Restructuring the forest: Goshawks and the restoration of southwestern ponderosa pine

Abstract

With adoption of the 'goshawk guidelines' in 1996, the Southwest Region of the USDA Forest Service has embarked on an ambitious effort to restore southwestern ponderosa pine forests. The objective is a multiscale mosaic of age and structural classes under an unevenaged silvicultural system intended to approximate the composition, structure, and landscape patterns of southwestern ponderosa pine forests before there were fundamental changes in natural disturbance regimes. Implementation will require innovative silvicultural approaches to create appropriate forest structures at various spatial levels well into the future.