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Final Environmental
Impact Statement
Moyer Salt Timber Sale
United States
Department of
Agricuiture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
Cobalt
Ranger
District
United States
Department of
Agriculture
I t 1 J
National Agricultural Library
ERRATA SHEET
July, 27, 1993
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
PLEASE NOTE: After the Final EIS was printed, we found the following corrections.
The chapter headings at the top of the pages for Chapters I, III and Appendix E say “Draft EIS.* These should
all read “Final EIS.“
The legend for the map on page 111-23 should have Area 2 filled in with blue ink.
The mailing list for the Final EIS had some additions and corrections between printing and mailing (Page VI-5).
FINAL
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
Summary
Moyer Sa8t Timber Sale
Cobalt Ranger District
Salmon National Forest
Lemhi County, Idaho
1993
Lead Agency: USDA Forest Service
Responsible Official: John Burns
Forest Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, Idaho 83467
(208) 756-2215
For Further Information, Contact: Lynn M. Bennett
Environmental Coordinator
Salmon National Forest
(208) 756-2215, ext. 132
Russell Bjorklund
Timber Management Assistant
Cobalt District, SNF
(208) 756-2240
Abstract: This Final Environmental Impact Statement documents the analysis of the effects of the proposed timber harvesting and related
road construction in the 1 5,360 acre Moyer Salt Analysis Area. The proposed actions are designed to help achieve the silvicultural goals
and objectives of the 1988 Salmon National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan).
Seven alternatives, including a "no action" alternative were developed to respond to issues associated with the proposed action that were
identified during the scoping process.
The action alternatives include, Alternative 2, as published in the Notice of Intent on October 1, 1990. This alternative would harvest 568
acres and 4.9 million board feet (MMBF) of mixed conifer and Douglas-fir stands with 16.8 miles of new roads. Alternative 3 was
developed to address concerns on wildlife, particularly the key elk summer range. Alternative 4 emphasizes timber production and has
the maximum amount of acreage proposed for harvest and the greatest number of roads. The next three alternatives (5, 6, and 2A) were
developed between the Draft and Final EIS and respond to suggestions from the public during the 45 day comment period following the
release of the Draft. Alternative 5 responds to a request for no road access for timber harvest. It has the least acreage proposed for harvest
and the least amount of new road construction. Alternative 6, the preferred alternative, was developed to provide a balance between
visual quality concerns and insect and disease conditions. It has the second highest amount of acres affected and the same number of
new road construction as Alternative 2. Alternative 2A, is similar to Alternative 2, the original proposed alternative, but places special
emphasis on visual quality.
Table of Contents
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Table ©f Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
Table of Contents Table of
Contents - 1
Summary- Summary -1
Chapter I - Purpose of and Need for Action
Changes Between the Draft and Final 1-1
Proposed Action 1-1
Purpose of and Need for Action 1-1
Location and Access 1-4
The Forest Plan 1-4
Management Area Goals 1-6
Scope or the Proposed Action 1-8
Decisions to be Made Based on this Analysis 1-8
The NEPA Process 1-8
Appeal Process 1-9
Final EIS Document Organization 1-9
Scoping and the Identification of Issues 1-9
Internal Scoping and the Public
Involvement Process 1-9
Environmental Issues and Concerns 1-10
Vegetation 1-1 0
Wildlife 1-1 1
Roadless Character 1-1 2
Economics 1-12
Soils 1-13
Hydrology 1-13
Wetlands 1-13
Fisheries 1-14
Biological Diversity 1-14
Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Species 1-14
Visual Resources 1-15
Recreation 1-1 5
Air Quality 1-15
Transportation and Access 1-15
Minerals 1-16
Cultural Resources 1-16
Range Resources 1-16
Chapter II - Alternatives, Including the Proposed Action
Changes Between the Draft and Final 11-1
Chapter Review 11-1
Alternative Development Process 11-1
Alternatives Considered But Not
Given Detailed Study 11-1
Alternatives Considered in Detail 11-3
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Table of Contents
Clearcut Harvest 11-3
Shelterwood Harvest 11-4
Road Construction and Reconstruction
Standards and Guidelines 11-5
Alternative Descriptions
Alternative 1 - No Action SI-7
Alternative 2 11-9
Alternatives 11-13
Alternative 4 11-17
Alternative 5 11-21
Alternative 6 (PREFERRED) 11-25
Alternative 2A 11-29
Management and Mitigation 11-31
Management and Mitigation Measures Specific
To All Action Alternatives 11-31
Soils il-32
Hydrology 11-32
Wetlands 11-33
Fisheries 11-33
Vegetation 11-34
Wildlife H-34
Threatened, Endangered, and
Sensitive Species 11-36
Visual Resource 11-36
Air Quality 11-36
Range Management 11-37
Cultural Resources 11-37
Monitoring 11-38
Forest Plan Monitoring 11-38
Soils 11-38
Water and Water Quality 11-38
Fisheries 11-39
Timber 11-39
Wildlife 11-39
Threatened and Endangered Species 11-39
Cultural Resources 11-39
Economics 11-39
Project Monitoring H-39
Soils H-40
Water Quality and Fisheries 11-40
Vegetation (Timber) 11-40
Air Quality/Fisheries H-41
Wildlife H-41
Transportation H-41
Cultural Resources H-41
Comparison of Alternatives 11-41
Chapter SSI - Affected Environment
Changes Between the Draft and Final HI-1
Chapter Review HI-1
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives HI-1
Table of Contents - 2
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Table of Contents
Soils 111-1
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives 111-1
Affected Area 111-1
Existing Condition HI-2
Hydrology 111-5
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives 111-5
Affected Area 1 11-5
Existing Condition HI-5
Wetlands 111-6
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives HI-6
Affected Area 111-6
Existing Condition 111-6
Fisheries HI-7
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives 111-7
Affected Streams 111-7
Resident Fisheries 111-8
Anadromous Fisheries ill-8
Fish Habitat 111-8
Woodtick Creek Drainage 111-8
Moyer Creek Drainage 111-9
Biological Diversity 111-10
Existing Environment IIS-10
Regional Perspective 111-1 1
Forest Perspective 111-1 1
Landscape Perspective 111-13
Community diversity 111-13
Unique Habitats 111-15
Wildlife 111-15
Timber Resources 111-16
Past Actions That Affect the
Present Condition 111-16
Historic Fire Patterns 111-16
Drought 111-16
Past Timber Harvest Activity 111-16
Insects and Disease 111-17
Suitable Timberland 111-18
Site Potential 111-20
Vegetative Age/Condition
Distribution IIS-20
Noxious Weeds 111-21
Wildlife Resource 111-21
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives 111-21
Affected Area 111-21
Wildlife Species Considered 111-21
Big Game (Ungulates) 111-21
Other Wildlife Species 111-24
Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Species 111-24
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives 111-24
Threatened and Endangered Plants
and Terrestrial Vertebrates 111-25
Threatened and Endangered Aquatic Vertebrates 111-25
Table of Contents - 3
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Tabie of Contents
Sensitive Plants
111-25
Sensitive Terrestrial Vertebrate Species
111-25
Sensitive Aquatic Vertebrate Species
111-26
Roadless Area Resource
111-26
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
111-26
Affected Area
111-26
Existing Condition
111-26
Visual Resources
111-30
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
111-30
Affected Area
111-30
Existing Condition
111-30
Recreation Resources
111-30
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
111-30
Affected Area
111-30
Existing Condition
111-30
Air Quality
111-31
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
111-31
Affected Area
111-31
Existing Condition
111-31
Range Resources
111-32
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
111-32
Affected Area
111-32
Existing Condition
111-32
Transportation and Access
111-32
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
111-32
Affected Area
111-32
Existing Condition
111-33
Mineral Resources
111-33
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
111-33
Affected Environment
111-33
Existing Condition
111-33
Cultural Resources
111-33
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
111-33
Affected Area
111-33
Existing Condition
111-33
Economic Efficiency
111-34
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
111-34
Affected Area
111-34
Existing Condition
111-34
Chapter 8V - Environmental Consequences
Changes Between the Draft and Final
IV-1
Chapter Review
IV-1
Soils Effects
IV-1
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives
IV-2
Effects by Alternative
IV-3
Alternative 1 - No Action
IV-3
Alternative 2
IV-3
Alternative 3
IV-3
Alternative 4
IV-4
Alternative 5
IV-4
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Table of Contents
Alternative 6 IV-4
Alternative 2A IV-4
Cumulative Effects IV-4
Consistency with Forest Plan Standards
and Guidelines IV-4
Hydrology Effects IV-4
Water Quality and Stream Sedimentation IV-4
Water Yield and Peak Flows IV-4
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives IV-5
Effects Due to Timber Harvesting IV-5
Effects Due to Road Construction
and Reconstruction IV-5
Effects by Alternative IV-8
Alternative 1 - No Action IV-8
Alternative 2 IV-8
Alternative 3 IV-9
Alternative 4 IV-1 0
Alternative 5 IV-1 1
Alternative 6 IV- 1 1
Alternative 2A IV-1 2
Cumulative Effects IV-1 2
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-1 2
Wetlands Effects IV-1 2
Direct and Indirect Effects
from Timber Harvest IV-1 2
Direct and Indirect Effects
from Road Construction IV-1 2
Cumulative Effects IV-1 3
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-1 3
Fisheries Effects IV-1 4
Effects Common to All Action Alternatives IV-1 4
Effects by Alternative IV-1 5
Alternative 1 - No Action IV-1 5
Alternative 2 IV-1 6
Alternatives 1V-16
Alternative 4 IV-1 7
Alternative 5 IV-1 7
Alternative 6 IV-1 8
Alternative 2A IV-1 8
Cumulative Effects IV-1 9
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-1 9
Effects to Biological Diversity IV-1 9
Effects of the Proposal IV-1 9
Changes in diversity due to changes in
plant communities IV-1 9
Effects on travel corridors IV-20
Unique habitats IV-20
Effects on rare species IV-21
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Moyer Salt Timber Sal© Final ESS
Table of Contents
Vegetation Effects IV-21
Effects to Vegetative Diversity IV-21
Habitat Types IV-22
Forest Succession IV-22
Condition Class IV-22
Effects to Species and Structure
Species Diversity IV-23
Structural Diversity IV-23
Shelterwood Harvest IV-24
Effects to the Timber Resource IV-24
Age Diversity IV-26
Insects and Disease IV-27
Fire Management Considerations IV-28
Noxious Weeds and Exotic Plants IV-28
Effects by Alternative IV-28
Alternative 1 - No Action IV-28
Alternative 2 IV-29
Alternative 3 IV-29
Alternative 4 IV-30
Alternative 5 IV-30
Alternative 6 IV-31
Alternative 2A IV-32
Cumulative Effects IV-33
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-34
Effects to Wildlife Resources IV-34
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives IV-35
Effects by Alternative IV-35
Alternative 1 - No Action IV-36
Alternative 2 IV-36
Alternative 3 SV-38
Alternative 4 IV-38
Alternative 5 IV-39
Alternative 6 IV-39
Alternative 2A IV-39
Cumulative Effects IV-4Q
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-40
Effects to Threatened, Endangered,
and Sensitive Species IV-40
Effects to Threatened and Endangered Aquatic
Species IV-40
Effects to Threatened and Endangered Terres-
trial Species IV-40
Effects to Endangered Fish Species Common
To All Alternatives IV-41
Effects to Threatened Fish Species IV-41
Alternative 1 - No Action IV-41
Alternatives 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 2A SV-42
Alternative 3 IV-42
Effects to Sensitive Species IV-42
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Table of Contents
Effects to Sensitive Aquatic Vertebrates IV-42
Effects to Sensitive Terrestrial
Vertebrate Species IV-44
Effects to Sensitive Plant Species IV-45
Effects to Roadless Resources IV-46
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives IV-46
Alternative 1 - No Action IV-47
Cumulative Effects IV-47
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines 1V-48
Visual Effects IV-48
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives IV-48
Effects by Alternative IV-49
Alternative 1 - No Action IV-49
Alternative 2 IV-49
Alternative 3 IV-49
Alternative 4 IV-49
Alternative 5 IV-49
Alternative 6 IV-49
Alternative 2A IV-49
Cumulative Effects IV-49
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-50
Recreation Effects IV-50
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives IV-50
Effects by Alternative IV-51
Alternative 1 - No Action IV-51
Alternative 2 IV-51
Alternative 3 IV-51
Alternative 4 IV-51
Alternative 5 IV-51
Alternative 6 IV-51
Alternative 2A IV-51
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-51
Effects to Air Quality IV-51
Prescribed Burning IV-52
Dust and Vehicle Emissions IV-52
Effects by Alternative
Alternative 1 - No Action IV-52
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives IV-52
Cumulative Effects IV-53
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-53
Effects to Range Resources IV-53
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives 1V-54
Alternative 1 - No Action IV-54
Cumulative Effects IV-54
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-54
Effects to Transportation and Access IV-54
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Moyer Saif Timber Sale Final EIS
Table of Contents
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives IV-54
Alternative 1 - No Action IV-55
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-55
Effects to Minerals IV-56
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives IV-56
Cumulative Effects IV-56
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-56
Effects to Cultural Resources IV-56
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives IV-56
Consistency with Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines IV-56
Economic Efficiency IV-56
Effects Common to all Action Alternatives IV-57
Effects by Alternative IV-58
Alternative 2 IV-58
Alternative 3 IV-58
Alternative 4 IV-58
Alternative 5 IV-58
Alternative 6 IV-59
Alternative 2A IV-59
Potential Conflicts with Plans and Policies
of Other Jurisdictions IV-59
Cultural Resources IV-59
Probable Environmental Effects
that Cannot be Avoided IV-59
Visual Quality IV-59
Air Quality IV-59
Roadless Resource IV-59
Recreation IV-60
Irreversible and Irretrievable
Commitments of Resources IV-60
Irreversible and Irretrievable IV-60
Irretrievable IV-60
Other Required Disclosures IV-60
Relationship between Short-term Uses of Man’s
Environment and the Maintenance and
Enhancement of Long-term Productivity IV-60
Energy Requirements and Conservation
Potential of Various Alternatives
and Mitigation Measures IV-61
American Indian Treaty Rights IV-61
Threatened and Endangered Species IV-61
Minerals IV-61
Water Quality IV-61
Effects on Prime Farmland, Rangeland,
and Forestland IV-61
Effects on Minorities and Women IV-61
Effects on Wetlands and Floodplains IV-61
Table of Contents - 8
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
Table of Contents
Chapter V - List of Preparers
Core Interdisciplinary Team Members V-1
Consultation and Review V-3
Approval V-3
Chapter VI - Scoping and Public involvement VI-1
Scoping and Public and Interagency
Participation Opportunities VI-1
Consultation with Other Agencies and
Organizations VI-2
Consultation Between the Draft and Final EIS VI-2
List of Agencies, Organizations and Individuals
that responded to the Draft EIS VI-2
The Major Geographical Sources of Comment
Letter on the Draft EIS VI-4
The Major Issues Raised in the Comment
Letters on the Draft EIS VI-4
List of Agencies, Organizations and Individuals
to Whom Copies of the the Final EIS were Sent VI-4
Chapter VS - Supplement (Bound Separately)
Public Comment Letters and Forest Service
Respom®- Vi-
es Supplement
Chapter VIS ■ Literature Cited VII-1
Glossary Glossary-1
Index Index-1
Appendices
A - National Marine Fisheries Service, Species A-1
List Concurrence Letter
B1 - Best Management Practices for Soil and Water B-1
B2 - Federal Consistency Checklist 3-2
C - Evaluation of Wildlife Mitigation Measure C-1
D - Wildlife Species List D-1
E - Vegetation Species List E-1
FI - Biological Assessment For Federally Listed
Plant and Terrestrial Vertebrate Species F-1
F2 - Biological Assessment For Federally Listed
Fish F-2
G1 - Biological Evaluation For Sensitive Species
Plants and Terrestrial Vertebrates G-1
G2 - Biological Evaluation For Sensitive
Fish Species G-2
H - Landscape Ecology/Biological Diversity Outline H-1
Biological Diversity H-1
Table of Contents - 9
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Table of Contents
LIST OF TABLES
Table 11-1: Management and Mitigation Measures
Specific to all Action Alternatives
11-31
Table 11-2: Comparison of Effects of the
Alternatives by Resource
11-42
Table 111-1: Landtypes in the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale Analysis Area
111-2
Table 111-2: Soil Erosion and Mass Stability
Characteristics in the Moyer Salt
Timber Sale Analysis Area
111-4
Table 111-3: Conifer Vegetation Types
111-13
Table ISI-4: Forested Ecosystems for the
Landscape Level
111-14
Table 111-5: Timber Classifications of the Moyer
Salt Timber Sale Analysis Area
111-18
Table 111-6: Site Potentials for the Habitat Types
of the Moyer Salt Analysis Area
111-20
Table 111-7: Estimated Age Distribution for
the Douglas-fir and Lodgepole Pine Forest
Communities
111-20
Table IV-1: Impacts to Soils by Alternative
IV-2
Table IV-2: Percent of Drainages Harvested in the
Moyer Salt Analysis Area
IV-5
Table IV-3: Road Density
IV-7
Table IV-4. Sediment Yield Modeling Results
IV-7
Table IV-5. Acres Harvested, Estimated Timber Harvest
and Harvest Method by Alternative
IV-25
Table IV-6: Desired Distribution of Age Classes
in Year 2030
IV-26
Table IV-7: Age Distribution Following
Timber Harvest
IV-27
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Table of Contents
Table IV-8: Effects to Wildlife Habitat in the
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Analysis Area
by Alternative
IV-37
Table IV-9: Effects on the Roadless Resource
by Alternative
IV-47
Table IV-10: Acres of Slash Burned and Estimated
Total Particulates Emitted (tons) by
Alternative
IV-53
Table IV-11: Acres of Commercial Timberland
Available for Harvest by Existing and
Proposed Road Systems, by Alternative
IV-55
Table IV-12: Economic Efficiency by Alternative
IV-58
Table VI-1: Individuals Who Attended the Public
Meeting for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
VI-1
Table VI-2: Agencies and Organizations Who
Commented on the Notice Of Intent
VI-2
Table VI-3: List of Agencies, Organizations, and
Individuals to Whom Copies of the Draft
EIS were sent
VI-2
Table H-1: Forest Class Totals for the Moyer Salt
EIS Analysis Area
Appendix
H-10
Table H-2: Forest Class Category Descriptions
Appendix
H-1 1
Table H-3: TEPS Select/Avoidance Communities
Appendix
H-1 7
Table H-4: Boundary Crossing Frequency
Appendix
H-21
Table H-5: Acres Cut in Each Timber Class by
Alternative
Appendix
H-27
Table H-6: Percentage Total Proposed Harvest in Each
Timber Class by Alternative
Appendix
H-28
Table H-7: Acres in Each Harvest Method by
Alternative
Appendix
H-29
Table of Contents - 11
Moyer Sa!t Timber Sale Final EIS
Table of Contents
Table H-8: Forest Class Size Averages (acres):
- Existing and Proposed
Table H-9: Acre Harvest from Each Forest Type
Table H-10: Miles of Road Constructed or
Reconstructed by Alternative
Table H-11: Porosity As Measured by Patch Numbers
Table H-12: Boundary Crossing Frequency by
Alternative
Appendix
H-29
Appendix
H-31
Appendix
H-36
Appendix
H-37
Appendix
H-39
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1-1 : Vicinity Map
1-3
Figure
1-2: Location Map
1-5
Figure
1-3: Management Areas
1-7
Figure
11-1 : Alternative 1 - No Action
11-6
Figure
11-2: Alternative 2
11-8
Figure
11-3: Alternative 3
11-12
Figure
11-4: Alternative 4
11-16
Figure
11-5: Alternative 5
11-20
Figure
11-5: Alternative 6
11-24
Figure
11-7: Alternative 2A
11-28
Figure
111-1 : landtype Map
111-3
Figure
111-2: Landscape Boundary Map
111-12
Figure
111-3: Old Growth Retention Areas
111-19
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Figure 111-4: Wildlife Habitat and Key Elk
Summer Range
Figure 111-5: Taylor Mountain Roadless Area
Table of Contents
111-23
111-29
Table of Contents - 13
Summary
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
SUMMARY
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
Salmon National Forest, Cobalt Ranger District
Lemhi County, Idaho
June, 1993
This Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) describes the direct, indirect and cumulative environmental
effects of a proposal by the Forest Service to harvest timber and construct and reconstruct roads in the Moyer
Salt analysis area.
This summary describes the purpose of the proposal, the identified issues, the alternatives developed in
response to those issues, the monitoring and mitigation measures developed for the project, the affected
environment in the analysis area, and briefly describes and compares the effects of the alternatives on the
existing environment of the analysis area.
Copies of the Final EIS are available from the Salmon National Forest Supervisors Office and the Cobalt
Ranger District of the Salmon National Forest, Highway 93 South, Salmon, ID 83467. The Moyer Salt Timber
Sale project files are available for viewing at the Salmon National Forest Supervisors Office in Salmon, Idaho.
Copies of the Final EIS will also be available in the public libraries in Salmon, Idaho; Challis, Idaho; and Darby,
Montana. Copies will also be available for review at each of the Salmon National Forest Ranger District offices:
at the Salmon District Office in Salmon; at the Cobalt Ranger District Summer Office in Cobalt, Idaho; at the
North Fork Ranger District in North Fork, Idaho; and at the Leadore Ranger District in Leadore, Idaho.
THE PROPOSED ACTION
The Forest Service proposes to harvest timber in portions of the Moyer Creek, Salt Creek, Woodtick Creek,
Goodluck Creek, and Pete’s Gulch drainages in the Cobalt Ranger District of the Salmon National Forest. Six
action alternatives for harvesting timber and a "No Action" alternative were developed and their effects
analyzed in the environmental analysis. These alternatives represent a reasonable range of alternatives for
implementing the proposed action, and were developed to respond to issues identified by the Forest Service
and the public during the scoping process.
The timber harvesting and road construction activities that would take place under an action alternative would
harvest as much as 847 acres on the Cobalt Ranger District of the Salmon National Forest, in a maximum
of 32 units and construct a maximum of 17.8 miles of road. Trees harvested from these units would yield as
much as 6.9 million board feet (mmbf) of timber.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process was initiated for this project with the description of
the Forest Service’s proposed action in the Notice of Intent (NOI) published in the Federal Register on July
6, 1 990. The timber harvest activities described in the NOI for the proposed action alternative (Alternative 2)
included the harvesting of 4.9 million board feet (MMBF) from 568 acres using both clearcutting and
Summary - 1
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
shelterwood harvesting techniques and involved building 16.8 miles of new road and the reconstruction of
less than one mile of existing road.
PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE
The Forest Service has identified Alternative 6 as the preferred alternative for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale.
Alternative 6 proposes to harvest 6.1 million board feet of timber on 747 acres and construct a maximum of
17.8 miles of road. There will be 30 harvest units in this alternative.
PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION
The Final EIS was written in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and was prepared
to disclose the effects of the proposed timber harvesting.
The proposed action alternatives were designed to implement the silvicultural objectives and goals of the
1988 Salmon National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). The purpose of the
proposed timber harvest and road construction is to meet the following needs:
The proposed action alternatives were designed to help provide a continuous flow of raw materials to
dependent manufacturing communities and thereby provide community stability. It is also designed
to enable the public to gather firewood. The proposed action is consistent with maintaining the
customs and cultures of these communities.
The proposed action alternatives were designed to improve the growth and vigor of the Forest through
silvicultural treatments that would produce a more vigorous distribution of size and age classes of
timber stands as well as increase the vegetative diversity of the Forest.
The proposed action alternatives were designed to improve the health of the Forest by applying
coordinated Forest insect and disease management strategies and techniques that would reduce
damage and loss due to insects and diseases.
Long-term management direction for the Forest was established in the 1 988 Salmon National Forest Land
and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan), approved in January, 1988. Among other things, the Forest
Plan established the Desired Future Condition (DFC) of the Forest for all resources and uses of the Forest;
Forest Plan multiple use goals and objectives, and management standards and guidelines to achieve them;
monitoring and evaluation requirements to determine whether the goals and objectives are being met and
standards and guidelines of the Forest Plan are being used; Management Areas, or sub-units of the Forest
with similar management goals and a common management prescription; lands suited for timber manage-
ment and the maximum amount of timber that may be sold from those lands. The proposed activities are
designed to implement the Forest Plan.
SCOPE OF THE PROPOSED ACTION
The Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale areas were determined to be suitable for timber harvesting and
were delineated as timber sale areas in the 1 988 Forest Plan. Site-specific timber harvesting and associated
road construction can occur in this area only if the Salmon National Forest Supervisor makes a decision,
based on the analysis documented in this EIS, to allow the Moyer Salt Timber Sale area to be entered for
timber harvest. He will also decide how much timber would be harvested, what methods would be used, and
what managements requirements, mitigation measures and monitoring activities would be required. The
Summary - 2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
scope of the proposed action is therefore limited to the specific timber harvesting, forest regeneration, road
construction and reconstruction, and associated activities identified in Chapter II.
ISSUES
An interdisciplinary team (ID Team) with members representing various affected resources began identifying
the issues related to implementation of the proposed action early in the NEPA process. Other agencies with
jurisdiction in the analysis area were notified of the proposed action and invited to comment. Additional issues
were identified by the public and interested organizations during the public involvement scoping process.
Potential issues were analyzed by the Forest staff of resource specialists to determine if they were within the
scope of the proposed project.
The following issues were identified as being within the scope of the proposed project and were used to direct
the creation and evaluation of the alternatives:
Vegetation: This issues deals with several topics related to vegetation management, including: the effects
to the age structure, species abundance and composition, and growth potential of the vegetation in the area;
effects of the proposed action on the insect and disease susceptibility and the overall health of the forest
stands; and the ability to manage the site productivity of these Management Areas (MAs) to ensure an
adequate supply of timber for the timber products industry and the maintenance of employment and
associated economic activity related to the harvesting and processing of timber.
The indices used to measure the effects of the alternatives on the vegetation in the area are: 1) the number
of acres harvested; 2) the change in age class distribution before and after timber harvest; 3) the number of
acres of trees harvested; and 3) timber outputs [volume production in million board feet (rnrnbf)].
Wildlife: Concern has been expressed about the potential effects of the proposed action on elk and deer,
particularly elk and deer security and elk habitat. Protection of the area mapped as key elk summer range
and the displacement of elk and deer from areas of preferred habitat are a concern, as are habitat parameters
such as the cover to forage ratio and road density.
Potential effects of the proposed action on old growth-dependent species such as goshawk and pine marten,
both of which require stands of trees with old-growth characteristics for nesting and/or hunting, is also a
concern. These species could be affected by the proposed management activities, as stands with old-growth
characteristics would be harvested under the action alternatives.
The indices of measurement that will be used to evaluate the effects of the alternatives on big game will be:
1) changes in Elk Habitat Potential (EHP) (derived from the cover to forage ratio and road density); 2) the
effects to big game habitat security; and 3) elk vulnerablity. Effects to goshawk and pine marten will be
measured by 1) the number of acres of timber stands with old growth characteristics within the analysis area
before and after timber harvest; and 2) the number of acres of Forest Plan designated old-growth retention
stands that are cut.
Roadless Character: Concern has been expressed about the potential effects of the proposed action on the
Taylor Mountain Roadless Area. An estimated 9,920 acres of the 15,360-acre analysis area are located within
the northern portion of the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area; the proposed activities would affect approximately
1 6 percent of the entire roadless area. The effects of road construction and tree harvest on the social, physical
and biological attributes of the roadless area are a concern. Also, the effects to the potential candidacy of
the analysis area for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) is a concern.
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Moyer Salt Timber Sate Final EiS
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The indices of measurement that will be used to measure the effects of the proposed action on the roadless
character are: 1) whether or not the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area meets the qualifications for further
consideration as a wilderness area; 2) number of acres within the inventoried roadless area boundary that
would no longer be roadless; 3) the percent of the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area that is no longer roadless;
and 4) the effects on the natural integrity, apparent naturalness, primitive recreation, solitude, special
features, and special places and activities of the area.
Economic Efficiency; Concern has been raised that Forest management of timber resources, including the
proposed project, is not economically efficient. Some members of the public are concerned that the proposed
sale should result in long-term positive cash flow and that timber sales should contain the most efficient
combination of logging methods, road systems, and silvicultural prescriptions.
The indices of measurement for comparison of the economic efficiency of the alternatives will be the results
of the economic analysis for the timber sale that evaluates the costs and benefits of management alternatives,
measured in terms of 1) present net value (PNV) and 2) the gross stumpage value realized.
Soil Resources: Concern has been expressed about the effects of the proposed activities on the soil
resources, particularly effects to soil productivity due to increased sedimentation (and subsequent loss of
soil), soil compaction and soil displacement due to road construction and log skidding, and potential for mass
wasting of road cut and fill slopes. Increased soil erosion could lead to increased sediment in streams,
degrading water quality and fish habitat. Roads and landing areas can commit the land to uses other than
growing vegetation for extended periods of time (total soil resource commitment).
Indices for measurement of the effects to soils are: 1 ) acres of total soil resource commitment; and 2) percent
of analysis area with total soil resource commitment.
Hydrology: This issue addresses the concern over effects of the proposed timber harvest activities on water
quality or volume in streams in the analysis area. The importance of water quality to all beneficial uses
downstream, including fisheries, recreation, and domestic and agricultural water has been recognized. The
effects of vegetation removal on the timing and size of the peak flow rate are also a concern.
The indices of measurement to determine effects to water quality and volume are: 1) percent of drainages
harvested; 2) meeting state water quality standards; and 3) maintaining beneficial uses.
Wetlands: The effects of the proposed timber sale on wetlands, particularly as they relate to water quality,
was a concern expressed by some respondents during the scoping process. The importance of wetlands to
maintaining water quality has been recognized, and concern was expressed that timber harvest and road
construction would occur in wetland areas and affect this function. Recognition and delineation of wetlands
was also recognized as important to maintaining wetlands. In addition, wetland areas serve as unique habitat
for some species of wildlife.
The index of measurement to determine effects to wetlands is the acres of wetlands that are affected.
Fisheries: The effects of road construction and timber harvesting on resident and anadromous fish spawn-
ing, incubation, and rearing habitats is of great concern to the public and government agencies, including
the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. The spring-
summer run of Chinook salmon has recently been listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act,
and habitat for this fish species is present in the analysis area, although it is not currently being used. Effects
to these species of fish or their habitat as a result of the proposed timber sale are therefore a concern.
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
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The index of measurement for effects to fisheries is whether anadromous and resident fisheries habitat are
maintained.
Biological Diversity: The effects of timber harvest activities on the variety, abundance, and distribution of
plant and animal species, the primary components of biological diversity, is an issue arising from the
accelerated extinction rate for animals and plants and an accompanying decrease in wildlife and plant habitat
world-wide.
Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species: Effects to federally listed threatened, endangered and
sensitive species and to state-listed sensitive species is a concern for maintenance of both biological diversity
and the wildlife resources of the area. Habitat for listed threatened spring/summer Chinook is present in Moyer
Creek and potential habitat is present in Woodtick Creek, although neither is used at present by this species
because of downstream water pollution. In addition, a migration barrier presently exists at the mouth of
Woodtick Creek. Several sensitive vertebrate species or their habitat are present in the analysis area, as well
as sensitive plant species, and they could be affected by vegetation manipulation and road construction.
Potential habitat for the Endangered gray wolf exists in the area, although no wolves are known or suspected
to occupy the area at this time. The entire area is included within the Central Idaho Wolf Recovery Area and
may become important to this species at some point in the recovery process.
The indices of measurement of effects to these species are: 1) presence of threatened and endangered
species or their habitat; and 2) effects to threatened, endangered or sensitive species or their habitat.
Visual Resources: This issue addresses the concern over visual disturbance from land management activi-
ties. Included in this issue is the concern about silvicultural methods used and their effect on the visual
resource and the proximity to sensitive viewing areas such as the Moyer Creek Road and the Ridge Road.
The index of measurement of effects to visual resources is whether the visual quality objectives are met.
Recreation Resources: Concern over the effects of the proposed activities on the current recreation use in
the analysis area is primarily related to big game hunting in the fall. Access to the area is limited, and
recreation use other than big game hunting is light. The quality of the current recreation uses and the kinds
of recreation opportunities would change as a result of the proposed timber harvest activities, and how that
would affect the amount and types of recreation use is a concern.
The index of measurement of effects to recreation use is the number of acres converted from semi-primitive
motorized and non-motorized to roaded-natural appearing.
Air Quality: The effects of the proposed timber harvest activities on the air quality of the analysis area focuses
on the effects to the airshed during slash burning. Burning may cause the particulate content of the air to
exceed state air quality standards and may affect persons travelling on the Ridge Road and other roads in
the area.
The indices of measurement for air quality are whether the State air quality standards are exceeded.
Transportation and Access: Concern has been expressed that construction of the proposed transportation
system may affect future use of the timber resource in the area because more timberland would be available
for harvest. Concern has also been expressed over closing of the roads built for the timber sale and access
changes to the area due to closing part of an existing primitive jeep trail (Moyer Peak jeep trail).
Summary - 5
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
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Indices for measurement of the effects of the different transportation systems proposed for the alternatives
are: 1) the number of acres available for timber harvesting with the existing road system; 2) the number of
acres available for timber harvesting with the proposed road systems; 3) the miles of road that would be
constructed or reconstructed; and 4) miles of open road and closed road in the analysis area.
Minerals: This issue addresses the concern over the effects of timber harvest on access to and development
of the mineral resources of the analysis area.
The index of measurement for effects to mineral resources is whether the proposed actions prohibit future
mineral resources development in the area.
Cultural Resources: Concern for the effects to cultural resources in the analysis area addresses the effects
of increased access into the area and the potential for vandalism of these resource. In addition, ground
disturbance associated with the timber sale may affect cultural resources.
The index of measurement of effects to cultural resources is whether or not impacts will occur.
Range Resources: The issue of the effects of the proposed timber harvest on range resources reflects the
concern that improving access and increasing forage may increase grazing in the area, or may reduce
livestock use if fencing livestock out of areas is necessary. These changes can alter grazing levels, livestock
use patterns, and rangeland conditions.
The index of measurement for range resources is the effects on range condition.
ALTERNATIVES
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED BUT NOT GIVEN DETAILED STUDY
The ID Team considered the following alternatives and options during the analysis process, but they eliminat-
ed them from detailed study for the reasons described below:
* Use the preferred alternative Identified In the Moyer Salt Environmental Assessment (1 983) as the
proposed action for this Draft EIS.
In 1 982 the Forest Service proposed timber harvesting and road construction in the Woodtick Creek and Salt
Creek drainages (the Moyer Salt Timber Sale) that would harvest 4 to 8 mrnbf from 1 ,000 to 1 ,400 acres. An
Environmental Assessment (EA) was approved that documented an environmental evaluation of the pro-
posed timber harvesting and road construction with a reasonable range of management action alternatives
(U.S. Forest Service 1 982). This evaluation did not assess the effects of the proposed action on the roadless
character of the area. A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Decision Notice were signed by the
Forest Supervisor in May, 1983. The timber sale was marked and offered for sale but was not purchased due
to depressed timber prices in the mid-1980s. In 1988 the Forest Plan was approved; it designated the Moyer
Salt Timber Sale area as an area where timber harvesting could occur. In 1 991 the decision was made to enter
the area for timber harvesting. The timber harvesting and road construction activities proposed in the original
Moyer Salt Timber Sale were modified to meet the current standards and guidelines of the Forest Plan, and
are contained in the proposed alternative (Alternative II in this document).
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
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* Complete a separate EIS analysis for each of two timber sales originally proposed In the Moyer Salt
Timber Sale EIS analysis area.
As originally stated in the 1 988 Forest Plan, two separate timber sales were proposed for what is now the
Moyer Salt Timber Sale: the Moyer-Salt Timber Sale and the Salt Creek Timber Sale. These two timber sales
were combined into a single sale, primarily to facilitate control of timing of road construction and timber
han/esting in big game subdivisions. The two timber sales were not offered and their effects were not analyzed
separately because: 1) this approach would not yield a clear disclosure of the potential environmental effects
from the proposed action; 2) it would not be cost efficient; and 3) roads built to access the Salt Creek portion
of the timber sale would also access the Moyer Salt portion; therefore, analyzing the effects of the two sales
separately would be partially redundant and an inefficient use of time and resources.
* Harvest timber only outside the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area.
Comments to the DEIS suggested that we analyze this alternative. Our reason for dismissing further analysis
follows. Nearly 50% of the Salmon National Forest’s suitable timber base is located in roadless areas. The
Forest Plan identified roadless lands within this analysis area as suitable for timber harvest. Failure to consider
harvesting in roadless areas would lead to overcutting of nonroadless lands based on the current Allowable
Sale Quantity. One of the purposes of this EIS is to address the effects of timber harvest activities on the
roadless resource, thus this alternative would be outside the scope of this document. The No Action
alternative approximates this alternative and if selected would allow the option to consider any number of
timber sales outside the roadless area.
* Prescribed burn alternative to address the forest health concern®.
Due to public comments received after release of the DEIS, a prescribed burn alternative was considered but
is outside the scope of this EIS because it does not meet the purpose of contributing, in part, to the Forest
Plan objective of satisfying the commercial demand for timber. The Draft EIS, on page 1-1 states: "The
proposed action alternatives are designed to help provide a continuous flow of raw materials to dependent
manufacturing communities and thereby provide community stability. It is also designed to enable the public
to gather firewood. All the proposed action alternatives are consistent with maintaining the customs and
cultures of these communities."
* Helicopter log 1 70 acres of Douglas-fir units and conventionally log 580 acres, requiring 1 5.8 miles
of road (2.5 miles In Wildlife Area S and 13.3 miles In SI) with an estimated yield of 6.0 MW1BF.
Due to public comments received after release of the DEIS, this alternative was considered but dropped from
further analysis due to the increased costs of logging and transportation, and the relatively minor benefits
to wildlife.
* Helicopter logging the Douglas-fir units (170 acres) and conventionally log 170 acres, requiring
13.8 miles of road (only 0.5 miles of road In Wildlife area I to access hell-spot and all conventional
units dropped In this area) with an estimated yield of 4.0 MMBF.
This alternative like the previous one, was considered because of public comments received after release of
the DEIS, but was dropped from further analysis due to the increased costs of logging and transportation,
and the relatively minor benefits to wildlife.
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
ALTERNATIVES PROPOSED FOR THE MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Seven alternatives were developed, a no-action alternative and six action alternatives. Each action alternative
represents a different combination of timber harvest and road building intensity, as well as slightly different
methods for mitigating their effects. These alternatives were designed to meet the issues and concerns
identified during scoping while at least partially meeting the purpose of and need for action defined previous-
ly, and represent a reasonable range of actions to accomplish those goals.
Harvest treatments prescribed for the proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale apply even-aged silvicultural systems
because these methods best meet the Management Area goals for the area established in the Forest Plan
(pp. IV-32). Standard harvest methods for even-aged management of forests include clearcutting, seed tree,
and shelterwood methods. Clearcutting and shelterwood or variations of the shelterwood system are the
optimum even-aged silvicultural methods for treating stand conditions in the Moyer Salt analysis area.
Cieareut Harvest
Standard clearcutting would be applied in areas with heavy fuel loadings, where residual overstory or
understory trees can’t be protected while harvesting, in areas susceptible to windthrow, and in stands
infected with dwarf mistletoe. These conditions are found on subalpine fir habitat types consisting of relatively
pure stands of lodgepole pine or mixed stands of lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, and Engelmann spruce. Even
when it is possible to skid logs and save a residual stand, it is often not possible to dispose of the slash without
clearcutting. However, wherever feasible, healthy residual understory trees will be left. This method would be
utilized in Alternatives 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Alternatives 6 and 2A would utilize clearcutting with islands in order to meet visual quality objectives and
mitigate other resource concerns. Where clearcutting is prescribed, many of the stands would have approxi-
mately 15% of the area within the unit left in uncut islands ranging from 1/2 an acre to one acre in size. With
heavy fuel loadings, such as those found in the analysis area, the retention of islands is the only practical
and economically feasible alternative to standard clearcutting.
Regardless of which method is applied, there would be a variety of common treatments. Most units would
be logged using tractor skidding methods; units with slopes too steep for tractor logging would be logged
with a cable system.
After the trees have been removed from a site, a variety of activities would occur on the site that are designed
to promote seedling establishment, improve timber stand conditions and reduce the amount of combustible
material laying on the ground (fuel loading). Slash would be piled by tractors on sites with slopes less than
45 percent. In addition, ten to fifteen tons of slash would be left evenly scattered on each acre in order to
provide microsites that enhance seedling establishment and survival, ensure long-term soil productivity and
provide habitat for insects and animals. Any remaining unhealthy trees and insect-infected understory trees
that were not pushed over during the piling process would be hand felled in order to increase growing space
and completely remove any disease source. All remaining healthy understory trees would be maintained.
Existing snags (large standing dead trees) and recruitment snags (trees that would be retained as future
snags trees) would be maintained as per Forest Plan direction.
During logging, branches, tree tops, and small trees (slash) would be cut to lengths such that the slash would
lie on the ground at depths of less than 1.5 feet. In some areas this material would be made available to the
public and commercial firewood gatherers for a designated time period after logging operations are complete.
After firewood gathering, the slash would be burned to increase available growing space, to reduce the
amount of dead material on the ground and thereby to reduce potential for wildfires, and to assist in the
Summary - 8
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
breakdown of woody material and increase soil productivity. Clearcut units on slopes steeper than 45 percent
would be broadcast burned (burned without piling) ; on slopes less than 45 percent the slash would be burned
in piles. Firelines would be constructed around harvest units to reduce the possibilities of fire escape during
burning. Burning would be controlled so that 1 0 to 1 5 tons per acre of slash material, including larger diameter
pieces of slash, would be retained to provide microsite protection, ensure soil productivity and maintain
habitat for those organisms requiring down woody debris.
Natural seed sprouting would reforest the clearcut units. Natural seeding and regeneration of timber harvest
cutting units on similar sites elsewhere in the Salmon National Forest has been successful. Clearcuts would
be planted if reforestation by natural means is not successful. Timing of harvesting and slash disposal would
be adjusted to ensure that the pine cones have dropped their seeds before the slash is piled.
Machine site preparation such as scarification would be used in units where grasses, sedges, or shrubs are
present that may prevent or prolong seedling establishment. On approximately 50 to 1 00 acres of clearcutting
units, a specially designed tractor blade will be used to overturn the sod layer and to loosen the top soil of
an area in order to create a mineral soil seedbed where tree seeds can germinate.
Shelterwood Harvest
In stands where there are no young trees present on the site or where those that are present are unhealthy
(they are infested with insects and diseases or will not grow if the competing trees are removed), a standard
shelterwood method would be uniformly implemented (designated as "shelterwood" on Alternative maps).
The initial entry would apply the seed cut of the shelterwood in which approximately fifty to seventy percent
of the overstory depending on site conditions. The remaining "leave trees" would be expected to regenerate
the site within 1 0-1 5 years. The actual time necessary to regenerate these sites would vary depending upon
whether the topography was suitable for the application of machine scarification. Once regeneration is
established, a removal cut of the shelter wood would be made leaving three to five large trees per acre for
snag replacement or future harvest.
In stands where there are healthy young trees on the site that will grow if competing trees are removed, a
group shelterwood method would be implemented (designated as group shelterwood on maps). Stands
where this method is proposed are characterized by three distinct components:
1 . A Douglas-fir overstory with an understory of Douglas-fir seedlings and saplings ranging from two to
six feet tall;
2. A Douglas-fir overstory with an occasional clump of regeneration but generally park like in appear-
ance;
3. Thick patches of advanced Douglas-fir regeneration (pole size material 3.0 - 8.9 inches DBH).
These three components create a mosaic of even-aged groups. The objective of the group shelterwood
method is to maintain these components as even-aged groups, thereby replicating nature’s reproduction
system. In the initial entry, this method takes advantage of the existing regeneration present. Where a suitable
understory is present, a removal cut of the shelterwood would be performed to release existing regeneration.
Where regeneration is lacking, the seed cut of a shelterwood would be implemented removing approximately
50 to 70 percent of the overstory depending on site conditions. Where existing patches of Douglas-fir
regeneration is encountered a combination of precommercial and commercial thinning would be applied.
In order to meet visual quality objectives and mitigate other resource concerns, many of the units in
Alternatives 5, 6 and 2A will be treated utilizing a modified irregular shelterwood system (designated "irregular
shelterwood" on the Alternative maps). This method would be initially similar to the standard and group
shelterwood methods described for Alternatives 2, 3 and 4. The primary difference is that the shelterwood
Summary - 9
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EiS
Summary
trees are retained longer than necessary for seedling establishment thus delaying the timing of the second
entry into the stand. The. removal cut (second entry) of the shelterwood, would not be performed until the
average height of the regeneration is approximately 20 feet. The removal cut would therefore occur approxi-
mately 20 to 30 years after the seed cut as compared to 1 0 to 1 5 years when employing the standard or group
shelterwood.
Regardless of which method is applied there would be a variety of common treatments. Most units would be
logged using tractor skidding methods. Units with slopes greater than 45 percent would be logged using a
cable system.
Machine scarification and slash piling by dozer would be performed as one operation in areas where a
shelterwood seed cut is made. Fifty percent of these areas would be scarified by alternating strips of treated
and untreated ground. Slash would be lopped and scattered prior to the scarification process. It would be
evenly redistributed during the scarification process. These treatments would not be possible under Alterna-
tive 5 due to lack of road access. In cable units that are too steep to pile or scarify, the slash would be lopped
and scattered or jackpot burned (areas where slash has accumulated in piles (jackpots) would be burned).
In areas where a removal cut, slash would be lopped and scattered. No piling or burning would occur in order
to protect healthy trees present on the site.
Young trees left in shelterwood units would be thinned (a cutting is made in the overstocked stands to bring
stocking to the desired level and to increase growth in remaining trees). Trees that are damaged or unhealthy
would be cut down by hand in order to provide growing space for new trees.
ALTERNATIVE 1 - NO ACTION
The No Action alternative would not initiate any activities; present resource management activities would
continue, but the proposed project activities would not be implemented.
The goal of this alternative is to maintain the area’s undeveloped condition and current uses (see Figure 11-1).
This alternative provides a baseline to compare the effects of the action alternatives, and responds to the
roadless issue, or the desire to maintain the area in a roadless condition. Because the existing environment
is not static, environmental consequences will still occur; natural events such as wildfire, insect and disease
infestations, or flooding could appreciably alter most of the resources that are discussed in this document.
Summary - 10
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
ALTERNATIVE 2
This alternative was used in the internal and public scoping process in an effort to implement Forest Plan
direction and to identify issues which other alternatives are designed to address. This alternative emphasizes
timber harvesting and natural regeneration that would improve the health and vigor of the forest while meeting
all other resource needs.
Sale layout would be designed to meet resource objectives by limiting unit size, shape, and total acres
treated. Optimum treatment of insect and disease conditions, and economic efficiency of harvesting may not
occur in order that standards and guidelines for other resources may be met. Emphasis would be on
maximizing sawlog production for those areas treated. In this alternative, the entire area would be accessed
from one road, an extension of Forest Service Road 106 (Swan Peak Road) (Figure 11-2).
Total area that would be treated (acres)
568
Total volume that would be harvested (mmbf)
4.9
Miles of road
Constructed:
16.8
Reconstructed:
1.3
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir
7
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine,
25
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
Clearcut Cutting Methods:
Amount clearcut (acres)
410
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
400
cable (acres)
10
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
310
broadcast burned (acres)
100
Machine Scarification (acres)
50-100
Shelterwood Cutting Method:
Amount Shelterwood (acres)
158
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
144
cable (acres)
14
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
*
broadcast burned (acres)
0
Machine Scarification (acres)
144
* Slash will be lopped, scattered and redistributed during the scarification process. Only concentrations may
be burned.
Summary - 1 1
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
Summary
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigation applies:
Slash will be placed from right-of-way windrow back on road prism to form 'jackpot' type piles with
a minimum diameter of 25 feet and an average height of 4 to 6 feet after completion of timber removal
and during slash disposal. The timber sale contract will contain provisions for this procedure.
Piles will be placed at 1 00 to 200 foot (avg. of 1 50 foot) intervals, will extend from cutslope to fill slope,
and will be of sufficient magnitude and continuity to discourage all travel on the road prism by humans
on foot and/or horseback. Openings created in the windrows by construction of these piles will serve
as big game travelways and should not have residual slash in excess of 1 8 inches high.
A map showing the roads (last 1/2 mile of Road # 60286.1 and on all of roads 60286.2, 60286-C and
60288) where slash piling will occur is contained in the Project File.
For water quality protection, windrows will not be disturbed where the distance from the toe of the
fill slope to live water is less than 200 feet.
Summary - 12
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
ALTERNATIVE 3
This alternative was developed to respond to concerns about the effects of the proposed action on wildlife,
in particular the effects on key elk summer range. This alternative was developed with substantive input
provided during the public comment period by members of the public .
This alternative eliminates 1 1 clearcuts totaling 1 70 acres contained in Alternative II and adds two clearcuts
totaling 30 acres (Figure 11-3). Access to the analysis area would be from two roads: cutting units in the
Woodtick Creek area would be accessed by a road extending from the existing F.S. Road 106, and those
in the Salt Creek and ■Perm" Creek area would be accessed by a road extending from existing F.S. Road 1 07.
The existing roads would be reconstructed to Forest road specifications. This configuration, with fewer
clearcuts and access by two roads, would provide a large area in the center of the analysis area in which
no harvesting or road building would take place.
Total area that would be treated (acres)
440
Total volume that would be harvested (mnrtbf)
3.75
Miles of road
Constructed:
14.6
Reconstructed:
9.3
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir
9
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine,
16
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
Clearcut Cutting Methods:
Amount clearcut (acres)
270
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
260
cable (acres)
10
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
150
broadcast burned (acres)
120
Machine Scarification (acres)
50-100
Shelterwood Cutting Method:
Amount Shelterwood (acres)
170
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
144
cable (acres)
26
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned
*
broadcast burned
0
Machine Scarification (acres)
144
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
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* Slash will be lopped, scattered and redistributed during the scarification process. Only concentrations may
be burned.
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigation applies:
Slash will be placed from right-of-way windrow back on road prism to form 'jackpot' type piles with
a minimum diameter of 25 feet and an average height of 4 to 6 feet after completion of timber removal
and during slash disposal. The timber sale contract will contain provisions for this procedure.
Piles will be placed at 1 00 to 200 foot (avg. of 1 50 foot) intervals, will extend from cutslope to fill slope,
and will be of sufficient magnitude and continuity to discourage all travel on the road prism by humans
on foot and/or horseback. Openings created in the windrows by construction of these piles will serve
as big game travelways and should not have residual slash in excess of 1 8 inches high.
A map showing the roads (last 1/2 mile of Road # 60286.1 and on all of roads 60286.2, 60286-C and
60288) where slash piling will occur is contained in the Project File.
For water quality protection, windrows will not be disturbed where the distance from the toe of the
fill slope to live water is less than 200 feet.
Summary - 14
Moyer Salt Timber Sale FinaS EIS
Summary
ALTERNATIVE 4
This alternative was developed to respond to concerns about the economic viability of the other action
alternatives and their effectiveness in treating insect and disease conditions within the project area. Alternative
4 implements the timber management direction of the Forest Plan to its fullest and may not meet resource
objectives for other resources.
Most of the cable logging units contained in Alternatives 2 and 3 would be eliminated in order to increase
the economic efficiency of the proposed action (Figure 11-4). Cutting unit size was determined by Forest Plan
Silvicultural and Insect and Disease standards and guidelines that are designed to maximize growth, health,
and vigor and minimize insect and disease infestation of the treated stands. Clearcut cutting unit size may
reach 60 acres in lodgepole pine stands where dwarf mistletoe levels are high (unit # 22). Shelterwood unit
size in Douglas-fir stands, designed to control Douglas-fir beetle and Western spruce budworm, would
exceed 40 acres (unit # 30). The size of these units was determined by the amount and size of existing natural
regeneration and the size of natural openings used by big game.
Total area that would be treated (acres)
847
Total volume that would be harvested (mmbf)
6.9
Miles of road
Constructed:
17.8
Reconstructed:
9.3
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir
5
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine,
25
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
Clearcut Cutting Methods:
Amount clearcut (acres)
645
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
645
cable (acres)
0
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
545
broadcast burned (acres)
100
Machine Scarification (acres)
50-100
Shelterwood Cutting Method:
Amount Shelterwood (acres)
202
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
202
cable (acres)
0
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned
*
broadcast burned
0
Machine Scarification (acres)
202
Summary - 15
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final ESS
Summary
* Slash will be lopped, scattered and redistributed during the scarification process. Only concentrations may
be burned.
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigation applies:
Slash will be placed from right-of-way windrow back on road prism to form "jackpot" type piles with
a minimum diameter of 25 feet and an average height of 4 to 6 feet after completion of timber removal
and during slash disposal. The timber sale contract will contain provisions for this procedure.
Piles will be placed at 1 00 to 200 foot (avg. of 1 50 foot) intervals, will extend from cutslope to fill slope,
and will be of sufficient magnitude and continuity to discourage all travel on the road prism by humans
on foot and/or horseback. Openings created in the windrows by construction of these piles will serve
as big game travelways and should not have residual slash in excess of 1 8 inches high.
A map showing the roads (last 1/2 mile of Road # 60286.1 and on all of roads 60286.2, 60286-C and
60288) where slash piling will occur is contained in the Project File.
For water quality protection, windrows will not be disturbed where the distance from the toe of the
fill slope to live water is less than 200 feet.
Summary - 16
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
ALTERNATIVE 5
This alternative was developed in response to comments received on the DEIS. It is intended to respond to
requests that *a no roads access for timber harvest be considered and that an alternative be considered that
'addresses harvesting less than 3.0 MMBF and constructing less than 10 miles of road.
This alternative contains 4 clearcuts and 3 shelterwood units totaling approximately 292 acres (Figure 11-5).
Access to the analysis area would be from existing F.S. Road 1 07. The existing roads would be reconstructed
to Forest road specifications. Approximately 1.15 miles of new roads would be required to facilitate harvest.
Units 1 W, 2W, 3W and 4W would be tractor logged clearcuts while units S6, S1 1 , and 30 would be helicopter
logged utilizing the standard and irregular shelterwood silvicultural methods. Shelterwood harvest units
contained in Alternatives 2, 3 and 4 include machine scarification and slash piling as part of the prescribed
silvicultural system. These treatments would not be possible under this alternative due to lack of road access.
The inability to perform machine scarification and slash piling will result in delayed regeneration periods and
fuel loadings that may hinder big game movement ( please refer to chapter IV - Environmental Consequences
for a full disclosure off effects).
Total area that would be treated (acres) 292
Total volume that would be harvested (mmbf) 1.79
Miles of road
Constructed: 1.15
Reconstructed: 8.0
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir 3
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine, 4
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
Clearcut Cutting Methods:
Amount clearcut (acres) 124
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres) 124
helicopter (acres) 0
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres) 124
broadcast burned (acres) 0
Machine Scarification (acres) 0
Sheiterwood Cutting Method:
Amount Shelterwood (acres) 1 68
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres) 0
helicopter (acres) 168
Slash Disposal Method:
lop and scatter 1 68
broadcast burned 0
Machine Scarification (acres) 0
Summary - 17
Moyer Salt Timber Sate Fina! ESS
Summary
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigations apply:
1 . The helicopter service landing will have an impermeable liner placed under the fuel storage area;
2. A physical barrier of sufficient height to contain any spilled hazardous substance will be placed
around the helicopter service landing; and
3. Restrict fuel hauling for the helicopter to trucks without a trailer.
Summary - 18
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
ALTERNATIVE 6 (PREFERRED)
This alternative was developed in order to provide a balance between concerns for visual quality and insect
and disease conditions (Figure 11-6). In the lodgepole community where clearcutting is proposed, Forest Plan
standards and guidelines for visual quality would be achieved through a combination of unit size and leaving
uncut islands ( where slopes permit approximately 15% of the area within the clearcuts would be left in uncut
islands ranging from 1/2 to 1 acre in size). Where necessary to meet visual quality objectives in the Douglas-fir
community, timber stands would be harvested using an irregular shelterwood method. This method takes
advantage of existing natural regeneration and in some cases will maintain four distinct age classes and
canopy levels.
The island concept would be feasible in 16 of the 26 proposed clearcuts (units 1 W, 2W, 3W, 4W, 13, 19, 19A,
19B, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, Si 2). Leaving islands within units containing steep slopes and heavy fuel
loadings (as in Alternative 2A) would not be attempted. Units 22 and 23 will leave approximately 30% of the
area within the clearcuts in islands approximately 1 acre in size. The other units mentioned above will have
approximately 1 5% of the area within the clearcuts in islands approximately 1 acre in size. As an example unit
22 (20 acres) would have approximately 6 islands designated (1 acre in size) thus the treated area would be
reduced to 14 acres. Unit 1W (23 acres) would have approximately 3 islands designated (1 acre in size) thus
the treated area would be reduced to approximately 20 acres.
The purpose of leaving the islands is five-fold:
1 . Provide a regenerated stand that more closely approximates the species mix currently occupying
the site;
2. To break up the units in order to provide a more visually pleasing setting when seen from a
background or landscape view;
3. Provide big game bedding sites within the newly created forage area;
4. Break up site distances within the units to increase security and thus use by big game; and
5. Ensure protection of snags and retention trees that may otherwise be pushed over or damaged
during the skidding and piling process.
Total area within harvest units (acres) 815
Total area that would be treated (acres) 747
Total volume that would be harvested (mmbf) 6.10
Miles of road
Constructed: 17.8
Reconstructed: 9.3
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir 4
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine, 26
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
Summary - 19
Moyer Salt Umber Sale Final EIS
Summary
Clearcut Cutting Methods:
Amount clearcut (acres)
545
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
545
cable (acres)
0
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
445
broadcast burned (acres)
100
Machine Scarification (acres)
50-100
Sheiterwood Cutting Methods:
Amount Shelterwood (acres)
202
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
202
cable (acres)
0
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
*
broadcast burned (acres)
0
Machine Scarification (acres)
202
* Slash will be lopped, scattered and redistributed during the scarification process. Only concentrations may
be burned.
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigation applies:
Slash will be placed from right-of-way windrow back on road prism to form °jackpot" type piles with
a minimum diameter of 25 feet and an average height of 4 to 6 feet after completion of timber removal
and during slash disposal. The timber sale contract will contain provisions for this procedure.
Piles will be placed at 1 00 to 200 foot (avg. of 1 50 foot) intervals, will extend from cutslope to fill slope,
and will be of sufficient magnitude and continuity to discourage all travel on the road prism by humans
on foot and/or horseback. Openings created in the windrows by construction of these piles will serve
as big game travelways and should not have residual slash in excess of 1 8 inches high.
A map showing the roads (last 1/2 mile of Road # 60286.1 and on all of roads 60286.2, 60286-C and
60288) where slash piling will occur is contained in the Project File.
For water quality protection, windrows will not be disturbed where the distance from the toe of the
fill slope to live water is less than 200 feet.
Summary - 20
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
ALTERNATIVE 2A
This alternative was developed to respond to concerns about visual quality. It is designed to mitigate the visual
effects of timber harvest when viewed from a landscape or background view. All harvest units meet Forest Plan
standards and guidelines for visual quality in terms of size. The unit sizes and locations are basically the same
as Alternative 2 (Figure II-2A). However, where slopes permit, from 10% to 30% of the area within the clearcuts
would be left in uncut islands ranging from approximately 1 12 to 1 acre in size. In addition, releasable residual
understory trees that are free from disease will be left in all clearcuts. In the Douglas-fir community, timber
stands would be harvested using an irregular shelterwood method. One key feature of this method is the delay
of the removal cut until the average height of the regeneration is approximately 20 feet.
The island concept would be utilized in 24 of the 26 proposed clearcuts (units 27A and 28A are small cable
where no islands would be left). As an example unit 19A (18 acres) would have 5 islands designated
(approximately 1 acre in size) thus the treated area would be reduced to 1 4 acres, a reduction of approxi-
mately 30%. Unit 26 (9 acres) would have 2 islands designated (approximately 1/2 acre in size) thus the
treated area would be reduced to approximately 8 acres, a reduction of approximately 10%. In units with
heavy fuel loadings and steep slopes, some islands would be destroyed during the slash piling or burning
processes. The degree to which the residual understory will be maintained will depend upon slope, fuel
loading, and the condition of the understory.
The main purpose of the leaving the islands is to break up the units in order to provide a more visually pleasing
setting when seen from a background or landscape view. However the islands do provide other benefits
which include:
1. Provide a regenerated stand that more closely approximates the species mix currently occupying
the site;
2. Provide big game bedding sites within the newly created forage area;
3. Break up site distances within the units to increase security and thus use by big game; and
4. Ensure protection of snags and retention trees that may otherwise be pushed over or damaged
during the skidding and piling process.
Total area within harvest units (acres) 560
Total area that would be treated (acres) 502
Total volume that would be harvested (mmbf) 4,20
Miles of road
Constructed:
Reconstructed:
16.8
1.3
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine,
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
7
25
Summary - 21
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
Clearcut Cutting Methods:
Amount clearcut (acres) 344
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres) 334
cable (acres) 10
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres) 244
broadcast burned (acres) 1 00
Machine Scarification (acres) 50-1 00
Shelterwood Cutting Method:
Amount Shelterwood (acres) 1 58
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres) 144
cable (acres) 1 4
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned *
broadcast burned 0
Machine Scarification (acres) 1 44
* - slash will lopped, scattered, and redistributed during the scarification process. Only concentrations may
be burned.
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigation applies:
Slash will be placed from right-of-way windrow back on road prism to form "jackpot" type piles with
a minimum diameter of 25 feet and an average height of 4 to 6 feet after completion of timber removal
and during slash disposal. The timber sale contract will contain provisions for this procedure.
Piles will be placed at 1 00 to 200 foot (avg. of 1 50 foot) intervals, will extend from cutslope to fill slope,
and will be of sufficient magnitude and continuity to discourage all travel on the road prism by humans
on foot and/or horseback. Openings created in the windrows by construction of these piles will serve
as big game travelways and should not have residual slash in excess of 1 8 inches high.
A map showing the roads (last 1/2 mile of Road # 60286.1 and on all of roads 60286.2, 60286-C and
60288) where slash piling will occur is contained in the Project File.
For water quality protection, windrows will not be disturbed where the distance from the toe of the
fill slope to live water is less than 200 feet.
Summary - 22
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION
Site-specific management and mitigation measures were developed by the ID Team for each of the resources
in the Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale analysis area are listed in Table 11-1 in the Final EIS. These
measures were developed by applying various State and Federal standards and guidelines and Best
Management Practices that govern how timber harvesting and road construction are implemented to the
site-specific conditions that occur in the analysis area. The sources for the various management and
mitigation measures include the Forest Plan; various Forest Service Manuals that give direction for protection
of soils, water, fisheries and other resources; state management guidelines; and various other sources.
MONITORING
The Salmon National Forest has developed a plan to monitor and evaluate implementation of the Forest Plan,
monitor the effectiveness of management practices implemented under the Forest Plan, and validate the
assumptions and models used in planning (Forest Plan, V-2-19). This would allow the evaluation of progress
toward achieving the goals, objectives, and standards of the Forest Plan.
A site-specific monitoring program of activities on the Forest is performed annually; not all activities on the
Forest are monitored on an annual basis, and not all of the Forest Plan monitoring requirements are
performed for each project. Results of the monitoring program are presented in an annual Forest Plan
Monitoring and Evaluation Report.
Project-specific monitoring for some resources would be conducted on the proposed timber sale during
timber harvest and road construction to ensure that implementation is consistent with the established
standards and guidelines, specifically those outlined in the timber sale contract. Monitoring is also conducted
during and after sale implementation to determine the effectiveness of management activities and applied
mitigation measures developed specifically for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale. These monitoring measures are
described in Chapter II of the Final EIS.
AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT
The existing condition of the environment that would be affected by the action alternatives was analyzed to
provide a baseline for comparison of the effects on the environment as a result of project activities. The
existing environment of the area affected by the proposed action is described in detail in the Final EIS in terms
of specific resources, including: soils, hydrology, fisheries, vegetation, wildlife, Threatened, Endangered and
Sensitive Species, roadless area, visuals, recreation, range, transportation, minerals, cultural resources, air
quality, and economic efficiency.
The analysis area for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale is located in the Salmon National Forest on the Cobalt
Ranger District. It is located about 22 miles southwest of Salmon, Idaho, in the Salmon River Mountains, in
the east-central portion of Idaho (Figure 1-1). The area of analysis lies between the Woodtick Creek drainage
on the north, the Moyer Creek drainage on the west, Moyer Peak on the south, and the Salmon River Mountain
Road (F. S. Road 020) on the east (Figure 1-2).
Soil Resources: Soils throughout the analysis area are loamy sands and sandy loams developed from the
Yellowjacket quartzite. Clay content varies but is generally low. Coarse fragments (gravel, cobbles, and
stones) make up as much as 35 percent by volume of the soils throughout the entire analysis area. Soils
throughout the area are generally quite stable, although some areas of slight rilling were noted in areas with
Summary - 23
Moyer Salt Umber Sale Final EIS
Summary
higher sand and fine gravel content. The bedrock character of the project area, composed of laminated siltite,
argillite, and cross-bedded quartzite, dictates a low natural sediment rate for the area and good mass stability.
Hydrology: The analysis area is drained primarily by the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek drainages, both
of which are tributaries of Panther Creek. Woodtick Creek, Moyer Creek, and a small portion of Panther Creek
occur on the perimeter of the analysis area; smaller streams that occur within the analysis area are tributaries
to these creeks. Salt Creek and "Perm' Creek are small perennial streams that are tributaries of Moyer Creek.
Goodluck Creek and an unnamed creek to the west of Goodluck Creek are tributaries to Woodtick Creek.
Based upon past watershed inventories the stream channel stability in Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek
drainages is generally fair to good. Water quality data collected on Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek in 1 992
showed that existing beneficial water uses are currently being protected. Panther Creek and its tributaries
above Blackbird Creek, including the streams in the analysis area, have been designated by the State of Idaho
as having the following Designated Water Uses: Domestic Water Supply, Agricultural Water Supply, Cold
Water Biota, Salmonid Spawning, Primary Contact Recreation, and Secondary Contact Recreation. Currently
none of the streams within the analysis area are used as a source of domestic water. The primary existing
beneficial water uses are for cold water biota, salmonid spawning, and secondary contact recreation.
Little Woodtick Creek, a small, intermittent stream that is a tributary of Woodtick Creek, is located north of and
adjacent to the analysis area for the proposed timber sale. The 1 988 Tick Creek Timber Sale in the vicinity
of Little Woodtick Creek harvested about 23 percent of that drainage. As a result of harvesting a significant
portion of the drainage, stream sedimentation has occurred in Little Woodtick Creek in the low-gradient
depositional areas of the channel. However, Woodtick Creek, because of its greater flow, is able to transport
the sediment delivered by Little Woodtick. No significant stream sedimentation is anticipated in Woodtick
Creek as a result of the channel erosion in Little Woodtick Creek.
Several types of wetlands are found in the analysis area. Riparian stringer wetlands occur adjacent to
streams, primarily Woodtick Creek, and are the most common. Isolated wetlands derived from springs and
seeps and wet meadows with willows, alder, or other characteristic wetland vegetative communities are found
scattered throughout the area.
Fisheries: The Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek watersheds contain streams that are perennial and possess
sufficient flow volume and aquatic habitat capability to support substantial fisheries resources. The mainstem
reaches of Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek both support well-established populations of resident salmonids
such as bull trout (Dolly Varden), and rainbow trout; mountain whitefish also occur in Moyer Creek. The
Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek drainages are components of the Panther Creek drainage system, which
was historically a major producer of several species of anadromous fish, including spring/summer Chinook
salmon and summer steelhead. The Moyer Creek drainage has been identified as the most important Chinook
salmon spawning tributary of the Panther Creek drainage system. However, Panther Creek and its tributaries
have not been used by these species since the 1 960s because of chemical pollution of mid and lower Panther
Creek by the Blackbird Mine. With correction of the pollution problem and reintroduction, Moyer Creek could
be a viable producer of anadromous fish.
Fish habitat capabilities in Woodtick and Moyer Creeks are moderate to high. These streams exhibit a diverse
variety of microhabitats. Abundant adult rearing habitat is provided by lateral scour pools and dammed pools,
and numerous shallow edgewater areas and backwater pools contribute to provide dispersed rearing habitat
for juvenile life stages. Stream substrates in this area are dominated by angular quartzite rubble with clean
gravels that are relatively free of fine-grained sediment. However, an existing 60-inch culvert where F.S. Road
#107 crosses Woodtick Creek in the lower portion of the analysis area (Township 20 N, Range 19 E, Section
32) currently poses a barrier to upstream anadromous and resident fish passage on that stream.
Summary - 24
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
Within the analysis area, streams that are tributaries to Woodtick and Moyer Creeks are generally .small
perennial streams whose fisheries habitat are largely limited to their lower reaches. These streams contain
low gradient gravel-bottomed riffles and small pools that provide supplemental spawning and nursery habitat
to mainstem Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek fish populations. Although these streams provide relatively
minor amounts of supplemental habitat to the Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek systems, they serve
important contributory functions to the maintenance of water quality within the larger streams.
Biological Diversity: Diversity in the Moyer Salt timber sale area was analyzed from three perspectives:
regional, forest-wide and in the defined landscape.
Regionally (north central part of the intermountain west), many animals and plants communities found on the
Salmon National Forest are similar to those in the rest of the region. Differences appear in the proportions
of various plant communities (e.g. more logdepole pine than Douglas-fir in one area) due to varying aspects,
elevations and latitudes.
Forest-wide, the conifer plant communities dominate (77% of non-wilderness areas) and a range of structural
sized trees (e.g. seedlings, saplings, poles, immature and mature) are present. There are 36 regionally or
nationally 'listed" [Threatened, Endangered, Proposed and Sensitive (TEPS)] rare animal and plant species
which occur or are suspected to occur on the Forest.
In the Moyer Salt Landscape (see Figure 111-2) non-forested grass/shrub communities occur at lower eleva-
tions and conifers (lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, subalpine fir) at the higher. Each community has it’s own
associated wildlife and plant species which are common to landscapes elsewhere in the region. There are
1 2 TEPS species known or suspected to occur in this landscape. Of those listed, only goshawk, lynx and
bull/cutthroat trout have been observed. Wolves and Chinook salmon were once residents. Their absence
however, is unrelated to past or proposed timber management in the area.
Vegetation: The vegetation and therefore the wildlife habitat in the analysis area varies with elevation and
aspect. The upper elevations are heavily forested and contain very few openings. Most of this forested area
is comprised of a 'mixed conifer0 forest community that occurs on the subalpine fir habitat series. These
forests contain a canopy of mature to overmature lodgepole pine with varying percentages of subalpine fir,
Englemann spruce and Douglas-fir in the canopy and subcanopy. The lodgepole pine trees are dying of old
age and insect and disease infestations, and are being replaced by subalpine fir trees. New trees are growing
in the openings created when the older trees die. There is an abundance of dead trees and logs laying on
the ground; this condition creates a very high risk of an intense wildfire occurring in the area. These stands
have a high level of species, structural, and age diversity at the stand level. However, because this forest
community occurs as one large homogeneous block with very few openings or variations in forest types, the
diversity on the scale of the analysis area is low.
Another component of the lodgepole pine community is a stand condition that is characterized by an
abundance of closely spaced pole-sized trees that have stopped growing or are dying due to competition
between individual trees and infestation by insects and dwarf mistletoe, a parasitic plant. As these trees die
they are being replaced by subalpine fir trees. Because these stands are comprised of trees that are all the
same age and size, they have very low diversity on both the stand level and the analysis area level.
A Douglas-fir forest community that occupies several Douglas-fir habitat types is present at lower elevations
than the lodgepole pine forests. At the highest elevations the Douglas-fir forests are characterized by heavily
forested slopes that occur on all aspects. At lower elevations the forested areas are confined to the north-
facing slopes, creating forested stringers separated by sagebrush openings. These stands occur on a variety
of habitat types and thus contain a diversity of plant species. These ecotones are important wildlife habitat
components, particularly for species that require forest/nonforest environments.
Summary - 25
Moyer Salt Timber Saie Final EIS
Summary
The Douglas-fir community can be broken down into two stand conditions: one is composed entirely of stands
of older Douglas-fir trees with very few young trees; these stands have very low species, structural or age
diversity on the stand scale. The remainder of the Douglas-fir community is a mix of overmature Douglas-fir
and lodgepole pine canopy with minor Englemann spruce and subalpine fir with a variable understory of
lodgepole pine and Douglas-fir. These stands contain varying amounts of new young trees. Structural,
species, and age diversity of these stands is high on the stand level.
The distribution of forest communities in the analysis area is a function in part of the fire history of the area.
Many of the lodgepole pine stands were established following large forest fires in the 80-1 20 years ago;
therefore, many of the trees in the area are the same age. Since the arrival of European man in eastern Idaho
the natural fire regime has been interrupted, and forest that normally would have burned and generated new
stands of young trees have not done so. Therefore, the age diversity and the diversity of condition classes
within the analysis area is low; most of the stands in the area are in the mature to overmature condition classes
(lodgepole pine trees are 80 to 160 years old, and Douglas-fir trees are 120 to 210 years in age), and 95
percent of the stands occur within two age classes. The lack of age diversity and the advanced age of these
stands increase the susceptibility of these stands to catastrophic events such as attack by insects or disease.
Timber Resources: The timber resources in the area have been affected by past timber harvest activities,
fire and fire suppression, and climatic events such as drought that affect the condition of the stands at
present. A variety of forest insects and diseases are known to exist in the analysis area, including western
spruce budworm, lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe, mountain pine beetle, Douglas-fir beetle, and western
balsam bark beetle. Some of these insects and diseases are causing defoliation, reduced growth, or mortality
in the tree stands, whereas others are present at levels that are not significantly affecting the growth and vigor
of the forest.
Previous timber harvest activity that has occurred within the Moyer Salt Timber Sale analysis area includes
500 acres of harvest in the Douglas-fir community in the 1 973-74 Salt Creek Timber Sale in the northwestern
portion of the analysis area, and 128 acres of the lodgepole pine community was clearcut in the 1989 Tick
Creek Timber Sale.
During the planning process for the Forest Plan the suitability of all lands on the Forest for timber harvest was
determined. Within the 1 5,360-acre analysis area, 1 1 ,292 acres are in the suitable timber base. The site
potential of these lands (or estimated yield capabilities, in cubic feet of wood fiber per acre per year) averages
40-50 cubic feet/acre/year, but most stands are old and no longer growing at a productive rate, and thus are
producing much less than this amount. The age class distribution of timber stands in the analysis area shows
that currently less than 5% of the forested areas in the analysis area are in age class 1 or 2. The remaining
95% of the stands in the analysis area are in age classes 4 and 5 (for Douglas-fir) and in 3 and 4 (for lodgepole
pine). Lodgepole pine stands may be as old as 120 years while Douglas-fir stands may exceed 200 years
old.
Wildlife Resources: The 'management indicator species' (MIS) approach was used in the Salmon National
Forest Plan’s process to help assess and predict the influence of forest management practices on habitat,
species diversity and individual species well-being. MIS species include big game species, threatened and
endangered species, and other species for which population levels and habitat objectives can be established
and which represent a number of other wildlife species. MIS species from the Forest Plan’s list that occur in
the analysis area include: elk, mule deer, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, pine marten, pileated woodpecker,
vesper sparrow, yellow warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, goshawk, yellow-bellied sapsucker (now called red-
naped sapsucker), brown creeper and mountain bluebird.
Elk, mule deer and mountain goats are the big game species that occur in the analysis ares; elk and mule
deer are most abundant and occur throughout the entire area. The forested/nonforested ecotones and aspen
Summary - 26
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
clones, particularly on the Moyer Creek face and in Salt Creek, are used as calving, fawning and nursery areas
by elk and mule deer. Approximately half of the analysis area has been mapped as key elk summer range
(KESR), but the entire area receives heavy spring, summer and fall elk and mule deer use. Habitat for big
game varies throughout the analysis area depending on the vegetation types present.
The forested lands below approximately 7500 feet elevation (Area 1) consist primarily of Douglas-fir timber
stands and minor mixed conifer (Douglas-fir, subalpine fir, Englemann spruce, and lodgepole pine) timber
stands. Natural timber/nontimber ecotones, openings dominated by sagebrush and bunch grasses, and
small aspen stands or clones occur throughout this area in conjunction with blocks, stringers and islands of
timber and give the area very high habitat potentials for mule deer and elk. Most of the timber stands,
particularly the Douglas-fir stands, are in an old growth condition (most trees are more than 200 years old,
a mix of age classes is present, and the stand is in a natural mature to overmature state). Habitat for
old-growth dependent species such as goshawk and pine marten is available in pristine condition.
Area II, the upper elevations generally surrounding Moyer Peak, is dominated by fairly uniform stands of mixed
conifers, including lodgepole pine and subalpine fir with some Englemann spruce in the more mesic sites.
This area is almost entirely within the subalpine fir/grouse whortleberry habitat type. Very few natural
openings exist and habitat diversity is low. Timber stands in old-growth condition are abundant. This area
offers extremely good big game hiding and/or security cover.
Other wildlife species that occur in the analysis area are typical for this portion of Idaho and include black
bear, cougar, bobcats, coyotes, pine marten and beaver. Game birds such as blue, ruffed and Franklin’s
(spruce) grouse occur throughout the area. Cavity nesting and/or old growth dependent MIS, including
goshawks, pine marten, great gray owls, pileated woodpeckers and brown creeper, are found throughout the
analysis area. Populations of these species are high due primarily to the relatively pristine old-growth habitat
component.
Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Species: Columbia River spring/summer Chinook salmon have
recently been listed as 'Threatened’ status by the National Marine Fisheries Service (Federal Register, April
22, 1992). This species has historically utilized mainstem Moyer Creek spawning and rearing habitats (Reiser,
1986), but are currently unable to access these habitats due to mainstem Panther Creek water quality
problems due to acid mine drainage.
Potential habitat for the Endangered gray wolf exists in the area, although no wolves are known or suspected
to occupy the area at this time. The entire area is included within the Central Idaho Wolf Recovery Area and
may become important to this species at some point in the recovery process.
Ten species from the Forest Service Intermountain Region Vertebrate Sensitive Species List were assessed
to determine whether they are present or their habitat is present in the analysis area. Although habitat for each
of these species (North American lynx, wolverine, western or Townsend’s big-eared bat, boreal owl, northern
three-toed woodpecker, great grey owl, spotted frog, northern goshawk, bull trout and steelhead) occurs in
the analysis area, only the Northern goshawk has actually been observed in the area. Habitat for the Northern
goshawk is present throughout the area in dense, old-growth conifer, mixed conifer/aspen, and aspen
stands. One nest site is known to occur in the area, and others may be present but have not been sighted.
Bull trout (Dolly Varden) are known to be present in the mainstem reaches of both Woodtick Creek and Moyer.
Habitat for steelhead trout exists in Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek but is not currently utilized because
of downstream water pollution of Panther Creek due to acid mine drainage.
Roadless Area Resource: The 63,220-acre Taylor Mountain Roadless Area is the only inventoried roadless
area that would be affected by the alternatives for this proposed action. Approximately 40 percent of the acres
within the roadless area boundary are in management areas that include timber management objectives. The
Summary - 27
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Summary
remaining 60 percent of the area has management prescriptions for semi-primitive motorized recreation
opportunities. Only the northern portion of the roadless area would be affected by the proposed action.
The Taylor Mountain Roadless Area appears undeveloped to most visitors. Effects of human activities are
limited to the fringes of the Roadless Area where Forest roads, jeep trails and foot trails are located. There
are many opportunities for primitive recreation within the boundaries of the roadless area, including hunting,
hiking and horseback riding. Approximately 80 percent of current primitive recreation consists of elk hunting.
Motorized recreation is allowed under current management direction, and most is centered along the Moyer
jeep trail.
The Taylor Mountain Roadless Area is not considered outstanding for solitude opportunities because of its
relatively small size and noticeable human activities along the perimeter. The difficulty of travel in the area
does promote a sense of remoteness. The apparent natural naturalness and natural integrity of the area is
compromised by evidence of human disturbance and the sounds of heavy equipment and vehicles in areas
north of the analysis area.
Visual Resources: Views into the area from designated sensitive travel routes (Panther Creek Road (F.S.
Road 055) (Sensitivity level 1), Moyer Creek Road (F.S. Road 103) (Sensitivity level 2), and the Salmon River
Mountain Road ("Ridge Road") (F.S. Road 020) (Sensitivity level 2)) are limited and are generally of the
rounded, forested ridge tops. Visual Quality Objectives of the area are Partial Retention and Modification.
Recreation Resources: Current recreation use is considered light and is primarily related to big game
hunting in the fall. There are no system trails in the area. The Moyer Jeep Trail, located along the south edge
of the proposal area, is probably the heaviest used portion of the area. Current Recreation Opportunity
Classes include Roaded-Natural Appearing, Semi-primitive Motorized and Semi-primitive Nonmotorized.
Air Quality: All Salmon National Forest lands, including wilderness areas and the proposed timber sale area,
are in a Class II airshed as designated by the 1 977 Clean Air Act. The Class II designation allows moderate
increases in new air pollution. Air quality in the analysis area is generally excellent and meets guidelines
established by Idaho air quality laws and the National Clean Air Act. Air quality may be degraded as a result
of prescribed burning in the spring and fall by the Salmon National Forest and surrounding forests, fire
management fires burning in areas north of the Salmon National Forest, dust from roads, logging operations,
and mining operations, and wildfires.
Range Resources: Two range allotments, the Williams-Napias Creek C&H allotment, on the north end of the
analysis area, and the Forney C&H allotment to the south, occur in the analysis area. Both are cattle
allotments and are good condition.
Transportation and Access: Existing roads located on the perimeter of the analysis area are mostly used
for recreation and consist of 12 miles of maintained road and 5 miles of primitive jeep trail (F.S. Trail 6204,
the Moyer Peak jeep trail). These roads are open year-round and all except the primitive jeep trail are
maintained for recreation traffic. Existing timber access roads within the analysis area include 1 2 miles of
timber access road and approximately 2 miles of old logging roads that are gated and closed to the public
for big game security and erosion control.
Mineral Resources: The potential for minerals development in the analysis area for leasable minerals (oil,
gas and coal) and locatable or hard rock minerals was assessed. Although there are presently active mining
claims in the analysis area, no known mineral occurrences exist and no mineral production has occurred. The
potential for a locatable mineral discovery exists but no deposits occur in the area. The geology of the area
also suggests a low potential for oil, gas or coal development.
Summary - 28
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
Cultural Resources: The Moyer Salt timber sale analysis area was partially inventoried for cultural resources,
and no cultural resources were found. A cultural resources survey will be performed for unsurveyed areas
before project implementation. The analysis area appears to have a relatively low probability for significant
cultural resource properties.
Economic Efficiency: The issues of ’below-cost" timber sales and of the economic stability of communities
in the Forest’s primary zone of influence were raised by the public during development of the Salmon Forest
Plan (see the Record of Decision for the Forest Plan). The issue of below-cost sales is based on the General
Accounting Office cash-flow accounting that compares single-year dollar receipts with costs occurring in the
same year. This accounting method does not consider long-term investments in roads and other facilities or
benefits to resources that cannot have a dollar value placed on them. When viewed strictly from the viewpoint
of the GAO accounting method, the Forest Service sometimes offers timber sales that don’t return the cost
of selling and administering them. Not only could other forest resources benefit as a result of these timber
sales, but this will also provide an opportunity to assist in maintaining a viable lumber manufacturing base
and economic stability to the local dependent community.
Concern has been raised that the proposed sale is not economically efficient and would not result in long-term
positive cash flow. The economic efficiency of the proposed alternatives was evaluated using the present net
value (PNV) of the alternatives calculated from the MBF sold, post sale costs, road costs, bridge costs,
cattleguard costs, and other costs associated with the sale.
COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES
Table I contains a summary of the effects of the alternatives on the resources in the analysis area. The
measurement indices used to compare these effects are those identified in the discussion of the issues.
Summary - 29
Moyer SaK Timber Sale Final! ESS
Summary
TABLE S: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATSVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement
Indices
ALT
1
ALT
2
ALT
3
ALT
4
ALT
5
ALT
6
PREFERRED
ALT
2A
VEGETATION
Vegetative Diversity:
Acres Harvested
0
568
440
847
292
747
502
Age distribution following harvest (in percent of analysis area)
(0-39 yrs) 4.9 9.3
8.3
11.5
7.2
10.7
8.8
(40-79 yrs)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
(80-119 yrs
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
(120-159 yrs)
69.9
66.1
67.1
64.3
68.3
64.9
66.6
(165+ yrs)
13.5
12.9
12.8
12.7
12.8
12.7
12.9
Change in species
diversity in
harvest units
None
Moderate
Increase
Moderate
Increase
Moderate
Increase
Moderate
Increase
Moderate
Increase
Moderate
Increase
Timber Resource:
Volume production
in mmbf
0
4.9
3.75
6.9
1.79
6.1
4.2
mmbf deferred *
-6.1
-1.2
-2.25
0.8
-4.31
0 **
-1.1
Risk of infesta-
tion by insects
and diseases
Moderate
to High
Increase
Strong
Decrease
Moderate
Decrease
Strong
Decrease
Low
Decrease
Strong
Decrease
Low
Decrease
Risk of infesta-
tion by noxious
weeds
Very Low
Low
Low
Moderate
Very Low
Moderate
Low
* The amounts given here represent the difference between the largest Forest Plan consistent mmbf alternative offered (Alternative 6) and the other
alternatives. These volumes display the mmbf that would be deferred from this offer during this planning period.
** Alternative 6 represents the largest mmbf sale quantity off that meets the Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines for all resources.
Harvest Method:
Clearcuts with
Islands
0
0
0
0
0
427
,
402
Clearcut Acres
0
410
270
645
124
186
10
Shefterwood Acres
0
158
170
202
168
202
158
Summary - 30
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
TABLE I, continued: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT
Indices 1 2 3 4 5 6 2A
PREFERRED
WILDLIFE
Elk and Deer:
* Elk Habitat Potential (EHP) (Percent of potential)
Areal 67% 51%
Area II 87% 90%
51% 48% 59%
88% 92% 88%
51% 53%
90% 89%
Open Road Density:
(Miles road per square mile)
Area I 0.14 0.14
Area II 0.56 0.56
0.14
0.56
0.14 0.14
0.56 0.56
0.14
0.56
0.14
0.56
Total Road Density:
| (Miles road per square mile)
Area 1
0.14
1.46
2.25
1.0
0.14
1.0
1.28
Area II
0.56
2.5
1.5
2.9
0.72
2.7
2.42
Cover to Forage Ratio:
Area 1
32:68
27:73
27:73
26:74
29.71
27.73
28.72
Area II
80:20
72:28
75:25
68:32
77.23
69.31
73.27
** Elk Habitat Security:
Area 1
High
Low
Moderate
Very Low
Moderate
Low
Low
Area II
Very High
High
High
High
Very High
High
High
*** Elk Vulnerability:
Area 1
Moderate
Very High
High
Very High
High
Very High
Very High
Area II
Very Low
Moderate
Low
Moderate
Low
Moderate
Moderate
**** Old-growth Dependent Species:
Acres of Timber Stands with Old Growth Characteristics Remaining:
Area 1
1750
1500
1520
1430
1625
1475
1540
Area II
3550
3200
3250
3025
3310
3040
3250
Percent Loss of Timber Stands with Old Growth Characteristics:
Area 1
0%
15%
13%
18%
7%
16%
12%
Area II
0%
10%
8%
15%
5%
14%
8%
Acres of Forest Plan Designated Old-Growth Retention Stands Cut:
Area 1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Area II
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
* Elk Habitat Potential (EHP) is the indicator for effects to elk and deer and is derived from the cover to forage ratio and the miles of road per square mile.
** Elk Habitat Security is 30% of an area occupied by cover blocks of 250 acres located 1/2 mile from open roads.
*** Elk Vulnerability reflects ease of human access and susceptibility of hunted elk.
**** The acres and percent loss of timber stands with old growth characteristics and old-growth retention stands are the indicators for effects to goshawk,
pine marten and other old-growth dependent species.
Summary - 31
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E8S
Summary
TABLE I, continued: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
indices
1
2
3
4
5
PREFERRED
2A
ROADLESS AREA:
Acres of Roadless
Area Affected
0
9920
9920
9920
208
9920
9920
Percent of
Taylor Mtn.
Roadless Area Affected
0
16%
16%
16%
<1%
16%
16%
Acres of Roadless
Area Remaining
63,220
53,300
53,300
53,300
63,012
53,300
53,300
Wilderness
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Eligibility Of Roadless Area Maintained
Effects to Roadless Characteristics:
Natural Integrity
None
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Apparent
None
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Naturalness
Primitive
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
Recreation
Solitude
None
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
None
Decrease
Decrease
Special Features
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
Special Places
and Activities
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY
Present Net Value
Long Term Average
0
-$210,077
-$161,329
-$300,679
*
-$277,853
-$183,069
Present T rend
0
+$253,925
+$303,502
+$295,651
-$94,938
+$303,626
+$262,241
Gross Stumpag® Income
Long Term Average
0
+$400,670
+$306,186
+$564,444
+$69,315
+$498,801
4- $343,235
Present Trend
0
+$569,100
+$525,300
+754,200
+$706,200
+$527,100
Road Costs
Construction
0
+$372,150
+$383,850
+$411,150
+$42,000
+$411,150
+372,150
Road Costs/m bf
0
+76
+$102
+$60
+$26
+$67
+$89
Th® economic efficiency of the alternatives can be compared by calculating the present net value and gross income of each alternative. These were i j
calculated based on the long term average prices and with present prices to reflect the recent increases in the value ot timber. |
* No value was calculated because this alternative was not economically viable (it would not sell) with the long term stumpage values.
Summary - 32
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
TABLE I, continued: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
Indices
1
2
3
4
5
6
PREFERRED
2A
SOILS
Existing Roads
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
57 ac.
57 ac.
57 ac.
57 ac.
57 ac.
57 ac.
57 ac.
New Roads
0
16.8 mi.
14.6 mi.
17.8 mi.
1.1 mi.
17.8 mi.
16.8 mi.
0
62.1 ac.
55.2 ac.
66.1 ac.
4.0 ac.
66.1 ac.
62.1 ac.
Acres of Total
Soil Resource
Commitment
57 ac.
119 ac.
Ill ac.
123 ac.
61 ac.
123 ac.
119 ac.
Percent of Analysis Area
with Total Soil
0.4%
0.8%
0.7%
0.8%
0.4%
0.8%
0.8%
Resource Commitment *
* Total soil resource commitment occurs when the soil is committed to a use other than growing vegetation for an extended period of time; this typically
occurs in roads, landing areas, and some skid trails.
HYDROLOGY
Effects to Water Yield;
Percent of Drainages Harvested*:
Woodtick Creek
5.2%
7.3%
7.0%
8.2%
6.0%
7.9%
7.1%
Salt Creek
0%
9.1%
4.5%
14.3%
5.1%
12.3%
8.2%
'Perm' Creek
0%
11.3%
11.3%
14.2%
4.3%
13.1%
10.4%
Predicted Changes
to Water Yield
None
No Major
Effect
No Major
Effect
No Major
Effect
Minimal
No Major
Effect
No Major
Effect
Beneficial Water
Uses Maintained
Yes
Yes
** No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
State Water
Quality Standards Met
Yes
Yes
** No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
* Research has shown that harvesting more than 20 percent of a drainage can result in detectable increases in peak flow due to loss of vegetation.
** Beneficial water uses would be maintained and state water quality standards would be met in Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek. Adverse water quality
impacts are anticipated in Salt Creek only.
WETLANDS
Acres of Wetlands None * <3 * <2 * <3 None * <3 * <3
Affected
* These acres of affected wetlands are primarily at stream crossings.
Summary - 33
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Summary
TABLE 1, continued: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement
Indices
ALT ALT ALT ALT
12 3 4
ALT
5
ALT ALT
® 2A
PREFERRED
FISHERIES
Anadromous and * Yes Yes ** No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Resident Fish Habitat
Maintained
* The culvert that is currently obstructing fish passage where F.S. Road 1 07 crosses Woodtick Creek will be corrected through KV funding with Alternatives
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 2A, but is not scheduled to be corrected under Alternative 1 , the No Action Alternative. Habitat would be maintained but not improved
under this alternative.
** Anadromous and resident fish habitat would not be maintained in the Salt Creek drainage, and habitat within the mainstem Moyer Creek streamcourse
below the mouth of Salt Creek would additionally be at high risk of being adversely impacted. Habitat would be maintained within the Woodtick Creek,
Goodluck Creek, and "Perm" Creek drainages under this alternative, however.
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY - See TES and Wildlife Sections
THREATENED, ENDANGERED AND SENSITIVE FISH SPECIES
(The final biological assessment of effects to T & E fish species is being documented within the Salmon National
Forest’s Proposed Activity Review for the Panther Creek Watershed. Concurrence from the National Marin®
Fisheries Service is unknown at this time).
Effects to Listed
Fish T & E
Species and Their Habitat
No Effect
Not LTAA*
LTAA*
Not LTAA*
Not LTAA*
Not LTAA*
Not LTAA*
Effects to Poten-
tial Fish
T & E Habitat
No Change
from Ex-
isting
Condition
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Creek
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Creek
Degradation
in Sait and
Moyer Creeks
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Creek
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Crseek
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Creek
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Creek
Effects to
Region 4 Sensi-
tive Fish Species
and Their Habitat
No Effect
*Not LTAA
*LTAA
Steelhead
and Bull
Trout
*Not LTAA
‘NOT LTAA
*Not LTAA
‘Not LTAA
* LTAA - Likely to Adversely Affect
THREATENED, ENDANGERED AND SENSITIVE VERTEBRATE SPECIES
Effects to
Gray Wolf
* LTAA - Likely to Adversely Affect
Summary - 34
Not
LTAA
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Summary
TABLE I, continued: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement
Indices
ALT ALT ALT ALT
12 3 4
ALT
5
ALT ALT
6 2A
PREFERRED
VISUAL RESOURCES
Number of Units 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
Where Visual
Quality Objectives
Are Not Met
RECREATION
Acres Converted 0 6,990 6,310 6,990 0 6,990 6,990
from Semi-Primitive
Motorized & Nonmotorized
to Roaded Natural Appearing
AIR QUALITY
State and Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
National Air Quality
Standards Met
TRANSPORTATION AND ACCESS
Acres available 1,600 1,600 1,600 1,600 1,600 1,600 1,600
for timber harvesting with
existing road system
Acres available 0 2,807 1,824 2,957 150 2,957 2,807
for timber harvesting with
proposed road system
Miles of Road 0 16.8 14.6 17.8 1.1 17.8 16.8
Constructed
MINERALS
Would interfere No No No No No No No
with potential
mineral development
Summary - 35
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EiS
Summary
TABLE I, continued: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement
Indices
ALT ' ALT ALT
1 2 3
ALT ALT
4 5
ALT ALT
6 2A
PREFERRED
CULTURAL RESOURCES
4 Potential None Low Low Low Low Low Low
Impacts to
Cultural
Resources
4 A cultural resources survey will be completed before any ground disturbing activities begin. Approximately 95% of the area was cleared by SHPO on
8/18/92. Clearance is expected by 8/1/93 on the remaining 5% of the area.
RANGE RESOURCES
Change in Range None
Resource
Minor Im-
provement
Minor Im-
provement
Minor Im-
provement
Minor Im-
provement
Minor Im-
provement
Minor Im-
provement
Summary - 36
Chapter I
Purpose and
Need
Changes Between the Draft and
FInai
1=1
Proposed Action
1-1
Purpose of and Meed
for Action
1-1
Location and Access
1-4
The Forest Plan
1-4
Management Area Goals
I-®
Scope or the Proposed Action
1-8
The NEPA Process
1-8
Scoping and the
Identification of Issues
1-9
Environmental issues and
Concerns
1-10
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter S
CHAPTER S
PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION
CHANGES BETWEEN THE DRAFT AND FINAL
The US Fish and Wildlife Service have added the
Endangered gray wolf to their species list. A Biologi-
cal Assessment was prepared to assess the effects
of this timber sale on the gray wolf.
PROPOSED ACTION
The Forest Service proposes to harvest timber, con-
struct and reconstruct roads, and regenerate new
stands of trees in portions of the Moyer Creek, Salt
Creek, Woodtick Creek, and Goodluck Creek
drainages, and Pete’s Gulch in the Cobalt Ranger
District of the Salmon National Forest (Figure 1-1 ,
Vicinity Map). The proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale
(formerly the Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber
Sales) was originally disclosed in the Notice of In-
tent in the July 6, 1990, Federal Register, and is
included as Alternative 2 in Chapter II. The pro-
posed timber harvesting and road construction ac-
tivities would harvest about 568 acres in a maximum
of 32 units and construct about 16.8 miles of road.
Trees harvested from these units would yield ap-
proximately 4.9 million board feet (mmbf) of timber.
The Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale would
be offered for sale in 1993; the timing of timber
harvesting would be staggered between two wildlife
subdivisions.
PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION
The action alternatives outlined in this proposal are
designed to implement the silvicultural objectives
and goals of the 1 988 Salmon National Forest Land
and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). The
ultimate goal of these objectives is to meet the de-
sired future condition (DFC) of the Forest as estab-
lished in the Forest Plan (Forest Plan, IV 89-90). The
standards and guidelines that dictate how these
silvicultural management activities are implemented
would be followed. More specifically the proposal
has the following purposes:
The proposed action alternatives are designed to
help provide a continuous flow of raw materials to
dependent manufacturing communities and
thereby provide community stability, it is also de=
signed to enable the public to gather firewood.
The proposed action Is consistent with maintain-
ing the customs and cultures of these
communities.
The economies in Lemhi and Custer Counties in
Idaho and Ravalli County, Montana, are dependent
in part on Forest resources for grass, timber and
water (Lemhi County Report, 1990). This demand
from the Salmon National Forest and parts of the
Cobalt Ranger District has been strong and is ex-
pected to increase.
The Forest Plan designated areas that are suitable
for timber production, and has identified an annual
allowable sale quantity (ASQ) from this land base of
approximately 21 million board feet (mmbf) of tim-
ber. One purpose of this proposed timber sale ac-
tion is to contribute, in part, to the Forest Plan objec-
tive of partially satisfying the commercial demand
for timber (Forest Plan, 1988, 111-4). This objective
will provide for community stability in the Forest’s
area of influence and is consistent with the customs
and culture of these communities.
If the Selected Alternative provides less timber vol-
ume than the alternative that meets the maximum
Forest Plan Volume (Alternative 6 - the Preferred
Alternative), the reasons for providing the lesser vol-
ume will be addressed in the Record of Decision
and the shortfall will not be offered during this plan-
ning period. (See Table 11-2, Timber Resource:).
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft ESS
Chapter !
The proposed action alternatives are designed to
Improve the growth and vigor of the Forest
through silvicultural treatments that would pro-
duce a more vigorous distribution ©f size and age
classes ©f timber stands as well as increase the
vegetative and structural diversity of the Forest.
The desired future condition of areas available for
timber management as established by the Forest
Plan shall contain a specific distribution of timber
stand ages in the year 2030 (Forest Plan, IV-90, and
Chapter III: Vegetation, this document). This age
distribution would provide a distribution of size and
age of timber that would maintain a continuous sup-
ply of timber in the future, provide future Forest
managers with a wide array of harvest alternatives,
create timber stands that are more resistant to in-
sect and disease infestations than existing stands,
and improve the overall health of the forest
ecosystem.
Many of the trees in the project area are old; they are
mature (e.g. they have attained full development
and are capable of seed production) or overmature
(they have passed maturity and are in a state of
declining health and vigor). Many of the timber
stands are made up of trees that are alive but not
growing due to insect and disease activity and
physical breakdown. In some stands, growth has
stopped, is progressing at an extremely slow rate,
or is negative (loss of wood to mortality is greater
than wood gain through growth). To improve the
health and productivity of the forest it is necessary
to 1) diversify the stands of overmature and mature
trees and create a wider range of ages; and 2)
enhance the forest’s vegetative and structural diver-
sity. As a result of the high mortality rate in these
stands, an abundance of highly combustible dead
material is lying on the ground in many of these
stands, creating a fire hazard. Timber harvest in
these stands would reduce and redistribute this ma-
terial and would decrease the risk of large wildfires.
Timber harvesting and timber stand improvement
(TSI) activities are an integral part of silvicultural
management of the timber resource for long-term
needs. These activities are conducted to increase
the growth rate and productivity of the stands, im-
prove the quality of the stands, maintain desirable
species composition, manage insect and disease
activity, improve aesthetics, and generally maintain
productive stand conditions. TSI activities consist
primarily of thinning of overstocked stands (stands
that have more trees growing on them than is desir-
able for vigorous growth) and release cutting (re-
moving competing trees that inhibit or prevent
growth in younger trees).
The proposed action alternatives are designed to
improve the health of the Forest by applying coor-
dinated Forest insect and disease management
strategies and techniques that would reduce
damage and loss due to insects and diseases.
Loss of timber due to insects and disease is con-
trary to the management direction established in the
Forest Plan. Insect and disease management direc-
tion is to prevent or suppress insect and disease
populations that threaten Forest tree stands using
an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach
consistent with resource management objectives
(Forest Plan, IV-71-75).
Within the analysis area established for the pro-
posed action, Douglas-fir stands are showing the
effects of defoliation by western spruce budworm,
and Douglas-fir beetle attacks have been numerous
due to stress conditions created by prolonged
drought. Many lodgepole pine stands are infected
with dwarf mistletoe and some are infected by
mountain pine beetles. Subalpine fir trees are local-
ly infested with western balsam bark beetle. Forest
Plan direction emphasizes harvesting susceptible
and infected stands (Forest Plan, IV-90), with priority
given to overmature or deteriorating stands (Forest
Plan, IV-73-75). This allows harvesting of infected or
susceptible stands while the timber has marketable
value. Enhancement of species diversity of the ex-
isting stands and the stands of trees that regenerate
the site, and selection of less susceptible species in
the regenerated stands would also reduce loss to
insects and diseases.
Further discussion of the Forest Plan and its silvicul-
tural goals and objectives is found in the Record of
Decision for the Salmon Forest Plan, April 1988
(page 12); the Final Environmental Impact State-
ment for the Salmon National Forest Land and Re-
source Management Plan (Chapter IV, page 33);
and the Salmon Forest Plan (Chapter IV, pages 1 to
4, 17, 89).
I - 2
VICINITY MAP
FIGURE 1-1
VICINITY MAP
Moyer SaSt Timber Sale Draft ESS
Chapter I
LOCATION AND ACCESS
The Moyer Salt Timber Sale is located approxi-
mately 22 air miles southwest of Salmon, Idaho (Fig-
ure 1-2, Location Map). The analysis area for this
timber sale (shown on Figure 1-2) includes the pro-
posed timber units and surrounding area where di-
rect, indirect, and cumulative effects would occur if
the proposed action is implemented and where the
analysis of effects would be performed. In addition
to the analysis area described above, the area of
analysis for each resource may vary from that
shown in Figure 1-2, and is specified for each re-
source in Chapter III, Affected Environment.
Of the approximately 1 5,360 acres in this analysis
area, an estimated 9,920 acres are located within
the northern portion of the Taylor Mountain Road-
less Area. This roadless area is listed as No. 13902
on the Salmon National Forest and as No.06902 on
the Challis National Forest. The area was formerly
listed as RARE II No.4502.
The analysis area is accessed from the west by the
Panther Creek Road (F.S. Road 055) and the Cop-
per Creek-Swan Peak Road (F.S. Road 099). F.S.
Road 107 intersects F.S. Road 099 in Section 28,
T20N, R19E, and crosses Little Woodtick Creek and
Woodtick Creek before entering the analysis area.
This road was built as a timber access road for
harvesting the 1989 Tick Creek timber sale. From
the east the analysis area is accessed by the
Salmon River Mountain Road ("Ridge Road") (F.S.
Road 020) and the eastern portion of F.S. Road 099.
Forest Service Road 106 (Swan Peak Road) inter-
sects F.S. Road 099 in Section 2, T19N, R19E, and
accesses the eastern part of the analysis area.
THE FOREST PLAN
Long-term management direction for the Forest was
established in the 1988 Salmon National Forest
Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest
Plan), approved in January, 1988. In approving the
Forest Plan, the Regional Forester established the
following items:
* The Desired Future Condition (DFC) of the
Forest for all resources and uses of the For-
est;
* Forest Plan multiple use goals and objec-
tives, and management standards and
guidelines to achieve them;
* Monitoring and evaluation requirements to
determine whether the goals and objectives
are being met and standards and guidelines
of the Forest Plan are being used;
* Management Areas, or sub-units of the For-
est with similar management goals and a
common management prescription;
* Lands suited for timber management and the
maximum amount of timber that may be sold
from those lands during the ten year plan-
ning period for the Forest Plan (Allowable
Sale Quantity); and
* Lands recommended for wilderness classifi-
cation and land use allocations for invento-
ried roadless areas not recommended for
wilderness.
The proposed activities are designed to implement
the Forest Plan. This Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) contains a detailed, site-specific
analysis which supplements the Forest Plan EIS
and which focuses on the environmental effects and
alternatives relating to the proposed action. This
analysis is therefore tiered to the Forest Plan EIS
and Record of Decision, which are incorporated by
reference at the appropriate passages throughout
this Final EIS. This document also discloses the
analysis and implementation of management prac-
tices designed to achieve the goals and objectives
of the Forest Plan.
For a more detailed discussion of the role of the
Salmon National Forest in managing the Forest tim-
ber resources, refer to the following documentation:
Record of Decision for the Salmon National Forest
Land and Resource Management Plan, January
1988 (pages 13 to 15); Final EIS for the Salmon
National Forest Land and Resource Management
Plan (Chapter II page 137, Chapter IV pages 28 to
39); and the Salmon National Forest Land and Re-
source Management Plan (Chapter IV, pages
2,82,89,90). Other management direction is includ-
ed in the Salmon National Forest Noxious Weed
Control Program Environmental Assessment (EA)
1-4
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LEGEND
ANALYSIS AREA
A. ! u#|! 1 L
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Clt^Io
SCALE
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
FIGURE 1-2
LOCATION MAP
-4- —
%
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft ESS
Chapter
and in other amendments to the Forest Plan refer-
enced throughout this document.
Management Area OoaSs
The Salmon Forest Plan Management Area (MA)
prescriptions in the Forest Plan (Chapter ill, 93-1 60)
identify the management activities that will occur on
the area of land covered by that prescription. Al-
though these are multi-functional management ac-
tivities that are designed to achieve the goals and
objectives established by the Forest Plan, each
Management Area prescription places an emphasis
on management of one or several Forest resources.
The Moyer Salt Timber Sale analysis area contains
MA prescriptions that have a dual emphasis on
aquatic habitat management and timber manage-
ment. These MAs are shown in Figure 1-3 and de-
scribed below:
Management Areas 3A-5A, 3A-5B, and
3A-5C
Management emphasis in areas with a 3A
prescription is on anadromous fish species
habitat needs. Habitat quality and quantity
will be commensurate with meeting or ex-
ceeding Idaho Department of Fish and Game
anadromous fish planning goals and require-
ments for listed and proposed threatened
and endangered fish species established by
the National Marine Fisheries Service. Tim-
ber harvest and management is compatible,
but the activity, intensity and timing of timber
harvesting will be appropriate to meeting
habitat quality goals.
Management emphasis in areas with 5A, 5B,
and 5C prescriptions is on a high (5A), mod-
erate (5B), or low (5C) commercial sawtimber
production and utilization while maintaining
habitat for target or viable populations of all
native vertebrate species of fish and wildlife.
Management Area 3A-4A
Emphasis for prescription 3A is on meeting
anadromous fish habitat needs, as de-
scribed above. Emphasis for prescription 4A
is to provide for big game habitat needs such
as forage and cover on key big game winter
range. Treatments to increase forage pro-
duction, alter plant species composition, or
to create or maintain hiding and thermal cov-
er for big game are applied. Vegetation ma-
nipulation is allowed for enhancement of
habitat.
All of the timber harvesting activities in the action
alternatives described in this document would be
confined to the 3A-5A, 3A-5B, and 3A-5C manage-
ment areas. A very short segment of the timber
access road for the Salt Creek portion of the timber
cutting units for Alternative 3 crosses the southeast-
ern portion of the 3A-4A management area; all other
roads are in 3A-5A, 3A-5B, and 3A-5C management
areas. The 3A-4A management area is included in
the analysis area because all of these activities
could directly or indirectly affect the fish and big
game habitat in the area and these potential effects
must be analyzed.
The goal of vegetation management for lands within
those MA’s that are available and suitable for timber
production is to provide vigorous and healthy
stands which would: 1) have a broad representation
of various age and size classes; 2) exhibit diversity
of tree species; 3) have reduced threat from insect,
disease, and wildfire; 4) be growing at or near opti-
mum site productivity, and 5) provide suitable habi-
tat to sustain minimum viable populations of all
wildlife species (Forest Plan, IV-1 -2, 1 1 6-1 39). A flow
of sawlogs and other products would be produced
to satisfy demands for forest products. Standards
and guidelines specified in the Forest Plan wilt en-
sure that wildlife habitat for target or viable popula-
tions of all native vertebrate fish and wildlife species
will be provided and, in some situations, will be
improved by vegetation management.
e/ibort
T19N
Moyer Sait Timber Saie Draft EIS
Chapter I
SCOPE OF THE PROPOSED ACTION
The Moyer Salt Timber Sale and Salt Creek Timber
Sale areas were determined to be suitable for timber
harvesting and were delineated as timber sale areas
in the 1 988 Forest Plan. Timber harvesting in these
areas is currently ready for a decision concerning
proceeding with site-specific harvesting and road
construction in these sale areas. Although the pro-
posed timber harvest activities on each of these two
timber sales could proceed independently of the
other, they were combined into one timber sale (the
■Moyer Salt Timber Sale*) and are addressed as one
sale in this EIS because: 1) they are geographically
close and their transportation systems overlap; 2)
the potential for cumulative environmental effects
can be assessed; and 3) the timing of one sale can
be easily controlled to allow for use of wildlife subdi-
visions.
The scope of the proposed action is limited to the
specific timber harvesting, forest regeneration, road
construction and reconstruction, and associated
activities identified in Chapter II. This final EIS is a
site-specific National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) document that addresses the effects of only
these activities. The proposed action is not a gener-
al management plan for the area, and this is not a
programmatic EIS.
DECISIONS TO BE MADE
BASED ON THIS ANALYSIS
Based on the analysis documented in this environ-
mental impact statement, the Salmon National For-
est Supervisor will make the following decisions:
* Should the Moyer Salt Timber Sale Area
be entered for timber harvest and
management-related activities at this
time?
If it is decided to enter the area for timber manage-
ment now,
* How much timber should be harvested?
By what methods should the timber be
harvested?
What management requirements, mitiga-
tion measures and monitoring are neces-
sary to protect other resources and to
achieve other resource goals, objectives
and desired future conditions?
THE NEPA PROCESS
This Final EIS was developed under the implement-
ing regulations of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA), Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ), Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, Parts
1500-1 508 (40 CFR 1500-1 508); and the National
Forest Management Act (NFMA), Title 36, Code of
Federal Regulations, Part 219 (36 CFR 219).
NEPA analysis began with the identification of the
proposed action as published in the Notice of Intent.
This proposal was based on Forest Service knowl-
edge of the current condition of the area and Forest
Plan direction. The proposed action was the starting
point for a detailed, site-specific NEPA analysis of
the potential environmental effects of the proposed
action.
A 45 day public comment period was allowed after
the issuance of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS). Comments were read, catego-
rized and coded into a computer program specifi-
cally designed for content analysis.
Public comments were used by the Interdisciplinary
Team and Forest Supervisor to scope additional
issues not previously considered; evaluate the need
for revising and analyzing new alternatives; and
choosing a preferred alternative.
A 30 day public comment period will begin after
issuance of this Final Environmental Impact State-
ment (FEIS) and publication of the notice of avail-
ability in the Federal Register.
A Record of Decision will be released after the pub-
lic comment period. If the Forest Supervisor selects
an action alternative in the Record of Decision, im-
plementation of the activities specifically identified
in that alternative would begin in 1993 and without
further NEPA documentation.
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter E
APPEAL PROCESS
A 45 day appeal period will follow the Record of
Decision.
FINAL EIS DOCUMENT ORGANIZATION
This document consists of the following main chap-
ters:
Chapter I - Purpose of and Need for Action:
Describes the proposed action, purpose of and
need for action, Forest Plan direction, project
area location, decisions to be made, scoping,
and issues and concerns associated with the
proposal.
Chapter II - Alternatives: Describes seven al-
ternative ways (including taking no action) of
addressing or resolving environmental issues
and management concerns related to imple-
mentation of this proposal. How the six action
alternatives wholly or partially meet the purpose
of and need for the proposed action is de-
scribed. A comparison is made of the environ-
mental impacts and effects of each alternative.
Chapter Ilf - Affected Environment: Discusses
the existing environment affected by the alter-
natives by resource. Forest Plan management
direction, the scope of analysis, the existing
condition, and the effects of past management
of each of the specific resources is discussed.
Chapter IV - Environmental Consequences:
Discloses the environmental consequences of
implementing the alternatives, using the de-
scriptions in Chapter III as the baseline for mea-
surement. Potential direct, indirect and cumula-
tive effects are described and the effectiveness
of mitigation measures is assessed. Unavoid-
able adverse effects are listed, including irre-
versible and irretrievable commitments of re-
sources.
Chapter V - List of Preparers: Contains a list-
ing of the individuals who contributed to this
Final EIS, including names, educational qualifi-
cations, and years of direct experience relating
to resource management.
Chapter VI - Public Involvement and Com-
ments: Includes a summary of scoping and
public involvement activities prior to the Final
EIS.
Bibliography: Provides the sources for all mate-
rial referenced in the text.
Glossary: Defines terms used in the text that
may be unfamiliar or specialized. Acronyms are
defined with their first usage in the text.
Appendices: Contains the biological assess-
ments and evaluations, analytical reports, and
site-specific or supplementary information that
adds depth to the discussions in the main chap-
ters.
Index: Provides a chapter or section and page
reference for key words in the body of the EIS
and appendices.
Comment Letters and Response: contains
public comment letters on the DEIS and the
Salmon National Forest’s response to these
comments. This section was printed and bound
separate from the main document and is a sup-
plement to Chapter VI - Scoping and Public
Involvement
A Project File was created during development of
the Final EIS that contains the background data,
supporting documentation, issues analysis, ID team
meeting notes, maps and other pertinent material.
The project file is located in the Salmon National
Forest Supervisor’s Office.
SCOPING AND THE
IDENTIFICATION OF ISSUES
Interna! Scoping and the Public
Involvement Process
An interdisciplinary team (ID Team) with members
representing various affected resources was creat-
ed early in the NEPA analysis process. This team
reviewed management direction given in the Forest
Plan and other documents, and initiated discussion
with other Forest Sen/ice personnel regarding the
proposed action and its potential effects on the area
1-9
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter I
resources. This internal scoping process identified
potential issues related to implementation of the
proposed action that would be addressed in the EIS
(See Project File, Public Involvement: ID Team meet-
ing notes). Other agencies with jurisdiction in the
analysis area were notified of the proposed action
and invited to comment.
