April 23, 1998

Chapter 3 - Other Topics

INTRODUCTION

This chapter discusses five topics not presented in the previous chapter, which was organized around major revision topics. Topics discussed in this chapter include: fire and fuel treatment, fossil resources, heritage resources, landownership adjustment, and timber suitability. Although not revision topics, the topics found in this chapter are important. Direction addressing each will be developed and presented in the three revised management plans.

FIRE AND FUEL TREATMENT

Introduction

This section describes the historic and current roles of fire on the Northern Great Plains. The need to restore some of the historic fire regime to the Northern Great Plains planning are while balancing the need to safeguard life and property are addressed. Management guidelines will be presented for fire and fuel treatment in the three revised forest plans.

Existing Direction and Historic Condition

The Northern Great Plains region includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, plus the eastern portions of Montana and Wyoming, and extends northward into Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The climate of the region is characterized by an increase in precipitation and humidity and a decrease in periodic droughts during the summer from west to east. The climate range influences not only the potential native vegetation, but also the fire regime and its effects. The short grass prairie on the western and southern portions of the region is the most arid type, followed by the mixed-grass prairie in the mid-section of the region with its more moderate precipitation. The tall grass prairie on the eastern edge receives the most precipitation. The variation in precipitation across the region greatly influences the growth and expansion of woody plants. In the most western portions of the region, big sagebrush occupies uplands; in the absence of fire, big sagebrush persists or expands. Woody draws are examples of communities in more arid portions that are restricted to sites with greater soil moisture. In contrast to more arid portions of the region, mesic prairies in the northern, eastern and southeastern portions of the region are characterized by precipitation amounts high enough to support the expansion of woody plants onto uplands. In addition to climatic factors, herbivores also influence the region's vegetation and fire regimes.

Data from adjoining ponderosa pine forests indicates that fire frequency historically varied from 2 to 25 years. On topography more dissected with breaks and rivers, data supports an estimated historic fire frequency of 20 to 30 years. In the more mesic portions of the Northern Great Plains, the average historic fire return interval was shorter. It is estimated that in the tall grass prairie an historic fire frequency of every 1 to 5 years occurred.

A fire strategy most likely to manage diversity on native rangeland of the Northern Great Plains is based on two premises: 1) processes that mimic, as much as possible, the variability found in the native ecosystems should be present and functioning, and 2) management activities should conserve or restore historical disturbance patterns.

Custer National Forest Units

Direction for national grassland units of the Custer National Forest places emphasis on:

· prevention, detection, suppression,

· interagency coordination, and

· interstate coordination.

Fuels management direction consists of:

· a combination of treatments that most efficiently meet the fuels management direction for each management area, including the use of prescribed fire as both a planned and unplanned ignition tool, and

· treatment levels that, after analysis of hazards, adjust management to meet desired results.

Fire suppression activities on the Custer National Forest national grassland units are managed by the local grazing associations, which use Conservation Practice Funds (CPR) to contract with the local volunteer fire departments for initial attack of wildfires. If the size of the fire is beyond the scope of control for the volunteer fire department, then the Forest Service is contacted for suppression action.

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest Unit (TBNG)

On the Thunder Basin National Grassland, current direction emphasizes; 1) the protection of life, property, and resource values from wildfire in a cost-efficient manner that maximizes the benefits of shared resources and developing technologies, and 2) using prescribed fire as a vegetative and fuels management technique where it is the most cost-efficient and acceptable alternative to achieve management objectives.

The Thunder Basin National Grassland has agreements with local volunteer fire departments, which take initial attack action and are then reimbursed for their services. The volunteer fire departments take charge of the fire until the Forest Service shows up, if necessary. If the fire is beyond the scope of control of the volunteer fire department, the Forest Service is contacted for support.

Nebraska National Forest Units

On the Nebraska National Forest units, direction emphasis is placed on:

· providing a level of protection from wildfire that is cost efficient and meets management objectives for the area. To accomplish this, the following variables are considered:

· the values of the resources that are threatened,

· the probability of fire occurrence,

· the fuel beds in which fires are likely to occur,

· the weather conditions that will probably influence fires that occur,

· the costs of fire protection programs,

· the social, economic, political, cultural, environmental, life and property concerns,

· and the management objectives for the area.

