OREGON 



Non-Forest 



Forest 



5«% Federal 



4% State 

 <l% County &City 



2% Tribal 

 38% Private 



23% Industrial 

 15% Non-industrial 



Source: USDA Forest Service 



WASHINGTON 



Non-Forest 



Forest 



30% Federal 

 1 3% State 

 1% County &City 

 8% Tribal 

 48% Private 



29% Industrial 

 19% Non-industrial 



Source; Woshjngton Deportment of Natural Resources 



Ownership of forested land in Oregon (left) and Washington (right). 



This Report 



This report was written to help people un- 

 derstand the disturbances at work in the for- 

 ests of Oregon and Washington, their signifi- 

 cance, the underlying causes, and possible 

 actions to improve forest health. The dis- 

 turbance agents we discuss in the following 

 chapters are insects, diseases, weather, air 

 pollutants, and fire. We also recognize that 

 people are agents of forest disturbance, and 

 the results of people's activities in the for- 

 est — such as fire suppression, tree harvest, 

 tree planting, and restoration work — are wo- 

 ven into our discussions as well. 



Chapter 1 is devoted to some forest health 

 topics that people in both states are con- 

 cerned about: vegetation change, mortality, 

 weather trends, exotic pests, and air pollu- 

 tion. We also include a section on forest 

 health monitoring methods. 



The next two chapters contain information 

 specific to each state (chapter 2, Oregon; 

 chapter 3, Washington). Information in 

 these chapters is arranged by ecological sec- 

 tions because disturbance agents and pat- 

 terns are generally tied to the geography, cli- 

 mate, and vegetation that make up an 

 ecological section. We also show which 

 counties correspond to the ecological section 

 , being discussed. 



Chapter 4 describes dis- 

 turbance agents and their ef- 

 fects on the health of urban 

 forests in Oregon and Wash- 

 ington. Chapter 5 describes 

 a forest health monitoring 

 research project carried out 

 in the Pacific Northwest in 

 1994. And chapter 6 is a 

 summary of the distur- 

 bances at work in Pacific 

 Northwest forests, our expec- 

 tations of future distur- 

 bances and forest condition, 

 and some strategies for im- 

 proving forest health in Or- 

 egon and Washington. 



Sources of Information 



The primary sources of data for insects 

 and diseases in this report are the coopera- 

 tive (Forest Service and states) aerial sur- 

 vey, flown over all forested lands in Oregon 

 and Washington each year; special aerial 

 surveys for specific problems; various 

 ground surveys; and forest insect and dis- 

 ease research. Information on fire, weather, 

 and air quality came from specialists in the 

 Forest Service and state agencies who, in 

 turn, obtained their data from regional moni- 

 toring networks for those resources. Much 

 of the information on ecological relations be- 

 tween trees and disturbance agents is based 

 on the field experience of the pathologists, 

 entomologists, ecologists, and fire and air 

 specialists who contributed to this report. 



References and Scientific Names 



To enhance readability, we have not cited 

 references or included scientific names of 

 trees, insects, and fungi in the text. Se- 

 lected references are listed at the end of 

 chapter 6. Scientific names are listed in ap- 

 pendix A, alphabetically by common name. 



Overview — 5 



