Research Work Unit 4151
Ecology & Management of Northern Rocky Mountain Forests

Coram Experimental Forest

The Coram Experimental Forest is on the Flathead National Forest near Glacier National Park, 45 km (28 miles) east of Kalispell, Montana. It is an outdoor laboratory dedicated to providing basic information needed to manage western larch (Larix occidentalis) forests. The forest was established in 1933 on 3,019 ha (7,460 acres) of the Flathead National Forest. Western larch and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) are the most common of 10 conifer species. The dominant, co-dominant, and many of the understory trees average over 300 years old. A few larch are over 500 years old, survivors of a stand-replacing fire 300 years ago. Second-growth trees range in age from 5 to over 50 years.

For nearly 50 years, the Coram Experimental Forest has served as the focal point for much of the research of western larch. Research began in 1948. A wide range of practical studies provides land managers answers to help them effectively manage similar forest lands within the range of western larch in the Inland Mountain West of the United States and southern interior British Columbia. The forest is a thriving field laboratory for studies on the ecology and silviculture of these forests. Research results point the way to proper application of silvicultural practices to achieve ecosystem management goals and enhance biodiversity of species.

In 1938, a 339 ha (838 acre) block in the southeastern corner of the forest was reserved as a natual area. It was officially designated the Coram Research Natural Area in 1988.

Studies in the late 1940's and 1950's determined how to regenerate larch and other conifers naturally using even- and uneven-age methods of harvest cutting coupled with a wide range of site preparation treatments. Research in the 1960's centered on how to regenerate larch using seeding and planting and how young larch forests, grown under a wide range of stand densities, respond with individual tree and stand growth, with understory vegetation development, with water use, and with insect, disease, and animal interactions. In the 1980's, permanent plots were established within the Coram Research Natural Area to monitor long-term succession of all vegetation and birds using the area. A 1992 Larix symposium culminated in the establishment of the International Larix Arboretum at Coram Experimental Forest Headquarters. It includes most of the world's Larix species.

Contact: Jack A. Schmidt or Raymond C. Shearer
USDA Forest Service - RMRS
Forestry Sciences Laboratory
P.O. Box 8089
Missoula MT 59807
Telephone: 406-542-4150
E-mail: jschmidt01@fs.fed.us
E-mail: rshearer@fs.fed.us