Product and economic implications of ecological restoration

The call for ecological restoration of declining forest conditions in the w estern United States has raised concerns about a fundamental change toward smaller, lower-value timber products flowing from national forest lands. Th e objective of this study was to evaluate restoration prescriptions for thr ee widely occurring ponderosa pine stand conditions, and determine the degr ee to which the value of product removals might underwrite treatment costs. In mature pine conditions on terrain suitable for groundbased harvest equi pment (i.e., less than or equal to 35% slope), a comprehensive restoration prescription produced a net revenue of $950/ac. with a roundwood-pulpwood m arket, and $875/ac. without one. On terrain > 35 percent slope requiring ca ble-yarding systems, net values were $600/ac, with a pulpwood market, and $ 500/ac. without. In contrast, thinning-from-below using ground-based equipm ent required a $50/ac. subsidy with a pulpwood market, and $300/ac. without one. Using cable systems, a subsidy of $300/ac. would be needed with a pul pwood market, and $600/ac. without one. In dense second-growth conditions u sing ground-based equipment, the restoration prescription produced $500/ac. with a pulpwood market, and $325/ac. without. With cable systems, this pre scription produced $75/ac. with a pulpwood market, but required a subsidy o f $100/ac. without one. Using ground-based equipment in moderately open con ditions, the restoration prescription needed a $50/ac, subsidy with a pulpw ood market, and $75/ac. without. Corresponding shortfalls with cable system s were $250/ac. and $275/ac., respectively. Results show the importance of selecting: 1) comprehensive prescriptions over thinning-from-below for rest oring mature stands; and 2) dense second-growth stands over moderately open ones in terms of treatment priority.