United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service February 2012 Proposed Action for 30-day Notice and Comment 2012 Emerald Ash Borer SLow Ash Mortality (SLAM) Hoosier National Forest Brownstown Ranger District Brown, Lawrence, and Monroe Counties, Indiana
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Table of Contents Purpose of This Document... 5 Introduction... 5 National Forest Management... 5 Forest Plan Direction and Desired Condition... 6 Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action... 7 Proposed Action Alternative A... 7 Alternative B No Action Alternative... 8 Project Location... 8 Decision to be Made... 8 Public Involvement... 8 References Cited... 9 Appendix A: Map of 2012 EAB SLAM Project Area... 11 3
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2012 Emerald Ash Borer SLow Ash Mortality (SLAM) Project Purpose of This Document In compliance with 36 CFR 215, the Hoosier National Forest (the Hoosier) is circulating the proposed action for the 2012 Emerald Ash Borer SLAM project. An interdisciplinary team of resource specialists will conduct an environmental analysis of this proposal. The Hoosier is providing this document to collect input, issues, and concerns that the public may have related to the anticipated effects of the Proposed Action. This information will be used in completing the analysis. By commenting at this time, you provide opportunity for the interdisciplinary team to fully consider and use your information in the analysis. Response to this document will assist the Hoosier in improving the analysis of effects, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Submitting comments to this document in the specified 30-day period will ensure that you receive a copy of the final project decision. You will also establish standing in the event that you choose to appeal the decision. Introduction In the winter of 2008, emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) was identified in the Hardin Ridge Recreation Area of the Hoosier. In a cooperative effort, the Forest Service and Indiana Department of Natural Resources applied an aggressive approach known as SLAM. This strategy included, along with other techniques, stressing ash trees to act as a sink to draw the emerald ash borer (EAB) into the center of the infested area then removing the bark of the ash to destroy the EAB. Despite efforts to contain the EAB, the insect continues to spread. Detection traps have shown the EAB has moved from the initial infestation point of Hardin Ridge outward. From recent models, we expect the EAB to enter the Charles C. Deam Wilderness. Without intervention, these populations would continue to grow and contribute to a faster rate of spread into noninfested areas. The Hoosier is proposing to expand ongoing efforts to control the EAB. National Forest Management National Forest planning takes place at three different levels: national, regional, and forest. The Forest Service implements the strategic priorities identified at the national level of planning through annual agency budgets. Strategic priorities are based on national assessments of natural resources. The priorities are responsive to social and political trends. In 2007, the Forest Service developed strategic direction to guide the agency in its mission. The USDA Forest Service Strategic Plan FY2007-2012 sets goals that all levels of the agency are to address (USDA FS 2007). A site-specific project can tier to one or more of the goals stated in the 2007-2012 strategic plan. Goal 1 is applicable to the 2012 EAM SLAM project. That goal is Goal 1 Restore, Sustain and Enhance the Nation s Forests and Grasslands: Objective 1.4 - Reduce adverse impacts from invasive and native species, pests, and diseases. The Forest Service identified four major threats to the nation s forests and grasslands for the 21 st Century (http://www.fs.fed.us/projects/four-threats). Invasive species is included as one of these threats, a threat that this proposal would address. 5
The Strategic Framework for the Eastern Region (Strategic Framework) (USDA FS 2005) is based on what is called courageous conservation. Courageous conservation helps guide the Eastern Region of the Forest Service in aligning work in the larger context of the Agency s mission. The goals associated with this vision represent the Eastern Region s path to the future. Similar to planning at the national level, not all of the strategic goals apply to a given proposal and its analysis. Three goals in the Strategic Framework that apply to this project are: Walk the talk for sustainability. Protect ecosystems across boundaries. Revolutionize effectiveness and efficiency. Forest Plan Direction and Desired Condition The 2006 Hoosier National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) (USDA FS 2006) meets the requirements of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 and represents forest level planning. The Forest Plan provides direction at the forest level and describes future resource conditions we intend to attain. It also provides direction Forest-wide and at the management area level in the form of desired conditions, standards, and guidelines. The Forest Plan contains eight broad goals that the Hoosier will work to achieve during the planning period. A Forest Plan goal that applies to this proposal is: Maintain and restore sustainable ecosystems. This project incorporates direction from the Forest Plan and represents site-specific, projectlevel planning necessary to implement the Forest Plan and higher levels of planning. The 2012 EAB SLAM project would implement portions of the Forest Plan by restoring native ecosystems. The Forest Plan divided the Hoosier into various management areas. Activities proposed in this project would take place in Management Areas 2.4, 2.8, 5.1, 6.2, 6.4, and 7.1. Management Area 2.4 (desired condition) protects and enhances water-based recreation opportunities, visual quality, and riparian values. The desired condition includes forested shorelines or corridors up to 1 mile or more in width, with an unbroken canopy in large-diameter trees of a variety of species. As needed conduct activities to reduce the spread and potential of insect and disease infestations Management Area 2.8 is described (desired condition) as general forest with large areas of old forests and scattered openings associated with a variety of forest plant communities. The Hoosier manages the area primarily for plant and animal habitat diversity. Management Area 2.8 allows for a variety of management techniques. Management Area 5.1 is the congressionally designated Charles C. Deam Wilderness. Natural succession is the dominant process within the Charles C. Deam Wilderness. Use pesticides as necessary to prevent the loss of significant aspects of the wilderness, or to prevent significant losses to resource values on private or public lands bordering the wilderness. Management Area 6.2 is described (desired condition) as physical setting that provides an opportunity for solitude and a feeling of closeness to nature. Allow identified research plots to remain active until the research study is complete, but only limited vegetation management could occur. Management Area 6.4 is described (desired condition) as general forest land with the appearance of extensive stands of forest dominating the landscape with some openings. Natural barrens, glades, wetlands, and dry forest may be restored and perpetuated. Management Area 7.1 (desired condition) provides recreational facilities and developed sites. 6
