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FEDERAL RESEARCH NATURAL AREASIN OREGON AND WASHINGTON:

A Guidebook for Scientists and EducatorsBrewer Spruce Research

Natural AreaINTRODUCTION

The Research Natural Area described inthis separate is administered by the Bureauof Land Management. Bureau of Land Manage-ment Research Natural Areas are adminis-tered by District Offices which are organi-zational subdivisions of their State offices.Scientists wishing to use these ResearchNatural Areas should contact the Bureau'sState Director. At present, all of this agency'stracts are located in Oregon so the responsi-ble individual is the Oregon State Director(Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 2965,Portland, Oregon 97208). The manager ofthe district in which the Research NaturalArea is located will be informed of mutuallyagreed upon activities by the State Director.Nevertheless, a scientist should visit theadministering District Office when beginninghis studies and explain the nature, purpose,and duration of his activities if at all possible.Permission for brief observational visits toResearch Natural Areas can be obtainedfrom District Managers.

The Research Natural Area described with-in is a part of a Federal system of such tractsestablished for research and educationalpurposes. Each of these constitutes a sitewhere some natural features are preservedfor scientific purposes and natural processesare allowed to dominate. Their main purposesare to provide:

Baseline areas against which effects ofhuman activities can be measured;Sites for study of natural processes inundisturbed ecosystems ; and

3. Gene pool preserves for all types oforganisms, especially rare and endan-gered types.

The total Federal system is outlined in "ADirectory of the Research Natural Areas onFederal Lands of the United States of Amer-ica.'" The 48 Federal Research Natural Areasin Oregon and Washington are described in"Federal Research Natural Areas in Oregonand Washington: A Guidebook for Scientistsand Educators," 2 along with details on man-agement and use of such tracts: this descrip-tion is a separate extracted from that guide-book.

The guiding principle in management ofResearch Natural Areas is to prevent un-natural encroachments, activities which di-rectly or indirectly modify ecological pro-cesses on the tracts. Logging and uncon-trolled grazing are not allowed, for example,nor is public use which threatens significantimpairment of scientific or educational val-ues. Management practices necessary formaintenance of the ecosystem may be allowed.

'Federal Committee on Research Natural Areas. Adirectory of Research Natural Areas on Federal landsof the United States of America. Washington, D.C.,Superintendent of Documents, 129 p., 1968.

=Jerry F. Franklin, Frederick C. Hall, C. T. Dyrness,and Chris Maser. Federal Research Natural Areas inOregon and Washington: a guidebook for scientistsand educators. USDA Forest Serv. Pac. NorthwestForest & Range Exp. Stn., 498 p., illus., 1972.

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Federal Research Natural Areas provide auniquely valuable system of publicly ownedand protected examples of undisturbed eco-systems which are available to the scientist.He can conduct his research with minimalinterference and reasonable assurance thatinvestments in long-term studies will not belost to logging, land development, or similaractivities. In return, the scientist wishing touse a Research Natural Area has some obli-gations. He must:

Obtain permission from the appropriateadministering agency before using thearea;Abide by the administering agency'sregulations governing the use of thenatural area including specific limita-tions on the type of research, samplingmethods, etc. allowed; and

3. Inform the administering agency on theprogress of the research, publishedresults, and disposition of collectedmaterials.

The purposes of these limitations are simple— to insure that the scientific and educa-tional values on the tract are not impaired,to accumulate a documented body of know-ledge about the tract, and to avoid conflictbetween new and old studies. Research on

Research Natural Areas must be essentiallynondestructive in character; destructive an-alysis of vegetation is generally not allowednor are studies requiring extensive forestfloor modification or extensive soil excavation.Collection of plant and animal specimensshould be restricted to the minimum neces-sary for provision of vouchers and otherresearch needs and in no case to a degreewhich significantly reduces species popula-tion levels. Such collections must also becarried out in accordance with applicableState and Federal agency regulations. Withinthese broad guidelines, the appropriate usesof Research Natural Areas are determined ona case-by-case basis by the administeringagency.

A scientist wishing to use a particularResearch Natural Area must determine theadministering agency," contact it regardingthe proposed use, and obtain the necessarypermission. Each agency differs slightly in itsrequirements.