· taking suppression action on all escaped fires, after considering the following:

· the values of the resource threatened,

· the management objectives for the threatened area,

· the fuel beds in which the fires burn,

· the current and projected weather conditions,

· the natural barriers and fuel breaks,

· the social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental concerns,

· the public's safety,

· the firefighters' safety,

· and the costs of alternative suppression strategies, and

· maintaining fuel conditions that permit fire suppression forces to meet fire protection objectives for the area.

In South Dakota, the Buffalo Gap and Fort Pierre National Grasslands have agreements with local volunteer fire departments for initial-attack fire suppression. This is coordinated with the State of South Dakota in accordance with the state-wide agreement. In the Nebraska, the Bessey unit is a member of the Sandhills Mutual Aid and coordinates fire suppression activities with the local volunteer fire departments. Due to the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest's isolation, the Forest Service responds to initial attack, but then relies on volunteer fire departments for additional response until other Forest Service units can respond. The Pine Ridge Ranger District has a mutual aid agreement with the volunteer fire departments of Chadron and Crawford, Nebraska, and takes initial-attack suppression action on both the Pine Ridge area and the Oglala National Grassland.

Each level in the Forest Service organization is trained and equipped to deal with fires of certain size, number or severity. Fire strategy calls for maintaining a national organization capable of coming to the assistance of any one or more Forest Service Regions as needs develop. The control center for management of the national and international fire organization is in Boise, Idaho.

A Listing of Fire Occurrences by National Forest

Custer National Forest Units

Little Missouri, Cedar River Grand River 7 fires per year 1,130 acres per year

Sheyenne National Grassland* 2 fires per year 21 acres per year

Sheyenne National Grassland personnel have conducted prescribed burns on approximately 2,000 acres per year for the past five years.

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest Unit

Thunder Basin National Grassland 9 fires per year 3,500 acres per year

Personnel on the Thunder Basin National Grassland conduct prescribed burning on approximately 100 acres per year.

Nebraska National Forest Units 21 fires per year 8,471 acres per year

Between 1981 and 1985, personnel on the Pine Ridge Ranger District conducted 400 acres of prescribed burning. Two-hundred seventy acres were in the Soldier Creek management unit. Between 1988 and 1990, prescribed burns were conducted on approximately 900 acres in the Bordeaux Creek area.

Opportunities To Improve Existing Direction

Reinstituting a fire regime based on historical processes, including burning at varying intervals to reflect climatic patterns and in differing seasons, is the first step in developing a strategy for using fire to manage for biological diversity on native rangelands in this region. Focusing on mid-summer burns, rather than concentrating all prescribed burning in the spring and fall, would better mimic natural, historic disturbance patterns. The second step involves adjusting fire regimes to best sustain special habitats, such as wetlands and riparian zones, and sensitive species, especially threatened and endangered ones. The third step requires that fire prescriptions be planned so that burning does not enhance the spread of invasive species. By understanding historic fire processes and ecosystem interactions, Forest Service managers can better realize the many opportunities for improving current conditions on the units under review.

A "fire protection assessment" is needed. This assessment is an analysis using fuel flammability, potential value change from fire, and the potential an ignition will occur. The analysis is followed by an examination of historic fire regime patterns and current fire patterns. Current fire regime intervals are not the same as historic intervals.

FOSSIL RESOURCES

Introduction

The need to develop management guidelines that address fossil resources has become apparent, particularly as interest in and the collecting of fossils for scientific, recreational and commercial purposes has increased. The current management plans provide little guidance. More guidance will be provided in the three revised management plans.

