MANAGEMENT OF SPECIFIC TYPES

DOUGLAS FIR (_Pseudotsuga taxifolia_)

Compared with most important commercial trees, the Northwestern
Douglas fir is remarkably easy to reproduce. It is an abundant
seeder, grows very rapidly, and inhabits a region with every climatic
advantage. In the typical fir districts of Oregon and Washington
deforested land which escapes recurring fire is usually restocked
naturally and with astonishing rapidity.

The exceptions to this rule are where the destruction of seed trees
has been wide and absolute, where already established competing
species are not removed with the original forest, and where the
surviving fir is too old to seed. The two latter conditions are
most prevalent near the coast, where the wet climate not only tends
to protect slashings from fire and thus preserve the undergrowth of
shade bearing species which escapes logging, but has also prevented
the accidental destruction in the past of the original fir stand
by fire.

In considering these natural results as they bear upon proposed
methods, we find actual destruction of seed supply the easiest
to avoid. If the original stand contains suitable seed trees we
can protect a sufficient number of them. If not, or if it is less
expensive, we can secure seed elsewhere. More frequent difficulty
will lie in determining whether the reproduction of fir should
be the sole effort, or whether it should not be sacrificed, if
necessary, in order to utilize an existing start toward a second