Boulder Ranger District

Transcription

1 United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Boulder Ranger District 2140 Yarmouth Avenue Boulder, CO Voice: (303) Web: Fax: (303) File Code: 1950 Date: September 6, 2011 Greetings from the Boulder Ranger District: The Forest Service has initiated planning to treat hazardous fuels and manage increasing populations of mountain pine beetle (MPB) in the Forsythe Project Area. Protection of communities, watersheds, and natural resources from severe wildfire will be emphasized. I ask that you spend a few minutes reading this letter to learn about the actions we are proposing for the National Forest System lands west of Boulder, Colorado. What We Are Proposing Multiple treatments creating a landscape more adaptable to fire and resistant to insects, promoting healthier forests and watersheds. The goals are to: Reduce the threat of large scale wildfire by reducing hazardous fuels. Reduce the threat to forest resources from the existing MPB epidemic. Continue moving toward desired conditions described in the Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) for the Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland. The Area - The project area lies west of Gross Reservoir and approximately 6 miles west of Boulder, CO (see vicinity map). The project area is about 18,120 acres and consists of 9,267 acres of National Forest System lands. Inside the perimeter there are 8,853 acres of non-national Forest System lands including private, state, county and other ownership. The Process The project decisions will be made using the NEPA process. NEPA stands for the National Environmental Policy Act and provides the framework for land management agencies and members of the public to work together on project decisions. Boulder Ranger district staff will disclose the effects of the proposed project and interested parties are asked to participate during the entirety of the decision making period. The Forest Plan provides the overall direction on how we manage the Forest, along with many other laws and regulations to follow; however, Boulder Ranger District staff has flexibility on what actions, exact locations, and timeframes need to be utilized to meet those statutes. The proposal considers what specialists have seen on the ground and methods they think would best meet the direction given in the Forest Plan, laws, and regulations. This is the beginning of the public process that we refer to as scoping. Scoping allows the Boulder Ranger District staff to share the actions believed to promote a healthier forest and watershed. In turn, you will have the opportunity to inform the Forest Service that you are in agreement with the proposed project or believe there is a different solution or issues we need to consider and/or examine further.

2 What We Have Observed Since the mid 1990s, the Colorado Front Range shows an increase in pine tree death due to the MPB. Surveys show large increases in beetle related tree death in and around the Forsythe Project Area and in many places they are at or approaching epidemic levels. Beetle kill trees fall to the ground and add dry fuels to the landscape, creating a high wildfire hazard. High rates of tree death also change vegetation and wildlife habitat on a landscape scale. MPB like dense groups of mature pine trees, which is abundant throughout the project area. The most common practice for reducing MPB tree death is to mechanically remove the infested trees and reduce the density of the remaining trees. The Colorado Front Range has been affected by large, intense forest fires due to the lack of forest openings, continuous forest, and increasing forest density. Since the 1980s, we have seen a dramatic increase in the amount of acreage burned by wildfire. Recent fires, including but not limited to the Bobcat Gulch, Hayman, Overland and Four Mile Fires have burned over 500,000 acres to date. These large fires have had a significant impact on our environment, economy, cultural and forest resources, as well as human life and property. Gross Reservoir and its watershed falls within the project area. The lake is manmade with a dam on South Boulder Creek. Gross Reservoir provides drinking water for the city of Denver, as well as irrigation and recreational opportunities. Barker Reservoir and its watershed also falls within the project area and provides drinking water for the city of Boulder, as well as irrigation and recreational opportunities. The current Forest Plan (FP) sets Geographic Areas and management allocations for specific uses of land (Management Areas) within the Forest to meet multiple use objectives (FP Chapter III). The Geographic Areas within the Project area are: Sugarloaf 2,715 acres Lump Gulch 2,725 acres Thorodin 3,802 acres The Management Area (MA) emphasis for the Forsythe Project Area is principally: MA 3.5 Forested Flora and Fauna Habitats 8,633 Acres MA 4.2 Scenic Areas 134 Acres MA 7.1 National Forest/Residential Intermix 475 Acres Actions we are proposing include the following see table below for acres: Treatments to reduce crown fire risk by reducing the overall density of pine trees, treat MPB infested stands, and create diversity of forest structure across the landscape. Larger trees would be removed in mechanical operations utilizing heavy equipment such as feller-bunchers and skidders. Smaller trees would be removed in manual operations with chainsaws. Actions would consider utilizing multiple contracts including stewardship and service contracts. Areas with steep slopes, rock outcrops, and riparian areas would be excluded from treatment. 2

