INTRODUCTION 



Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir {Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco) 

 occurs in mountainous areas throughout the Rocky Mountain States (fig. 1), and the 

 Douglas-fir forest type occupies about 22 percent of the total acreage of commercial 

 forest land. Douglas-fir itself accounts for about 20 percent of the cubic-foot volume 

 and about 23 percent of the board-foot volume on these acres (Wilson and Spencer 1967). 

 In Idaho alone, Douglas-fir is the principal commercial forest type on 4.8 million acres. 

 This is nearly one-third of Idaho's commercial forest land, and 73 percent of these 

 acres are in southern Idaho (Wilson 1962). Montana also has many acres of the Douglas- 

 fir type. Douglas-fir is the major forest type on 11.7 million acres of commercial 

 forest land in Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and eastern Washington. 



Besides the timber values, Douglas-fir forests have major recreation and esthetic 

 values. They are also important watershed cover and grazing lands. 



Despite the obvious importance of the species, little research has been conducted 

 to date on stand establishment of Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir in the Intermountain area. 

 There are several reasons for this lack of research. In earlier years, most cutting 

 was done in moist habitats and regeneration was usually adequate. Also, in those days, 

 much cutting left a residual stand; so attention was not focused on any reproduction 

 deficiencies that might have occurred (C . A. Wellner, unpublished report, Forestry 

 Sciences Laboratory, Moscow, Idaho) . 



In recent years, clearcutting has been the dominant method of harvest. In clear- 

 cuts in southern Idaho (south of the Salmon River) , central Montana, and on severe 

 sites in western Montana, northern Idaho, and northeastern Washington, Douglas-fir 

 reproduction is usually sparse or absent. Research on Douglas-fir stand establishment 

 has become an urgent need. 



In mid-1967, I began studying Douglas-fir stand establishment. Because of the 

 diversity of conditions within the species range and the dearth of previous research 

 on this variety of the species, I made a field reconnaissance to locate problems and 

 to determine the kinds of research needed to solve them. This survey was conducted 

 during the 1968 and 1969 field seasons. 



