The Montana Forester
Montana Society of American Forester
Spring 1998

CONTENTS
Notes from the State Chair
Response to the ICBEMP
Roas Moratorium Statement
Critical Issues Forum
State SAF Meeting
SAF Fellows Honored
Executive Committee Meeting
Committee Reports
Chapter Reports
News from Montana
From the Journal of Forestry
Upcoming Activities
CFE Courses
Newsletter Publication

 

Notes from the Chair:

by Frank Cuff

The days are longer, the weather is warmer, and the trees are growing. It’s springtime again and everything seems new. There was a time when you could get caught-up and even begin planning ahead during spring break-up, but these days the pace never seems to slow down. It’s amazing how quickly time flies, and how busy the days and weeks seem to be.

SAF Societies and Chapters across the country continue to be involved in many issues and activities, and Montana SAF is no exception. The first four months of 1998 have seen a lot of SAF activity. The joint-Leadership Academy with the Inland Empire Society in January was a great success. The State meeting in Libby followed several weeks later and it too was a success. Corporate sponsors were very generous this year, and the high turn-out in attendance was a good indicator of employer support of SAF. Winter survival kits will be provided to banquet attendees if the State meeting is held in Libby again in four years!! The biggest "glitch" in the program was the cool temperatures in Memorial Gym for the banquet. We’ll work on that for the future.

The policy committee finalized its’ comments on the ICBEMP and follow-up meetings between the Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Inland Empire Societies and the project team have been ongoing. Comments were also submitted on the USFS road moratorium, and work has begun on comments/position statements regarding the lynx, westslope cuttthroat trout, the role of fire in ecosystem management, and forest certification.

The Executive Committee has already met three times this year and has developed an extensive "Plan of Action" for 1998. The committee has begun taking a close look at the Montana SAF Vision Statement developed in 1989. Some points of the document need to be updated, and based on input from the membership (particularly from the recent Critical Issues Survey), other issues need to be added. The biggest challenge facing Montana SAF is in the area of communications. The Executive Committee is working on a long-term, strategic plan to help us become better communicators. The next Executive Committee meeting will be June 19, 1998 at 9:00 a.m. at the Smokejumper Base in Missoula.

On a sad note, we lost two long-time members of Montana SAF in recent months. Peter Koch and Dick Guth made great contributions to forestry and SAF during their careers. They will be missed.

There will be a good opportunity for some informal SAF camaraderie in Libby from July 9-12 this year. The MLA and the MWPA are holding their quarterly meetings in Libby at that time in conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of "Libby Logger Days." I’d like to invite Montana SAF members to come on up and join the celebration!! We can form a few sawing and chopping teams and compete; we can bar-b-que at my place, and even lead a forestry field trip or two!! Let me know if you’d like to be involved.

I’m sitting on the front porch, it’s Friday evening, Arbor Day, and I know Montana SAF has made an impact today across the state on the importance, benefits and uses of trees and responsible resource management. In the coming weeks, the Family Forestry Expo will take place in the Flathead, and grade school students will participate in forestry field trips from Libby, to Laurel, to Missoula. SAF members have taken, and will take, time away from their busy schedules to make these events happen. Thanks to all of you for the dedication you continue to show to the SAF and the forestry profession. Our Society will continue to grow and become stronger - just like the trees that have started to grow again this spring

MONTANA SAF Response to the UPPER COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN (UCRB) DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (DEIS)

The Montana SAF is a professional organization whose members "advocate and practice land management consistent with ecologically sound principles." The objectives of the Society are to advance the science, technology, and practice of professional forestry in America, and to use the knowledge and skills of the profession to benefit society.

The Montana SAF views the condition of public lands as written for the UCRB as in need of ecological restoration. Administrative and management actions are needed to restore natural functions and processes. This must include actions that are environmentally responsible, economically viable, and socially acceptable. These actions should access the most accurate and credible scientific information.

We recognize that people interested in the UCRB area support a variety of land-use activities but are divided on some issues where choice and trade-offs are required to address existing and emerging resource problems. The issue of choice and trade-offs has paralyzed resource managers in their ability to implement techniques to meet changing forest conditions. It has also struck a blow in their trust and confidence to meet the changing societal goals. At the heart of these goals lies the regional dependability on sustainable and predictable levels of products, goods and services. We also believe that disingenuous behaviors that advocate simplistic, quick solutions to complex, long-term problems are not to be tolerated. Current and proposed directives and policies guiding forest management must be clear, congruent and achievable within the needs of society, the capability of forests and forest users.

As practitioners we observe, plan and implement professional and technical techniques that are consistent with the changing forests that we live and work in. We see the relationship of vegetation dynamics as the key to healthy communities for people, wildlife and fish populations and we strongly suggest active management as a tool to ecologically restore the UCRB area.

A. Review of Inland Empire & Washington State SAF Reports

Several of our committee members have read the reports from Inland Empire (IE) SAF and Washington State SAF (WaSAF). The Montana SAF applauds the time and efforts that both societies have spent in researching and developing their recommendations.

We generally are in support of their review comments and concerns about the incompatibility of well-intended alternative action proposals that have little chance of implementation due to: 1) overly restrictive standards and guidelines written by "regulators", and 2) the high cost of carrying out actions that are not supported by product (revenue) generation.

Specifically we found support for the 7th American Forestry Congress recommendation on page 4 of the WaSAF report along with their recommendations on aquatic and riparian areas (page 7); ranges in types of emphasis (pages 8 & 9); Planning Issue 5 (pages 13-15); road management (page 17); recreation economics (page 18) and most of their implementation recommendations (page 19).

