Frontiers of Forestry Research — Priest River Experimental Forest 1911-1976

This file was created by scanning the printed publication. Errors identified by the software have been corrected; however, some errors may remain. FRONTIERS OF FORESTRY RESEARCH — PRIEST RIVER EXPERIMENTAL FOREST 1911-1976 CHARLES A. WELLNER INTERMOUNTAIN FOREST AND RANGE EXPERIMENT STATION WASHINGTON 1N SCALE: 0 5 10 20 30 &ii'iiiii!H!!!!5iiiiiiiiiiiiiill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!i' MIL E S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Material for this account was obtained mainly from annual reports of Priest River Forest Experiment Station, 1911-1913; annual reports of District One Investigative Committee, 1914-1935; annual reports of Northern Rocky ~1ountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, 1936-1953; annual reports of Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, 1954-1963; and annual reports of Priest River Experimental Forest, 1953-1974. Other unpublished sources were of great value, including a journal by D. R. Brewster, recollections by J. A. Larsen, notes and start of a history by Robert Marshall, and file memoranda and reports by F. I. Rockwell, R. H. Weidman, and many other Forest Service people. Ronald Huff, who worked at the Priest River Station from 1929-1936 and lived nearby, helped recall events and people. Many coworkers in Intermountain Station have been helpful in supplying information and in other ways. 1976 FRONTIERS OF FORESTRY RESEARCH - PRIEST RIVER EXPERIMENTAL FOREST, 1911-1976 Charles A. Wellner Assistant Director (Retired) INTERMOUNTAIN FOREST AND RANGE EXPERIMENT STATION Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture Ogden, Utah 84401 PREFACE The Priest River Experiment Station was established in 1911 as the center for forest research in the productive forests of northern Idaho, western Montana, and northeastern Washington. Located out in the forest of northern Idaho, 15 miles from the nearest small town, it was to be the hub of forest research in this large forested area. Within a few years it became apparent that the range of conditions requiring study did not occur on the Priest River Experimental Forest and that the Station was too isolated to serve as the center for research. Thus, Missoula, Montana, headquarters for the National Forests of the region, became the hub of research and the Priest River Experimental Forest a site for intensive studies and experimentation, as a work center, and as a demonstration and educational facility. The Misso~la Station developed into the Northern Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station and took on wide responsibilities for research on management of forest and range lands and utilization of timber products. In 1954, it was combined with the Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. The Intermountain Station with headquarters at Ogden, Utah, has many laboratories and field facilities scattered over the States of Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana. The contribution of the Priest River Experimental Forest, one of these field stations, over the years has been as a field laboratory and support facility. I have tried, therefore, to present the Priest River Experimental Forest in this role and to limit this account largely to the people who used the Experimental Forest and their research programs. Charles A. Wellner Moscow, Idaho ii CONTENTS PREFACE • . ii A TENT PITCHED IN A MEADOW . 1 GROWING PAINS AND WAR IN EUROPE, 1912-1920 7 Funds • • • • 7 Personnel • • 7 Organization 8 Research Facilities 11 Investigative Program • • . 13 RECOVERY FROM THE W~ AND REORGANIZATION, 1921-1930 ~7 Funds • • • • • 17 Personnel •• • 18 Organization • 20 Research Facilities • •• 23' Investigative Program • • 24 THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WORLD WAR II, 1931-1944 • • 28 Funds • • • • • • 28 Personnel • • • 29 Organization 34 Research Facilities • • • • 36 Investigative Program • · • 38 POSTWAR RECOVERY AND EXPANSION, 1945-1960 · • 47 Funds • • • • • • • • • • • 47 Personnel • • • · • 47 Organization 49 Research Facilities • • • • 53 Investigative Program • • 54 A PLACE IN FORESTRY RESEARCH, 1961-1975 60 Personnel • • • • • • • • • 61 Organization • • • • • • • • • 61 Research Facilities • • • • • • • • • • . • 62 Investigative Program • • • • 64 THE EXPERIMENTAL FOREST AND ITS FACILITIES • • • • 71 How the Experimental Forest Was Set Aside . • 71 Place Names . • 71 Surveys . • . · .• 73 Physiography · 74 Soils . • . 75 Forest Cover Types · . 77 iii Habitat Types . 81 Weather and Climate . 81 Streamflow 83 Natural Areas . • . 83 EXPERIMENTAL FOREST MANAGEMENT . 85 Management Plan • 85 Timber Sales • . • . 88 Roads.. • . 88 Damaging Factors 90 THE NUMBSKULL CLUB . 93 REFLECTIONS . 95 The Role of an Experimental Forest 95 Incr~asing Need for Experimental Areas 96 The Cost of Experimental Areas 96 About Success in Research-- . 