Dear Friend of the Ocala National Forest:

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1 United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service National Forests in Florida Ocala National Forest Seminole Ranger District Lake George Ranger District State Road East Highway 40 Umatilla, FL Silver Springs, FL (352) (352) File Code: 1950 PALS # Date: May 10, 2012 Dear Friend of the Ocala National Forest: The Ocala National Forest is proposing a thinning project (non-commercial) on about 1700 acres on areas ranging in size from less than 10 to about 100 acres. The areas proposed for thinning were planted to longleaf pine from 1980 to 1999 and are located in Management Areas (MAs) for Longleaf and Slash Pine, adaptive management, both with and without red-cockaded woodpecker management (MAs 7.1 and 7.2, respectively). It is expected that work proposed would be conducted over 4-8 years, depending on resources available and funding. See attached map for more specific locations. The proposed actions would primarily remove small, overtopped longleaf pines. In some areas larger, off-site sand pines and small, overtopped oaks would be removed to improve the stands. Hand tools, chainsaws, or mechanized tree mowers may be used to accomplish this work. Forest Service crews, volunteer crews, and contractors may accomplish the proposed activities. No ground disturbance is anticipated from hand tools or chainsaws and minimal ground disturbance is expected from mechanical mowing equipment. The purpose of the project is to remove (thin) selected trees from an area that has too many trees per acre. This overstocked condition is determined based on assessments of past tree growth, measurements of current stocking, and measurements of the capability of the site to grow various densities of trees. Reducing the number of trees per acre will: 1) improve forest health by reducing the density of planted pines in an overcrowded condition, 2) increase sunlight and allowing room for smaller shrubs, grasses, and other fruit or nutbearing plants, and consequently improving the value of a pine plantation for wildlife by providing more food and a more diverse forest structure, 3) cause longleaf pines remaining to grow faster and to more quickly reach a larger size that would be important for red-cockaded woodpecker (an endangered species) habitat, and 4) allows prescribed burning to be more effective with less damage to longleaf pine trees. Preliminary assessment and past experience with similar activities suggest that this project may not require a detailed environmental analysis because the proposed action falls under categorical exclusion category 31.2 (6), which include timber stand improvement activities such as thinning. It is anticipated that a Decision Memo will be prepared in accordance with Forest Service Handbook , Section 32. Comments are welcome and may be sent to: Mike Herrin, District Ranger, Ocala National Forest, SR 19, Umatilla, FL Comments must be received within our normal business hours of 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Comments may be mailed electronically to this office, in a common digital format, at comments-southern-florida-seminole@fs.fed.us. Comments should be as specific as possible and must be postmarked or received within 30 days after publication of a legal notice in the Leesburg Daily Commercial. Only those who submit timely comments or other expression of interest will have standing to appeal the decision. Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed on Recycled Paper

2 I will appoint an interdisciplinary team to review comments, analyze the resource effects, and determine if there are any extraordinary circumstances. The effects of the project on proposed, endangered, threatened, and sensitive species of plants and wildlife will be discussed in biological evaluations to be prepared by a wildlife biologist. An archeologist will determine the potential for impacts to heritage resources, and if appropriate a report will be prepared to be reviewed by the Tribes and the State Historic Preservation Officer. This project is consistent with the Forest Plan (see enclosure). For more information on this proposal contact Janet Hinchee at (352) Thank you for your involvement in this process. Sincerely, MIKE HERRIN District Ranger Ocala National Forest State Road 19 Umatilla, Florida Phone: mherrin@fs.fed.us Enclosures cc: Carrie Sekerak Wildlife Biologist, Ocala NF Michael Drayton Fire, Ocala NF Matthew Trager - Forest Planning, National Forests in FL Gordon Horsley Timber Management, Ocala NF Janet Hinchee - Silviculture, Ocala NF Ray Willis Archeology, Ocala NF Bret Bush Developed Recreation, Ocala NF Tonee Davis Dispersed Recreation, Lands and Special Uses, Ocala NF

3 The following are excerpts from the National Forests in Florida, Land and Natural Resource Plan, completed in This Plan guides the overall direction of management on the Ocala National Forest. These excerpts apply to the proposed project for noncommercial thinning described in this letter. Forestwide Goals 6. Maintain or, where necessary, restore ecosystem composition, structure, and function within the natural range of variability in all ecosystems, with emphasis on longleaf pine-wiregrass, sand pine-oak scrub, pine flatwoods, hardwood/cypress, oak hammock ecosystems, and other imperilled specialized communities. 8. Conserve and protect important elements of diversity such as endangered and threatened species habitat, declining natural communities, and uncommon biological, ecological, or geological sites. 9. Manage for habitat conditions to recover and sustain viable populations of all native species, with special emphasis on rare species. 10. Apply prescribed burning technology as a primary tool for restoring fire's historic role in ecosystems. Forestwide Objectives 5. Thin 45,000 to 55,000 acres of longleaf and slash pine stands to release overcrowded live crowns, favor appropriate pine species regeneration, increase stand growth, allow more sunlight onto the forest floor, and increase suitable habitat for redcockaded woodpeckers (RCWs). 8. Provide habitat capability to support an increasing population of RCWs. The 10-year population objectives are 500 active clusters on the Apalachicola habitat management area (HMA), 250 active clusters on the Wakulla HMA, 151 active clusters on the Osceola HMA, 32 active clusters on the Island HMA, and 12 active clusters on the Paisley HMA. The long-term objectives are 500 active clusters on the Apalachicola HMA, 506 active clusters on the Wakulla HMA, 457 active clusters on the Osceola HMA, 67 active clusters on the Island HMA, and 81 active clusters on the Paisley HMA. The objective for the designated recovery populations (Apalachicola Ranger District and Osceola NF) is to have at least 250 breeding pairs fledging young annually. In unrecovered populations, recruitment clusters should equal approximately 10 percent of active clusters, depending on population demographics. MANAGEMENT AREA GOALS Management Area 7.1-Goal To allow or mimic natural processes and patterns to maintain a rich diversity of native plants and animals, including recovery of the red-cockaded woodpecker. To produce poletimber and large pine sawtimber. Management Area 7.3-Goal To allow or mimic natural processes and patterns to maintain a rich diversity of native plants and animals. To produce poletimber and large pine sawtimber. FORESTWIDE STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES VG-23 Thin stands of longleaf and slash pine to capture mortality, maintain or improve growing conditions for the remaining stems, improve habitat conditions for PETS species, or improve growing conditions of understory species.

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