B. Concerns and Response to Draft EIS

The Montana SAF would like to thank all the team members involved in the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project. The scope, complexity and the amount of work accomplished in preparing the DEIS documents deserve a commendable recognition for those who labored over this sizable task.

However, due to the complexity and volume of information, even the resource professionals that will be responsible to implement whatever alternative is selected will have very different visions of what each of the alternatives will produce or achieve. It is likely that members of the public will be equally confused. That confusion can be reduced by developing tables with common elements and units of measure that display historical ranges of variation and current condition (similar to page 2-41), desired conditions (similar to page 4-42) and measures of activities (similar to page 3-211). In the latter, need to include predictions of wildfire acres to see the whole range of vegetation changes. Even table 3-6 (on pages 3-169 through 170) is in different units and thus it is very difficult to determine if the treatments will actually get you to your objective and to predict output levels.

There is a strong concern that the specifics and interactions of the 166 standards and 411 guidelines will severely affect management flexibility and will make achievement of desired vegetation treatments unlikely (see specifics in Section C). The DEIS (page 4-49) recognizes that application of broad scale standards can result in failure to achieve desired results. However, this document comes out with more specific standards than did many of the Forest Plan documents. Furthermore, the preponderance of standards vs. guidelines is extremely heavy-handed in controlling management decision making, rather than helpful in resolving issues at more local scales.

The strong interest expressed in maintaining older forests (AS-S8) and avoiding fragmentation (HA-S6) overshadows some of the realities of succession and disturbances.

Ecological integrity is a value-laden phrase. However, Tom Quigley and others have stated that just because an area has low ecological integrity, it doesn't mean that the area isn't providing most of the things that society desires from it (i.e. the wheat fields of the Palouse). Therefore, it is a concern that only Alternative 1 and 5 have any clusters where Produce is the primary emphasis. How much discretion does the land manager have, and what does the public expect, in achieving different management emphasis within a cluster?

Projected budget needs are significantly above existing and projected levels. How much acceptance is there for delays and failing to meet desired conditions in the alternative that might be selected?

There are serious social consequences (page 4-170) that relate to Table 4-52 (page 4-171) and the likely changes from current activity levels under the different alternatives. Projected short-term effects under Alternative 4 would be that financially marginal operators would depart, and financially stable operators would become marginal. Translated, this would have a negative long-term effect on land use -- subdivisions and ranchettes in lieu of ranches. While ecological restoration of forests can pay its own way and continue to provide goods and services, rangeland restoration is a different subject. There would be displacements, and the hard-working, little guy would apparently be the loser.

Expected outcomes need to be stated as targets (achievable goals) or else implementation is extremely doubtful.

Absent in the DEIS is any discussion of public land management goals and objectives within areas of intermingled private land. Appropriately, private land owners may have different management objectives which may preclude achieving public land goals for such objectives as roaded and unroaded recreation, use of broad scale prescribed fire, restoring stream connectivity, road density reductions, etc. How will public land managers respond? An example is within the checkerboard areas on federal lands and private forest lands in Region 1.

To summarize, the Montana SAF believes that Alternatives 3, 4 and 5 with some modifications would provide different but substantial levels of forest restoration and resource production. The key issue is implementation, and the kinds of benchmarks, targets, and leadership to ensure that a revised version of one of these alternatives really happens.

C. Concerns about DEIS Standards Guidelines

[References are made to Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP), the Upper Columbia River Basin (UCRB), the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), Ecosystem Management Standards (EM-S), Aquatic Standards (AQ-S), Terrestrial and Aquatic Species and Habitat Standards (HA-S), Road Management Standards, and DEIS App. G-- Riparian Conservation Areas (RCA's), and Riparian Management Objectives (RMO's).]

The DEIS proposes to use ICBEMP information as basis for proposing restoration through the implementation of basin-wide Standards. Standards are required actions, or limitations upon actions, to effect management objectives. Montana SAF believes that this approach is inconsistent with the stated purpose of : "Supporting economic and/or social needs of people, cultures, and communities, and provide sustainable and predictable levels of products and services from lands administered by the Forest Service or BLM." (UCRB DEIS Summary, Page 1).

It appears unknown what effect the imposition of limitations through adoption of basin-wide Standards will have upon the goal of: "Providing a predictable, sustainable flow of economic benefits within the capability of the ecosystem." (UCRB DEIS Summary, Page 12).

Rather, if these Standards are offered as regional guidelines for managers to consider in developing land resource management plans or site-specific environmental analysis, then we could agree that ecological conditions would improve. Thus, the MT SAF recommends that the Standards be presented not as broad-scale requirements, but as regional guidelines for local unit managers to consider during project development.

To illustrate some inappropriate Standards, we have earmarked several for detailed comment. All of the following are derived from the table 3-5 in the DEIS and are referred to the relevant DEIS Alternative:

EM-SA Alt. 3, 4, 6 & 7: ... Requires that: EAWS be conducted whenever a proposed action (requiring a EA or EIS), "would affect federally listed and proposed species or their habitats." For Montana, this Standard will mean that EAWS will have to be conducted for all projects on all USFS and BLM lands. The time and effort involved in this level of analysis would be wasted as final project decision will rest with the ESA Section 7 consultation process and the responsible wildlife agency. The whole idea of Ecosystem Management is to consider the whole; not individual "special interest" species.

EM-S9 Alt. 6 & 7: Without sufficient road access, restoration activities are not feasible. As above, the ESA consultation process will preclude any validity to conducting EAWS. In combination, EM-S8 and 9 will trigger expensive analysis that will likely result in additional litigation and appeals.

EM-S11 Alt. 3-7: It is inappropriate to designate a Standard for something that doesn't exist. The screening process "to be developed" is unnecessary given current NEPA regulations.

