White Porcupine multiple timber sale project : draft environmental impact statement

2008·15.2 MB·English

by  Montana.Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation

STATE OF MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
White Porcupine Multiple Timber Sales Project
Executive Summary
August2008
Initial Proposal and Public Concerns
SwanRiverStateForest, EnvironmentalImpactStatement DNRChasthetaskof
MontanaDepartmentof (DEIS)fortheWhitePorcupine managingStateschooltrust
NaturalResourcesand MultipleTimberSalesProject. lands. Theprimarypurposes
Conservation(DNRC),is ofthistimbersaleprojectareto
TheDEISpresents:
planningtheWhitePorcupine provideincomefortheschool
descriptionsofano-action
MultipleTimberSalesProject. trust,grownewstandsof
alternativeand3action
Theproposedsaleareais healthytrees,andimprovethe
alternativesandtellshoweach
locatedapproximately7miles growthandvigorofthe
alternativewouldaffectSwan
southofSwanLake,Montana remainingtrees. Thisproject
RiverStateForest.
onschooltrustlandsinthe followsthe StateForestLand
westportionoftheforest. The adetailedanalysisthat ManagementRules(Annotated
projectareatotals explainshowtheprojectwould RulesofMontana[ARM]
approximately6,295acresand affectorimpactspecific 36.11.401through36.11.450)
includesallorportionsof wildlifespecies,oldgrowth, andisbasedonthepremise
Sections2,16,22,23,and24, waterquality,fishhabitat,etc. that,fortheforeseeablefuture,
Township23north,Range18 timbermanagementwill
ThisExecutiveSummary:
west,andSections22,23,26, continuetobetheprimary
isdesignedinaccordancewith
28,and34,Township24north, sourceofrevenue. Timber
theMontanaEnvironmental
Range18west. Theproject managementwillbethe
PolicyAct(MEPA)rules;
areaalsoincludestheexisting primarytoolforachieving
andproposedroadsneededto iswrittentobeeasily biodiversityobjectivesonState
accessandsupportthe understoodwithsupporting forestlands.
proposedprojectactivities. photographsandmaps;
(SeeVICINITYMAP,page2, brieflydescribestheproject
andPROJECTAREAMAP, proposalandthealternatives
page3.) thathavebeenconsidered;and
TableofContents
ThisExecutiveSummaryis informsyouofthenextstepin
VicinityMap 2
partoftheDraft thisproject. ProjectAreaMap 3
Accomplishmentstobe 4
AchievedbytheAction 4
DevelopingtheProjectand 4
DisplayingtheConcerns
InitialProposalandPublic 5
Swan River
Concerns
State Forest
Headquarters SummaryofAlternatives 6
GeneralDifferencesofthe
ActionAlternatives 6
SummaryofEffects 7
OverviewoftheDEIS
Page
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Page2
Page3
Accomplishments to beAchieved by theActionAlternatives
Dependingonwhetheranaction harvesttreesthathavebeen construct9.5to14milesof
alternativeischosen,andwhich affectedbyinsectsand newroadsandimprove41.6
one,6to8timbersaleswouldbe diseases,therebyreducingfuel to62.9milesofexistingroads
soldandharvestedduringthe3- loadsand,subsequently,fire tomeetBestManagement
yearopenactive-management hazards; Practices;
period. Theproposedtimber
generate$1,148,446to repair3to4streamcrossings
saleprojectswouldharvest15.5
1,949,598fortheCommon andinstall2to14newstream
to24.2millionboardfeet
Schooltrustinsupportof crossings;
(MMbf)oftimber(3,100to4,830
publicschools(kindergarten
prepareloggedareastogrow
truckloadsoflogs)from1,186to
throughgrade12);
newtreesbybroadcast
1,563acres.
developa22-acregravelpit,a burningorpilingandburning
Inadditionthisprojectwould: littleatatime,toprovidea slashandscarifyingthe
movetheforeststands rocksourceforthisandfuture groundtoallowseedsto
towardshistoricalconditions; projects; germinatenaturallyortreesto
beplanted.