Additional issues were identified during the public
involvement process. Scoping and public and inter-
agency involvement activities are discussed in more
detail in Chapter VI of this document. During the
public participation process, individuals expressed
concerns and provided insights which helped re-
solve possible resource conflicts. Concerns and in-
sights were documented (see Project File, Public
Involvement: Comments and ID Team meeting
notes) and then tracked through the analysis pro-
cess (Project File, Issues Analysis).
During the public involvement scoping process, nu-
merous topics were mentioned as possible con-
cerns relating to road construction and timber har-
vesting. A list of the topics raised and the parties
who brought them to the attention of the Salmon
National Forest can be found in Chapter VI. These
topics were addressed by the Forest staff of re-
source specialists, and, based upon their recom-
mendations, were either analyzed in the Final EIS
or, for specific reasons, found inappropriate for fur-
ther analysis in this EIS.
Additional comments received during the public
comment period that followed issuance of the Draft
EIS were analyzed and discussed in the Final EIS.
These included three new alternatives which were
analyzed in detail.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND CONCERNS
Issues that were identified in the scoping process
and discussed in this EIS include those issues or
concerns that displayed a concern that the pro-
posed management action might 1) yield a de-
tectable effect to the human environment, 2) and/or
be highly controversial, 3) and/or fall within the
scope of this site-specific EIS. As directed by the
CEQ regulations, the level of analysis and disclo-
sure of these issues is proportional to the impor-
tance of the issue in the context of the proposed
activities (40 CFR 1 502.2(b)). Thus, some issues are
discussed in more depth than others throughout
this document. The topics recommended for in-
depth analysis include: vegetation, wildlife, roadless
character, and economics, soils, water quality, fish-
eries, biological diversity, Threatened, Endangered
and Sensitive Species, and visual resources. Other
issues discussed include: recreation, air quality,
transportation and access, cultural resources, min-
eral resources, and range resources. Concerns for
these resources and mitigations that address those
concerns are discussed in the following chapters of
this EIS.
VEGETATION
How would the ag® structure, species abundance
and composition, and growth potential of the veg-
etation b@ affected?
Timber harvesting affects the age structure, species
abundance and composition, and growth potential
of timber stands. The amount of change depends
on: how many acres in a stand are harvested and
how they are harvested; the ages of the harvested
units and the amount of time necessary to regener-
ate the stand (age structure); the numbers and
kinds of trees that are harvested from a stand and
the species that regenerate on the site (species
abundance and composition); and the number of
stands that currently have little or no growth that
would be converted to young stands with high
growth rates; and the post-sale timber management
activities that occur (growth potential).
Indices: The indices used to measure the effects of
the alternatives on age structure, species abun-
dance and composition, and growth potential are 1)
the number of acres harvested; 2) the change in
age class distribution before and after timber har-
vest; and 3) the change in species diversity.
What effect would the proposed action have on
the health (particularly the Insect and disease
susceptibility) of the timber stands?
The overall health of the timber stands in the analy-
sis area is such that noticeable change will occur in
the next 60 to 70 years regardless of human activity.
Risk of substantial damage due to insect epidemics
I - 10
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter I
or large-scale wildfires is high. Mortality and growth
losses from agents such as Western spruce bud-
worm and dwarf mistletoe are occurring and will
increase, particularly if the current drought condi-
tions continue. Removing dead and infected timber
stands would not only keep the infection from
spreading to other stands but would reduce the
potential for wildfires. Timber harvest activities also
increases the risk that noxious weeds would be in-
troduced to the site. A weed control program is
currently in place on the Forest to control the spread
of weeds.
Indices: The index used to measure the effects on
the health of the forest is 1) the change in degree of
infestation by insects and diseases, and 2) the risk
of infestation by noxious weeds.
How can the full site productivity of these Man-
agement Areas (MAs) be managed to ensure an
adequate supply of timber? What timber products
would be produced from these MAs?
Concern has been expressed for the retention of
local customs and culture through maintenance of
employment and associated economic activity relat-
ed to the harvesting and processing of timber. Tim-
ber industry representatives in eastern Idaho and
southwestern Montana has stressed the impor-
tance of maintaining an adequate supply of timber.
Larger trees that can be used for sawtimber are in
demand, and uses of non-sawtimber stands include
post and poles, firewood and house log products.
Timber management practices that improve the
productivity of the Forest would give future timber
managers a wider array of harvesting options.
Indices: The index used to measure the effects of
the alternatives on timber outputs is the volume
production in million board feet (mmbf).
WILDLIFE
What are the potential effects of the proposed
action on elk and deer?
Elk and deer security and elk habitat potential are of
concern in the analysis area. Approximately half of
the analysis area has been mapped as key elk sum-
mer range (areas of the elk summer range that re-
ceive exceptionally heavy use and are important to
survival and/or productivity). The entire area re-
ceives heavy spring, summer and fall elk and mule
deer use and limited elk and deer winter use. Timber
harvesting and road construction may cause tem-
porary or short term displacement of elk and deer
from these areas of preferred habitat. They move
from areas of optimal habitat to areas of less optimal
habitat, and experience a change in habitat param-
eters such as security and forage base. Disturbance
close to or displacement from an elk calving and
deer fawning area might affect the number of young
surviving to adulthood.
Elk habitat potential (EHP) is used to assess the
effects to elk and deer; although these two big
game species have different habitat requirements,
they are similar enough that one index can be used.
Elk have much more sensitive habitat requirements,
particularly in terms of hiding cover, and therefore
meeting elk habitat requirements would also meet
those of deer. EHP is determined by using
covenforage ratios and road densities. Cover is
vegetation that provides shelter from weather (ther-
mal cover) or will hide 90 percent of an animal from
a human’s view at 200 feet or less (hiding cover).
Forage areas are man-made or natural openings
that provide food. A covenforage ratio of 40:60 is
considered optimum for most habitat types. Road
densities are calculated using the miles of open
(open road density) or closed (closed road density)
road for each square mile. An EHP of 100 percent
(covenforage ratio is 40:60 and road density is 0
miles per square mile) is optimal. Timber harvest
would affect the composition of vegetation in the
analysis area and therefore the covenforage ratio; it
could improve the covenforage ratio in heavily
forested areas with few openings. Road construc-
tion would increase the road density of the area and
thus lower the EHP, however, all new roads in the
analysis area would be closed after timber harvest-
ing.
Habitat requirements for calving and non-hunting-
season security are presently adequate. This har-
vest and road building process has the potential to
reduce habitat security for big game, as construc-
tion of new roads would facilitate access to the area
by hunters even if they are closed.
I - 11
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft ESS
Chapter I
Indices: The indices of measurement that will be
used to evaluate the effects of the alternatives on elk
and deer will be: 1) elk habitat potential (EHP) (de-
rived from cover-forage ratio and road density); 2)
elk habitat security; and 3) elk vulnerability.
What are the potential effects of the proposed
action on old growth-dependent species?
Goshawk and pine marten both require timber
stands with old-growth characteristics for nesting
and/or hunting. Goshawk are dependent on even-
aged old-growth Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, and
other tree species, and pine marten require old-
growth spruce-fir forests for survival. These species
could be affected by the proposed management
activities. Although none of the old-growth retention
stands identified in the Forest Plan (Forest Plan,
page IV-1 9, and map of record) would be harvested,
other stands which are currently in an old growth
condition but were not designated for retention in
the Forest Plan would be affected.
Indices: Indices of measurement for goshawk and
pine marten will be: 1 ) the number of acres of timber
stands with old growth characteristics within the
analysis area before and after timber harvest; and 2)
acres of Forest Plan designated old-growth reten-
tion stands that are cut.
ROADLESS CHARACTER
What ar© the potential effects of the proposed
action on the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area?
Much of the proposed timber harvest would occur
within the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area bound-
ary; the proposed activities would affect approxi-
mately 1 6 percent of the entire roadless area. The
Taylor Mountain Roadless Area is one of 30 areas
on the Salmon National Forest inventoried as meet-
ing the minimum requirements for wilderness. In the
Forest Plan the proposed harvest areas within the
roadless area have been allocated to non-
wilderness management prescriptions, including
management areas that prescribe timber manage-
ment. However, most of the remainder of the Taylor
Mountain Roadless Area falls under Management
Area 2A, which emphasizes dispersed motorized
semi-primitive recreation opportunities and is not
classed as available for timber harvest unless the
timber is damaged by fire, windthrow, or other
catastrophic event (Forest Plan, IV-98-100).
The construction of roads and the harvest of trees
in a roadless area has a direct effect on the social,
physical and biological attributes of the area. These
activities also make it unlikely that Congress would
consider the analysis area for inclusion in the Na-
tional Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) if an
action alternative is selected. The roadless areas
also provide habitat for elk and other wildlife and are
therefore important to wildlife managers and sports-
men. Other individuals simply value land without
roads or developments and wish to preserve it for
the future. They are concerned about the cumula-
tive effect of removing areas, or even small portions
thereof, out of a roadless condition.
Indices: Indices of measurement that will be used to
measure the effects of the proposed action on the
roadless character are: 1) whether or not the Taylor
Mountain Roadless Area meets the qualifications for
further consideration as a wilderness area; 2) num-
ber of acres within the inventoried roadless area
boundary that would no longer be roadless; 3) the
percent of the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area that
is no longer roadless; and 4) the effects on the
natural integrity, apparent naturalness, primitive
recreation, solitude, special features, and special
places and activities of the area.
ECONOMICS
Is Forest management of timber resources eco-
nomically efficient?
Concern has been raised that the proposed project
would not be economically efficient. Some respon-
dents state that timber sales should stress cost effi-
ciency and should result in long-term positive cash
flow. However, the Multiple Use - Sustained Yield
Act of 1960 (16 U.S.C 528) and the National Forest
Management Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-588) re-
quires that the renewable surface resources of the
National Forests be managed such that considera-
tion is given to the relative values of the various
resources and not necessarily the combination of
uses that will give the greatest dollar return or the
greatest unit output.
I - 12
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter i
Timber sales should contain the most efficient com-
bination of logging methods, road systems, and sil-
vicultural prescriptions to meet the objectives of the
timber sale and other resources in the area Eco-
nomic analysis evaluates the costs and benefits of
management alternatives to ensure that efficient
methods of achieving objectives are considered in
choosing an alternative. Relative economic effi-
ciency of the alternatives is usually measured in
terms of present net value (PNV). These measure-
ments are calculated using the number of board
feet sold, post-sale costs, and the cost of road con-
struction. Timber production lost due to not bringing
a timber stand that has reached or passed maxi-
mum productivity under management and into pro-
duction should also be accounted for.
Indices: The indices of measurement for compari-
son of the economic efficiency of the alternatives will
be: 1) Present Net Value (PNV); and 2) the gross
stumpage value realized or lost; and 3) road costs.
SOILS
How would the proposed activities affect the soil
resources?
Timber harvest activities may affect soil productivity
by increasing sedimentation (and subsequent loss
of soil), soil compaction, soil displacement, and po-
tential for mass wasting. The ability of the soils to
produce vegetation may be compromised if soil pro-
ductivity is decreased.
Soil disturbance associated with timber harvest can
cause accelerated soil erosion and lead to in-
creased sediment in streams, degrading water
quality and fish habitat. Soil disturbance occurs
when roads and landing areas are constructed and
when logs are skidded to the landing areas. Soil
compaction occurs in areas where heavy machin-
ery is used such as roads, landings and skid trails,
and can decrease the porosity of the soils. Indi-
rectly, timber harvest activities can cause
mass-wasting, especially road cuts and fills, in soils
with high mass wasting potential. Timber harvest
activities can also directly affect soil resources by
committing the land to uses other than growing veg-
etation for extended periods of time, particularly in
roads and landing areas.
Indices: Indices for measurement of the effects to
soils are: 1) acres of total soil resource commitment;
2) percent of analysis area with total soil resource
commitment; 3) existing roads; and 4) new roads.
HYDROLOGY
WiH the proposed timber harvest activities affect
the water quality or volume in streams in the anal-
ysis area?
Concern has been expressed that the proposed
timber harvest activities may increase sedimenta-
tion into streams in the analysis area. Soil disturb-
ance associated with road construction and timber
harvesting can lead to increased erosion rates and
therefore an increase in the amount of sediment in
streams, degrading water quality and affecting fish
habitat and beneficial uses of the stream. Removal
of vegetation and soil exposure can also increase
sedimentation rates. Additionally, removal of vege-
tation can increase the peak flow rate and change
the timing of peak flow during runoff. Increased
peak flow can lead to changes in stream channel
and bedload and can cause scouring and erosion
of stream banks. The amount that vegetation re-
moval affects the peak flow rate is directly correla-
tive with the percent of a drainage that is harvested.
Indices: The indices of measurement to determine
effects to water quality and volume are: 1) percent
of drainages harvested; 2) state water quality stand-
ards are met; 3) beneficial uses are maintained; and
4) predicted change in water yield.
WETLANDS
How will the proposed timber harvest affect wet-
lands? WSS8 timber harvest occur In wetlands?
The effects of the proposed timber sale on wet-
lands, particularly as they relate to water quality,
was a concern expressed by some respondents
during the scoping process. Wetlands serve an im-
portant role in maintaining water quality by acting as
a filter to catch sediment or other impurities in sur-
face water. Removal of vegetation or construction of
roads or skid trails in wetlands would impair this
function. Forest Service policy dictates that no tim-
I - 13
Moyer Salt Timber Sate Draft ESS
Chapter i
ber harvest or road construction will occur in wet-
land areas, but they must be identified before they
can be avoided.
Indices: The index of measurement to determine
effects to wetlands is the acres of wetlands that are
affected.
FISHERIES
How wSIB road construction and timber harvesting
affect spawning, incubation, and rearing habitats
of anadromous and resident fish?
Resident and anadromous fisheries within and be-
low the proposed sale areas are of great concern to
the public and government agencies, including the
National Marine Fisheries Service and the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. The spring-
summer run of Chinook salmon has recently been
listed as Threatened under the Endangered
Species Act, and habitat for this fish species is
present in the analysis area, although it is not cur-
rently being used. Effects to this habitat as a result
of the proposed timber sale are therefore a concern.
The fisheries issues are closely tied to soil and water
issues. Increases in the natural sedimentation rate
due to soil disruption associated with timber har-
vest, particularly road construction activities, may
affect fish habitat for both anadromous and resident
fish species. Increases in sedimentation may cause
fine sediment to be deposited in spawning gravels
and impede fry emergence. Disruption of the bed-
load due to increased peak flow rates can also af-
fect spawning gravels.
Indices: The index of measurement for effects to
fisheries is whether anadromous and resident fish-
eries habitat are maintained.
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
The general concern is that some species are going
extinct at an alarming and un-natural rate. Loss of
habitat (loss of ecosystems and fragmented non-
functional landscapes) is the number one reason for
extinction of species. Management activities may
change landscape (and ecosystems) structure and
function beyond the range of natural variation and
result in decreasing biological diversity.
The effects to biological diversity are discussed in
the wildlife, vegetation, and Threatened and Endan-
gered, and Sensitive Species sections in Chapter
IV, as well as a separate section called biological
diversity. Additional information on biological diver-
sity can be found in Appendix H.
THREATENED, ENDANGERED AND SENSITIVE
SPECIES
Effects to federally listed Threatened, Endangered
and Proposed species and to the Forest Service’s
Intermountain (R4) Regional Office’s Sensitive
species is a concern for maintenance of both bio-
logical diversity and the wildlife resources of the
area.
Habitat for listed threatened spring/summer chi-
nook is present in Moyer Creek and potential habitat
is present in Woodtick Creek, although neither is
used at present by this species because of down-
stream water pollution. In addition, an existing cul-
vert presents a barrier to migration of steelhead
through the middle reaches of Woodtick Creek.
Sedimentation from project activities can reduce
these stream’s fish habitat capability, and road
crossing of these creeks could create migration bar-
riers.
Potential habitat for the Endangered gray wolf exists
in the area and the entire analysis area is within the
Central Idaho Wolf Recovery Area. However, no
wolves are known or suspected to occupy the area
at this time and no observational reports have been
received from this area.
Prey populations, especially elk, are currently ade-
quate to support pack activity on the Cobalt Ranger
District, including this specific area. However, the
entire Panther Creek drainage, including the Moyer
Creek tributary, has been permanently altered by
roads and yearlong human presence and habita-
tion.
Several Sensitive vertebrate species or their habitat
are present in the analysis area, including: North
American lynx, wolverine, northern three-toed
I - 14
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter i
woodpecker, great gray owl, western big-eared bat,
boreal owl, northern goshawk, and spotted frog.
Manipulation of the vegetation in the area could
result in modification or destruction of these
species’ habitat. Sensitive plant species could also
be affected by vegetation manipulation and road
construction, however, none are known to occur
here.
Indices: The indices of measurement of effects to
these species are: 1) presence of Threatened, En-
dangered or Proposed species and/or their habitat;
2) presence of Forest Service, Intermountain Re-
gional Office Sensitive species and/or their habitats;
and 3) effects to potential and/or occupied habitat
for both 1 and 2 above.
VISUAL RESOURCES
How will visual quality be affected as seen from
within and outside the analysis area?
Road building and timber harvesting can change
the visual appearance of an area as seen from trails,
roads, and other locations. Portions of the analysis
area that will be affected by these activities can be
seen from the Moyer Creek Road and the Ridge
Road.
Indices: The index of measurement of effects to
visual resources is: 1) whether the visual quality
objectives are met; and 2) the number of units not
meeting VQO.
RECREATION
How wile the recreation setting and opportunities
be changed? How will recreation use change?
Current recreation use in the analysis area is primar-
ily related to big game hunting in the fall. Access to
the area is limited , and recreation use is light. The
quality of the current recreation uses and the kinds
of recreation opportunities would change as a result
of the proposed timber harvest activities, and how
that would affect the amount and types of recreation
use is a concern.
Indices: The index of measurement of effects to
recreation use is the number of acres converted
from semi-primitive motorized and non-motorized to
roaded-natural appearing.
AIR QUALITY
How will the proposed timber harvest activities
affect the air quality of the analysis area?
This issue looks at how the proposed project activi-
ties would affect the air quality in the area and if
stated air quality standards will be met.
Timber harvest activities increase the amount of
dust in the air in the vicinity of the project area and
during project implementation due to construction
and use of roads. Slash burning will degrade air
quality in the analysis area and downwind of it, and
may affect persons travelling on the Ridge Road
and other roads in the area. Smoke due to slash
burning may be visible for several miles, depending
on weather conditions and dispersion patterns.
Indices: The indices of measurement for air quality
are whether the State air quality standards are ex-
ceeded.
TRANSPORTATION AND ACCESS
How will the construction of the proposed trans-
portation system affect future use of the timber
resource in the area? How will access to the area
be changed?
The development of a transportation system that
allows use of Forest resources is an issue in the
Moyer Salt Timber Sale area. Road access to the
analysis area is currently limited, and the timber
resource in the area cannot be utilized. Construc-
tion of new roads will not only provide access to the
timber proposed for harvesting under the action
alternatives but will also affect future access to other
timber resources in the area.
Also at issue is how access to the sale areas for
recreational use would change under the alterna-
tives. Existing timber roads in the Salt Creek portion
of the timber sale are gated and closed to motorized
use to protect big game habitat. All new roads con-
structed for access to the timber sale area would
also be gated and closed. In addition, a portion of
I - 15
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter I
Roads 60286.1, 60286-C, and 60288 will have con-
struction slash placed oh the roads, after timber
removal, for the purpose of impeding foot and horse
traffic on the new road system. This mitigation mea-
sure will only be installed on roads which may be
readily accessed by the Moyer Peak Jeep Trail
which will remain open.
Indices: Indices for measurement of the effects of
the different transportation systems proposed for
the alternatives are 1) the number of acres available
for timber harvesting with the existing road system:
2) the number of acres available for timber harvest-
ing with the proposed road systems; 3) the miles of
road that would be constructed or reconstructed:
and 4) miles of open road and closed road in the
analysis area.
MINERALS
How wSIS the mineral resources of the analysis
area be affected?
This issue looks at how the proposed timber harvest
activities would affect potential mineral develop-
ment in the analysis area. Increased access into the
area could cause an increase in mineral exploration
activity in the area, and more exposure of bedrock
would occur in roads cuts and surfaces. However,
mineral development may be limited as a result of
the proposed activities because wildlife, water qual-
ity and other resource standards and guidelines in
the Forest Plan may limit the number of acres of
road or other surface disturbance that can occur in
an area.
indices: The index of measurement for effects to
mineral resources is whether the proposed activities
would interfere with potential mineral development.
CULTURAL RESOURCES
How will the cultural! resources of the analysis
area be affected?
Concern has been expressed that the proposed
activities may impact cultural resources in the analy-
sis area. Road construction could damage cultural
resource sites or could provide better access to the
site and may result in an increase in vandalism.
Indices: The index of measurement of effects to
cultural resources is whether or not impacts will
occur.
RANGE RESOURCES
What would be the effect of the proposed timber
harvest on range resources?
Timber harvest can increase grazing by improving
access and increasing forage or reduce livestock by
fencing livestock out of areas. These changes can
alter grazing levels, livestock use patterns, and
rangeland conditions.
Indices: The index of measurement for range re-
sources is the effects on range condition.
I - 16
Chapter IE
Alternatives
Changes Between the Draft and
Final
SI-1
Alternative Development
Alternatives Considered But
11-1
Not Given Detailed Study
Alternatives Considered In
Si-1
Detail
SS-3
Alternative 1 - No Action
11-7
Alternative 2
Si-®
Alternative 3
11-13
Alternative 4
11-17
Alternative 5
11-21
Alternative 6
8S-25
Alternative 2A
99-29
Management and Mitigation
18-31
Monitoring
SI-38
Comparison of Alternatives
11-41
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
CHAPTER IS
ALTERNATIVES, INCLUDING THE PROPOSED ACTION
CHANGES BETWEEN THE DRAFT AND FINAL
There are a number of changes in Chapter II be-
tween the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) and the Final Environmental Impact State-
ment (FEIS). These changes were made in re-
sponse to public comment on the Draft EIS and
further analysis by the Interdisciplinary Team (ID
Team), a group of specialists representing various
resources and uses of the Forest, such as timber,
wildlife, recreation, visuals, fisheries, soils, and wa-
ter.
Three new alternatives have been developed (Alter-
natives 5, 6, and 2A) and studied in detail, along
with four additional alternatives given consideration
but not detailed study.
Alternative 5 was developed in response to com-
ments received on the DEIS. It is intended to re-
spond to requests that "a no roads access for timber
harvest* be considered and that an alternative be
considered that ‘addresses harvesting less than 3.0
MMBF and constructing less than 10 miles of road.
Alternative 6 was developed in order to provide a
balance between concerns for visual quality and
insect and disease conditions.
Alternative 2A was developed to respond to con-
cerns about visual quality. It is designed to mitigate
the visual effects of timber harvest when viewed
from a landscape or background view.
CHAPTER REVIEW
A total of seven alternatives are considered in detail:
a no action alternative plus six action alternatives.
Each action alternative wholly or partially meets the
purpose of and need for action while addressing the
issues identified in Chapter I. This chapter contains
sections on: (1) Alternative Development Process,
(2) Alternatives Considered but not Given Detailed
Study, (3) Alternatives Considered in Detail, (4)
Management, Mitigation, and Monitoring Measures,
and (5) Comparison of Alternatives. This informa-
tion, along with the Chapter IV disclosure of project-
ed environmental consequences of each
alternative, provides information allowing the
decision-maker to make a reasoned choice be-
tween alternatives.
ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
The ID Team considered the following important
elements when they developed the alternatives for
this analysis:
* The goals, objectives, and desired future con-
dition for the analysis area as outlined in the
Forest Plan;
* The analysis for the 1 983 Moyer Salt Timber
Sale Environmental Assessment (EA) (see de-
scription under "Alternatives Considered But
Not Given Detailed Study");
* Comments made by the public and other
agencies during scoping; and
* The laws, regulations, and policies that govern
management of the national forests.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
BUT NOT GIVEN DETAILED STUDY
The ID Team considered the following alternatives
and options during the analysis process, but they
eliminated them from detailed study for the reasons
described below:
* Use the preferred alternative Identified In
the Moyer Salt Environmental Assessment
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EfiS
Chapter 89
(1 983) as the proposed action for this Draft
EIS.
in 1 982 the Forest Service proposed timber harvest-
ing and road construction in the Woodtick Creek
and Sait Creek drainages (the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale) that would harvest 4 to 8 mmbf from 1 ,000 to
1,400 acres. An Environmental Assessment (EA)
was approved that documented an environmental
evaluation of the proposed timber harvesting and
road construction with a reasonable range of man-
agement action alternatives (U.S. Forest Service
1982). This evaluation did not assess the effects of
the proposed action on the roadless character of
the area. A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)
and Decision Notice were signed by the Forest Su-
pervisor in May, 1 983. The timber sale was marked
and offered for sale but was not purchased due to
depressed timber prices in the mid-1980s. In 1988
the Forest Plan was approved; it designated the
Moyer Salt Timber Sale area as an area where tim-
ber harvesting could occur. In 1991 the decision
was made to enter the area for timber harvesting.
The timber harvesting and road construction activi-
ties proposed in the original Moyer Salt Timber Sale
were modified to meet the current standards and
guidelines of the Forest Plan, and are contained in
the proposed alternative (Alternative 11 in this docu-
ment).
* Complete a separate EIS analysis for each
of two timber sales originally proposed In
the Moyer Salt Timber Sale ESS analysis
area.
As originally stated in the 1988 Forest Plan, two
separate timber sales were proposed for what is
now the Moyer Salt Timber Sale: the Moyer-Salt
Timber Sale and the Salt Creek Timber Sale. These
two timber sales were combined into a single sale,
primarily to facilitate control of timing of road con-
struction and timber harvesting in big game subdivi-
sions. The two timber sales were not offered and
their effects were not analyzed separately because:
1) this approach would not yield a clear disclosure
of the potential environmental effects from the pro-
posed action; 2) it would not be cost efficient; and
3) roads built to access the Salt Creek portion of the
timber sale would also access the Moyer Salt por-
tion; therefore, analyzing the effects of the two sales
separately would be partially redundant and an inef-
ficient use of time and resources.
* Harvest timber only outside the Taylor
Mountain Roadless Area.
Comments to the DEIS suggested that we analyze
this alternative. Our reason for dismissing further
analysis follows. Nearly 50% of the Salmon National
Forest’s suitable timber base is located in roadless
areas. The Forest Plan identified roadless lands
within this analysis area as suitable for timber har-
vest. Failure to consider harvesting in roadless ar-
eas would lead to overcutting of nonroadless lands
based on the current Allowable Sale Quantity. One
of the purposes of this EIS is to address the effects
of timber harvest activities on the roadless resource,
thus this alternative would be outside the scope of
this document. The No Action alternative approxi-
mates this alternative and if selected would allow
the option to consider any number of timber sales
outside the roadless area.
* Prescribed burn alternative t© address the
forest health concerns.
Due to public comments received after release of
the DEIS, a prescribed burn alternative was consid-
ered but is outside the scope of this EIS because it
does not meet the purpose of contributing, in part,
to the Forest Plan objective of satisfying the com-
mercial demand for timber. The Draft EIS, on page
1-1 states: The proposed action alternatives are
designed to help provide a continuous flow of raw
materials to dependent manufacturing communities
and thereby provide community stability. It is also
designed to enable the public to gather firewood. All
the proposed action alternatives are consistent with
maintaining the customs and cultures of these com-
munities.'
* Helicopter log 1 70 acres of Douglas-fSr units
and conventionally log 580 acres, requiring
1 5.8 miles of road (2.5 miles Bn Wildlife Area
8 and 13.3 mlies In II) with an estimated yield
©f 6.0 MMBF.
Due to public comments received after release of
the DEIS, this alternative was considered but
dropped from further analysis due to the increased
costs of logging and transportation, and the rela-
tively minor benefits to wildlife.
11-2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
* Helicopter logging the Douglas-flr units
(170 acres) and conventionally log 170
acres, requiring 1 3.8 miles of road (only 0.5
miles of road in Wildlife area 9 to access
hell-spot and all conventional units dropped
In this area) with an estimated yield of 4.0
MMBF.
This alternative like the previous one, was consid-
ered because of public comments received after
release of the DEIS, but was dropped from further
analysis due to the increased costs of logging and
transportation, and the relatively minor benefits to
wildlife.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
IN DETAIL
Seven alternatives were developed and analyzed in
detail, a no-action alternative and six action alterna-
tives. Each action alternative represents a different
combination of timber harvest and road building
intensity, as well as slightly different methods for
mitigating their effects. These alternatives were de-
signed to meet the issues and concerns identified
during scoping while at least partially meeting the
purpose of and need for action defined in Chapter
I, and represent a reasonable range of actions to
accomplish those goals. The seven alternatives are
described in the following pages, and the locations
of cutting units and roads are shown on the accom-
panying maps.
The Forest Plan standards and guidelines that
would be used during implementation of any of the
action alternatives are designed to guide implemen-
tation of Forest management goals, such as timber
management, while protecting other important re-
source values.
Harvest treatments prescribed for the proposed
Moyer Salt Timber Sale apply even-aged silvicultur-
al systems because these methods best meet the
Management Area goals for the area established in
the Forest Plan (pp. IV-32). Standard harvest meth-
ods for even-aged management of forests include
clearcutting, seed tree, and shelterwood methods.
Clearcutting and shelterwood or variations of the
shelterwood systems including diversified forests
methods are the optimum even-aged silvicultural
methods for treating stand conditions in the Moyer
Salt analysis area.
Clearcut Harvest
Standard clearcutting would be applied in areas
with heavy fuel loadings, where residual overstory
or understory trees can’t be protected while har-
vesting, in areas susceptible to windthrow, and in
stands infected with dwarf mistletoe. These condi-
tions are found on subalpine fir habitat types con-
sisting of relatively pure stands of lodgepole pine or
mixed stands of lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, and
Engelmann spruce. Even when it is possible to skid
logs and save a residual stand, it is often not possi-
ble to dispose of the slash without clearcutting.
However, wherever feasible, healthy residual under-
story trees will be left. This method would be utilized
in Alternatives 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Alternatives 6 and 2A would utilize clearcutting with
islands in order to meet visual quality objectives and
mitigate other resource concerns. Where clearcut-
ting is prescribed, many of the stands would have
approximately 1 5% of the area within the unit left in
uncut islands ranging from 1/2 an acre to one acre
in size. With heavy fuel loadings, such as those
found in the analysis area, the retention of islands is
the only practical and economically feasible alterna-
tive to standard clearcutting.
Regardless of which method is applied, there would
be a variety of common treatments. Most units
would be logged using tractor skidding methods;
units with slopes too steep for tractor logging would
be logged with a cable system.
After the trees have been removed from a site, a
variety of activities would occur on the site that are
designed to promote seedling establishment, im-
prove timber stand conditions and reduce the
amount of combustible material laying on the
ground (fuel loading). Slash would be piled by trac-
tors on sites with slopes less than 45 percent. In
addition, ten to fifteen tons of slash would be left
evenly scattered on each acre in order to provide
microsites that enhance seedling establishment
and survival, ensure long-term soil productivity and
provide habitat for insects and animals. Any remain-
ing unhealthy trees and insect-infected understory
trees that were not pushed over during the piling
process would be hand felled in order to increase
growing space and completely remove any disease
source. All remaining healthy understory trees
would be maintained. Existing snags (large stand-
ing dead trees) and recruitment snags (trees that
II -3
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
would be retained as future snags trees) would be
maintained as per Forest Plan direction.
During logging, branches, tree tops, and small trees
(slash) would be cut to lengths such that the slash
would lie on the ground at depths of less than 1 .5
feet. In some areas, this material would be made
available to the public and commercial firewood
gatherers for a designated time period after logging
operations are complete. After firewood gathering,
the slash would be burned to increase available
growing space, to reduce the amount of dead mate-
ria! on the ground and thereby to reduce potential
for wildfires, and to assist in the breakdown of
woody material and increase soil productivity.
Clearcut units on slopes steeper than 45 percent
would be broadcast burned (burned without piling);
on slopes less than 45 percent the slash would be
burned in piles. Firelines would be constructed
around harvest units to reduce the possibilities of
fire escape during burning. Burning would be con-
trolled so that 1 0 to 1 5 tons per acre of slash materi-
al, including larger diameter pieces of slash, would
be retained to provide microsite protection, ensure
soil productivity and maintain habitat for those or-
ganisms requiring down woody debris.
Natural seed sprouting would reforest the clearcut
units. Natural seeding and regeneration of timber
harvest cutting units on similar sites elsewhere in
the Salmon National Forest has been successful.
Clearcuts would be planted if reforestation by natu-
ral means is not successful. Timing of harvesting
and slash disposal would be adjusted to ensure that
the pine cones have dropped their seeds before the
slash is piled.
Machine site preparation such as scarification
would be used in units where grasses, sedges, or
shrubs are present that may prevent or prolong
seedling establishment. On approximately 50 to 1 00
acres of clearcutting units, a specially designed
tractor blade will be used to overturn the sod layer
and to loosen the top soil of an area in order to
create a mineral soil seedbed where tree seeds can
germinate.
Shefterwood Harvest
In stands where there are no young trees present on
the site or where those that are present are un-
healthy (they are infested with insects and diseases
or will not grow if the competing trees are removed),
a standard shefterwood method would be uniformly
implemented (designated as “shelterwood" on Alter-
native maps). The initial entry would apply the seed
cut of the shelterwood in which approximately fifty to
seventy percent of the overstory depending on site
conditions. The remaining “leave trees* would be
expected to regenerate the site within 1 0-1 5 years.
The actual time necessary to regenerate these sites
would vary depending upon whether the topogra-
phy was suitable for the application of machine
scarification. Once regeneration is established, a
removal cut of the shelter wood would be made
leaving three to five large trees per acre for snag
replacement or future harvest.
In stands where there are healthy young trees on
the site that will grow if competing trees are re-
moved, a group shelterwood method would be im-
plemented (designated as group shelterwood on
maps). Stands where this method is proposed are
characterized by three distinct components:
1 . A Douglas-fir overstory with an understory of
Douglas-fir seedlings and saplings ranging
from two to six feet tall;
2. A Douglas-fir overstory with an occasional
clump of regeneration but generally park like
in appearance;
3. Thick patches of advanced Douglas-fir re-
generation (pole size materia! 3.0 - 8.9 inches
DBH).
These three components create a mosaic of even-
aged groups. The objective of the group shelter-
wood method is to maintain these components as
even-aged groups, thereby replicating nature’s re-
production system. In the initial entry, this method
takes advantage of the existing regeneration
present. Where a suitable understory is present, a
removal cut of the shelterwood would be performed
to release existing regeneration. Where regenera-
tion is lacking, the seed cut of a shelterwood would
be implemented removing approximately 50 to 70
percent of the overstory depending on site condi-
tions. Where existing patches of Douglas-fir regen-
eration is encountered a combination of precom-
mercial and commercial thinning would be applied.
In order to meet visual quality objectives and miti-
gate other resource concerns, many of the units in
Alternatives 5, 6 and 2A will be treated utilizing a
modified irregular shelterwood system (designated
“irregular shelterwood" on the Alternative maps).
This method would be initially similar to the stand-
ard and group shelterwood methods described for
11-4
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
Alternatives 2, 3 and 4. The primary difference is that
the shelterwood trees are retained longer than nec-
essary for seedling establishment thus delaying the
timing of the second entry into the stand. The re-
moval cut (second entry) of the shelterwood, would
not be performed until the average height of the
regeneration is approximately 20 feet. The removal
cut would therefore occur approximately 20 to 30
years after the seed cut as compared to 1 0 to 15
years when employing the standard or group shel-
terwood.
Regardless of which method is applied there would
be a variety of common treatments. Most units
would be logged using tractor skidding methods.
Units with slopes greater than 45 percent would be
logged using a cable system.
Machine scarification and slash piling by dozer
would be performed as one operation in areas
where a shelterwood seed cut is made. Fifty percent
of these areas would be scarified by alternating
strips of treated and untreated ground. Slash would
be lopped and scattered prior to the scarification
process. It would be evenly redistributed during the
scarification process. These treatments would not
be possible under Alternative 5 due to lack of road
access. In cable units that are too steep to pile or
scarify, the slash would be lopped and scattered or
jackpot burned (areas where slash has accumulat-
ed in piles (jackpots) would be burned). In areas
where a removal cut, slash would be lopped and
scattered. No piling or burning would occur in order
to protect healthy trees present on the site.
Young trees left in shelterwood units would be
thinned (a cutting is made in the overstocked
stands to bring stocking to the desired level and to
increase growth in remaining trees). Trees that are
damaged or unhealthy would be cut down by hand
in order to provide growing space for new trees.
ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND
RECONSTRUCTION STANDARDS
AND GUIDELINES
Timber access roads in the analysis area would be
built to Forest Service standards and guidelines.
These road specifications are designed to ensure
that these roads fit the topography and appearance
of the land; are stable; do not erode or result in
increased stream sedimentation; and could be
used again for the next timber harvest entry. A de-
scription of road construction and reconstruction
methods and specifications is contained in the
Project File.
Both specified (roads designed by engineers as
permanent roads) and temporary roads would be
constructed as part of the timber sale (contained in
Project File). The design and specifications for the-
se roads are contained in the timber sale contract;
the engineering administrator is responsible for en-
suring that these specifications are met by the
timber sale purchaser.
Under Alternatives 3, 4, 5, and 6, the first nine miles
of existing Forest Service Road 107 in the lower
Woodtick Creek area would be reconstructed so
that it meets the same Forest specifications as
newly constructed roads used for hauling logs. Un-
der all of the action alternatives, a short segment of
existing Forest Service Road 106 would also be
reconstructed. Where existing drainage structures
such as culverts, ditches, and dips are not perform-
ing adequately, these structures would be rebuilt
before the roads would be used for hauling logs.
Additional water dips would also be constructed to
prevent extensive rutting.
T19
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter SB
ALTERNATIVE 1 - NO ACTION
The No Action alternative would not initiate any activities; present resource management activities would
continue, but the proposed project activities would not be implemented.
The goal of this alternative is to maintain the area’s undeveloped condition and current uses (see Figure 11-1).
This alternative provides a baseline to compare the effects of the action alternatives, and responds to the
roadless issue, or the desire to maintain the area in a roadless condition. Because the existing environment
is not static, environmental consequences will still occur; natural events such as wildfire, insect and disease
infestations, or flooding could appreciably alter most of the resources that are discussed in this document.
Total area that would be treated (acres)
0
Total volume that would be harvested (mrnbf)
0
Miles of road that would be built (miles)
0
Number of cutting units:
Douglas-fir
0
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine,
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
0
Clearcut Cutting Method:
Amount clearcut (acres)
Logging Methods:
0
tractor (acres)
0
cable (acres)
Slash Disposal Method:
0
piled and burned (acres)
0
broadcast burned (acres)
0
Machine Scarification (acres)
0
Shelterwood Cutting Method:
0
Amount Shelterwood (acres)
0
Logging Methods: tractor (acres)
0
cable (acres)
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
broadcast burned (acres)
0
Machine Scarification (acres)
0
II - 7
( $0 a A l-T*[f&Heli\>ort
14
18
2 4^
**t°
1 9”
l°o
grove
BM
*65399a
>na'
fr-
FlA
3.6
Unit
Number
Major
Species
Acres
Harvest Method
Yarding Method
Habitat Type
7
(LP.AF.ES.DF)
48
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
8
(LP.AF.ES. DF)
12
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc/Alsi
9
(LP.AF.ES.DF)
33
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc/Alsi
10
(DF.LP.AF.DF)
34
Shelterwood
Tractor
Alba-Caru/Vasc
11
(LP.AF.ES)
20
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
13
(LP.AF.ES)
36
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
19
(LRAF)
16
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
19A
(LP.AF)
18
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
19B
(LRAF)
4
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
20
(LP.AF)
8
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
21
(LP.AF.ES)
30
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
22
(LP.AF)
15
Clearcut
Tractor/Jammer
Abla-Vasc
23
(LP.AF)
15
Clearcut
Tractor/Jammer
Abla-Vasc
25
(LP.AF.ES)
24
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
26
(LP.AF.ES)
9
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
27
(LP.AF)
10
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
27A
(LP.AF, DF)
6
Clearcut
Cable
Abla-Vasc/Caru
28
(LP.AF)
14
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
28A
(DF. LP.AF)
4
Clearcut
Cable
Abla-Vasc/Caru
29
(DF.LP)
14
Group Shelterwood
Skyline
Psme/Caru
29A
(LP.AF.DF)
14
Group Shelterwood
Tractor
Abla-Vasc/Caru
30
(DF.LP)
21
Group Shelterwood
Tractor
Psme-Caru
S5
(LP.AF)
15
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
S6
(DF)
25
Group Shelterwood
Tractor
Psme-Caru
S7
(DF)
25
Group Shelterwood
Tractor
Psme-Caru
S11
(DF)
25
Shelterwood
Tractor
Alba-Caru
S12
(LP.AF)
15
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
S13
(LP.AF)
15
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
Si 4
(LRAF)
10
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
S15
(LRAF)
15
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
S16
(LP.AF)
12
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
S17
(LP.AF)
6
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
Abla-Abies
lasiocarpa (Subalpine fir);
Caru-Calamagrostis rubesce
ns (Pinegrass) Psme-Pseudotsuga
menziesii(Douglas-fir); Alsi
Alnus sinu
ata (Mt Alder) Vasc-Vacciniu
m scorparium (Grouse Whortleberry)
l>.
I ft
\
\
\
fPetesI Gu^~^~'lS pring j l/>20C^
/I S&345
\'
MOV
1 1
12
BM,
;S17
13
r*>
GX
L26
v9085i’
1
j ' / )L f->7 \^!
Moyfi r'Ba si#
Moyer
eak
/
19
8903
> 2 3
Ji
J
V
LEGEND
ANALYSIS AREA
BOUNDARY
EXISTING ROADS
WSTH-IN BOUNDARY
PROPOSED ROADS
_ _
:vi_3i 1 .c-^O
<. ^Squaw^Oard
. Meadow
I /'& Nl 19
28
(RISE
j892S
X] " — f i ^
VM. 2^/.fr ^
jj 85^J' "
32
33
88 32;'"
\ '»
Q^> CUTTING UNITS
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
FIGURE 11-2
ALTERNATIVE 2
/’N
* »
WILDLIFE SUBDIVISION
BOUNDARY
SCALE
MILES
0
1
2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
ALTERNATIVE 2
This alternative was used in the internal and public scoping process in an effort to implement Forest Plan
direction and to identify issues which other alternatives are designed to address. This alternative emphasizes
timber harvesting and natural regeneration that would improve the health and vigor of the forest while meeting
all other resource needs.
Sale layout would be designed to meet resource objectives by limiting unit size, shape, and total acres
treated. Optimum treatment of insect and disease conditions, and economic efficiency of harvesting may not
occur in order that standards and guidelines for other resources may be met. Emphasis would be on
maximizing sawlog production for those areas treated. In this alternative, the entire area would be accessed
from one road, an extension of Forest Service Road 106 (Swan Peak Road) (Figure 11-2).
Total area that would be treated (acres)
568
Total volume that would be harvested (mmbf)
4.9
Miles of road
Constructed:
16.8
Reconstructed:
1.3
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir
7
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine,
25
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
Clearcut Cutting Methods:
Amount clearcut (acres)
410
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
400
cable (acres)
10
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
310
broadcast burned (acres)
100
Machine Scarification (acres)
50-100
Shelterwood Cutting Method:
Amount Shelterwood (acres)
158
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
144
cable (acres)
14
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
★
broadcast burned (acres)
0
Machine Scarification (acres)
144
* Slash will be lopped, scattered and redistributed during the scarification process. Only concentrations may
be burned.
11-9
y©y©r Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigation applies:
Slash will be placed from right-of-way windrow back on road prism to form 'jackpot1 type piles with
a minimum diameter of 25 feet and an average height of 4 to 6 feet after completion of timber removal
and during slash disposal. The timber sale contract will contain provisions for this procedure.
Piles will be placed at 1 00 to 200 foot (avg. of 1 50 foot) intervals, will extend from cutslope to fill slope,
and will be of sufficient magnitude and continuity to discourage all travel on the road prism by humans
on foot and/or horseback. Openings created in the windrows by construction of these piles will serve
as big game travelways and should not have residual slash in excess of 1 8 inches high.
A map showing the roads (last 1/2 mile of Road # 60286.1 and on all of roads 60286.2, 6Q286-C and
60288) where slash piling will occur is contained in the Project File.
For water quality protection, windrows will not be disturbed where the distance from the toe of the
fill slope to live water is less than 200 feet.
7
|/ ( ^Oa A
14
J
*
1 3
Unit
Major
Number
Species
Acres
Harvest Method
Yarding Method Habitat Type
ie
68^0
if1'
1
HcPor^
$rove
)NA
(LP.AF.ES, DF)
(LP.AF.ES.DF)
(LP.AF.ES. DF)
(DF.LP.AF)
(LP.AF)
(LP.AF.DF)
(LP.DF)
(LP.DF.ES)
(DF)
(LP.AF)
(LP.AF)
(LP.AF.ES)
(LP.AF.ES)
(LP.AF)
(LP.AF.DF)
(LP.AF.ES)
(DF.LP.AF)
(DF)
(LP.AF.DF)
(DF. LP)
(LP.AF)
(DF)
(DF)
(DF)
(LP.AF)
Clearcut
Clearcut
Clearcut
Shelterwood
Clearcut
Clearcut
Clearcut
Shelterwood
Shelterwood
Clearcut
Clearcut
Clearcut
Clearcut
Clearcut
Clearcut
Clearcut
Clearcut
Group Shelterwood
Group Shelterwood
Group Shelterwood
Clearcut
Group Shelterwood
Group Shelterwood
Shelterwood
Clearcut
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Skyline
Skyline
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Cable
Tractor
Cable
Skyline
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
Abla-Vasc/Alsi
Abla-Vasc/Alsi
Abla-Caru/Vasc
Abla-Vasc
Abla-Vasc
Abla-Vasc
Psme/Caru
Psme/Caru
Abla/Vasc
Abla/Vasc
Abla-Vasc
Abla-Vasc
Abla-Vasc
Abla-Vasc/Caru
Abla-Vasc
Abla-Vasc/Caru
Psme/Caru
Abla-Vasc/Caru
Psme-Caru
Abla-Vasc
Psme-Caru
Psme-Caru
Abla-Caru
Abla-Vasc
' I n WQ\ I"
, W.lt — iFT.^r
HQ I // <
3.6'
rDou^a^r!av^rwP,a,(SUb'AIPine Als|-Alnus <M> Alder, Psme-Pseudo.suga menziesii
(Pine9grass)' Vasc‘Vacclnlum scorparium (Grouse Whortleberry); Caru-Calamagrostis rubescens
3 1
" \ I il>eteslGiV?t-''ISprma | i' ^ AM V-4.
' 1 ( i< 1 */i -;,-83 1 W V\ 7.. .
" 1 1 ft f Mi 4 it'2 1 I
i jj _L 3® __l 1 JL Ji
(D,
?V4£||r
I-
1
MdyedLRasi
19
./
1 1 *T J
8903X& , ^
^^Squaw^darcT-^
I Meado^
/ 1 ;sft Nl “
t/
ANALYSIS AREA
BOUNDARY
EXISTING ROADS
WSTH-IN BOUNDARY
I 25
' 4'' , „
28 | . '-'2-7- 2 6^/ j *
P 8532'T.-
R19E
\
\ PROPOSED ROADS
CUTTING UNITS
32
33
883V'-
\ '«
/
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
FIGURE 11-3
ALTERNATIVE 3
V ^ J WILDLIFE SUBDIVISION
BOUNDARY
SCALE
MILES
0
1
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
ALTERNATIVE 3
This alternative was developed to respond to concerns about the effects of the proposed action on wildlife,
in particular the effects on key elk summer range. This alternative was developed with substantive input
provided during the public comment period by members of the public .
This alternative eliminates 1 1 clearcuts totaling 170 acres contained in Alternative II and adds two clearcuts
totaling 30 acres (Figure 11-3). Access to the analysis area would be from two roads: cutting units in the
Woodtick Creek area would be accessed by a road extending from the existing F.S. Road 106, and those
in the Salt Creek and ‘Perm' Creek area would be accessed by a road extending from existing F.S. Road 1 07.
The existing roads would be reconstructed to Forest road specifications. This configuration, with fewer
clearcuts and access by two roads, would provide a large area in the center of the analysis area in which
no harvesting or road building would take place.
Total area that would be treated (acres) 440
Total volume that would be harvested (mmbf) 3.75
Miles of road
Constructed: 14.6
Reconstructed: 9.3
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir 9
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine, 1 6
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
Clearcut Cutting Methods:
Amount clearcut (acres) 270
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres) 260
cable (acres) 10
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres) 1 50
broadcast burned (acres) 120
Machine Scarification (acres) 50-1 00
Shelterwood Cutting Method:
Amount Shelterwood (acres) 1 70
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres) 144
cable (acres) 26
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned *
broadcast burned 0
Machine Scarification (acres) 144
* Slash will be lopped, scattered and redistributed during the scarification process. Only concentrations may
be burned.
II - 13
Moyer Sat Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter li
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigation applies:
Slash will be placed from right-of-way windrow back on road prism to form "jackpot" type piles with
a minimum diameter of 25 feet and an average height of 4 to 6 feet after completion of timber removal
and during slash disposal. The timber sale contract will contain provisions for this procedure.
Piles will be placed at 1 00 to 200 foot (avg. of 1 50 foot) intervals, will extend from cutslope to fill slope,
and will be of sufficient magnitude and continuity to discourage all travel on the road prism by humans
on foot and/or horseback. Openings created in the windrows by construction of these piles will serve
as big game travelways and should not have residual slash in excess of 1 8 inches high.
A map showing the roads (last 1/2 mile of Road # 60286.1 and on all of roads 60286.2, 60286-C and
60288) where slash piling will occur is contained in the Project File.
For water quality protection, windrows will not be disturbed where the distance from the toe of the
fill slope to live water is less than 200 feet.
II - 14
Unit
Number
Major
Species
Acres
Harvest Method
Yarding Method Habitat Type
1W
(LP.AF.DF)
23
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF.DF)
32
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF.DF)
29
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF.DF)
40
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF.ES. DF)
48
Clearcut
Tractor
(LP.AF.ES, DF)
12
Clearcut
Tractor
(LP.AF.ES.DF)
33
Clearcut
Tractor
(DF.LP.AF)
34
Shelterwood
Tractor
Abla-Caru/Vasc
(LP.AF.ES)
20
Clearcut
Tractor
(LP.AF.ES)
36
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF)
16
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF)
18
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF)
4
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF)
8
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF.ES)
30
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF)
20
CC/lsland
Tractor
23
(LP.AF)
20
CC/lsland
Tractor
25
(LP.AF.ES)
24
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF.ES)
50
CC/lsland
Tractor
(LP.AF.ES)
28
CC/lsland
Tractor
(DF.LP)
44
Irregular Shelterwood
Tractor
S6
(DF)
95
Irregular Shelterwood
Tractor
(DF)
29
Irregular Shelterwood
Tractor
(LP.AF)
49
CC/lsland
Tractor
Sl3
(LP.AF)
15
Clearcut
Tractor
S14
(LP.AF)
10
Clearcut
Tractor
Sl5
(LP.AF)
15
Clearcut
Tractor
S16
(LP.AF)
12
Clearcut
Tractor
(LP.AF)
6
Clearcut
Tractor
(LP.AF)
15
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
Abla-Abies lasiocarpa (Subalpine fir);
Caru-Calamagrostis rubescens (Pinegrass) Psme-
Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir);
Alsi-Alnus sinuata (Mt Alder) Vasc-Vaccinium scorparium
(Grouse Whortleberry); CC (Clearcut)
Island (Uncut areas scattered throughout
the units)
EXISTING ROADS
WITH-IN BOUNDARY
"N PROPOSED ROADS
CUTTING UNITS
WILDLIFE SUBDIVISION
BOUNDARY
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
FIGURE 11-4
ALTERNATIVE 4
T19N
o
i
1 MILES
2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
ALTERNATIVE 4
This alternative was developed to respond to concerns about the economic viability of the other action
alternatives and their effectiveness in treating insect and disease conditions within the project area. Alternative
4 implements the timber management direction of the Forest Plan to its fullest and may not meet resource
objectives for other resources.
Most of the cable logging units contained in Alternatives 2 and 3 would be eliminated in order to increase
the economic efficiency of the proposed action (Figure 11-4). Cutting unit size was determined by Forest Plan
Silvicultural and Insect and Disease standards and guidelines that are designed to maximize growth, health,
and vigor and minimize insect and disease infestation of the treated stands. Clearcut cutting unit size may
reach 60 acres in lodgepole pine stands where dwarf mistletoe levels are high (unit # 22). Shelterwood unit
size in Douglas-fir stands, designed to control Douglas-fir beetle and Western spruce budworm, would
exceed 40 acres (unit # 30). The size of these units was determined by the amount and size of existing natural
regeneration and the size of natural openings used by big game.
Total area that would be treated (acres)
847
Total volume that would be harvested (mmbf)
6.9
Miles of road
Constructed:
17.8
Reconstructed:
9.3
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir
5
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine,
25
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
Clearcut Cutting Methods:
Amount clearcut (acres)
645
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
645
cable (acres)
0
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
545
broadcast burned (acres)
100
Machine Scarification (acres)
50-100
Shelterwood Cutting Method:
Amount Shelterwood (acres)
202
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
202
cable (acres)
0
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned
*
broadcast burned
0
Machine Scarification (acres)
202
* Slash will be lopped, scattered and redistributed during the scarification process. Only concentrations may
be burned.
II - 17
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EiS
Chapter ii
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigation applies:
Slash will be placed from right-of-way windrow back on road prism to form "jackpot" type piles with
a minimum diameter of 25 feet and an average height of 4 to 6 feet after completion of timber removal
and during slash disposal. The timber sale contract will contain provisions for this procedure.
Piles will be placed "at 1 00 to 200 foot (avg. of 1 50 foot) intervals, will extend from cutslope to fill slope,
and will be of sufficient magnitude and continuity to discourage all travel on the road prism by humans
on foot and/or horseback. Openings created in the windrows by construction of these piles will serve
as big game travelways and should not have residual slash in excess of 1 8 inches high.
A map showing the roads (last 1/2 mile of Road # 60286.1 and on all of roads 60286.2, 60286-C and
60288) where slash piling will occur is contained in the Project File.
For water quality protection, windrows will not be disturbed where the distance from the toe of the
fill slope to live water is less than 200 feet.
II - 18
0
1
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IS
ALTERNAT8VE 5
This alternative was developed in response to comments received on the DEIS. It is intended to respond to
requests that 'a no roads access for timber harvest" be considered and that an alternative be considered that
" addresses harvesting less than 3.0 MMBF and constructing less than 10 miles of road.
This alternative contains 4 clearcuts and 3 shelterwood units totaling approximately 292 acres (Figure 11-5).
Access to the analysis area would be from existing F.S. Road 1 07. The existing roads would be reconstructed
to Forest road specifications. Approximately 1.15 miles of new roads would be required to facilitate harvest.
Units 1 W, 2W, 3W and 4W would be tractor logged clearcuts while units S6, S1 1 , and 30 would be helicopter
logged utilizing the standard and irregular shelterwood silvicultural methods. Shelterwood harvest units
contained in Alternatives 2, 3 and 4 include machine scarification and slash piling as part of the prescribed
silvicultural system. These treatments would not be possible under this alternative due to lack of road access.
The inability to perform machine scarification and slash piling will result in delayed regeneration periods and
fuel loadings that may hinder big game movement ( please refer to chapter IV - Environmental Consequences
for a full disclosure of effects).
Total area that would be treated (acres)
292
Total volume that would be harvested (mmbf)
1.79
Miles of road
Constructed:
1.15
Reconstructed:
8.0
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir
3
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine,
4
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
Clearcut Cutting Methods:
Amount clearcut (acres)
124
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
124
helicopter (acres)
0
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
124
broadcast burned (acres)
0
Machine Scarification (acres)
0
Shelterwood Cutting Method:
Amount Shelterwood (acres)
168
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
0
helicopter (acres)
168
Slash Disposal Method:
lop and scatter
168
broadcast burned
0
Machine Scarification (acres)
0
I! -21
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigations apply:
1 . The helicopter service landing will have an impermeable liner placed under the fuel storage area;
2. A physical barrier of sufficient height to contain any spilled hazardous substance will be placed
around the helicopter service landing; and
3. Restrict fuel hauling for the helicopter to trucks without a trailer.
11-22
Chapter !9
\/> ^OBA{.T±f[MHeli^ort
1 3
18
1
68^0 I
19-«'
$rove
3.6’
Wq\ W ^
3 1
Unit
Number
Major
Species
Acres
Harvest Method
Yarding Method
Habitat Type
1W
(LP.AF.DF)
23
Clearcut
Tractor
2W
(LP.AF.DF)
32
Cle.arcut
Tractor
3W
(LP.AF.DF)
29
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
4W
(LP.AF.DF)
40
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
7
(LP.AF.ES. DF)
48
Clearcut
Tractor
8
(LP.AF.ES. DF)
12
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc/Alsi
9
(LPAF.ES.DF)
33
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc/Alsi
10
(DF.LP.AF)
34
Shelterwood
Tractor
Abla-Caru/Vasc
11
(LP.AF.ES)
20
Clearcut
Tractor
13
(LP.AF.ES)
36
Clearcut
Tractor
19
(LP.AF)
16
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
19A
(LP.AF)
18
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
19B
(LP.AF)
4
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
20
(LP.AF)
8
Clearcut
Tractor
21
(LP.AF.ES)
30
Clearcut
Tractor
22
(LP.AF)
60
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
25
(LP.AF.ES)
24
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
26
(LP.AF.ES)
50
Clearcut
Tractor
28
(LP.AF.ES)
28
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
30
(DF.LP)
44
Group Shelterwood
Tractor
Psme-Caru
S6
(OF)
95
Group Shelterwood
Tractor
S11
(DF)
29
Shelterwood
Tractor
Abla-Caru
S12
(LP.AF)
49
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
S13
(LP.AF)
27
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
S14
(LP.AF)
10
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
S15
(LP.AF)
15
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
S16
(LP.AF)
12
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
S17
(LP.AF)
6
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
S18
(LP.AF)
15
Clearcut
Tractor
Abla-Vasc
Abla-Abies lasiocarpa (Si
jbalpine fir);
Caru-Calamagrostis rubescens (Pinegrass)
Psme-
Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir);
(Grouse Whortleberry)
Alsi-Alnus sinuata (Mt.
Alder) Vasc-Vacciniu
m scorparium
l ^
5\
!
|i >
’eteslGtr/
3)4--.-
}g | 1/^ 20
;/1 ^%345 lj a' I *
^w4
*Ti7 <=^>22^>16 .• I \. 13 ' , u
bm<
Ji,
L— /
19
LEGEND
ANALYSIS AREA
BOUNDARY
EXISTING ROADS
WITH-IN BOUNDARY
‘ \
X PROPOSED ROADS
CUTTING UNITS
./
890Jjpms |
Squaw Soar'd'
Meadow
TT
21
' I 25
28
1 a/
19
Jt Xr 5si "'jck 30
8530\. ’
/"t
R19E
32
33
8832.'.-
\ '»
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
FIGURE 11-6
ALTERNATIVE 6
.'A
V.y
WILDLIFE SUBDIVISION
BOUNDARY
SCALE
T19N
o
i
■f MILES
2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
ALTERNATIVE 6 (PREFERRED)
This alternative was developed in order to provide a balance between concerns for visual quality and insect
and disease conditions (Figure 11-6). In the lodgepole community where clearcutting is proposed, Forest Plan
standards and guidelines for visual quality would be achieved through a combination of unit size and leaving
uncut islands ( where slopes permit approximately 15% of the area within the clearcuts would be left in uncut
islands ranging from 1/2 to 1 acre in size). Where necessary to meet visual quality objectives in the Douglas-fir
community, timber stands would be harvested using an irregular shelterwood method. This method takes
advantage of existing natural regeneration and in some cases will maintain four distinct age classes and
canopy levels.
The island concept would be feasible in 16 of the 26 proposed clearcuts (units 1W, 2W, 3W, 4W, 13, 19, 19A,
19B, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, Si 2). Leaving islands within units containing steep slopes and heavy fuel
loadings (as in Alternative 2A) would not be attempted. Units 22 and 23 will leave approximately 30% of the
area within the clearcuts in islands approximately 1 acre in size. The other units mentioned above will have
approximately 1 5% of the area within the clearcuts in islands approximately 1 acre in size. As an example unit
22 (20 acres) would have approximately 6 islands designated (1 acre in size) thus the treated area would be
reduced to 14 acres. Unit 1W (23 acres) would have approximately 3 islands designated (1 acre in size) thus
the treated area would be reduced to approximately 20 acres.
The purpose of leaving the islands is five-fold:
1 . Provide a regenerated stand that more closely approximates the species mix currently occupying
the site;
2. To break up the units in order to provide a more visually pleasing setting when seen from a
background or landscape view;
3. Provide big game bedding sites within the newly created forage area;
4. Break up site distances within the units to increase security and thus use by big game; and
5. Ensure protection of snags and retention trees that may otherwise be pushed over or damaged
during the skidding and piling process.
Total area within harvest units (acres) 815
Total area that would be treated (acres) 747
Total volume that would be harvested (mmbf) 6.10
Miles of road
Constructed:
Reconstructed:
17.8
9.3
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine,
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
4
26
11-25
Moyer Sait Timber Salle Final EIS
Chapter II
Clearest Cutting Methods:
Amount clearcut (acres)
545
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
545
cable (acres)
0
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
445
broadcast burned (acres)
100
Machine Scarification (acres)
50-100
SheHterwood Cutting Methods:
Amount Shelterwood (acres)
202
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
202
cable (acres)
0
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
*
broadcast burned (acres)
0
Machine Scarification (acres)
202
* Slash will be lopped, scattered and redistributed during the scarification process. Only concentrations may
be burned.
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigation applies:
Slash will be placed from right-of-way windrow back on road prism to form "jackpot" type piles with
a minimum diameter of 25 feet and an average height of 4 to 6 feet after completion of timber removal
and during slash disposal. The timber sale contract will contain provisions for this procedure.
Piles will be placed at 1 00 to 200 foot (avg. of 1 50 foot) intervals, will extend from cutslope to fill slope,
and will be of sufficient magnitude and continuity to discourage all travel on the road prism by humans
on foot and/or horseback. Openings created in the windrows by construction of these piles will serve
as big game travelways and should not have residual slash in excess of 1 8 inches high.
A map showing the roads (last 1/2 mile of Road # 60286.1 and on all of roads 60286.2, 60286-C and
60288) where slash piling will occur is contained in the Project File.
For water quality protection, windrows will not be disturbed where the distance from the toe of the
fill slope to live water is less than 200 feet.
11-26
7
V ( $OB A f rATOHel/>orf
14
1 3
18
**t°
1 9”
1
19A
19B
Wrt '* A'
U-a
8M '
rove ?6539^MM9
1 JP\FL^
3.6’
l Y*
>/VA
“Kpr,^" f=
W I // <
Harvest Method/Special Treatment
Clearcut/10°/o leave islands/4-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/15°/o leave islands/2-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/10% leave islands/3-1 acre islands/lv
Modified irregular shelterwood/
Clearcut/20°/o leave islands/4-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/10% leave islands/4-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/20% leave islands/3-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/30% leave islands/5-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/No leave islands/leave residual
Clearcut/lO°/o leave islands/2V2 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/10% leave islands/3-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/20% leave islands/3-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/30% leave islands/4-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/20% leave islands/5-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/10% leave islands/2V2 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/10% leave islands/2V2 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/No leave islands/leave residual
Clearcut/15% leave islands/2-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/No leave islands/leave residual
Irregular shelterwood/
Irregular shelterwood/
Irregular shelterwood/
Clearcut/20% leave islands/3-1 acre islands/lv
Modified irregular shelterwood/
Modified irregular shelterwood/
Modified irregular shelterwood/
Clearcut/30% leave islands/4-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/10% leave islands/2V2 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/10% leave islands/2V2 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/20% leave islands/3-1 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/10% leave islands/2V2 acre islands/lv
Clearcut/No leave islands/leave residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
residual
Known problems with steep slopes and heavy fuels. May
require extra hand work.
5\
Prospect
1 4 \
pring I J^2°C^
I \ i :/ 1 ishis e
17A £ 1 7, I /^16 o
‘t
1 2
BM ,
-4Aa-a;
0)"
?W:'i
19
1
I V I,
i ^ i / *
Moye^Basity . ^
LEGEND
ANALYSIS AREA
BOUNDARY
EXISTING ROADS
WITH-IN BOUNDARY
89034
% r / 1 /
20
21
l\- _
28
~ ^ PROPOSED ROADS
CUTTING UNITS
o ®
V J
Squaw EfbarcT
Meado\y
^)S24 v i 19
r25 x .
Vsw ^
k 85*£P‘
RISE
33
883V'-
\ 'i
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
FIGURE 11-7
ALTERNATIVE 2A
WILDLIFE SUBDIVISION
BOUNDARY
SCALE
-f MILES
T19N
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter El
ALTERNATIVE 2A
This alternative was developed to respond to concerns about visual quality. It is designed to mitigate the visual
effects of timber han/est when viewed from a landscape or background view. All harvest units meet Forest Plan
standards and guidelines for visual quality in terms of size. The unit sizes and locations are basically the same
as Alternative 2 (Figure II-2A). However, where slopes permit, from 10% to 30% of the area within the clearcuts
would be left in uncut islands ranging from approximately 1 12 to 1 acre in size. In addition, releasable residual
understory trees that are free from disease will be left in all clearcuts. In the Douglas-fir community, timber
stands would be harvested using an irregular shelterwood method. One key feature of this method is the delay
of the removal cut until the average height of the regeneration is approximately 20 feet.
The island concept would be utilized in 24 of the 26 proposed clearcuts (units 27A and 28A are small cable
where no islands would be left). As an example unit 19A (18 acres) would have 5 islands designated
(approximately 1 acre in size) thus the treated area would be reduced to 1 4 acres, a reduction of approxi-
mately 30%. Unit 26 (9 acres) would have 2 islands designated (approximately 1/2 acre in size) thus the
treated area would be reduced to approximately 8 acres, a reduction of approximately 1 0%. In units with
heavy fuel loadings and steep slopes, some islands would be destroyed during the slash piling or burning
processes. The degree to which the residual understory will be maintained will depend upon slope, fuel
loading, and the condition of the understory.
The main purpose of the leaving the islands is to break up the units in order to provide a more visually pleasing
setting when seen from a background or landscape view. However the islands do provide other benefits
which include:
1 . Provide a regenerated stand that more closely approximates the species mix currently occupying
the site;
2. Provide big game bedding sites within the newly created forage area;
3. Break up site distances within the units to increase security and thus use by big game; and
4. Ensure protection of snags and retention trees that may otherwise be pushed over or damaged
during the skidding and piling process.
Total area within harvest units (acres) 560
Total area that would be treated (acres) 502
Total volume that would be harvested (mmbf) 4.20
Miles of road
Constructed: 16.8
Reconstructed: 1 .3
Number of cutting units
Douglas-fir 7
Lodgepole pine or mixed lodgepole pine, 25
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce
11-29
flayer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Chapter I!
Ciearcut Cutting Methods:
Amount ciearcut (acres)
344
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
cable (acres)
334
10
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned (acres)
broadcast burned (acres)
244
100
50-100
Machine Scarification (acres)
Shelterwood Cutting Method:
Amount Shelterwood (acres)
158
Logging Methods:
tractor (acres)
cable (acres)
144
14
Slash Disposal Method:
piled and burned
broadcast burned
0
144
Machine Scarification (acres)
* - slash will lopped, scattered, and redistributed during the scarification process. Only concentrations may
In addition to the mitigation measures common to all the action alternatives, the following mitigation applies:
Slash will be placed from right-of-way windrow back on road prism to form ’jackpot" type piles with
a minimum diameter of 25 feet and an average height of 4 to 6 feet after completion of timber removal
and during slash disposal. The timber sale contract will contain provisions for this procedure.
Piles will be placed at 1 00 to 200 foot (avg. of 1 50 foot) intervals, will extend from cutslope to fill slope,
and will be of sufficient magnitude and continuity to discourage all travel on the road prism by humans
on foot and/or horseback. Openings created in the windrows by construction of these piles will serve
as big game travelways and should not have residual slash in excess of 1 8 inches high.
A map showing the roads (last 1/2 mile of Road # 60286.1 and on all of roads 60286.2, 60286-C and
60288) where slash piling will occur is contained in the Project File.
For water quality protection, windrows will not be disturbed where the distance from the toe of the
fill slope to live water is less than 200 feet.
be burned.
11-30
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION
Site-specific management and mitigation measures developed by the ID Team for each of the resources in
the Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale analysis area are listed in Table 11-1. These measures were
developed by applying various State and Federal standards and guidelines and Best Management Practices
that govern how timber harvesting and road construction are implemented to the site-specific conditions that
occur in the analysis area. The sources for the various regulations are given at the beginning of each resource
section. For further information the reader is referred to the references given, in particular the Forest Plan
(Chapter IV) and the Summary of Soil and Water Best Management Practices in Appendix B.
TABLE SI-1: MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION MEASURES SPECIFIC TO ALL ACTION ALTERNATIVES
SOILS: 1. All cut and fill slopes would be reseeded to grass and slopes would
(Forest Plan) be left in a roughened condition to catch the seed and fertilizer and to
minimize the loss off-slope. The seed mixture would include species
adaptable to all soils types and aspects.
2. All native surfaced roads that would be closed behind gates would be
harrowed, seeded to grass and fertilized as soon as possible after timber
harvesting, except if graveled.
3. All disturbed sites, including cut and fill slopes, would be seeded in the
fall of the year they are built. If roads are built during winter months, they
would be seeded if there is less than 1 to 2 feet of snow on the ground.
4. At the end of the second growing season, an established grass stand
should be present on the reseeded areas or efforts would be taken to
reseed. A minimum average of 40 percent vegetative cover, including
plant basal area and litter, constitutes an established grass stand.
5. All proposed waterbars and dips on temporary roads and/or skid trails
would be constructed before the ground freezes. Spacing requirements
outlined in the Forest Plan would be followed.
6. Waterbars would be installed on all skid trails immediately after harvest-
ing a unit and before moving on to the next timber harvest unit.
7. All constructed landing sites would be ripped, reseeded to grass and
fertilized.
8. All timber harvest units will be field checked before burning to determine
the estimated fuel load present (in tons/acre) and to determine how much
must be burned in order to yield 1 0 to 1 5 tons/acre of residual material.
11-31
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E8S
Chapter II
TABLE 11-1: MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION MEASURES SPECIFIC TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES: continued
Soils, continued 9. All timber harvest units that are machine piled and burned will have the
burned and unburned material redistributed evenly over the unit after
burning.
10. Total site productivity will be protected and/or maintained at a level
equal to or greater than 90 percent of natural (reference Forest Plan
IV-59).
1 1 . A minimum of 80 percent of an activity area will remain in a non-
detrimentally disturbed condition, (reference Forest Plan IV-59).
12. Total or essentially total soil resource commitment (in areas such as
roads and log landings) will not exceed 5 percent of the analysis area.
13. Some boles will be left on site to serve as natural sediment catches on
disturbed slopes.
14. A designated skid trail would be utilized in harvest units 7, 8 and 9,
located in the Woodtick Creek area, to minimize soil resource damage.
1 5. Soil productivity would be maintained in each harvest unit by retaining
1 0 to 1 5 tons/acre of slash, including large woody debris (greater than 3
inches diameter) as microbial host material and smaller woody debris for
nutrient reservoirs.
1 6. Broadcast burning would be performed in such a way that 1 0 to 1 5
tons of large woody debris and one inch of the O (organic matter) Horizon
remain after burning.
17. Brush blade will be used for clearing slash off roads and landings
during operation to keep slash piles free of soil.
HYDROLOGY: 1. The requirements for stream protection zones (IFPA) and filter strips
(Best Management Practices in the Idaho Forestry Practices Act, Forest
Plan, and Forest Service Manual; see Appendix B) would be closely
followed to prevent adverse impacts to water quality
2. Road construction and timber harvest activities would be conducted
according to the "Performance Criteria to be Observed to Protect Stream
Channels" (Forest Service Manual 2505.1-2) as specified in the Memoran-
dum of Understanding with the Idaho Dept, of Water Resources.
3. The Soil and Water Best Management Practices specified in the Forest
Plan and in the Idaho Forestry Practices Act will be followed (See Ap-
pendix B: Summary of BMP’s).
4. All temporary roads will be constructed, used, physically closed, and
reseeded to grass before the ground freezes in the fall. Roads that will be
left open over the winter will be designed specified roads and will have
adequate drainage structures installed to prevent resource damage.
11-32
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
TABLE 11-1 : MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION MEASURES SPECIFIC TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES: continued
Hydrology, (cont.) 5. All areas disturbed by road construction will be seeded in the fall of the
year they are disturbed, as specified in the engineering contract specifica-
tions.
6. Tractor units with slopes greater than 45 percent would be appraised
for hand construction of waterbars to ensure that effective waterbars are
placed on the steeper slopes. The contractor may use a machine to
construct the waterbars but must finish them by hand if they are driven
over after their construction.
7. Reseed all disturbed skid trails to grass after the construction of water-
bars to ensure soil stabilization and minimize the invasion of noxious
weeds.
8. Where specified, machine scarification for site preparation would be
limited to alternating strips run on the contour. No machine scarification
would be done within the stream protection zone or filter strips.
9. To prevent sediment movement downslope, slash windrows would be
placed along the toe of the fill slope on all new roads. Continuous
windrows would extend out from the stream crossing until an adequate
filter strip exists between the toe of the fill and the stream. Outside the filter
strip, short segments of the windrow will be removed at regular intervals
for wildlife movement.
1 0. Reseed to grass and recontour all temporary roads not planned for
salvage operations.
WETLANDS
1 . The limits of the wet areas along the lower boundary of Units 25 and SI 4
will be flagged so that surface disturbance within these wetland areas
would be avoided.
FISHERIES:
(Forest Plan)
1 . Appropriate crossing structures would be installed in ail Woodtick
Creek, Goodluck Creek and Salt Creek (Alternative 3 only) crossings to
maintain fish passage opportunities.
2. The current obstacle to fish passage at the intersection of Woodtick
Creek and Road 1 07, located in section 32, T20N, R1 9E, would be correct-
ed in conjunction with prescribed road reconstruction operations under
Alternative 3, 4, 5, and 6, or for Alternatives 2 and 2A, would be corrected
by listing the fish passage rehabilitation projects as a priority on the
Timber sale Improvement Plan (KV Plan).
11-33
Moyer SaK Timber Sale Final ESS
Chapter 91
TABLE 81-1: MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION MEASURES SPECIFIC TO ALL ACTION
Fisheries, (cent.)
ALTERNATIVES: continued
3. Filter strips at least 200 feet wide would be maintained between
Woodtick Creek and all adjacent land disturbance activities, excluding
required stream crossing locations. Uncut filter strips at least 75 feet wide
would be maintained between all other perennial streams and adjacent
land disturbance activities, excluding required stream crossing , locations.
Site-specific consistency with Forest Plan filter strip width criteria would be
maintained when prescribed minimums exceed 75 feet due to slopes,
ground cover and soil type constraints.
4. An aquatic stream survey (for the purpose of baseline monitoring) and
a Timber Sale Improvement Plan (KV Plan) addressing fish habitat im-
provement opportunities would be developed for the drainage segments
within the timber sale area boundaries.
VEGETATION:
(Forest Plan, Noxious Weed
Environmental Assessment)
1 . AH disturbed areas (road cut and fill slopes and landing areas) would
be treated for noxious weeds.
2. All timber harvest activities will follow the Best Management Practices
(Summarized in Appendix B) and the Standards and Guidelines for timber
harvest in the Forest Plan.
3. Sanitize (remove) dwarf mistletoe infected overstory trees on the edges
of islands within two years of logging (Alternatives 6 and 2A)
WILDLIFE:
(Forest Plan; Snag Amend-
ment to the Forest Plan;
Central Idaho Elk Guidelines)
1. Retain a minimum of one snag at least 20" diameter breast height
(DBH), six snags at least 12" DBH and three snags at least 10° DBH on
each ten acres of harvest unit in the Douglas-fir and spruce fir communi-
ties. Retain three snags at least 1 2" DBH and five snags at least 1 0“ DBH
on each ten acres of harvest unit in the lodgepole pine and subalpine fir
communities. Retain a minimum of one replacement (green) tree at least
20* DBH and three trees at least 12" DBH per acre in the Douglas-fir and
spruce fir units, and one tree at least 12" DBH and three trees at least 10’
DBH in the lodgepole pine and subalpine fir units.
2 . Retain a minimum of 50 ft. of 12" minimum diameter (large end) down
and dead logs per acre in the Douglas-fir and spruce fir units, and a
minimum of 33 ft of 1 0" minimum diameter (large end) down and dead logs
per acre in the lodgepole pine and subalpine fir units.
11-34
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
TABLE 11-1: MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION MEASURES SPECIFIC TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES: continued
Wildlife, (cont.) 3. Preserve the integrity of at least 75 percent of the linear distance of the
natural forest/ nonforest ecotones by providing at least a 1 00 foot uncut
buffer between the ecotone and the unit. In shelterwood units marking
would be phased in from the unit border. An uncut buffer of two sight
distances or greater would be retained along all forest/nonforest ecotones
within the key elk summer range (KESR) (see Chapter III, Figure 111-2).
4. Restrict timber harvest and other human disturbance in a buffer zone
around raptor nests to times when the nests are not being used. The size
of the buffer would be species specific per Forest Plan direction and the
time of use would be site specific.
5. Three subdivisions would be created in order to provide suitable dis-
placement areas for big game (Figure 11-4). Logging and/or road building
activities would not occur simultaneously within these subdivisions. No
logging, road building, or hauling would occur in Subdivision #2 that
encompasses the Salt Creek area during big game hunting season. No
logging, road building or hauling would occur in Subdivision #3 during
the winter critical period from December 1 through May 1 5.
6. The depth of slash in units within the mapped KESR would not be
greater than 1 .5 ft.
7. Gate and close all specified roads upon completion of road construc-
tion. The roads would remain closed except during active periods of the
sale or when needed for post-sale activities, administrative purposes, or
periodic firewood gathering.
8. The spur road just west of Moyer Peak, in the SE1/4 NW1/4 of Section
1 6, will be closed by creating an earthen barrier that prevents vehicular
access.
9. Slash will be placed from right-of-way windrow back on road prism to
form ■jackpot" type piles with a minimum diameter of 25 feet and an
average height of 4 to 6 feet after completion of timber removal and during
slash disposal. The timber sale contract will contain provisions for this
procedure. Piles will be placed at 100 to 200 foot (avg. of 150 foot)
intervals, will extend from cutslope to fill slope, and will be of sufficient
magnitude and continuity to discourage all travel on the road prism by
humans on foot and/or horseback. Openings created in the windrows by
construction of these piles will serve as big game travelways and should
not have residual slash in excess of 1 8 inches high.
A map showing the roads (last 1/2 mile of Road # 60286.1 and on all of
roads 60286.2, 60286-C and 60288) where slash piling will occur is con-
tained in the Project File.
For water quality protection, windrows will not be disturbed where the
distance from the toe of the fill slope to live water is less than 200 feet.
(This mitigation measure applies to all action alternatives except alterna-
tive 5. It is included in the description for alternatives 2, 3, 4, 6, and 2A.)
11-35
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
TABLE 11-1: MANAGEMENT AND MiTiGATiON MEASURES SPECIFIC TO ALL ACTION
THREATENED, ENDAN-
GERED AND SENSITIVE
SPECIES:
(Forest Plan)
ALTERNATIVES: continued
1 . If any listed or proposed Threatened, Endangered or listed Sensitive
Species of animals, fish or plants are encountered during the proposed
activities, the Forest Biologist would be notified and specific mitigation
measures would be developed.
2. The Timber Sale Contract shall include contract clause C6.25#, which
contains provisions for protection of habitat for Threatened and Endan-
gered Species.
VISUAL:
(Forest Plan)
1 . Where slopes permit, irregular edges would be used for all harvest unit
boundaries.
AIR QUALITY:
(Forest Plan, Clean Air Act)
1 . Burn piles would not be allowed to burn and smolder over a long period
of time.
2. The burn pattern may be staggered in order to minimize air quality
impacts to the area, depending on the burn method.
3. A Timber Sale Burn Plan would be developed for the proposed sale that
considers wind direction and cumulative smoke impacts.
4. Burning will not be allowed below a wind speed of 2 miles per hour.
Wind speed minimum will be 2 mph and up to 10 mph, only under good,
excellent, or fair dispersion days, depending on local weather conditions
at the time of burning and moisture content of the fuels.
5. The Swan Peak Road and the Ridge Road may be closed to the public
during the day of burning, depending on local weather conditions at time
of burning.
6. Dust control of the logging roads during construction and timber har-
vesting will be controlled by the addition of water or other material when
required by the Engineer COR or the timber sale administrator.
7. If a timber harvest operation that utilizes the pile and burn method of
slash burning generates more than 22 slash piles, burning will be split into
two or more burn days. No more than 22 piles will be burned in a day; burn
days must be excellent dispersion days with wind speeds between 2 and
1 0 miles per hour.
8. All piles will be free of soil to reduce smoldering when burned.
\
11-36
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter 81
TABLE 11-1: MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION MEASURES SPECIFIC TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES: continued
RANGE MANAGEMENT: 1. Cattleguards or gates would be used where newly-constructed roads
cross range management fences.
(Forest Plan) 2. Cattleguards would be used on existing roads used for timber sale
activities.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: 1 . If archeological sites are encountered during this proposed activity, the
(Forest Plan) Cultural Resources specialist would be notified and specific mitigation
measures would be developed.
2. State Historical Preservation Society (SHPO) clearance and approval of
all requirements in Section 1 06 of the National Historic Preservation Act
would be obtained before any ground-disturbing activities begin.
3. The Timber Sale Contract shall contain contract clause C6.24#, which
provides for the protection of cultural resources and allows the Forest
Service to modify or cancel the timber sale contract to protect cultural
resources.
11-37
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
MONSTORING
FOREST PLAN MONITORING
The Salmon National Forest has developed a plan
to monitor and evaluate implementation of the For-
est Plan, monitor the effectiveness of management
practices implemented under the Forest Plan, and
validate the assumptions and models used in plan-
ning (Forest Plan, V-2-19). This would provide the
land manager with information on progress toward
achieving the goals, objectives, and standards of
the Forest Plan. Forest Plan monitoring done for the
Salmon National Forest to address issues pertinent
to the analysis area include:
1 . If prescriptions for management areas are ap-
plied as prescribed;
2. If standards and management guidelines are
being followed;
3. If objectives of the Plan are being achieved;
4. if applications of prescriptions for manage-
ment areas are responding to public issues,
management concerns, and management op-
portunities;
5. If effects of Plan implementation are occurring
as predicted;
6. If costs of Plan implementation are as predict-
ed;
7. If management practices on non-Forest lands
adjacent to and within the Forest’s boundaries
are affecting the goals and objectives of the
Plan; and
8. Effects of Plan implementation on other land
and resource management agencies and or-
ganizations.
A monitoring program is prepared as part of the
Forests’ annua! work program that details the
amount and location of monitoring to be accom-
plished. Not all activities on the Forest are moni-
tored on an annual basis, and not all of the Forest
Plan monitoring requirements listed below are per-
formed. Results of the monitoring program are pre-
sented in an annual Forest Plan Monitoring and
Evaluation Report.
The Forest Plan monitoring requirements for soils,
water and water quality, fisheries, vegetation (tim-
ber, including insects and disease), wildlife, Threat-
ened and Endangered Species, visual resources,
cultural resources, economics and other Forest
resources are contained in Chapter V of the Forest
Plan and are summarized below.
Soils: Monitoring of Forest soils is done through the
following methods:
Unstable areas caused by natural conditions
and off-road vehicle damage are monitored
annually through aerial surveys.
Soils that are representative of large areas of
the Forest are characterized using standard
Soil Conservation Survey methods.
Erosion that results from various forest prac-
tices is quantified and compared.
Soil productivity is monitored to determine
whether land management practices used on
the Forest are adequate to meet the long-term
soil productivity standards and guidelines
specified in the Forest Plan.
Water and Water Quality: In order to achieve water
quality protection, the Forest would monitor the fol-
lowing aspects of water quality and fish habitat pro-
tection:
Changes in water quality, in stream channel
stability, in riparian areas, and the extent of
stream channel deposition due to land man-
agement activities, both on a baseline and
project scale.
11-38
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
Flow increases due to timber harvesting.
Comparisons of erosion on inslope versus out-
slope roads; cut slopes versus fill slopes; road
treads; and on trails.
Fisheries: Fisheries monitoring includes the follow-
ing:
Anadromous and resident fish populations
and habitat quantity and quality are monitored
through computer modeling (using the GAWS
program), fish counts, habitat surveys, angler
use surveys, etc.
Timber: The Forest Plan timber monitoring guide-
lines are designed to track implementation of the
timber management program and include:
Tracking of regeneration status on harvested
lands to determine if restocking is complete in
five years;
Determining if openings created by even-aged
management exceed maximum size estab-
lished in wildlife standards and guidelines;
Review the five year timber action plan and
monitor actual volume sold to determine that
sales are progressing, annual volume is being
offered, and sale volume will not exceed the
1 0-year allowable sale quantity.
Insect and disease infestation levels are moni-
tored through annual aerial surveys.
The effectiveness of dwarf mistletoe or other
suppression projects designed to protect re-
generation are monitored through field review.
Wildlife: Wildlife monitoring includes the following:
Management Indicator Species populations
and habitat trends, particularly those of big
game animals, are determined through aerial
surveys, hunter success rates and other data
from the Idaho Department of Fish and Wildlife
check stations, visual counts of animals, range
inventory data, etc.
Habitat improvement is documented in the an-
nual Wildlife Report.
Old-growth retention stands are monitored an-
nually.
Threatened and Endangered Species:
Observation records are maintained and ail
sightings of Threatened and Endangered
Species are investigated, except for species
covered by other surveys.
Cultural Resources:
Field monitoring of known cultural sites is per-
formed to determine the extent of natural dete-
rioration or vandalism, on a biannual basis for
easily accessed sites and every five years for
isolated sites.
Economics:
An annual report is published that monitors
capital investments, returns to U.S. Treasury,
receipt shares to counties, and unit costs for
planning activities.
PROJECT MOM8TOR8NG
Project-specific monitoring for some resources
would be conducted on the proposed timber sale
during timber harvest and road construction to en-
sure that implementation is consistent with the es-
tablished standards and guidelines, specifically
those outlined in the timber sale contract. Monitor-
ing is also conducted to determine the effectiveness
of management activities and applied mitigation
measures developed for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
(see Table 11-1).
Each year the Forest selects three timber sales for
post-sale review and inclusion in the annual moni-
toring plan. The timber sale ID Team, including spe-
cialists in wildlife, timber, hydrology and soils, per-
forms a field review of the sales. The goal of these
reviews is to determine if the standards and guide-
lines of the Forest are being met for each resource.
Written reports of the review are included in the
Forest Service files and a copy is sent to the State
of Idaho Water Quality Bureau discussing findings
and any corrective actions to be taken if necessary.
Most of the site-specific mitigation measures de-
signed for the proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale that
are described in Table 11-1 are incorporated into the
contract drawn up between the timber sale pur-
11-39
SWBoyer Salt Umber Sale Final ESS
Chapter II
chaser and the Forest Service. A Forest Service
timber sale administrator is assigned to each sale to
determine that the contractual provisions are met.
Mitigation measures not included in the contract are
the responsibility of the Forest Service.
Much of the post-sale monitoring that occurs on a
timber sale is informal in nature. For example, when
a member of the timber staff is performing post-sale
regeneration field checks and notices that there are
problems with road erosion, they would notify the
appropriate resource specialist.
Specific monitoring developed for this project in-
clude:
Soils: Project level activities are monitored forest-
wide for changes to soil productivity.
The Moyer Sait Timber Sale would be monitored
during implementation to assure that Soil and Water
Conservation Practices (SWCP) outlined in Forest
Service Soil and Water Conservation Practices
Handbook (FSH 2509.22) are implemented.
During project implementation, the timber sale ad-
ministrator will also monitor soil disturbance associ-
ated with scarification and soil displacement that
results from slash piling to ensure that Forest Plan
standards are not exceeded.
The reseeded cut and fill slopes and any other re-
seeded areas would be monitored to determine the
effectiveness of the reseeding effort and if additional
planting is required.
All timber harvest units that are burned will be field
checked after burning to determine if 1 0 to 1 5 tons
per acre of large woody debris (greater than 3.0
inches in diameter) is left on the ground as specified
in soil mitigation #8 (Table 11-1).
Water Quality and Fisheries: The timber sale ad-
ministrator would monitor the implementation of ap-
plicable BMPs and mitigation measures (site-
specific BMPs) contained in the timber sale contract
to ensure that the proposed activities do not impact
water quality and, consequently, the fisheries re-
source. In particular, BMPs that apply to skid trail
and road rehabilitation would be closely monitored.
Beginning in 1992 the following data will be collect-
ed to document existing conditions in Woodtick
Creek prior to road construction and timber harvest-
ing activities:
1 . Percent Depth Fines (Core Sampling)
2. Wolman Pebble Count
3. Maximum/Minimum Water Temperature
4. Macroinvertebrates
Percent fines and the Wolman Pebble Count were
measured in 1 992 on Woodtick Creek, immediately
above the stream crossing on Road #107. These
two parameters will be measured after the road con-
struction is completed in about 1994, and then
again after timber harvesting is completed in about
1 996. Maximum/minimum water temperatures were
measured biweekly in 1 992 from May-October at the
mouths of Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek.
Maximum/minimum water temperatures will be
measured again in 1993 to complete the baseline
database, and then again after timber harvesting is
completed in about 1 996. Macroinvertebrates were
sampled three times in 1992 above the mouths of
Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek. Macroinverte-
brate samples will be taken again in 1 993 on both
streams to complete the baseline database, and
then again after timber harvesting is completed in
about 1 996. Based upon the results of the post sale
monitoring, a decision will be made as to whether or
not there is a need to continue the monitoring for a
longer period of time.
Vegetation (Timber): Timber sale layout would be
reviewed by the ID Team to determine compliance
with standards and guidelines of the Forest Plan
prior to sale award.
The timber sale administrator would visit each active
harvest unit at a frequency necessary to assure
compliance with the timber sale contract.
Contract changes or contract modifications would
be enacted, when necessary, to meet standards
and guidelines on the ground.
Stand exams would be performed the first, third,
and fifth year after harvesting to determine certifica-
tion of regeneration. These exams would also moni-
tor species composition of the stands as well as
their health and vigor.
11-40
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
Post-harvest treatment exams and timber stand im-
provements such as thinning, planting (where re-
quired), and other cultural treatments would be per-
formed as required.
Air Quality: All prescribed burning will be monitored
for smoke dispersion during the time of burning to
ensure that the burn plan is followed and that
SASEM model criteria and standards set by the
Clean Air Act are met.
Wildlife: The Forest Road management coordinator
would monitor the timing and effectiveness of road
closures and maintain the road closures that were
identified in the site-specific mitigation plan.
Transportation: The Cobalt district is funded annu-
ally for road maintenance, to be used in part to
monitor the conditions of the specified roads con-
structed for the timber sale.
Cultural Resources: Any project monitoring that is
required under Section 1 06 of the National Historic
Preservation Act and as part of the State Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO) project approval would
be performed as required.
COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES
Table 11-2 contains a summary of the effects of the
alternatives on each of the resources discussed in
Chapters III and IV. The measurement indices used
to compare these effects are those identified in the
discussion of the issues in this chapter. The reader
is referred to Chapter IV for an in-depth discussion
of the effects of the alternatives.
11-41
Moyer Sait Timber Sal® Final E1S
Chapter il
TABLE SI-2: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement
Indices
ALT
1
ALT
2
ALT
3
ALT
4
ALT
5
ALT
8
PREFERRED
ALT
2A
VEGETATION
Vegetative Diversity:
Acres Harvested
0
568
440
847
292
747
502
Age distribution following harvest (in percent of analysis area)
(0-39 yrs) 4.9 9.3
8.3
11.5
7.2
10.7
8.8
(40-79 yrs)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
(80-119 yrs
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
(120-159 yrs)
69.9
66.1
67.1
64.3
68.3
64.9
66.6
(165+ yrs)
13.5
12.9
12.8
12.7
12.8
12.7
12.9
Change in species
diversity in
harvest units
None
Moderate
Increase
Moderate
Increase
Moderate
Increase
Moderate
Increase
Moderate
Increase
Moderate
Increase
Timber Resource:
Volume production
in mmbf
0
4.9
3.75
6.9
1.79
6.1
4.2
mmbf deferred *
-6.1
-1 .2
-2.25
0.8
-4.31
0 **
Risk of infesta-
tion by insects
and diseases
Moderate
to High
Increase
Strong
Decrease
Moderate
Decrease
Strong
Decrease
Low
Decrease
Strong
Decrease
Low
Decrease
Risk of infesta-
tion by noxious
weeds
Very Low
Low
Low
Moderate
Very Low
Moderate
Low
* The amounts given here represent the difference between the largest Forest Plan consistent mmbf alternative
alternatives. These volumes display the mmbf that would be deferred from this offer during this planning period.
offered (Alternative 6) and the other
** Alternative 6 represents the largest mmbf sale quantity off that meets the Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines for all resources.
Harvest Method:
Clearcuts with
Islands
0
0
0
0
0
427
402
Clearcut Acres
0
410
270
645
124
186
10
Shelterwood Acres
0
158
170
202
168
202
158
11-42
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IS
TABLE SI-2, continued: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT
Indices 1 2 3 4 5 6 2A
PREFERRED
WILDLIFE
Elk and Deer:
* Elk Habitat Potential (EHP) (Percent of potential)
Area 1
67%
51%
51%
48%
59%
51%
53%
Area II
87%
90%
88%
92%
88%
90%
89%
Open Road Density:
(Miles road per square mile)
Area 1
0.14
0.14
0.14
0.14
0.14
0.14
0.14
Area II
0.56
0.56
0.56
0.56
0.56
0.56
0.56
Total Road Density:
(Miles road per square mile)
Area 1
0.14
1.46
2.25
1.0
0.14
1.0
1.28
Area II
0.56
2.5
1.5
2.9
0.72
2.7
2.42
Cover to Forage Ratio:
Area 1
32:68
27:73
27:73
26:74
29.71
27.73
28.72
Area II
80:20
72:28
75:25
68:32
77.23
69.31
73.27
** Elk Habitat Security:
Area 1
High
Low
Moderate
Very Low
Moderate
Low
Low
Area II
Very High
High
High
High
Very High
High
High
*** Elk Vulnerability:
Area 1
Moderate
Very High
High
Very High
High
Very High
Very High
Area II
Very Low
Moderate
Low
Moderate
Low
Moderate
Moderate
**** Old-growth Dependent Species:
Acres of Timber Stands with Old Growth Characteristics Remaining:
Area 1
1750
1500
1520
1430
1625
1475
1540
Area II
3550
3200
3250
3025
3310
3040
3250
Percent Loss of Timber Stands with Old Growth Characteristics:
Area 1
0%
15%
13%
18%
7%
16%
12%
Area II
0%
10%
8%
15%
5%
14%
8%
Acres of Forest Plan Designated Old-Growth Retention Stands Cut:
Area 1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Area II
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
* Elk Habitat Potential (EHP) is the indicator for effects to elk and deer and is derived from the cover to forage ratio and the miles of road per square
** Elk Habitat Security is 30% of an area occupied by cover blocks of 250 acres located 1/2 mile from open roads.
*** Elk Vulnerability reflects ease of human access and susceptibility of hunted elk.
**** The acres and percent loss of timber stands with old growth characteristics and old-growth retention stands are the indicators for effects to goshawk,
pine marten and other old-growth dependent species.
11-43
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EiS
Chapter II
TABLE 11-2,
continued:
COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
BndSces
1
2
3
4
5
6
PREFERRED
2A
ROADLESS AREA:
Acres of Roadless
Area Affected
0
9920
9920
9920
208
9920
9920
Percent of
Taylor Mtn.
Roadless Area Affected
0
16%
16%
16%
<1%
16%
16%
Acres of Roadless
Area Remaining
63,220
53,300
53,300
53,300
63,012
53,300
53,300
Wilderness
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Eligibility Of Roadless Area Maintained
Effects to Roadless Characteristics:
Natural Integrity
None
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Apparent
None
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Naturalness
Primitive
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
Recreation
Solitude
None
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
None
Decrease
Decrease
Special Features
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
Special Places
and Activities
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
i
ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY
Present Net Value
Long Term Average
0
-$210,077
-$161,329
-$300,679
*
-$277,853
-$183,069
Present T rend
0
+$253,925
+$303,502
+$295,651
-$94,938
+$303,626
+$262,241
Gross Stumpage Income
Long Term Average
0
+$400,670
+$306,186
+$564,444
+$69,315
+$498,801
+$343,235
Present Trend
0
+$569,100
+$525,300
+754,200
+$706,200
+$527,100
Road Costs
Construction
0
+$372,150
+$383,850
+$411,150
+$42,000
+$411,150
+372,150
Road Costs/mbf
0
+76
+$102
+$60
+$26
+$67
+$89
The economic efficiency of the alternatives can be compared by calculating the present net value and gross income of each alternative. These were
calculated based on the long term average prices and with present prices to reflect the recent increases in the value ot timber.
* No value was calculated because this alternative was not economically viable (it would not sell) with the long term stumpage values.
11-44
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
TABLE 11-2, continued: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT
Indices 1 2 3 4 5 6 2A
PREFERRED
SOILS
Existing Roads
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
16.6 mi.
57 ac.
57 ac.
57 ac.
57 ac.
57 ac.
57 ac.
57 ac.
New Roads
0
16.8 mi.
14.6 mi.
17.8 mi.
1.1 mi.
17.8 mi.
16.8 mi.
0
62.1 ac.
55.2 ac.
66.1 ac.
4.0 ac.
66.1 ac.
62.1 ac.
Acres of Total
Soil Resource
Commitment
57 ac.
119 ac.
Ill ac.
123 ac.
61 ac.
123 ac.
119 ac.
Percent of Analysis Area
with Total Soil
0.4%
0.8%
0.7%
0.8%
0.4%
0.8%
0.8%
Resource Commitment *
* Total soil resource commitment occurs when the soil is committed to a use other than growing vegetation for an extended period of time; this typically
occurs in roads, landing areas, and some skid trails.
HYDROLOGY
Effects to Water Yield:
Percent of Drainages Harvested*:
Woodtick Creek
5.2%
7.3%
7.0%
8.2%
6.0%
7.9%
7.1%
Salt Creek
0%
9.1%
4.5%
14.3%
5.1%
12.3%
8.2%
"Perm' Creek
0%
11.3%
11.3%
14.2%
4.3%
13.1%
10.4%
Predicted Changes
None
No Major
No Major
No Major
Minimal
No Major
No Major
to Water Yield
Effect
Effect
Effect
Effect
Effect
Beneficial Water
Yes
Yes
** No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Uses Maintained
State Water
Yes
Yes
** No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Quality Standards Met
* Research has shown that harvesting more than 20 percent of a drainage can result in detectable increases in peak flow due to loss of vegetation.
** Beneficial water uses would be maintained and state water quality standards would be met in Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek. Adverse water quality
impacts are anticipated in Salt Creek only.
WETLANDS
Acres of Wetlands None * <3 * <2 * <3 None * <3 * <3
Affected
* These acres of affected wetlands are primarily at stream crossings.
II - 45
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
TABLE 11-2, continued: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement
indices
ALT ALT ALT
1 2 3
ALT ALT
4 5
ALT ALT
6 2A
PREFERRED
FISHERIES
Anadromous and * * Yes Yes ** No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Resident Fish Habitat
Maintained
* The culvert that is currently obstructing fish passage where F.S. Road 1 07 crosses Woodtick Creek will be corrected through KV funding with Alternatives
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 2A, but is not scheduled to be corrected under Alternative 1 , the No Action Alternative. Habitat would be maintained but not improved
under this alternative.
** Anadromous and resident fish habitat would not be maintained in the Sait Creek drainage, and habitat within the mainstem Moyer Creek streamcourse
below the mouth of Salt Creek would additionally be at high risk of being adversely impacted. Habitat would be maintained within the Woodtick Creek,
Goodluck Creek, and "Perm' Creek drainages under this alternative, however.
THREATENED, ENDANGERED AND SENSITIVE FISH SPECIES
(The final biological assessment of effects to T & E fish species is being documented within the Salmon National
Forest’s Proposed Activity Review for the Panther Creek Watershed. Concurrence from the National Marine
Fisheries Service is unknown at this time).
Effects to Listed
Fish T & E
Species and Their Habitat
No Effect
Not LTAA*
LTAA*
Not LTAA*
Not LTAA*
Not LTAA*
Not LTAA*
Effects to Poten-
tial Fish
T & E Habitat
No Change
from Ex-
isting
Condition
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Creek
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Creek
Degradation
in Salt and
Moyer Creeks
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Creek
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Crseek
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Creek
Improve-
ment in
Woodtick
Creek
Effects to
Region 4 Sensi-
tive Fish Species
and Their Habitat
No Effect
*Not LTAA
*LTAA
Steelhead
and Bull
Trout
*Not LTAA
*NOT LTAA
*Not LTAA
*Not LTAA
* LTAA - Likely to Adversely Affect
THREATENED, ENDANGERED AND SENSITIVE VERTEBRATE SPECIES
Effects to Not
Gray Wolf LTAA
* LTAA - Likely to Adversely Affect
!! -46
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter II
TABLE 11-2,
continued:
COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
Indices
1
2
3
4
5
3
PREFERRED
2A
VISUAL RESOURCES
Number of Units
Where Visual
Quality Objectives
Are Not Met
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
RECREATION
Acres Converted
from Semi-Primitive
Motorized & Nonmotorized
to Roaded Natural Appearing
0
6,990
6,310
6,990
0
6,990
6,990
AIR QUALITY
State and
National Air Quality
Standards Met
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
TRANSPORTATION AND ACCESS
Acres available
for timber harvesting with
existing road system
1,600
1,600
1,600
1,600
1,600
1,600
1,600
Acres available
for timber harvesting with
proposed road system
0
2,807
1,824
2,957
150
2,957
2,807
Miles of Road
Constructed
0
16.8
14.6
17.8
1.1
17.8
16.8
MINERALS
Would interfere
with potential
mineral development
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
II - 47
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Fina! EES
Chapter IS
TABLE SI-2, continued: COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF THE ALTERNATIVES BY RESOURCE
Measurement
Indices
ALT ALT ALT
1.2 3
ALT ALT
4 5
ALT ALT
S 2A
PREFERRED
CULTURAL RESOURCES
* Potential None Low Low Low Low Low Low
Impacts to
Cultural
Resources
* A cultural resources survey will be completed before any ground disturbing activities begin. Approximately 95% of the area was cleared by SHPO on
8/18/92. Clearance is expected by 8/1/93 on the remaining 5% of the area.
RANGE RESOURCES
Change in Range None
Resource
Minor Im-
provement
Minor Im-
provement
Minor Im-
provement
Minor Im-
provement
Minor Im-
provement
Minor Im-
provement
11-48
Chapter SSI
Affected Environment
Changes Between the Draft and
Final
ill
1
Chapter Review
111
1
Forest Plan Goals and
Objectives
111
1
Soil Resources
SSi
1
Hydrology
SIS
5
Wetlands
SOI
6
Fisheries
Hi
7
Resident Fisheries
ill
8
Anadromous Fisheries
III
8
Fish Habitat
iBS
8
Biological Diversity
III
10
Timber Resource
in
16
Wildlife Resource
SSi
21
Threatened, Endangered and
Sensitive Species
III
24
Roadless Area Resource
III
26
Visual Resources
SIS
30
Recreation Resources
BSi
30
Air Quality
III
31
Range Resources
III
32
Transportation and Access
IBS
32
Mineral Resources
ill
33
Cultural Resources
III
33
Economic Efficiency
IIS
34
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter 119
CHAPTER III
AFFECTED ENVSRONMEMT
CHANGES BETWEEN THE DRAFT AND FINAL
1. Additional water quality data was collected
and discussed in the Hydrology and Fish-
eries sections.
2. A breakdown of wetland acreage by type is
included in the Wetland section.
3. The affected area and existing condition de-
scriptions for biological diversity have been
expanded. A map identifying the Moyer Sart
landscape area and it’s adjacent landscapes
has been included.
4. An old growth retention area map has been
included in the Final EIS.
CHAPTER REVIEW
This chapter describes the existing condition of the
environment that would be affected by the action
alternatives. It provides the baseline for comparison
of the effects on the environment that are disclosed
in Chapter IV. The existing environment of the area
affected by the proposed action is described in de-
tail in terms of specific resources and in the follow-
ing order: soils, hydrology, fisheries, vegetation,
wildlife, Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive
Species, roadless area, visuals, recreation, range,
transportation, minerals, cultural resources, air
quality, and economic efficiency.
The Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale is locat-
ed about 22 miles southwest of Salmon, Idaho (see
Figure 1-1, Chapter I). The area of analysis lies be-
tween the Woodtick Creek drainage on the north,
the Moyer Creek drainage on the west, Moyer Peak
on the south, and the Salmon River Mountain Road
(F. S. Road 020) on the east (Figure 1-2, Chapter I).
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The Forest Plan has established goals and objec-
tives that recognize and promote the intrinsic eco-
logical and economic values of all resources in the
Salmon National Forest. These goals will be for-
warded in this context by direction in the specific
resource areas. The goals for each resource area
are briefly outlined at the beginning of each section
below; for more information on Forest goals, the
reader is referred to Chapter II of the Forest Plan.
SOILS
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The direction or goal for soils is to: maintain soil
productivity, minimize man-caused soil erosion, and
maintain the integrity of associated ecosystems;
identify at the project level filter strip requirements
adjacent to streams to reduce sediment delivery
from roads and other major surface disturbance;
maintain watershed conditions and water quality
such that downstream beneficial uses are protected
and compliance with Idaho State standards is
achieved; and continue the ongoing Forest Soil Re-
source Inventory (in conjunction with the Soil Con-
servation Service and the University of Idaho).
Affected Area
The Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale area is
bounded by Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek on
the northeast and southwest, respectively, and by
Panther Creek and Moyer Peak on the northwest
and southeast, respectively (see Figure 1-2, Chapter
I). Elevations in the project area range from 5,500
feet at Panther Creek to 9,000 feet at Moyer Peak.
Ill - 1
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
Existing Condition
The landtypes of the analysis area were mapped
during Order 3 Landtype Surveys performed in the
1970’s and field updated in 1990 (Landtype survey,
Project File). Landforms in the analysis area are
formed from quartzite parent material; their distribu-
tion is shown on the landtype map (Figure 111-1)
(Salmon National Forest, 1978) and briefly de-
scribed in Table 111-1. A complete description of
each landtype is located in Appendix C.
An Order 3 Soil Survey of the analysis area by a
Salmon National Forest soil scientist was completed
for the analysis area in 1981 (Soil Survey Report,
Project File). Soil parent material has been mapped
as quartzite but is actually phyllite, a type of meta-
morphosed quartzite (U.S.F.S., 1981). The rocks
consist of light gray to greenish-gray laminated
siltite, argillite, and thinly bedded, cross-laminated
quartzite (Connor and Evans, 1986). The phyllite is
foliated, moderately metamorphosed, finely tex-
tured, and produces soils that have a higher clay
and silt content than soils formed from true quartzite
parent material. The amount of clay in the rock
varies throughout the sale area. In one area of high
clay content, located in the south side of the ridge
between Little Woodtick Creek and Woodtick Creek,
the phyllite contains 25 to 30 percent clay.
Table 811-1 : Landtypes In the Moyer Salt Analysis Area*
Landtype Number
Description
III Q109
Cryic Ridgeiands in Quartzite, Moist Sites
III Ql09a
Cryic Ridgeiands in Quartzite, Moist to Dry Sites
III Ql09as-1
Weakly Dissected Cryic Mountain Slopes In Quartzite
III QlQ9b
Moderately Dissected Cryic Mountain Slopeland in Quartzite, Moist Sites
III Q109b-r
Moderately Dissected, Rocky, Cryic Mountain Slopeland in Quartzite
III Q109c
Strongly Dissected Cryic Mountain Slopeland in Quartzite, Moist Sites
III Ql09d
Cryic Headlands in Quartzite, Moist to Wet Sites
III QllOd
Steep Rocky Cirque Headwall in Quartzite
III Qllla
Weakly Dissected Glacial Troughlands in Quartzite, Moist Sites
III Q1 1 1as-1
Weakly Dissected Glacial Troughlands in Quartzite, Cold and Dry Sites
III Qllla-R
Rocky Weakly Dissected Glacial Troughlands in Quartzite, Cold and Dry
Sites
III Qllld
Steep Glaciated Headlands in Quartzite (up to 20 percent rock outcrop)
III Q120a-R
Weakly Dissected, Rocky Mountain Slopeland in Quartzite
III Q120as-1
Weakly Dissected Mountain Slopelands in Quartzite, Warm and Dry Sites
III Q120bn
Moderately Dissected Mountain Slopelands in Quartzite, Cold and Moist
Sites
III Q1 20c
Strongly Dissected Mountain Slopelands in Quartzite, Cool and Moist
Sites
III Ql20d
Steep Timbered Headlands, Moist to Wet Sites
III Q124n
Steep Timbered Canyonlands in Quartzite
III 0124s
Steep Canyonland in Quartzite, Hot and Dry Sites
* Source: Salmon Uplands Section Composite Book, Section III, Landtypes, Salmon National Forest, March,
1978.
Ill -2
e/iborf
T19N
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Draft E1S
Chapter ill
Soils in the analysis area have been identified
through soil mapping and are classified as: Typic
Cryoborolls, sandy-skeletal, mixed (consists of a
loamy topsoil over a sandy loam to loamy-sand sub-
soil); Typic Cryochrepts, loamy-skeletal, mixed and
Argic Pachic Cryoborolls, loamy-skeletal mixed
(consist of a loam topsoil' over a sandy or clay loam
or loam subsoil). Other possible soils found within
the landtypes in the analysis area are: Typic Cry-
orthents, loamy-skeletal, mixed; Lithic Cryochrepts,
loamy-skeletal, mixed; Typic Cryoborolls, loamy-
skeletal, mixed; and Lithic Cryoborolls,
loamy-skeletal, mixed (USDA - SCS, 1975).
Soil textures throughout the analysis area are gen-
erally loamy on the surface (Soil Survey, 1 977 and
1981). Lower horizons range from loamy sands to
clay loams, with loamy sands to sandy loams pre-
dominant. The upper 12 inches of the soil horizon
typically consists of darkly colored soil, rich in or-
ganic matter, which grades with depth to a reddish-
brown or light brown color in the lower horizons.
Clay content in some subsoils ranges as high as 30
percent. A clay accumulation horizon (Btl) com-
monly occurs between 20 and 40 inches depth, and
the clay content below this horizon decreases.
Coarse fragments (gravel, cobbles, and stones) are
common throughout the soil profiles throughout the
entire analysis area. Cobbles make up about 35
percent of the volume of the soil profiles that were
inventoried during soil surveys performed in the
area (Soil Survey, 1 977 and 1 981). Gravel content is
highest in sandy soils with low clay contents and
make up about 60 percent of the volume in the
samples tested. The soils are generally deep
throughout the analysis area, although rock out-
crops, talus slopes, and shallow soils occur locally.
One area of rock outcropping is located along
Woodtick Creek where the proposed road (the ex-
tension of F.S. Road 1 06) crosses the creek.
Soils throughout the area are generally quite stable,
although some areas of slight rilling were noted.
This rilling is probably due to the higher sand and
fine gravel content rather than clay content. The
bedrock character of the project area, composed of
laminated siltite, argillite, and cross-bedded
quartzite, dictates a low natural sediment rate for the
area.
Parameters of soil stability and erosion and mass
wasting potential due to road construction or other
management activities were estimated during the
soil survey and are shown in Table 111-2).
Table SSS-2: Soil Erosion and Mass Stability Characteristics in the Moyer Sait Timber Sale Analysis
Area
Erosion Potential
Degree
Inherent Erosion Hazard
Low to moderate (high on steep slopes)
Debris slide potential
Very low to moderate
Slump hazard
Very low to low
Surface creep hazard
Very low to moderate
Potential to create sediment
Very low on gently sloping topography, moderate
on steeper slopes
Mass stability (of cut and fill slopes)
Good; occasional failures may occur on steep slopes
or where groundwater is encountered
Erosion potential (fill slopes)
Low, if revegetated
Erosion potential (cut slopes)
Moderate to high due to steepness of slopes, shallow
soil, low moisture content, poor revegetation, and
aspect.
III -4
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
HYDROLOGY
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The water management goal is to maintain water-
shed conditions and water quality such that down-
stream beneficial uses are protected and compli-
ance with State standards is achieved.
Affected Area
The analysis area for hydrology is the Woodtick
Creek and Moyer Creek drainages. Woodtick Creek
and Moyer Creek are tributaries of Panther Creek.
Salt Creek and "Perm" Creek are small perennial
streams that are tributaries of Moyer Creek.
Existing Condition
The Moyer Creek drainage is approximately 39.2
mi2 with an average annual flow of 1 9 cubic feet per
second (cfs). The mean monthly flows in this stream
vary from a low of 6 cfs during the fall-winter period
to about 77 cfs during snowmelt. The headwaters of
Moyer creek are in U-shaped, steep-sided glaciated
valley bottoms. Based upon past watershed inven-
tories the stream channel stability in upper Moyer
Creek is generally good. About one mile above the
South Fork of Moyer Creek the main Moyer Creek
valley bottom opens up into a wider flat-floored val-
ley. Two unnamed V-shaped, high gradient streams
enter Moyer Creek in this reach. Downstream to
about Salt Creek, Moyer Creek remains in a gentle
gradient, flat-floored valley bottom. In general
stream channel stability is good in this reach. Below
Salt Creek to the confluence with Panther Creek,
Moyer Creek is in a moderate gradient, steep sided,
V-shaped valley bottom. Stream channel stability is
generally fair to good in this reach. Three small
parallel drainages enter Moyer Creek within the
analysis area below Moyer basin. They include Salt
Creek, Pete’s Gulch, and "Perm" Creek. These
drainages are in very high gradient, steep sided,
V-shaped valley bottoms. Stream channel stability
in these drainages is generally good.
The Woodtick Creek drainage is approximately 16
mi2 with an average annual flow of 9 cfs. The mean
monthly flows in this stream vary from a fall-winter
low of 3 cfs to 36 cfs during snowmelt. The headwa-
ters of Woodtick Creek are also in very high gradi-
ent, U-shaped valley bottoms. These valleys were
formed by glaciation which resulted in some side
walls being nearly vertical. Below the headwaters,
the valley bottom is V-shaped and steep sided.
Stream channel stability in this drainage is generally
fair to good.
Panther Creek and its tributaries above Blackbird
Creek have been designated by the State of Idaho
as having the following Designated Water Uses: Do-
mestic Water Supply, Agricultural Water Supply,
Cold Water Biota, Salmonid Spawning, Primary
Contact Recreation, and Secondary Contact Recre-
ation. Currently none of the streams within the anal-
ysis area are used as a source of domestic water.
