In 1950, the US Forest Service initiated a cutting practice level (CPL) study on the Penobscot Experimental Forest in Maine on the basis of findings of a national appraisal of forestland management. Silvicultural treatments, including the selection system with 5and 15-year cutting cycles, fixed diameter-limit cutting, and variants of commercial clearcutting, were chosen to represent “High-order,” “Good,” “Fair,” and “Poor” cutting practices as then defined for eastern spruce–fir (Picea–Abies; northern conifer) forests. After 60 years, selection treatments have maintained a wide distribution of tree sizes, increased the proportion of mature spruce, and decreased the proportion of hardwoods; selection cutting on a 15-year cycle resulted in the highest current stand value. Fixed diameter-limit cutting resulted in the greatest harvest revenue but degraded residual stand composition, structure, and value. Outcomes of commercial clearcutting varied as a function of treatment (none, repeated harvest, or rehabilitation) after the first harvest. After 60 years, the proportion of acceptable growing stock was highest in selection and rehabilitation treatments and lowest in fixed diameter-limit and commercial clearcut treatments. Findings confirm that long-term outcomes of silvicultural treatments with attention to residual stand condition surpass those managed for short-term financial gains with regard to residual stand structure, value, and quality.

Our objective was to describe the trends of Vermont stumpage prices for major sawtimber species and products over the approximately last quarter century and propose a likely explanation of changes that we observed. Annual percentage rates of change (APR) were estimated for 10 forest products in Vermont from the third quarter of 1981 (1981Q3) to the first quarter of 2007 (2007Q1) when the price series was discontinued. In addition, we tested for changes in the percentage rate within the period. We found differences in the trend of APR between hardwood sawtimber and softwood sawtimber. With one exception, price trends differed significantly between 1981Q3 to 1992Q2 and 1992Q3 to 2007Q1 for inflation-adjusted (real) hardwood sawtimber prices. There were no differences in price trends for any of the softwood sawtimber species between the two periods. Real price trends for pulpwood and firewood were similar to those for hardwood sawtimber. We also examined stumpage price trends for selected species in adjacent New Hampshire from 1985Q1 to 2011Q1. Stumpage price trends for like species and proximate time periods in Vermont and New Hampshire were similar, but no statistical tests were done. The direction of trend (positive or negative) was the same for sugar maple, red oak, yellow birch, and white pine, and the magnitude of APR was similar for sugar maple, yellow birch, and white pine.

In 1959 a study of crop-tree release and species cleaning was established in a 25-year-old northern hardwood stand growing on an above-average hardwood site that resulted from a silvicultural clearcut in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The stand was followed for 5 years and based on the results, treatment effects were projected to a stand age of 45 years. These projections were subjected to a financial analysis. The treatment plots were tallied at stand ages 56 years (1990) and 69 years (2003). The financial analyses were repeated based on these more recent data and the original results and conclusions were re-examined.

Stand Development and Structure Before addressing the specifics of the PEF study, it is important to review basic principles of stand development as they are relevant to our findings. In even-aged stands of single species, different heightgrowth rates result from genetics, microsite, or vigor, causing trees to differentiate into crown classes (Fig. 1). These classes (dominant, codominant, intermediate, and overtopped) indicate potential for future growth. For example, one would not expect an overtopped tree to grow as well as a dominant even if released (Marquis 1991; Nyland et al. 1993). The effect of diameter-limit cutting in stands of this type is easy to grasp: the best growing stock is removed.

The most comprehensive study of stand dynamics in the Acadian Forest Region is an experiment by the USDA Forest Service at the Penobscot Experimental Forest (PEF) in Maine. It was established from 1952-1957 to study changes in structure, composition, and productivity from an array of silvicultural treatments. Ingrowth, accretion, and mortality of individual trees (≥0.5 in. dbh) are followed on permanent sample plots before and after harvests, and at about 5-year intervals between harvests. Differences in growth between the reference and treated stands and among several of the treatments have been documented. There have also been changes in species composition and stand quality. Over the decades this experiment has yielded valuable answers to questions it was designed to address and insights into many issues that were not anticipated when it was planned. In addition, it has been the stage for a broad range of short- term ecological and management studies.

Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) is a major or minor associate in many forest types in northeastern North America. There has never been the high level of demand for eastern hemlock lumber that characterizes competing softwoods like white pine and spruce. Nevertheless, periodically interest in greater utilization of eastern hemlock for lumber has encouraged attempts to solve some of the wood utilization problems associated with the species. Ring shake, the longitudinal separation of wood parallel to the growth rings, is one of the more serious problems affecting utilization of hemlock lumber. Ring shake is not allowed in the better and more valuable grades of hemlock boards and it also reduces the grades of dimension lumber. Based on a large sample of trees widely distributed over hemlock's range in the Northeast, we determined whether any tree characteristics are prominent indicators of ring shake in hemlock lumber and estimated shake volume in lumber from trees that were identified as likely to contain shake. A logistic regression (LR) model was used to determine significant factors affecting shake presence (shake percent > 0). For trees recorded as having shake, an ordinary regression model that estimated shake volume was developed. The best LR model to determine presence of shake included the significant predictors bird peck, age, and DBH (a = 0.05). This model correctly predicted 77 percent of the validation cases. The best regression model to estimate shake volume in trees having shake included just one significant predictor: DBH. Our results indicate that both older and larger trees are more prone to shake, as well as trees exhibiting bird peck. The ordinary regression equation was only moderately successful at predicting the amount of shake volume.

