636 thousand board feet of
timber, almost all of which was western yellow (ponderosa) pine.
A table that provides average stocking conditions for the western
yellow pine type showed 39 trees per acre total (from 4 inches
diameter and greater), with 24 being yellow pine, 12 Douglas-fir,
and 3 western larch. The larch-fir type was noted as occurring
in a narrow strip along Swamp Creek and its branches, as there
was not a single solid forty [acre tract] of larch-fir anywhere
in the survey area. A relatively large proportion of the area
was supporting grassland (5,397 acres) dominated by bunch grass,
lupine, arnica, pine grass, sedges, and weeds. It was noted that
“fires have burned over all of this area repeatedly at varying
intervals, resulting in a large amount of accumulated damage in
fire-scarred butts, fungus and insect infestations. The repeated
damage, however, is so great that over 25% of the trees show signs
of firescar.” The larger lodgepole pine in the area were
killed out several years previously by an insect (mountain pine
beetle) outbreak, although most of the lodgepole saplings were
still alive. Mistletoe was a serious danger to the yellow pine
reproduction, to western larch, and to Douglas-fir. Windfall was
moderate except in small areas of dead lodgepole pine. The author
stated that standard East-side marking rules for District 6 could
be used in this area and that a large proportion of the existing
overstory could be marked because of the ample reproduction and
poles already established in the area. The report mentions that
recreational use in the area was “nearly nothing”
and that watershed protection was important in this area. The
report includes numerous tables that summarize statistics by townships,
species, snags, defect, and so forth; it also included three photographs
or plates, none of which were present in the copy at the National
Archives. This document also includes a 5-page “Cost Report”
with its own title page. The cost report includes the following
sections: statement of conditions; acreage and mileage; field
expenses; field work costs; and office work.
MINAM1
Griffin, Alfred A.; Conover, Charles J. 1917. Descriptive
report of the Powder River timber survey project, Minam National
Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained from the National
Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place of publication
unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North
Pacific District. 26 p.
Abstract: The Powder River timber survey project
area covered 28,604 acres of government land, with nearly the
same amount of intermingled private land. Private lands included
timber patents, nine mining claims, two mill sites, several homesteads,
and 720 acres of school land. There were also two homestead entries
pending and a great many mining claims, all but a few of which
had been long abandoned. Other private interests in the survey
area included ten miles of the Sparta irrigation ditch, a short
stretch of the Hogem ditch, the Balm Creek irrigation reservoir,
three small sawmills with timber sales, five miles of unused transmission
and telephone line of the Eagle River Electric Power Company (at
that time, it was in receivership), about fifty salt troughs built
by the local stock association, and a cooperative fire lookout
house on Sparta Butte. The old Union-Cornucopia stage road, then
a county road, traversed the project area from east to west. The
survey area was located on the southwest side of the Minam National
Forest between 3,500 and 6,450 feet elevation, about 20 miles
north of Baker, Oregon. The area lies between the Catherine Creek-Big
Creek divide on the north, the Eagle Creek Canyon on the east,
and the Forest boundary on the south and west. The project was
initiated in response to an application for a timber sale by Mr.
