Tower Fire
Comparison of Alternatives

 

TABLE 2.1 Summary of the alternative descriptions

Alternatives
No Action	Proposed Action	3	4	5	6
no treatment	Repair 9.2 miles of closed roads	same as 2	Obliterate 9.2 miles of closed roads (not including miles of obliteration on Forest Road 5510 proposed later under this alternative)	same as 4	same as 2
no treatment	Improve drainage on 2.0 miles of Forest Road 5445 (behind the gated closure)	same as 2	Barricade Forest Road 5445 and obliterate from Forest Road 54 to the end of 5445 (4.4 miles), leaving a 50" wide strip to continue use as an OHV trail	same as 4	same as 2
no treatment	Repair 33.8 miles of open roads	same as 2	Repair 26.2 miles of open roads (the other miles would be closed)	same as 4	same as 2
no treatment	Reconstruct 1.0 miles of Forest Road 5448 and replace the Three Culverts with an OHV bridge	same as 2	Close Forest Road 5448 at 550 junction and obliterate, reroute OHV trail, replace "3-Culverts" with an OHV bridge	same as 4	Close Forest Road 5448 at 550 junction, convert into an OHV trail (obliterating portion not needed for trail), and replace "3-Culverts" with an OHV bridge
no treatment	Replace culvert where Forest Road 5506 crosses Sheep Creek.	same as 2	Install an open arch where Forest Road 5506 crosses Sheep Creek, excavate sediment immediately upstream	same as 4	same as 4
no treatment	Construct low water ford at Forest Road 5506 crossing of Oriental Creek, later replace with riprap and a culvert that allows fish passage	same as 2	Close all of Forest Road 5506-130 and Forest Road 5506 at Oriental Creek crossing, install foot bridge to access Big Creek Trailhead, construct new parking area/ trailhead before the closure at Oriental Creek.	Construct open arch or bridge at Forest Road 5506 crossing of Oriental Creek to access campground, and close road just past Big Creek Trailhead and at Forest Road 5506-130 junction Close all of Forest Road 5506-130	Construct open arch or bridge at Forest Road 5506 crossing of Oriental Creek (both this road and its 130 spur would remain open)
no treatment	Repair drainage on Forest Road 5507, but do not repair crossing of Oriental Creek. Install barricades and turn-arounds at the junctions of Forest roads 5507-100 and 5506-130	same as 2	Repair Forest Road 5507 and install open arch or bridge at Oriental Creek crossing (this road would be primary access to Oriental Basin)	same as 4	Barricade Forest Road 5507 at western junction with Forest Road 5510 and at the 5507-130 junction, improve drainage to maintain administrative access
no treatment	Reconstruct Forest Road 5510 (this road would be primary access to Oriental Basin)	same as 2	Close Forest Road 5510 at Forest Road 5510-030 junction and at eastern junction with Forest Road 5507, obliterate road from eastern crossing of Oriental Creek to Forest Road 5510-035, maintain remaining closed portion for administrative use	same as 4	same as 2
no treatment	Replace culvert at mile post 10.2 on Forest Road 5507	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Obliterate 5 miles of closed system roads	same as 2	same as 2	Obliterate 5 miles of closed roads and mulch using weed-free mulch	same as 2
no treatment	Remove barriers to fish passage where Forest roads 55 and 5506 cross Texas Bar Creek and on Forest Road 5448 near the 550 junction	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Construct step weirs at the Forest Road 52 crossing of Winom Creek and at the same road's crossing of South Fork Cable Creek.	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Repair earthen berm of a pond in Upper Texas Bar Creek using manual or mechanical methods	same as 2	Repair pond berm using manual methods only	same as 4	Repair pond berm using most feasible method
no treatment	Construct a permanent fence around 1 mile of degraded creek in Round Meadow	same as 2	Construct fence same as Alternative 2, and manually place large wood instream	same as 4	same as 2
no treatment	Place large wood in 0.4 miles of Big Creek below Forest Road 52, three miles of North Fork Cable Creek, and three miles of Hidaway Creek using manual or mechanical methods	same as 2	Place large wood in same locations using manual methods only	same as 4	Place large wood in same locations using articulated excavator ("spider") that can "step over" obstacles, minimizing ground disturbance) or an excavator
no treatment	Plant woody riparian vegetation (1,055 ac.) along South and North forks Cable Creek, Winom Creek, and Hidaway Creek.	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Seed 30 acre erodible slope with native grass	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Transplant 10 acre erodible cutbank along Forest Road 5510 with native shrubs	same as 2	same as 2	Hydroseed and mulch 10 acre erodible cutbank (in addition to planting shrubs) using native and/or non-persistent exotic grasses and a tachifier (to bind mulch and soil).	same as 2
no treatment	Plant 10 acre landslide along Hidaway Creek with native trees	same as 2	Plant 10 acre landslide with native trees, and seed with native grasses	Plant 10 acre landslide with native trees, and seed with native or non-persistent exotic grasses	same as 2
no treatment	Plant 5 acre landslide along Texas Bar Creek with native trees	same as 2	Plant 5 acre landslide with native trees, and seed with native grasses	Plant 5 acre landslide with native trees, and seed with native or non-persistent exotic grasses, use an excavator to reroute stream channel where landslide caused constriction	Plant 5 acre landslide along Texas Bar Creek with native trees, use an excavator to reroute stream channel where landslide caused constriction
no treatment	Subsoil 95 acres of existing landings, major skid trails, and temporary roads associated with past harvest	same as 2	Subsoil same acres, then seed with native grass and plant trees	Subsoil same acres, then seed with native or non-persistent exotic grasses, plant trees, and fertilize	same as 5