The primary existing beneficial water uses are for
cold water biota, salmonid spawning, and sec-
ondary contact recreation. The specific standards
for these designated beneficial uses are spelled out
in the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Wa-
ter Quality Standards and Wastewater Treatment
Requirements. In addition to the State Water Quality
Standards, the Salmon National Forest Plan states
that watershed condition and water quality will be
maintained such that downstream beneficial water
uses are protected.
Water quality data was collected on Moyer Creek
and Woodtick Creek during 1992. The following pa-
rameters were evaluated; water temperature, car-
bon dioxide, hardness and alkalinity (as Calcium
Carbonate), acidity, pH, dissolved oxygen, sulfate,
phosphate, nitrate, and specific conductivity.
Maximum and minimum stream temperatures
recorded at the mouth of Woodtick Creek between
June and October, 1992 ranged from 36 to 61 de-
grees Fahrenheit. Maximum and minimum stream
temperatures recorded at the mouth of Moyer Creek
for the same period ranged from 32 to 54 degrees
Fahrenheit. (See Fish Habitat and Water Quality,
Chapter III).
Dissolved oxygen concentrations ranged from 9 to
1 1 milligrams/liter (mg/I same as parts per million)
for both Woodtick and Moyer Creeks. These con-
centrations met the standards for Cold Water Biota
and Salmonid Spawning specified in the State of
Idaho Water Quality Standards (IDAPA 1 6.01 .2000).
The pH values measured ranged from 7.5 to 8.0 for
Woodtick Creek and 7.0 to 7.7 for Moyer Creek.
These values are within the desired pH range of 6.5
to 9.0 for Cold Water Biota and Salmonid Spawning
(IDAPA 16.01.2000).
Ill - 5
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter 19!
Alkalinity as Calcium Carbonate was in the range of
35 to 105 mg/I on both streams, while carbonate
hardness ranged between 30 and 70 mg/I. Alkalini-
ties and hardness are consistent with other streams
and rivers within the area.
The total phosphorus concentrations ranged from 0
to .16 mg/I on Moyer Creek and 0 to.2 mg/1 on
Woodtick Creek. The nitrate nitrogen concentra-
tions were from 0 to .02 mg/I on Moyer Creek and
Woodtick Creek. Sulfate concentrations ranged be-
tween 5.5 and 8.0 mg/I on both streams. The nitro-
gen and sulfate levels are well below the maximum
concentrations for drinking water standards.
Sediment core sampling on Woodtick Creek in 1 992
revealed a mean of 1 5%
fines-by-depth at likely spawning sites. This value
meets the Forest Plan objectives of less than 20%
fine sediment for anadromous fish spawning habi-
tat.
In 1988 the Tick Creek Timber Sale was harvested
in the Woodtick Creek drainage. Twenty three units
totalling 543 acres were harvested in this sale. Of
this total, 1 2 units totalling 252 acres were cut in the
drainage of Little Woodtick Creek, a small, intermit-
tent stream that is a tributary of Woodtick Creek.
This harvest acreage was 23 percent of the entire
drainage. Post sale evaluation in the spring of 1991
showed stream sedimentation in Little Woodtick
Creek in the low-gradient depositional areas of the
channel. Further evaluation of the drainage showed
that the deposited sediment came from stream
bank and bed erosion. Surface erosion of the log-
ging units and roads was not contributing to the
sediment deposited in Little Woodtick Creek. The
erosion appears to have been caused by increased
snowmelt runoff as a result of harvesting a signifi-
cant portion (23 percent) of the drainage. Though
the area was harvested in 1988 the runoff in the
spring of 1991 was the first "near normal" runoff
since the drainage was harvested.
Streamflow measurements on numerous streams
on the Forest in the spring of 1991 showed
snowmelt runoff levels near or at normal. No bank
erosion similar to that observed in Little Woodtick
Creek was observed on other streams measured on
the Forest.
Since Little Woodtick Creek is a small intermittent
stream that does not support a fishery, the stream
sedimentation observed should not adversely im-
pact fisheries. Woodtick Creek, because of its
greater flow, should be able to transport the sedi-
ment delivered by Little Woodtick. No significant
stream sedimentation is anticipated in Woodtick
Creek as a result of the channel erosion in Little
Woodtick Creek.
WETLANDS
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The Forest Plan goals and objectives for riparian
zones (that include riparian wetlands) specify that
these zones shall be managed in a manner compat-
ible with protection of water quality and fisheries
habitat. Management of other wetland areas such
as isolated wetlands and wet meadows is not
specifically addressed in the Forest Plan, although
the maintenance of all ecosystems and habitats on
the Forest is mandated. Management of wetlands
also falls under the jurisdiction of the Army Corp of
Engineers under section 404 of the Clean Water
Act, and several other Federal manuals and execu-
tive orders provide further direction.
Affected Area
Wetlands in the analysis area were identified within
a corridor encompassing all the proposed roads
and cutting units. Their identification was based up-
on field reviews of the proposed activities and aerial
photo identification. A documentation of the Wet-
lands Analysis Methodology is found in the Project
File.
Existing Condition
Several types of wetlands are found in the analysis
area: 1) riparian stringer wetlands; 2) isolated wet-
lands derived from springs and seeps; and 3) wet
meadows.
Riparian stringer wetlands: The predominate wet-
lands in the area are riparian wetlands. Approxi-
mately 30 miles of riparian stringer wetlands are
located in the affected area. These wetlands have
variable widths ranging from several feet to over one
hundred feet. The predominant wetlands in the area
are riparian spruce wetlands. These wetlands are
found adjacent to Woodtick Creek and its tribu-
taries. This wetland type is characterized by an En-
glemann spruce ( Picea engelmannii) overstory. In
III - 6
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
addition, aspen ( Populus tremuloides), alder (Alnus
incana) and/or {A.sinuata ), and water birch ( Betula
occidentalis) may be present. The understory often
includes red osier dogwood ( Cornus stolonifera),
Woods rose ( Rosa woodsii), elderberry ( Sambucus
canadensis), gooseberry ( Ribes inerme), and thim-
bleberry ( Rubus parviflora).
Isolated Wetlands: Approximately 15 acres of iso-
lated wetlands have been identified in the area. Be-
cause of the dense forest canopy in most of the area
these wetland types are difficult to locate and the
actual acreage probably exceeds the 15 acres iden-
tified by a significant amount. Several types of isolat-
ed wetlands derived from springs and seeps are
found in the area. One type is characterized by an
alder overstory. A low cover of huckleberry ( Vaccini -
um globulare) is often present along with honey-
suckle ( Lonicera involucrata). Another isolated wet-
land type is characterized by willow ( Salixspp .) with
an understory of sedge ( Carex spp.). Both of these
isolated wetlands types may also have a scattered
overstory of aspen. These types of wetlands are
often used for elk wallows.
Wet Meadows: Several types of wet meadows are
also found in the project area. Wet meadows are
found at the head of an unnamed tributary to
Woodtick Creek and at the headwaters of Salt
Creek. Approximately 1 4 acres of wet meadow have
been identified in the analysis area. The vegetation
communities in these wetlands are dominated by
sedge, marshmarigold ( Caltha leptosepala), and
smooth woodrush ( Luzula glabrata).
Wet meadows are also found along the upper Salt
Creek drainage. The predominate vegetation in this
wetland type is willow with an herbaceous understo-
ry of sedge and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa praten-
sis).
The wetlands found within the project area are rela-
tively common. The kinds of wetlands and vegeta-
tive communities associated with them are not re-
stricted or unique to the area.
Past activites that have impacted existing wetlands
are very limited in the project area. Road #107
crosses a riparian spruce wetland on Woodtick
Creek and several other smaller stringer riparian
wetlands. These existing stream crossings have not
had any significant adverse impacts to wetlands. A
jeep trail below Moyer Peak crosses a narrow ripari-
an spruce wetland. There is no fill or culvert at this
crossing, consequently the jeep trail is boggy in this
location, though impacts to the wetland are minor.
FISHERIES
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The fisheries management goal is to maintain
aquatic habitat capability at a level sufficient to meet
state and federal water quality and species produc-
tion goals for both resident and anadromous fish-
eries. Additionally, the Forest Plan states that
wildlife habitat of sufficient quantitiy and quality shall
be provided that will sustain target populations of
economically important management indicator
species and that will at least maintain minimum pop-
ulations for all other management indicator species
(all trout and anadromous fish are management in-
dicator species).
Affected Streams
The proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale analysis area
encompasses portions of the Woodtick Creek and
Moyer Creek watersheds. Within the Woodtick
Creek drainage system proposed activities have the
potential to impact mainstem Woodtick Creek and
the lower reach of Goodluck Creek. Both streams
are perennial and possess sufficient flow volume
and aquatic habitat capability to support substantial
fisheries resources. The analysis area also encom-
passes an unnamed, largely intermittent tributary
stream which enters Woodtick Creek approximately
1.7 miles downstream of the mouth of Goodluck
Creek (Township 19 N, Range 19 E, Section 3) (Fig-
ure 11-1).
Within the Moyer Creek drainage the analysis area
encompasses Salt Creek and an unnamed perenni-
al stream locally known as "Perm* Creek, which joins
Moyer Creek in Township 1 9 N, Range 1 8 E, Section
24. Salt Creek is of sufficient size to provide supple-
mental spawning and/or rearing habitat to fisheries
resources in the Moyer Creek drainage and may
support a minor resident population through its mid
reaches. The smaller “Perm" Creek provides only
marginal spawning or rearing capabilities in its low-
ermost reach. Specific alternatives also encompass
portions of the Pete’s Gulch drainage, which is not
believed to support fish life.
Ill - 7
Moyer Sail Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter II!
Resident Fisheries
The mainslem reaches of Woodtick Creek and Moy-
er Creek both support well-established populations
of resident salmonids. Bull trout (Dolly Varden), a
Forest Service Intermountain Region Vertebrate
Sensitive Species (VSS) and Idaho Department of
Fish and Game Species of Special Concern (SSC),
are known to be present in both streams, along with
resident populations of rainbow trout (Buram et al,
1 990). Mountain whitefish additionally utilize main-
stem habitats within Moyer Creek (Species List, Ap-
pendix D). Idaho Department of Fish and Game
management prescriptions for the two streams calls
for a “wild trout" resident fishery supported by natu-
ral production (Idaho Department of Fish and
Game, 1991).
Resident trout production capabilities of Woodtick
Creek and Moyer Creek are each estimated at 40
pounds of fish per surface acre (May, 1985). Main-
stem Moyer Creek, with an existing road paralleling
approximately half its length, receives significant
fishing pressure during the summer months. An-
gling opportunities in Woodtick Creek, by contrast,
are accessed only by foot or horseback from Pan-
ther Creek via the Woodtick Trail, which diverges
from the stream below the analysis area.
Anadromous Fisheries
The Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek drainages
are components of the Panther Creek drainage sys-
tem, which was historically a major producer of both
spring/summer Chinook salmon and summer steel-
head (Reiser, 1986). Utilization of Panther Creek
and its tributaries by anadromous salmonids began
to decline in the 1940s, however, and has been
precluded since the 1960s by chemical pollution of
mid and lower mainstem waters that is attributable
to operation of the Blackbird Mine (Reiser, 1986,
Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 1 965). Despite
these mainstem water quality problems Panther
Creek and its historically utilized tributaries, includ-
ing Moyer and Woodtick Creeks, continue to be
regarded as potentially viable producers of anadro-
mous fish (Northwest Power Planning Council,
1988). The Forest Plan calls for continued manage-
ment directed toward anadromous stocks in
anticipation of correction of mine drainage prob-
lems and recovery of mainstem water quality (USDA
Forest Service, 1 988). Idaho Department of Fish and
Game management prescriptions for the two
streams calls for a preservation management strat-
egy for anadromous fish stocks, which maintains a
harvest closure and may supplement natural re-
cruitment with possible stockings of fry or finger-
lings (Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 1991).
Anadromous production capability within the
Woodtick Creek system has been estimated at
1 ,300 steelhead smolts annually. Annual production
capabilities in the Moyer Creek system have been
estimated at 7,300 steelhead smolts and 36,700 chi-
nook salmon smolts (Northwest Power Planning
Council, 1988).
Within the lower portion of the analysis area (Town-
ship 19 N, Range 19 E, Section 4), Woodtick Creek
is a moderate gradient B type channel (Rosgen,
1 985) with an average width greater than 1 2 feet.
The stream exhibits a diverse variety of microhabi-
tats produced largely as a result of an abundance
of large woody debris within the channel. Lateral
scour pools and dammed pools with water depths
of up to three feet are common and provide abun-
dant adult rearing habitat. Numerous shallow edge-
water areas and backwater pools contribute to pro-
vide dispersed rearing habitat for juvenile life
stages.
Stream substrates in this area are dominated by
angular quartzite rubble, with smaller gravel accu-
mulations behind obstructions which provide small
pockets of spawning habitat. Clean gravels that are
relatively free of fine-grained sediment reflect the
largely undisturbed nature of this portion of the
drainage. Sediment core sampling conducted dur-
ing the 1992 field season revealed a mean of 15.0
percent fines-by-depth at likely steelhead spawning
sites. This level of substrate fines is among the low-
est value recorded for Salmon National Forest
streams, falling well below Forest Plan standards
and guidelines of less than 20.0 percent fines for
anadromous fish spawning habitat and less than
28.7 percent for resident fish spawning habitat. De-
spite a low bank rock content, excellent streambank
stability is afforded by a well-established carpet of
mosses extending to the water’s edge. Stream-
banks show no evidence of past ungulate damage.
In this reach, tall Englemann spruce within the valley
bottom provide over 40 percent midday stream
shading and up to 75 percent morning and after-
Fish Habitat and Water Quality
Woodtick Creek Drainage
III - 8
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
noon shading. Minor amounts of supplemental
shade are provided by understory vegetation.
An existing 60-inch culvert on Road #107 in the
lower portion of the analysis area (Township 20 N,
Range 19 E, Section 32) currently poses a barrier to
upstream anadromous and resident fish passage
under high water conditions.
Within Township 19 N, Range 19 E, Section 3, a
large blowdown event has removed most of the tall
valley bottom spruce, reducing stream shading to
less than 10 percent through a quarter-mile-long
reach. Shade canopy in this area is provided inter-
mittently by 1 0 to 20 foot tall subalpine fir, with the
larger accumulations of downfall providing localized
shade from direct sun.
Above the blowdown area stream shading of up to
70 percent is restored by a dense spruce canopy.
Stream character and aquatic habitat in this reach
is similar to that in the lower area, although average
stream width is reduced to approximately six to
eight feet. Dammed and lateral scour pools as much
as two feet deep are abundant.
Goodluck Creek displays significant channel migra-
tion at its confluence with Woodtick Creek. Braiding
of the stream due to flow obstruction by downfall
materials has resulted in an undefined channel
mouth, which drops three vertical feet into the
Woodtick Creek channel. No pool has formed at this
confluence, effectively precluding upstream pas-
sage from Woodtick Creek into Goodluck Creek
during low flow periods.
Above their confluence Woodtick and Goodluck
Creeks are about equal in size and character, with
average stream widths of approximately five to six
feet and abundant debris-formed pools as much as
one and one-half feet deep. Substrate materials in
both streams in this area become dominated by
cobbles with minor amounts of gravel. Within 100
yards of its mouth, Goodluck Creek exhibits a short
but sharp increase in stream gradient before once
again flattening out in the vicinity of the proposed
road crossing. Above the confluence of Goodluck
Creek, Woodtick generally retains the step cascade
and high gradient riffle characteristics of the stream
below the confluence, but displays significant re-
gions of channel braiding which may define the up-
per limit of fish passage.
Maximum and minimum stream temperatures
recorded at the mouth of Woodtick Creek between
June and October 1992 ranged from 36 to 61 de-
grees fahrenheit. Beneficial use temperature criteria
for Coldwater Biota (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, Q4.c) was
met during all months sampled, and temperature
criteria for Salmonid Spawning (IDAPA
16.01. 2250, 05.c) was met for the entire fall spawn-
ing and incubation period, and all but the very end
of the spring spawning and incubation period iden-
tified for waters of the Salmon National Forest (Ida-
ho Department of Water Resources, 1 975). The brief
exceedence of Salmonid Spawning beneficial use
criteria to a temperature maxima of 61 degrees dur-
ing the latter half of June is most likely attributable
to an unseasonable transitory warm spell, as max-
ima for the July sampling period fell back to 50
degrees. pH readings taken during this same June
through October sampling period ranged between
7.5 and 8.0, falling well within the range of 6.7 to 8.2
which encompasses 90 percent of the freshwater
areas harboring good aquatic faunas (Leitritz and
Lewis, 1976), as well as within the pH criteria range
for both Cold Water Biota (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 04.b)
and Salmonid Spawning (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 05.b).
Dissolved oxygen content at the mouth of Woodtick
Creek also exceeded the 6 milligram per liter/90
percent saturation beneficial use criteria for both
Cold Water Biota (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 04.a) and
Salmonid Spawning (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 05.a)
throughout the sampling period, ranging from 9 to
1 1 milligrams per liter.
Additional information on Woodtick Creek water
quality is presented within the Chapter III Hydrology
discussion.
The benthic macroinvertebrate communities of
Woodtick and Goodluck Creeks in the proposed
sale area are comprised primarily of stonefly and
mayfly species, indicating both cold, well oxygenat-
ed water of good chemical quality, and clean sub-
strates relatively free of sediment deposition. Cad-
disfly species appear to be somewhat
underepresented in these streams (Rose,
1989-1990; 1991).
Moyer Creek Drainage
Salt Creek and "Perm' Creek are both small perenni-
al streams whose fisheries habitats are largely limit-
ed to their lowermost reaches and where low gradi-
ent gravel-bottomed riffles and small pools provide
III - 9
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft ESS
Chapter BUI
supplemental spawning and nursery habitat to
mainstem Moyer Creek fish populations. Although
nursery habitats could be used by both resident
and anadromous stocks, spawning habitats in the-
se lower reaches are more suitable for resident fish.
Additional minor habitat for resident fish popula-
tions may occur in the middle reaches of Salt Creek.
The existing culverts near the mouths of Salt and
"Perm” Creeks have not been identified as passage
barriers. Spawning and rearing reaches above the-
se culverts appear to be more accessible to the
spring-spawning rainbow trout than to fall-
spawning bull trout, due to improved passage con-
ditions during the spring runoff period. Low flow
access is particularly questionable in “Perm” Creek,
which exhibits significant braiding immediately
above the culvert.
Although not utilized since the 1960’s by Chinook,
the Moyer Creek drainage has been identified as
the most important historic salmon spawning tribu-
tary of the Panther Creek drainage system (Reiser,
1986). While providing relatively minor amounts of
supplemental habitat to the Moyer Creek system,
both Salt Creek and "Perm" Creek serve important
contributory functions to the maintenance of water
quality within the larger Moyer Creek system.
Maximum and minimum stream temperatures
recorded at the mouth of Moyer Creek between
June and October 1 992 ranged from 32 to 54 de-
grees fahrenheit. Beneficial use temperature criteria
for Coldwater Biota (IDAPA 1 6. 01. 2250, 04. c) was
met during all months sampled, but temperature
criteria for Salmonid Spawning (IDAPA
16.01. 2250, 05.c) was exceeded during both the
end of the spring spawning and incubation period
and the early and mid portions of the fall spawning
and incubation period identified for waters of the
Salmon National Forest (Idaho Department of Water
Resources, 1975). The brief exceedence of
Salmonid Spawning beneficial use temperature cri-
teria during the latter half of June is most likely
attributable to an unseasonable transitory warm
spell, while the exceedence during July, August,
and September reflects the more open nature of the
Moyer Creek stream channel, which exacerbated
drought-induced conditions of summer low flow
warming. pH readings taken during this same June
through October sampling period ranged between
7.0 and 7.7, falling well within the range of 6.7 to 8.2
which encompasses 90 percent of the freshwater
areas harboring good aquatic faunas (Leitritz and
Lewis, 1976), as well as within the pH criteria range
for both Cold Water Biota (IDAPA 16.01 .2250,04. b)
and Salmonid Spawning (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 05.b).
Dissolved oxygen content at the mouth of Moyer
Creek also exceeded the 6 milligram per liter/90
percent saturation beneficial use criteria for both
Cold Water Biota (IDAPA 16.01 .2250, 04. a) and
Salmonid Spawning (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 05.a)
throughout the sampling period, ranging from 9 to
1 1 milligrams per liter.
Additional information on Moyer Creek water quality
is presented within the Chapter III Hydrology dis-
cussion.
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Existing Environment
Biological diversity has to do with the diversity of life
in all its forms and levels of organization (Hunter
1 990). Biological diversity is not so much a matter of
maximizing the total number of types of organisms
in an area, as it is maintaining the number and
variety of plants and animals that historically or per-
haps more correctly, ecologically, should occur
there. Considering the complexity of natural ecosys-
tems it is obvious that biological diversity is an ex-
tremely complicated subject. Two issues have lead
to a concern that a reduction in biological diversity
has occurred: an accelerated extinction rate for ani-
mals and plants and an accompanying decrease in
wildlife and plant habitat world-wide.
Since the number of plant and animal species in-
habiting native habitats is so great, it is impossible
to accurately measure or predict the effects of activi-
ties on every species in an area. However, one way
to safe-guard biological diversity is to identify the
ecosystems that occur in a landscape and then to
select a management scheme that, does not elimi-
nate ecosystems or change how they function. The
assumption made in this approach, is that if ecosys-
tems are intact, and vegetation associations are not
greatly different in composition or proportions than
those that occurred naturally in a landscape, then
the overall biological diversity of the area will not be
disrupted. A second management approach, which
preserves habitat for rare species may also be nec-
essary because these plants and animals require
special habitat management.
Ill - 10
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
Diversity in the Moyer Salt Landscape (see Figure
MI-2 Landscape Boundary Map) is best understood
by asking three different questions: 1) how unique
is this landscape in the region; 2) how unique is it in
comparison to landscapes elsewhere on the
Salmon National Forest; and 3) how unique are the
various landscape components within the land-
scape?
REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Ecosystem is defined as '...all the interacting popu-
lations of plants, animals and microorganisms occu-
pying an area, plus their physical environment"
(Hunter 1990). The term has been applied to areas
the size of a rotten log, as well as, areas the size of
continents. In this document, we will use the term in
both a regional and a landscape sense, but we
qualify the term in each instance.
The Salmon National Forest is located within the
north central part of the intermountain west. Due to
the latitude, landforms and climatic patterns in the
region, there is a diversity of landscape types repre-
sented in this large ecosystem. Even considering
this variety, the landscapes which compose the
Salmon National Forest are similar to those in the
rest of the region in that they are predominated by
mountainous terrain covered largely by conifer for-
est vegetation at higher elevations. In addition, they
share similar climatic patterns and a common his-
toric disturbance agent, fire.
Although some plant and animal species change
geographically within the area, many of the plant/
animal communities which are found on the Salmon
National Forest can be located throughout the re-
gion. The major difference regionally appears to be
in the proportions of the various plant communities
(e.g. one area will have proportionally more lodge-
pole pine than Douglas-fir communities while the
reverse may be true, elsewhere). These differences
reflect the varying aspects, elevations and latitudes
in the region. As might be expected the areas which
are close to the Salmon National Forest are more
similar ecologically than the landscapes and
ecosystems which are farther away.
FOREST PERSPECTIVE
The Salmon National Forest itself has a number of
landscapes which vary ecologically in the plant
communities which occur there. Conifer dominated
plant communities are the most common on the
Forest and total about 77% of the land area outside
the FCRONR (Frank Church - River of No Return)
Wilderness. The remainder (23%) is non-forested.
The conifer dominated vegetation associations that
occur on the Forest generally fall into one of 6 types.
See Figure III-3 for conifer vegetation types and their
proportional occurrence on the Salmon National
Forest.
In addition to the general vegetation types, a range
of forest structures (expressed mainly as ages of the
dominant trees) are present for each of the forest
community types. These structural sizes include:
seedlings, saplings, poles, immature (5 to 9 inches
diameter) and mature (greater than 9 inches diame-
ter).
The rarest animal and plant species on the Salmon
National Forest are those listed regionally or nation-
ally as Threatened, Endangered, Proposed and
Sensitive (TEPS). Of the 36 "listed" species which
occur on, or are suspected to occur on, the Forest
there are: 5 fish (3 Sensitive), 1 amphibian (Sensi-
tive), 13 mammals and birds (10 Sensitive) and 17
plants (all Sensitive).
111-11
s, print/
COBALT-JeJl^C^ER district i A/
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FAWN CREEK
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BOUNDARY
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FIGURE III- 2
LANDSCAPE BOUNDARY MAP
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
TABLE ill-3: CONIFER VEGETATION TYPES
Community type
% on the
Forest
Douglas-fir
20%
Ponderosa pine
7%
Lodgepole pine
21%
Mixed conifer§
6%
Non-Forested (various habitats, all with few or no trees/
acre)
23%
Low productivity (forest of mixed species)
17%
Other (highly erosive land, water, etc.)
6%
Total
100%
§ subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce or Lodgepole pine.
Generally, all of these conifer forest types are represented across the forest.
LANDSCAPE PERSPECTIVE
Community diversity
All of the landscapes which occur in the Salmon
River Mountain chain and in landscapes in
nearby mountain ranges are occupied by simi-
lar plant and animal associations. Generally, at
mid-elevations in each of these areas Douglas-
fir forests dominate the warm, dry sites and a
mixture of lodgepole pine and subalpine fir on
the cooler sites at higher elevations. However,
each landscape has a unique mix of aspects,
soil types and local climate which act to influ-
ence the presence or absence of individual
plants or the proportion and juxtaposition of the
individual communities represented.
The Moyer Salt Landscape is located on the
west side of the Salmon River Mountains. This
orientation affects the vegetation on the land-
scape in two obvious ways. First, the northeast
exposure reduces the amount and intensity of
the sun’s energy received at most sites in the
landscape. Second, the high crest of the
Salmon River Mountains acts to “wring-out"
moisture from the predominant western moving
storms, increasing annual precipitation as you
increase in elevation within the landscape. The
overall effect is a comparative increase in mois-
ture and decrease in temperature in this land-
scape. Other landscapes located on the west
side of the Salmon River Mountains share a
similar temperature and moisture regime.
The result of these local environmental condi-
tions is that at lower elevations non-forested
grass/shrub communities occur. Here white-
tailed jackrabbits, vesper sparrows and sage
thrashers are residents. As elevations increase
there is an accompanying increase in moisture
and as a result the mid-elevation slopes are
covered with conifer forest, principally Douglas-
fir trees. Intrusions of grass/shrub communities
are common at mid-slope on dry south slopes,
but at higher elevations, these breaks in conifer
habitat become less common and a mixture of
lodgepole pine and subalpine fir predominates.
The conifer forest is home to a wide variety of
wildlife species including deer and elk,
goshawks, three-toed woodpeckers and snow-
111 - 13
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
shoe hare. Near the Taylor Mountain Peak area,
the land becomes very steep and rocky and is
barren except for patches of scattered trees
and plants adapted to high elevations. Animals
like mountain goats, pikas, rosy finches and
hoary marmots are residents of this area.
This juxtaposition of different non-forested and
forested plant communities, both due to eleva-
tion and aspect, creates a diverse ecological
setting. In fact, 17 different ecosystems or
■patches" have been identified in the landscape.
Seven of these patches are different Douglas-fir
communities, 4 are mixed conifer (a mix of sub-
alpine fir, Engelmann spruce and/or lodgepole
pine) forest patches, 2 are lodgepole pine forest
patches, 3 non-productive (in a timber sense)
mixed conifer forest patch, one patch which is
open water, and one non-forested ecosystem
patch. It should be noted that the "non-forested”
patch is itself composed of many different com-
munities which have been lumped for the bene-
fit of this discussion. These communities range
from associations dominated by big sagebrush/
bluebunch wheatgrass to rock outcrops where,
lichens are the dominant vegetation.
Diversity in plant species and vegetation struc-
ture also occurs within each conifer forest asso-
ciation in the landscape. Here communities are
dominated by one of four major conifer types (or
a combination of several) and three different
age structures (see Table 111-4: Forested Ecoys-
tems). In fact, the only age structure normally
found in landscapes dominated by conifer com-
munities which is almost absent in the Moyer
Salt Landscape is the earliest serai stage -
seedlings and saplings. In the existing land-
scape the seedling and sapling forest structure
is only represented by approximately 1 % of the
landscape area.
Table III-4: Forested Ecosystems For the Landscape Level *
Community type
Total acres
% of the conifer
forested communities
% of the
land-
scape
Mature Douglas-fir
4,514
16
12.2
Immature Douglas-fir
7,991
28
20.3
Pole Douglas-fir
163
1
0.4
Seedling/sapling-DF
24
1
0.2
Mature Mix Conifer
2,334
9
6.4
Immature Mix Conifer
4,909
18
13.2
Poles Mix Conifer
5,475
20
14.8
Seedling/sap Mix Conif.
303
1
0.9
Immature Lodgepole
543
2
1.6
Poles Lodgepole
1,151
4
3.2
* A detailed discussion of the grasses, forbs, sedges, shrubs, and tree species that occur in any of
these forested plant associations is contained in Steel et al. (1981).
Ill - 14
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
Each community type (and perhaps structural
stage) has its own dependant animal species.
Some species are found in many different habi-
tats while others occur in specific plant commu-
nities which have reached certain structural
stages and are found nowhere else. Perhaps
the best example from the Moyer Salt Land-
scape of animals which use many different habi-
tats are elk and deer. These big game animals
can be found in most any habitat in the land-
scape since some communities are used for
foraging and others provide thermal or hiding
cover. Conversely, pine marten and pileated
woodpeckers usually occur only in mature
spruce/fir or Douglas-fir communities, respec-
tively.
The size of the area each patch occupies in the
Moyer Salt Landscape varies. The average is 86
acres (calculated for both forested and non-
forested patches) and the average forested
patch size is 131 acres. Forested patches for all
forest community types range in size from ap-
proximately 7 acres to 2,545 acres. There are
436 different patches in the Moyer Salt Land-
scape. Since the average patch size is 86 acres
and there are over 436 patches in the land-
scape it is apparent that the landscape is rela-
tively diverse.
Unique Habitats
Activities which reduce the amount of inherently
rare habitats or ecosystems in a landscape will
reduce landscape biological diversity commen-
surately. Two unique habitats which are of spe-
cial interest in the project area (south side of
Woodtick Creek and Salt Creek) are riparian
areas which have high biological diversity and
old growth habitats which are home to some
relatively rare wildlife species.
There are about 5,300 acres of old growth forest
in the project area (south-side of Woodtick and
Salt drainages. Much of this old growth is
Douglas-fir forest. Wildlife species that depend
on mature to old growth habitat in the Moyer
Salt Landscape include red cross-bills, northern
goshawks, boreal owls, western tanagers,
pileated woodpeckers and pine martens. In ad-
dition, other species which are less restrictive in
their habitat preference, like elk and deer, use
old or mature timber stands for thermal and
hiding cover in the landscape.
Wetlands are another unique habitat found in
the Moyer Salt Landscape. The wetlands occur-
ring in the landscape are vegetated by several
different plant communities including different
types of willow and sedge dominated associa-
tions. In addition, these wetlands are derived
from small ponds and springs, as well as, from
creeks of various sizes. This influences the
width and density of wetland vegetation pro-
duced. Even though wetlands make up a small
part of the landscape they are probably the
most productive vegetation types in this land-
scape in terms of plant biomass produced and
the number of wildlife species which use them
as primary habitat and travel corridors. For an
area of estimated direct effects (much smaller
than the landscape) of proposed roads and har-
vest areas, there is approximately 30 miles of
riparian stringer wetlands; 15 acres of isolated
wetlands and 14 acres of wet meadows. Wildlife
species that are restricted to wetlands in the
Moyer Salt Landscape include: yellow warblers,
willow flycatchers, the western jumping mouse,
northern water shrews, mink and beavers. In
addition, moose are a resident of wetlands in
the landscape.
Past timber management activities have had lit-
tle affect on existing wetlands in the area of
proposed timber activity. Existing Roads #107
crosses a riparian spruce wetland on Woodtick
Creek and several other smaller stringer ripari-
an wetlands. These crossings have not had any
serious effects to wetlands. A jeep trail below
Moyer Peak crosses a narrow riparian spruce
wetland and there is no bridge or culvert in
place to facilitate vehicle crossing. Conse-
quently, during the wet season the jeep trail is
boggy in this location, though impacts to the
wetland are minor.
Wildlife
Most of the animal and plant species that are
known to occur in the Moyer Salt Landscape are
common to landscapes elsewhere in the north-
ern part of the intermountain west (see species
list in Appendix D and E of the FEIS). The com-
mon game animals, furbearers, old growth de-
pendent birds and songbirds are listed in the
wildlife sections of this FEIS.
A loss in biological diversity should be most
evident in rare animal and plant species. There
111-15
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft E!S
Chapter Si!
are 12 species of regionally or nationally listed
Threatened, Endangered, Proposed or Sensi-
tive Species known or suspected to occur in the
Moyer Salt Landscape: northern Rocky Moun-
tain gray wolf, North American lynx, northern
goshawk, wolverine, western big-eared bat, bo-
real owl, northern th'ree-toed woodpecker, great
gray owl, spotted frog, Lemhi penstemon and
bull and western cutthroat trout. Of these
species, only the goshawk, lynx and bull and
cutthroat trout have been observed in the land-
scape. Habitat has been identified for spring
and summer Chinook salmon and steelhead
trout in the Moyer Salt Landscape, therefore,
the habitat could be affected by proposed ac-
tions which may occur in the landscape.
Wolves and Chinook salmon, are listed under
the Endangered Species Act as endangered
and threatened, respectively. Both were once
residents in the landscape and although some
potential exists that dispersing wolves use the
area it is doubtful that either of these animals
reside in the landscape today. The causes of
decline of each of these species are unrelated
to past or proposed timber management in the
Moyer Salt Landscape.
TIMBER RESOURCES
This section discusses the timber resources of
the analysis area in terms of: past timber har-
vest activities, fire history, and climatic events
that affect the condition of the stands at
present; suitable acres of timberland; site po-
tential: age-class distribution and condition
classes of the timber resource; insect and dis-
ease infestations; and fire management.
PAST ACTIONS THAT AFFECT THE
PRESENT CONDITION
Historic Fire Patterns
Both even-aged and uneven aged stands occur
throughout the analysis area in a mosaic pat-
tern. The current age and diameter distribution
and species composition result in part from the
area’s fire history. Evidence of fire is seen in the
form of burned snags, stumps, and fire scarred
trees. Additional evidence of more recent in-
tense fire activity in the lodgepole pine commu-
nity is seen in substantial acreages of pole-
sized lodgepole pine dominating the landscape
at the project level. Less intense fire levels have
occurred in the Douglas-fir community, as evi-
denced by fire-scarred overstory trees, minimal
amounts of down, woody debris, and various
distinct age distributions of trees.
Drought
Forests throughout Idaho have been experienc-
ing drought since 1 985. The effect of drought on
trees in the analysis area has been to reduce
health and vigor. Life processes, respiration,
photosynthetic products, and nutrient storage
are all reduced. As a result of reduced vigor,
resistance to disease and insect infestation is
lower and as a result, insect activity has in-
creased. If drought conditions persist it is likely
that loss of tree growth and tree mortality due to
various insects and diseases will continue or
increase.
Past Timber Harvest Activity
Previous timber harvest activity has occurred
within the Moyer Salt Timber Sale analysis area.
Area that were cut in the early 1 970’s have been
certified as fully stocked. Units that were cut
less than five years ago have not been certified
yet. Prescribed tree stocking and regeneration
certification is based on fifth year stocking
standards established in the Intermountain Re-
gion Reforestation Handbook and the Salmon
National Forest Plan that are adjusted for local
conditions.
Approximately 500 acres within the analysis
area were cutover in 1 973 and 1 974 in the Salt
Creek Timber Sale. Within the Douglas-fir com-
munity a diameter limit cut was done that re-
moved all trees greater than 12 inches DBH. In
1 977 approximately 250 acres of these cutover
areas that were understocked were scarified.
Post-sale timber stand exams were performed
in 1 985 and 1 990 and the stands were found to
be fully stocked and in need of treatment by
timber stand improvement techniques such as
overstory removal and thinning.
Within the lodgepole pine community approxi-
mately 128 acres were clearcut harvested in
1989 as part of the Tick Creek Timber Sale.
These units were comprised of mixed conifer
III - 16
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
stands that occur on the subalpine fir habitat
type that are similar to those found in the Moyer
Salt Timber Sale analysis area. Examinations to
determine third year stocking levels will be com-
pleted in the 1992 field season. Similar stands
that have been clearcut on the Cobalt Ranger
District have been successfully restocked within
five years. Stocking levels may be as high as
4,000 trees per acre.
Insects and Disease
A variety of forest insects and diseases are
known to exist in the analysis area. Their pres-
ence was detected during field exams and other
site visits and by aerial survey conducted by the
Forest Service’s Forest Pest Management divi-
sion. Some of these insects and diseases are
causing defoliation, reduced growth, or mortal-
ity in the stands. Others are present at levels
that are not significantly affecting the growth
and vigor of forest stands. Still other insects and
diseases pose a potential threat to the stands
unless measures are taken to prevent infesta-
tion.
Western Spruce Budworm ( Choristoneura occi-
dental is Freeman ): Light to moderate infestation
by western spruce budworm has occurred in
the analysis area. Douglas-fir trees are the pri-
mary hosts for this insect in this area, although
subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce trees are
also affected. Douglas-fir trees that grow on dry
sites are more heavily infested. The western
spruce budworms feeds on the current year
needles and terminal buds of these trees. It
overwinters in the overstory and then drops to
the understory trees. Because the younger
trees have a higher percent of young needles
than older trees, the overstory trees are gener-
ally slightly defoliated but understory hosts are
moderately to severely defoliated. Given the
present multi-storied structure of the host
stands, continued infestation and defoliation is
expected to result in reduced growth in the
overstory and potential mortality in the under-
story.
Lodgepole Pine Dwarf Mistletoe ( Arceuthobium
americanum ): Dwarf mistletoe is a parasitic
stem and needle pest that affects mostly lodge-
pole pine trees in the analysis area. Lodgepole
pine dwarf mistletoe is common throughout the
project area, and present infection levels are
moderate to high. Dwarf mistletoe plants cause
stem cankers or swelling of the branches and
stems of host trees. Significant height and di-
ameter reductions can occur in heavily infected
areas, especially in young seedling and sapling
stands. The most serious threat occurs when
regeneration is overtopped by an infected over-
story, and seed from the mistletoe can fall on
and infect the regeneration. Because lodgepole
pine is expected to be a significant component
in regenerated stands, the presence of lodge-
pole pine dwarf mistletoe could cause in-
creased mortality and reduced growth of the
regenerated stands if not adequately ad-
dressed in silvicultural treatments. Clearcutting
is the optimal treatment for these stands be-
cause no infected trees would remain on the
site to infect the regenerated trees.
Mountain Pine Beetle ( Dendroctonus pon-
derosae ): The mountain pine beetle flourishes
in stands of mature lodgepole pine, especially
in stands where the average age is greater than
eighty years. Within the lodgepole pine forest
community in the analysis area, about 98 per-
cent of the stands are comprised of lodgepole
pine trees that are more than 80 years old.
Therefore, stands in the area are highly suscep-
tible to infection. Not only are these stands old,
but they were previously attacked in the 1 930’s,
they are getting larger (diameters are again
approaching 9 or more inches), and tree vigor
is poor due to age and dwarf mistletoe infection.
Stands in similar condition are present in adja-
cent drainages, and if infection occurs in one
portion of these stands it could spread rapidly
throughout the entire area. If a mountain pine
beetle attack occurs, mortality may reach 50
percent or more of the lodgepole pine stands.
Effects would obvious: mortality would spread
quickly; for three to ten years the foliage would
turn red as the trees die; eventually they would
fall off and the forest would be comprised of
■gray ghost forest". Down and dead fuel accu-
mulations would build as the trees fall to the
ground, and risk of a stand-replacement fire
would be high.
A number of rating systems exist for evaluating
the susceptibility of lodgepole pine stands to
attack by mountain pine beetle. According to a
system devised by Amman et al (1977), which
considers latitude, elevation, and stand age, the
current rating for these stands is moderate. Giv-
III - 17
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
en the age and size conditions of these stands,
the history of insect infestations, and the poor
tree vigor, described above, it is reasonable to
assume that the susceptibiliy of these stands to
infestation is increasing.
Douglas-fir Beetle (Dendroctonus pseudotsug-
ae): Evidence of Doug!as-fir bark beetle can be
found throughout the project area in infestation
centers characterized by isolated clumps of one
to three dead or dying trees. Prolonged beetle
activity has resulted in patches up to one acre
in size of dead or dying trees. Douglas-fir trees
greater than 14 inches DBH and more than 100
years old are at high risk for bark beetle attack.
At present Douglas-fir stands are experiencing
low tree vigor and stress conditions brought
about by prolonged drought; under these con-
ditions, damage to smaller size and younger
age classes of Douglas-fir may occur.
the Forest Plan (Forest Plan, IV-37-40) (Table
111-5). These lands were allocated to timber man-
agement as a result of Forest Plan suitability
analysis and include:
1) Productive Forest land where the technology
is available that will ensure that timber produc-
tion will not result in irretrievable soil and water-
shed resource damage;
2) Lands where suitable 5-year regeneration
can be assured; and
3) Lands not withdrawn by legislative action
(wilderness areas, etc.) or not appropriate for
timber production (riparian areas, old-growth
retention stands, etc); and
Western Balsam Bark Beetle ( Dryocoetes con-
fusus Swaine): Evidence of western balsam
bark beetle can be found in the project area.
This pest seems to prefer subalpine fir that is
weekened by pathogenic fungi and/or drought
conditions. Patches of ten to twenty infected
trees were detected during the 1991 aerial de-
tection survey. The trees in these patches were
greater than 14 inches DBH. and more than 120
years old. Potential for increasing activity by the
insect should be monitored.
Other insect and Disease Problems: Various
root and heart rots are endemic in the area.
These conditions affect older stems and in-
crease susceptibility to windthrow, breakage,
and bark beetle attack. Potential for wider
infestation or additional damage is not known.
Suitable Timberland
4) Lands for which management direction indi-
cates that timber production is an appropriate
use of the area (Management Areas 3A-5A,
3A-5B, 3A-5C, 4A, 4A, 5A, 5B, 5C, and 8A).
Table 111-5: Timber Classifications of the
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Analysis Area
Classification
Acres
Suitable Timberland:
Unharvested
Harvested
10,664
628
Unsuitable Timberland:
Old Growth Protected *
Non-forest or Unproductive
Riparian Areas
1,524
2,129
415
Of the 1 5,360 acres in the analysis area, 1 1 ,292 * See Figure 111-3 for a map showing locations of
acres are in the suitable timber base defined in old growth retention stands.
II! - 18
elibort
T19N
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter IIS
Site Potential
Habitat types are useful for predicting the site
potential (or estimated yield capabilities, in cu-
bic feet of wood fiber per acre per year) of an
area (Steele et al.,"1981). Douglas-fir and sub-
alpine fir habitat types that would be harvested
in the analysis area generally have site poten-
tials similar to those shown in Table III-6 (Steele
et al., 1981). While yield capabilities in the area
are about average for the Forest (40-50 cubic
feet/acre/year), most stands are old and no
longer growing at a productive rate, and thus
are producing much less than this amount.
Table 111-6: Site Potentials for the Habitat
Types off the Moyer Salt Analysis Area*
Habitat Type
Site
Potential*
Douglas-fir/pinegrass
(PSME/CARU)
28-80**
Subalpine fir/pinegrass
(ALBA/CARU)
35-80**
Subalpine fir/grouse whortleber-
ry
(AIBA/VASC)
42-78**
Subalpine fir/sitka alder
(AIBA/ALSI)
35-80**
*from Steele et al., 1981, Appendix E-2
**net yield capability of Steele et al., measured
in ft of woody material/acre/year
Vegetative Age/Condltlon Distribution
The current age distribution of the timber
stands in the Moyer Salt Timber Sale analysis
area is shown in Table 111-7. Currently less than
5% of the forested areas in the analysis area are
in age class 1 or 2. The remaining 95% of the
stands in the analysis area are in age classes 4
and 5 (for Douglas-fir) and in 3 and 4 (for lodge-
pole pine). Lodgepole pine stands may be as
old as 1 20 to 1 40 years while Douglas-fir stands
may exceed 1 60 years old and be as old as 21 0
years.
Lodgepole pine and Douglas-fir in the analysis
area would be considered to be in a mature
condition class at approximately 80 and 120
years of age respectively. Thus, about 98 per-
cent of the analysis area is currently occupied
by only two condition classes, mature and
overmature/oid growth.
Fire, insects, diseases, timber harvesting and
other natural or man-caused disturbances typi-
cally will alter the distribution and abundance of
condition classes in an area. These processes
result in a mosaic pattern of mature forest,
younger forest, openings, and edges. Where
fire is excluded, however, such as in the Moyer
Salt Timber Sale analysis area, the area will typi-
cally be comprised of only one or two condition
classes.
Table SSI-7: Estimated Age Distribution for the Douglas-fir and Lodgepole Pine Forest
Communities
Douglas-fir Community
Lodgepole Pine Community
Age
Percent of Area
Acres
Percent of Area
Acres
0-39 years
12%
500ac
2%
128
ac
40-79 years
0
0
0
0
III - 20
r
Moyer Saif Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
Age
Percent of Area
Acres
Percent of Area
Acres
80-119 years
0
0
17%
1,500
ac
120-159 years
46%
1,892
ac
81%
7,064
ac
160+ years
42%
1,732
ac
0
0
Noxious Weeds
Several species of noxious weeds have been
spreading throughout the State of Idaho and
the Salmon National Forest over the past few
decades, causing a variety of concerns on both
agricultural and forested lands. Resources on
the Salmon National Forest lands that are af-
fected by noxious weeds include range, wildlife
habitat, biological diversity, including sensitive
plants, and recreation. On agricultural land crop
yields may be reduced and rangeland produc-
tivity may be affected. The Salmon National For-
est has established a weed control program
that utilizes appricaltion of chemical herbicides.
Noxious weeds, in particular knapweed (Cen-
taurea maculosa), are present elsewhere on the
Cobalt Ranger District. These weeds can be
transported by road building or timber harvest-
ing equipment, animals, private vehicles and on
clothing. There are currently no known infesta-
tions of knapweed in the analysis area.
WILDLIFE RESOURCE
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
Wildlife management direction includes provid-
ing habitat of sufficient quantity and quality to
sustain target populations of economically im-
portant management indicator species and to
at least maintain minimum viable populations of
all other management indicator species; im-
prove elk habitat to achieve a moderate in-
crease over current (1988) population levels
and to provide diverse habitat and elk security;
and to enhance fisheries habitat.
Affected Area
The area in which wildlife species would be di-
rectly affected by this proposal includes ap-
proximately 1 1 square miles of habitat located
north and west of Moyer Peak in the Woodtick
Creek and Moyer Creek drainages, both of
which are tributaries to Panther Creek (Figure
111-4).
Wildlife Species Considered
Wildlife species that occur in the analysis area
or whose habitat exists in the analysis area but
have not been sighted to date are shown on the
species list in Appendix D. Wildlife species con-
sidered in detail in this analysis include those
non-Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive
Species identified by the public and other agen-
cies during the scoping process (elk and mule
deer) and/or species that are listed as "Manage-
ment Indicator Species" in the Forest Plan. A
Management Indicator Species (MIS) is a
wildlife species selected to reflect effects of
management activities on the animal commu-
nity, and its condition can therefore be used as
an indicator to assess the impacts of manage-
ment action on a particular area. Federally listed
Threatened and Endangered species, those
species listed on the Forest Service Intermoun-
tain Region Vertebrate Sensitive Species List,
and those species identified as "Species of Spe-
cial Concern" by the Conservation Data Center
are discussed in the "Threatened, Endangered
and Sensitive Species" section that follows.
Big Game (Ungulates)
Ungulates that occur within the analysis area
include elk, mule deer and mountain goats. Of
these species, elk and mule deer are most
III - 21
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter 111
abundant and occur throughout the entire area.
The forested/nonforested edges of forested
stringers separated by openings and the patch-
es of aspen trees on the Moyer Creek face and
in Salt Creek are used as calving, fawning and
nursery areas by elk and mule deer. Mountain
goats can be found in the upper elevations of
the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek
drainages. Within this analysis area they are
commonly observed on large rock outcrops in
the Woodtick Creek drainage near its conflu-
ence with Goodluck Creek. Goats winter in the
steep, rough mountain mahogany stand in that
portion of the Woodtick Creek drainage.
Approximately half of the analysis area has
been mapped as key elk summer range (KESR)
(Figure 111-4); however, the entire area receives
heavy spring, summer and fall elk and mule
deer use. Most of these animals move down the
Woodtick and Moyer Creek drainages and/or
down Panther Creek to winter. Limited numbers
of both species winter within the analysis area,
especially in the western portion around Salt
Creek and Pete’s Gulch. Elk winter range also
occurs on the lower elevations of the Moyer
Creek face and in the Salt Creek tributary to
Moyer Creek.
From a big game habitat perspective, the habi-
tats present in the analysis area are very di-
verse. Forested lands below approximately
7500 feet elevation are composed primarily of
habitat types in the Douglas-fir (PSME) series
whereas those in the higher elevations are in
the subalpine fir (ABLA) series. The analysis
area was therefore divided into two habitat
types, Areas I and II (Figure 111-4), and separate
effects assessments for elk were completed for
each area.
Area I, the lower elevations along the Moyer
Creek face (Figure 111-4), consists primarily of
Douglas-fir timber stands in the Douglas-fir/
pinegrass habitat type, with minor mixed conifer
(Douglas-fir, subalpine fir, Englemann spruce,
and lodgepole pine) timber stands in the sub-
alpine fir/grouse whortleberry habitat types.
Natural timber/nontimber ecotones, openings
dominated by sagebrush and bunch grasses,
and small aspen stands or clones occur
throughout this area in conjunction with blocks,
stringers and islands of timber. Little, if any, past
timber harvest has occurred in this area and
most of the timber stands, particularly the
Douglas-fir stands, are in an old growth condi-
tion (most trees are more than 200 years old, a
mixture of age classes is present, and the stand
is in a natural mature to overmature state).
The diverse nature and juxtaposition of the
many habitat types present in Area I contribute
to very high habitat values for many wildlife
species, including most of the management in-
dicator species (MIS). The stringers and islands
of timber and their associated timber/nontimber
ecotones give Area I very high habitat potentials
for mule deer and elk. Elk habitat potential
(EHP) is commonly determined by using a cal-
culated coverforage ratio as an index with a
40:60 ratio being optimum. Although big game
cover is present in pristine amounts and distri-
bution, the coverforage ratio in this portion of
the area is approximately 32:68 and thus is
slightly cover-limiting and is below optimum.
The Douglas-fir/pine grass (PSME/CARU) habi-
tat type, abundant in this area, is very important
for elk calving and deer fawning, and the area
was mapped as key elk summer range during
the Forest planning process (Figure III-4). The
small aspen stands and riparian areas found
throughout this area contribute to the habitat
diversity and receive a disproportionate amount
of use by both elk and deer. Mountain goat use
is confined primarily to rock outcrops in the
Douglas-fir habitat types and nontimbered
rocky areas dominated by mountain ma-
hogany.
Area II, the upper elevations generally sur-
rounding Moyer Peak, is dominated by fairly
uniform stands of mixed conifers, including
lodgepole pine and subapline fir with some En-
glemann spruce in the more mesic sites. This
area is almost entirely within the subalpine fir/
grouse whortleberry habitat type. Very few natu-
ral openings exist and habitat diversity is low.
However, this area has not been previously
entered and timber stands in old-growth condi-
tion are abundant. The coverforage ratio is ap-
proximately 80:20 and therefore is forage-
limiting. This area offers extremely good big
game hiding and/or security cover. Wetter sub-
alpine fir stands, especially in the heads of
drainages, receive heavy summer elk use. The
drier lodgepole pine and subalpine fir stands on
major ridgetops receive heavy fall use by both
elk and mule deer.
Ill - 22
KEY ELK SUMMER
RANGE (KESR)
MILES
■T19N
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft ESS
Chapter SIS
Other Wildlife Species
Black bear and cougar occur throughout the
area and utilize all habitat types. Black bear are
most commonly associated with riparian areas
and densely timbered north-facing slopes.
Cougar use depends upon the seasonal use of
various habitats by primary prey species such
as mule deer, elk and snowshoe rabbits.
Bobcats, coyotes, pine marten and beaver are
common furbearers. Bobcats and coyotes use
al! habitat types. Pine marten are found primar-
ily in the mature spruce/fir stands in the bottoms
of each major drainage and in the adjacent ma-
ture lodgepole stands. Beaver are found in both
Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek.
Blue, ruffed and Franklin’s (spruce) grouse oc-
cur throughout the area. Ruffed grouse are
most common along riparian areas, blue
grouse are most common in the Douglas-fir
habitat types, and spruce grouse are found in
the lodgepole and subalpine fir types.
Cavity nesting and/or old growth dependent
MIS, including goshawks, pine marten, great
gray owls, pileated woodpeckers and brown
creeper, are found throughout the analysis
area. Populations of these species are high due
primarily to the relatively pristine old-growth
habitat component. One goshawk nest has
been observed in the Salt Creek drainage but is
not within a proposed cutting unit boundary or
near a proposed road.
Other MIS found in this area include vesper
sparrows in sagebrush habitats, yellow war-
blers in the willow communities, ruby-crowned
kinglets in the mature and immature Douglas-fir
habitats, yellow-bellied sapsuckers in the quak-
ing aspen clones, brown creeper in the mature
lodgepole pine and subalpine fir stands, and
mountain bluebirds along the timbered/
nontimbered ecotones.
THREATENED, ENDANGERED
AND SENSITIVE SPECIES
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
Forest Plan management goals for listed and
proposed Threatened, Endangered and Sensi-
tive Species is to manage classified Threat-
ened, Endangered and Sensitive Species habi-
tat to maintain or improve their current status.
As required by the Endangered Species Act of
1 973, a Biological Assessment of listed and pro-
posed threatened or endangered species of
plants and terrestrial vertebrates was prepared
for the analysis area and is contained in Ap-
pendix F.
A Biological Assessment (BA) of the effects of
the proposed road construction and timber har-
vest alternatives was prepared for the Moyer
Salt DEIS (see Moyer Salt DEIS, Appendix F).
After public review of the DEIS, the BA was up-
dated to address three additional harvest alter-
natives. This document found the Alternative 1
(No Action) to have "No Effect" on Snake River
spring/summer Chinook salmon, Alternatives 2,
4, 5, 6, and 2A to be "Not Likely to Adversely
Affect" Snake River spring/summer Chinook
salmon, and Alternative 3 to be "Likely to Ad-
versely Affect" Snake River spring/summer chi-
nook salmon. All proposed alternatives were
considered to have "No Effect" on Snake River
sockeye salmon.
Recent agreements between the Forest Service
and the National Marine Fisheries Service, how-
ever, have specified both a modification of BA
formatting, and expansion of project analysis to
encompass possible cumulative subbasin ef-
fects as well as direct and indirect project level
effects. The final Moyer Salt Biological Assess-
ment of effects to Snake River spring/summer
Chinook and sockeye salmon is, therefore, be-
ing documented within the Salmon National
Forest’s Proposed Activity Review for the Pan-
ther Creek Watershed.
The effects analysis methodology specified for
the Proposed Activity Review places a strong
emphasis on risks of temperature and sedimen-
tation effects. As the original, independent BA
prepared for the Moyer Salt DEIS and FEIS doc-
III - 24
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter Ell
uments included discussions of these tempera-
ture and sedimentation risks, conclusions with-
in the pending Proposed Activity Review are not
expected to deviate from those of the indepen-
dent analysis included within this EIS.
A Biological Evaluation for Forest Service Re-
gion 4 Sensitive Species of plants, terrestrial
vertebrates, and aquatic vertebrates was pre-
pared and is included in Appendix G.
Threatened and Endangered Plants
and Terrestrial Vertebrates
In accordance with Section 7(c) of the Endan-
gered Species Act of 1973, as amended, the
U.S. Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) was notified of the proposed
action. The original species list (FWS
1-4-91-SP-204) which they provided on 1/29/91
did not include any listed species. However,
when this list was updated on 3/31/93, the En-
dangered gray wolf was added and a Biological
Assessment was subsequently prepared (Ap-
pendix F).
As stated in the Biological Assessment, this
analysis area offers potential gray wolf habitat
but no wolves are known or suspected to occu-
py the area at this time. The entire area is includ-
ed within the Central Idaho Wolf Recovery Area
and may become important to this species at
some point in the recovery process.
Threatened and Endangered
Aquatic Vertebrates
Columbia River spring/summer Chinook salmon
have recently been listed as "Threatened" by the
National Marine Fisheries Service (Federal Reg-
ister, April 22, 1992; Effective date May 22,
1992). This species has historically utilized
mainstem Moyer Creek spawning and rearing
habitats (Reiser, 1986), but they died out in the
1960’s due to water quality problems related to
acid mine drainage.
Sensitive Plants
The current Forest Service Intermountain Re-
gion Sensitive Plant Species list for the Salmon
National Forest contains 12 species. A review of
the various habitats that these plants are found
in, as well as a review of occurrence reports,
eliminated all but one, Penstemon lemhiensis,
from the Moyer Salt analysis area (Biological
Evaluation, Appendix G).
Penstemon lemhiensis occurs in open sage-
brush grasslands and in the forested PSME/
AGSP, PIPO/AGSP, and PSME/FEID habitat
types in gravelly, rocky soils at elevations be-
tween 4,200 and 8,1 00 feet. It has been found in
the Panther Creek drainage but not within the
proposed project area. Currently listed as Sen-
sitive by the Intermountain Region of the Forest
Service, it has been recommended as a Cate-
gory 2 Candidate Species by the Fish and
Wildlife Service.
Sensitive Terrestrial Vertebrate Species
Eight species from the Forest Service Inter-
mountain Region Vertebrate Sensitive Species
List were assessed to determine whether they
are present or their habitat is present in the
analysis area. Habitat for the Northern goshawk
is present throughout the area in dense, old-
growth conifer, mixed conifer/aspen, and aspen
stands. One nest site is known to occur in the
area, and others may be present but have not
been sighted. North American lynx habitat oc-
curs throughout the analysis area in mixed
spruce and subalpine fir forests near riparian
zones or openings where their primary prey, the
snowshoe hare, occurs. Wolverine habitat is
confined to montane boreal regions with low
human habitation and generally occurs at high-
er elevations than the analysis area. The west-
ern or Townsend’s big-eared bat’s distribution
range includes the analysis area but little is
known about the suitablity of forests for their
habitat. Boreal owls nest in mature or overma-
ture stands within the subalpine fir habitat types
that have open understories and multi-layered
canopies. Suitable habitat may occur in the
upper-elevation portion of the analysis area.
The Northern three-toed woodpecker generally
occurs in spruce-fir or limber pine-whitebark
pine zones but at elevations higher than those
in the analysis area. Great gray owls utilize
lodgepole pine forest as well as subalpine fir
forest and may occur throughout these forest
communities in the analysis area. Spotted frogs
are found in cold permanent water and may be
present in any of the streams in the analysis
area.
Ill - 25
Moyer Salt Timber Salle Draft ESS
Chapter SSI
Although habitat for each of these species oc-
curs in the analysis area, only the Northern
goshawk has actually been observed in the
area. A Biological Evaluation was prepared that
assessed the potential effects of the proposed
activities on sensitive species (Appendix G);
these effects are summarized in Chapter IV of
this document.
Sensitive Aquatic Vertebrate Species
Bull trout (Dolly Varden), a Forest Service Inter-
mountain Region Vertebrate Sensitive Species
(VSS) and Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Species of Special Concern (SSC), are known
to be present in the mainstem reaches of both
Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek (Buram et al,
1990). Habitat for steelhead trout, also a Forest
Service Intermountain Region Vertebrate Sensi-
tive Species, exists in both Moyer Creek and
Woodtick Creek but is not currently utilized be-
cause of downstream water pollution of Panther
Creek due to acid mine drainage. Westslope
cutthroat trout, a Region 4 Sensitive Species,
occur in Panther Creek above Musgrove Creek
but are not known to occur in Moyer or
Woodtick Creeks. The effects of the proposed
action on these species are discussed in the
Biological Evaluation (Appendix G) and sum-
marized in Chapter IV.
ROADLESS AREA RESOURCE
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
General direction for each of the roadless areas
is given under its designated Management Area
(MA) direction. Each roadless area has been
divided into MAs that prescribe a set of direc-
tions or goals and are listed in detail in the
Forest Plan.
Affected Area
The Taylor Mountain Roadless Area is the only
inventoried roadless area that would be affect-
ed by the alternatives for this proposed action.
The Taylor Mountain Roadless Area is part of
the Salmon River Mountain Range and is locat-
ed approximately 16 air miles southwest of
Salmon, Idaho (Figure 111-5). The Taylor Moun-
tain Roadless Areas has a total approximate
size of 63,220 acres. Approximately 48,280
acres of the northern portion of this roadless
area are administered by the Salmon National
Forest and the remaining 14,940 acres are ad-
ministered by the Challis National Forest. Only
the northern portion of the roadless area would
be affected by the proposed action.
The Taylor Mountain Roadless Area is identified
as Roadless Area Number 13-902 on the
Salmon National Forest (formerly RARE II No.
4-502), and as Roadless Area Number 06-902
on the Challis National Forest (formerly RARE II
No. 4-502) (Figure 111-5).
The roadless analysis section for the Taylor
Mountain Roadless Area is tiered to the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) of the
Salmon National Forest Land and Resource
Management Plan (Appendix C, pg C-20
through C-32, 1988).
During the Forest planning process the Taylor
Mountain Roadless Area was evaluated for pos-
sible recommendation for inclusion in the Na-
tional Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS).
The Regional Forester’s decision in the Salmon
Forest Plan recommended that the area not be
included in the wilderness system. Appendix C
of the FEIS for the Forest Plan contains an
overview description of this area, a discussion
of its wilderness features, an evaluation of the
various nonwilderness multiple-use resources,
an assessment of the environmental impacts of
alternative land management emphases, and a
summary of the public comments regarding
whether the area should be recommended for
Congressional designation as part of the Na-
tional Wilderness Preservation System (Forest
Plan FEIS, Appendix C, pages 20-32).
The north end of Taylor Mountain Roadless Ar-
eas is accessible from Forest Roads #020,
#055, #062, #099, and #107. Foot trails tra-
verse the southern half of this portion of the
roadless area and provide access to the Hat
Creek Lakes area and the Opal Lake area.
There are no Forest Service-maintained trails in
the northern half of the roadless area.
Existing Condition
The Taylor Mountain Roadless Area appears
undeveloped to most visitors. Effects of human
activities are limited to the fringes of the Road-
Ill - 26
Moyer Saif Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
less Area where Forest roads, jeep trails and
foot trails are located and along the Moyer Peak
jeep trail located in the northern portion of the
roadless area.
Salmon National Forest Plan management area
prescriptions for the Taylor Mountain Roadless
Area permit timber harvest and road construc-
tion. Approximately 40 percent of the roadless
area is in management areas that include tim-
ber management objectives. The remaining 60
percent of the area has management prescrip-
tions for semi-primitive motorized recreation op-
portunities. Timber harvest is not planned in
these areas.
The Taylor Mountain Roadless Area has a con-
figuration which would lend itself to boundaries
that could be managed for its undeveloped
character.
This roadless area contains country that is
steep and rugged. Valley bottoms are narrow
and ridgetops are narrow and slightly rounded.
Generally, the area is heavily timbered. The pri-
mary tree species are lodgepole pine and sub-
alpine fir. Spruce occurs on the wetter sites;
Douglas-fir and open sagebrush parks
dominate many of the south slopes. Human in-
fluence on the area’s natural integrity has been
minor.
Extensive stringer meadows, riparian communi-
ties, and multi-storied forest complexes in the
bottoms of all major drainages provide a series
of diverse and productive habitats for a variety
of bird and mammal species. The isolated char-
acter of these sites within the roadless area
makes them particularly valuable as summer
and fall security habitat for big game animals
such as elk, moose, mule deer, black bear, and
mountain lion, as well as other species that re-
quire large blocks of wildland country to pros-
per. Goshawks, great gray owls, and upland
game birds such as spruce grouse and blue
grouse can be found in the area; trout inhabit
the larger streams.
There are many opportunities for primitive
recreation within the boundaries of the roadless
area, including hunting, hiking and horseback
riding. Approximately 80 percent of current
primitive recreation consists of elk hunting.
Backpacking and hiking in areas other than
maintained trails or alpine ridges is deterred by
the presence of thick vegetation and heavy
downfall in the region.
Motorized recreation is allowed under current
management direction. Most of the motorized
recreation which occurs within the roadless
area is centered along the Moyer Peak jeep trail.
The Taylor Mountain Roadless Area is not con-
sidered outstanding for solitude opportunities
because of its relatively small size and notice-
able human activities along the edge of the
area. This roadless area does have the general
value wherein most people looking out from
high vantage points could view landscapes with
an appearance of relatively undisturbed terrain.
Roads and timber harvesting units can be seen
in the background from these higher elevation
view points but they do not dominate the view
scape. In the central portions of the area, at
midslope, lower slope and streambottom posi-
tions, a person will experience a greater sense
of remoteness. Foot travel is slow and difficult in
these areas due to dense vegetation and rough
terrain. In addition to the difficulty of travel, sight
distances are restricted, often ranging from 30
to 100 yards. Travel by horseback or motorized
vehicle is extremely difficult if not impossible in
most of this area. These features help to pro-
mote a sense of remoteness.
Although much of the area in the Taylor Moun-
tain Roadless Area has dense stands of timber
with heavy downfall, there are portions of the
area with a juxtaposition of meadows and tim-
ber that are common to the central-eastern Ida-
ho portion of the Rockies. These are pleasant
and scenic habitats that would be enjoyed by
most individuals entering the area. One could
imagine that the Salmon Mountains had this
appearance when the area was inhabited by
Native Americans before European explorers
had entered this part of the world.
The more open habitats on some of the south-
ern aspects give one a feeling of serenity and
adventure as one walks across the hillside, ex-
pecting to see big game enjoying the benefits of
meadow and forest cover.
The specific areas identified as being special to
visitors of this roadless area are located in the
vicinity of the Hat Creek Lakes, Taylor Mountain
III - 27
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft E1S
Chapter IIS
Lookout, Opal Lake, Moyer Peak jeep trail (and
unimproved campsites) and constructed trails.
Iron Lake campground and the Iron Lake Road,
although not within the roadless area boundary,
were also identified as important recreational
areas.
Iron Lake is not located inside the roadless area
boundary but is surrounded by the roadless
area. The Iron Lake Road (Road #020) intrudes
approximately seven miles into the center of the
Taylor Mountain Roadless Area. There is a de-
veloped campground with 8 units located on
the lake shore. The 29 acre lake provides fishing
and non-motorized boating opportunities for
the users. The lake, campground and the forest
road receive moderate use in the summer and
fall months. The roadless character surround-
ing the road and the lake add to the sense of
remoteness, apparent natural naturalness and
natural integrity.
The Iron Lake campground is the main access
point for the Hat Creek Lakes. The Hat Creek
Lakes Trailhead (Trail # 093) is located on the
edge of the campground, which also provides
facilities for horse use. A three mile hike through
glaciated basins and across open ridges will
deliver the hiker or rider to a mountain basin
with seven small lakes, four of which provide
fishing opportunities. Unimproved camp sites
can be found around the shores of these lakes
where campers enjoy the forested spruce/fir
habitats. The rocky ridges and peaks of Taylor
Mountain and several surrounding mountains
can be seen from forest openings. A visit to this
basin can provide the forest user with a sense
of satisfaction and contentment in enjoying the
basics of life. Primitive recreation opportunities
are plentiful in this area, and allow the user to
experience the abundance of the areas natural
integrity. Solitude may be compromised at
times during the year when the recreation use is
high.
The Moyer Peak jeep trail receives heavy motor-
ized use during the big game hunting season.
The jeep route lies on top of a major ridge and
during dry weather can be traveled by a two-
wheel drive vehicle. The topography along the
jeep trail is relatively flat and unimproved hunt-
ing camps are established on many parts of the
trail. Primitive recreation opportunities are limit-
ed on this jeep trail. Once the user leaves the
jeep trail and travels cross-country the opportu-
nity increases for recreation experiences with a
high degree of personal challenge, since no
maintained trails exist in this portion of the road-
less area. As with the other mid-slope, lower
slope and stream bottom positions in the road-
less area, rough terrain and dense vegetation
can make foot travel very difficult.
From forest openings on the Moyer ridge and
associated northern ridges such as the
Woodtick Creek drainage one can see evidence
of human disturbance and hear the sounds of
heavy equipment and vehicles on south-facing
slopes two to three miles north. This reduces
the opportunity for solitude on the north side of
Moyer ridge, and decreases the apparent natu-
ralness of the landscape north of Moyer ridge.
While the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area does
not provide unique habitat to this region and is
not the only roadless area in the vicinity, it is
enjoyed and appreciated by National Forest
users. In addition, some Forest Users have ex-
pressed ongoing concern of the cumulative ef-
fect of developing roadless areas.
Additional descriptions of the Taylor Mountain
Roadless Area can be found in the Salmon For-
est Plan Environmental Impact Statement, Vol-
ume 1 , Appendix C. This document also details
some of the past public comment on the prefer-
ence to retain these areas as roadless and for
their desirability as wilderness.
Ill - 28
FIGURE 111-5
TAYLOR MOUNTAIN ROADLESS AREA
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter ill
VISUAL RESOURCES
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The general direction for the visual resource is
to apply the Visual Management System to all
National Forest System lands. Detailed stand-
ards and guidelines are found on pages IV-8
through IV-12 of the Forest Plan.
Affected Area
The affected area is the viewshed located in the
Salt Creek, Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek
drainages.
Existing Condition
Views into the area from designated sensitive
travel routes, identified below, are limited and
are generally of the rounded, forested ridge
tops. Views into the drainage bottoms are limit-
ed. The only prominent visual feature is Moyer
Peak (9,085 ft. elevation).
The overall visual character of Moyer and Salt
Creeks is of rounded ridges, deep valleys and
a continuous canopy of lodgepole pine.
Principles and terms used in this section are
taken from the publication, National Forest
Landscape Management, Volume 2, Chapter 1 ,
The Visual Management System, USDA Forest
Service, Agriculture Handbook 462, April 1974.
These terms are also defined in the glossary
that accompanies this document.
The proposal area is bordered by three visually
sensitive travel routes: Panther Creek Road
(F.S. Road 055) (Sensitivity level 1), Moyer
Creek Road (F.S. Road 103) (Sensitivity level 2),
and the Salmon River Mountain Road (“Ridge
Road") (F.S. Road 020) (Sensitivity level 2). Por-
tions of the area are viewed as middleground
and background from these routes. The remain-
der of the area is not visible from a designated
travel route. The variety class is predominately
Class B (common). These combinations result
in Visual Quality Objectives of Partial Retention
and Modification for the area.
A Visual Quality Objective of Partial Retention
means that the management activity may be
seen by the casual observer but the activity
remains visually subordinate to the original
characteristic landscape. The following pro-
posed harvest units have a VQO of Partial Re-
tention (see Figures 11-1 to 11-3 for location of
cutting units): Units 3W, 4W, 11, 18, 19, 19A,
19B, 20, 22, 23, 25, S5, S6, S7, SI 2, SI 3, SI 4
and SI 5.
Under the Modification VQO management activ-
ities may visually dominate the original charac-
teristic landscape, but the alteration must bor-
row from naturally established form and line to
the extent and at such scale that its visual char-
acteristics are those of natural occurrences
within the surrounding character type. The fol-
lowing proposed harvest units have a VQO of
Modification (see Figures 11-1 to 11-3): Units 1W,
2W, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21, 26, 27, 27A,
28, 28A, 29, 29A, 30, S1 1 , Si 6, Si 7 and Si 8.
RECREATION RESOURCES
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The general direction for recreation is to provide
a broad spectrum of dispersed recreation op-
portunities in accordance with the established
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) classi-
fications for the management area.
Affected Area
The area affected by the proposed action is the
analysis area defined in Chapter I and shown on
Figure 1-2, and is located in the Salt Creek, Moy-
er Creek and Woodtick Creek drainages.
Existing Condition
There are no system trails in the area. The Moy-
er Peak jeep trail, located along the south edge
of the proposal area, is probably the heaviest
used portion of the area. This jeep trail is also
the probable location of the Thunder Mountain
Trail, a historic mining trail used by gold miners
to reach the Thunder Mountain Mine.
Ill - 30
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
Current recreation use is considered light and is
primarily related to big game hunting in the fall.
The quality of the dispersed setting is high.
Current Recreation Opportunity Classes in-
clude Roaded-Natural Appearing, Semi-
primitive Motorized and Semi-primitive Nonmo-
torized.
AIR QUALITY
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The goal for air quality on the Forest is to man-
age the Forest lands so that air quality will meet
the National Clean Air Act and Idaho State clean
air requirements for a Class II area. Specific
requirements can be found in the USDA Forest
Service/Idaho Dept, of Health and Welfare Divi-
sion of Environment Memorandum of Under-
standing (February 5, 1988); Forest Service
Manual Region 4 Supplement No. 75 (Title 2500
- Watershed and Air Management), April 28,
1990; and FSH 2509.19 Air Resource Manage-
ment Handbook, August 26, 1987. In addition,
the National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM-10) and the
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)
Total Suspended Particulate (TSP) increment
for a Class II area must be met.
Affected Area
The affected area for the air quality resources
for the proposed project is the analysis area
and the airshed that surrounds it. The area that
may be directly, indirectly, and cumulatively af-
fected is the airshed (above and downwind of
the analysis area) where burning and log haul-
ing would occur. The local Salmon area may be
affected depending on the burn intensity, time
of year, inversions and wind patterns.
Existing Condition
All Salmon National Forest lands, including
wilderness areas and the proposed timber sale
area, are in a Class II airshed as designated by
the 1 977 Clean Air Act. The Class II designation
allows moderate increases in new air pollution.
Air quality in the analysis area is generally excel-
lent and meets guidelines established by Idaho
air quality laws and the National Clean Air Act.
Air quality may be degraded and minor
amounts of pollutants may occur from: 1) pre-
scribed burning in the spring and fall by the
Salmon National Forest and surrounding
forests; 2) fire management fires burning in ar-
eas north of the Salmon National Forest; 3) dust
from roads, logging operations, and mining op-
erations; and 4) wildfires during forest fire sea-
son. These are generally of short duration, typi-
cally several days to several months in length.
Weather patterns affect the air quality, causing
degradation when low pressure areas over
Northern Utah and Southern Idaho pull sus-
pended pollutants from large metropolitan air-
sheds in Utah and western Idaho, from farms
(dust and smoke) in eastern Idaho, and from the
dry deserts (dust) of Nevada, Utah and Idaho.
Baseline ambient air quality data is collected by
the Salmon National Forest from an air monitor-
ing site located on South Baldy Mountain (ele-
vation 9,149 ft), located approximately 6 air
miles southwest of Salmon, Idaho. The Moyer
Salt timber sale analysis area is located approxi-
mately 1 6 miles southwest of the air monitoring
site. Data collected at this site include particu-
late content (particles less than 10 microns in
size) (PM-10 equivalent values) and air chem-
istry (University of California, 1989-1991).
The PM-1 0 equivalent values for the period from
July 1 , 1 989 thru October 25, 1 989 averaged 7.2
micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3). This low
value reflects the generally high air quality con-
ditions that prevail in the area. The highest
PM-10 equivalent value (40.2 ug/m3) was
recorded on August 2, 1 989. This high particu-
late reading was mainly due to a 890-acre
lightning-caused fire burning about 15 miles
west of the air monitoring site. Visibility at this
same time was estimated to be less than five
miles. The lowest PM-10 equivalent value (1.6
ug/m3) was recorded on August 26th during a
rainy period.
The PM-1 0 equivalent values for the period from
July 1 8, 1 990 thru November 1 7, 1 990 averaged
9.5 ug/m3. The highest PM-10 equivalent value
(22.0 ug/m3) was recorded on October 17,
1990, during a prescribed fire on Lake Moun-
tain, located about 6-8 miles southwest of the air
monitoring site. The lowest PM-10 equivalent
III - 31
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft ESS
Chapter III
value (3.0 ug/m3) was recorded on August
1 8-22 during a period of rain.
PM-10 equivalent values for period from July 3,
1991 thru October 26, 1991 averaged 12ug/m3.
The highest PM-10 equivalent value (35.3
ug/m3) was recorded on October 1 6, 1 991 , dur-
ing the Rush Creek Forest Fire in the Frank
Church River of No Return Wilderness, near the
Middle Fork of the Salmon River, and a forest
fire in the Selway River area, both producing
large amounts of smoke that accumulated over
the Salmon area. The lowest PM-1 0 equivalent
value (2.8 ug/m3) was recorded on October 9,
1991.
Under current Idaho State and Federal guide-
lines, air quality standards are being met in the
analysis area.
RANGE RESOURCES
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The goal for range resources is to provide for
the grazing of livestock; manage all allotments
to maintain suitable rangelands that are pres-
ently in satisfactory condition, and to improve
rangelands that are in poor or fair condition;
and to control noxious weeds as needed to pro-
tect the value of other resources and to comply
with State law.
Affected Area
The range allotments within the affected area
are located in the Panther Creek and Moyer
Creek drainages. The northernmost allotment is
the Williams-Napias Creek C&H allotment,
which extends west from the Forest boundary in
the bottom of Williams Creek to the ridge divid-
ing Panther Creek and the Salmon River, then
south along the ridge road to China Spring,
then southwest to Moyer Peak, then northwest
to Panther Creek, then down Panther Creek to
Fritzer Gulch, then up the ridge between Fritzer
Gulch and Trail Creek to Jureano Lookout, then
north to the head of Pine Creek, then southeast
to Leesburg, then east to the ridge dividing
Napias Creek and the Salmon River, then south
along this divide to the ridge south of Pollard
Canyon, then east down the ridge south of
Chipps Creek to the Forest boundary, then fol-
lowing the Forest boundary to the point of ori-
gin. Forney C&H allotment adjoins the Williams-
Napias allotment between Moyer Peak and
Panther Creek. The Forney C&H allotment ex-
tends from the mouth of Moyer Creek up Mus-
grove Creek and then east to Quarzite Moun-
tain, then south to the south fork of Cabin
Creek, then east to Moyer Peak and northwest
to the point of origin.
Existing Condition
Both the Williams-Napias and Forney range al-
lotments are cattle allotments. The Williams-
Napias allotment has 3 permittees and 668 cat-
tle permitted for a season of 6/1 5 to 9/30. The
Forney allotment has 2 permittees: one permit-
tee is permitted for 1 64 cattle with a season of
6/02 to 10/02 and the other permittee is permit-
ted for 120 cattle from 5/28 to 11/15.
These range allotments occur in mostly tim-
bered sites with the bulk of the forage produc-
tion occurring on transitory range such as previ-
ously harvested areas that now contain
grasses, and in riparian ecosystems.
The range allotments have some fences, but the
majority of the allotment boundaries are un-
fenced. \
TRANSPORTATION AND ACCESS
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The goal for transportion and access is to devel-
op and maintain a Forest transportation system
that provides a safe, economical, functional,
and environmentally sound access for manag-
ing and protecting the Forest resources.
Affected Area
The affected area for the transportation and ac-
cess is the analysis area defined in Chapter I
and in Figure 1-2. This analysis only discusses
roads that presently exist in the analysis area
and roads that would be built under the different
action alternatives. Transportation routes to
and from the analysis area are not discussed.
Ill - 32
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter III
Existing Condition
Approximately 85 percent of the analysis area is
roadless and is therefore inaccessible by
wheeled vehicles. The topography of much if
the area is rugged, with steep-sided cirque
basins and deep canyons. Soils in the area are
stable quartzites/phyllites.
Existing roads located on the perimeter of the
analysis area are mostly used for recreation and
consist of 12 miles of maintained road and 5
miles of primitive jeep trail (F.S. Trail 6204, the
Moyer Peak jeep trail) (Figure 11-1). These roads
are open year-round and all except the primitive
jeep trail are maintained for recreation traffic.
Because of the rugged topography in the area,
these perimeter roads do not adequately serve
the timber resource within the area. Existing
timber access roads within the analysis area
include 12 miles of timber access road and ap-
proximately 2 miles of old logging roads that are
unsuitable for present use. These roads are gat-
ed and travel by the public is prohibited for all
vehicles year-round for the purpose of big game
security and erosion control (Salmon National
Forest Travel Map, 1988).
MINERAL RESOURCES
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The goal for minerals is to encourage the explo-
ration and extraction of leasable and beatable
minerals from National Forest lands while main-
taining or improving other resource values.
Affected Environment
The affected area for mineral resources is the
analysis area defined in Chapter I and in Figure
1-2.
Existing Condition
The potential for minerals development was as-
sessed for both leasable minerals (oil, gas and
coal) and beatable or hard rock minerals. The
project area is located within the Blackbird
cobalt-copper trend. Patented mining claims
are located about 2.5 miles north of the northern
boundary of the project area at the Blackbird
Mine; in the Sawmill Gulch area less than one
mile west of Moyer Creek; and in the Moyer
Basin area. There are presently active mining
claims in the analysis area, although no known
mineral occurrences exist and there has been
no mineral production from the area. Therefore,
the potential for a beatable mineral discovery
exists but no deposits occur in the area (Pers.
Comm., Cobalt Minerals Forester, July 17,
1991). The geology of the area also suggests a
low potential for oil, gas or coal development.
Mineral development and associated vegetative
disturbance and road building may therefore be
spellnably foreseeable future activity in the
study area.
CULTURAL RESOURCES
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
The Forest Plan goal for cultural resources is to
locate, determine the significance of and, where
appropriate, preserve, protect, and interpret
historic and archeological sites.
Affected Area
The affected area for cultural resources is the
proposed area of direct impacts to the ground
surface, such as the roads and cutting units
defined for each alternative, as well as areas
where access is increased due to construction
of new roads.
Existing Condition
The Moyer Salt timber sale analysis area was
partially inventoried for cultural resources in
1990 (Report # SL-90-685). No cultural re-
sources were found during that survey, and cul-
tural clearance was officially recommended for
the inventoried areas. There are no known cul-
tural resources located in or near the proposed
roads and cutting units for Alternatives 2 and 3
(Ref. letter 2360,2430, dated May 8, 1991). The
inventory for the proposed roads and cutting
units for Alternative 4 was accepted by the State
Historic Preservation Office on 8/18/92 as "no
effect," since no historic properties were locat-
ed. However, due to recent additions of cutting
units and difficulties in correlating mapped with
actual unit boundaries, small portions of units
111-33
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Chapter 111
1 9, SI , S2, S3, S5, S6, and S7 within Alternative
4 and units SI 2, SI 6, SI 5, SI 3, S6, 25, 26, 28
and 30 within Alternative 6 need to be invento-
ried. the added closure of the spur road just
west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4 NW1/4 of Sec-
tion 1 6 will also need to be inventoried.
One historic site, the old Forney Telephone Line
(site # Sl-581), crosses an existing road in the
vicinity of Swan Peak, where access to the east-
ern portion of the timber sales may be routed.
This section of the phone line has been evaluat-
ed as not significant so it need not be avoided
by project-related activities, and no further con-
sideration need be given to it. Should additional
segments of the phone line be discovered else-
where in the project area, these would need to
be recorded and evaluated on their own merits.
During the original analysis, it was determined
that the area appeared to have a relatively low
probability for significant cultural resource
properties (Ref. letter 2360, 2430, dated Jan-
uary 31, 1991). The Forney Telephone Line is
not eligible for the National Register and the
Thunder Mountain Trail and Moyer Peak jeep
trail are to the south of proposed impacts. The
spur road which will be closed does not appear
on any historic Forest maps nor are there any
historic mining claims, homesteads, or devel-
oped recreation areas noted in the Forest Land
Status Atlas that it would have service. Since
both the closure and proposed units are on
steep and rocky ground there is a very low po-
tential of effecting a prehistoric or historic Native
American traditional use site or archaeological
site. Therefore, it is still the Forest Archaeolo-
gist’s opinion that the road closure and pro-
posed cutting units that have not been invento-
ried will have a low potential for adverse effect.
ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY
Forest Plan Goals and Objectives
Community stability is influenced through out-
puts from Forest lands that are related to timber,
grazing, and recreation-related activites. The
Forest Plan states that timber outputs will be
provided at a level which will allow continuation
of industries dependent on those outputs (For-
est Plan, 111-4).
Affected Area
The area affected by the economic efficiency of
the proposed project includes the local zone of
influence of the Salmon National Forest. This
zone covers Lemhi and Custer Counties in east-
ern Idaho and Ravalli County in southwestern
Montana. The residents and communities within
this three-county area are influenced and affect-
ed by Salmon National Forest policies and deci-
sions. The area includes six small towns: Hamil-
ton and Darby, Montana, in Ravalli County;
Challis and Mackay in Custer County, Idaho;
and Salmon and Leadore, Idaho, in Lemhi
County; and numerous small communities.
Existing Condition
The economic stability of communities in the
Forest’s primary zone of influence was an im-
portant issue in development of the Salmon For-
est Plan. Because of the importance of this is-
sue, the Forest Service sometimes offers timber
sales that don’t return the cost of selling and
administering them. Concern has been raised
that the proposed sale is not economically effi-
cient and would not result in long-term positive
cash flow. However, the economic efficiency of
an alternative is not the only criteria used in
selection of the preferred alternative. The Multi-
ple Use, Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 mandates
"coordinated management of the various re-
sources with consideration given to the relative
values of all the various resources... and not
necessarily the combination of reources that
gives the greatest dollar return or the greatest
unit output.”
An economic analysis was prepared for the
Moyer Salt proposed alternatives using the
Salmon National Forest’s Timber Sale Program
Information System (TSPIRS). Economic analy-
sis evaluates the cost and benefits of the vari-
ous proposed alternatives, including the no ac-
tion alternative, to allow decision-makers to
consider efficient methods of achieving objec-
tives in the selection of an alternative.
Economic efficiency can be measured using
the present net value (PNV) of the alternatives.
This measurement is calculated using the MBF
sold, post sale costs, road costs, bridge costs,
cattleguard costs, and other costs associated
with the sale.
Ill - 34
Chapter IV
Environmental Consequences
Changes Between the Draft and
Final
IV-1
Chapter Review
IV-1
Solis Effects
IV-1
Hydrology Effects
SV-4
Wetlands Effects
Fisheries Effects
IV-1 4
Effects to Biological Diversity
IV-1 9
Vegetation Effects
8V-21
Effects to the Timber Resource
IV-24
Effects to Wildlife Resources
Effects to Threatened, Endangered,
IV-34
and Sensitive Species
IV-40
Effects to Roadless Resources
IV-46
Visual Effects
IV-48
Recreation Effects
IV-50
Effects to Air Quality
IV-51
Effects to Rang© Resources
Effects to Transportation
SV-53
and Access
SV-54
Effects to Minerals
Effects to Cultural
IV-56
Resource®
IV-56
Economic Efficiency
Potential Conflicts with Plans
and Policies of Other Juris-
SV-5©
dictions
Probable Environmental Effects
IV-59
That Cannot be Avoided
Irreversible and Irretrievable
IV-59
Commitments of Resources
IV-60
Other Required Disclosures
IV-60
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter SV
CHAPTER IV
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES
CHANGES BETWEEN THE DRAFT AND FINAL
1 . Discussions of the effects for three additional
alternatives, Alternatives 5, 6 and 2A, have
been added.
2. Road density and results of sediment yield
modeling discussion was added to the Hy-
drology section.
CHAPTER REVIEW
This chapter discloses the environmental conse-
quences of implementing the alternatives proposed
for this project. It describes the scientific and analyt-
ic basis for the comparisons of the seven alterna-
tives; these comparisons are summarized in Table
11-2 in this document. Whereas Chapter III describes
the existing environment of the analysis area, this
chapter describes the probable consequences, or
effects, of each alternative on each of the resources.
The resources are described in the same order in
Chapter IV as they are in Chapter III. Resources
linked to the issues described in Chapter I are de-
scribed in detail; other resources are briefly dis-
cussed. All potential effects are described, includ-
ing direct, indirect, short-term, long-term, beneficial,
and adverse. The chapter also discusses the
cumulative, or combined, effects of the alternatives
along with past actions and reasonably foreseeable
future actions. For this analysis, reasonably forsee-
able future actions are limited to those that would
occur during the present Forest planning period (to
1998); no additional timber harvesting is scheduled
for the analysis area for this time frame, although TSI
work will be performed that may involve some tree
thinning.
present a reasonable range of alternatives for imple-
menting the proposed timber sale. Therefore, the
environmental effects vary considerably in degree,
but not in kind. The level of detail for each resource
depends on the character of that resource and the
scale of analysis most informative or relevant for the
affected resource. Additional detail can be found in
other documents referenced or tiered to by this Fi-
nal EIS, in appendices, and in the project file.
The decisions that will draw upon the effects analy-
sis for the proposed timber sale will be limited to the
analysis area. The discussion for most resources
was limited to the analysis area, but the possibility
of cumulative effects on some resources promoted
an analysis of a larger area.
SOILS EFFECTS
With implementation of the management require-
ments and mitigation measures outlined with the
alternatives in Chapter il and in the Forest Plan
standards and guidelines, the level of detrimental
soil disturbance in all cutting units would be within
Forest Plan standards (Forest Plan IV-59 through
61) and meet the desired future condition as direct-
ed. Also, long-term soil productivity would be main-
tained for all treatment areas except for road sur-
faces. Roads would affect from 0.4 percent to 0.8
percent of the analysis area (see Table IV-1). Alter-
natives 4 and 6 would have the most effect on the
soil resource because they would construct the
most miles of road and harvest the most timber.
Excluding Alternative 1, Alternative 5 is the least
affected by roads.
All action alternatives propose varying intensities of
timber harvesting and road construction that
IV - 1
This section will discuss the impacts to soils in terms
of soil structure and movement, soil erosion, and
soil productivity.
Moyer SaSt Timber Sal© Final EIS
Chapter IV
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
Direct effects include those activities that commit
the land to uses other than growing vegetation for
extended periods. Roads and any areas where soil
compaction has not been mitigated would commit
the soil resources to an essentially nonproductive
condition for an extended time (50 years or more).
These effects would be reduced by following the
standards and guidelines in the Forest Plan and
through mitigation measures (See Chapter II, Table
11-1). The number of acres impacted would be mini-
mized by using the roads as landing areas and
TABLE IV-1 : IMPACTS TO SOILS BY ALTERNATIVE
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
1
2
3
4
5
6
2A
PRE-
FERRED
Existing Roads
16.6/mi
16.6/mi
16.6/mi
16.6/mi
16.6/mi
16.6/mi
16.6/mi
(mile/acres)
57 acres
57 acres
57 acres
57 acres
57 acres
57 acres
57 acres
New Roads
0
16.8/mi
14.6/mi
17.8/mi
1.1/mi
17.8/mi
16.8/mi
(mile/acres)
0
62.1 ac
55.2 ac
66.1 ac
4.0 ac
66.1 ac
62.1 ac
Total Soil
Commitment due to
Roads (acres)
57 ac
119 ac
111 ac
123 ac
61 ac
123 ac
119 ac
Percent of
Analysis Area w/Total
0.4%
0.8%
0.7%
0.8%
0.4%
0.8%
0.8%
Commitment *
* Total soil resource commitment occurs when the soil is committed to a use other than growing vegetation for an extended
period of time; this typically occurs in roads, landing areas, and some skid trails.
using dedicated skid trails, particularly in areas
with easily eroded soils.
Soil disturbance associated with timber harvest
and road construction can also cause accelerated
soil erosion and soil compaction. The rate that
timber harvest accelerates soil erosion depends
on the site conditions, the amount of disturbance,
the rate of revegetation, and the climatic events
that occur from the time of disturbance until the
site is revegetated. Generally, accelerated erosion
rates are highest immediately following soil dis-
turbance. Reseeding of cut and fill slopes would
be done the fall of the year the roads are construct-
ed or, if the road construction is not complete in
the fall, it would be done in early winter. Revegeta-
tion on fill slopes generally occurs within 1 to 2
years, and erosion rates return to their normal lev-
els within 2 to 3 years. However, revegetation of
the cut slopes may take much longer and vegeta-
tion may not be completely re-established due to
the lack of topsoil, steepness of the slopes, or high
percentages of bedrock. Therefore, long-term ero-
sion effects may occur.
Potential indirect effects to soil resources include
mass wasting, particularly of road cuts or fills. The
triggering of mass failure is dependent on a variety
of factors, including soil type, slope, subsurface
water content, dip of bedrock, loss and decay of
tree roots and other soil-holding capabilities due to
timber harvesting, and climatic events. All of the
proposed roads in the analysis area would be con-
structed on stable quartzite soils and associated
landforms. These soils formed from quartzite
bedrock, locally metamorphosed to phyllite, and
typically have very good mass stability (see Chap-
ter 111, Soils) and thus a very low potential for mass
wasting. Poorly constructed roads can potentially
increase the risk of mass failure, and the potential
increases with the miles of road constructed. The
potential for mass failure can be reduced by the
IV -2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
road’s location, design, and drainage, and
through management practices and mitigation
measures such as those designed for this project
(See Chapter II, Table 11-1, and Appendix B).
A potential indirect impact to soil resources due to
timber harvesting is soil displacement and com-
paction during harvesting. Skidding of logs may
displace soil if the end is allowed to drag on the
ground, and may also cause compaction of the
underlying soil. Soil compaction may also occur in
landing areas, in areas where heavy equipment is
used, and on road surfaces with heavy traffic. The
amount of soil compaction and displacement
would vary by alternative with the amount of timber
harvested. These impacts would be almost entirely
mitigated through observance of best manage-
ment practices during harvesting and by machine
scarification and other post-harvest management
practices. Helicopter harvesting would alleviate
soil displacement and compaction within each
harvest unit. Landing site impact would remain the
same due to heavy equipment moving logs and
hauling trucks.
Long-term soil productivity would not be affected
by the proposed activities. Soil productivity is a
function of an area’s physical and climatic environ-
ment, which can be changed by loss of soil
through erosion, creep, solifluction and mechani-
cal displacement. These agents can be minimized
through mitigation, logging unit layout, and road
location.
Soil long-term productivity is also related to soil
chemistry and structure, which affects the nutrient
cycle, water movement and the living biotic com-
ponent of the soil layers. Soil chemistry and struc-
ture are important and directly related to the
amount of organic matter retained on a site. Cur-
rent research indicates that large woody material
should be left on the logging sites after they are
logged and treated for seedling establishment
(Harvey, 1987). Mitigations described in Chapter II
of this EIS require that 1 0 to 1 5 tons of slash be left
on the surface of the logging site. This large organ-
ic matter would provide the basics for chemical
and structural soil development in the short and
long-term future (Graham et al, 1991). Therefore,
all of the alternatives would maintain the soil’s
short-term and long-term productivity as directed
in the Forest Plan.
EFFECTS BY ALTERNATIVE
Alternative 1 - No Action
Soil erosion would continue at it’s natural rate on
undisturbed land. The existing Moyer Peak Jeep
Road would continue to produce soil erosion over
time with the continued use of the road, but the
potential to produce erosion is low due to the loca-
tion of the road on a ridge. Existing timber access
roads in the analysis area are gated and locked,
and were designed and built in accordance with
Forest Plan standards and guidelines. Erosion and
sedimentation from these roads is minimal, and
the mass erosion potential of these existing roads
is low. No more roads would be built and no timber
harvesting would occur. The total soil commitment
would therefore be limited to the 57 acres already
committed to roads. Because no additional acres
would be disturbed by timber harvest or road con-
struction or reconstruction, soil productivity would,
in the absence of any wildfires or climatic events,
remain at its current level.
Alternative 2
The specified new road construction of 16.8 miles
would commit 62.1 acres of soil to an essentially
nonproductive condition, in addition to the 57
acres already roaded (Table 1V-1). The total soil
resource commitment for this alternative would
therefore be 1 1 9 acres, or 0.8 percent of the analy-
sis area.
Alternative 3
The specified new road construction of 14.6 miles
would commit 55.2 acres of soil to an essentially
nonproductive condition, in addition to the 57
acres already roaded (Table IV-1). The total soil
resource commitment for this alternative would
therefore be 1 1 1 acres, or 0.7 percent of the analy-
sis area.
This alternative would have the least amount of
disturbance due to road construction of ail the
action alternatives. However, about 3,000 feet of
new road construction would occur on the north
side of Salt Creek in landtype Q120c, which is a
warm to hot dry south aspect that receives approx-
imately 25 inches of precipitation annually. Be-
cause of the south aspect of the area, it would be
difficult to rehabilitate the cut and fill slopes. There
would therefore be a greater risk of increased ero-
IV -3
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
sion on this portion of the road and the amount of
sediment reaching Sait Creek would be greater.
Alternative 4
The specified new road construction of 17.8 miles
would commit 66.1 acres of soil to an essentially
nonproductive condition, in addition to the 57
acres already roaded (Table IV-1). The total soil
resource commitment for this alternative would
therefore be 123 acres, or 0.8 percent of the analy-
sis area.
This alternative would have the greatest amount of
soil disturbance due to reading of all of the action
alternatives, and thus would have the greatest po-
tential of increased erosion and mass failure, and
the most total soil resource commitment.
Alternative 5
The specified new road construction of 1.15 miles
would commit 5 acres of soil to an essentially non-
productive condition, in addition to the 57 acres
already roaded (Table IV-1). The total soil resource
commitment for this alternative would therefore be
62 acres, or 0.40 percent of the analysis area. This
alternative would be the least amount of soil dis-
turbance due to raoding of all the action alterna-
tives, and thus the least potential of increased ero-
sion and mass failure, and the least total soil
resource committment.
Alternative 6 PREFERRED
This alternative will have the same effects of soil
impacted and displaced as Alternative 4 (see table
IV-1).
Alternative 2A
This alternative has the same effects of soil impact-
ed and displaced as alternative 2.
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS
Approximately 100 acres of post and pole sales
and firewood and house log salvage would occur
after timber harvesting, and minor impacts to the
roads would occur, depending on local climatic
conditions. No additional soil disturbance would
be associated with these activities, and losses to
soil productivity due to removal of trees would be
within the standards and guidelines established
by the Forest Plan. There are no additional surface
disturbance activities proposed for the analysis
area in the current planning period.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All the alternatives are consistent with Forest Plan
standards and guidelines or the soil resource.
HYDROLOGY EFFECTS
Road construction and use and timber harvest
may cause direct effects to water quality from ac-
celerated erosion, particularly at stream crossings.
Indirect effects to the hydrology of the area are
those that do not immediately affect water quality,
but may affect water quality in the long term, such
as increased water yield and changes in the timing
of peak flow due to timber harvesting.
Water Quality and Stream Sedimentation
The most prevalent cause of direct sediment intro-
duction into streams from timber harvesting activi-
ties is road construction (Megahan, 1972). Lack of
effective mitigation measures and poor road loca-
tion lead to sediment being deposited directly in
the stream. Sediment introduction from harvest
units is generally minimal compared to that from
roads.
No significant stream sedimentation is anticipated
from the proposed action alternatives, except Al-
ternative 3, due to the stable quartzite soils in the
sale area, the use of filter strips adjacent to
streams, and the development of site-specific Best
Management Practices (BMP’s), or mitigation
measures.
Water Yield and Peak Flows
Total water yield and timing of peak flows are de-
pendent on total precipitation and the snowmelt
regime of an area. Much research has been done
recently to determine the effect of vegetation re-
moval on water regimes. These studies indicate
that timber harvesting can cause an increase in
the total water produced by a drainage due to a
reduction of transpiration by removal of trees and
an increase in the amount of snow reaching the
ground due to reduced snow interception by the
IV -4
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
tree cover and redistribution of snow during
storms. Research done in Colorado in high eleva-
tion areas with similar precipitation patterns to
those in the analysis area and a cold, dry snow-
pack has confirmed that timber harvesting can
both increase and advance peak flows (Troendle
and King, 1985). However, it has been generally
noted that 20 to 30 percent of the watershed has
to be harvested before a significant change in flow
can be detected (T roendle and Leaf, 1 980 as cited
by Troendle, 1982). The observations in Little
Woodtick Creek following the 1991 spring
snowmelt runoff support the 20 to 30 percent rule
of thumb. Twenty-three percent of this drainage
was harvested, resulting in increased runoff and
stream channel erosion (See discussion under Hy-
drology, Chapter III).
The percentages of drainages cut for all alterna-
tives are shown in Table IV-2. The percentage of
the drainages cut under all the action alternatives
proposed are well below 20 percent. Peak flows
TABLE IV-2: PERCENT OF DRAINAGES HARVESTED IN THE MOYER SALT ANALYSIS AREA
ALT 1
ALT 2
ALTS
ALT 4
ALTS
ALT 6
ALT
2A
PRE-
FERRED
Woodtick Creek Drainage
Existing Harvesting
(Tick Creek Timber Sale)
5.2
5.2
5.2
5.2
5.2
5.2
5.2
Proposed Harvesting
0
2.1
1.8
3.0
0.8
2.7
1.9
Total
5.2
7.3
7.0
8.2
6.0
7.9
7.1
Salt Creek Drainage
0
9.1
4.5
14.3
5.1
12.3
8.2
‘Perm’ Creek Drainage
0
11.3
11.3
14.2
4.3
13.1
10.4
therefore should not be increased to a point that
channel erosion would result (Rosgen, 1978).
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
Creek and Perreau Creek Timber Sales) has
shown that the current
guidelines for filter strips have been effective in
preventing stream sedimentation.
Effects Due to Timber Harvesting: With the proper
utilization of adequate filter or buffer strips be-
tween the cutting units and the adjacent streams,
there is a very low risk of sediment reaching either
a perennial or intermittent stream. The Forest Plan
contains guidelines for filter strip widths based up-
on geologic parent material, percent slope and
percent ground cover (See Appendix B, BMP
Summary). In addition, the Idaho Forestry Prac-
tices Act (IFPA) specifies a minimum Stream Pro-
tection Zone (SPZ) of 75 and 5 feet for Class I and
Class II steams, respectively. To insure compli-
ance with both the Forest Plan and IFPA, a mini-
mum SPZ, or filter strip, of 75 feet would be used
for all perennial streams. Where the Forest Plan
recommends a filter strip greater that 75 feet this
distance would be used. Field review of previous
timber sales with similar soils and vegetation (Tick
With the application of the general BMP’s for tim-
ber harvesting, the proposed timber harvesting for
each action alternative would not have an adverse
impact on water quality. The filter strips would en-
sure that sediment from the cutting units does not
reach any intermittent or perennial streams. The
fishery mitigation for maintenance of a minimum
75 foot uncut buffer on both sides of the perennial
streams would ensure thermal cover for the
streams so that water temperature and dissolved
oxygen would not be adversely impacted. The ex-
isting beneficial water uses would not be adversely
impacted in the short or long term from the pro-
posed timber harvesting.
Effects Due to Road Construction and Reconstruc-
tion: In addition to the Soil and Water BMP’s for
road construction specified in the Forest Plan and
IV - 5
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
Chapter IV
Idaho Forestry Practices regulations, site-specific
BMP’s have been developed for the proposed tim-
ber sale activities. Although the amount of new
road construction varies for each alternative (Ta-
ble IV-1), each action alternative, except Alterna-
tive 5, involves crossing Woodtick Creek, Good-
luck Creek, Salt Creek, “Perm" Creek, and the
unnamed drainage in the SE 1/4 of Section 10.
Alternative 5 will not have any new stream cross-
ings, but the existing stream crossing on Woodtick
Creek will be reconstructed to improve fish pas-
sage. The locations of the stream crossings varies
by alternative, and are discussed below under "Ef-
fects by Alternative'. Site-specific BMP’s for these
crossings include placement of a slash windrow
along the toe of the fill slope adjacent to these
streams. Continuous windrows would extend out
from the stream crossings until an adequate filter
strip exists between the toe of the fill slope and the
stream. The remainder of the road will also have a
slash windrow for soil entrapment placed along
the toe of the fill slope. However outside the filter
strip short segments of the windrows will be re-
moved at regular intervals for wildlife movement.
The use of slash windrows on all the new road
construction will greatly reduce soil movement
downslope from the roads, and consequently
stream sedimentation, except for Alternative 3.
This mitigation measure would greatly minimize
stream sedimentation associated with fill slope
erosion.
Following sale closure and slash treatment, seg-
ments of the roads will have slash placed on them
to prevent travel on the roads for protection of elk
security areas. This will restrict road maintenance
on these segments.
There is a possibility of blockage of the inside
drainage ditches due to the slash placement and
restricted road maintenance. This could result in
road surface and fill slope erosion if water from the
ditches runs across the road surface. To mitigate
this potential impact these road segments will be
surfaced with crushed gravel to a depth of four
inches. In addition, supplemental fertilization of the
reseeded areas will be done to ensure that a good
stand of grass exists on the fill slopes before the
slash is placed on the road. It is estimated that the
slash will be placed on the road 3-5 years after the
roads are constructed. This time lapse should al-
low for a good establishment of vegetation on the
fill slope to protect it from surface erosion in the
event of water running across the road and down
the fill slope from a blocked drainage ditch.
Though these segments will be impassable to ve-
hicles they will be inspected annually to determine
maintenance needs. Small ditch blockages will be
cleaned by hand crews. Any large blockages that
are observed will be evaluated as to their potential
to cause surface erosion and fill slope failure. If a
significant hazard is identified the slash will be
removed from the road to allow equipment pas-
sage to correct the drainage problem.
Road construction should not have any long-term
adverse sedimentation impacts on streams, ex-
cept for the Salt Creek stream crossing in Alterna-
tive 3. The only anticipated impacts are short-term
increases in water turbidity and minor localized
stream sedimentation associated with the culvert
installations. These negligible increases in sedi-
ment should not have an adverse effect on fish or
fish habitat. The existing beneficial water uses -
cold water biota, salmonid spawning, and sec-
ondary contact recreation - should be fully protect-
ed.
Monitoring of the Deep Creek watershed on the
Cobalt Ranger District has shown that a watershed
can be intensively managed for timber harvest and
still meet the Forest Plan Standards for fine sedi-
ment in anadromous fish spawning habitat. The
Deep Creek watershed which has stable quartzite
soils, like those in the project area, has a road
density of 1 .7 mile/mile square and percent fines-
by-depth in the spawning gravels of 14.4%. This
value meets the Forest Plan objectives of less than
20% fine sediment for anadromous fish spawning
habitat. The Deep Creek wateshed is similar to
Woodtick Creek in that the majority of the roads
are designed roads located primarily on the upper
slopes of the watershed. Existing primitive roads
are largely confined to the ridges where sediment
delivery is minimal.
All of the proposed alternatives would result in a
road density of 1.8 mile/square mile or less (Table
IV-3), compared to 1.7 mile/square mile for the
Deep Creek watershed. Road density is important
in that roads are documented as primary sediment
sources (Megahan, 1972).
IV - 6
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
TABLE IV-3: ROAD DENSITY
Alt 1
Alt 2
Alt 3
Alt 4
Alt 5
Alt 6
PRE-
FERRED
Alt 2A
Woodtlck Creek
Drainage
(Mile/mile2)
1.4
1.8
1.7
1.8
1.5
1.8
1.8
Moyer Creek Drainage
(Mile/mile2)
0.7
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.7
0.9
0.9
Sediment Yield Modeling: A sediment prediction
model was run for all of the proposed alternatives
to address water quality concerns relating to in-
creases in stream sedimentation from timber har-
vest activities. The BOISED sediment prediction
model was used for this analysis. BOISED was
developed on the Boise National Forest and it is
based on the conceptual model described in the
publication entitled 'Guide for Predicting Sediment
Yields from Forested Watershed' published in Oc-
tober 1 981 by the Northern and Intermountain Re-
gions of the USDA Forest Service. The BOISED
program is to be used as a tool to aid in predicting
the cumulative yield of sediment from road con-
struction, silvicultural activities, and fire within
small forested watersheds (approximately 1 to 50
square miles). Model outputs are expressed as
average annual sediment yields and sediment
yields as a percent of natural sediment yields (%
Over Natural). The BOISED computer program is
not Intended to be a reliable prediction of abso-
lute sediment quantities. Model outputs should
only be used to compare alternative manage-
ment scenarios. Table IV-4 displays the results of
the sediment modeling by watershed and alterna-
tives. The results are addressed in the following
discussion of each alternative.
Table IV-4: Sediment Yield Modeling Results
SEDIMENT AT CRITICAL REACH - WOODTICK CREEK
ALT 1
ALT 2&2A
ALT 3
ALT 4&6
ALTS
YEAR
TOTAL
(tons/yr)
%
O.N.
*
TOTAL
(tons/yr
%
O.N.
*
TOTAL
(tons/yr)
%
O.N.
*
TOTALS
(tons/yr)
%
O.N.
*
TOTALS
(tons/yr)
*
%
O.N.
1993
50
17
50
17
50
17
50
17
50
17
1994
50
17 •
112
160
119
177
116
169
59
37
1995
50
15
69
60
72
67
72
66
53
23
1996
49
15
58
35
61
41
62
43
52
20
1997
49
15
55
27
58
28
56
29
51
17
1998
49
14
53
23
52
22
53
22
50
16
1999
49
14
52
20
50
16
50
17
50
15
2000
49
14
51
19
50
16
50
15
49
14
2001
49
14
51
18
50
15
50
15
49
14
2002
49
14
51
18
50
15
50
15
49
14
IV - 7
Moyer Saft Timber Sate Final ESS
Chapter IV
SEDIMENT AT CRITICAL REACH - MOYER CREEK
ALT 1
ALT 2&2A
ALTS
ALT
ALT 5
YEAR
TOTAL
(tons/yr)
%
O.N.
*
.TOTAL
(tons/yr
%
O.N.
*
TOTAL
(tons/yr)
%
O.N.
*
TOTALS
(tons/yr)
%
O.N.
*
TOTALS
(tons/yr)
*
%
O.N.
1993
127
23
127
23
127
23
127
23
127
23
1994
127
23
175
70
184
78
178
73
132
29
1995
127
23
141
37
144
40
143
38
129
25
1996
127
23
132
28
134
30
133
30
128
24
1997
127
23
130
27
131
27
131
27
127
23
1998
127
23
129
26
130
26
129
25
127
23
1999
127
23
128
25
128
25
128
24
127
23
2000
127
23
128
25
128
24
128
24
127
23
2001
127
23
128
24
128
24
128
24
127
23
2002
127
23
128
24
128
24
128
24
127
23
* % Over Natural
EFFECTS BY ALTERNATIVE
Alternative 1 - N© Action
There would be no direct or indirect effect on water
quality under this alternative as a result of addition-
al timber harvesting activities. Stream sedimenta-
tion from channel erosion in Little Woodtick Creek
will continue to occur until ground cover condi-
tions in the upper watershed improve and logged
areas are regenerated (see discussion under Hy-
drology, Chapter III). The effects of this stream
sedimentation are localized and should not ad-
versely impact beneficial water uses in Woodtick
Creek.
Under the No Action Alternative there would be no
additional effect on water yield from any of the
drainages within the analysis area. The existing
effect of increased water yield in the Little
Woodtick Creek drainage will continue to occur
until the area is regenerated and the trees grow to
a size sufficient to offset the changes in snow ac-
cumulation and melt caused by timber harvest in
the Tick Creek Timber Sale.
Sediment modeling results show that this alterna-
tive would result in the least amount of sediment
generated. Sediment production in the Woodtick
Creek drainage would start out at 1 7% over natural
(O.N.) levels, as a result of the existing roads in the
drainage and past timber harvest activities. This
level would decline to 14% O.N. by 1998 and re-
main at this level through 2002, which is the end of
the time period modeled (Table IV-4). Sediment
production in the Moyer Creek drainage would
start out at 23% O.N. levels and remain at this level
through 2002.
Percent fines by depth measured in spawning
habitat in Woodtick Creek should remain at or near
the 1 5% level measured in 1 992. This value meets
the Forest Plan Standard of 20% or less fines in
anadromous fish spawning habitat. No adverse
impacts to water quality would occur under this
alternative and the designated beneficial water us-
es would be protected.
Road density would remain at 1.4 miles/mile
square in the Woodtick Creek drainage and .65
miles/mile square in the Moyer Creek drainage
(Table IV-3).
Alternative 2
Under this alternative, 41 0 acres of of clearcut and
158 acres of shelterwood timber harvesting would
IV -8
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
occur. With the implementation of the BMP’s de-
scribed above, no adverse impacts are anticipated
from timber harvesting.
Under this alternative 16.8 miles of new road con-
struction is planned. Road density would increase
to 1.8 miles/square mile in the Woodtick Creek
drainage and to .9 mile/square mile in the Moyer
Creek drainage. The major stream crossings in-
clude upper Woodtick Creek, Goodluck Creek, up-
per Salt Creek, and ■Perm' Creek (Figure 11-2,
Chapter II). A slash windrow would be placed
along the toe of the fill slope on all the new roads.
This mitigation measure would greatly minimize
stream sedimentation associated with fill slope
erosion.
The effects on water yields and peak flow increas-
es from the proposed timber harvest activities are
expected to be within acceptable limits. Under this
alternative 2.1 percent of the Woodtick Creek
drainage, 9.1 percent of the Salt Creek drainage,
and 1 1 .3 percent of the ’Perm' Creek drainage are
proposed for timber harvest. This proposed har-
vest, in combination with the existing cutover ar-
eas (Tick Creek Timber Sale, 1988) in the
Woodtick drainage, would increase the percent-
age of that drainage harvested to 7.3 percent.
The effects of this alternative on water yield and
peak flow increases should be minor as the
drainage percentages are well below 20 percent.
Because no major increased peak flow is anticipat-
ed, channel erosion associated with inceases in
peak flow should not occur.
Sediment modeling results show that this alterna-
tive would be in the middle of sediment production
ranking. Sediment production in the Woodtick
Creek drainage would start out at 1 7% over natural
levels (O.N.) in 1992, increase to 160% O.N. in
1 994 following road construction and timber har-
vest activites, and then sharply decrease to 23%
O.N. by 1998. Sediment production in the Moyer
Creek drainage would start out at 23% O.N. in
1992, increase to 70% O.N. in 1994, and then de-
crease to 26% O.N. by 1998 (Table IV-4).
Increased sediment production is not expected to
exceed the streams capacity to transport sedi-
ment. Percent fines by depth are expected to re-
main below 20% in Woodtick Creek which would
be below the Forest Plan standard of 20% or less
fines-by-depth in anadromous fish spawning habi-
tat (See discussion of Deep Creek Watershed un-
der Effects Due to Road Construction and Recon-
struction, Hydrology, Chapter 4). The only
anticipated water quality impacts are short-term
increases in water turbidity and localized stream
sedimentation associated with culvert installations
and road approaches to the stream crossings.
These temporary increases in sediment will be
minimized by the use of filter slash windrows along
the toe of the fill slopes on the new roads. The
existing beneficial water uses are expected to still
be fully protected.
Alternative 3
Under this alternative, 270 acres of clearcut and
1 70 acres of shelterwood timber harvesting would
occur. With implementation of the BMP’s de-
scribed above, no adverse impacts are anticipated
from timber harvesting.