AQ-S4* Alt. 7: This standard assumes that we can accurately measure, differentiate, and apportion non-point source pollution (NPSP) relative to natural and manmade sources. AQ-S5 is the only Standard required in the whole AQ section.

AQ-S6* and RM-S14 Alt. 4, 5, 6 and 7: This is a point of discord among the Montana SAF membership. It is a politically charged issue where members are faced with serious public and scientific disagreement because there isn't broad scale agreement on management goals (e.g. tradeoffs between different levels of outputs -- MBF, fisheries, recreation etc.), and the priorities of benefits/values of our streams.

There are differences of opinions that there are adequate, well accepted, effective, and institutionalized standards and guidelines for the protection of stream functions in Montana. Laws and best management practices (BMPs) apply only to timber harvesting and not to other land use practices. Montana logging and road building contractors have been a pivotal point in the implementation of voluntary practices, laws and rules pertaining to timber harvests. They fear, however that further standards may be confusing and lead to technical violations and restrictions to active management.

To what extent does society want restoration of watersheds towards presettlement stream conditions? Certainly as a society we can't totally achieve presettlement stream conditions because of modern development within the riparian corridors (highways, dams, cities etc.), but we should be able to agree that roaded watershed sediment levels are higher than an unroaded watershed. Given the differences in geology and ownership goals, we recommend that different standards be developed for the various stream characteristics.

Comments on proposed RCA/RMO methodology and Standards (from Appendix G, DEIS):

Montana already has existing water quality and riparian habitat conservation measures in place. These laws, regulations, and voluntary standards are in full compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act and the administering agency, the EPA. The DEIS (Chapter 4, Page 153) is in error when it states: "The goal of States' natural resource agencies are generally not specifically aimed to protect aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity, but to meet societal needs while disrupting ecological processes and conditions as little as possible." The DEIS assumes that the outlined RCA Standards will address riparian function and biodiversity. There is no mention of the direct purpose these RCA widths are delineated for: Will default RCA's be zones of no management activity? Will default

RCA's be zones of equipment exclusion? Are roads, including existing roads, prohibited in the RCA's? These points need to be clarified so that appropriate management systems and techniques can be used to achieve RMO's. Surely the smart way to delineate areas of varying management regimes is to define the goals and objectives first (RMO's) then delineate appropriate management

units and use appropriate techniques to implement the RMO's. We realize that with Ecosystem Analysis at the watershed scale, the widths can be modified to reflect local conditions and objectives, nevertheless the stage has already been set to preclude action and promote project appeal and litigation by identifying specific default standard widths that will be complex to measure, delineate, and administer. History shows that once a numeric standard has been alluded to, change of such a standard becomes impossible in today's litigious environment. We suggest that you abandon the default standard and encourage local forests to develop standards applicable to specific project areas. These standards should include the following considerations: Geology and soils, slope, stream type

(Rosgen), existing vegetation condition, desired vegetation conditions (for stream function), and other dynamic considerations - minimum parameters would have to satisfy existing federal, state and local water quality laws. Default standards, as presented in the DEIS, will significantly restrict active management on much of the USFS and BLM forest lands in Montana. Using the DEIS example for the perennial stream on page 204 of Appendix G as a template, this RCA delineation would compute to 75 acres for each mile of stream channel. Access to most areas of the forest could be precluded entirely if no roads were allowed within these default RCA widths--all roads eventually end up near a stream.

Field layout of RCA's will also be problematic: What happens when two streams conflux? When the delineated RCA's come together on one side, is the other side adjusted? What happens when the slope changes from + to - while delineating a zone 2b RCA addition? When RCA's have been delineated for a project, RM-S14 prohibits side-casting of road materials where roads abut or are within RCA's; does this preclude maintenance of existing roads and mandate full bench construction for new or reconstructed roads?

RCA delineation should focus on the task at hand, which is to effect restoration of stream function and integrity while protecting existing attributes.

HA-S3 Alt. 4-7: The assumption that all terrestrial species' habitats can be restored to the extent that all currently existing species can move freely between blocks of habitat is unrealistic. For similar reasons, HA-S6 carries this same connotation.

HA-S7 and S8 Alt. 4-7: It would appear that the requirements of these snag and down-wood Standards are conflicting with the DEIS objective of ecosystem health. Conventional wisdom tells us that these Standards will lead to increased fuel loadings and unacceptable ecological risk in the dry Intermountain climate.

HA-S13 Alt. 4-7: This Standard is irrelevant unless specific and measurable recovery standards for special status species are clearly articulated. Similarly, HA-S14, 15, and 16 are irrelevant without clearly defined recovery plans with definable and measurable benchmarks for "recovered" status.

RM-S7 Alt. 4-7: Designing and improving culverts to survive a 100-year flood event has drawn the criticism of cost and appearance. Purposeful stream crossings must consider a range of scientific opinion and include the rationale behind the proposed management strategy.

RM-S8 Alt. 3-7: The standard states a downward trend in road miles over the life of this EIS will be accomplished. What is the time period required to achieve this road reduction? The Final EIS should be clear.

Road Density Reduction objectives in Standard RM-S8 (page 3-161 and 3-211) can not be achieved because of the low levels of vegetative management proposed under most alternatives and appropriate funding. The first decade road reduction objective for most roaded areas of the national forest timber base will require at least permanent closure of 25% of the road system. This is unachievable in that time period. Are there a range of effective methods of road retirement and access control that will achieve RM-03 without the ecologically disruptive and costly practice of road obliteration?

What is the inventory basis for calculating road reductions? Would the basis of calculating road reduction in intermingled public/private lands include all federal, private and state/federal highways or only federal roads? The footnote on the bottom of page 3-211 is inadequate. It should refer to page number where the Road Density Class definition is spelled out.

