Deschutes & Ochoco National Forests
Crooked River National Grassland

Projects & Plans Project Documents Public Scoping Letter For Lava Cast Timber Stand Improvement Project Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, Deschutes National Forest Deschutes County, Oregon

SCHEDULE OF PROJECTS PROJECT INFORMATION By Administrative Unit   Deschutes SO Bend/Fort Rock Crescent Sisters Ochoco SO Lookout Mtn. Paulina Crooked River NG Forest Health, Fire, Fuels, Vegetation Management Wildlife Recreation Land Acquisition Miscellaneous PLANS, ANALYSES, ASSESSMENTS

You are invited to review and comment on this proposal. Please respond with your comments by Monday, April 11, 2005. We would like to hear from you.

The Bend - Ft. Rock Ranger District is proposing to improve ponderosa pine and ponderosa/lodgepole pine regeneration stands by using alone or a combination of non-commercial thinning to reduce tree stand density; mechanical shrub treatment (mowing and slash busting); tree stem pruning; and tree stem girdling. Reducing stand density will provide residual trees with more available nutrients, water and sunlight to increase growth rates. These actions will also reduce potential ponderosa pine dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium campylopodum) and lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium americanum) spread from overstory trees to understory trees.

The planning area is located approximately 10 miles south of the southern urban growth boundary of Bend, Oregon in T. 20 S., R. 11 and 12 E. and T. 21 S., R. 11 and 12 E (Figure 1). The planning area is located outside of and east of the Northwest Forest Plan boundaries. There are: 1) no Threatened, Endangered, Proposed, or Sensitive plant or animal species within the proposed units; 2) no streams or water bodies or Riparian Habitat Conservation Areas within the project area; and 3) no activities are proposed within inventoried roadless areas. The proposed treatments are within a vacant grazing allotment.

On May 26, 2004, a scoping letter for the Lava Cast planning area was mailed to interested members of the public. A variety of treatments were proposed in the planning area including fuel reductions, non-commercial thinning of regeneration stands, scenic views density management along Highway 97, stand density treatments in mature stands to increase the resistance to bark beetle attack, and mistletoe control in existing regeneration stands. Following review of initial public comments, we decided to develop separate projects to reduce the complexity of the original proposal. This project focuses on activities needed to increase tree growth and to reduce the potential for mistletoe spread.

This project is located within General Forest Management Area 8 and Scenic Views Management Area 9, as described in the Deschutes National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. Treatments within ¼ mile on either side of Highway 97 or Forest Road 9720 would be within the Scenic Views allocation. No activities are proposed within Old Growth Management Areas or the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

Approximately 565 acres are proposed for non-commercial thinning. The trees targeted for thinning would be eight (8) inches in diameter at breast height (dbh) and smaller. Thinning would be accomplished manually using chain saws to achieve a tree spacing of 10 feet to 20 feet. Slash concentrations would be lopped and scattered, hand piled and burned, or a combination of these treatments to reduce wildfire hazard. There would be no use of heavy equipment. Table 1, page 2 displays proposed units, acres, and treatments (Refer to Figure 2).

Mechanical shrub treatment (MST) would utilize small tractors, or small tracked vehicles, across approximately 175 acres (Table 1), with an attachment for mowing or grinding to reduce shrubs and small trees to four (4) to six (6) inches in height above ground level. MST would also be used for slash busting to reduce size and depth of the residual slash. Past implementation monitoring has determined that MST does not cause substantial soil disturbances (compaction, displacement) that qualify as a detrimental condition as the number of passes with equipment over a given area would be no more than two (2).

Approximately 565 acres are proposed for dwarf mistletoe (DMT) treatments that would reduce the potential spread of the mistletoe. These include: felling, pruning, and girdling mistletoe infected overstory trees.

• Felling treatment: would consist of cutting mistletoe infected lodgepole and ponderosa pine trees at approximately ground level. Felled trees would be retained on site and branches severed from the bole, piled, and burned. To minimize reduction of future cavity nesting habitat, felling would be limited to trees less than 9 inches dbh. If mistletoe infection is confined to the lower portion of the crown, trees could instead be pruned.
  
• Pruning treatment: would sever branches from the bole of the tree. All branches below the source of mistletoe infection, all mistletoe infected branches, and four branch whorls above the last visible source of mistletoe infection would be pruned. The intent of the treatment would be to remove mistletoe infected branches without killing the tree. There would be no upper diameter limit on the size of tree that would be pruned. Ponderosa pine greater than or equal to 9 inches dbh would generally be climbed and pruned. Trees would be girdled if pruning would result in the tree having less than 25 percent live crown ratio.
  
• Girdling treatment: would remove a band of bark and cambium approximately 6 inches wide from around the entire circumference at approximately 4 feet above the ground. The intent of the treatment would be to kill the diseased tree and dwarf mistletoe. Infected trees that would be girdled would primarily be trees less than 15 inches dbh although there would be no upper diameter limit. Girdled trees would be left to provide snags and future logs.

Decisions may be categorically excluded from documentation in an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement when they are within one of the categories identified in the Forest Service Handbook (FSH) 1909.15 Chapter 30. This proposal falls within a category of actions identified in FSH 1909.15 Chapter 30, Section 31.2 (6). Category 6 described treatments necessary to improve timber stand conditions. At this time I believe that this proposal could be excluded from documentation in an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement. Preliminary analysis indicates that there are no significant effects to resource conditions that would result in extraordinary circumstances.

I am inviting your comments on this proposal. Your comments will be used to help us determine if this proposal is appropriate to implement as described or if alternate activities should be considered. Your comments would be most useful if received on or before Monday, April 11 , 2005. Your comments can be mailed to Kristin M. Bail, Acting District Ranger, Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, Red Oaks Square, 1230 NE Third Street Suite A-262, Bend, OR 97701 or sent via e-mail to: comments-pacificnorthwest-deschutes-bend-ftrock@fs.fed.us. To reduce unwanted mailings, if you do not feel a need to respond with comments, no further information regarding this project will be mailed to you.

Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal and will be available for public inspection. If public comment does not reveal issues, I will proceed with approving the proposed plantation treatment activities. For additional information, contact Janine McFarland at (541) 383-4702.

KRISTIN M. BAIL                                                             Date
Acting District Ranger

Figure 1 - Location Map

Figure 2 - Treatment Units

USDA Forest Service - Deschutes & Ochoco National Forests
Last Modified: Thursday, 07 December 2006 at 11:40:56 EST