Grand Fir

A new Fir for me today!  The Grand Fir (Abies Grandis)!  This Fir has a most potent citrus smell and is full of vitamin C!

Blue Pool

The clearest water I have ever seen is the glacial run-off of this river in Glacier National Park!

Misty Mountains

Had to get back to Glacier for the weekend!  These mountains are right off the pages of Tolkien!

Pearly Everlasting

This beautiful flower is Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) and is found mainly in high elevations.

Worlds Largest Larch!

The Worlds largest larix occidentals (Western Larch) at Seely Lake Park.  Check it how small my colleagues look in the photo below!

Burn Damage

Forest fire damage on the Salish Kootenai Reservation.  They salvaged 90 percent of the burn damage buy logging this winter after the forests fire in July of last year.  The trees still standing are on state land.      The Salish Kootenai tribes moving much faster processing fire damage and where even working on there NEPA, and assessing posiblities while the fire was still burning.

Lubrecht Forest Camp

Here our some pictures from the University of Montana Lubrecht Experimental Forest where we are staying for forestry camp.

Avalanche Lake

We had a sweet hike through old growth western red cedar (Thuja plicata) to Avalanche Lake.  No shortage of epic views at this absolutely beautiful National Park!

Montana Skyset

The sunset from the Lubrecht Experimental Forest complex where I'm staying here in Montana!  Wish I could bring you all out here with me!

Lightning Rod

Check out this Ponderosa Pine (pinus ponderosa).  It got zapped by lightning as a young tree and heeled to grow to such a great size!

Blackfoot River

The Weekend Day Off- On the Blackfoot River

View from our campsite up top!

Mountain Pine Beetle

This little devil is the reason for so much active management in Custard State Park.  It is destroying Ponderosa Pines and Lodgepole Pines because of our suppression of forest fires which has lead to an abundance of "food" for the beetles to destroy pines.

The Damage-

This is called the "Frass" its the pine tree trying to push the beetles out with sap!

Bearberry

Bearberry (Arctostaphylos ova-ursi) is a common berry of the west pine mountains, the Native americans smoked a blend of this with various leaves and bark!  I know what your thinking, I have not yet tried this.

Pale Mountain-Dandelion

Agoserls glauca

Bison Bison

Taste of the past at Custard State Park.  About time Way of the Buffalo has a post on Bison.  I spent time learning about the management of the herd Monday and got some pretty interesting facts.  The herb at Custard is 1500 strong and they don't let it get any bigger.  They auction off Bison, you can buy a calf for 900 and a breeding female for 2500.  The herd is ran by a female who, kicks the breeding males out until its breeding time.  This year 6 males died at the park from breeding battle wounds.

Black Elk Wilderness

Your friend enjoying Black Elks Spirit on Black Elks Peak!

Partridge pea

Chamaecrista fasciculata

Wild Bergamot

Monarda fistulosa

Round-Headed Bush Clover

Lespedeza capitata

Lead Plant

Amorpha canescens

Indian Pipe

Monotropa uniflora

Forest Structure

Their our four major components of forest structure include: tree size/age distribution, vertical foliage distribution, horizontal canopy distribution, and dead wood.  

Tree size is essential to knowing the disturbance history of a forest, if all the trees are small you know some had to destroy them recently, if some are big and a bunch small you have to wonder why some survived.  

Vertical foliage distributions affects sunlight absorption, wildlife habitat, and the microclimate habitat of areas in a forest.  When vertical foliage is at a high density and blocks sunlight, it makes shrubs and forest flowers less likely on the ground, which birds need to nest, this means less plants and birds.

 Horizontal canopy distribution plays and important role in habitat regeneration.  Where is a lot of sun able to reach the ground through the horizontal canopy layer, forest can regenerate trees and plants.  An example would be when ancient tree falls down enable sunlight to hit the floor and the "race to the top to begin".

Dead wood important for nutrient cycling, wildlife habitat, water storage, and soil development.  Old forests have lots of dead wood of course, but the most dead wood can be in a forest that has had a disturbance with young trees.  Because something happened to allow a regeneration of trees.

Perfect Camping

Fall camping is one of the best times to get outdoors.  Camping spots are plentiful and the bugs have buzzed off.  Fall is just around the corner!