Existing Direction and Conditions

In the early 1990s, it became apparent that interest in scientific, commercial and recreational fossil collecting was growing, and management and protection of fossils within the planning area was needed. The planning area is rich with fossil resources. The existing management plans contain little or no direction for fossil management. There are varying public views as to the type of collection that should be allowed and who ought to be able to collect. There are also varying views as to how the fossil program should be managed if fossil collection is allowed. Several fossil-bearing formations occur that outcrop within the planning area. Some of the formations and types of fossils found within them are listed in the following table (Information from Northern Great Plains Ecosystem Assessment Broad scale Paleontology):

*A draft classification system has been developed wherein geological units, usually at the formation or member level are classified according to the probability of yielding paleontological resources that are of concern to land managers. The classification is based largely on how likely a geologic unit is to produce vertebrate fossils of terrestrial (i.e. non-marine) origin. The five classes in the system are described below. (Probable Fossil Yield Classification, 1-4)

Class 1 - Igneous and metamorphic geologic units that are not likely to contain recognizable fossil remains.

Class 2 - Sedimentary geologic units that are not likely to contain vertebrate fossils nor scientifically significant non-vertebrate fossils.

Class 3 - Fossilferous sedimentary geologic units whose fossil content varies in significance, abundance, and predictable occurrence. Also sedimentary units of unknown fossil potential.

Class 4 - Class 4 geologic units are Class 5 units (see below) that have lowered risks of human-caused adverse impacts and/or lowered risk of natural degradation.

Class 5 - Highly fossilferous geologic units that regularly and predictably produce vertebrate fossils and/or scientifically significant non-vertebrate fossils, and that are at risk of natural degradation and/or human-caused adverse impacts.

Custer National Forest

Moderately to highly dissected badlands terrain occurs in the Little Missouri National Grassland study area of western North Dakota. Paleocene-age Fort Union Group formations are the primary rock units exposed in the sparsely vegetated buttes and along waterways. The Cretaceous-age Hell Creek Formation crops out beneath the Paleocene units in the southern part of the Little Missouri National Grassland.

Field surveys of the Little Missouri National Grassland found fossils at 104 sites. The following is a listing of the number of fossil sites containing specific kinds of fossils (Hoganson 4-6):

Number of fossil sites discovered in each county :

Billings County .......................................70 sites

McKenzie County...................................17 sites

Golden Valley County.............................6 sites

Slope County...........................................11 sites

Number of fossil sites per rock formation

Quaternary alluvium.................................1 site

Sentinel Butte Formation....................92 sites

Bullion Creek Formation.....................11 sites

Number of fossil sites containing fossil

Petrified wood.......................................... 2 sites

Petrified tree stumps..............................11 sites

Leaf impressions and seeds...................11 sites

Invertebrates...........................................45 sites

Vertebrates..............................................62 sites

Mammals (Quaternary)............1 site

Mammals (Paleocene).............. 1 site

In addition to the Little Missouri National Grassland, a very precursory survey was conducted on the Grand River National Grassland. The Hell Creek Formation is the formation mostly exposed. Types of fossils located have included dinosaurs, plant material--such as pine cones and stumps--as well as crocodiles, turtles and champsosaurs. Approximately 30 to 40 sites were documented during the inventory.

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest Unit

The investigation of paleontology on the Thunder Basin National Grassland is relatively recent; however, the Lance Formation, which occurs on the unit, has been heavily investigated on nearby lands since at least 1888. The Cretaceous Lance Formation includes a wide range of fossils from virtually all vertebrate classes, including early insectivorous mammals (Ritchie 3). Thus, the deposits include not only the massive fossils of large dinosaurs (like ankylosaurs and hadrosaurs), but also important deposits of microvertebrate fossils. A survey completed in 1997 within the Lance Formation found 116 fossil localities (Martin and Finlayson 7). Another survey completed in 1996 located 15 fossil sites. This survey identified sites in the following formations: Mowry Shale, Greenhorn, Carlile, Lance, Niobrara, Newcastle, and Pierre Shale (Finlayson and Cicimurri 2-3).

