The Advantages of Clear Cutting Lodgepole 15 



THE ADVANTAGES OF CLEAR CUTTING LODGEPOLE 



H. S. STEVENSON 



In Central Colorado all lodgepole on the National Forests 

 is cut to a diameter limit. In fact in the region examined which 

 is quite representative for the Holy Cross National Forest lodge- 

 pole has never been treated otherwise. Even the old timber 

 cutters who worked there before the National Forest was created 

 used a selection system comparable to the present method except 

 that they did not cut the defective trees. From a study of these 

 old slashings which have not been burnt over the effect of the 

 selection method upon reproduction may be seen and from the 

 burnt areas results similar to those following clear cutting may 

 be obtained. 



The lodgepole on the Holy Cross National Forest occurs 

 always in nearly pure even-aged stands and without doubt oc- 

 cupied the ground after a fire. The stands are dense and the 

 trees have clear, symmetrical boles. There is almost no ground 

 cover. The soil is shallow, moist, and rich in leaf mould, sup- 

 porting a stand of trees that run from 12,000 to 15,000 board 

 feet to the acre. The occurrence of this tree in pure even aged 

 stands reduces the methods of silvicultural treatment that could 

 be most readily applied to it to the two considered here, clear 

 cutting and cutting to a diameter limit. 



Near Thomasville, Colorado a tract of timber has been 

 cut over leaving one-third of the stand to seed up the tract. 

 Lodgepole pine was cut to a diameter limit of eleven inches and 

 diseased trees to nine inches. Engleman spruce was cut to 

 thirteen inches and balsam fir to eight inches. The forest 

 was composed of 85% pine, 8% spruce and 7% balsam and this 

 method of cutting removed all the balsam and nearly all the 

 spruce. In the area cut over, about 150 acres, not a single pine 

 seedling was discovered which had germinated either before or 

 after the time of cutting showing that reproduction was not 

 secured by this method of cutting. As the cutting was rather 

 recent the evidence was not conclusive, but an old cutting nearby 

 served to substantiate these results. 



Within a quarter mile of this tract there was an area of 

 about sixty acres that had been cut over twelve years before. 

 About half the trees were removed and later many were blown 

 down so that there remained approximately one-third of the 

 original stand. A careful examination of the whole tract showed 

 a fair reproduction of balsam, a few scattered spruce and just 

 one pine. The balsam certainly represented 98% of the re- 