RM-S15 Alt. 3-7: This Standard, in combination with EM-S9, affirms the creation of additional "de facto" wilderness. The intent if this Standard may not be to prohibit road construction, but implementation will surely mean so. Clarification as to whether temporary roads can be used and reclaimed for access is needed.

 Position Statement on the Forest Service’s Proposed Road Moratorium

The Montana Society of American Foresters (does) not believe an eighteen-month moratorium on road building in roadless areas does anything to support Chief Dombeck’s stated goals to develop a new set of transportation regulations that:

- establish a new process for making road building decisions so that managers can make better onsite decisions about where and when to build roads;

- decommission at least 60,000 miles of existing roads;

- establish an approach to upgrade roads as appropriate so that current roads can meet environmental standards and handle the use they currently receive;

- identify a stable funding source for its entire road program.

We support Chief Dombeck’s goals, but wish to point out that establishing a new set of regulations can occur at anytime and does not require halting the activity in question.

In addition to our concern that halting road building does not support the agency’s goals, we also believe that the policy undermines years of hard work in making decisions about federal lands. Congress, the Forest Service, and many citizens have contributed significant time and resources in determining which lands ought to be designated as Wilderness, which should continue to be studied, and which should be released for multiple-use management. This proposed moratorium seriously threatens years of negotiations and compromise that went into the development of current forest plans. Chief Dombeck has stated that certain forests are exempted from the moratorium because "it is important to people that we retain the integrity of the planning process and appeals processes." This commitment to the integrity of the planning process should apply to every unit of the National Forest System with a forest plan; therefore the moratorium is not necessary.

The moratorium also undermines the ability of forest managers and interested citizens to address critical needs in certain forest areas. By the agency’s own admission 40 million acres of its lands are at risk from catastrophic fire. The moratorium will prevent managers from constructing roads to enter a significant portion of these acres to apply fire-prevention techniques. The proposed interim rule should clarify that construction of fire lines is not road building and will be allowed under normal procedures during fire situations. The current proposal is unclear on this point. The recent ice storm in New England presents another example of the dangers of a road moratorium: managers on the White Mountain National Forest may not be able to treat some of the acres that sustained significant ice storm damage because of the inability to build roads.

Yet another concern is how the policy will affect state, county, and private access to lands intermingled with Forest Service properties. Access to adjacent lands must be maintained.

The Montana Society of American Foresters is extremely concerned with the policy’s vague and subjective criteria for lands included in the moratorium. The inclusion of lands "because of their unique ecological or social values" simply sets the stage for more acrimony and legal entanglements. Every acre of the national forests could be off limits to any type of management activity based on this criterion. This provision should be removed. One possible solution may be a revision of the interim rule that applies the temporary moratorium only to inventoried roadless lands. Such an amendment would re-focus the debate on the real issue, which is road management, rather than timber harvest.

The Montana Society of American Foresters urges the Forest Service to focus its attention on enabling its employees and qualified contractors to identify, prioritize, and remediate road problems without delay or distraction by separate issues, such as roadless area management. The real issue the Forest Service should be addressing is the backlog in maintenance and reconstruction needs of the existing road system. Chief Dombeck has stated he will work on this serious problem. We however, fail to see how the moratorium does anything to address this maintenance and reconstruction backlog. Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Summary of Critical Issues Forum

1. ISSUES:

2. VISION FOR THE FUTURE SAF:

3. POSITIVE ASPECTS OF SAF:

4. AREAS OF SAF THAT NEED IMPROVEMENT:

COMMUNICATIONS:

State SAF Meeting Held in Libby

March 4-7th, 1998

The Libby Chapter hosted the 1998 Montana SAF Annual State Meeting, March 4-7th, 1998 in Libby Montana. The meeting included a field trip to view and discuss current forestry/land management practices. This was the first time the Libby Chapter has hosted the State Meeting. Over 100 individuals attended the meeting from Montana and Northern Idaho.

The theme for the 1998 State Meeting was, "Natural Resource Management In Montana: Tools for Today's Forester - Focus on Technology and an Update on Policy." The focus of the program was on field-oriented study and research on topics such as logging technology, silviculture and wildlife. Attendees were updated on such planning and policy issues as the Columbia River Basin Study and the 7th American Forestry Congress. Speakers included Dale Bosworth, Regional Forester and Jon Dahlberg, Northwest Area Manager DNRC. Special guest Council Representative Tom Thompson also attended.

A critical issues forum was conducted to poll the membership on what direction SAF should be going in the future, what is working and what needs improvement in SAF now, and what forestry issues should SAF be commenting on at this time. The wildland/urban interface, the role of fire in ecosystem management and active management to maintain or improve forest health were the three top issues the membership felt SAF should deal with this year. The need to improve communications within SAF and with the public was once again noted as an area in which SAF needs to improve. The communications workshop held at the meeting gave everyone ideas on how to do more of this.

Russ Gautreaux, of the Libby Chapter, received the Montana State SAF Forester of the Year award in recognition of his contributions to SAF, and for recruiting many new members to the organization. Fred Hodgeboom and Lorin Hearst received their Fellow awards for years of dedicated service to SAF; Vern Hamre received an award for 50 years of SAF membership.

A banquet was held on Thursday evening. The entertainment included the Libby Nordic Dancers, the Treasure Tones and a presentation by Mark White, archaeologist from Libby District, on Montana History.