3 Treatments within lodgepole pine would include: Individual patch cuts - Removal of all trees up to 5 acres Group selections - Patch-cuts throughout single stands Manual and Mechanical Thinning Density reduction to favor trees left. This treatment will be utilized much less than patch cuts and group selections due to the high potential for blowdown post treatment. Sanitation with removal cuts*- Removal of MPB infested pine trees with removal of green pine trees within sanitation areas to prevent blow-down Salvage* - Removal of dead pine trees killed by MPB *Sanitation with removal cuts and salvage treatments would only occur with beetle infestation. Treatments within ponderosa pine would include: Mechanical and Manual Thinning Reduction of tree density to favor trees that would be left. Sanitation* Salvage* *Sanitation and salvage treatments would only occur with beetle infestation. Reduce the amount of currently existing surface fuels and newly created fuels from treatment activities with: Slash treatments may include: Mastication/crushing break down of slash with heavy equipment Chipping Piling and Burning Lopping and Scattering Remove conifers from aspen stands through aspen restoration and meadows through meadow enhancement to provide habitat diversity and wildfire protection by enhancing natural fuel breaks. Prescribed broadcast burning to reduce fire behavior potential, reduce existing fuel loading and fuel loadings from manual and mechanical treatments. Burning operations will be limited to air quality and weather conditions allowing for safe execution of ignition operations with qualified fire personnel from multiple jurisdictions. *Total area to be burned (968 acres) would be broken up into multiple time periods and/or sections. Use and improvement of existing roads and creation of temporary roads (to be obliterated after treatment) to access fuels treatment units. Proposed Action Treatment Table: Proposed Treatment Acres Lodgepole Pine Treatments 2,235 Ponderosa Pine Treatments 1,506 Aspen Restoration 296 Meadow Restoration 209 Prescribed Broadcast 968 Burning* *Total area to be burned (968 acres) would be broken up into multiple time periods and/or sections. 3

4 Proposed treatment units were placed adjacent to private land and in areas across the landscape to reduce the potential for intense wildfire behavior. Existing public access routes would be used by the U.S. Forest Service and its contractors where possible. In some cases, a need for additional access across private land may be needed and would need to be negotiated on a caseby-case basis with respective land owners. The environmental and social effects of this proposed action and any subsequent alternatives will be analyzed in an Environmental Assessment. Public comment and collaboration, as well as input from Forest Service resource specialists, will be used to further develop and refine the proposal. Prior to developing this proposed action, maps and ground surveys of the project area were used to identify conditions that may limit or preclude fuel reduction treatments. Examples of these limiting factors include soils with severe erosion hazards, threatened or endangered species habitat and legal access. The proposed treatment unit boundaries were located to avoid these areas or, specific restrictions on the types of treatments (generically called project design criteria ) were established to minimize or avoid impacts. National Forests are your lands. We need your help in identifying opportunities, concerns, and issues related to these proposed activities. You can also get more involved by obtaining detailed information on our proposal such as maps and additional site-specific data. To give us your opinion or to request more information, please fill out and mail the enclosed comment form or write to us at the above address. Electronic comments may be sent to: crhutchinson@fs.fed.us with Forsythe as the subject. Please respond to this letter if you wish to receive subsequent mailings regarding the Forsythe Project. You can also get more involved by attending the public meeting scheduled for the Forsythe Project: September 29, :00 pm 9:00 pm Nederland Community Center Nederland, Colorado Next Step The next step after this process is to further develop and refine the actions proposed based on your comments and other information collected, conduct an analysis, and prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA). Prior to reaching a decision, an opportunity to comment on the EA will also be provided. The decision would be documented in a Decision Notice before implementation could occur. With a signed decision, implementation of proposed treatments for the Forsythe Project could begin immediately pursuant to regulations at 36 CFR Some treatments could occur up to ten years after the decision. Acreages and locations proposed are approximate and would vary during implementation depending on site specific conditions. This project is authorized under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) and will therefore be subject to the objection procedure at 36 CFR 218, in lieu of the appeal procedure at 36 CFR 215. This process encourages early and continued public participation in the planning process prior to a decision being made. 4

5 To have your comments fully considered in the analysis and to keep the planning process on schedule, please submit your comments to this proposed action by October 14, If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Cody Hutchinson, Interdisciplinary Team Leader or me at the Boulder Ranger District office in Boulder, CO, at (303) Sincerely, MARCUS A. STALEY Acting District Ranger Enclosures: Forsythe Vicinity Map Forsythe Proposed Action Map 5

6 Wyoming Colorado Forsythe Project Vicinity Map 80 Cheyenne Fort Collins Loveland Longmont : 10 Miles Boulder Denver Wyoming Nebraska Project Location ¹ Boulder Ranger District Arapaho Roosevelt NF Boundary Utah AZ 25 Project Location ^_ Colorado New Mexico Kansas Texas Map Created By: amycoe 08/29/2011

7 Forsythe Project Proposed Action Map UV 72 UV 119 Nederland UV Key To Symbols Miles : MAJOR SYSTEM ROADS PROJECT BOUNDARY ARAPAHO ROOSEVELT NF PRIVATE PROPERTY Proposed Action Treatments MEADOW ENHANCEMENT ACRES ASPEN RESTORATION ACRES LODGEPOLE PINE TREATMENT - 2,312 ACRES PONDEROSA PINE TREATMENT - 1,540 ACRES BROADCAST BURN ACRES UV 72 77S.0 Map Created By: amycoe 09/06/2011