MARCH 29 2013
Dear Reader,
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Jon K. Raby
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BLM
Forest Management Project
Scoping Notice
Butte Falls Resource Area
Trail Creek
Trail Creek Forest Management Project
The Trail Creek watershed was identified as a high priority watershed on the Medford District
where vegetation management actions could be integrated to achieve multiple landscape
and resource objectives. The Trail Creek project would apply vegetation management actions
to sustain ecosystem health and also provide a reasonable flow of goods, opportunities, and
outdoor experiences.
Trail Creek Project Area—Overview
The Trail Creek Project is located primarily within Trail Creek watershed; although, small
portions of the Project Area are in the Shady Cove/Rogue River, Elk Creek (South Umpqua
subbasin), and Evans Creek watersheds. The Area includes state, private, and Federal lands.
The Trail Creek Project only applies to public lands within the Project Area that are
managed by the Butte Falls Resource Area, Medford District BLM.
Fifth Field Watersheds in the Project Area
Trail Creek Project Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,700 acres
Trail Creek watershed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,315 acres
Shady Cove/Rogue River watershed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 acres
Elk Creek watershed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 acres
Evans Creek watershed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 acres
Land Ownership in the Project Area
BLM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,069 acres
Trail Creek Project
State of Oregon
US Forest Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,350 acres
State of Oregon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 acres
Timber Companies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,892 acres
US Forest
Service
Other Private . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,302 acres
Other Private
Land Use Allocations (BLM Lands)
Bureau of
Land Management
Matrix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,154 acres
Matrix (Connectivity Block). . . . . . . . . . . 772 acres
Timber Companies
Late-Successional Reserve. . . . . . . . . . . 997 acres
Riparian Reserve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,146 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.
Trail 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 4,575 acres in the Project
Area as likely locations for vegetation management actions. Possible actions could include
•
timber harvest (1,310 acres),
•
precommercial thinning (260 acres),
•
meadow restoration (280 acres),
•
small diameter thinning (400 acres), and
•
hazardous fuels reduction (2,325 acres).
Only 5% of all lands and
12% of BLM lands in
the Project Area may be
commercially harvested.
Other projects could include road work (decommissioning or renovating), temporary route
construction and decommissioning, stream habitat enhancement, riparian restoration, water
source rehabilitation, and roadside firewood harvest.
Objectives
• Supply a sustainable harvest of forest commodities from matrix lands to provide jobs and
contribute to community stability.
• Restore ecological characteristics and sustainable conditions in the forests and
landscapes in the watershed.
• Decrease the potential risk of wildfire.
• Reduce the potential for sediment production and sediment delivery to streams.
• Recover degraded riparian and stream habitat.
• Improve water sources available for wildfire suppression and wildlife.
Proposed Projects
The Trail Creek interdisciplinary team of resource specialists has tentatively identified three
alternative ways of accomplishing the project’s objectives while still meeting RMP objectives.
Alternative 1 is the No-Action Alternative. The proposed projects would not be implemented at
this time and current management would continue.
Alternative 2 implements management direction from the Medford District RMP for general
forest management areas and riparian reserves. RMP-prescribed management actions would
be applied to matrix lands outside known active northern spotted owl sites.
Alternative 3 emphasizes restoration thinning as described in the RMP and as informed by
Restoration of Federal Forests in the Pacific Northwest: Strategies and Management Implications
(Johnson and Franklin 2009). Alternative 3 would maintain the current owl habitat status.
Alternative 4 also emphasizes restoration thinning and maintains northern spotted owl habitat;
however, no new temporary routes would be constructed to access harvest units.
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Trail Creek Forest Management Project
Timber Harvest Units
Riparian Thinning
T
S
W
Riparian Restoration
Private
Quarry Reclamation
Forest Service
Water Source Restoration
BLM
Meadow Restoration
Paved Road
State
Precommercial Thinning
Forest Road
Trail Creek Project Boundary
Small Diameter Thinning
Fish-bearing Stream
Wildland Urban Interface
Roadside Firewood Area
Perennial Stream
Fuel Hazard Reduction
Intermittent Stream
0
0.5
US DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
Butte Falls Resource Area
Medford District
March 2013
1
miles
1.5
2
Note: 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 was 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.
Trail Creek Forest Management Project
Proposed Vegetation Management Projects
Regeneration harvest (Alternative 2): Three types of regeneration harvest are proposed
in stands with declining growth rates or experiencing deterioration from high stand density
levels, insects, disease, or other factors: northern GFMA (General Forest Management Area),
southern GFMA, and shelterwood. The minimum number of retained trees varies from 6
to 25 green conifer trees per acre greater than 20 inches DBH (diameter at breast height).