SAF Fellows Honored

Lorin Hearst

A 1953 graduate of the U. of Montana School of Forestry, Lorin Hearst also joined the SAF in 1953. A career employee of the USDA Forest Service, he retired in 1982 from the position of Branch Chief, Forest Products and Utilization, Northern Region Headquarters, Missoula, MT. He is presently a forestry consultant. He has served on many SAF committees at the State and Chapter levels. He was the SAF representative on the Montana Small Timber Utilization Group from 1987-90; governor's ad hoc committee on forest resources from 1985-88; State Lands Science and Technology Committee 1983-86; he is a member of the SAF Historical Museum Committee; he served as Missoula Chapter vice-chair and chair 1965-68. He has authored or co-authored six publications on the forest products industry; in 1993 received the Distinguished Alumni Award, School of Forestry, U. of Montana; in 1976 Outstanding Achievements to the Woods Products Industry and in 1988 was given the SAF Outstanding Citizen, Missoula Chapter award. He has always been an active and visible example of a professional forester.

Fred Hodgeboom

Fred Hodgeboom graduated from the University of Missouri in 1963 and has taken additional course work at the U. of Montana School of Forestry, University of Idaho and Washington State University. He joined the SAF in 1963. Also a career employee of the USDA Forest Service, he retired in 1994 from the Flathead National Forest where he served as Land and Resource Management Planner. He completed the first Forest Service, Northern Region continuing education in forest ecology and silviculture. He is a certified silviculturist, a leader in the application of GIS and remote sensing technology in land management planning, implementation, and monitoring at the landscape scale. He is the author of several publications. He was the Flathead Chapter Forester of the Year in 1988. He is a member of the National Woodland Owners Assoc., American Tree Farm System; Gamma Sigma Delta, Alpha Zeta and Xi Sigma Pi. He is also a member of the Flathead Forestry Expo steering committee; LaBrant neighborhood land use plan and certified stewardship advisor and instructor for Montana Stewardship Program for private landowners. Again, Fred like Lorin has always been an exemplary professional forester.

Executive Committee Meeting Notes

Complete minutes can be found on the website or by contacting Committee or Chapter Chairs

January 30-31, 1998

Executive Committee Action Plan for 1998

An 1998 Action Plan for Montana State SAF was released at the Executive meeting. It contained a brief outline of proposed actions and comments on plan items. The plan included participating in leadership training at all society level by hosting the Inland Empire-Montana Leadership Conference and participating in the 1999 training in Post Falls, ID.

The plan called for continuing support of the Student Chapter, Project Learning Tree, Mt Natural Resource Youth Camp, supporting CFE courses and coordinating workshops, and attending chapter meetings and projects. It proposed cooperating with various local and state projects such as Habitat for Humanity, and a more active partnership in organizations like the Montana Logging Association and the Stewardship Foundation. The plan calls for active participation in these groups to help build camaraderie and networking abilities for these organizations and the efforts of Kalispell’s Family Forestry Expo’ and Libby Logger days and MLA and Montana Wood Product Assoc meeting.

It also proposes developing a membership handbook to showcase professional involvement and accomplishments. It proposes better recognition of the accomplishments and achievements of members who contribute to the advancement of forestry.

The plan calls for developing position statements on current issues as they arise. Evaluating the issue of fire and the need for a position/ policy statement was mentioned.

The plan all calls for positive action on having fun while staying pro-active, advertizing SAF and encouraging professionals to the organization, educating the general public on SAF and planning for the SAF Centennial in 2000.

Montana SAF Vision Statement

The Montana SAF will be an organization of informed professionals dedicated to scientifically-based reasonable management and conservation of all forest resources.

The Montana SAF will have active, visible involvement of the membership in all major current forestry issues.

The Montana SAF will be committed to providing leadership in the education of the public on the issues and opportunities of resource management.

Meeting of March 4-5, 1998

A Draft copy of the Membership Handbook was distributed. The handbook is considered a means of communicating to the membership and public on the tenets of responsible forestry. It will contain position statements, state bylaws, SAF protocol, professional contact, web sites and education activities. Communications Chair or Committee would be responsible for updating, distributing and sponsoring the handbook. Additional changes will be made, then distributed to Chapter chairs at upcoming meetings.

The SAF Centennial is being coordinated with the national Office and will focus on the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula with Scott Kuehn and the Historical Museum Committee.

A handout explaining how issues developed at the chapter level make their way to the national level and influence policy development through the House of Section Delegates was distributed. Local issues for this year’s agenda need to be submitted to the State Chair by the end of July. Chapter chairs should make time to generate ideas and issues for submittal to the HSD.

Cait Faulkner has begun working with Dick Guth as co-editor of the State Newsletter. The Newsletter is expected to move increasingly toward electronic mailing, decreasing the expense of publishing and mailing in the coming year.

SAF Council Representative, Tom Thompson spoke to the members on his involvement in the voting District, on the SAF Centennial’s effort to recognize SAF members who have been longtime leaders, on the recent council meeting where current issues, such as external perception of forestry were discussed and on the proposal for a flattened dues structure.

Meeting of April 17, 1998

Reviewed results of the Critical Issues Forum brainstorming session held at the annual state meeting and considered the addition of a fourth vision statement to include the need to communicate the responsibility of professional foresters in managing for landowner objectives.

Two options were considered for the Dick Guth memorial fund. The first was a self-sustaining account to be used for communications efforts and continue the public outreach that Dick advocated. The other option was to fund a scholarship to the Natural Resources Youth Camp.

A memorial in the name of Peter Koch is being organized by the Forest Products Society.

No one has volunteered to chair the Communications Committee. It was suggested the past State Chair rotate into this position. Also discussed ways of sourcing a communications fund, including the memorial fund, fundraisers, state meeting proceeds, sponsors, SAF matching funds, etc. The fund could be used to hire a consultant to develop a communications plan, publish membership handbooks, develop videos, kiosks and presentations and sponsor forums with other professional societies.

