Blue Rock Road Fuels Project

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1 Blue Rock Road Fuels Project Survey and Manage Report USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region Shasta-Trinity ational Forest Trinity River Management Unit December 2011 Prepared By: /s/ Mark Goldsmith Date: December 12, 2011 Mark Goldsmith, Wildlife Biologist EXECUTIVE SUMMAR This project is in compliance with the Survey and Manage Settlement Agreement now part of the public record filed on July 6, 2011, in Conservation orthwest et al. v. Sherman, Case o. C JCC (W.D. Wash). o wildlife Survey and Manage species would be affected by proposed project activities, and conditions do not warrant field surveys for any wildlife Survey and Manage species. on Discrimination Statement The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual s income is derived from any public assistance program. (ot all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA s TARGET Center at (202) (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C , or call (800) (voice) or (202) (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

3 I. ITRODUCTIO The Survey and Manage program is a result of the 2001 Record of Decision and Standards and Guidelines for Amendments to Survey and Manage, Protection Buffer, and other Mitigation Measure Standards and Guidelines (USDA and USDI 2001). The purpose of this report is to assess the potential effects of the proposed Blue Rock Road Fuels Project in sufficient detail to determine whether it is consistent with the Settlement Agreement now part of the public record filed on July 6, 2011, in Conservation orthwest et al. v. Sherman, Case o. C JCC (W.D. Wash). This reinstates the 2001 Survey and Manage Record of Decision as modified by the Settlement Agreement. The Survey and Manage species list in Table 1 is derived from the Settlement Agreement cited above. Managing known sites potentially affected by project activities is a requirement for all species currently on this list. Some species have an additional requirement to conduct field surveys where appropriate (Table 1). For these species, three evaluation criteria are used to determine whether a proposed project triggers the need for field surveys: 1. species range, 2. habitat suitability, and 3. the potential for project activities to degrade habitat or cause disturbance (Duncan et al. 2003). Evaluation of these criteria is presented in Table 1. Eight Survey and Manage wildlife species are also designated as Forest Service Sensitive species. These species are addressed in this document using the criteria that apply to Survey and Manage species. They are also addressed in the Wildlife Biological Evaluation for this project (see project record), using the criteria that apply to Forest Service Sensitive species. This analysis is based on information collected from Forest Service wildlife databases and numerous site visits to the project area. II. PROPOSED ACTIO The Shasta-Trinity ational Forest, Trinity River Management Unit proposes to treat approximately 230 acres of forested stands. Treatments include manual thinning, hand piling slash, and burning hand piles to reduce high fuel loading in the understory. Following understory thinning, prescribed fire would be implemented to reduce surface fuel loading. A more detailed description can be found in the project Decision Memorandum (see project record). Manually thin to reduce understory fuel loading Live or dead conifers <6 diameter at breast height (dbh) class would be manually thinned to an approximate 20 X 20 spacing. Conifers would be pruned to a height of 6, or to a height that leaves at least 1/2 live crown. Hardwood snags or dead and down hardwoods <6 dbh class would be manually cut and hand piled. atural and activity created fuels <6 in diameter would be hand-piled and burned or, in areas of light fuels where there is insufficient slash to hand pile, lopped and scattered. Shasta-Trinity ational Forest, Trinity River Management Unit - 1

4 Where necessary, manual re-arrangement of fuels (such as scattering natural, pruned or thinned material, cutting through downed or leaning logs to lay them flat, or pulling fuel concentrations away from snags or live trees ) would occur prior to underburning. (ote: Manual thinning to 20 X 20 spacing would occur on 65 acres and pruning to a height of 6 on the remaining 165 acres) Underburning to reduce surface fuel loading Where appropriate based on fuel loading, underburning would be used to reduce accumulated natural and activity created surface fuels. The project area would be divided into sub-units for prescribed fire that may be burned on different schedules depending on time and funding. Fire control line would be constructed by hand where natural or man-made barriers to fire do not already exist. Hand line would average three feet in width and would be dug down to mineral soil. Initial entry underburning would be implemented over all or part of the project area within three years following thinning treatments. Maintenance underburning would be considered every 3-15 years following initial entry based on fuel accumulation over time. Effectiveness Monitoring Permanent monitoring plots would be established in the project area to provide data on pre-and-post treatment visual quality, stand structure, fuel loading, fire behavior, and treatment effectiveness over time. III. DETERMIATIO OF EFFECTS The analysis and effects determination for each Survey and Manage wildlife species is displayed in Table 1. In summary: 1.) Project activities would not affect any wildlife Survey and Manage species within the project area or vicinity; and 2.) field surveys are not required for any species because no species fit the criteria relative to species range, habitat suitability and potential for project activities to affect the species. 2 - Shasta-Trinity ational Forest, Trinity River Management Unit

5 Table 1. Determination of effects to Survey and Manage wildlife species. Common name Scientific name Shasta salamander Hooded lancetooth Potem Creek Flat top / Sacramento Shasta Springs Disjunct Hydromantes shastae Ancotrema voyanum sp. 14 [F. potemicus] sp. 15 [F. multifarious, in part] sp. 16 [F.multifarious, in part] sp. 17 [F. multifarious, in part] Field survey Manage known sites Determination of effects & rationale for determining need for pre-disturbance surveys AMPHIBIAS o effect: The Trinity portion of the Shasta-Trinity ational Forest is species. This species inhabits rock outcrops, and no rock outcrops would be affected by project activities. AQUATIC AD TERRESTRIAL IVERTEBRATES o effect: This species is found on the Trinity River Management Unit, but has not been found in or near the project area. The nearest known location is approximately 7 miles to the north. o effect: The project area is well o effect: The project area is well o effect: The project area is well o effect: The project area is well Also a USFS Sensitive species? Shasta-Trinity ational Forest, Trinity River Management Unit - 3

