Decision Memo Tongass National Forest Pre-Commercial Thinning CE 2010 Decision It is my decision to authorize pre-commercial thinning (PCT) on approximately 7,500 acres of overstocked young-growth forest to enhance timber and wildlife habitat values. This project will occur in stands 20-30 years old on the on the Tongass National Forest. This decision allows pre-commercial thinning on lands suitable for timber harvest, in Old Growth Reserves, and within beach buffers. This project will improve tree growth and increase wildlife forage by reducing the number of trees per acre. The PCT is also designed to improve species composition and accelerate the stand through the stem exclusion stage. PCT promotes maintenance of understory vegetation and shortens the timeframe for the stand to attain old growth characteristics. No pesticides will be used and no roads will be constructed. The work will be performed by tree thinning contractors using chainsaws and will not involve the removal or sale of any forest products. Access to these stands will be by ATV or full size vehicles on existing roads and boats when necessary to access beach buffers. Heritage reviews for this project have been completed. No direct, indirect or cumulative effects on cultural resources are anticipated. Biological Evaluations were completed for sensitive plants and animals. No sensitive species will experience impacts that would cause or contribute to a trend towards federal listing, or cause a loss of viability to the population or the species. Thinning activities will not occur within 330 feet of bald eagle nests between March 1 and May 31. The contractor shall notify the Forest Service promptly should an eagle, other raptor or heron nest be found in or adjacent to a thinning stand. The following timing restrictions shall be applied: 1. Activities can occur between June 1 and August 31 if bald eagle nests are surveyed and it is determined that the bald eagle nests are not occupied. 2. If bald eagle nests are occupied or surveys are not completed, then thinning activities will not occur within 330 feet of the bald eagle nest until after August 31. 3. If an active goshawk nest, other raptor nest, or heron rookery is found within 600 feet of thinning activities, all actions within that distance should be discontinued, and FS should be consulted to determine course of action. Trees will be felled away from roads, ditches, road banks, sinkholes, established game and recreation trails, ponds, and streams, unless a thinning prescription to improve wildlife or fish habitat has been developed with appropriate resource specialists that specifically requires a different action. Current average contract cost for pre-commercial thinning is approximately $350/acre, which is the estimated per acre cost for the 7,500 acres included in this decision. Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 1
Areas included in this decision will be thinned beginning in the spring of 2010. See Appendix A for a list and maps of stands included in this decision. Stands are listed by management priority, wildlife or timber emphasis. Standard treatments will be summarized for each type of thinning. Specific treatments for each stand will be determined by a silviculturist and/or a wildlife biologist. Fish habitat improvement prescriptions will involve an aquatics specialist or a fisheries biologist. Public Involvement A scoping notice in the Wrangell Sentinel newspaper was published on March 4, 2010 to solicit comments regarding this project and announce that detailed information (PCT CE Scoping Packet) was available at the. No comments have been received. The PCT CE is listed on the April Schedule of Proposed Actions and the Scoping Packet is also posted on the web at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/projects/nepa_project.shtml?project=31409. Rationale for Categorically Excluding This Project This activity falls within a category of actions established by the Chief of the Forest Service that normally do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment and, therefore, may be categorically excluded from documentation in an Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment. This category of actions is identified in the Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Chapter 30, Section 31.2, Category 6, as timber stand and/or wildlife habitat improvement activities that do not include the use of pesticide or do not require more than one mile of low standard road construction. The has been pre-commercially thinning young-growth stands since 1979 to enhance timber production and improve wildlife and fish habitat. Pre-commercial thinning has evolved over the past 25 years to incorporate new knowledge to accomplish these