97 --And People 98 PUBLICATIONS . • • · • 99 APPENDIX A--Personnel Who Worked at the Priest River Experimental Forest or Had Responsibility for the Forest in Addition to Those Listed in the Text . • • . • . • • • . .120 Rangers and Superintendents • . • • . .120 Forest Supervisors and Rangers Responsible for the Priest River Experimental Forest . • • • . • . • . • . · .121 Scientists and Technicians • . • • . • . · .122 Scientists From Universities and Other Organizations . .123 Scientists on Mycological Investigations . • • . · .124 Supporting Personnel · .125 Temporary Field Assistants •• • . · .125 YCC Personnel • . • . · .130 APPENDIX B--Climatic Records for the Priest River Experimental Forest .131 APPENDIX C--Road Construction on the Priest River Experimental Forest .133 APPENDIX D--Excerpts from the 1965 Management Plan for the Priest River Experimental Forest by Pfister and Deitschman . · .135 APPENDIX E--Timber Sales on the Priest River Experimental Forest . · .138 APPENDIX F--Vascular Flora of the Priest River Experimental Forest . · .140 iv A TENT PITCHED IN A MEADOW The first forestry work done by the Federal Government was largely investigative. By the Act of August 15, 1876, Congress provided for a man Ito prosecute investigations and inquiries concerning timber consumption, forest preservation, climatic influences, and reforestation: This ambitious program was undertaken by Dr. Franklin B. Hough. For many years, until the Act of June 4, 1897, providing for the administration of the Forest Reserves, the Federal forestry activity was concentrated on research and the dissemination of its results. In the early ~days research activity centered in Washington, D.C. A staff of young technically trained men were sent out to solve regional problems as they arose. But shortly after the transfer of the Forest Reserves to the Department of Agriculture in 1905, it began to be realized that a better way to obtain information for management of the National Forests was by regional experiment stations where scientists could live close to the land and its problems. The driving force in this move was Raphael. Zon, in charge of the Office of Silvics. Consequently, in 1908 the first of a series of regional experiment stations was established in the Southwest for the purpose of study ing the factors affecting forests in that territory. The Station was located right out in the woods in order that the men could live with their work. The location of the now Priest River Experimental Forest was selected in August 1911 as the site for the Priest River Forest Experiment Station, fourth in the series of regional stations, and planned as the Forest Service center for forest research in the Northern Rocky Mountains. The considerations leading to this selection were recorded by F. I. Rockwell, in charge of silvics in District 1, in a statement dated March 1, 1912. In 1911, District 1, much of which eventually became Region 1 (the Northern Region), extended from the Lake States to eastern Washington. The District was thought to comprise three forest regions: (1) "Northern Forest," found in Minnesota and Michigan; (2) "Rocky Mountain Forest," found in the Dakotas, eastern Montana, and por tions of the then Missoula, Bitterroot, and Nez Perce National Forests west of the Continental Divide; and (3) "Pacific Coast Forest," covering northwestern Montana and north Idaho. Rockwell noted that many "older forest schools" were investigating the silvics of the Northern Forest, and some, most notably the State University of Minnesota, had established experiment stations " .•. which will deal with problems very similar to those found in the National Forests of that region." The Rocky Mountain Forest extended into District 2 and District 3, where the Forest Service had three experiment stations at work on problems similar to those in District 1. No experiment station Had yet been established to deal with the Pacific Coast Forest in District 1, particularly the silvics of its most important species, western white pine. Investigations and experiments conducted by the District were not yielding results "commensurate with the amount of time and money spent." According to Rockwell, "All these reasons considered, there was no doubt of the advisability of placing the station in the Pacific Coast Region and in the Western white pine belt." 1 Rockwell's account of how the site was chosen reflects the kinds of investigation that had high priority within the District in those days. "Practically all of the available sites within reach of the main railway lines on the most promising Forests, viz. the Kootenai, Kaniksu, Coeur d'Alene, St. Joe and Lolo, were examined or considered, and the vicinity of the Benton Ranger Station on the Kaniksu National Forest was finally chosen as coming the nearest to fulfilling the desired

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