Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project

Transcription

1 United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service November 2014 Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project Minidoka Ranger District, Sawtooth National Forest Cassia and Twin Falls Counties, Idaho Image provided by L.Snoddy, 2014

2 For More Information Contact: Steve Clezie Minidoka Ranger District Office 2306 Hiland Ave South Burley, ID (208) 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. (Not 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 to 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 Introduction The Minidoka Ranger District of the Sawtooth National Forest, is proposing to implement a variety of vegetation modifications and prescribed fire treatments along the Rock Creek Canyon Road within the Cassia Division, commonly referred to as the South Hills. We are calling the project the Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project. The proposed treatments will be carried out over ten years and on approximately 7,959 acres within the project area. This project is designed to begin restoring desired vegetative conditions and to reduce hazardous fuel conditions within the project boundary by modifying vegetation composition and structure using vegetation thinning techniques and prescribed fire treatments. Project Area The proposed project area is located on the Cassia Division of the Minidoka Ranger District in the Sawtooth National Forest. The project area boundary includes 7,959 acres and is divided between Twin Falls County (4,084 acres) and Cassia County (3,875 acres). The project area is split between the Fourth Fork Rock Creek Subwatershed of the Upper Rock Creek Watershed and the Upper Goose Creek Subwatershed of the Upper Goose Creek Watershed. (See vicinity map below) Map 1. Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project Vicinity 1

4 Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project The project area contains four organizational camps, 17 summer homes, the Magic Mountain Ski Area, five developed Forest Service campgrounds, one designated dispersed campsite, one dispersed campsite, the Rock Creek Guard Station, one communication site (radio repeaters for both the Sawtooth NF and BLM), Diamond Field Jack s Snow Play Area, and the Pike Mountain viewing area. These areas form the Rock Creek Recreation Complex and are within the Wildland-Urban Interface of an at-risk community designated by the 2014 Twin Falls County Wildland Urban Interface Wildfire Mitigation Plan. Rock Creek Canyon is centrally located within the popular South Hills area and provides ample recreation opportunity for many southern Idaho campers, hunters, and off-road recreationists. The only paved road and most frequently used access route into the South Hills area is Rock Creek Canyon Road (3800 E, Forest Service Road # 515). Running the length of the proposed project area, Rock Creek Canyon Road is the most practical evacuation route, and the only maintained winter road in the area. Although current records do not include day-use or non-designated and dispersed campsite users, 4,300 campers paid fees for developed campsites in the Cassia Division during Current Conditions Much of the fire-adapted ecosystem within the project area no longer experiences historic fire events. This long-term fire exclusion has allowed high fuel loads to accumulate within the Rock Creek Drainage. Dwarf mistletoe and fir broom rust have increased tree mortality within the entire Cassia Division. Tree stands are reaching a climax successional stage with individuals becoming decadent and dying. A decrease in structural and age-class diversity has increased stand density and fuel continuity. This high fuel load can cause crowning, spotting, and intense wildfire behavior. With current stand conditions, effectively controlling such an intense wildfire would be difficult. The dominance of subalpine fir over lodgepole pine, and conifer species over aspen, has diminished the mosaic of pure and mixed stands, reducing overall ecological diversity within the proposed project area. Fire exclusion has decreased the presence of early seral 1 components found in healthy forest stands. Tree species composition and stand structure have lost diversity and are likely to display uncharacteristic wildfire. The excess fuels present in the form of dead standing and down trees, dense understory, diseased trees, and surface fuels, also contribute to current undesirable conditions. The 2012 Sawtooth Forest Land & Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) uses environmental characteristics, site productivity, and disturbance regimes to describe desirable conditions for each Potential Vegetation Group (PVG) found within the project area. Current mapping of Forest PVG data was completed at the programmatic, Forest Plan scale utilizing a modeling process based on large-scale environmental characteristics. While this data layer is representative of spatial patterns at the programmatic scale, a site-specific review of existing vegetation indicates a need to refine the PVG designations within the project area. During the planning process, it is expected that PVG geospatial data within the project area will be edited to more accurately guide development of management actions needed to move toward desired 1 A seral community (or sere) is an intermediate stage found in ecological succession in an ecosystem advancing towards its climax community. 2

