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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



5000 and 6000 ft. Vegetation does not 

 extend far al)ove timber line, although 

 at the higher elevations the beautiful 

 mountain meadows occur among the 

 scattered stands of the subalpine species. 

 The next lower zone is occupied by the 

 noble and silver firs, some alpine fir and 

 moimtain hemlock, below which occurs 

 the Douglas fir forest, which is the pre- 

 dominating forest of the region. The 

 Douglas fir forest varies from a pure 

 stand to a mixture with western hem- 

 lock, western red cedar, lowland white 

 fir, and some other minor species. In 

 these various zones of the Cascade 

 Mountains the greater per cent of the 

 area is in its natural condition. All 

 stages of the forest may be found in 

 various localities. 



Where the forest has been reburned 

 several times the large huckleberry 

 fields occur, and where two or more fires 

 have occurred at varying intervals, or 

 in patches, the mixed succession forest 

 occurs, and on areas where single forest 

 fires have destroyed mature forests the 

 typical succession forest consisting of the 

 species of the original forest is present. 



The Olympic Peninsula is of special 

 interest because it contains some of the 

 largest Douglas fir in mixture with 

 Sitka spruce, western hemlock and 

 western red cedar. This is probably the 

 best region for preserving some of the 

 largest timber of the Pacific Northwest. 

 At present, very little logging is being 

 done in regions that would destroy the 

 last remnants of this type, and it will 

 probably be a long time before this area 

 is opened up for general logging. It 

 would be difficult at this time to desig- 

 nate any special area that would be 

 suitable for preservation because the 

 development of the peninsula is uncer- 

 tain, and during the process of cutting 

 it will be more feasible to determine 

 what areas should be selected. 



The situation on the southwestern 

 coast of Oregon is somewhat different. 

 In this region the Port Orford cedar 

 occurs in a very limited range. The 

 Port Orford cedar is at present the most 

 valuable individual tree of the entire 



region, and it is being cut in regions 

 where logging was not considered even 

 a few years ago. The selective logging, 

 by which Port Orford cedar is being cut, 

 is threatening the extinction of this 

 species. This calls for action if this 

 type of forest is to be preserved. For- 

 tunately, some of the best stands of 

 Port Orford cedar are included in the 

 Siskiyou National Forest on the Sixes 

 River watershed. This region possibly 

 may be cut, at least in part, in the near 

 future, and some definite action should 

 be taken to preserve a part of this type 

 of forest. The Port Orford cedar merits 

 attention and preservation equally as 

 much as the redwoods. It appears that 

 this species is a remnant of the forests 

 of the bjrgone ages. The Port Orford 

 cedar is re-producing very well, and 

 various age classes may be found. The 

 area mentioned ranges from sea level to 

 about 2000 ft. and is located from 10 

 to 15 mi. from Port Orford, Oregon. 

 The Port Orford cedar is the only species 

 of this region that is in immediate danger 

 of being exploited to the point that will 

 leave none of the mature forests. 



In the Cascade Mountains there are 

 at present several areas that are per- 

 manently preserved, and no doubt there 

 will be future selections for various 

 purposes that will add to these areas. 

 Areas already preserved are: The Crater 

 Lake National Park, The Rainier Na- 

 tional Park, The Bull Run Water- 

 Shed on the Oregon National Forest 

 which supplies the water for the cit}^ of 

 Portland, The Sultan River Water- 

 Shed on the Snoqualmie National Forest 

 which supplies the water to the city of 

 Everett, and the game preserve on the 

 Stilaguamish River above Silv^erton, 

 Washington on the Snoqualmie National 

 Forest and a similar preserve around 

 Lake Chelan on the Chelan National 

 Forest. There is also a reservation 

 surrounding the Government Mineral 

 Springs in the Wind River Valley on the 

 Columbia National Forest. 



Areas that are set aside for such 

 purposes as these are usually left intact. 

 Such areas are also valuable for the 



