ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES in rocky mountain coniferous ...

6. Do the streams, fragile soils, visual impacts, or steep terrain indicate
the need to use line machines? (Such machines drag only one end of the
log on the ground and thereby minimize skid trail damage. )
11. blri ting the Sil vicul tural Prescription
The second step in harvesting a timber sale is carried out by the district land
manager, who writes the sil vicul tural prescription and then di rects the tree-marking
crew. The marking crew will be instructed to mark within the directives of the
sil vicul tural plan and to make on-the-ground mo'difications such as leaving buffer
trees around wet draws and springs, leaving trees with birds ' nests, or leaving more
trees on south-facing slopes where reproduction is slow. Hi gh-qua1 i ty tree marking
crews are ensured by requiring that crew members are foresters or forest technicians.
111. Control During Logging
Only a short time period elapses between the sale layout and logging. The dis-
trict land manager writes the contract specifications for the logger for each logging
block. For example, the contract will tell the logger how the area has been marked;
the marking that designates trees to be left or cut; the tree cutting technique
(she1 terwood, seed tree, etc. ) ; and special constraints such as wet draws, springs,
skid trail locations, and dens and nests of wildlife. The land manager walks the
area with the logger to ensure that the terms of the contract are understood. Most
of our contractors have logged for us many years, and because of the close, long-term
working relationship with the loggers, we are able to move them into a sale that will
best utilize the type of equipment they own. As the blocks are logged, the district
land manager periodically checks the area to ensure compliance with the terms of the
sale and logging contract.
IV. Cleanup and Regeneration
Finally, when the sale is logged, the district land manager makes sure the re-
sulting slash is disposed of in a manner which will minimize the fire hazard and
prepare the site for optimum tree regeneration. For most logged areas this entails
burning the piled slash in the spring or fall a year or two after the logging has
been cornpl eted. Whi 1 e most areas regenerate naturally, some areas will require hand
planting with seedlings from our nursery in Plains, Mont. Once a new crop of trees
has sprouted and is flourishing, the district land manager and his successor will
direct the course of the forest back to a harvestable state through three carefully
planned and timed procedures: 1) the precommercial thinning, 2) the commercial
thinning, and 3) finally the harvest of yet another generation of trees.
The main advantage of this system is that the land manager works so closely with
the forest and the logging operations, that he becomes finely attuned to the cycles
and needs of the healthy and productive forest. He quickly learns the techniques
which best support a vital forest; in a very short time his silvicultural prescrip-
tions turn into a marked cutting area, and then to a logging area, and finally into
an area prepared to begin the growth of the next generation of forest. From this
process, with its almost imediate feedback, come the continually refined and tested
techinques by which we strive to insure healthy, productive forests.
Biological and environmental constraints a1 so influence road construction. We
try not to build more logging roads than absolutely necessary, striving for minimum
spacing of a quarter of a mile apart. We also try to lay out roads to take advantage
of skyline logging opportunities on steep terrain. This will avoid disturbing streams
or sloughs and prevent the logging areas and roads from being visible from major