United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU. OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Medford District Office
3040 Biddle Road
in reply refer TO:
Medford, Oregon 97504
email address: [email protected]
SEP 30 2011
792(ORM060)
Dear Interested Citizen:
The Medford District Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Ashland Resource Area, is continuing the
implementation of'the Middle Applegate Watershed Pilot Project by proposing ecological forestry projects within
the approximate 23,000-acre Thompson Creek 6 field watershed, including Ferris Gulch (see map). Ecological
forestry means we are striving toward healthier, more resilient forests with an eye toward the future, not the past,
and with the recognition that timber byproduct is an important component of the project. It is not purely focused
on forestry or ecology, but recognizes the need to balance both. Treatments (intervention) will be designed to
alter the current trajectory of stands not projected to meet future goals.
This Notice opens the formal scoping period under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the next
phase of the Middle Applegate Watershed Pilot Project. The document for this Pilot phase is titled Pilot
Thompson Environmental Assessment. The first phase of the Pilot, also known as the Pilot Joe Demonstration
Project, was analyzed last year (see the Pilot website for more info).
This is an Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) project, which means the BLM will use a systematic
approach to accomplish a variety of stand and vegetation treatments (commercial, non-commercial, prescribed
fire) - using a variety of tools (timber sales, stewardship and service contracts) to meet integrated resource
objectives developed by multiple disciplines (timber, fuels, silviculture, wildlife, etc.). The assessment will
include a collaborative evaluation of the current transportation system. Therefore, road management proposals
(obliteration, closure, reconstruction, construction) may also be part of this phase of the Pilot.
The Secretary of Interior designated a Pilot on the Medford District to demonstrate the application of ecological
restoration principles developed by Drs. Jerry Franklin and Norm Johnson (Restoration ofFederal Forests in the
Pacific Northwest: Strategies and Management Implications, 2009). The general goal of the Pilot is to illustrate
how forests can be managed utilizing the principles of Franklin and Johnson to attain current ecological goals as
well as to promote resilience in the face of predicted climate change. The Pilot will also help to inform about
sustaining regional forest workforce and wood products manufacturing capacity. In addition, the Pilot provides
opportunities to work closely with our agency partners, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fish, to best
implement restoration actions while meeting the requirements of the Endangered Species Act.
Purpose and Need of the Pilot
The Secretarial Pilot Demonstration Projects are intended to accomplish several things.
The first purpose is to demonstrate the application of ecosystem restoration principles developed by Drs. Jerry
Franklin and Norm Johnson. The intent of these principles is to move the current conditions toward desired forest
conditions that include the maintenance of older trees, restoration of characteristic structure and composition, and
increased heterogeneity. The Pilot project is not about debating what kind of restoration approach is best, but
simply demonstrating the Franklin and Johnson principles.
The second purpose is to provide commercially-viable timber sales that providejobs in local communities from
forest management, logging, and wood processing and provide additional employment from stewardship or
service contracting. The Secretarial Pilot Demonstration Projects are also intended to help to inform deliberations
around sustaining regional forest workforce and wood products manufacturingcapacity and the potential of these
efforts to provide revenues for county government.
The third purpose is to gauge the degree to which active forest management, with a focus on ecosystem
restoration, has a broader base of social acceptance than traditional management practices.
Why is BLM Proposing More Middle Applegate Pilot Projects?
The Middle Applegate Pilot demonstration area is designated in the Middle Applegate Watershed, of which
approximately 50,000 acres are managed public lands by BLM. Pilot Joe (phase 1 of the Pilot) assessed
approximately 5,000acres, leaving a full 90% of the Pilot project yet to be assessed for restoration. The
demonstration of the Johnson and Franklin principles can only be satisfactorily done on a landscape scale;
therefore, it is appropriate to continue with assessment and implementation of restoration needs in the Middle
Applegate Watershed. Pilot Thompson is a continuation of the Secretarial Pilotthat leads to the goal of a
landscape level demonstration of specific restoration principles.
The Secretary also expects that the Pilot will provide collaborative opportunities for interested stakeholders.
Significant collaborative capacity existsin this areaand has been demonstrated in the development of the first set
of projects underthe Pilot. The Medford District will continue its coordination with the Applegate Partnership
and the Southern Oregon Small Diameter Collaborativeto increase public support for forest projects that are
socially acceptable, ecologically appropriate and economically viable. Those community groups, as well as other
interested stakeholders, will continue to have substantial participation in the Pilot process:
• Public meetings, workshops and field trips are being planned during the development phase (OctoberNovember 2011) and the evaluation phase (April-May 2012) of the next projects.
The first community meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 25th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Please join us
atthe Applegate School, 14188 Highway 238, Applegate OR, 97530 (no RSVP needed)
• The Pilot website (http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/medford/forestrvpilot) will continue to be the easiest
and most rapid source of public information for documentation of the process, the projects and
information about the Pilot, including updates for public meetings and field trips.
• A public member of BLM's cooperative partners and a member from the Thompson Creek community
will be represented on the Interdisciplinary Team.
• A collaborative approach (October-November) will be used to evaluate the currenttransportation system
in and adjacent to the current analysis area. The results will be incorporated into the project design and/or
alternatives to be analyzed.