3There are five agencies cooperating in this programin the Pacific Northwest: Forest Service in the U.S.Department of Agriculture; Bureau of Land Manage-ment, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, and theNational Park Service in the U.S. Department ofInterior; and the Atomic Energy Commission.

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents. U.S. Government Printinv Office. Washineton. D.C. 20402

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Federal Research Natural Areas in Oregon and Washington—A Guidebook for Scientists and Educators. 1972.Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station,Portland, Oregon.

BREWER SPRUCERESEARCH NATURAL

AREA1A mixed conifer type with abundantBrewer spruce and associated brush-fields on a rugged ridgetop in theSiskiyou Mountains.

The Brewer Spruce Research Natural Areawas established on January 29, 1965. It exem-plifies a high-elevation, mixed conifer typecontaining large amounts of Brewer spruce(Picea breweriana) and associated brush-fields as they occur on mountain ridgetops insouthwestern Oregon's Siskiyou Mountains.The 85-ha. (210-acre) area is located in Jose-phine County, Oregon, and is administeredby the Medford District (Medford, Oregon),Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Admini-stratively, it lies within the Deer Creek plan-ning unit of the Applegate Resource Manage-ment Area. The tract occupies the N1/2NW1/4 SW1/4 and SW1/4 NW1/4 SW1/4 ofsection 5, and the NE1/4 SE1/4, SW1/4SW1/4, S1/2 NW1/4 SE 1/4, SE1/4 NE1/4SW1/4, SE 1/4 SW1/4, and S1/2 of lot 7 insection 6, T. 39 S., R. 6 W., Willamette mer-idian. It lies at 42°12' N. latitude and 123°28' W. longitude.

ACCESS ANDACCOMMODATIONS

The area is accessible from the west (U.S.Highway 199 to the Illinois River Valley) viaBLM's Deer Creek Access Road (No. 38-7-13);it can also be approached from the east viaWilliams and BLM's Cedar Flat Road (No.

' Description prepared by Dr. C. T. Dyrness, U.S.Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, PacificNorthwest Forest and Range Experiment Station,Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon.

39-5-6). These roads join at the intersectionwith the BLM's Rabbit Lake Road (No. 39-6-9),which passes within 91 m. (300 ft.) of thenorthern boundary of the natural area (fig.BP-1). Although an abandoned trail crossesthe southwestern portion of the area, it is nowvery difficult to follow and foot travel throughthe area is slow and tedious.

The closest commercial accommodationsare located in Cave Junction, about 16 km.(10 miles) to the southwest. Numerous andvaried accommodations are also available inGrants Pass, situated about 49 km. (30 miles)to the north.

ENVIRONMENTThe Brewer Spruce Research Natural Area

occupies the summit of a small mountain peak(Little Grayback Peak, elevation 1,861 m. or5,445 ft.) and the crest of a downward-trendingridge extending in a northeasterly direction(fig. BP-2). With the exception of two smallsaddles located near the east and west boun-daries, the area is extremely rugged, withsteep slopes and numerous rock outcrops.Most of the steeply sloping portion has anortherly aspect. Elevations range from about1,250 to 1,645 m. (4,100 to 5,400 ft.). A smallcirque-like basin contains a small, shallowpond named Rabbit Lake.

The entire area is underlain by metavolcanicrocks of the Applegate Group (Wells, Hotz,and Cater 1949). These rocks were laid downduring the Triassic period. In the natural areathey are apparently largely metamorphosedandesites and basalts.

The climate is warm-temperate with hot,dry summers and cool, moist winters. Muchof the winter precipitation occurs as snow.Cumulative winter snowpacks may exceed3 m. (10 ft.) and they are not completelymelted until midsummer. The following cli-matic data are from the Williams weatherstation, which is about 14 km. (9 miles) east

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of and 915 m. (3,000 ft.) below the naturalarea (Whittaker 1960, U.S. Weather Bureau1965):Mean annual temperature 11.1°C. (52.0°F.)Mean January temperature 3 7°C. (38.7°F.)Mean July temperature 19.4°C. (66.9°F.)Extreme minimum temperature ..-16.0°C. (3.0°F.)Extreme maximum temperature .. . 42.0°C. (108.0°F.)Average annual precipitation 957 mm. (37.69 in.)June through August

precipitation 32 mm. (1.24 in.)

