We’re going to dive down to the “why,” at least on one forest, to satisfy the silviculturally curious, but this handy table shows us where clearcutting is happening in terms of Region. I’d like to step back a minute and say that my perspective depends on my observations at a specific spatial and temporal scale, and also how I perceive them, for example driving through California post-wildfire is different from info derived from satellite photos. Point being, everyone, including researchers, can be “right” in their own observations, but not give a complete story. It’s only in engagement with each other, and with various kinds of data, that we can get closer to an overall picture of how things are and why people think as they do.
Anyway, the tables go back to 1984.
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To get to Forest, I think I would have to dive into FACTS, which would be a handy thing to be able to do (and might be handy to compare fuel treatment acres over time), but here is what Google AI said I would need to do. Maybe there’s still time to consider a Peoples’ Non-GIS Database for info people have proven to be interested in?
No, the publicly available summaries from the annual reports do not break down these totals by individual National Forest.The standard published source for this data—Table 20 of the Annual Reforestation and Timber Stand Improvement Report—aggregates clearcutting acreage strictly at the Regional level. [1]To obtain the 2024 clearcutting totals for individual forests within Region 1 (such as the Flathead, Bitterroot, or Kootenai National Forests), you must access the raw FACTS database layers directly using one of the following approaches:
- Download the Geospatial Data: You can download the raw shapefiles from the USDA Forest Service Enterprise Data Portal. By uploading the
Activity_TimberHarvestlayer into GIS software (like QGIS or ArcGIS), you can filter the data by Fiscal Year (2024), Region (01), and FACTS Activity Codes (4110 through 4119)—which explicitly denote clearcutting—and group the results by theNATIONAL_FOREST_NAMEattribute field. [1, 2]- Use the ArcGIS Online Portal: You can use the interactive ArcGIS FACTS Harvest and Silviculture Portal to visually filter for Region 1 projects, click on specific management boundaries, and view the attribute tables containing the exact acreage for that specific forest unit.
- Submit a FOIA or Info Request: If you do not have GIS software, you can contact the Region 1 Regional Office in Missoula, Montana, or the specific forest’s silviculturist to request a copy of their localized FACTS tracking spreadsheet for FY 2024.
Would you like the exact list of FACTS activity codes used for clearcutting to help you filter the GIS database, or are you looking for details on a specific logging project in Region 1?
Very interesting stuff. I note that the graph created by Google AI doesn’t show the abscissa (years); apparently it got cropped. I can interpolate approximately, but showing the abscissa would be better.
Some follow-up to get individual NF data might be very interesting, but lots of work??
JB
I have never previously encountered some of the types of cuts in this table before, for example, “removal cut”, “improvement cut”, “special cut”. Definitions are needed.
Good question. I will seek it out.
There is a technical breakdown of the classification of activities on the last page of the report.
“Removal cut” is the final stage of seed tree or shelterwood harvest.
“Improvement Cut” is an intermediate treatment made in a stand, pole-sized or larger, primarily to improve composition and quality by removing less desirable trees of any species.
“Special cut” is harvest without restocking. Like a power line right-of-way.
I am surprised at the number of clearcut acres shown for Region 5 as clearcutting and removing trees over 30 inches at DBH was (and still is) prohibited by the Sierra Nevada Framework. And I am unaware of any sales in on the Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, Mendocino and Klamath that included clearcutting. Maybe these were fire salvage acres.
We could do a FOIA for R05 forests or find someone to look through FACTS…
I would think that non-timber projects, such as highway widening might account for some acres. Same for powerlines roads and canals.
I worked on one project, years ago, on the Shasta-T, where we ‘sanitized’ lodgepoles infected with gall rust. It wasn’t a clearcut in the marking prescription but, we did create some big openings. I also wonder if some acreage from the ‘clumps and gaps’ could add some to the totals.
Rodney, I was also thinking about fuelbreaks of the non-shaded type. Maybe even on the southern Cal forests. I guess the best way to find out would be to use GIS .. or ask each Forest for their “where” and “why”.