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Forest Management
Forest
lands in the Willapa Bay area are dominated by commercial timberlands.
In fact, most of the forested acreage within either the refuge or Willapa
Bay watersheds is second or third growth timber. Very little old growth
or late-successional forest exists. One estimate states that less than
one percent of the original coastal old growth remains. The largest old
growth parcel in the refuge is the 274 acre Cedar Grove located on Long
Island. Many of the 7000 forested acres on the refuge are comprised of
monotypic, even-aged forest stands lacking in biological diversity, with
limited species composition and poor forest structure.
A variety of wildlife are dependent on old growth and late-successional forests. Black bear, black-tailed deer, Roosevelt elk, salamanders, forest-dwelling bats and other small mammals, marbled murrelets, pileated woodpeckers and other forest birds and a host of rare fungi and gastropods can be found in some refuge forests. Forest streams also provide habitat for anadromous fish such as chinook, coho and chum salmon and sea-run cutthroat trout.
Due
to the degraded nature of refuge forests as well as those of the surrounding
areas, a major effort is needed to restore these forests to a semblance
of their natural state. The refuge has embarked on a landscape-based forest
management program in cooperation with the Nature Conservancy, which manages
the 7000 acre Ellsworth Creek Preserve which is located adjacent to the
refuge. Forest inventories on both properties have been completed and
a forest management plan is being developed. Activities to restore forests
will include manipulation of degraded forest stands through such techniques
as variable density thinning, direct reestablishment of under-represented
tree and other plant species, removal of non-native species and elimination
of unnecessary and deteriorating forest roads.
Willapa
NWR Complex Home
3888 SR 101, Ilwaco, WA 98624
360-484-3482
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