Nebraska National Forest Units

According to Beasley:

The paleontological resource within the Nebraska National Forest administrative units spans a wide realm of depositional environments ranging from deep marine deposits to terrestrial volcanic deposits containing paleosols. However, within the units administered by the Nebraska National Forest the geologic and paleontologic records span a relatively short time with the oldest exposed unit, the Late Cretaceous Mowry Formation, located on the Fall River District of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland to the youngest unit, Pleistocene deposits which have produced the well-known Hudson-Meng Bison Bonebed, located on the Oglala National Grassland (4).

The most highly fossiliferous rocks exposed within the Oglala National Grassland are the clay stone, siltstone, and sandstone of the White River Group. Field inventories have identified 162 sensitive paleontological sites. These sites are primarily vertebrate localities within the Late Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene Epoch of the Tertiary System (approximately 45-20 million years ago) (13). Within the Oglala National Grassland, the Toadstool Park Badlands contain very significant fossil resources. These resources include vertebrate track ways representing at least 11 contemporary vertebrate species, as well as fossils of the White River Group (15-26).

The majority of Arikaree rocks exposed on the Pine Ridge Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest belong to the Gering, Monroe Creek, and Harrison Formations. A fossil inventory identified 15 fossil sites producing partial skeletons of oreodonts, a horse, entelodont, bird and several unidentified specimens (29-30).

The dominate geologic feature in central Nebraska, which includes the Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska and the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forests, is the Nebraska Sandhills. Underlying the Sandhills, a large paleo-valley was eroded into the Miocene Oglala Formation, and subsequently filled by younger deposits, ending with the sand dunes of the Sandhills. Although these formations are known to contain fossils, an inventory conducted on the units did not locate any fossil sites (30, 35).

The fossil faunas located within the geologic units of the Buffalo Gap and Fort Pierre National Grasslands are very diverse, because these units contain marine vertebrates and invertebrates that once lived in the Interior Sea. Most of the rocks exposed within the Buffalo Gap and Fort Pierre National Grasslands are the remnants of ancient marine animals, such as plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, toothed diving birds, large sea turtles, sharks, sting rays, a wide variety of fish, and a myriad of invertebrates such as clams, oysters, ammonites, coral, and barnacles. Each marine formation, preserves the fossils differently and, therefore, the state of preservation varies from one formation to the other, as well as within the formation. Inventories concentrating on the Late Cretaceous marine sediments, primarily exposed on the western portion of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, located 63 paleontological localities that are primarily Late Cretaceous marine vertebrates. Another inventory concentrating on the Tertiary units on the Buffalo Gap and Fort Pierre National Grasslands located 67 fossil localities, with 25 on the Fall River District, 37 on the Wall Ranger District and 5 on the Fort Pierre National Grassland (12).

Opportunities to Improve Existing Direction

There is little to no direction within current land and resource management plans to provide for the management of fossil resources. Decisions to be made are listed below:

· How fossil inventories should be conducted (timing and type);

· How fossils should be protected;

· What types of collection techniques are allowable and how collection is to be permitted;

· What types of research opportunities are to be provided;

· What curatorial arrangements are to be required;

· What strategies for fossil interpretation are needed.

HERITAGE RESOURCES

Introduction

Forest System lands on the Northern Great Plains contain a great wealth of heritage resources in light of the legacy left this generation through American Indian presence, the settlement history of Euro-Americans--including cattle ranchers and homesteaders--the Dust Bowl era, and subsequent changes in land use and occupation. Management direction will be provided for heritage resources in the three revised management plans.

Laws and Executive Orders Providing Direction

Several laws apply to the management of heritage resources on federal lands. These laws include:

· the Antiquities Act of 1906,

· the Historic Sites Act of 1935,

· the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966,

· the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969,

· the American Religious Freedom Act of 1978,

· the Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, and

· the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990.

Existing Direction and Conditions

Evidence for human occupation and use of the Northern Great Plains planning area is culturally diverse and spans over 12 millennia. Although archaeological site densities are as high on the Northern Plains as they are in most other landscapes in North America, our understanding of the human history of the region is still in its earliest stages. Early researchers were attracted to the study of past cultures that built impressive villages and monumental earthworks. Such preferences meant that the Northern Plains, where even the most ephemeral of architectural features are rare, were passed up for the prodigious structures of the Southwest or the artifact-laden ceremonial mounds of the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys. It was not until the 1930s that archaeologists began paying serious attention to the Northern Plains, and research did not commence within the assessment area before 1961. Since then, most archaeological sites have been recorded in response to federal mandates for historic preservation.

