"Practical Forestry in the Pacific Northwest" was written when active economic usage of the forest led to the unpractical loss of valuable materials. This issue stood as the offspring of forestry as a science; therefore, its function is double-sided: it is an interesting source of practical information and a historical example.

This book integrates class, environmental, and political analysis to uncover the history of clearcutting in the Douglas fir forests of B.C., Washington, and Oregon between 1880 and 1965. Part I focuses on the mode of production, analyzing the technological and managerial structures of worker and resource exploitation from the perspective of current trends in labour process research. Rajala argues that operators sought to neutralize the variable forest environment by emulating the factory model of work organization. The introduction of steam-powered overhead logging methods provided industry with a rudimentary factory regime by 1930, accompanied by productivity gains and diminished workplace autonomy for loggers. After a Depression-inspired turn to selective logging with caterpillar tractors timber capital continued its refinement of clearcutting technologies in the post-war period, achieving complete mechanization of yarding with the automatic grapple. Driviing this process of innovation was a concept of industrial efficiency that responded to changing environmental conditions, product and labour markets, but sought to advance operators' class interests by routinizing production. The managerial component of the factory regime took shape in accordance with the principles of the early 20th century scientific management movement. Requiring expertise in the organization of an expanded, technologically sophisticated exploitation process, operators presided over the establishment of logging engineering programs in the region's universities. Graduates introduced rational planning procedures to coastal logging, contributing to a rate of deforestation that generated a corporate call for technical forestry expertise after 1930. Industrial foresters then emerged from the universities to provide firms with data needed for long-range investment decisions in land acquisition and management. Part II constitutes an environmental and political history of clearcutting. This reconstructs the process of scientific research concenring the factory regime's impact on the ecology of the Douglas fir forest, assessing how knowledge was utitized in the regulation of cutting practices. Analysis of business-government relations in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon suggests that the reliance of those client states on revenues generated by timber capital enouraged a pattern of regulation that served corporate rather than social and ecological ends.

Management of riparian habitats is controversial because land use policies have historically emphasized economic values (e.g., timber production) at the expense of ecological and social values. Attempting to manage these valuable resources to attain the greatest combination of benefits has created a long-term controversy that continues to the present. Our analysis indicates that at mid to large spatial scales, healthy riparian ecosystems and land management activities are not mutually exclusive, but the degree of compatibility is determined by policy decisions based on competing demands and pressing timelines as well as available scientific knowledge. Current management schemes on federal lands in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska are appropriately addressing large spatial scales and incorporating the principles of disturbance ecology. We found no scientific evidence that either the default prescriptions or the options for watershed analysis in the Northwest Forest Plan and Tongass Land Management Plan provide more protection than necessary to meet stated riparian management goals. We believe that additional alternative riparian management strategies could be implemented and evaluated in concert to shorten the time needed to realize effective strategies that fully meet riparian management goals.

The contributions for over 80 years by scientists at the Pacific Northwest Research Station to developments in economic theory, economic tools, policies, and economic issues are summarized. This is a story of progressive accomplishments set against a constantly changing background of economic and social events.

The Pacific Northwest is a global ecological "hotspot" because of its relatively healthy native ecosystems, a high degree of biodiversity, and the number and scope of restoration initiatives that have been undertaken there. Restoring the Pacific Northwest gathers and presents the best examples of state-of-the-art restoration techniques and projects. It is an encyclopedic overview that will be an invaluable reference not just for restorationists and students working in the Pacific Northwest, but for practitioners across North America and around the world.

Researchers involved with the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station Sustainable Wood Production Initiative have outlined some of the barriers and opportunities for sustainable wood production in the region. Sustainable wood production is defined as the capacity of forests to produce wood, products, and services on a long-term basis and in the context of human activity and use. The collective findings of these papers suggest that in the future, the regions wood supply will primarily come from private land, and the barriers and opportunities related to sustainable wood production will have more to do with future markets, harvest potential, land use changes, and sustainable forestry options than with traditional sustained yield outputs. Private lands in the PNW should be able to sustain recent historical harvest levels over the next 50 years, but regional changes in sawmilling capacity and uncertain market conditions may affect wood production in the region. Public perceptions of forestry, land use changes, and alternative forestry options are also discussed. These papers present preliminary findings and proposals for future work designed to help us understand the key issues related to sustainable wood production.