SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS 



The major reasons for this study were: 



1. "Second-growth" and "small-log" harvesting costs are 

 currently high; and new logging systems are urgently needed to 

 handle this material efficiently and economically. 



2. Methods to harvest biomass fuels and fiber efficiently 

 and economically are also urgently needed. 



3. Highly mechanized and specialized logging systems often 

 prove to be necessary in managed stands. In the past, construc- 

 tion equipment with only minor modifications was sufficient to 

 log large, high -value old growth. 



The results of this study indicate that the harvest systems 

 studied can produce a mix of hog fuel and logs at acceptable 

 rates over a range of stand and site conditions under a variety 

 of silvicultural prescriptions. Generally, the system is most pro- 

 ductive (tons/man-hour) on gentle terrain in stands where the 

 supply of sawable material is equal to or greater than the sup- 

 ply of chippable material. The results suggested that the system 

 studied can operate profitably in stands where conventional 

 systems would be uneconomical. This competitive advantage 

 will increase as the value of small diameter material rises. 



Recommendations for inclusion of this system in Champion 

 Timberlands operation are based on: 



1 . Relative economics of this harvesting system compared 

 to conventional methods. 



2. The current need for wood as an alternative fuel source. 



3. The place of this harvest system in overall logging 

 programs. 



4. Potential uses and abuses of the logging system. 

 We recommended that Champion Timberlands equip at 



least one crew with a tree processor, whole-tree chipper, two 

 feller-bunchers, and two grapple skidders for a truly opera- 



tional test of this harvest system. This crew should produce in 

 excess of 15,000 units of hog fuel and 3 million board feet of 

 logs in a 200-working-day year. Approximately 1,000 acres 

 (404.7 ha) would be treated, yielding an average log volume 

 of 4 M bd. ft. /acre. The recommendation is assumed to be 

 economically sound because the experimental harvest system 

 produced logs at a favorable production rate relative to con- 

 ventional logging. Also, hog fuel was produced at a cost 

 about equal to current market prices. Within modest hauling 

 distances, hog fuel can be produced more cheaply than haul- 

 ing it from remote mill sites. 



Because of terrain and weather in the Rocky Mountains, 

 woods operations must be scheduled for areas that are suitable 

 for summer-fall, winter, and spring logging conditions. Winter 

 logging opportunities are confined to relatively low elevations 

 and gentle slopes. The harvest system described in this report is 

 limited to the same type of ground and might compete with 

 conventional logging equipment for winter ground. This can be 

 avoided by using the whole-tree system in stands where it has 

 an advantage. For example, in the summer and fall, lodgepole 

 and true fir could be clearcut on high elevation, gentle slopes. 

 In the winter and spring, commercial thinning of ponderosa 

 pine could be a specialty. The whole-tree harvest system has 

 several advantages in such sites over conventional logging 

 systems. Visually sensitive areas could also be a specialty of 

 whole-tree logging. 



Potential abuses include overthinning of stands that are being 

 commercially thinned. Also winter game ranges could be tem- 

 porarily stripped of storm shelter and forage during a commer- 

 cial thinning. Perhaps whole-tree logging should be limited, as 

 are clearcuts, to blocks under 40 acres unless large clearcuts are 

 jusfified. 



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