Approximately 20 percent of National Forest System (NFS) lands within the Northern Great Plains planning area has been inventoried for cultural resources. Most evaluations have been performed since 1977 and, as a result, 3,437 sites have been recorded. Because most cultural resource inventories on federal lands are conducted to evaluate the impacts of proposed actions, a bias is created that skews our understanding of the past, and a comparison of the planning areas within this assessment helps demonstrate this problem. Oil, gas and mining exploration and extraction require archaeological inventories of large areas of land. Within the assessment area, the Thunder Basin planning area has received the most interest by energy companies for exploration, and the Nebraska planning area the least. As a result, 40 percent of National Forest System lands within Thunder Basin National Grassland has been evaluated. This compares to 15 percent for the Custer and only 3 percent for the Nebraska planning areas.

A Brief Overview of Each Planning Area

Custer National Forest Units

Within the Cedar River, Grand River, Little Missouri, and Sheyenne National Grasslands, approximately 15 percent of the land has been evaluated for cultural resources. As a result, 1,517 sites have been recorded, which represent a site density of four sites per square mile. As with the Thunder Basin National Grassland, the sites on the Custer National Forest planning area represent almost the full range of human history on the plains.

National Register eligibility status for the sites within the Custer National Forest planning area includes 210 sites that are considered eligible, 175 sites that are not eligible, and 841 sites that have not been evaluated for eligibility. The most common site type is prehistoric scatters of stone tools and tool manufacturing debris. There are no sites listed on the National Register.

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest Unit (TBNG)

Approximately 40 percent (215,000 acres) of the Thunder Basin National Grassland (TBNG) has undergone some degree of archeological surface examination since the mid 1970s. Practically all of the inventory was the result of activities related to oil and gas exploration and coal mining activities. Just more than 1,200 sites have been located and recorded on the grassland. The variety of individual resources (sites) range from aboriginal encampments, to historic trails and wagon roads, to more recent homesteads and pastoral camps. Although the average site size is under one-half acre, some linear features, such as the Bozeman and Texas Trails, extend for many miles across the TBNG.

Approximately 160 of the historic and prehistoric sites recorded on the national grassland have been determined eligible to the National Register of Historic Places, but none are currently listed on the National Register. Site densities are high, with an average of four sites per square mile. The most common sites encountered consist of small, temporary, prehistoric hunting camps and historic pastoral camps.

Nebraska National Forest Units

The surveyed lands administered by the Nebraska National Forest contain 740 recorded cultural sites, which represent a density of four sites per square mile. Of these sites, 54 are considered eligible for listing on the National Register, 620 are not considered eligible, and 45 have not been evaluated. As with the other two planning areas, most of the sites within the Nebraska administered units are prehistoric scatters of stone artifacts.

The Bessey administrative complex and the Hudson-Meng Bison Bonebed have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Both of these sites have strong public interpretation components to their management. In addition, the Warbonnet Battlefield and the Fiddle Creek Cultural Complex will likely be proposed for listing on the National Register in the future.

Opportunities to Improve Existing Direction

During planning, the Forest Service is required, as found in 36 CFR 219.24, to:

· Provide an overview of known data relevant to history, ethnography and prehistory of the area under consideration;

· Identify areas needing more intensive inventory;

· Provide for evaluation and identification of appropriate sites for the National Register of Historic Places;

· Provide for establishing measures for the protection of significant cultural resources from vandalism and other human depredation and natural destruction;

· Identify need for maintenance of historic sites on, or eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of Historic Places; and

· Identify opportunities for interpretation of cultural resources for the education and enjoyment of the American public.

LANDOWNERSHIP ADJUSTMENT

Introduction

This section discusses landownership patterns and the opportunities to divest, obtain or consolidate national grasslands and national forest on the Northern Great Plains. Management direction concerning this topic will be provided in the three revised forest plans.

