Secretarial Pilot to Demonstrate Ecological Forestry
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Pilot Thompson
ASHLAND RESOURCE AREA
Reader’s Guide
Summary of EA Revisions
CHAPTER 1
• Definedtheterm“EcologicalForestry”(p.1-1).
• UpdatedSurveyandManagecompliancelanguageandaffectedresourceanalysissectionstoreflecttheNinthCircuitCourtof
AppealsopinionissuedonApril25,2013,thatreversedtheDistrictCourtfortheWesternDistrictofWashington’sapprovalofthe
2011SurveyandManageSettlementAgreement(pp.1-8to1-9).
• UpdatedtheCollaborationandPublicInvolvementsectiontoincorporateadditionalpublicmeetingsandeventsthathavetaken
place(pp.1-13to1-14).
CHAPTER 2
• ReducedtheamountoftreatmentareaproposedtoreflecttheeliminationsofRA-32
habitat(2acres)forbothAlternative2(pp.2-2and2-3)andAlternative3(pp.2-14and2-15).
• CorrectedMap2-6toaccuratelyreflectthatAlternative3doesnotincluderoad
construction(p.2-20).
• UpdatedtheprojectdescriptionforAlternative3toreflecttheuseofaswingtrailatthe
endofroad39-4-20toharvestUnit19-4(p.2-21).
• Recognizedthattheremustbesomeallowanceforerrorinageestimation(p.2-25).
• AddedaPDFtoincludenobroadcastburninginNRFhabitattoinsurethatCoarseWoody
Debris(CWD)ismaintained(p.2-41).
CHAPTER 3
• UpdatedOngoingandForeseeableFutureActionssection(p.3-3)toincludetheHabitat
RestorationProjectonprivatelandsalongThompsonCreek.
• UpdatedtheFireandFuelssectiontoprovidefurtherclarificationonthechangesin
micro-climateduetoproposedharvestingactivities(p.3-30to3-31).
• RevisedtheSoilsanalysistocorrectlyreflecttheuseofatractorswingtrailoffofroad
39-4-20toaccessUnit19-4(underAlternative3)(p.3-59).
• UpdatedtheWildlifeanalysissectiontocorrectlyreflect(1)theamountofproposedNRFdowngradeunderAlternative2(p.3-106
to3-108),(2)theamountofCriticalHabitatdowngrade(p.3-111),(3)thechangesinSurveyandManage(p.3-93,and3-113to
3-114),(4)thediscoveryofanewgreatgrayowlreproductivesite(p.3-98and3-113),(5)theeffectstoPacificfisher,and(6)the
considerationofeffectstowildlifecorridorsidentifiedintheMiddleApplegateWatershedAnalysis(p.3-108).
• UpdatedtheBotanyanalysissectiontoreflectthechangesinSurveyandManage(p.3-122to3-124,3-131to3-132).
• UpdatedtheLiteratureCitedsectiontoincludeDuggeretal2011,JohnsonandFranklin2009,JohnsonandFranklin2012,Johnson
andFranklin2013,USDI2013,USDI2013a,USFWS2013,andWiens2012.
Definitions
De
finitions
Late Succesional Emphasis Area (LSEA):
largeblocks(300-500acres)oflandidentifiedduringthe
planningprocessthatwouldserveasareasofdense,closedcanopycontiguousforestswithinwhichlittleornotreatments
wouldbeproposed.LSEAsweredevelopedinresponseto
FranklinandJohnson’sdryforestrestorationstrategythatcalls
fortheretentionofdenseforesthabitatpatches(inthehundreds
ofacres)atthelandscapelevel,preferentiallylocatedinlessfireproneareas,suchassteepnorth-facingslopes,riparianareas,
andsiteprotectedbynaturalbarriers,suchaslakes(Franklinand
Johnson2012).
Ecogological Forestry:
Drs.FranklinandJohnson’sproposalsarebasedon“Ecological
Forestry”concepts,whichincorporateprinciplesofnatural
forestdevelopment,includingtheroleofnaturaldisturbances,
intheinitiation,development,andmaintenanceofstands
andlandscapemosaics.EcologicalForestrystartswithan
ecologicalfoundationandthenfactorsineconomicandcultural
considerations.Inthisway,EcologicalForestrycontrastswith
ProductionForestry,whichutilizesagronomicandeconomic
modelsintheefficientproductionofwood.