objectives. No extraordinary circumstances exist that would result in additional impacts. No irreversible or irretrievable commitments of resources are anticipated. Supporting analysis for this project is included in the project Planning Record. Findings Required by Other Laws 2008 Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan This decision is consistent with the 2008 Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP) and the Forest-wide goals and objectives for timber, fish, and wildlife listed in the TLMP (pp. 2-2 - 2-10). The project sites are located in areas that have been assigned the following Land Use Designations: Timber Production Manage the area to maintain and promote industrial wood production. These lands will be managed to advance conditions favorable for the timber resource and for long-term timber production. Roads are permitted. Manage to ensure that recreation opportunities are available and a variety of wildlife habitats is present. Scenic Viewshed Management activities are not visually apparent to the casual observer in the near distance from visual priority travel routes and use areas. In the middle to background distance, activities Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 2
are subordinate to the landscape character of the area. Timber harvest is allowed and roads are permitted. Old Growth Habitat Management emphasis is to maintain areas of old-growth forests and their associated natural ecological processes to provide habitat for old-growth associated resources. Silvicultural treatments such as thinning, release and weeding, and pruning are allowed that accelerate forest succession to achieve old-growth forest structure. ANILCA Section 810, Subsistence Evaluation and Finding The effects of this project have been evaluated to determine potential effects on subsistence opportunities and resources. There is no documented or reported subsistence use that would be restricted as a result of this decision. For this reason, this decision would not result in a significant restriction of subsistence use of wildlife, fish, or other foods. Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended Under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), Federal agency activities within the coastal zone must be consistent with the Alaska Coastal Management Program (ACMP). This is a Federal agency activity as defined in 15 CFR 930.51(a). The Forest Service/State of Alaska Memorandum of Understanding on Coastal Zone Management Act/Alaska Coastal Management Program Consistency Reviews (MOU) lists activities normally requiring a consistency determination (MOU, Section 202.B.1.). This activity is authorized under a categorical exclusion (FSH 1909.15, Section 31.2.8) rather than EA or an EIS, and is not listed in Section 202.B.1 as normally requiring a consistency determination. Therefore, unless the State of Alaska requests and is granted permission from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to review this permit, no consistency certification or review will be required. Endangered Species Act of 1973 Biological evaluations have been completed for this action, which indicates no federally listed threatened or endangered species will be affected by this activity (Planning Record). National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 The Forest Service program for compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) includes locating, inventorying and evaluating all historic properties (cultural sites) that may be directly or indirectly affected by scheduled activities. Regulations (36 CFR 800) implementing Section 106 of the NHPA requires that Federal agencies consider the effects of their actions on such properties. A Forest Service archaeologist reviewed all Tongass National Forest cultural resources files and atlases, the Tongass Site Database and the Alaska Heritage Resource Survey database, for information on previous work, or known historic properties in the project area. There are no known sites in the activity areas. The proposed activities have no potential to affect historic properties. Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 3
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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 w here 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 der ived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons w ith disabilities w ho require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA' s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, w rite to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 5