6 Common name Scientific name Globular/ Goose Valley ugget Cinnamon Juga Canary duskysnail Siskiyou sideband Shasta sideband snail Wintu sideband snail Shasta chaparral snail sp. 18 [F. anserinus] Fluminicola seminalis Juga (O) n. sp. 3 Lyogyrus n. sp. 3 [Colligyrus convexus] Monadenia chaceana Monadenia troglodytes troglodytes Monadenia troglodytes wintu Trilobopsis roperi Field survey Manage known sites Determination of effects & rationale for determining need for pre-disturbance surveys o effect: The project area is well o effect: The project area is well Management consists of restricting grazing, and the proposed project activities do not include grazing. o effect: The project area is well o effect: The project area is well species (the Pit River in the Upper Sacramento River system), and it is not expected to occur in or near the project area. 1 o effect: The Trinity portion of the Shasta-Trinity ational Forest is species, and is not expected to occur in or near the project area. o effect: The Trinity portion of the Shasta-Trinity ational Forest is o effect: The Trinity portion of the Shasta-Trinity ational Forest is o effect: The Trinity portion of the Shasta-Trinity ational Forest is Also a USFS Sensitive species? 4 - Shasta-Trinity ational Forest, Trinity River Management Unit

7 Common name Scientific name Tehama chaparral snail Pressley (Big Bar) hesperian snail Shasta hesperian snail Trilobopsis tehamana Vespericola pressleyi Vespericola shasta 1 Equivalent effort survey requirement Field survey Manage known sites Determination of effects & rationale for determining need for pre-disturbance surveys o effect: The Trinity portion of the Shasta-Trinity ational Forest is o effect: The project area is species. The nearest occurrence is over 15 miles to the southwest. o effect: The Trinity portion of the Shasta-Trinity ational Forest is Also a USFS Sensitive species? V. COTACTS AD COTRIBUTORS Becky Rogers, Wildlife Technician, Shasta-Trinity ational Forest Tom Quinn, Wildlife Biologist, Shasta-Trinity ational Forest Pat Butler, Fuels Officer, Shasta-Trinity ational Forest Stephanie McKee, EPA Planner, Shasta-Trinity ational Forest VI. REFERECES Duncan., T. Burke, S. Dowlan, and P. Hohenlohe Survey Protocol for Survey and Manage Terrestrial Mollusk Species from the orthwest Forest Plan, Version 3.0, 70 pp. USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management. IUC, Conservation International, and atureserve Global Amphibian Assessment. IUC, Conservation International, and atureserve. Washington, DC and Arlington, Virginia, USA. Jennings, M.R. and M.P. Hayes Amphibian and reptile species of special concern in California. California Department of Fish and Game. 255 pp. Olson, D. H. and P.C. Lewendal Authors of the Survey Protocol for the Shasta salamander (Hydromantes shastae) Chapter III. In: Survey Protocols For Amphibians Under the Survey and Manage Provision of the orthwest Forest Plan. BLM, Oregon. Version 3.0. October B. Roth A new species of Vespericola (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Polygyridae) from the Klamath Mountains, California. Wasmann Journal of Biology, volume 42 (for 1984), number 1-2, pages 84-91, April 8. Shasta-Trinity ational Forest, Trinity River Management Unit - 5

8 USDA, Forest Service Regional Forester's Sensitive Species List. Pacific Southwest Region. Appended April Amended October 15, USDA, Forest Service Shasta-Trinity ational Forests Land and Resource Management Plan. Shasta-Trinity ational Forests, Redding CA. USDA, Forest Service and USDI, Bureau of Land Management. Record of Decision and Standards and Guidelines for Amendments to the Survey and Manage, Protection Buffer and other Mitigation Measures Standards and Guidelines. January USDA, Forest Service; USDI, Bureau of Land Management Survey and Management Recommendations Aquatic Mollusks. March 3, USDA, Forest Service. USDI, Bureau of Land Management. Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the orthern Spotted Owl; Standards and Guidelines for Management of Habitat for Late-successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of the orthern Spotted Owl. April USDA, Forest Service. USDI, Bureau of Land Management. Final Supplemental Environmental Impact statement on management of habitat for late successional and old-growth forest related species within the range of the northern spotted owl. February USDI, Bureau of Land Management Field Guide to Survey and Manage Terrestrial Mollusk Species from the orthwest Forest Plan. BLM, Oregon State Office. June USDI, Bureau of Land Management Survey Protocol for Aquatic Mollusk Species from the orthwest Forest Plan, Version 2.0. October 29, Wilson, R.A., A.J. Lind and H. Welsh Jr Trinity River Riparian Wildlife Survey, final report. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Experiment Station Redwood Sciences Laboratory, Arcata, CA. 98pp. Zeiner, D.C., W.F. Laudenslayer Jr., K.E. Mayer California's Wildlife, Vol. I. Amphibians and Reptiles. California Department of Fish and Game. Sacramento, CA 6 - Shasta-Trinity ational Forest, Trinity River Management Unit

WILDLIFE SURVEY AND MANAGE REPORT

WILDLIFE SURVEY AND MANAGE REPORT WILDLIFE SURVE AND MANAGE REPORT Trinity Post-Fire Hazard Reduction and Salvage Project South Fork and Trinity River Management Units Shasta-Trinity National Forest Trinity County, California Prepared