The uplands may be suitable for forestry, but the poorer soils make traditional conifer forestry preferable to short rotation hardwood culture. The soils are also generally too well drained and rocky for lucrative hybrid poplar culture.
The usefulness of conifer forestry may diminish in the lowlands due to conversion of suitable land to other uses, such as housing and urban areas. The poorly drained riverbottom soils are useful for farming various food crops and are typically unsuitable for development due to flooding hazard. In the Pacific Northwest, hybrid poplar also happens to outperform conifers in such soils.