Alex Allardyce of Spokane, Washington, who was interested in the
timber on the associated private land. Work began on August 30th
and was completed on October 15th, 1917 by a party that averaged
eight men. Recommendations about logging chances were constrained
by the numerous land alienations and encumbrances, and by local
demands (wood requirements of local ranchers), as well as topography
and merchantability. The report includes these sections: introduction;
map (½” = 1 mile, in color, showing the surveyed
areas, reserved areas, private land, and the project boundary);
status and ownership; silvical description; logging data; recommendations
for management (marking rules, etc.); statistical summary (estimates
by sections, number of snags per section); and conclusion. The
average standing volume for the survey area was 6,300 board feet
per acre, of which 4,700 feet was ponderosa pine and the rest
primarily Douglas-fir. Mature stands of western yellow (ponderosa)
pine comprised over one half of the project area. A table providing
average stocking conditions for the western yellow pine type showed
24 trees per acre total (from 4 inches diameter and greater),
with 15 being yellow pine, 5 Douglas-fir, 1 western larch, and
3 white (grand) fir. About one-seventh of the survey area consisted
of the larch-fir type, occurring mostly at high elevations and
on north and east aspects. Douglas-fir was the predominant species
in that type below 5,500 feet elevation and going east from the
Goose Creek area. An average stand table for the larch-fir type
had 68 trees per acre, with 6 being yellow pine, 22 Douglas-fir,
11 western larch, 20 white (grand) fir, 5 Engelmann spruce, and
4 lodgepole pine. Sagebrush and grassland types also occurred
in the area. Fires had been noted as having “burned over
all of this area repeatedly, resulting in a large amount of accumulated
damage in fire-scarred butts, fungus and insect infestations,
destroyed humus and deficient reproduction. Most of the burns
are 20 to 40 years old or older. There are also two small areas
on Velvet Creek burned over in 1917 on one of which, in fir-larch
timber, most of the trees appear to be dead over about 80 acres.
The big fire of 1910 denuded an area of about one thousand acres
on the high flat between Big and Lick Creeks. This is rapidly
being recovered with lodgepole and larch-fir, the natural forest
types.” Dwarf mistletoe was found to be a serious damage
on the western larch, having killed many of the larger trees.
Harvest areas were already common in the area. The west side of
Medical Springs had already yielded a large amount of free-use
material and more was being required each year for posts, firewood,
and construction on the ranches in the valley below. In an area
south of Sparta, cuttings had been made by prospectors and by
some of the mines. Much of the survey area was also important
for spring and fall cattle grazing. It was important to practice
conservative logging and careful grazing due to the high watershed
protection values of the area. Many tables are included that summarize
the survey results by species, location, logging chance, etc.
Attached is a four-page Cost Report dated January 26, 1918. It
includes the following sections: conditions; acreage and mileage;
field expenses; field work costs; office work; and total cost
of the project.
new oregon pine.pdf
Guthrie, John D. 1924. Development of new Oregon
pine section. The Timberman. 25(October): 49-51, 127-128.
Abstract: This informative article describes
how the Union Pacific Railroad came to Burns, Oregon, a development
that was instrumental in allowing the extensive pine timberlands
of the southern Blue Mountains to be developed and exploited for
the first time. As a result of informal applications in 1922,
the Forest Service began cruising and laying out a huge block
of timber on the Malheur National Forest. It was known as the
Bear Valley unit. One of the main conditions of a timber sale
involving this timber block was that a standard-guage, common-carrier
railroad be built from Crane into the yellow pine timber of the
Malheur NF. A block containing 890 million board feet of timber
was advertised in the spring of 1923. Although considered huge
by current standards, that offering was viewed as only a small
part of the 6.7 billion board feet that was tributary to Burns
and the proposed railroad. The Bear Valley block included in the
sale comprised 67,400 acres of the headwaters of the Silvies River.
The volume included in the sale comprised 770 MMBF of ponderosa
pine, 78 MMBF of Douglas-fir, 30 MMBF of western larch, 10 MMBF
of white fir, and 2 MMBF of lodgepole pine. The article also includes
an interesting and detailed account of how the railroad was developed
into northern Harney and southern Grant counties.
WALLOWA11
Hanzlik, E. J. 1925. Growth of reserve trees on
western yellow pine cut-over areas in Oregon. Unpublished typescript
report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record
group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service. 4 p.