Under this alternative 14.6 miles of new road con-
struction is planned. Road density would increase
to 1.7 mile/square mile in the Woodtick Creek
drainage and to .9 mile/square mile in the Moyer
Creek drainage. The proposed major stream
crossings would include upper Woodtick Creek,
Goodluck Creek, lower Salt Creek and upper and
lower 'Perm' Creek (Figure 11-3, Chapter II).
Except for the Salt Creek crossing, the new stream
crossing locations are the same as Alternative 2.
The Salt Creek crossing has been changed from a
location in the headwaters of the drainage to a
lower site where the stream flows through a steep,
V-shaped valley bottom. Construction of a cross-
ing in this location has a significantly greater po-
tential for stream sedimentation than the Salt
Creek crossing in Alternative 2. The steep
sideslopes would result in long fill slopes immedi-
ately adjacent to the stream. The lack of slash and
the slope steepness will also prohibit the construc-
tion of an effective slash windrow along the toe of
the fill slope. In addition, the south facing sage-
brush hillside adjacent to this crossing would be
difficult to revegetate. Revegetation of this slope
would take longer than the other crossings that are
located in wetter, cooler micro-climates. As a result
of these factors stream sedimentation is anticipat-
ed at the lower Salt Creek
crossing. This effect would persist until the fill
slope is revegetated.
IV -9
W?oyer SaSt Timber Sale Final E1S
Chapter IV
Under this alternative there would also be recon-
struction of the first eight miles of Road No. 1 07.
The majority of this reconstruction would be minor.
The major impact of the reconstruction would be
the replacement of the culvert on Woodtick Creek
with an open bottom arch or an oversized culvert
to provide fish passage (see Fisheries Effects, this
Chapter). Installation of an open bottom arch on
larger streams, such as the lower Woodtick cross-
ing, can result in increased water turbidity intermit-
tently for periods up to two weeks.
Sediment modeling results show that this alterna-
tive would result in the most sediment production.
Though actual miles of road construction and road
densities would be slightly less than Alternatives
2,4, 6 and 2A the location of the roads lower on the
slopes on more erosive landtypes results in
greater sediment production for this alternative.
Sediment production in the Woodtick Creek
drainage would start out at 1 7% over natural levels
(O.N.) in 1992, increase to 177% O.N. in 1994 fol-
lowing sale implementation, and then sharply de-
crease to 22% O.N. by 1 998. Sediment production
in the Moyer Creek drainage would start out at
23% O.N. in 1992, increase to 78% O.N. in 1994
and then decrease to 26% O.N. by 1998 (Table
IV-4).
Increased sediment production is not expected to
exceed the streams capacity to transport sedi-
ment, except for Salt Creek. Percent fines by
depth are expected to remain below 20% in
Woodtick Creek which would be below the Foest
Plan standard of 20% or less fines-by-depth in
anadromous fish spawning habitat. (See discus-
sion under Effects Due to Road Construction and
Reconstruction, Hydrology, Chapter 4). The exist-
ing beneficial water uses are expected to still
be fully protected in Woodtick Creek, Perm Creek
and Moyer Creek.
The effects of the lower Salt Creek crossing will be
the greatest. Because of the steep side slopes and
the reduced potential for revegetation of this
south-facing slope, stream sedimentation is antici-
pated in this location. This could cause some im-
pairment of beneficial water uses in Salt Creek until
the disturbed slopes are revegetated.
Th® effects on water yield and peak flow increases
from the proposed timber harvest are expected to
be within acceptable limits. Under this alternative,
1 .8 percent of the Woodtick Creek drainage, 4.5
percent of the Salt Creek drainage, and 1 1 .3 per-
cent of the “Perm" Creek drainage are proposed
for timber harvest. This alternative proposal, in
combination with the existing cutover areas (Tick
Creek Timber Sale, 1988) in the Woodtick
drainage, would increase the percentage of the
drainage harvested to 7 percent.
The effects of this alternative on water yield and
peak flow increases should not be major as the
drainage percentages are well below 20 percent.
No channel erosion as a result of greater in-
creased peak flow is anticipated.
Alternative 4
Under this alternative, 645 acres of clearcut and
202 acres of shelterwood timber harvesting would
occur. With implementation of the BMP’s de-
scribed above and in Appendix B, no adverse im-
pacts are anticipated.
Under this alternative 17.8 miles of new road con-
struction is planned.
Road density would increase to 1.8 mile/square
mile in the Woodtick Creek drainage and to .9
mile/square mile in the Moyer Creek drainage.
The proposed road locations and stream cross-
ings for this alternative (shown in Figure 11-4, Chap-
ter II) are the same as Alternative 2 (shown in
Figure 11-2, Chapter II), except for a one mile spur
off existing Road No. 1 07 in the Woodtick Creek
drainage. This spur is located on the upper slopes
of the drainage and would not cause any stream
sedimentation. The effects of road construction
under this alternative would be essentially the
same as discussed under Alternative 2.
Sediment modeling results show that this alterna-
tive would produce slightly more sediment than
Alternative 2, and slightly less than Alternative 3.
Sediment production in the the Woodtick Creek
drainage would start out at 1 7% over natural levels
(O.N.) in 1992, increase to 169% O.N. in 1994 fol-
lowing sale implementation and then sharply de-
crease to 22% O.N. by 1998. Sediment production
in the Moyer Creek drainage would start out at
23% O.N. in 1992, increase to 73% O.N. in 1994
and then decrease to 25% O.N. by 1998 (Table
IV-4).
Increased sediment production is not expected to
exceed the streams capacity to transport sedi-
IV- 10
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
ment. Percent fines by depth are expected to re-
main below 20% in Woodtick Creek which would
be below the Forest Plan Standard of 20% or less
fines by depth in anadromous fish spawning habi-
tat. (See discussion under Effects Due to Road
Construction and Reconstruction, Hydrology,
Chapter 4). The only anticipated water quality im-
pacts are short-term increases in water turbidity
and localized stream sedimentation associated
with culvert installations and road approaches to
the stream crossings. These temporary increases
in sediment will be minimized by the use of slash
windrows along the toe of the fill slopes along the
roads. The existing beneficial water uses are ex-
pected to still be fully protected.
The effects on water yield and peak flow increases
from the proposed timber harvest, though greater
under this alternative, are expected to be within
acceptable limits. Under this alternative, 3.0 per-
cent of the Woodtick Creek drainage, 14.3 percent
of the Salt Creek drainage, and 14.2 percent of the
"Perm' Creek drainage are proposed for timber
harvest. This acreage, in combination with the cu-
tover areas (Tick Creek Timber Sale, 1 988) in the
Woodtick Creek drainage, would increase the per-
centage of that drainage harvested to 8.2 percent.
The effects of water yield and peak flow increases,
while greater in the “Perm' and Salt Creek
drainages under this alternative, would not be ma-
jor. The percentages of the drainages proposed
for harvest are still below 20 percent. No channel
erosion as a result of greatly increased peak flow
is anticipated.
Alternative 5
Under this alternative 124 acres of clearcut and
1 68 acres of shelterwood timber harvesting would
occur. This alternative would have the least
amount of watershed disturbance of any of the
action alternatives. Only 1.15 miles of new road
would be constructed and 8.0 miles of road would
be reconstructed. The majority of this reconstruc-
tion would be minor except for the replacement of
the existing culvert on Woodtick Creek to improve
fish passage during high flows. The new road con-
struction is a short spur road that would be located
on the upper slopes with no new stream crossings.
Road density would increase to 1 .5 mile/square
mile in the Woodtick Creek drainage, but would
not change in the Moyer Creek drainage.
Sediment modeling results show that this alterna-
tive would result in the least sediment production
of all the action alternatives. Sediment production
in the Woodtick Creek drainage would start out at
17% over natural levels (O.N.) in 1992, increase to
37% O.N. in 1994 following sale implementation,
and then decrease to 16% O.N. in 1998. Sediment
production in the Moyer Creek drainage would
start out at 23% O.N. in 1 992 increase to 29% O.N.
in 1994 then decrease to 23% O.N. by 1998 (Table
IV-4).
The minor increases in sediment production for
this alternative would not exceed the streams ca-
pacity to transport the sediment. Percent fines-by-
depth in the spawning habitat are expected to
remain below 20% in Woodtick Creek which would
be below the Forest Plan standard of 20% or less
fines-by-depth in anadromous spawning habitat.
(See discussion under Effects Due to Road Con-
struction and Reconstruction, Hydrology, Chapter
IV). The only anticipated water quality impacts are
short term increases in turbidity and short term
localized stream sedimentation associated with re-
placing the existing culvert on Woodtick Creek.
Installation of an open bottom arch on larger
streams, such as Woodtick Creek, can result in
increased water turbidity intermittently for periods
up to two weeks. The existing beneficial water us-
es are expected to be fully protected.
The effects on water yield and peak flow increases
from the harvest proposed under this alternative
are expected to be very minor. Cumulative harvest
in the Woodtick Creek drainage would increase to
6.0% with the proposed harvest. A total of 5.1% of
the Salt Creek drainage and 4.3% of the 'Perm'
Creek drainage would be harvested under this al-
ternative. The percentage of the drainages pro-
posed for harvest are well below the 20% threshold
where changes in flow can possibly be detected.
No channel erosion as a result of increased peak
flows are anticipated.
Alternative 6 PREFERRED
Under this alternative 552 acres of clearcut and
202 acres of shelterwood timber harvesting would
occur. New road construction would total 17.8
miles. The only difference between this alternative
and Alternative 4 is the retention of unharvested
islands in 15 of the proposed clearcut units. While
this will result in a reduction of 64 acres of treated
area the effects of this alternative are essentially
IV - 11
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
the same as Alternative 4 for the following reasons:
1) The road network would be exactly the same as
Alternative 4;
2) Though uncut islands will be left in some of the
clearcut units the skid trail density within these
units would essentially be the same, resulting in
approximately the same, amount of surface dis-
turbance. 3) The road densities and sediment yield
modeling results are the same as Alternative 4. For
these reasons the effects of this alternative are the
same as discussed under Alternative 4.
Alternative 2A
Under this alternative 345 acres of clearcut and
1 58 acres of shelterwood timber harvesting would
occur. New road construction would total 16.8
miles. The only difference between this alternative
and Alternative 2 is the retention of unharvested
islands in 21 of the proposed clearcut units. While
this will result in a reduction of 84 acres of treated
area the effects of this alternative are essentially
the same as Alternative 2 for the following reasons:
1) The road network would be exactly the same as
Attentive 2. 2) Though uncut islands will be left in
some of the clearcut units the skid trail density
within these units would essentially be the same,
resulting in approximately the same amount of sur-
face disturbance. 3) The road densities and sedi-
ment yield modeling results are the same as
Alternative 2. For these reasons the effects of this
alternative are the same as discussed under Alter-
native 2.
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS
Future proposed activities within the analysis area
include timber stand improvement (thinning) with-
in the shelterwood units, post and pole harvest,
firewood and house log salvage. No additional
commercial sawlog timber sales are scheduled for
the remainder of the current planning period,
which extends through 1 998. No additional roads
are planned for construction for the post and pole
or firewood harvesting. The effects of these pro-
posed activities should be very minimal since no
additional roads would be constructed and soil
disturbance associated with these activities is neg-
ligible. The cumulative effects would essentially be
the same as described under the Direct and Indi-
rect Effects for the alternatives.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All of the proposed alternatives, except Alternative
3, are consistent with Forest Plan standards and
guidelines for water. Alternative 3 could cause
some
impairment of beneficial water uses in Salt Creek
until the disturbed areas are
revegetated.
WETLANDS EFFECTS
The effects on wetlands from the proposed ac-
tivites are expected to be very minor. A wetlands
analysis was conducted to determine what the
specific impacts would be for each alternative.
Normal silvicultural activities and the construction
or maintenance of forest roads for timber harvest-
ing purposes are exempt from the requirements of
the 404 permit process (CFR 33, Part 323.4), pro-
viding that they are constructed and maintained in
accordance with Best Mangement Practices. All of
the roads proposed under the various alternatives
are single purpose, silviculture roads that would
be exempt from 404 permits. No Individual or Na-
tionwide 404 Permits would be required for any of
the proposed activites.
Direct and Indirect Effects from Timber Harvest
Alternatives 2, 4, 5, 6 and 2A: Isolated wetlands
derived from springs or seeps are found at the
lower boundary of Units 25 and SI 4. Limits of the
wet area within the units will be flagged so that
they can be avoided (See Wetland Mitigations).
This would prevent surface disturbance of the wet-
lands.
Alternative 3: An isolated wetland derived from a
spring or seep is found in Unit 25. Limits of the wet
area within the unit will be flagged so that it can be
avoided to mimimize surface disturbance of the
wetland (See Water Mitigations).
Direct and Indirect Effects From
Road Construction
During road location one primary objective was to
avoid or minimize any adverse impacts to wet-
lands. An effort was made to locate stream cross-
IV- 12
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
ings in reaches where the stream channels are
well defined and the riparian wetlands are narrow.
However, it was not always possible to locate the
crossings in reaches where the wetland was nar-
row. Due to topographic features and grade con-
straints, some isolated wetlands derived from
springs and seeps could not be avoided and will
be crossed by the proposed roads.
Alternatives 2, 4, 5, 6, and 2A): Major stream cross-
ings for these alternatives include Goodluck
Creek, upper Woodtick Creek, upper Salt Creek
and upper Perm Creek. The Woodtick and Good-
luck Creek crossings are located just above the
confluence of these two streams. The Salt Creek
and Perm Creek crossings are located in the head-
waters of these streams. All of these crossings are
located in reaches where the stream is confined
and only a stringer riparian spruce wetland adja-
cent to the stream is found.
Minor stream crossings include two forks of an
unnamed tributary of Woodtick Creek (between
proposed cutting Units 1 1 and 1 9) and crossings
at the headwaters of five small tributaries of Salt
Creek. Six of these seven tributary stream cross-
ings are located where the riparian wetlands ex-
tend beyond the defined channel or draw bottom.
The length of these wetlands at the point that they
are crossed by the proposed road ranges from 75
to 400 feet. The size of the impacted (filled) wet-
land areas ranges from .03 acre to .18 acre. The
most extensive wetland, which is approximately
400 wide, is located adjacent to a fork of an un-
named tributary of Woodtick Creek between Units
#13 and #19. This spruce riparian wetland is
found in a glacial moraine near the head of a
cirque basin. This spruce wetland extended for at
least one third of a mile above and below the pro-
posed crossing so it was not possible to make
minor alignment changes to avoid this wetland. An
inside ditch and culverts will be constructed on the
portions of the road that would cross these wet-
lands. This will allow any intercepted water to flow
under the road and back into the downslope wet-
land.
The proposed roads would cross two isolated wet-
lands derived from springs or seeps. One is locat-
ed just west of Unit 7 and one is located at the
lower edge of Unit 25. These two isolated wetlands
are approximately 150 feet and 100 feet wide and
the impacted wetland areas will be .13 acre and
.05 acre, respectively.
Alternative 3: The major stream crossings for this
alternative include Goodluck Creek, upper
Woodtick Creek, upper and lower Perm Creek and
lower Salt Creek. The Woodtick and Goodluck
Creek crossings are located just above the conflu-
ence of these two streams. The upper Perm Creek
crossing is located in the headwaters of this
drainage and the lower crossing is located approx-
imately 1 /3 mile downstream from the upper cross-
ing. The lower Salt Creek crossing is located north
of Unit #S12. All of these stream crossings would
be located in reaches where the stream is confined
and there is only a stringer riparian wetland adja-
cent the stream.
Minor stream crossings include two forks of an
unnamed tributary of Woodtick Creek (between
proposed Units #11 and #14). These stream
crossings are also located in reaches where the
streams are confined and there is only a stringer
riparian spruce wetland adjacent to the stream.
The roads proposed for this alternative also would
cross two isolated wetlands derived from springs
and seeps. One wetland is located just west of Unit
7 and the other is located at the lower edge of Unit
25. These two isolated wetlands are approximately
1 50 feet and 1 00 feet wide and the impacted areas
will be 0.13 acre and 0.05 acre, respectively.
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS
Future proposed activities within the analysis area
include timber stand improvement (thinning) with-
in the shelterwood units, post and pole harvest
(approximately 1 00 acres) and firewood salvage.
No additional commercial sawlog timber sales are
scheduled for the remainder of the current plan-
ning period which extends through 1 998. No addi-
tional roads are planned for construction for the
post and pole or firewood harvesting. The effects
of these proposed activities on wetlands would be
negligible since no additional roads will be con-
structed and no additional fill will be placed in any
wetlands. The cumulative effects would essentially
be the same as described under the Direct and
Indirect Effects for the various alternatives.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All action alternatives are consistent with Forest
Plan standards and guidelines for wetlands.
IV - 13
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
FISHERIES EFFECTS
A Biological Assessment was prepared for the
DEIS which addressed the potential impacts of
alternatives 1 through 4 on federally listed or pro-
posed Threatened and Endangered aquatic verte-
brate species (DEIS Appendix F).
A Biological Evaluation which addressed the po-
tential impacts of these same alternatives on For-
est Service Region 4 Sensitive aquatic vertebrate
species was also prepared at that time (DEIS Ap-
pendix G). The Biological Eavaluation document
was reformatted and updated in the FEIS to in-
clude three new alternatives not included within
the DEIS (FEIS Appendix G).
Timber harvest and road construction have the
potential to affect aquatic resources in several
ways. Poorly designed and improperly mitigated
forest transportation systems can affect both resi-
dent and anadromous fish habitat due to sediment
being deposited directly in the stream (Yee and
Roelofs, 1980). Improperly designed and installed
road culverts associated with stream crossings
can be barriers to fish migration due to outfall
height, excessive water velocities, insufficient wa-
ter depths, lack of resting pools, or combinations
of these factors (Evans and Johnson, 1 980; Yee
and Roelofs, 1980). Proper design and installation
criteria will be employed to ensure unrestricted fish
passage opportunities when culverts are em-
ployed on streams containing fish populations. Ri-
parian vegetation serves an important role in stabi-
lizing banks, providing stream shade, contributing
organic matter and terrestrial insects to the
stream, and serving as a buffer against sediment
transport into streams (Meehan et al, 1977; Yee
and Roelofs, 1980). Improper timber harvest tech-
niques which remove riparian vegetation or
streamside shade trees can change water temper-
atures and adversely affect egg incubation
(Greene, 1950; Chapman, 1962) as well as in-
crease predation and reduce preferred juvenile
salmonid microhabitats (Chapman, 1966; Allen,
1969).
Site-specific mitigation measures identified in
Chapter II of this FEIS are designed to specifically
address the potential sedimentation, migration,
and riparian impacts of forest road construction
and timber harvest activities identified above. Im-
plementation of these measures, along with asso-
ciated soil and water Best Management Practices
(BMPs) are expected to minimize these potential
impacts to aquatic habitats of the Woodtick and
Moyer Creek drainage system. The effectiveness
of these measures in protecting aquatic habitats
would vary between alternatives, however, due to
differences in road location and design, as well as
site specific logistical constraints to full implemen-
tation of specified mitigation measures. These dif-
fering scenarios, in some instances, produce dif-
ferent risks of failure to adequately maintain one or
more component of the aquatic environment.
Where these differing effects occur, variations are
discussed by alternative.
The anticipated effects of the various action alter-
natives discussed in the following section are
based on the assumption that fish passage prob-
lems at the existing crossing of Woodtick Creek by
F.S. Road 107 (Township 20 N, Range 19 E, Sec-
tion 32) (Figure 11-2) would be corrected if an action
alternative were selected and would not be cor-
rected under Alternative 1 , the No Action Alterna-
tive.
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
Potential impacts to fisheries resources in the
Woodtick and Moyer Creek drainages would be
minimized through application of mitigation mea-
sures addressing stream sedimentation, fish mi-
gration, and riparian zone integrity (Chapter II, Ta-
ble 11-1). All action alternatives are expected to
maintain fish migration opportunities and riparian
zone integrity. The six action alternatives have dif-
fering effects upon potential stream sedimentation
within the Salt Creek drainage, however. Effects to
that stream habitat parameter, therefore, are dis-
cussed by alternative.
An existing culvert on FS Road 1 07 at Township 20
N, Range 1 9 E, Section 32 has become a high flow
passage barrier to both resident and anadromous
fish due to excessive water velocities. Although
only four of the seven alternatives require recon-
struction of this site as a component of their re-
spective transportation packages, fish passage
capabilities for existing upper-drainage bull trout
populations and potential steelhead populations
would be restored at this site under all action alter-
natives. Funding mechanisms to implement re-
quired reconstruction or replacement of this struc-
IV - 14
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
ture, however, would vary by alternative (see
Fisheries Mitigations, Table 11-1).
Reconstruction operations at this Woodtick Creek
crossing would result in a temporary increase in
water turbidity and the introduction of minor
amounts of sediment to a localized area below the
culvert site. Installation of this crossing structure in
accordance with "Performance Criteria to be Ob-
served to Protect Stream Channels" (FSM
2505.1-2, Appendix B) would minimize the spatial
and temporal scope of these impacts.
All cutting units in the Woodtick, Goodluck, Salt,
and "Perm" Creek drainages except units 26
through 30 in the "Perm" Creek drainage and unit
21 at the head of the Salt Creek Drainage are well
removed from perennial streamcourses. Location
of these units away from the streams would ensure
surface interception of harvest/yarding-related
sediment by intervening lands, maintenance of ri-
parian vegetation integrity, and retention of ther-
mal cover to aquatic environments. Those cutting
units near perennial streams in the Salt and "Perm"
Creek drainages would have filter strips 75 or more
feet wide between perennial waters and the cut-
ting units to preclude sediment introduction and
maintain thermal stream cover, as prescribed by
slope and vegetative cover criteria (BMPs, Ap-
pendix B).
Harvest operations would not be expected to
greatly increase water yield within the Woodtick
Creek drainage under any of the proposed action
alternatives, as even the most intensive proposed
cutting prescription would harvest only 3.0 percent
of this basin (See Hydrology Effects, Table IV-4).
Previous harvest within the Woodtick Creek
drainage has impacted an additional 5.2 percent
of this drainage, bringing the total affected
drainage portion to 8.2 percent under maximum
proposed harvest. This level of disturbance would
be substantially below the 20 to 30 percent regard-
ed as capable of producing greatly increased wa-
ter yield (Troendle and Leaf, 1980, as cited by
Troendle, 1982). Alternative-specific variations in
cutting units and harvest prescriptions within the
smaller Salt and "Perm" Creek drainages, however,
have differing potentials to increase runoff flow
intensities in these streams. Although no major
land disturbing activities have been conducted in
these drainage in recent years, various Moyer Salt
harvest proposals encompass between 4.5 and
14.3 percent of the Salt Creek drainage and be-
tween 4.3 and 1 4.2 percent of the "Perm’ Creek
drainage. Potential effects to fisheries resources of
varying harvest intensities in the Salt Creek and
'Perm' Creek drainages, therefore, will be dis-
cussed by alternative.
All new specified roads constructed to access pro-
posed cutting units are slated for year-round clo-
sure except during post-sale open-access fire-
wood gathering periods (see Wildlife Mitigations,
Table 11-1). Long-term angler access to the mid
and upper reaches of Woodtick Creek would
therefore remain essentially unchanged under all
action alternatives.
EFFECTS BY ALTERNATIVE
Alternative 1 - No Action
No road construction or timber harvest activities
would be implemented under this alternative.
There would be no direct or indirect effects on
fisheries resources within the analysis area due to
activities associated with timber harvest. The
aquatic habitats of Woodtick Creek, Goodluck
Creek, Salt Creek, and "Perm" Creek would remain
generally unchanged from conditions described in
Chapter III, except for minor natural changes in
channel structures related to continued introduc-
tion of large woody debris as trees die and fall
down. Naturally-occurring events such as fire or
floods may cause changes to fish habitat as a
result of vegetation disturbance, increases in flow,
or other events. Angler access and harvest of resi-
dent fish species in Woodtick Creek, Goodluck
Creek, and Salt Creek would remain essentially
unchanged from current levels. Future utilization of
steelhead habitat within the Woodtick Creek
drainage, and steelhead and Chinook salmon
habitat within the Moyer Creek drainage would be
dependent upon improvement of water quality in
Panther Creek. Under the No Action Alternative,
the existing culvert at the crossing of Woodtick
Creek by F.S. Road 107 in Township 20 N, Range
1 9 E, Section 32 (Figure 11-1) would not be repaired
or replaced through timber-related funding, be-
cause no revenue would be generated. It would
continue to be a barrier to upstream migration of
both anadromous and resident fish unless sched-
uled for repair or replacement via Fisheries Depart-
ment project funding, by the Cobalt Ranger Dis-
trict.
IV- 15
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EBS
Chapter IV
Alternative 2
This alternative would require road crossings of
Woodtick Creek, Goodluck Creek, Salt Creek,
“Perm" Creek, and an unnamed tributary of
Woodtick Creek. Fish passage at the existing road
culvert on FS Road 1 07 (Township 20 N, Range 1 9
E, Section 32) would be restored in association
with Knudson-Vandenberg (KV) funding, while
construction design would maintain fish passage
at the required new crossings of upper Woodtick
Creek (Township 19 N, Range 19 E, Section 11)
and Goodluck Creek (same lega!)(Figure 11-2). Un-
der the transportation system associated with this
alternative, the Salt Creek crossing would be locat-
ed in the headwaters area of the drainage (Town-
ship 19 N, Range 19 E, Section 16)(Figure 11-2).
The natural diminished aquatic habitat capability
at and above this location does not warrant a
crossing design which would ensure fish passage
at this site. A single crossing of “Perm Creek"
would be required in Township 19 N, Range 19 E,
Section 1 7 (Figure 11-2) under this alternative. Fish
passage capability would not be maintained at this
crossing due to lack of aquatic habitat capability at
and above this sites. A crossing structure would
additionally be required across an unnamed tribu-
tary of Woodtick Creek (Township 19 N, Range 19
E, Section 10)(Figure 11-2). Although this tributary
is live at the proposed crossing location, it is inter-
mittent throughout the majority of its length and is
not believed to support fish life. Installation of
standard culvert designs at the crossing locations
of Salt Creek, "Perm" Creek, and the unnamed
Woodtick Creek tributary would have no long-term
impact on the fisheries resources of the Moyer or
Woodtick Creek drainages. Adherence to Forest
Plan standards and guidelines would minimize
short-term sediment and turbidity-related impacts
to downstream water quality during construction
activities at all crossing locations.
BOISED modeling of the transportation system
and harvest prescriptions associated with this al-
ternative indicates that sediment delivery rates to
Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek would fall within
the middle of the range predicted for the array of
alternatives, being higher than the predicted rates
for Alternatives 1 and 5, but lower than the rates
predicted for Alternatives 3, 4, and 6 (Table IV-4).
Mitigation measures identified in Chapter II, and
applicable soil and water Best Management Prac-
tices (BMPs) are expected to be fully successful in
protecting the aquatic habitats of these two
drainages. Results and interpretation of BOISED
sediment modeling are discussed in greater detail
within the Hydrology Effects section of this docu-
ment.
Timber harvest activities would impact 9.1 percent
of the Salt Creek drainage and 1 1 .3 percent of the
"Perm" Creek drainage under this alternative. As
these levels of basin harvest are well below the 20
to 30 percent basin harvest threshold levels ob-
served to result in major changes in annual water
yield or peak flow intensity (Troendle and Leaf,
1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982), no impacts to
the natural flow regimes of these streams would be
expected under this alternative.
Alternative 3
The transportation system for this alternative
would require two crossings of “Perm" Creek rather
than the single crossing required under Alternative
2. An upper crossing would be located in Town-
ship 1 9 N, Range 1 9 E, Section 1 7, as in Alternative
2, and a lower crossing would be located in Town-
ship 19 N, Range 19 E, Section 18 (Figure 11-3).
Fish passage would not be maintained at either of
these two crossings, due to the lack of suitable fish
habitat at and above these sites. Crossing loca-
tions of upper Woodtick Creek, Goodluck Creek,
and the unnamed Woodtick Creek tributary would
remain as described for Alternative 2, with fish pas-
sage capabilities being maintained at the upper
Woodtick Creek and Goodluck Creek sites. Fish
passage at the existing FS Road 107 culvert
(Township 20 N, Range 19 E, Section 32, Figure
11-3) would be restored in association with pre-
scribed road reconstruction operations.
This alternative would additionally relocate the Salt
Creek stream crossing to Township 19 N, Range
1 9 E, Section 7, and the crossing of the unnamed
Woodtick Creek tributary to Township 19 N, Range
19 E, Section 10 (Figure 11-3). Because it would be
located in the middle reaches of the drainage, the
Salt Creek stream crossing must be designed to
ensure unrestricted fish passage under this alter-
native.
Culvert installation operations would temporarily
increase water turbidities in Woodtick Creek,
Goodluck Creek, the unnamed Woodtick Creek
tributary, Salt Creek and "Perm" Creek at and be-
low these crossing locations and may produce
short-term sediment impacts to localized areas be-
IV - 16
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
low these sites. Installation of these crossing struc-
tures in accordance with 'Performance Criteria to
be Observed to Protect Stream Channels' (FSM
2505.1-2, Appendix B) would minimize the spatial
and temporal scope of installation impacts. The
narrow valley bottom and steep sideslopes adja-
cent to the proposed Salt Creek crossing preclude
flat, perpendicular approaches to this site, howev-
er. Further, these steep sideslopes inhibit the im-
plementation of adequate soil and water mitigation
measures between the road fill slope and the Salt
Creek stream channel. These site specific limita-
tions, coupled with the determitation of BOISED,
which indicates that alternative would produce the
greatest longterm sediment delivery rates of the
seven alternatives analyzed, together produce an
increased risk of surface erosion and conse-
quently an associated increased risk of failure to
continuously meet State water quality standards
within Salt Creek stream channel (see Hydrology
discussion, Chapter IV). As this crossing is located
lower in the Salt Creek drainage than those pro-
posed under other action alternatives, any long
term stream sedimentation resulting from
unchecked overland erosion would impact poten-
tial rearing habitats within that stream and, to a
lesser degree, Moyer Creek below the confluence
of Salt Creek.
Under this alternative timber harvest activities
would impact 4.5 percent of the Salt Creek
drainage and 11.3 percent of the 'Perm' Creek
drainage. This represents the lowest level of har-
vest within the Salt Creek drainage of the six alter-
natives considered. No impacts to the natural flow
regimes of either Salt Creek or Woodtick Creek
would be expected at these disturbance levels.
Alternative 4
The transportation system associated with this al-
ternative utilizes the proposed extension of F.S.
Road 106, as in Alternative 2, reconstruction of
existing F.S. Road 107, and further extension of
F.S. Road 107 one additional mile into the
Woodtick Creek and Pete’s Gulch drainages (Fig-
ure 11-4). Stream crossing locations would be iden-
tical to those described for Alternative 2. Because
the additional roading required under this alterna-
tive is located entirely on upper-slope portions of
the Woodtick Creek and Pete’s Gulch basins, no
additional road-related impacts to aquatic re-
sources would be anticipated from those de-
scribed under Alternative 2.
BOISED modeling of the effects of the transporta-
tion system and harvest prescriptions associated
with this alternative indicates that sediment deliv-
ery rates to Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek
would be the second highest of the seven alterna-
tives analyzed. Mitigation measures identified in
Chapter II, and applicable soil and water Best Man-
agement Practices (BMPs) are, however, expected
to be fully successful in protecting the aquatic
habitats of the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek
drainages. Results and interpretation of BOISED
sediment modeling are discussed in greater detail
within the Hydrology Effects section of this docu-
ment.
Timber harvest prescriptions are maximized under
this alternative. Potential effects to fisheries are
primarily related to possible increases in peak flow
intensities resulting from intensive harvest of the
Salt Creek and "Perm* Creek drainages. Proposed
harvest operations under this alternative would en-
compass 14.3 percent of the Salt Creek drainage
and 14.2 percent of the "Perm' Creek drainage.
While the most intensive of the various harvest
proposals, basin disturbance under this alterna-
tive would not approach threshold levels observed
to result in major increases in annual wafer yield
and peak flow intensity (Troendle and Leaf, 1980,
as cited by Troendle, 1 982). As unmitigated poten-
tial sediment impacts to Salt Creek, "Perm' Creek,
and Moyer Creek from increased peak flow
intensity are not anticipated, implementation of
this alternative would not be expected to adversely
affect fisheries resources within the Moyer or
Woodtick Creek drainage systems.
Alternative 5
This alternative requires the least new roadbuild-
ing of the six action alternatives. Woodtick Creek
would be the only stream crossed by the associat-
ed transportation system. Fish passage at the ex-
isting culvert at Township 20 N, Range 19 E, Sec-
tion 32 (Figure 11-5) would be restored in
association with the required reconstruction of FS
Road 1 07 associated with this alternative.
BOISED sediment modeling results for this combi-
nation of roads and cutting units indicate that this
alternative would yield the second lowest amount
of sediment to the Moyer Creek and Woodtick
Creek drainages of the seven alternatives ana-
lyzed, and the lowest amount of sediment of the six
action alternatives. Mitigation measures identified
IV - 17
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
in Chapter II, and applicable soil and water Best
Management Practices (BMPs) are expected to be
fully successful in protecting the aquatic habitats
of these two drainages. Results and analysis of
BOISED sediment modeling are discussed in
greater detail within the Hydrology section of this
document.
Under this alternative timber harvest activities
would impact 5.1 percent of the Salt Creek
drainage and 4.3 percent of the “Perm0 Creek
drainage. This represents the lowest level of har-
vest within the “Perm' Creek drainage and the sec-
ond lowest level of harvest within the Salt Creek
drainage of the six alternatives. No impacts to the
natural flow regimes of these streams would be
expected at these disturbance levels (Troendle
and Leaf, 1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982).
Alternative © PREFERRED
The transportation system of this alternative is
identical to that of Alternative 4. As sediment gen-
erated by road construction activities comprises
the major component of overall yield, land disturb-
ance reductions associated with the application of
diversified forestry harvest strategies within units
otherwise scheduled for clearcutting under Alter-
native 4 represents a relatively minor factor in the
overall level of sediment generation under this al-
ternative. The predicted BOISED sediment yield
for this alternative, as a result, would be essentially
the same as that generated under Alternative 4
(Table IV-4). As with Alternative 2, mitigation mea-
sures identified in Chapter II, and applicable soil
and water Best Management Practices (BMPs),
are therefore expected to be fully successful in
protecting the aquatic habitats of the Woodtick
Creek and Moyer Creek drainages. Results and
interpretation of BOISED sediment modeling are
discussed in greater detail within the Hydrology
Effects section of this document.
Proposed harvest operations under this alternative
would encompass 12.3 percent of the Salt Creek
drainage and 13.1 percent of the “Perm' Creek
drainage. Due to the reduction of harvest within 1 5
units otherwise slated for clearcutting, this alterna-
tive represents a 14.0 percent reduction in Salt
Creek basin harvest, and a 7.8 percent reduction
in “Perm" Creek basin harvest, relative to alterna-
tive 4. As with alternative 4, these levels of basin
harvest, though among the highest of the alterna-
tives considered, do not approach the threshold
levels observed to result in major changes in annu-
al water yield or peak flow intensity (Troendle and
Leaf, 1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982).
Alternative 2A
The transportation system of this alternative is
identical to that of Alternative 2. As with that alter-
native, fish passage at the existing road culvert on
FS Road 1 07 (Township 20 N, Range 1 9 E, Section
32) would be restored through Knudson-
Vandenberg (KV) funding, rather than in direct as-
sociation with road reconstruction operations.
As indicated in the discussion for Alternative 6,
sediment generated by road construction activi-
ties comprises the major component of overall
sediment yield from timber sale activities. Land
disturbance reductions associated with the appli-
cation of diversified forestry harvest strategies
within units otherwise scheduled for clearcutting
under Alternative 4 therefore represents a rela-
tively minor factor in the overall level of sediment
generation under this alternative. The predicted
BOISED sediment yield for this alternative, as a
result, is essentially the same as that generated
under Alternative 2 (Table IV-4). As with Alternative
2, mitigation measures identified in Chapter II, and
applicable soil and water Best Management Prac-
tices (BMPs), are therefore expected to be fully
successful in protecting the aquatic habitats of the
Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek drainages. Re-
sults and interpretation of BOISED sediment mod-
eling are discussed in greater detail within the Hy-
drology Effects section of this document.
Proposed harvest operations under this alternative
would encompass 8.2 percent of the Salt Creek
drainage and 10.4 percent of the “Perm" Creek
drainage. Due to the reduction of harvest within 21
units otherwise slated for clearcutting, this alterna-
tive represents a 9.9 percent reduction in Salt
Creek basin harvest, and a 8.0 percent reduction
in “Perm' Creek basin harvest, relative to Alterna-
tive 2. As with alternative 2, these levels of basin
harvest are well below the threshold levels ob-
served to result in major changes in annual water
yield or peak flow intensity (Troendle and Leaf,
1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982).
IV- 18
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS
Harvest operations within the Woodtick Creek
drainage associated with the 1 988 Tick Creek Tim-
ber Sale have impacted 23 percent of the Little
Woodtick Creek drainage. Post-sale field review of
the area by the Forest Hydrologist in 1 991 indicat-
ed that an increase in water yield directly at-
tributable to intensive timber harvest had pro-
duced deleterious sedimentation in Little Woodtick
Creek below the sale area (see Chapter III, Affect-
ed Environment, Hydrology). Sedimentation ef-
fects appeared to be confined to Little Woodtick
Creek and were not believed to have impacted
fish-bearing waters of mainstem Woodtick Creek.
The increased water yield observed in Little
Woodtick Creek as a result of intensive harvest
within that drainage is not thought to have pro-
duced any measurable effects on the intensity or
timing of peak flows in mainstem Woodtick Creek,
due to dissimilarities in the timing of runoff in the
two streams.
This 23 percent disturbance of the Little Woodtick
Creek drainage corresponds to 5.2 percent of the
total Woodtick Creek drainage. The various timber
harvest prescriptions proposed under the Moyer
Salt timber sale would impact an additional 1.8 to
3.0 percent of the total Woodtick Creek drainage,
bringing cumulative land disturbance within the
drainage to 7.0 to 8.2 percent. As this level of
disturbance would be substantially below the 20 to
30 percent regarded as capable of producing
greatly increased water yield (Troendle and Leaf,
1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982), no further fish-
eries impacts related to cumulative land disturb-
ance in the Woodtick Creek drainage would be
anticipated under any of the proposed Moyer Salt
action alternatives.
Reasonably foreseeable future activities within the
analysis area include timber stand improvement
(TSI) operations within all shelterwood units, post
and pole sales, and public firewood salvage. No
additional road construction would be needed to
implement these post-sale activities, and no new
commercial sawtimber sales are proposed within
the analysis area within the current planning peri-
od. Consequently, cumulative impacts to aquatic
habitats encompassing post-sale activities would
be limited to those described in the preceding
sections. Only a very minor and short-lived in-
crease in consumptive harvest of resident fish
would be expected in association with open-
access public firewood gathering in the Woodtick
Creek area.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All action alternatives except Alternative 3 are ex-
pected to provide a level of fish habitat protection
consistent with Forest Plan guidelines of providing
for maintenance of State water quality goals and
retention of spawning and rearing habitats for resi-
dent and anadromous species at 90 percent of
inherent potential. Alternative 3 exhibits an high
inherent risk of failure to meet water quality stand-
ards, due to the site specific inability to adequately
protect water quality and stream substrates in the
vicinity of the proposed Salt Creek crossing site.
Additionally, Alternative 1, the no action alterna-
tive, is not consistent with Forest Plan guidelines
because under this alternative the current fish pas-
sage problem on Woodtick Creek would most
likely continue. No funding mechanisms to correct
it would be implemented under this alternative.
This barrier could be corrected at another time.
EFFECTS TO BSOLOGSCAL DIVERSITY
Effects of the Proposal
A complete analysis of the effects of the proposed
alternatives for this timber sale on biological diver-
sity and related topics are contained elsewhere in
this document [see Biological Diversity (Appendix
H, Section II), Wildlife and Fisheries Section of this
chapter and the Biological Evaluations (Appendix
G) and Assessments (Appendix F] of the FEIS. A
short synopsis of the most significant of those find-
ings is provided here.
Changes In diversity due to changes In plant
communities:
The Moyer Salt Timber sale area is located in
Douglas-fir communities at mid-slope and lodge-
pole pine and subalpine fir communities at upper
slope positions in the Moyer Salt Landscape. The
largest of the proposed harvest alternatives will
occur on approximately 2% of the Moyer Salt
Landscape. All of the action alternatives will har-
vest trees in mature and immature Douglas-fir, ma-
ture and immature mixed conifer and lodgepole
pine, and pole-sized mixed conifer stands.
IV- 19
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Flnai EIS
Chapter IV
Areas that the alternatives would clearcut harvest
trees on would increase the amount of seedling/
sapling habitat in patches up to 40 acres. Areas
that the alternatives would employ the shelter-
wood and irregular shelterwood harvest technique
on would produce scattered seedling/sapling
habitat in small patches throughout larger treat-
ment units (up to 95 acres). This should result in
the establishment of plant and animal associations
similar to those found in mature Douglas-fir com-
munities after a low to moderate intensity fire has
occurred.
The ecological result of these two techniques is
that the clearcuts would produce habitat markedly
different in plant structure and animal composition
than found in the current existing condition or in
the surrounding area In addition, the ’edge effect"
produced would be greatest where the clearcut
harvest technique is used. There would be a
marked increase in grass and forbs in these units
and "pioneering" animals like, white-footed deer
mice, least chipmunks, chipping sparrows, and
red-tailed hawks would increase. All of these
species are already relatively abundant because
they are adapted to a wide range of habitats and
plant communities that are quite common.
The irregular shelterwood harvest technique will
support plant and animal communities more like
those existing in the landscape today. As a result,
the contrast between harvest units and the habitat
surrounding the harvest units will be less. There-
fore, the “edge-effect" will be less pronounced than
would occur with other harvest techniques.
Species which occur in Douglas-fir habitats of the
age proposed for harvest in the Moyer Salt timber
sale include: hermit thrushes, western tanagers,
pine marten, red-backed voles, and red squirrels.
These species are abundant only where native
mature and old conifer trees occur.
Species which depend on mature to old growth
stands with closed canopies, for instance
goshawks which nest in such stands, will not be
able to use harvest units until the stands mature.
However, these harvest units will develop old
growth characteristics more quickly than units that
have been clearcut.
Effects on travel corridors:
All of the action alternatives, except the helicopter
alternative (Alternative 5), would facilitate move-
ment of humans and some plants and animals
between the Moyer Salt Landscape and the adja-
cent eastern landscape, Iron Lake Landscape (see
Figure 111-2 Landscape Boundary Map) because of
the road corridor connecting the two. In addition to
resident mid- to big-sized animals, rare species
like wolves, wolverines and lynx could also use this
travel corridor. The permanent roads proposed in
all but the helicopter alternative would result in a
loss of small areas of terrestrial and aquatic habi-
tat.
The alternatives proposing the use of clearcut with
islands, shelterwood and irregular shelterwood
harvest technique would produce plant communi-
ties that more closely resemble the surrounding
plant communities, thus leaving some cover. It is
thought that these units will disrupt the movement
of animals through harvest areas less than units
which are clearcut. However, even under the alter-
natives that propose only the clearcutting tech-
nique of harvest, the forested corridor would not
be completely severed. In fact most of the forested
cover would still remain even for Alternative 4,
which would clearcut the most area (645 acres)
and only results in removing cover from approxi-
mately 2% of the entire Moyer Salt Landscape.
Unique habitats:
Old growth habitat will be reduced by all of the
action alternatives in this proposal. Under Alterna-
tive 4, which harvests the most old growth, there
would be a 1 5% reduction of acres which have old
growth characteristics in the Woodtick and Salt
Creek drainages, other drainages in the Moyer
Salt Landscape would not be affected. No old
growth protection stands (see Figure 181-3, Old
Growth Retention Areas) would be harvested. Al-
ternatives which propose clearcutting would result
in harvest units that will not have mature to old
conifers, or the animals associated with them, for
over 1 20 years. However, for the areas that alterna-
tives propose harvesting trees by the shelterwood
or even more so by the irregular shelterwood tech-
nique, some old growth characteristics (large old
trees, snags and downed logs) will remain after
harvest. It is expected that the animal and plant
communities which would use these units would
more closely resemble those found in mature to
old Douglas-fir stands elsewhere in the landscape.
Because harvest units are located well away from
wetlands, riparian corridors would only be affected
IV -20
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
by the proposed alternatives under which roads
are constructed across creeks. Mitigations which
address disturbance and recovery of riparian ar-
eas at the proposed road crossing are included in
all alternatives. None the less, at each crossing a
permanent loss of small areas of wetland will oc-
cur. The Preferred Alternative (Alternative 6),
would effect approximately 3 acres of wetlands.
The helicopter alternative would have no effect on
wetlands.
Effects on rare species:
The National Forest Management Act of 1 976 di-
rects the USFS to provide for the maintenance of
viable populations of native and desired non-
native vertebrate species and the recovery of listed
species. The effects of Forest management activi-
ties on TEPS species are evaluated by how the
activity might change the viability of the species on
the Salmon National Forest. Viability in this sense
means the probability that the species will contin-
ue to exist on the Forest. The Biological Evaluation
and Assessment for TEPS which occur on the
Salmon National Forest indicate that the manage-
ment activities proposed for the Moyer Salt Land-
scape will not adversely affect the viability of
species indigenous to the Salmon National Forest.
VEGETATION EFFECTS
Timber management activities directly and indi-
rectly affect the vegetative diversity and the timber
resources of the analysis area by modifying com-
ponents such as the species abundance and dis-
tribution; structural and age diversity; and the
overall health of the forest, including insect and
disease infestation and the potential for wildfires.
All action alternatives propose use of the shelter-
wood and clearcut silvicultural systems or modifi-
cations of those systems. Prescribed treatments
are the same for Alternatives 2, 3, and 4. Initial
effects to vegetation would be similar for these
alternatives. Effects to vegetation would vary
slightly for Alternatives 5, 6, and 2A due to heli-
copter logging (Alternative 5) and leaving islands
in the clearcuts (Alternatives 6 and 2A). The main
differences between all alternatives are the size
and location of the cutting units, and the number
of acres harvested. These factors directly affect
the relative ability to improve growth, health, and
vigor of timber stands through implementation of
silvicultural treatments. Where the visual quality
objective is partial retention, many of the clearcuts
will be limited to 1 5 acres in size while shelterwood
units may be limited to 25 acres in size. In addition,
removal of adjacent stands (leave strips) would be
delayed until the first entry units have regenerated
to an average height of 22-25 feet. Please refer to
EFFECTS BY ALTERNATIVE in this chapter for a
detailed description of the effects by alternative.
Changes in the vegetative characteristics in the
analysis area due to implementation of the alterna-
tives are described in this section. Changes in
vegetative diversity are discussed in terms of
changes to forest succession, species abundance
and distribution, and stand structure. Changes to
the timber resource are discussed in terms of
changes to the age class distribution of the forest,
effects to insect and disease susceptibility, effects
to noxious weeds, and fire management.
EFFECTS TO VEGETATIVE DIVERSITY
Changes to the vegetative diversity in the Moyer
Salt analysis area would occur under the no action
alternative (Alternative 1) and under all of the ac-
tion alternatives. If no timber harvesting or natural
events that would disrupt the stands were to take
place, the trees in the area would continue to age
and die, and the species composition of the
stands would slowly change. As trees in the over-
story die and fall down, more shade-tolerant trees
in the understory would become the dominant tree
species on the site. Changes would also occur in
the understory structure and in the distribution
and abundance of other understory species.
The timber harvest activities proposed for the ac-
tion alternatives would change the existing vege-
tive diversity. Older trees would be cut and the
harvested stand would be replaced by a stand of
young trees that have a different structure and that
may have a different species mixture than the ex-
isting stand. Stands would be regenerated natu-
rally from trees left on the site or from trees in
neighboring stands. Seeding of shrubs, grasses,
forbs, and other plant species would occur from
neighboring stands or would be carried to the site
by wind, birds, and other sources. Sprouting from
roots of plants already present on the site would
also occur. In the unlikely event that natural regen-
eration fails, the stand would be planted with
IV -21
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
Chapter IV
seedlings grown from local seed sources. The ge-
netic diversity of plants and trees would be main-
tained by these events.
The even-aged silvicultural system and the
clearcut and shelterwood cutting methods pro-
posed for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale were select-
ed as the preferred harvesting methods because
not only are they environmentally sound and eco-
nomically efficient but they reproduce the natural
events that would occur in the area. The present
condition of the forest communities on the site are
the product, in part, of the fire history of the area.
Lodgepole pine, the dominant tree species in the
area, is a fire-dependent species. Where the natu-
ral fire cycle has been interrupted by fire suppres-
sion activities, these trees are no longer growing or
are dying.
Habitat Types
Habitat types are a permanent measure of the
potential climax vegetation which occurs on a site
and the site potential. Thus, no alternatives would
change the habitat types. The different harvest
treatments would, however, change the succes-
sional stage of a particular habitat type. Even-aged
harvest methods, including clearcutting and modi-
fied shelterwood cutting, would return the stand to
an earlier successional stage (see the following
section on successional stages for more discus-
sion). Each action alternative harvests approxi-
mately the same percent of each habitat type.
However, all action alternatives cut more of the
subalpine fir habitat series than the Douglas-fir
habitat series.
No unique or special habitat types would be har-
vested under any of the action alternatives.
Forest Succession
For the no action alternative as well as for all areas
not proposed for timber harvest, changes to forest
succession will slowly occur in the absence of any
major vegetation disturbing events. Mixed conifer
stands on the subalpine fir habitat types are in Sate
successional stages. Here the serai species are
dying out and being replaced by the climax
species of subalpine fir. The subalpine fir habitat
types that are occupied solely by lodgepole pine
are in an earlier successional stage but will eventu-
ally evolve into a climax stage. The Douglas-fir
habitat types that are occupied by Douglas fir
trees are in a late-successional or climax stage.
All action alternatives would alter the existing suc-
cessional stages in areas that are cut. The even-
aged harvest treatments proposed for all of the
action alternatives would change the successional
stage of the areas cut from mid or late-
successional stages to an early successional
stage. These changes in successional stage will
vary with habitat type; in some habitat types not
only will the age and condition class change with
harvesting, but the dominant trees species on the
site will also change. For example, the mixed coni-
fer stands on the subalpine fir habitat types are
nearing climax and are presently occupied by tim-
ber stands with an overstory composed of roughly
equal amounts of lodgepole pine and subalpine fir
with minor amounts of Douglas-fir and Englemann
spruce. After harvest, the stands that reforest the
site will, depending on seed sources, post harvest
treatments, and other factors, be dominated by the
serai species, lodgepole pine (greater amounts of
Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir could be ex-
pected in clearcuts where uncut islands are re-
tained - Alternatives 6 and 2A).
On Douglas-fir habitat types that are currently oc-
cupied by Douglas-fir with minor logepole pine
and subalpine fir, the trees that reforest the site
would be comprised of mostly Douglas-fir with
variable amounts of lodgepole pine, depending on
seed source. Where machine scarification and
slash piling is infeasible due to lack of road access
(Alternative 5 - helicopter yarding), pinegrass will
be expected to increase following harvest eventu-
ally forming a dense sod. The establishment of this
sod could delay regeneration for 20 years or
longer. Regeneration that does become estab-
lished would be comprised of a higher percentage
of Douglas-fir than where scarification was per-
formed.
Condition Class
All action alternatives would change the age and
condition class of the harvested units. Stands that
are currently mature and overmature would be
converted to a younger grass/forb/shrub condition
class. On sites where the younger trees are re-
tained, such as the shelterwood units that will have
an overstory removal cut, the condition class will
be converted to a seedling/sapling or pole class,
depending on the age and size of the trees that are
IV - 22
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
retained. Shelterwood sites with leave trees would
have a multi-story structure for several years after
harvest; these areas would contain a grass/forb/
shrub condition class interspersed with mature
trees.
EFFECTS TO SPECIES AND STRUCTURAL DI-
VERSITY
Species Diversity
Timber harvest would change the abundance and
distribution of tree species within the analysis
area. As discussed above, the stands that regen-
erate within the harvested units would have a dif-
ferent species composition than those that are
growing on the site at present, depending on the
successional stage and habitat type present on
the site. In addition, the vegetation that would grow
on the harvested sites would include pioneer
species such as fireweed and species that are
adapted to open environments. New growth that
occurs would contain a higher percentage of
grasses, forbs and shrubs than existing stands.
Seeding of road surfaces and cut and fill slopes for
erosion control could also slightly change the
grass and forb species composition. Persistence
of existing plant species and other biota would
depend on site preparation and other manage-
ment activities as well as the species’ adaptability
to an open environment. Grasses, forbs and
shrubs in the understory would be exposed to
increased light and available moisture with re-
moval or partial removal of the overstory. Species
abundance and distribution could also change if
post-harvest stand management selects one tree
species over another.
These changes to plant species and abundance
would not only affect the vegetation resource but
would favor wildlife that are adapted to a more
open habitat. Many plant species that are impor-
tant big-game forage would be favored.
Lodgepole pine would generally be managed for
on subalpine fir habitat types currently supporting
the lodgepole pine/mixed conifer stands de-
scribed in Chapter III. Regenerated clearcut units
would contain a higher percentage of lodgepole
pine than present mixed conifer stands. However,
where subalpine fir or Engelmann spruce occur
naturally in the regenerated stand, they would be
retained to maintain species diversity. Large-
diameter live Douglas-fir and subalpine fir retained
in the units as recruitment snags would contribute
to species diversity and provide a seed source for
regenerating those species.
Shelterwood harvest units would have the same
approximate species composition that is present
in current stand conditions, with a possible slight
increase in the amount of lodgepole pine.
In general, changes in species composition of the
analysis area as a whole would be small because
of the large size of the project area and the rela-
tively small acreage of ground-disturbing activities
proposed.
Structural Diversity
Structural diversity would be affected primarily
within timber harvest units, which make up be-
tween 1.9 and 5.5 percent of the analysis area
(Table IV-5). The remaining 94-98% of the analysis
area would continue to have structural diversity
provided by riparian areas, natural openings, old
growth retention stands, stands unsuitable for tim-
ber management, and inaccessible areas.
The proposed shelterwood and clearcutting har-
vest methods create even-aged timber stands. If
they develop uniformly they would be less struc-
turally diverse than the existing uneven-aged
stands that occur within the analysis area that
have a mix of canopy layers and an abundance of
snags and downed logs.
Vertical diversity within clearcut units would be
greatly reduced following timber harvest. Existing
snags and recruitment snags would be main-
tained within harvest units in accordance with For-
est Plan direction, thereby maintaining some verti-
cal diversity (Alternatives 2, 3, 4, 5,). Clearcuts that
contain uncut islands (Alternatives 6 and 2A)
would provide greater vertical diversity than those
where only snags or retention trees are left. Some
structural diversity would also be provided by
maintaining 10-15 tons per acre of large woody
debris. From a landscape perspective the regener-
ated clearcuts would eventually form a mosaic of
relatively even-aged stands that follow natural pat-
terns and avoid geometric shapes. As the regener-
ated stands grow in height they would take on an
appearance similar to the even-aged pole-sized
lodgepole pine stands described in Chapter III.
Post-sale timber stand improvement activities
such as thinning and removal of dead and dam-
IV -23
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EGS
Chapter IV
aged trees would occur in the regenerated stands
at a relatively young age in order to maintain tree
and stand vigor. As a result, these stands would
have a more 8open grown" appearance than the
fire regenerated stands.
The extent to which vertical diversity would be
modified in the shelterwood units would directly
correlate with natural stand conditions (the pres-
ence of existing regeneration) and the variation of
shelterwood method used i.e. standard shelter-
wood vs. group shelterwood. Where the standard
shelterwood is employed approximately 1 2 to 27
trees per acre of the healthiest dominant and co-
dominant trees would be left to shelter the site and
produce new seedlings (within 10 to 15 years).
Once the seedlings are established, the majority of
the remaining overstory would be removed leaving
3-5 large diameter trees for us by raptor and cavity
nesters. Thus vertical diversity in this stand condi-
tion is relatively low consisting of primarily
Douglas-fir seedlings overtopped by a few old
growth trees.
Vertical diversity is essentially maximized in both
the group and irregular shelterwood methods.
Stands treated using these methods will be com-
posed of four age structures in small, even-aged
groups. For example, following the removal cut of
the shelterwood the stand would have four vertical
components: 1) regeneration less than three feet
tall as a result of the shelterwood seed cut; 2)
existing Douglas-fir saplings 1 0-1 5 feet tall which
released after the first entry; 3) existing pole-sized
and immature sawtimber which released after the
first entry; and 4) large diameter snags and recruit-
ment snags left in accordance with Forest Plan
direction of the shelterwood would be made leav-
ing three to five large trees per acre for snag re-
placement or future harvest.
In stands where there are healthy young trees on
the site that will grow if competing trees are re-
moved, a group shelterwood method would be
implemented (designated as group shelterwood
on the stand maps). When this method is pro-
posed it is characterized by three distinct compo-
nents: 1) a Douglas-fir overstory with an understo-
ry of Douglas-fir seedlings and saplings ranging
from two to six feet tall; 2) a Douglas-fir overstory
with an occasional clump of regeneration but gen-
erally park-like in appearance; 3) thick patches of
advanced Douglas-fir regeneration (pole size ma-
terial 3.0 to 8.9 inches DBH. These three compo-
nents create a mosaic of even-aged groups.
The objective of the group shelterwood method is
to maintain these components as even-aged
groups, thereby replicating nature’s reproduction
system. In the initial entry, this method takes ad-
vantage of the existing regeneration where a suit-
able understory is present. The removal cut of the
shelterwood would be performed to release exist-
ing regeneration. Where regeneration is lacking
the seed cut, a shelterwood would be implement-
ed removing approximately 50 to 70 percent of the
overstory depending on site conditions.
The remaining "leave trees" would be expected to
regenerate the unstocked openings within 1 0 to 1 5
years. Once regeneration was established, a re-
moval out of the shelterwood would be made leav-
ing three to five large trees per acre for snag re-
placement trees.
Shelterwood Harvest (Alternatives 5, 6 and 2A)
In order to meet visual quality objectives and miti-
gate other resource concerns, many of the units in
Alternatives 5, 6, and 2A will be treated utilizing a
modified irregular shelterwood system (designat-
ed irregular shelterwood on the alternative maps).
This method would be initially similar to the stand-
ard and group shelterwood methods described for
Alternatives 2, 3 and 4. The primary difference is
that the shelterwood trees are retained longer than
necessary for seedling establishment thus delay-
ing the timing of the second entry into the stand.
The removal cut (second entry) of the shelterwood
would not be performed until the average height of
the regeneration is approximately 20 feet. The re-
moval cut would therefore occur approximately 20
to 30 years after the seed cut as compared to 1 0
to 1 5 years when employing the standard or group
shelterwood.
EFFECTS TO THE TIMBER RESOURCE
Effects to the timber resource are discussed in this
section in terms of changes to the age-class distri-
bution, growth and yield, insect and disease infes-
tation, potential for noxious weed invasion, and fire
management.
Timber management activities directly and indi-
rectly affect the timber resources of the analysis
area by modifying components such as the
species abundance and distribution; age-class
IV -24
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter SV
distribution and abundance and distribution of
condition classes; and the overall health of the
forest, including insect and disease infestation
and the potential for wildfires.
All action alternatives propose use of the shelter-
wood and clearcut silvicultural systems or modifi-
cations of those systems. Prescribed treatments
are the same for Alternatives 2, 3, and 4. Initial
effects to vegetation would be similar for these
alternatives. Effects to vegetation would vary
slightly for Alternatives 5 and 6 and 2A due to
helicopter logging (alternative 5) and leaving is-
lands in the clearcuts (Alternatives 6 and 2A).
Please refer to EFFECTS BY ALTERNATIVE in this
chapter, for a detailed description of the effects by
alternative. The main differences when consider-
ing all the alternatives is the relative ability to im-
prove growth, health, and vigor (size and location
of cutting units, and the acres harvested).
Road construction associated with timber harvest-
ing has a small direct effect on the vegetation be-
cause that portion of land committed to roads can-
not grow vegetation for a long period of time.
Indirect effects on the timber resource from road
building would also occur. Roads built to access
these timber harvest areas could be used again to
facilitate later entries. Fire protection, stand tend-
ing, and the ability to monitor and control insect
and disease problems would be enhanced
through road access. However, road construction
would increase the potential for invasion of nox-
ious weeds.
Table IV-5 summarizes the acres treated (by silvi-
cultural system and community) and the estimated
production in million board feet (mmbf) for each
alternative. The road and cutting unit locations and
sizes are shown on Figures 11-2 through Figure 11-7
in Chapter II. For a detailed description of the silvi-
cultural systems to be employed, the reader is
referred to the Features Common to all Action Al-
ternatives in section of Chapter II.
TABLE IV-5: ACRES HARVESTED, ESTIMATED TIMBER HARVEST AND HARVEST METHOD BY ALTERNATIVE
Acres Harvested
Lodqepole Pine
Community1
Alt 1
0
Alt 2
410
Ait 3
27©
Alt 4
645
Ait 5
124
Ait 6
PRE-
FERRED
545
ASt 2A
344
Douqlas-flr
Community2
©
15®
170
202
16®
202
15®
Total Acres Harvest-
ed
©
56®
440
S47
292
747
502
Percent of Analysis
Area Harvested
Lodqepole Pine
Community1
0
4.7
3.1
7.4
1.4
6.3
4.0
Douqlas-flr
Community2
0
3.®
4.1
4.®
4.1
4.®
3.®
Total Percent of Anal-
ysis Area Harvested
0
3.7
2.9
5.5
1.9
4.®
3.2
Estimated Timber
Harvest (MMBF)3
0
4.9
3.75
6.®
1.7®
6.1©
4.2
IV -25
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
TABLE IV-5: ACRES HARVESTED, ESTIMATED TIMBER HARVEST AND HARVEST METHOD BY ALTERNATIVE
(continued)
Alt 1
Alt 2
Alt 3
Alt 4
Alt 5
Alt 6
PRE-
FERRED
Alt 2A
Acres Harvested
Lodqepole Pine
Community1
0
410
270
645
124
545
344
Harvest Method
Clearcut with
Islands
0
0
0
©
0
427*
402
ClearcutfSng
0
410
270
645
124
186
10
Shelterwood
0
15®
170
202
16S
202
158
1 - LodgepoSe pine or mixed conifer Bodgepole pine, subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce and Douglas-fir
on subalpine fir habitat types
2 - Predominantly Douglas-fir with minor Inclusions of lodgepole pine and/or subalpine fir on sub-
alpine fir and Douglas-fir habitat types
3 - Million board feet
* - Total acreage within harvest unit boundary
Age Diversity
The desired future condition of areas available for
the application of timber management as estab-
lished by the Forest Plan shall contain the follow-
ing distribution of timber stand age classes in the
year 2030 (Forest Plan, 1V-90) (Table IV-6). This
age distribution is desirable in order to produce a
distribution of size and age classes that are more
vigorous, more resistant to insect and disease in-
festation, and more productive than existing
stands.
TABLE IV-6: DESIRED DISTRIBUTION OF AGE
CLASSES IN YEAR 2030 (In percent of
analysis area)
Age
Class
Years
Percent
1
0-39 years
31.1
2
40-79 years
16.®
3
80-1 1 S years
1.0
4
1 20-1 59 years
15.9
5
160+ years
35.2
This desired distribution is major in relation to cur-
rent age classes of timber stands in the Moyer Salt
Analysis Area. Currently less than 5% of the forest-
ed areas in the analysis area are in age class 1 .
The remaining 95% of the forested areas are in age
classes 3, 4, and 5. This skew in age class distribu-
tion is major because unless some of the stands
that are currently in the older age classes are con-
IV -26
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
verted to younger age classes, this distribution will
not be met. In addition, it is generally considered
unhealthy for large areas of an ecosystem to be
occupied by one particular phase of development,
as is the case for most of the analysis area. Such
an ecosystem would be considered unbalanced
and would lose flexibility to respond to environ-
mental changes.
In order to bring these stands into a more produc-
tive status and to improve the age distribution to-
ward the desired future condition, silvicultural
treatments are needed that would convert some of
the older, slow-growing, overmature stands into
younger, more vigorous stands.
Action alternatives that would convert the largest
acreages of forested stands in the older age class-
es to younger, immature second growth stands
through regeneration harvests (a harvest that re-
moves trees in order to make regeneration possi-
ble) and subsequent timber stand improvement
activities would have the greatest effect on in-
creasing the productivity and the age distribution
of the forest. The index used to measure this effect
is the estimated acreage of timber harvested in
each alternative, and is displayed in Table IV-7 by
alternative.
TABLE 8V-7: AGE DSSTRSBUTSON FOLLOWING HARVEST (In percent of analysis area)
Age
Aft 1
Alt 2
Alt 3
Alt 4
Alt 5
Alt S
PRE-
FERRED
AS! 2A
1 (0-39 years)
4.9
9.3
8.3
11.5
7.2
10.7
8.8
2 (40-79 years)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3 (80-1 1 9 years)
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
4 (120-159 years)
69.9
66.1
67.1
64.0
68.3
64.9
66.6
5 (165+ years)
13.5
12.9
12.8
12.7
12.8
12.7
12.9
Insects and Disease
Insects and disease infestations have caused re-
duced stand growth and increased mortality within
the analysis area. Silvicultural treatments pro-
posed for all action alternatives reduce present
insect and disease levels and improve the resis-
tance of trees to these agents in the regenerated
stand as well as the entire area in general. The
relative ability of the individual alternatives to treat
insect and disease conditions varies with the num-
ber of acres cut, as described in the following
'Effects by Alternative’ section.
Mixed conifer stands still show the effects of a
major mountain pine beetle epidemic during the
193Q’s. The level of dwarf mistletoe infestation is
heavy throughout these stands. If left untreated,
reduced stand vigor as a result of total stand infec-
tion by mistletoe would increase the likelihood of a
subsequent insect infestation. Harvest of the
mixed conifer stands would produce a variety of
age and size classes in the lodgepole pine forest
community in order to prevent damage due to in-
sects, disease, and fire. Post harvest timber stand
improvements would also be performed in all re-
generated stands at a relatively young age in order
to maintain tree and stand vigor by removing in-
fected trees. Decreasing the competitive interac-
tion within a stand would also help maintain stand
health and vigor, as well as reducing the time
needed to meet the desired future condition in
terms of tree size and stocking levels.
Douglas-fir bark beetle and western spruce bud-
worm infestations have been heavy due to pro-
longed drought and subsequent stress, and have
caused defoliation throughout the Douglas-fir
stands. Silvicultural methods prescribed for the
Douglas-fir forest would lessen the effects of West-
ern spruce budworm and Douglas-fir bark beetle
by removing infected overstory and understory
hosts and replacing them with more vigorous
stands containing non-host species under even-
aged management. Some regenerated stands
would have the overstory removed before the re-
generation reaches three feet in height. As in the
lodgepole communities, removal of infected trees
and decreasing the competitive interaction within
IV -27
Moyer Sait Timber Saie Final EIS
Chapter IV
the regenerated stands would maintain tree and
stand health and vigor.
Fire Management Considerations
The objective of fire management in the analysis
area is the prevention .of stand-destroying fires
within the lodgepole community and substitution
of management activities that replicate the natural
role of fire. This is accomplished in part through
the proposed timber harvest activities and associ-
ated slash disposal. All action alternatives propose
timber harvest in the lodgepole forest community
and thus will create age-class mosaics which help
reduce the potential for stand-destroying fires.
All action alternatives utilize silvicultural systems
designed to harvest the regenerated stands be-
fore they become susceptible to infestation and
mortality due to mountain pine beetle or other in-
sects or diseases. This will provide an opportunity
to substitute human management of the forest for
fire. In addition, the harvesting of lodgepole pine
trees for house logs, firewood, posts and poles,
and woodchips will provide additional opportuni-
ties for fuel management through harvesting.
Noxious Weeds and Exotic Plants
For all action alternatives, the potential for noxious
weeds or exotic species to become established in
areas where logging activities have exposed bare
mineral soil would increase. Ground disturbance
in areas such as road cut and fill slopes, landings,
skid trails, and burned slash piles may create con-
ditions favorable for the establishment of these
weeds. Knapweed is the primary species of con-
cern in this area, although establishment by other
weed species is also possible. The most common
way that knapweed is spread is on machinery from
infested areas elsewhere in the area, when the
seed is carried on the tires and undercarriage of
trucks, cars, logging equipment, and so on. Other
exotic species such as thistle also tend to enter
areas that have been disturbed and may affect the
divesity of plant species in these areas.
The Cobalt District has an ongoing weed control
program for knapweed and other weeds that uti-
lizes an annual application of chemical herbicide.
The control program has proven successful in re-
ducing the rate of spread of knapweed and in
some areas reducing the actual level of infestation.
The Forest Plan and the Noxious Weed Program
Environmental Assessment provide direction for
the control of noxious weeds.
The potential for weed invasion and the acreage of
weed control required for each action alternative
would be directly correlated to the amount of
ground disturbance due to timber harvesting and
road construction.
EFFECTS BY ALTERNATIVE
Alternative 1 - No Action
In this alternative, no road building or silvicultural
treatments would occur. No timber would be sup-
plied to local mills or contributed towards the Al-
lowable Sale Quantity established in the Forest
Plan. No improvement in site productivity could be
achieved through conversion of trees that are no
longer growing to younger, productive stands
through timber harvest and regeneration of the
site. This would leave timber stands in the area well
below their site potential and at high risk of further
losses from disease, decay, and mortality. No
change in the existing condition classes or age
class distribution would occur under Alternative 1 .
There would continue to be a disproportionate
percentage of acres in the older age classes and
condition classes.
In the lodgepole community, mature/overmature
pole-sized stands can persist for varying lengths of
time if undisturbed. Because this a serai tree
species, these stands would eventually die and
the stand would move towards climax. In north-
eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, lodge-
pole pine stands begin to die at 80 to 1 00 years;
at higher elevations in Montana, they may live
several hundred years (Tackle 1961). Trees in this
area can therefore be expected to live 1 00 to 200
years. These stands are overstocked and competi-
tion between trees is high. Eventually , overpopu-
lation of trees per acre or competition induced
mortality (self-thinning) would begin to occur. Al-
though neither density nor competition directly kill
the tree, the effects of severe competition makes
the individual trees susceptible to other agents of
mortality. For example, the reduced vigor associat-
ed with overstocking may result in greater suscep-
tibility to insect attacks (Keen, 1936; Westveld
1954; Waring and Pitman, 1980). As the lodgepole
pine trees die, these stands would eventually take
IV -28
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
on the appearance of the mixed conifer stand con-
dition of the lodgepole pine community.
Within the mixed conifer stands, deferment of tim-
ber harvesting would allow them to succeed to-
ward their climax state, in the absence of major
disturbance. These stands are currently well on
their way toward the climax forest of subalpine fir.
The shade-intolerant serai lodgepole will eventual-
ly be replaced by the more shade-tolerant sub-
alpine fir. Although occasional lodgepole pine
seedlings will continue to be established under the
forest canopy for some time, they will rarely grow
to maturity (Lotan and Perry, 1983).
Deferment in all of the lodgepole pine forest com-
munities would favor the subalpine fir component
and a multi-story canopy. This would result in high-
er levels of activity by western spruce budworm
and other insects and diseases, and cause a long
term reduction in tree growth in these stands
(Brookes et at, 1985).
The risk of potential wildfire would be greatest in
the no action alternative because of the larger
acreage of heavy fuels resulting from mortality of
trees that would die if not harvested, and because
no new firebreaks would be constructed in the
form of roads or harvest units. A transportation
system would not be developed that would pro-
vide access for personnel and equipment in the
event of a wildfire.
Loss of trees to mortality and not converting
stands of older, nonproductive trees to a more
productive status conflicts with the existing man-
agement direction for the area to manage for a
long term output of commercial sawtimber.
Alternative 2
This alternative would yield 4.9 mmbf of timber to
local timber mills. St would convert 568 acres of
older, unproductive trees to younger, more vigor-
ous conditions. This alternative would place the
third greatest number of acres under immediate
management, increasing average productivity of
the area (less than Alternatives 4 and 6 but more
than Alternatives 3, 5 and 2A). This alternative
would shift 568 acres from age classes 4 and 5 and
to age class 1 and would increase the percent of
age class 1 from 4.9 to 9.3 percent. This alternative
utilizes the transportation best suited for fire sup-
pression efforts in the lodgepole community in the
event of wildfire.
To meet visual quality objectives contained in the
Forest Plan, many of the clearcut units in the mixed
conifer stands would be restricted to 1 5 acres or
less in size. The regenerated stands of lodgepole
seedlings would initially be relatively insect and
disease free. However, due to the high perimeter-
to-area ratio of these small stands, they would be
highly susceptible to dwarf mistletoe spores falling
from older infested trees and onto the younger
trees, resulting in total infection of the regenerated
stands. The small units would also diminish the
ability to locate unit boundaries utilizing topo-
graphic features and changes in timber type which
are normally employed when designing harvest
units in dwarf mistletoe-infected lodgepole pine
timber types. Reduced stand vigor as a result of
total stand infection by mistletoe may increase the
likelihood of a subsequent insect infestation.
Where unit size is constrained only by insect and
disease standards and guidelines, the regenerat-
ed stands would be susceptible to dwarf mistletoe
infection along the edges where adjacent stands
are already infected. Unit layout employing topo-
graphic boundaries and changes in timber type
would help to slow reinvasion.
Douglas-fir stands would be harvested with either
a standard or group shelterwood system. In order
to meet all resource objectives contained in the
Forest Plan, all units except one would be limited
to 25 acres or less in size. As a result of limiting unit
size, substantial untreated areas would remain for
a major time period. These untreated areas would
continue to incur mortality from Douglas-fir beetle.
Immature understory trees would continue to re-
ceive varying levels of damage and mortality from
Western spruce budworm. It is conceivable that
future management alternatives for untreated
stands would be reduced or precluded due to lack
of adequate seed-producing trees and healthy un-
derstory trees.
Alternative 3
This alternative would yield 3.75 mmbf of timber to
local timber mills. It would convert 440 acres of
older, unproductive trees to younger, more vigor-
ous conditions. This alternative would place the
fifth greatest number of acres under immediate
management, increasing average productivity of
the area (less than Alternatives 2, 4, 6 and 2A but
IV -29
RZSoyer SaK Timber Sale FfimaS EDS
Chapter IV
more than Alternatives 1 and 5). This alternative
would shift 440 acres from age classes 4 and 5 and
to age class 1 and would increase the percent of
age class 1 from 4.9 to 8.3 percent.
Alternative 3 leaves a large portion of the lodge-
pole pine forest community unroaded and unhar-
vested, thereby increasing the potential for fire.
Under this alternative there would also be less
vehicular access for fire suppression efforts.
This alternative is similar to Alternative 2 in that to
meet visual quality objectives contained in the For-
est Plan, many of the clearcut units in the mixed
conifer and shelterwood units in the Douglas-fir
stands would be restricted to 1 5 and 25 acres in
size, respectively. This alternative is similar to Al-
ternative 2 in its ability to improve growing condi-
tions at the stand level.
This alternative proposes harvest of two Douglas-
fir sheiterwood units (1 2 acres) and two ciearcuts
(30 acres) not included in Alternative 2. The shel-
terwood stands have no understory and are locat-
ed on relatively dry sites characterized by steep
terrain. Leave trees would be left to provide seed
and shade to the regenerated stand. However,
slopes in this area are steep enough to prevent
machine site preparation; as a result, full stocking
of regeneration could take as much as 20 years.
Alternative 4
This alternative would yield the highest amount of
timber, 6.9 mmbf, to local timber mills. It would
convert 847 acres of older, unproductive trees to
younger, more vigorous conditions. This alterna-
tive would place the highest number of acres un-
der immediate management, increasing average
productivity of the area more than any of the other
action alternatives. This alternative would shift 847
acres from age classes 4 and 5 and to age class
1 and would increase the percent of age class 1
from 4.9 to 1 1.5 percent.
The transportation system developed for this alter-
native is best suited for fire suppression efforts in
the lodgepole community in the event of wildfire.
In the lodgepole pine community, unit size would
be determined only by Forest Plan insect and dis-
ease standards and guidelines. Therefore, maxi-
mum efficiency of improving growth, health, and
vigor of the treated stands would be achieved.
Where dwarf mistletoe levels are extremely high
unit size may reach 60 acres. The regenerated
stands would still be susceptible to dwarf mistletoe
infection along the edges where adjacent stands
are already infected, but the use of larger units
would provide for boundary placement techniques
employing topographic features and changes in
timber type that are designed to help slow reinva-
sion.
In Douglas-fir stands harvest units would be de-
signed to maximize harvest of trees that will die in
the near future, release understory trees present
on the site, and control Douglas-fir bark beetle and
Western spruce budworm infestation. In stands
that are currently considered openings for big
game (they, provide forage rather than cover) or
where existing natural regeneration would provide
desired stocking levels and hiding cover after har-
vest, unit size may exceed 40 acres. Untreated
cover patches between units would adhere to For-
est Plan Wildlife Standards and Guidelines (Forest
Plan, IV-121). Douglas-fir stands would be logged
by tractor. The majority of the stands are under 40
percent in slope and are therefore conducive to
machine site preparation.
Alternative 5
This alternative would yield 1 .79 mmbf of timber to
local timber mills. It would convert 292 acres of
older, unproductive trees to younger, more vigor-
ous conditions. This alternative would place the
sixth greatest number of acres under immediate
management. This alternative would shift 292
acres from age classes 4 and 5 and to age class
1 and would increase the percent of age class 1
from 4.9 to 7.2 percent.
This alternative proposes harvest of three
Douglas-fir shelterwood units (S6, S1 1, 30) and
four ciearcuts (1 W-4W) also included in Alternative
4.
Where clearcutting is prescribed, this alternative is
the same as alternative 4 in its ability to improve
growing conditions at the stand level. At the
project level, Alternative 5 leaves the entire lodge-
pole pine forest community (located wi;thin the
roadless area) unroaded and unharvested. The
effects of deferring treatment in such a sizable
portion of the lodgepole community would be the
same as described in Alternative 1 - No Action.
IV -30
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
The risk of potential wildfire would, for this portion
of the lodgepole community, be as great as the no
action alternative because of the large acreage of
heavy fuels resulting from mortality of trees that
would die if not harvested, and because no new
fire breaks would be constructed in the form of
roads or harvest units. A transportation system
would not be developed that would provide ac-
cess for personnel and equipment in the event of
a wildfire.
Douglas-fir stands would be harvested with an ir-
regular shelterwood system. As in Alternative 4,
Douglas-fir stands harvest units would be de-
signed to maximize harvest of trees that will die in
the near future, release understory trees present
on the site, and control Douglas-fir bark beetle.
The irregular shelterwood method is not as effec-
tive in controlling western spruce budwornm as the
group shelterwood employed in Alternatives 2, 3,
and 4. The delay in performing the removal cut in
order to allow increased height growth of the re-
generation will maintain the current multistory situ-
ation which encourages western spruce bud-
worm.
In stands that are currently considered openings
for big game (they provide forage rather than cov-
er) or where existing natural regeneration would
provide desired stocking levels and hiding cover
after harvest, unit size may exceed 40 acres. Un-
treated cover patches between units would ad-
here to Forest Plan Wildlife Standards and Guide-
lines (Forest Plan, IV-121). Unlike the other
alternatives all Douglas-fir stands would be logged
by helicopter. Machine scarification and slash pil-
ing would be infeasible due to Sack of road access,
therefore, pinegrass will be expected to increase
following harvest eventually forming a dense sod.
The establishment of this sod could delay regener-
ation for 20 years or longer. The effects of delayed
regeneration would be to delay the removal cut of
the shelterwood for up to 35 years or longer. Al-
though it is difficult to predict, it is highly likely that
continued defoliation by western spruce budworm
would result in loss of incremental growth and
some mortality in the existing advance regenera-
tion.
Douglas-fir beetle attacks to the overstory trees
would continue to cause mortality to shelterwood
trees left for seed and shade. Depending on the
severity of damage by western spruce budworm
and Douglas-fir beetle, planting may be necessary
to achieve full stocking of the site. At current costs,
planting may be infeasible due to the prohibitive
access to these units.
The delay in establishing regeneration not only
would delay the removal cut of the shelterwood but
would also delay the treatment of adjacent
Douglas-fir stands. Silvicultural alternatives for
treating these stands may be reduced to clearcut-
ting and planting due to the absence of accept-
able trees to leave for seed and shelter.
The risk of potential wildfire (of greatest concern in
the lodgepole community) would increase as the
logging and thinning slash would be left untreated
due to lack of piling and scarification.
Alternative © PREFERRED
This alternative would yield the second highest
amount of timber, 6.10 mmbf, to local timber mills.
It would convert 747 acres of older, unproductive
trees to younger, more vigorous conditions. This
alternative would place the second highest num-
ber of acres under immediate management, in-
creasing average productivity of the area more
than the alternatives 1 ,2,3,5, and 2A but less than
alternative 4. This alternative would shift 747 acres
from age classes 4 and 5 and to age class 1 and
would increase the percent of age class 1 from 4.9
to 10.7 percent.
The transportation system developed for this alter-
native is best suited for fire suppression efforts in
the lodgepole community in the event of wildfire.
In Douglas-fir stands harvest units would be de-
signed to maximize harvest of trees that will die in
the near future, release understory trees present
on the site, and control Douglas-fir bark beetle.
The irregular shelterwood method is not as effec-
tive in controlling western spruce budworm as the
group shelterwood employed in Alternatives 2, 3,
and 4. The delay in performing the removal cut in
order to allow increased height growth of the re-
generation will maintain the current multistory situ-
ation which encourages western spruce bud-
worm.
In stands that are currently considered openings
for big game (they provide forage rather than cov-
er) or where existing natural regeneration would
provide desired stocking levels and hiding cover
IV -31
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
after harvest, unit size may exceed 40 acres. Un-
treated cover patches between units would ad-
here to Forest Plan Wildlife Standards and Guide-
lines (Forest Plan, IV-121). Douglas-fir stands
would be logged by tractor. The majority of the
stands are spell 40 percent in slope and are there-
fore conducive to machine site preparation.
In the lodgepole community, where slopes permit,
approximately 1 5% of the area within the clearcuts
would be left in uncut islands approximately 1 acre
in size. Preferred areas to be maintained as islands
would be those containing Douglas-fir and/or En-
gelmann spruce, areas with lower fuel loadings
and/or areas with high quality advanced regenera-
tion. The islands would still contain varying per-
centages of dwarf mistletoe infected lodgepole
pine ( both in the understory and overstory). The
greatest spread of dwarf mistletoe is from oversto-
ry trees to understory trees, thus units containing
uncut islands have a greater potential for more
rapid infection than standard clearcuts. It would be
important to fell or remove infected lodgepole pine
overstory trees located on the edges of the islands
soon after logging.
To meet visual quality objectives contained in the
Forest Plan, many of the clearcut units in the mixed
conifer stands would be restricted to 1 5 acres or
less in size. The regenerated stands of lodgepole
seedlings would initially be relatively insect and
disease free. However, due to the high perimeter-
to-area ratio of these small stands, they would be
highly susceptible to dwarf mistletoe spores falling
from older infested trees and onto the younger
trees, resulting in total infection of the regenerated
stands. The small units would also diminish the
ability to locate unit boundaries utilizing topo-
graphic features and changes in timber type which
are normally employed when designing harvest
units in dwarf mistletoe-infected lodgepole pine
timber types. Reduced stand vigor as a result of
total stand infection by mistletoe may increase the
likelihood of a subsequent insect infestation.
Where unit size is constrained only by insect and
disease standards and guidelines, the regenerat-
ed stands would be susceptible to dwarf mistletoe
infection along the edges where adjacent stands
are already infected. Unit layout employing topo-
graphic boundaries and changes in timber type
would help to slow reinvasion.
Overall the retention of islands should be benefi-
cial. Regenerated stands should more closely ap-
proximate the species mix currently occupying the
site. Although lodgepole would be the predomi-
nant species, greater amounts of Douglas-fir, En-
gelmann spruce and subalpine would be expect-
ed. Retention of the islands would be the best way
to ensure protection of snags and retention trees
that may otherwise be pushed over or damaged
during the skidding and piling process. The is-
lands will maintain microsites that are representa-
tive of existing stand conditions.
Alternative 2A
This alternative would yield the fourth highest
amount of timber, 4.20 mmbf, to local timber mills.
It would convert 502 acres of older, unproductive
trees to younger, more vigorous conditions. This
alternative would place the fourth highest number
of acres under immediate management, increas-
ing average productivity of the area more than the
alternatives 1 , 3 and 5 but less than alternatives 2,
4, and 6. This alternative would shift 502 acres
from age classes 4 and 5 and to age class 1 and
would increase the percent of age class 1 from 4.9
to 8.8 percent.
The transportation system developed for this alter-
native is best suited for fire suppression efforts in
the lodgepole community in the event of wildfire.
Douglas-fir stands would be harvested with an ir-
regular shelterwood system.
The irregular shelterwood method is not as effec-
tive in controlling western spruce budworm as the
group shelterwood employed in Alternatives 2, 3,
and 4. The delay in performing the removal cut in
order to allow increased height growth of the re-
generation will maintain the current multistory situ-
ation which encourages western spruce bud-
worm.
In order to meet visual quality objectives contained
in the Forest Plan, all units except one would be
limited to 25 acres or less in size. As a result of
limiting unit size, substantial untreated areas
would remain for a major time period. These un-
treated areas would continue to incur mortality
from Douglas-fir beetle. Immature understory trees
would continue to receive varying levels of dam-
age and mortality from Western spruce budworm.
It is conceivable that future management alterna-
tives for untreated stands would be reduced or
IV -32
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
precluded due to lack of adequate seed-
producing trees and healthy understory trees.
In the lodgepole community approximately 1 0% to
30% of the area within the clearcuts would be left
in uncut islands ranging from 1/2 to 1 acre in size.
Unlike Alternative 6 the island concept would be
attempted in steep units with heavy fuel loadings.
Even with protective measures such as designat-
ed skid trails and hand firelines, some portion (up
to all) of these islands may be destroyed during
logging and slash disposal. Preferred areas to be
maintained as islands would be those containing
Douglas-fir and/or Engelmann spruce, areas with
lower fuel loadings and/or areas with high quality
advanced regeneration. The islands would still
contain varying percentages of dwarf mistletoe in-
fected lodgepole pine ( both in the understory and
overstory). The greatest spread of dwarf mistletoe
is from overstory trees to understory trees, thus
units containing uncut islands have a greater po-
tential for more rapid infection than standard
clearcuts. It would be important to fell or remove
infected lodgepole pine overstory trees located on
the edges of the islands soon after logging.
To meet visual quality objectives contained in the
Forest Plan, 1 7 of the 25 clearcut units in the mixed
conifer stands would be restricted to 1 5 acres or
less in size (21 of the 25 clearcut units would have
less than 20 acres treated). The regenerated
stands of lodgepole seedlings would initially be
relatively insect and disease free. However, due to
the high perimeter-to-area ratio of these small
stands, they would be highly susceptible to dwarf
mistletoe spores falling from older infested trees
and onto the younger trees, resulting in total infec-
tion of the regenerated stands. The small units
would also diminish the ability to locate unit
boundaries utilizing topographic features and
changes in timber type which are normally em-
ployed when designing harvest units in dwarf
mistletoe-infected lodgepole pine timber types.
Reduced stand vigor as a result of total stand in-
fection by mistletoe may increase the likelihood of
a subsequent insect infestation. Where unit size is
constrained only by insect and disease standards
and guidelines, the regenerated stands would be
susceptible to dwarf mistletoe infection along the
edges where adjacent stands are already infected.
Unit layout employing topographic boundaries
and changes in timber type would help to slow
reinvasion.
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS
Cumulative effects on the timber resource would
result from the past, proposed, future or lack of
timber management in the analysis area.
At the project level Alternatives 1 and 5 leave the
entire lodgepole pine forest community (located
within the roadless area) in an unmanaged condi-
tion. The low vigor associated with these overma-
ture stands will continue to decline making the
individual tress increasingly susceptible to agents
of mortality. The risk of fire occurring and the
severity of potential fires will continue to increase
as these trees die.
Where harvest units are designed to meet visual
quality objectives (Alternatives 2,3, 5, 6 and 2A), re-
moval of adjacent stands (leave strips) will not oc-
cur until first entry regenerated stands reach an
average height of 22-25 feet. As a result of limiting
unit size and delaying the second entry, substan-
tial untreated areas will remain for a major time
period. In lodgepole pine stands where dwarf
mistletoe levels are high, the combination of small
first entry units and delaying the removal of infect-
ed leave strips until first entry units are regenerat-
ed to a height of 22-25 feet, could result in total
infection of the regenerated stand. Findings by
Knutson and Tinnin, 1981 indicated that growth
measurements of trees heavily infected by dwarf
mistletoe are up to 25% lower than comparable
uninfected trees.
In Douglas-fir stands where the irregular shelter-
wood is employed, the desired condition of four
age classes and canopy levels would tend to
cause continual damage by western spruce bud-
worm. The amount and intensity of this damage
can directly affect the growth and regeneration of
Douglas-fir. The effects on regeneration begins
with the damage to the cones and defoliation and
top-killing of the cone-producing portion of the tree
(Fellin, Schmidt, and Carlson, 1984).
In the Douglas-fir community, untreated areas
would continue to incur mortality from Douglas-fir
beetle. Immature understory trees would continue
to receive varying levels of damage and mortality
from Western spruce budworm. It is conceivable
that future management alternatives for untreated
stands would be reduced or precluded due to lack
of adequate seed-producing trees and healthy un-
derstory trees.
IV -33
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Flmai ESS
Chapter IV
Although no timber harvest of the size of the pro-
posed sale is planned within the analysis area,
harvest of up to 1 00 acres of primarily post and
pole material through small sales is a reasonably
foreseeable future action. The cumulative effect of
these activities would be to convert overstocked,
unproductive stands to a more productive status
and to improve the health of the forest through
management activities designed to reduce the ef-
fects of insects and diseases.
An undetermined amount of acres within the anal-
ysis area may also be assessed for dead materia!
(firewood and house logs). The use of lodgepole
pine for house logs, firewood, posts and poles,
and woodchips would provide opportunities for
fuel management related harvesting. Any entry for
post and pole material, firewood, house logs, or
timber stand improvements that would require
road building or the use of heavy equipment would
have a separate environmental analysis.
As managed stands become established, im-
proved productivity and reduced losses to dis-
ease, decay, and mortality would help make a sus-
tained amount of timber available to industry.
Timber harvested in this entry would, of course,
reduce the amount available in the near future until
such stands again reach commercial size.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All action alternatives are consistent with Forest
plan standards and guidelines.
EFFECTS TO WILDLIFE RESOURCES
In accordance with Forest Plan direction and in-
tent, three species from the Salmon National
Forest’s list of management indicator species
(MIS) known or thought to occur in this analysis
area were selected for effects assessments: elk,
pine marten and goshawk. These species were
chosen for discussion because they have the most
specific habitat requirements and are the most
likely to be affected by proposed activities. They
are therefore representative of other MIS species
that occur in the area that have similar or less
specific habitat requirements. The following text
also describes potential effects to other MIS and to
non-MIS species that occur in the analysis area
and summarizes the discussion of MIS species in
the Biological Evaluation (the reader is referred to
Appendix G for a more detailed discussion of ef-
fects to MIS species). Listed and proposed threat-
ened and endangered species and sensitive
species are discussed in a separate section.
Elk are extremely popular animals that provide ma-
jor recreational benefits and economic importance
to the Salmon area. Spring, summer and fall elk
habitat is provided within this analysis area, as are
excellent calving/nursery areas. Pine marten are
associated yearlong with old-growth spruce/
subalpine fir habitats, and goshawk are depend-
ent upon old-growth stands of a variety of tree
species.
Several species which may be of general interest
to the public but are not under specific Federal or
State management direction for threatened, en-
dangered, or sensitive species were discussed in
Chapter HI. They include: black bear, cougar, bob-
cat, coyotes, beaver, blue, ruffed, and Franklin’s
grouse, pileated woodpecker, brown creeper, and
various songbirds. All proposed alternatives will
maintain habitat for populations of each of these
species.
Appendix D contains a species list of all mammals
(residents and migrants), amphibians, reptiles,
birds (residents, summer residents, migrants, and
winter visitors), and fish (anadromous and resi-
dent) that are known to occur in the analysis area
or whose habitat exists in the analysis area. Many
of these species whose habitat exists in the area
have not been observed there.
For wildlife assessment purposes, the total analy-
sis area has been divided into two areas, based
upon wildlife habitat similarities (Chapter III and
Figure 111-2). Area I is at lower elevations and con-
sists primarily of Douglas-fir stands with minor
mixed conifer timber stands in the Douglas-fir/
pinegrass and subalpine fir/grouse whortleberry
habitat types. Area 11 occurs at upper elevations
and is dominated by fairly uniform stands of lodge-
pole pine or mixed lodgepole pine and subapline
fir with minor amounts of Englemann spruce within
the subalpine fir/grouse whortleberry series of
habitat types.
IV -34
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
Timber harvest and associated road construction
have the potential to affect wildlife resources
through direct habitat alteration, short-term dis-
turbance during the life of the project, and post-
sale or long-term disturbance due to increased
access (Lyon and Ward, 1982).
All action alternatives in this proposal will harvest
timber (i.e. remove a portion of available big game
cover) in both Wildlife Analysis Areas. In Area I,
cover removal will slightly decrease elk habitat po-
tential or, simply stated, the ability of the area to
■grow" or 'produce' elk. In Area II, however, cover
removal will slightly increase elk habitat potential.
The net effect of these changes on the elk habitat
potential of the entire analysis area will not be
significant. However, important changes in habitat
security and vulnerability of harvested species, es-
pecially elk, will result from all action alternatives.
Elk habitat security is generally defined as continu-
ous blocks of unbroken cover at least 250 acres in
size, covering at least 30% of the area and located
at least one-half mile from an open road. Area 1
currently has a moderate to high amount of secu-
rity cover. But, due to the relatively small blocks of
cover (natural) that occur in this area and the
placement of proposed harvest units, security cov-
er will be reduced to only one area on the north
slope of Salt Creek for all the action alternatives
except Alternatives 3 and 5. Security cover will be
reduced in this area by these two alternatives also,
but not as greatly. Area II is currently very high in
security cover and will remain acceptably high un-
der all alternatives. Assumptions for both these
areas include closing all new roads to all but ad-
ministrative use.
Big game (i.e. elk) vulnerability is determined by
such parameters as the length and timing of hunt-
ing seasons, season structure (i.e. with sex, bull
only, branch antlered bull only, etc.), type of sea-
son (i.e. rifle, archery, etc.), weather and available
habitat. When habitat factors such as human ac-
cess, cover:forage ratio and security cover are al-
tered, vulnerability changes. Consequently, to
maintain status quo in a big game herd in the face
of habitat changes, it becomes necessary to alter
one or more of the other factors that affect vulnera-
bility. All action alternatives will change, to varying
degrees, available habitat in both Wildlife Analysis
Areas. Predicted effects on vulnerability, ranked by
alternative from least to most would be:
Alternatives 1 , 5, 3, 2A, 2, 6, 4.
New and/or better human access increases the
vulnerability of hunted and trapped species and
may even cause shifts in traditional use patterns.
This is particularly true when dealing with big
game habitat parameters such as calving/fawning
areas, key winter or summer ranges and security
areas due to the specific criteria that determine
suitability and use (Thomas et al., 1979). Many
studies have shown the importance of timber/
nontimber ecotones, particularly those poorly de-
fined or gradient ecotones between sagebrush
and open timber, for elk calving and nursery areas.
Pregnant cow elk normally enter this type of habi-
tat, if available, shortly before giving birth. After
birth, calves usually spend one to three weeks
hiding in sagebrush with a 20 to 40 percent crown
cover growing along such ecotones. Nearby tim-
bered portions within about 200 feet of the eco-
tones receive heavy use during this period by both
cows and calves. Cow/calf bands are also com-
monly observed in the ecotonal habitats during the
early summer period.
Analyses of the current and predicted elk habitat
potential (EHP) values were based primarily upon
cover:forage ratios and road densities (Thomas et
al., 1979). Predicted effects on elk calving and
nursery habitats were based upon the Central Ida-
ho Elk Guidelines (Ralphs et al., 1979). Predicted
decreases in available acres of old-growth spruce-
fir and Douglas-fir were used to evaluate effects
upon pine marten and goshawk, respectively.
Post-sale access was also used for these two
species. Project level stand exam data were not
available for all stands in this total analysis area.
Therefore photo-interpretation was also used to
inventory both elk cover and old growth stands.
EFFECTS BY ALTERNATIVE
Table IV-8 summarizes the predicted wildlife ef-
fects of each alternative in terms of road densities,
cover:forage ratio, EHP, big game habitat security,
and available acres of old-growth habitat. These
effects are discussed, by alternative, in the follow-
ing section.
IV -35
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EiS
Chapter IV
Alternative 1 - No Action
Alternative 1 would have no immediate or short-
term effects on big game covenforage ratios, habi-
tat security, key components or vulnerabilty and
would not affect acres of available old-growth habi-
tat. Area 1 is slightly cover-limiting; thus, the
present covenforage ratio of 32:68 and EHP of 67
percent would not change. The current open road
density is 0.14 miles per square mile and would
remain unchanged. Big game habitat security val-
ues would remain high in the absence of additional
road construction and cover removal. Old-growth
Douglas-fir would remain present in natural abun-
dance. Pine marten habitat would remain un-
changed, though not of high quality due to the
paucity of spruce/fir stands. The abundant, natural
timbered/nontimbered ecotones between
Douglas-fir and sagebrush/grass habitat types
would remain intact. Consequently, the excellent
goshawk habitat would not be altered.
In Area SI, the current open road density of 0.56
miles per square mile and the EHP of 87 percent
would remain unchanged, as would the 80:20 cov-
er forage ratio. Big game habitat security would
remain very high and vulnerability would remain
low in the absence of additional road construction
and cover removal. Available acres of old growth
and excellent pine marten habitat would remain
unchanged. However, the opportunity to increase
habitat diversity and EHP would be lost. Goshawk
habitat would remain at its naturally low value.
Alternative 2
About 4 miles of road would be built in Area I to
harvest timber from approximately 21 4 acres. This
area is cover limiting for elk and is essentially un-
roaded at present with an open (and total) road
density of 0.14 miles/square mile. This action
would reduce the covenforage ratio from 32:68 to
27:73 and the EHP would be reduced from 67
percent to 51 percent. The total road density
would increase to 1 .46 mile/square mile. A limited
amount of road building and timber harvesting
would occur in the Salt Creek portion of this area.
Consequently, some of the big game security area
on the south side of Salt Creek, particularly in the
head of the drainage, would remain useable as
would the high use forage area on the north side.
Overall elk security would be low and vulnerability
would be very high.
The timbered/nontimbered ecotones in this area
would be buffered by leaving uncut strips at least
100 feet wide between them and all proposed
units. No units are proposed within areas desig-
nated as old-growth retention stands in the Forest
Plan. However, the total old growth available to
species dependent on this type of wildlife habitat
would be decreased by approximately the full 214
acres of harvest units. None of these units contain
significant amounts of Englemann spruce, and
pine marten habitat would therefore not be signifi-
cantly decreased by the harvest.
IV -36
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
TABLE IV-8: EFFECTS TO WILDLIFE HABITAT IN THE MOYER SALT ANALYSIS AREA
Measurement ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT
Indices 1 2 3 4 5 6 2A
PREFERRED
WILDLIFE
Elk and Deer:
* Elk Habitat Potential (EHP) (Percent of potential)
Area 1
67%
51%
51%
48%
59%
51%
53%
Area II
87%
90%
88%
92%
88%
90%
89%
Open Road Density:
(Miles road per square mile)
Area 1
0.14
0.14
0.14
0.14
0.14
0.14
0.14
Area II
0.56
0.56
0.56
0.56
0.56
0.56
0.56
Total Road Density:
(Miles road per square mile)
Area 1
0.14
1.46
2.25
1.0
0.14
1.0
1.28
Area II
0.56
2.5
1.5
2.9
0.72
2.7
2.42
Cover to Forage Ratio:
Area 1
32:68
27:73
27:73
26:74
29.71
27.73
28.72
Area II
80:20
72:28
75:25
68:32
77.23
69.31
73.27
** Elk Habitat Security:
Area 1
High
Low
Moderate
Very Low
Moderate
Low
Low
Area II
Very High
High
High
High
Very High
High
High
*** Elk Vulnerability:
Area 1
Moderate
Very High
High
Very High
High
Very High
Very High
Area II
Very Low
Moderate
Low
Moderate
Low
Moderate
Moderate
**** Old-growth Dependent Species:
Acres of Timber Stands with Old Growth Characteristics Remaining:
Area 1
1750
1500
1520
1430
1625
1475
1540
Area II
3550
3200
3250
3025
3310
3040
3250
Percent Loss of Timber Stands with Old Growth Characteristics:
Area 1
0%
15%
13%
18%
7%
16%
12%
Area II
0%
10%
8%
15%
5%
14%
8%
Acres of Forest Plan Designated Old-Growth Retention Stands Cut:
Area 1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Area II
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
* Elk Habitat Potential (EHP) is the indicator for effects to elk and deer and is derived from the cover to forage ratio and the miles of road per square mile.
** Elk Habitat Security is 30% of an area occupied by cover blocks of 250 acres located 1/2 mile from open roads.
*** Elk Vulnerability reflects ease of human access and susceptibility of hunted elk.
**** The acres and percent loss of timber stands with old growth characteristics and old-growth retention stands are the indicators for effects to goshawk,
pine marten and other old-growth dependent species.
IV -37
Moyer Sait Timber Sale FSmafi ESS
Chapter IV
Trapper access via snowmachime would be facili-
tated by construction of the proposed roads, if
they were to remain open to motorized traffic.
All of the forested portions of this area offer accept-
able or better goshawk nesting habitat. In particu-
lar, the Douglas-fir stands with an average diame-
ter at breast height (dbh) of eight inches or
greater, canopy cover of 40 percent or more, and
an average stand size of at least 25 acres provides
very good nesting habitat for this species. One
hundred and sixty-six acres of this habitat would
be lost under this alternative.
About 13 miles of road would be built in Area II to
harvest timber from 358 acres. This area is cur-
rently forage limiting and has a road density of 0.56
mile/square mile. The existing coverforage ratio of
80:20 would be changed to 72:28 and the EHP
would increase from 87 percent to 90 percent.
Total road density would increase to approxi-
mately 2.50 mile/square mile. Consequently, the
high value this area has as big game security/
hiding cover would be slightly decreased, but
would remain high and vulnerability would be
moderate. No proposed units are within old-
growth retention stands, however virtually the en-
tire 358 acres to be harvested are currently in an
old-growth condition. In other words, 358 acres or
approximately 10 percent of the existing old
growth in this area would be removed by this entry.
Two proposed units in this area contain significant
amounts of Englemann spruce, but this alternative
would not measurably decrease pine marten habi-
tat since only 1 0 percent of the total area is being
harvested. The virtually unbroken stands of timber
and small amount of Douglas-fir present on this
area naturally limits the current goshawk habitat
potential. Creation of artificial ecotones along the
cutting units may actually increase the foraging
habitat for this species.
Alternative 3
In Area I, all predicted effects are essentially identi-
cal to those under Alternative 2. However, this al-
ternative requires 3 miles of additional road con-
struction due to the different access route.
Consequently, the total post-sale road density
would increase to 2.25 miles/square mile, but the
open road density would remain at 0.14 mile/
square mil®. This alternative would require hauling
all the volume out of this area through the entire
Woodtick Road (FS Road #107) system. This
would eliminate that area from use as a displace-
ment area for big game. In addition, heavy elk use
now occurs in and is associated with the old Salt
Creek and Woodtick Creek Timber Sale cutting
units as a result of improved cover to forage ratios
in this area. This use would be disrupted as timber
is hauled out of the area along the Woodtick Road.
Also, this alternative would construct a road
through the heavily used Salt Creek drainage and
thus impact a key elk summer/fall range and an
area of very good security cover on the north-
facing slope of the Salt Creek drainage.
Overall habitat security would be moderate and
vulnerability would be high.
In Area II, the post-sale coverdorage ratio would be
75:25 and the EHP would increase slightly to 88
percent. Total road density would be 1.5 mile/
square mile but open road density would be 0.56
mile/square mile, the same as for all other action
alternatives. This alternative would not impact a
large area of key elk summer range, as mapped in
the Forest Plan and shown on Figure 111-2. Conse-
quently, an unroaded area of excellent security/
hiding cover would be retained between Area I and
Area It. Habitat security would remain high and
vulnerability would be low.
The predicted effects on goshawk habitat would
not be significantly different from Alternative 2.
However, this alternative would affect 153 fewer
acres of old growth and pine marten habitat than
the previous alternative.
Alternative 4
In Area I, about 4 miles of road would be built to
harvest timber from approximately 322 acres. This
action would reduce the coverforage ratio from
32:68 to 26:74, and the EHP would be reduced
from 70 percent to 48 percent. The total road den-
sity would increase to 1 .0 mile/sq. mile. This alter-
native would require hauling all the volume out of
this area through two routes, FS Road #106 and
the entire Woodtick Road (FS Road #1 07) system.
As with Alternative 3, the elk use associated with
the old Salt Creek and Woodtick Creek Timber
Sale cutting units would be disrupted as timber is
hauled out of the area along the Woodtick Road.
Overall effects in the Salt Creek and Perm Creek
area would be similar to those described in Alter-
native 2, but the large clearcuts (Units S6, 26, and
30) would further reduce cover in this cover-
limiting area, would not be utilized as well for big
IV -38
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
game forage, and would have a greater effect on
small game, non-game, and old-growth depend-
ent species. Elk habitat security would become
very low and vulnerability would be very high. Pine
marten population viability would not be affected,
but individual home ranges would be adversely
affected. One hundred seventy eight acres of suit-
able Northern goshawk nesting habitat would be
lost under this alternative, but this would not affect
population viability.
In Area II, approximately 14 miles of road would be
built to harvest timber from approximately 525
acres of harvest units. This action would reduce
the cover:forage ratio from 80:20 to 68:32 and the
EHP would increase from 87 percent to 92 per-
cent. The overall potential effects, including effects
to pine marten and goshawk, would be similar to
those described for Alternative 2. However, units
1W, 2W, 3W, and 4W would be placed in an area
that currently provides very good security cover for
big game. Elk (i.e. big game) habitat security and
vulnerability would be similar to that listed for alter-
native 2. (Effects on security habitat are hard to
quantify, but this alternative would definitely be
less favorable to the wildlife resources, particularly
the hunted big game species, than any of the other
action alternatives).
Alternative 5
In Area I, helicopters would be used to harvest
timber from approximately 1 68 acres. This action
would not require any new road construction but
would reduce the cover: forage ratio from 32:68 to
29:71 . The EHP in this cover limiting area would be
reduced from 67 percent to 59 percent. Big game
habitat security in the Salt Creek area would re-
main relatively unchanged. However, this alterna-
tive would also require hauling on both routes (FS
#106 and #107) with short term effects similar to
that discussed under Alternatives 3 and 4. Big
game habitat security would be moderate and vul-
nerability would be high. Predicted effects on old
growth, goshawk and pine marten habitats would
be similar but less than what was predicted for
Alternative 2; and, no additional access would be
provided for pine marten trappers.
In Area II, approximately 1.2 miles of new road
would be constructed to harvest timber from ap-
proximately 124 acres. The existing cover:forage
ratio would change form 80:20 to 77:23 and EHP
would increase very slightly to 88 percent. Predict-
ed effects on big game would be very similar to
that stated for Alternative 3. However, big game
habitat security would remain higher due to less
new road construction. Effects on old growth,
goshawk and pine marten habitat would be less
but very similar to Alternative 3; but, it would affect
approximately 1 70 acres less of such habitat.
Alternative 6 PREFERRED
Predicted effects of this alternative on big game
are almost identical to Alternative 4 except that
islands of uncut timber will be retained in most
units. Consequently, even though the units are
identical, the cover:forage ratio will only drop to
27:33 and 69:31 in Areas I and II, respectively.
These islands will constitute up to 15 percent of
the area within the unit boundaries. As a result, this
alternative will provide some big game bedding
areas within the created forage units, particularly
for mule deer. The islands will help break the long
sight distances normally found in new harvest
units and promote big game use of the forage by
conveying a more forested appearance. Big game
habitat security would be low in Area I but high in
Area II and vulnerability would be very high and
moderate, respectively. This harvest prescription
will also result In a much shorter cover regenera-
tion time. In addition, leaving uncut islands will
more than satisfy FLRMP snag and snag replace-
ment direction and contribute greatly to habitat
diversity, particularly for small birds and mammals.
The predicted effects on old growth, pine marten
and goshawk habitats would not be significantly
different from Alternative 4.
Alternative 2A
Predicted effects of this alternative on big game
are almost identical to Alternative 2 except that
islands of uncut timber will be retained in most
units. Consequently, even though most units are
identical, the covenforage ratio will be only drop to
28:72 and 73:27 in Areas I and II, respectively.
These islands will constitute up to 30 percent of
the area within unit boundaries. As a result, this
alternative will provide some big game bedding
areas and limited cover within the created forage
areas, particularly for mule deer. Big game habitat
security and vulnerability would be identical to Al-
ternative 2 for both areas. The islands will help
break the long sight distances normally found in
new harvest units and promote big game use of
IV -39
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
the forage by conveying a more forested appear-
ance.
This harvest prescription will also result in a much
shorter cover regeneration time. In addition, leav-
ing uncut islands will more than satisfy FLRMP
snag and snag replacement direction and con-
tribute greatly to habitat diversity, particularly for
small birds and mammals.
The predicted effects on old growth, pine marten
and goshawk habitats would not be significantly
different from Alternative 2.
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS
The proposed future activities would be conduct-
ed in compliance with Forest Plan snag retention
and replacement guidelines and would not impact
designated old-growth retention stands. Conse-
quently, population viability of cavity nesting
species and old-growth dependent species would
not be affected. However, the habitat for these
species would be decreased and local numbers
may be affected until stands regenerate to an old-
growth condition.
Future timber harvest in Area II would, if performed
in compliance with Forest Plan Wildlife Standards
and Guidelines (IV-121), help bring the big game
covenforage ratio closer to the desired 40:60 ratio.
Additional road construction would negate some
of the anticipated benefits; however, EHP would
most likely remain in the 85 to 95 percent range.
Forest Plan wildlife goals and objectives, preclude
any future timber harvest in Analysis Area 1 until the
Moyer Salt Timber Sale cutting units return to cov-
er.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
The proposed timber harvest and road construc-
tion activities in all action alternatives, with mitiga-
tion measures, meet Forest Plan standards and
guidelines for wildlife in Mangement Areas 3A-5A
and 3A-5B (Forest Plan, IV-121). Forest Plan
standards and guidelines for old growth and snag
management will also be met for all alternatives.
EFFECTS TO THREATENED,
ENDANGERED AND SENSIT8VE
SPECIES
In accordance with Forest Service Manual
2672.42, a Biological Evaluation was prepared to
assess the potential impacts of the proposed tim-
ber harvest activities on terrestrial vertebrates and
plants listed on the U.S. Forest Service Intermoun-
tain Region Vertebrate Sensitive Species (VSS) list
(Appendix G). Separate Biological Assessments of
the potential impacts of the proposed activities on
listed and proposed Threatened and Endangered
terrestrial and aquatic vertebrate species (same
BA as in DEIS covering 4 alternatives) were also
prepared (Appendix F). The following sections
summarize those biological analyses; the reader is
referred to Appendices F and G for a more detailed
description of the potential impacts to these
species.
EFFECTS TO THREATENED AND ENDAN-
GERED AQUATIC VERTEBRATE SPECIES
As required by Section 7(c) of the Endangered
Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) was contacted in order to determine
whether any listed or proposed Threatened or En-
dangered species are known to occur in the analy-
sis area (letter, USFWS, January 29, 1991). The
Fish and Wildlife Service determined that no
Threatened or Endangered Species are present in
the analysis area.
Since that determination, however, the Snake Riv-
er spring and summer Chinook salmon has been
listed as a 'Threatened’ Species (Federal Regis-
ter, April 22, 1992; Effective date May 22, 1992)
and the Snake River Basin sockeye has been list-
ed as an 'Endangered’ species (Federal Register,
November 20, 1992; Effective date December 20,
1992).
EFFECTS TO THREATENED AND ENDAN-
GERED TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATE SPECIES
No listed terrestrial species were included on the
original species list (FWS-1 -4-91 -SP-204) for this
project. The Endangered gray wolf was subse-
quently added when the terrestrial portion of this
list was updated on March 31 , 1 993. A Biological
IV -40
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EiS
Chapter IV
Assessment (BA) was prepared to assess predict-
ed affects on this species. The BA concluded that
the project 'may affect but is not likely to adversely
affect the Endangered gray wolf, its habitat or its
recovery potential.* For a more complete review of
this assessment see Appendix F.
EFFECTS TO ENDANGERED FISH SPECIES
COMMON TO ALL ALTERNATIVES
A Biological Assessment (BA) of the effects of the
proposed road construction and timber harvest
alternatives was prepared for the Moyer Salt DEIS
(see Moyer Salt DEIS and FEIS, Appendix F).
Recent agreements between the Forest Service
and the National Marine Fisheries Service, howev-
er, have specified both a modification of BA format-
ting, and expansion of project analysis to encom-
pass possible cumulative subbasin effects as well
as direct and indirect project level effects. The final
Moyer Salt Biological Assessment of effects to
Snake River spring/summer Chinook and sockeye
salmon is, therefore, being documented within the
Salmon National Forest’s Proposed Activity Re-
view for the Panther Creek Watershed.
The effects analysis methodology specified for this
Proposed Activity Review places a strong empha-
sis on risks of temperature and sedimentation ef-
fects. As the original, independent BA prepared for
the Moyer Salt DEIS document included discus-
sions of these temperature and sedimentation
risks, conclusions within the pending Proposed
Activity Review are not expected to deviate from
those of the independent analysis.
Snake River Sockeye Salmon ( Oncorhynchus
nerka): Sockeye salmon of the Snake River sys-
tem spawn and rear in the morianal lakes of Stan-
ley Basin and the Sawtooth Valley within the Saw-
tooth National Recreation Area of the Sawtooth
National Forest. The immigration and emigration
route to and from these nursery areas encompass-
es the mainstem Columbia, Snake, and Salmon
Rivers, including Salmon River corridor areas un-
der the administration of the Salmon National For-
est. Although sockeye salmon utilize the mainstem
Salmon during their migrations to and from ocean-
ic feeding areas, they do not utilize any off-river
tributary streams administered by the Salmon Na-
tional Forest for spawning or rearing purposes.
Analysis has determined that the seven alterna-
tives identified within the Moyer Salt FEIS would
have "No Effect* upon Snake River sockeye
salmon habitat, migration opportunities, or popu-
lations. This determination reflects a revision of the
original determination of "Not Likely to Adversely
Affect* and is based upon additional analysis and
consultation with Forest Hydrology, Engineering
and Fisheries personnel.
EFFECTS TO THREATENED FISH SPECIES
Snake River sprlng/summer Chinook salmon
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ): The Panther
Creek drainage system was historically a major
producer of spring Chinook salmon (Reiser, 1986).
These historical runs died out in the 1 960s due to
the chemical pollution of mid and lower mainstem
Panther Creek by mining activities (Reiser, 1 986;
Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 1965).