SAF needs a representative on the Montana Natural Resources Youth Camp. Currently, there is only one forester on the board. An open house is scheduled July 29th.

Committee Reports

Membership

Chair: Ed Lieser

The objectives of the new SAF Member Handbook were discussed. Members are encouraged to review the copies and make comments or suggestions.

National Focus on membership is retaining the new and younger SAF members before they discontinue membership, typically a few years after graduation.

Mentor Program

Chair: Glenn Koepke

Students are expressing an interest in spending a few days with SAF members. Those interested in taking a student out on a typical work day are encouraged to contact Glenn Koepke. Six SAF members are currently mentoring for University students.

Resource Advisory Council

Chair: David Delsordo

The Council has been successful in its direction to set policy setting standards and guidelines for rangeland management for the BLM. It has been addressing issues of recreation and travel management on public lands. The Council is made up of 15 citizens representing groups interested in public land management, including sportsmen’s groups, environmental groups, industry and public land leaseholders.

Continuing Education/ CFE Program

Chair: Dale Kerkvliet

Continuing Education Certificates were awarded to Steve Hayes and Eric Kurtz in 1997, and Dan Pittman in 1998.

Bob Logan and Perry Brown will represent the University on the advisory board developing a mission statement.

Newsletter

Dick Guth

The objectives of the newsletter are to teach, convey information and assist resource efforts. Efforts are being made to move toward electronic newsletters and archiving previous newsletters. Members are encouraged to check the internet as routinely as checking the Post Office’s mailbox for updates and information. The newsletter, the SAF home page and internet capabilities should all be considered as resource tools.

Cultural Diversity

Chair: Rebecca Hendrix

SAF is composed of 98% Caucasian and 89% male members. SAF has two liaisons at the National office on Cultural Diversity and a subcommittee on Cultural Diversity.

Chapter Reports

Eastside Chapter

Ward McCaughey was named the Eastside Chapter’s 1997 Forester of the Year. McCaughey was honored for his current work as Forest Science and Technology Coordinator and his recent work on the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest.

The Eastside Chapter issued a schedule of events for 1998. The schedule includes a field trip in July/Aug to Lewistown to review the Spring Creek Realignment Project. It will include developing an on-the-ground plan for Eastside involvement as a SAF Centennial Project from 1999 to 2000.

The Chapter also reminds members to participate in public meetings held by the State Department of Environmental Quality on listing impaired waters and mitigation measures. These meetings are being held throughout the state.

Featured speaker at the February meeting was Brad Shepard, Fisheries Biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. He discussed the "Current Status, Trends and Habitat Restoration for Cutthroat Trout." Shepard showed slides that showed the historical range for the westslope cutthroat based on old documentation and paleontological studies from the Missouri River and many of its tributaries as far down as the Judith River. A population still exists in the Judith Mountains north of Lewistown. The cutthroat has been petitioned for listing under the ESA.

Flathead Chapter

Eric Kurtz was named the Flathead’s 1997 Forester of the Year. Kurtz has been active in fire training for logging contractors with the MLA. In 1997, Kurtz was honored by the National SAF for receiving his third Continuing Education certificate in seven years. Kurtz works for the DNRC as a Wildland Firefighter with the Kalispell Unit.

A chapter meeting in March featured a discussion of the Flathead’s Living In The Landscape celebration. In April, Jon Dahlberg of the DNRC, will be presenting the State’s forestry program. Upcoming events include the Family Forestry Expo, May 4-11 and the annual summer field trip, May 30, to the Little Wolf fire area.

Organization has begun for the 1999 state meeting. The tentative dates are the first or second week of March. Five resorts have been contacted for proposals.

The second newsletter of the year is now posted on the web site. The chapter has organized a list of e-mail addresses for about 55 of the 80 chapter members. The list was tested last week and a few wrinkles need to be worked out before it is used for normal chapter mailings.

Debbie Manley was elected Chair-elect and Carl Sobczk Secretary-Treasurer for 1998. The Chapter thanks Patrick Heffernan for his time and effort serving at Chapter Chair in 1997.

Libby Chapter

Russ Gautreaux was awarded the Chapter’s 1997 forester of the Year. Gautreaux was honored for 20 years of sustained commitment and support of SAF. He has participated in a range of SAF activities, including developing the annual Forest Education tour for the Troy Elementary School.

Organization for the annual 5th Grade tours, being held May 13 and 15, began. Plans to develop a management plan for Airfield Park are underway.

Concerns were raised that position statements for Montana SAF are established using appropriate resources by using biologists and peer review before releasing positions statements.

Missoula Chapter

Missoula Chapter was awarded as the Nation’s Outstanding Local Chapter for Public Education by the National Office of SAF. It was recognized for its Forestry Interpretive Area at Fort Missoula. Scott Kuehn received the award at the National Meeting on behalf of the chapter, and presented an interpretive program.

Scott Kuehn was awarded Missoula’s 1997 Forester of the Year Award for his work on the historical committee.

Glenn Koepke was recognized for perfect attendance at chapter meetings.

Student Chapter

In 1998, the Student Chapter plans include attending the leadership academy and the National Convention, meeting with FS Deputy Regional forester Kathy McAllister, a BBQ with the woodmen’s team and presentations on jobs in Natural Resources.

News from Montana

Forest to Curb Large Sales

From the Missoulian, March 19, 1998

Helena, MT (AP) - The Helena National Forest no longer will use large timer sales to reach harvest targets, forest supervisor Tom Clifford said. A forest plan approved in 1986 calls for the forest to offer for sale about 15 million board feet of timber each year. Clifford said the forest will sell less than the targeted amount for ecological reasons.