Developing the Project and Displaying the Concerns
OnMarch13,2003,theDepartmentadoptedthe AdministrativeRulesforForestManagement(Rules). The
RulesprovideguidanceonhowDNRCwillmanagetheirforestsanddealwithspecificitemsthatneedto
beconsideredwhenplanningandconductingatimbersale. TheIDTeamfollowedtheserulesduringthe
developmentofthistimbersaleprojectproposal. TheRulesmaybefoundonthewebat:
www.dnrc.mt.gov/trust/default.asp. IngeneraltheseRulescoverhowthefollowingitemsshouldbe
managed:
biodiversity(theforestconditionsaremanagedforadesiredmixofstandstructuresandforesttypes);
roads;
watersheds;
fisheries;
wildlifespecies,includingthoselistedasthreatened,endangered,andsensitive,andbiggame;
weeds;and
economics.
Page4
Initial Proposal and Public Concerns
Duringtheinitialstagesofthisproject,adjacent DNRCstaff,fieldwork,andrequirements
landowners,interestedparties,andthepublic imposedbyapplicablerules,laws,and
wereinformedoftheproposedactionandinvited regulations,theissuesfromthepublicprovided
tosubmitanyissuesorconcernstheymayhave. theIDTeamtheframeworktodevelopa
reasonablerangeofalternatives.
InJuneof2007,DNRCsolicitedpubliccomments
throughthedistributionoftheWhitePorcupine Afterdiscussingtheseconcernsandstudyingthe
MultipleTimberSaleInitialProposal. The area,wefoundthatexplanationsoftheeffectsthat
proposalincludedmaps,objectives,andcontact theproposedtimbersaleprojectwouldhaveon
information,andwasmailedtoindividuals, thefollowingresourceswereneeded:
agencies,internalDNRCstaff,industry
Vegetation(trees,includingoldgrowth)
representatives,andotherorganizationsthathad
Watershedandhydrology(water)
expressinterestinSwanRiverStateForest’s
Fisheries
managementactivities. Additionally,public
Wildlife
noticeswereplacedinareanewspapers. Thirty
Threatenedandendangeredspecies
daysweregiventosubmitcomments,and21
Canadalynx
responseswerereceived.
Graywolf
DNRCalsoheldfieldtoursduringSeptember Grizzlybear
2007andJulyof2008,anopenhouseduringApril Sensitivespecies
2008,andattendedacommunitymeetingduring Fisher
June2008. Newsletterswerealsodistributedto Pileatedwoodpecker
interestedpartiesduringDecember2007and Biggamespecies
March2008;thenewsletterselicited2additional Geologyandsoils
comments. Economics
Airquality
TheInterdisplinaryTeam(IDTeam)reviewedthe
Recreation
responsesandidentifiedmorethan110issues
Aesthetics
relatedtotheproject. Alongwithissuesraisedby
Page5
Summary ofAlternatives
Afterstudyingthelistofconcerns,4possiblechoices(alternatives)weredevelopedbytheIDTeam. Each
ofthealternativeswasdesignedtoaddressaparticularconcernorgroupofconcerns.
No-ActionAlternativeA ActionAlternativeB
Timberwouldnotbeharvested. 21.5MMbfoftimberwouldbeharvested
Nomoneywouldbecontributedtothe from1,519acres.
CommonSchooltrustortheForest Approximately$1,588,477wouldbe
ImprovementProgram. contributedtotheCommonSchooltrustand
Roadswouldnotbebuiltorimproved. $586,950wouldbecontributedtotheForest
ImprovementProgram.
Agravelpitwouldnotbedeveloped.
62.9milesofroadswouldbeimprovedand
Old-growthstandswouldnotbetreatedor
14milesofnewroadswouldbebuilt.
maintained.
A22-acregravelpitwouldbedevelopedin
Forestcoverandconnectivityforwildlife
stages.
travelwouldnotbealtered.
Roadconstructionandimprovementswould
Insectinfestationsanddiseaseinfections
enhancetheinfrastructureandtheabilityto
wouldlikelyincrease.
suppressfiresinthelongterm.
Roadmaintenanceprojects,firesuppression,
3wetand16drystreamcrossingswouldbe
andrecreationactivitieswouldcontinueasin
installed.
thepast.
Insectanddiseaseissuestobemanagedand
Theviewshedwouldnotchange.
treated.
Newriskstofisheriesorwaterquality/
1,146acresofoldgrowthhabitatswouldbe
quantitywouldnotbecreated.
harvested,thusremoving963acresfromthe
old-growthstatus.
