PLANTING RECONNAISSANCE IN DISTRICT 6 



WALTER H. LEVE, '12, Forest Examiner 



THROUGHOUT the National Forests of Washington and Oregon there 

 are many burned areas of greater or lesser extent. Some of these 

 areas bear scattered living trees, the seed of which will eventually 

 restock the areas, while on others every vestige of tree growth has 

 been destroyed by fires, only weeds and ferns being found on the 

 land. Every gradation between these two conditions is found. There are 

 many areas which bear a sufficient number of seedlings that have come 

 up since the last fire to eventually form an adequate stand of timber. 

 These seedlings are often so small and so completely obscured by weeds 

 and brush that to the untrained eye areas containing them bear no reproduc- 

 tion whatever. The necessity can be seen, then, of classifying land which 

 is denuded of timber into that which in time will produce naturally an 

 adequate stand and that which will require artificial reforestation to make 

 it produce timber. 



All land in need of reforestation does not require the same treatment. 

 Different conditions of climate, altitude, soil, etc., require different species. 

 As in almost all reforestation work in this District, the planting of nursery 

 stock is the system used, instead of direct seeding direct seeding having 

 been found inapplicable in this District these different conditions of 

 climate, altitude, etc., require different treatment of trees in the nursery. 

 Sometimes they even require the use of seed from different localities. Fur- 

 thermore, the kinds and amount of stock that will be required must be 

 known at the nursery several years ahead of the time they are to be used in 

 the field. 



For the foregoing reasons, the system of planting reconnaissance has 

 been established. In carrying on this work, usually, unless very definite 

 knowledge of a given watershed or forest exists, an extensive reconnais- 

 sance of it is first made. This is done by a man connected with the Dis- 

 trict office of planting. All denuded areas are visited and those which 

 are seen to contain land devoid of reproduction are recommended for in- 

 tensive reconnaissance. It is this intensive work that the writer has been 

 engaged on chiefly for the last two years. 



In intensive planting 'reconnaissance a detailed plane table map is 

 made of the area under consideration. The instruments used are a plane 

 table and telescopic alidade and a stadia rod. The crew usually consists 

 of two men. The map is on a scale of four inches to the mile, with a 

 contour interval of fifty feet. The work is tied to triangulation points 

 located by the U. S. Geological Survey, public land. survey corners, or some- 

 times to triangulation points located in timber survey work. All the 

 details as to reproduction, soil, etc., are entered on the map with colored 

 crayons. The land is classified as follows,: that which bears less than 100 

 coniferous seedlings per acre, considered as in need of planting; that 

 which bears from 100 to 300 seedlings per acre, and that which bers from 

 300 to 500 seedlings per acre, both considered inadequately stocked but 

 sufficiently stocked to in time form a fair stand; that which bears over. 

 500 seedlings per acre, considered adequately stocked; that which will 

 restock naturally from scattered trees on the area Timbered land within 

 the area mapped is shown. The density of the brush an important factor 

 in the speed of planting and the quality of the soil are also shown. Data 

 is obtained concerning necessary trails to be constructed, camp sites, and 

 other improvements. 



Sometimes the planting reconnaissance crew Is utilized to work up 



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