Plant and animal habitats, including habitat improvements are managed to enhance visitor enjoyment and maximize sightings while protecting the habitats and populations. In these areas, vegetative management is focused on hazard tree removal; control of nonnative invasive species (NNIS); flower, nut, or berry production; scenic enhancement; and specific area objectives. Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action The EAB is a nonnative insect to North America. This small and destructive beetle is responsible for the decline and death of tens of millions of ash trees. The EAB larvae feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients. The exotic beetle was first reported killing ash trees in southeastern Michigan near Detroit in 2002. It spread to northern Indiana in 2004 and was detected on the Hoosier at the Hardin Ridge Recreation Area in 2008. Despite efforts to contain the EAB, the insect continues to spread. Detection traps have shown the EAB has moved from the initial infestation point of Hardin Ridge outward. Recent models show the EAB has entered the Charles C. Deam Wilderness. Without intervention, these populations would continue to grow and contribute to a faster rate of spread into non-infested areas. The objective of this project is to slow the spread of EAB by expanding the treatment area using existing SLAM protocols and to incorporate insecticides as a tool. Existing SLAM procedures include surveys to define EAB distribution and density in the area, inventories or surveys to assess ash abundance and distribution, EAB suppression activities, and regulatory measures. Suppression activities include attracting or concentrating EAB in girdled trees that are subsequently destroyed before the next generation of adults can emerge. Since the initial 2009 SLAM project, our understanding of how EAB can be managed with insecticides has increased. One method includes injecting infested trees with a systemic insecticide containing the active ingredient emamectin benzoate. The injected insecticides are transported within the vascular system of the tree to kill the EAB. Emamectin benzoate, derived from a naturally occurring soil bacterium, is an EPA approved insecticide and has been registered for more than 10 years as a foliar spray to control pests in vegetable and cotton fields. Similar products are used in veterinary medicine as wormers for dogs, horses, and other animals. This SLAM approach will not eradicate EAB. The goal of this management strategy is to slow the local invasion process and allow time for more research and technology development. When EAB was first identified in North America in 2002, little information about this beetle was available. Tools available for EAB survey and control have progressed considerably. Continued research and methods development will yield more options for EAB management and increase the effectiveness of existing technologies. Proposed Action Alternative A The Hoosier National Forest and Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Entomology & Plant Pathology proposes to expand the current EAB treatment area to approximately 61,500 acres in Monroe, Lawrence, and Brown Counties, Indiana. National Forest System lands comprise approximately 35 percent of the treatment area. The Charles C. Deam Wilderness comprises approximately 14 percent of the treatment area. Within the expanded boundary, this multiple year project would incorporate all current control methods to slow the EAB spread, including the use of sink trees. Girdling would be done on the interior of the project area to act as sink trees. Sink trees can concentrate EAB populations. 7
Girdling stresses the ash trees and makes them more attractive to EAB where females lay their eggs. Insects that emerge from other infested trees would stay in the infested area and could then be destroyed. Sink trees are girdled in the spring, cut in the fall or winter and their bark is stripped off at that time destroying any EAB life stages that are present. The Hoosier proposes to inject emamectin benzoate in approximately 250 ash trees per year in the project area that includes the Charles C. Deam Wilderness. Injected trees would create a barrier on the outer edge of the project area to prevent potential spread. Injected ash trees in the wilderness would be in the outer edge and would not be initially girdled. This could change if the EAB population density moves into the wilderness. Some injected trees would be dropped or sections of bark would be peeled to check for EAB. No motorized equipment would be used in the wilderness. The insecticides are trunk-injected and would be applied by licensed applicators. Alternative B No Action Alternative This alternative would not use insecticides in an expanded treatment boundary. Populations of EAB would grow continue to infest new areas at a faster rate This alternative provides a baseline or reference point against which to describe environmental affects of the proposed action. This is also a selectable alternative, but this alternative does not meet the purpose and need for this project. Project Location The 61,508-acre project area is located on the Brownstown Ranger District of the Hoosier National Forest. The project is located in southeast Monroe County, northeast Lawrence County, and southwest Brown County. The project area includes the Hardin Ridge Recreation Area and a significant portion of the Charles C. Deam Wilderness. For a map of the project area, see Appendix A. Decision to be Made Based on the environmental analysis, including the entire project record, the Forest Supervisor will decide whether to implement the proposed action alternative or no action at this time. If the Forest Supervisor selects the action alternative, she will determine which mitigation and monitoring requirements, if any, should be included. Public Involvement The Hoosier is circulating the proposed action that will be analyzed in an environmental assessment in accordance with 36 CFR 215. This comment period will last for 30 days beginning when The Hoosier Times publishes the legal notification of the project. Interdisciplinary team members will use comments received to further develop and refine the analysis. 8
References Cited U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USDA FS). 2005. Strategic framework for eastern region. 26 p. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USDA FS). 2006. Land and resource management plan Hoosier National Forest. Eastern Region. Bedford, IN: Hoosier National Forest. 85 p. + appendices. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USDA FS). 2007. USDA Forest Service strategic plan FY 2007-2012. FS-880. 32 p. 9
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Appendix A: Map of 2012 EAB SLAM Project Area 11