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Ponderosa pine stands are almost entirely (91 percent) in the sawtimber <br />class. (Acreages are truncated at the decimal point in all tables). <br />The data presented in table 2, describing current forest stand condition in the <br />North Platte River Basin are consistent with the stand configuration data <br />summary for Colorado and Wyoming presented in the USDA Forest Service <br />1997 RPA Assessment of the Nations Forests. (Draft tables dated 10/15/99). <br />The draft RPA Assessment does not allow partitioning of the data with the <br />specificity of table 2, but the spatial relationship between species and stand <br />class appears consistent with the data in table 2. <br />Table 2: Area of Forest Cover by Specie and Size Class on National <br />Forest Land in the North Platte River Basin -- Year 2000. <br />Species <br />Acres <br />Non- Seedlings/ <br />Stocked Saplings <br />Poles <br />Sawtimber <br />Total <br />Spruce -Fir <br />3,478 <br />32,622 <br />39,958 <br />230,051 <br />306,108 <br />Lodgepole Pine <br />6,533 <br />91,504 <br />257,940 <br />271,986 <br />627,963 <br />Ponderosa Pine <br />3,816 <br />1,086 <br />2,994 <br />79,953 <br />87,849 <br />Douglas Fir <br />102 <br />132 <br />2,819 <br />9,203 <br />12,257 <br />Limber Pine <br />24 <br />303 <br />6,594 <br />4,625 <br />11,546 <br />Aspen <br />1,614 <br />7,946 <br />29,126 <br />23,182 <br />61,869 <br />Total <br />15,567 <br />133,593 <br />339,430 <br />1 619,002 <br />1,107,593 <br />Note: Spruce -Fir, Lodgepole, and Aspen have a high degree of younger stands (non - stocked and seedlings <br />and saplings). Ponderosa pine, Douglas Fir, and Limber pine are more heavily weighted to pole and <br />sawtimber classes. <br />Characterization of historical stand condition on National Forest land started <br />with the current condition and worked backwards, in 20 -year increments, to <br />1860. <br />Numerous assumptions were made in the assessment process. First, we <br />assumed that the average age of the forest, by stand size class, was a <br />reasonable estimate of mean age for that size class. Individual plot data <br />provided by the U.S. Forest Service, indicated that individual trees within <br />the stands could be much older, for example than the 150 -year mean age for <br />lodgepole pine sawtimber, as indicated in figure 12a. Personal <br />communication with Dr. Wayne Shepperd (Research Silviculturalist, Rocky <br />Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO) supported our assumption. <br />Stands in the North Platte River Basin have been impacted by natural <br />disaster and human intervention more than many other places in Region 2, <br />28 <br />11 <br />�j <br />1 <br />G <br />I <br />1 <br />f <br />1 <br />