ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES in rocky mountain coniferous ...

THE FOREST RESIDUES UTILIZATION PROGRAM IN BRIEF
Roland L. Barger
USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and
Range Experiment Station
ABSTRACT
Since 1974, the Intermountain Experiment Station has directed
a coordinated program of research, the Forest Residues Utilization
R&D Program, toward investigating alternative timber harvesting
practices that may facilitate more intensive, environmentally
compatible, timber utilization. The evaluation of biological and
resource management consequences of alternative harvesting
practices has been a major component of the Program. Most of the
research has been conducted in forest ecosystems common to the
lodgepole pine, larch, and Douglas-f ir forests of 'rlyoniing and
Clontana. Investigations of environmental consequences have cov-
ered an array of harvesting systems, si lvi cul tural prescriptions ,
and uti 1 ization standards. Emphasis has been di rected toward
determining the biological consequences of successively more
intensive levels of utilization, and alternative post-harvesting
residue treatments. Although the research has necessarily been
site-specific, the results have management implications for
coniferous forests in general.
KEYWORDS: forest-residues, wood-uti 1 i zation, timber-harvesting ,
forest-practices
FOREST RESIDUES -- PROBLEM AND OPPORTUNITY
A major problem confronting forestry is how to more efficiently harvest and
utilize timber without creating unacceptable impacts on the forest environment.
There are two immediate and related needs. The first need is to improve the recovery
and utilization of the total wood resource, leaving less material as residue.
National projections predict substantial increases in demand for wood and wood-fiber-
based products, expecially softwood housing construction materials. Environmental
considerations also favor extending (or at least maintaining) the use of wood, a