Forest of Time: A Century of Science at Wind River Experimental Forest

Chapter Six: Research Expands Following the Second World War

{ 87 Chapter Six Research Expands Following the Second World War { Large, continuous bodies of heavy timber are virtually biological deserts. —Leo Isaac1 World War II changed everything. The nation’s war effort brought an influx of people and industry to the Pacific Northwest and took out record-breaking volumes of timber. War-related labor shortages encouraged the timber industry to adopt more mechanized production processes, including the use of gas-powered tractors and chain saws. The victory that followed the atomic bombings of Japan had proven the power of science and technology. Now in peacetime, the nation’s science leaders saw the promise of full employment, health, and prosperity “if we make use of our scientific resources.”2 The reordering of nature that had begun before the war continued after the war in an exuberance of technological innovation that promised a better life and a more prosperous future for every American. In 1945 President Truman called for the construction of up to 1.5 million new homes to be built each year for the next 10 years.3 As the nation moved forward toward a new, expansive image, optimism and innovation defined the timber industry of the Pacific Northwest. In the 1950s, timber harvest from the national forests increased from 3.5 billion to 9.3 billion board feet, with a third of that coming from the Pacific Northwest.4 Up until World War II, much of the forest research at Wind River focused on controlling fire and understanding natural regeneration. Following the war, research turned increasingly to ways to maximize 88 { Chapter Six the production of timber in managed plantations. Timber harvests increased each year following the end of the war; then in 1950 the Korean War bumped demand even further. By the early 1950s, according to historian David Clary, any ambitious young forester could see that in the Forest Service the timber program was where careers were to be made.5 There seemed to be no limits on the expanding market for forest products at home and abroad. Richard McArdle, who served as Forest Service chief from 1952 to 1962, estimated in 1958 that 24 billion board feet would be required annually from the national forests by the year 2000.6 The nation’s new hunger for building material silenced any remaining debate over selective timber management. Clearcutting and planting fast-growing Douglas fir became the prevailing silvicultural prescription for most of the forestland in western Washington and Oregon. Long-standing observations that Douglas fir seed would germinate most successfully on cleared land had led to the practice of clearcutting, which continued even after natural reproduction from seedhadbeenreplacedbyplantingwithselectedseedlings.Clearcutting was a cheaper and more efficient way to manage the forest for timber and to replace slow-growing old-growth forests with fast-growing managed plantations. Increased cutting on the national forests cleared the way—and the forest—for extensive new timber plantations and helped feed the nation’s hunger for building material. Lines began to blur between experimental research and production of timber as pressure grew for Wind River to contribute to escalating national forest harvests.7 “Speeding up the transition of wild forests to thrifty managed stands” was the overall objective for Wind River and other experimental forests, as outlined by PNW forester Phil Briegleb, who would be the PNW Research Station director between 1963 and 1971. To that end, Briegleb recommended a “major harvest on the main division of the Wind River Experimental Forest, with very careful follow-up regeneration . . . with genetically improved stock.”8 While Briegleb was drafting his research plan for the experimental forests in the winter of 1950, snow began to fall at Wind River. In an average year, almost seven feet of snow falls at the Wind River Nursery and average winter temperatures hover around freezing. But the snow of 1950 was memorable, breaking all records that had been kept at the Research Expands Following the Second World War { 89 station since 1911. By the end of January, 13 feet of snow had fallen and the average temperature had not risen above 19°F. With roads blocked, Wind River residents with cabin fever used a bulldozer to plow an 11-mile path just to get to the town of Carson (fig. 6.1).9 The heavy, wet snow challenged trees as well as people. In the arboretum, larches and pines that had shown promising growth snapped from the weight of...