However, Panther Creek and its historically utilized
tributaries, including Moyer Creek, continue to be
regarded as potentially viable producers of spring/
summer Chinook salmon (Northwest Power Plan-
ning Council, 1988). The Forest Plan calls for con-
tinued management directed toward these
anadromous stocks in anticipation of correction of
mine drainage problems and recovery of main-
stem water quality. Idaho Department of Fish and
Game management prescriptions for the two
streams calls for a preservation management
strategy for anadromous fish stocks, which main-
tains a harvest closure and may supplement natu-
ral recruitment with fry stockings (Idaho Depart-
ment of Fish and Game, 1991).
Alternative 1 - No Action
This alternative would have "No Effect" upon
Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon habi-
tat or populations. No road construction or timber
harvest activities would occur, and no associated
change in Chinook salmon habitat capability from
current conditions would be expected. Changes to
streamcourses would be expected to occur in re-
sponse to natural events such as fire, insect infes-
tation and subsequent loss of forested cover, and
other natural processes.
Under the no action alternative, the existing
Woodtick Creek culvert (Township 20 N, Range 1 9
E, Section 32) would not be reconstructed or re-
IV -41
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
placed, and would continue to present a barrier to
upstream steelhead and resident trout passage.
Failure to correct this barrier would have no effect
on upper Panther Creek Chinook salmon popula-
tions, as this species is not known to utilize the
Woodtick Creek drainage.
Re-utilization of Chinook salmon spawning and
rearing habitats in Moyer Creek, where historical
use has been known to occur, would be contin-
gent upon recovery of mainstem Panther Creek
water quality and the reintroduction of the fish.
Alternatives 2, 4, 5, 6, and 2A
With implementation of Forest Plan soil and water
Best Management Practices (BMPs) (Appendix B)
and proposed site-specific soil, water and fisheries
mitigation measures (Chapter II, Table 11-1), the
road construction and timber harvest activities
proposed under each of Alternatives 2, 4, 5, 6, and
2A are “Not Likely to Adversely Affect1 Snake River
spring/summer Chinook salmon populations or
habitat within the Moyer Creek drainage. Addition-
ally, no adverse effects to Chinook salmon popula-
tions in mainstem Panther Creek waters would be
anticipated as a result of implementation of these
proposed alternatives.
Alternative 3
Alternative 3 exhibits a high risk of adversely im-
pacting the water quality and substrates of the Salt
Creek stream channel due to sediment introduc-
tion at the proposed Salt Creek stream crossing.
Steep sideslopes at this site preclude flat, perpen-
dicular road approaches, and the proximity of road
to the Salt Creek stream channel inhibits applica-
tion of mitigation measures designed to intercept
overland transport of fill slope materials. The sedi-
mentation risk associated with this Salt Creek
crossing, coupled with the prediction of BOISED
modeling that this alternative will inherently gener-
ate the most amount of sediment of seven alterna-
tives analyzed, indicates that this alternative, as
currently designed, is likely to produce adverse
impacts to the substrates and water quality of this
stream. As the scope of these impacts may include
potential Chinook salmon rearing areas within the
lower reaches of Salt Creek, and could potentially
extend to important Chinook salmon spawning and
rearing habitats within the mainstem reaches of
Moyer Creek, this alternative has been determined
to be “Likely to Adversely Affect* Snake River
spring/summer Chinook salmon.
EFFECTS TO SENSITIVE SPECIES
The Biological Evaluation for terrestrial vertebrates
and plants and the Biological Evaluation for aquat-
ic vertebrates that were prepared for the analysis
area address the potential impacts of the pro-
posed timber harvest activities on species listed
on the U.S. Forest Service Intermountain Region
Vertebrate Sensitive Species (VSS) list (Appendix
G).
Some of these species are also listed on the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game Species of Special
Concern (SSC) list. The Forest Service Intermoun-
tain Region VSS list contains 29 vertebrate species
and the Forest Service Intermountain Sensitive
Plant List contains 12 species that may occur on
the Salmon National Forest. As discussed in
Chapter III, one terrestrial and two aquatic verte-
brate sensitive species have been observed and
are thus known to occur in this analysis area. How-
ever, habitat for several other species also occurs
in the area, and potential effects to those habitats
are evaluated. The reader is referred to Appendix
G for a more detailed description of the habitat
requirements of these species.
EFFECTS TO SENSITIVE AQUATIC
VERTEBRATE SPECIES
Several sensitive fish species or their habitat occur
within the analysis area. The U.S. Forest Service
Intermountain Region VSS List includes steelhead
trout, westslope cutthroat trout, and bull trout.
Those species whose habitat occurs in the analy-
sis area are listed below with a short description of
the potential effects of the proposed project.
Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): Al-
though steelhead are currently not utilizing the up-
per Panther Creek system because of die-off
caused by mainstem water quality problems as a
result of chemical pollution from mining, the
Salmon National Forest Plan calls for continued
management directed toward anadromous habitat
maintenance within Panther Creek and its major
tributaries.
IV -42
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
Alternative 1 - No Action
Under this alternative no road construction or tim-
ber harvest activities would occur. This alternative
would, therefore, have 'No Effect" upon existing
steelhead habitat or population status. However,
an existing 60 inch culvert in Township 20 N,
Range 1 9 E, Section 32 which is currently a barrier
to both resident and anadromous fish passage in
Woodtick Creek would not be repaired or replaced
through timber program funding, and would con-
tinue to limit utilization of approximately three and
one-half miles of spawning and rearing habitat
above that location. As steelhead are not currently
utilizing the upper Panther Creek watershed due
to mainstem water quality problems, the immedi-
ate significance of impaired passage is restricted
to resident trout species, including bull trout. How-
ever, upon recovery of Panther Creek water quality
and re-utilization of currently unused upper-
drainage tributary spawning and rearing habitats,
this barrier may become of significance to steel-
head production within the Woodtick Creek
drainage. Other funding mechanisms might be
employed to repair or replace this passage barrier.
Alternatives 2, 4, 5, 6, and 2A
Alternatives 2, 4, 5, 6, and 2A are expected to be
fully successful in avoiding or minimizing short and
long term effects to fisheries habitats and preserv-
ing fish migration opportunities within the Moyer
Creek and Woodtick Creek drainages through ap-
plication of Best Management Practices (BMPs)
and site-specific mitigation measures. These alter-
natives are, therefore, "Not Likely to Result in a
Trend Toward Federal Listing" of steelhead.
Restoration of fish passage capabilities at the site
of an existing culvert in Township 20 N, Range 19
E, Section 32 would additionally reopen approxi-
mately three and one half additional miles of po-
tential steelhead spawning and rearing habitat in
the Woodtick Creek drainage.
Alternative 3
Alternative 3 exhibits a high risk of adversely im-
pacting the water quality and substrates of the Salt
Creek stream channel due to sediment introduc-
tion at the proposed Salt Creek stream crossing.
Steep sideslopes at this site preclude flat, perpen-
dicular road approaches, and the proximity of road
to the Salt Creek stream channel inhibits applica-
tion of mitigation measures designed to intercept
overland transport of fill slope materials. The sedi-
mentation risk associated with this Salt Creek
crossing, coupled with the prediction of BOISED
modeling that this alternative will inherently gener-
ate the most amount of sediment of seven alterna-
tives analyzed, indicates that this alternative, as
currently designed, is likely to produce adverse
impacts to the substrates and water quality of this
stream. As the scope of these impacts may include
Potential steelhead rearing areas within the lower
reaches of Salt Creek, and could potentially ex-
tend to spawning and rearing habitats within the
mainstem reaches of Moyer Creek, this alternative
has been determined to be "Likely to Result in a
Trend Toward Federal Listing" of Steelhead.
Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus): Bull trout cur-
rently utilize the mid and upper reaches of the
Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek watersheds.
Alternative 1 - No Action
Under this alternative no road construction or tim-
ber harvest activities would occur. This alternative
would, therefore, have "No Effect" upon existing
bull trout habitat or population status.
An existing 60 inch culvert in Township 20 N,
Range 1 9 E, Section 32 which is currently a barrier
to both resident and anadromous fish passage in
Woodtick Creek would not be repaired or replaced
through timber program funding, and would con-
tinue to preclude bull trout access to approxi-
mately three and one-half miles of spawning and
rearing habitat during high flow periods. Other
funding mechanisms might be employed to repair
or replace this passage barrier.
Alternatives 2, 4, 5, 6, and 2A
Alternatives 2, 4, 5, 6, and 2A are expected to be
fully successful in avoiding or minimizing short and
long term effects to fisheries habitats and preserv-
ing fish migration opportunities within the Moyer
Creek and Woodtick Creek drainages through ap-
plication of Best Management Practices (BMPs)
and site-specific mitigation measures. These alter-
native are, therefore, "Not Likely to Result in a
Trend Toward Federal Listing" of bull trout.
Restoration of fish passage capabilities at the site
of an existing culvert in Township 20 N, Range 19
E, Section 32 would additionally reopen approxi-
mately three and one half additional miles of po-
IV -43
Moyer Salt Timber SaSe Final E1S
Chapter IV
tential bull trout spawning and rearing habitat in
the Woodtick Creek drainage.
Alternative 3
Alternative 3 exhibits a high risk of adversely im-
pacting the water quality and substrates of the Salt
Creek stream channel due to sediment introduc-
tion at the proposed Salt Creek stream crossing.
Steep sideslopes at this site preclude flat, perpen-
dicular road approaches, and the proximity of road
to the Salt Creek stream channel inhibits applica-
tion of mitigation measures designed to intercept
overland transport of fill slope materials. The sedi-
mentation risk associated with this Salt Creek
crossing, coupled with the prediction of BOISED
modeling that this alternative will inherently gener-
ate the most amount of sediment of seven alterna-
tives analyzed, indicates that this alternative, as
currently designed, is likely to produce adverse
impacts to the substrates and water quality of this
stream. As the scope of these impacts may include
potential bull trout rearing areas within the lower
reaches of Salt Creek, and could potentially ex-
tend to spawning and rearing habitats within the
mainstem reaches of Moyer Creek, this alternative
is* Likely to Result in a Trend Toward Federal List-
ing” of bull trout.
Westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus
clarki): Although aquatic habitat capable of sup-
porting cutthrout trout exists within both Moyer
Creek and Woodtick Creek, no documentation of
the presence of this species has been recorded in
these two streams. The small populations of cut-
throat trout existing in Panther Creek are found
almost exclusively in that portion of the stream
above the mouth of Moyer Creek. The seven pro-
posed alternatives, therefore, are expected to
have "No Effect" on cutthroat trout within the Pan-
ther Creek drainage.
EFFECTS TO SENSITIVE TERRESTRIAL
VERTEBRATE SPECIES COMMON TO ALL
ACTION ALTERNATIVES
Sensitve terrestrial vertebrate species that are
known to exist or whose habitat exists in the
project area are listed below with a short descrip-
tion of the potential effects of the proposed action
alternatives on the species and/or its habitat.
Northern Goshawk {AcipHer gentilis): Northern
goshawks require dense mature to old growth co-
nifer, mixed conifer/aspen or aspen stands for
nesting in the Rocky Mountain region (Shuster
1 980). Nests are commonly located at least 30 feet
above the ground in forested areas with a closed
canopy and little or no understory, and are often
adjacent to open water. Nests are often used for
several seasons (Call, 1978).
Suitable nesting habitat in the form of mature to
overmature conifer or mixed conifer/aspen stands
is apparently the most significant limiting factor for
this species. Any removal of mature conifer
stands, particularly Douglas-fir, with an average
diameter of 8 inches or greater, canopy closure of
40 percent or greater and at least 25 acres in size
reduces the available nesting habitat for Northern
goshawks.
For Analysis Area I, approximately 1,750 acres of
this preferred habitat is currently present. The vari-
ous action alternatives in this proposal would re-
move from 13 to 18 percent of this habitat. This
could possibly affect one or more stands used as
nest sites. However, preferred habitat would still
be available throughout the area and actual abun-
dance, distribution and/or species viability would
not be affected.
Analysis Area II contains approximately 3,550
acres of old growth conifer habitat. However, this
area is primarily covered by lodgepole pine and
subalpine fir, and thus is much less preferred
goshawk nesting habitat. From 8 to 1 5 percent of
this habitat would be removed by the various ac-
tion alternatives in this area. These alternatives
should therefore not adversely affect goshawk dis-
tribution or abundance. Openings created in this
densely forested area should increase diversity
and abundance of prey species.
These two areas have not sustained previous tim-
ber harvest activities. Consequently, goshawk
nesting habitat is currently available in pristine or
natural quantity. The one nest site known to be
present, in Analysis Area I, will not be disturbed by
any of the currently proposed action alternatives.
If additional nest sites are located before or during
the proposed sale activities, mitigation measures
outlined in the Forest Plan direction would be fol-
lowed. These mitigations restrict timber harvesting
and other human disturbance in a buffer zone with
IV -44
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
a 1/2 mile radius around an occupied nest (Forest
Plan, IV-20).
American lynx ( Felis lynx canadensis ): Lynx de-
pend very heavily upon snowshoe hare as their
principal food source. In this analysis area, snow-
shoe hare and thus lynx are most commonly found
in the spruce/subalpine fir forests where shrubby
riparian zones and/or openings occur. These ar-
eas provide both good conifer cover and browse
for hares. Consequently, any irregular pattern of
logging and/or fire in high elevation forests usually
provides prime hare and lynx habitat. Therefore,
timber harvest activity as proposed in any of the
Moyer Salt Timber Sale action alternatives should
actually have a positive effect on lynx (and snow-
shoe hare) populations, particularly in Area II.
Wolverine (Gulo gulo ): The large home range
size, low population density and non-selective
feeding nature of this species makes it fairly un-
susceptible to site-specific disturbances such as
timber harvest activities. This is especially true
since primary wolverine habitat occurs at eleva-
tions above most commercial forest sites on this
Forest and in this analysis area. Also, since new
roads would be closed after the proposed sales,
human presence would not be significantly differ-
ent from the current situation. For these reason,
this proposed action is not expected to affect
possible wolverine presence and/or habitat.
Western or Townsend’s big-eared bat (Plecotus
townsendii ): Caves, abandoned mine tunnels
and deserted buildings are known to be used by
nursery colonies and for hibernaculum sites by the
Western big-eared bat. None of these factors are
known to exist within this analysis area. Therefore
none of the proposed action alternatives are ex-
pected to have any direct or indirect effects on this
species.
Boreal owl {Aegolius funereus): In this analysis
area, none of Area I (the lower elevation portion)
and less than 1 .4 percent of Area II (the higher
elevation portion) that would be harvested is within
cover types that may provide suitable nesting
habitat for boreal owls. Since boreal owls actually
utilize edges for feeding and since this proposal
only affects a small percentage of the total area,
any effects precipitated by an action alternative
would have a minimal effect on boreal owl habitat
suitability.
Northern three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tri-
dactylus): Alternatives under this proposal are pri-
marily confined to elevations below the preferred
habitats of this species. The magnitude of affected
suitable habitat would be similar to those for boreal
owl. Consequently, no effects on this species
would be predicted.
Great gray owl ( Strix nebulosa ): Great gray owls
use open forests and openings for preferred feed-
ing sites and prefer platform nest sites. These fac-
tors make this species relatively unsusceptible to
effects due to the proposed action alternatives,
and, in fact, the harvest openings would contribute
to the preferred feeding sites until obscured by
regeneration.
Spotted frog {Rana pretiosa): The proposed ac-
tion is not expected to have any effect upon spot-
ted frogs because the only crossing on Woodtick
Creek, the sole stream in the analysis area that
may harbor them, would be an open bottom cul-
vert. In addition, there are no proposed harvest
units closer than approximately 0.3 of a mile to this
stream and most are further than 0.5 mile from it.
Alternative 1 - No Action
Under the no action alternative, no adverse effects
to sensitive wildlife species or to their habitat
would occur as a result of proposed activities.
However, the possible benefits to American lynx
and great gray owl habitat would not occur, and
the risk of a large wildfire that may affect these
species’ habitat would not be lowered.
EFFECTS TO SENSITIVE PLANT SPECIES
COMMON TO ALL ACTION ALTERNATIVES
Of the 12 species on the current Forest Service
Intermountain Region Sensitive Plant Species list
for the Salmon National Forest, only Lemhi beard-
tongue may occur within the analysis area.
Lemhi beardtongue (Penstemon lemhiensis):
Recent field surveys indicate that this species is
quite abundant on specific sites in this Forest. It
has been located in the Panther Creek drainage,
but not within the analysis area. Lemhi beard-
tongue is an early successional species that read-
ily colonizes disturbed sites such as burned areas
and road cut and fill slopes. For this reason, the
activities proposed in all of the action alternatives
IV - 45
Moyer Sait Timber Safe Fima! EiS
Chapter IV
are not expected to adversely affect this species
and, if it is present but not detected, it would likely
benefit from the proposed activities.
Given the habitat types that the Lemhi beard-
tongue is found in (meadow and sage complexes),
it is not likely that any of the harvest units are
located where they would conflict with this plant
species. It is possible that road locations occurring
in meadows or sagebrush openings would affect
this species. Site-specific surveys would be com-
pleted before activities take place, and if Lemhi
beardtongue is discovered, roads would be relo-
cated around the plants.
Alternative 1 - No Action
Under the no action alternative, no adverse effects
to sensitive plants would occur as a result of timber
harvesting. However, the possible spread of Lemhi
beardtongue to disturbed sites created by road
construction and timber harvesting would not take
place.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All action alternatives are consistent with Forest
Plan standards and guidelines for management of
threatened, endangered and sensitive species.
EFFECTS TO ROADLESS RESOURCES
The construction of roads and the harvest of trees
have an irreversible and irretrievable effect when
the activity occurs on an area that was formerly
roadless. These activities, by their ground and
vegetative disturbance, have a direct effect on the
physical, biological and social attributes of an
area. Indirectly, the character is changed because
sights and sounds of human activities are appar-
ent from adjacent ground, undisturbed islands be-
come isolated from the larger undeveloped area
by linear pockets of development, and access into
an area is facilitated. The effect these activities
have on a roadless area make it unlikely that
Congress would further consider that portion of
the roadless area underlying the analysis area for
inclusion into the National Wilderness Preserva-
tion System (NWPS).
Analysis of the effects of the various alternatives on
the roadless resource as done by plotting the pro-
posed harvest and road building activity on a map
of the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area (Figure 111-4).
Acres of disturbance and total roadless acres af-
fected by the disturbance were determined. Ef-
fects on the special areas and wilderness
attributes of the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area,
as described in Chapter III, were addressed quali-
tatively.
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
All action alternatives, except Alternative 5, pro-
pose some combination of timber harvest and
road construction within the boundaries of the
identified roadless area. Alternative 5 proposes 4
harvest units within the roadless area but no road
construction. Irreversible and/or irretrievable ef-
fects would occur if any of the action alternatives
are implemented. Alternatives vary in their magni-
tude and in the location of effect. However, since
the same general areas are being entered in all
action alternatives except alternative 5, the road-
less acres affected is the same for alternatives 2,
3, 4, 6 and 2A. The amount for these alternatives
is approximately 9,920 acres or about 16 percent
of the total acreage of the Taylor Mountain Road-
less Area. Alternative 5 would affect approximately
208 acres or less than one-half of one percent of
the total acreage of the Taylor Mountain Roadless
Area.
The effects of all action alternatives are summa-
rized in Table IV-9. Because the differences be-
tween the effects due to each individual alternative
are so small, discussion of each alternative is not
warranted.
None of the action alternatives have effects on any
of the special places identified in Chapter III, nor
do they affect the ability to identify logical and
manageable boundaries for the remainder of the
roadless area.
All of the action alternatives would adversely affect
natural integrity within the specific disturbance ar-
eas (roads and harvest units). Natural integrity in
the remainder of the roadless area would not be
affected.
IV -46
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter SV
All of the action alternatives would diminish the
apparent naturalness within the disturbance ar-
eas. Visitors would have no question that they are
encountering an area that has been brought under
management versus a natural condition. Apparent
naturalness of the remainder of the roadless area
would remain high.
None of the action alternatives would affect a visi-
tor’s ability to engage in primitive recreation activi-
ties, either in the disturbance areas or the remain-
der of the roadless area.
All of the action alternatives would adversely affect
the feelings of solitude and self-reliance within the
disturbance areas. Opportunities for solitude
would not be affected in the remainder of the road-
less area.
None of the action alternatives would affect oppor-
tunities for challenging experiences, either within
the disturbance areas, or in the remainder of the
roadless area.
All of the action alternatives would cause a tempo-
rary noise impact within the 9,920 acre affected
area from the sounds of logging activity and road
construction. This impact would last approxi-
mately three years and would vary in intensity and
duration. The remainder of the roadless area
would not be affected.
Some public comments received during the com-
ment period expressed opposition to any entry
within roadless area boundaries. The No Action
alternative examines the option of retaining the
opportunity for future wilderness designation for
the entire Taylor Mountain Roadless Area with no
roadless entry. Action alternatives in this proposal
explore different levels of opportunity to implement
the Forest Plan. All of the action alternatives would
leave the roadless area with sufficient acreage
(generally 5,000 acres) to be considered for inclu-
sion in the NWPS. Within this remaining 84 percent
(53,300 acres) of the roadless area, the sights,
sounds and natural integrity would be maintained,
and the feelings of serenity and “wildness" could
be experienced to the same degree as the
present.
Alternative 1 = No Action
Alternative 1 would maintain the current condition
of the roadless resource in the designated road-
less area. There would be no direct, indirect, or
cumulative effect on the roadless resource. The
opportunity for Congress to consider the entire
area for Wilderness inclusion in the NWPS would
be retained.
TABLE IV-9: EFFECTS ON THE ROADLESS RESOURCE BY ALTERNATIVE
Alternative
1
2
3
4
5
©
2A
PRE-
FERRED
Total road miles
0
16.8
14.6
17.8
0
17.8
16.8
Total road acres
0
101.8
88.5
107.9
0
107.9
101.8
Proposed harvest
0
568.0
440.0
763.0
208.0
731.0
560.0
acres
Total roadless
0
9,920
9,920
9,920
208
9,920
9,920
acres affected
Percent of roadless
0
16
16
16
<1
16
16
area affected
Acs of roadless
area remaining
63,220
53,300
53,300
53,300
63,012
53,300
53,300
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS
Reasonably foreseeable actions common to all ac-
tion alternatives include thinning within the pro-
posed harvest units and salvage of post and pole
material, firewood and house logs. The effects of
these operations on the roadless resource would
be the same as the effects of the action alterna-
tives. No permanent roads would be built to ac-
cess post and pole sales, and the effects of the
IV - 47
Moyer Saif Timber Sale Final ESS
Chapter IV
harvest would be incidental compared to the tim-
ber harvest associated with the alternative itself.
In addition to the Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber
Sale, two other timber sales are also being consid-
ered within the boundary of the Taylor Mountain
Roadless Area within the. reasonably foreseeable
future. The Park Creek Timber Sale would be on
the Salmon Ranger District of the Salmon National
Forest and the Opal Creek Timber Sale would be
on the Cobalt Ranger District of the Salmon Na-
tional Forest.
The Park Creek Timber Sale on the Salmon
Ranger District of the Salmon National Forest is
planned to take place in 1 998 and would affect the
southeast tip of the roadless area. Road construc-
tion that is part of the proposed action would pene-
trate approximately two miles into the boundary of
the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area. Total direct
disturbance is tentatively planned as 3 miles of
road construction and 172 acres of harvest con-
tained in 9 cutting units. This would result in ap-
proximately 1 ,920 additional roadless acres affect-
ed (Personal communication, Salmon Ranger
District Timber Forester, July, August, 1991).
The Opal Creek Timber Sale on the Cobalt Ranger
District of the Salmon National Forest is planned to
take place in the mid to late 1990’s and would
affect the southwest edge of the roadless area.
This proposed sale also proposes road construc-
tion that would penetrate one to two miles into the
Taylor Mountain Roadless Area. Total direct dis-
turbance is tentatively planned as 1 to 2 miles of
road construction and 165 acres of harvest. This
would result in approximately 640 additional road-
less acres affected (Personal communication,
Cobalt Ranger District Timber Forester, July, Au-
gust, 1991).
These sales would only affect the edges of the
roadless area, and most likely would not be con-
sidered major intrusions. Neither one would pre-
clude the remainder of the area from being consid-
ered for inclusion in the NWPS.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All action alternatives are consistent with Forest
Plan standards and guidelines for management of
the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Timber harvest and road building can affect the
visual resource by altering the existing form, color,
line and texture in a given view area or "viewshed."
If the extent of the activities are great enough,
Visual Quality Objectives (VQO’s) may be affected.
Visual effects of the change depend on the interac-
tion of five factors: 1) Access to timber stands by
roads and skid trails, 2) harvest methods and silvi-
cultural systems, 3) slash disposal methods, 4)
design, shape and grouping of harvest units, and
5) topographic relation to the viewer’s position.
The analysis for visual quality was conducted by
applying the standard Visual Management System
inventory procedures. The inventory identifies Vi-
sual Quality Objectives to be applied to the project
area. Basically, the VQQ’s determine which por-
tions of the landscape would be visible to viewers
using sensitive travel routes, and how to protect
the seen areas from undesirable development ef-
fects depending on their location to the viewer.
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
There would be change apparent in the visual re-
source from various points along the sensitive trav-
el routes identified in Chapter III. Generally, the
visual variety of the landscape would change,
making management activities more evident as ar-
eas would be harvested and roads would be built.
When harvest units appear in the foreground the
visual resource would change considerably. A typ-
ical harvest unit would have areas of bare ground
with much of the remaining area covered by slash.
After disposal, the slash would be blackened from
fire, or piled. Recovery would take place as the
ground cover re-establishes and seedlings be-
come established and grow, with the scene
changing as the new stand of trees gains added
height over a number of decades.
When harvest units appear in the middle ground or
background, the visual resource would change on
a much larger scale, with the overall pattern, shape
and size of openings and the introduction of hori-
zontal road scars the predominant feature.
IV -48
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
EFFECTS BY ALTERNATIVE
Alternative 1 - No Action
Alternative 1 would permit the continued evolution
of the vegetative component of the landscape. Fire
suppression efforts would continue, changing the
condition of the forest from that which would occur
naturally. The visual environment would slowly
change as the stages of vegetation establishment
proceed through their cycles. The viewshed
throughout the project area would continue to
meet Forest Plan VQO’s.
Alternative 2
This alternative would have the second greatest
effect on the visual resource after Alternative 4.
Harvest units and constructed roads would be visi-
ble from major travel routes in the area. However,
techniques such as irregular edges on the harvest
units would be employed to lessen the effects on
the scenery. Overall, this alternative would meet
the assigned VQO’s of Partial Retention and Modi-
fication.
Alternative 3
This alternative would have the second least ad-
verse effect of the action alternatives on the visual
resource, primarily due to the fact that it contains
lesser amounts of ground disturbing activity. Har-
vest units would still be visible, but would remain
visually subordinate to the characteristic land-
scape, and the VQO’s of Partial Retention and
Modification would be met.
Alternative 4
This alternative would have the greatest adverse
effect on the visual resource as it would cause
more change than the other action alternatives.
Clearcut harvest units, large shelterwood units
and roads would be visible from the major view-
points and the existing visual experience would
not be maintained. Openings in the forest canopy
would be evident, as would road corridors, primar-
ily in the background. These openings would ex-
ceed the Forest Plan standards and guidelines by
as much as two to four fold (30 to 60 acre range
versus recommended 15 acre clearcuts in back-
ground Partial Retention).
The management activities would result in an
achieved VQO of Modification, instead of the as-
signed VQO of Partial Retention, for harvest units
4W, 22, S6, SI 2 and Si 3. The activities would be
highly evident and dominate the scene, rather
than remain visually subordinate to the character-
istic landscape, and not be highly evident to the
casual visitor.
Alternative 5
This alternative would not have a significant effect
on the visual resource due to the small number of
acres being treated overall and the minimal
amount of road construction proposed. Overall,
this alternative would meet the assigned VQO’s of
partial retention and modification.
Alternative 6 PREFERRED
This alternative has incorporated two additional
design features over Alternative 4 that will substan-
tially reduce visual impacts. The first is a reduction
in the size of the visible units that were indicated as
a problem in Alternative 4. Second, will be the
application of leave islands in 16 of the 26 pro-
posed clearcuts. Overall, this alternative would
meet the assigned VQO’s of partial retention and
modification.
Alternative 2A
This alternative should have the least overall effect
on the visual resource of all the action alternatives.
The leave island concept would be used in 24 of
the 26 proposed clearcuts, as well as a much
greater effort to protect and save residual under-
story, both of which will contribute substantially to
maintaining a forested appearance. This alterna-
tive would meet the assigned VQQ’s of partial re-
tention and modification.
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS
There are no planned or foreseeable surface dis-
turbing activities within the analysis area for the
remainder of the current planning period, which
extends through 1998. The only timber harvest
activities planned within the analysis area are tim-
ber stand improvements (such as thinning) within
the proposed cutting units, and firewood and post
and pole salvage. No additional roads are planned
for construction for the thinning or salvage activi-
ties.
IV -49
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Chapter IV
There would be no additional adverse effects to
the visual resource from these activities. In fact,
scheduled thinning would encourage more rapid
growth of remaining trees and new trees that grow
on the site, thereby hastening the recovery of visu-
al effects.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAIN]
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
Alternative 4 would not meet the VQO’s assigned
in the Forest Plan for this portion of the Forest. This
alternative would result in an achieved VQO of
Modification, rather than Partial Retention, for five
of the harvest units. Alternatives 1 , 2, 3, 5, 6, and
2A would meet all assigned VQO’s, if proposed
visual resource mitigation measures are imple-
mented.
RECREATION EFFECTS
Timber harvesting and Its associated activities
could affect the recreation resource in the follow-
ing manner:
1. Road building and tree removal affect the
physical and visual quality experienced on
a recreational trail. The strongest effect is
generally created in the foreground. For ex-
ample, a clearcut located alongside or over-
lapping a trail would have the greatest im-
mediate effect on the quality of the time
spent on that trail by a horserider, back-
packer, trailbiker, etc. The close-up pres-
ence of roads, stumps, slash piles, man-
made openings, etc., is acknowledged to
have a greater effect than a middle ground
or background harvest unit or road.
The timber harvest units were examined in
relation to Trail #6204, Moyer Peak jeep
trail. The linear distance of direct interface
or overlap of a proposed road or cutting unit
with this trail was then calculated. A cutting
unit located in the middle ground or back-
ground viewshed from the trail was consid-
ered to have no effect.
2. Access opportunities can be changed (ei-
ther created or removed) by logging activi-
ties. New road construction affords the hik-
er, horse rider, trailbiker, hunter or
camper-trailer owner a different way to get
to a trail, access a stream or camping spot,
or get closer to better big game habitat.
These opportunities are difficult to quantify.
They were measured in this analysis in
qualitative terms, i.e., relative increase or
decrease.
3. Direct conflict between a recreational activ-
ity and logging can occur. In the Moyer
Creek area, this would take the form of fall
logging operations preventing the use of
the area by big game hunters. The opera-
tion of heavy equipment and hauling on
roads could disturb game movement and
location patterns rendering the area unsuit-
able for a quality hunt. In the long-term,
however, access to the area would be im-
proved and more hunting would occur.
4. The construction of roads and harvesting of
trees can result in the conversion of acres
within the Recreation Opportunity Spec-
trum. In this case, the development activi-
ties would result in conversion from Semi-
Primitive Motorized and Semi-Primitive
Nonmotorized to Roaded-Natural Appear-
ing.
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
None of the action alternatives would have a direct
impact on users of the Moyer Peak jeep trail (trail
#6204) since proposed harvest units are located
in the middle ground and background view from
this trail. However, all action alternatives, except
Alternative 5, would result in a one half mile reduc-
tion of historic vehicle access when a spur road off
of the Moyer Peak jeep trail is closed.
If fall logging operations were to occur, it would
likely affect the quality of big game hunting oppor-
tunities in the immediate area of the activity. The
period of displacement of hunters would likely not
exceed three years.
All action alternatives will increase the use of hu-
man access into the area, increase the vulnerabil-
ity of hunted species and decrease habitat secu-
rity for both hunted and non-hunted species. This
IV - 50
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
would contribute to the continuous erosion of the
habitat base for hunted species and the need for
more restrictive hunting season regulations such
as a shorter season and thus the loss of consump-
tive recreational opportunities.
EFFECTS BY ALTERNATIVE
Alternative 1 - N© Action
Alternative 1 would have no adverse effect on cur-
rent recreation activities and use patterns. Overall,
the quality of the recreation setting would remain
high.
Alternative 2
Alternative 2 would have the second most adverse
effects on recreation after Alternative 4 in terms of
effects on the physical and visual quality of the
area due to timber harvesting and road construc-
tion.
It would convert approximately 6,990 acres from
Semi-Primitive Motorized and Nonmotorized to
Roaded-Natural Appearing. Overall, the quality of
the recreation setting would remain high.
Alternative 3
Alternative 3 would have the second least adverse
effects on recreation of the action alternatives in
terms of impacts to the physical and visual quality
of the area by proposed project activities.
It would convert approximately 6,31 0 acres from
Semi-Primitive Motorized and Nonmotorized to
Roaded-Natural Appearing. Overall, the quality of
the recreation setting would remain high.
Alternative 4
Alternative 4 would have the most adverse effects
on recreation. The quality of the setting would di-
minish from an aesthetic standpoint in the vicinity
of the management activities.
Alternative 4 would convert approximately 6,990
acres from Semi-Primitive Motorized and Nonmo-
torized to Roaded-Natural Appearing. Overall, the
quality of the recreation setting would remain high.
Alternative 5
Alternative 5 would have the least adverse effects
on recreation of the action alternatives in terms of
impacts to the physical and visual quality of the
area by proposed project activities.
Since no new roads would be constructed into the
current semi-primitive areas, there would be no
conversion of acres from the semi-primitive motor-
ized and nonmotorized to roaded-natural appear-
ing. Overall, the quality of the recreation setting
would remain high.
Alternative 6 PREFERRED
Same as alternative 4 with improvement from an
aesthetic standpoint.
Alternative 2A
Same as alternative 2 with improvement from an
aesthetic standpoint.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All of the action alternatives would generally meet
the desired future condition of maintaining the cur-
rent high quality of dispersed recreation settings,
although Alternative 4 would result in some lessen-
ing of the desired visual quality of the area.
EFFECTS TO AIR QUALITY
Prescribed burning, dust, vehicle emissions, and
wildfire could temporarily degrade air quality in the
analysis area and surrounding airshed. The small
local communities of Elk Bend and Salmon, Idaho,
about 13 and 25 miles southeast and northeast of
the analysis area, respectively, could be inconven-
ienced by smoky conditions for short periods. In
case of a major wildfire, smoky conditions could
persist in the Lemhi Valley and parts of the Salmon
River drainage airshed for several weeks, depend-
ing on local climate conditions, especially wind
direction.
IV- 51
Moyer Salt Timber Sal® Final EIS
Chapter IV
Prescribed Burning
Slash treatment by burning would be prescribed
for atl action alternatives for the Moyer Salt Timber
sale. Slash would be either piled and burned (in
either windrows or piles) or broadcast burned, de-
pending on the harvest system used and the slope
of the site. These fires would produce isolated and
short-term degradation of air quality; the intensity
of the effect would depend on weather conditions
during and immediately following burning. Howev-
er, in the long term, state and federal air quality
standards would be met for all alternatives.
Before the timber sale would be harvested, fuels
specialists would prepare prescribed bum plans
that would specifically address the conditions on
each cutting unit. Burning would be conducted
under favorable atmospheric and fuel-moisture
conditions. At least 1 0 to 15 tons of large woody
material would be retained for soil productivity,
wildlife, and site protection, and would also reduce
smoke emissions (compared to intense wildfire).
Most burning would occur at elevations above and
away from populated areas and under conditions
that provide for excellent, good or fair smoke dis-
persal. The burn prescriptions would comply with
State of Idaho Air Quality Regualtions.
Dust and Vehicle Emissions
Dust and vehicle emissions would temporarily re-
duce air quality in the immediate sale vicinity. All
action alternatives would require the application of
water to roads as needed to reduce dust. The
amount of vehicle emissions would depend on the
amount of timber harvested and the number of
logging trucks required to haul logs. Impacts relat-
ed to dust and vehicle emissions would be short-
term and temporary in nature.
EFFECTS BY ALTERNATIVE
Alternative 1 - No Action
Under the no action alternative, no timber harvest-
ing would occur and therefore no slash burning
would occur. Effects to air quality due to wildfires
may be indirectly increased because the high po-
tential for wildfire and the poor access to the area
would not be improved through timber harvesting
and road construction.
With no timber harvesting there would be no in-
creased impacts due to dust and vehicle emis-
sions. Ongoing dust and vehicle emissions due to
Forest Service vehicles and recreation users
would still occur on the existing road network.
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
The estimated increase in particulate concentra-
tion (PM-10) was calculated for each alternative
using the Simple Approach Smoke Estimation
Model (SASEM) developed by the Bureau of Land
Management (Sestak and Riebau, 1988). This
model calculates total suspended particulate con-
centration (PM-10), total particulates emitted
(tons), and reduction in visual range due to smoke
from controlled burns. The model calculates emis-
sions from data on the size of the burn, burn type
(broadcast or pile), burn duration, fire line inten-
sity, average fuel loading, and the type of fuel that
is burned. Average fuel loading was determined
using the methods of Anderson (1982). For the
purposes of this model it was assumed that 14
tons of debris would remain on the site after burn-
ing, within the range of 10 to 15 tons per acre
specified in the soils mitigations (listed in Chapter
II). The airborne particulate concentrations are cal-
culated from the emission rate, plume rise, wind
speed and stability. The model determines the
maximum concentration of total suspended partic-
ulates less than 1 0 microns in size (PM) in micro-
grams per cubic meter (ug/m3) as well as the re-
duction in visual range at selected receptors.
The SASEM model calculated the estimated out-
put of PM-1 0 in ug/m3 for each of the action alter-
natives for both broadcast burning and pile and
burn methods for excellent, good, fair and poor
dispersion days (excellent, good, fair and poor
dispersion days are determined by the U.S.
Weather Bureau) with wind speeds between 2 and
10 miles per hour. Table IV-1Q shows the acres of
slash burned and the estimated tons of total partic-
ulates emitted calculated by the SASEM model for
each of the alternatives; the PM-1 0 results for each
alternative have been removed from the Appendix
in the Final but are available for review in the
project file.
IV- 52
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
TABLE IV-10: ACRES OF SLASH BURNED AND ESTIMATED TOATL PARTICULATES EMITTED (tons) BY
ALTERNATIVE
Slash Burn Method
Aft 1
Alt 2
Alt 3
Alt 4
Alt 5
Alt 6
PRE-
FERRED
Alt 2A
Broadcast Burn
(acres)
0
110
120
100
0
100
100
Pile and Burn
(# piles)
0
12
24
44
10
36
20
Estimated Total
Particulates (tons)*
11.9
11.4
13.3
1.1
12.3
10.6
Broadcast Burn
0
9.3
10.1
8.4
0
8.4
8.4
Pile and Burn
0
2.6
1.3
4.8
1.1
3.9
2.2
* for excellent, good or fair dispersion days with wind speeds between 2 and 1 0 mph
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS
Under excellent, good and fair dispersion days the
estimated PM-1 0 values for broadcast burning are
below the PM-10 standard of 150 ug/m3 estab-
lished by the Clean Air Act National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS). Using the pile and
burn slash disposal method, Alternative 4, which
has the greatest number of piles (44), exceeds the
National standards for PM-10 on excellent disper-
sion days with winds between 2-6 mph; good dis-
persion days with winds between 5-10 mph; fair
dispersion days with winds between 7-10 mph,
and poor dispersion days with winds between 2-5
mph. To mitigate these impacts the piles will not all
be burned at once, but will be staggered over
several days and will only be burned when air
dispersion quality ratings will ensure that the
PM-10 standards are not exceeded (see Mitiga-
tions section of Chapter II). In addition, conditions
can be mitigated to meet the 1 50 ug/m3 standard
by burning under favorable fuel moisture and
weather conditions. All prescribed burns would be
monitored for smoke dispersion during burning to
determine if they follow the burn plan, meet
SASEM model criteria, and do not violate the
Clean Air Act.
The smoke, dust and vehicle emissions that result
from implementation of the action alternatives
would combine with air pollutants from other
projects in the local area such as other timber sale
activities, prescribed burns, any mining activities,
and recreational use of the area. Some short-term
cumulative effects in the Lemhi Valley and parts of
the Salmon River drainage may occur.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All action alternatives are consistent with Forest
Plan standards and guidelines, and would meet
National and State air quality standards.
EFFECTS TO RANGE RESOURCES
Timber harvest and associated road building and
other activities can affect the range resources of
an area in several ways. The openings created by
logging and road building encourages growth of
grasses, providing additional forage for livestock
for 1 5 to 20 years after initial harvest. However,
utilization of this forage by livestock depends on
several factors. Cattle will not make much use of
IV - 53
Moyer SaBt Timber SaS® FinaS EIS
Chapter !V
forage that is very far from water or is growing on
very steep slopes. Also, large amounts of slash
and cull logs near roads may block access to for-
age growing in logged units. Silviculturalists may
deem it necessary to temporarily fence off logged
units to protect conifer seedlings from possible
damage by livestock. The increase in forage in the
harvested areas would also reduce livestock con-
centration in riparian areas.
New roads allow cattle to travel into areas not pre-
viously utilized. This provides additional forage op-
portunities for cattle and would change the live-
stock distribution pattern within each allotment.
Seeding of the road cuts provides a source of
forage which did not exist before, and would facili-
tate cattle movement into areas not previously
used. This could result in cattle crossing unit and
allotment boundaries where natural boundaries
now exist. Cattle guards, gates, fences and water
developments would be used to mitigate these
effects for the action alternatives (see Chapter II,
Table 18-1); these would be identified during devel-
opment of the Knudsen Vandenberg Plan.
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
None of the seven alternatives would have a sub-
stantive effect on the range resource. The greatest
potential for effects would be the selection of Alter-
native 4 and 6, which involves the most road con-
struction and timber harvesting, although all action
alternatives would affect the range resource to var-
ious degrees.
None of the alternatives would have a negative
effect on current grazing capacity in any of these
allotments.
Alternative 1 = No Action
Under the no action alternative, no timber harvest-
ing and road construction activities would occur.
Increased forage that results from timber harvest-
ing would not occur, and grazing impacts to
riparian areas would remain high. The grazing pat-
terns and livestock distribution would remain un-
changed.
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS
Within the foreseeable future, through this plan-
ning period (1998), there would not be planned
management activities that would affect the range
resource in this analysis area.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All alternatives are consistent with Forest Plan
standards and guidelines for range management.
EFFECTS TO TRANSPORTATION
AND ACCESS
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
All action alternatives proposed in this EIS would
involve construction of new roads. Alternatives 3,
4, 5, and 6 would, in addition, involve reconstruc-
tion of an existing road. These roads, when open,
would increase access to large tracts of land that
are currently inaccessible by motorized vehicles
and that are only accessed with difficulty by other
means. Improved access to the area would affect
wildlife habitat security. However, these roads
would be gated and locked except during timber
harvesting, periods of wood salvage, and during
stand improvement activities. They would not be
routinely used for motorized recreation purposes.
As part of the wildlife mitigations that would be
implemented for alt action alternatives except Al-
ternative 5 (Chapter II, Table 11-1) and to prevent
access to the proposed new road system via the
Moyer Peak Jeep Trail, construction slash will be
placed on the road prism for the last 1/2 mile of
Road # 60286.1 and on all of roads 60286.2,
60286-C and 60288. This construction slash will be
placed on the road prism at an average spacing of
1 50 feet and will be sufficiently high and wide to
impede foot or horse traffic. This will maintain ac-
cess to an area that has traditionally been accessi-
ble by vehicles (Moyer Peak Jeep Trail) but will
restrict access to the new closed road system.
An additional effect to the analysis area that would
result from the proposed road building would be
the increase in the amount of commercial timber-
IV - 54
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
land available for harvest, assuming an optimum
skidding distance of 2,500 feet for tractor skidding
and 1,000 feet for cable skidding. There are at
present approximately 10,240 acres of suitable
timberland (areas that are designated as suitable
for timber harvesting in the Forest Plan; see Chap-
ter III for a discussion of suitable timberland) within
the 15,360-acre analysis area Of this area, ap-
proximately 1 600 acres of timberland are presently
accessible for timber harvesting with the existing
road system. Table IV-11 gives the acres of suit-
able timberland that would be available for harvest
for each action alternative. The remaining unhar-
vested forest would be more easily accessed for
timber stand improvement activities. Increased ac-
cess would also facilitate fire suppression efforts.
Alternative 1 - No Action
Under the no action alternative,, no new roads
would be constructed, and access to the area for
timber harvest, hunting, fire fighting, or any other
purpose would remain unchanged. The roadless
attributes of the area would remain unchanged,
and the Moyer Jeep trail would not be closed.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All action alternatives are consistent with Forest
Plan standards and guidelines for the Forest trans-
portation system, and are consistent with the man-
agement area prescriptions for the area.
TABLE IV-11: ACRES OF COMMERCIAL TIMBERLAND AVAILABLE FOR HARVEST BY EXISTING AND PROPOSED
ROAD SYSTEMS, BY ALTERNATIVE
Commercial Timber
land Available,
Existing
Road System (acres)
ALT
1
1,600
ALT
2
1,600
ALT
3
1,600
ALT
4
1,600
ALT
5
1,600
ALT
6
PRE-
FERRED
1,600
Alt
2A
1,600
Miles of Proposed
Road
0
16.8
14.6
17.8
1.1
17.8
16.8
Commercial Timber-
land Available, Pro-
posed Road System
(acres)
0
2,807
1,874
2,957
150
2,957
2,807
Commercial Timber-
land Available per
Mile of Road Con-
structed (acres)
0
167
128
166
136
166
167
IV -55
Moyer SaK Timber Sale Final E8S
Chapter IV
EFFECTS TO MINERALS
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
There are numerous mining claims within the anal-
ysis area boundary, but no known mineral de-
posits have been located and no mineral produc-
tion has occurred. New road construction in the
area could increase interest in prospecting and
exploration, both through improved access and in
possible new rock exposures created by road
cuts. New roads would also allow access by truck-
mounted drill equipment, and some drilling could
be anticipated.
Mining claimants in the project area would be noti-
fied of the proposed road construction and timber
harvest. Claimants would be given the opportunity
to protect claim corners and discovery monu-
ments. The Forest Service would take measures to
ensure that activities do not materially interfere
with potential mineral development.
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS
Mineral exploration activities are a reasonably
forseeable future action that could involve con-
struction of drilling roads and other surface dis-
turbance activities. Any impacts greater than 20
acres would be assessed under a separate envi-
ronmental assessment.
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST FLAN
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All action alternatives and the no action alternative
are consistent with Forest Plan management goals
for minerals.
EFFECTS TO CULTURAL RESOURCES
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
Most of the analysis area (areas affected by Alter-
natives 2 and 3) has been inventoried for cultural
resources. No cultural sites were identified and the
potential for discovery of cultural sites is consid-
ered low (Chapter III, Cultural Resources). Prior to
ground disturbance, further field investigations
would be done to identify any unknown cultural
sites. If any are discovered, a decision would be
made to avoid, protect, or mitigate the site in ac-
cordance with the National Historic Preservation
Act. The timber sale contract contains a clause
that allows cancellation or modification of the tim-
ber sale contract if cultural resources are found
(see Chapter II, Table 11-1 for further discussion of
Cultural Resource mitigations).
CONSISTENCY WITH FOREST PfLJ\N
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
All alternatives are consistent with Forest Plan
standards and guidelines.
ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY
The economic efficiency of each alternative was
evaluated by calculating the present net value
(PNV) for each; the results are shown in Table
IV-12. PNV was calculated using the same
computer-based spreadsheet used for generating
the Salmon National Forest’s Timber Sale Program
Information Reporting System (TSPIRS) Reports.
In this method, costs associated with the pro-
posed timber sale such as sale planning, prepara-
tion, administration, and on-the-ground costs
such as road construction, slash disposal, and
reforestation costs are subtracted from the rev-
enues gained from the timber sale. These costs
and benefits are inclusive for an entire stand rota-
tion (80-120 years) and then discounted back to
the present. This analysis does not consider other
non-monetary costs and benefits such as recre-
ation and water production.
Because timber prices are not stable but fluctuate
with economic conditions, the PNVs for the Moyer
Salt Timber Sale Alternatives 2, 3, 4, and 6 were
calculated using two different stumpage values
(Table IV-12). Because of the substantial costs as-
sociated with helicopter logging, the PNV for Alter-
native 5 was only determined using the lower
stumpage estimate. The "Present Trend" PNV in-
corporates stumpage values from the 1 990 Cop-
perswan Timber Sale on the Salmon National For-
est, run with current selling values. The
Copperswan sale was chosen for determining
IV - 56
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
stumpage values because it is located adjacent to
the Moyer Salt analysis area, it contained a similar
mix of tree species, and has a ratio of road miles
per mmbf that is similar to that calculated for the
proposed Moyer Salt timber sale. The 'Long Term
Average" PNV uses the stumpage values in the
1990 TSPIRS Reports that are based on average
selling values of all timber sold in the 1 990 fiscal
year.
The significant differences in stumpage values re-
sulted in dramatically different PNVs. This is a very
important point. Alternatives that have the same
mix of silvicultural prescriptions will show an in-
creasingly negative PNV with an increase in acres
treated when stumpage rates are somewhere be-
low $100/mbf (long term average). On the other
hand, a very slight increase in stumpage rates, for
example close to or a little over $1 00/mbf will show
the opposite. That is, with an increase in acres, the
PNV will be increasingly more positive. Therefore
given the likelihood of reduced Federal timber sup-
ply and increased stumpage values, it is highly
possible that the "Present Trend" PNV will be even
higher than estimated and that alternatives that
harvest the most acres will ultimately have the
highest PNV.
Gross stumpage was calculated and displayed
mainly for the purpose of showing the opportunity
cost of leaving overmature and stagnant timber
stands in a nonproductive condition under the No
Action alternative (Table IV-12). Calculations and
assumptions for losses due to insect and disease
as well as delaying treatment are shown below.
Stumpage values used to calculate the "Long-term
average" are from the Copperswan Timber Sale,
sold in 1990. The "Present Trend" stumpage val-
ues were determined using the Copperswan Tim-
ber Sale Appraisal with current selling values,
resulting in considerably higher values. It is
important to note that these “high" values were
appraised rates and did not include any additional
revenue that may have occurred as a result of
competitive bidding.
Road costs were calculated and are displayed to
illustrate their effect on "opportunity costs" (return
to the government) and sale viability. For example,
one would expect lower returns to the government
as road costs per mbf increase. These lower re-
turns directly translate into either lower returns to
the Treasury or less KV funds to perform sale area
improvement projects with.
In addition to lower returns to the government,
escalating road costs may eventually reach a point
where the sale may not sell. In 1 992, road costs on
the Salmon National Forest ranged from $17/mbf
to $67/mbf. Average road costs for predominantly
lodgepoie sales (similar to Moyer Salt) were ap-
proximately $40/mbf.
As depicted in Table IV-12, alternative 3 for the
Moyer Salt timber sale has a road cost in excess
of $1 00/mbf. While road costs are not the only
factor that will affect sale viability, costs of this
magnitude are a concern. In the event the sale did
sell, one could logically expect little return (over-
bid) to the government.
EFFECTS COMMON TO ALL ACTION
ALTERNATIVES
As shown in Table IV-1 2, the PNV for the six action
alternatives is negative for those values generated
using the long-term average for calculation of the
PNV. Under this scenario, the proposed timber
sale would be below cost. Due to the recent rapid
rise in timber prices, the PNV for the action alterna-
tives calculated using current selling values are all
positive. Given the likelihood of reduced Federal
timber supply and increased stumpage values, the
■Present Trend" PNV may be even higher than esti-
mated if one of the Moyer Salt timber sale alterna-
tives is sold. All of the action alternative are roughly
the same in terms of the PNV per mmbf calculated
with the long term average. However, with the PNV
calculated with the current selling values, the PNV
per mmbf is vastly different, and these differences
are discussed below under 'Comparison of Alter-
natives’.
IV - 57
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Chapter IV
TABLE SV-12: ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY BY ALTERNATIVE
MEASUREMENT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
INDICES
1
2
3
4
5
6
2A
PRE-
FERRED
PRESENT NET
VALUE:
Long Term Avg*
0
-$210,077
-$161,329
-$300,679
-$277,853
-$183,069
Present Trend ***
0
+$253,925
+$303,502
+$295,651
-$94,938
+$303,626
+$262,241
GROSS STUMPAGE
VALUE:
(realized or lost)
Long term Avg **
0
+$400,670
+$306,186
+$564,444
+$69,315
+$498,801
+$343,235
Present Trend ***
0
+$569,100
+$525,300
+$754,200
+$706,200
+$527,100
ROAD COSTS:
Construction Costs
0
+$372,150
+$383,850
+$411,150
+$42,000
+$411,150
+$372,150
Road Costs/mbf1
0
+$76
+$102
+ $60
+$26
+$67
+ $89
* Estimated using SNF TSPIRS Values (see text for explanation)
** Estimate based on past timber sale (Copperswan)
*** Estimate based on past timber sale run with current selling values (Copperswan)
1 mbf = thousand board feet
EFFECTS BY ALTERNATIVE
Alternative 2
Under this alternative, the PNV calculated using
1990 selling prices would be $253,925. The road
costs associated with this alternative, when divid-
ed by the net volume produced, yield a road cost
of $76 per mbf. This value exceeds road costs for
any sale sold in 1 992. It may represent an upper
limit of sale viability (if a sale will sell). In the event
the sale did sell, returns to the government in the
form of competitive bidding may not occur.
Alternative 3
Under this alternative, the PNV calculated using
1990 selling prices would be $303,502. The road
costs associated with this alternative, when divid-
ed by the net volume produced, yield a road cost
of $1 02 per mbf. These road costs are higher than
those calculated for any of the other alternatives,
and reflect the cost of a two-road access system
designed to address potential effects to wildlife.
Road costs of this magnitude may likely contribute
to a sale that would not sell. In the event the sale
did sell, returns to the government in the form of
competitive bidding may not occur.
Alternative 4
Under this alternative, the PNV calculated using
1990 selling prices would be $295,651. The road
costs associated with this alternative, when divid-
ed by the net volume produced, yield a road cost
of $60 per mbf. These road costs are second low-
est of those calculated for other alternatives, and
reflect the decrease in cost per mbf for a sale with
higher volumes and larger cutting units.
Alternative 5
Under this alternative, the PNV calculated using
1990 selling prices would be -$94,938. The road
costs associated with this alternative, when divid-
ed by the net volume produced, yield a road cost
of $26 per mbf. These road costs are lower than
those calculated for any of the other alternatives,
and reflect the use of a helicopter and limited road
building. Regardless of road costs, this sale may
not be viable due to the high costs of helicopter
IV - 58
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
yarding. The helicopter costs for this sale are high-
er than average due to long flights and small piece
size.
Alternative 6 PREFERRED
Under this alternative, the PNV calculated using
1990 selling prices would be $303,626. The road
costs associated with this alternative, when divid-
ed by the net volume produced, yield a road cost
of $67 per mbf. As in Alternative 4, this reflects the
decrease in cost per mbf for a sale with higher
volumes and larger cutting units.
Alternative 2A
Under this alternative, the PNV calculate using
1990 selling prices would be $262,241. The road
costs associated with this alternative, when divid-
ed by the net volume produced, yield a road cost
of $89 per mbf. Road costs of this magnitude may
likely contribute to a sale that would not sell. In the
event the sale did sell, returns to the government
in the form of competitive bidding may not occur.
POTENTIAL CONFLICTS WITH PLANS
AND POLIOSES OF OTHER
JURISDICTIONS
The following statements are provided to help de-
fine the areas of potential differences between the
agency proposing this action (U.S. Forest Service)
and the policies, management, and enforcement
responsibilities of other agencies.
Cultural Resources
The laws and policies that govern cultural re-
source protection on Federal Lands are coordinat-
ed with the State Historic Preservation Officer
(SHPO) of Idaho, who serves in an advisory capac-
ity. The policies for USFS and SHPO are consis-
tent.
To date, most of the areas proposed for manage-
ment activities (action alternatives) have been
evaluated for cultural resources. All ground dis-
turbing activities proposed in this EIS would have
a cultural resource clearance before any disturb-
ance to the ground would be permitted to occur.
Thus, an action alternative implementation would
be pending cultural resource clearance in accord-
ance with the National Historic Preservation Act.
PROBABLE ENVIRONMENTAL
EFFECTS THAT CANNOT
BE AVOIDED
Implementation of any alternatives would in-
evitably result in some unavoidable environmental
effects, both adverse and beneficial. Although the
management requirements and mitigation mea-
sures associated with the alternatives would re-
duce or prevent some potential adverse environ-
mental impacts, some impacts could not be
completely avoided. Even Alternative 1, the No
Action Alternative, has effects. Unavoidable im-
pacts are listed briefly below; the reader is referred
to the appropriate resources section in this Chap-
ter for more detailed information.
Visual Quality:
All of the action alternatives, particularly Alternative
4, would have an effect on the visual resource from
various viewpoints along the sensitive travel routes
identified in Chapter 111. Generally, the visual vari-
ety of the landscape would change, making man-
agement activities more evident as areas are har-
vested and roads are built.
Air Quality:
The air quality of the analysis area would be tem-
porarily affected during slash burning operations
that are scheduled as part of the timber manage-
ment program. These impacts cannot be mitigated
completely but would be performed during peri-
ods when air dispersion patterns are favorable and
would therefore be temporary in nature.
Roadless Resource:
All action alternatives would affect about 16 per-
cent of the existing roadless condition of the Taylor
Mountain Roadless Area, except Alternative 5
which affects less than 1 percent. None of the
alternatives would prevent the the remainder of the
roadless area from being considered by Congress
for incorporation into the NWPS.
IV - 59
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Chapter IV
Recreation:
Fall logging operations could discourage the use
of the area by big game hunters. The operation of
heavy equipment and hauling on roads may dis-
turb game movement and location patterns, ren-
dering the area less suitable for a quality hunt.
The proposed action alternatives, if implemented,
would result in the conversion of acres within the
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum. In this case, the
development activities would result in conversion
from Semi-Primitive Motorized and Semi-Primitive
Nonmotorized to Roaded-Natural Appearing, ex-
cept for Alternative 5.
IRREVERSIBLE AND IRRETRIEVABLE
COMMITMENTS OF RESOURCES
An irreversible commitment of resources refers to
the loss of production or use of a resource due to
a land use decision that, once executed, cannot
be reversed, except perhaps in the extreme long
term. An irretrievable commitment of resources ap-
plies to losses of production or use of renewable
resources for a period of time.
Irreversible and Irretrievable
Roadless:
All action alternatives except Alternative 5 would
commit a portion of the roadless resource to tim-
ber harvest, with the long-term goal of continuing
and expanding timber harvest in that area. Road-
less attributes would only be recovered in the ex-
treme long term, even if the roads are obliterated
and the area is reforested. Therefore, the commit-
ment is irreversible and irretrievable.
The commitment under Alternative 5 is irretriev-
able as a result of the harvest of trees but is not
irreversible because no roads are constructed
within the roadless boundary.
Irretrievable
Vegetation:
Any alternative which chooses to leave overmature
and deteriorating timber stands would, to some
extent, result in an irretrievable loss of timber pro-
ductivity (see Economics section, this chapter).
The No Action Alternative would have the greatest
irretrievable commitment of the timber resources,
although other alternatives would also have vary-
ing impacts due to variations in the amount of
timber harvest. Additional losses of merchantable
products through decay and mortality of current
stands would also be an irretrievable commitment
of no action or reduced action.
Visual Quality:
Alternative 4 would result in an irretrievable com-
mitment of the visual resource, as timber harvest
activities would be highly evident and would domi-
nate the scene for decades.
Recreation Resources:
Road construction and timber harvesting in the
analysis area would convert acres from Semi-
primitive Motorized and Semi-primitive Nonmotor-
ized to Roaded - Natural Appearing. Because the
roads and timber harvest units would remain for
decades, this impact would be irretrievable.
OTHER REQUIRED DISCLOSURES
Relationship between Short-term Uses of Man’s
Environment and the Maintenance and
Enhancement of Long-term Productivity
Long-term productivity is the capability of the For-
est to provide resources into the future. Alt of the
action alternatives improve the condition of the
vegetative resource for timber production by con-
verting trees that are old, no longer growing, and
infested with insects and diseases into vigorous
young and healthy stands. Therefore, the pro-
posed timber harvest and wood utilization would
be a short-term use that would improve the long-
term productivity of the timber stands.
IV - 60
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter IV
Energy Requirements and Conservation
Potential of Various Alternatives
and Mitigation Measures
There would be no unusual energy requirements
for implementing any of the alternatives.
American Indian Treaty Rights
None of the alternatives would conflict with any
treaty provisions.
Threatened and Endangered Species
In compliance with the Endangered Species Act,
the Forest Service consulted with the U. S. Fish
and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fish-
eries Service concerning Federally Threatened
and Endangered Species. The resulting assess-
ment indicates that the habitat of one Endangered
species, the gray wolf, and one Federally listed
Threatened species, spring/summer Chinook
salmon, exists in the Moyer Salt analysis area.
The Biological Assessment (BA) for terrestrial ver-
tebrates concluded that the proposed action, with
mitigations, may affect but is not likely to adversely
affect the Endangered gray wolf, its habitat or its
recovery potential.
The effects of the proposed activities on the Snake
River spring/summer Chinook salmon and Snake
River sockeye salmon was documented in a BA
prepared for the Moyer Salt DEIS (see Moyer Salt
DEIS and FEIS, Appendix F). Recent agreements
between the Forest Service and the National Ma-
rine Fisheries Service, however, have specified
both a modification of BA formatting, and expan-
sion of project analysis to encompass possible
cumulative subbasin effects as well as direct and
indirect project level effects.
The final Moyer Salt Biological Assessment of ef-
fects to Snake River spring/summer Chinook and
sockeye salmon is, therefore, being documented
within the Salmon National Forest’s Proposed Ac-
tivity Review for the Panther Creek Watershed. The
effects analysis methodology specified for this
Proposed Activity Review places a strong empha-
sis on risks of temperature and sedimentation ef-
fects. As the original, independent BA prepared for
the Moyer Salt DEIS document included discus-
sions of these temperature and sedimentation
risks, conclusions within the pending Proposed
Activity Review are not expected to deviate from
those of the independent analysis included within
this EIS (See Fisheries section in this Chapter).
MlneraSs
The proposed project would have no effect on the
availability of lands for mining under federal mining
laws and regulations.
Water Quality
The State of Idaho Forest Practices Water Quality
Management Plan and Forest Plan Standard and
Guidelines would be implemented to meet state
and federal water quality regulations.
Effects on Prime Farmland, Rangeland,
and Forestland
All alternatives are in keeping with the intent of the
Secretary of Agriculture Memorandum 1872 for
prime land. The analysis area does not contain any
prime farmland or rangeland. “Prime" forestland
does not apply to lands within the National Forest
System. In all alternatives, National Forest System
lands would be managed with sensitivity to the
effects on adjacent lands.
Effects of Alternatives on Minorities and Women
No effects on Native Americans, other minorities,
women, or the civil rights of any United States
citizen would be anticipated under any alternative.
Effects on Wetlands and Floodplains
The effects of the proposed actions on wetlands
are described in the 'Wetlands’ section of this
document.
The proposed alternatives would not affect any
floodplains.
IV - 61
'
Chapter V
List of Preparers
Core Interdisciplinary
Team Members V-1
Consultation and Review V-3
Approval V-3
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter V
CHAPTER ¥
LIST OF PREPARERS
This section lists USDA Forest Service employees who contributed to this Final ESS by
making comments during the interdisciplinary team scoping process, preparing specialist
reports, writing sections of the document, and/or providing technical assistance.
CORE TEAM INTERDISCIPLINARY MEMBERS
Doug Basford, timber/vegetation
B.S. Range
Certified Silviculturist: course work in ecosystem management, insect and disease
control, logging systems, genetics, biological diversity
Author: ’Developing Stand Density Guides for Predicting Growth of Timber Species
on the Salmon National Forest"
25 years related experience.
Lynn Bennett: team leader/coordinator
B.S. in Natural Resource Management: course work in forest ecology, wildlife
biology, watershed management, soils, forest management, economics, silvicul-
ture, and logging systems
Graduate credits in: landscape ecology, silviculture, economics, plant physiology,
logging systems, population dynamics and plant genetics.
1 5 years related experience.
Russ BJorklund: economics, vegetation/timber
B.S. Forest Resource Management
Certified Silviculturist: course work in forest ecology, forest management, and soils.
Graduate credits in ecosystem management, logging systems, economics and
insect and disease.
1 7 years related experience
Tom Bonn: engineering; transportation
Civil Engineering Technician with course work in logging systems, forest road and
transportations, engineering economics, operations analysis, and soil and water-
shed management.
27 years experience
Tom Buchta: minerals
B.S. Forestry with emphasis in soil science
3 years soil scientist experience
V- 1
Moyer Salt Timber Safl© Final ESS
Chapter V
1 2 years minerals management and planning experience
Robin FuelSenbach: writing/editing/video
B.S. English: technical and expository writing, journalism, photography
M.A. Mathematics: including study in writing technical and environmental docu-
ments (NEPA)
1 8 years related experience.
Clinton GroBil: District Ranger
B.S. Range Management: prepared numerous timber related NEPA documents and
range allotment management plans and experience in sale preparation and admin-
istration. Additional course work in ecology.
26 years related experience
Merry Hayden: cultural resources
B.A. Anthropology; course work in anthropology, archaeology, and geology
Author: over 50 reports and publications pertaining to cultural resources
1 0 years experience in archaeology and cultural resource management
Pat Johnson: engineering; transportation
B.S. Civil Engineering
25 years related experience.
Gary Jackson, soils/air quality
B.S. Soil Science with course work in soil chemistry, soil physics, soil microbology,
soil classification, soil mapping, entomology, organic chemistry, range manage-
ment, and irrigation water management.
Additional training in air pollution control and smoke management.
Co-author: Willcox Area Soil Survey, Arizona; Coconino County Soil Survey, Ari-
zona; Mt. Trumbull Soil Survey, Arizona; and Los Prades National Forest Soil
Survey, California.
25 years related experience.
Steve Matz, heritage resources
M.A. Interdisciplinary Studies with course work in anthropology, archaeological
method and theory, geology, soils, cultural resource management, National Historic
Preservation Act, and Archaeological Resources Preservation Act.
Author: over 1 00 reports and publication on Cultural Resource Management issues.
13 years related experience
Robbert MlekeSsen: range
B.S. Animal Science/Range Management with course work in integrated resource
management, range vegetation, range analysis, soil science, animal nutrition,
botany, zoology, forage crops and plant taxonomy.
3 years related experience
Betsy RSeffenberger: water (hydrology)
B.S. Water Resources Development with emphasis on water pollution control.
Course work in hydrology, soils and natural resource management.
V - 2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter V
1 0 years experience as Forest Hydrologist.
Robert Rose: fisheries
B.S. in Fisheries Management with emphasis on anadromous fisheries resources.
Other course work in fisheries biology, water quality, limnology, oceanography.
1 1 years related experience in anadromous fisheries research, management and
culture.
Bruce Smith: fisheries
B.S. Fish and Wildlife Management with emphasis on zoology, botany, English and
science.
Additional course work in land, fisheries and wildlife management; riparian habitats;
range; minerals; recreation; stream and lake habitat inventory and management.
Graduate studies in fish culture, pond and reservoir management. Two years for-
eign service in fisheries management and research.
20 years related experience.
Ken Stauffer: recreation/roadless character/visual quality
B.S. Landscape Architecture
14 years related experience.
Patricia A. Ultk: public involvement/writing/editing/video
B.S. Botany/Zoology; M.S. Botany/Zoology
1 5 years related experience
Dick Wenger: wildlife
B.S. Biology with emphasis on plant and animal ecology and taxonomy
M.S. Wildlife Biology with emphasis on wild ungulate ecology and management and
predator-prey relationships
Post Graduate studies in big game population ecology and predator-prey relation-
ships
1 9 years related experience.
CONSULTATION AND REVIEW
Dan Baird: Branch Chief, Recreation, Range and Wildlife, Salmon National Forest
Gene Jensen: Land Management Planner, Salmon National Forest
Ernie Schneider: Branch Chief, Timber, Aviation and Fire, Salmon National Forest
APPROVAL
John Burns: Forest Supervisor, Salmon National Forest
V - 3
■
Chapter VS
Scoping and
Public
Involvement
Scoping and Public and
Interagency Participation
Opportunities VI-1
Consultation with Other
Agencies and Organizations VI-2
List of Agencies, Organiz-
ations and Individuals that
Responded to the Draft ESS VI-2
The Major Geographical Sources of
Comment Letters VI-4
The Major Issues Raised in the
Comment Letters VI-4
List of Agencies, Organiz-
ations and Individuals to
Whom Copies of the Final
E8S Were Sent V8-4
Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter VI
CHAPTER VI
SCOPING AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
The Salmon National Forest encouraged active in-
teragency and public involvement throughout the
planning and analysis process for the Moyer Salt
Timber Sale Final EIS. This chapter summarizes the
public participation process, and includes:
1 . A summary of public and interagency partic-
ipation opportunities prior to the Final EIS;
2. A list of parties who attended the public
scoping meeting in Salmon, Idaho, prior to the
Draft EIS;
3. A list of parties who contributed information
and views on the Draft EIS; and
timber harvest and road construction activities that
would be implemented under the proposed timber
sale. A public meeting was held in Salmon, Idaho,
on August 30, 1 990 to present the proposed action
to the public and to encourage public involvement
in the scoping process. An announcement describ-
ing the public meeting was published beforehand in
the Salmon Recorder Herald on August 25, 1990.
Site-specific maps and resource data were provid-
ed to the public at this meeting to assist with perti-
nent and relevant discussion. Table VI-1 is a list of
those who attended the public scoping meeting.
The written comments and notes from these public
meetings are available for review in the project file
(see Open House Meeting, Project File).
4. A list of agencies, organizations and individ-
uals who received copies of the Final EIS.
The Final EIS contains the letters and comments
received in response to scoping on the Draft, and
the Forest Service response to those comments.
These are bound separately and distributed with
the Final EIS document.
Table VI-1 Individuals Who Attended the Public
Meeting for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale DEIS
Gary Goodman
Tom Reiger
Hope Benedict
Donna Godfrey
Salmon, Idaho
Salmon, Idaho
Salmon, Idaho
Salmon, Idaho
Scoping and Public and Interagency Participation
Opportunities
The public has been involved in the analysis pro-
cess for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale since the early
planning stages. The public participation process
used public concerns and insights to help resolve
possible resource conflicts. Concerns and insights
were documented and tracked through the analysis
process (see Issues Analysis, Project File).
In early 1 990 a letter was sent to all interested per-
sons disclosing the intentions of the Cobalt Ranger
District to schedule timber sales in this project area
between 1991 and 1993. This letter requested a
response from the interested parties if they had any
concerns. A Notice of Intent was published in the
Federal Register on July 6, 1990 that described the
During the scoping process, numerous topics were
brought up as possible concerns relating to road
construction and timber harvest. These topics were
addressed by the forest staff of resource specialists.
Based upon analysis the topics were either sug-
gested to be further analyzed in the EIS or were
dismissed as not appropriate for further analysis in
this EIS. Topics that were recommended for further
analysis in this EIS are described in Chapter II as
issues and concerns. The decision to dismiss a
topic from further analysis was based on whether
there was a concern that a proposed management
action may yield a noticeable effect to the human
environment, would be highly controversial and
would fall within the scope of this project level EIS.
A complete listing of topics raised and the parties
who brought them to the Forest Service attention
VI - 1
Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale Final E8S
Chapter V!
can be found in the project file (Issue Analysis and
Scoping, Project File).
Consultation With Other Agencies
and with Organizations
Table VI-2 lists state and federal agencies (other
than the Forest Sen/ice) and private organizations
that contributed to the Draft EIS. Those listed con-
tributed in the form of information and views,
through telephone calls, letters, and meetings.
Table VI-2: Agencies and Organizations who
Commented on the Notice of Intent
Agencies:
U.S. Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service,
Boise, ID
U.S Environmental Protection Agency, Portland, OR
U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, Portland,
OR
Organizations:
Heritage North, Seattle, WA
Idaho Conservation League
Salmon Intermountain, Inc., Salmon, Id.
Comments and information received during formu-
lation of the proposed action were used to create
alternatives to the proposed action and to design
mitigation measures to be implemented during
project operation.
Consultation Between Draft and Final EIS
The Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS was published
in the Federal Register on July 10, 1992. Approxi-
mately 1 00 copies of the Draft were distributed for
public review starting on June 9, 1992. A 45 day
formal public comment period followed this date.
Thirty-eight public comment letters were received
during the forma! comment period. They were ana-
lyzed and formed the basis of the FEIS revision.
Individual comments viewed as substantive were
summarized and responded to by Forest Service
personnel. Responses to all comment letters along
with the original letter were bound separately and
included in the final mailing of the FEIS and those
requesting the Summary only.
Table VI-3 lists all individuals and organizations that
responded to the Draft EIS.
Table VB-3: Agencies, Organizations and Individuals that responded to the Draft
Agencies:
Charles S. Polityka
Dept, of the Interior
Office of Environmental Affairs
550 NE Multnomah Street, Suite 600
Portland, Oregon 97232-2036
Kathy Veit
Environmental Protection Agency
Region 10
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
Linn Kincannon
Idaho Conservation League
Box 2671
Ketchum, ID 833340
Hadley Roberts
Idaho Conservation League
708 Lombard Street
Salmon, ID 83467
Dan Funsch
Alliance for the Wild Rockies
P. O. Box 8731
Missoula, MT 59807
Organizations:
Tom Reiger
Salmon Intermountain, Inc
P.O. Box 928
Salmon, Id. 83467
Dallas Olson
Salmon Intermountain
Box 928
Salmon, ID 83467
individuals:
VI -2
Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter VI
Doris E. Cole
555 North Roop St. #46
Susanville, CA 96130
Anne Kinnaman
14582 SE Anna Marie Ct.
Milwaukie, Or. 97267
Nancy Jochem
2770 Kootenai
Pocatello, ID 83201
Doug and Karen Sholes
Box 604
Salmon, ID 83467
Toby Friedman
Box 8
Gibbonsville, ID 83463
Erik Fischer
1900 Taylor Ave N, Unit J
Seattle, WA 98109
Russell Blalack
1081 Milky Way
Cupertino, CA 95014
Terry Myers
Box 1006
Salmon, ID 83457
Gene Krebsbach
E 1140 Crystal Bay Road
Post Falls, ID 83854
Terry Benten
HC 12, Box 273
Coeur d’Alene ID 83814
Terry Jayne
1 568 Lola Street
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
Claudia Whitten
601 Neyman Street
Salmon, ID 83467
Bert Jefferies
Rt 1, Box 7B
Salmon, ID 83467
Deborah Bohren
Box 607
Ketchum, ID 83340
Cheryl Hart and Daniel Fritz
Box 267
Carmen, ID 83462
Deane Johnson
Box 31 0
Ketchum, ID 83340
Jan Benefie!
358 E. 25th Street
Idaho Falls, ID 83404
Ron Watters
1135 East Bonneville
Pocatello, ID 83201
Peter Liporac
Rt 3, Box 282
Blackfoot, ID 83221
John Swanson
3400 Edmund Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55406
June Ringer
129 E. Fain/iew Ave. Apt 2
Glendale, CA 91207
Katie Fite
1 1 541 Lloyd Lane
Caldwell, ID 83605
Mike and Jeanne Stanford
Cliffs Rt
Jordan Valley, OR 97910
Joel Tinsley
54 South Street
Blackfoot, ID 83221
James Irwin
112 West Fifth
Jerome, ID 83338
Dennis Baird
Box 8787
Moscow, ID 83843
Lynne Stone
Box 3519
Ketchum, ID 833340
VI -3
Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale Fima! ESS
Chapter VI
Charles Woods
105 1 6th Avenue
Lewiston, ID 83501
Guy Roberts
306 Adams Street
Salmon, ID 83467
James B.VanArk
Box 1 1 64
Challis, ID 83226
Nelle Tobias
14061 Farm to Market Road
McCall, ID 83638
The Major Geographical Sources of Comment Letters on the Draft ESS:
Number of Comments
Geographical Area
10
18
3
3
2
1
1
Local Area (includes Salmon, Gibbonsville, Carmen)
Other Idaho Communities
California
Oregon
Washington
Minnesota
Montana
The Major Issues Raised In the Comment Letters on the Draft EIS:
Number of Comments
Issue Raised
19
2
4
1
6
3
5
12
3
17
1
7
7
32
11
Travel/Access
Air Quality
New Alternatives Suggested
Cultural Resources
Economics
Ecosystem Management
Fisheries
Mistrust of Agencies Practices and Policies
Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Specie
Range
Soil
Timber
Water Quality and Wetlands
Wildlife
Wilderness/Roadless
List of Agencies, Organizations and Individuals for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale to the following agen-
t© Whom Copies of the Final EIS Were Sent cies, organizations and individuals. Those receiving
the Final EIS (Table VI-4) have 30 days to comment.
As part of the CEO Regulations for implementing Their comments should be as substantive as possi-
NEPA, the Forest Service is circulating the Final EIS ble.
VI -4
Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter VI
Table VI-4 List of Aqencles, Organizations, and Individuals to Whom Copies of the Final EIS Were Sent
Agencies:
P. O. Box 430
Salmon, ID 83467
Dept, of the Interior
Office of Environmental Affairs
Mr. Charles H. Lobdell, Field Supervisor
1849 C Street, NW, Room 2024
USDI-Fish and Wildlife Service
Washington, D.C. 20240
Boise Field Office
4696 Overland Road, RM 576
Kathy Veit
Environmental Protection Agency
Boise, ID 83705
Region 10
Dept, of the Interior
1200 Sixth Avenue
Charles S. Polityka
Seattle, WA 98101
Office of Environmental Affairs
550 NE Multnomah Street, Suite 600
Environmental Protection Agency
Portland, Oregon 97232-2036
Attn: Office of Federal Activities (A-104)
401 M Street, SW.,
Idaho Dept of Health and Welfare
Washington, D.C. 20460
Division of Environment
Joe Nagel, Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency
Statehouse
Region 10
Attn: Office of Federal Activities
Boise, ID 83720
1 200 Sixth Avenue
Chris Johnson
Seattle WA 98101
Bureau of Air Quality
Division of Environmental Health
Forest Service, USDA
Idaho Department of Health
Environmental Coordinator
1410 N. Hilton Street
P.O. Box 96090
Boise, ID 83706
Washington, D.C. 20013-6090
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Land Use Commission
National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA)
Shaun Robertson
Environmental and Technical Service
P. O. Box 306
911 NE 11th Avenue - Room 620
Ft. Hall, ID 83203
Portland, OR 97232
Organizations:
Idaho Department of Health
George Spinner
Dale A. Stirling
224 S Arthur
Heritage North
Pocatello, ID 83201
11502 Phinney Ave. N.
Seattle, Wash 98133
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Region 7
Tom Reiger
Gary Power, Regional Manager
Salmon Intermountain, Inc
P. O. Box 1336
P.O. Box 928
Salmon, ID 83467
Salmon, Id. 83467
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Craig J. Gehrke
Herb Pollard, Regional Supervisor
The Wilderness Society
1515 Lincoln Road
413 West Idaho St, Suite 102
Idaho Falls, ID 83401
Boise, Id. 83702
Roy Jackson, District Manager
James Jensen
Bureau of Land Management
Dames and Moore
VI - 5
Moyer Sail? and Salt Creek Timber Sale Final ESS
Chapter VI
102 South 17th Rt 1 Box 49
Boise, ID 83702 Salmon, ID 83467
Clark 1. Collins, Executive Director
Blue Ribbon Coalition, Inc.
P. O. Box 5449
Pocatello, ID 83202
Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission
975 SE Sandy #202
Portland, OR 97214
Mike Lyngholm
F. H. Stoltze Lumber Company
P. O. Box 389
Dillon, MT 59725
Grass Roots for Multiple Use
P. O. Box 383
Darby, MT 59829
Phil Nisbet, President
Grass Roots for Multiple Use
315 Nyman
Salmon, ID 83467
Jonathan Stoke
Idaho Conservation League
P. O. Box 2235
Hailey, ID 83333
Linn Kincannon
Idaho Conservation League
Box 2671
Ketchum, ID 833340
Hadley Roberts
Idaho Conservation League
708 Lombard Street
Salmon, ID 83467
Carl Ellsworth, V-Pres.
Lemhi Cattle & Horse Growers Assn.
P. O. Box 60
Leadore, ID 83464
Eugene Edwards
Lemhi County Planning Commission
P. O. Box 1145
Salmon, ID 83467
Quinton Snook
Lemhi Post & Poles
Mike Medberry
Idaho Conservation League
Public Lands Director
P. O. Box 2671
Ketchum, ID 83340
Tim and Erica Craig
Nongame Advisory Committee
Box 1 Lee Creek Road
Leadore, ID 83464
Fabien Ivanoff
Pocatello Trail Machine Assoc.
141 Chase
Pocatello, ID 83201
Rem Kohrt
Stoltze-Conner Lumber Co.
P. O. Box 415
Darby, MT 59829
Doug Westfall
Westfall Logging, Inc.
P. O. Box 753
Salmon, ID 83467
Craig Gehrke
Wilderness Society
413 West Idaho Street, Suite 102
Boise, ID 83702
Floyd McCubbins
Stoltze-Conner Lumber Co.
P. O. Box 389
Dillon, MT 59725
Donnie Laughlin, President
Friends of the Bitterroot
P.O. Box 442
Hamilton, Montana 59840
Ralph Maughan, Cons. Chair
Eastern Idaho Group Sierra Club
Box 1173
Pocatello, ID 83204
Adena Cook, Public Lands Director
Blue Ribbon Coalition
P. O. Box 5449
Pocatello, ID 83202
VI - 6
Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter VI
Greg C. Burtchard
Portland State University
Department of Anthropology
P. O. Box 751
Portland, OR 97207
Mike Rukavina
Central Idaho Rod & Gun Club
P. O. Box 177
Challis, ID 83226
Gerald A. Jayne
Idaho Environmental Council
1 568 Lola Street
Idaho Falls, ID 83401
Quinton, Snook, Chairman
Lemhi County Commissioners
506 - 9th Street
Salmon, ID 83467
Phil West
Idaho Falls Trail Machine Assoc
2025 Claredot
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
Idaho State Snowmobile Association
P. O. Box3177
Boise, ID 83703
Idaho Trails Council
John Bieker, President
3429 EID Road
Moscow, ID 83843
Eugene Edwards
Lemhi County Planning Commission
P. O. Box 1145
Salmon, ID 83467
Idaho Sportsman’s Coalition
413 W. Idaho Street
Boise, ID 83702
Dave Gaillard
Wild Forever
P.O. Box 1874
Bozeman, MT 59715
Dan Funsch
Alliance for the Wild Rockies
P. 0. Box 8731
Missoula, MT 59807
Dallas Olson
Salmon Intermountain
Box 928
Salmon, ID 83467
Jerry P. Kelly
Kelly Logging
Salmon, ID 83467
Carla Heister
S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney
Natural resources Research Library
Utah State University
Logan, Utah 84322-5260
Elected Officials:
United States Senate
304 N 8th Street RM 149
Boise, ID 83702
Honorable Richard H. Stallings
Member, US House of Representatives
2539 Channing Way, Suite 240
Idaho Falls, ID 83404
Honorable Steven D. Symmms
United States Senator
207 Federal Building
Pocatello, ID 83201
Honorable Larry LaRocco
House of Representatives
304 N 8th Street RM 134
Boise, ID 83702
Individuals:
Doris E. Cole
555 North Roop St. #46
Susanville, CA 96130
E. Lynne Benedict
1 668 Riverstone Lane, #208
Boise, Id. 83706
Anne Kinnaman
1 4582 SE Anna Marie Ct.
Milwaukie, Or. 97267
John R. Swanson
3400 Edmund Blvd.
VI -7
Moyer SaSt and Salt Creek Timber Sale Final ESS
Chapter VI
Minneapolis, Minn. 55406
Jerry Hamilton
Highway 93 N.
Carmen, ID 83462
Guy Roberts
306 Adams St.
Salmon, ID 83467
Joe Fraser
North Fork, ID 83466
Harry E. Wilson
2120 N. Callow Ave.
Bremerton, WA 9831 2-2908
Nancy Jochem
2770 Kootenai
Pocatello, ID 83201
Doug and Karen Sholes
Box 604
Salmon, ID 83467
Toby Friedman
Box 8
Gibbonsville, ID 83463
Erik Fischer
1900 Taylor Ave N, Unit J
Seattle, WA 98109
Russell Blalack
1081 Milky Way
Cupertino, CA 95014
Terry Myers
Box 1006
Salmon, ID 83457
Gene Krebsbach
E 1 1 40 Crystal Bay Road
Post Falls, ID 83854
Terry Benten
HC 12, Box 273
Coeur d’Alene ID 83814
Terry Jayne
1 568 Lola Street
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
Claudia Whitten
601 Neyman Street
Salmon, ID 83467
Bert Jefferies
Rt 1 , Box 7B
Salmon, ID 83467
Deborah Bohren
Box 607
Ketchum, ID 83340
Cheryl Hart and Daniel Fritz
Box 267
Carmen, ID 83462
Deane Johnson
Box 31 0
Ketchum, ID 83340
Jan Benefiel
358 E. 25th Street
Idaho Falls, ID 83404
Ron Watters
1 135 East Bonneville
Pocatello, ID 83201
Peter Liporac
Rt 3, Box 282
Biackfoot, ID 83221
John Swanson
3400 Edmund Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55406
June Ringer
1 29 E. Fairview Ave. Apt 2
Glendale, CA 91207
Katie Fite
1 1 541 Lloyd Lane
Caldwell, ID 83605
Mike and Jeanne Stanford
Cliffs Rt
Jordan Valley, OR 97910
Joel Tinsley
54 South Street
Biackfoot, ID 83221
James Irwin
1 1 2 West Fifth
Jerome, ID 83338
VI -8
Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter VI
Dennis Baird
Box 8787
Moscow, ID 83843
Stew Churchwell
HC-82 Box 4024
Challis, ID 83226
Lynne Stone
Box 351 9
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Ketchum, ID 833340
Charles Woods
1 05 1 6th Avenue
Lewiston, ID 83501
Salmon, ID
Challis, ID
Darby, ID
James B.VanArk
Box 1 1 64
Challis, ID 83226
Public Comment Letters snd the Forest Service’s
Responses
Guy Roberts
306 Adams Street
Salmon, ID 83467
Nelle Tobias
14061 Farm to Market Road
McCall, ID 83638
Comment letters on the Draft EIS and the their re-
sponses are bound separately in Chapter IV - Sup-
plement and is distributed with the Final EIS docu-
ment.
VI -9
Chapter VII
Literature
Cited
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter VII
CHAPTER ¥11
LITERATURE CITED
Allendorf, F.W. 1 983. Isolation, gene flow, and genetic differentiation among populations,
pp 51-65 in C.M. Schoenewald-Cox, S.M. Chambers, B. MacBryde, and W.L. Thomas eds.
Genetics and conservation: a reference for managing wild animal plant populations. The
Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc., Menlo Park, CA.
Allen, K. R. 1969. "Limitations on Production in Salmonid Populations in Streams", In
Symposium on Salmon and Trout in Streams, T. G. Northcote, ed., pp. 3-1 8. H. R. MacMillan
Lectures in Fisheries. Univ. of British Columbia: Vancouver.
American Fisheries Society. 1991. Influence Of Forest and Rangeland Management on
Salmonid Fishes and Their Habitat. William R. Meehan, Editor. American Fisheries Society
Special Publication #19. Bethesda, Maryland.
Amman, Gene D., McGregor, Mark D., Cahill, Donn B., and Klein, William H. 1977. Guide-
lines for reducing losses of lodgepole pine to the mountain pine beetle in unmanaged
stands in the Rocky Mountains; Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station,
USDA Forest Service General Technical Report INT-36. 19 pp.
Anderson, H.A. 1982. Aids to Determining Fuel Models for Estimating Fire Behavior. U.S.
Forest Service, General Technical Report INT-122, 1982.
Bloom, P., G. Steward and B. Walton. 1986. The Status of the Northern Goshawk in
California 1981-1983. California Department of Fish and Game. Wildlife Administrative
Branch Report 85-1 . 26 pp.
Brookes, Martha, et al. 1985. Managing trees and stands susceptible to western spruce
budworm. USDA Forest Service, Technical Bulletin No. 1695.
Burum, D., M. Sprague, and B. Lewis. 1990. USDA Forest Service R4 Level I General
Aquatic Wildlife Survey for the Salmon National Forest. Unpublished data. Salmon National
Forest Fisheries Files.
Burum, D., M. Sprague and B. Lewis. 1 990. USDA Forest Service Region 4, Salmon National
Forest, GAWS Level I Stream Habitat Inventory. USDA Forest Service: Salmon, Idaho.
Call, M.W. 1978, Nesting habitats and surveying techniques for common western raptors.
U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management Technical Note TN-316.
Chapman, D. W. 1962. "Effects of Logging upon Fish Resources of the West Coast." J. of
Forestry. 60(8): 533-537.
Chapman, D. W. 1966. "Food and Space as Regulators of Salmonid Populations in
Streams." American Naturalist. 100: 345-357.
Clark, T.W., A.H. Harvey, R.D. Dorn, D.L. Genterand C. Groves, eds. 1989. Rare, Sensitive
and Threatened Species of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Northern Rockies Conser-
VII - 1
Moyer Salt TSmfoer Sale Final E8S
Chapter VIE
vation Cooperative, Montana Natural Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, and
Mountain West Environmental Services. 1 53 pp.
Columbia River -Basin Anadromous Fish, Policy Implementation Guide, Interagency Draft
Agreement for Biological Assessments Cumulative Effects, November, 1 992.
Connor, J.J. and K.V. Evans, 1986, Geologic Map of the Leesburg Quadrangle, Lemhi
County, Idaho: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey
Council on Environmental Quality. November 29, 1 978. Regulations for Implementing the
Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act. Title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations, Parts 1500-1508 (40 CFR 1500-1508).
Crane, M.F.; Fischer, William C. 1986 Fire ecology of the forest habitat types of Central
Idaho. General Technical Report INT-218, Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Sntermountain Research Station. 86 p.
Crocker-Bedford, D. 1990. Goshawk Reproduction and Forest Management. Wildlife Soci-
ety Bulletin 1 8:262-269.
Evans, W. A. and F. B. Johnson. 1 980. Fish Migration and Fish Passage: A Practical Guide
to Solving Fish Passage Problems. U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Sen/ice
EM-7100-2, Washington, D. C.
Federal Register. 1991. Endangered and Threatened Species: Proposed Threatened and
Endangered Status for Snake River Spring and Summer Chinook Salmon ; Vol 56, No. 1 24,
June 27, 1991, 50 CFR, Pt227.
Federal Register. 1991. Endangered and Threatened Species: Proposed Endangered
Status for Snake River Sockeye Salmon ; Vol. 56, No. 66, April 5, 1991, 50 CFR, P1222.
Federal Register. 1991. Endangered and Threatened Species: Endangered Status for
Snake River Sockeye Salmon-, Vol. 56, No. 66, November 22, 1991, 50 CFR, Pt222.
Federal Register. 1992. Endangered and Threatened Species: Threatened Status for Snake
River Spring/Summer Chinook Salmon; Threatened Status for Snake River Fall Chinook
Salmon-, Vol. 57, No. 78, April 22, 1992, 50 CFR, Pt227.
Fellin, David G.; Schmidt, Wyman C.; Carlson, Clinton E. 1984. Silvicultural Management
Strategies for Pest of the Interior Douglas-Fir and Grand Fir Forest Types. Proceedings of
a Symposium. Washington State University/Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Exp.
Station, USDA Forest Service, pp. 81-92.
Firebaugh, G. May 8, 1991 . Letter (2360/2430) Cultural Resource Comments on the Moyer
Salt Timber Sale, Alternatives 2 and 3. USDA Forest Service, Salmon National Forest,
Salmon, Idaho.
Firebaugh, G. January 31 ,1991. Letter (2360/2430) Cultural Resources, Moyer Salt Timber
Sale, Alternatives 2 and 3. USDA Forest Service, Salmon National Forest, Salmon, Idaho.
VII -2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Chapter VIS
Forman, R.T.T. and M. Godron. 1986. Landscape Ecology. John Wylie and Sons.
Gilpin, M. E. and M. E. Soule. 1980. “Mimimum Viable Populations: Processes of Species
Extinction." In: Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity, pp. 19-33.
Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates.
Goggans, R., R. Dixon and 1. Seminara. 1988. Habitat Use by Three-toed and Black-
backed Woodpeckers. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Non-game Report
87-03-02. 49 pp.
Graham, R.T., A.E. Harvey, M.F. Jurgensen, D.S. Page-Dumroese, J.R. Tonn, T.B. Jain, and
K. Geier-Hayes. 1991." Sustaining Soil Productivity of Forest Soils in the Inland Northwest."
U. S. Department of the Interior Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: General
Technical Report, Moscow, Idaho.
Greene, G. E. 1 950. "Land Use and T rout Streams." J. Soil and Water Consetv. 5: 1 25-1 26.
Groves, C. 1989. Idaho’s Amphibians and Reptiles. Non Game Wildlife Leaflet #7. Idaho
Fish and Game, Non-game Program publication. Boise, Idaho. 12p.
Harvey, A. E., M. E. Jurgensen, M. J. Larsen and R. T. Graham. May, 1987. Decaying
Organic Materials and Soil Quality in the Inland Northwest: A Management Opportunity.
General Technical Report INT-225. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station:
Ogden, UT.
Hayward, G. 1 989. Habitat Use and Population Biology of Boreal Owls in the Northern
Rocky Mountains, U.S.A. PhD Dissertations, University of Idaho. 113 pp.
Harris, L.D. 1984. The Fragmented Forest. University of Chicago Press. 211 pp.
Hornocker, M.G. and H.S. Hash. 1981. "Ecology of the Wolverine in Northwestern Mon-
tana." Con. J. Zoo. 59:1286-1301.
Hutchins, H. E. and R. M. Lanner. 1982. The Central Role of Clark’s Nutcracker in the
Dispersal and Establishment of Whitebark Pine." Oecologia 55:192-201.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game. 1965. Inventory of Idaho Streams Containing
Anadromous Fish, Including Recommendations for Improving Production of Salmon and
Steelhead. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Contract
Number 14-19-001-431. June 15, 1965.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game. 1 991 . Fisheries Management Plan for the State of
Idaho, 1991-1995.
Idaho Department of Lands. 1 990. Rules and Regulations Pertaining to the Idaho Forest
Practices Act. Title 38, Chapter 13, Idaho Code. (I DAP A 20.15).
Jackson, G., and E.A. Rieffenberger, Feb. 5, 1992. Letter (2530/2430) Timber Sales BMP
Implementation Monitoring. USDA Forest Service, Salmon National Forest, Salmon, Idaho.
VII -3
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter Vli
Jones, S. 1 979. The Accipters - Goshawks, Cooper’s Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk." Habitat
Management Series for Unique or Endangered Species. Report #17. BLM Technical Note
335, Bureau of Land Management, Denver Service Center, Denver, Colorado.
Keen, F. P. 1 936. Relative susceptibility of ponderosa pine to bark-beetle attack. Journal
of Forestry 34:919-927.
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Kimble, L. A., and T. A. Wesche. 1975. "Relationship Between Selected Physical Parame-
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Research institute Series, No. 55. Univ. of Wyoming: Laramie. 64 pp.
Koehler, G. M. and J.D. Brittell. 1 990. "Managing Spruce-fir Habitat for Lynx and Snowshoe
Hares." Journal of Forestry. 88:10-14.
Koski, K. V. 1 966. The Survival of Coho Salmon ( Oncoryhnchus kisutch) from Egg Deposi-
tion to Emergence in Three Oregon Coastal Streams." Oreg. State Univ.: Corvallis. 84 pp.
(Master’s Thesis)
Lemhi County Report, 1 990, Robert Loucks, ed. University of Idaho Cooperative Extension
Service, Salmon, Idaho.
Leopold, L, M. G. Wolman and J. P. Miller. 1964. Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology.
W. H. Freeman Co.: San Francisco, CA. 522 pp.
Lotan, James E.; Perry, David A. 1983. Ecology and regeneration of lodgepole pine.
Agriculture Handbook 606, USDA, Forest Service, 51 pp.
Lyon, L. J., and A. L. Ward. 1982. "Elk and Land Managment." In Elk of North America,
Ecology and Management, eds., J. W. Thomas and D. E. Toweill, pp. 447-448. Stackpole
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May, B. 1985. "Process for Determining Resident Fish Capability in Forest Streams."
Salmon National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan Working Paper #5. Salmon
National Forest Fisheries Files: Salmon, ID.
McNiel, W. J., and W. H. Ahnell. 1964. Success of Pink Salmon Spawning Relative to Size
of Spawning Bed Materials. U.S. Fish and Wild). Serv. Spec. Sci. Rep. Fish. No. 469. 1 5 pp.
Meehan, W. R., F. J. Swanson and J. R. Sedell. 1977. "Influence of Riparian Vegetation on
Aquatic Ecosystems with Particular Reference to Salmonid Fishes and their Food Supply."
In Importance , Preservation, and Management of Riparian Habitat: Proceedings of a Sym-
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137-145. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-43. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky
Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station: Fort Collins, CO. 1977.
Megahan, Walter F.1972. "Effects of Logging and Logging Roads on Erosion and Sedi-
ment Depostition from Steep Terrain." Journal of Forestry. 70 (3) 136-141.
VII -4
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EES
Chapter VIS
Multiple Use - Sustained Yield Acted 1960, June 12, 1960. 74 Stat. 215, as amended: 16
USC 528-531.
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as Amended. Public Law 91-190, 42 U.S.C.
4321-4347, January 1, 1970, as amended by Public Law 94-52, July 3, 1975, and Public
Law 94-83, August 9, 1 975.
National Forest Management Act of 1976. October 22, 1976. Public Law 94-588. 94th
Congress, S. 3091. Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 219 (36 CFR 219).
Northwest Power Planning Council. 1 988. Anadromous Fish Presence/Absence Files for
The Salmon River Basin.
Phillips, R. W. 1970. 'Effects of Sediment on the Gravel Environment and Fish Production.0
In Proceedings of Forest Land Uses and Stream Environments, pp. 64-75. Oregon State
University: Corvallis, Oregon.
i
Quinn, N. W. S., and G. Parker. 1987. 'Lynx' pp. 682-694. In: Wild Furbearers Management
and Conservation in North America. M. Novak, J.A. Baker, M.E. Obbard and B. Mallock, ed.
Ontario Trappers Association/ Ministry of Natural Resources. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Ralphs, R. M., and working team. 1981. Elk Habitat Relationships for Central Idaho. A
cooperative effort between USDA-Forest Service, Idaho Department of Fish and Game,
Bureau of Land Management and University of Idaho. 57 pp.
Reiser, D. W. 1 986. Panther Creek, Idaho, Habitat Rehabilitation - Final Report. BPA Project
No. 84-29. Prepared for: U.S. Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration.
Portland, OR. January, 1986.
Rieffenberger, E.A. December 10, 1990. Letter (2525/2430): Perreau Creek Timber Sale
Monitoring Review. USDA Forest Service, Salmon National Forest, Salmon, Idaho.
Rieffenberger, E.A. July 12, 1991. Letter (2540/2470) Summarizing Soil and Water Best
Management Practices for Silvicultural Activities. USDA Forest Service, Salmon National
Forest, Salmon, Idaho.
Rose, R. 1989-1990. Personal observations of Robert Rose, Fishery Biologist, Salmon
National Forest, offish species presence and general macroinvertebrate community com-
position at Snake River Adjudication quantification sites during 1 989-1 990 field operations.
Rose, R. 1 991 . Personal observations of Robert Rose, Fishery Biologist, Salmon National
Forest, of macroinvertebrate community compositions of upper Woodtick Creek and
Goodluck Creek during field review of proposed Moyer-Satt Timber Sale.
Rosgen, D. L. 1978. "Prediction Techniques for Potential Changes in Sediment Discharge
Due to Silvicultural Activities.' ASCE Annual Meeting. Pittsburg, PA. 1978. 12 pp.
Rosgen, D. L. 1 985. 'A Stream Classification System." In Riparian Ecosystems and their
Management - Reconciling Conflicting Uses. General Technical Report RM-120. Rocky
Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest
Service: Fort Collins, CO. pp. 91-95.
VII -5
Moyer SaH Umber Salle Flna! ESS
Chapter VSS
Sestak, M.L., and A.R. Riebau. 1988. ’Simple Approach Smoke Estimation Model
"SASEM*"; U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, Cheyenne, WY.
Shuster, W.C. 1983. Northern goshawk nest site requirements in the Colorado Rockies.
Western Birds 1 1 :89-96.
Simpson, J. C., and R. L. Wallace. 1982. Fishes of Idaho. University of Idaho Press. 238p.
Smith, B. 1 993. Personal Communicaton. Discussions with Robert Rose concerning priori-
ties for restoration of anadromous fish passage on Salmon National Forest streams.
Spahr, R., L. Armstrong, D. Atwood, M. Rath. 1991. Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive
Species of the Intermountain Region. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Region.
Sprules, W. M. 1947. An Ecological Investigation of Stream Insects in Algonquin Park,
Ontario. Univ. Toronto Studies. Biol. 56. Publ. Ont. Fish. Res. Lab. 69: 1-81.
Steele, Robert, R. D. Pfister, R. A. Ryker and J. A. Kittams. 1981. Forest Habitat Types of
Central Idaho. USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-114, Intermountain Forest and Range
Experiment Station: Ogden, Utah. 138 pp.
Tackle, David 1961. Silvics of lodgepole pine. Misc. Publ. 19, rev., Ogden, UT: USDA Forest
Service Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 24 pp.
Thomas, J. W.„ H. Black, Jr., R. J. Scherzinger, and R. J. Pederson. 1979. “Deer and Elk."
In Wildlife Habitats in Manged Forests - The Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington, ed.,
J.W. Thomas, pp. 104-127, USDA Handbook No. 533. Washington, D.C. 512 pp.
Towry, R. K, 1984. "Wildlife Habitat Requirements," pp. 73-210. In: Managing Forested
Lands for Wildlife. R.L Hoover and D.L Wills, ed. Published by Colorado Division of Wildlife
in cooperation with USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Denver, Colorado.
Troendle, C. A. 1982. The Effects of Small Clearcuts on Water Yields from the Deadhorse
Watershed; Frasier, Colorado." In Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting of the Western
Snow Conference, (Reno, Nevada; April 19-23, 1982), pp. 75-83. Colorado State Univer-
sity: Fort Collins, Colorado. 225 pp.
Troendle, C.A., and R.M. King. 1985. The Effect of Timber Haivest on the Fool Creek
Watershed, 30 Years Later." Water Resources Research 21, p. 1915-1922.
University of California. 1989-1990. Crocker Nuclear Laboratory, Davis, California; Report
on SFU Sampler data for 1 989, 1 990 and 1 991 for particle sampler site on South Baldy Mt.,
Salmon, Idaho.
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1 973. National Forest Landscape Manage-
ment, Volume 1. Agriculture Handbook Number 434. U. S. Government Printing Office:
Washington, D. C.
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1 974, reprinted in 1 977. National Forest
Landscape Management, Volume 2, Chapter 1 , The Visual Management System." Agricul-
ture Handbook Number 462. U. S. Government Printing Office: Washington, D. 0.
VII -6
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter VII
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1 977. National Forest Landscape Manage-
ment, Volume 2, Chapter 4, "Roads." Agriculture Handbook Number 483. U. S. Government
Printing Office: Washington, D. C.
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1980. National Forest Landscape Manage-
ment, Volume 2, Chapter 5, Timber." Agriculture Handbook Number 559. U. S. Govern-
ment Printing Office: Washington, D. C.
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1987. Air Resource Management Hand-
book. FSH 2509.19.
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1990. Title 2500 - Watershed and Air
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U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and Idaho Department of Health and
Welfare Division of Environment. February 5, 1988. "Memorandum of Understanding."
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1992. Project File for the Moyer Salt and
Salt Creek Timber Sale Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Salmon National Forest:
Salmon, ID. (unpublished data, reports, letters, maps, etc.)
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. July 6, 1 990. 'Notice of Intent for the Moyer
Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale." Federal Register. Vol. 55, No. 190.
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1989. Salmon National Forest Noxious
Weed Control Program Environmental Assessment. Salmon, ID.
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1988. Land and Resource Management
Plan for the Salmon National Forest. Salmon National Forest: Salmon, ID.
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1988. Salmon National Forest Travel Map.
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U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1 988. Land and Resource Management
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al Forest: Salmon, ID.
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1 988. Land and Resource Management
Plan for the Salmon National Forest, Record of Decision. Salmon National Forest: Salmon,
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U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1 988 Moyer Salt Timber Sale Environmental
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mentation of Desired Future Condition (A Desk Reference). Northern Region Programming,
Planning and Budgeting: Odgen, Utah.
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1 976. " The National Forest Management Act
of 1976: Current Information Report No. 16.
VII -7
Moyer Salt Umber Sal© FiraaB E8S
Chapter VII
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1 986. Recreation Opportunity Spectrum
Book.
U. S. Department'©! Agriculture Forest Service, 1978, Section Hi: Salmon Uplands Section
Composition Book, Landtypes Inventory, and appendix material.
U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1981. Soil Scientist Report, November,
1981
U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1977. Water Resource Inventory of the
Taylor Mountain Planning Unit, (unpublished data).
U.S. Department of Agriculture Fish and Wildlife Service. Letter, January 29, 1 991 . Threat-
ened and Endangered Species List for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale Project.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service. 1975. "Soil Taxonomy: A Basic
System of Soil Classification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys". Soil Survey Staff,
USDA Department of Agriculture Handbook #436, p. XX.
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Plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Denver, Colorado. 119 pp.
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and Central Idaho. Alternative Scoping Report. US F&WS, Helena, Montana. 7p.
Waring, R.H.; Pitman, C.B. 1980. A simple model of host resistance to bark beetle attack.
Res. Note 65, Forest Research Laboratory, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 2 pp.
Westveld, M. 1954. A budworm vigor-resistance classification for spruce and balsam
fir;Journal of Forestry, 52:11-24.
Wilcox, D. S. 1985. “Nest Predation in Forest Tracts and the Decline of Migratory Song-
birds." Ecology 66: 1211-1214.
Yee, C. S., and T. D. Roelofs. 1980. "Planning Forest Roads to Protect Salmonid Habitat."
In Influence of Forest and Range-land Management on nadromous Fish Habitat in Western
North America, ed., W. Meehan. Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station.
USDA Forest Service: Portland, Oregon.
VII - 8
Glossary
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
GLOSSARY
A
Accelerated Soil Erosion - above-natural levels of soil erosion.
Access - usually refers to a road or trail route over which a public agency claims a
right-of-way for public use; a way of approach.
Acre-foot - a unit of measurement equal to the volume which would cover one acre to a
depth of one foot (i.e., 43,560 cubic feet).
Affected Environment - the natural, physical, and human-related environment that is
sensitive to changes due to proposed actions; the environment under the administration
of one line officer, such as District Ranger or Forest Supervisor.
Age Class - one of the intervals into which the age range of trees is divided for classifica-
tion or use. Age class 1 = 0-39 years; class 2 = 40-79 years; class 3 = 80-1 19 years; class
4 - 120-159 years; class 5 = 160 years and up.
Airshed - a geographical area that, because of topography, meteorology, and climate,
shares the same air.
Allotment Management Plan (AMP) - (see RANGE ALLOTMENT) the management plan
by which areas are designated for the use of a prescribed number and kind of livestock.
A document that specifies the actions to be taken to manage and protect the rangeland
resources and reach a given set of objectives (FSM 2210).
Allowable Sale Quantity (ASQ) - the quantity of timber that may be sold from the area of
suitable land covered by the Forest Plan for a time period specified by the Plan. This
quantity is usually expressed on an annual basis as the "average annual allowable sale
quantity."
Alternative - a mix of management prescriptions and land allocations applied to specific
land areas to achieve a set of goals and objectives; one of several policies, plans, or
projects proposed for decision making.
AMP - allotment management plan
Anadromous Fish - those species of fish that mature in the sea and migrate into streams
to spawn; i.e., salmon, steelhead.
Analysis area - one or more capability areas grouped for purposes of analysis; similar land
area(s) of various sizes based on common impacts, effects, and social or economic
factors.
Apparent Naturalness - one of the six roadless area characteristics and wilderness
features; a condition of the environment when it looks natural to most people using the
Glossary - 1
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
area. It is a measure of importance of visitors’ perceptions of human impacts to the area.
Even though some of the long-term ecological processes of an area may have been
interrupted, the landscape of the area generally appears to be affected by the forces of
nature. If the landscape has been modified by human activity, the evidence is not obvious
to the casual observer, or it is disappearing due to natural processes.
B
Background - the distant part of a landscape, picture, or the visible terrain beyond the
foreground and middleground where individual trees are not visible but blend into the total
fabric of the timber stand (approximately three miles or more from the viewer).
Baseline - with respect to soils, the amount of erosion and sedimentation due to natural
sources in the absence of human activity.
Below Cost - timber sales that cost more to prepare, sell, and administer than they return
in revenue.
Benchmark - an analysis reference point of the maximum physical/biological capability to
produce a resource output from Forest lands while maintaining minimum legal require-
ments for production of other resources and maintenance of soil and water productivity.
Benchmarks define the area (i.e., provide the bounds) within which alternatives can be
formulated.
Beneficial Water Uses - Uses of water from a stream, lake or reservoir that are considered
beneficial. The Idaho Water Code defines those recognized by the State of Idaho.
Berm - an edge or shoulder running alongside a road, canal, etc.; any level strip of ground
at the summit or sides, or along the base, of a slope.
Best Management Practice (BMP) - a practice or combination of practices determined
by the state to be the most effective and practicable (including technological, economic
and institutional considerations) means of preventing or reducing the amount of pollution
generated by non-point sources to a level compatible with water quality goals, (see also
Appendix D)
Big Game - those species of large mammals normally managed as a sport hunting
resource.
Biological Diversity - the distribution and abundance of different plant and animal com-
munities and species over time and space.
Biological Growth-potential - the average net growth attainable in a fully stocked natural
forest stand.
Biota - the animal and plant life of a region or period, (see COLD WATER BIOTA, WARM
WATER BIOTA)
Glossary - 2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
BLM - Bureau of Land Management
Board Feet - the amount of wood equivalent to a piece of wood one foot by one foot by
one inch thick. Generally, five board feet log measure is approximately equivalent to one
cubic foot of round wood.
Buffer Strip - land area of varying size and shape immediately adjacent to stream courses
or to water bodies on which the type and/or intensity of land use is tempered to meet
defined water resource goals. (From: "An Approach to Water Resources Evaluation of
Non-Point Silvicultural Sources," EPA-600/8-80-012).
Bureau of Land Management - federal land management organization operating under
the Department of Interior.
c
Canopy - the more-or-less continuous cover of branches and foliage formed collectively
by the crown of adjacent trees and other woody growth.
CEQ - Council on Environmental Quality
CFR - Code of Federal Regulations
Characteristic Landscape - the naturally established landscape within a scene or scenes
being viewed.
Cirque Basin - the term in geomorphology for basins of semi-circular form found in the
Pyrenees. They range in size from a few meters to several kilometers and occur at the head
of glacial troughs. Also called valley head cirques.
Class I Stream - a perennial or intermittent stream which has one or more of the following
characteristics: (1) is the direct source of water for domestic use (cities, recreation sites,
etc.); (2) is used by large numbers of fish for spawning, rearing, or migration; (3) flows
enough water to have a major influence on water quality of another Class I stream.
Class II Stream - a perennial or intermittent stream which has one or both of the following
characteristics: (1) is used by moderate though significant numbers of fish for spawning,
rearing, or migration; (2) flows enough water to have a moderate influence on downstream
quality of a Class I or II stream.
CSearcut - the removal, in a single cut, of all trees in stands larger than seedlings.
Clearcutting - the cutting method that describes the silviculture system in which the old
crop is cleared over a considerable area at one time. Regeneration then occurs from (a)
natural seeding from adjacent stands, (b) seed contained in the slash or logging debris,
(c) advance growth, or (d) planting or direct seeding. An even-aged forest usually results.
Glossary - 3
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E!S
Glossary
Climax - the highest ecological development of a plant community capable of perpetuation
under the prevailing climactic and soil conditions.
Climax Species - those species that dominate a climaxed plant community.
Clone - (as in Aspen Clone) - aspen trees in clumps with one root system.
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) - the listing of various regulations pertaining to
management and administration of the National Forests. •
Codominant (a crown class) - species in a mixed crop that are about equally numerous
and vigorous; forming part of the upper canopy of a forest, less free to grow than domi-
nants but freer than intermediate and suppressed trees.
Cold Water Biota - waters which are suitable or intended to be made suitable for protec-
tion and maintenance of viable communities of aquatic organisms and populations of
significant aquatic species which have optimal growing temperatures below 18 degrees
C.
Commercial Thinning - harvesting an immature stand to maintain or accelerate the growth
of the remaining trees; also called an intermediate cut.
Community Stability - a community’s capacity to handle change without major hardships
or disruptions to component groups or institutions.
Community Type - a generalized category comprising a number of similar units or stands
of vegetation such as a lodgepole pine or ponderosa pine plant community
Compaction - the packing together of soil particles by forces exerted at the soil surface,
resulting in increased density; reduction of pore space and reduced infiltration of water
Concern (or subissue) - results from a concern that was voiced in a public or interdisci-
plinary team meeting; does not drive the development of an alternative, but will be dis-
closed for each alternative.
Condition Class - a grouping of timber stands into size-age-stocking classes for Forest
planning.
Conifer - those cone-bearing trees, mostly evergreen, including the pine, spruce, fir, etc.
Cord - a unit of gross volume measurement for stacked roundwood based on external
dimensions, generally implies a stack of four feet by four feet vertical cross section and
eight feet long, contains 128 stacked cubic feet.
Corps of Engineers - a separate branch of the U.S. Army which has the responsibility of
overseeing civil engineering projects, especially those concerned with waterways.
Corridor - a linear strip of land identified for the present or future location of transportation
or utility rights-of-way within its boundaries.
Glossary - 4
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Costs - the negative or adverse effects or expenditures resulting from an action. Costs may
be monetary, social, physical or environmental in nature.
Cost Effectiveness - achieving specified outputs or objectives under given conditions for
the least cost.
Cost Efficiency - the usefulness of specified inputs (costs) to produce specified outputs
(benefits). In measuring cost efficiency, some outputs, including environmental, economic,
or social impacts, are not assigned monetary values but are achieved at specified levels
in the least cost manner. Cost efficiency is usually measured using present net value,
although use of benefit/cost ratios and rates-of-return may be appropriate.
Council on Environmental Qualify - An advisory council to the President established by
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. It reviews federal programs for their effect
on the environment, conducts environmental studies, and advises the President on envi-
ronmental matters.
Cover - vegetation, usually coniferous, that provides either thermal or hiding cover for
wildlife.
Cover:forage Ratio - the ratio of cover (usually conifer types) to foraging areas (natural
openings, clearcuts, etc.).
Creep - the slow movement downslope of soil and rock debris usually without water.
Critical Habitat - that habitat designated by the Secretary, USD!, as critical to the contin-
ued survival of threatened or endangered species
Crown - the leaves or needles and living branches of a tree.