Temperatures are undoubtedly considerablylower and precipitation somewhat higher onthe natural area.

Very little is known about the soils of thearea. Steepness of the terrain and high fre-quency of rock outcrops indicate most soilsare undoubtedly shallow and immature withhigh stone contents. A profile examinationnear the southwestern corner of the area dis-closed a regosolic soil containing about 60percent stones, with a dark brown, silt loamsurface horizon.

BIOTAIt is difficult to place the Brewer Spruce

Research Natural Area within a single vege-tation zone. In fact, it contains elements ofthree vegetation zones defined by Franklinand Dyrness (1969) for southwestern Oregon:the Mixed Conifer, Abies concolor, and Abiesmagnifica shastensis Zones. The area in-cludes Kiichler's (1964) Types 5, Mixed Coni-fer Forest (Abies-Pinus-Pseudotsuga), and34, Montane Chaparral (Arctostaphylos-Castanopsis-Ceanothus). The forest standsappear to be a mixture of SAF cover types207 (Red Fir) and 211 (White Fir) with possiblysome areas classifiable as cover type 243(Ponderosa Pine-Sugar Pine-Fir) (Society ofAmerican Foresters 1954).

At least 10 different coniferous tree speciesgrow in the natural area. The most commonof these are: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga men-ziesii), white fir (Abies concolor), Brewerspruce (fig. BP-2), Shasta red fir (Abies mag-nifica var. shastensis), western white pine(Pines monticola), Pacific yew (Taxes brevi-folio), and Port-Orford-cedar (Chamaecyporis

lawsoniana). Coniferous tree species morelimited in distribution include sugar pine(Pin g s la mbertiana), knobcone pine (Pilotsattenuata), and incense-cedar (Libocedrusdecurrens).. Another outstanding feature ofthe area is the rather extensive brushfields.The Bureau of Land Management estimatesthat only about 60 percent of the area isforested, 25 percent is brushfield, and theremaining 15 percent is made up of bare rockoutcrops and talus.

Most of the older (200- to 300-year-oldor more) forest stands in the area are veryopen with a total overstory coverage of only25 to 30 percent (fig. BP-2). Brewer spruceand Douglas-fir are generally codominant inthe overstory ; minor amounts of western whitepine may also be present. Tree regenerationin some locations is dominated by Port-Orford-cedar saplings which have a stunted appear-ance, probably due to heavy snow loads. Inmost areas, however, both Shasta red fir andBrewer spruce appear to be reproducing suc-cessfully, each with about 5-percent repro-duction coverage in a typical stand. Westernwhite pine and Douglas-fir are also scatteredindividually through the understory. The mostabundant understory shrub is Vaccinium mem-branaceum. Other more scattered shrubs in-clude Amelanchier pallida, Arctostaphylospatula and A. nevadensis, Ceanothus pro-stratus, Castanopsis chrysophylla, Berberisnervosa, Rosa gymnocarpa, and Pacific yew.Typical herbaceous species in these opentimber stands include Achlys triphylla , Chima-phila umbellata, Pedicularis racemosa, Hiera-cium albifiorum, Xerophyllum tenax, Seneciotriangularis, and Pyrola secunda.

The Brewer spruce-Shasta fir stand justsoutheast of and above Rabbit Lake probablycontains the best specimens of Brewer sprucein the area. Scattered large individuals rangeup to about 1-m. (3-ft.) d.b.h. The understoryis dominated by thickets of sapling-sizedPort-Orford-cedar, although both Brewerspruce and Shasta fir are apparently repro-ducing successfully.

An area of young, dense white fir occursnear the western boundary. Although thestand is dominantly 90- to 100-year-old white

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fir, significant amounts of Shasta red fir andwestern white pine are also present in theoverstory. Tree regeneration consists of scat-tered white fir and western white pine. Theshrub layer has about 15-percent Berberisnervosa cover, with lesser amounts of Pacificyew, Castanopsis chrysophylla, Amelanchierpallida, Holodiscus discolor, and Rosa gymno-carpa. The herb layer has low coverage; someof the principal species are several grasses,Chimaphila umbellata, Arenaria macrophylla,Trientalis latifolia, Osmorhiza chilensis, Syn-thyris reniformis, Arnica latifolia, Disporumhookeri, Trillium ovatum, Dicentra formosa,Anemone deltoidea, and Polystichum muni-tum.

