This file was created by scanning the printed publication. Text errors identified by the software have been corrected; however, some errors may remain. Technical Editor Hugh C. Black, forest wildlife biologist, was National Program Manager, Animal Damage Control, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, Oregon, from June 1988 until January 1991. He retired from the Forest Service in January 1991 and continued working on this volume as a Forest Service volunteer until its completion. Cover photo: Black bear damage in a young Douglas-fir stand in western Oregon. Trees with yellow or red crowns were killed by bark peeling during the current season; silver (defoliated) trees died after barking 1 or 2 years previously. (Photo courtesy Mark Gourley, Starker Forests, Inc., Corvallis, Oregon. Silvicultural Approaches to Animal Damage Management in Pacific Northwest Forests Hugh C. Black Technical Editor U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station Portland, Oregon General Technical Report PNW-GTR-287 January 1992 Abstract Black, Hugh C., tech. ed. 1992. Silvicultural approaches to animal damage man- agement in Pacific Northwest forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-287. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 422 p. This book examines the potential of Silvicultural approaches for managing animal damage in forests at two levels: management of free-to-grow stands and site- specific practices that foster prompt and successful regeneration. Introductory chap- ters provide a historical perspective of animal damage management in the Pacific Northwest, describe the elements of an integrated approach to forest protection, review the principles of vegetation management and wildlife management, and examine the influence of Silvicultural practices on habitat and animal damage. Indi- vidual chapters are devoted to the ecology and control measures appropriate to problem species of wildlife and livestock that damage forest stands. Coverage includes the influence of Silvicultural practices on habitat, populations, and damage. The book focuses on the potential of Silvicultural practices to limit animal damage, but it also includes information on chemical repellents, mechanical barriers, and direct control measures. Other chapters deal with the development of integrated Silvicultural prescriptions, including modeling systems, to limit animal damage. A concluding chapter discusses social, political, legal, and ethical aspects of animal damage. Keywords: Animal damage management, integrated forest protection, wildlife problem species, livestock grazing, modeling, silviculture, Pacific Northwest. Foreword This book was developed to provide a synthesis of published information and operational experience relating to the application of silvicultural practices to limit animal damage. It is intended as a resource for forest-land managers and others concerned with animal damage management in the Pacific Northwest and other regions. Silvicultural methods for the indirect management of animal damage are still under development; therefore, this book examines both the practicality and the potential of various silvicultural approaches for managing animal damage in forests. The book focuses on two levels: management of free-to-grow stands and site- Specific practices related to securing prompt and successful regeneration. This assessment of silvicultural approaches to the management of animal damage complements and supplements "Assessment and Management of Animal Damage in Pacific Northwest Forests: An Annotated Bibliography" (Loucks and others 1990). That bibliography is a comprehensive reference guide to published information pertaining to the assessment and management of animal damage in the Pacific Northwest and other regions. It includes citations and abstracts from more than 900 papers indexed by subject and author. These two publications (the bibliography and the present volume) are timely, because forest managers and the public increasingly are concerned about the management of entire forest ecosystems and the need to use environmentally sound approaches to the management of animal damage. Although there are some drawbacks to the application of silvicultural practices on stand and landscape bases to limit animal damage, some very effective, practical, and cost-effective methods can be applied to avoid or limit animal damage and help secure prompt and suc- cessful regeneration on a site-specific basis. This also is an arena where additional research is needed. Chapters that discuss the ecology and appropriate control measures for the princi- pal species of problem wildlife and livestock in the Pacific Northwest were written by specialists who are recognized experts with first-hand field experience in dealing with their assigned topics. Technical editor Hugh C Black and William H. Lawrence, author of the executive summary and synthesis (Chapter 1), are wildlife biologists and resource managers. Both have been deeply involved in the development of many of the current practices directed at controlling animal damage to Pacific Northwest forests. Charles W. Philpot Station Director Pacific Northwest Research Station Preface How animal damage to trees should be managed in a forest ecosystem is a signifi- cant issue for forest managers to consider in their efforts to prevent or limit resource losses Because of deficiencies in the information available for making animal dam- age management (ADM) decisions, forest managers often lack specific criteria for determining the long-term effects of animal damage and the need for treatments, the degree of protection needed, and the efficacy and risks associated with specific treatments. Without sufficient information, managers may fail to respond to an animal damage problem in time, or they may unnecessarily act and thus expend resources unproductively. Forest managers increasingly must take a proactive approach to ADM to prevent or limit losses to forest resources rather than react when animal damage problems are identified (by which time unacceptable levels of damage may already have oc- curred), Education of forest managers and the public must be expanded to include ADM as an integral part of forest management. This book is for both the practitioner and the planner. Its 20 chapters (each with an abstract) contain state-of-the-art information on ADM in the forest, and chapter 1 is a summary and synthesis that distills the significant contributions of each author and provides a coordinating framework for the information in this book. It is followed by chapters that discuss the ecology and appropriate control measures for the principal species of problem wildlife and livestock in the Pacific Northwest. A group of nine chapters deals with a broad spectrum of background topics ranging from a historical review of ADM in the Pacific Northwest to the potential application, in the near future, of computer models and data bases to predict the occurrence of animal damage and recommend courses of action to reduce economic losses. Other chapters deal with economic and silvicultural considerations that must sup- port planning for ADM programs. Included with this group is chapter 7, which describes improved regeneration processes that can reduce the impact of animal damage in plantations. The importance of documenting animal damage problems and control practices for future planning purposes is stressed in chapter 3, which introduces the concept of integrated forest protection (IFP). Important social and ethical considerations relating to animal control are treated in the final chapter. Supporting information can be found in the literature-cited section within each chap- ter and in the glossary of technical terms provided at the back of the book. A list of scientific names for the plants and animals mentioned in the text and conversion factors for metric equivalents also are appended to this volume. The pocket affixed to the back cover contains the following items: pocket cards that summarize planning steps for IFP and that provide information regarding the steps in the regeneration process, and a computer-disk copy of three ADM prediction models. The general concept of limiting animal damage with multipurpose silvicultural practices is well developed. The most common strategies are vegetation manage- ment during site preparation and the use of robust, "animal proof" planting stock. Marked improvements in forest regeneration systems in the last 20 years have lessened the overall impact of animal damage, but it remains a significant local problem on many forests. ADM is becoming more difficult and controversial with restrictions on the use of pesticides and other methods of directly controlling animal damage. Slash burning, for example, has been greatly curtailed because of recent changes in air quality regulations. "New Forestry," which involves new approaches to forest regeneration and stand and landscape management, including practices that increase habitat suitability for problem species and other wildlife, also will have a mapr impact on ADM in the future. Mountain beaver and pocket gopher populations and damage, for example, may increase in shelterwood stands and other stands harvested with New Forestry practices. New Forestry's greater reliance on natural regeneration also may renew concerns over the impact of seed-eating mammals and birds. New Forestry is likely to improve habitat conditions