An introduction to the Westfir Transplant Nursery
Approximately 40 miles southeast of Eugene, Oregon, along the Willamette Pass Highway, lies the small community of Westfir. Here, at the foothills of the Cascade Range, is where the Westfir Transplant Nursery is situated. The Nursery was established in 1960 by the Willamette National Forest to: "provide a large vigorous seedling which could be lifted and planted to the field in a very short time". The Nursery lies on alluvial terraces of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River at an elevation of 1,020 feet. The annual precipitation rate is 42 inches of rainfall and the mean average temperature is 53 degrees Fahrenheit. In proposing the establishment of Westfir, the Forest contemplated the production of transplant stock solely for those sites most difficult to reforest. Furthermore, the Forest recommended the transplant operation be discontinued when stock of equal quality but lower cost became available. We have come a long way since those Forest recommendations were made. Outplanting of Westfir stock began in the fall of 1960. In December of 1961, the nursery was enlarged to 6 acres, with a projected capacity of 1.4 million seedlings. Trees being lifted, in those days, had to transported to the Flat Creek Work Center for processing, a distance of 10 miles. The equipment for nursery work came from surplus property lists, except for the tractors, those were rented from local farmers.
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Author(s): Rodney F. Matye
Publication: National Nursery Proceedings - 1980
Event:
Intermountain Nurseryman's Association and Western Forest Nursery Association
1980 - Boise, ID
