UMR Systemic Forest Stewardship Plan

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1 UMR Systemic Forest Stewardship Plan Lyle Guyon Charlie Deutsch Joe Lundh Randy Urich NGRREC USACE MVS USACE MVR USACE MVP September 15, 2015 US Army Corps of Engineers

2 BUILDING STRONG

3 Authors / Editors Lyle Guyon Charlie Deutsch Joe Lundh Randy Urich National Great Rivers Research & Education Center U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District Writing Team Dick Steinbach Karen Westphall Eileen Kirsch John Cannon Katy Manar Gary Swenson U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Quincy, IL U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Quincy, IL U.S. Geological Survey, La Crosse, WI U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District

4 Report Contributors Bob Clevenstine Eric Nelson Robert Cosgriff Sarah Miller Jon Schultz Chuck Theiling Ben Vandermyde Kurt Brownell Randall Devendorf Kristin Moe Mary Muraski Jon Sobiech Teresa Heyer Mike Griffin Terry Helbig Larry Himanga Mark Andersen Jon Stravers Todd Strole Megan Dooling U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Rock Island, IL U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Winona, MN U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District U.S. Forest Service, NA S&PF, St. Paul, MN Iowa Department of Natural Resources Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Audubon Society The Nature Conservancy National Great Rivers Research & Education Center

5 Plan Purpose and Scope Guide for regional coordination Develop regional goals and objectives Identify data needs Promote the use of adaptive management

6 Designated Project Area

7 Ecosystem Services Provided by Floodplain Forests Water Quality Improvement to ground and surface water by promoting infiltration, recharge, detoxification, and nutrient cycling; natural flood and erosion/scour control by absorbing energy from floodwaters, reducing flood velocities and peaks, and reducing sediment loads. Living Resources Provision of fish and wildlife habitat, genetic diversity, pollination, organic matter production, protection of rare and endangered species, and creation of corridors for migration.

8 Ecosystem Services Provided by Floodplain Forests Land Based Resources Establishment and enhancement of forested land cover, harvests of natural forest products, wind breaks, and carbon sequestration. Education/Research Opportunities for environmental education and the scientific study of physical, biological and cultural resources. Cultural/Recreational Resources Consumptive and non-consumptive uses, open space, and aesthetic values.

9 Resource Trends Floodplain history and conversion Hydrologic impacts from dams and flooding Monotypic forest habitat Less hard mast trees Less pioneer species cottonwood, willow Disease, insects, and invasive species

10 System-Wide Goals Vision Statement To seek long-term sustainability of the economic uses and ecological integrity of the Upper Mississippi River System Overarching Ecosystem Goal To conserve, restore, and maintain the ecological structure and function of the Upper Mississippi River System to achieve the vision.

11 System-Wide Goals A functional, sustainable floodplain ecosystem that includes a mosaic of native vegetation communities sufficient to support important wildlife habitat Restore and maintain forest diversity, health, and sustainability on Federal lands Provide support for the restoration and maintenance of forest diversity, health and sustainability on non-federal lands Adaptive management: science-based decision making

12 Objectives Goal 1: A functional, sustainable floodplain forest ecosystem Develop a system-wide, spatially explicit database/model containing both reference and current site conditions, among other attributes Identify and prioritize habitats and/or species that are underrepresented in today s floodplain ecosystem Establish priority focus areas where restoration efforts are likely to have the most impact Use landscape-scale analyses to establish and maintain larger blocks of closed-canopy floodplain forest for nesting forest birds Design forest restoration projects to maximize the amount of interior forest habitat

13 Objectives Goal 2: Restore and maintain forest diversity, health, and sustainability on Federal lands Restore and maintain tree species diversity on Federal lands Generate target levels of representative communities Establish ideal age and structure class distributions Establish targets for canopy coverage Use a variety of management actions to achieve targets Establish tree planting guidelines for Federal lands Support restoration of a more natural floodplain hydrology... Designate a portion of lands for passive management only Provide special consideration for Federal and State listed species Tailor site specific mgmt prescriptions to benefit wildlife goals... Reduce the adverse effects of invasive species on native biota

14 Objectives Goal 3: Provide support for the restoration and maintenance of forest diversity on non-federal lands Provide technical support for forest restoration efforts on non- Federal and private lands in the UMRS floodplain as needed and pursuant to relevant authority, memorandums of understanding and/or agreement, etc. Provide financial support for forest restoration efforts on non-federal land in the UMRS floodplain pursuant to applicable cost-share guidelines

15 Objectives Goal 4: Adaptive management Continue to acquire additional management information as necessary Develop a web-accessible GIS-based planning and decision-support database to include restoration, inventory data, habitat and wildlife monitoring, etc. Establish a partnership with the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture (LMVJV) Implement adaptive management by: Setting measurable benchmarks against which to gauge the success of projects Monitoring the results of projects and use lessons learned in future project planning Incorporating statistically valid methods in project planning whenever feasible Linking project-level accomplishments back to system-level goals and objectives

16 Desired Stand Conditions Forest Variables Overstory canopy cover Overstory Species Desired UMRS Stand Structure 70 80% > 80% 2 or more species Conditions that may warrant active management Large blocks of single species Basal area ft 2 per acre > 200 ft 2 per acre Tree stocking 50% 90% < 50% or > 90% Emergent trees > 2 per acre < 1 per acre Understory cover > 10 % < 10% Regeneration > 10% of area < 10% of area

17 Desired Stand Conditions Forest Variables Desired UMRS Stand Structure Conditions that may warrant active management Coarse woody debris Present Not present Small cavities Den trees/large cavities 2 visible holes per acre 1 visible hole per 10 acres < 2 visible holes per acre < 1 visible holes per 10 acres Standing dead trees 2 large trees per acre < 2 large trees per acre Invasive (herbaceous) < 10% Invasive (woody) < 10% > 10% of herbaceous layer > 10% of any canopy layer

18 Floodplain Forest Restoration Tools Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) Harvesting methods Group selection Shelterwood Seed tree Site preparation

19 Floodplain Forest Restoration Tools Forest establishment Natural regeneration Tree plantings Containerized saplings Bare root seedlings Direct seeding

20 Floodplain Forest Restoration Tools Prescribed burning Elevation modification Water level management

21 Recommended Priority Actions Hydro Geomorphic Model (HGM) Data acquisition LIDAR Forest Resource Inventory Coordinated system-wide data management Identification of forest restoration projects

22 Implementation HGM Data acquisition Forest Management Geodatabase (FMG) Forest restoration & management actions Integration with: Master Plans Site specific Forest Management Plans Silvicultural prescriptions

23 Forest Resources Inventory

24 Forest Resources Inventory

25 Forest Resources Inventory QUPA2 FRPE

26 Forest Resources Inventory

27 Forest Management Plan Dardenne Island

28 Forest Management Plan Dardenne Island

29 Forest Management Plan Dardenne Island

30 Forest Management Plan Dardenne Island

31 Stand Prescriptions

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