Regeneration harvest units would be replanted after harvest.
Commercial thinning (Alternative 2): Smaller trees and trees in direct competition with
healthy dominant and codominant trees would be removed to redirect the site resources
toward the development and maintenance of large healthy trees. A minimum of 40% canopy
cover would remain after harvest.
Density management (Alternative 2): Trees would be thinned from below to maintain or
enhance forest health, stand structure, and northern spotted owl habitat function. The residual
stand would have multiple layers with a minimum 40% (dispersal habitat) or 60% (nesting,
roosting, and foraging habitat) canopy cover, depending on the current owl habitat designation.
Restoration thinning (Alternatives 3, 4): Stand densities in overstocked stands would be
reduced to increase landscape resiliency to environmental disturbances (e.g., fire, insects,
disease, and climate change). Trees 150 years or older and the largest hardwoods (greater
than 12 inches DBH) would be retained. Structural diversity within stands would be achieved
by leaving small, unthinned patches and creating small openings. Unthinned patches and small
openings would range from 0.1 to 0.25 acres and occupy 10 to 15% of the stand acreage.
Small diameter thinning (Alternatives 2, 3, 4): Dense, younger ponderosa pine and mixed
conifer stands would be thinned to increase species diversity and stand vigor, reduce mortality
of desired stand components, and reduce
susceptibility to insect and disease.
Riparian thinning (Alternatives 2, 3):
Overstocked riparian stands would be
thinned to improve the habitat and function
of riparian reserves for late-successional
dependent terrestrial and aquatic organisms.
Thinning would accelerate the growth of the
remaining trees and maintain and restore
species and structural diversity. A no-cut
buffer would be maintained within 35 feet of
non-fish-bearing streams and 60 feet of fish- A dense forest stand that could benefit from small diameter
thinning.
bearing streams.
Trail Creek Forest Management Project
Hazardous fuels reduction (Alternatives 2, 3, 4): Reduce vegetation to break up
concentrations of fuel and remove ladder fuels. Vegetation would be less than 8 inches in
diameter. Proposed areas are located in the more
populated wildland urban interface.
Meadow restoration (Alternatives 2, 3, 4):
Upland meadows would be restored using a
combination of manual cutting and prescribed fire.
Trees and brush that are encroaching into existing
meadows would be removed.
Public roadside firewood cutting
Site proposed for hazardous fuels reduction.
(Alternatives 2, 3, 4): Dead and down trees less
than 16 inches in diameter and dead standing trees less than 12 inches in diameter would be
made available to the public for firewood collection. Collection would be by hand within 100
feet of designated roads.
Other Watershed Projects
Water source restoration (Alternatives 2, 3, 4): Existing water sources would be maintained
or restored to allow use by fire engines, water tenders, and helicopters for fire suppression and
by wildlife for drinking water, habitat, and foraging opportunities.
Stream habitat and riparian restoration (Alternatives 2, 3, 4): A combination of stream
and riparian projects would be used to restore watershed processes along a
section West Fork Trail Creek. Projects would include placing wood
structures and rock jetties into the stream, decommissioning userconstructed roads, removing deteriorated fence and constructing
new fence along a meadow, and planting seedlings between West
Fork Trail Creek Road and the stream.
Quarry decommissioning (Alternatives 2, 3, 4): The Romine Creek quarry is depleted of
rock and cannot be expanded. It is located close to a stream and erosion from the quarry is
placing sediment into the stream. The quarry would be reclaimed by ripping, recontouring,
planting, seeding, and mulching.
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
Trail Creek Forest Management Project.
There are several ways for you to contact us and we welcome your comments
at any time during the project. The red boxes in the timeline below indicate the
formal public comment periods for the Trail Creek Project. Remember, since we
are just starting to develop this project, now is the best time for you to provide
your input into its development.
P RO J E C T T I M E L I N E
Conduct
30-day
Public Scoping
Identify
Issues
For mulate
Alter natives
Analyze
Impacts and
Prepare
Environmental
Assessment
Provide
30-day
Public Comment
Period
Sign
Decision
March/
April
2013
Spring
2013
Spring/
Summer
2013
Summer
2013
August
2013
October
2013
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 that 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)
Submit a comment from the project Web site:
http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/medford/plans/trail/index.php