Effectstofisheriesandwaterquality/
quantitywouldbespreadoverabroadarea
thatincludesWhitetail,Woodward,and
SouthWoodwardcreeks.
Thelocaleconomyissupportedviajobscreatedby Moneyearnedfromtimbersaleshelpssupportschools
timbersales.
Page6
ActionAlternativeC ActionAlternativeD
24.2 millionboardfeetoftimberwouldbe 15.5millionboardfeetoftimberwouldbe
harvestedfrom1,563acres. harvestfrom1,186acres.
Approximately$1,949,598wouldbe Approximately$1,148,446wouldbe
contributedtotheCommonSchooltrustand
contributedtotheCommonSchooltrustand
$423,150wouldbecontributedtotheForest
$660,600wouldbecontributedtotheForest
ImprovementProgram.
ImprovementProgram.
60.4milesofroadswouldbeimprovedand
41.6milesofroadswouldbeimprovedand
11.2milesofnewroadswouldbe
9.5milesofnewroadswouldbebuilt. constructed.
A22-acregravelpitwouldbedevelopedin A22-acregravelpitwouldbedevelopedin
stages. stages.
Theold-growthpatchintheWhitetail
3wetand8drystreamcrossingswouldbe
drainagewouldbemaintained.
installed.
Foreststandswouldcontinuetoshifttoward
Insectanddiseaseissueswouldbemanaged
historicconditions(desiredfuture
andtreatedintensively;maintenanceof
conditions).
additionalstandswouldbeallowed.
5wetand11drystreamcrossingswouldbe
1,219acresofoldgrowthhabitatswouldbe installed.
harvested,thusremoving1,114acresfrom Onlyasmallportionoftheinsectanddisease
theold-growthstatus. issueswouldbemanaged.
Managementforlargerforestpatchsizes 610acresofold-growthhabitatswouldbe
wouldminimizepotentialhabitat harvested,removingall610acresfromthe
fragmentation. old-growthstatus.
Effectstofisheriesandwaterquality/
quantitywouldbeconfinedtoWhitetail
Creek.
GENERAL DIFFERENCES
OF THE ACTION ALTERNATIVES
Differencesamongtheactionalternatives:
Numberofacresharvested
Amountofboardfeetharvested
AmountofmoneygeneratedfortheCommonSchooltrust
Amountofacresremovedfromtheold-growthstatus
Milesofnewroadtobebuilt
Milesofexistingroadstobemaintained
Numberofstreamcrossingstobeinstalled
Acresofstandpromotedtodesiredfutureconditions
Theintensityofinsectanddiseasetreatments
Page7
Summary of Effects
VEGETATION Douglas-fir,grandfir,subalpinefir,westernred
Vegetationisdifferentthanwhatwashistorically cedar,westernhemlock,lodgepolepineand
onSwanRiverStateForest andwhatisdesiredin westernwhitepinemortality.
thefuture. Treesthatareabletogrowintheshade
WildfiresacrossSwanriverStateForestvaryin
andstandsofmixedconifers(Engelmannspruce,
frequencyandintensity,leavingaassortedpattern
westernredcedar)areplentiful,whiletreesthat
ofageclassesandcovertypes. Immediately
areunabletogrowinshade(westernlarch,
followingtimberharvestingunderalloftheaction
Douglas-fir,andwesternwhitepine)aremore
alternatives,theamountoffinefuelswould
scarce. Presently,theacresoftreesintheseedling-
increase. However,pilingandburningslashand
saplingageclasshavebeenreduced,whiletreesin
othervariousfueltreatmentswouldreducethese
theold-standageclassareoverlyplentiful. hazards.
Standswherethinningandregenerationharvest
Sensitiveplantswerefoundintheprojectareain
treatmentsareusedwouldshifttheforest
wetmeadows,areasnotusuallyconsideredfor
vegetationtowardthedesiredfuturecondition.
timberharvesting. Nosensitiveplantspecieswere
Shade-tolerantandmixed-coniferspecieswould
foundintheproposedharvestunits;therefore
beremovedtoallowwesternlarch,ponderosa
sensitiveplants,wouldnotlikelybeaffectedby
pine,Douglas-fir,andwesternwhitepineto
theproposedaction.
regenerate. Standswhereselectiveharvest
Canadathistle,spottedknapweed,yellow
treatmentsareusedwouldgiveexistingtreesmore
hawkweed,orangehawkweed,oxeyedaisy,and
roomtogrow,thuscreatinghealthier,stronger
commonSt.John’s-wortareestablishedalongroad
forests.
