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<br />.. . .'" <br /> <br />n')~'e'''l <br />U" :.. J<..J <br /> <br />. the finding that Deep Creek was eligible for designation as a Wild and Scenic River <br />. a study indicating that the use of prescribed fire within Wilderness might benefit <br />ecosystem health <br />. the new designation of RNAs and significant caves that were not part of the 1984 <br />Forest Plan <br />. establishment of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail across the Forest <br />. a comprehensive analysis that has identified several historic sites for designation as <br />heritage resources. <br /> <br />Timber Suitability and Allowable Sale Quantity <br /> <br />Tree species found on the White River National Forest include pinyon and juniper in the <br />lower elevations, cottonwoods along riparian zones, mixed conifer and aspen stands at <br />middle elevations, and extensive stands of spruce and fir that dominate the higher <br />elevations. These forest communities are important both as the habitat of other plants <br />and animals and for the production of wood products - from lumber, wood fiber and <br />fuelwood to transplants, posts and poles, and Christmas trees. <br /> <br />From 1984 to 1995, an average of 24.7 million board feet (MMBF) was cut and removed <br />annually, with harvests ranging from 10.8 MMBF to 46,2 MMBF, The peak harvest, in <br />1988, reflects the salvage of lodgepole pine killed by a mountain pine beetie epidemic, <br />as well as an increased demand for dead spruce logs for home construction. <br /> <br />The allowable sale quantity (ASQ) is the quantity of live timber that may be offered from <br />the area of suitable land covered by the Forest Plan. From 1984 to 1995, the projected <br />ASQ was about 308 MMBF, The Forest also projected a volume of about 250 MMBF in <br />dead timber sales during this period, for a combined total of 558 MMBF. The actual total <br />sale of 226.2 MMBF from 1984 to 1985 is only 40 percent of this projection. <br /> <br />The Forest's live conifer sale program reflects national and regional trends of declining <br />sale volumes, declining volumes under contract, and higher prices. Although the Forest <br />has been a key supplier of dead spruce for house logs, the availability of this resource is <br />declining. <br /> <br />Since 1984, iess than two percent of the Forest has been accessed for timber harvesting <br />(about 28,000 acres of its total expanse of 2.3 million acres). Records show that since <br />1909, less than five percent of total Forest lands have been harvested. This relatively low <br />level of timber management, combined with 60 years of fire suppression, has caused <br />large portions of the Forest to be in older age classes, with few openings in the forest <br />canopy and a high load of downed, dead or step-ladder fuels. Thus, these forest stands <br />are susceptible to extensive wildfires or to major outbreaks of insects and disease. <br /> <br />-11 - <br />