Abstract: The growth of reserve trees in cut-over
areas in the pine type of eastern Oregon was investigated because
it was known that certain trees had a greatly increased growth
rate after cutting, whereas other trees had very little growth
increase or none at all. Since published literature and prevailing
attitudes of the time assumed that all reserve trees experienced
a greatly increased growth after cutting, it was also believed
that volume increment was increasing at a high rate. In this study,
a timber sale unit (the Davis Creek unit on the Wallowa National
Forest) was examined about ten years after cutting (harvest occurred
in 1915-1916). A number of increment borings were taken on reserve
yellow pine trees in the unit; sampled trees were classified as
either bull pines or mature pines. Reserve trees were also classified
as to their relationship in the uncut stand by determining how
many trees had been removed within a 50-foot radius of them. For
analysis purposes, the sampled trees were grouped into three classes:
trees always in the open; trees growing in clumps and natural
stands; and trees which had been released on one or more sides
by the harvest. Two tables are included that present the results
of the analysis: one table pertains to mature yellow pine, the
other to bull (young) pines. The tables clearly show a substantial
increase in diameter growth for trees that were released (60.2%
for mature pines; 50.9% for bull pines). They also show that growth
continues pretty much as it had been for trees that were not released,
as if the harvest had not occurred. Based on this study involving
a limited number of sample trees, and based on observations made
in other timber sale areas in the east-side pine type, the author
concludes that reserve trees which have always grown in the open
or were left in natural clumps (i.e., the trees were in a clump
before the harvest, and the whole clump was retained as reserve
trees) will show little or no increased growth on cut-over areas.
Reserve trees that were released or partially released (released
on less than all four sides) could be expected to demonstrate
a considerable increase in diameter growth following cutting.
SURVEY1930S
Harrington, Constance A., compiler. 2003. The 1930s
survey of forest resources in Washington and Oregon. General Technical
Report PNW-GTR-584. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 123 [plus CD-ROM]
p.
Abstract: Forest resources in Washington and
Oregon were surveyed in the early 1930s by employees of the Pacific
Northwest Forest Experiment Station (the original name of the
current Pacific Northwest Research Station). This was the first
of many periodic forest surveys conducted nationwide by the USDA
Forest Service. Many publications and maps were produced from
the Washington and Oregon 1930s survey data. Forest cover maps
created from that data (at an original scale of 1:253,440) have
recently become available in digital formats, but little documentation
was provided with the electronic files, and the older publications
are not readily available to most users. This report provides
a brief overview of the survey and reprints excerpts from, or
complete versions of, early publications that dealt with the planning,
conduct, or results from the survey. A list of county-level maps,
prepared at a scale of 1:63,360, that have been located is also
included. A companion CD-ROM includes (1) the overview of the
survey and the early publications in PDF format, (2) a link to
the free Adobe Acrobat® Reader. to enable users to read the
PDF files, (3) the forest type maps in several geographic information
system (GIS) or graphics formats (ArcView. shape files, ArcExplorer.
project files, and .jpg, a graphics file format), and (4) a copy
of ArcExplorer. (to view and print the ArcExplorer. files).
COLVILLE2
Headsten, Edward W. 1910. Annual silvical report:
Colville National Forest. Unpublished typescript report obtained
from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place
of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Colville National Forest]. 15 p.
Abstract: This report describes the following
topics as they pertain to the Colville National Forest in northeastern
Washington: forest trees of the Colville National Forest; shrubs
of the Colville National Forest; forest types; silvics; and dangers
and diseases.
WHITMAN15
Heintzleman, B. F. 1913. North slope sub-type of
the Blue Mountains. Annual Silvical Report. Sumpter, OR: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Forest Service, Whitman National Forest. 10 p.
