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Deception Creek Experimental Forest
Deception Creek Experimental Forest is located
in one of the most productive forests of the Rocky
Mountains. When the forest was established in
1933, large, old western white pines were
important for producing lumber products,
matches, and toothpicks. Deception Creek is
located in the heart of the western white pine
forest type, allowing researchers to focus on the
ecology and silviculture of western white pine and
its associated species. The forest includes the
entire drainage of Deception Creek, a tributary of
the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River in
northern Idaho. The area encompasses 1,425 ha,
with elevations ranging from 850 to 1,402 m.
Deception Creek dissects the experimental forest
from west to east and is influenced by many small side
drainages, giving rise to predominantly north- and southfacing
slopes with slope angles ranging from 35 to 80
percent.
Climate
Weather is influenced by the maritime climate of the
Pacific Coast. Summers are short; autumn and winters
are cloudy, with precipitation averaging 1,400 mm.
Annual snowfall averages 4,060 mm or 25 percent of the
total precipitation.
Soils
Soils are primarily Typic Vitrandepts, which are volcanic
ash (0.3 to 2 m deep) above Beltian metasediments.
Vegetation
The western hemlock/queen cup beadlilly potential
vegetation type dominates the forest, with the grand fir/
queen cup beadlilly type also frequently occurring within
Deception Creek. Mixed stands containing grand fir,
western hemlock, Douglas-fir, western larch, and western
white pine ranging in age from 20 to more than 250
years occur on the forest. Lodgepole pine, ponderosa
pine, subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, and western
redcedar occur in small amounts across the forest. The
118-ha Montford Creek Research Natural Area is located
within the forest.
Long-Term Data Bases
There are data bases on forest growth (1935 to present),
weather (1935 to 1965), and western white pine genetic
trials (1955 to present).
Research, Past and Present
The forest was originally established as a center for conducting silviculture research. Studies emphasized regeneration methods and subsequent effects on establishment, composition, and growth of natural and artificial regeneration. These studies not only observed western white pine but included the many other species found in this forest type.
Deception Creek Experimental Forest also has a wealth of insect and disease, long-term soil productivity, and fire research. Growth and yield plots on the forest monitor forest productivity and changes in species composition. Genetic studies of rust-resistant western white pine started in the mid-1950's and continues today.
Currently, research on the forest involves studies on how forest management affects ecosystem structures and functions. Clearcuts will probably be used much less in the future forest management. Therefore, studies in both even-age and uneven-age silviculture systems are being studied. Other studies on the forest include fire effects on sedimentation and soil nutrients, management effects on overstory and understory species composition, growth and yield, forest genetics, and root disease.
Major Research Accomplishments
and Effects on Management
Research at Deception Creek was important in
understanding the ecology and management of western
white pine. Basic research provided the basics for
understanding moist northern Rocky Mountain forests
Deception Creek Experimental Forest (Idaho)
and changed the way coarse woody debris is managed
throughout the Rocky Mountains. Deception Creek also
played an important role in the development of blisterrust
resistant western white pine. Similarly, long-term
forest-growth records were integral for developing
Prognosis, a forest vegetation simulator.
Collaborators
Research collaborators have come to the Deception
Creek from the University of Idaho, University of
Montana, Washington State University, and USDA
Forest Service Region 1, Idaho Panhandle National
Forests.
Research Opportunities
Deception Creek provides conditions for research that
requires mixed stands ranging in age from 20 to more
than 250 years. Because it is one of the most heavily
roaded drainages in Idaho, the forest offers excellent
opportunities for studying road abandonment and
rehabilitation. It also offers moist forest conditions found
nowhere else in the West except on the Pacific Coast.
Facilities
There are no facilities Deception Creek, which is 32 km
east of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Lat. 45°10' N, long. 116°30' W
Contact Information
Deception Creek Experimental Forest
US Forest Service
Rocky Mountain Research Station
221 South Main
Moscow, ID 83843
Tel: (208) 882-3557
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The material for the Experimental Forests pages was originally published in:
Adams, Mary Beth; Loughry, Linda; Plaugher, Linda, comps. 2004.
Experimental Forests and Ranges of the USDA Forest Service.
Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-321. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 178 p.
GTR-NE-321 - 5.5 mb pdf
Information has been updated since original publication.
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