Extensive tracts of extremely dense, tall(3-m. or 10-ft.) shrubs with only very scatteredtree cover occur on steep north and northwest-facing slopes adjacent to rock outcrops. Thehardy, isolated trees dotting these shrubcommunities are usually white fir, Shasta redfir, Brewer spruce, and, occasionally, westernwhite pine. The dominant shrub species isgenerally Pacific yew, which sometimes formsalmost impenetrable thickets. Other shrubswhich may be important components of thestand include Acer glabrum var. torreyi,Holodiscus discolor, Corylus cornuta var.californica, Quercus vaccinifolia, Amelanchierpallida, and Rubus parviflorus. On similarsites, which perhaps have been more recentlydisturbed by fire, are scattered young treeswith Vaccinium membranaceum and Xero-phyllum tenax as the principal understory.

Low (about 1-m. or 3-ft.) brushfields arerather extensive in southeastern and south-western portions of the natural area in sec-tion 6 (fig. BP-2). The most important contri-butions to the dense shrub cover are Arcto-staphylos patula and Quercus vaccinifolia.Other shrub species of more scattered occur-rence include Ceanothus velutinus, Holo-discus discolor, Corylus cornuta var. califor-nica, Quercus garryana var. breweri, andQuercus chrysolepis.

The 1/4-ha. (0.5-acre) Rabbit Lake consti-tutes an interesting aquatic habitat in thenatural area (fig. BP-2). Snowmelt apparentlysupplies the water for this shallow pond. Out-

flow occurs only during the spring and bylate summer the shoreline has receded con-siderably. Although the pond is too shallowto support fish, it undoubtedly serves as ahabitat for amphibians. The area near theshoreline supported the following plant specieswhich were not observed elsewhere: Veratrumcalifornicum, Ribes lacustre, Salix sp., Clin-tonia unifoliata, Tiarella unifoliata, and Lin-naea borealis ssp. longiflora.

Resident and transient mammals believedto utilize the natural area are listed in tableBP-1.

HISTORY OF DISTURBANCEThere is no evidence of recent fires within

the Brewer Spruce Research Natural Area.However, the area has probably been re-peatedly burned in the more distant past.

Human disturbances chiefly involve severalclearcut areas logged in 1964. These extendinto the natural area in two locations alongthe northern boundary. The total clearcut areawithin the boundaries of the natural area isestimated to be less than 4 ha. (10 acres).

Some of the developments planned for thearea may result in some additional disturbance.The Bureau of Land Management plans toreconstruct approximately 0.8 km. (0.5 mile)of foot trail within the natural area. This trailwill be a segment of a 15-km. (9-mile) scenictrail. A spur trail, lying outside the naturalarea, is proposed from the end of the RabbitLake Road in section 6 to an intersectionwith the main scenic trail in the SW1/4 ofsection 6. Plans also call for installation ofplant identification signs for 30 to 40 of themost common species within the natural area.

RESEARCHNo research is presently being conducted

within the natural area. Although both Whit-taker (1960) and Waring (1969) studied forestecology in nearby areas, neither is known tohave included the Brewer Spruce ResearchNatural Area in his investigations.

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MAPS AND AERIALPHOTOGRAPHS

Maps applicable to the natural area are:Topography — 15' Oregon Caves, Oregonquadrangle, scale 1:62,500, issued by theU.S. Geological Survey in 1954; and geology— Preliminary Geologic Map of SouthwesternOregon, scale 1:500,000 (Wells 1955) andGeologic Map of Oregon West of the 121stMeridian, scale 1:500,000 (Peck 1961).

The District Manager (Medford District),Bureau of Land Management, can providedetails on the most recent aerial photo cover-age and any forest type maps which may beavailable for the area.

LITERATURE CITEDFranklin, Jerry F., and C. T. Dyrness

1969. Vegetation of Oregon and Washing-ton. USDA Forest Serv. Res. Pap.PNW-80, 216 p., illus. Pac. NorthwestForest & Range Exp. Stn., Portland,Oreg.