Abstract: The north slope sub-type was delineated
as a subdivision of the general yellow pine slope type of the
Blue Mountains region. The designation of this sub-type recognized
that the physical conditions of the sites on which it occurs differ
sufficiently from those of the main slope type to produce a stand
of different quality and mode of growth, and one that demanded
a different type of management. It was not classified as its own
type because it had several points of similarity with the slope
type. It was found at the same elevations and on soils of about
the same quality. Both had the same tree species, although the
percentage of each species may have varied significantly from
one type to another. The typical stand of the slope type was almost
pure western yellow pine, with a small percentage (generally less
than 20%) of western larch, Douglas-fir, grand fir, and lodgepole
pine. The slope-type stand was open and the ground remarkably
free of debris. The typical north slope sub-type stand was comprised
largely of western larch, lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, and grand
fir, with an occasional yellow pine in the mixture. The stands
were very dense and the amount of debris on the ground was very
large. This report includes the following sections: occurrence
of the north slope sub-type; life history of north slope stands;
economic value; and management. The physical feature that determined
to a large extent if an area was “north slope” or
“slope” was moisture in the soil and the air. A good
supply of moisture during the growing season was very favorable
to the four inferior species named above and yellow pine cannot
compete with them successfully. Their reproduction was so dense
and fast-growing that yellow pine was choked out. The few yellow
pines occurring in the north slope sub-type undoubtedly secured
a foothold in openings made by windfall or another disturbance.
The name “north slope sub-type” was rather misleading
because slope direction or aspect was not always useful as an
indicator for this type. A cool, moist situation was the only
prerequisite for its presence since it was often found on moist
flats, the lower slopes and bottoms of canyons regardless of aspect,
and the summits of flat-topped ridges. The best yellow pine trees
were often found near the boundary between the slope type and
the north slope sub-type. Areas on which yellow pine reproduction
could not be counted upon were classified as the north slope sub-type.
Fire was the most important factor determining the life span of
north slope stands as well as their species composition. When
a fire occurred, much of the lodgepole pine was killed outright.
Grand fir, Douglas-fir, and larch were badly injured, but were
seldom killed. Reproduction following fire was generally a mixture
of lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, and grand fir on the greater part
of the burned area, with larch and lodgepole pine predominant
in the moister areas. When lodgepole pine regeneration occurred,
it would grow rapidly to a size of about 6 inches in diameter,
but would then slow down and would eventually be overtopped and
killed by the other species in the mixture. The timber of this
type had very little value at the time this report was written.
However, the author felt that they would increase in value in
10 or 15 years due to a general increase in lumber prices and
the decreasing supply of better species. It was very evident that
natural reproduction of yellow pine could not be obtained in this
type. If natural reproduction was necessary, the author believed
that the best composition that could be hoped for was one featuring
Douglas-fir and larch, which would require discriminating against
lodgepole pine and grand fir during logging. The author believed
that if large timber sales in the north slope sub-type became
feasible in the future, then artificial regeneration (tree planting)
should be considered as a way to control the species composition.
The author concludes by stating that western white pine should
be considered for this type, especially if a planting program
is initiated at some point in the future.
OCHOCOHISTORY
Hodgson, Allen H. 1913. The Ochoco National Forest:
a history. Unnumbered Report. Prineville, OR: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Ochoco National Forest. 44 p.
Abstract: This document was recreated from
a photocopy of a Forest Service carbon copy by the A.R. Bowman
Memorial Museum in Prineville, OR. It was part of a collection
of 573 pages of documents pertaining to the history of Crook County
or the Forest Service. This interesting and comprehensive report
includes the following sections: introduction; the region before
forest reserves were established; the proposed Elk Creek and Blue
Mountains forest reserves; the proposed Maury Mountain forest
reserve; the creation of the Blue Mountains and Maury Mountains
forest reserves; the proposed redivision of forest boundaries
making the old Deschutes National Forest; the Maury Mountain National
Forest becomes a part of the Blue Mountains (W); boundary report
made by forest expert L. Wernstedt; receipts and disbursements
fiscal year 1907; public sentiment; creation of the Malheur National
Forest; the Supervisor's first grazing report; the change of the
Supervisor's headquarters; the field force of 1908; plan for redistricting
the national forests; creation of the Deschutes National Forest;
establishment of District headquarters at Portland; reexamination
of forest boundary; creation of the Paulina, Deschutes and Ochoco
national forests; the Ochoco National Forest; and conclusion.
BLUEMTN10
Hopkins, A. D. 1910. Summary, evidence, conclusions,
and recommendations relating to insect depredations on the pine
timber of northeastern Oregon. Unpublished typescript report obtained
from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. [Place
of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau
of Entomology. 8 p.