Clifford said officials are concentrating on a number of plans to return the forest to a more natural state. He said suppressing wildfires has crated unbalanced and unhealthy conditions in the forests surrounding Helena, and that vegetative treatment projects will begin to change that. Critics say the forest’s practices still amount to industrial forestry, with all the damage that entails. Ron Ament of American Wildlands in Bozeman said some of the Forest Service’s fire suppression efforts will be conducted in areas where they’re not needed.

Groups sue to put cutthroats on threatened list

From the Missoulian, March 18, 1998

Helena, MT - A Montana angler and five environmental groups sued the federal government Tuesday, charging it hasn’t been protecting westslope cutthroat trout from extinction. American Wildlands, Madison-Gallatin Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Idaho Watersheds Project, Montana Environmental Information Center, Idaho-based Clearwater Biodiversity Project and fisherman Bud Lilly of Bozeman sued U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbit and U.S. fish and Wildlife Service Director Jamie Clark in federal district court in Washington, D.C.

The groups allege federal officials have failed to consider listing the endangered trout species as threatened under the endangered Species Act. The groups petitioned the FWS in May 1997, asking it to list the westslope cutthroat trout as a threatened species. They said the federal agency, obligated to review the petition within 90 days, has yet to consider the petition as required under the federal ESA.

"A major cause for the decline of the westslope cutthroat trout is the wholesale neglect by federal and state management agencies, " said Jeff Larmer, executive director of American Wildlands. "Sadly, without this lawsuit, this inattention would continue." The groups said pure populations of westslope cutthroat trout are only found in 2.5 percent of their historic range in Montana. The groups are asking that the court require the federal agencies to issue a response to their petition to list the native fish as threatened. It also asks that the plaintiffs be reimbursed for any expenses associated with the lawsuit.

From the Journal of Forestry

Rural Communities in the Interior Columbia Basin: How Resilient Are They? Summary and excerpts from an article by Charles Harris, William McLaughlin and Greg Brown, March 1998

A group initiated to assess the natural resource and socioeconomic conditions impact on small rural communities was established in 1993. A group of social science researchers assessed the impact of decreasing timber availability on national forests, the changes created by court and administrative appeals, shifts in Forest Service programs and the focus on non commodity forest uses. The study was based on 472 communities in a five state region.

The study found residents perceived population changes to be as critical as resource management changes. Communities saw changes in population up 3 percent in Montana and 12 percent in Wyoming. These numbers created conversion of agricultural lands to residential and commercial development, and increased retail stores, traffic and crimes.

Employment studies found that region wide studies could mask important differences in the conditions and characteristics of individual towns. Large towns showed 18 percent of workers employed by basic (agriculture, food processing, timber harvesting, manufacturing) industries, but in small towns these jobs accounted for 34 percent of all jobs. The study found that tourism and recreation ranked in the top three of employers, and government accounted for 21 percent of jobs.

The perceptions of participants indicated 46 percent felt they were farming dependent communities; about 24 percent perceived themselves as primarily timber communities, and 17 percent indicated themselves as primarily tourism and recreation communities. However, in communities that perceived themselves to be primarily timber dependent, timber was actually a small percentage of total employment.

The study found towns with economic diversity changed the most and are the most resilient. The most resilient towns tended to be those with larger populations, and less resilient, less diverse communities were more dependent on nearby communities. But the study also found small rural communities tended to be more resilient than assumed, in particular, those towns perceived as timber dependent communities.

The study concludes that economic structure and amenities can affect development, though a major factor to survival is a community’s ability to realize potential through planning for the future. As changes have always been occurring, realizing potential and having objective, accurate information to cope with change are helpful to small communities.

Upcoming Activities

Family Forestry Expo IX

May 4-11, 1998

Columbia Falls, Montana

The Flathead Chapter of SAF invites you to join us for the 9th Annual Family Forestry Expo. The Expo is held at the Trumbull Creek Educational Forest, two miles north of the Blue Moon Saloon (junction of Highway 2 and Highway 40) near Columbia Falls.

The student portion of Expo is focused on the local 5th graders. We have averaged 1300 to 1500 students per year. The students tour one of the local mills and visit various forest education stations; including forest management, fire and fuels management, wildlife, fisheries, riparian, archeology, plant identification. They see the FVCC logger sports team, a back country camp with stock, ORV demonstration and responsibilities, logging equipment demonstration and this year a hands-on forest measurement station. All SAF members or student members are invited to join us the week of May 4-9 for a great time. Come be a guide for one of the classes and visit many of the educational stations or help at a station with our presenter for a day. SAF is just one of many groups that contribute to Expo to make it a success. If you’re interested in participating in any format, contact Deb Manley, Hungry Horse Ranger Station, 387-3800. Hours are generally from 9:30 am till around 2:00 PM.

For the weekend focus is on the entire family. Come participate on the weekend and bring along the family. On Saturday, May 10 and Sunday May 11, there will be a free lunch at the logger camp. There are many educational stations and lots of display. There are demonstrations from stock and low impact camping to the FVCC logger sports team demonstrations to equipment demonstrations. We also welcome any help on the weekend for guides or at stations or if you have a display you'd like to contribute. Bill Morgan (752-5047) and Fred Hodgeboom (837-1363) can be contacted for any additional information and to get you lined up in the area you’re interested in.

Each year Expo is a lot of fun and a learning experience for all! Hope to see you there.

