Dear Interested Party;

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1 United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Caribou-Targhee National Forest Curlew National Grassland Westside Ranger District 4350 Cliffs Drive Pocatello, ID (208) File Code: 1950/5150 Date: February 27, 2012 Dear Interested Party; The Westside Ranger District of the Caribou National Forest is seeking suggestions and input on the Bird Canyon Fuels Reduction Project located on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Location The Bird Canyon Fuels Reduction Project is located approximately 2.5 miles north of Lava Hot Springs, ID on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Westside Ranger District. The project area is contained entirely within Bannock County. The legal description for this project is portions of T9S, R38E Sections 5, 8 and T8S, R38E Sections 29, 32. (See attached maps.) Proposed Action This fuels reduction project will consist of fuel breaks and fuel reduction areas across 306 acres of National Forest Service land to manage vegetation in order to provide increased probability of success for firefighters to reduce adverse effects of wildfire to improvements on private and Forest Service land. These treatments are intended to improve understory fuel conditions while trying to maintain the overstory and older tree habitat components of stands, thus promoting mature and older age classes of trees. Desired vegetation to limit wildfire intensity in this project area consists of large diameter Douglas-fir as well as maintaining healthy maple, aspen, and mountain mahogany components where they are present. Vegetation types that will be treated are Aspen and Aspen/Conifer (135 acres), Mountain Mahogany (4 acres), Douglas-fir and Dry Conifer Mix (82 acres), Mountain Brush (4 acres), Mixed Woodland comprised of juniper and maple (81 acres). Fuel breaks will consist of an approximate 100 foot buffer along each side of the Bird Canyon Trail, Boundary Trail, and the ridgeline to the south of Bird Canyon in order to provide connected and defendable barriers to limit the extent of undesired wildfire effects near the town of Lava Hot Springs. The majority of these fuel reduction areas are between the Boundary Trail and the Forest Boundary. Treatments in these areas would include 306 acres of mechanical thinning of forested and woodland vegetation to create adequate crown spacing to reduce probability of intense crown fire. Reduction of dead and downed woody fuel on the ground surface to reduce surface fire intensity will also occur in these stands. Resulting biomass will either be utilized by the local community for fuel wood within the constraints established by issuance of a firewood permit, or piled on site and disposed of with pile burning under favorable conditions (Figure 1). Some of these areas are adjacent to the Boundary Trail where conifer is competing against aspen stands. Conifer cover will be reduced in these areas to maintain and regenerate aspen in the project area. Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed on Recycled Paper

2 At the north end of the project area, it is proposed that a fuel break be mowed for approximately 1 mile along the boundary fence. This fuel break would not be more than 60 feet wide and will be created in snowberry, serviceberry, and sagebrush mixed communities in order to help protect structures near the north of the project area. Figure 1 Resulting appearance of shaded fuel breaks conducted on the Westside Ranger District. Summit Campground shows results following completion of project implementation. Scout Mountain shows mechanical implementation prior to burning of residual biomass. Summit Campground Shaded Fuel Break Scout Mountain Shaded Fuel Break By reducing surface, ladder, and intermediate crown fuel within this project area, fire intensity can be reduced to help increase success of local firefighters and limit potential impacts from unmanaged wildfire on private and public land near Lava Hot Springs. Purpose and Need The purpose of the Bird Canyon Fuels Reduction Project is to modify and improve vegetation conditions that are conducive to increasing the probability of success for managing future wildfire. The project area is located on the Forest Boundary and is adjacent to several land jurisdictions including private property. This area has been brought up as a concern by the municipal volunteer fire department in Lava Hot Springs. Multiple fires have been started in the Lava Hot Springs area. Five have been within an approximate 3 mile radius from the project area in the last decade. The most recent was the 438 acre Portneuf Fire in 2008 that burned private and Forest Service lands approximately 2 miles north of the project area. As human use of the area grows, the chance of wildfire will continue. Therefore, there is a need to create strategic fuel breaks and promote vegetation, such as aspen, that will limit fire intensity within the project area. By limiting fire intensity within the fuels reduction area, fire fighters can be more successful at limiting wildfire impacts. Lava Hot Springs has had notable housing increases in the past decades. Two subdivisions (Lava Hills Estates and Indian Falls) are currently developing and increasing in size north of Lava Hot Springs and adjacent to the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. These subdivisions currently have multiple homes located within them intermixed with multiple fuel types, thus creating a Wildland Urban Interface concern for county and federal firefighting resources in the

3 area. Likewise, opportunities to manage lightning ignited wildfire on the Forest west and north of these subdivisions to maintain species composition, vegetation age class diversity, and overall forest health on the landscape as a whole was identified in the Upper PortneufWatershed Assessment. This diversification of fire management objectives provides a challenging opportunity to manage wildfire and landscape diversity near Intermountain communities. A proactive approach to landscape management can help us to meet these varying objectives. This fuel break can help meet these objectives. This project area provides an opportunity for the community and the Caribou-Targhee National Forest to work together to reduce potential wildfire effects to property. The proximity of the Boundary Trail (Trail #272) to the Forest Boundary within the project area makes it an ideal location to use as a control line for fire management near Lava Hot Springs and adjacent to these subdivisions. By managing vegetative conditions near the Boundary Trail, the Forest Service and property owners can help to reduce the potential for undesirable impacts ftom w ildfire. Decision Framework and Public Input This proposal will be analyzed within the framework of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and either a Finding of No Significant Impact will be issued, or an intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be submitted to the Federal Register. I am interested in receiving your comments on this proposed action by March 28, 20 I 0. An additional comment period will be sought once the Draft Environmental Assessment is prepared. Please submit written comments to: Jeffery J. Hammes, District Ranger Westside Ranger District 4350 Cliffs Drive Pocatello, ID Electronic comments may be submitted in rich text format (.rtf), or Word (.doc) to commentsintermtn-caribou-tarehee-westside@fs.fed.us. To receive additional information regarding this project, please contact me or Arik Jorgensen (project lead) at the Westside Ranger District, 4350 S. Cliffs, Pocatello, ID, during normal business hours. You may reach us by phone at or at: ajorgensen@fs.fed.us. Sincerely, District Ranger

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