Spruce Beetle and Aspen Decline EIS Stakeholder Meeting EIS - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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spruce beetle and aspen decline eis stakeholder meeting
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Spruce Beetle and Aspen Decline EIS Stakeholder Meeting EIS - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Mar 15, 2024 238 likes •628 views

Spruce Beetle and Aspen Decline EIS Stakeholder Meeting EIS Update Objection process concluded May 5 8 objection letters, 4 objections resolved Copies available on SBEADMR project page Forest is addressing instructions from

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SLIDE 1

Spruce Beetle and Aspen Decline EIS Stakeholder Meeting

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SLIDE 2

EIS Update

  • Objection process concluded May 5
  • 8 objection letters, 4 objections resolved
  • Copies available on SBEADMR project page
  • Forest is addressing instructions from Reviewing Officer
  • Awaiting Biological Opinion from Fish & Wildlife Service
  • Final Record of Decision anticipated in June
  • Implementation of field surveys this summer/fall
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SLIDE 3

Purpose and Need

Public Safety

  • Remove hazard trees near roads and infrastructure, both within and outside the

wildland urban interface (WUI).

  • Increase the extent of defensible space around values at risk and provide safer

locations from which firefighters can initiate fire management actions. Resiliency

  • Increase the forests’ ability to respond to multiple and interacting stresses,

including climate change, insect attack, drought or disease. Recovery

  • Provide commercial forest products to local dependent industries
  • Post harvest activities including: treat fuels, prepare sites, and re-establish and

maintain forest cover via replanting where seed sources are lacking.

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SLIDE 4

4

  • 1. Consult FEIS/ROD for direction on treatment priorities,

design features, and other implementation parameters Results used to verify or modify subsequent

  • actions. Cycle continues through life of ROD
  • 2. Delineate potential treatment areas within FEIS priority treatment areas (PTAs)
  • 3. Conduct off-season workshop

5. Prepare detailed treatment plan with layout, applicable design features & monitoring requirements

  • 6. Publish notice for opportunity to comment on updated treatment list and refined maps
  • 4. Complete field surveys for treatments
  • 7. Conduct public field trips of treatment areas
  • 8. Finalize treatment design checklist
  • 9. Implement treatments including administration of contract

terms, and other instruments incorporating plan requirements

  • 10. Complete monitoring
  • 11. Conduct formal post-treatment field review
  • 12. Conduct management review by forest leadership team
  • 13. Publish annual report of implementation activities

Figure 1 (Appendix E). Adaptive implementation and monitoring framework.

Adaptive Implementation Framework

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SLIDE 5
  • 1. Consult FEIS/ROD for direction on treatment priorities, design features,

and other implementation parameters

  • 2. Delineate potential treatment areas within FEIS priority treatment areas (PTAs)
  • 3. Conduct off-season workshop (NOW)
  • 4. Complete field surveys for treatments
  • 5. Prepare detailed treatment plan with layout, applicable design features

& monitoring requirements

  • 6. Publish notice for opportunity to comment on updated treatment list and

refined maps

  • 7. Conduct public field trips of treatment areas
  • 8. Finalize treatment design checklist

Adaptive Implementation Framework

Pre-Implementation

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SLIDE 6
  • Review updated maps of proposed treatment units, evaluate, discuss and comment on

priority sequencing of treatments, treatment prescriptions, EIS/ROD compliance;

  • Provide feedback to the Forest Service regarding prior-year Management Review;
  • Input on types and location of monitoring. Participants will be invited to participate in

monitoring during summer field trips;

  • Identify applicable peer-reviewed science to be considered in annual science

summary;

  • Raise questions and make suggestions to be considered for further administrative

study and multi-party monitoring.

