Sitka Spruce Range Limit

[ESH]

Hey there,

Anybody know with some precision the easternmost range limit of Sitka Spruce in Oregon? I'm sure it's somewhere along the Lower Columbia, but I'm curious just how far upriver. (I've explored quite a bit of the Columbia estuary, including the remnant tidewater spruce swamps, but I haven't yet really searched between Portland and, say, Westport. Certainly haven't run into it in the western Columbia Gorge.) The Forest Service & USGS distribution maps show a range into the Portland Basin & an anomalous patch around Mount Hood (which seems highly unlikely, though of course in Washington Sitka Spruce extends to the western drainages of Mount Rainier); George Sudworth's old "Forest Trees of the Pacific Slope" reports the tree reaches the "foothills of the Cascades" in northern Oregon, but... Obviously the species is almost exclusively a coastal, fogbelt tree south of the Columbia, but the latter waterway does offer quite the maritime-influenced conduit inland.

Anyhow, any ideas? I need to do some on-the-ground fieldwork--besides my own natural curiosity, I'm working on an eco-geography project for the region--but just wondered whether anyone else had pondered this & had some insight.

Cheers,
Ethan

[Will Blozan]

Are you in contact with Dr. Robert Van Pelt or Chris Earle? If not I could forward this post to them.

-Will

[Don]

I don't know Ethan, it's been my experience that if Sudworth said they were there, they were there, then anyway...as to whether they have been cut over or not, that of course is another story. In any case, good luck in your search!
-Don

[ESH]

Thanks for the feedback, Will & Don! I have corresponded a little with Chris Earle--a good idea to run this question by him. I'm not in contact with Dr. Van Pelt, though I'm a great admirer of his work.

I'll update this thread if I track down anything interesting!

Cheers,
Ethan