• WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE
• IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE
• PALATABILITY
• NUTRITIONAL VALUE
• COVER VALUE
• VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES
• OTHER USES AND VALUES
• MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE:

Western juniper has been used since historic times for firewood, charcoal, corrals, poles, and fence posts [22]. The wood is extremely durable and resistant to rot [77]. Juniper wood splits easily, burns clean and produces little ash [22,43]. Western juniper woodlands can produce 8 to 11 cords of firewood per acre. However, it is estimated that 7 hours of labor are required per cord to cut, limb, pile slash, and gather the wood [14]. Western juniper dulls saws since wind-blown sand particles readily adhere to its shaggy bark [43].

In recent times, western juniper has been used for paneling, interior studs, particleboard, veneer, plywood, and other lumber products. Western juniper logs brought to mills are short with a rapid taper. Most logs are limby and bark inclusions extend deep into the wood. Western juniper wood requires slow and careful kiln drying to prevent warping [43]. It tends to be difficult to plane [22].

IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:

Western juniper provides food and cover for a variety of bird and mammal species [94]. It is browsed to some extent by mule deer and elk [68]. In parts of California, mule deer feed on small amounts of western juniper during winter and spring [10,59]. In the high desert of Oregon, western juniper is an important winter pronghorn food [86]. Western juniper is used primarily as an emergency food source by most classes of livestock and many big game species [77]. In California, it may be an important critical deer food source during severe winters; at these times, it is consumed in large quantities [59].

Domestic goats consume foliage and bark of western juniper [35].

Western juniper seed cones or cone-berries are an important winter food source for migratory birds such as the American robin and Townsend solitaire [28,26]. In Oregon, blue grouse feed on western juniper cone-berries during the fall [21]. Lewis' woodpecker, scrub jay, and Stellar's jay feed on the cone-berries [54,29]. The northern flicker nests and feeds in western juniper communities of the Blue Mountains of Oregon [90].

The foliage and cone-berries of western juniper are important foods for a number of mammals. Mule deer, elk, mountain cottontail, and coyote consume western juniper cone-berries [84]. Western juniper cone-berries are the primary food source of the dusky-footed woodrat [68].

PALATABILITY:

Western juniper is palatable browse for elk, mule deer, mountain cottontails, porcupines and black-tailed jackrabbits [68]. However, palatability of western juniper varies by individual tree [87] and Rosentreter and Jorgensen [82] describe overall palatability as "low."

Western juniper cone-berries provide food for coyotes, and small mammals such as deer mice, yellow-pine chipmunks, and golden-mantled ground squirrels [68]. Western juniper cone-berries are at least moderately palatable to wintering birds such as the American robin and Townsend solitaire [28].

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Western juniper is fairly nutritious for mule deer and other large 
mammals, but is not highly digestible [60].

Crude protein (%) is as follows [10]:

	January	6.9
	February	5.6
	March		7.2
	April		7.0
	May		8.3
	August	7.5
	October	7.8
	November	8.5
	December 	7.0

Nutritive values vary by season and plant part.  Protein and ash 
content (%) is as follows [35]:

	                   crude protein   ash 
	green foliage	  8.1		      3.9
	cured foliage	  7.6		      4.2
	bark               3.2	            7.1

COVER VALUE:

Western juniper provides perching and nesting sites for at least 27 species of birds, as well as cover and hibernation sites for small mammals [68]. In southeastern and south-central Oregon western juniper provides excellent hiding and thermal cover for mule deer [61,62]. In parts of Nevada, it also provides some cover for pronghorn [101]. Western juniper also provides shade for domestic livestock [22].

Decadent trees provide nesting cavities for mountain chickadees and mountain bluebirds, and hibernation sites for several species of bats. Thirty percent of these species nest in cavities while 70 percent nest in open nests [68]. Lewis' woodpecker and the northern flicker nest in western juniper [54,90].

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:

Western juniper can be propagated from cuttings or by layering [22,87]. Trees have been used as riprap for stabilizing streambanks [22].

OTHER USES AND VALUES:

Western juniper has been cultivated as an ornamental since 1840 [50]. The wood is used in toys, sporting goods, jewelry boxes, suitcase and closet liners, inlay products, clocks, decorative items, and pencils [43,77]. Pipe bowls are made from the roots of western juniper, and pet bedding from the shavings [43]. Juniper boughs have been used for Christmas wreaths and other decorations. Over 100 tons of boughs from central Oregon were sold in 1983 at 1 to 2 cents per pound [77].

The essential oils of western juniper are used for flavoring or scenting agents in medicines, beverages, condiments, aerosols, insecticides, soaps, and men's cosmetics [43]. The cone-berries of western juniper are edible and taste best when dried [48]. Western juniper foliage has been added to chicken feed to produce gin-flavored eggs for human consumption [43].

Some Native American peoples traditionally used western juniper wood in making bow staves [100].

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

In western juniper woodlands, wet to moderately wet soils grazed during the early spring are subject to damage through increased soil compaction. Grazing on dry or frozen soils causes fewer negative effects [13]. At least 3 years of rest from grazing is suggested after seeding in western juniper [82].

Fire suppression, overgrazing, and climatic factors have led to an expansion of western juniper into adjacent grass and shrublands [70]. This juniper invasion has dramatically reduced the understory and thus the forage base in many areas. From 1940 to 1960, when heavy emphasis was placed on livestock management, individual tree removal, cabling, chaining, and herbicides were widely used in an attempt to reduce western juniper woodlands [8,71]. Various means of mechanical control have been examined in detail [102,105]. For mechanical control to be effective, the heavy support roots must be broken and the tree uprooted [105].

Detailed information on chemical control is available [32,71,102].

Detailed information on silvicultural methods pertaining to western juniper harvest has been examined. Both even and uneven-aged methods have been used, but no one method is best suited for all situations and it is important to consider local needs and conditions [31].

Related categories for SPECIES: Juniperus occidentalis | Western Juniper