A survey of commercial thinning practices in the coastal region of Washington state

Commercial thinning is being increasingly used as a source of wood fiber. Both public and private land managers have experienced this increase and anticipate that the trend will continue with growth expected in cable-based commercial thinning. This paper reports the findings of a 1994 survey of forest land managers in the public and private sectors designed to determine how thinning operations changed between 1989 and 1994. In addition, surveys were sent to contact loggers who primarily work in thinning operations. Surveys were limited to operations and land managers located in Washington state, west of the Cascade Mountains. The results suggest that land managers anticipated substantial increases in the acreage being subjected to thinning. Increases had already occurred in harvest levels from those reported in 1989. Cable-based thinning was projected to increase at greater rates than those for ground-based operations. Other findings suggest that the contractor was largely responsible for thinning layout and that land managers were particularly concerned about stand and site damage from these operations. The number of thinning contractors increased, with a significantly greater number specializing in commercial cable-based operations. Many of the logging contractors, especially those performing cable-based commercial thinning, reported that they have extensive (greater than 10 yr.) experience in clearcut harvest operations, but only limited experience in partial harvests. There are no defined industry standards for enforcing, regulating, or supervising commercial thinning operations. Many land managers enforce damage and disturbance rules loosely based on personal “rules of thumb.” This has created substantial differences in the regulation of commercial thinning harvests between different land management agencies and even between different divisions of the same land holder.

You must be logged in to download any documents. Please login (login accounts are free) or learn how to Become a Member