Abstract: This report was based on correspondence,
special investigations by agents of the Bureau of Entomology,
Forest officials, and private owners of timber. It appeared from
the evidence secured that isolated and small areas of dead and
dying timber had been noticed by Forest officials and others in
the Wallowa National Forest in 1905, and in the Whitman National
Forest in 1906. After the Forest Service supplied the Bureau with
information and insect specimens for identification, it was determined
that the damage was caused by mountain pine beetle. In August
of 1907, an agent of the Bureau, Mr. H. E. Burke, was instructed
to make an investigation in the vicinity of Joseph, Oregon and
then report, which he did. That report, in conjunction with information
supplied by the Forest Service, indicated that insect depredations
were so extensive, and facilities for utilizing the infested timber
so poor, that it was not practical to initiate control work. The
first information from the Whitman NF was supplied by a private
land owner who stated that white pine was dying in T. 5 S., R.
38 E., section 6. The insect specimen that was submitted proved
to be mountain pine beetle. In November of 1907, the Forest Supervisor
of the Imnaha (Wallowa) NF reported that lodgepole pine was affected
by an insect outbreak across the entire Forest, with 50% of some
stands already killed by the beetle; that it was impossible to
utilize the infested timber; and that he believed that yellow
(ponderosa) pine would eventually be affected after all of the
lodgepole pines had been killed. In March of 1909, the District
Forester for District 6 requested all available information from
the Bureau pertaining to control of bark beetles affecting pines,
Douglas-fir, and Engelmann spruce; that information was provided
to him. In January of 1910, private land owners adjacent to the
Wallowa and Whitman NFs reported increasing beetle problems on
their lands, and suggested that a cooperative control project
be initiated involving them and the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Early in February of 1910, the District Forester offered the Forest
Service’s cooperation in a control project, and requested
that an agent of the Bureau be located in District 6. In April
of 1910, Hopkins prepared a proposed control plan and circulated
it to the District Foresters of Districts 4 and 6, and to private
landowners near the Wallowa and Whitman NFs. The essential features
of that plan (referred to as Project 38) were approved by The
Forester and the Chief of Silviculture in April, and by the private
landowners via telegram in May. Agent Burke was then instructed
to proceed to Baker City, Oregon to begin preliminary survey work.
Mr. W. D. Edmonston (a Forest Ranger) was transferred from District
2 to District 6 to assist Mr. Burke. They both arrived in Baker
City in mid May. In late May and early June, Ranger Smith and
Forest Assistant Harvey of the Forest Service, who were detailed
to work under Mr. Burke’s instructions, began to acquire
preliminary information as to the character and extent of the
infestation on the two Forests. The project was directed by 6
individuals, two from the Bureau (Burke and Edmonston, who was
initially paid by the Forest Service but was mostly paid as a
special agent of the Bureau), two from the Forest Service (Smith
and Harvey), and two from the private landowners (W. C. Calder,
and Edward Gerber). Burke and Edmonston immediately initiated
training exercises to teach the other parties how to recognize
beetle-infested trees, beetle-abondoned trees, old beetle-killed
trees, and how to cruise areas and identify principal infestation
centers. Burke and Edmonston proceeded at once to study the insect
and its infestation, while Smith and Harvey began preliminary
surveys to identify the infested areas. Edmonston also assisted
Calder with securing infestation information for private lands,
and with Harvey on the Wallowa NF. By the time that survey information
had been collected, it was so late in the season that beetles
were beginning to emerge from infested trees and initiate new
attacks. It was apparent by mid June that control work in areas
with high-value yellow pine could have been initiated had sufficient
men and money been available. Negotiations were begun at that
point, but it eventually became apparent that neither labor nor
funding would be forthcoming for that season. The author summarizes
this report by stating “the information acquired places
us in a position where we have a reliable and impregnable basis
of facts on which to plan and conduct the campaign against the
1910-1911 invasion, with every prospect of complete success, provided
the one essential requirement is met by the officials and individuals
in charge of the Federal, State, and private interests, namely,
a properly organized and supported cooperative effort to adopt
and carry out a definite policy according to the recommendations
and advice of the Bureau of Entomology” (emphasis present
in the original).
