Dear Reader,
Thank you for your interest in public lands and welcome to the Lower Grave Vegetation Management
Project Environmental Assessment Reader’s Guide. This Reader’s Guide is meant to assist you in
understanding this project and the Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action. Inside you will find a
description of the what, where, and why of the project we are proposing.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) analyzes multiple resources when considering the
appropriate treatments on public lands. This process includes internal and external scoping which
helps define the issues that are analyzed within the Environmental Assessment.
Inside this Reader’s Guide you will find a discussion of the Purpose and Need for the project, a
description of the Alternatives, the Proposed Action (which includes a description of the proposed
treatments and associated road work), and a map of the project area with the proposed treatments.
Near the back of the document you can read about the public involvement process and how you can
participate. The last page of the Reader’s Guide contains a Forest Management Tour in the Lower
Grave area and is designed to show past treatments from similar management projects.
We hope this document helps you understand the project and the analytical process that developed it.
Please contact our office if you have questions. Your input is an important part of the management of
your public lands.
Allen Bollschweiler
Field Manager, Grants Pass Resource Area
BLM
January 2015
Medford District - Grants Pass Resource Area
Lower Grave Vegetation
Management Project:
Environmental Assessment
Reader’s Guide
1
Lower Grave Vegetation Management (LGVM)
Purpose and Need for this Project (EA, pp. 8-9)
The project’s purpose is to implement forest
management activities that improve forest
health and vigor, reduce wildfire danger, and
produce a sustainable supply of timber and
other forest commodities.
The BLM is required to implement the
Oregon and California (O&C) Railroad
Revested Lands Act*, the 1997 Northwest
Forest Plan, and the 1995 Medford District
Resource Management Plan (RMP).
An example of healthy BLM forests after the application of
several tools to meet resource objectives developed by multiple
diciplines. Many such tools are part of the Lower Grave Vegetation
Management Project.
Active management includes a combination
of commercial thinning, density
management, regeneration harvest, and
hazardous fuels reduction. Active management is needed because the forests of Southwest Oregon
are dynamic and will benefit from treatments that improve forest and stand health. These activities
will help restore forests in Southwest Oregon, assist in meeting mandated Allowable Sale Quantity,
maintain/improve critical habitat units in occupied Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) sites, and retain
legacy conifers and hardwoods.
*Requires the Secretary of the Interior to manage O&C lands for permanent forest production.
Alternatives
Below is a simple description of the project.
For a more in-depth discussion of the project,
see the LGVM Project EA.
The No Action Alternative provides a baseline
for the comparison of the Action Alternative
and describes the existing condition and the
continuing trends within the Planning Area. Unhealthy forest floor in need of hazardous fuels treatment. The
Alternative 1: The No Action
Alternative (EA, p. 13)
No Action Alternative would maintain these current conditions.
This alternative would not meet the purpose and need of the project. Under the No Action Alternative,
the present environmental conditions and trends will continue. Timber harvest and vegetation treatments
would not occur at this time, nor would the associated employment opportunities for local communities
or the opportunity to fund and implement maintenance projects. Road maintenance would be dependent
on funding and reciprocal right-of-way agreements. Future vegetation treatments would not be precluded
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2
Alternative 2: The Action Alternative or The Proposed
Action (EA, pp. 14-22)
The BLM is proposing a variety of treatments within the LGVM Project Planning Area. The
treatments are described in the following pages of this Reader’s Guide. The proposed treatments
meet the Purpose and Need, as described in the section on the previous page. Below is a summary
of the treatments proposed under Alternative 2. Not all proposed treatments will be selected for
implementation.
Summary of Proposed Lower Grave Vegetation Management Project Activities
Forest Management
Commercial thinning*
Variable density thin*
Regeneration harvest*
Density management
Hazardous Fuel Reduction
Total acres
Number of units
Matrix LUA
Acres
177
332
63
9
295
876
41
Riparian Reserve LUA
Acres
43
8
0
0
83
134
*Commercial component
Road Work Summary
Approximate
Amount (miles)
Total
Existing Temporary Route
Reconstruction
0.78 miles 7 temporary routes
New Temporary Route
Construction
Road Maintenance
1.12 miles 9 temporary routes
New Road Construction
47 miles 34 existing system
roads
0.31 miles 1 permanent road (1
truck turnaround)
Proposed Forest Management Activities by Percentages
Commercial Thinning: 20%
Variable Density Thinning: 38%
Regeneration Harvest 7%
Density Management: 1%
Hazardous Fuels Reduction: 34%
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3
Alternative 2 (Continued)
Commercial Thinning (CT) (EA, pp. 15-16)
Commercial thinning is a treatment applied to overstocked forest
stands where some trees are removed but not all (generally less
than 60% of the trees in the stand). Forest stands proposed for CT
treatments generally occur where stands of single tree species are
mostly the same size and age. This treatment emphasizes retention
of the healthiest most dominant trees. Commercial thinning
objectives include:
Commercial thin
• Improving the health of the remaining trees which improves
the overall health of the stand.