edgesintheprojectarea. Weedseedwould
Theinsectanddiseaseproblemsintheprojectarea
continuetobeintroducedbyforestrecreationists
onSwanRiverStateForestincludetheDouglas-fir
andloghaulingandotherloggingactivitieson
barkbeetleandvariousrootdiseasesthatattack
neighboringownerships. SwanRiverStateForest
Douglas-fir. Thewhitepineblisterrust,dwarf
mayinitiatespotsprayingundertheForest
mistletoe,mountainpinebeetle,andIndianpaint
Improvementprogramtoreducethespreadof
fungusarealsopresent. Therefore,treesselected
noxiousweedsalongroads. Undertheaction
forharvestingareprimarilythoseaffectedby
alternatives,loghaulingandmovingequipment
insectsanddiseases.
wouldintroduceseedsfromothersites. However,
Approximately31.1percentofSwanRiverState weedestablishmentandspreadwouldbereduced
Forestisconsideredtobeoldgrowth. Theproject byrequiringcontractorstowashandhavetheir
areacontains2,722acresofoldgrowthstands. machineryinspectedpriortoenteringtheproject
From610to1,219acresofoldgrowth,depending area. Requiredgrassseedingofnewand
onalternative,wouldbeharvested. Thiswould disturbedroadsandlandings,spotsprayingareas
curtaildiseaseinfectionsandinsectinfestationsin ofnewweedinfestations,andsprayingherbicides
old-growthstandsandpotentiallyreduce onroadsideswouldalsohelp.
Page8
WATERSHED AND HYDROLOGY FISHERIES
Duringprojectplanning,thewatershedsofSouth Westslopecutthroattrout,bulltrout,anumberof
Woodward,Woodward,Whitetail,andEast nativefishspecies,and3nonnativefishspeciesare
Porcupinecreekswereassessedtodeterminehow presentintheprojectarea. TheU.S.fishand
thesecreekswouldbeaffectedbytheincreased WildlifeServicehaslistedbulltroutas
sedimentationandstreamflowthatisrelatedto ‘threatened’undertheEndangeredSpeciesAct.
cuttingtrees,constructingandimprovingroads, Bothbulltroutandwestslopecutthroattroutare
andotherloggingactivities. Sedimentlevelswere listedasClass-AMontanaAnimalSpeciesof
measuredandpossibleimpactsfromtheproposed Concern.
activitieswerestudied. Adeterminationwas
WhitetailCreekistheonlyareawhereharvesting
madethatsedimentlevelsinEastPorcupineCreek
activitieswouldlikelyaffectthepresenceofnative
wouldbeunaffectedand,thus,thiscreekwas
fisheriespopulations. Currently,impacts
dismissedfromfurthersedimentationanalysis.
unfavorabletonativefishpopulationsinthis
SouthWoodwardCreekcurrentlyreceives
watershedarehigh. Thistimbersaleisexpectedto
approximately23.6tonsofsedimentperyear,
haveapositiveeffectonthesefisheriesby
WoodwardCreekreceives3.5tons,andWhitetail
providingnewhabitatfreeofnonnativefish
Creekreceives5.9tons. Theroadimprovementsin
species. Subsequently,long-termriskstonative
thethreeactionalternativeswouldeithernot
westslopecutthroattroutpopulationswouldbe
changesedimentdeliverytosomecreeksorwould
reduced.
reducetheamountofsedimentdeliveredtothe
Otherimpactstofisheriesincludeflowregime,
creeksby1.4to4.7tonsperyear.
sediment,channelforms,ripariancondition,large
Thesesamefourcreeksweremeasuredforcurrent
woodydebris,temperature,macroinvertebrate
waterlevels(wateryield)andthepossibleimpacts
richness,andconnectivity. Thefollowingarethe
fromtheproposedactivitieswerestudied. The
effectsofthe5analysisareasincludedinthe
wateryieldinSouthWoodwardCreekwatershed
projectarea:
ispresentlyabout8.3percentoverthenaturally
SouthWoodwardCreek-Lowimpactsorno
occurringlevel;WoodwardCreekis7.2percent
impactswouldlikelybeexperiencedunderall
over;WhitetailCreekis7.4percentover,andEast
3actionalternatives. ActionAlternativeB
PorcupineCreekis6.6percentover. Underthe
wouldresultinalllowimpacts,exceptfor
actionalternatives,wateryieldwouldeither
connectivity,whichwouldhavenoimpacts. C
remainthesameorincreaseby0.6to6.5percent,
wouldresultinnoimpacts;andDwould
dependingonthecreek.
resultinamixtureofnotolowimpacts.
