RPF Exam Short Answer
Briefly define a "blind lead or area" in logging terminology. What are the obvious
negative environmental results of that situation. - ✔️✔️In a highlead system, when the
line of sight between the tailblock and the top of the tower is obscured by a slope; this
can lead to damage to residual trees and to increased erosion.
According to §763 of the Professional Foresters Law, what is the minimum number of
individuals who are to be appointed by the board to serve on the Professional Foresters'
Examining Committee? - ✔️✔️7 total:
4 RPFs
1 certified specialist (certified rangelane mgmt)
2 public members, including 1 from the board of forestry
What are two types of fixed costs + two types of variable costs with harvesting
equipment? - ✔️✔️Fixed = depreciation, interest, insurance, taxes, rent, purchase price
Variable = labor, repairs, fuel, tire/track
(fixed = remains constant in relation to amount of good produced; variable = cost rises
with production of more units)
For THP planning, how would you define an active nest of an osprey when you have not
seen an osprey occupy the nest in the 3 months you've been doing fieldwork? -
✔️✔️Active nest: a bird nest site at which breeding efforts have recently occurred as
determined by the CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, as specified:
Great Blue Heron, Great Egret = 2 years
Golden Eagle, Osprey, Goshawk = 3 years
Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon = 5 years
Nests that have not been used within this time period are considered abandoned.
The marking of the most commercially valuable trees for cutting under an individual tree
marking regime is normally termed _____. - ✔️✔️Selective harvest/high-grading
According to the definition in 14 CCR 895.1, define the two conditions required in the
abandonment of a forest road. - ✔️✔️1. Leaving a logging road reasonably impassable
to standard production 4WD vehicles;
2. Leaving a logging road and landings in a condition which provides for long-term
functioning of erosion controls with little or no continuing maintenance
,What other law was brought to bear on the FPA by the court ruling in NRDC vs. Arcata
National Corp (or "Broaddus decision")? - ✔️✔️CEQA; 1976: THPs are indeed subject
to CEQA (brought about the special status of THPs as functional equivalent documents)
The extent to which the lower portion of a tree's stem diverges from straight, usually
measured in degrees - ✔️✔️Sweep
A stream which derives most or its entire nutrient energy source from such things as
terrestrial insect drop and litter fall from terrestrial vegetation - ✔️✔️Allocthonous
Which of the following species are susceptible to white pine blister rust? - ✔️✔️Five-
needle pines = sugar pine (pinus lambertiana), western white pine (pinus monticola)
List 4 characteristics of fuels that affect the way fires burn and are important in
prescribed fire management. - ✔️✔️1. Size of fuel - particle size class
2. Fuel moisture
3. Distribution of fuel + loading
4. Type of fuel (composition)
How many TPA would you plant to achieve 16' spacing between trees? -
✔️✔️=43560/(16*16) = 170
Remember: an acre = 1 chain (66 feet) * 1 furlong (660 feet)
Why does the concept of MAI not apply well to uneven-aged stands? - ✔️✔️MAI
describes the average annual growth of trees, and trees grow at different rates during
their lives - therefore, for uneven-aged stands, the MAI is not effective at determining
the average growth rate
List 4 purposes a THP document serves during its life - ✔️✔️1. Guide for RPF
2. Information for regulatory agencies (CDF, CDFW, Water boards, CGS)
3. Guide for LTO
4. Enforceable document used by CDF
In logging terminology, define deadman. - ✔️✔️An anchoring device - where 1+ logs
are buried in the ground, then a guy or anchor line is attached
What is the common name of a California native fern that may indicate wet conditions in
a forest environment? - ✔️✔️Sword fern
A deduction from taxable income, allowed under specific conditions by US tax laws to
the owners of timber for reduction of an original growing stock through cutting. -
✔️✔️Depletion allowance (deduction for loss from fire, earthquake, ice, etc. = casualty
loss)
, What is the radius of a 1/5 acre inventory plot? - ✔️✔️Area = Πr^2
R = square root of Area/Π
43560/5 = 8712
√8712/3.14 = 53
Besides CO2, what are 3 naturally occurring greenhouse gases? - ✔️✔️Methane
(CH4), ozone (O3), water vapor (H2O)
According to the CCR, an approach to harvesting based on the retention of structural
elements or biological legacies - ✔️✔️Variable retention
In a standard township, what is southwest of section 15? - ✔️✔️Answer = section 21
Define the term marginal cost - ✔️✔️This is the cost of producing one more unit, or the
increase in total cost by producing one more unit
Next to the regulatory programs, give the name of the CA state agency/department that
administers the program - ✔️✔️Streambed Alteration review = CDFW
Watershed Basin Plans = Regional Water Quality Control Boards
Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Registration = DMV
Forest slash burning = CDF
You are an RPF who prepared a THP, and operations have commenced. You have a
falling out with the plan submitter and you provide written notice to the LTO and plan
submitter of your plan to withdraw. What are the obligations of the LTO at this point? -
✔️✔️Cease operations (except for emergencies and operations necessary to protect
water quality) because there is not sufficient oversight; wait until a new RPF has signed
on as responsible
You want to thin a stand to 50' x 50' spacing - how many TPA would be left? -
✔️✔️=43560/(50*50) = 17 TPA
A plant that is more or less restricted to moist sites, but not considered an aquatic plant
is a _________. - ✔️✔️Hygrophyte (called a "hydrophyte" if it's actually in aquatic
areas). Examples would be equisetum and sedges, some ferns.
Dunning's Tree Classification is used to classify which species of conifers in the FPRs?
- ✔️✔️All commercial species - initially it was created to describe the vigor of pine, its
location within the stand structure, and its susceptibility to insects or disease, but it has
been applied to all commercial coniferous species
A geomorphic feature formed by coalescing scars originating from landsliding and
erosional processes caused by active stream erosion. The feature that is identified as
