The PNW-PSP Program came into being in the early 1970s through the visionary leadership of Dr. Jerry Franklin.  However, the program has its roots in the earliest forestry research done in the region.  Starting in 1910, Thornton Munger, the first head of the Forest Service research station in Portland, OR, oversaw the installation of permanent plots to develop yield tables of key timber species.  Many of these plots are still being measured today as part of PNW-PSP, as are others established in the 1920s, 30s and 40s.  A second wave of permanent plots was established starting in the 1970s, as part of the Coniferous Forest Biome program at the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest. Today, all of these plots fall under the umbrella of the PNW-PSP Program.

The work done by early forest scientists is carried on today. Above are historical photos of two Douglas-fir growth and yield plots, one in the Willamette National Forest (left), the other in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.  Dr. Jerry Franklin (right) brought the PNW-PSP Program into prominence in the 1970s.