Stakeholder opportunities today (from Appendix E):

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SLIDE 7

Priority Treatment Areas – East Zone

GA Name Combination Resiliency Salvage Total Gunnison Basin North 6296 6548 1548 14391 Gunnison Basin South 10430 4254 11085 25768 Total 16725 10802 12632 40160

GA & LAU Name Burn and Mechanical Gunnison Basin North 14384 Gunnison Basin South 12414 Total 26798

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SLIDE 8

East Zone – Desired Condition & Trends

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SLIDE 9

Integrated Planning Areas – East Zone (Timber, Fuels, Wildlife)

2017

  • Skeleton*
  • Nutras*
  • Willow Mesa*
  • Pauline*
  • Small Sales*

2018

  • Cooler*
  • Sargents Mesa*
  • Small Sales*
  • Willow Creek

(noncommercial) 2019

  • Alpine Plateau 1*
  • Lujan*
  • Small Sales*
  • One Mile

(noncommercial) 2020

  • Alpine Plateau 2*
  • Small Sales*

*Recovery Treatment

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SLIDE 10

Integrated Planning & Implementation

  • Fuels removal and fuel loading reduction
  • Identify strategic locations to reduce fuel loading and create discontinuous fuel continuity to

enhance protection of values at risk.

  • Increase public and firefighter safety through reducing fuels along priority egress routes.
  • Increase firefighter safety by reducing fuel loading to create safer locations from which firefighters

can plan and initiate tactical actions.

  • Wildlife habitat objectives
  • Identify key areas to provide snowshoe hare, pine marten, and lynx denning habitat
  • Identify areas where high amounts of regeneration are expected post-treatment
  • Retain snags by implementing design features
  • Landscape-scale habitat connectivity
  • Promote aspen regeneration
  • Post-harvest site preparation and tree planting in areas where stocking does not

meet minimum standards

  • Road maintenance
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SLIDE 11
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SLIDE 12

Los Pinos Pass/Big Meadows

  • Recovery treatments
  • Desired Future Condition
  • Uneven age stand structure
  • Diversify tree species
  • Reforestation

Known Design Feature Triggers

  • Wilderness Boundary
  • Wetland areas—Willow Mesa
  • Stream Crossings (temp roads)
  • Maintain habitat connectivity

(lynx; American marten)

  • Known goshawk nests in areas
  • American marten documented in

areas

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SLIDE 13

Sargents Mesa

  • Recovery treatments
  • Desired Future Condition
  • Uneven age stand structure
  • Diversify tree species
  • Reforestation

Known Design Feature Triggers

  • Continental Divide NST
  • American marten documented in

area

  • Wetland areas (buffer)
  • Hydrology emphasis (headwaters
  • f Tank 7 Creek)
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SLIDE 14

Skeleton

  • Recovery treatment
  • Desired Future Condition
  • Uneven age stand structure
  • Diversify tree species
  • Reforestation

Known Design Feature Triggers

  • Wetland areas (north)
  • Potential for Boreal Toads
  • Survey to be conducted this

summer

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SLIDE 15

Integrated Planning Areas – East Zone (Timber, Fuels, Wildlife)

  • Resiliency treatment
  • Desired Future Condition
  • Reduce hazardous

fuels

  • Promote aspen

regeneration using prescribed burns

  • Enhance big game

habitat

  • Design Feature Triggers
  • Known flammulated
  • wl nests and

potential for goshawk nests in areas

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SLIDE 16

Priority Treatment Areas – West Zone

GA & LAU Name Combination Resiliency Salvage Total Uncompahgre Plateau 13673 14159 351 28183

GA & LAU Name Burn and Mechanical Uncompahgre Plateau 3857

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SLIDE 17

West Zone – Desired Condition & Trends

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SLIDE 18

Priority Treatment Areas – West Zone

GA & LAU Name Combination Resiliency Salvage Total San Juans 7772 2590 1830 12193

GA & LAU Name Burn and Mechanical San Juans 379

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SLIDE 19

West Zone – Desired Condition & Trends

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SLIDE 20

Integrated Planning Areas – West Zone (Timber, Fuels, Wildlife)

Little Cone FY 17 West Fork Road Treatment FY 17, High Mesa FY 18 and Big Park FY 19 Fuels/ Wildlife Treatment

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SLIDE 21

Integrated Planning Areas – West Zone (Timber, Fuels, Wildlife)

Little Cone

  • Planned FY 2017
  • Found active beetle spots
  • Combination of Recovery & Resiliency
  • Desired Future Condition
  • Uneven aged stand structure
  • Design Feature Triggers
  • Access, mostly land locked portion of forest
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SLIDE 22

Integrated Planning Areas – West Zone (Timber, Fuels, Wildlife)

High Mesa

  • Planned FY 2018
  • Monitoring Spruce Beetle Activity
  • Will conduct reconnaissance in