• Improving wildlife habitat by increasing the size and health of
individual tree crowns.
• Decreasing mortality of the remaining trees.
• Producing wood volume and increasing/maintaining growth
rates.
• Improving individual tree resiliency to wildfire.
Variable Density Thinning (VDT) (EA, pp. 17-18)
Variable density thinning treatments are applied to forest stands that are generally more diverse than
stands proposed for commercial thinning treatments. Stands proposed for VDT contain multiple
tree species of various sizes and ages. This type of thinning may include treatments that create space
(gaps) around large legacy trees of less prominent species such as pine, oak and cedar. It may also
maintain denser areas that may remain untreated (skips). VDT objectives include:
• Removing excess trees that create “ladder fuels” which improve a forest stand’s ability to recover
from or withstand wildfire.
• Improving wildlife habitat.
• Favoring the retention of more fire tolerant and drought tolerant trees.
• Increasing the overall health of the forest by improving the health of individual trees.
Variable Density Thin:
Desired Conditions
on Less than 35% Slope
Adapted from Rolf Gersonde,
Silviculturist, Watershed Services
Division, Seattle Public Utilities.
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Regeneration Harvest (RH) (EA, p. 18)
Regeneration harvest is a treatment applied to forest stands that have reached the
maximum growth potential in height and diameter. This type of treatment would
remove a majority of the trees (treatments maintain 6-8 trees per acre greater than
20 inches in diameter) in a single entry and allows the establishment of a younger
vigorously growing stand, usually through planting. This treatment protects
habitat features such as snags and fallen dead trees. Regeneration harvest
objectives include:
• Fostering the establishment of vigorous young forests while retaining habitat
components such as large trees, snags and fallen dead trees.
• Reducing the instances of insect and disease outbreaks that may be associated
with older forest stands.
• Providing a sustainable supply of timber and other forest products.
Recent Regeneration
Regeneration implemented 10+ years ago
Density Management (DM) (EA, p. 18)
Density management is a treatment applied to stands that have a mixture of small
trees and larger trees. The intent of this treatment is to remove a portion of
the small trees and leave the large trees. This treatment creates a stand with an
overall larger tree diameter. DM objectives
include:
• Reducing the density of the forest stand
which will increase the available water,
growing space, nutrients and sunlight for
the remaining trees.
• Stimulating growth, improving tree
crown densities and creating a more fire
tolerant forest stand.
• Enhancing and promoting the longevity
of the future forests by retaining drought
tolerant species such as pine, cedars, oak
and other large hardwoods.
Density Management would thin smaller
trees, leaving the larger ones in place.
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Alternative 2 (continued)
Hazardous Fuels Reduction (HFR) (EA, pp. 18-19)
Hazardous fuel reduction is a treatment applied to areas that exhibit thick uncharacteristic growth of
understory brush, shrubs, hardwood trees and conifers. These areas have extra fuel loading and pose a
wildfire hazard to adjacent forest stands, wildlife habitat and human populations. This treatment may
be proposed and conducted as a stand-alone procedure or it may be implemented in conjunction with
the treatments described previously in this Reader’s Guide. Treatments that reduce hazardous fuels
include: slashing, hand piling, pile burning, chipping, lopping and scattering, biomass removal and/or
underburning. HFR objectives include:
• Reducing existing fire hazard by thinning the understory.
• Reducing the amount of “ladder fuels” which will reduce the risk of crown fire.
• Creating a discontinuous fuel concentration and reducing the presence of surface fuels.
Pile Burning
Underburning
Riparian Reserve Thinning (RRT)
(EA, p. 19)
Lop and Scatter
Riparian thinning treatments are applied in portions of forest stands near stream channels. They are
designed to meet and/or speed the attainment of Aquatic Conservation Strategy (ACS) objectives.
Within the LGVM Project, there are 134 acres proposed for RRT, 83 acres associated with HFR will
not have commercial extraction. The remaining 51 acres will occur within units proposed for CT
and DM treatments and may have commercial extraction. For more information on ACS objectives
see Appendix 2 of the LGVM EA. Riparian thinning objectives include:
•
•
•
•
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Restoring and maintaining the ecological health of watersheds and aquatic ecosystems.
Protecting fish habitat and other riparian-dependent species.
Restoring and preventing degradation to riparian habitats.
Increasing the size and health of retained trees to improve future wood recruitment into stream
channels.
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Proposed Road Work (EA, pp.
22-23)
Temporary Route Construction (1.7 miles)
• These routes are created in areas where no
previous routes exist. They allow operators
temporary access to harvest units.
• Temporary routes would be decommissioned
after use.
Temporary Route Reconstruction (0.87 miles)
• These routes already exist on the landscape.
• Reconstruction restores an existing road to its
engineered condition.
• These routes would be decommissioned after use.