UMATILLA3
Horton, F. V. 1917. Report on extensive grazing
reconnaissance, Umatilla National Forest. Unpublished typescript
report obtained from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record
group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest]. Variable p.
Abstract: This document reports the results
of an extensive grazing reconnaissance of the Umatilla National
Forest. The following individual sections are included in this
document: Five-Mile cattle and horse division (10 p.); Lonerock
cattle and horse division (4 p.); Hardman cattle and horse division
(6 p.); Tamarack-Monument cattle and horse division (15 p.); Cherry
cattle and horse range (13 p.); Starkey cattle and horse division
(11 p.); Camas and Hidaway cattle and horse range (11 p.); Madison
cattle and horse range, Stanfield brothers sheep allotment, Smith
and Barker sheep allotment (7 p.); and Black Mountain cattle and
horse range (3 p.).
history of range use.pdf
Humphrey, R. R. 1943. A history of range use and
its relation to soil and water losses on the Walla Walla River watershed,
Washington and Oregon. Northwest Science. 17: 82-87.
Abstract: This interesting and informative
article describes historical conditions on the Walla Walla River
watershed. It contains the following sections: vegetation prior
to white settlement; original grazing by game animals; introduction
of horses; expansion of the livestock industry; development of
dry-land wheat raising; effect of wheat raising on horse numbers;
overgrazing and its effect on the plant cover; national forest
areas; closure of Mill Creek watershed to grazing; effect of fires;
and early floods and flood damage. A bibliography is also included.
HUNTINGTON
Huntington, J. W. Perit. 1956. J.W. Perit Huntington
to Hon. N.S. Taylor, Umatilla Reservation, December 22, 1868. Ethnohistory.
3(2): 163-179.
Abstract: This article provides a narrative,
in letter form, from J.W. Perit Huntington about a trip from Klamath
to Burns (Fort Harney) and then north through Canyon City, all
of which occurred late in 1868. Although most of this accession
involves ethnography, there are a few descriptions of the vegetation,
such as “miserable desert” from Warner to Harney and
very little scattering bunchgrass and basalt rock. From Fort Harney
to Canyon City, the country was very high and sparsely timbered.
It also provides an interesting summary of the relationship between
whites and the Paiute tribes at that point. Keep in mind that
this is written from the perspective of a white settler and many
of his accounts are second and third hand. Some of the details
are likely exaggerated but the general descriptions appear quite
accurate. The term “snake” Indians was used to refer
to several tribes in the Great Basin but in this case it refers
primarily to several bands of the Northern Paiute in central and
eastern Oregon.
UMATILLA4
Iler, J. C.; Beeman, W. H. 1938. Analysis of Grande
Ronde Working Circle, Umatilla National Forest, Oregon. Unpublished
typescript report obtained from the National Archives, College Park,
MD; record group 95. [Place of publication unknown]: [U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest]. 13 p.
Abstract: This report describes the Grande
Ronde Working Circle. It includes the following sections: introduction;
physiographic features; forest description; economic situation;
plan of action; and administrative correlation. Two tables are
also included: volume by species in thousand board feet, and types
in acres. A rough map showing the boundaries of the Wenatchee,
Wenaha, and Elbow blocks, all of which are contained in the Grande
Ronde Working Circle, is included.
DEFOLIATOR3
Jaenicke, A. J. 1948. Miscellaneous memoranda regarding
a proposal to control budworm in the vicinity of the Umatilla National
Forest. Unpublished Typescript Memoranda. Portland, OR: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Forest Service. 4 p.