2016/2017

High Mesa FY 18 West Fork Road Area Big Park FY19

Big Park

  • Planned FY 2019
  • Will begin reconnaissance in 2017/18
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SLIDE 23

Integrated Planning Areas – West Zone (Timber, Fuels, Wildlife)

West Fork (FSR 858/ 860)

  • Planned FY 2018
  • Will conduct reconnaissance in

2016/2017

  • Apply design features to culverts
  • Roadside Hazard Treatment

West Fork Road Area

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SLIDE 24

Integrated Planning Areas – West Zone (Timber, Fuels, Wildlife)

Read Hill Spring Creek Fuels/ Wildlife Treatment

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SLIDE 25

Integrated Planning Areas – West Zone (Timber, Fuels, Wildlife)

Reade Hill

  • Implementation 2018
  • Aspen Regeneration/WUI
  • Desired Future Condition
  • Multiple age-classes
  • Opportunities and Need for

Coordination

  • Power Transmission Line
  • Electronic Site.
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SLIDE 26

Integrated Planning Areas – West Zone (Timber, Fuels, Wildlife)

Spring Creek

  • Implementation 2018
  • Aspen Regeneration/WUI
  • Desired Future Condition
  • Multiple age-classes
  • Opportunities and

Need for Coordination

  • Power Transmission Line
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SLIDE 27

Priority Treatment Areas – North Zone

GA Name Combination Resiliency Salvage Total Grand Mesa 8805 6149 485 15440

GA & LAU Name Burn and Mechanical Grand Mesa 9301

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SLIDE 28

North Zone – Desired Condition & Trends

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SLIDE 29

Priority Treatment Areas – North Zone

GA & LAU Name Combination Resiliency Salvage Total North Fork Valley 3356 4941 544 8842

GA & LAU Name Burn and Mechanical Mechanical Only Total North Fork Valley 2340 198 2538

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SLIDE 30

North Zone – Desired Condition & Trends

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SLIDE 31

Integrated Planning Areas – North Zone Commercial Treatments

2018

  • Horse Mountain Salvage

2019

  • Military Park

2020

  • Hubbard
  • Overland
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Integrated Planning Areas – North Zone Commercial Treatments

Horse Mountain

  • Planned FY 2018
  • Found active beetle spots
  • Combination of Recovery & Resiliency
  • Desired Future Condition
  • Uneven aged stand structure
  • Diversify tree species
  • Known Triggers for Design Features
  • Snowmobile trails in area
  • Known stream in N & S ends of sale
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SLIDE 33

Integrated Planning Areas – North Zone Commercial Treatments Military Park

  • Planned FY 2019
  • Found active beetle spots
  • Combination (Recovery, Resiliency)
  • Desired Future Condition
  • Uneven aged stand structure
  • Diversify tree species
  • Known Design Feature Triggers
  • Range fences in area
  • Fence or manage livestock post-treatment
  • Wet areas are common
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SLIDE 34

Integrated Planning Areas – North Zone Commercial Treatments

Hubbard

  • Planned FY 2020
  • Resiliency treatment
  • Desired Future Condition
  • Uneven aged stand structure
  • Diversify tree species
  • Known Design Feature Triggers
  • Goshawk nests in area
  • Cutthroat in area
  • Wetlands
  • Snowmobile trails in area
  • Ditches
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SLIDE 35

Integrated Planning Areas – North Zone Commercial Treatments

Overland

  • Planned FY 2020
  • Resiliency treatment
  • Desired Future Condition
  • Uneven aged stand structure
  • Diversify tree species
  • Known Design Feature Triggers
  • Goshawk in area
  • Peregrine Falcon in area
  • Cutthroat in area
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SLIDE 36

Non Non-Commercial Treatment Area – North Zone

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SLIDE 37
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SLIDE 38

Pla lanned Surv rveys in in the North Zone – All ll Treatment Areas

  • Invasive plant surveys in high risk areas
  • Northern Goshawk Surveys in Suitable Habitat
  • Remote Camera stations to monitor Marten use and

presence

  • Boreal Owl surveys/assessments in suitable spruce

habitat

  • Dense Horizontal Cover Surveys
  • Other Wildlife surveys as appropriate
  • Archaeological Surveys