Appendix A The following tables list stands on the that need pre-commercial thinning. These stands are in Land Use Designations (LUDS) that allow timber harvest. Wrangell Island TM Compartment Stand Acres 47600 22 4 47700 123 32 47700 126 17 47700 127 71 47700 130 50 47800 44 18 47800 136 20 47800 171 58 47800 184 57 47800 199 48 47907 5 81 47907 20 16 47907 21 34 47907 22 67 47907 32 14 Total Acres 587 Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 6
Bradfield TM Compartment Stands Acres 51502 5 63 51502 6 17 51502 7 74 51502 8 67 51502 9 103 51600 1 49 51600 2 41 51600 3 13 51600 4 54 51600 5 25 51600 6 15 51600 7 8 51600 8 3 51600 9 12 51600 10 73 51600 11 16 51600 12 56 51600 13 15 51600 14 59 51600 15 13 51600 16 12 51600 17 5 51609 1 80 51609 2 36 51609 3 59 51609 4 93 51609 5 50 51609 6 40 51609 7 35 51609 8 28 51609 9 48 51700 24 30 51700 25 43 51700 26 93 51700 30 50 Total Acres 1478 Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 7
Zarembo Island TM Compartment Stands Acres 45600 13 13 45600 17 44 45601 7 42 45601 8 34 45601 17 28 45601 21 26 45601 23 16 45601 25 158 45601 26 103 45700 14 33 45700 240 35 45804 13 31 45804 14 72 45804 15 34 45804 17 11 45805 2 81 45805 3 85 45902 42 57 45902 43 46 45902 44 123 45902 45 65 45902 47 43 45902 370 51 Total Acres 1231 Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 8
Etolin Island TM Compartment Stands Acres 46400 4 11 46400 15 3.5 46400 26 13 46400 145 2 46500 64 95 46500 67 66 46500 71 47 46500 123 122 46700 26 68 46700 27 39 46700 34 84 46700 35 51 46700 36 80 46700 2 22 46708 2 45 46900 1 38 46900 2 13 46900 4 19 46900 5 20 46900 7 23 46900 8 85 46900 10 16 46900 11 53 46900 12 74 Total Acres 1089.5 Bushy/Shrubby Islands Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 9
TM Compartment Stands Acres 46000 7 34 46000 13 39 46000 29 21 46000 30 32 46000 31 130 46000 33 37 46000 63 375 Total Acres 668 Woronkofski Islands TM Compartment Stands Acres 461 1 380 Total Acres 380 The intent of this treatment is to improve wildlife habitat and restore old growth characteristics. Reducing the stocking levels of conifers will allow browse species to be established and increase growth rates on remaining trees which will provide future habitat. Each stand will be evaluated by wildlife and silvicultural specialists to determine the appropriate treatments. An approximate spacing of 18x18 will be used, but may be adjusted for individual site conditions. Girdling trees over 7 inches will be done if needed to reduce slash loading and provide snags for habitat. Stands treated may include a slash free travel corridor and an unthinned buffer strip along roads. The following tables list those stands that are located within Old Growth Reserves/Beach buffers and are anticipated to need pre-commercial thinning (PCT) in the near future on the. Wrangell Island TM Compartment Stand No# Acres 47600 OGR 2 55 47600 OGR 6 12 47600 OGR 7 4 47600 OGR 10 36 47700 OGR 4 27 Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 10
47900 OGR 2 82 47907 OGR 15 95 47800 OGR 3 67 48001 OGR 22 8 Total acres 386 Zarembo Island TM Compartment Stand No# Acres 45600 Beach buffer 10 18 45601 Beach buffer 20 27 45601 Beach buffer 283 3 45700 Beach buffer 33 68 45700 Beach buffer 34 18 45700 Beach buffer 35 42 45700 Beach buffer 36 64 45700 Beach buffer 38 8 45804 OGR 2 51 45804 OGR 11 55 45804 OGR 64 40 45804 OGR 96 7 45805 OGR 7 54 45805 OGR 8 23 45805 OGR 9 27 45805 Beach buffer 10 5 45805 Beach buffer 13 6 45805 Beach buffer 14 57 45805 Beach buffer 15 39 45902 Beach buffer 302 16 45902 Beach buffer 305 17 45902 Beach buffer 308 22 45902 Beach buffer 332 12 45906 Beach buffer 1 32 45906 OGR 3 9 45906 OGR 4 18 45906 OGR 6 86 Total acres 824 Etolin Island TM Compartment Stand No# Acres 46900 Beach Buffer 3 20 46900 Beach Buffer 6 13 Total Acres 33 Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 11
Bushy/Shrubby Islands TM Compartment Stand No# Acres 46000 Beach Buffer 12 67 46000 Beach Buffer 19 130 46000 Beach Buffer 24 17 46000 Beach Buffer 28 13 46000 Beach Buffer 26 29 Woronkofski Island Total Acres 256 TM Compartment Stand No# Acres 46100 Beach Buffer 12 35 46100 Beach Buffer 14 42 46100 Beach Buffer 15 26 Rynda Island Total Acres 103 TM Compartment Stand No# Acres 45500 Beach Buffer 81 19 45500 Beach Buffer 82 30 45500 Beach Buffer 83 11 Total Acres 60 Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 12
Deer Island TM Compartment Stand No# Acres 52500 Beach Buffer 1 6 52500 Beach Buffer 2 41 52500 Beach Buffer 3 24 52500 Beach Buffer 4 69 52500 Beach Buffer 5 95 52500 Beach Buffer 6 33 52500 Beach Buffer 7 20 52500 Beach Buffer 8 49 52500 Beach Buffer 9 11 52500 Beach Buffer 10 11 52500 Beach Buffer 11 33 52500 Beach Buffer 12 40 52500 Beach Buffer 13 34 Total Acres 466 Grand Total 7561.5 Timber and Wildlife Stand Improvement Decision Memo - Page 13
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