The Managed Forest Initiatives Make a Better Future for Us All In 1988 Oregon State University began the Hardwood Silvicultural Cooperative. The objective of the Hardwood Silvicultural Cooperative is to provide scientifically accurate data on the growth and yield of managed Alder. The data collected over the past 13 years are beginning to show very different growth and yields between managed Alder stands and unmanaged stands. The present perceptions of 15,000 to 20,000 board feet per acre yields and 45-year rotation age for unmanaged Alder stands are being rewritten.  Results beginning to emerge from the Hardwood Silvicultural Cooperative are impressive including much faster growth, higher yields per acre, and higher log quality. This picture is one of the 26 variable density plots contained in the Hardwood Silvicultural Cooperative study. The plot is 11 years old and is being pruned. There are many stems over 8" diameter at breast height and 60 feet tall.