This publication is aimed at watershed councils, government agencies, and specialists (foresters, wildlife and fisheries biologists) interested in riparian area silviculture or watershed restoration. It contains information on the ecology of riparian forests and a checklist of recommended practices and common mistakes made in restoring conifers to hardwood-dominated riparian forests. Our recommendations are based on 1) an evaluation of 34 riparian restoration projects spanning the Coast Range of Oregon, 2) three case studies of riparian restoration projects, and 3) ongoing research projects aimed at learning how to establish or release conifers in riparian forests. We found that project managers were choosing appropriate conifer species and stock types for planting, but the survival and growth of conifers in the understory were poor. Managers were underestimating the competitive power of shrub and hardwood communities. In some cases, conflicting objectives and lack of priority setting led to the failure of expensive projects. We hope this publication will assist managers in efforts to restore healthy riparian forests and dwindling fish stocks.

This major volume presents a wealth of fundamental and applied research on managing Coast Range forest and stream ecosystems. Written primarily for managers and resource specialists, the book will also appeal to policymakers, resource scientists, forest landowners, the conservation community, and students interested in forestry, fisheries, and wildlife sciences.

Silvicultural practices in the Douglas-fir region evolved through a combination of formal research, observation, and practical experience of forest managers and silviculturists, and changing economic and social factors. This process began more than a century ago and still continues. It has had a great influence on the economic well-being of the region and on the present characteristics of the regions forests. This long history is unknown to most of the public, and much of it is unfamiliar to many natural resource specialists outside (and even within) the field of silviculture. We trace the history of how we got where we are today and the contribution of silvicultural research to the evolution of forest practices. We give special attention to the large body of information developed in the first half of the past century that is becoming increasingly unfamiliar to both operational foresters andperhaps more importantlyto those engaged in forestry research. We also discuss some current trends in silviculture and silviculture-related research.

In August 20-23, 2004, a conference was held in Kamilche, WA, with the title S2Productivity of Western Forests: A Forest Products Focus. S3 The meeting brought together researchers and practitioners interested in discussing the economic and biological factors influencing wood production and value. One of the underlying assumptions of the meeting organizers was that management activities would be practiced within a framework of sustaining or improving site productivity; thus, several papers deal with methods to protect or improve productivity or discuss new studies designed to test the effects of various practices. This proceedings includes 11 papers based on oral presentations at the conference, 3 papers based on posters and 2 papers describing the Fall River and Matlock Long-Term Site Productivity study areas visited on the field tours. The papers cover subjects on forest harvesting activities, stand establishment, silviculture, site productivity, remote sensing, and wood product technologies.

The Alsea Logging and Aquatic Resources Study, commissioned by the Oregon Legislature in 1959, marked the beginning of four decades of research in the Pacific Northwest devoted to understanding the impacts of forest practices on water quality, water quantity, aquatic habitat, and aquatic organism popu- tions. While earlier watershed research examined changes in runoff and erosion from various land uses, this study was the first watershed experiment to focus so heavily on aquatic habitat and organism response to forest practices. The Alsea Watershed Study, as it came to be known, extended over 15 years with seven years of pretreatment calibration measurements, a year of treatment, and seven years of post-treatment monitoring. The research was a cooperative effort with scientists from Oregon State University, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Cooperating landowners included the Georgia-Pacific Corporation, the U.S. Forest Service, and a local rancher. It was a remarkable 15-year partnership marked by excellent cooperation among the participants and outstanding coordination among the scientists, many of whom participated actively for the entire period.

Riparian areas in the Pacific Northwest have traditionally been a source of natural resources, such as timber and grazing, and have been used as transportation corridors and homestead sites. A primary impact of use has been the removal of riparian trees, the crowns and roots of which provide shade and stream bank protection. Increases in water temperature can be lethal to salmonid fish, and decreasing salmon populations over the past few decades have resulted in an urgent need for improving the management of watersheds, fish habitat, and water quality. Leaving stream-side buffers is now required by state forest practices regulations on forest lands, but no regulations are in place on agricultural lands, where riparian trees have frequently been removed. In 1995, the Beaver Creek Riparian Buffer Project was established to develop better information about how to establish riparian buffers on coastal pastureland near Newport, Oregon. No riparian trees were present when the trial was begun. A replicated tree filter belt trial was established along the south bank of the creek to compare unplanted pasture (controls) with commercially valued red alder (Alnus rubra) planted at 6-ft spacing in belts 1 row, 3 rows, and 6 rows wide. Tree survival and height and diameter growth were compared, as well as the amount of shade produced by the three treatments and control. We used a LI-COR LAI-2000 Plant Canopy Analyzer to quantify shade. We found that intensive site preparation, continued vegetation management, and both fencing and tubing of tree seedlings were necessary to gain survival and protect seedlings from small rodents, beaver, and cattle. Fencing out cattle provided stream bank protection within 1 yr. Significant shading of the stream occurred 2-6 yr after planting, as trees grew tall enough to intercept a significant amount of light. Single row plantings that take a minimal amount of pasture offer significant shading only after 4-7 yr. A wider 6-row filter belt occupies a greater amount of pasture, but provides stream shading sooner than the other treatments.