Dear Reader,
November 7 2014
The Bureau of Land Management’s Butte Falls Resource Area is
beginning the process for planning and evaluating possible projects
in the Clarks Creek and Eighty Acre Creek areas north of the city
of Butte Falls. Proposed projects could include forest management
actions as well as watershed restoration activities.
This handout provides an introduction to the BLM’s proposed
Big Butte Creek Forest Management Project. I hope you find it
helpful in understanding the project and your part in shaping
it. The handout contains a map of proposed locations for timber
harvest, fuels reduction maintenance, and water source restoration.
Project identification is ongoing; it is likely we will be adding road
work and more restoration projects. This handout contains very
preliminary acreage estimates. As project planning progresses and
this project is further refined, I anticipate the acres proposed for
these projects will change.
At this time, I am inviting you to submit any comments, issues, and
concerns you have that will help shape or further develop this project.
Comments clearly expressing site-specific issues or concerns are the
most helpful. Please submit your comments by December 8, 2014.
Thank you for your interest in the management of your public
lands. Your input plays an important role in our land management
decisions.
Jeanne M. Klein
Acting Field Manager, Butte Falls Resource Area
BLM
Forest Management Project
Scoping Notice
Butte Falls Resource Area
Big Butte Creek
Big Butte Creek Forest Management Project
Big Butte Creek Project Area—Overview
The Big Butte Creek Project is located north of the city of Butte Falls, Oregon within the
157,000-acre Big Butte Creek fifth field watershed. The 28,275-acre Project Area includes BLM
and private lands.
The Big Butte Creek project proposals only apply to public lands within the Project Area
managed by the Butte Falls Resource Area, Medford District BLM.
Land Ownership in the Project Area
BLM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,842 acres
BLM
45%
Private . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,433 acres
Land Use Allocations (BLM Lands)
Matrix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,442 acres
Private
55%
Matrix (Connectivity/Diversity Block). . 1,400 acres
Matrix is one of seven land use allocations designated
in the Northwest Forest Plan and the Medford District
Resource Management Plan. It is the Federal land in which
most timber harvest and silviculture activities are anticipated to occur. Matrix is divided into the
northern and southern general forest management areas and connectivity/diversity blocks.
Other Considerations
Clark Creek Drainage
The 7,483-acre Clark Creek seventh field drainage, located in the west half of the Project
Area, was deferred from management activities on BLM lands in 1993. The BLM reevaluated
the drainage in 2012 and removed it from deferral status. As a condition of removing the
drainage from deferral status, management activities on BLM lands may occur with the
implementation of special management practices such as maintaining at least 40% canopy
cover; constructing temporary routes, instead of permanent roads, on stable locations such
as ridge tops, stable benches or flats, and gentle to moderate side slopes; and using existing
skid trails where possible.
Northern Spotted Owl Activity Centers
The Northwest Forest Plan designated 100 acres of the best habitat on Federal lands to be
retained as close as possible to a nest site, or owl activity center, for all sites known as of
January 1, 1994. This was intended to preserve an intensively used portion of the breeding
season home range close to a nest site or center of activity. These known activity centers are
managed as late-successional reserves.
Big Butte Creek Forest Management Project
Project Summary
After an initial review of landscape conditions such as forest health, stand age, stand density,
land-use allocations, and desired future conditions, BLM resource specialists determined the
preliminary scope and scale of this project. The specialists identified acres in the Project Area
as likely locations for vegetation management actions. Possible actions could include
• timber harvest (3,700 acres),
• fuels reduction maintenance (1,800 acres),
• water source restoration (4 sites), and
• meadow restoration and protection.
BLM resource specialists are continuing to assess watershed conditions to determine
possible projects and locations. Other projects could include small diameter thinning, riparian
thinning, road work (decommissioning, renovating, closing, reclosing), temporary route
construction, reconstruction, and decommissioning; roadside vegetation management; and
Fritillaria habitat enhancement.
Objectives
To be given serious consideration as a reasonable alternative, any action alternative must
meet the objectives/management direction provided in the 1995 Medford District Resource
Management Plan (RMP) for projects to be implemented in the Project Area.
• Design and implement forest management activities to produce a sustained yield of
products to support local and regional economic activity (RMP, p. 81).
• Design and implement silviculture treatments in stands that are in a condition, or that
will soon be in a condition, that prevents management objectives from being achieved
(RMP, p. 62).
• Protect and conserve Federal listed and proposed species, and manage their habitats to
achieve their recovery in compliance with the Endangered Species Act, approved recovery
plans, and Bureau special status species policies (RMP, p. 50-51).
• Reduce both natural and activity based fuel hazards through methods such as prescribed
burning, mechanical or manual manipulation of forest vegetation and debris, removal of
forest vegetation and debris, and combinations of these methods (RMP, p. 91).
• Minimize sediment delivery to streams from roads (RMP, p. 28).