5 conditions. While desired conditions for some PVGs include components associated with standreplacing wildfire, hazards may be reduced using the proposed vegetation management techniques. Purpose and Need The overall purpose of the Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project is to begin restoring the desired conditions that will help maintain a healthy, resistant and resilient landscape, rich in biodiversity, with a greater capacity to adapt and thrive in the face of natural disturbance and large-scale threats to sustainability. Restoration focuses on establishing the composition, structure, pattern, and ecological processes necessary to make terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems sustainable, resilient, and healthy under current and future conditions. (Forest Service Manual , page 12) Overall desired conditions of the project area include: Reduced surface fuel loads and ladder fuels, open forested areas where periodic lowintensity surface fires can be safely reintroduced and where wildfires can be safely fought, A sustainable mosaic of mixed and pure tree stands with variable densities and structure that decrease the risk of tree mortality from fire, insects, drought and disease, and provide a variety of wildlife habitats. To begin restoring the project area to desired conditions, our immediate purpose is threefold; 1. Improve overall forest health; 2. Reduce fuel concentrations; and 3. Improve public and firefighter safety. There is a need to restore forest health and diversity, fire-resistance/fire-resilience, and reduce the wildfire risk to the Rock Creek Recreation Complex, including the likelihood of uncharacteristic wildfire. There is an immediate need to: Reduce ladder fuels that provide vertical and horizontal fuel continuity thereby reducing crown fire risk. Reduce surface fuel load to reduce fire intensity. Reduce the overall horizontal and vertical fuelbed continuity within the Rock Creek Recreational Complex, while increasing the likelihood of firefighter and public safety. Create stand conditions and manage fuel loadings in strategic areas that can be maintained through prescribed burning. Increase canopy base heights and crown spacing to reduce the risk of crown fires. Create strategic fuel breaks to reduce fuel densities thus providing fire control opportunities. Restore the area to a more desirable vegetative condition consistent with Forest Plan direction. 3

6 Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project The Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project would implement several Management Options developed by the 2014 National Fire Plan 2 to address the National Goal to Restore and Maintain Landscapes. The project is also designed to meet and implement Title I of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, focused on Hazardous-Fuel Reduction on NFS and BLM Land (P.L ). Proposed Action Approximately 1,989 acres of mechanical treatments, 1,595 acres of prescribed fire treatments, and 348 acres of timber stand improvements would be applied to meet the purpose and need described above. (See Map 2 at the end of this document for treatment areas) Mechanical Treatments (1,989 acres) Conifer Treatment A hand treatment of low thinning (removing suppressed and intermediate trees 8-10 inches in diameter) would be applied to most of this treatment area to reduce fuel densities and enhance growing conditions for larger-diameter trees. Figure 1. Before low thinning Treatment Before Figure 2. After low thinning treatment In some areas, the 100 hour ground fuels (downed limbs / logs that are 3-8 inches diameter) would be piled and burned to reduce surface fuel loads. Intermediate and suppressed tree removal would decrease the presence of ladder fuels (vegetation that can carry fire vertically into the tree crown) and the potential of surface fires transitioning into a crown fire. Shaded fuel breaks (removing understory vegetation while leaving the canopy intact in 100 to 300 foot strips) would be strategically placed in this treatment area to aid future wildfire suppression tactics. 2 The National Strategy in the Final Phase of the Development of the Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy, April

7 Aspen Treatment A hand treatment of low thinning (removing suppressed and intermediate trees 8-10 inches in diameter) would be applied to most of this treatment area. Conifer slash (cut vegetation) would be hand piled and burned. A drop, lop, and scatter treatment consisting of thinning trees (all conifer but only up to 14 inch diameter at breast height or d.b.h. for lodgepole pine) and evenly distributing slash to uniformly intensify later prescribed fire treatments would be applied in 5-10 acre burn blocks. Treatments will reset aspen stands to include early seral stage components. The resulting benefits would apply to both fuels management and natural resources. Except under the driest conditions, aspen stands can act as natural fire breaks. The proposed aspen treatments would improve overall stand conditions and wildlife habitat. Figure 3. Conifer encroachment Figure 6. One year after aspen stand prescribed fire treatment Figure 4. Drop, lop, scatter treatment Figure 5. Broadcast burning treatment 5

