2015 Freezeout Ridge Cone Collection

General Project Information

Project Title: Freezeout Ridge Cone Collection

Project Dates: 2015

Year project implementation started:

How many more years is this project expected to continue, if any?

Project Contact: (Please provide complete information for primary contact(s), e.g., name, position, phone number, email, agency name, unit/sub-unit)

Sidnee Dittman, sdittman@fs.fed.us, 208-245-6248

Location (Land management agency or ownership and name of geographic area(s) where project was implemented. This information should be specific enough to identify a general project location on a map but not specific enough to compromise the project.)

Idaho Panhandle National Forest, St. Joe Ranger District

Coperators: (List cooperating agencies and sub-units, other companies/organizations, and individuals as needed.)

 

Project Funding

Funding Sources (amount FHP/amount other incl. in-kind):

Forest Health Protection funding                   $4,550

Other funding                                               $4,350

Total                                                            $8,900

Did Whitebark Restoration funding get used or obligated? (If not, please explain.) Yes

 

Project Details

Scope and/or Size of Project or Treated Area: (Include a short description of the project or treatment area if helpful in understanding the scope of the project.)

Number of Acres or Other Units Treated, Monitored, or Surveyed:

Cone collection from 13 trees in the St. Joe area.

Specific location of project or treated area(s): (If desired, add more specific project location information here, e.g., UTMs, Lat-long, specific landmark. Otherwise, indicate if more information is available by request.)

Objective(s) (from original request):

Collect cones from 13 rust resistant WBP trees in the St. Joe area to complete an operational seed lot (FREEZEOUT13).

Planting: (Please answer the following questions if the project includes plantings or cone collections.)

Number of seedlings planted (list by location if applicable): N/A

Was the seed source screened for resistance? (If other, explain.) Yes

Were Plus trees used? Yes. We collected from a few plus trees and other WBP in the area.

Results/Outcome:

We now have a completed seed lot (Freezeout13) with enough genetic diversity which we can start sowing from to plant future WBP seedlings.

Project Status (Is the project complete? If not, what remains to be accomplished and when?:

Complete, we collected from 9 trees on Freezeout Ridge to complete an operational seed lot and collected from 3 trees at Simmons Peak (Simmons15) to start a new seed lot.

Will outcome meet objectives? Yes

 

Project Follow-Up

Are there plans for monitoring or follow-up? (If not, please explain.)

Yes, we keep notes and will follow this seed lot thru plantings and perform survival surveys and survival stake row reports to track its progress.

Changes Needed or Problems Encountered:

I suspect low germination rates of the seed due to our extremely hot dry summer. We observed more insect damaged seeds than normal while tagging and bagging these cones. We will know more once the nursery has processed the seeds.