Crown Height - of a standing tree, the vertical distance from ground level to the base of
the crown measured either to the lowest live branchwhorl or to the lowest live branch
(excluding shoots arising spontaneously from buds on the stem of a woody plant) or to
a point halfway between.
Crown Ratio - the ratio between the crown of a living tree and its total height, usually given
as a percent.
Cubic Foot - the amount of timber equivalent to a piece of wood one foot by one foot by
one foot.
Cull - any item of production; e.g., trees, logs, lumber, picked out for relegation or rejection
because it does not meet certain specifications.
Cultural Resources - buildings, sites, areas, architecture, memorials, and objects having
scientific, prehistoric, historic, or social values.
Cumulative Effect - the effect on the environment which results from the incremental
effects of the action when added to other past, present, and reasonable foreseeable future
actions regardless of what agency (federal or non-federal) or person undertakes such
Glossary - 5
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
other actions. Cumulative effects can result from individually minor but collectively signifi-
cant actions taking place over a period of time (40 CFR 1508.7).
Current Direction - the combination of activities dictated by laws, regulations, the Forest
Service Manual-, and existing unit plans.
Cutslope - uphill side of a road built on a hill.
Cutting Cycle - the planned lapse of time between successive cutting in a stand.
D
DBH - Diameter at Breast Height; the diameter of a tree measured 4.5 feet above the
ground.
Decision Criteria - essentially the rules or standards used to evaluate alternatives; mea-
surements or indicators that are designed to assist a decision-maker to identify a preferred
choice from the array of possible alternatives.
Decision-maker - the responsible official who chooses which alternative or proposal to
follow on a proposed action.
Decking Areas - sites that are intermediate between stump and landing, used to collect
logs.
Deferred Rotation Grazing - discontinuance of grazing on various parts of a range in
succeeding years, allowing each part to rest successively during the growing season to
permit seed production, establishment of seedlings, or restoration of plant vigor. Two, but
usually three or more, separate grazing units are required. Control is usually insured by
unit fencing, but may be obtained by herding on sheep ranges.
DEIS - draft environmental impact statement.
Desired Future Condition (DFC) - the physical changes which are anticipated to result
from carrying out planned management practices at two points in time; at the end of ten
years and at the end of fifty years.
Developed Recreation - recreation where facilities are provided, such as: roads, parking
lots, picnic tables, toilets, drinking water, ski lifts, buildings.
Developed Recreation Site - relatively small, distinctly defined area where developed
recreation facilities are provided for concentrated public use; e.g., campground, picnic
areas, swimming areas.
Diameter at Breast Height - (DBH) the diameter of a standing tree measured at a point
four feet-six inches from ground level on the uphill side.
Glossary - 6
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Direct Effects - effects that are caused by an action and that occur at the same time and
place.
Dispersal Corridor - a corridor through which animal populations move or distribute
themselves throughout an area.
Dispersed Recreation - outdoor recreation in which visitors are diffused over relatively
large areas. Where facilities or developments are provided, they are more for access and
protection of the environment than for the comfort or convenience of the people.
Distance Zone - one of three categories used in the Visual Management System to divide
a view into near and far components; used as a frame of reference in which to discuss
landscape characteristics or activities of man. The three categories are: (1 ) foreground, (2)
middleground, and (3) background.
Disturbed Area - the surface area affected by a logging/road building operation.
Diversity - the distribution and abundance of different plant and animal communities and
species within the area covered by a Land and Resource Management Plan. (See also
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY, VEGETATIVE DIVERSITY, STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY.)
Dominant (a crown class) - one of four main crown classes for forests recognized ona
basis of relative status and condition in the crop. Dominant trees have their crowns in the
uppermost layers of the canopy and are largely free-growing.
E
Economic Efficiency - a measure of how well costs achieve benefits when all costs and
benefits are identified and valued.
Economic Impacts - Direct economic impact: effects caused directly by forest product
harvest or processing or by forest uses, indirect economic impact: effects that occur when
supporting industries sell goods or services to directly affected industries. Induced eco-
nomic impact: effects that occur when employees or owners of directly or indirectly
affected industries spend their income within the economy.
Ecosystem - an interacting system of organisms considered together with their environ-
ment; for example, marsh, watershed, and lake ecosystems.
Ecotones - transition zones between two different plant communities, such as that be-
tween forest and sagebrush flat.
Effects - environmental consequences as a result of a proposed action. Included are direct
effects, which are caused by the action and occur at the same time and place, and indirect
effects, which are caused by the action and are later in time or further removed in distance,
but which are still reasonable foreseeable, indirect effects may include growth-inducing
effects and other effects related related to induced changes in the pattern of land use,
Glossary - 7
Moyer Salt Timber Saie Final EiS
Glossary
population density, or growth rate, and related effects on air and water and other natural
systems, including ecosystems.
Elk Habitat Potential (EHP) - a measurement of possible elk habitat using the measure-
ments of cover:forage ratio, open road density, and calculating a percentage using these
measures. It is the ratio of forested cover to open forage areas, dependent upon habitat
type and open and closed road densities. A 100% EHP indicates a perfect balance
between cover and forage in an unroaded area. The optimal cover:forage ratio for most
habitat types is 40:60.
Endangered Species - any species of animal or plant that is in danger of extinction
throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Plant or animal species identified by the
Secretary of the Interior as endangered in accordance with the 1 973 Endangered Species
Act.
End-hauled - in road building, moving earth along the roadway from a through-cut to a
through-fill.
Environment - the aggregate of physical, biological, economic, and social factors affecting
organisms in an area.
Environmental Analysis - an analysis of alternative actions and their predictable environ-
mental effects, including physical, biological, economic, and social consequences and
their interactions; short- and long-term effects; direct, indirect, and cumulative effects.
Environmental Assessment (EA) - a concise public document which serves to (a) Briefly
provide sufficient evidence and analysis for determining whether to prepare an EIS or a
Finding of No Significant Impact; (b) Aid an agency’s compliance with NEPA when no EIS
is necessary; (c) Facilitate preparation of an EIS when necessary.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - a detailed statement prepared by the responsi-
ble official in which a major Federal action which significantly affects the quality of the
human environment is described, alternatives to the proposed action provided, and effects
analyzed.
Ephemeral Reach - a stream segment which flows only briefly and in response to local
precipitation, and whose channel lies above the level of the water table.
Ephemeral Stream - a stream that flows only as a direct response to rainfall or snowmelt
events. It has no base flow.
Erosion - detachment or movement of soil or rock fragments by water, wind, ice, or gravity.
Accelerated erosion is much more rapid than normal, natural or geologic erosion, primarily
as a result of the influence of activities of man, animals, or natural catastrophes.
Even-aged Management - the application of a combination of actions that results in the
creation of stands in which trees of essentially the same age grow together. Managed
even-aged forests are characterized by a distribution of stands of varying ages (and,
therefore, tree sizes) throughout the forest area. The difference in age between trees
forming the main canopy level of a stand usually does not exceed 20 percent of the age
of the stand at harvest rotation age. Regeneration in a particular stand is obtained during
Glossary - 8
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
a short period at or near the time that a stand has reached the desired age or size for
regeneration and is harvested, Clearcut, shelterwood, or seed tree cutting methods pro-
duce even-aged stands.
Even-aged Silviculture - The combination of timber management actions that result in the
creation of stands where trees of essentially the same age grow together.
Even-aged Stand - a timber stand where all the trees are the same age or at least of the
same age class; a stand is considered even-aged if the difference in age between the
oldest and youngest trees does not exceed 20 per cent of the length of the rotation.
Evaporation - the process by which water is changed from the liquid or solid state into the
gaseous state through the transfer of heat, (see also EVAPOTRANSPIRATION)
Evapofranspiration - the process by which water is evaporated from wet surfaces and
transpired by plants, (see also TRANSPIRATION)
F
FEIS - Final Environmental Impact Statement.
Fill Slope - earth excavated during road building using the side-cast method. Earth is
taken out of a hillside (cut) and placed on the downhill side or fill slope to create a flat
terrace.
Filter strip - a strip of vegetation that retards the flow of runoff water, causing deposition
of transported material and thereby reducing sediment flow.
Fisheries Habitat - streams, lakes and reservoirs that support fish.
FLRMP - Forest Land and Resource Management Plan.
Forage - all browse and non-woody plants that are available to wildlife for grazing or
harvested for feeding.
Forage Area - vegetated area with less than 60 percent combined canopy closure of tree
and tall shrub (greater than seven feet in height). This includes the grass-forb, shrub and
open sapling-pole stand conditions and may include some older stands that have been
thinned. In a managed forest the primary forage areas are those that have had all or most
of the forest canopy removed, i.e. clearcut or shelterwood units.
Forb - any herbaceous plant species other than those in the Gramineae (grasses), Cyper-
aceae (sedges), and Juncaceae (rushes) families; fleshy-leaved plants.
Foreground - a term used in visual management to describe the stand of trees immedi-
ately adjacent to the high-value scenic area, recreation facility, or forest highway.
Glossary - 9
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Forest Development Roads (and Trails) - a legal term for Forest roads or trails that are
under the management of the Forest Service.
Forest Land - land at least 1 0 percent occupied by forest trees or formerly having had such
tree cover and- not currently developed for non-forest use. Lands developed for non-forest
use include areas for crops, improved pasture, residential or administrative areas, im-
proved roads of any width, and adjoining road clearing and powerline clearing of any
width.
Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (FLRMP) - in this document, Salmon
National Forest’s Forest Plan.
Forest Plan - a program for the management of the National Forest’s renewable re-
sources. Each unit of the National Forest System is required by the National Forest
Management Act to prepare a Forest Plan every ten to fifteen years.
Forest Supervisor - the official responsible for administering the National Forest System
lands in a Forest Service administrative unit, which may consist of two or more National
Forests or all the Forests within a state. He reports to the Regional Forester.
Forest System Roads - roads that are part of the Forest development transportation
system, which includes all existing and planned roads as well as other special and terminal
facilities designated as Forest development transportation facilities.
Fragmentation - is the process of breaking up ecosystems into partially or wholly isolated
habitats. It contributes to the loss of biological diversity.
Fry - the life stage of salmonid fish species that refers to the juvenile fish which have either
not emerged from the gravel or have recently emerged.
FSH - Forest Service Handbook.
FSM - Forest Service Manual.
Fuel-loading - the condition where amounts of burnable forest materials accumulate in an
area, thus contributing to the fire hazard of that area.
Fuels - include both living plants and dead, woody vegetative materials which are capable
of burning.
Full Bench - in road building, a type of road in which no fill is used; the road is completely
cut from the hillside.
G
Game Species - any species of wildlife or fish for which hunting seasons and bag limits
have been established, and which are normally harvested by hunters, trappers, and
fishermen under State and Federal laws, codes, and regulations.
Glossary - 1 0
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Goal - a concise statement that achieves a desired condition to be achieved sometime in
the future. It is normally expressed in broad, general terms and is timeless in that it has
no specific date by which it is to be accomplished. Goal statements form the principal basis
from which objectives are developed.
Granitics - of, or pertaining to, or composed of granite or granite-like rock. Soils derived
from this parent material.
Grazing Allotment - see RANGE ALLOTMENT.
Growing Season - the months of the year during which a species of vegetation grows.
Guideline - an indication or outline of policy or conduct; any issuance that assists in
determining the course of direction in any planned action accomplishing a specific objec-
tive.
Habitat - the place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows.
Habitat Diversity - the distribution and abundance of different plant and animal communi-
ties and species within a specific area, (see also WILDLIFE HABITAT DIVERSITY)
Hiding Cover - vegetation that will hide 90 percent of an elk from the view of a human at
a distance of 200 feet or less. The distance at which the animal is essentially hidden is
called a “sight distance."
Hydrograph - a graphic representation of stage, discharge, velocity, or other properties
of water flow with respect to time
IDT - interdisciplinary team.
Implementation - those activities necessary to respond to the approved Land and Re-
source Management Plan (Forest Plan).
Indicator Species - a plant or animal species adapted to a particular kind of environment.
Its presence is sufficient indication that specific habitat conditions are also present.
Indirect effects - environmental consequences caused by a proposed action but occur-
ring later in time. Indirect effects may include growth-inducing effects and other effects
inducing changes in land use, population density, growth rate and related effects on air,
water, and other natural systems, including ecosystems.
Glossary - 1 1
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Interdisciplinary Approach - the use of individuals representing two or more areas of
knowledge and skills focusing on the same task, problem, or subject. Team member
interaction provides necessary insight to all stages of the process.
Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) - the group of individuals with different training assembled
to solve a problem or perform a task, in this case the EIS document. The team is assembled
out of recognition that no one scientific discipline is sufficiently broad to adequately solve
the problem.
intermittent Stream - a stream which flows only at certain times of the year when it receives
water from springs or from some surface source such as melting snow in mountainous
areas.
Interstitial Spaces - in this context, pertaining to small narrow spaces between soil
particles; a measurement of soil types.
Irregular Shelterwood - a modification of a shelterwood cut in which some of the trees of
the overwood are retained long after the seed cutting.
Irretrievable - applies to losses of production, harvest, or commitment of renewable
natural resources. For example, some or all of the timber production from an area is
irretrievably lost during the time an area is used as a winter sports site. If the use is
changed, timber production can be resumed. The production lost is irretrievable, but the
action is not irreversible.
Irreversible - applies primarily to the use of non-renewable resources, such as minerals
or cultural resources, or to those factors that are renewable only over long time spans,
such as soil productivity. Irreversible also includes loss of future options.
Issue - results from a concern determined in public or interdisciplinary team meetings;
voices an unresolved conflict to be addressed by the planning process or EIS.
Issues, Concerns, and Opportunities (ICO) - a public issue is a subject or question of
widespread public interest relating to management of the National Forest resources, as
identified through public participation and addressed through the planning process. A
management concern is an issue, problem, or a condition which constrains the range of
management practices identified by the Forest Service in the planning process. A manage-
ment opportunity is a statement of general actions, measures, or treatments that address-
es a public issue or management concern in a favorable way.
J-K
Jackpot - in a forest, a large accumulation of fuel that can occur naturally or as a
by-product of timber harvest.
Key Elk Summer Range (KESR) - that portion of the summer elk range essential for the
continuation of both the pre- and post-reproductive elk cycles.
Glossary - 12
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Key Summer Range - that portion of the summer range essential for the continuation of
the pre- and post-reproductive cycles for all wildlife species.
Key Winter Range - the portion of the year-long range where big game find food and/or
cover during severe winter weather.
L
Land Class - the topographic relief of a unit of land. Land classes are separated by slope,
which coincides with the timber inventory process. The three land classes used in the
Forest Plan are defined by the following slope ranges: 0 to 35 percent; 36 to 55 percent;
and, greater than 55 percent.
Landform - an area of land that is defined by its particular combination of bedrock and
soils, erosion processes and climatic influences, the shape and configuration of units of
land which cover approximately 30,000 acres.
Landing - any place where round timber is assembled for further transport, commonly with
a change of method.
Landtype - a portion of the landscape resulting from geomorphic and climatic processes
with defined characteristics having predictable soil, hydrologic, engineering productivity,
and other behavior. Landtype is a small unit of the landform (such as cirque basin lands)
which may cover 1 -2000 acres. Landtype is the smallest unit that is mapped on the Salmon
National Forest.
Large Woody Debris - large logs that divert floing water and influence the scour an
deposition of sediment in forest streams. These logs also provide hiding/security cover for
fish. Large woody debris is also left on the ground after harvest to protect regeneration and
soil productivity.
Leasable Minerals - coal, oil, gas, phosphate, sodium, potassium, oil shale, sulphur, and
geothermal steam.
Locatable Minerals - those hardrock minerals which are mined and processed for the
recovery of metals. May include certain non-metallic minerals and uncommon varieties of
mineral materials such as valuable and distinctive deposits of limestone or silica. May
include any solid, natural inorganic substance occurring in the crust of the earth, except
for the common varieties of mineral materials and leasable minerals.
Long-term Productivity - the redistribution of resources within the ecosystem into prod-
ucts used by humans.
Long-term Sustained Yield (LTSY) - the estimated timber harvest that can be maintained
indefinitely over time, once all stands have been converted to a managed state under a
specific management intensity consistent with multiple use objectives.
Glossary - 13
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Glossary
M
Mainstem Reach - a stream segment encompassing the primary channel of a drainage
system; the stream segment of highest stream order within a defined drainage system.
Manage - in this context, to silviculturally treat a forest so it will remain a permanently
productive source of goods and benefits to the public. The managed forest can be treated
in one or a combination of the following: control of composition; control of stand density;
restocking of unproductive areas; protection and salvage; control of length of rotation;
facilitating the harvesting, management and use of the forest; and protection of site and
indirect benefits.
Management Activity - an activity of man imposed on a landscape for the purpose of
harvesting, traversing, transporting, or replenishing natural resources.
Management Area - an area composed of aggregate pieces of land (generally several to
many analysis areas) to which a given management objective and prescriptions are
applied.
Management Concern - an issue, problem, or a condition which constrains the range of
management practices identified by the Forest Service in the planning process.
Management Direction - a statement of multiple use and other goals and objectives, along
with the associated management prescriptions and standards and guidelines to direct
resource management.
Management indicator Species (MSS) - animals or plants selected for special attention
in the Forest Plan or this document for one or more of three reasons. They may be:
Emphasis species - species to be managed as key resources on the basis of identified
issues, e.g., threatened, endangered, rare, sensitive, harvest, or special interest species;
Indicate special habitat conditions - species that require special habitat such as snags,
riparian, old-growth forest stands, etc.; and/or Indicate cumulative forest ecosystem
change - generally species having large home ranges and requiring a diversity of habitats.
Management Intensity - a management practice or combination of management prac-
tices and associated costs designed to obtain different levels of goods and services.
Management Opportunity - a statement of general actions, measures, or treatments that
addresses a public issue or management concern in a favorable way.
Management Practice - a specific action, measure, course of action or treatment.
Management Prescription - management practices and intensity selected and scheduled
for application on a specific area to attain multiple-use and other goals and objectives.
Mass Erosion - movement of large masses of earth materials in response to gravity, either
slowly or quickly. This includes: slumps (rotation of a soil block with small lateral displace-
ment), debris avalanches (rapid, shallow movement of soil mantle and rock fragments),
Glossary - 14
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final! ESS
Glossary
landslides (sudden, downslope movement of earth and rock), and soil creep (slow, gradu-
al, more or less continuous, permanent deformation of soil under gravitational stress).
Mass Failure - (also called wasting) massive, downslope movement of earth material by
gravity.
Mass Instability - the condition exhibited by a massive section of earth suspected of being
unstable and capable of mass failure.
Mature Timber - trees have attained full development, particularly height, and are in full
seed production.
MBF - thousand board feet
Mean Annual Increment of Growth - the total increase of girth, diameter, basal area,
height, or volume of individual trees, or a stand up to a given age divided by that age.
Mesic - of, pertaining to, or adapted to an environment having a balanced supply of
moisture.
Middleground - the space between the foreground and the background in a landscape;
the area located from 1/4 or 1/2 to 3-5 miles from the viewer.
Million Board Feet (MMBF) - a symbol to indicate 1,000,000 board feet of wood fiber
volume, either in log form or after conversion into lumber.
MIS - Management Indicator Species
Mitigation - action to avoid, minimize, reduce, eliminate, compensate, or rectify the impact
of a management practice.
MMBF - million board feet
Modification - a Visual Quality Objective meaning man’s activity may dominate the charac-
teristic landscape but must, at the same, utilize naturally established form, line, color, and
texture. It should appear as a natural occurrence when viewed in foreground or middle-
ground.
Mosaic Pattern - areas with trees and areas without trees occurring in interrupted se-
quences.
Multiple Use - the management of all the various renewable surface resources of the
National Forest so that they are used in the combination that will best meed the needs of
the American people. The concept also includes making the most judicious use of the land
for some or all of these resources or related services over areas large enough to provide
sufficient latitude for periodic adjustments in use to conform to changing needs and
conditions. Some of the land will be used for less than all of the resources. There should
be harmonious and coordinated management of the various resources, each with the
other, without impairment of the productivity of the land. Consideration is given to the
relative values of the various resources and not necessarily to the combination of uses that
will give the greatest dollar return or the greatest unit output.
Glossary - 15
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
N
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 - an act to declare a national policy
which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environ-
ment, to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and
biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of humanity, to enrich the understanding
of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the nation, and to establish
a Council on Environmental Quality.
National Forest Management Act (NFMA) - a law passed in 1976 as an amendment to
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act requiring the preparation
of Regional Guides and Forest Plans and the preparation of regulations to guide that
development.
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan - a Plan developed to meet the
requirements of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1 974,
as amended, that guides all natural resource management activities and establishes
management standards and guidelines for the National Forest System lands of a given
National Forest.
National Forest System (NFS) Lands - National Forests, National Grasslands, or pur-
chase units, and other lands under the management of the Forest Service, including
experimental areas and Bankhead-Jones Title III lands.
Native Species - a plant or animal species that occurs indigenously in an area.
Natural Integrity - one of the six roadless area characteristics and wilderness features;
explains the extent to which long-term ecological processes are intact and operating.
Impacts to natural integrity are measured by the presence and magnitude of human-
induced change to an area. Such impacts include physical developments (e.g. roads,
utility rights-of-way, fences, lookouts, cabins), recreation developments, domestic
livestock grazing, mineral developments, wildlife/fisheries management activities, vegeta-
tive manipulation, and fire suppression activities.
Natural Opening - a break in the forest canopy. A naturally-occurring area of bare soil,
grasses, forbs, or shrubs located in a large area dominated by trees. Also included are
created openings no longer suitable for timber production.
I
Natural Regeneration - the regeneration or reforestation of a site by natural means; it is
obtained either from seedlings originating by natural seeding or from sprouts and other
plants representing vegetative reproduction. Natural regeneration may or may not be
preceded by site preparation.
NEPA - National Environmental Policy Act.
NEPA Process - the procedures followed to produce a NEPA document (environmental
assessment or environmental impact statement); an interdisciplinary process, mandated
by the NEPA, which concentrates decision-making around issues, concerns, alternatives
and the effects of alternatives on the environment.
Glossary - 16
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
NFMA - National Forest Management Act of 1976.
No-action Alternative - the most likely condition expected to exist in the future if current
management direction were to continue unchanged.
Nongame - species of animals which are not managed as a sport hunting resource,
NTU - nephelometric turbidity units (see WATER TURBIDITY).
Notice of Intent (NOI) - written notice published in the Federal Register explaining the
intent to prepare an environmental statement on a proposed action.
Noxious Weed - a plant species that is undesirable; conflicts, restricts, or otherwise
causes problems with the management objectives.
o
Objective - a concise, time-specific statement of measurable planned results that respond
to pre-established goals. An objective forms the basis for further planning to define the
precise steps to be taken and the resources to be used in achieving identified goals.
Off-road Vehicle (OR V) - a vehicle such as motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, four-wheel drive
vehicle, and snowmobile.
Old growth - an old-growth stand of trees designated in the Forest Plan to be retained as
it is
Old-growth - a stand of trees that is past full maturity and is starting to decay; the last stage
in forest succession.
Old-growth Habitat - habitat for certain wildlife that is characterized by overmature conifer-
ous forest stands with large snags and decaying logs.
Opportunity - see MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITY.
ORV - off road vehicles.
Over-aged or Over-mature Stand - a timber stand that consists of trees that have attained
full development (age class 3-5), particularly in height, and are declining in vigor, health,
and soundness.
Overstory - that portion of the trees, in a forest of more than one story, forming the upper
or uppermost canopy.
Glossary - 17
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
Glossary
P
Parent Material - the underlying rock from which soil forms through a variety of weathering
processes. Distinct vegetation communities are often a function of corresponding parent
material variations which influence soil physical and chemical properties.
Partial Retention - a Visual Quality Objective which in general means man’s activities may
be evident but must remain subordinate to the characteristic landscape.
Peak Flow - the highest value of stream stage or flow attained during a flood.
Perched Water Table - water table above an impermeable bed underlain by unsaturated
rocks of sufficient permeability to allow movement of ground water ( Dictionary of Geologic
Terms - Revised Edition , 1976, Anchor Press).
Perennial Stream - a stream which normally flows throughout the year.
Planning Period - the length of time that a Forest Plan is intended to be in effect; in this
case, 10 years.
Plant Succession - the progressive changes in plant communities toward climax. Succes-
sional stages are stages or recognizable conditions of a plant community that occur during
its development from bare ground to climax; for example, coniferous forests in the Moyer
Salt area progress through six recognized stages; grass-forb; shrub-seedling; pole-
sapling timber; immature timber; mature timber; old-growth timber.
Pole - trees of at least five inches in diameter at breast height (DBH), but smaller than the
minimum utilization standard for sawtimber.
Pool - a portion of a stream with reduced current velocity, often with deeper water than
surrounding areas and with a smooth surface.
Precommerda! Thinning - the selective felling or removal of trees in a young
stand, conducted to accelerate diameter growth on remaining trees, maintain a specific
stocking density, and improve vigor and quality of remaining trees; conducted at an age
before the trees are commercially merchantable.
Prescribed Fire - intentional application of fire, of either planned or unplanned ignitions,
to accomplish certain planned objectives.
Prescriptions - management practices selected and scheduled for application on a
specific area to attain goals and objectives.
Present Met Value (PNV) - the difference between discounted benefits and discounted
costs.
Preservation - a Visual Quality Objective that states only ecological change occurs in an
area.
Glossary - 18
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Primary Contact Recreation - surface waters which are suitable for prolonged and inti-
mate contact by humans or for recreational activities when the ingestions of small quanti-
ties of water is likely to occur. Such water include, but are not restricted to, those used for
swimming, water skiing, or skin diving.
Primitive Recreation - a Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) designation for an area
that is characterized by essentially unmodified natural environment of a size or location
that provides the opportunity for isolation from sights and sounds of people. Motorized use
within the area is normally not permitted.
Primitive Roads - roads constructed with no regard for grade control or designed
drainage, sometimes by merely repeatedly driving over an area. These roads are single
lane, usually with native surfacing and sometimes passable with 4-wheel-drive vehicles
only, especially in wet weather, (see also TWO TRACK ROAD)
Programmed Harvest - timber scheduled for harvest for a specific time period.
Project Area - in this document, the specific area proposed for timber harvest.
Proposed Action - in terms of the National Environmental Policy Act, the project, activity,
or decision that a Federal agency intends to implement or undertake.
Public Access - usually refers to a road or trail route over which a public agency claims
a right-of-way for public use.
Public Issue - a subject or question of widespread public interest relating to management
of the National Forest System.
Public Participation Activities - meetings, conferences, seminars, workshops, tours,
written comments, response to survey questionnaires, and similar activities designed and
held to obtain comments from the general public and specific publics about National
Forest System land management planning.
Q-R
Quartzite - a granulose metamorphic sandstone rock consisting essentially of quartz; soils
derived from this parent material.
Range - land producing native forage for animal consumption and lands that are revege-
tated naturally or artificially to provide forage cover that is managed like native vegetation,
which are amenable to certain range management principles or practices.
Range Allotment - an area designated for the use of a prescribed number and kind of
livestock under one management plan, (see also ALLOTMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN)
Glossary - 19
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
RARE li - Roadless Area Review and Evaluation II.
Rearing Habitat - the river or stream areas where juvenile salmonids must find food and
shelter to survive for a period of time.
Reconstruction - activities performed on an existing road or other facility to restore it to
a specified standard.
Record of Decision (ROD) - a document separate from but associated with a final
Environmental Impact Statement which states the decision, identifies all alternatives,
specifying which were environmentally preferable, and states whether all practicable
means to avoid environmental harm from the alternative have been adopted, and if not,
why not (40 CFR 1505.2).
Recreation Capacity - the number of people that can take advantage of the supply of a
recreation opportunity during an established use period without substantially diminishing
the quality of the recreation experience or the resources.
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) - land delineations that identify possible combi-
nations of recreation activities, settings, and experience opportunities, from Primitive to
Urban, arranged along a continuum. Classes are Primitive, Semi-primitive Non-motorized,
Semi-primitive Motorized, Roaded Natural, Rural, and Urban. These classes are defined
separately under their alphabetical headings in this glossary.
Reforestation - the natural or artificial restocking of an area with forest trees.
Regeneration - the renewal of a tree crop, whether by natural or artificial means; also the
young tree crop (seedlings and saplings) itself
Regional Ecosystems - large areas that encompass many biological communities and
land management regimes and are identifiable by climate, landform, soils, and landscape
patterns.
Regional Forester - the official responsible for administering a single Forest Region.
Release - all work done to free desirable trees from competition with other less desirable
vegetation.
Release Cutting - frees a young stand of desirable trees not past the sapling stage from
the competition of undesirable trees that threaten to suppress them. A cleaning is a form
of release cutting that removes trees the same age as the young stand. A liberation cutting
is a form of release that removes older, larger trees that overtop a more desirable, younger
stand.
Remoteness - one of the six roadless area characteristics and wilderness features which
is a perceived condition of being secluded, inaccessible, and out of the way. The physical
factors than can create "remote" settings include topography, vegetative screening, dis-
tance from human impacts such as roads and logging operations (sight and sound), and
difficulty of travel. A user’s sense of remoteness in an area is also influenced by the
presence or absence of roads, their condition, and whether they are open to motorized
vehicles.
Glossary - 20
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Removal Cut (final cut) - the removal of the last seed bearers or shelter trees after
regeneration is established under a shelterwood method.
Research Natural Area - (also RESEARCH NATIONAL AREA) an area in as near a natural
condition as possible which exemplifies typical or unique vegetation and associated biotic,
soil, geologic, and aquatic features. The area is set aside to preserve a representative
sample of an ecological community primarily for scientific and educational purposes;
commercial and general public use is not allowed.
Resident Fish - those species of fish which do not go to sea to mature.
Residual Stand - the trees remaining standing after some event such as selection cutting.
Responsible Official - the Forest Service employee who has been delegated the authority
to carry out a specific planning action.
Retention - a Visual Quality Objective specifying that activities are not evident to the casual
forest visitor.
Riffle - a shallow section of a stream with rapid current and a surface broken by gravel,
rubble, or boulders.
Riparian - of, pertaining to, situated, or dwelling on the bank of a river or
other body of water.
Riparian Area or Habitat - streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, flood plains, and their associ-
ated aquatic and riparian ecosystems.
Riparian Ecosystem - a transition between the aquatic ecosystem and adjacent upland
terrestrial ecosystem; identified by soil characteristics and distinctive vegetation communi-
ties that require free or unbounded water.
Riprap - a quantity of broken stone for embankments; a foundation or wall of stones thrown
together irregularly.
Road Maintenance Levels - levels are described as follows: Level 1 - Road normally
closed to vehicle traffic. Level 2 - Road open for limited passage of traffic but not normally
suitable for passenger cars. Level 3 - Road open for public traffic including passenger cars,
but may not be smooth or comfortable. Level 4 - Road suitable for all types of vehicles,
generally smooth to travel, and dust may be controlled. Level 5 - Road is smooth and dust
free, and the surface is skid resistant if paved.
Roaded Natural - Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) classification for trails or roads;
frequency of contact is moderate to high on roads, low to moderate on trails and away from
roads (specific numbers must be developed to meet regional or local conditions.)
Roadless Area Review and Evaluation II (RARE II) - the national inventory of roadless
and undeveloped areas within the National Forests and Grasslands. This refers to the
second such assessment, which was documented in the Final Environmental Impact
Statement of the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation, January 1979.
Glossary - 21
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Rotation - the planned number of years required to establish (including the regeneration
period) and grow timber crops to a specified condition or maturity for regeneration harvest.
Selected management prescriptions in the Forest Plan provide the basis for the rotation
age.
s
Salmonid - member of the fish family salmonidae\ includes salmon and trout.
Salmonid Spawning Areas - waters which provide or could provide a habitat for active
self-propagating populations of salmonid fishes.
Salvage - removal of recently-dead or dying trees to minimize the loss of wood products.
Saplings - live trees less than 5 inches in diameter at breast height. Young trees.
Sawtimber - live trees that are nine inches DBH or larger and that can be used for timber.
Scarification - the process by which the upper layers of soil is loosened and exposed and
vegetation is removed that would hinder seeding development
Scoping - the procedures by which the Forest Service determines the extent of analysis
necessary for a proposed action; for example, the range of actions, alternatives, and
impacts to be addresses, identification of significant issues related to a proposed action,
and establishing the depth of environmental analysis, data, and task assignments needed.
External scoping refers to the process of receiving input from individuals outside the Forest
Service, and internal scoping refers to the process of receiving input from individuals inside
the Forest Service.
Secondary Contact Recreation - surface waters which are suitable or intended to be
made suitable for recreational uses on or about the water and which are not included in
the primary contact category. These waters may be used for fishing, boating, wading, and
other activities where ingestion of raw water is not probable.
Sediment - Soil or rock particles that have been transported to stream channels or other
bodies of water.
Sedimentation - the process of transporting sediment to stream channels or other bodies
of water.
Seed Cut (also SEED TREE CUTTING) - similar to clearcutting, except that a few of the
better trees of the desired species are left scattered over the area to provide seed for
regeneration.
Seedlings - live trees less than 5 inches in diameter at breast height. Young plants grown
from seeds.
Glossary - 22
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Seed Tree - a tree selected, and often reserved, for seed collection.
Selected Alternative - the alternative recommended for implementation as the timber sale
based on the evaluation completed in the planning process.
Semi-primitive Motorized - Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) classification for
trails or roads with low to moderate contact frequency; characterized by a predominantly
unmodified natural environment in a location that provides good to moderate isolation from
sights and sounds of man except for facilities or travel routes sufficient to support motor-
ized recreational travel opportunities which present at least moderate challenge, risk, and
a high degree of skill testing.
Semi-primitive Non-motorized - Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) classification
for trails or roads; usually 6-15 parties per day encountered on trails and 6 or less visible
at campsites. It is characterized by a predominantly unmodified natural environment of a
size and location that provides a good to moderate opportunity for isolation from sights
and sounds of man. The area is large enough to permit overnight foot travel within the area,
and presents opportunity for interaction with the natural environment with moderate chal-
lenge, risk, and use of a high degree of outdoor skills.
Sensitive Species - those plant or animal species which are susceptible or vulnerable to
activity impacts or habitat alterations.
Sensitivity Level - a particular degree of measure of viewer interest in scenic qualities of
the landscape. Three sensitivity levels are employed, each identifying a different level of
user concern for the environment.
Level 1 - Highest sensitivity
Level 2 - Average sensitivity
Level 3 - Lowest sensitivity
Sheiterwood - a method of regeneration of forest stands in which the mature timber is
removed in a series of cuttings, which extend over a relatively short portion of the rotation,
by means of which the establishment of essentially even-aged reproduction under the
partial shelter of seed trees is encouraged. The first cutting is ordinarily the seed cutting,
and the last is the final cutting. Any intervening cutting is termed removal cutting (from The
Practice of Silviculture, Smith, 1962). (See Appendix H for more information.)
Sheiterwood Cuffing - the removal of all trees in a series of two or more cuts over a period
of not more than 30 years.
Sidecast Materials - in road building, the materials excavated from a hillside and placed
on the downhill side to create a flat terrace.
Sight Distance - the distance at which 90 percent or more of a deer or elk is hidden from
an observer. Hiding cover exists when 90 percent or more of a standing deer or elk is
hidden at a distance of 200 feet or less.
Silviculture - the are and science of growing and tending forest vegetation; for example,
controlling the establishment, composition, and growth of forests for specific management
goals.
Glossary - 23
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
Glossary
Silvicultural System - a management process whereby forests are tended, harvested, and
replaced, resulting in a forest of distinctive form. Systems are classified according to the
method carrying out the fellings that remove the mature crop and provide for regeneration,
and according to the type of forest thereby produced.
Site-specific - refers to a specific area or site; not intended to encompass a large area.
Site Productivity - production capability of specific areas of land.
Skidding - a loose term for hauling loads by sliding, not on wheels, as developed originally
from stump to roadside, deck, skidway, or other landing.
Skid Trails - tracks where tractors slide or pull logs from the stumps to the roadside or log
landings.
Slash - woody material left after logging, pruning, thinning, brush cutting, or other man-
agement activities. Slash may also accumulate as a result of storm, fire or other damage.
Slope Distance - walking distance down or up a slope. Vertical distance is the elevation
change, and the horizontal distance is the "as the crow flies" distance.
Snag - a standing dead tree at least 6" DBH and at least 20 feet tall.
Soil Compaction - reduction of soil volume which results in alteration of soils, chemical and
physical properties.
Soil Productivity - the capacity of a soil to produce a specific crop such as fiber, forage,
etc., under defined levels of management. Productivity is generally dependent on available
soil moisture and nutrients, length of growing season, and compaction.
Soil Survey - the systematic examination of soils in the field and in laboratories. There are
five classes or orders of surveys with order 1 being the most intensive and order 5 being
the least intensive.
Solifluction - the slow flowing downslope of masses of rock debris.
Solitude - one of the six roadless area characteristics and wilderness features; it is a
personal, subjective value defined as isolation from the sight, sound and presence of
others and the developments of man. Common indicators of solitude are numbers of
individuals or parties one may expect to encounter in an area during a day, or the number
of parties camped within sight and sound of other visitors.
Special Features - those unique geological, biological, ecological, cultural or scenic
features that may be located in roadless areas.
Species - organisms that successfully reproduce among themselves and cannot repro-
duce successfully with other organisms.
Species Diversity - the distribution and abundance of different plant and animal communi-
ties and species.
Glossary - 24
Moyer Sal! Timber Sale Finai EIS
Glossary
Species of Special Concern - a native species whose population is low and limited in
distribution or has suffered significant reductions because of habitat loss.
Story - in silviculture, one level of a forest stand; for example, canopy, understory, oversto-
ry.
Stream Class - the classification of streams according to their beneficial uses. Whole
streams or parts of streams can be classified. One stream may be divided into several
classes, (see also CLASS I STREAM, CLASS II STREAM, CLASS ill STREAM, CLASS IV
STREAM)
Stream Protection Zone (SPZ) - zone bordering both sides of a stream that is designed
by IFPA to protect water quality. Class I SPZ is the area encompassed by a slope distance
of 75 feet on each side of the ordinary highwater marks. Class I streams are used for
domestic water supply or are important for the spawning, rearing, or migration of fish. Such
waters shall be considered to be Class I upstream from the point of domestic diversion for
a minimum of 1 ,320 feet Class II SPZ is the area encompassed by a slope distance of at
least 5 feet above the ordinary high water mark on each side of the stream. Class II streams
are usually headwater streams or minor drainages that are used by only a few, if any, fish
for spawning or rearing. Their principle value lies in their influence on water quality or
quantity downstream in Class I streams.
Steelhead - a large-sized, silvery anadromous rainbow trout.
Structural Diversity - diversity in a forest stand that results from layering or tiering of the
canopy; an increase in layering or tiering lends to an increase in structural diversity.
Stumpage - price paid for timber; usually expressed as dollars per thousand board feet
($/MBF).
Subordinate - inferior to or placed below another in size, brightness, etc.; secondary in
visual impact.
Substrate - subsoil.
Substrate Permeability - a measure of the rate at which a substrate can pass water, the
rate depending on substrate composition and compaction; the apparent velocity per unit
of hydraulic gradient expressed in cm/hr.
Succession - (see Plant Succession).
Sustained Yield - the achievement and maintenance in perpetuity of a high-level annual
or regular periodic output of the various renewable resources of the National Forest
System, without impairment of the productivity of the land.
Glossary - 25
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
Glossary
T
T & E - an abbreviation for Threatened and Endangered Species.
Target Population - the population levels of wildlife species established in the Forest Plan
that will be managed for
Temporary Road - a road that will be physically obliterated and seeded after its primary
use is completed; for example, a spur road for logging. It will never be used again.
Thermal Cover - vegetation used by animals to modify the adverse effects of weather; a
forest stand that is at least 40 feet in height with tree canopy cover of at least 70 percent.
Thinning - a felling of trees made in an immature stand primarily to maintain or accelerate
diameter increment growth and also to improve the average form of the remaining trees
without permanently breaking the canopy; an intermediate cutting.
Thousand Board Feet (MBF) - a symbol to indicate 1 000 board feet of wood fiber volume,
either in log form or after conversion into lumber.
Threatened Species - any species of plant or animal which is likely to become endan-
gered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
Through-cut - in road building, where the road is being built on very steep slopes and on
ridge points, the road is created by excavating the entire road width.
Through-fill - in road building, where a road is being built across a deep draw or swampy
area, the whole road is made by placing earth over the natural ground. This is called a
through-fill.
Tiering - refers to the coverage of general matters in broader EIS’s (such as national
program or policy statements) with subsequent narrower statements or environmental
analyses (such as regional program statements or ultimately site-specific statements)
incorporating by reference the general discussions and concentrating solely on the issues
specific to the statement subsequently prepared.
Timber Base - the lands within the Forest that are capable, available, and suitable for
timber production (same as suitable timberland)
Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) - measures such as thinning, pruning, release cutting,
prescribed fire, girdling, weeding, etc., of unwanted trees with the objective of improving
growing conditions of the remaining trees.
Timber Unit - a specified number of timberland acres marked for a proposed site-specific
timber sale.
Total Soil Resource Commitment - reducing the growing capability of a site to 0 to 40
percent of its natural ability for 50 years or more.
Glossary - 26
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Transpiration - the evaporation of water absorbed by a crop . . . and used directly in the
building of plant tissue, in a specified time. It does not include soil evaporation (Ven, 1 964).
T ransportation Corridor - a strip of land of variable width designated to accommodate the
clearing and access control of a state or federal highway.
TSI - timber stand improvement.
Turbidity - murkiness in water due to stirred up sediment.
Two-track Road - primitive road.
u
Understory - the trees and other woody species growing under a more-or-less continuous
cover of branches and foliage formed collectively by the upper portion of adjacent trees
and other woody growth; the bottom story of a timber stand, usually shaded by trees
forming the overstory or canopy.
Uneven-aged Management - the application or a combination of actions needed to
simultaneously maintain continuous high-forest cover, recurring regeneration of desirable
species, and orderly growth and development of trees through a range of diameter or age
classes to provide a sustained yield of forest products. Cutting is usually regulated by
specifying the number or proportion of trees of particular sizes to retain within each area,
thereby maintaining a planned distribution of size classes. Cutting methods that develop
and maintain uneven-aged stands are single-tree and group selection. (See Appendix H
for more information.)
Uneven-aged Stand - a timber stand which contains at least three age classes intermin-
gled intimately on the same area (From The Practice of Silviculture, Smith, 1962).
Ungulate - hoofed mammals; i.e. cattle, sheep, deer, elk, etc.
United States Geologic Survey (USGS) - federal government agency under the Depart-
ment of Interior responsible for making topographical maps and doing geological research
in the United States.
USGS - United States Geologic Survey.
V
Vegetative Diversity - the distribution and abundance of different plant communities and
species within the area covered by a Land and Resource Management Plan.
View - something, especially a broad landscape or panorama, that is looked toward or kept
in sight; the act of looking toward this object or scene.
Glossary - 27
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Glossary
Viewsfaed - everything that feeds into view you’re seeing from a specific point; a total
landscape seen or potentially seen from specific points on a logical part of a travel route
or water body.
Vista - a confined view, especially one seen through a long passage, as between rows of
houses or trees. A vista is often toward, or focuses upon a specific feature in the land-
scape. Unlike a view, the vista is sometimes man created and, if it is, thereby subject to
design.
Visual Resource - the composite of basic physiographic features and patterns, and land
use effects that typify a land unit and influence the visual appeal the unit may have for
visitors.
Visually Subordinate - secondary in visual impact.
Visual Quality Objective (VQO) - a desired level of excellence based on physical and
sociological characteristics of an area; refers to degree of acceptable alteration of the
characteristic landscape. VQO’s are Preservation, Retention, Partial Retention, Modifica-
tion, and Maximum Modification. (They are defined alphabetically in this glossary.)
w
Warm Water Biota - waters which are suitable or intended to be made suitable for
protection and maintenance of viable communities of aquatic organisms and populations
of significant aquatic species which have optimal growing temperatures of above 18
degrees C.
Water-barred - in road building, the process of placing water bars or small raised bumps
across the width of a road for the purpose of channeling runoff water off the road.
Water Quality - refers to a set of chemical, physical, or biological characteristics that
describe the condition of a river, stream, or lake. The quality of water determines which
beneficial uses it can support. Different instream conditions or levels of water quality are
needed to support different beneficial uses.
Watershed - all of the land that drains surface water to a given stream above a designated
point (usually its mouth); also called a stream drainage or drainage basin.
Water Yield - the measured output of the Forest's streams.
Water Turbidity - a measure of the extent to which the intensity of light passing through
is reduced by suspended matter; in this context, amount of clearness or murkiness in
water due to stirred-up sediment.
Wilderness - all lands included in the National Wilderness Preservation System by public
law; generally defined as undeveloped federal land retaining its primeval character and
influence without permanent improvements or human habitation.
Glossary - 28
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Glossary
Wildfire - any wildland fire that is not a prescribed fire.
Wildlife Habitat Diversity - the distribution and abundance of different plant and animal
communities and species within a specific area.
Winter Range - an area used by deer and elk during the winter months; usually at lower
elevation and/or south and west exposures.
X, Y, Z
Yarding - the operation of hauling timber from the stump to a collecting point.
Glossary - 29
Index
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Index
INDEX
TITLE
Air Quality
S-5, 1-15, 11-47, 111-31, IV-51
Alternatives
Comparison of S-29, 11-41
Examined in Detail S-11, 11-3
Dismissed from Detailed Study S-6, 11-1
Preferred Alternative S-1 9, 11-25
Process Used to Develop 11-1
Biological Diversity S-5, 1-14, 111-10, IV-19,
Appendix H
Changes Between Draft and Final EIS 1-1, 11-2, 111-1 , IV-1
Cultural Resources S-6, 1-16, 11-37, 48, 111-33, IV-56,
Decision to be Made
Economics
Employment
Fisheries
Insects and Disease
Issues
List of Preparers . . .
1-8
S-4, 1-12, 11-39, 44,111-34, IV-56
1-11
S-4, 1-14, 11-46, 111-7, V-14
IV-27
S-3, 1-10,
Chapter V
Management Requirements
Minerals
Mitigation Measures
Monitoring
S-23, 1-6
S-6, 1-16, 11-47, 111-33, IV-56
S-23, 11-31, Appendix C
S-23, 11-38
Old Growth
11-43, 11-15, 19
Public Involvement 1-9, Chapter VI
Purpose and Need S-2, 1-1
Index - 1
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Index
TITLE
Range S-6, 1-16, 11-48, 111-32, IV-53
Recreation S-5, 11-47, 111-30, IV-50
References . ' Chapter VII
Roadless .S-3, 1-12, 11-44, 111-26, IV-46
Soil S-4, 1-13, 11-45, 111-1, IV-1
Threatened, Endangered & Sensitive Species S-5, 1-14, 11-46, 111-24, IV-40
Transportation and Access S-5, 1-15, 11-47, 111-32
IV-54
Vegetation S-3, 1-10, 11-42, 111-24, IV-21
Visual Quality S-5, 1-15, 11-47, 111-30, IV-48
Wetlands S-4, 1-13, 11-45, IV-1 2
Wilderness 1-12, 11-44, 111-26, IV-46
Wildlife Habitat S-3, 1-11, 11-43, 111-21, IV-34
Index - 2
Appendices
NMFS-TES Species List Concurrence Letter A-1
Best Management Practices for Soil and Water B-1
Federal Consistency Checklist B-2
Evaluation of Wildlife Mitigation Measure C-1
Wildlife Species List D-1
Vegetation Species List E-1
Biological Assessments
For Federaiiy Listed PSant and Terrestrial
Vertebrate Species F-1
For Federally Listed Fish Species F-2
Biological Evaluation
Plants and Terrestrial Vertebrates 6-1
Fish Species G-2
Bioiogica! Diversity H-1
;
ij
I
«
|
4
1
\
1
APPENDIX A
NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
SPECIES LIST CONCURRENCE LETTERS
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
ENVIRONMENTAL & TECHNICAL SERVICES DIVISION
911 NE 1 1th Avenue - Room 620
PORTLAND, OREGON 97232
503/230-5400 FAX 503/230-5435
F/NW03
IViAY 1 1 1392
Mr. Robert W. Rose, Fishery Biologist
U.S. Forest Service
Salmon National Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, Idaho 83467
RE: Moyer - Salt Timber Sale; Big Eightmile Timber Sale; Deer
Creek Timber Sale
Dear Mr. Rose:
The National Marine Fisheries Service has reviewed the April 6
and 7, 1992, letters and their attached maps and data sheets
regarding the occurrence of threatened and endangered species
that are listed under the Endangered Species Act within the
subject timber sales. We appreciate the completeness of the
information you provided. Based on the available information,
the National Marine Fisheries Service concurs with your species
lists that indicate the occurrence of Snake River spring/ summer
chinook salmon within some drainages of the subject timber sales.
We do not expect to find either Snake River sockeye salmon or
Snake River fall chinook salmon within the drainages of the
subject timber sales. We understand that the Forest Service is
preparing a separate biological assessment for each timber sale
and that each Biological Assessment will include information that
will add to the accuracy of the species list.
Please contact Edmond Murrell, of my staff, at (503) 230-5433 if
you have questions regarding our listing concurrence.
cc: Lynn Bennett - Salmon National Forest
Lois Hill - Salmon National Forest
V
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
ENVIRONMENTAL & TECHNICAL SERVICES DIVISION
911 NE 11th Avenue • Room 620
PORTLAND. OREGON 97232
503/230-5400 FAX 503/230-5435
APR 1 5 if m
APR » 1 1993
F/NW03
Mr. Gordon Haugen
Columbia River Basin/Pacf ish Coordinator
U.S. Forest Service
P.O. Box 3623
Portland, Oregon 97204
RE: Notice of Listed or Proposed Species and Designated or
Proposed Critical Habitat (2610/2670)
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has reviewed your
March 8, 1993, letter (enclosed) regarding the present
distribution of threatened and endangered species listed Or
proposed for listing by NMFS under the Endangered Species Act.
NMFS concurs with the information contained in the table entitled
"Present Distribution of Threatened and Endangered Species" that
was attached to your March 8 letter.
This species list can be used for all consultations that are not
major construction activities requiring an environmental impact
statement, in which case a separate request for a species list
would be necessary pursuant to 50 CFR 402.12. Please direct any
further questions regarding this project to Jeffrey Lockwood, of
my staff, at
(503) 231-2339.
Sincerely
Enclosure
c.
Art 1 4 'S3
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Pacific
Northwest
Region
P.0. Box 3623
Portland. OR 97208-3623
333 S.W. First Avenue
Portland. OR 97204
Reply To: 2610/2670
Mr. Rolland Schmitten
National Marine Fisheries Service
7600 Sand Point Way. NE
Seattle. WA 98115-0700
March 8, 1993
Dear Mr. S
itten:
Requirements of 30 CFR Part 402.12(c) call for federal agencies to secure
either 1.) a current listing of threatened, endangered or proposed species and
notice of listed or proposed species and designated or proposed critical
habitat. It further provides that the Director of NMFS shall either concur
with the provided list or, if necessary, revise the list.
In order to efficiently meet these requirements a list of threatened and
endangered species is enclosed, with occurrence listed by National Forest.
Each Forest, where occurrence is indicated, will have the responsibili ty of
addressing that species in all biological evaluations or assessments.
Please review the enclosed list and, if you find it accurate, provide a written
letter of concurrence as soon as possible. With your concurrence, the Forests
will use this list for project level analysis until March 199^. for projects
not requiring an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) . Forests will requiest a
species list from your office for all projects and programs requiring an EIS.
If you have questions please do not hesitate to call.
Columbia River
designated or proposed critical habitat from the NMFS, or 2.) provide a written
Basin/Pacf ish Coordinator
Enclosure
Coring For the Land and Serving People
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APPENDIX B
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR SOIL AND WATER
FEDERAL CONSISTENCY CHECKLIST
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix B1
APPENDIX B1
SUMMARY OF SOIL AND WATER
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMP’S)
FOR SILVICULTURAL ACTIVITIES
The following compilation of best management practices was prepared by Betsy Rieffen-
berger, Salmon National Forest Hydrologist, to incorporate the April 1990 Idaho Forest
Practices Act revisions.
This document is intended to sen/e as a brief summary of the BMP's for silvicultural
activities contained in the Forest Plan and in the Idaho Forest Practices Act. Though not
a comprehensive compilation of all the BMP’s contained in these documents this summary
should be useful for District personnel involved in timber sale preparation. The reference
for the BMP is contained in parentheses with the abbreviation for the Forest Plan (FLRMP)
or the Idaho Forest Practices Act (IFPA). Copies of the Forest Plan, Idaho Forest Practices
Act are located in the Project File. Further direction is also contained in the Forest Service
Manual (FSM 2505.1); a copy is available for review at the Supervisor’s Office in Salmon.
1 . GENERAL TIMBER HARVESTING
a. "Conduct nonpoint source activities in accordance with applicable Best Manage-
ment Practices as referenced in "Idaho Water Quality Standards and Wastewater
Treatment Requirements" and in accordance with the Forest Service’s soil and
water conservation practices." (FLRMP, pg.lV-43) Note: The "Idaho Water Quality
Standards and Wastewater Treatment Requirements" reference the Idaho Forest
Practices Act for applicable BMP’s.
b. Treat disturbed areas resulting from management activities in the shortest
possible time to meet water quality objectives." (FLRMP pg.lV-46). This BMP relates
to the Timber Sale Clause B6.6 on Seasonal Erosion Control Work. This states that
erosion control work on sale areas needs to be kept current.
c. "Uphill cable yarding is preferred. Where downhill yarding is used, reasonable
care shall be taken to lift the leading end of the log to minimize downhill movement
of slash and soils." (IFPA, Rule 3,c,iv.).
d. To prevent landslides, fill material used in landing construction shall be free of
loose stumps and excessive accumulations of slash. On slopes where sidecasting
is necessary, landings shall be stabilized by use of seeding, compaction, riprap-
ping, benching, mulching or other suitable means." (IFPA, Rule 3, d,iii.)
e. "For each landing, skid trail or fire trail a drainage system shall be provided and
maintained that will control the dispersal of surface water in order to prevent
sediment from damaging Class I streams." (IFPA, Rule 3, e.) See item 4. below for
a definition of a Class I stream.
B1 - 1
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Appendix B1
2. TRACTOR SKIDDING (a-c, FLRMP pg.lV-34)
a. Tractor skidding will be limited to the following percent slopes to minimize soil
erosion.
Quartzite Landtypes-60% Slopes
Volcanic, granitic and sedimentary !andtypes~45% Slopes, unless site spe-
cific analysis shows otherwise."
b. "Recommended spacing distances for water bars on tractor skid trails will be:
TABLE B.1: SKID TRAIL WATER BAR SPACING (IN FEET)
Gradient (%)
Sediments &
Quartzite
Volcanics
Qranitics
0-10
200
80
75
10-20
160
70
65
20-30
110
55
50
30-40
80
40
35
40-50
60
35
20
50-60
45
-
-
c. "Ephemeral draws should have minimal disturbance from timber harvest equip-
ment. Crossings and skid trails should be at right angles to draws."
d. ‘Stabilize skid trails and fire trails whenever they are subject to erosion, by water
barring, cross draining, outsloping, scarifying, seeding or other suitable means.
This work shall be kept current to prevent erosion prior to fall and spring runoff."
(IFPA, Rule 3,e,i.).
3. TIMBER HARVEST IN RIPARIAN AREAS
a. "Regularly scheduled timber harvest is not planned in riparian areas but limited
harvest may be appropriate." (FLRMP pg.lV-35). Seek specialist input to design
harvest in riparian area to be compatible with other BMP’s.
b. "Full suspension yarding will be required to convey logs across all perennial
streams, except where skidding would not seriously and adversely affect water
condition or fish habitat." (FLRMP pg.lV-42). Input from a Hydrologist and/or Fishery
Biologist should be obtained to determine if skidding would adversely affect water
condition or fish habitat.
c. "Use directional felling away from perennial and intermittent stream channels,
except in cases where serious and adverse influences are not anticipated." (FLRMP
pg. IV-42).
B1 -2
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix B1
d. "When slash disposal is within riparian zones, it will be hand or grapple piled in
areas above the high water mark.’ (FLRMP pg.lV-42).
e. ’Broadcast burning and mechanical site preparation will not be done within
perennial riparian zones.’ (FLRMP pg.lV-42).
f. "Riparian zones will be managed in a manner compatible with the protection of
water quality and fish habitat.’ (FLRMP pg.lV-46). The interpretation of this BMP is
that timber harvest in the riparian zone can only be conducted if water quality and
fish habitat can be adequately protected.
g. ‘Whenever possible trees shall be felled, bucked, and limbed in such a manner
that the tree or any part thereof will fall away from any Class I streams. Continuously
remove slash and other debris that enters Class I Streams as a result of harvesting
operations. Place removed material five feet slope distance above the ordinary high
water mark." (IFPA, Rule 3,f,i.).
h. ’Remove slash and other debris that enters Class II streams whenever there is
a potential for stream blockage or if the stream has the ability for transporting the
debris immediately following skidding and place removed material above the ordi-
nary high water mark or other wise treat as prescribed by the department." (IFPA,
Rule 3,f,ii.). See part 4. below for a definition of a Class ID stream.
i. Tracked or wheel skidding in or through streams shall not be permitted. When
streams must be crossed, adequate temporary structures to carry stream flow shall
be installed. Cross the stream at right angles to its channel if at all possible. Remove
all temporary crossings immediately after use and, where applicable, water bar the
ends of the skid trails." (IFPA, Rule 3,g,L).
j. ’Provide the large organic debris (LCD), shading, soil stabilization, wildlife cover
and water filtering effects of vegetation along Class I streams."
(1) ’Leave hardwood trees, shrubs, grasses, and rocks wherever they afford
shade over a stream or maintain the integrity of the soil near a stream."
(2) "Leave 75 percent of the current shade over the stream."
(3) "Carefully log the mature timber from the Stream Protection Zone in such
a way that shading and filtering effects are not destroyed."
(4) ’Standing trees, including conifers, hardwoods and snags will be left
within 50 feet of the ordinary high water mark on each side of all Class I
streams in the following minimum numbers per 1000 feet of stream:"
Moyer Sallt Timber Sale Final ESS
Appendix B1
TABLE B.2: MINIMUM STANDING TREES PER 1000 FEET REQUIRED (ON EACH
SIDE)
Stream Width
Tree Diameter
(DBH) in inches
Over 20 feet
1 0 to 20 feet
Under 10 feet
0 to 7.9
200
200
200
8 to 11.9
42
42
42
12 to 19.9
21
21
--
20 plus
4
-
-
(5) 'Snags wilt be counted as standing trees in each diameter class if snag height
exceeds 1 .5 times the distance between the snag and the stream’s ordinary high
water mark. Not more than 50 percent of any class may consist of snags.’
(6) ’As an alternative to the standing tree and shade requirements, the operator may
notify the department that a site specific riparian management prescription is re-
quested. The department and operator may jointly develop a plan upon considera-
tion of stream characteristics and the need for large organic debris, stream shading
and wildlife cover which will meet the objective of these rules."
(7) "Where the opposite side of the stream does not currently meet the minimum
standing tree requirements of the table, the department and the operator should
consider a site specific riparian prescription that meets the large organic debris
needs of the stream."
(8) "Stream width shall be measured as average between ordinary high water
marks." (IFPA, Rule 3,g.iii.).
4. STREAM PROTECTION ZONE/FILTER STRIP REQUIREMENTS
The need to maintain an area of undisturbed ground adjacent to streams to serve as a
sediment filter is addressed in both the IFPA and the FLRMP. The standard in the IFPA is
a set distance for a particular type of stream whereas the filter strip widths recommenda-
tions in the FLRMP vary with parent material, percent slope, and percent ground cover.
Following are these recommendations:
IFPA STREAM PROTECTION ZONE
"Class I Stream Protection Zone means the area encompassed by a slope distance of 75
feet on each side of the ordinary highwater marks. Class I
streams are used for domestic water supply or are important for the spawning, rearing, or
migration of fish. Such waters shall be considered to be Class I upstream from the point
of domestic diversion for a minimum of 1 ,320 feer.
B1 -4
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix B1
■Class II Stream Protection Zone is the area encompassed by a slope distance of at least
5 feet above the ordinary high water mark on each side of the stream. Class II streams are
usually headwater streams or minor drainages that are used by only a few, if any, fish for
spawning or rearing. Their principle value lies in their influence on water quality or quantity
downstream in Class I streams'.
Following is a list from the IFPA of practices prohibited or restricted in the Class I or II
Stream Protection Zones (SPZ):
a. ‘On slopes exceeding 45% gradient and which are immediately adjacent to a
Class I or II stream, tractor or wheel skidding shall not be conducted unless the
operation can be done without causing accelerated erosion." (pg.7, Rule 3,c,i.).
b. 'Construct new landings, skid trails, and fire trails on stable areas outside the
appropriate stream protection zone0, (pg.8, Rule 3,d,i,)
c. 'When cable yarding is necessary across or inside the SP Zones, it shall be done
in such a manner as to minimize stream bank vegetation and channel disturbance'.
(IFPA, Rule 3,g,ii.).
Moyer Salt Timber Safe Final EIS
Appendix B1
FLRMP FILTER STRSP GUIDELINES
Following are the filter strip guidelines to be used to provide a sediment filter strip immedi-
ately adjacent to streams to reduce sediment delivery from roads or other major surface
disturbance.
TABLE B.3: FILTER STRIP WIDTHS (IN FEET) IN QUARTZITE PARENT MATERIAL*
Percent Slope
Percent
Ground
Cover* **
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
20
25
30
35
45
60
80
110
165
205
90
25
40
55
60
70
85
105
135
190
230
80
30
55
60
65
75
90
110
140
195
235
70
35
60
65
70
80
95
115
145
200
240
60
40
65
70
75
85
100
120
150
205
245
50
45
70
75
80
90
105
125
155
210
250
40
55
80
85
90
100
115
135
165
220
260
30
70
95
100
105
115
130
150
180
235
275
20
100
125
130
135
145
160
180
210
265
305
* From lower edge of disturbed area, road, or toe of fill slope to stream.
** Ground cover estimate includes live plants and letter that can effectively dissipate the
energy of raindrops before they hit the soil. Surface rock is not included in this estimate.
B1 - 6
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix B1
TABLE B.4: FILTER STRIP WIDTHS (IN FEET) IN GRANITIC, VOLCANIC AND
SEDIMENTARY PARENT MATERIAL*
Percent Slope
Percent
Ground
Cover**
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
30
45
50
55
75
90
110
150
205
245
90
45
60
75
90
100
125
145
175
230
270
80
50
75
90
95
105
130
150
180
235
275
70
55
90
95
100
120
135
155
185
240
280
60
70
95
100
115
125
140
160
190
245
285
50
75
100
115
120
130
145
165
195
250
290
40
85
120
125
130
140
155
175
205
260
300
30
110
135
140
145
155
170
190
220
275
315
20
140
165
170
175
185
200
220
250
305
345
* From lower edge of disturbed area, road, or toe of fill slope to stream.
** Ground cover estimate includes live plants and letter that can effectively dissipate the
energy of raindrops before they hit the soil. Surface rock is not included in this estimate.
To ensure compliance with both the FLRMP and the SFPA a minimum SPZ of 75 feet should
be used for all perennial streams. The State of Idaho has interpreted the definition of a
Class I stream to be virtually all perennial streams. Where the Forest Plan recommends a
filter strip width greater than 75 feet, than this distance should be used. Class II streams
have been interpreted by the State as any stream having discernible bed and banks,
whether or not they are flowing water at the time of logging. Essentially all intermittent and
some ephemeral streams would come under this definition. Recommendations on the
appropriate width of the filter strip or SPZ will be determined at the project level.
5. ROAD CONSTRUCTION
a. Timber harvest, road construction, mining, range revegetation and similar activi-
ties which have a significant soil disturbing impact will not be permitted on lands
identified in the soil resource inventories as exhibiting high mass stability hazard.
These activities will be permitted on lands identified in soil resource inventories
exhibiting moderate mass stability hazard only if it can be shown that a design can
satisfactorily mitigate or prevent potential soil movement.0 (FLRMP, Pg.lV-43).
B1 -7
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Appendix B1
b. "Avoid channelization of natural streams. Where channelization is necessary for
flood control or other purposes, use stream geometry relationships to re-establish
meanders, width/depth ratios, ets., consistent with each major stream type."
(FLRMP, pg.lV-46).
c. "Create artificial sediment traps with barriers where the natural vegetation is
inadequate to protect any waterway or lake from significant accelerated sedimenta-
tion." (FLRMP, pg.lV-64).
d. "Minimize detrimental disturbance to the riparian area by construction activities.
Initiate timely and effective rehabilitation of disturbed areas and restore riparian
areas so that a vegetative ground cover or suitable substitute protects the soil from
erosion and prevents increased sediment yield.” (FLRMP, pg.lV-64).
e. "Roads and/or road sections will be surfaced when serious and adverse effects
from erosion and sedimentation are anticipated." (FLRMP, pg.lV-64).
f. "Excavated material from road building should be end hauled if there is any
potential of a significant amount of sidecast materia! entering a stream." (FLRMP,
pg.lV-64).
g. ‘Stream crossing structures will be designed and constructed in a manner
avoiding serious and adverse affects on fish habitat and passage."
(FLRMP, pg.IV-64).
h. "Bridge and culvert projects which are expected to result in detrimental stream
channel modifications (i.e., gradient, width, and bank or bed stability) beyond the
immediate project area will not be permitted.” (FLRMP, pg.IV-64).
i. "Plan each road to the minimum use standards adapted to the terrain and soil
materials to minimize disturbances and damage to forest productivity, water quality,
and wildlife." (IFPA, Rule 4,b.).
j. "Plan transportation networks to minimize road construction within stream protec-
tion zones. Design to leave or reestablish areas of vegetation between roads and
streams.” (IFPA, Rule 4,b,i.).
k. "Plan minimum cuts and fills particularly near stream channels." (IFPA, Rule
4,b,ii.).
l. "Plan roads to drain naturally by outsloping or insioping with cross-drainage and
by grade changes where possible. Plan dips, water bars, and/or cross-drainage on
roads when necessary." (IFPA, Rule 4,b,iv.).
m. "Relief culverts and roadside ditches shall be planned whenever reliance upon
natural drainage would not protect the running surface, excavation or embankment.
Design culvert installations to prevent erosion of the fill. Plan drainage structures to
achieve minimum direct discharge of sediment to streams." (IFPA, Rule 4,b,v.).
n. "Construct cross drains and relief culverts to minimize erosion of embankments.
Minimize the time between construction and installation of erosion control devices.
B1 - 8
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix B1
Use riprap, vegetative matter, downspouts and similar devices to minimize erosion
of the fill. Install drainage structures, or cross drain uncompleted roads which are
subject to erosion prior to fall or spring runoff. Install relief culverts with a minimum
grade of 1 percent/ (IFPA, Rule 4,c,ix.).
o. "Where exposed material (excavation, embankment, borrow pits, waste piles, etc.)
is potentially erodible, and sediments would enter streams, stabilize prior to fall or
spring runoff by seeding, compacting, riprapping, benching, mulching or other
suitable means." (IFPA, Rule 4,c,iii.).
p. "Construct stream crossings in compliance with minimum standards for stream
channel alterations under the provisions of title 42, chapter 38, Idaho Code." (IFPA,
Rule 3,c,vi.).
6. ROAD MAINTENANCE
a. ‘Conduct regular preventive maintenance operations to avoid deterioration of the
roadway surface and minimize disturbance and damage to forest productivity,
water quality, and fish and wildlife habitat.
(1) Sidecast all debris and slide material associated with road maintenance
in a manner to prevent their entry into streams.
(2) Repair and stabilize slumps, slides, and other erosion features causing
stream sedimentation." (IFPA, Rule 4,d,i & ii.).
b. "During and upon completion of seasonal operations, the road surface shall be
crowned, outsloped, insloped or water barred, and berms removed from the outside
edge except those intentionally constructed for protection of fills." (IFPA, Rule
4,d,iii,b.).
c. "If road oil or other surface stabilizing materials are used, apply them in such a
manner as to prevent their entry into streams." (IFPA, Rule 4,d, iii,d.).
d. ‘Inactive roads. An inactive road is a forest road no longer used for commercial
hauling but maintained for access (e.g., for fire control, forest management activi-
ties, recreational use etc..). Following termination of active use, ditches and culverts
shall be cleared and the road surface shall be crowned, outsloped or insloped,
water barred or otherwise left in a condition to minimize erosion. Drainage struc-
tures will be maintained thereafter as needed." (IFPA, Rule 4,d,iv,).
e. "Abandoned Roads. An abandoned road is not intended to be used again. No
subsequent maintenance of an abandoned road is required after the following
procedures are completed:
(1) The road is left in a condition suitable to control erosion by
outsloping, water barring, seeding, or other suitable methods.
(2) The ditches are cleaned.
(3) The road is blocked to vehicular traffic." (IFPA, Rule 4,d,v.).
B1 -9
.
'
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix B2
APPENDIX B2
FEDERAL CONSISTENCY CHECKLIST
1. Have you identified which nonpoint source activities regulated by the Idaho Water
Quality Standards are within the the project area?
ANSWER: Nonpoint source activities within the project area include road construction,
timber harvesting, site preparation, reforestation, thinning,
and prescribed burning.
2. Have you identified the state approved BMP’s for each nonpoint source activity?
ANSWER: Following are the State of Idaho approved BMP’s for the proposed
activities.
1 . Rules and Regulations pertaining to the Idaho Forest Practices Act.
2. Rules and Regulations pertaining to the Idaho Stream Channel Protection
Act.
3. Best Management Practices for Road Activities, August, 1982. (the Forest
Service agreed to implement these in the Nonpoint Source MOU).
In addition, site-specific BMP’s or mitigation measures are identified in Chapter 2.
3. For nonpoint source activities which do not have approved BMP’s, have you identified
practices that demonstate a knowledgeable and reasonable effort to minimize resulting
water quality impacts?
ANSWER: All of the proposed nonpoint source activities have approved BMP’s.
4. Have you provided a monitoring plan which, when implemented will provide adequate
information to determine the effectiveness of the approved or specialized BMP’s in protect-
ing the beneficial uses of water?
ANSWER: Yes. See Chapter 2, Water Quality and Fisheries Project Monitoring.
In addition the timber sale administrator will be conducting BMP implementation
monitoring to ensure that the BMP’s and mitigation measures specified in the
FEIS have been implemented on the project. During road construction the
Engineering Representative will conduct BMP implementation monitoring to
ensure that the BMP’s specified for the road construction have been imple-
mented on the project.
5. Have you provided a process (including feedback from water quality monitoring) for
modifying the approved or specialized BMP’s in order to protect
B2 - 1
Moyer 8@Bt Timber Sal® Final EIS Appendix B2
beneficial uses of water?
ANSWER: Yes, the Salmon National Forest Hydrologist and Soil Scientist conduct
annual BMP audits on the Forest. During these audits the implemented
BMP’s are evaluated for their effectiveness. Recommendations to modify
or change the BMP’s or implement additional ones are then made to the
responsible line officer if necessary. Future hydrologic input to
projects with nonpoint source activities is enhanced as a result of the
BMP audits conducted on the Forest.
6. Have you listed the "appropriate beneficial and existing uses" of water for the waterbod-
ies in the project area?
ANSWER: Yes. See Chapter 3, Hydrology, Existing Condition.
7. Have you determined if a Stream Segment of Concern (SSOC) has been
designated within the project area?
ANSWER: There are no Stream Segments of Concern within the analysis area.
8. Have you determined if an Outstanding Resource Water has been designated
within the project area?
ANSWER: There are none.
9. Have you identified the Water Quality Standards and criteria applicable to
protect the appropriate beneficial uses?
ANSWER: The water quality standards specified in Water Quality Standards and
Wastewater Treatment Requirements (IDAPA 16.01.2000) will be followed.
1 0. Does pre-project planning and design include an analysis of water quality
resulting from implementation of the proposed activity sufficient to predict exceedance of
water quality criteria for the appropriate beneficial use(s)
or in the absence of such criteria, sufficient to predict the potential for
beneficial use impairment?
ANSWER: Yes. BQISED model runs and in-stream inventories were used to analyze water
quality. A soil scientist and hydrologist were involved in pre-project planning and design
to assure that standards would be met.
B2-2
APPENDIX C
EVALUATION OF WILDLIFE MITIGATION MEASURE
Forest
Service
Salmon NF
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Reply To:
Subject :
To:
2430/2620 Date:
Moyer Salt EIS Wildlife Mitigation Measure;
District Ranger, Cobalt RD
February 9, 1992
The following table was prepared to help evaluate the road slash mitigation
measure that applies to all action alternatives except number five
(Helicopter) in the Moyer Salt EIS.
| ALTERNATIVES
1
1
|
2 & 2A
3
1
I
4
1
|
5
1 6
1
| Without Slash
| Road Density
0
1
1
1
1.46
2.25
1
1
1
1.0
1
1
1
0
1
1
| 1.0
C : F
| 32:68
1
27:73
27 : 73
1
26:74
1
29 : 71
| 27:73
| EHE
| 68%
1
|
34%
34%
1
|
27%
1
|
55%
| 34%
jwith Slash
Road Density
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
I
0
1
1
0
j C : F
| 32:68
1
27 : 73
27:73
1
26:74
1
29 : 71
j 27:73
| EHE
1 68%
|
40%
40%
|
32%
I
55%
1 40%
1 Change in EHE
1 NA
1
X
+ 15%
+ 15%
1
+ 16%
1
_L
NA
1
1 +15%
For comparison purposes, these calculations were based upon a 2400 acre
portion of the total analysis area. This area was centered around Units 21
through 30 and S1-S10 and included portions of Wildlife Analysis Area I
and II. Roads that received slash to prevent human access were assumed to
be "removed" from the road base (i.e., the area was treated as if it were
unroaded) .
C. RICHARD WENGER
Forest Wildlife Biologist
CRWenger : crw : sh
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3/92)
APPENDIX D
WILDLIFE SPECIES LIST
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix D
APPENDIX D
VERTEBRATE SPECIES LIST
WILDLIFE SPECIES THAT OCCUR IN OR WHOSE HABITAT OCCURS
IN THE MOYER SALT ANALYSIS AREA
MAMMALS
Residents
Masked Shrew
Merriam Shrew
Vagrant Shrew
Little Brown Myotis
Long-eared Myotis
California Myotis
Yuma Myotis
Long-legged Myotis
Western Pipistrel
Big Brown Bat
Small-footed Myotis
Western Big-eared Bat
Spotted Bat
Red Squirrel
Northern Flying Squirrel
Northern Pocket Gopher
Ord Kangaroo Rat
Deer Mouse
Bushy-tailed Wood Rat
Wolverine
Striped Skunk
Grey Wolf
Longtail Vole
Sagebrush Vole
Western Jumping Mouse
Pika
Snowshoe Hare
Black Bear
Pine Marten *
Longttail Weasel
River Otter
Migrant
Hoary Bat
AMPHIBIANS
Mountain Lion
Lynx
Bobcat
Yellowbelly Marmot
Columbian Ground Squirrel
Golden-mantled Squirrel
Least Chipmunk
Yellow Pine Chipmunk
Mountain Cottontail
Pygmy Rabbit
Elk *
Mule Deer *
Mountain Phenacomys
Boreal Redback Vole
Montane Vole
Great Basin Pocket Mouse
Beaver
Northern Grasshopper Mouse
Mountain Goat *
Badger
Coyote
Red Fox
Richardson Vole
House Mouse
Porcupine
Whitetail Jackrabbit
Redtail Chipmunk
Raccoon
Shorttail Weasel
Mink
Long-toed Salamander
Tailed Frog
Pacific Tree Frog
Tiger Salamander
Western Toad
Spotted Frog
D - 1
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix D
REPTILES
Western Skink
Western Yellow-bellied Racer
Common Garter Snake
Western Rattlesnake
BIRDS
Residents
Great Blue Heron
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Marsh Hawk
American Kestrel
Spruce Grouse
Sage Grouse
Common Snipe
Screech Owl
Pygmy Owl
Red-shafted Flicker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Three-toed Woodpecker
Grey Jay
Black-billed Magpie
Common Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Dipper
Townsend’s Solitaire
Starling
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
Grey-crowned Rosy Finch
Pine Siskin
Red Crossbill
Song Sparrow
Summer Residents
Mourning Dove
Short-eared Owl
Common Nighthawk
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Lewis’ Woodpecker
Williamson’s Sapsucker
Western Kingbird
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Western Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Tree Swallow
Rubber Boa
Great Basin Gopher Snake
Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
Goshawk *
Cooper’s Hawk
Golden Eagie
Prairie Falcon
Blue Grouse
Ruffed Grouse
Mountain Chickadee
Rock Dove
Great Horned Owl
Great Grey Owl *
Pileated Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Horned Lark
Steller’s Jay
Common Raven
Clark’s Nutcracker
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper *
Robin
Golden-crowned Kinglet
House Sparrow
Evening Grosbeak
Pine Grosbeak
Black Rosy Finch
American Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
Flammulated Owl
Saw-whet Owl
White-throated Swift
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Calliope Hummingbird
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker *
Eastern Kingbird
Alder Flycatcher
Ducky Flycatcher
Western Wood PeeWee
Violet-green Swallow
House Wren
D
2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix D
Summer Residents, continued
Winter Wren
Sage Thrasher
Hermit Thrush
Veery
Mountain Bluebird *
Water Pipit
Solitary Vireo
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler *
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Northern Oriole
Brown-headed Cowbird
Black-headed Grosbeak
Purple Finch
Green-tailed Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Sage Sparrow
Brewer’s Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Migrants
Ferruginous Hawk
Long-eared Owl
Black and White Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Lark Sparrow
Winter Visitors
Rough-legged Hawk
Bald Eagle
Northern Shrike
Common Redpoll
Tree Sparrow
FISH
Anadromous Species
Steelhead Trout
Resident Species
Rainbow (red band) Trout
Mountain Whitefish
Grey Catbird
Varied Thrush
Swainson’s Thrush
Western Bluebird
Ruby-crowned Kinglet *
Cedar Waxwing
Red-eyed Vireo
Nashville Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellowthroat
Western Meadowlark
Brewer’s Blackbird
Western Tanager
Lazuli Bunting
Cassin’s Finch
Rufous-sided Towhee
Vesper Sparrow *
Chipping Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Band-tailed Pigeon
Say’s Phoebe
Black-throated Grey Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Harris’ Sparrow
Merlin
Bohemian Waxwing
Loggerhead Shrike
White-winged Crossbill
Snow Bunting
Chinook Salmon
Bull Trout
Sculpin
* Salmon National Forest Management Indicator Species
APPENDIX E
VEGETATION SPECIES LIST
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Appendix E
APPENDIX E
VEGETATION SPECIES LIST FOR THE MOYER-SALT TIMBER SALE ANALYSIS AREA
DOUGLAS-FIR/PINEGRASS HABITAT TYPE (PSME/CARU)
TREES
Subalpine fir {Abies lasiocarpa)
Engelmann spruce (P/'cea engelmannii)
Whitebark pine ( Pinus albicaulis)
Lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta)
Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga mensiesii)
SHRUBS and SUBSHRUBS
Mountain maple {Acer glabrum)
Western serviceberry {Ameianchier alnifolia
Bearberry or kinnikinnick {Arctstaphylos uva-ursi
Big sagebrush {Artemisia tridentata)
Oregon grape {Berberis repens)
Showbrush ceanothus ( Ceanothus velutinus)
Common juniper {Juniperus communis)
Utah honeysuckle ( Lonicera utahensis)
Ninebark ( Physocarpus malvaceus)
Bitterbrush {Purshia tridentata)
Squaw currant {Ribes cereum)
Prickly currant {Ribes lacustre)
Sticky currant {Ribes viscosissimum)
Wood’s rose/wild rose/ pearhip rose ( Rosa woodsii )
Scouler’s willow {Salix scouleriana)
Buffalo berry {Shepherdia canadensis)
White spirea {Spiraea betulifolia
Mountain snowberry {Symphoricarpos oreophilus)
Grouse whortleberry {Vaccinium scoparium)
GRAMINOIDS
Bluebunch wheatgrass {Agropyron spicatum)
Pinegrass {Calamagrostis rubescens)
Northwestern sedge {Carex concinnoides)
Elk sedge {Carex geyeri)
Ross’s sedge {Carex rossii)
Idaho fescue {Festuca idahoensis)
Wheeler bluegrass (Poa nervosa)
Western needlegrass {Stipa occidentalis)
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft ESS
Appendix E
VEGETATION SPECIES LIST FOR THE MOYER-SALT TIMBER SALE ANALYSIS AREA
FORBS
Common yarrow (Achillaea millefollium)
Rose pussytoes {Antennaria microphylla)
Pussytoes (/Antennaria racemosa)
Arenaria or sandwort (Arenaria macrophylla)
Heartleaf arnica (/Arnica cordifolia )
Showy aster (Aster conspicuus )
Arrowleaf balsamroot ( Balsamorphiza sagittata)
Common Indian paintbrush ( Castilleja miniata)
Hawksbeard ( Crepis accuminata)
Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)
Wild strawberry ( Fragaria vesca)
Wild strawberry ( Fragaria Virginia)
Sticky geranium ( Geranium viscosissimum)
Mountain avens ( Geum triflorum)
Rattlesnake plantain ( Goodyera oblongifolia)
Hawkweed ( Hieracium albifiorum)
Silver lupine (Lupinus argenteus)
Mountain sweet-root ( Osmorhiza chilensis)
Blunt-fruited sweet-root ( Ormorhiza depauperata)
Wilcox’s penstemon ( Penstemon wilcoxii)
Silverleaf phacelia ( Phaceiia hastata)
Slender cinquefoil ( Potentilla gracilis)
Side-bells pyrola or wintergreen ( Pyrola secunda)
Groundsel ( Senecio streptanthifolius)
False Solomon’s seal (Smilacina racemosa)
Alpine goldenrod ( Solidago multiradiata)
Western meadowrue (Thalictrum occidentalis)
Blue violet ( Viola adunca)
Yellow violet ( Viola nuttallii)
Goosefoot violet ( Viola purpurea)
Beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax)
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Appendix E
VEGETATION SPECIES LIST FOR THE MOYER-SALT TIMBER SALE ANALYSIS AREA
SUBALPINE FIR HABITAT TYPES (ABLA/CARU, ABLA/VASC, ABLA/ALS!)
TREES
Subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa)
Engelmann spruce ( Picea engelmannii)
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis)
Lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta )
Quaking aspen ( Populus tremuloides)
Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii)
SHRUBS and SUBSHRUBS
Mountain alder (A/nus sinuata)
Western serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia)
Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
Oregon grape ( Berberis repens)
Snowbrush ceanothus ( Ceanothus velutinus)
Common juniper (Juniperus communis)
Labrador tea ( Ledum glandulosum)
Utah honeysuckle ( Lonicera utahensis)
Squaw currant ( Ribes cereum)
Mountain gooseberry ( Ribes montigenum)
Sticky currant ( Ribes viscosissimum)
Scouler’s willow (Salix scouleriana)
Mountain-ash ( Sorus scopulina)
White spirea (Spiraea betuiifolia)
Mountain snowberry (Symphoricarpos oerophilus)
Dwarf huckleberry ( Vaccinium caespitosum)
Blue huckleberry ( Vaccinium globulare)
Grouse whortleberry (Vaccinium scoparium)
GRAMINOIDS
Common brome ( Bromus vulgaris)
Bluejoint ( Calamagrostis canadensis)
Pinegrass ( Calamagrostis rubescens)
Northwestern sedge ( Carex concinnoides)
Elk sedge ( Carex geyeri)
Ross’s sedge ( Carex rossii)
Blue wild-rye ( Elymus glaucus)
Idaho fescue ( Festuca idahoensis)
Junegrass ( Koeleria cristata)
Oniongrass ( Melica bulbosa)
Wheeler bluegrass ( Poa nervosa)
Western needlegrass ( Stipa occidentalis)
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS
Appendix E
VEGETATION SPECIES LIST FOR THE MOYER-SALT TIMBER SALE ANALYSIS AREA
FORBS
Common yarrow (Achillaea millifollium)
Rose pussytoes [Antennaria microphylla)
Pussytoes (Antennaria racemosa)
Arenaria or sandwort [Arenaria aculeata )
Arenaria or sandwort [Arenaria macrophylla)
Heartleaf arnica [firnica cordifolia)
Mountain arnica [Arnica latifolia)
Arrowleaf balsamroot [Balsamorhiza sagittata)
Common Indian paintbrush ( Castilleja miniata)
Prince’s pine ( Chimaphila umbellata)
Fireweed [Epilobium angustifolium)
Wild strawberry ( Fragaria virginiana)
Richardson’s geranium ( Geranium richardsonii)
Sticky geranium ( Geranium viscosissimum)
Hawkweed ( Hieracium albiflorum)
Hawkweed ( Hieracium graciie)
Silver lupine ( Lupinus argenteus)
Mountain sweet-root (Ormorhiza chilensis)
Sickletop lousewort or parrot’s beak [Pedicularis racemosa)
Cinquefoil ( Potentilla diversifolia)
Side-bells pyrola or wintergreen ( Pyrola secunda)
Groundsel (Senecio streptanthifolius)
False Solomon’s seal (Smilacina racemosa)
Alpine goldenrod ( Solidago multiradiata)
Western meadowrue ( Thalictrum occidentalis)
Sitka valerian ( Valeriana sitchensis)
False hellebore [Veratrum viride)
Blue violet (Viola adunca)
Round-leaved violet ( Viola orbiculata)
Goosefoot violet ( Viola purpurea)
APPENDIX F
BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT FOR FEDERALLY LISTED:
PLANT AND TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATE
SPECIES
FISH SPECIES
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix FI
BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT FOR FEDERALLY LISTED
SPECIES OF
PLANTS AND TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES
Prepared by: C.R. Wenger, Forest Wildlife Biologist
March 31, 1993
BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
for
THE PROPOSED
MOYER-SALT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
Salmon National Forest
Salmon, Idaho
March 31, 1993
Prepared by:
C. RICHARD WENGER
Forest Biologist
I. INTRODUCTION
As part of the Forest Plan (FLRMP) implementation process, the Cobalt Ranger District of the
Salmon National Forest is proposing to harvest the Moyer-Salt Timber Sale in the Moyer Creek
and Woodtick Creek drainages, major tributaries of Panther Creek (Figure 1-2). This proposed
project area is located approximately 8.5 miles south of the old townsite of Cobalt, Idaho. Included
within this area is a large portion of the Taylor Mountain Inventoried Roadless Area (No. 13902).
The most prevalent forested habitat types are Douglas-fir/pinegrass and Douglas-hr/Idaho fescue
on the lower elevations and subalpine fir/grouse whortleberry on the higher elevations. The latter
is represented by various serai stands ranging from pure lodgepole pine to subalpine fir. The
entire analysis area provides good to excellent summer habitat for elk and mule deer and the lower
elevations, dominated by sagebrush/bunchgrass communities offer good winter range, especially for
elk. Forested riparian areas are most commonly occupied by Engelmann spruce/red osier dogwood
and nonforested ones are in the willow/sedge series.
This Biological Assessment conforms with the legal requirements set forth under Section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act (19 U.S.C. 1536(c), 50 CFR 204.12(f) and 402.14(c) and FSM 2672.42).
II. CONSULTATION TO DATE
A Species List for this project was provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service on January 29, 1991,
(List #l-4-91-SP-204). There were no listed species on this list. This list was updated via telephone
on March 31, 1993, and the gray wolf which is currently classified as endangered was added.
III. CURRENT MANAGEMENT DIRECTION
The project area for this proposal is primarily within 3A-4A (anadromous fish - key big game winter
range), 3A-5B (anadromous fish-medium timber investment), and 3A-5A (anadromous fish-high
timber investment) management prescription areas as delineated in the current FLRMP. Wildlife
and fish management goals and objectives for this area are thus focused on anadromous fish species
habitat needs and on providing wildlife habitat quality and quantity commensurate with Idaho
Department of Fish and Game species management goals, particularly for big game, while providing
timber outpu ts.
No specific habitat management plans or species management guidelines currently exist for gray
wolves in this area. However, this area is within the Central Idaho Wolf Recovery Area as roughly
delineated in the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan (USFWS 1987).
IV. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT PROPOSAL
The Forest Service proposes to harvest timber, construct and reconstruct roads, and regenerate
new stands of trees in portions of the Moyer Creek, Sait Creek, Woodtick Creek, and Goodluck
Creek drainages, and Pete’s Gulch in the Cobalt Ranger District of the Salmon National Forest
(Figure 1-2, Location Map). The proposed Moyer Sait Timber Sale (formerly the Moyer Salt
and Salt Creek timber sales) was originally disclosed in the Notice of Intent in the July 6, 1990,
Federal Register. The proposed timber harvesting and road construction activities would harvest
about 747 acres in a maximum of 30 units and construct about 17.8 miles of road. Trees harvested
from these units would yield-' approximately 6.0 million board feet (mmbf) of timber. This sale
would be offered in 1993. The timing of timber harvesting and road building would be staggered
between two subdivisions to provide wildlife displacement opportunities.
V. EFFECTS OF PROPOSED ACTION
The gray wolf, an endangered species since 1973, commonly occurred on the Salmon National Forest
up until the 1940’s. Since that time, no verified sightings have been documented (i.e. hair samples,
photographs, or dead animals). However, observations/reports have been received from the Salmon
area since 1968. Many of these observations are unverified wolf sightings along the Continental
Divide. Among these sightings are three highly probable reports which were made near Leadore
about a decade ago. In 1980 and 1981, tracks of large canids were found in Cruikshank Creek by
a US Forest Service biologist and both observations are considered highly probable. One other
probable sighting of three animals was made in Hawley Creek in 1982. These sightings occurred
approximately 75 miles southeast of the Moyer-Salt analysis area.
Wolves are opportunistic predators that prey on large ungulates as well as small to mid-size mam-
mals. They hunt cooperatively and the complex social interactions of the wolf pack enable them
to successfully kill elk, moose and deer. However, most of the sightings made in the Lemhi valley
are of single animals suggesting that these wolves may be dispersing individuals who are traveling
through the area, perhaps searching for vacant suitable habitat or mates.
Repeated efforts to locate tracks, scats and howling wolves in the past three years has been unsuc-
cessful on the Salmon National Forest. (See Forest and District files of TE&S inventories.) Historic
(recent) observations of these canines indicate that wolves may inhabit the Forest periodically but
the lack of consistent or verified sightings and responses to howling surveys show that wolves most
likely are not residents of this Forest.
Wolf habitat quality is directly linked to low human activity (i.e. low road density and motorized
travel restrictions) and large ungulate density. The Moyer-Salt area is easily accessed by improved
and primitive roads and motorized travel is essentially unrestricted except for the administratively
closed Woodtick Road. Although prey populations, particularly elk, are currently adequate to
support pack activity over most of the Cobalt Ranger District, including this specific area which is
an important big game summering area, the whole area is so easily accessed and dissected by roads
and trails that successful recolonization of most of the District is doubtful. However, this area is
considered important to the overall recovery goals for this species.
A. Direct Effects
The road system that will be constructed to access the proposed timber harvest units will be
gated and administratively closed to motorized traffic. In addition the portion of road through
the mapped key elk summer range will have slash piled on the road surface to effectively prevent
human use by foot or horse. Consequently, human access and presence, after completion of sale
activities, should not be appreciably different (i.e. more) than current or presale. Therefore, the
only time when human presence in the area will be above current levels is during the active portion
of the sale. Since the primary cause of direct wolf mortality is human encounters, it follows that
the only time the potential for direct mortality will increase is during the active portion of the
sale. This increase should be insignificant because wolves are not known to frequent the allotment,
displacement of primary prey species (elk and mule deer) will occur during sale activities and
the timber operator and all workers will be made aware of the possible presence of wolves, their
identification and endangered status.
B . Indirect Effects
Any reduction in the quality of big game (primary prey) habitat could indirectly affect wolf use
or potential use of an area by decreasing prey availability. All proposed action alternatives, with
their mitigation measures and management requirements, are compatible with FLRMP wildlife
habitat management direction and objectives for management area prescriptions in this analysis
area. Consequently, post-sale elk and mule deer habitat will be of sufficient quality to help support
target populations for these species as stated in the current Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Five-Year Species Management Plans. Therefore no indirect effects on wolves or their habitat are
predicted.
VI. DETERMINATION
It is my determination that the actions proposed in the Moyer-Salt Timber Sale may affect but are
not likely to adversely affect the Endangered gray wolf, its habitat or its recovery potential for the
following reasons:
1. No critical habitat has been identified in this project area.
2. Wolves are not known or suspected to frequent this area.
3. Human encounters, the only potential direct effect on wolves, will be mitigated
via informing all persons involved in the timber sale operation of the possible
presence of wolves , their identification and endangered status.
VII. SIGNATURE
Wildlife Biologist
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix F2
BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT FOR FISHERIES
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Prepared by: Robert Rose, Fishery Biologist, Salmon National Forest
April, 1992
Reviewed by: Bruce Smith, Forest Fishery Biologist
Approved by: Dan Baird, Branch Chief,
Range, Recreation, Watershed, & Wildlife
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
Appendix F2
Introduction
This Biological Assessment (BA) addresses the potential impacts of the Moyer Salt Timber Sale on
listed and proposed Threatened and Endangered aquatic vertebrate (fish) species. The Biological
Assessment process is intended to conduct and document activities necessary to ensure proposed
management actions will not jeopardize the continued existence or cause adverse modification of
habitat for:
A. Species listed or proposed to be listed as Endangered (E) or Threatened (T) by the
USDI Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
B. Species listed or proposed to be listed as Endangered (E) or Threatened (T) by the
USDC National Marine Fisheries Service.
This BA was prepared by Robert Rose, Fishery Biologist, Salmon National Forest, in accordance with
direction provided in Section 7(c) of the Endangered Species Act and in Section 2672.42 of the Forest
Sen/ice Manual (FSM). The conclusions and recommendations in the BA were drawn from the
following data sources: documentation of sightings and suitable habitat during a site-specific T&E
field survey within the analysis area of the Moyer Salt Timber Sale; a literature review; and, contact
with professionals knowledgeable of species’ habitat requirements. Findings and conclusions were
reviewed by Bruce Smith, Forest Fishery Biologist, and Dan Baird, Branch Chief; Range, Recreation,
Watershed and Wildlife Branch.
Proposed Action
As part of the Forest Plan implementation process, the Cobalt Ranger District of the Salmon National
Forest is proposing the Moyer Salt Timber Sale within the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area (No.
13-902) (See Moyer Salt Timber Sale EIS, Figure 1). Under the proposed action and its alternatives,
the Forest Service proposes to construct between 15.7 and 17.8 miles of road, and harvest between
3.75 and 6.90 mmbf of timber on 440 to 847 acres within the upper Woodtick Creek watershed and
the upper Salt and ’Perm' Creek drainages of the Moyer Creek watershed. These proposed actions
are designed to help achieve the silvicultural goals and objectives of the 1 988 Salmon National Forest
Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) (USDA Forest Service, 1988) to help satisfy the
short-term demand for timber while providing for community stability and maintenance of a continu-
ous supply of timber for the future.
Threatened and Endangered Species
The National Marine Fisheries Sen/ice (NMFS) has recently listed the Snake River Basin sockeye
(Oncorhynchus nerka) as an ’Endangered* species (Federal Register, November 20, 1991), and the
Snake River Basin spring/summer Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as a Threatened’ species
(Federal Register, April 22, 1992) under provisions of the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973.
In accordance with Section 7(c) of the Endangered Species Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) was notified of the proposed action (Telephone conference of Oct 8, 1991 and letter of April
6, 1992 to Karen Holtz, National Marine Fisheries Service) and asked to provide the Forest with a
determination of the presence or absence of proposed Threatened and/or Endangered anadromous
fish species within a designated project analysis area encompassing the Moyer and Woodtick Creek
drainages. At this time, the National Marine Fisheries Service has not identified critical recovery
habitat for either Snake River sockeye or Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon. This Biological
Assessment, therefore, was prepared based upon Chinook salmon habitat suitablity information
Moyer Saft Timber Sale Final E1S
Appendix F2
supplied by the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC), Salmon National Forest fisheries file
information, and general documentation of historic Chinook salmon utilization of spawning and
rearing habitats within the Panther Creek drainage.
While the Panther Creek drainage system was historically a major producer of spring Chinook salmon
and summer steelhead (Reiser, 1986), utilization of its mainstem and tributary waters by these fish
began a decline in the 1 940s, and has been largely precluded since the 1 960s by chemical pollution
of mid and lower mainstem Panther Creek migration corridors attributable to operations of the
Blackbird Mine (Reiser, 1986; Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 1965). Despite these mainstem
water quality problems, however, Panther Creek and its historically utilized tributaries, including
Moyer Creek, continue to be regarded as potentially viable producers of spring/summer Chinook
salmon (Northwest Power Planning Council, 1988). The Salmon National Forest Land and Resource
Management Plan (FLRMP) calls for continued management directed toward these anadromous
stocks in anticipation of correction of mine drainage problems and recovery of mainstem water quality
(USDA Forest Service, 1988). Idaho Department of Fish and Game management prescriptions for the
two streams calls for a preservation management strategy for anadromous fish stocks, which main-
tains a harvest closure and may supplement natural recruitment with possible stockings of fry or
fingerlings (Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 1991). The Northwest Power Planning Council
Salmon River Sub-Basin Plan also includes a recovery program for the Panther Creek drainage
(Northwest Power Planning Council, 1990).
Sockeye Salmon utilize the waters of the mainstem Salmon River as a migration corridor to traditional
spawning areas within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, but are not known to spawn in streams
or lakes of the Salmon National Forest (Simpson and Wallace, 1982).
Occupied and Unoccupied Critical or Proposed Critical Habitat
The National Marine Fisheries Service has not, at this time, designated any critical or proposed critical
habitat for recovery of Chinook salmon. Salmon National Forest management direction for Panther
Creek and its major tributaries, however, reflects recognition of the importance of the drainage as a
major potential producer of both Chinook salmon and steelhead, as evidenced by its inclusion within
the 3A-5A,' 3A-5B, and 3A-5C management areas (USDA Forest Service, 1988). Moyer Creek has
been identified as the single most important historic Chinook salmon spawning tributary of the
Panther Creek drainage system (Reiser, 1986). Northwest Power Planning Council presence/
absence files for the Panther Creek sub-basin indicate a potential production of 36,730 Chinook
salmon smolts annually within the Moyer Creek drainage (Northwest Power Planning Council, 1 988).
The NPPC files do not indictate any potential for Chinook salmon production within the Woodtick
Creek drainage, although the habitat capability for potential production of steelhead is acknowl-
edged. Field review of the Woodtick Creek by Forest fisheries personnel indicates that the NPPC
assessment of the stream reflects the steeper stream gradient, as well as the questionable access
by Chinook salmon under summer flow conditions. A minor amount of th
Potential Effects on Species or Habitat
Potential effects of timber harvest activities on fisheries resources are primarily related to impacts on
stream substrates, fish migration opportunities, riparian area integrity, and streamflow magnitude and
timing. Forest transportation systems which are poorly designed or lacking in effective mitigation
measures can have significant effects on fish and their habitats as a result of direct deposition of
sediment into stream channels (Yee and Roelofs, 1980). Incremental sediment contribution per unit
area as a result of poor road design can potentially exceed that from all other land management
activities, including log skidding and yarding (Yee and Roelofs, 1980). Excess sediment production
can adversely affect fish habitat by reducing substrate permeability (Wicket, 1958; Mcneil and Ahnell,
1964), impeding or preventing fry emergence (Koski, 1966; Bjornn, 1969), and reducing rearing and
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix F2
overwintering habitat (Phillips, 1970). Increased sedimentation of stream substrates are also associ-
ated with decreased diversity of cover for bottom fauna (Sprules, 1947; Kimble and Wesche, 1975).
Massive increases in sediment production may exceed the stream’s ability to transport the load that
has been introduced (Leopold, 1964).
Improperly designed road culverts associated with stream crossings have the potential to create
barriers to fish migration, usually because of excessive outfall heights or water velocities, insufficient
water depths, lack of resting pools, or combinations of these factors (Evans and Johnson, 1 974; Yee
and Roelofs, 1980).
Riparian vegetation serves an important role in stabilizing banks, providing summer stream shading
and winter thermal cover, contributing organic matter and terrestrial insects to the stream, and
serving as a buffer against sediment transport into stream channels (Meehan et al, 1 977; Yee and
Roelofs, 1 980). Improper timber harvest techniques which result in the removal of riparian vegetation
or streamside shade trees have the potential to increase summer water temperatures, decrease
winter water temperatures, and adversely affect egg incubation (Greene, 1950; Chapman, 1962).
Removal of overhanging vegetative cover can result in increased predation and reduction of pre-
ferred juvenile salmonid microhabitats (Chapman, 1966; Allen, 1969), and accelerated formation of
anchor ice (Bruce Smith, personal communication).
Timber harvest encompassing more than 15 to 20 percent of a drainage’s total basin area has been
shown to be capable of producing modifications to peak runoff flow timing and magnitude (Troendle
and Leaf, 1982, as cited by Troendle, 1985). Extensive timber harvest activity within a drainage has
the potential to increase water yields and peak flows to a point that channel erosion occurs (Rosgen,
1978).
Cumulative Effects
Previous timber management activities within the Moyer-Salt Timber Sale analysis area include the
1988 Tick Creek Timber Sale, which harvested 23.0 percent of the Little Woodtick Creek drainage.
This level of of harvest has been shown to produce significant increases in water yield within a
drainage (Troendle and Leaf, 1982, as cited by Troendle, 1985), and was believed to be the factor
responsible for an apparent increase in peak runoff flow within the Little Woodtick Creek drainage
during the 1991 water year (Elizabeth Rieffenberger, personal communication). Within the larger
Woodtick Creek drainage, the Tick Creek Sale corresponded to a 5.2 percent harvest of the total
drainage basin. The increased magnitude of peak flow observed within the Little Woodtick Creek
drainage was not believed to have produced any deleterious impacts to mainstem Woodtick Creek
(Elizabeth Rieffenberger, personal communication) due to variation in the timing of peak runoff
between the two streams. Additional harvest operations within the Woodtick Creek drainage, if
conducted at an intensity comparable to that of the Tick Creek Timber Sale, however, would have
the potential to adveresly affect the magnitude and timing of runoff flows in mainstem Woodtick Creek.
Determination
Contingent upon implementation of Salmon National Forest soil and water Best Management Prac-
tices (BMPs) (Moyer Salt Timber Sale EIS, Appendix A) and proposed site-specific soil, water and
fisheries mitigation measures (Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS, Chapter II, Mitigation Measures,
Chapter 2), implementation of the proposed road construction and timber harvest activities is not
likely to adversely affect identified T&E fish species within the Moyer Creek or Woodtick Creek
drainages. Rationale for this determination follows.
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
Appendix F2
Rationale for Determination
Direct and Indirect Effects
In making a determination of the potential effects of road construction and timber harvest on TES fish
species, primary considerations are sedimentation of stream substrates, degradation of riparian area
integrity, impairment of migration opportunities, and modification of annual streamflow patterns.
Salmon National Forest soil and water Best Management Practices (BMPs) and site-specific soil,
water, and fisheries mitigation measures identified in Chapter II of the Moyer-Salt Timber Sale Draft
E1S are designed to address and minimize potential sediment, migration, and riparian impacts to
fisheries resources associated with road construction and timber harvest activities. Implementation
of these measures will ensure that 1) sediment generated as a result of road construction or timber
harvest is both minimized and intercepted before entering stream channels, 2) riparian integrity is
maintained to ensure adequate shading of stream channels and retention of protective overhead
cover from predators, 3) transportation route crossings of streams containing fisheries resources are
designed to accommodate species-specific migration needs, and 4) basin harvest intensity is con-
strained to levels which do not produce significant modification of peak streamflow intensities and/or
timing.
Road construction and timber harvest activities proposed for this timber sale will be concentrated to
a large extent on mid or upper slopes of the Woodtick, Sait and ■Perm* Creek drainages. Only six of
32 proposed cutting units will be located at distances within 200 feet of active stream channels. At
these sites, filter strip widths consistent with Forest Plan direction will be employed to intercept
sediment before reaching stream channels. Additionally, these buffers will be maintained in an uncut
status to retain existing ground cover within riparian areas, ensure adequate shading of active stream
channels, maintain streambank stability, and provide for future recruitment of large organic debris.
Under the various proposed alternatives, stream crossings will be required on Woodtick, Goodluck,
Perm, and Salt Creek. At all stream crossings where fish are known or suspected to occur, design
criteria will ensure yearround fish passage opportunities. Installation activities will be timed to precede
the bull trout spawning period, and will be consistent with Forest guidelines (see “Performance
Criteria to be Observed to Protect Stream Channels’, Appendix C) to ensure minimal water quality
and stream substrate impacts below construction sites. Additionally, an existing 60 inch culvert on
Woodtick Creek (Section 32 of Township 20 N, Range 19 E) which currently presents a barrier to
migration of both resident and anadromous fish is to be repaired or replaced under a variety of
funding mechanisms dependent upon the selected action alternative. Correction of this barrier will
reopen access to previously unreachable steelhead spawning habitat within the upper reaches of
Woodtick Creek. Localized construction-related impacts to stream substrates at this site are expected
to be ameliorated within the time frame of natural or enhanced recovery of mainstem Panther Creek
water quality.
Under the most timber-intensive proposed harvest alternative, total basin harvest would be limited
to 3.0 percent of the Woodtick Creek drainage, 14.3 percent of the Salt Creek drainage, and 14.2
percent of the “Perm' Creek drainage. This level of basin disturbance would be substantially below
the 15 to 20 percent regarded as capable of producing significantly increased water yield (Troendle
and Leaf, 1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982) in the Woodtick Creek drainage, and would approach
but not reach these levels in the previously undisturbed Salt and “Perm* Creek drainages of the Moyer
Creek system. Proposed harvest prescriptions under other alternatives identified within the Moyer-
Salt Draft EIS would impact substantially less of the Salt and “Perm* Creek drainage basins.
Cumulative Effects
Foreseeable nearterm activities within the analysis area are limited to timber stand improvement
operations within shelterwood cutting units, post and pole sales, and public firewood salvage. No
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EiS
Appendix F2
Troendle, C. A. 1982.
The Effects of Small Clearcuts on Water Yield from the Deadhorse Watershed;
Fraser, Colorado, p 75-83. In: Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting of
the Western Snow Conference (Reno, Nev., April 19-23, 1982) 225 p.
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo.
USDA Forest Service. 1988.
Forest Land and Resource Management Plan for the Salmon National Forest,
and EIS.
APPENDIX G
BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION FOR SENSITIVE SPECIES:
PLANTS AND TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES
FISH SPECIES
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G1
APPENDIX G1
BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION FOR SENSITIVE SPECIES OF
PLANTS AND TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES
Prepared for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Cobalt Ranger District
Salmon National Forest
Prepared by : C.R. Wenger, Forest Wildlife Biologist
March 9, 1992
Moyer Sait Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G1
I. INTRODUCTION
As part of the Forest Plan implementation process, the Cobalt Ranger District of the Salmon National
Forest is proposing to harvest the Moyer Salt and Salt Creek timber sale in the Taylor Mountain
Inventoried Roadless Area No. 13902. The analysis area for this sale includes portions of the Moyer
Creek and Woodtick Creek drainages, both of which are tributaries to Panther Creek.
In accordance with Section 7(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, the US Fish
and Wildlife Service (FWS) was notified of this proposed action and determined that no listed or
proposed threatened or endangered species are known present in the Moyer Salt analysis area.
Consequently, these species will not be addressed further.
Region 4, the Intermountain Region of the USDA Forest Service, has compiled a list of 30 vertebrate
"sensitive" species. This list contains only species for which population viability is a concern, as
evidenced by significant current or predicted downward trends in population or habitat capability. Of
these species, only one, the Northern goshawk (Acc/p/fer gentilis) has been observed and thus is
known to occur in this analysis area. However, based upon habitat preferences, the following species
may also occur: North American lynx (Felis lynx canadensis), wolverine ( Gulo gulo), Western big-
eared bat ( Plecotus townsendii), boreal owl (flegolius funereus), Northern three-toed woodpecker
( Picoides tridactylus), great gray owl (Strix nebulosa), and spotted frog (Rana pretiosa). In addition,
this region has also compiled a Sensitive Plant Species List for each Forest. Of the 12 species
currently on the Salmon National Forest’s list, only Penstemon lemhiensis may possibly occur on this
analysis area.
The Conservation Data Center, a branch of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, has also
prepared a list of vertebrate "Species of Special Concern." Examination of this list did not reveal any
additional species that may occur in this analysis area.
Because there are no federally listed terrestrial vertebrate threatened or endangered species in the
Moyer Salt Timber Sale analysis area, the objective of this Biological Evaluation is to predict the
probable effects, positive, negative or neutral, of the Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale proposal
on the previously listed sensitive species that may occur here. Detailed descriptions of the proposed
action and the alternatives are contained in the body of this Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
and will not be repeated here.
IS. VERTEBRATE SENSITIVE SPECIES
A. North American Lynx
The lynx, a close relative of the bobcat, is a common wild felid in the boreal forests of Canada, Alaska
and the northern Rocky Mountains as far south as southern Colorado and northern New Mexico
(Quinn and Parker, 1 987). Lynx are extremely well adapted to travel in deep snow (Koehler and Brittell,
1 990). This is vital to the pursuit of snowshoe hare, their primary prey species. Lynx predation on large
mammals is very uncommon. Mean snow accumulation on winter ranges is apparently the most
important factor that creates niche separation between lynx and bobcats.
Because lynx depend very heavily upon snowshoe hare as their principal food source, good hare
habitat is also considered good lynx habitat. In the analysis area, snowshoe hare and thus lynx are
most commonly found in the spruce/subalpine fir forests where shrubby riparian zones and/or
openings occur. These areas provide both good conifer cover and browse for hares. Consequently,
G1 -2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G1
any irregular pattern of logging and/or fire in high elevation forests usually provide prime hare and
lynx habitat. Therefore timber harvest activity as proposed in any of the Moyer Salt Timber Sale action
alternatives spelld actually have a positive effect on lynx (and snowshoe hare) populations.
B. Wolverine
The wolverine is the largest terrestrial member of the mustelid family. Worldwide, this species has a
vast circumboreal distribution. In North America wolverines commonly occur throughout Alaska and
northwest Canada. Occupied range along the Rocky Mountains south into the counterminous U.S.
is currently uncertain but is known to include Montana, Idaho and the northwest corner of Wyoming.
They are confined to montane boreal regions where their large feet serve well for travel over deep
snow, digging for prey and climbing (Hash 1987). Wolverines usually occupy backcountry or wilder-
ness areas with little or no human habitation. Densities are low in good habitat and are extremely low
(i.e. one wolverine in 50 to 75 square miles) in the less suitable habitats such as the southern limits
of their range.
Wolverines are best described as scavenging predators. However, they are entirely opportunistic
feeders that utilize prey species such as rodents and marmots in addition to carrion and various fruits,
etc., as available. The large home range size, low population density and nonselective feeding nature
of this species makes it fairly unsusceptible to site specific disturbances such as timber harvest
activities. This is especially true since primary wolverine habitat occurs at elevations above most
commercial forest sites on this Forest and in this analysis area. Also, since new roads will be closed
after the proposed sales, human presence should not be significantly different from the current
situation. For these reason, this proposed action is not expected to affect possible wolverine pres-
ence and/or habitat.
C. Northern Three-toed Woodpecker
The northern three-toed woodpecker is relatively common throughout the montane, boreal conifer-
ous forest, particularly in the spruce-fir and limber pine-whitebark pine zones (Larrison, 1981).
Alternatives under this proposal are primarily confined to elevations below the preferred habitats of
this species. Consequently, no significant impacts upon this species would be predicted.
D. Great Gray Owl
Great gray owls, like boreal owls, are found in the spruce-fir life zones of the boreal montane
coniferous forests. However, this species utilizes lodgepole pine habitat types as well as subalpine
fir types. In addition, two major differences include the use of open forests and openings for preferred
feeding sites and a preference for platform instead of cavity nest sites (De Graff et al 1991). These
factors make this species not susceptible to a proposal such as this; and, in fact, the harvest openings
will contribute to the preferred feeding sites until obscured by regeneration.
E. Western Big-eared Bat
The entire Salmon National Forest and most of the western United States is within the range of the
western or Townsend’s big-eared bat. However, very little is known about the suitability of or selection
for forested habitats. Caves, abandoned mine tunnels and deserted buildings are known to be used
by nursery colonies and for hibernaculum sites (Larrison and Johnson, 1981). None of these factors
are known to exist within this analysis area. Therefore none of the proposed action alternatives are
expected to have any direct or indirect effects on this species.
G1 -3
Moyer SaK Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G1
F. Boreal Owl
Hayward (1 989) reported that all forested sites within the spruce-fir life zone are potential boreal owl
habitat. He found owls nesting most frequently in mature or older stands located within subalpine fir
habitat types but did not find lodgepole pine cover types used for nesting in Idaho. Nesting and
calling sites were never located in dense even-age or young forest stands but were closely correlated
with relatively high densities of trees greater than 15 inches dbh, open understories and multi-layered
canopies. Boreal owls are secondary cavity nesters and most commonly utilize cavities that were
created by pileated woodpeckers and flickers.
In this analysis area, none of Area I (i.e. the lower elevation portion) would constitute boreal owl
habitat. The remaining 1 1 ,000 acres in Area II would only include 454 acres of harvest units. Of this
454 acres, or 4 percent of the area that would be harvested, less than 1 50 acres or 1 .4 percent would
be within cover types that may provide suitable nesting habitat for boreal owls. Since boreal owls
actually utilize edges for feeding and since this proposal only affects a small percentage of the total
area, any effects precipitated by an action alternative would have an insignificant impact upon boreal
owl habitat suitability.
G. Northern Goshawk
The Northern goshawk breeds from western and central Alaska and northern Yukon to Labrador and
Newfoundland, south to central California, southern New Mexico, western South Dakota, northern
Minnesota and Connecticut and in the northern Appalachian Mountains (De Graaf et al. 1991).
Northern goshawks require dense mature to old growth conifer, mixed conifer/aspen or aspen stands
for nesting in the Rocky Mountain region (Shuster 1 980). Nests are commonly located at least 30 feet
above the ground in forested areas with a closed canopy and little or no understory, and are often
adjacent to open water. Nests are often used for several seasons (Call, 1978).
Goshawks are very efficient predators and take a wide variety of small mammal and bird prey species
from the air, vegetation and/or ground. They hunt in dense forested areas, semi-forested areas,
natural openings and over water, and utilize prey ranging from ducks to showshoe hares. Conse-
quently, available prey base is seldom a limiting factor in Northern goshawk distribution and abun-
dance.
Suitable nesting habitat in the form of mature to overmature conifer or mixed conifer/aspen stands,
on the other hand, are apparently the most common limiting factor on this species. Any removal of
mature conifer stands, particularly Douglas-fir, with an average dbh of 8 inches or greater, canopy
closure of 40 percent or greater and at least 25 acres in size erodes the available nesting habitat for
Northern goshawks.
For Analysis Area I, approximately 1,750 acres of this preferred habitat is currently present. The
various action alternatives in this proposal would remove from 1 3 to 1 8 percent of this habitat. This
could possibly affect one or more stands used as nest sites. However, preferred habitat would still
be available throughout the area and actual abundance and/or distribution should not be affected.