8 Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project High Value Area Treatment Proposed treatments near organizational camps and summer homes would be based on their distance from structures: 0 to 10 feet - remove all conifer trees. 10 to 200 feet - thin overstory to a density of 100 conifer trees-per-acre, prune all residual trees to a height of 10 feet, and remove most understory ladder fuels (leaving some smaller-diameter trees for future regeneration). 200 feet to unit boundary - thin overstory to a density of 100 conifer trees-per-acre, prune all residual trees to a height of 6 feet, and remove most understory ladder fuels (leaving some smaller-diameter trees for future regeneration). Entire High Value Treatment Area - bole (tree trunk) material, limbs, and slash less than 6 inches d.b.h. would be masticated (reducing vegetation into small chunks by grinding, shredding or chopping using a front-end or boom-mounted rotary blade or drum-type head) depending upon the amount of ground material. Figure 7. Before mastication and pruning treatments Figure 8. After mastication and pruning treatments Around developed campgrounds and dispersed campsites pruning (increasing canopy base height to a height of 6 to 10 feet) will take place and a low thinning (removing suppressed and intermediate trees 8-10 inches in diameter). A hand treatment of low thinning (removing suppressed and intermediate trees 8-10 inches in diameter) would be applied around communications sites and the Rock Creek Guard Station. Conifer slash could be hand piled and burned. Prescribed Fire Treatment (1,595 acres) Broadcast Burning The National Wildfire Coordinating Group defines broadcast burning as prescribed burning activity where fire is applied generally to most or all of an area within well-defined boundaries for reduction of fuel hazard, as a resource management treatment, or both. The 6

9 broadcast burn treatment area is in the northern portion of the project boundary. Not all of the area within the broadcast burn boundary will be treated. Roads, trails, natural barriers and handlines will allow broadcast burns to focus primarily on high fuel concentrations and undesirable conditions present in timber stands. The 2012 Thompson Creek Fire burn scar, Buckskin Ridge Road, Rock Creek Canyon Road (FS Road #515), and the ridge extending along FS Road #236 will function as contingency fire breaks. Ideal burning conditions are at least one week from the last significant rainfall, lighter wind conditions, and while higher fuel moistures exist in adjacent vegetation. All broadcast burns would be implemented under a prescription burn plan. Treatments would occur during the spring or fall and a variety of ignition techniques will be utilized. All handline created to control prescribed fire will be rehabilitated upon burn completion. Pile Burning In some areas, slash produced by thinning and pruning activities would be piled and burned. All pile burns would be implemented under a prescription burn plan during either the spring or fall. A variety of ignition techniques will be utilized for pile burning. Timber Stand Improvements (348 acres) Forest Management practices will include small timber sales, pre-commercial thinning, and patch cut harvesting. A portion of PVG 10 (Persistent Lodgepole Pine) within the project area will be pre-commercially thinned to promote larger-diameter trees according to Forest Plan guidelines. Lodgepole would be sold for posts and poles during small timber sales. The presence of insects and disease (dwarf mistletoe and fir broom rust) will be reduced using a patch cut harvest. Features common to all units Standing dead trees deemed hazardous to the general public would be removed. The desired range of snags and course woody debris per acre will be maintained within each PVG according to Appendix A of the Forest Plan. Prescriptions for Best Management Practices will be applied for resources where appropriate and necessary as directed by law and Forest Plan. Fuelwood (firewood) and Christmas tree collection may still be collected from designated areas within the proposed boundary. Request for Comments I invite your issues, concerns, and comments specific to this proposal so that they may be considered early in the analysis. Comments that are site-specific, or based on your knowledge of the area, will better help us develop and evaluate the project. Although comments are welcome throughout the planning process, providing comments by January 9, 2015, will allow time for your input to be considered during analysis in early We anticipate implementing this project during the summer of Please note that comments are a matter of public record and therefore may be provided to interested parties upon request. Questions about this proposal should be directed to Steve Clezie (project contact) at

10 Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project Comments may be submitted by facsimile (FAX), U.S. Mail, or hand-delivery. Electronic comments may also be submitted by to Electronic comments must be submitted in a format such as an message, plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), and Word (.docx). Office business hours for hand-delivered comments are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Please provide any issues, concerns, suggestions or additional information you may have regarding this project to: Steve Clezie Minidoka Ranger District Office 2306 Hiland Ave Burley, ID (208) telephone (208) FAX Electronic comments may be submitted to comments-intermtn-sawtooth-minidoka@fs.fed.us; please indicate Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project in the subject line. 8

11 Map 2. Proposed treatments for the Rock Creek Fuels and Vegetation Project 9