Long-term silvicultural studies on the Penobscot Experimental Forest in Maine and Bartlett Experimental Forest in New Hampshire offer opportunities for the patient financial analyst. The economist working with carefully collected growth and yield data can increase the value of these studies to other researchers and ultimately to forest managers. Issues related to data transparency and availability from long-term studies established decades ago are discussed.

Annual percentage rates of change for Northeastern regional sawtimber and pulpwood stumpage prices were estimated for the period 1961 to 2002. In addition, we examined if there have been any changes in the annual percentage rate of change during the same period. The results showed that the real (nominal) annual percentage rates of change for hardwood sawtimber and softwood pulpwood stumpage prices were 4.6 percent (8.5%) and 0.7 percent (4.6%), respectively. Annual real hardwood pulpwood stumpage prices increased at 0.6 percent while annual nominal hardwood pulpwood stumpage prices increased at a faster rate during 1961 to 1981 than during 1982 to 2002; namely, 7.3 vs. 1.6 percent, respectively. Annual nominal softwood sawtimber stumpage prices increased at 5.2 percent while annual real softwood sawtimber stumpage prices increased at a slower rate during 1961 to 1981 than during 1982 to 2002, namely, 0.6 vs. 2.2 percent, respectively. This research indicates that an average landowner holding an average mix of hardwood sawtimber could reasonably achieve a 4.6 percent annual increase in the revenue from a future sale of that sawtimber due to real price appreciation alone. The same landowner may achieve greater or lesser gains depending on species composition, structure. age. and density of the stand combined with prudent forest management choices. While the annual percentage rates of change described here may not reflect the stumpage markets of a specific sub-state region or individual property, they may provide a forestry consultant with additional information to help compare potential returns from forest management to other uses of a landowner's capital such as mutual funds. stocks. and bonds.

The Massabesic Experimental Forest (MEF) is typical of much privately owned non-industrial forest land in New England. Located in Maine’s southernmost county, the MEF was once farmland that was abandoned between the Civil War and the Great Depression. The eastern white pinenorthern red oak forest type dominates upland sites. Eastern hemlock and red maple are also well represented throughout the forest.

Diameter-limit cutting is a common type of harvest in which all merchantable trees above specific size thresholds are removed. Despite a long history of application, controlled experiments of these harvests are rare and the cumulative effects of repeated diameter-limit cuts are largely unknown. The Penobscot Experimental Forest in Maine is the location of a long-term USDA Forest Service experiment in which both fixed diameter-limit and selection cutting have been applied at 20-year intervals since the early 1950s. After three entries, present value of gross harvest revenue was greater in the fixed diameter-limit than selection treatments. However, sawtimber volume and growth, total and merchantable volume, regeneration stem density, and inventory value all were lower in the fixed diameter-limit than selection stands. Accumulated value (harvest plus residual) and species composition did not differ between treatments. Within-treatment analysis revealed desirable directional changes in cull percentage and species composition in the selection but not diameter-limit cut stands, suggesting trends that may result in greater future treatment disparity. These data confirm the degrading effects of fixed diameter-limit relative to selection cutting, and reveal that greater short-term value removals are offset by lower residual stand volume and value.

Partial harvests in which only large and valuable trees are removed have long been common in the United States and Canada. These types of cuttings often have degrading effects on residual stand condition, though there is little data on the topic. Fortunately, modified and fixed diameter-limit and commercial clearcutting, as well as the uneven-aged silvicultural system of selection, have been applied by the USDA Forest Service on the Penobscot Experimental Forest in Maine for over 50 years. Results suggest that the degree of degradation, and thus potential for future management, are affected by both the removal criteria and the number of previous harvests. Treatment differences were not great following a single harvest. However, repeated applications of fixed diameter-limit and commercial clearcutting resulted in residual stands that were similar to one another in some aspects of structure and composition, and distinct from selection and modified diameter-limit cut stands.

A summary of an inventory of vascular plants in the 3,700-acre Massabesic Experimental Forest in York County, Maine. We identified about 500 species and subspecies. The most common overstory trees were eastern white pine, eastern hemlock, northern red oak, and red maple. Hemlock was the most abundant tree seedling. Shrub density was greatest for beaked hazlenut, followed by several viburnum species, highbush blueberry, and winterberry. The most common herb was starflower. We found nine listed rare plants, including a federally threatened orchid, small whorled pogonia. A geographic information system was developed and includes inventory data, forest type, soils, fire history, topography, roads, and streams.