Kiichler, A. W.1964. Manual to accompany the map of

potential natural vegetation of theconterminous United States. Am.Geogr. Soc. Spec. Publ. 36, variouspaging, illus.

Peck, Dallas L.1961. Geologic map of Oregon west of the

121st meridian. U.S. Geol. Surv. Misc.Geol. Invest. Map 1-325.

Society of American Foresters1954. Forest cover types of North America

(exclusive of Mexico). 67 p., illus.Washington, D.C.

U.S. Weather Bureau1965. Climatic summary of the United

States — supplement for 1951through 1960, Oregon. Climatogra-phy of the United States 86-31, 96 p.illus.

Waring, R. H.1969. Forest plants of the eastern Siski-

yous: their environmental and vege-tational distribution. Northwest Sci.43: 1-17, illus.

Wells, Francis G.1955. Preliminary geologic map of south-

western Oregon west of meridian122° west and south of parallel 43°north. U.S. Geol. Surv. Miner. Invest.Field Stud. Map MF38.

Preston E. Hotz, and Fred W. Cater,Jr.

1949. Preliminary description of the geol-ogy of the Kerby quadrangle, Oregon.Oreg. Dep. Geol. & Miner. Ind., Bull.40, 23 p.

Whittaker, R. H.1960. Vegetation of the Siskiyou Moun-

tains, Oregon and California. Ecol.Monogr. 30: 279-338, illus.

Table BP-1.— Tentative list of mammals for the Brewer Spruce Research Natural Area

Order

Insectivora

Chiroptera

LagomorphaRodentia

Carnivora

Artiodactyla

Scientific name

Nedrotrichus gibbsiScapanus latinianusScapanus townsendiSorex bendiriiSorex trowbridgiiSorex vagransAntrozous pallidusEptesicus fuscusLasionycteris noctivagansLasiurus borealisLasiurus cinereusMyotis californicusMyotis evotisMyotis thysanodesMyotis volansMyotis yemanensisPlecotus townsendiLepers americanusAplodontia rufaArborimus longicaudusClethrionomys californicusErethizon dorsatu nEutantias antoenusE if tainias townsendiGlaucontys sabrinusMicrotus oregoniMicrotus townsendiNeotonta cinereaPeromyscus maniculatusSpermophilus lateralisTantiasciztrus douglasiThomomys mazamaZapus trinotatusBassariscus astutusCanis latransCanis lupusFelis concolorGulo luscusLynx rt(fitsMartes americanaMartes pennant iMustela ermineaMustela.frenataMustela visonProcyon lotorSpilogale putoriusUrsus americanusVulpes fitivaCervus canadensisOdocoileus h. coluntbianus

Common name

shrew molebroad-footed moleTownsend molemarsh shrewTrowbridge shrewwandering shrewpallid batbig brown batsilver-haired batred bathoary batCalifornia myotislong-eared myotisfringed myotislong-legged myotisYuma myotisTownsend big-eared batsnowshoe haremountain beaverred tree voleCalifornia red-backed voleporcupineyellow-pine chipmunkTownsend chipmunknorthern flying squirrelOregon or creeping voleTownsend volebushy-tailed wood ratdeer mousemantled ground squirrelchickareeMazama pocket gopherPacific jumping mouseringtail or miner's catcoyotewolfmountain lion or cougarwolverinebobcatmartenfishershort tailed weasel or erminelong-tailed weaselminkraccoonspotted skunk or civet catblack bearred foxwapiti or elkblack-tailed deer

X

Little Greyback Peak

LEGEND

SECTION LINE

X

Figure BP-1.- Brewer Spruce Research Natural Area,Josephine County, Oregon.

BOUNDARY, BREWER SPRUCE RESEARCH NATURAL AREAT.39 S., R.6 W., W.M.

STREAM

TRAIL

ROADCLEAR CUTBENCH MARK

0 500 1000 2000 Ft.

0 152 305 610 m.

Figure BP-2. —Communities in the Brewer Spruce ResearchNatural Area. Upper left: Rugged slopes of Little Gray-back Peak viewed from the southwestern corner of thenatural area. Upper right: Typical Brewer spruce crown.Lower left: Rabbit Lake in late summer. Lower right:Scattered Brewer spruce, white fir, Shasta red fir, andwestern white pine with a typical brushfield in the back-ground.

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