• Locate and manage water drafting sites to minimize adverse effects on riparian habitat
and water quality consistent with Aquatic Conservation Strategy and riparian reserve
objectives (RMP, p. 90).
• Protect special habitats for plants and animals, such as meadows, cliffs, caves, and talus
slopes, from disturbance as appropriate to the specific site (RMP, p. 49).
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Big Butte Creek
Forest Management Project
Perennial Stream
Intermittent Stream
0
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Medford District
October 2014
No warranty is made by the Bureau of Land Management as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data for
individual or aggregate use with other data. Original data were compiled from various sources. This information may not
meet National Map Accuracy Standards. This product was developed through digital means and may be updated without
notification.
Big Butte Creek Forest Management Project
Proposed Projects
Timber harvest:
BLM foresters identified timber stands on matrix lands in the
Project Area that currently have too many trees competing
for limited site resources such as nutrients, water, and
sunlight. Timber harvest, using a variety of silviculture
prescriptions, would reduce stand densities and free up
resources for the remaining trees. Harvest would also
produce timber volume that would sustain local jobs and
contribute to the local economy.
BLM wildlife biologists identified Northern Spotted Owl
70-acre nest patches and highly suitable, structurally
complex habitat (Recovery Action 32) in all the stands
under consideration for harvest. These areas were removed
from further harvest consideration. In addition, areas will
be buffered from harvest activities as botany, cultural, and
wildlife surveys are completed.
Fuels reduction maintenance:
The BLM conducted numerous hazardous fuels reduction
treatments 5 to 10 years ago within the Big Butte Creek
Project Area. Past treatments included mechanical
mastication (slashbuster), thinning/slashing, hand piling,
and hand pile burning. Many of these areas are in need of
follow-up treatment in order to maintain the benefit of these
initial treatments.
Maintenance treatments could include manual and
prescribed fire techniques. Manual thinning (thinning by
hand with chainsaws) could include cutting brush pockets,
small conifers, and hardwood/shrub species sprouts.
Manual thinning areas would be “cured” before burning.
Prescribed fire techniques include both understory and
broadcast burning. Understory burning would occur in
previously treated fuels units with timber overstories.
Broadcast burning would occur in grasslands and
brushlands. Burning would be implemented in the spring or
fall when conditions would allow for fire use to achieve the
planned resource objectives.
Big Butte Creek Forest Management Project
Areas are analyzed for possible maintenance needs based on current/desired condition, past
treatment, resource objectives, and strategic and logistical concerns (aspect, ridges, roads,
proximity to other fuels treatments, values at risk, etc.). BLM fire and fuels management
personnel would conduct post-treatment evaluations to determine the need for follow-up
maintenance treatments.
Water source restoration:
Water sources, strategically located
throughout the Project Area, provide
water for Federal, state, and private fire
engines, water tenders, and helicopters
for use during wildfire suppression. The
BLM identified 4 water source sites that
are currently difficult to access with fire
fighting equipment or not usable for fire
fighting. Existing water sources would be
maintained or restored to a functioning
condition by clearing brush and trees;
removing accumulated sediment;
Completed water source restoration project
installing, repairing, or replacing spring
on Jackass Creek.
boxes and culverts; repairing or replacing
pipelines; installing, repairing, or replacing devices that impede water seepage; installing safety
devices such as fences and exit ramps; or minor road work. The restored water sources would
provide the additional benefits of drinking water, habitat, and foraging opportunities for wildlife.
Meadow restoration and protection:
Meadows provide special habitat
for wildlife species. A large meadow
near Big Butte Creek contains an
unauthorized road that is being used
by off-highway vehicles. This natural
surface road (0.3 mile) would be
decommissioned and a gate and rock
barriers would be installed to block
vehicle access to the meadow. This
project would reduce human disturbance
to wildlife, reduce the spread of noxious
weeds, and return vegetation and soil
conditions to a more natural state.
Meadow proposed for restoration
and protection.
How You Can Be Involved
Scoping is just the beginning!
We want to hear any issues, concerns, or questions you may have specific to the
Big Butte Creek Forest Management Project.
We are just beginning to develop this project, so now is the best time for you to
provide your input. Another opportunity for comments will occur at the completion
of the environmental assessment; however, we welcome your comments at any
time during the project.
Project Timeline
Issues identified and
project proposal refined
Project proposal
Scoping
Environmental Assessment
published. 30-day public
comment period
BLM team of resource specialists
analyzes possible environmental
impacts of proposed project
BLM Field Manager
signs project decision
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment—
including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available
at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold from public
review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee we will be
able to do so.
Contact Us!
Mail or in person:
Bureau of Land Management
Attention: Jean Williams
3040 Biddle Road
Medford, OR 97504
Telephone:
541-618-2385
Email:
[email protected]
(include “Attention: Jean Williams” in the subject line)
BLM/OR/WA/PL-15/010+1792