The methodology and the appropriateness of adapting the linear programming model to the evaluation of timber harvest alternatives of a specific forest enterprise was examined. The use of linear programming to describe a program in which profit is maximum rather than one of several other economic allocation models was justified. The basic model, using 3 percent as the alternative rate, described the alternative thinning and harvesting opportunities for the Seward Forest at Triplett, Virginia. The optimum program had to satisfy the restrictions imposed by scarce resources and by personal management constraints. The solution of the model described a course of action for the forest manager for the next 50 years. The initiation of the optimum plan would result in maximizing total present worth to the fixed resources of the Forest. Changes were made in the constraints on the model to demonstrate their effect upon the combination of activities which comprise the optimum program and the effect of these constraints on present worth. Additional solutions at 6 percent and 10 percent alternative rates were made to demonstrate the change which occurs in the activities that describe the optimum program at successively higher alternative rates. / Master of Science

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

No description available.

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) represents around 16% of the area of commercial conifer plantations in Great Britain, but around 30% in north and north-eastern Scotland. Most of the timber produced from these forests goes into lower-value markets such as fencing and panel products, and only a small proportion is converted into high-value structural timber. In order to maximise financial returns from this resource in the medium and long term, it will be necessary to increase the outturn of structural timber. However, this requires knowledge of the variation in those wood properties that influence structural timber performance and of the effects of silviculture on wood quality. Changes in silvicultural practices in recent decades—wider initial spacings, a preference for artificial regeneration, and an increased use of mechanised thinnings, have led to concerns about the suitability of Scots pine timber for use in structural applications due to potentially poorer stem form, a greater proportion of juvenile wood and larger, more numerous knots. As part of the research presented here, novel predictive equations were developed for the key physical, mechanical and branching properties that determine structural timber quality in Scots pine, namely: microfibril angle, wood density, clearwood bending strength and stiffness, and branch number, size, insertion angle and status (alive or dead). Simulations were carried out using these equations to examine the effects of different silvicultural regimes on each wood and branch property of interest. Based on these simulations it is recommended that in order to produce high quality Scots pine timber, trees are planted at narrower initial spacings and grown on longer rotations than currently prescribed, and, where appropriate, thinnings should be delayed. Together, these measures will restrict final branch size and the amount of mechanically inferior juvenile wood in the final crop.

The holistic, landscape-based approach of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in the United States emphasizes the importance of addressing three components of forest management: ecology, community, and economy. Many believe this approach represents an important and positive paradigm shift in natural resource management. In Vermont, as well as many other parts of the United States, parcelized forest ownership presents challenges to the achievement of SFM on private property. These challenges include that of applying concepts of landscape-scale management over a mosaic of small landownerships while addressing ecological, economic, and social dynamics. Many authors have suggested a need for new institutions that are better capable of addressing the integrated, boundary-crossing nature of SFM on private lands. In Vermont, partnerships involving environmental non-profit organizations are implementing innovative management strategies to promote SFM which address the challenges of parcelization. In so doing, non-profit groups are branching out from traditional roles of advocacy and public goods protection to address not only the ecological, but also economic and community aspects of forest management. Examining the strategies, organizational roles, challenges and perceived permanence of these partnerships provides a greater understanding of the nature of these new institutional arrangements for SFM. This study asks the question: How do partnerships involving environmental nonprofit organizations in Vermont attempt to achieve goals of sustainable forest management in the context of a parcelized landscape? Using a multiple case study approach, I examine three SFM-related partnerships in Vermont that involve environmental nonprofit organizations. I assess their strategies, organizational roles, challenges and perceived permanence. Results indicate that partnerships involving environmental nonprofit organizations are playing important roles in defining and institutionalizing SFM in Vermont. Partnerships use diverse strategies through which they strive to account for the three components of SFM. I find three points of entry into SFM-related issues, connected to three strategies used by partnerships to address issues of parcelization: community-based, alternative silviculture and product branding. This diversity in approach may complement the diverse nature of forest landowner’s wants and needs. Furthermore, demonstrated flexibility at the partnership and organizational levels allowed partnerships to better work toward their goals. Challenges encountered by partnerships involved both internal dynamics and external circumstances, including differential organizational capacity and economic conditions, respectively. In addition, perceived permanence of these institutional arrangements may be related to the roles that environmental nonprofit organizations play within each partnership. Findings increase our understanding of the changing roles of non-profit organizations in the forest management sector, raise key questions about the permanence of such arrangements, and provide insights into partnership practices and challenges that may be applied in other settings. The results of this study contribute to a broader analysis of national trends in SFM.

The primary objective of this study was to develop a prediction system for the occurrence of law violations on the Ogden Ranger District, Weber County, Cache National Forest, Utah, whereby the existing manpower and equipment may be used as effectively as possible. In an attempt to develop the prediction system, 13 variables were chosen that were felt to be related to the occurrence of law violations. These variables consisted on nine weather variables and four use related variables, Of the original 13 variables, 12 variables were significant. The most significant variables that accounted for the greatest portion of the variability of the occurrence of law violations were directly related to the level of use. The prediction system developed in this study is not a usable tool for the resource managers of the Ogden Ranger District because it accounted for little more than chance alone.

Graduation date: 1994

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-250). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, March, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-73)

Review of forestry policy and deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a look at REDD, national parks, forest certification systems, non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and a focus on community-based conservation.