The abundant timber resources of Maine are critical to the State's timber economy; thus, when the 1995 forest inventory indicated a 20% decline in softwood growing stock, there was great concern by industry and government. Furthermore, declining near-term softwood growing stock levels were forecast. To better understand what was occurring in Maine's forest, we examined changes in composition and evaluated the relative impacts of harvesting versus growth and mortality. Much of the decline in spruce-fir inventory can be attributed to the budwonn infestation of the 1970s and 1980s, although continued high utilization contributed to the decline. The high rate of softwood utilization was facilitated by low softwood timber prices due to increased supply from salvage cutting and high prices for softwood dimension lumber. The high price of dimension lumber also allowed the adoption of sawmill technology in Canada and Maine that used small-diameter logs, formerly consumed by the pulp industry, for lumber production. The increased demand for spruce-jir roundwood occurred during a period when changes in paper demand and pulping technology increased the demand for hardwood pulpwood. Unlike spruce-jir and hemlock, hard- wood growing-stock volumes have increased steadily due to low utilization, high growth, and low mortality. Ample inventories of hardwoods have allowed increased volumes of these species to be used in the manufacture of pulp and engineered wood products. A recent partial forest survey of Maine indicated that spruce-fir growing stock inventory has stabilized as a result of regeneration of these species that began after the last spruce budwonn infestation. North. J. Appl. For. 21(3):135-143.

This long-term experiment in Maine was designed to provide information on the best silvicultural practices for managing stands of mixed northern conifers in northeastern North America. We evaluated growth and yield and changes in species composition, quality, and structure during the first 40 years of the experiment. Replicated treatments include the selection system, uniform shelter-wood, unregulated harvesting, and diameter-limit cutting. The new cohort established under three-stage shelterwood was subsequently left untreated or precommercially thinned. Between-treatment differences in net volume growth were not significant (alpha = 0.10), though gross volume growth differed managed vs., unmanaged, selection vs. shelterwood, and shelterwood vs. diameter-limit treatments. The three-stage shelter-wood method with precommercial thinning 10 years following final overstory removal resulted in good control of hardwoods and hemlock and a large increase in the proportion of spruce and fir. The selection system on a 5-year cutting cycle resulted in an increase in hemlock, spruce, and fir, with a decrease in hardwood species. If the primary goal were production, even-aged management would most likely be preferred. We recommend two-stage shelterwood as applied in this experiment with some modification to improve species composition and stand quality. Stand quality (proportion of stand volume in cull trees) and species composition were influenced by treatment.

The North East State Foresters Association (NEFA) commissioned a study that resulted in the publication of a report titled, "A Forest Resource Model of the States of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine." In this article we used the integrated NEFA computer simulation framework to go beyond the reported results and further explore the effects on the forest resource in terms of timber harvest, inventory, and price under various market and demand assumptions. Five scenarios were run through the integrated SRTS-ATLAS model to project long-run effects on timber inventory (growing stock) and price. Besides reflecting differing assumptions about demand and supply, these scenarios defined different markets, thus affecting how the wood harvest was allowed to move across the region in response to demand. Regionally, at the end of the 50 yr projection period, cubic foot growth and harvest were approximately in balance in the Reference Case, the scenario that we felt was most likely. Initial inventory on all timberland was 66.7 billion ft(3). By 2050, inventory volume increased 13% to 75.4 billion ft(3). Net growth declined over the 50 yr period from 35.3 to 32.1 ft(3) ac(-1) yr(-1), while harvest increased from 26.6 to 31.9 ft(3) ac(-1) yr(-1). Regional real price increased approximately 1.1% yr(-1) over the period. Changes in the resource situation in one state affect the situation in the other states. There is a mutual dependence in markets that policy makers need to recognize. The integration of a market module into the NEFA modeling process added the interplay of market forces and improved upon the policy information available from the model.

This long-term experiment in Maine, U.S.A., was designed to provide information on the best silvicultural practices for managing stands of mixed northern conifers in northeastern U.S.A. We evaluated growth and yield and changes in species composition, quality, and structure during the first 40 years of the experiment. Replicated treatments include the selection system, uniform shelterwood, unregulated harvesting, and diameter-limit cutting. The new cohort established under three-stage shelterwood was subsequently left untreated or precommercially thinned. Between-treatment differences in net volume growth were not significant (α = 0.10), though gross volume growth differed significantly for managed vs. unmanaged, selection vs. shelterwood, and shelterwood vs. diameter-limit treatments. A three-stage shelterwood method with precommercial thinning 10 years following final overstory removal resulted in good control of hardwoods and hemlock and a dramatic increase in spruce and fir. The selection system on a 5-year cutting cycle resulted in increased hemlock, spruce, and fir, with a decrease in hardwood species. If the primary goal were production, even-aged management would most likely be preferred. We recommend a two-stage shelterwood method as applied in this experiment with some modification to improve species composition and stand quality. Stand quality (proportion of stand volume in cull trees) and species composition was influenced by treatment.