Analysis Area II contains approximately 3,550 acres of old growth conifer habitat. However, this area
is primarily covered by lodgepole pine and subalpine fir, and thus is much less preferred goshawk
nesting habitat. From 8 to 15 percent of this habitat would be removed by the various action
alternatives in this area. These alternatives should therefore not adversely affect goshawk distribution
or abundance. Openings created in this densely forested area should increase diversity and abun-
dance of prey species.
G1 -4
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G1
These two areas have not sustained previous timber harvest activities. Consequently, goshawk
nesting habitat is currently available in pristine or natural quantity. The one nest site known to be
present, in Analysis Area I, will not be disturbed by any of the currently proposed action alternatives.
If other nest sites are located before or during the proposed sale activities appropriate mitigation
measures will be implemented as per Forest Plan direction.
H. Spotted Frog
The spotted frog is a highly aquatic species found in the vicinity of cold permanent water, especially
streams and springs (Stebbins, 1966). This species frequents both woods and meadows but does
not seem to occur in warm or stagnant water. Spotted frogs migrate to upland areas in May and return
to permanent water in July. Not much is known about terrestrial habitat needs of this species.
This proposal is not expected to have any effect upon spotted frogs because the only crossing on
the only stream that may harbor them (Woodtick Creek) will be bottomless. In addition, there are no
proposed harvest units closer than approximately 0.3 mile to this stream and most are further than
0.5 mile from it.
II. SENSITIVE PLANTS
The current Forest Service Region 4 Sensitive Plant Species list for the Salmon National Forest
contains 1 2 species. Of these 1 2 species, only Lemhi beardtongue (Penstemon lemhiensis) may
occur within the analysis area. This species is currently a Category 2 Candidate Species for Federal
listing and is listed as an Idaho Threatened Species by the Conservation Center. This plant occurs
in open sagebrush grasslands and open ponderosa pine forests in gravelly, rocky soils up to
approximately 8,000 ft in elevation.
Recent field surveys indicate that this species is quite abundant on specific sites in this Forest and
it has been located on all four Ranger Districts. To date, it has been located in the Panther Creek
drainage but not within this analysis area. However, based upon other sites, it very likely occurs on
the lower elevations (Area 1 , as defined in CHapter 3 of this document) of this analysis area, below
most of the proposed harvest activities.
This species is an early successional species that readily colonizes disturbed sites such as burned
areas and road cut and fill slopes. For this reason, this proposed action is not expected to adversely
affect this species and, if it is present but not detected, it would likely benefit from the proposed
activities.
G1 - 5
Moyer Salt Timber Sai© Final ESS
Appendix G1
Bibliography
Cal!, M.W., 1978, Nesting habitats and surveying techniques for common western raptors. U.S.
Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management Technical Note TN-316.
DeGraaf, R. M., V. E. Scott, R. H. Hamre, L. Ernst and S. H. Anderson. 1991. Forestand Rangeland
Birds of the United States: Natural History and Habitat Use. USDA Forest Service. Ag. Handbook 688.
Hash, H. S. 1987. "Wolverine." In Wild Furbearer Management and Conservation in North America.
eds., M. Novak, J.A. Baker, M.E. Qbbard and B. Malloch, pp. 574-585. Ashton-Potter Limited: Con-
cord, Ontario. 1 1 50 pp.
Hayward, G. D. 1 989. Habitat Use and Population Biology of Boreal Owls in the Northern Rocky
Mountains, USA. University of Idaho: Moscow. (Ph.D. dissertation.)
Koehler, G. M. and J. D. Brittell. 1990. “Managing Spruce-Fir Habitat for Lynx and Snowshoe Hares."
J. of Forestry. 88: 10-14.
Larrison, E. J. and D. R. Johnson. 1981. Mammals of Idaho. University Press of Idaho. 166 pp.
Larrison, E. J. 1981. Birds of the Pacific Northwest. University Press of Idaho. 337 pp.
Quinn, N. W. S., and G. Parker. 1 987. "Lynx." In Wild Furbearer Management and Conservation in North
America, eds., M. Novak, et. al., pp. 683-694. Ashton-Potter Limited: Concord, Ontario. 1150 pp.
Shuster, W.C. 1 983. Northern goshawk nest site requirements in the Colorado Rockies. Western Birds
11:89-96.
Stebbins, R. C. 1966. A Field Guide to Western Amphibians and Reptiles. Houghton Mifflin Co.:
Boston.
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
APPENDIX G2
BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION FOR SENSITIVE FISH SPECIES
Prepared for the Moyer Salt Timber Sal®
Cobalt Ranger District
Salmon National Forest
Prepared by: Robert W. Rose, Fisheries Biologist
February 12, 1993
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
introduction
This Biological Evaluation (BE) addresses the potential impacts of the proposed Moyer Salt Timber
Sale, located within the Cobalt Ranger District of the Salmon National Forest, on Sensitive fish
species. The Biological Evaluation process is intended to conduct and document activities necessary
to ensure proposed management actions will not jeopardize the continued existence or cause
adverse modification of habitat for species listed as Sensitive by the USDA Forest Service Intermoun-
tain Region (R4 USFS). Sensitive fish species occurring within the administrative boundaries of the
Salmon National Forest include steelhead trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss), westslope cutthroat trout
{Oncoryhnchus ciarki var. lewisi), and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus).
This BE was prepared by Robert Rose, Fishery Biologist, Salmon National Forest, in accordance with
direction provided in Section 2672.42 of the Forest Service Manual (FSM), using documentation of
sightings and suitable habitat during a site-specific field survey within the analysis area of the Moyer
Salt Timber Sale, a literature review, and contact with professionals knowledgeable of species’ habitat
requirements. Findings and conclusions were reviewed by Bruce Smith, Forest Fishery Biologist, Dan
Baird, Branch Chief; Range, Recreation, Watershed and Wildlife Branch, and John Burns, Forest
Supervisor.
Consultation to Date
No formal or informal consultation with either the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) or the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is required for Biological Evaluations of effects to sensitive species.
These agencies have been appraised of the proposed Moyer Salt timber sale due to its potential
effects to federally endangered Snake River sockeye salmon and federally endangered Snake River
spring/summer Chinook salmon, however. As separate Biological Assessment has been prepared to
address effects to these species.
Current Management Direction
Anadromous Fisheries
The Salmon National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (FLRMP)(USDA Forest Service,
1988) general objectives for anadromous Management Indicator Species (MIS) fish, including steel-
head, are to rebuild adult populations to the 1960 level (FLRMP 11-29). General Direction Statements
specified in the FLRMP for MIS species are actions, measures, or treatments mandated for inclusion
as integral components of management activities, or the environmental conditions expected to exist
after such Genera! Direction actions are implemented (FLRMP IV-5). General Direction Statements for
Salmon National Forest anadromous MIS species mandate maintenance of stream habitats with
adequate sediment-free spawning gravels, channels free of migration blocks, and ample instream
flow and streamside cover (FLRMP IV-19). To meet Desired Future Conditions (DFC’s) identified in
the FLRMP for MIS fish species, aquatic habitats will be managed at a level sufficient to meet State
water quality goals and maintain habitat capability to ensure a 68 percent fry survival rate for
anadromous species (FLRMP IV-88).
A Habitat Management Action Plan for anadromous fish species occurring on the Salmon National
Forest was developed in 1 987. Forest habitats for anadromous fish species are additionally managed
in accordance with other planning documents, including the USDA Forest Service Western Anadro-
mous Fish Habitat Program Plan, 1986-1990 (1986), the Columbia River Fish Management Plan
(1988), the Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead Production Plan for the Salmon River Sub-Basin
(1990), the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Fisheries Management Plan, 1991-1995 (1991), the
Columbia River Basin Fish Habitat Management Policy Implementation Guide (1 991), and the Salmon
G2 -2
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
National Forest Columbia River Basin Fish Habitat Management Policy Implementation Guide Imple-
mentation Plan of 1 991 . No Regional conservation strategy has as yet been developed for steelhead,
however.
Resident Fisheries
General Direction Statements for Salmon National Forest resident MIS species mandate maintenance
of cool, clean sediment-free stream and lake habitats, with ample instream flow and and streamside
cover (FLRMP IV-1 9). To meet Desired Future Conditions (DFC’s) identified in the FLRMP for resident
MIS fish species, aquatic habitats will be managed at a level sufficient to meet State water quality
goals and maintain habitat capability to ensure a 60 percent juvenile fry survival rate (FLRMP IV-88).
A Habitat Management Action Plan for resident fish species occurring on the Salmon National Forest
was developed in 1 987. Forest habitats for resident fish are additionally managed in accordance with
(1990), the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Fisheries Management Plan, 1991-1995 (1991). No
Regional conservation strategy has as yet been developed for either westslope cutthroat trout or bull
trout.
Proposed Action
As part of the Forest Plan implementation process, the Cobalt Ranger District of the Salmon National
Forest is proposing the Moyer Salt and Salt Creek Timber Sale (hereafter referred to as the Moyer
Salt Timber Sale) within the T aylor Mountain Roadless Area (No. 1 3-902) (See Moyer Salt Timber Sale
EIS, Figure 1). Within an array of six action alternatives, the Forest proposes to construct between
15.7 and 17.8 miles of road, and harvest between 3.75 and 6.90 mmbf of timber on 440 to 847 acres
within the upper Woodtick Creek watershed and the upper Salt and "Perm* Creek drainages of the
Moyer Creek watershed (See Moyer Salt Timber Sale EIS). These proposed actions are designed to
help achieve the silvicultural goals and objectives of the 1 988 Salmon National Forest Land and
Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan)(USDA Forest Service, 1988) to help satisfy the short-term
demand for timber while providing for community stability and maintenance of a continuous supply
of timber for the future. As required under the National Environmental Policy Act,, a No Action
alternative is additionally included within the array of proposed alternatives.
Existing Environment
Affected Streams
The analysis area encompasses portions of the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek watersheds. The
32.9 square mile Moyer Creek basin and 16.0 square mile Woodtick Creek basin lie within the 529
square mile Panther Creek drainage system, a major tributary of the mainstem Salmon River. Within
the Woodtick Creek drainage system, proposed activities have the potential to impact mainstem
Woodtick Creek and the lower reach of Goodluck Creek. Both streams are perennial and possess
sufficient flow volume and aquatic habitat capability to support substantial fisheries resources. The
analysis area also encompasses an unnamed, largely intermittent tributary stream which enters
Woodtick Creek approximately 1.7 miles downstream of the mouth of Goodluck Creek (Township 19
N, Range 19 E, Section 3) (Figure 2-1). Within the Moyer Creek drainage, the analysis area encom-
passes Salt Creek and an unnamed perennial stream locally known as 'Perm’ Creek, which joins
Moyer Creek in Township 19 N, Range 18 E, Section 24. Salt Creek is of sufficient size in its lower
reaches to provide supplemental spawning and/or rearing habitat to fisheries resources in the Moyer
Creek drainage and may additionally support a minor resident population through its mid reaches.
The smaller 'Perm' Creek appears to provide only marginal spawning or rearing capabilities in its
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
Appendix G2
lowermost reach. Specific alternatives also encompass portions of the Pete’s Gulch drainage, which
is not believed to support fish life.
Affected Sensitive Species
Listed R4 sensitive aquatic species known to occur within the Panther Creek system include steel-
head ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ), westslope cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarki var. lewisi), and bull
trout (Salvelinus confluentus). Current information from Salmon National Forest aquatic habitat and
resource files, however, indicate that bull trout are the only R4 sensitive fish species currently utilizing
the Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek portions of this system.
Anadromous Fisheries
The Panther Creek drainage system was historically a major producer of both summer steelhead and
spring/summer Chinook salmon (Reiser, 1986). Utilization of Panther Creek and its tributaries by
anadromous salmonids began to decline in the 1 940s, however, and has been severely limited since
the 1 960s by chemical pollution of mid and lower mainstem waters that is attributable to operation
of the Blackbird Mine (Reiser, 1986, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 1965). Despite these
mainstem water quality problems, Panther Creek and its historically utilized tributaries, including
Moyer and Woodtick Creeks, continue to be regarded as potentially viable producers of anadromous
fish (Northwest Power Planning Council, 1991). The Forest Plan calls for continued management
directed toward anadromous stocks in anticipation of correction of mine drainage probfems and
recovery of mainstem water quality (USDA Forest Service, 1 988). Idaho Department of Fish and Game
management prescriptions for the two streams calls for a preservation management strategy for
anadromous fish stocks, which maintains a harvest closure and may supplement natural recruitment
with possible stockings of fry or fingerlings (Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 1991).
In terms of potential production capability, the Moyer Creek drainage has been identified as the most
important steelhead spawning tributary of the Panther Creek drainage system, with production
capability estimated at 7,300 srnoits annually. Annual steelhead production capability within the
Woodtick Creek system has been estimated at 1 ,300 smolts (Northwest Power Planning Council,
1991).
Resident Fisheries
The mainstem reaches of Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek both support well-established popula-
tions of resident salmonids. Bull trout are known to be present in both streams, along with resident
populations of rainbow trout (Buram et al, 1990). Mountain whitefish additionally utilize mainstem
habitats within Moyer Creek (Burum et al, 1990, amended). Although westslope cutthroat trout are
infrequently caught in the mainstem reaches of Panther Creek above the mouth of Moyer Creek
(Tambe, 1989, personal communication), no evidence of direct utilization of either Moyer Creek or
Woodtick Creek by this species can be found.
Resident trout production capabilities of Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek are each estimated at 40
pounds of fish per surface acre (May, 1 985). Mainstem Moyer Creek, with an existing road paralleling
approximately half its length, receives significant fishing pressure during the summer months. Due
to closure of Forest Service Road 1 07, angling opportunities in Woodtick Creek are accessed only
by foot or horseback from Panther Creek via the Woodtick T rail, which diverges from the stream below
the analysis area.
Woodtick Creek Fish Habitat
Within the lower portion of the analysis area (Township 1 9 N, Range 1 9 E, Section 4), Woodtick Creek
is a moderate gradient B type channel (Rosgen, 1985) with an average width slightly greater than 12
G2 -4
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
feet. The stream has a mean annual discharge of approximately nine cubic feet per second (cfs), an
estimated peak discharge of 80 cfs, and mean monthly flows ranging between approximately three
and 36 cfs, all as measured near the streams confluence with Panther Creek (Rose, 1 988). The stream
exhibits a diverse variety of microhabitats produced largely as a result of an abundance of large
woody debris within the channel. Lateral scour pools and dammed pools with water depths of up to
three feet are common and provide abundant adult rearing habitat. Numerous shallow edgewater
areas and backwater pools contribute to provide dispersed rearing habitat for juvenile life stages.
Stream substrates in this area are dominated by angular quartzite rubble, with smaller gravel accumu-
lations behind obstructions providing small pockets of spawning habitat. Gravels that are relatively
free of fine-grained sediment reflect the largely undisturbed nature of this portion of the drainage.
Sediment core sampling conducted during the 1 992 field season revealed a mean of 1 5.0 percent
fines-by-depth at likely steelhead spawning sites. This level of substrate fines is among the lowest
value recorded for Salmon National Forest streams, falling well below Forest Plan standards and
guidelines of less than 20.0 percent fines for anadromous fish spawning habitat and less than 28.7
percent for resident fish spawning habitat (FLRMP 11-21 , 11-23). This stream is one of few on the Salmon
National Forest whose substrate quality exceeds maximum biotic potential for resident fisheries
production, identified in the FLRMP as those streams displaying substrate fines-by-depth of less than
approximately 18.5 percent (FLRMP 11-23).
Despite a low bank rock content, excellent streambank stability is afforded by a well-established
carpet of mosses extending to the water’s edge. Streambanks show no evidence of past ungulate
damage. In this reach, tall Englemann spruce within the valley bottom provide over 40 percent midday
stream shading and up to 75 percent morning and afternoon shading. Minor amounts of supplemen-
tal shade are provided by understory vegetation.
An existing 60-inch culvert on Road #107 in the lower portion of the analysis area (Township 20 N,
Range 1 9 E, Section 32) currently poses a barrier to upstream anadromous and resident fish passage
under high water conditions.
Within Township 19 N, Range 19 E, Section 3, a large blowdown event has removed most of the tall
valley bottom spruce, reducing stream shading to less than 1 0 percent through a quarter-mile-long
reach. Shade canopy in this area is provided intermittently by 1 0 to 20 foot tall subalpine fir, with the
larger accumulations of downfall providing localized shade from direct sun.
Above the blowdown area stream shading of up to 70 percent is restored by a dense spruce canopy.
Stream character and aquatic habitat in this reach is similar to that in the lower area, although average
stream width is reduced to approximately six to eight feet. Dammed and lateral scour pools as much
as two feet deep are abundant.
Goodluck Creek displays significant channel migration at its confluence with Woodtick Creek. Braid-
ing of the stream due to flow obstruction by downfall materials has resulted in an undefined channel
mouth, which drops three vertical feet into the Woodtick Creek channel. No pool has formed at this
confluence, effectively precluding upstream passage from Woodtick Creek into Goodluck Creek
during low flow periods.
Above their confluence Woodtick and Goodluck Creeks are about equal in size and character, with
average stream widths of approximately five to six feet and abundant debris-formed pools as much
as one and one-half feet deep. Substrate materials in both streams in this area become dominated
by cobbles with minor amounts of gravel. Within 1 00 yards of its mouth, Goodluck Creek exhibits a
short but sharp increase in stream gradient before once again flattening out in the vicinity of the
proposed road crossing. Above the confluence of Goodluck Creek, Woodtick generally retains the
step cascade and high gradient riffle characteristics of the stream below the confluence, but displays
significant regions of channel braiding which may define the upper limit of fish passage.
G2-5
Moyer Salt Timber Sate Final ESS
Appendix G2
Minimum and maximum water temperatures recorded at the mouth of Woodtick Creek between June
and October 1992 ranged from 36 to 61 degrees Fahrenheit (Carter, 1992). Beneficial use tempera-
ture criteria for Coldwater Biota (IDAPA 16.01 .2250, 04. c) was met during all months sampled. Tem-
perature criteria for Salmonid Spawning (IDAPA 1 6.01 ,2250,05.c) was met for the entire fall spawning
and incubation period, and all but the very end of the spring spawning and incubation period
identified for waters of the Salmon National Forest (Idaho Department of Water Resources, 1 975). The
brief exceedence of Salmonid Spawning beneficial use criteria to a temperature maxima of 61
degrees during the latter half of June is most likely attributable to an unseasonable transitory warm
spell, as maxima for the July sampling period fell back to 50 degrees. pH readings taken during this
same June through October sampling period ranged between 7.5 and 8.0 (Carter, 1992), falling well
within the range of 6.7 to 8.2 which encompasses 90 percent of the freshwater areas harboring good
aquatic faunas (Leitritz and Lewis, 1976), as well as within the pH criteria range for both Cold Water
Biota (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 04.b) and Salmonid Spawning (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 05.b). Dissolved oxygen
content at the mouth of Woodtick Creek also exceeded the 6 milligram per liter/90 percent saturation
beneficial use criteria for both Cold Water Biota (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 04.a) and Salmonid Spawning
(IDAPA 1 6.01 .2250, 05.a) throughout the sampling period, ranging from nine to 1 1 milligrams per liter
(Carter, 1992).
The benthic macroinvertebrate communities of Woodtick and Goodluck Creeks in the proposed sale
area are comprised primarily of stonefly and mayfly species, indicating both cold, well oxygenated
water of good chemical quality, and clean substrates relatively free of sediment deposition. Caddisfly
species appear to be somewhat underrepresented in these streams (Rose, 1989-1990; 1991).
Lafontaine (1981) has identified both extreme seasonal flow variations or consistently cold water as
primary factors limiting caddis populations within trout streams. Baseline aquatic habitat data collect-
ed during the 1 992 field season (Carter, 1 992) suggests that this latter factor is primarily responsible
for the apparently depressed caddis populations within Woodtick Creek.
Moyer Creek Basin Fish Habitat
Salt Creek and "Perm" Creek are both small perennial streams whose fisheries habitats are largely
limited to their lowermost reaches and where low gradient gravel-bottomed riffles and small pools
provide supplemental spawning and nursery habitat to mainstem Moyer Creek fish populations.
Although nursery habitats could be used by both resident and anadromous stocks, spawning
habitats in these lower reaches are more suitable for resident fish. Additional minor habitat for
resident fish populations may occur in the middle reaches of Salt Creek.
The existing culverts near the mouths of Salt and "Perm’ Creeks have not been identified as passage
barriers. Spawning and rearing reaches above these culverts appear to be more accessible to the
spring-spawning rainbow trout than to fall-spawning bull trout, due to improved passage conditions
during the spring runoff period. Low flow access is particularly questionable in ’Perm" Creek, which
exhibits significant braiding immediately above the culvert.
While providing relatively minor amounts of supplemental habitat to the Moyer Creek system, both
Salt Creek and "Perm" Creek serve important contributory functions to the maintenance of water
quality within the larger Moyer Creek system. In its lower reaches (Township 20 N, Range 18 E,
Section 35), mainstem Moyer Creek alternates between moderate and low gradient B and C chan-
nels, with an average bankfull width of approximately 21 feet. The stream has a mean annual
discharge of approximately 19 cubic feet per second (cfs), an estimated peak discharge of 85 cfs,
and mean monthly flows ranging between approximately six and 77 cfs, all as measured approxi-
mately one eighth mile above the streams confluence with Panther Creek (Rose, 1 988). Minimum and
maximum water temperatures recorded at the mouth of Moyer Creek between June and October
1992 ranged from 32 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit (Carter, 1992). Beneficial use temperature criteria for
Coldwater Biota (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 04.c) was met during all months sampled, but temperature
criteria for Salmonid Spawning (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 05.c) was exceeded during both the end of the
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
spring spawning and incubation period and the early and mid portions of the fall spawning and
incubation period identified for waters of the Salmon National Forest (Idaho Department of Water
Resources, 1975). The brief exceedence of Salmonid Spawning beneficial use temperature criteria
during the latter half of June is most likely attributable to an unseasonable transitory warm spell, while
the exceedence during July, August, and September reflects the more open nature of the Moyer
Creek stream channel, which exacerbated drought-induced conditions of summer low flow warming.
pH readings taken during this same June through October sampling period ranged between 7.0 and
7.7 (Carter, 1992), falling well within the range of 6.7 to 8.2 which encompasses 90 percent of the
freshwater areas harboring good aquatic faunas (Leitritz and Lewis, 1976), as well as within the pH
criteria range for both Cold Water Biota (IDAPA 16.01. 2250, 04.b) and Salmonid Spawning (IDAPA
16.01. 2250, 05.b). Dissolved oxygen content at the mouth of Moyer Creek also exceeded the 6
milligram per liter/90 percent saturation beneficial use criteria for both Cold Water Biota (IDAPA
1 6.01 .2250, 04.a) and Salmonid Spawning (IDAPA 1 6.01 .2250, 05.a) throughout the sampling period,
ranging from nine to 11 milligrams per liter (Carter, 1992).
Past Actions That Affect the Present Condition
Previous timber management activities within the Moyer-Salt Timber Sale analysis area include the
1988 Tick Creek Timber Sale, which harvested 23.0 percent of the Little Woodtick Creek drainage.
This level of of harvest has been shown to produce significant increases in water yield within a
drainage (Troendle and Leaf, 1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982), and was believed to be the factor
responsible for an apparent increase in peak runoff flow within the Little Woodtick Creek drainage
during the 1991 water year (Elizabeth Rieffenberger, 1992, personal communication). Within the
larger Woodtick Creek drainage, the Tick Creek Sale corresponded to a 5.2 percent harvest of the
total drainage basin. The increased magnitude of peak flow observed within the Little Woodtick Creek
drainage was not believed to have produced any deleterious impacts to mainstem Woodtick Creek
(Elizabeth Rieffenberger, 1 992, personal communication) due to variation in the timing of peak runoff
between the two streams.
Effects of the Proposed Project
Potential Effects of Timber Harvest Activities
The potential effects of timber harvest activities on fisheries resources are primarily related to impacts
on stream substrates, fish migration opportunities, riparian area integrity, and streamflow magnitude
and timing. Forest transportation systems which are poorly designed or lacking in effective mitigation
measures can have significant effects on fish and their habitats as a result of direct deposition of
sediment into stream channels (Yee and Roelofs, 1980). Incremental sediment contribution per unit
area as a result of poor road design can potentially exceed that from all other land management
activities, including log skidding and yarding (Yee and Roelofs, 1980). Excess sediment production
can adversely affect fish habitat by reducing substrate permeability (Wicket, 1958; Mcneil and Ahnell,
1964), impeding or preventing fry emergence (Koski, 1966; Bjornn, 1969), and reducing rearing and
overwintering habitat (Phillips, 1970). Increased sedimentation of stream substrates are also associ-
ated with decreased diversity of cover for bottom fauna (Sprules, 1947; Kimble and Wesche, 1975).
Massive increases in sediment production may exceed the stream’s ability to transport the load that
has been introduced (Leopold, 1964).
Improperly designed road culverts associated with stream crossings have the potential to create
barriers to fish migration, usually because of excessive outfall heights or water velocities, insufficient
water depths, lack of resting pools, or combinations of these factors (Evans and Johnson, 1 974; Yee
and Roelofs, 1980).
G2-7
Moyer Salt Timber Sate Final ESS
Appendix G2
Riparian vegetation serves an important role in stabilizing banks, providing summer stream shading
and winter thermal cover, contributing organic matter and terrestrial insects to the stream, and
serving as a buffer against sediment transport into stream channels (Meehan et al, 1 977; Yee and
Roelofs, 1 980). Improper timber harvest techniques which result in the removal of riparian vegetation
or streamside shade trees have the potential to increase summer water temperatures, decrease
winter water temperatures, and adversely affect egg incubation (Greene, 1950; Chapman, 1962).
Removal of overhanging vegetative cover can result in increased predation and reduction of pre-
ferred juvenile salmonid microhabitats (Chapman, 1966; Allen, 1969), and accelerated formation of
anchor ice (Bruce Smith, 1991, personal communication).
Timber harvest encompassing more than 20 to 30 percent of a drainage’s total basin area has been
shown to be capable of producing modifications to peak runoff flow timing and magnitude (Troendle
and Leaf, 1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982). Extensive timber harvest activity within a drainage has
the potential to increase water yields and peak flows to a point that channel erosion occurs (Rosgen,
1978).
Direct and Indirect Effects of Alternative 1 (No Action)
No road construction or timber harvest activities would be implemented under this alternative. There
would be no direct or indirect effects on fisheries resources within the analysis area due to activities
associated with timber harvest. The aquatic habitats of Woodtick Creek, Goodluck Creek, Salt Creek,
and ■Perm" Creek would remain generally unchanged from conditions described in Chapter 3, except
for minor natural changes in channel structures related to continued introduction of large woody
debris as trees die and fall down. Naturally-occurring events such as fire or floods may cause
changes to fish habitat as a result of vegetation disturbance, increases in flow, or other events. Angler
access and harvest of resident fish species in Woodtick Creek, Goodluck Creek, and Salt Creek
would remain essentially unchanged from current levels. Future utilization of steelhead habitat within
the Woodtick Creek drainage, and steelhead and Chinook salmon habitat within the Moyer Creek
drainage, would be dependent upon improvement of water quality in Panther Creek. Under the No
Action alternative, the existing culvert at the crossing of Woodtick Creek by F.S. Road 1 07 in Township
20 N, Range 19 E, Section 32 (Figure 2-1) would not be repaired or replaced through timber-related
funding, and would continue to be a barrier to upstream migration of both anadromous and resident
fish unless scheduled for repair or replacement via Fisheries Department project funding. Due to the
current emphasis on correction of migration barriers on streams supporting Chinook salmon stocks,
it is unlikely that restoration of potential steelhead passage at the Woodtick culvert site via Fisheries
funding would receive a high priority at this time (Bruce Smith, 1993, personal communication).
Direct and Indirect Effects Common to All Action Alternatives
Primary considerations of any assessment of potential effects of road construction and timber harvest
on TES fish species are sedimentation of stream substrates, degradation of riparian area integrity,
impairment of migration opportunities, and modification of annual streamflow patterns. Salmon
National Forest soil and water Best Management Practices (BMPs) and site-specific soil, water, and
fisheries mitigation measures identified in Chapter II of the Moyer-Salt Timber Sale Draft EIS are
designed to 1) minimize and intercept sediment generated as a result of road construction or timber
harvest before it can enter stream channels, 2) maintain riparian integrity to ensure adequate shading
of stream channels and retention of protective overhead cover, 3) accommodate species-specific
migration needs at transportation route crossings of streams containing fisheries resources, and 4)
constrain basin harvest intensity to levels which do not produce significant modification of peak
streamflow intensities and/or timing.
Road construction and timber harvest activities proposed for this timber sale will be concentrated to
a large extent on mid or upper slopes of the Woodtick, Salt and "Perm' Creek drainages. Only six of
32 proposed cutting units witt be located at distances within 200 feet of active stream channels. At
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
these sites, filter strip widths consistent with Forest Plan direction will be employed to intercept
sediment before reaching stream channels. Additionally, these buffers will be maintained in an uncut
status to retain existing ground cover within riparian areas, ensure adequate shading of active stream
channels, maintain streambank stability, and provide for future recruitment of large organic debris.
Under the various proposed alternatives, stream crossings will be required on Woodtick, Goodluck,
Perm, and Salt Creek. At all stream crossings where fish are known or suspected to occur, design
criteria will ensure yearround fish passage opportunities. Installation activities will be timed to precede
the bull trout spawning period, and will be consistent with Forest guidelines (see 'Performance
Criteria to be Observed to Protect Stream Channels', Appendix C) to ensure minimal water quality
and stream substrate impacts below construction sites. Additionally, an existing 60 inch culvert on
Woodtick Creek (Section 32 of Township 20 N, Range 19 E) which currently presents a barrier to
migration of both resident and anadromous fish is to be repaired or replaced under a variety of
funding mechanisms dependent upon the selected action alternative. Correction of this barrier will
reopen access to potential steelhead spawning habitat within the upper reaches of Woodtick Creek.
Localized construction-related impacts to stream substrates at this site are expected to be ameliorat-
ed within the time frame of natural or enhanced recovery of mainstem Panther Creek water quality.
Under the most timber-intensive proposed harvest alternative, total basin harvest would be limited
to 3.0 percent of the Woodtick Creek drainage, 14.3 percent of the Sait Creek drainage, and 14.2
percent of the "Perm' Creek drainage. This level of basin disturbance would be substantially below
the 20 to 30 percent regarded as capable of producing significantly increased water yield (Troendle
and Leaf, 1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982) in the Woodtick Creek drainage, and would approach
but not reach these levels in the previously undisturbed Salt and 'Perm" Creek drainages of the Moyer
Creek system. Proposed harvest prescriptions under other alternatives identified within the Moyer-
Salt Draft EIS would impact substantially less of the Salt and "Perm” Creek drainage basins.
Direct and Indirect Effects Specific to Alternative 2
This alternative would require road crossings of Woodtick Creek, Goodluck Creek, Salt Creek, 'Perm'
Creek, and an unnamed tributary of Woodtick Creek. Fish passage at the existing road culvert on FS
Road 107 (T ownship 20 N, Range 19 E, Section 32) would be restored in association with Knudson-
Vandenberg (KV) funding, while construction design would maintain fish passage at the required new
crossings of upper Woodtick Creek (Township 19 N, Range 19 E, Section 11) and Goodluck Creek
(same legal) (Figure 2-2). Under the transportation system associated with this alternative, the Salt
Creek crossing would be located in the headwaters area of the drainage (Township 19 N, Range 19
E, Section 16) (Figure 2-2). The natural diminished aquatic habitat capability at and above this location
does not warrant a crossing design which would ensure fish passage at this site. A single crossing
of 'Perm Creek' would be required in Township 1 9 N, Range 1 9 E, Section 1 7 (Figure 2-2) under this
alternative. Fish passage capability would not be maintained at this crossing due to lack of aquatic
habitat capability at and above this sites. A crossing structure would additionally be required across
an unnamed tributary of Woodtick Creek (Township 19 N, Range 19 E, Section 10)(Figure 2-2).
Although this tributary is live at the proposed crossing location, it is intermittent throughout the
majority of its length and is not believed to support fish life. Installation of standard culvert designs
at the crossing locations of Salt Creek, "Perm' Creek, and the unnamed Woodtick Creek tributary
would have no long-term impact on the fisheries resources of the Moyer or Woodtick Creek
drainages. Adherence to Forest Plan standards and guidelines would minimize short-term sediment
and turbidity-related impacts to downstream water quality during construction activities at all crossing
locations.
BOISED modeling of the transportation system and harvest prescriptions associated with this alterna-
tive indicates that sediment delivery rates to Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek would fall within the
middle of the range predicted for the array of alternatives, being higher than the predicted rates for
Alternatives 1 and 5, but lower than the rates predicted for Alternatives 3, 4, and 6 (Table 11-2).
G2-9
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
Mitigation measures identified in Chapter 2, and applicable soil and water Best Management Prac-
tices (BMPs) are expected to be fully successful in protecting the aquatic habitats of these two
drainages. Results and interpretation of BOISED sediment modeling are discussed in greater detail
within the Hydrology Effects section of the project FEIS.
Timber harvest activities would impact 9.1 percent of the Salt Creek drainage and 1 1 .3 percent of the
“Perm' Creek drainage under this alternative. As these levels of basin harvest are well below the 20
to 30 percent basin harvest threshold levels observed to result in significant changes in annual water
yield or peak flow intensity (T roendle and Leaf, 1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982), no impacts to the
natural flow regimes of these streams would be expected under this alternative.
Direct and Indirect Effects Specific to Alternative 3
The transportation system for this alternative would require two crossings of "Perm' Creek rather than
the single crossing required under alternative 2. An upper crossing would be located in Township
1 9 N, Range 1 9 E, Section 1 7, as in Alternative 2, and a lower crossing would be located in Township
19 N, Range 19 E, Section 18 (Figure 2-3). Fish passage would not be maintained at either of these
two crossings, due to the lack of suitable fish habitat at and above these sites. Crossing locations
of upper Woodtick Creek, Goodluck Creek, and the unnamed Woodtick Creek tributary would remain
as described for Alternative 2, with fish passage capabilities being maintained at the upper Woodtick
Creek and Goodluck Creek sites. Fish passage at the existing FS Road 107 culvert (Township 20 N,
Range 1 9 E, Section 32, Figure 11-3) would be restored in association with prescribed road reconstruc-
tion operations.
This alternative would additionally relocate the Salt Creek stream crossing to Township 1 9 N, Range
1 9 E, Section 7, and the crossing of the unnamed Woodtick Creek tributary to Township 1 9 N, Range
19 E, Section 10 (Figure 11-3). Because it would be located in the middle reaches of the drainage, the
Salt Creek stream crossing must be designed to ensure unrestricted fish passage under this alterna-
tive.
Culvert installation operations would temporarily increase water turbidities in Woodtick Creek, Good-
luck Creek, the unnamed Woodtick Creek tributary, Salt Creek and "Perm' Creek at and below these
crossing locations and may produce short-term sediment impacts to localized areas below these
sites. Installation of these crossing structures in accordance with "Performance Criteria to be Ob-
served to Protect Stream Channels' (FSM 2505.1-2, FEIS Appendix B) would minimize the spatial and
temporal scope of installation impacts. The narrow valley bottom and steep sideslopes adjacent to
the proposed Salt Creek crossing preclude flat, perpendicular approaches to this site, however.
Further, these steep sideslopes inhibit the implementation of adequate soil and water mitigation
measures between the road fill slope and the Salt Creek stream channel. These site specific limita-
tions, coupled with the determination of BOISED, which indicates that alternative would produce the
greatest longterm sediment delivery rates of the seven alternatives analyzed, together produce an
increased risk of surface erosion and consequently an associated increased risk of failure to continu-
ously meet State water quality standards within Salt Creek stream channel (see FEIS Hydrology
Effects). As this crossing is located lower in the Salt Creek drainage than those proposed under other
action alternatives, any long term stream sedimentation resulting from unchecked overland erosion
would impact potential rearing habitats within that stream and, to a lesser degree, Moyer Creek below
the confluence of Salt Creek.
Under this alternative timber harvest activities would impact 4.5 percent of the Salt Creek drainage
and 1 1 .3 percent of the 'Perm' Creek drainage. This represents the lowest level of harvest within the
Salt Creek drainage of the six alternatives considered. No impacts to the natural flow regimes of either
Salt Creek or Woodtick Creek would be expected at these disturbance levels.
G2 - 10
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
Direct and Indirect Effects Specific to Alternative 4
The transportation system associated with this alternative utilizes the proposed extension of F.S.
Road 1 06, as in Alternative 2, reconstruction of the existing F.S. Road 1 07, and further extension of
F.S. Road 107 one additional mile into the Woodtick Creek and Pete’s Gulch drainages (Figure 2-4).
Stream crossing locations would be identical to those described for Alternative 2. Because the
additional roading required under this alternative is located entirely on upper-slope portions of the
Woodtick Creek and Pete’s Gulch basins, no additional road-related impacts to aquatic resources
would be anticipated from those described under Alternative 2.
BOISED modeling of the effects of the transportation system and harvest prescriptions associated
with this alternative indicates that sediment delivery rates to Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek would
be the second highest of the seven alternatives analyzed. Mitigation measures identified in Chapter
2, and applicable soil and water Best Management Practices (BMPs) are, however, expected to be
fully successful in protecting the aquatic habitats of the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek drainages.
Results and interpretation of BOISED sediment modeling are discussed in greater detail within the
Hydrology Effects section of the FEIS.
Timber harvest prescriptions are maximized under this alternative. Potential effects to fisheries are
primarily related to possible increases in peak flow intensities resulting from intensive harvest of the
Salt Creek and 'Perm' Creek drainages. Proposed harvest operations under this alternative would
encompass 14.3 percent of the Salt Creek drainage and 14.2 percent of the 'Perm' Creek drainage.
While the most intensive of the various harvest proposals, basin disturbance under this alternative
would not approach threshold levels observed to result in significant increases in annual water yield
and peak flow intensity (Troendle and Leaf, 1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982). As unmitigated
potential sediment impacts to Salt Creek, 'Perm' Creek, and Moyer Creek from increased peak flow
intensity are not anticipated, implementation of this alternative would not be expected to adversely
affect fisheries resources within the Moyer or Woodtick Creek drainage systems.
Direct and Indirect Effects Specific to Alternative 5
This alternative requires the least new roadbuilding of the six action alternatives. Woodtick Creek
would be the only stream crossed by the associated transportation system. Fish passage at the
existing culvert at Township 20 N, Range 19 E, Section 32 (Figure 2-5) would be restored in
association with the required reconstruction of FS Road 1 07 associated with this alternative.
BOISED sediment modeling results for this combination of roads and cutting units indicate that this
alternative would yield the second lowest amount of sediment to the Moyer Creek and Woodtick
Creek drainages of the seven alternatives analyzed, and the lowest amount of sediment of the six
action alternatives. Mitigation measures identified in Chapter 2, and applicable soil and water Best
Management Practices (BMPs) are expected to be fully successful in protecting the aquatic habitats
of these two drainages. Results and analysis of BOISED sediment modeling are discussed in greater
detail within the Hydrology section of the FEIS.
Under this alternative timber harvest activities would impact 5.1 percent of the Salt Creek drainage
and 4.3 percent of the 'Perm' Creek drainage. This represents the lowest level of harvest within the
'Perm' Creek drainage and the second lowest level of harvest within the Sait Creek drainage of the
six alternatives. No impacts to the natural flow regimes of these streams would be expected at these
disturbance levels (Troendle and Leaf, 1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982).
Direct and Indirect Effects Specific to Alternative 6
The transportation system of this alternative is identical to that of Alternative 4. As sediment generated
by road construction activities comprises the major component of overall yield, land disturbance
G2 - 11
Moyer Salt Umber Safe Final EIS
Appendix G2
reductions associated with the application of diversified forestry harvest strategies within units
otherwise scheduled for dearcutting under Alternative 4 represents a relatively minor factor in the
overall level of sediment generation under this alternative. The predicted BOISED sediment yield for
this alternative, as a result, would be essentially the same as that generated under Alternative 4 (Table
SI-2). As with Alternative 2, mitigation measures identified in Chapter 2, and applicable soil and water
Best Management Practices (BMPs), are therefore expected to be fully successful in protecting the
aquatic habitats of the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek drainages. Results and interpretation of
BOISED sediment modeling are discussed in greater detail within the Hydrology Effects section of
the FEIS.
Proposed harvest operations under this alternative would encompass 1 2.3 percent of the Salt Creek
drainage and 13.1 percent of the “Perm" Creek drainage. Due to the reduction of hanrest within 15
units otherwise slated for clearcutting, this alternative represents a 14.0 percent reduction in Salt
Creek basin harvest, and a 7.8 percent reduction in "Perm” Creek basin harvest, relative to alternative
4. As with alternative 4, these levels of basin harvest, though among the highest of the alternatives
considered, do not approach the threshold levels observed to result in significant changes in annual
water yield or peak flow intensity (Troendle and Leaf, 1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982).
Direct and Indirect Effects Specific to Alternative 2a
The transportation system of this alternative is identical to that of Alternative 2. As with that alternative,
fish passage at the existing road culvert on FS Road 107 (Township 20 N, Range 19 E, Section 32)
would be restored through Knudson-Vandenberg (KV) funding, rather than in direct association with
road reconstruction operations.
As indicated in the discussion for Alternative 6, sediment generated by road construction activities
comprises the major component of overall sediment yield from timber sale activities. Land disturb-
ance reductions associated with the application of diversified forestry harvest strategies within units
otherwise scheduled for clearcutting under Alternative 4 therefore represents a relatively minor factor
in the overall level of sediment generation under this alternative. The predicted BOISED sediment
yield for this alternative, as a result, is essentially the same as that generated under Alternative 2
(T able 11-2). As with Alternative 2, mitigation measures identified in Chapter 2, and applicable soil and
water Best Management Practices (BMPs), are therefore expected to be fully successful in protecting
the aquatic habitats of the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek drainages. Results and interpretation
of BOISED sediment modeling are discussed in greater detail within the Hydrology Effects section
of the FEIS.
Proposed harvest operations under this alternative would encompass 8.2 percent of the Satt Creek
drainage and 1 0.4 percent of the "Perm” Creek drainage. Due to the reduction of haivest within 21
units otherwise slated for clearcutting, this alternative represents a 9.9 percent reduction in Salt Creek
basin harvest, and a 8.0 percent reduction in "Perm" Creek basin harvest, relative to alternative 2. As
with alternative 2, these levels of basin harvest are well below the threshold levels observed to result
in significant changes in annual water yield or peak flow intensity (Troendle and Leaf, 1980, as cited
by Troendle, 1982).
Cumulative Effects
Harvest operations within the Woodtick Creek drainage associated with the 1 988 Tick Creek Timber
Sale have impacted 23 percent of the Little Woodtick Creek drainage. Post-sale field review of the area
by the Forest Hydrologist in 1 991 indicated that an increase in water yield directly attributable to
intensive timber harvest had produced deleterious sedimentation in Little Woodtick Creek below the
sale area (see FEIS, Affected Environment, Hydrology). Sedimentation effects appeared to be con-
fined to Little Woodtick Creek and were not believed to have impacted fish-bearing waters of
mainstem Woodtick Creek. The increased water yield observed in Little Woodtick Creek as a result
G2 - 12
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
of intensive harvest within that drainage is not thought to have produced any measurabie effects on
the intensity or timing of peak flows in mainstem Woodtick Creek, due to dissimilarities in the timing
of runoff in the two streams.
This 23 percent disturbance of the Little Woodtick Creek drainage corresponds to 5.2 percent of the
total Woodtick Creek drainage. The various timber harvest prescriptions proposed under the Moyer
Salt timber sale would impact an additional 1 .8 to 3.0 percent of the total Woodtick Creek drainage,
bringing cumulative land disturbance within the drainage to 7.0 to 8.2 percent. As this level of
disturbance would be substantially below the 20 to 30 percent regarded as capable of producing
significantly increased water yield (Troendle and Leaf, 1980, as cited by Troendle, 1982), no further
fisheries impacts related to cumulative land disturbance in the Woodtick Creek drainage would be
anticipated under any of the proposed Moyer Salt action alternatives.
Reasonably foreseeable future activities within the analysis area include timber stand improvement
(TSI) operations within all shelterwood units, post and pole sales, and public firewood salvage. No
additional road construction would be needed to implement these post-sale activities, and no new
commercial sawtimber sales are proposed within the analysis area within the current planning period.
Consequently, cumulative impacts to aquatic habitats encompassing post-sale activities would be
limited to those described in the preceding sections. Only a very minor and short-lived increase in
consumptive harvest of resident fish would be expected in association with any open-access public
firewood gathering in the Woodtick Creek area.
Consistency with Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines
All action alternatives except Alternative 3 are expected to provide a level of fish habitat protection
consistent with Forest Plan guidelines. Alternative 3 exhibits an high inherent risk of failure to meet
water quality standards, due to the site specific inability to adequately protect water quality and
stream substrates in the vicinity of the proposed Salt Creek crossing site. Additionally, Alternative 1 ,
the No Action alternative, is not consistent with Forest Plan guidelines because the current fish
passage problem on Woodtick Creek would most likely continue. No funding mechanisms to repair
or replace this culvert would be implemented under this alternative. This barrier could be corrected
at some time under another program such as the Salmon National Forest Fisheries Program, but
priority for scheduling of such a repair via this funding mechanism would fall below restoration of
migration opportunities in streams supporting Federally threatened Snake River spring/summer
Chinook salmon.
Determinations
Steelhead
Based upon analysis of the effects of the proposed alternatives, and contingent upon implementation
of Salmon National Forest soil and water Best Management Practices (BMPs) and site specific soil,
water and fisheries mitigations as identified within the FEIS, it is my determination that Alternative 1
of the proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale will have "No Effect* upon current steelhead population or
habitat status within the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek drainages. St is my further determination
that Alternatives 2, 4, 5, 6, and 2a of this propose timber sale "May Affect Individuals, but are Not Likely
to Result in a Trend Toward Federal Listing" of steelhead. Finally, due to probable and unavoidable
sedimentation impacts to the stream substrates of Salt Creek and Moyer Creek receiving waters, it
is my determination that Alternative 3 of the proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale “Is Likely to Result in
a Trend Toward Federal Listing" of steelhead trout.
62 - 13
Moyer Salt Timber Salle Final EIS
Appendix G2
Westslope Cutthroat Trout
Based upon analysis of the effects of the proposed alternatives, and contingent upon implementation
of Salmon National Forest soil and water Best Management Practices (BMPs) and site specific soil,
water and fisheries mitigations as identified within the FEIS, it is my determination that each of the
seven proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale alternatives would have "No Effect" upon current westslope
cutthroat trout habitat status within the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek drainages.
Bull Trout
Based upon analysis of the effects of the proposed alternatives, and contingent upon implementation
of Salmon National Forest soil and water Best Management Practices (BMPs) and site specific soil,
water and fisheries mitigations as identified within the FEIS, it is my determination that Alternative 1
of the proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale will have "No Effect" upon current bull trout population or
habitat status within the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek drainages. St is my further determination
that Alternatives 2, 4, 5, 6, and 2a of this propose timber sale "May Affect Individuals, but are Not Likely
to Result in a Trend Toward Federal Listing" of bull trout. Finally, due to probable and unavoidable
sedimentation impacts to the stream substrates of Salt Creek and Moyer Creek receiving waters, it
is my determination that Alternative 3 of the proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale "Is Likely to Result in
a Trend Toward Federal Listing" of bull trout.
Management Recommendations
As all soil, water, and fisheries Best Management Practices (BMPs) and mitigations considered
necessary to avert adverse impacts to fisheries resources under action alternatives 2, 4, 5, 6, and 2a
were incorporated within the original timber sale proposal, no additional measures are recommended
for these alternatives. Expected adverse impacts to the Salt Creek stream channel under Alternative
3 are related primarily to a site specific inability to adequately protect the stream from road slope
erosion at the proposed crossing location. This alternative additionally suffers from a logistical
inability to relocate this route to a location which would avoid the steep, stream parallelling approach-
es which create such a high risk erosion hazard (see attached memo of February 5, 1993). Potential
engineering, soil and water measures not currently included within the mitigation package for this
alternative include full bench road construction in the vicinity of the Salt Creek crossing, and silt fence
installations below road fill slopes. Application of additional vegetation-based erosion attenuation
measures are largely precluded at this proposed crossing, however, due to the harsh environmental
growing conditions on the dry, south-facing slopes.
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
Literature Cited
Allen, K. R. 1 969. "Limitations on Production in Salmonid Populations in Streams', In Symposium on
Salmon and Trout in Streams, T. G. Northcote, ed., pp. 3-18. H. R. MacMillan Lectures in Fisheries.
Univ. of British Columbia: Vancouver.
Bjornn, T. C. 1969. Embryo Survival and Emergence Studies. Job. No. 5, Federal Aid in Fish and
Wildlife Restoration. Job Completion Report., Proj. F-49-R-7. Idaho Fish and Game Dept.: Boise, ID.
11 pp.
Burum, D., M. Sprague, and B. Lewis. 1990. U.S. Forest Service Region 4, Salmon National Forest,
GAWS Level I Stream Habitat Inventory. Salmon National Forest Fisheries Files.
Carter, D. 1990. Unpublished baseline aquatic survey data for the Salmon National Forest. Salmon
National Forest Fisheries Files.
Chapman, D. W. 1962. "Effects of Logging upon Fish Resources of the West Coast." J. of Forestry.
60(8): 533-537.
Chapman, D. W. 1966. "Food and Space as Regulators of Salmonid Populations in Streams." Ameri-
can Naturalist. 1 00: 345-357.
Evans, W. A. and F. B. Johnson. 1 980. Fish Migration and Fish Passage: A Practical Guide to Solving
Fish Passage Problems. U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service EM-7100-2, Washington, D.
C.
Greene, G. E. 1950. "Land Use and Trout Streams." J. Soil and Water Conserv. 5: 125-126.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game. 1 965. Inventory of Idaho Streams Containing Anadromous Fish,
Including Recommendations for Improving Production of Salmon and Steelhead. U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Contract Number 14-19-001-431. June 15, 1965.
Kimble, L. A., and T. A. Wesche. 1975. "Relationship Between Selected Physical Parameters and
Benthic Community Structure in a Small Mountain Stream." Water Resource Research Institute Series,
No. 55. Univ. of Wyoming: Laramie. 64 pp.
Koski, K. V. 1 966. The Survival of Coho Salmon ( Oncoryhnchus kisutch) from Egg Deposition to
Emergence in Three Oregon Coastal Streams." Oreg. State Univ.: Corvallis. 84 pp. (Master’s Thesis)
LaFontaine, G. 1981. Caddisflies. Lyons and Burford: New York. 336 pp.
Leopold, L., M. G. Wolman and J. P. Miller. 1964. Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology. W. H. Freeman
Co.: San Francisco, CA. 522 pp.
McNiel, W. J., andW. H. Ahnell. 1964. Success of Pink Salmon Spawning Relative to Size of Spawning
Bed Materials. U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. Spec. Sci. Rep. Fish. No. 469. 15 pp.
Meehan, W. R., F. J. Swanson and J. R. Sedell. 1977. "Influence of Riparian Vegetation on Aquatic
Ecosystems with Particular Reference to Salmonid Fishes and their Food Supply." In Importance,
Preservation, and Management of Riparian Habitat: Proceedings of a Symposium; 1977, July 9,
Tucson, AZ. tech, coords. Johnson, R.R. and D.A. Jones, pp. 137-145. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-43. U.S.
G2 - 15
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station:
Fort Coilins, CO. 1977.
Northwest Power Planning Council. 1 991 . Salmon River Sub-Basin Salmon and Steelhead Production
Plan.
Northwest Power Planning Council. 1 991 . Chinook Salmon and Steelhead presence/absence files for
the Salmon River Subbasin.
Phillips, R. W. 1970. “Effects of Sediment on the Gravel Environment and Fish Production.' In
Proceedings of Forest Land Uses and Stream Environments, pp. 64-75. Oregon State University:
Corvallis, Oregon.
Reiser, D. W. 1 986. Panther Creek, Idaho, Habitat Rehabilitation - Final Report. BPA Project No. 84-29.
Prepared for: U.S. Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration. Portland, OR. January,
1986.
Rieffenberger, E. 1 992. Personal Communication. Discussions with Robert Rose concerning effects
of the Tick Creek Timber Sale upon peak streamflow magnitude and timing in Little Woodtick and
Woodtick Creeks.
Rosgen, D. L. 1978. “Prediction Techniques for Potential Changes in Sediment Discharge Due to
Silvicultural Activities.' ASCE Annual Meeting. Pittsburg, PA. 1978. 12 pp.
Simpson, J. G., and R. L. Wallace. 1982. Fishes of Idaho. University of Idaho Press. Moscow, Idaho.
Smith, B. 1 991 . Personal Communication. Discussions with Robert Rose concerning the effect of the
warming influence of Woodtick Creek on winter anchor ice formation in Panther Creek.
Smith, B. 1 993. Personal Communication. Discussions with Robert Rose concerning prioritization of
migration barrier repairs on the Salmon National Forest.
Sprules, W. M. 1947. An Ecologies I Investigation of Stream Insects in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Univ.
Toronto Studies. Biol. 56. Publ. Ont. Fish. Res. Lab. 69: 1-81.
Tambe, C. 1989. Personal Communication. Discussions with Robert Rose concerning the presence
of cutthroat trout in the upper reaches of Panther Creek above the USFS Moyer housing site.
Troendle, C. A. 1 982. The Effects of Small Clearcuts on Water Yields from the Deadhorse Watershed;
Frasier, Colorado.0 In Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting of the Western Snow Conference,
(Reno, Nevada; April 19-23, 1982), pp. 75-83. Colorado State University: Fort Collins, Colorado. 225
pp.
Troendle, C.A., and R.M. King. 1985. The Effect of Timber Harvest on the Fool Creek Watershed, 30
Years Later.0 Water Resources Research 21, p. 1915-1922.
USDA Forest Service. 1 988. Forest Land and Resource Management Plan for the Salmon National
Forest.
Wicket, W. P. 1958. "Review of Certain Environmental Factors Affecting the Production of Pink and
Chum Salmon.' J. Fish. Res. Bd. Can. 15(5): 1103-1126.
Yee, C. S., and T. D. Roelofs. 1 980. "Planning Forest Roads to Protect Salmonid Habitat." In Influence
of Forest and Range-land Management on Anadromous Fish Habitat in Western North America, ed.,
G2 - 16
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix G2
W. Meehan. Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. USDA Forest Service: Portland,
Oregon.
Contributors
This Biological Assessment was prepared by Robert W. Rose, Fishery Biologist, Salmon National
Forest. Additional information was provided by the following persons:
Tom Bonn
Supervisory Civil Engineering Technician
Supervisor’s Office
Salmon National Forest
Deb Carter
Fishery Biologist
Supervisor’s Office
Salmon National Forest
Gene Jensen
Branch Chief
Land Management Planning
Salmon National Forest
Betsy Rieffenberger
Forest Hydrologist
Supervisor’s Office
Salmon National Forest
Bruce Smith
Forest Fishery Biologist
Supervisor’s Office
Salmon National Forest
Appendices
Appendix A:
Maps
Salmon National Forest Visitor Map and
7.5 minute series USGS topographic quad maps.
G2- 17
Moyer Saft Timber Sal® Final ESS
Appendix G2
Appendix C:
Summary of Soil and Water Best Management
Practices
Appendix C:
Photographs
G2 - 18
APPENDIX H
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Outline and Page Numbers: Appendix H
Appendix H. Landscape Ecology/BiologicaS Diversity Outline Page
Introduction H-1
Section 1: Existing Condition H-1
I. Landscape Level H-1
A. Definitions H-1
B. Analysis Landscape H-2
Landscape boundaries H-2
C. Surrounding Landscapes H-3
1 . Adjacent landscapes: conifer forest matrix H-3
a. Description H-3
b. Flow H-3
i. Wind, water, nutrients, energy H-3
ii. Plants H-4
iii. Animals: birds, mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, fish H-4
iv. T&E, Proposed and Sensitive Species H-4
c. Corridors H-5
i. Animals: birds, mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, fish H-5
ii. T&E, Proposed and Sensitive Species H-5
iii. Plants H-6
II. Landscape Ecosystems Structure: Patches, Corridors, and Matrixes H-7
A. Patch Ecosystems H-7
1 . Heterogeneity between patches H-7
2. Boundary shape H-7
3. Edge and edge effect H-7
4. Homogeneity between patches H-8
5. Patch disturbance/recovery regimes H-8
Table H-1: Forest Class Totals H-10
Table H-2: Forest Class Category Descriptions H-1 1
B. Corridor ecosystems H-1 1
1 . Strip corridors (riparian buffer strips) H-1 1
2. Line corridors (roads) H-1 2
3. Stream corridors H-1 2
a. Nodes H-1 2
b. Heterogeneity H-1 2
c. Disturbance/recovery regimes H-1 3
d. Aquatic habitats for TE&S fish species H-1 3
C. Matrix ecosystem H-1 3
Biological Diversity Outline Appendix H-1
Appendix HL Landscape Eco8ogy/Bio8©gical Diversity Outline Page
ill. Patch and Corridor Function within the Landscape H-14
A. Ecosystem connectiveness H-14
B. Porosity of ecosystems H-14
Porosity and genetic variability H-14
Edge effect and porosity H-14
C. T&E, P, and S Species and porosity/connectivity H-15
Table H-3: TEPS Select/Avoidance Communities H-17
D. Flow H-17
Plants and animals H-17
Airborne flows . . . . H-18
Overland flows H-19
2. Energy. H-19
Vector of energy flow H-20
Wind H-20
Water H-20
E. Resistance to flow H-20
Boundary crossing frequency H-20
Table H-4: Boundary Crossing Frequency H-21
Section 2: Effects analysis of proposed alternatives H“23
I. Landscape H-23
A. Surrounding landscapes H-23
1 . Adjacent landscapes:
Conifer forest matrix H-23
a. Heterogeneity and homogeneity to the Moyer Salt Landscape H-23
b. Movement among the landscapes H-23
i. Flow
(a) Wind, water, nutrients, energy H-23
(b) Plants in general H-24
(c) Animals: birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, invertebrates H-24
(d) T&E, P and S species H-24
ii. Corridor flow of adjacent landscapes
(a) Wind, water and energy H-25
(b) Plants in general H-26
(c) Animals: birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, invertebrates H-26
(d) T&E, Proposed and Sensitive species H-26
Biological Diversity Outline Appendix H - 2
Appendix H. Landscape Ecology/Biological Diversity Outline Page
II. Landscape Ecosystems Structure: patches, corridors, and matrix H-27
A. Patch ecosystems H-27
1 . Patches in the analysis landscape H-26
a. Table H-5: Acres cut in each timber class by alternative H-27
Table H-6: Percentage total proposed harvest in
each timber class by alternative H-28
b. Heterogeneity and homogeneity within and between patches H-28
i. Between patches H-28
Table H-7: Acres in each harvest method H-29
Table H-8: Forest class size Averages H-29
ii. Within Patches H-30
Table H-9: Acre harvest from each forest type H-31
c. Boundary shape H-34
d. Edge and edge effect H-34
e. Disturbance/recovery regimes H-35
B. Corridors ecosystems H-35
1 . Stream corridors H-35
a. Character of riparian corridors H-35
b. Disturbance/recovery regimes of strip stream corridors H-35
2. Line corridors (roads) H-36
Table H-10: Miles of road constructed or reconstructed H-36
a. Homogeneity of line corridors H-36
b. Disturbance/recovery regimes of line corridors H-36
C. Matrix ecosystem * H-36
III. Patch and corridor function within the landscape H-36
A. Patch ecosystem function H-36
1 . Connectiveness of patches H-36
T&E, P, and S as related to patch connectivity H-36
2. Porosity of ecosystems H-36
Porosity related to genetic variability H-36
Table H-11: Porosity as measured by patch numbers H-37
3. Flow H-38
Table H-12: Boundary Crossing Frequency H-39
a. Boundary function H-40
i. Edge H-40
ii. Source and sink H-41
b. Energy H-42
C. Corridor ecosystem function H-42
1 . Riparian corridors H-42
a. Boundary Function H-42
i. Airborne flows H-42
(a) Energy, nutrients, materials H-42
(b) T&E, P, and S H-42
ii. Overland flows H-43
(a) Energy, nutrients, materials H-43
(b) T&E, P, and S H-43
iii. Soil flows H-43
iv. Aquatic H-44
b. Source and sink H-44
2. Non-riparian corridors H-44
a. Strip corridors H-44
Biological Diversity Outline Appendix H - 3
i. Barrier/filter H-44
(a) T&E, Proposed and Sensitive H-44
b. Lines corridors H-44
i. Barrier/filter H-45
(a) Genera! animals and plants H-45
(b) Aquatic H-45
(c) T&E, P, and S, MIS ... H-45
Biological Diversity Outline Appendix H - 4
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY: Ecology as It Pertains to Biological Diversity
Introduction
The Salmon National Forest’s biological diversity analysis is divided into three levels: the regional
level, landscape level, and Forest Level.
Landscape ecology has a close relationship to biological diversity because of its placement in the
landscape level of analysis. This large (-30,000 acres) landscape level appears to be the most
promising size for detecting effects on biological diversity and maintaining a sustainable environment
(Forman 1990).
This report addresses the landscape level of biological diversity in the Moyer Salt area through a
discussion of landscape ecology. It also serves as a reference for information in Chapters I through
IV of the EIS.
SECTSON S. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT
I. LANDSCAPE LEVEL
A. Definitions
In this document we will define a landscape as a heterogeneous land area composed of a cluster
of interacting ecosystems that are repeated in similar form throughout the geographical landscape
(Forman and Godron 1986). A landscape is a distinct, measurable unit and is recognizable by the
similarities in its inherent patterns of interacting ecosystems, geomorphology (landforms), and dis-
turbance regimes (Forman and Godron 1986).
The following terms will be used throughout the discussion. For clarity’s sake they will be defined
here:
Ecosystems - For the purpose of this analysis we will use the term ecosystem to refer to the basic
landscape unit. Ecosystems are basic, relatively homogeneous, ecological elements or units of the
land whether they are of natural or human origin (Forman and Godron 1986). The three main types
of landscape elements or ecosystems we will consider are patches, corridors and matrixes.
Patches - A patch is a nonlinear habitat differing in appearance from its surroundings. Patches vary
widely in size, shape, type, heterogeneity, and boundary characteristics (Forman and Godron 1986).
One example would be a wet meadow surrounded by conifer forest; another would be a forest stand
composed of one species and/or age class of tree surrounded by habitat that is different in species
composition, age or perhaps density. Closed boundary patches are those whose entire borders lie
within the landscape, as opposed to open boundary patches whose borders extend beyond the
landscape (Forman and Godron 1986).
Corridors - In simplest terms, corridors are comparatively narrow strips of land which differ from the
habitats on either side (Forman and Godron, 1986). An example would be a cottonwood tree-lined
riparian area in shrub/steppe habitat.
H - 1
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Matrix - The matrix is the largest and most connected ecosystem unit, and therefore plays the
dominant role in landscape functions such as flows of energy, materials, and species (Forman and
Godron 1 986). It is either the major type of ecosystem with the most acreage within a landscape, or
it has the greatest connectivity, or it exerts the greatest degree of control over landscape dynamics.
Examples of matrixes would be coniferous forest, sagebrush flats, or agricultural cropland.
Structure - Each individual ecosystem or element at the landscape scale is either a patch with
significant width, a narrow corridor, or the background matrix, itself. These ecosystem elements in
turn vary in size, shape, number, type, and configuration. Ecological objects such as animals, plants,
biomass, heat energy, water, and minerals/nutrients are distributed among these ecological ele-
ments. Determining the spatial distributions of the ecosystems is to understand landscape structure
(Forman and Godron 1986).
Landscape ecology and its relationships to life processes are not fully understood by ecologists.
However, ecologists know that many organisms require more than one ecosystem to complete their
life cycles and, therefore, are dependent on landscape mosaics for survival. Harris (1984) has
indicated that the landscape mosaic approach is the only one that can ensure: 1) the conservation
of known endangered species, 2) ecotypic diversity and allelic polymorphism (variety in the gene pool
of a species), 3) a diversity of native vertebrates, 4) community interactions of native large mammals
and birds, unknown or unidentified species and processes, and 5) known natural old-growth ecosys-
tem processes.
B. Analysis Landscape
Landscape Boundaries for this Analysis
The boundaries of the Moyer Salt Landscape (see Figure III-2) were delineated on the basis of energy,
nutrients flow, species flow, climate and geomorphology. This method was suggested by Harris
(1984), Forman and Godron (1986), and Kimmins (1987).
The Moyer Salt Landscape spans approximately 33,000 acres and is bounded on the west by the
ridge between Moyer Creek and Panther Creek; on the north by the ridge between Little Wood Tick
Creek and Copper Creek; on the east by the main Salmon River Mountain ridge and on the south
by the ridge north of Opal Creek.
The landscapes surrounding the Moyer Salt Landscape are predominately mixed conifer ecosystem
matrices. Patches of open forest and non-forested areas are present on south and west-facing
slopes, particularly at elevations below 7,500 feet.
The Moyer Salt Landscape includes the Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek drainages and their
tributaries. Both creeks are steep and U-shaped at their headwaters, trending towards V-shaped
valley bottoms, typical of the Salmon River Mountains. These creeks flow west from the Salmon River
Mountain divide to Panther Creek.
A major north/south divide separates the Moyer Salt Landscape from the Iron Lake landscape to the
east. East of the divide, water, nutrients and energy flow to the main Salmon River. West of the divide,
they flow into Panther Creek.
The matrix for the landscape consists of young (immature) Douglas-fir forest (7,991 acres) with a
smaller component of mature Douglas-fir forest (4,614 acres). At elevations below 7500 feet and on
north-facing slopes at lower elevations they occur as stringers separating open areas. Three to seven
inches DBH mixed conifer forest (5,451 acres) and non-forested areas (5,517 acres) also comprise
major portions of the landscape.
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Appendix H
Mature mixed conifer-subalpine fir, engelmann spruce or lodgepole mix (2,327 acres), immature
mixed conifer (4,909 acres), open forest (4,402 acres) are also present in the landscape. Smaller
components of the landscape are mixed conifer seedlings and saplings (303 acres), lodgepole pine
immature forest (543 acres) and lodgepole pole-sized (1,151 acres) and Douglas-fir pole-sized (163
acres).
Patches of non-forested or open forested types vary in size from 4 acres to 995 acres with an average
size of 107 acres. Typically, the south and west aspects at lower elevations consist of non-forested
areas which are usually rocky and support grasses, sedges, sagebrush, shrubs and scattered trees.
Habitat types associated with these openings include sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass (ARTR/
AGSP), big sagebrush/Idaho fescue (ARTR/FEID) and whitebark pine/subalpine fir (PIAL/ABLA)
types.
C. Surrounding Landscapes
1. Adjacent Landscapes: conifer forest matrix landscapes
a. Description
The mixed conifer forest landscapes to the north, east, south and west of the Moyer Salt Landscape
are similar to each other and to the Moyer Salt Landscape. All of these landscapes are vegetated with
Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine and subalpine fir, interspersed with rocky outcroppings and meadows.
Non-forested areas of shrubs, forbs and grasses are present particularly at lower elevations and
south and west facing slopes.
b. Flow
i. Wind, water, nutrients, energy
Movement of abiotic materials among the four surrounding conifer forest matrix landscapes and the
analysis landscape is dependent on the action of air and water currents. The water flow through the
Moyer Salt Landscape is predominately westward toward Panther Creek via the Moyer and Woodtick
Creeks. Abiotic materials erode and flow readily as suspended sediments from the Moyer Salt
Landscape to the west via the Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek. The prevailing winds are from the
north/northwest, however, abiotic material which is suspended in the atmosphere may be moved in
any direction by local wind currents.
The predominate wind and water flow occurs between the Moyer Salt Landscape and the Panther
Creek Landscape to the west. The Moyer and Woodtick streams flow directly into Panther Creek and
through the Panther Creek Landscape. Nutrients in the form of sediment from the Moyer Salt
Landscape are transported via creeks to downstream landscapes including the Fawn Creek Land-
scape to the north. (See Landscape Boundary Map, in Chapter III, Figure 111-2).
A limited flow of abiotic materials occurs between the Moyer Salt Landscape and the Iron Lake
Landscape to the east. A major hydrologic divide of the Salmon River Mountains separates the
landscapes. Wind currents may transport materials across the ridgeline. Water flow east of the ridge
in the Iron Lake Landscape flows east via the Forks of Iron Creek and Forks of Hat Creek into the
Salmon River.
Some wind flow likely occurs between the Moyer Salt Landscape and the Morgan Creek Landscape
to the south across the ridgelines that separate the landscapes.
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Appendix H
Si. Plants
Plants interchange between the Moyer Salt Landscape and the surrounding landscapes by wind or
waterborne seeds; by pollen via insects and birds and by animals who ingest the seeds and later
deposit them or transport them in their fur.
Naturally occurring and man-made corridors may facilitate transfer of seeds from one landscape to
another. Some species follow ridges, streams and/or roads in their movements.
Hi. Animals: birds, mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, fish
Most of the birds and animals which occur in the surrounding mixed conifer forest landscapes and
the analysis landscape can likely move across both landscapes because the surrounding land-
scapes are similar to the analysis landscapes.
Non-flying and flying Invertebrate species can move easily among the landscapes as habitat allows.
Aquatic insect species can move easily between the Moyer Salt Landscape and the Panther Creek
landscape to the west and north to the Fawn Creek landscape. High elevation lakes and meadows
are found in the eastern portion of the Moyer Salt Landscape and the adjacent Iron Lake Landscape
to the east. It is likely that aquatic insect species can interchange between the landscapes.
The benthic macroinvertebrate communities of Woodtick and Goodluck Creeks in the Moyer Salt
Landscape are comprised primarily of stonefly and mayfly species, indicating both cold, well oxy-
genated water of good chemical quality, and clean substrates relatively free of sediment deposition.
Most of the reptiles that occur in the analysis landscape probably move between the Moyer Salt
Landscape and the surrounding landscapes by following natural corridors like riparian areas or
across land where similar habitats adjoin at the landscape boundary.
Fish move back and forth between the Moyer Salt Landscape and the landscape to the west (Panther
Creek landscape) seasonally. A 60 inch culvert in Woodtick Creek currently creates a barrier to fish
passage during high water conditions. Exchange of genetic information can occur indirectly between
the Moyer Salt Landscape and the landscapes to the north and the south because the streams in
all three landscapes flow basically westward and meet in Panther Creek. Genetic interchange is more
difficult between the Moyer Salt Landscape and the landscape to the east because a major ridgeline
(hydrologic boundary) separates them. However, Panther Creek joins the Salmon River 25 miles
downstream of the landscape so genetic interchange is possible. Panther Creek and the Salmon
River are free-flowing so they are not barriers to movement.
Iv. T&E, Proposed and Sensitive Species
North American Lynx- The lynx is a close relative of the bobcat (same genus) Lynx are well adapted
to travel in deep snow (Koehler and Brittell 1 990). This is vital to the pursuit of snowshoe hares, their
primary prey species. Lynx use mature forest stands for denning, cover for kittens, as well as travel
corridors.
Because lynx prey on snowshoe hare, good snowshoe hare habitat is an important element of good
lynx habitat. The preferred habitat for lynx is dense lodgepole pine for hunting snowshoe hares
coupled with higher elevation spruce-fir forests for denning (Clark et al. 1989). Lynx will usually not
cross openings greater than 300 feet. Lynx typically travel along ridges and saddles if mature
spruce-fir forest cover is maintained. (Koehler and Brittell 1990)
In the Northern Rocky Mountains, the wolverine prefers mature or intermediate subalpine fir habitat
particularly south and easterly slopes and edge and ecotonal areas around cliffs, slides, blowdowns,
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Appendix H
basins, swamps and meadows. They are described as scavenging predators, feeding on carrion,
fruits, marmots and rodents. Wolverines occur where there are large and diverse ungulate popula-
tions.
The spotted frog is a highly aquatic species found in the vicinity of cold, permanent water streams,
rivers, springs and small lakes of both wood and meadows (Stebbins 1966). The dispersing behavior
of the spotted frog is not known. Movement among adjacent landscapes likely occurs along streams
or wetlands since spotted frogs’ skin needs moisture.
Boreal Owls, northern three-toed woodpeckers, and great gray owls move readily in the spruce-fir
life zone, their preferred habitats. In addition, great gray owls also move to open forests and natural
or man-made openings to forage. The mobility of these birds allows them to move among the
landscapes surrounding the Moyer Salt Landscape.
Western Big-eared Bats forage over sagebrush-grasslands, riparian areas, open pine forest, and
arid scrub. Little is know about the suitability of or selection for forested habitats. They use rocky
outcrops, caves, and old mines for roosting habitat. It is not known whether these bats inhabit the
landscape. However, because of their ability to fly they could disperse among landscapes surround-
ing the Moyer Salt Landscape.
Northern Goshawks require dense mature to old growth conifer, mixed conifer/aspen or aspen
stands for nesting in the Rocky Mountain region (Shuster 1980). Goshawks hunt a variety of small
mammals and bird in dense forested areas, semi-forested areas, natural openings and over water.
Northern goshawks have been observed in the Moyer Salt Landscape.
The Rocky Mountain gray wolf, an endangered species, potentially occurs in the Moyer Salt Land-
scape and adjacent landscapes. (See Appendix F: Biological Assessments). Wolves have large
home ranges (Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan 1987) and juvenile wolves are known
to disperse great distances. Wolves could move easily among all the contiguous landscapes.
c. Corridors
I. Animals: birds, mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, fish
Corridors exist between landscapes and are features or habitats that facilitate or concentrate flows
of organisms across landscape boundaries and barrier habitats. For example, topographic or hydro-
logic features which occur at landscape boundaries provide avenues for animals and plants to
disperse.
Thus, features that: 1) funnel or concentrate wind and water currents provide corridors for the flow
of birds and insects, airborne seeds and pollen and aquatic species across alien habitats, 2) modify
snow deposition patterns allowing animals to cross barrier habitats by providing bridges across water
or through forested areas (interception), and 3) change habitat distribution thereby creating a habitat
projection into or across a barrier.
Some species may avoid corridors due to concentration of predators in the corridors.
II. T&E, proposed and sensitive species
Wolves, lynx, wolverines, spotted frogs or fish moving between the Moyer Salt Landscape and any
of the surrounding mixed conifer landscapes would probably use riparian corridors for movements
because these corridors often provide habitat they require. Some prey species use riparian areas in
these landscapes for cover and foraging.
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Appendix H
Similarly, western big-eared bats, boreal owls, three-toed woodpeckers, great gray owls and northern
goshawks may move along them since prey, cover and perches may occur in riparian areas.
Species which fly, have large home ranges, or are habitat generalists (wolves, wolverines, North
American lynx, western big-eared bats, three-toed woodpeckers, great gray owls, boreal owls, and
northern goshawks) can freely move among the Moyer Salt Landscape and surrounding mixed
conifer landscapes.
Wolves are able to travel great distances and utilize a variety of habitats. In short, they are adapted
to readily move across landscape boundaries and sub-optimal habitats. Dispersing wolves in the
northwest have been known to travel hundreds of miles, crossing many different habitat types and
physiographic features (US Fish and Wildlife Service 1992). While these large canids are capable of
traveling across unsuitable habitats, mortality increases dramatically where roads occur or in land-
scapes dominated by human activity (See Appendix F: Biological Assessment for wolves).
Similarly, lynx and wolverine are large predators which cover many habitats in search of prey,
although both species are associated with specific habitats. Lynx, in particular, are largely dependent
on snowshoe hares (see Appendix G1 : Biological Evaluation, ■Lynx''). Wolverines are found mainly
in remote habitat and lynx are harvested in Idaho as a furbearer. Therefore, high mortality may occur
when these species cross landscapes or ecosystems with high road densities.
The movement (or flow) of wolverines is not restricted by rivers, highways, valleys or major mountain
ranges (Hornocker and Hash 1980) Wolverines’ large feet make them well suited for travel over snow
(Hash 1987). Any wolverines in the Moyer-Salt landscape should be able to travel readily between
adjacent landscapes.
Western big-eared bats, boreal owls, northern three-toed woodpeckers, great gray owls and northern
goshawks probably move independently of habitat corridors at the landscape scale because they are
adapted for flight. Although they may utilize corridors for cover when foraging or to avoid predation
when moving between larger blocks of suitable habitat. However, all are capable of moving across
large areas of unsuitable habitat in search of foraging areas or during migration.
The spotted frog is probably the least able of the non-fish listed species to travel across wide,
inhospitable habitats. However, this amphibian crosses disparate habitats seasonally, perhaps by
following riparian corridors. Snake River Basin sockeye, Chinook and steelhead, westslope cutthroat
and bull trout are the listed species most dependent on corridors for movements between ecosys-
tems and landscapes. These fish all require continuous flows of water, and specific (sometimes
species-specific) environmental parameters in streams (temperature, turbidity, gradient, etc.) for
movements to occur.
Sii. Plants
One of major corridors for movement of biotic material among the Moyer Salt Landscape and
surrounding landscapes are riparian corridors. These dendritic water courses act as corridors in
three ways. First, they move water between the landscapes (corridors for aquatic vertebrate and
invertebrate species and plant seeds, spores and pollen). Second, they increase the quantity and
structure of vegetation bordering the streams which create thermal and hiding cover for terrestrial
vertebrate and invertebrate species in which to move. Last, they serve as cold air drainages and act
to move plant seed and pollen and invertebrates on wind currents.
Other corridors for movement of biotic material between these landscapes are: roads (such as the
Salmon River Mountain Road) and trails (such as the Moyer jeep trail). Roads and trails provide
corridors for invading plants and cursorial (running) animals. Prevailing general and local winds help
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Appendix H
disperse plant seeds and pollen, invertebrates and birds. Plant seeds are moved indirectly on or in
animals as they follow roads or trails or funnel through geographic features.
II. LANDSCAPE ECOSYSTEMS STRUCTURE: PATCHES, CORRIDORS, AND MATRICES
A. PATCH ECOSYSTEMS
We have elected to use habitats, land forms and forest stands identified from forest types maps, aerial
photo interpretation, and ground reconnaissance as patches in this analysis of the Moyer Salt
Landscape. We have made the assumption that each forest class identified represents a different
patch or corridor. Table H-1 displays the total acreages by forest class for the Moyer Salt Landscape.
The non-forested acres are represented by overlay codes 40, 60, and 90. These include rock
outcrops, lakes, ponds, meadows and shrub/forb vegetation. All other overlay codes represent forest
types that vary in size, density and steepness of ground slope.
1 . Heterogeneity among patches
Heterogeneity is most strongly reflected among the patches in vegetative cover. High levels of
heterogeneity exist among forested and non-forested patches. The heterogeneity lessens when
forested patches are compared with other forested patches. In these instances the characteristics
that differentiate heterogeneity or that describe a patches’ degree of difference to another patch
become tree species, size, age and density, edge and understory vegetation, all of which reflect site,
slope and aspect.
Heterogeneity among the patches in a landscape is one of the factors that comprises diversity. The
spatial relationships of the patches to each other is also important. A landscape containing varied
forested and non-forested patches like the Moyer Salt Landscape tends to have greater biological
diversity than one in which the patches are similar. According to Harris (1984), "the full spectrum of
genetic resources can only be conserved by focusing on the heterogeneous landscape mosaic."
2. Boundary shape
In this analysis landscape, at higher elevations (above 7200 feet) forested ecosystems are nearly
continuous with small patches of shrub, forb, grass, rock or water. Below 7200 feet, coniferous forest
appears as stringers on the north side of slopes and other moist areas. These stringers have irregular
boundaries that follow landforms and moisture patterns. The edges are often not distinct, the density
of the forest decreases as it nears the limits of moisture. Boundary shape is important because a
convoluted boundary between matrix and patch or between two landscapes tends to promote the
interchange or flow of biotic and abiotic materials. The greater interchange results because the
boundary is longer in relationship to the area contained (Forman and Godron, 1986).
3. Edge and edge effect
The boundary of an ecosystem or patch is called an edge. Edges often share ecological characteris-
tics of the ecosystems that border them. Edges vary in widths, depending upon vegetation types,
ages, and conditions. The effect these edges have upon animals, plants and abiotic materials is
called the "edge effect."
Edge and edge effect are directly related to the level of heterogeneity between patches. Generally
as the amount of heterogeneity between the two ecological elements increases so does the edge
effect. For example, a patch of old growth that is surrounded by mature timber is less distinct and
therefore has less edge effect than an old growth patch surrounded by regeneration areas (Harris,
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Appendix H
1984). Edge effect is greatest between the forested communities and the non-forested ones. Edge
effect is greater between forested stands that differ in species composition than in stands of the same
species that differ in structure by one age class.
It has been shown that maintaining the proper ratio and juxtaposition of cover and foraging area is
important for producing high quality elk and mule deer habitat (Towry 1984). The edges between
forested and non-forested ecosystems in the Moyer Salt Landscape are especially attractive to these
large ungulates, concentrating them and the animals that prey on them throughout all but the winter
months.
The affinity of some species for the interface between the forested and non-forested ecosystems acts
to constrict or funnel movements and flow of other Sensitive Species and their prey, as well. North
American lynx benefit from edges in forested ecosystems as the increased shrubby vegetation
associated with early serai stages and riparian areas in timber habitat types provides cover and
forage for snowshoe hares (see Appendix F: Biological Evaluation, "Lynx"). While great gray owls,
boreal owls and northern goshawks often nest in the interior of forested patches, these species are
known to forage along the interface of forested/non-forested patches and riparian/forested patches
(Spahr et al. 1991; Jones 1979). Similarly, western big-eared bats are known to forage in riparian
areas and open meadows.
Three-toed woodpeckers have habitat preferences for the interior of forested patches. However, the
occurrence of fire increases the number of snags in timbered patches. As a result, this species is
attracted to forested patches that have recently burned, as well.
Lemhi penstemon is often found growing along the edge between forested and non-forested patch-
es. This species occurs where patches are disturbed or where roads are constructed through
patches, (see Appendix F: Biological Evaluation)
4. Homogeneity among patches
Fourteen (or 78 percent) of the forest classes in the analysis landscape are forest communities. These
stands comprise 73 percent of the analysis landscape acreage. The stands are homogeneous in that
they support trees as overstory vegetation with smaller trees, shrubs, grasses and forbs in the
understory. The forested ecosystems are comprised of conifers. In general, all of the forest ecosys-
tems have the potential to grow trees up to at least 12 inches in DBH and to provide a minimum of
50 percent vegetative cover in the form of mature trees.
Four (or 22 percent) of the forest classes are non-forest ecosystems but comprise over 27 percent
of the landscape acreage. These ecosystems do not support an overstory of trees (or the stocking
is very low) and some areas are covered mainly by rock or rock fragments where lichens are the only
vegetative cover.
5. Patch dllsturbance/recovery regimes
Disturbances are events that cause major changes in the normal ecological functioning of the
landscape, ecosystem, patch or corridor. These often set back ecological succession to an earlier
stage. Disturbance regimes are the recurring patterns of disturbance in a landscape, for example,
a pattern of recurring lightning-caused fires or annual floods in a landscape. Recovery regimes are
the recurring processes that systems undergo after the disturbance, usually a progression of sera!
stages which are characteristic for a particular habitat type.
Ecosystems possess particular disturbance/recovery regimes. These patterns of disturbance/
recovery can be used to predict how landscapes will recover from disturbance. Understanding the
natural regimes is important because it may help us predict the ecosystem’s response to man-caused
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Appendix H
disturbances, such as timber harvest. We can try to tailor timber harvest areas to replicate natural
disturbance/recovery regimes.
In the absence of timber harvest, fire is and has been the most common and severe of the disturbance
regimes in the analysis landscape. Forested and non-forested ecosystems respond differently to
disturbance agents like fire. While fire may set both types of ecosystems back to the earliest
successional stage (bare mineral soil), the grass/forb/shrub habitat types may be reestablished
within a relatively short time. However, forested habitat types, in the climax stage take hundreds of
years to become reestablished in the analysis area.
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Table H-1 : FOREST CLASS TOTALS FOR THE MOYER SALT EIS ANALYSIS AREA
Overlay
Code
Class Description
Total
Acres
Percent of
Total
1
DF, moderate slope, mature
3386
9.0
2
DF, moderate slope, immature
6275
16.8
3
DF, steep, mature
1128
3.3
4
DF, steep, immature
1716
4.6
5
DF Poles, moderate slope
163
0.4
14
PP or PP/DF mix, Seedling & Saplings, moderate slope
7
<0.1
17
AF, ES, or LP Mix, moderate slope, mature
2327
6.2
18
AF, ES, or LP Mix, moderate slopes, immature
4909
13.1
19
AF, ES, or LP Mix, Poles, moderate slope
5451
14.6
20
AF, ES, LP mix, Seedlings & Saplings, Mod.slope
303
0.8
22
LP moderate slope, immature
543
1.5
23
LP Poles, moderate slope
1151
3.1
33
Deforested, PP or DF moderate slope
17
<0.1
40
Unproductive (productivity/ potential 20 ft3/ac/yr
4402
11.8
60
Non-forest (less than 16.7% stocking of trees)
5517
14.7
90
Water
7
<0.1
817
Unsuitable for Timber Management, AF, ES, or LP Mix,
Mature
35.6
0.1
819
Unsuitable for Timber Management, AF, ES, or LP Mix,
Poles
24
<0.1
TOTALS
37,433
100
NOTE 1: The total acreage is larger than the 33,000 for the Moyer Salt Landscape because some
of the timber types (patches) extend into contiguous landscapes.
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Appendix H
Table H-2: Forest Class Category Descriptions
Size
Seedlings
Saplings
Post and Pole
Immature
Mature
up to 0.99 inches DBH
1.00" - 2.99"DBH
3.00“ - 4.99"DBH
5.00" - 8.99"DBH
(6.99"lodgepole)
9.00"+ DBH (7.00" lodgepole)
Species
Douglas-fir
Ponderosa Pine
Douglas-fir, Ponderosa Pine mix
Alpine fir, Englemann spruce, or lodgepole mix
Lodgepole
DF
PP
PP/DF
AF, ES, LP mix
IP
Slope
Moderate
Steep
<60% quartzites, <45% on oth-
er soils
>60% quartzites, >45% other
Not forested
Unproductive, not capable of growing trees (i.e.
rocky escarpments or too dry), shallow soils
Unproductive, burned and not yet revegetated
Non-forest, some trees but less that 16.7%
stocking of them
Unsuitable
For some reason (i.e., slope steepness, old
growth retention, etc.) these areas are not suit-
able for timber harvesting.
B. CORRIDOR ECOSYSTEMS
Forman and Godron (1986) identified three types of corridors, line, strip and stream corridors.
Depending on the characteristics of the corridor and species considered, corridors can function as
travel routes or as barriers to travel, as required habitat or as routes to access required habitats
(Harris, 1984).
1. Strip Corridor (riparian buffer strips)
A strip corridor is a comparatively wide band of habitat with a central environment that contains
species dependent on interior habitat type. This type of corridor is usually less common than line
corridors in a landscape. Types of corridors are scale-dependent and vary with the species consid-
ered. The continuous forested ridgelines of the Salmon River Mountains crest may serve as a strip
corridor for some species. As an example, several listed species are wide-ranging animals (wolves,
wolverine and lynx) which have large home ranges and could use this corridor for dispersal and to
access different landscapes.
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Appendix H
Similarly, corridor function can change seasonally for some species.
2. Line Corridors (roads)
A line corridor is narrower than a strip corridor, and differs in its absence of interior habitat. It is
dominated by edge species. Roads, trails and some of the stringers of forested ridges which intrude,
finger-like, into shrub/forb ecosystems at lower elevations in the analysis landscape are examples of
line corridors.
Approximately 50 miles of road corridors currently exist in the landscape. These range from jeep trails
to well-maintained, Forest two-lane gravel roads. They provide motorized access to the lower, middle
and upper slope areas in the landscape. Low-standard roads are not maintained for travel purposes
and can be difficult to drive. Even roads that are difficult to drive can be used for travel routes by ATVs,
horses, and foot travel. Some wildlife species may use these routes for travel.
3. Stream corridors
Stream corridors border water courses and vary in width according to the size of the stream (Forman
and Godron, 1986). They control water and mineral nutrient runoff, reducing siltation. A wide stream
corridor may also serve as a strip corridor for some species.
The predominant wetlands in the area are riparian spruce wetlands. These wetlands are found
adjacent to Woodtick Creek and its tributaries. This wetland type is characterized by an Engelmann
spruce (Picea engelmannii) overstory. Aspen (Populus tremuloides), alder (Alnus incana) and/or
(A.sinuata) and water birch (Betula occidentals) may be present. The understory often includes red
osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), Woods rose (Rosa woodsii), elderberry (Sambucus canaden-
sis), gooseberry (Ribes inerme) and thimbleberry (Rubus parviflora).
Several stream corridors exist in the analysis area. Valleys are steep and U-shaped at their headwa-
ters, trending towards V-shaped valley bottoms, typical of the Salmon River Mountains.
Approximately 30 miles (Salt, Perm and South portion of Woodtick drainages) of riparian corridors
exist. Small, high elevation ponds and wet meadows drain into dendritic streams. These corridors
provide travel and migration routes through a wide range of ecosystems for some species.
a. Nodes
Nodes (where corridors widen), narrows (where corridors constrict) and the intersection of two or
more corridors are places of special ecological importance. These sites act as funnels or collection
places for animals and plants and thus collection places for nutrients and energy. When the corridors
involved are riparian corridors, their importance is increased both because of the presence of water
in an arid environment and because these corridors are connected with other riparian corridors.
Nodes in corridors occur in the analysis landscape where streams join, where forested corridors
meet, and where meadows intersect.
b. Heterogeneity
Corridors in the Moyer Salt Landscape are homogeneous in habitat over much of their length.
However, some corridors do change with elevation and aspect. This heterogeneity is obvious in the
analysis landscape where forested corridors change with aspect from Douglas-fir dominated to
subalpine fir dominated communities. Large patches of shrubs and forbs are often found on south
or west facing slopes, at lower elevation. Smaller patches are found at higher elevations.
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Appendix H
c. Disturbance/recovery regimes
Disturbance and recovery regimes in all three types of corridors in the analysis landscape are related
to fire, water, insects and drought. Prior to 1900, fire played the most significant role in modifying
habitat in corridors in the Moyer Salt Landscape.
Fire history is poorly understood in these types (Bradley, Fischer, Noste, 1992). Usually, fire is a less
frequent disturbance on moist or wet sites than in the rest of the landscape. Fires may be more severe
in effect, because of a higher density of vegetation and because rhizomes and seeds of undergrowth
that grow in the organic layer of soil may be consumed. At higher elevations, slower decomposition
rates, increase the down-fuel loading. Low smoldering fires are most common in wet areas. This
removes small groups of trees rather than an entire stand or drainage in these wet communities.
d. Aquatic Habitats for TE&S fish species
The highly migratory nature of anadromousfish species, like the Chinook salmon requires uninterrupt-
ed aquatic travel routes between freshwater spawning and rearing habitats and oceanic feeding
grounds used during most of the adult life of the fish. These routes must be available throughout the
period of juvenile out-migration, and once again throughout the period of adult migration to inland
spawning reaches.
General habitat requirements vary by life stage, with clean gravel substrates and water temperatures
of 40-55 degrees F required for successful spawning, and clear, cool streams with good cover
provided by vegetation, organic debris, or boulders are required for successful juvenile Chinook
salmon rearing (USDA Forest Service 1991)
Bull trout and Westslope cutthroat trout require cool, clear, well-oxygenated streams, and prefer slow
water pool habitats. Both species may spend their entire lives in cold headwater areas, or they may
migrate to more productive feeding waters of larger streams or lakes and tributary or headwater
spawning areas within smaller streams. These journeys require full passage capabilites between
adult and spawning/rearing areas during the periods when these migrations occur.
C. MATRIX ECOSYSTEM
The Moyer Salt Landscape conifer matrix consists of 73 percent forested and 27 percent non-forested
habitats. This matrix is characterized by conifer stands composed of different tree species and of
trees of different sizes and age classes. Some of the forested ecosystems in the analysis landscape
are predominated by one age class while others are multi-aged. Douglas-fir forest and mixed conifer
forests each comprise approximately 1/3 of the landscape. Patch sizes range from 8 acres to 1093
acres for Douglas-fir and 7 acres to 2,545 acres for mixed conifer. Pure lodgepole pine stands
comprise about 5 percent or 1700 acres of the landscape. The remainder of the landscape consists
of shrubs and forbs, sometimes with scattered trees, rock outcrops and wetlands.
Many of the forested ecosystems have more than one tree species represented in the stand. In
addition to conifer trees, a variety of shrub and non-woody piant species are present in the conifer
forested matrix. (For a description of habitat types see chapter 3-16 in the main document.)
The conifer forest matrix is the predominant ecological influence in the landscape. The presence of
Douglas-fir forest and mixed conifer forest varies with elevation and aspect, with most of the Douglas-
fir type occurring at the lower elevations (below 7,500 feet) on the west 1/2 of the landscape. These
patches are usually found on southern and westerly aspects. They are also found on northerly
aspects at lower elevations.
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Appendix H
The upper slopes and northerly aspects support a lodgepole pine community comprised of lodge-
pole pine stands and mixed conifer stands of lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir.
Relatively pure stands of subalpine fir or Engelmann spruce are present along stream bottoms and
in wet basins interspersed with small wet meadows.
Whitebark pine and subalpine fir grow on high elevation ridges.
SIS. PATCH AND CORRIDOR FUNCTION WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE
Forman and Godron (1 986) have defined function as 'the interaction among spatial elements, that
is, the flow of energy, materials, and species among the component elements... Determining and
predicting these flows or interactions among landscape elements (ecosystems) is understanding
landscape function.”
A. ECOSYSTEM CONNECTIVENESS
Connectivity is a measure of how spatially continuous a corridor or matrix is (Forman and Godron
1 986). Since the presence or absence of breaks in a corridor is considered the most important factor
in determining the effectiveness of both conduit and barrier functions, connectivity is the primary
measure of corridor function (Merriam, 1984; Baudry, 1984; Forman and Godron 1986). When
connectivity occurs as an intersecting or thin, elongated strip, the elements may function as a series
of corridors facilitating both migration and gene exchange among species. However, a high level of
connectivity in a landscape corridor has several consequences since elements may function as either
physical barriers, separating other elements, or as conduits linking elements depending on the
species considered. For instance, a riparian area can act as either an effective physical and biological
barrier or as a conduit between two landscape elements.
In some cases, an element may encircle other landscape elements and create isolated biological
"islands" which are genetically isolated from other populations of independent species. Thus, within
the same landscape, populations of mice, butterflies, and clover may be genetically isolated if
separated by barrier elements (Forman and Godron, 1986).
B. POROSITY OF ECOSYSTEMS
Porosity is a measure of the density of patches in a landscape, regardless of patch size (Forman and
Godron 1986). It is measured by counting the number of patches with closed boundaries that lie
within the landscape. The greater the number of closed patches, the greater the porosity.
Porosity is linked to the genetic variability and isolation of some species present in the landscape,
and as such it provides a basis for determining the threat to biodiversity when considering ecosystem
modifications like timber sales or fires. The existing porosity within the Moyer Salt Landscape is 208
forested patches and 228 non-forested patches for a total of 436 patches in the landscape.
Porosity and genetic variability
Since porosity is an overall indicator of the degree of species isolation and, therefore, of the potential
genetic variability present within populations of animals and plants in a landscape, it can serve as
an comparative indicator of biological diversity (Forman and Godron 1986).
Edge effect and porosity
Landscape porosity is related to foraging for some species, since the density and arrangement
of suitable patches is an important component of habitat quality (Forman and Godron 1986).
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Appendix H
Porosity is also an index of the amount of edge (and thus the edge effect) present in a
landscape. Edge width is related to several factors including local wind patterns, sun penetra-
tion and differences in the structure of the patches or the patch and the surrounding matrix
concerned (Forman and Godron 1986). Edge length and width are factors that have many
implications for wildlife management (Leopold 1 933). Edges often have a different complement
of species inhabiting them and the abundance of individuals in an edge is often different than
found in the interior of either adjoining patch. Sometimes edge species replace interior species
when the interior of patches are modified and the effective edge between the two patches is
increased or a new edge is created. This change in habitat can lead to an increase in predation
on interior species by edge predators and an increase in interspecific competition (Wilcox
1985).
The edge portion of a landscape element function could be compared to that of a semi-
permeable membrane, filtering the flows in and out of the element. Although the edge effect
refers to the structural characteristics of the edge, particularly the organisms, this effect refers
to how the edge affects flow. Flows may be described as movement across the edge, such
as drifting snow or sand being intercepted by the dense vegetation of a woods border, or as
movements along the edge, such as herbivores and predators using the edge as a conduit
(Forman and Godron, 1986). Generally there is more of an edge effect between forested and
non-forested communities than between different forested communities, because the hetero-
geneity between these patches is great.
Many species of flying vertebrates (birds and mammals) and invertebrates follow the edges
of patches when they move across the landscape. In addition, many species follow corridor
edges when moving across or around patches that lack structural diversity (shrub/grassland
habitat). Therefore, edges of patches that border meadows, riparian corridors and timber
stringers are of particular importance as travel ways for many species.
Conversely, low porosity sometimes indicates the presence of remote habitat in a landscape,
a condition that is important for species which require habitat distant from boundaries (Forman
and Godron 1986, p. 170). An example would be interior old-growth dependent species.
In addition, the edge between forested and non-forested ecosystems affects the non-forested
patch by altering the evaporation rates and surface wind speeds. Hedgerow studies indicate
that evaporation could be reduced for a distance of up to 1 6 times the height of the edge forest.
Also, the studies show that wind speeds could be reduced for distances of up to 28 times the
height of the forested edge (Forman and Godron 1986).
C. T&E, P, AND S Species and Porosity/Connectivity
No TEPS animal species are known to be indigenous only to the Moyer Salt Landscape. This means
that of the known animals and plants that occur in the landscape all are genetically connected with
conspecific populations in other landscapes. Therefore, we can conclude that resident species are
adapted to the current level of porosity and connectivity in the landscape. Since the Moyer Salt
Landscape is composed of 436 patches with a mean size of 86 acres. Since habitat "perception" is
scale-related, it is not surprising that higher order animals which have relatively large home ranges
have remained genetically linked to populations in other landscapes. However, the distribution and
taxonomy of plants in east central Idaho has not been thoroughly investigated and very little is known
about invertebrates that occur there. Some endemic species of invertebrates and varieties of plants
in the analysis landscape may have become reproductively isolated some time in the past and are
now genetically distinct.
All but one of the T&E, P and S animal species which could potentially occur in the Moyer Salt
Landscape are either species with large home ranges or flying species which can cross or frequent
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
various habitats. The exception is the spotted frog. A survey of spotted frogs has not been conducted
on the Salmon National Forest, and we do not know if this species occurs in the analysis landscape.
There are no obvious barriers to spotted frogs in the Moyer Salt Landscape. Spotted frogs can move
between patches of appropriate habitat and along riparian and timber corridors. Spotted frogs have
been found at various locations throughout the forest, therefore, we can assume that spotted frogs
have the ability to colonize and maintain genetic connections in habitat patches which are geographi-
cally separated.
The only T, E, P or S plant species thought to occur in the Moyer Salt Landscape is Lemhi penstemon.
This plant has a simple dispersal: the capsules open and the seeds fall out and take root near the
plant. Apparently, seeds of this plant are not transported by animals or wind. This type of dispersion
requires that appropriate growing habitats be connected so that individuals can colonize habitats in
successive steps. Lemhi penstemon is found in a variety of habitats from open-forested patches to
shrub/steppe habitat. This habitat tolerance allows the plant to move from landscape to landscape
by way of appropriate habitat patches.
Many species cannot survive in one ecosystem and must cross ecosystem boundaries to obtain food,
water and/or shelter. Landscape heterogeneity is the fundamental cause of species movement.
Observations predict that topographic, vegetational, and soil heterogeneity determine most of the
movement patterns of large animals (Forman and Godron 1986). Many species will avoid passing
through certain ecosystems that place their life at risk due to exposure or predation (Forman and
Godron 1986). The following is a list of T&E, P, and S species and the community types they are
thought to avoid or select. Where habitat preferences are not known, a blank space appears.
Information is based on the biological evaluations and assessments in Appendix E and on Harris
(1984), Spahr et al. (1991), and Hornocker and Hash (1981).
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Appendix H
Table H-3: TEPS Select/ Avoidance Communities
COMMU-
NITY
Wolf
Lynx
Wolverine
Goshawk
Boreal
owl
G.Gray
owl
B.E Bat
Three-toed
Woodpecker
Spotted
Frog
DF Mature
Select
Select
Select
Select
Select
Select
DF Immature
AF/ES/LP,
Mature
Select
Select
Select
Select
Select
Select
Select
AF/ES/LP,
Imm.
AF/ES/LP,
Regen/
sapling
Select
Avoid
LP Mature
Select
Select
Select
Select
LP Immature
LP
Regen./sapl.
Select
Avoid
Rock, No
Veg.
Avoid
Avoid
Avoid
Avoid
Avoid
Avoid
Avoid
Shrub/
steppe
Select
Avoid
Avoid
Select
Avoid
Riparian Area
Select
Select
Select
Select
Select
Clearcut
Avoid
Avoid
Avoid
Avoid
Select
Avoid
Avoid = Species is suspected to avoid this community on the basis of available literature. However, for most of these species this community is
not a barrier to travel if the patch is small enough.
Select = species is reported to occupy this habitat at least part of the year.
D. FLOW
1. Plants and animals
Animals and plants cross landscapes by moving along routes that are regular and that are deter-
mined by natural disturbance, soil type, ecosite features, and human influence (Forman and Godron,
1986).
Species with specific environmental requirements not generally present in the landscape use "rest
stops" and "stepping stones" to cross landscapes. Ecosystems that possess the necessary environ-
mental requirements for a species and which become its preferred habitat are those that are located
close enough to one another or contain adequate rest stops so that the organism can successfully
travel from one location to another. For example, Findley and Anderson (1 956) discovered that the
existence of riparian forests which could be used as dispersal corridors was critical to the distribution
of many species.
The maximum distance between stepping stones is specific to particular organisms. For instance,
wolves can travel much greater distances than voles between rest stops or stepping stones. Harris
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Appendix H
(1984) has indicated that when addressing movement of a particular species within and across
landscapes, four factors should be considered: 1) the linear distance between acceptable habitats,
2) requirements related to sedentary versus migratory species, 3) habitat specificity (how specific the
species’ habitat requirements are), and 4) tolerance for variation in its habitat. The combined effects
of these factors seem to operate most significantly on amphibians and reptiles, followed by mammals,
permanent resident birds, and migratory birds (Harris, 1984).
Interior birds and small mammals may not be able to use or cross some corridors due to the width
of the corridor. For example, riparian corridors may be too narrow for some birds to nest in, but they
could use them for travel. On the other hand, large streams may act as a travel barrier for small
mammals and non-flying invertebrates. In some cases small mammals and non-flying invertebrates,
may find bridges to be corridors or barriers. Similarly, fallen trees across streams, roads with culverts
or with bridges facilitate barrier crossings.
Findley and Anderson (1 956) found that the distribution of mammal species in the Colorado Rockies
was inversely proportional to their dependence on forests. For example, species which depend
exclusively on old-growth are distributed over a smaller range than habitat generalists. Examples of
each from the analysis landscape are the goshawk, which requires mature/old growth forest for
nesting, and the black bear, whose habitat spans many diverse habitats (Spahr et al. 1991; Towry
1984).
Distribution of plant species is dependent on long and short distance plant dispersal and is consid-
ered a part of landscape function. Forman and Godron (1986) stated that, no matter what the
dispersal mechanism or distance traveled, three general types of plant movement appear to
occur: short-term environmental fluctuations, long-term changes, and new species introductions.
Short-term - Distribution boundaries of plant species fluctuate with short-term, usually cyclic
environmental changes. This type of dispersal occurs with annual plants Moyer Salt Land-
scape.
Some plant species are introduced in new areas and spread widely. This type of movement
is evidenced by the recent invasion into the Moyer Salt Landscape by several weed species
like spotted knapweed ( Centaurea maculosa) and cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum).
Long-term - environmental changes cause species extinction, adaptation or relocation.
a. Airborne flows
Airborne flows across boundaries occur when flying vertebrates and invertebrates and plants which
produce wind dispersed pollen or seeds all move from patch to patch and landscape to landscape.
Examples in the analysis landscape include: goshawks, western big-eared bats, boreal owls, three-
toed woodpecker, great gray owls, sagebrush (A/temes/'a spp.) and bull thistle Cirsium vulgare. In
addition, several plants in the analysis landscape depend on birds, mammals, and insects to pick up
seeds and pollen and transport them across patches. Examples include: Clark’s nutcrackers ( Nu -
cifrage Columbiana), which strip seeds from whitebark pine ( Pinus albicaulis) cones and then inadver-
tently plant them when the birds make seed caches in other patches (Hutchins and Lanner 1982);
furbearers or humans which pick up beggar ticks ( Bidens cernua ) in their fur or clothing and carry
them across patch boundaries; bear or foxes which eat rose ( Rosa woodsii) hips and carry them to
other patches; and when pollen is picked up on the pelage (fur) of animals or the bodies of cursorial
insects and carried across patch boundaries.
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Appendix H
b. Overland flows
Overland flows between patches and landscapes in the analysis area occur when cursorial (adapted
for running) and fossorial (adapted for burrowing) animals move across habitat boundaries. General-
ly, the patch boundaries within the Moyer Salt Landscape are not barriers to large terrestrial species
since most have large habitat home ranges or are generalists.
As with vertebrates, overland flows occur when invertebrates move across patch boundaries, either
over or under ground. Invertebrates are the most numerous animals in the Moyer Salt Landscape and
the least understood. No baseline data on invertebrate populations or species occurrence have been
collected in the analysis landscape. We do not know which species find patch boundaries to be
barriers.
Examples of overland flow of invertebrates and plants are: furbearers or humans who pick up beggar
ticks (Bidens cernua) in their fur or clothing and carry them across patch boundaries: bears or foxes
who eat rose (Rosa woodsii) hips and carry seeds to other patches; and pollen, picked up on the
fur of animals or the bodies of insect and carried across patch boundaries.
Overland flows of TEPS species occur when cursorial animals like wolves, wolverines and lynx move
from one patch to another. Considering the home range and movement patterns of these species
and the small size of most of the patches in the Moyer Salt Landscape, it is doubtful that any of the
patch boundaries act as barriers to these species. Spotted frogs are reported to move overland
seasonally and may cross some patch boundaries during this time (see Appendix G: BE “Spotted
Frogs").
2. Energy
Energy, nutrients, and most species move from one ecosystem element to another in a landscape;
none is static. Much of the energy flows and movements of a landscape follow dendritic patterns as
does water in landscapes with steep terrain. Harris (1 984) states:
"Although greater amounts of potential energy may be associated with high elevation upland
systems, this energy is generally more diffuse and less utilizable. The generally more usable
forms of energy occur in the concentrated pathways (streams and riparian strips) and/or
lower-elevation floodplain sites. These sites will manifest higher primary and secondary pro-
ductivity and will support higher densities of wildlife. Since the energy sources are diverse ....
, the food web will be correspondingly complex. Because of the diversity and productivity of
the food chains, the ratio of carnivores to herbivores will generally increase ...."
In addition, young forests may be an energy source and old forests may be a nutrient and energy
sink (as in the case of a carbon sink). Edge may also be a sink for water and snow melt.
The goshawk finds much of its food in open forested areas or meadows. Therefore, these vegetative
communities are the energy and nutrients source while the older forest communities which serve as
nesting and rearing areas are the sink.
Fish have source/sink relationships to their ecosystems also and by feeding in some areas and
resting in others.
One example of how the source/sink function effects plants is in the role of effective precipitation.
Edges between densely forested and lightly or non-forested patches are known for heavy snow
accumulation. These areas of additional snow can result in more usable water for plants and as other
environmental modifications, such as cooler average temperatures, delays of early plant budding,
and early frost damage to plants.
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Appendix H
Vector of energy flow:
Wind, surface water and subsurface water flows are all vectors for the movement of energy and
contribute greatly to ecosystems and landscape function.
Wind flows are very important in the process of snow drifting, seed and pollen dissemination,
cold and warm air drainage, fire spread patterns and the movement of insects and disease.
Water flows and their relationship to landscape ecology are not yet fully understood, but are
known to be very important. Some functions include: transfer of nutrients and soil, water for
plant and animals, barriers to animal and plant movement and barriers to disturbance agents
like fire.
E. RESISTANCE TO FLOW
Landscape resistance addresses the ease with which wind, water, plants and animals move across
ecosystem boundaries. Forman and Godron (1986) state that boundary crossing frequency is a
general, easily measured indicator of landscape resistance.
Boundary crossing frequency is a measure of the number of boundaries per unit of length
that an object crosses in moving across a landscape (Forman and Godron 1 986). For example,
a deer may begin at one side of the landscape in a heavily-forested old-growth patch, then
move to a younger tree patch, then to an open meadow. In the process, it would cross
boundaries separating the old-growth from the younger tree patches and then the younger
tree patch from the meadow. In this situation, the deer would move easier betweem the
forested patches than from the forest to the meadow. According to Forman and Godron
(1986), an animal that encounters more similar patches has a lower boundary crossing
frequency and therefore may move rapidly across the area.
In determining boundary crossing frequency, it may be helpful to consider boundary discrete-
ness in the calculations (Forman and Godron, 1986, pg. 405). A boundary would be consid-
ered highly discrete if it were abrupt, as between forested and non-forested ecosystems.
Conversely, a boundary would be considered not very discrete if it were between old growth
and mature forest ecosystems.
It is not practical to calculate boundary crossing frequency for all species. We have used the
following approach to provide a general idea for the rate of flow of materials and animals across
the landscape:
To estimate boundary crossing frequency we counted the number of patch boundaries
encountered on the 400-foot topographic lines from one side of the landscape to the other
(Table H-4). Patches were defined by forest class codes as either forested or non-forested.
Boundaries crossed were categorized as either: forested to forested, forested to non-forested,
or non-forested to non-forested.
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Appendix H
Table H-4. Boundary Crossing Frequency
ELEVATION
TYPE
#
6800
F/F
52
6800
F/N
61
6800
N/N
14
TOTAL
127
7200
F/F
63
7200
F/N
59
7200
N/N
7
TOTAL
129
7600
F/F
76
7600
F/N
43
7600
N/N
1
TOTAL
130
8000
F/F
47
8000
F/N
42
8000
N/N
2
TOTAL
91
8400
F/F
19
8400
F/N
68
8400
N/N
1
TOTAL
88
Several conclusions can be drawn from the boundary crossing data:
1 . The existing landscape does not have very large continuous patches (tens of thousands
of acres) of any one ecosystem type.
2. The landscape relatively patchy, as indicated by the number of boundaries.
3. The landscape is relatively diverse, as indicated by the mix of boundary types (Forested/
Forested, Forested/Non-forested and Non-Forested/Non-forested).
After considering the patch structure, patch location, patch shape and other landscape information
considered above, the following conclusions were drawn.
1. No patch is totally connected to another patch. Patches 14 (PP or PP/DF mix, seedlings
and saplings), 33 (deforested), 90 (water), and 817 (unsuitable, AF, ES, or LP mix, Sawtimber,
mature) were represented by only one patch each, which represented less than one percent
of the landscape acreage.
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Appendix H
2. The non-forest patches represent approximately 12 percent of the landscape and have a
relatively high degree of connectiveness particularly at lower elevations. The open forested
ecosystems represent approximately 1 4 percent of the landscape and also have a relatively
high degree of connectiveness in their current condition.
3. Non-forested and open forested communities (code 40) account for 26 percent of the
landscape area. These areas are represented at all elevation positions in the landscape.
4. Of the forested patches, codes 17 (six percent), 18 (thirteen percent), and 19 (15 percent)
are moderate to highly connective, but are found predominately at elevations above 7,000 feet
in the landscape. The other forested ecosystems in this landscape have relatively low connec-
tiveness and are relatively isolated.
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Appendix H
SECTION II. EFFECTS ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED ALTERNATIVES
I. LANDSCAPE
A. SURROUNDING LANDSCAPES
1 . Adjacent landscapes: Conifer forest matrix
a. Heterogeneity and homogeneity: to the Moyer Salt Landscape
Landscape porosity would increase by 0.9 to 2.6 percent of the landscape (depending on the
alternative selected) with the addition of 292 to 847 acres of openings. This shift to early successional
stages would reduce the average age of trees in the landscape. A shift from environmental openings
to human-caused openings would occur. Up to 17.8 miles of new roads would be constructed,
providing corridors that facilitate human access despite road closures.
These actions would cause the Moyer landscape to become more similar (homogeneous) to the
Fawn Creek, Iron Lake and Morgan Creek landscape and less similar to the Panther Creek landscape.
b. Movement among the landscapes
I. Flow
(a) Wind, water, nutrients, energy.
All of the proposed action alternatives will likely increase water and nutrient flow to downstream
landscapes beginning with the Panther Landscape, directly west of the Moyer Salt Landscape.
Clearcutting and shelterwood cutting on 292 to 847 acres or 0.9- 2.6 percent of the landscape
will increase subsurface and/or surface water flow because there are fewer trees to take up
the water. The excess water is either taken up by downhill trees which may allow them to grow
faster or it will result in higher flows or longer flows of water in Salt Creek, Woodtick Creek and
Moyer Creek, which flow into Panther Creek.
Some nutrients will flow downhill from the newly created roads and openings, via surface water
flow.
Timber harvesting can cause an increase in the total water produced by a drainage. Non-
forested areas can accumulate more snowpack than adjacent forested lands because of the
reduced snow interception by tree cover and by redistribution of snow during storms. Also the
transpiration rate is decreased when trees are removed.
The increase in non-forested or lightly forested areas generated by clearcutting and shelter-
wood cutting ranges from 292 acres to 847 acres or 0.9 percent to 2.6 percent of the
landscape, depending on the alternative. The preferred alternative is 815 acres or 2 percent
of the Moyer Salt Landscape.
The amount of increase in water and nutrient flow is difficult to measure because of natural
variability in water flow. Generally, a significant change in water flow does not occur until 20-30
percent of the watershed is affected (Troendle and Leaf, 1980) [Refer to the Hydrology Effects
section (Chapter IV) for further information.]
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Appendix H
Of the three watersheds that would be affected by logging, Woodtick Creek would have a
maximum of 8.2 percent disturbance; Salt Creek, 14.3 percent ; and "Perm" Creek, 14.2
percent. Ail of these are below the 20 percent threshold for significant effects to water yield.
See Table IV-2 for the percent of affected land by watershed by alternative.
(b) Plants In general
The flow of plants between the Moyer Salt Lnadscape and the surrounding landscapes would
not be effected by any of the proposed alternatives. However, as a result of the construction
of up to 17.8 miles of new road and the reconstruction of up to 9.3 miles in the Moyer Salt
Landscape could create new corridors that could facilitate the movement of plant species,
including invasion of exotic plant species, particularly knapweed. Knapweed is known to be
spread by motorized vehicles and so could enter the landscape along roads from the north.
In all alternatives chemical herbicides will be sprayed along roads annually as needed to
control noxious weeds.