no treatment	Seed 1,100 acres along Pearson Ridge, 500 acres on the ridge south of Cable Creek, and 700 acres on the ridge north of Hidaway Creek, and 500 acres of additional, small, scattered patches with native and non-persistent annual grasses and shrubs to enhance big game forage	same as 2	Seed same areas using only native species	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Broadcast fertilize 1,500 acres of ridges burned at low intensities along north and west fire perimeter	no treatment	no treatment	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Prescribe burn 900 acres near the North Fork John Day River to enhance big game forage	same as 2	prescribed burn same area during the fall	no treatment	same as 2
no treatment	Replace 6 C1-Designated Old Growth stands killed by the fire	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Construct permanent fence around 45 acres in Round Meadow	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Construct permanent fence around 2 acres in Donut Meadow	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Repair ½ mile of existing fence in Pearson Meadow and extend to include 4 more acres	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Install temporary electric fence around 9 acres within Long Meadow	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Fence two springs	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Fence and repair three ponds	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Remove tops of snags scattered across 1,910 acres using manual or mechanical methods	same as 2	Remove snag tops using manual methods only	same as 4	same as 2
no treatment	Seed eroding slopes adjacent to trails with native grasses	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Install educational signs at Round Meadows Trailhead, 3-Culverts Camp, and Winom Campground	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Rehabilitate 26 dispersed campsites	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Install 1 interpretive sign along the Blue Mountain Scenic Byway	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Reconstruct Pearson Guard Station facilities, surface existing dispersed campsite with gravel	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Improve road crossings on the Round Meadows and Cut Across OHV trails	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Improve approximately ½ mile of the River Trail	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Rehabilitate two campsites and the trailhead at Oriental Campground/ Trailhead	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	no treatment	no treatment	Place gravel in Big Creek Trailhead parking lot, relocate 2 developed campsites away from the creek, block access to original sites with boulders, cut and burn small amount of lodgepole pine to create new locations, level new sites and surface with gravel, block motorized access into nearby wet meadow, confine dispersed campsites using boulders and surface with gravel	same as 4	same as 4
no treatment	Construct 6.5 trail to relocate 4-wheeler traffic from Roundaway Trail	same as 2	Clarify signs on Roundaway Trail to prohibit four-wheeler traffic, do not provide connection for 4-wheelers between the Winom and Frazier portions of the OHV complex	same as 4	same as 2
no treatment	Harvest hazard trees from 533 acres	same as 2	Fell hazardous trees on 508 acres and leave in place, fell hazardous trees on 25 acres surrounding Pearson Recreational Residence tract then pile and burn	same as 4	same as 2
no treatment	Salvage harvest approximately 11.7 MMbf of standing dead and down trees from 2,217 acres using all logging systems (including 6.5 MMbf from 899 acres under contract on the Dragon and Lone salvage sales), harvest 0.6 MMbf of green and dead trees from 203 acres of Armillaria infected stands.	same as 2	no harvest	Salvage approximately 5.7 MMbf from 1,484 acres of fire-damaged or dead trees (including 1.6 MMbf from 208 acres under contract on the Dragon and Lone salvage sales) using a helicopter logging system only. No harvest of the Armillaria infected stands would occur.	Salvage approximately 11.2 Mmbf from 2,103 acres of dead or root rot infected trees (including 6.3 MMbf from 899 acres under contract on the Dragon and Lone salvage sales) only where full suspension of logs could be achieved during yarding. Limit construction of temporary roads to lengths of approximately 1,000 feet and eliminate all stream crossings.
no treatment	Commercially thin 718 acres (2.3 MMbf) of green (live) stands using all logging systems	same as 2	Girdle or fell trees in same areas and leave in place	Commercially thin 672 acres (2.1 MMbf) using a helicopter logging system only. Add a 150 foot buffer to the width of the Riparian Habitat Conservation Areas on all Class III streams. Where a harvest by helicopter is not feasible, thin by girdling or felling trees and leaving them on site.	Commercially thin only in those proposed units where full suspension of logs could be achieved during yarding (718 acres, 2.3 MMbf). Limit construction of temporary roads to lengths of approximately 1,000 feet and eliminate all stream crossings. Girdle or fell trees in any harvest units identified in Alternative 2 which cannot be harvested in this manner.
no treatment	Pre-commercially thin 195 acres	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Plant 11,800 acres with conifers	same as 2	same as 2	same as 2.	same as 2
no treatment	Spot apply herbicides on 13,400 acres (1,740 net acres)	no treatment	no treatment	same as 2	same as 2
no treatment	Create a 6.25 mile long, 300 foot wide shaded fuel break along northern edge of North Fork John Day Wilderness	same as 2	no treatment	same as 2 using manual methods only	same as 2

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