Integrated Management Tactics to Assess Risk and Reduce Damage to Conifer Reforestation by Pocket Gophers

In the western United States, pocket gophers pose an acute and chronic problem for forest managers to overcome. Gophers cause extensive damage to seedlings and can delay reforestation for decades.. Here we examine the predictive factors for assessing the risk for damage and the available control tools and damage control strategies. The information is reviewed and summarized so that an integrated damage reduction plan can be developed in a logical, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible fashion.