Douglas D. Piirto

• B.S.--UNR, M.S.--CSU, Ph.D. UC Berkeley
• CEO at Crestline Forestry Inc.

A new minor titled “Indigenous Studies in Natural Resources and the Environment” (INRE) became available to students at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, in the fall of 2013. This minor aims to bring together the principles of both Indigenous ecological knowledge and western science. Instruction in these two ap...

Long-term monitoring programs that can detect a population change over time can be useful for managers interested in assessing population trends in response to forest management activities for a particular species. Such long-term monitoring programs have been designed for the Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), but not for the more elusive Sharp...

Wood properties of giant sequoia (Sequoia gigantea (Lindl.) Decne.) were compared with those for other coniferous tree species. Wood properties such as specific gravity, various mechanical properties, extractive content, and decay resistance of young-growth giant sequoia are comparable to or more fa­ vorable than those of coast redwood (Sequoia sem...

California Polytechnic State University's School Ranch and Forest, called Swanton Pacific Ranch, is located just north of Santa Cruz, California and encompasses approximately 3,800 acres of crop, range, and forested areas. Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens [D. Don] Endl.), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco var. menziesii) and tano...

Executive Summary This paper is written for aspiring leaders and managers. Each of us will be asked to lead, manage, and/or follow at various times and in many different situations in our journey of life. This paper is written to assist aspiring leaders and managers discover and develop their leadership and management abilities. The paper is organi...

The future resilience of Pinus radiata D. Don (Monterey pine) is dependent upon the development of a silviculture program inclusive of either preventative or management techniques for the potentially fatal pitch canker disease (Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg and O’Donnell (=F.subglutinans (Wollenw and Reinking) Nelson et al. f. sp. Pini). As an ecol...

Fire management has always meant fire suppression to the managers of the chaparral covered southern California National Forests. Today, Forest Service fire management programs must be cost effective, while wilderness fire management objectives are aimed at recreating natural fire regimes. A cost-effectiveness analysis has been developed to compare...

Individual trees of giant sequoia (Sequoia gigantea [Lindl.] Decne.) have demonstrated a capacity to attain both a long life and very large size. It is not uncommon to find old-growth giant sequoia trees in their native range that are 1,500 years old and over 15 feet in diameter at breast height. The ability of individual giant sequoia trees to sur...

The Coast Redwood Forests in a Changing California Science Symposium was held June 21-23, 2011 at UC Santa Cruz with just under 300 registrants in attendance. Participants ranged in background from graduate level students to university forestry faculty, land managers, and conservation groups, public agencies, and land trust members. The symposium w...

Swanton Pacific Ranch in northern Santa Cruz County has been owned and managed by California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) Foundation since 1987. The California Forest Practice Rules specific to Santa Cruz County limit harvest rate and opening size. Cal Poly forest managers are implementing uneven-aged forest management on 1,182 acres of...

Native Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) forests occur in five populations on the west coast of North America. High severity fire has been reported to be the main disturbance agent that initiates seedling establishment for this species. To investigate the impacts of fire in this ecosystem, age structure and fire history data were collected from the nat...

Master's degree recipients from the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) at Cal Poly State University were surveyed to assess 1) their satisfaction with the M.S. program, and 2) the extent to which key learning outcomes were attained. Emphasis was placed on the graduate's perception of the value of their thesis or creativ...

The sustainability of indigenous Monterey pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) at Año Nuevo stands in the central coast of California was examined. The foremost management objective in these stands is to establish and maintain stand structures that ensure a sustainable presence of the species in terms of uneven-aged management. The major threats are the pro...

Native Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) forests occur in five populations on the west coast of North America. High severity fire has been reported to be the main disturbance agent that initiates seedling establishment for this species. To investigate the impacts of fire in this ecosystem, age structure and fire history data were collected from the nat...

THE GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL MONUMENT SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD Final Report In the Beginning On April 15, 2000 the President ofthe United States issued a Proclamation in which he declared , "The rich and varied landscape ofthe Giant Sequoia National Monument holds a diverse array of scientific and historic resources. Magnificent groves oftowering gi...

A strategy for management of giant sequoia groves is formulated using a conceptual framework for ecosystem management recently developed by Region Five of the USDA Forest Service. The framework includes physical, biological, and social dimensions. Environmental indicators and reference variability for key ecosystem elements are discussed in this pa...

A model was developed to predict the value contribution of forest condition on small urban-wildland interface properties. Sample data were collected on property transactions in the Lake Tahoe Basin of California between 1990 and 1994. A variant of the stand density index (SDI) and a tree health measure were added to a list of traditional property c...

Three methods of tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus [Hook. & Arn.] Rehd.) control involving the application of the amine or ester form of triclopyr were evaluated in this coast redwood uneven-aged forest management study of herbicides. A cut-stump application with the amine form of triclopyr (Garlon 3A), frill cut with the amine form of triclopyr, bas...

Key issues in encouraging forest management at the interface level in the oak woodlands are fire abatement, stand improvement, infection reduction, and hazard tree removal. The development of effective management prescriptions for stand improvement and economic returns provide guidance for homeowners, appraisers, and realtors. The purpose of this r...

An evaluation of a pulsed-current resistance meter ( ″Shigometer″ , Model No. 7950) for facilitating detection of decay was performed on wood blocks of giant sequoia heartwood and of white fir sapwood. As decay progressed over a 12-week incubation period, a trend of lower meter readings was obtained, confirming reported field measurements of other...

Possible causes of tree failure and ultimate tree fall were investigated for two very large old-growth giant sequoia trees at the University of California's Whitaker's Forest, adjacent to Sequoia Kings Canyon National Parks. Numerous factors were evaluated including advanced fungal decay, carpenter ant activity, and weakening caused by fire scar de...

Sporophores were found growing under the bark on 7 of 20 fallen old-growth giant sequoia trees in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks. The association of Fomes annosus and other fungi with advanced root and butt rot decay is cause for considerable concern as a causal agent of mortality and tree failure of legacy old-growth giant sequoia trees.

Typescript (photocopy) Thesis (M.S.)--Colorado State University, 1971. Bibliography: leaves [44]-49.

Abstract

An overriding management goal for national parks is the maintenance or, where necessary, the restoration of natural ecological processes. In Sequoia-Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks, there is concern about the effects of fire suppression on the giant sequoia-mixed conifer forest ecosystem. The National Park Service is currently using prescr...

An overriding management goal for national parks is the maintenance or, where necessary, the restoration of natural ecological processes. In Sequoia-Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks, there is concern about the effects of fire suppression on the giant sequoia-mixed conifer forest ecosystem. The National Park Service is currently using prescr...

Management of giant sequoia groves has been and continues to be a hotly debated issue. The debate has reached Congress, with all parties seeking resolution as to what constitutes an ecologically and publicly acceptable management approach. Determining the correct management approach and communicating that approach to the general public is the crux...

Limited information and observations indicate that there are some significant amounts of hardwood residue resources now available in the Central Coast area. Experience gained from managing and marketing eastern hardwoods is considered as our basis for dealing with western hardwood problems.Inventory of the oak resource is discussed as a preliminary...