WoodwardCreek- Underall3action
alternatives,flow,sediment,channelforms,
andmacroinvertebraterichnesswouldlikely
experiencelowimpacts,andriparian
condition,largewoodydebris,temperature,
andconnectivitywouldlikelyexperienceno
impacts.
Page9
WhitetailCreek-Underall3action  ActionAlternativeB- Theold-growthamount
alternatives,flow,channelforms,riparian wouldbereducedby35percent,thoughthe
condition,largewoodydebris,temperature, numberofpatchesandtherelativelargepatch
andmacroinvertebraterichnesswouldlikely sizewouldremainthesame. Therefore,
experiencelowimpacts,sedimentwould wildlifespeciesthatuseoldgrowthforliving
experiencemoderateshort-termimpacts,and requirementswouldbeonlyslightlyaffected.
connectivitywouldexperiencepositive
 ActionAlternativeC-Theoldgrowthamount
impacts.
wouldbereducedby41percent. Large
SwanFaceDrainage- Underall3action patchesofoldgrowthwouldbereducedinthe
alternatives,flow,sediment,channelforms, projectarea. Wildlifespeciesthatuseold
andmacroinvertebraterichness,wouldlikely growthforlivingrequirementswouldbe
experiencelowimpacts,andriparian moderatelyaffected,althoughtheeffects
condition,largewoodydebris,temperature, wouldbelimitedtotheWhitetaildrainage.
andconnectivitywouldlikelyexperienceno
 ActionAlternativeD- Theold-growthamount
impacts.
wouldbereducedby22percent. Large
PorcupineCreek—Underall3action patchesofoldgrowthwouldremainplentiful
alternatives,ripariancondition,largewoody intheprojectarea. Therefore,wildlifespecies
debris,temperature,andconnectivitywould thatuseoldgrowthforlivingrequirements
likelyexperiencenoimpacts. UnderAction wouldbeonlyslightlyaffected.
AlternativesBandC,flow,sediment,channel
Forestconnectivityhasbeenfairlywellmaintained
forms,andmacroinvertebraterichnesswould
intheprojectarea. Theprojectareahasabout
likelyexperiencelowimpactsandnoimpacts
4,403acresofconnectedforestthatprovide
underD.
habitatsthatallowwildlifespeciesthatinthe
WILDLIFE forestmovementwithoutbeingeasilydetected.
General Habitat Attributes Followingareeffectsinsummaryforeachaction
Themixed-conifercovertypesiscurrently alternative:
overrepresentedonSwanRiverStateForest,which  ActionAlternativeB- Theamountof
hasincreasedhabitatforwildlifespeciesthatuse connectedforestwouldbereducedby871
denseforeststands. Speciesthatusethemore- acres. Thenorthernmostandsouthernmost
openstandshavefewerhabitatsavailable. More portionsoftheprojectareawouldbeaffected
standsthatarematureexistthanyoungstands; theleast. Therefore,wildlifeconnectivityin
therefore,speciesthatrequireyounger-aged theprojectareawouldbeaffectedtoaminor
standshavelessavailablehabitat. Underthe3 degree.
actionalternatives,somecovertypeswouldbe
 ActionAlternativeC-Theamountof
convertedfromshade-toleranttoshade-intolerant
connectedforestwouldbereducedby1,001
andolderstandswouldbereplacedwithyounger
acres. TheuplandsoftheWhitetaildrainage
stands. Thus,futurehabitatwouldbemorein
wouldbethemostheavilyimpacted.
keepingwithhistoricconditionsandthedesired
Therefore,wildlifeconnectivityintheproject
futureconditions.
areawouldbemoderatelyaffected.
About2,722acresofoldgrowthexistintheproject
 ActionAlternativeD—Theamountof
area. Followingareeffectsinsummaryforeach
connectedforestwouldbereducedby821
actionalternative:
acres. Theeffectswouldbescattered
throughouttheprojectarea;though
Page10