• A second scoping notice (February/March 2012) will notifythe public of issues that have been identified
for evaluation and the range of alternatives to be studied in detail for this phase of the Pilot.
• Ongoing multiparty monitoring will continue to inform on the design of the next Pilot phase.
•
Previous collaborative results for prioritizing restoration will be incorporated.
The Middle Applegate Watershed was chosen by the BLM as the site for this Pilot due to its relatively contiguous
acreage of dry Douglas-fir forests, its substantial amount of data associated with past projects and collaborative
efforts, the opportunity to capitalize on lands that have completed environmental surveys, and the landscape-scale
size necessary for successful demonstration of the Franklin and Johnson restoration principles.
Dry forests managed by the BLM in southwest Oregon (including the Middle Applegate Watershed) - the
resources they host and the values they reflect - are at significant risk. Past land use decisions, current conditions
and expected future climatic and stand development trajectories create a scenario in need of concerted attention
and action.
The Pilot projects proposed under this Scoping Notice address the need to demonstrate the restoration principles.
The Pilot projects occur on lands designated by the Bureau of Land Management's Medford District Record of
Decision and Resource Management Plan (RMP) as appropriate for this kind of management action.
Summary of Franklin and Johnson Restoration Principles
Drs. Franklin and Johnson have provided the following guidelines for applying restoration principles in stands
where commercial timber products will result as a byproduct.
Overall Objectives:
•
Increase resistance/resilience of forest stands and landscape to wildfire, drought, insects, etc. (e.g., by
reducing stand densities, ladder fuels, and increasing tree species diversity);
•
Restore more characteristic structure and composition (e.g., reducing stand densities and enhancing tree
diversity, including hardwoods, and desirable understory species);
• Accelerate development of structural complexity(e.g., development of larger tree structures and
decadence);
• Contribute to development of spatial heterogeneity in stand (e,g, fine-scale structural mosaic); and,
•
Reduce risk of wildfire reaching Late Successional Emphasis Areas (LSEAs).
*The principle landscape levelfoundation for project development is the identification ofLSEAs, which are
large blocks (300-500 acres each) ofdenseforest conditions wheresuccessioncontinues andprovides fairly
contiguous blocks ofmature and late-successional habitat. These blocksofmature and late-successional
habitat support those species that rely on and are associated with theseforest conditions, such as the
Northern Spotted Owl and the Pacific Fisher. LSEAs are not a land allocation, but rather act as a design tool
in the planning process.
What Does BLM Expect from the Public?
In order to do an adequate analysis of the effects of project proposals, BLM is seeking your ideas and concerns in
applying the Franklin and Johnson principles to lands within the Thompson Creek 6,h field watershed, including
Ferris Gulch. I recognize that many of you have been participating over the last year with BLM in planning the
first phaseof the Pilot, and have presented us with your concerns and ideas up to this point. BLM will utilize
public feedback from the numerous meetings, field trips and public comment opportunities in the first Pilot phase
as a baseline for the second phase analysis. You are welcomed to repeat your earlier concerns and ideas and/or
provide us with additional comments.
How to Comment
The BLM is in the beginning stage of preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Middle Applegate
Pilot Thompson Project. At this point, BLM is seeking public input on potential ideas or concerns that the
environmental analysis should address. Comments should be as specific as possible. Please submit your written
comments to Stephanie Kelleher, Middle Applegate Pilot Thompson Project, Medford District BLM, 3040
Biddle Road, Medford, OR 97504 or via email at [email protected].
To be most effective in helping shape the analysis, your comments to this Notice should reach us by October 3 L
2011. However, your comments are appreciated throughout the development of this project as transparency,
collaboration, and adaptive management are integral components. Therefore, BLM will continue to accept your
comments at any time.
There will be a second scoping response opportunity in February/March 2012 to comment on the Purpose and
Need of the project, the Issues to be analyzed, and provide additional input on potential alternatives to our
proposed action. A third public comment opportunity will occur when the EA is published for public review
(projected for July 2012).
Those responding to this or other public notices concerning the Middle Applegate Pilot Thompson Project will be
informed as planning continues. If you do not have a comment at this time but would like to be kept informed,
please fill out and return the enclosed Interest Response Form (or call, or send an email), otherwise you will be
taken off the mailing list. Before including your address, telephone number, email address, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, you are 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 your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
For more information, please contact Stephanie Kelleher at (541) 618-2205
Sincerely,
John/Gerritsma
Fiefd Manager
Asnland Resource Area
Enclosures
Enclosure 1
Middle Applegate Watershed
Pilot Thompson Project
Jacksonville
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
Miles
information may not meet National Map Accuracy Standards. This product
was developed ;i!imi;;li digital a leans ;itn! may be updated wit limit notification.
0 0.5 1
Y A PHASE 2: Pilot Thompson Planning Area
L \ | PHASE 1: Pilot Joe (Planning completed)
September 2011
Medford District
\'_ ^Middle Applegate Watershed
Ownership
Bureau of Land Management
Private Individual or Company
Medford
••
U.S. Forest Service
• Highway
shland
County route
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Enclosure 2
Attn: Ashland Resource Area Planning
BLM's - Middle Applegate Pilot Thompson Project
INTEREST RESPONSE FORM
3040 Biddle Road
Medford, OR 97504
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