New road construction (0.31 miles)
• The proposed new road would become a
permanent part of the BLM-managed forest
transportation system.
• Developed and maintained system that serve the
needs of users.
• Needed to facilitate an economically viable
timber sale.
• This road will not be decommissioned after use.
Road Maintenance (47 miles)
• Activities on existing roads to maintain their
original design standard.
• Reduce unwanted effects from road runoff.
Road Maintenance
Typical BLM road
Decommissioned road (mulched road bed)
Temporary Route Reconstruction
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Lower Grave Project Unit Selection Process
An interdisciplinary team (IDT) of resource specialist is brought together during the planning stages of a
project. There are many steps that the IDT must go through before the final proposed treatment units are
selected. Below is a brief description of the unit screening and selection process.
Step 1 - Delineate
Project Area (22,841 acres) and identify
BLM-Managed lands (11,066 acres)
Private lands** removed
within project area
Step 2 - Identify Riparian, Soils, Flora
and Fauna Protection Areas (~5,000 acres).
Identify areas based on access, forest
health, age, etc (~5,000 acres).
Land Available* after Biotic
and Physical Geographic
Features Screen
*Darker hillshade
= BLM-managed
**White = Private, Non-BLM
Step 3 - Identify Proposed Units & Prescriptions
Resulting from the Screening Process
After all filters,
potential treatment
areas = 1,010 acres
*Darker hillshade
= BLM-managed
**White = Private, Non-BLM
or Dropped BLM acres
Proposed LGVM Project Units as
Compared with Total Project Area
Non BLM (private/
state/county): 52%
Screened out by age,
access, etc: 22%
Screened out by biotic
features: 22%
*Darker hillshade
= BLM-managed
**White = Private, Non-BLM
or Dropped BLM acres
8
Proposed LGVM
Units: 4%
8
Public Involvement
Understanding the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Public involvement for the Lower Grave Vegetation
The Environmental Assessment Process
Management Project began on February 7, 2013. A
preliminary project map and scoping letter were sent to
Identify the Purpose and Need for the
residences within and adjacent to the LGVM Project Planning
proposed action
Area. The Grants Pass Interdiciplinary Team held a public
Internal and External Scoping
meeting and field tour on February 23, 2013 in the Wolf Creek
area.
Public Scoping Meeting and Field Trip
From these efforts, the BLM received a total of 14 public
comments (letters, emails and phone calls). Public input,
resulting from scoping has helped shape the LGVM Project.
EA 45-day Public Comment Period
Public participation for the LGVM Project is not over. The EA is
open for a 45-day public comment period beginning on Tuesday,
January 13, 2015 when the BLM publishes a legal notice in the
Grants Pass Daily Courier. We request that your comments
regarding this project be submitted before February 27, 2015.
The draft Finding of No Significant Impact for the project will
be available for a 30-day public comment period beginning on
January 28, 2015.
Comments received between now and February 27, 2015 will be
incorporated into the decision making process for the project.
Comments may be submitted in hardcopy or electronically to the
address listed below.
For more information on the LGVM Project visit the Medford
District website http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/medford/plans/
index.php. or call our Project Lead, Ferris Fisher at the number
listed below.
Ferris Fisher
Planning and Environmental
Coordinator
Grants Pass Resource Area
2164 NE Spalding Avenue
Grants Pass, Oregon 97526
(541) 471-6639
[email protected]
Identify Issues for analysis
Develop Alternatives
Analyze Impacts and Identify Mitigation
Measures
Describe Affected Environment
Analyze Environmental Effects of Alternatives
Release Environmental Assessment (EA) and
the draft Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI)
EA Public Comment Period (current phase)
Review and Incorporate EA Comments
into Decision Making Process
Release DR and final FONSI for EA
Key Points of Public
Participation
List of Reviewers :
Environmental Coordinator
Fire and Fuels Specialist
Hydrologist
Botanist
Fisheries Biologist
Wildlife Biologist
Forester (silviculture)
Forester (harvest systems)
Engineer (roads)
Archaeologist
Recreation Planner
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Forest Management Tour in the Lower Grave Area
The Grants Pass Resource Area invites you to personally view previous BLM forest management treatments,
similar to the types of treatments proposed in Alternative 2 of the EA. If you choose to make this trip, please plan
accordingly: Check the weather forecast, bring appropriate clothing and equipment, and tell someone where you
are going. This tour may take approximately 3 hours.
Stop #1: (27-3A)
2003 Commercial Thin
2005 Hand Pile Burn
Stop #2: (507)
2002 Broadcast Burn
Stop #3
2005 Density Management
Stop #5
2003 Overstory Removal
Stop #6
2003 Overstory Removal
Stop #7
2003 Commercial Thin
2005 Hand Pile Burn
Stop #4
2010 Hand Pile Burn
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Medford District Bureau of Land Management • Grants Pass Resource Area
2164 NE Spalding Ave • Grants Pass, OR 97526
541-471-6500