Flathead Chapter Invites SAF Members to Little Wolf Fire Tour

May 30, 1998

Tally Lake Ranger Station

The Little Wolf Wildfire of 1994 burned over 14,000 acres of the Kootenai and Flathead National Forests and Plum Creek Timber land. The Flathead Chapter and Tally Lake Ranger District personnel invite you to a tour of the fire area to review how they have managed the post-fire conditions. In addition to fire salvage timber sales, district employees successfully managed for a potentially large epidemic of spruce and Douglas-fir bark beetles and are currently waging a war on the noxious weed tansy ragwort.

Meet at the Tally Lake Ranger Station in Whitefish at 8:30 am, returning by 4 p.m. Please bring your own lunch..

An accurate count is needed for transportation arrangements, RSVP to Deb Manley at the Hungry Horse Ranger Station, 387-3800 during the day or by e-mail: manley@digisys.net. For additional information, contract Ed Lieser at 863-5400.

 

 

1998 Logger Days Timber Jamboree

July 9-12, 1998

Libby, Montana

The Montana Logging Associations Annual Meeting, the Montana Wood Products Association Annual Meeting and Libby Logger Days are combined to celebrate 40 years of Loggers Days . The schedule of events include amateur and professional logging events, children and youth logging events, Bull of the Woods competition, natural resource booths, merchant and craft booth, MLA steak fry, equipment displays, street dance, carnival, food booths, beer garden, hack’n blast tournament, and more. The MLA and MWPA will be holding their annual meetings, also.

Attendees are encouraged to make accommodations through the facilitator, the Libby Area Chamber of Commerce, at (406)293-4167 or libbyacc@libby.org. The entrance fee is a Logger Day button costing $4 in advance or $5 at the gate, and is good for entrance into most events all weekend.

Upcoming CFE Courses

Natural Resource Institute Module 3: Systems Approach to Ecosystem Management; May 12-21, 1998 in Pullman, WA (509) 335-2963.

Wilderness Science in a Time of Change; May 23-27, 1998 in Missoula, MT (406) 243-6098.

Stand Management cooperative Workshop: Pruning, Thinning and Wood Quality; June 24-25, 1998 in Seattle WA (206) 543-0867.

Pacific Northwest Field Ecology and Practicum; Aug 17- Sept 11, 1998 in Eatonville, WA (206) 543-0867

Newsletter Publication

Photo Credits: Gene Yahvah for the field trip pictures and Cathie Douglas, "The Focal Point," for all others. Thank you for your pictures. Other newsletter contributors include Chapter Chairs, Committee Chairs and contributors to the Montana SAF Home Page. Thank you.

Cait Faulkner from the Libby Chapter, will begin working as editor of the newsletter. Faulkner works with Plum Creek Timber Company. She has been working forestry in California and Montana since her graduation from Humboldt State University in 1989. She has a bachelor’s degree in forestry and a minor in Journalism.

Items for inclusion in the newsletter can be sent to Cait Faulkner.

Items requiring permission from Chapter or Committee Chairs should come through those individuals.

Items for input on the website should be approved by Frank Cuff or Ed Lieser and should be sent to Sherri McWilliams.

A. Richard Guth

June 9, 1929 - March 31, 1998.

Alfred Richard Guth died March 31, in Missoula. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s degree in Forestry. Dick worked for the USFS for almost 30 years. He was a district ranger on the Chequamegon National Forest (WI) and the Ottawa National Forest (MI). He worked at the region office in Ogden, UT and the regional office in Missoula before retiring in 1986.

He is survived by he wife Dorothy, four daughters, and five grandchildren.

The family has asked that memorials be made to the Montana Society of American Foresters, P.O. Box 1229, Libby, MT 59923, or a charity of choice.

Apr. 2, 1998: I first meet Dick Guth one week ago today. Frank Cuff introduced me to him, so that I could begin coordinating with him on publishing the State Newsletter. I found him to be open and eager for my help, looking forward to my assistance and, eventually, handing over responsibility of the newsletter. He talked enthusiastically about his upcoming trip to New Zealand. He spoke about the people he planned to meet and places he planned to go. We talked about including information from his trip in a forthcoming newsletter. I figured he approached all projects as fun, challenging and learning experiences, that he fully enjoyed what he did, and loved to include and motivate others in the same. I was looking forward to the opportunity to work with Mr. Guth. After a single meeting, I feel a loss, but can only imagine that others who knew him so much better will find my words only a small tribute to one who did so much and touched so many. cfaulkner

Dr. Peter Koch

October 15, 1920 - February 14, 1998

Peter Koch died February 14 in Corvallis, MT. Koch had a mechanical engineering degree from Montana State University, and a doctorate from University of Washington.

Koch was president of the Forest Products Research Society, Fellow in the International Academy of Wood Science and Fellow in the Society of American Foresters. He published many books and articles including "Wood Machining Processes" (1964), "Utilization of the Southern Pines" (1972), "Utilization of Hardwoods Growth on Southern Pine Sites" (1985), and "Lodegpole Pine in North America" (1995). Koch was probably most well known for his development of the headrig chipper. He was instrumental in the formation of gluing practices in the industry which lead to the development of laminated wood veneers and structural flakeboard. He was Distinguished Affiliate Professor in the Department of Forest Products of the University of Idaho, Faculty Affiliate in the School of Forestry of the University of Montana and concurrent Professor of the Nanjiing (China) Institute of Forestry. As Missoula Chapter member Glenn Koepke says, his list of credits and accomplishments are most humbling.

Most recently, Koch has been the recipient of SAF’s Lifetime Achievement honor. He has been an asset to the Missoula Chapter in contributing to the Fort Missoula Forestry Exhibit.

Dr. Koch was survived by his wife Doris.

Memorial services are to be held later this spring. Remembrances are suggested to the Bitterroot Valley Historical Society Museum.