Abstract: This accession consists primarily
of a 3-page memorandum to the files that describes a proposal
to complete an experimental control project against western spruce
budworm on a mix of federal (U.S. Forest Service) and private
lands near Heppner, Oregon. Aerial surveys in 1947 showed that
almost 1,000,000 acres of mixed-conifer forest in eastern Oregon
and Washington were infested with western spruce budworm. The
bulk of the defoliated area was in the Blue Mountains of northeastern
Oregon and southeastern Washington, with 710,000 acres. As of
1947, tree mortality was minimal, but it was believed that the
outbreak was spreading and building, and that the worst of the
damage was yet to come. Several experiments involving an insecticide
called DDT were in progress against budworm in the northeastern
United States and eastern Canada, and it was proposed to try DDT
as a control agent against budworm in the Blue Mountains area.
An area of 6,300 acres was delineated within a larger, 160,000-acre
infestation affecting the Heppner Ranger District for an experimental
application of DDT during the later half of June in 1948 (the
defoliated area ranged from Swale Creek on the east to the Spray-Heppner
highway on the west). The experimental area was located near Opal
Butte and consisted of 15 plots of 1,260 acres each, with the
treatments being: 1 pound DDT in 1 gallon of diesel oil per acre
and applied by helicopter (3 plots); 1 pound DDT in 1 gallon of
diesel oil per acre and applied by airplane (3 plots); 1 pound
DDT in 1 gallon of diesel oil per acre and applied by airplane
in two flights of 1/2 gallon per acre (3 plots); 2 pounds DDT
in 2 gallons of diesel oil per acre and applied by helicopter
(3 plots); and 3 untreated control plots. The State of Oregon
contributed $5,000 to the project along with the Forest Service’s
allotment of $5,000. The total cost of the project was estimated
to be $11,228, so the funding was actually a little short of what
was needed for the project. If additional funding could not be
found, Jaenicke recommended that the size of the plots be reduced
somewhat, although that contingency should be avoided if at all
possible. Note that the actual results of this proposal, which
was modified somewhat from this proposal, are described in a Journal
of Forestry article entitled “Airplane and helicopter spraying
with DDT for spruce budworm control” and authored by C.
B. Eaton and others (1949).
WHITMAN20
Jones, Ira E. [Date unknown]. Recollections by
Ira E. Jones, Whitman National Forest. Typescript Report. [Place
of publication unknown]: [Publisher unknown]. 9 p.
Abstract: This interesting memoir recounts experiences
of the author while employed on national forests in the Blue Mountains
of northeastern Oregon. Jones started in 1908 as a Forest Guard
on the Whitman National Forest; his first task was to help build
a telephone line from the Grande Ronde River to Cable Cove outside
of Sumpter, Oregon. In 1909, he was assigned to the North Powder
Ranger District of the Whitman National Forest. He then recounts
experiences of his Forest Service employment near Granite, Sumpter
and at many other places in the Blue Mountains. He ends the memoir
with a description of a detail assignment to the Siuslaw National
Forest in western Oregon, where he supervised CCC crews performing
a variety of projects.
UMATILLA6
Jorgensen, Glen. 1948. Timber disposal plan: Elgin
Block, La Grande Working Circle. Unpublished typescript report obtained
from the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Pendleton,
OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National
Forest. 11 p.
Abstract: This short report includes the following
sections: introduction; management objectives; analysis of national
forest resources; calculation of allowable annual cut; and sale
program. Tables providing timber volumes and forest type acreages
are also included in this document.
UMATILLA5
Jorgensen, Glen. 1948. Timber disposal plan: Pendleton-Pilot
Rock Working Circle. Unpublished typescript report obtained from
the National Archives, College Park, MD; record group 95. Pendleton,
OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umatilla National
Forest. 29 p.
Abstract: This report includes the following
sections: introduction; management objectives; analysis of national
forest resources; calculation of allowable annual cut; and sale
program. It includes many tables summarizing timber volumes and
forest type acreages. The Pendleton-Pilot Rock Working Circle included
the following blocks: Gibbon, McKay, Pilot Rock, Gurdane, Ukiah,
Camas, Desolation, and North Fork.
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