Show Dowd Mountain timber s sale le is first for Flaming Gorge ore By It H. H Alan Gandy Gamly Dowd Mountain on the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area has been the site of ot recent timber cutting activities This first timber sale on the national recreation area will bring 56 per thousand feet board-feet or around for tor the hoard feet board feet of ot timber that has been sold The majority of ot Dowd Mountain trees are Ponderosa Pine in a mature stand with many over mature trees trees that have reached their peak in growth and started to deteriorate are considered considered considered con con- over mature The only trees being harvested are over mature diseased eased bu infested bug Infested or deformed Many of these trees would be dead or at least not merchantable in ten years according to Forester Val Norman of oC Manila Right now they can be sold for tor premium price Since the Dowd Mountain timber sale is entirely within the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area the timber harvest must be done with a minimal visual impact on the area and none visible from the main visitor Use the road from Highway 44 to the Dowd Mountain Overlook The logging operation is limited to a year three-year period with cutting and hauling to be completed in winter only Since no new roads road were allowed In this cutting site the timber trucks must use existing roads and then only when they are t i tt e nb t F A w t FIRST LOGS being hauled from Dowd Mountain area of Flaming Gorge Recreation Area The Ponderosa pine is over mature and needs harvesting to prevent disease and decay t b aM N IF VE MATURE OVER T TREES EES that have not beep been cut in the Dowd DOyd Mountain timber management area of Flaming Gorge a f d Eb 4 i ti tirla t 7 0 1 11 tic IJ LOGGING OPERATIONS have been completed in this area and young trees are left to regenerate frozen It the weather is warm for even evena a few tew days the Ole operation will be halted until the roads fr freeze again The cutting area involves acres on the south side of the access road to the overlook To cut feet board-feet of lumber trees will be taken This is approximately seven trees per acre with a restriction that no more than 40 percent of ot the existing trees betaken be betaken betaken taken from any anyone one location It was determined that a spacing of 40 feet is ideal for Ponderosa pine in the Dowd Mountain area Of the from this timber sale will go to the Ashley National Forest Fore t for site improvements slash disposal the Forest Service will burn slash in the fall and wildlife Improvements improvements improvements im Im- im- im including the installation of two new guzzlers The remainder goes into the National Forest Fund of the Federal Treasury On the other timber sales as much as one-half one to three-quarters three of the sale price could go goto goto goto to th the forest but expenditures for related resource protection were minimal on Dowd ON A site where it is not quite as accessible where more complicated logging operations are required where the quality of the timber is lower or where environmental environmental environmental en en- restraints are numerous timber may go for as low as 2 per thousand board In making the decision to sell timber timberon on Dowd Mountain or elsewhere in the Forest several steps must be taken before the trees are actually cut 1 1 The district timber management unit proposes to sell timber on a given location in their area 2 A feasibility study is done with the help of a technical staff from the Forest Supervisors Supervisor's office This technical W. W w t x tl ar ark r k n 1 t r y FORESTRY BIOLOGIST Val Norman is pointing poin poin- ting out rot on an over-mature over log that is approximately approximately ap ap- ap proximately years old This log weighs around pounds The tree contained about 1000 feet board of lumber |