Ecogological Forestry Continued:
KeyelementsofEcologicalForestryinclude(Franklinand
Johnson2012):(1)retainingstructuralandcompositional
elementsofthepre-harveststandduringregeneration
harvests;(2)utilizingnaturalstanddevelopmentprinciples
andprocessesinmanipulatingestablishedstandstorestore
ormaintaindesiredstructureandcomposition;(3)using
returnintervalsforsilviculturalactivitiesconsistentwiththe
recoveryofdesiredstructuresandprocesses;and(4)planning
managementactivitiesatlandscapescales,usingknowledge
ofspatialpatternandecologicalfunctioninnaturallandscapes
(JohnsonandFranklin2013,p.4).
Restoration:
FranklinandJohnsondefine“restoration”broadlyto
encompassactivitiesthataredesignedtorestoreforestsand
landscapestoconditionsthatarebothmoreresistantand
resilienttodisturbancesandthatprovidethediversityneeded
torestoreandmaintainnativebiodiversityandessential
ecosystemfunctions.
Decision Record
Key Features of Final Decision
•Commercialharveston218acres(VariableDensityThinning)using
cableandtractorharvestmethods.
•Follow-uppre-commercialthinning/fuelsreductiontreatmentswill
occurtomitigatehazardousfuelsgeneratedfromtimberharvest
(activityfuels).
•Temporaryroadconstructionof39-4-20road(proposedasPermanent
inEA)and38-4-34.1road,foratotalof0.24miles.
•Decommissioningofroads38-4-28.2,39-4-19,and39-4-3.1foratotal
of1.21miles.
•About20milesofroadwillbeusedashaulroutesandmaintained
asdescribedintheREA.
•Renovationofapproximately1.4milesofroadwilloccuronexisting
BLMroads,asdescribedintheREA(p.2-9)toaccesscommercial
harvestunits.
•Onedesignatedskidtrailwillbeconstructedtoaccessunit20-1,asdescribedintheREA(p.2-9).
•AllapplicableProjectDesignFeatures(PDFs)willbeincorporatedintothetimbersalecontractasrequired
conditionsofthisproject.AcompletelistingofthePDFscanbefoundinChapter2Ibelievethedecisionfor
Alternative2withthedescribedmodificationsisabalancedapproachthatwillleadtoaviableprojectwhile
bestaddressingcommunityandpublicconcerns.
Definitions
Dry Forest (versus Moist Forest):
AclassificationoffederallycontrolledforestsinthePNW,ratherthanthetraditional
“westside”and“eastside”,usingscientificallydefinedplantassociationstoassignforest
sitesaseitherDryForestofMoistForestcategories.Theseplantassociationsreflect
distinctivecompositions,growthconditions,andhistoricaldisturbanceregimes,such
asbroadgradientsinfirebehaviorinPNWforeststhatreflectvariabilityinbothsite
andlandscapeconditions(FranklinandJohnson2012,p.2).
Why treat dry forests differently?
Drs.FranklinandJohnsonhavestatedthatactivemanagementofolderforests
onDryForestsitesisoftenneededtoreducethepotentialforuncharacteristic
andecologicallydamagingwildfireandinsectoutbreaks.Theseeventscan
resultinlargescalelossesofhabitatforwildlifeincludingthenorthernspotted
owl,largescalelossesofhard-to-replacestandcomponents,lossesof
harvestabletimbernowandintothefuture,andnegativeimpactstothe
sustainabilityofthecurrentecosystemdynamics.Drs.FranklinandJohnson
suggestincreasingtheresistance/resilienceofDryForeststowildfire,drought,
insects,etc.byreducingstanddensities,alteringfuelstructures,increasing
overalldiversityandtheproportionofdrought-andfire-toleranttreespecies,
andincreasingstanddiameter.
Project Map
Working Together
In collaboration with project partners (the Southern Oregon Forest Restoration Collaborative and the
Applegate Partnership and Watershed Council), the Medford Distrct BLM has co-hosted numerous public
events. To date, the Pilot Thompson planning process has:
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IncludedtwoscopingperiodswheretheBLMhasprovidedopportunitiesforthepublictocommenton
theproject(September2011andApril2012);
PublishedaScopingReportsummarizingtheissuesidentifiedduringbothscopingperiods;
Co-hostedsixfieldtrips(November2011,SeptemberandOctober2012,andMarch,April,andMay2013);
Co-hostedfourpublicmeetings(October2011,February2012,andFebruaryandMay2013);
ParticipatedintwoneighborboodmeetingsintheThompsonCreekarea(AprilandMay2012);
Sentanupdatelettertointerestedpartiesthatoutlinedthepreliminaryproposedactionalternativeprior
totheEAbeingpublished(November2012);
Haspostedallplanningdocuments,includinginterdisciplinary(ID)teammeetingnotes,publiccomment
letters,maps,andfieldtripandpublicmeetinginformationtothePilotwebsiteinatimelymanner;and
InvitedthreemembersofthepublictoparticipateontheIDTeam.