Existing Direction and Conditions

During the planning process, Forest Service policy requires identification of desired landownership pattern and development of guidelines for landownership adjustments. Typically, grassland units have a significant amount of intermingled land. This intermingled pattern makes it difficult for both the Forest Service and private landowners to meet their management objectives. It also limits public access and use of National Forest System lands. Lastly, the cost of managing the scattered and intermingled lands is higher than managing the same amount of consolidated lands. Existing management plans do not provide guidance concerning where the Forest Service should adjust the landownership on a large-scale conceptual basis.

There have been 20 land exchanges on Custer National Forest grasslands from 1987 through 1995, totaling 7,365 acres. This represents about an 85-percent accomplishment of the five-year plan. Two Small Tract Act sales resolved two permanent structure encroachments. Encroachments are found at an average rate of two per mile of Forest boundary. Sixty-seven grassland rights-of-way/easements have been acquired with 26 of these being road or trail rights-of-way. The rights-of-way acquisition program has averaged 90 percent or more of the five-year plan (Fiscal Year 1995 Monitoring Report 27).

On the Thunder Basin National Grassland, land exchanges and rights-of-way acquisitions have far exceeded management plan objectives (Monitoring and Evaluation Report 9). From 1993 to 1997, approximately 60,700 acres of national grassland were exchanged for 39,350 acres of private land. Through the exchanges, the need for 142 rights-of-way were eliminated, 61 isolated parcels were traded, 869 boundary corners that would have needed to be located and marked were eliminated, and 371 miles of land line will no longer need to be surveyed and fenced (Prochazka 1).

The Nebraska National Forest Management Plan directed that an active land adjustment program be developed. Between 1985 and 1995, about 70,000 acres of National Forest System lands have been exchanged for about 68,000 acres of private land. The exchanges block up the federal land for more efficient management, providing better public access, and enhance private ranch management. Through the exchange program, 29 rights-of-way were acquired, 41 isolated parcels were traded, 1,806 boundary corners that would have needed to be located and marked were eliminated, and 737.75 miles of land line will no longer need to be surveyed and fenced (1995 Monitoring and Evaluation Report 8).

Access to at least two national grasslands, the Little Missouri and Thunder Basin, is hampered by the lack of legal rights-of-way. In many cases, rights-of-way are used by the public, but no formal easement has been obtained in the name of the United States (Monitoring and Evaluation Report, Custer National Forest 11). The most successful method of acquiring needed rights-of-way has been through the land exchange process. The three national forests have had varying degrees of success in acquiring rights-of-way outside of land exchanges.

Opportunities to Improve Existing Condition

Decisions to be made for lands include:

· What opportunities exist for rights-of-way acquisitions through private land to access public land?

· How should isolated tracts be administered?

· What is the desired landownership pattern and what guidelines should be developed to direct landownership adjustment?

· What areas should be designated as utility corridors?

TIMBER RESOURCES

Introduction

Although timber resources derived from the planning area are relatively small, the need to establish suitable lands for timber harvest is apparent. Management guidance will be provided for timber suitability and production in the three revised forest plans.

The following table shows tentatively suitable forest lands for the Northern Great Plains planning units. This table was completed using criteria in FSH 2409.13, Chapter 20 and the

Federal Register, Vol. 47 No. 190, 36 CFR Part 219.3 and 219.14:

Table TR-1: Tentatively Suitable Forest Land

The Pine Ridge Ranger District evaluated tentatively suitable forestland by utilizing polygons based on soils capable of producing timber as determined by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Based on this, the evaluation shows more lands capable of producing timber than what is actually forested. This is due to fire events that have occurred on this unit and the loss of forest cover. It is expected that these areas will become forested and capable of producing timber and, therefore, should be considered in the evaluation.

The approximately 26,000 acres of forested type on the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest and Bessey unit were not considered tentatively suitable based on irreversibility due to soils, questions on restocking within five years, and the inadequate response information available.