(c) Animals: birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, invertebrates
The flow of animals between the Moyer Salt Landscape landscape and the surrounding
landscapes may be altered by this project. Up to 17.8 miles of new travel corridors will be
created, facilitating the movement of some species including humans. Slash will be placed on
some of the roads (extending from cutbank to fill slope). This will discourage travel by humans
on foot and on horseback. Openings will be left to allow travel perpendicular to the road
(including humans). They may serve as a filter for some species.
(d) T&E, Proposed and Sensitive species
TEP&S species are the species that are probably the most sensitive to landscape alterations
in the Moyer Salt Landscape because of their limited populations. Proposed alterations of the
landscape could improve habitat, not effect habitat or degrade habitat for a particular species
depending on the scale and level of disturbance of the alteration. Alterations could be benefi-
cial for some TEP&S species and not beneficial for other TEP&S species. The following
discussion of the effects of the proposed alternatives is provided to analyze the effects of the
alternatives on potential habitat for these species.
Anerlcan Lynx
New openings created will provide an additional 292 to 847 acres of new browse for snowshoe
hare, the main food source for American Lynx. The potential travel routes of lynx may be altered
because lynx follow ridges and saddles when mature timber is present and will usually not
cross openings of greater than 300 feet (Koehler and Brittell 1990).
All of the openings proposed in all the action alternatives are larger than 300 feet across. The
number of openings ranges from 7 to 32 depending on the alternatives. These clearcut areas
may be avoided by lynx. Suitable travel corridors are likely available in the landscape.
Wolverine
Wolverine depend on large, diverse ungulate populations, also feeding on fruits, marmots and
rodents. Wolverines depend on mature or intermediate subalpine fir habitat, particularly south
and easterly slopes and edge ecotonal areas around cliffs, slides, blowdowns, basins,
swamps and meadows.
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Appendix H
Wolverines have been known to cross clearcut areas but seem reluctant to do so, based on
tracks that showed they ran or loped through openings in a straight line as opposed to their
normal meandering movement (Hornocker and Hash, 1980).
New roads through the area would be closed to motorized use after five years of the comple-
tion of the timber sale. This would limit the access of humans, the only known predator of the
wolverine. Some human access may occur on foot or horseback on roads that are not covered
with slashpiles.
However, the large home range of wolverines (up to 150 sq. miles), the low population
densities and non-selective feeding nature make it fairly unsusceptible to site-specific disturb-
ances, such as timber sales.
Gray wolves
Under each action alternative (except Alternative 5 (helicopter)) the proposed new roads,
which would be closed after harvest, would provide a new travel route form the Moyer Salt
Landscape to the adjoining landscape to the north for cursorial mammals such as wolves. The
alternatives which leave the greatest miles of unrestricted travel routes (some roads will be
blocked by piles of slash) would have the greatest effect on potential flow of cursorial mam-
mals.
As a result of restricting vehicle access on all proposed newly constructed roads and restrict-
ing human travel via foot or horseback by piling debris on portions of newly constructed roads,
human access and presence, after completion of proposed sale activities, should not be
appreciably different (i.e. more) than the existing condition.
Spotted Frogs
Spotted frogs are an aquatic species. They likely follow stream corridors. Woodtick Creek is
the only creek in the analysis area that is likely to provide habitat for them. One culvert is
proposed in Woodtick Creek. It is an open-bottom culvert (similar to a small bridge that leaves
the stream bottom intact. This will likely not affect the passage of spotted frogs.
No proposed cutting units are within 0.3 miles of Woodtick Creek, and most are further than
0.5 miles of it. This is far enough from the creek that there should not be an increase in water
temperature since trees which provide shade for the stream will remain.
Potential increase in seasonal water flow caused by fewer trees may be beneficial to spotted
frog habitat by maintaining cooler water temperatures preferred by spotted frogs.
Birds
Boreal owls, northern three-toed woodpeckers, and great gray owls move readily in the spruce
fir life zones. All of these species may use newly created opening for foraging. The openings
will provide edge habitat and preferred feeding sites.
II. Corridors of adjacent landscapes
a. Wind, water, nutrients and energy.
Localized wind patterns will change as a result of new openings but prevailing winds will
remain the same. The openings provide few, if any trees to slow down the wind.
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Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Stream flow from the Moyer Salt Landscape to the Panther Landscape will continue uninter-
rupted.
Energy in the form of biomass will be reduced until vegetation is reestablished in the openings.
This will occur within 5-10 years after disturbance events.
Soil disturbance associated with timber harvest and road construction can also cause acceler-
ated soil erosion. Generally, accelerated erosion rates are highest immediately following
disturbance. The erosion rates of road fill slopes will generally return to normal levels within
2-3 years. Revegetation of road cut slopes may take much longer. Road cut slopes may not
revegetate completely because of lack of topsoil, steepness of slopes, or high percentage of
bedrock.
Mitigation measures listed in Chapter 2 should limit the amount of erosion. Some erosion will
likely continue to occur and some nutrients may flow out of the landscape, westward into the
Panther landscape and beyond via Panther Creek.
b. Plants in general
Newly created road corridors would increase potential access for plant seeds. Plant seeds can
be transported by motorized vehicles, by animals, some of which may utilize new corridors that
facilitate travel, by wind dispersion and water dispersion.
The introduction of exotic plants would occur. In all action alternatives exotic plants found
along roads will be treated with herbicides, (see Table 11.8 for approximate acreages to be
treated for noxious plants).
c. Animals: birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, and Invertebrates.
Newly created road corridors would facilitate movement of some species along them and
create localized barriers to other species that have difficulty crossing them. The 14.6 to 17.8
miles of new road will facilitate human access even if roads are closed. In alternatives 2, 2A,
4 and 6, approximately 6.5 miles of roads will be covered with slash piles to discourage human
access. For a listing of road miles by alternative, see Table H - 10.
Moyer Creek, Woodtick Creek, Salt Creek and other smaller creeks will continue to provide
corridors for aquatic species. Genetic interchange among fish in the Moyer Salt Landscape
can take place. The Panther Creek corridor links the Moyer Salt Landscape with the Fawn
Creek and Morgan Creek landscapes. The Salmon River links Moyer Salt Landscape aquati-
cally with the Iron Lake landscape.
d. T&E, Proposed and Sensitive species
See the above discussion under Movement among the Landscapes.
<
H - 26
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
II. LANDSCAPE ECOSYSTEMS STRUCTURE: PATCHES, CORRIDORS, AND MATRIX
A. PATCH ECOSYSTEMS
1. Patches In the analysis landscape
Proposed human-made openings for all alternatives range from 4 to 95 acres. Of the 18 ecosystem
types represented in the project landscape, openings would be created in 7 to 9 types depending
on the alternative selected. For a breakdown of how much in each type will be converted to early
successional, stages, see Table H-5 and H-6.
Table H-5: Acres Cut In Each Timber Class by Alternative
Forest
Class
Alt
1
Alt
2
Alt
2A
Alt
3
Alt
4
Alt
5
Alt
6
01
0
0
0
0
0
10
0
02
0
103
103
162
138
104
2.3
03
0
21
21
21
22
22
22
04
0
0
0
0
14
0
14
17
0
102
85
51
135
83
200
18
0
81
78
60
115
0
127
19
0
132
132
104
259
15
159
20
0
20
18
0
0
0
24
22
0
20
18
20
21
29
106
23
0
70
62
80
106
22
106
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EiS
Appendix H
Table H-6: Percentage Total Proposed Harvest in Each Timber Class by
Alternative
Class
1
2
2A
3
4
5
6
01
0
0
0
0
0
0.3
0
02
0
1.6
1.6
2.6
2.2
1.7
2.3
03
0
1.7
1.7
1.7
1.8
22
1.8
04
0
0
0
0
0.8
0
0.8
17
0
4.4
3.7
2.2
5.8
3.6
8.6
18
0
1.7
1.6
1.2
2.3
0
2.6
19
0
2.4
2.4
1.9
4.8
0.3
2.9
20
0
6.6
5.9
0
6.6
0
7.9
22
0
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.9
5.3
3.9
23
0
6.1
5.4
7.0
9.2
2.0
9.2
b. Heterogeneity and homogeneity within and between patches
i. Between Patches
Nearly all of the patches surrounding the cut patches are forested patches of Douglas-fir, mixed
conifer and iodgepole pine. These patches range from even-age single species to multi-storied mixed
conifer. Adjacent to cut patches 7, 10 and 13 are small patches of low density forest (type 40).
Of the four types of patches created in the action alternatives, clearcut patches would form the most
discrete boundaries with adjacent forested patches. Shelterwood patches would be less dense with
more regular tree spacing than adjacent forested patches. Both types would have less structure than
some of the surrounding forest patches.
Clearcut with leave island patches would be more similar to surrounding forest patches by maintain-
ing tree species diversity and structure. Modified irregular shelterwood would be the most similar to
adjacent forest patches because of irregular patterns, multi-storied structures and tree species
diversity.
Alternative 5 would have the greatest homogeneity to the existing landscape because it affects far
fewer acres than the other action alternatives (see Table H-7). The patches created by Alternative 2A
would have greater homogeneity to the natural landscape than other action alternatives because it
creates a variety of patch types with varied structures and tree species.
H - 28
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Table H-7: Acres In Each Harvest Method by Alternative
TOTAL ACREAGE OF CUT PATCHES BY ALTERNATIVE
ALTERNATIVES
1
2
2A
3
4
5
6
CLEARCUT PATCHES
0
410
20
255
645
124
186
CLEARCUT PATCHES W/ISLANDS
0
0
324
0
0
0
363
SHELTERWOOD
0
158
0
170
202
168
34
MODIFIED IRREGULAR SHELTERWOOD
0
0
158
0
0
0
168
TOTAL
0
568
502
425
847
292
168
Note: Alternative 2A will maintain 64 islands of 1/2-1 acre covering 58 total acres. Alternative 6 will
have patches totalling 64 acres.
Alternative 4 affects the largest acreage and creates the greatest number of patches. Man-made
patches range in size from 1 acre to 95 acres. Natural patches range in size from 8 acres to 2,545
acres for forest types that will be affected by this proposal. The openings created are within the size
range of patches found in the natural landscape. Environmentally created patch sizes vary widely.
The man-made patches proposed are smaller on average than those created by natural disturb-
ances. The following table displays the minimum and maximum patch size of Alternative 4 which
affects the largest acreage and creates the greatest number of patches.
Table H-8: Forest Class Size Averages (acres): Exlslng and Proposed Harvest
Existing
Proposed
Min.
Max.
Mean
Std. Dev.
Min.
Max.
Forest Types
Alternative 4
2
8
604
86
104
8
88
3
8
233
77
56
22
22
4
13
326
66
62
4
10
17
30
842
212
247
4
40
18
23
1918
351
474
3
49
19
32
2545
389
644
1
60
20
17
114
38
30
2
15
22
25
103
60
23
21
21
23
8
285
89
87
18
42
H - 29
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Units 7, 1 0 & 1 3 share partial boundaries with patches of low density, forest type 40. Clearcut patches
would be more homogeneous to the low density forest patches. Shelterwood patches would be more
homogeneous in density to type 40 patches but heterogeneous in pattern. Shelterwoods have
regular tree spacing , size and type.
Alternative 6 would also create patches that are similar to the existing forested landscape.
Alternatives 2, 3 and 4 would provide less homogeneity to surrounding forested landscapes than the
other alternatives because the patches created in these alternatives form more discrete boundaries
with surrounding forested patches.
Clearcuts with islands (found only in Alternatives 2 and 6) would create clearcut patches Interspersed
with small timbered patches (1/2-1 acre). This would increase heterogeneity with surrounding forest-
ed patches and increase homogeneity to non-forested patches of grasses, forbs and shrubs until
they revegetate with trees.
Shelterwood patches would increase in heterogeneity to the surrounding forested landscape but less
so than with clearcutting because would retain 1 5-50 healthy trees per acre. One story of trees would
remain, so structural diversity would decrease when compared to the surrounding forested patches.
Homogeneity to non-forested patches of grasses, forbs and shrubs would increase but less so than
with clearcut patches.
I!. Within patches
Four types of patches would potentially be created in the landscape: clearcut patches, shelterwood
patches, clearcuts with islands and modified irregular shelterwood patches. For a breakdown of
patch type and acreage created by alternative, see Table H-9. Alternatives 2,3,4, & 5 would have two
types of patches created: clearcut patches and shelterwood patches. The patches created in these
alternatives would be fairly homogeneous (little structure retained). Alternative 2A creates three types
of patches and Alternative 6 creates four types of patches. These alternatives provide greater patch
heterogeneity (more structure) because of the modified irregular shelterwood and clearcut with
islands patches.
H -30
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Table H-9: Acre Harvest from Each Forest Type by Alternative
Alternative
T. TYPE
MIN. CUT
MAX. CUT
SUM CUT
% T.TYPE
CUT
2
2
5
34
103
1.6
2
3
21
21
21
1.7
2
17
6
30
102
4.4
2
18
2
19
81
1.7
2
19
1
36
132
2.4
2
20
2
3
20
6.6
2
22
20
20
20
3.7
2
23
5
24
70
6.1
2
40
1
1
4
0.1
2
60
4
5
13
0.2
2A
2
5
34
103
1.6
2A
3
21
21
21
1.7
2A
17
6
30
85
3.7
2A
18
2
15
78
1.6
2A
19
3
36
132
2.4
2A
20
3
15
18
5.9
2A
22
20
20
20
3.7
2A
23
5
24
62
5.4
2A
33
3
2
4
90
162
2.6
3
3
21
21
21
1.7
3
17
13
38
51
2.2
3
18
5
15
60
1.2
3
19
1
33
104
1.9
3
20
2
2
2
0.1
3
22
20
20
20
3.7
3
23
7
24
80
7.0
4
2
8
88
138
2.2
4
3
22
22
22
1.8
H -31
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final E1S
Appendix H
Table H-9: Acre Harvest from Each Forest Type by Alternative (continued)
Alternative
T. TYPE
MIN. CUT
MAX. CUT
SUM CUT
% T.TYPE
CUT
4
4
4
10
14
0.8
4
17
4
40
135
5.8
4
18
3
49
115
2.3
4
19
1
60
259
4.8
4
20
2
15
20
6.6
4
22
21
21
21
3.9
4
23
18
42
106
9.2
5
1
10
10
10
0.3
5
2
6
95
104
1.7
5
3
22
22
22
1.8
5
17
8
40
83
3.6
5
19
15
15
15
0.3
5
22
29
29
29
5.3
5
23
22
22
22
2.0
6
2
8
88
146
2.3
6
3
22
22
22
1.8
6
4
4
10
14
0.8
6
17
4
40
200
8.6
6
18
2
49
127
2.6
6
19
1
36
159
2.9
6
20
2
15
24
7.9
6
22
21
21
21
3.9
6
23
18
42
106
9.2
** values less than 2 acres have been dropped.
Note: Islands created in Alternatives 2A & 6 are 1/2-1 acre each and cover 10- 30 percent of the clearcut acreage
shown.
Under the maximum harvest Alternative 4, 174 acres of Douglas-fir would be removed out of 12,768 acres in the
landscape or 1 .4 percent. 529 acres of mixed conifer of 12,990 acres or 4.1 percent. 127 acres of the 1 ,694 acres of
lodgepole pine or 7.5 percent.
Clearcut patches would be the most homogeneous of the four types of created openings. These
openings may retain a small number of trees and snags, but would convert the patch to a one-storied
early successional stage of one type of tree.
H - 32
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Shelterwood patches would be less homogeneous than clearcut patches because overstory trees
(1 5-50 per acre) would maintain some structural diversity. The patches would have two stories, while
clearcut patches have one story.
Clearcut patches with islands would maintain the species diversity found in the surrounding land-
scape, by leaving healthy shade-tolerant species (Douglas-fir, subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce),
individually and in islands. Islands of lodgepole pine would be retained where disease-free trees with
a low downfall exist. These interior islands would range from 1/2-1 acre in size covering 10-30 percent
of each opening. This would increase heterogeneity of the patch by maintaining structural diversity.
Modified irregular shelterwood patches would be similar in heterogeneity to clearcut patches with
islands, but would likely provide the most structure of any of the create patch types. (Personal
communication, Doug Basford) These patches would retain two-four storied structure as well as
species diversity.
All cut patches will retain a minimum of 10 snags per 10 acres and 4 recruitment snags per 40 acres.
(See Snag Guidelines in Table 11-1, main document). All proposed cut patches will leave approxi-
mately 15 tons/acre of woody debris. Areas with islands, shelterwood and modified irregular shelter-
wood will also have a greater opportunity for snag recruitment than clearcut patches because they
retain more standing trees per acre.
This is important when considering old forest structure, Harris states "The two habitat elements that
contribute most to the habitat value of older forests are standing large, dead trees (snags) and fallen
logs." (Harris, 1984, page 66).
Forested patches that have vertical diversity in the forest canopy will allow for better exchange of
gases, more effective precipitation, greater amounts of solar radiation to reach the mid and under-
story levels. These factors allow vegetation growth throughout the vertical profile, which will permit
herbs and shurbs to grow on the forest floor (Harris, 1984, page 19). This vegetation supports
phytophagous (plant-eating) insects which are a support base for many insectivorous vertebrates.
This can be very important in the spring and early summer, because virtually all forest birds are
insectivorous or carnivorous (Harris, 1984, page 19). Also, vertical height distribution of foliage is
widely accepted as a method of prediction for bird species diversity, and a more complex canopy
structure may lead to greater bird abundance.
Harris found that, as greater foliage height diversity leads to a greater diversity of birds, a heteroge-
neous ground layer creates better habitat for cursorial (adapted for running) and fossorial (adapted
for burrowing or digging) vertebrates. The understory and epiphytic vegetation is an essential
component of wildlife habitat, especially in the Douglas-fir forests where diversity of flowering plants
is low (Harris, 1 984, page 21). Since vertically diverse forest canopies provide greater opportunity for
understory vegetation to grow, flowering plants could have a greater presence under the diversified
forest harvesting system than the clearcutting system. Harris states, "Angispermous (flowering)
plants produce all of the nectar that is consumed by nectivores (e.g. hummingbirds) and the majority
of fruits and seeds (mast) for granivores and omnivores." (Harris, 1984, page 21).
Below are listed the cutting prescriptions by descending order of height diversity:
Modified irregular shelterwood units
Clearcuts with islands
Shelterwood
Clearcut
The no action alternative will likely maintain the greatest height diversity of all the alternatives in the
short term.
H -33
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Action alternatives which favor the modified irregular shelterwood and clearcuts with islands cutting
methods will result in patches that provide more foliage height diversity than alternatives that favor
clearcuts and shelterwoods. Clearcutting reduces the vertical diversity to nearly nil during early
development.
Of the major action alternatives, 2A would likely maintain the greatest height diversity of the action
alternatives by cutting 382 acres of clearcuts with islands and 158 acres of modified irregular
shelterwood with 20 acres of clearcutting in 4 patches. Alternative 6 would result in the second
greatest level of height diversity of the major action alternatives.
Alternatve 4 would reduce vertical diversity the most of any alternative by clearcutting 645 acres. One
layer of trees would be maintained in 202 shelterwood acres. Alternatives 2 and 3 are similar in cutting
method but affect fewer acres.
Clearcuts will maintain 1 0 snags per 1 0 acres and 40 recruitment snags per 1 0 acres, (see T able 2-1
main document for snag guidelines) Shelterwoods will have potential for snag recruitment by retain-
ing 1 5-50 mature trees per acre. Clearcuts with islands will allow for snag recruitment, particularly in
the islands and also among the residual shade-tolerant trees. Irregular shelterwoods would likely
provide the best opportunity for snag recruitment because of the variety of species, sizes and
patterns retained.
Alternatives 2, 3 and 4 which are predominately clearcutting, with some shelterwood, (see Table H-7)
would have the least potential for snag recruitment and downed woody debris, predominately in the
shelterwood patches- Alternative 2, 1 58 acres; Alternative 3, 1 70 acres and Alternative 4, 202 acres.
Alternative 6 will allow for a moderate number of recruitment snags and downed logs because it
creates a variety of openings: 186 acres of clearcuts, 369 acres of clearcuts with islands, 34 acres
of shelterwood and 168 acres of modified irregular shelterwoods.
Alternative 2A will allow for more recruitment snags and downed logs than most of the other action
alternatives (except Alternative 5), 20 acres of clearcuts, 324 acres of clearcuts with islands and 158
acres modified irregular shelterwood.
The potential for snag recruitment and downed logs will likely be highest for Alternative 5 because
it affects the fewest number of acres (292) of all the action alternatives.
c. Boundary shape
The boundary shapes of the proposed openings are generally not similar to patches found in
the existing landscape. The boundaries of the man-made patches are more geometric and
form more discrete boundaries (more distinct edge) than patches created by fires.
d. Edge and edge effect
The edge effect would be most pronounced between forested and non-forested patches. All
of the proposed cutting areas are predominately surrounded by forested areas. The excep-
tions are small portions of the boundaries of Units 7, 10 and 13.
The edge effect would be greatest in alternatives that create the largest number of clearcuts,
particularly those with islands. Clearcuts with islands will also create a large amount of discrete
edge since the islands will be discontinuous. This will create openings with interspersed
forested patches of 1/2 to 1 acre.
H -34
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
The edge effect will be less discrete in shelterwood and modified irregular shelterwood than
in clearcuts. The boundary will be forested to forested, with a change in type of forest patch.
Alternatives 2A will create the greatest number of discrete edges because of the 21 clearcut
with island prescription, spanning 324 acres, plus the 4 clearcuts spanning 20 acres
e. Disturbance/recovery regimes
The disturbance/recovery regimes would vary by the method of proposed harvest. The
disturbance/recovery process of clearcutting has some similar characteristics to a stand
replacing fire. In a stand replacing fire all the trees are killed (Fischer and Clayton, 1983, page
43). With the clearcutting harvest method, the objective is also to kill all of the existing trees
and then to reforest the area with young healthy trees.
One of the differences between the results of a clearcut and a stand-replacing fire is that the
logging objective is to maximize removal of the trees to use for wood products. In the fire
situation there may be standing dead trees (snags) left on the site as well as downed logs. In
both clearcutting and stand-replacing fires, the forest would be reduced to a regeneration
phase of succession.
More forest cover would remain with shelterwood or modified irregular shelterwood cuts. Cool
to moderate understory patchy fires, kill some trees but leave the larger size and older trees,
and create openings in the stand to allow for seedling growth (Fischer and Clayton, 1 983, page
43). This is the same type of results that would result from harvesting with the irregular
shelterwood method as proposed for the Douglas-fir ecosystems in Alternative 2A and 6, an
open-forested or forested appearance would be left.
B. CORRIDORS ECOSYSTEMS
1 . Stream corridors
a. The length, width, nodes, heterogeneity and homogeneity of ripari-
an strip corridors would not be affected by any of the proposed
action alternatives, except where roads cross the riparian corridors.
b. Disturbance/recovery regimes of stream corridors:
Roads crossing streams would be the only major disturbance to the stream corridors. Major
stream crossings includes Goodluck Creek, Woodtick Creek, upper and lower Perm Creek and
lower Salt Creek. Minor Creek crossings include two forks of an unnamed tributary of Woodtick
Creek.
All of the action alternatives would cross Woodtick Creek via a drop (open-bottomed) culvert
which would allow fish passage. Alternative 5 would have one stream crossing at Woodtick
Creek.
All the action alternatives have strict mitigation measures to address disturbance/recovery of
riparian corridors.
Trees in the roadways would not grow past seedling size. The road surfaces would not exceed
18 feet in width, and trees growing along the edge of the road would be allowed to mature,
although, grasses and shrubs would grow on the edges of the roads, and some grasses in
the center of the road.
H - 35
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
2. Line corridors (roads).
Roads would be the only line corridors created by the action alternatives. The heterogeneity
of the roads would be different by alternative. The new roads will all be permanent roads.
Roads would be managed for periodic traffic use and grass and forb growth would be
encouraged, but tree growth would be removed from the road surface. Revegetation would
not occur on the planned permanent road surfaces, but would occur on fill slopes and much
of the cut slopes.
Table H-10: Miles of Road Constructed or Reconstructed by Alternative.
Road Miles
Alt. 1
Alt. 2
Alt. 2A
Alt. 3
Alt. 4
Alt. 5
Alt. 6
Constructed
0
16.8
16.8
14.6
17.8
1.15
17.8
Reconstructed
0
1.3
1.3
9.3
9.3
8.0
9.3
Total
0
18.1
18.1
23.9
27.1
9.15
27.1
Road acres
57
119
119
111
123
61
123
a. Homogeneity of line corridors
The homogeneity of roads would be high. They would be primarily unvegetated with some grass and
forb encroachment. They would be maintained to keep trees from growing in the travel way.
b. Disturbance/recovery regimes of line corridors
Permanent roads would disturb the ecosystem on 4 to 66 additional acres. Some grasses and forbs
would encroach on the edges of the road and in the center, but recovery would be incomplete since
any trees that encroached into the running surface would be removed. The last 1/2 mile of Road
#60286.1 and all of roads #60286.2, 60286-C and 60288 will be covered with slash piles five years
following timber removal in Alternatives 2, 2A, 4 and 6. The mileage of the slash-covered roads totals
approximately 6.5 miles. These roads would have little additional disturbance but would likely not
revegetate because of the density of slash.
C. MATRIX ECOSYSTEM
SSS. PATCH AND CORRIDOR FUNCTION WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE
A. PATCH ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION
The matrix would remain Douglas-fir and mixed conifer up to 9 inches.
1. Connectiveness of patches
Non-forested or low density open forest patches cover approximately 27 percent of the Moyer Salt
Landscape. These range from closed boundary island patches at higher elevations as small as 2
acres to large patches up to 2,053 acres below 7,500 feet and on south-facing slopes.
H - 36
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Alternative 2A will create 64 patches of 1/2 - 1 acre, totalling 58 acres.
Alternative 6 will created 73 patches of 1/2 - 1 acre, totalling 64 acres.
T&E, P, and S as related to patch connectivity
All of the cutting units proposed in the action alternatives would result in decreased connectivity in
forested types. The effect would be greatest in portions of Alternatives 2, 3, 4 and 6 where patches
of habitat would be clearcut or clearcut leaving discontinuous island patches. Alternative 5 would be
the least disruptive to patch connectivity (of the action alternatives), because it affects the fewest
acres.
Gardner et al. (1 987) have shown that the threshold for habitat modification below which negative
effects to connectivity occur in a landscape is about 60 percent. None of the TEPS species which
occur in the analysis area are known to be dependent on Douglas-fir communities. However,
goshawks select mature to "over-mature" conifers (including Douglas-fir) with a closed canopy as
nesting stands (Hayward and Escano 1989). The Biological Evaluation for goshawks (Appendix G1)
has indicated that, while nesting habitat would be lost when the mature Douglas-fir units are harvest-
ed, population viability for this species on the Salmon National Forest would not be jeopardized.
2. Porosity of Ecosystems
Porosity related to genetic variability
Forman and Godron (1 986, pg 1 70) have stated that porosity can provide an indication of the degree
of species isolation present and a clue to the potential genetic variability present within populations
of animals and plants in a landscape. All action alternatives would increase the patchiness of the
landscape (Forman and Godron, 1986, pg 207) and result in a more porous matrix (Forman and
Godron, 1 986, page 1 68). Porosity is a measure of the number of patches, regardless of size. (Forman
and Godron, page 170)
Alternative 2A would add the greatest number of patches. Thirty two major patches would be added
plus the 64 additional patches created in the islands for a total of 96 new patches. Alternative 6 would
add 30 major patches plus 73 one-half to one acre island patches. Alternative 5 would create 7
patches, the fewest number of patches of the action alternatives. Alternatives 2, 3 and 4 would
created 32, 25 and 29 patches respectively.
Table H-1 1 lists the calculated matrix porosity for each alternative as measured by patch numbers.
Table H-1 1 : Porosity As Measured by Patch Numbers
Description
Alt. 1
Alt. 2
Alt. 2A
Alt. 3
Alt. 4
Alt. 5
Alt. 6
Forested
416
423
423
425
420
419
420
Non-forested
228
253
253
244
253
232
254
TOTAL Patches
644
676
676
669
673
651
674
Note 1 : Clearcuts were considered non-forested and shelterwoods were considered forested patch-
es for this table.
H - 37
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Note 2: Alternative 2A would create 64 island patches of 1/2-1 acre. Alternative 6 would create 73
island patches of 1/2-1 acre. These are not included in the above totals.
3. Flow
The flow that occurs within and between landscapes is partially a function of porosity. The predicted
increase in porosity (by timber cutting) ranges from 1 percent in Alternative 5 to 5 percent in
Alternatives 2, 2A and 6.
The rate of flow of objects in and through a landscape, termed landscape resistance, is partially a
function of the boundary crossing frequency (BCF) and boundary discreteness (Forman and Godron
1986). It is hypothesized that flows of wind, water, and locomotion are generally slowed by crossing
boundaries. Boundary crossing frequency can be a general indicator of landscape resistance (For-
man and Godron 1986).
Forman and Godron (1986) suggest that they expect animals and plants are inhibited more by a
highly discrete (abrupt) boundary than by a gradual boundary. Therefore, our analysis has incorpo-
rated boundary discreteness into the calculations for boundary crossing frequency. Three classes
of boundaries were considered when calculating the boundary crossing frequency: forested/
forested, non-forested/non-forested and forested/non-forested. The forested/forested and non-
forested/non-forested boundaries were considered gradual; forested/non-forested boundaries were
considered discrete (abrupt).
For the proposed actions in this landscape, direct effects of the action alternatives are concentrated
between 6,800 and 8,400 feet elevations. Thus, a boundary crossing frequency (BCF) analysis was
completed by counting the number of boundaries crossed by each mapped contour line at the 6800,
7200, 7600, 8000 and 8400 foot contours for each alternative (Table H-12). Road rights-of-way were
not included in the count.
H -38
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Table H-12: Boundary Crossing Frequency by Alternative
Elevation
Bound-
ary
Type
ALT 1
(No
Action)
ALT 2
ALT 2A
ALT 3
ALT 4
ALT 5
ALT 6
6800
F/F
52
52
52
52
52
52
52
F/N
61
61
61
61
61
61
61
N/N
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
7200
F/F
63
63
63
63
63
63
63
F/N
59
67
67
63
71
67
17
N/N
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7600
F/F
76
76
76
76
76
76
76
F/N
43
63
63
20
55
49
55
N/N
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
8000
F/F
47
47
47
47
47
47
47
F/N
42
52
52
54
48
42
56
N/N
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
8400
F/F
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
F/N
68
74
74
72
78
68
76
N/N
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Because of the importance of the effects of forested/non-forested boundaries on the surrounding
ecosystem processes, Alternatives 4 and 6 would have the greatest effects on flow between bound-
aries. Alternative 2 and 2A, the next greatest effect, then Alternative 3 and Alternative 5 would have
the least effect of the action alternatives.
The mature structure characteristic forest patches (including old growth) are the patches that would
show the greatest change in porosity and edge. This shift may yield changes in flow of species and
energy across and between the patches. The greatest effects would be between non-forested and
forested ecosystems.
Of the four patch types proposed in the action alternatives, modified irregular shelterwood patches
will likely retain the most mature structure characteristic forest patches. Shelterwood patches will
retain 15-50 mature trees per acre but will not retain other canopy layers in the forest. Clearcutting
with island patches may retain some mature trees in the one-half to one acre islands. Clearcutting
will remove nearly all mature trees except those needed for snags and snag recruitment.
In some stands, maintaining the current condition will maintain the most mature structure characteris-
tics.
Alternatives 4 will likely reduce the mature structure characteristics forest patches the greatest
because it uses the clearcut and shelterwood methods - 25 patches totalling 645 acres clearcut and 4
patches totalling 202 acres.
H - 39
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final ESS
Appendix H
Alternatives which cut fewer acres (Alternative 5) or use mainly the modified irregular shelterwood
method (Alternative 2A) would have less influence on the flow of materials, energy and life forms than
the clearcul systems of Alternatives 2, 3 and 4.
Alternative 6 cuts the second largest number of acres (751) with 186 acres of clearcuts, 363 acres
of clearcuts with islands (the acreage of the islands is not reflected in the total), 34 acres of
shelterwood cuts and 1 68 acres of modified irregular shelterwood.
•a. Boundary function
I. Edge
Three boundary function situations need to be addressed for the range of alternatives presented in
this EIS: non-forested/forested edge, forested/forested edge and no change in edge condition.
A newly-created edge within a timber stand (forested/non-forested edge) would have the greatest
effect to the ecosystems involved. It is known that the trees of a forest influence the wind and shade
patterns and thus snow deposits and plant survival in an adjacent opening (J. Kimmins, 1987). The
amount of influence depends on environmental factors, like slope, aspect, elevation, soil type,
vegetative cover, climatic conditions and weather patterns.
Along the edge of a non-forested area (like the clearcuts proposed in all of the action alternatives)
snow and tree seeds would accumulate, and a micro-climate, moderated in the following two ways
by the adjacent forest, would be produced. First, a greater accumulation of snow would occur
because the trees along the edge would produce a “snow-fence" effect trapping snow throughout the
winter. Second, because of shading and decreased wind, less evaporation would occur. Both of
these processes would tend to increase the effective precipitation along the edges of the clearcuts.
The moderated micro-climates, in conjunction with the increased seed and spore accumulations,
would generally result in more vegetation.
Many life forms use openings and edges of openings in addition to other habitats as a "source"
(Forman and Godron 1986) for obtaining food. Some use the opening only during specific times
(night, winter, summer, not during hunting seasons, etc.). Others are found in openings and not
elsewhere.
Interior species are species that do not use edge or openings. An excess of edge could likely exclude
interior species from that landscape. There are four mature forest types present in the landscape.
These are: type 1 - Mature Douglas-fir (below 45-60 percent slopes), type 3 - Mature Douglas-fir
(above 45-60 percent slopes), type 17 - Mature mixed conifer (below 45-60 percent slopes) and 21-
Mature todgepole.
Of these four forest types, timber cutting is proposed in the first three in some of the alternatives. Ten
acres of type 1 are proposed in Alternative 5. Out of 1 6 patches of type 3, totalling 1 , 1 28 acres in the
existing landscape, timber harvest is proposed in one patch (Unit 30) in each of the action alterna-
tives. The size of the cut patch would be 21 acres in Alternatives 2, 2A and 3 and 22 acres in
Alternatives 4, 5 and 6. This patch would cut the center portion of a 79 acre mature forest Douglas-fir
patch. The cutting method would be shelterwood in Alternatives 2, 3, 4 and 5 and modified irregular
shelterwood in Alternatives 2A and 6. Alternatives 4, 5 and 6 would cut an adjacent 22 acres of small
lodgepole pine. Approximately 2 percent of the mature Douglas-fir in the landscape would be cut.
The largest amount of mature timber would be cut in the type 17 - mature mixed (subalpine fir,
engelmann spruce and/or lodgepole pine) conifer. There are 1 1 patches totalling 2,327 acres of this
type in the Moyer Salt Landscape.
H -40
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Alternative 4 cuts the most of any action alternative in this type. Three existing landscape patches
would be affected: a 49 acre patch, a 541 acre patch and and 842 acre patch. Thirty acres of the 49
acre patch, 77 acres of the 541 acre patch and 1 06 acres of the 842 acre patch would be clearcut
in patches ranging in size from 4 to 40 acres.
This would remove 9.1 percent of the mature mixed conifer type from the landscape. The effects of
this are not known.
Alternative 6 would cut 8.1 percent of the mature mixed conifer type from the landscape. This would
be primarily in clearcuts with islands totalling 1 88 acres. Alternatives 5 and 2A would cut the least of
this type with 3.6 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.
For acreage information on the other alternatives, see Table H-9.
Historically, the disturbance pattern for this landscape has been the occurrence of stand modifying
or stand-replacing events such as fire or insect epidemics. Fire generally results in either a stand
replacing or partial stand replacing event. The effects of a stand-replacing fire would have some
common characteristics of a clearcut, since a stand-replacing fire would set the stand succession
back to a grass/forb serai stage and so would a clearcut. Clearcuts with islands would be more similar
to moderate intensity fires because they leave scattered patches of live trees. Shelterwood cuts would
be more similar to the effects of lower intensity fires that retains some of the larger, more fire resistant
Douglas-fir or lodgepole pine trees while removing the smaller Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine as well
as the less fire-resistant subalpine fir and engelmann spruce. Modified irregular shelterwoods would
be similar to low intensity fires.
A major determinant in the amount of effect an edge has is how much heterogeneity exists between
patches. This is related to boundary discreteness. A forested to non-forested boundary likely has the
greatest effect. More edge effect may be created in alternatives employing modified irregular shelter-
wood cutting methods but the boundaries are less distinct than a clearcut surrounded by mature
forest.
il. Source and sink
On a broad scale, the results of a source/sink relationship in a landscape can be seen in the
productivity levels of the different ecosystems which make up the landscape. For a given landscape,
the ecosystems which have higher productivity (older forests, riparian areas and northslope forests)
are generally the sinks of energy, materials and biota (Forman and Godron, 1 986, Harris, 1 984,)
Alternative 4 and 6 have a higher possibility of effecting the source/sink relationship for species that
may be dependent on mature mixed conifer forest and mature Douglas-fir forests than the other
action alternatives. Alternative 4 cuts 22 acres of mature Douglas-fir forest (forest code 3) and 225
acres of mature mixed conifer forest (forest code 17) by clearcut or shelterwood methods. Alternative
6 cuts 22 acres of mature Douglas-fir forest and 1 88 acres of mature mixed conifer forest using the
four methods previously described.
Alternative 3 cuts the least mature forest, 21 acres of Douglas-fir mature forest and 51 acres of mixed
conifer mature forest.
Alternatives 2, 2A and 5 cut 21 to 22 acres of Douglas-fir and 1 02 acre, 85 acres and 83 acres of
mature mixed conifer forest, respectively.
H -41
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
b. Energy
Considering the size and the spatial representation of the proposed harvest units, it is unlikely that
energy vectors (wind, surface water or subsurface water flows) would be affected greatly by any of
the proposed action alternatives. Surface and/or sub-surface water flows will likely increase because
of increased snow accumulation, particularly in clearcut areas. Additional water will be available
below cut patches. This will be taken up by trees downhill of cut patches, facilitating increased growth
and vigor or will reach streams as subsurface flow, helping to maintain seasonal flow.
C. CORRIDOR ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION
1. Riparian corridors
Direct effects to the riparian corridors would primarily be the road crossings of Woodtick, Salt, Perm
and Goodluck creeks with two minor crossings of an unnamed tributary of Woodtick Creek. No
cutting units would be located within the 75 foot filter strip either sides of the creeks. For location of
cutting units, see alternative maps.
a. Boundary Function
i. Airborne fiows
(a) Energy, nutrients, and materiais
Where the proposed roads would cross streams, vegetation would be removed, resulting in a break
in vegetation. Woodtick Creek is the only major Creek that would be crossed. The vegetation would
be removed for a width of approximately 30 feet to allow for drop culvert construction. Any break in
the vegetative cover can alter airborne, surface and soil flows of an ecosystem, affecting distribution
of energy, nutrients, materials, animals and plants.
The road crossing of Woodtick Creek would occur in conifer type riparian ecosystems. These
ecosystems are subject to a variety of disturbances in the natural processes. It has been found that
these ecosystems will burn in the dry season of the year. Generally, wet and moist spruce forest
conditions will result in a low fire susceptibility (Hansen 1988). Ground fires that smolder and that have
restricted size probably occur most often and may result in the removal of small groups of trees.
Rarely are entire stands or whole drainage bottoms killed by one fire event in these wet ecosystems
(Bradley 1992). Even though it does not occur as often, fire may be more severe in its effects to the
wet forest ecosystems because of higher site productivity (higher organic build up) and because
rhizomes and seeds of undergrowth are vulnerable to the high temperatures of smoldering fires in
heavy organic material (Bradley 1 992). Spruce trees themselves have a low resistance to fire because
of their dead, dry, flammable lower limbs, low growing canopy and thin bark (Hansen 1988). Bradley
(1 992) states, "Englemann and blue spruce are shallow rooted trees, and even low fires may kill trees
outright or weaken roots and make trees susceptible to later windfall. Unusually hot, windy weather
may reduce fuel moistures enough to sustain a severe fire. At all stages the site will then return to
a treeless condition" (Bradley 1992). Considering the vulnerability of these ecosystems to fire and
other disturbance agents, it is probable that species occurring in coniferous forest riparian communi-
ties in the Moyer Salt Landscape are adapted to vegetative and soil disturbances that are larger than
the proposed road crossings.
(b). T&E, P, and S
Riparian corridors (riparian zone and adjacent meadows) are important as foraging areas for western
big eared bats, great gray owls and goshawks and as such serve as pathways for the movement of
H - 42
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
these airborne species. The road systems proposed in all of the action alternatives would cross
several riparian corridors. Alternative 5 would cross one riparian corridor and the other action
alternatives would cross five. It is not known if or how riparian corridor crossings would affect
potentially occurring T&EPS species in the landscape. However, a small reduction in foraging habitat
would occur since small areas of riparian habitat would be covered by road surface.
II. Overland flows
(a) Energy, nutrients, and materials
Some stream corridors would be crossed by roads, resulting in small amounts of sediment (nutrients
and overland water flows) reaching the stream until the disturbed soil stabilizes in approximately two
years (personal communication, Betsy Rieffenberger, Feb. 26, 1993). (Also see Water resource
analysis, Ch. IV.)
It does not appear that the alternatives would affect the wind relationships in the riparian corridors.
As with airborne flows of vertebrates and invertebrates, the effect on the movement of species
probably is related to the size of the home range of the animal concerned and how adapted to
crossing diverse habitats it is. Animals with comparatively small home ranges or which are restricted
to one habitat type would be most affected. Those that have home ranges larger than the width of
the road disturbance and could use disparate habitats would be little affected by roads crossing
riparian areas. Presently, there are no data to suggest that genetic isolation of species which inhabit
landscapes like the Moyer Salt Landscape would occur as a result of road crossings of this size of
riparian areas.
(b). T&E, P, and S
Cursorial animals like wolves and lynx use riparian corridors to move between suitable habitat
patches as well as for foraging. In addition, spotted frogs are tied to riparian corridors throughout
most of the year. All of the action alternatives would result in at least one riparian corridor crossing.
The other action alternatives will have five riparian crossings. All of the newly constructed roads will
be gated and vehicle access by the general public will be restricted.
If vehicle access were unrestricted, we could expect that the increase in human activity at riparian
corridor crossings could alter both the use of these travel corridors and the mortality of wolves,
wolverines and lynx since all are known to be sensitive to human pressure or are harvested species
(Hornocker and Hash 1981; Mech et al. 1988; Idaho Department of Fish and Game 1992). However,
since there will be restrictions on access, we expect the effects to be lessened to wolves, wolverines
and lynx.
The effect, if any, of riparian corridor crossings on spotted frogs is not known. The Biological
Evaluation for these species (Appendix E) has indicated that their viability would not be jeopardized
by these proposals.
iii. Soil flows
The action alternatives would only affect soil flows at the riparian corridor crossings. Mitigation
measures which apply to all action alternatives would greatly reduce any soil movement at these
locations.
H -43
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
Iv. Aquatic
For all of the action alternatives except Alternative 3, mitigation measures associated with the
proposed stream crossings of affected creeks are designed to continuously maintain migration
opportunity for ail species of fish (including TEP&S) currently or potentially using project area waters.
Alternative 3 could result in degraded fish habitat as a result of the proposed road location and the
Salt Creek crossing.
For Alternatives 1, 2,-2A, 4, 5, and 6, no shifts or change in fish species distributions or population
numbers would be expected as a direct, indirect, or cumulative result of proposed vegetation
management activities. All opportunities currently available to promote the genetic variability of
resident fish stocks within Woodtick, Salt and Perm Creek drainages would be maintained during and
after implementation of proposed activities.
b. Source and sink
Due to the limited scale of the disturbance to riparian corridors that would occur from any of the action
alternatives, there would be no noticeable effects to the source/sink function of the riparian corridors
of this landscape.
2. Non-Riparian Corridors
a. Strips Corridors
i. Barrier/filter:
(a) T&E, Proposed and Sensitive
Of the T&EPS species that occur in the analysis landscape only the goshawk is dependant on old
growth habitat. Most other listed species either use other habitats or their life histories are so poorly
known that it is not possible to predict what habitats are barriers or filters for them.
The timber harvest practices proposed in all of the action alternatives would convert some habitat
which is currently available for nesting by goshawks to areas that could only be used by them for
foraging. The irregular shelterwood harvesting practices proposed in Alternatives 2A and 6 would
retain some old growth character in the cutting units although the volume cut would vary with
alternative. But, the resulting stands probably would be unsuitable for nesting by goshawks (Crocker-
Bedford 1990). It is not known how the habitat changes associated with this harvest method would
affect use of the areas by goshawks for foraging or other T&EPS species.
b. Lines Corridors
The only line corridors that would be created by the proposed timber sale are roads. The roads
proposed in the action alternatives would be used by some animals as travel routes to move across
the landscape. Roads would also be used by humans for vehicle and foot travel (except for the 6.5
miles that would be covered with slash in Alternatives 2, 2A, 4 and 6). Given the dense nature of the
forested north sloped ecosystems within the landscape, roads could make available ecosystems or
portions of the landscape that were not available in the existing landscape.
In addition, roads would become invasion routes for some pioneer and some exotic plant species,
and some plant seeds could be carried along the roads by animals, humans or vehicles.
H -44
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Appendix H
I. Barrier/filter
(a) General animals and plants
The disturbance associated with the road (clearing of vegetation, cut and fill slopes) may function as
a barrier to animals or plants with home ranges that are smaller than the road width or that are not
adapted to crossing disparate habitats.
Although isolation of a population could result from barriers and is a concern for genetic diversity.
Allendorf found that the genetic flow process was not as fragile as some may have believed, he states
that low amounts of exchange (approximately one individual per generation) will maintain the
presents of the same alleles in all demes, that is qualitative similarity among demes, but much larger
amounts of exchange are required to maintain quantitative similarity among demes (F. Allendorf,
1983, page 55, 64).
Two to seven years after construction of the roads proposed in the Moyer Salt Landscape, most of
the fill slopes would be revegetated and, depending on the steepness of the terrain, so would the
cut slopes (when not prohibited by rock). Once the cut and fill slopes are revegetated, only the
running surface of a road that receives unrestricted and moderate to heavy use would be totally
absent of vegetative cover. For the roads being considered, the running surface would be approxi-
mately 14 feet in width. It should also be considered that much of the year these roads would have
a complete covering of snow, which can assist small animals to move beneath the snow surface,
visually undetected by predators.
Even small vertebrates (mice, voles and shrews) have home ranges which exceed the considered
road width of 14 feet. For example, Harris (1984) who summarized data collected from other parts
of the United States found that the white-footed vole, deer mouse, and the Pacific jumping mouse
all have home ranges of approximately 80 feet in diameter. He further indicates the northern flying
squirrel, dusky shrew, and the mantled ground squirrel have home ranges of approximately 200 feet.
Species that have home ranges larger than the road disturbance areas or that are adapted to cross
inhospitable habitats probably would not be affected. Road crossings would be engineered so that
they are not barriers to aquatic species.
Therefore, roads would not be expected to be barriers to species in the Moyer Salt Landscape.
(b) Aquatic
See the discussion above under Aquatic.
(c) T&E, Proposed and Sensitive, MIS
The only line corridors that would result in the analysis area from the proposed alternatives are roads.
Several potential barriers could be created by the road systems proposed in the alternatives, as well.
Wolves, wolverines and lynx are sensitive to human activity or are harvested species (Hornocker and
Hash 1981; Mech et al. 1988; Idaho Department of Fish and Game 1992). The presence of roads,
especially in riparian areas, could act as a barrier to these species. However, since the roads would
not be left open year round to the public, it is less likely that the roads would function as barriers to
the movements of cursorial T&EPS species. Other TEPS species either do not use the habitats (or
elevations) in which these proposed activities are located or are not known to avoid roads.
H -45
*U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1993-774-074/88006
.
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■
1022331216
NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Final EIS
Chapter VI - Supplement
a T D 1 9 4
. 56
. I 2 2 S 3 4
1993
v . 2
Chapter VI
Supplement
Public Comment Letters
and Forest Service Responses
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 1
Comments on Hoyer Salt DEIS
by
Hadley Roberts
(oral comments taken on 6/29/92 by Lynn Bennett)
Hap Is poor scale. Too small to locate information. Heed land marks
see where units are. Good to use ortho phot in map with units in map
pocke t .
to
Figures in Table 4-10 on page 4-42 did not gee in proper column. Alt.l
no action and should not have road cost. Hove all figures to the right
under alternative 2, 3, 4,.
is
Page 2-13 for alt. 4 roads says 9.3
Summary page 10 for roads states 8.0
Hr. John Burns, Forest
Salmon Rational Forest
Box 729
Salmon, Idaho 83467
*i0 o Art”" O A u g u s t
SUP.
l UP 1 2 3 * 5 8
S u p e r v i s7Af j 2 3 * S *
[111 1 ? 3 « S s
rrwH j 2 a « s »
CClTCt
3,
1992
Dear John ,
I have reviewed the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
the proposed Hoyer Salt Timber Sale and wish to make the following
comments and suggestions:-
During the early 1980's, I inventoried all of the Fey Elk
Summer Range on the Salmon National Forest, which I defined as
"areas that represent the most ideal habitat and will support a
significantly higher density of animals than surrounding habitat."
I inventoried 270,500 acres on the SNF in varying sized blocks.
One of these was the Moyer Peak area (approximately 3200 acres)
which serves as a critical security and hiding cover area.
( la Elk Habitat Relationships for Central Idaho it says
"Timber harvest on key elk habitats should be limited to those
activities that will maintain or enhance the habitat for that
particular use." For this reason, I feel the Moyer Peak FESF
'hnuld be left for this purpose and inmoved from the timber bast
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon. ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Hadley Roberts
708 Lombard Street
Salmon, ID 83467
Dear Hadley:
Thank you for your oral comments of June 29. 1992, and written corments of
August 3, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale. Your comments are an important
part of the environmental analysis process and have been reviewed and
discussed by our team of resource specialists. Their ideas are the basis for
our response to your concerns and comprise the rest of this letter.
Before answering the concerns expressed in your letter, we will addresB the
the oral ccirments you shared with us on June 29, 1992. These were very
helpful to us in preparing the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) .
ORAL COMMENTS ON CORRECTIONS TO THE DRAFT
We have improved all the map6 in the Final EIS but have not used orthophotos
because they do not reproduce well especially at the reduced scale required
for this publication. Orthophoto coverage, however, is available for your
review at the Salmon National Forest Headquarters.
The road co6t figures in Table 4-10 were incorrectly shown and have been
corrected in the Final EIS.
The reconstructed road miles for Alternative 4 i6 correct (9.3 mile6) on
page 2-13. but was incorrect in the Summary. The summary figure has been
corrected to 9.3 miles.
WRITTEN COMMENTS
1 . INCONSISTENCY WITH FOREST SERVICE POLIO’ REGARDING CUTTING TIMBER
IN KESR
The document, "Elk Habitat Relationships for Central Idaho" , contains good
information concerning management of elk habitat. Portions of this document
were adopted in the Forest Plan. These management standards and guidelines
help accomplish specific goals in areas that received "Key Elk" (4A or 4B)
management prescriptions in the Forest Plan.
Caring (or (he Land end Serving People
MOYER
Public Comment Letter # 1
Tvo of your proposed alternatives (2 and 4) for the Moyer
Salt Timber Sale will bisect the KESR with a road and will hove
clearcut units in its center. Needless to say, this will severely
reduce the elk habitat effectiveness for this block of land.
In »y view, the only viable alternative for this timber sale
is Alternative 3 which avoids roading and logging this critical
tract of wildlife habitat yet still makes available some timber
from the surrounding area (mapped os poor productivity on the SNF
Timber Growth Potential mop). Table 4-10 (p. 4-42) also shows
that when comparing economic efficiency, Alternative 3 has the
most favorable Present Net Value. I feel it is an acceptable
compromise which both wildlife and timber interests can support.
In a recent Forest Service end Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
brochure America ' s Elk Count r y . it says "As the land management
agency responsible for roost of the occupied elk habitat in the
continental United States, the Forest Service will play the
definitive role in establishing a future for wild, free-ranging
elk on public lands." By preserving these 3200 acres of KESR, you
can play a definite positive role for elk. Selecting either
Alternative 2 or 4 will be a serious reduction of optimum habitat
on the Forest .
Que st ions : -
On Summary-20 end also on p. 4-7, it indicates a minimal
acres of wetlands will be affected. Are any wetlands associated
with elk wallow complexes? How much? What type of mitigation
measures will be implemented, if any?
On Summary-8, it says "Most of the shel terwood units would be
logged used tractor skidding methods, with a cable system used on
slopes greater than 45 degrees.” Shouldn't this read "45
percent"? It could be interpreted to mean that cats would be used
on slopes up to 100X. I don't think you mean that!
, On p. 2-27 (Table 2-2) it shows the acres of roadless area
remaining as the same (53,300 acres) for all action alternatives.
With different amounts of area being impacted by each alternative,
it appears these numbers should be different. Please explain?
On p. 2-29 it shows "no improvement" for TAE habitat (barrier
to chinook salmon migration on Woodtick Creek) in Alternative 1.
Why wouldn't or couldn't this also be accomplished under a No
Action alternative. This sounds like 8 backdoor way of justifying
one of the action alternatives! Please explain?
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
Hadley Roberts
Our particular timber sale, however, contains cutting units within areas that
received 3A anadromous fish habitat prescriptions and 5A, 5B and 5C timber
management prescriptions in the Forest Plan, rather than the "Key Elk"
prescriptions. Any selected action alternative, however, would meet Forest
Plan Wildlife Standards and Guidelines for wildlife prescr ipt i ons
2 . REMOVAL OF KESR FP.OM THE TIM3EP. BASE
During the Forest planning process, all areas of key elk summer ranoe on this
Forest were mapped. A portion of these areas were then selected to receive
a 4P Management Area Prescription which places management empha6i6 first and
foremost on elk habitat objectives. The amount of acres given the 4E
prescription was sufficiently large to provide necessary core areas for elk
which, in combination with surrounding areas, would support target population
established in the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Species Management Flan
for elk.
3 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
As explained in the DEIS, all action alternatives propose timber harvest
activities in various portions of key elk summer range (KESP.) . The current
or natural elk habitat potential (EHP) in the lower elevation pcrticr. cf this
area. Wildlife Area I, is approximately 67 percent and in the upper elevation
portion. Wildlife Area II, it is 67 percent. The various proposed action
alternatives would reduce EHP in Area I to a low of approximately 46 percent
under Alternative 4 and increase EHP to a high of approximately 92 percent,
also under Alternative 4 Consequently, the net effect on EHP in the
analysis area will be nearly neutral in the short term and in the KESR it
will be positive.
The Moyer Peak KESR, as mapped, is currently forage limiting with * cover to
forage ratio of 60:2C and an elk habitat potential cr effectiveness rating
of 87 percent. All action alternatives will remove some cover from this area
thus improving the cover to forage ratio and the corresponding elk habitat
potential .
4 PNV COSTS
Since the Draft EIS, we have analyzed three additional alternatives
Alternative 6 now is the most economically efficient ae determined by the
calculation of present net value (PNV) . (See Final EIS.) Due to the
variables involved in performing economic analysis that cover long periods of
time (in this case up to 120 years), the differences in PNV between the
alternatives are relatively insignificant. It is interesting to note that
alternatives with the same mix of silvicultural prescriptions will show an
increasingly negative PNV with an increase in acres when stumpaoe rates are
somewhere below SlOO/rrbf (such as those used to calculate the long-term
average) . On the other hand a very slight increase in 6tumpage rate6, for
example close to or a little over SlOO/mbf will show the opposite. That i6,
with an increase in acres the PNV will be increasingly positive. Therefore
given the likelihood of a reduced national timber supply and increased
stumpage values it i6 likely that alternatives which harvest the most acres
Public Comment Letter # 1
9
Vh n t is the breakdown of the 415 acres of wetlands mentioned
on p. 3-6? How mn n y acres of riparian stringer wetlands, isolated
wetlands and wet meadows?
10
I, the an p on p. 3-27 correct? The roadless area boundary
appears to be in error? Spelling - "ana, Isis area .
11
There appears to be an error in Table 4-10 (p. 4-42). It
ahowa roads costs in Alternative 1 and none in Alternative .
On p. 4-43. under "Probable Environmental Effects That
19 Be Avoided" it says "Fall logging operations could d.scourage the
use of the area by big game hunters.' If this is truly a key
issue, have you considered limiting logging to before and after
the big game seasons?
1 o How many miles of road are in Alternative 4? On p. 2-13 it
° says 9.3 miles; on S-10 it says B.O miles.
14
Are 28 pages of computer printouts on smoke estimation rcnlly
necessary in this document? This could have easily been
summarized on one page or less and the Forest Service could have
saved ■ severe 1 reams of paper.
Recommendati ons : -
1C On P. 2-19 it says "The existing Moyer Peak jeep trail (Trail
16202) would be closed and the road surface revegetated to reduce
post-sale road density to 0.5 mi./sq. mi or less nod to prevent
access onto the new closed road system.’ 1 completely support
this mitigation measure. To be specific. I suggest that you close
the trail some place in Section 15 to be most effective.
16
On p 4-38 you state "New roads allow cattle to travel into
areas not previously utilized." This is especially ‘mportnnt on
this kESR. Cows presently use the area in low numbers, with no
apparent conflicts with elk. However, if large numbers find the.r
way into this area from other allotments, a livestock/elk conflict
could develop. Therefore, it is important that cattleguards and
fences be constructed at strategic points to head this problem off
before it develops.
Summa r v : -
As I have already stated. Alternative 3 is the only
acceptable alternative for this timber sale if you are to give any
consideration to elk on this key piece of habitat. To do anything
less will be a guaranteed wildlife disaster. Here is a good plnce
to demonstrate what the Forest Service means by Total Quality
Management .
Sincerely ,
HADLEY B. ROBERTS
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
Hadley Roberts
will eventually have the highest PNV. We will, however, consider FNV along
with all the factors and resources before choosing the final course of
action.
5 . ELK WALLOWS
Some of the isolated wetlands are associated with elk wallows. The only ones
that will be impacted are those that the road will cross. Wet areas within
proposed cutting units 25 and S14 will be flagged so that surface disturbance
of these wet areas will be avoided. (See Chapter II, Wetlands Mitigation in
the FEIS.) Elk wallow complexes are numerous in the analysis area and are
not considered to be a limiting factor for elk habitat
6 . CORRECTIONS
Summary- 8 has been changed for the Final EIS, to read "Most of the
shelterwood unit6 would be logged using tractor skidding methods, with a
cable system used on slopes greater than 45 percent."
7 . ROADLESS ACREAGE
The table that indicates roadless acres affected (pg 2-27 in the PEIS)
includes acres that are both directly and indirectly affected by the action
alternatives. (See discussion on page 4-31 of the DEIS.) Although the number
of acres directly affected by timber harvest and road construction does vary
by alternative, the same general area is entered and the same acres that are
indirectly affected are cut off from the remainder of the roadless area in
each action alternative except Alternative 5.
The map shown on page 3-27 in the DEIS was in error and has been corrected in
the FEIS.
8 . FISH BARP.IEP. ON WQQDTICK CREEK
You are correct that the DEIS addressed replacement or repair of the existing
Koodtick Creek culvert only within the context of the proposed Moyer Salt
timber sale package. In the FEIS, we have included that restoration of fish
passage at thi6 site could also be accomplished, with the No Action
Alternative, through the Forest's Fisheries Program. However, the timetable
for implementation under this funding mechanism would be contingent upon the
project's level of priority relative to other identified Forest fisheries
restoration projects on the Cobalt Ranger District.
At thi6 time, the Forest's Fisheries Program is currently assigning highest
priority to projects directed toward the restoration or enhancement of
Federally Threatened Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon habitats.
Although the Woodtick Creek drainage possesses habitat for steelhead trout,
no Chinook salmon habitat capability is indicated for thi6 stream (s«»e DEIS,
pg 3-7; 3-36); nor is there any evidence of historic use of thi6 stream by
Chinook salmon.
Carina (or (he Land and Serving People
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 1
Salmon National Forest Response
Hadley Roberts
4
9 . WETLAND TYFES
Mo reference to 415 acres of wetlands can be found on pages 3-6 of the DEIS.
Thirty mile6 of riparian stringer wetlands, 15 acres of isolated wetlands
and 14 acres of wet meadow were found in the analysis area. See the Wetland
section of Chapter III in the FEIS for further information.
10 . POADLESS ACREAGE
The table that indicates roadless acres affected (pg 2-27 in the DEIS)
includes acres that are both directly and indirectly affected by the action
alternatives. (See discussion on page 4-31 of the DEIS.) Although the
number of acres directly affected by timber har-vest and road construction
does vary by alternative, the same general area is entered and the same a'-ier-
that are indirectly affected are cut off from the remainder of the roadless
area in each action alternative except Alternative 5.
The map shown on page 3-27 in the DEIS was in error and has been corrected i r.
11 . ROAD COSTS - TABLE
The road cost figures in Table 4-10 were incorrectly shown and have been
corrected in the Final EIS.
12 . LIMITED LOGGING OUTSIDE BIG GAME SEASONS
The issue of seasonal logging restrictions to avoid logging activity
disturbance to both wildlife and recreationists during the big game hunting
season have been considered by the ID Team. Tc address this and ether
concerns, the proposed activity areas were divided into three subdivisions
and logging/road building would not occur simultaneously within these
subdivisions. wildlife subdivision boundaries are included in maps cf all
action alternatives ir. the FEIS. For mere details cn thi6 topic please see
Management and Mitigation Measures Specific to All Action Alternatives,
Wildlife: (Chapter II of the FEIS) .
13 . ROAD MILEAGE EP.ROF- IK SUMMARY
The reconstructed road miles for Alternative 4 is correct (9.3 miles) on
page 2-13, but was incorrect in the Summary. The summary' figure has been
corrected to 9.3 miles likewise.
14 . COMPUTER PRINTOUTS OK SMOKE ESTIMATION
We have removed the computer printouts from the Appendix of the Final EIS and
moved them to the project file. They will be available upon request
15 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYEF PEA}' JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (“6202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Meyer Peak in the SE1/4NV1/4 of
the FEIS.
Cprinc fr>r Ihp Lpcd p^d Servmc People
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 1
Salmon National Forest Response
Hadley Roberts
5
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
16 . PXSTRICTIOH OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLEGUAPJDS
Wo are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they cross ar.
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads.
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grar-.no
limits at levels tc prevent 1 i ves tcck ,/vi ldl i f e conflicts By increasin': * ho
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, th*
result is a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife The key elk summer rana
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM' s
per allotment will not increase as a result of this timber sale
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so ir th
Record of Decision Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please ha-.-p
your comments back to us within the 30 day comment period.
Sincerely.
JOHT: E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Coring for the Lnnd ond Serving People
■PkWro
Public Comment Letter # 2
JuiydC1)
Salmon National Forest
DEIS Response
Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Lynn M. Bennett
F 0 Box 7 29
Salmon ID 83467
Dear Sirs:
1 appreciate receiving your Recent Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale. 1 am glad to have the
opportunity to comment in a timely manner.
I would give my half-hearted support to Alternative 3. It seems a bit
note probable that thi6 timber sale should not be sold at all. As
suggested by the General Accounting Office, I feel that timber should
be sold only at a fully burdened price. No timber should be sold
below cost.
It is my opinion that the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area should not be
entered for timber cutting at all, at this time or any other.
Regrowth after cutting will be difficult (ch. 4, pg 22) and a ti imber
sale would result in significant lo66 of habitat (4-26)
I are also concerned that this timber sale seems inconsistent with the
5 management for fisheries water quality that you indicate is an
objective of your resource management plan.
1 might have felt more confident that water quality objectives had
been fully taken into consideration if the DEIS contained more
detailed information from field surveys indicating locations of
springs, wetlands, and temporary streams.
7
8
I would have appreciated more explicit discussions of the results of
your field surveys for sensitive plants. In the same vein, a full
cultural resource survey should also have been done prior to the DEIS,
not after the timber is sold.
9
A clerical comment: don’t use the term ’’over mature timber” for
"older unproductive trees." ( 1-3,4-21,4-44) Tnis is a loaded
valuing the tree's rapid growing adolescence over its environmen
more significant maturity. The trees you are indicating are onl
‘’over-mature’ in terms of board-feet product value, not in terms
biosphere value.
term,
tally
y
of
l
Finally, in the section of the DEIS where you consider economic impact
to the local area of these timber sales, you need to appreciate that
change in the timber industry cannot be prevented via the sale of
timber. Larger influences are operating to lower the gross product
value of timber in the economy: aging infrastructure, machinery
suited only to large old growth trees, declining rural populations to
name a few. A below cost timber sale will do nothing to help an
already stressed timber economy nor to estabilite a stressed Forest
Service Budget.
Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how
you resolve the issues thi6 timber sale brings up.
Sincerely ,
"V*“'YV 'V’VL/W
Anne Kinnaman
SALT TIMBER SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.0 Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Anne Kinnaman
14582 SE Anna Marie Ct
Milvaukie, OR 97267
Dear Ms. Kinnaman:
Thank you for your comments of July 30,
Your comments are an important part of
have been reviewed and discussed by our
idea6 are the basis for our response to
of this letter.
1992 on the Moyer Salt Timber S
the environmental analysis proce
team of resource specialists
your concerns and comprise the
ale .
66 a
The i
rest
nd
1 . BELOW COST TIMBER SALES
It is true that in the past many timber sales have been expected to have
costs in excess of receipts. That is, the cost of preparation and
administration is expected to exceed returns to the Treasury'. If the other
benefits associated with timber harvest are ignored, then timber management
on the Salmon National Forest in the past would appear to be a poor
investment .
However, in addition to supplying a portion of the nation's timber needs,
other important benefits of timber harvest are employment , income, and the
related contribution to the economic diversity of dependent communities.
These non-priced benefits are not given a dollar value in the economic
analysis, nor are the returns to the Treasury in the form of income and
corporate taLxes from the timber industry itself. These taxe6 can offset a
sizeable portion of the cost of preparation and administration.
Timber management is the only resource program which was analyzed strictly on
the basis of direct cash flow to the Treasury. If other resource programs
were valued in the same way, most, if not all, would appear to be poor
investments based on present net value; however, most other resource? 6uch a6
recreation are valued based on ■ vi 1 1 ingness - to-pay " , which are estimates of
what non-market benefits are worth in the absence of established market
values. Though they do not represent any cash flow to the Treasury', these
willingness- to-pay values are considered in the Moyer Salt overall analysis
and not reflected in the economic analysis. The important thing to remember
is that the economic analysis doe6 not display the whole economic picture.
>*ld P' d S*‘rvi’»C Fr'TC'L
Public Comment Letter # 2
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Salmon National
Forest Response
Anne Kinnaman
All costs and benefits, both priced and non-priced, were considered before
selection of the preferred alternative.
The present trend in timber Bales has shown a substantial increase in the
gross income received from similar sales (see p. IV-41,42 Moyer Salt DEIS).
Using the increased dollar value of other timber sales over the past year as
an indicator, estimated receipts for Moyer Salt would be enough to offset
costs and provide income to the Treasury as veil. If thi6 present trend
proves the case for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale as indications predict, its
classification as a "below-cost" timber sale would not be accurate.
2 . ROADLESS CONCERNS
As indicated in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) , only a
portion of the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area would be affected by any of the
action alternatives. As currently envisioned, over eighty percent of the
roadless area would remain undeveloped into the foreseeable future.
3 . REGENERATION
Your letter 6tate6 that "Pegrovth after cutting will be difficult (Ch 4,
pg . 22)." If you read that paragraph again you will find that delayed
regeneration could be expected in only two harvest unit6 comprising 12 acre6
or approximately 2 percent of the proposed harvest unit6. The "Past Timber
Harvest Activity'" section on page 3 -IS of the DEIS indicates that based on
previous harvesting on similar siteB, reforestation for the majority of the
Moyer Salt area 6hould be highly successful.
The National Forest Management Act states that regulations should be
developed specifying guidelines which insure that timber will be harvested
only where "there is assurance that such land6 can be adequately restocked
within five years after harvest." These "NFMA Regulations" (36 CFP 219)
state that "when tree6 are cut to achieve timber production objectives, the
cuttings shall be made in such a way' as to assure that the technology and
knowledge exists to adequately' restock the lands within five years after
final harvest." The initial cut in the shelterwood and seed tree methods is
normally made to encourage prompt regeneration, however the final har-
mu6t often be delayed more than five years to ensure that there will be
adequate regeneration after the final harvest.
4 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
As explained in the DEIS, all action alternatives propose timber harvest
activities in various portions of key elk summer range (KESR) . The current
or natural elk habitat potential (EHP) in the lower elevation portion cf thi6
area, wildlife Area I, is approximately 67 percent and in the upper elevation
portion. Wildlife Area II, it is 87 percent. The various proposed action
alternatives would reduce EHP in Area I to a low of approximately 48 percent
under Alternative 4 and increase EHP to a high of approximately' 92 percent,
also under Alternative 4 . Consequently, the net effect on EHP in the
analysis area will be nearly neutral in the short term and in the MESR it
will be positive.
Caring for the Lsnd snd Serving People
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 2
Salinon National Forest Response
Anne Kinnaman
3 .
In addition the snag retention and replacement guidelines and old growth
retention areas, both of which are contained in our current Forest Flan
direction, will help maintain habitat for at least minimum viable population
of small game and nongame birds and mammals.
5 . MAINTAIN FISH HABITAT
Conclusions reached within the DEIS regarding expected effects to water
quality and aquatic habitats are based upon available information,
professional experience and judgement, and related research. In the case of
the proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale, the Hydrology Effects section of the
FEIS discusses the history, nature, and effects of activities within a
neighboring watershed of similar geologic origin, in order to provid° a
foundation upon which conclusions concerning expected effects to water
quality and aquatic habitat within the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek
watersheds can be based. As indicated within the FEIS, post - irnpl ementat i on
aquatic conditions observed within the Deep Creek drainage, with road design,
layout and densities similar to or exceeding those of the proposed Moyer Salt
action alternatives, strengthen the conclusions that, with the exception of
Alternative 3, the levels of timber management activity proposed within the
array of Moyer Salt action alternatives are indeed fully compatible with
Forest water quality and aquatic habitat maintenance goal6. The probable
incompatibility of Alternative 3 with water quality and fisheries resource
goals stems from an 6 i te - specif i c inability to effectively implement, within
the Salt Creek drainage, those same mitigation measures which have been
proven successful within other Forest watersheds in protecting and
maintaining aquatic habitats.
Pre - implementation substrate core sampling operations on Woodtick Creek, and
post - implementation core sampling operations on Deep Creek, have indicated
that substrate conditions currently exceed maximum habitat potential on both
streams. Although lab analysis of macroinvertebrates is not yet complete,
cursor)' observations have shown no discernable difference in diversity or
vigor between pre-project Woodtick Creek populations and post - irpl ement a t i on
Deep Creek populations. Given the current condition of substrate quality
within the Moyer Salt analysis area, and the observed post - implementat ion
conditions within the Deep Creek drainage, there is little evidence to
suggest that macrcinvertebrate or vertebrate aquatic resources would be
adversely impacted as a result of implementation of action Alternatives 2,
2A, 4, 5, or 6 . Additional analysis of Alternative 3 beyond that included
within the DEIS, has identified an high risk of surface erosion and sediment
impacts within the Salt Creek drainage, and a consequent risk to existing
macroinvertebrate and vertebrate aquatic species.
6 . WATER QUALITY
The project files contain maps of the wetlands within the analysis area
Since there was not any significant difference between the action
alternatives in regards to wetland impacts, thi6 information was not
displayed in the DEIS.
Cerino for the Lend an'* Srrvinr Frcr'r
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 2
Salmon National
Forest Response
Anne Kinnaman
7 . PLANT SUPVEY
The entire sale area was not surveyed for sensitive plants. However, much of
the area was looked at during the field work for this proposal. The only two
sensitive species that are likely, based on habitat types, to be present are
pink aqoseris and Lemhi penstemon. Numerous trips through the wet meadows
near Moyer Peak failed to reveal any specimens of pink aqoseris The Moyer
Creek area was also surveyed for Lemhi penstemon but no plants were observed
even through this species is known to occur in the upper portion of the
Panther Creek drainage.
8 . NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT REQUIREMENTS
Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 800 requires a cultural
resource inventory when necessary to determine effects to Histone Properties
(i.e., cultural sites that are eligible to the National Register of Historic
Places) and to consult with the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office
(SHPO) on the method of inventory', the results of the inventory, and the
effect to Historic Properties. Under a Forest Service Washington Office
memo, dated October 9, 1991, we are required to complete these actions and
consultation with the SHPO prior to the Deciding Officer's signing of the
Decision Notice (DN) .
A cultural inventory of the majority of cutting unit6 and all road
construction has taken place. No Historic Properties were found and SHPO
consultation was completed on August 18. 1992. However, due to newly
proposed alternatives, 6mall portions of Units 19, S-l, S-2, S-3, S-5, S-6,
and S - 7 within Alternative 4 and of Units S12, S16, S15, S13, S6 , 25, 26, 28,
and 30 within Alternative 6 need to be inventoried. Based on previous
results, no cultural resources are expected in the remaining unit6 and SHPO
clearance is expected by August 1, 1993.
The closure of the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4 of the
NWl/4 of Section 16 has very' little potential to adversely effect a historic
property. The road does not appear on any historic Forest maps nor are there
any historic mining claims noted in the Forest Land Status Atlas that it
would have serviced. Since the closure is on 6teep and rocky ground there 16
a very low potential of effecting a prehistoric or historic Native American
traditional use 6ite or archaeological site. Therefore, it is the Forest
Archeologist's opinion that the spur road closure will have a low potential
for adverse effect.
In summary, your comments are well taken, and the Salmon National Forest will
ensure that two actions are taken prior to signing the Decision Notice.
Since the Moyer Peak Jeep Trail will not be affected by this project, no
consultation with the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) or
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation is warranted. A survey report
detailing investigations of the units and the mining road closure that have
not been previously inventoried will be forwarded to the Idaho SHPO. If any
historic properties are located during the inventory avoidance measures to
assure "no effect" will be implemented with appropriate SHPO and Advisory
Council consultation prior to signing the Decision Notice.
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200 28b(3'9
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 2
Salmon National Forest Response
Anne Kinnaman
5 .
9 . TERMINOLOGY
In your letter you request that the term "older unproductive trees" be used
in place of "overmature timber." We disagree with your assertion that
"overmature timber" is a connotation for "valuing the tree's rapid growing
adolescence over its environmentally more significant maturity." we feel
that the definition of "overmature timber" as stated in the DEIS, page 1-3,
paragraph 2, i6 clear and not subject to a variety of philosophical
interpretations. The definition given in the DEIS is the 6ame as that used
in the Salmon National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. (See
glossary. VI -25.) We do agree with your point that regardless of a tree' 6
age or state of health, it has or provides values other than beard feet. The
fact that we do agree should be evident by examining Chapter < of the DEIS
A good portion of this chapter is devoted to estimating and displaying the
resource tradeoffs incurred when harvesting "overmature" timber.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED" Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do 60 in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments bach to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200 2SM3 u
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 3
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA
REPLY TO
ATTN OF:
Region 10 Alaska
1200 Sirth Avenue Idaho
Seattle WA 90101 Oregon
Washington
SALMON N F
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John Burns
Forest Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
P O. Box 729
Salmon, Idaho 83467
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reviewed the draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) frr the Moyer Salt Timber Sale located in the
Cobalt Ranger District on the Saimon National Forest. Our review was conducted in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and our responsibilities
under Section 309 of the Clean Air Act.
This draft EIS evaluates the no action alternative and three action alternatives
for timber harvest, road construction, and management of other resources in the
planning areas. A range of alternatives was developed that implements the Forest
Plan and addresses major issues that were identified during the project planning and
scoping process. The Forest Service has not identified a preferred alternative for this
timber sale.
We provided scoping comments on this proposed action in November, 1990.
We identified a number of significant issues that we felt should be discussed and
evaluated in the draft EIS. We requested:
■ a description of the existing water quality and an analysis of the effects of the
proposed sale on designated uses and maintenance of state water quality
standards;
■ information about the soils in the study area and the potential for erosion
problems and mass wasting;
■ a description of existing air quality and a comprehensive analysis of the effects
of prescribed burning;
■ a discussion of mitigation measures and the effectiveness of mitigation
measures; and
■ a description of a detailed monitoring plan.
This draft EIS is well written and was quite responsive to our scoping
comments. The air quality analysis represents the most comprehensive evaluation of
prescribed burning that we have had the opportunity to review in an EIS to date. The
staff should be commended for their efforts. We support the conceptual analytical
approach that was used. The analysis included the following steps'
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
ii Department of
' Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
Nat ional
Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon. ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Kathy Veit, Chief
Environmental Protection Agency
Region 10
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
Dear Ms . Vei t :
Thank you for your comments of July, 16. 1992 on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists. Their
ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of thi6 letter.
1 . APPLICATION OF SMOKE MODEL
Gary Jackson, our air quality specialist, sent you information on how to
obtain the SASEM MODEL and we agree that you should review it for the
mountainous areas of Idaho.
2 . WATER MONITORING
The details for Water Quality and Fisheries monitoring are disclosed in the
FEIS , Chapter II under Project Monitoring. Water quality data was collected
on Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek during 1992. Thi6 data is discussed in the
FEIS, Chapter III under Hydrology and Fisheries.
3 . NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES CONCURRENCE WITH BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
The FEIS is being released on the assumption of concurrence with the
Biological Assessment findings by NMFS . Should NMFS not concur with the
findings of the Biological Assessment, then the project will be modified to
meet the recommendations of NMFS, and a decision will be issued to that
effect. The project will not be implemented until final concurrence is
reached with NMFS.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the ’PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-f>200-28b(3'92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 3
Salmon National Forest Response
2
■ Quantify the amount of burning activity (acres, tons of fuel, type of material,
etc.);
■ Describe the type of burns (broadcast burns, piled burns, understory burning,
etc.);
■ Describe any measures to reduce emissions (fuel moisture contents, site
preparation/scarification, fuel removal through firewood programs, etc.);
■ Quantify the amount of emissions of regulated air pollutants;
■ Describe the regulatory/permit requirements for burning, especially smoke
management plans where applicable; and
■ Provide a qualitative description of the air quality impacts of burning activities,
focusing on new or increased impacts on downwind communities, visibility
impacts in Class I areas, etc.
We are interested in reviewing the application of the Simple Approach Smoke
Estimation Model used in this draft EIS. We understand that the model Is designed for
use in flat terrain situations. Results from it could potentially underestimate the air
1 quality impacts in the complex terrain found in the study area. We would provide you
with any additional comments that we might have once we have completed the review.
The steps described above are an excellent analytical approach.
2 Our major concern with the proposed action is the effect of the timber sale on
the water quality of Moyer and Woodtick Creeks. These creeks drain into Panther
Creek. As the draft EIS points out, the Moyer Creek drainage has been identified as
the most important chinook salmon spawning tributary of the Panther Creek drainage
system. These spring/summer chinook salmon were recently listed as threatened by
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Although the fish do not currently use
the Moyer drainage due to downstream water quality problems, the water quality must
be maintained and protected so the chinook salmon can return to the spawning and
rearing habitat found in Moyer Creek when the downstream acid mine drainage
problems in Blackbird Creek and Panther Creek are controlled.
Our water quality concerns are based on the stated fact that the 1988 Tick
Creek timber sale resulted in significant sedimentation problems in Little Woodtick
Creek. Our concern is whether best management practices (BMPs) were followed for
the 1988 sale. II BMPs were implemented, they apparently were not effective.
It is our understanding that with regard to water quality the Forest Service will
exercise its statutory authority and responsibility as the lead agency for implementing
and enforcing natural resource management programs for the protection of water
quality on federal lands under its jurisdiction. The achievement of water quality
standards for non-point source activities occurs through the implementation of BMPs
which are designed to achieve water quality standards. Water quality standards
criteria are the measures by which BMP effectiveness is judged. While BMPs are
believed to protect water quality, they must be monitored to determine that this is the
Kathy Veit, Chief
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review,
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor the Lend end Serving People
2 .
Please have
FS-6200-28b(3'92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
case. If they are not effective, then the BMPs must be revised. Therefore, mere
application of BMPs is not adequate to satisfy the Clean Water Act. The final EIS
should discuss in greater detail any monitoring results that indicate the effectiveness of
BMPs to protect designated uses and maintain state water quality standards.
We request that the final EIS include the Biological Assessment or a summary
of it as well as the NMFS Biological Opinion/concurrence with the findings in the
Biological Assessment. There are a number of reasons for including the Biological
Assessment and the NMFS Biological Opinion/concurrence in the final EIS.
■ NEPA requires full disclosure on all issues and public involvement In all aspects
of the decision,
■ The Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the
Procedural Provisions of NEPA encourage the integration of NEPA requirements
with other environmental review and consultation requirements (1502.25), and
■ The Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation process can result in the
identification of mandatory reasonable and prudent alternatives for a jeopardy
opinion and reasonable and prudent measures for an adverse modification
opinion.
We believe that the final EIS and Record of Decision should not be completed
prior to the completion of Section 7 consultation. The effect of the timber sales on a
Threalened or Endangered (T or E) species in or near the planning area is relevant to
the decision at hand: whether to cut, where to cut, when to cut and under what
conditions to cut timber. Both the Biological Assessment and the EIS must evaluate
the potential Impacts of the proposed action on T and E species and the EIS must
fully disclose the impacts. Integration of the analysis of reasonable and prudent
alternatives/miligation measures required by ESA and the analysis of feasible
alternatives/miligation is required by NEPA.
If the consultation process is treated as a parallel process it is conceivable that
reasonable and prudent alternatives/mitigation measures to avoid a Jeopardy/adverse
modification opinion, which have not been evaluated in this final EIS, could be
developed during the ESA consultation process. If the Section 7 consultation process
is completed after the EIS process for this sale Is completed, then a supplement to the
final EIS could be warranted.
Based on our review, we are rating this draft EIS EC-2 (Environmental
Concerns-lnsufficient Information). Our environmental concerns are based on the
potential for adverse water quality effects. Documentation of consultation
requirements of Section 7 of ESA is also needed. An explanation of the EPA rating
system for draft EISs is enclosed for your reference. This rating and a summary of
these comments will be published in the Federal Register.
Public Comment Letter # 3
3
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 3
Salmon National Forest Response
4
We appreciate the opportunity to review and provide comments on this draft
EIS. If you have any questions about our review comments please contact
Sally Brough in our Environmental Review Section at (206) 553-4012.
Sincerely,
Kathy Veit, Chief
Program Coordination Branch
Enclosure
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 4
Salmon National Forest Response
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United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.0. Box 729
Salmon. ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Nancy Jochem
2770 Kootenai
Pocatello. ID 83201
Dear Ms. Jochem:
Thank you for your comments of August 5, 1992 on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale.
Your comments are am important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists. Their
ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter.
1 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
As explained in the DEIS, all action alternatives propose timber harvest
activities in various portions of key elk summer range (KESR) . The current
or natural elk habitat potential (EHP) in the lower elevation portion of this
area, Wildlife Area I, is approximately 67 percent and in the upper elevation
portion. Wildlife Area II, it is 87 percent. The various proposed action
alternatives would reduce EHP in Area I to a low of approximately 48 percent
under Alternative 4 and increase EHP to a high of approximately 92 percent,
also under Alternative 4. Consequently, the net effect on EHP in the
analysis area will be nearly neutral in the 6hort term and in the KESR it
will be positive.
In addition the snag retention and replacement guidelines and old growth
retention areas, both of which are contained in our current Forest Plan
direction, will help maintain habitat for at least minimum viable population
of small game and nongame bird6 and mammals .
2 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLEGUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads .
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts. By increasing the
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3'92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 4
Salmon National Forest Response
W1 Nancy Jochem
2 .
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUN's)
per allotment will not increase as a result of thi6 timber sale.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed i6 the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring for the Land and Serving People
F S-6200- 28b( 3 '92 )
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 5
oano Montana Wyoming Oregon Washington Alberta British Columbia
\lliance for the Wild Rockies
.0x 8731 Missoula. Montana 59807 • 4 06- 72 1 - 5‘1 20
August 6, 1992
Lynn Bennett - Moyer Salt DEIS
Salmon National Forest
Box 729
salmon. ID 83167
i • r
Dear Ms. Bennett.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Moyer Salt timber sale Draft
Environmental Impact Statement. The following is a list of the issues and problems we at
the Alliance for the Wild Rockies feel should be addressed before a Decision is rendered for
this proposed projecL
I. ROADLESS RESOURCE
The IS Chief's IRNE appeal decision states that the Eorest Rians have made only
general allocation decisions. It stated that roadless area decisions were reviewable at the
project level, that ’Prior to a decision to proceed with a roadless area project that is
Inconsistent with preserving the roadless character and wilderness features of the area, the
Forest will analyze and document the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the
proposed action.’ (p. 13). 'Die decision goes on to say "The responsible Forest Service
official has the discretion to decide not to proceed with the proposed project, and
thereby maintain the roadless character and wilderness potential of the area.
Thus, the Salmon National Forest must look beyond the simple question of what
will happen to the roadless qualities of the analysis areas. (6)The Chief's 1PNF decision
mandates that a site specific NEPA analysis reexamine the wildemess/nonwildcmess
allocation made in the Forest Plan to determine if it is correct The DEIS has not provided
'.his analysis.
Die Taylor Mountain roadless area is being proposed for Wilderness designation in
.lie Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, which will be introduced in the U S.
Congress by Rep Peter Kostmayer (D-PA). The Forest Service should not usurp the right
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
Nat ional
ForeBt
P.0. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Dan FunBch
Program Assistant
Alliance for the Wild Rockies
Box 0731
Missoula. MT 59007
Dear Mr. Funsch:
Thank you for your comments of August 6, 1992 on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale.
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists Their
ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter.
1 . WILDERNESS CONCERNS
This Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will not reexamine the
wildemess/nonwildemess allocation that was made in the Salmon National
Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. Instead, it provides an analysis
of the development /no development issue and will display the effects to the
roadless characteristics caused by the various alternatives. These
alternatives range from no effect on the roadless characteristics to high
effects on less than twenty percent of the entire Taylor Mountain Roadless
Area. The EIS doe6 analyze and document the direct, indirect and cumulative
impacts of the proposed action on the roadle66 resource.
The Taylor Mountain Roadle66 Area is not included in any existing proposal by
the administration for wilderness designation, nor are we aware of its
inclusion in any proposed legislation that is currently being seriously
considered for introduction or that enjoy6 any degree of broad-based support.
2 . WATER QUALITY
Water quality data was collected on Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek in 1992
following the release of the DEIS. Parameters measured include water
temperature, carbon dioxide, hardness, alkalinity, acidity, pH, dissolved
oxygen, sulfate, phosphate, nitrate, specific conductivity,
macroinvertebrates and fine sediment (core sampling) . The results of this
monitoring are discussed in the FEIS, Chapter III. Hydrology and Fisheries.
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200 28b(3'92)
MOYER SA
Public Comment Letter # 5
of the American public, through Congress, to debate the wilderness suitability of this
roadless area.
II SEDIMENT LEVELS, WATER QUALITY AND FISH IIAUITAT
We are very' concerned about sediment effects to water quality and fish habitats due
to road construction and timber harvest. In this pristine watershed, with a Management
Area designation for anadromous fisheries habitat, these types of developments may be
incompatible with protecting the fisheries resource One purpose of the DEIS should be to
validate or lest the Forest Elan allocations, but the DIFS fails to do so. Rather, it assumes
that timber harvest and road building will be compatible with anadromous fisheries
repopulation. We disagree, and feel that the DBS is deficient in its analysis of the impacts
to water quality and fish.
Statements in the DEIS reveal the paucity of data, and the lack of a scientific
understanding of the current water quality situation in the project area. Die DEIS states on
page 3-5 that "No water quality data has been collected in the Moyer of Woodtick drainages
to quantitatively assess whether the water quality objectives specified in the Forest I lan
have been achieved." Tius lack of data is irresponsible, particularly in light of past timber
harvest in Woodtick Creek. According to the DEIS (same page), twenty three rutting units
resulted in increased water yield and subsequent stream bank and stream bed erosion. In
other words, logging had destabilized and eroded the stream bank. And yet the Forest
Service proclaims that "No significant stream sedimentation is anticipated from the
proposed action alternatives ..." (page 4-4). The lack of water quality information alone
warrants a revision of the FJS. I low can the decision maker make an informed decision
without this type of information? How can the public? The DEIS cleatly does not meet
the intent of NEPA’s disclosure requirements.
We are seriously concerned that any additional sediment loading may jeopardize the
viability of bull trout, a sensitive species, in the project area. Our concern is magnified
because of cumulative effects caused by the proposed action and past sedimentation from
management activities in the drainage. The draft EIS fails to adequately assess these
cumulative impacts.
Please include in the PEIS tire results of sediment modelling, using an accepted
model, and please also include an analysis of these increased sediment rates on the health
and survival of aquatic insects and fisheries.
Ill WATER YIELD
Water yield will almost certainly increase because of the proposed action, but the
Forest Service has not examined the effects these increases will have. The I FIS must
TIMBER SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
Mr . Funsch
3 . WATER YIELD
Timber harvest in the Little Woodtick Creek drainage did result in stream
channel erosion a6 a result of significantly increased water yields in the
watershed. Twenty-three percent of this drainage was harvested which
resulted in increased water yield and a synchronization of snovmelt runoff
from thi6 small drainage. Research has Ghown that timber harvesting can
increase total water yield from a drainage due to a reduction of
transpiration from tree removal and an increase in Gnow accumulation in the
cutting unit6. However, research ha6 also chovn that a significant portion
of a watershed has to be harvested before a significant change in flow is
detectable. Some research has shown that 20 to 30 percent of a watershed hae
to be harvested before a significant change in flow can be detected Th:6
research is cited in the DEIS and the FEIS The proposed action alternatives
would not harvest such a large percentage of any of the drainages The
highest percentage of any drainage harvested would be 14.3 percent under
Alternative 4 which is well below the 20 percent threshold identified in
hydrologic research.
4 . SEDIMTNT LEVELS
The Forest Planning process identified a Gtream substrate sediment level
of 37.1 percent fines a6 that which would limit resident trout populations to
a minimum viable level. At that same time a substrate sediment level of
approximately 18.5 percent fines was identified as that of maximum resident
fisheries habitat potential. (See Forest Land and Resource Management Flan
for the Salmon National Forest, pp 11-22, 11-23.) A resident fisheries
habitat management standard of 28.7 percent fine6 was ultimately adopted in
the Forest Plan to mirror State production goals for these stocks.
Pre-pro}ect monitoring within the Woodtick Creek drainage indicates that
substrate sediment levels in this 6tream are among the lowest of Forest
streams measured to date. Core sampling of the spawning gravels of upper
Woodtick Creek during September 1993 revealed a mean of 15.0 percent fines,
indicating that substrate conditions within this stream currently exceeding
maximum, habitat potential.
As discussed within the Hydrologry Effects section in Chapter IV of the FEIS,
observations of results of similarly designed road construction and timber
harvest actions within a similar and nearby watershed indicate that substrate
sediment levels within the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek drainages would be
expected to remain below not only the resident fisheries habitat management
standard of 28.7 percent fines, but additionally below the 20.0 percent
anadromous habitat management standard, and would in no caae be expected to
ri6e to levels which would threaten the viability of either resident or
anadromous stocks.
5 . WATER MONITORING
The results of sediment yield modeling using the BOISED model are included in
the FEIS, Chapter IV includes a description of the BOISED sediment yield
model, and the results of the modeling by alternative.
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28M3 92)
MOYER
Public Comment Letter # 5
contain an analysis of water yield increases and assess tlieir contribution to sedimentation
and changing flow regimes.
IV. ELK SECURITY AND HABITAT
Alternatives 2 and 4 propose massive cutting in key elk summer range. Would these
nits cause cover levels to drop below standards? This proposal certainly violates the Forest
Service recommendation from Elk Habitat Relationships for Central Idaho. Rather, the
proposed action will degrade summer elk habitat.
New roads will decrease elk security, but the DEIS fails to adequately assess the effects
of increased hunter access.
How will cattle access be restricted in the area? The FEIS must specify.
V. ALTERNATIVES
Please disclose in the Final EIS the most recent date the Forest chose the no-action
alternative for a project
The DEIS presents an inadequate range of alternatives:
All action alternatives propose to enter the Taylor Mountain inventoried roadless
area.
All action alternatives propose even-aged timber management We request that the
FEIS consider uneven-aged management as a detailed alternative.
ll\e range of harvest levels varies from 3.75 to 6 9 MMBF, and road construction
levels vary from 116 to 17.8 miles. Please consider in detail an alternative that propses less
than 10 miles of roads and less than 3 MMBF.
VI. TIMBER HARVEST
Several of the proposed clearculs are larger than 40 acres, the regional limit on the
size of man-made openings. These are not consistent with NEMA's management
requirements.
VII. THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES
All federal agencies have a strict requirement to comply with the Endangered Species
Act. There are no exceptions (TVA v. Hill, 437 U.S. at 173. All federal agencies must give
first priority to the conservation and recovery of listed species and take no action which
threatens their continued existence (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1536 (a)(1)&(2).
Contrary to assertions made by the Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Sendee,
there are wolf and grizzly bears which may utilize the analysis area. lire project will
,T TIMBER SALE
Salmon National
Forest Response
G . MAIHTAIU FISH HABITAT
Conclusions reached within the DEIS regarding expected effect6 to water
quality and aquatic habitats are based upon available information,
professional experience and judgement, and related research. In the case of
the proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale, the Hydrology Effects section of the
FEIS discusses the hi story , nature , and effects of activities within a
neighboring watershed of similar geologic origin, in order to provide a
foundation upon which conclusions concerning expected effects to water
quality and aquatic habitat within the Woodtick Creek and Moyer Creek
watersheds can be based. A6 indicated within the FEIS, post - implementat ion
aquatic conditions observed within the Deep Creek drainage with road design,
layout and densities similar to, or exceeding those of, the proposed Moyer
Salt action alternatives strengthen the conclusions that with the exception
of Alternative 3, the levels of timber management activity proposed within
the array of Moyer Salt action alternatives are indeed fully compatible with
Forest water quality and aquatic habitat maintenance goals The probable
incompatibility of Alternative 3 with water quality and fisheries resource
goals stems from an si te - 6peci f ic inability to effectively implement, within
the Salt Creek drainage, those same mitigation measures which have been
proven successful within other Forest watersheds in protecting and
maintaining aquatic habitats.
Pre - implementat ion substrate core sampling operations on Woodtick Creek, and
post - implementat ion core sampling operations on Deep Creek, have indicated
that substrate conditions currently exceed maximum habitat potential on both
streams. Although lab analysis of macroinvertebrateG is not yet complete,
cursory observations have shown no discernible difference in diversity or
vigor between pre-project Woodtick Creek populations and post - impl ementa t i on
Deep Creek populations. Given the current condition of substrate quality
within the Moyer Salt analysis area, and the observed post - implementat ion
conditions within the Deep Creek drainage, there is little evidence to
suggest that macroinvertebrate or vertebrate aquatic resources would be
adversely impacted as a result of implementation of action Alternatives 2.
2A, 4, 5, or 6. Additional analysis of Alternative 3 beyond that included
within the DEIS, has identified an high ri6k of surface erosion and sediment
impacts within the Salt Creek drainage, and a consequent risk to existing
macroinvertebrate and vertebrate aquatic species.
7 . INCONSISTENCY WITH FOREST SERVICE POLICY REGARDING CUTTING TIMBER
IN KESR
The document, °Elk Habitat Relationships for Central Idaho", contains good
information concerning management of elk habitat. Portions of this document
were adopted in the Forest Plan. These management standards and guidelines
help accomplish specific goals in areas that received "Key Elk" (4A or 4B)
management prescriptions in the Forest Plan.
Our particular timber sale,
received 3A anadromous fish
management prescriptions in
however, contains cutting unit6 within areas that
haJbitat prescriptions and 5A, 5B and 5C timber
the Forest Plan, iather than the "Key Elk'
Caring tor the Land and Serving People
FS 6200-28b(3'92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 5
Salmon National Forest Response
certainly have a detrimental effect on these species and their habitat. We feel that the
biological asessment is incorrect in its findings, and we believe the Forest Service is
required to enter into formal consultation with the l)S Fish and Wildlife Service.
Roads play a critical limiting factor on gray wolf recovery efforts. Thiel (1985) found
that wolves fail to exist in areas with open road densities even as low as 0 93. Mattson and
Knight (1991) found that even secondary roads present a mortality risk to grizzly bears five
times that of roadless backcountry areas. Proper consideration of the relevant factors will
clearly lead to a 'may effect" situation.
VIII. Ol n GROWTH AND OI D GROWTH DEPENDENT SPECIES
14
15
These comments are not meant to be exhaustive. Tire Forest Service must comply
with all existing laws and regulations as well as addressing public concerns. We thank you
for tire opportunity to comment
Tire DEIS fails to disclose tire amount and location of the proposed harvest of old
growth. It also fails to divulge any detail of how old growth was defined, and what the
relative contribution of identification methods such as aerial plrotograplis, field surveys,
and data queries was. This information Dtust be disclosed.
lire DEIS fails to examine tire role and importance of the area, and especially the
importance of existing stands of old growth, in providing potential biological corridors for
wildlife movements.
Dan Funsch
program assistant
prescript ions . Any selected action alternative, however, would meet Forest
Plan Wildlife Standards and Guidelines for wildlife prescriptions.
8 . WILDLIFE SECURITY
You are correct in stating that new roads will decrease elk security.
Post-sale road density was one of the factors used to predict changes in
EHP . However, the hunting aspect of elk security cannot be adequately
addressed on thi6 or any other area due to the various parameters that affect
hunter access and success such as season length and timing. The roads
constructed under any action alternative in this proposal will be
administratively closed via locked gates and the distance into the proposed
area will definitely limit access by persons on foot.
9 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLEGUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts. By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thu6 improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal unit6 per month (AUM'6)
per allotment will not increase as a result of this timber sale.
10 . SELECTION OF A NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE
The Salmon National Forest has no record of ever selecting a no action
alternative in any Final Environmental Impact Statement.
11 . UNEVEN -AGED MANAGEMENT AS A DETAILED ALTERNATIVE
The Draft EIS, on page 2-2, includes our rationale for not proposing
uneven-aged management. In the lodaepole community, the presence of heavy
fuels make it a physical impossibility. Even when it is possible to skid
logs and save a residual stand, it is often not possible to dispose of the
slash without clearcutt ing .
Two alternatives were developed in response to general concerns about
standard clearcutting within the lodgepole community. Alternatives 6 and 2A
would utilize clearcutting with islands in order to better meet visual
quality objectives and maintain habitat for other resources dependant upon
structural diversity. Where clearcutting is prescribed, many of the stands
would have approximately 15 percent of the area within the unit left in uncut
islands ranging from 1/2 an acre to one acre in size. With heavy fuel
loadings, such as those found in the analysis area, the retention of i6land6
Caring lor Ihe Land and Serving People
FS-62Pn 2Pb(3 92)
MOYER SALT TIHISER SALE
Public Comment Letter U 5
Salmon National Forest Response
Mr. Funsch
is the only practical and economically feasible alternative to standard
clearcutting .
Harvest treatments prescribed for stands within the Douglas-fir community
were expanded to include the modified irregular shelterwood system. This
system perpetuates or creates from two to four age groups and canopy levels
The concept of the irregular shelterwood system is to mimic natures natural
reproduction system. The end result is a diversified stand structure which
maintains a forested appearance and provides vertical diversity through
multiple canopy layers.
12 . HEW ALTERNATIVE • WITH LESS THAN 10 MILES OF ROAD AND 3 MHBF
After receiving your request for an alternative with less than 10 mile6 of
road and the harvest of les6 than 3 MMBF, we developed a new alternative
(Alternative 5) . This alternative proposes the use of helicopters, 1.1 mile6
of new road6 and the harvest of 1.79 MMBF.
13 . THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES
There are no documented or undocumented observations of gray wolve6 or
grizzly bears in this project area. The original Species List, supplied by
the USFWS on January 29. 1991, did not contain any listed or proposed
species. However, when this list was updated on March 31, 1993, the
endangered gray wolf was placed on the list. At that time a new Biological
Assessment was prepared which determined that the proposed action "may affect
but is not likely to adversely affect" the gray wolf, wolf habitat or
recovery potential . This determination was based primarily on predicted
effects on prey populations, post-6ale motorized travel restrictions on the
new road system, mitigation measures that rendered a section of the new road
system unsuitable for human traffic by foot or horse, and a post-sale open
road density of 0.56 mi/6guare mile subsequently concurred with that
determination thus no further informal or formal consultation i6 required for
thi6 project.
14 . OLD GROWTH
Information on old growth can be found in Chapter III and IV of the FEIS
under the Biological Diversity 6ection6 - unique habitats We have included
a map of the old growth retention stands which will be left uncut (Figure
III-3) in the Final EIS. The various alternative maps show the cutting unit
locations, which were identified by aerial photography and ground truthing.
Alternative 4 which harvests the most old growth would show a 15 percent
reduction in acre6 with old growth characteristics. The definition of
old-growth habitat found in the Glossary states that it is habitat for
certain wildlife that is characterized by overmature coniferous forest stands
with large snag6 and decaying log6 .
15 . BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
We have included additional discussion of biological diversity in the Final
EIS. Information on biological corridors can be found in Chapter IV under
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200- 28b( 3/92)
Public Comment Letter # 5
Salmon national Forest Response
Mr. Funsch 6.
Biological Diversity and also in Appendix H. We have made our beBt attempt
at discussing biological diversity of this area by using the most recent
literature and scientific information. Please review these sections of the
Final EIS. If you still have questions concerning the biological diversity
discussion, let us know within 30 days.
Alternative 6 has been listed be the " PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected* Alternative but will do bo in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28M3/92)
MOYER
Public Comment Letter # 6
Post Office Box 604
Salmon, Idaho 83467
August 6, 199?
John Burns, Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
P O Box 7?9
Salmon, Idaho 89467
2
3
4
5
We wish to comment on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale in the Panther Creek
drainage When my husband, a hunter, heard of the sale, he decided that
it was one which we should look into. We would urge you to choose
Alternative 3, which we feel responds to the concerns of the large
population of elk which uses a substantial area of centrally located land
within the sale as key elk summer range. This area is a well known elk
area, and we feel that to log this area would cause the elk population
much devastation. Alernatives ? and 4 seem to violate what the Forest
Service reccommends concerning key elk habitats, the 60 40 ratio.
We understand that Alternative 3 restricts timber harvest to the west
and east sides of the analysis area, which are in the Taylor Mountain
Roadless Area We know that to harvest in a roadless area results in an
* irr ivcrsible and irretrievable committment * to further develop those
areas. We ask you to seriously consider the future cumulative effects
which come into play when 77 plus new miles of roads are constructed under
Alternative 3 We would highly suggest that fences and cattleguards are
constructed as needed on the roads that will encircle the elk summer range
area. We also reccommend that the Moyer Peak Jeep Trail be closed in
section 15. We also are concerned that sufficient area be allotted to
ouiintain good habitat and travel corridors for the elk after activity is •
tpmpletcd .
We reject Alternatives 7 and 4 because we feel that they do no meet
lour re objectives for other resources . Only Alternative 3 takes into
consideration the necessary points that we have previously mentioned.
Action Q
2 3 4 5 6
2 3 *
2 3 4 5 6
2 3 4 5 6
2 3 4 5 6
Sincere 1 y ,
Doug Sholes
Karen Sholes
TIMBER SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United StateB
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.0. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Doug and Karen Sholes
P.0 Box 604
Salmon, ID 83467
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Sholes:
Thank you for your comments of August 6, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists. Their
ideas are the basi6 for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter.
1 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
All proposed action alternatives will decrease the cover to forage ratio in
Wildlife Analysis Area I which is already below the optimum value of 40:60.
However, these same alternatives will increase the forage component of the
habitat in the currently forage limiting Wildlife Analysis Area II. The
overall results will be very near neutral or no significant change from the
current situation.
2 . ELK WALLOWS
Some of the isolated wetlands are associated with elk wallows. The only ones
that will be impacted are those that the road will cross. Wet areas within
proposed cutting Units 25 and S14 will be flagged so that surface disturbance
of these wet areas will be avoided. (See Chapter II, Wetlands Mitigation in
the FEIS.) Elk wallow complexes are numerous in the analysis area and are
not considered to be a limiting factor for elk habitat.
3 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLEGUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently no fenceB in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads.
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts. By increasing the
Caring (or the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28bl3/92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 6
Salmon National Forest Response
Doug and Karen ScoleB
2 .
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result iG a diepersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
Gpecific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase as a result of this timber sale
4 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYEP- PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (£6202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
5 . TRAVEL CORRIDORS
As stated in Chapter IV, elk habitat potential will increase in wildlife
Analysis Area II but will decrease in Area 1. The resulting post-sale elk
habitat potential will be very nearly the same as current. Uncut timber
between harvest units, riparian areas and unmanaged acres will provide
sufficient timbered travel corridors to facilitate elk use of the entire
area .
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS We have not yet chosen the “Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Flease have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring for fhe Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3 921
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 7
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SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.0 Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Toby Friedman
P.O. Box 8
Gibbonsvi 1 1 e , ID B3463
Dear Ms. Friedman:
Thank you for your comments of February 6, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the baBis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of thi6 letter.
1 • MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
During the Forest planning process, all areas of key elk summer range on thi6
Forest were mapped A portion of these areas were then selected to receive
a 4 B Management Area Prescription which places management emphasis first and
foremost on elk habitat objectives. The amount of acres given the 4B
prescription was sufficiently large to provide necessary core areas for elk
which in combination with surrounding areas would support target population
established in the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Species Management Plan
for elk.
2 . INCONSISTENCY WITH FOREST SERVICE POLICY REGARDING CUTTING TIMBER
IN KESR
"Key Elk" (4A or 4B) management prescriptions in the Forest Plan emphasire
management of big game habitat in winter and summer ranges. Our particular
timber sale contains cutting units within areas that received 3A anadromous
fish habitat prescriptions and 5A, 5B and 5C timber management prescription
in the Forest Plan, not the "Key Elk" prescriptions.
Any selected action alternative, however, would meet Forest Plan Wildlife
Standards and Guidelines for wildlife prescriptions.
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3'92)
MOYER
Public Comment Letter # 7
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,T TIMBER SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
Toby Friedman 2.
3 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLE GUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads.
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts. By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result i 6 a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase aB a result of thi6 timber sale.
4 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYER PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (#6202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do sc in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor the LBnd and Serving People
FS-6200-2Sb(3 o
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 8
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Salmon National Forest Response
United State6 Fore6t Salmon P.0. Box 729
\ Department of Service National Salmon, ID 83467
Agriculture Forest
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Erik Fischer
1900 Taylor Ave N
Unit J
Seattle, WA 98109
Dear Mr. Fischer:
Thank you for your comments of August 5. 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists Their
ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter .
1 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
The quality of elk habitat in the Moyer-Salt project area is recognized
throughout the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and project analyses A
list of nine specific wildlife mitigation measures is included in the EIS,
six of which deal with minimizing the predicted effects of thi6 project on
elk habitat. These measures range from protection of natural ecotones to
placing slash on a portion of the closed road system to decrease the ease of
human access .
2 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYER PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (#6202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the 6pur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
3 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLE GUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they crosE an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads.
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts. By increasing the
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS^OO-lSbO7*
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 8
Salmon National Forest Response
Erik Fischer 2
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated uae in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase as a result of thi6 timber sale.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision which will follow a 30-day comment period after release of
the Final EIS.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Caring for fhe Land and Serving People
FS-6200 2Rb(3^:i
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 9
RUSSELL E. B LA LACK, M.S.
1081 Milky Wny
Cupertino, CA 95014.
(408) 996-9750
John Burns, Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467. August 5th, 1992
Dear John Burns
re : Moyer Salt Timber Sale DEIS
My name is Russell Blalack. I am a designer of living systems incorporating native american
perennials into existing and enhanced habitats. I spent three years in Idaho doing foundation
work for my current project, a computer-assisted guide to native plant integration in living
systems design.
I ask you to consider my perspective on the DEIS recently completed by your office for a
proposed timber sale in the Panther Creek drainage of the Cobalt Rangei District. I note
1 right away that all cutting units are in the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area. The impact of
2 cutting through the middle of a 3200 acre tract of Key Elk Summer Range would have a
devastating impact on the dk herd. It also violates the Forest Service recommendation that
"timber harvest on key elk habitats should be limited to those activities that will maintain or
3 enhance the habitat for that particular elk use." [Elk Habiiai Relationships for Central Idaho]
With this in mind, the only acceptable action alternative must be Alternative 3, which
responds to the wildlife concerns which this Timber Sale raises. In my opinion, the No
Action alternative is the wisest choice, bearing in mind the very intense wildlile use which
the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area supports.
Yours ^sjpcerehy
S' \ RUSSELL E. BLALACK, M.S.
SALMON N. F,
AUG 1 0 i?2
(nfo O
Action Q
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Russell Blalack
1081 Milky Way
Cupertino, CA 95014
Dear Mr. Blalack:
Thank you for your comments of August 5, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists. Their
ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter.
1 . ROADLESS CONCERNS
As indicated in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) , only a
portion of the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area would be affected by any of the
action alternatives. As currently envisioned, over eighty percent of the
roadleB6 area would remain undeveloped into the foreseeable future.
2 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
Analyses quantifying post-sale elk habitat conditions were completed for all
alternatives and are summarized in Table IV-8 of the EIS This data
indicates a slight increase in elk habitat potential in Area II and a slight
decrease in Area I with a net result very near current. There will, however,
be a decrease in elk habitat security and an increase in vulnerability of
hunted elk. However, thi6 area will not by any means be devastated and will
remain in very acceptable elk habitat condition post-6ale.
3 . INCONSISTENCY WITH FOREST SERVICE POLICY REGARDING CUTTING TIMBER
IN KESR
The document, "Elk Habitat Relationships for Central Idaho," contains good
information concerning management of elk habitat. Portions of this document
were adopted in the Forest Plan. These management standards and guidelines
help accomplish specific goals in areas that received "Key Elk" (4A or 4B)
management prescriptions in the Forest Plan.
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3'Q2l
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 9
Salmon National Forest Response
Russell Blalack
2 .
Our particular timber sale however, contains cutting units within areas that
received 3A anadromous fish habitat prescriptions and 5A, 5B and 5C timber
management prescriptions in the Forest Plan, rather than the 'Key Elk*
prescriptions. Any selected action alternative, however, would meet Forest
Plan Wildlife Standards and Guidelines for wildlife prescriptions
Alternative 6 has been lieted bb the "PREFERRED" Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
rS-6200-28b(3'92>
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 10
Aug. 8, 1992
Dear Mr. Burns,
This letter is in regard to the Moyer-Salt timber sale. I am a long time resident o(
Salmon and am very familiar with this area I was very disappointed to hear that
logging is being proposed in this area
1 The Moyer-Salt country is very special for several reasons; it is one of the few
places in the Salmon National Forest, near Salmon that has remained relatively
2 roadless, it offers excellent habitat for elk in its current state, and it also supports
a resident band of Mountain Goat, not many of which are left in this area.
It logging is inevitable here, please choose an alternative that will cause the
least impact to this area At this point I feel that Alternative 3 is a compromise.
Under this plan logging will be allowed on the least sensitive lands, and some
of the higher elevation wildlile habitat will be protected. All of the area identified
o as Key Elk Summer Range, and those areas with heavy wildlife use should be
removed from the timber base This action will show your commitment to the
4 economic future of Salmon by foregoing a short term profit in leiu of a more
permanent, far sighted plan.
Please limit road construction as much as possible. Many of the roads that the
Forest Service has allowed for mining exploration in this area are required to be
low impact when appropriate. Perhaps these standards could apply to logging
5 as well. Please ensure that any new routes will be closed after timber harvest,
including the jeep trail in Section 15
I sincerely appreciate your solicitation for public comment, and encourage wise
and often brave decisions on this matter.
Thank you,
Terry Myers
Box 1006
Salmon, ID 83467
SALMON H F.
/.;« 1 0
Inlo 0 Action Q
SUP
LMP 1 2 3 4 5 £
TAP 1 2 3 4 5 £
CLM 1 2 3 4 5 £
RRWW 1 2 3 4 5 £
AO 1 2 3 4 5 <
CC's TO:
TIMBER SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agr i cul ture
Fore Bt
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 8 34 6"’
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Terry Myers
P.O Box 1006
Salmon, ID 83467
Dear Ms . Myers :
Thank you for your comments of August 5, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists Their
ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter.
1 . ROADLESS CONCERNS
As indicated in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) , only a
portion of the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area would be affected by any of the
action alternatives. As currently envisioned, over eighty percent of the
roadless area would remain undeveloped into the foreseeable future.
2 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
Analyses quantifying post-sale elk habitat conditions were completed for all
alternatives and are summarized in Table IV-8 of the EIS. This data
indicates a slight increase in elk habitat potential in Area II and a slight
decrease in Area I with a net result very near current. There will, however,
be a decrease in elk habitat security and an increase in vulnerability of
hunted elk. However, thi6 area will not by any means be devastated and will
remain in very acceptable elk habitat condition post-sale.
3 . TRAVEL CORRIDORS
A 6 6tated in Chapter IV, elk habitat potential will increase in Wildlife
Analysis Area II but will decrease in Area I. The resulting post-6ale elk
habitat potential will be very nearly the same as current. Uncut timber
between harvest units, riparian areas and unmanaged acres will provide
sufficient timbered travel corridors to facilitate elk use of the entire
area .
4 . COMMUNITY STABILITY
We feel that timber harvest will play a key role in the economic future of
Salmon. The demand for timber from the Salmon National Forest and parts of
the Cobalt Ranger District has been strong and is expected to increase The
economies in Lemhi and Custer Counties in Idaho and Ravalli County, Montana,
are dependent in part on forest resources, particularly on the renewable
Msl
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3/92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 10
Salmon National
Forest Response
Terry Myere
natural resources of grass, timber, and water (Lemhi County Report, 1990).
One objective of the ForeBt Plan is to provide timber outputs at a level that
will allow the continuation of industries dependent on those outputs (Forest
Flan, 1988, III-4). This objective will provide for community stability in
the Fore6t'6 area of influence and is consistent with the customs and culture
of these communities.
5 . CLOSE ALL NEW ROADS
The Cobalt Ranger District will gate and close all specified road6 upon
completion of road construction. The Moyer Salt road system would be
included in the Salmon National Forest Travel Plan as a yearlong road
closure . The roads would remain closed except during active periods of the
sale or when needed for post 6ale activities, administrative purposes, or
periodic firewood gathering.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED" Alternative in the Final
EIS We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do 60 in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring tor the Land and Serving People
FS-62PO-28b(3'92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 11
Salmon National Forest Response
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United States
Department of
Agriculture
Fore6t
Service
Salmon
Nat ional
Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Gene Krebsbach
E 1140 Crystal Bay Road
Post Falls, ID 83854
Mr. Krebsbach:
Thank you for your comments of August 6, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
1 . TRAVEL CORRIDORS
As stated in Chapter IV, elk habitat potential will increase in wildlife
Analysis Area II but will decrease in Area I. The resulting po6t-sale elk
habitat potential will be very nearly the same as current. Uncut timber
between harvest units, riparian areas and unmanaged acres will provide
sufficient timbered travel corridors to facilitate elk use of the entire
area .
2 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLE GUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, 60 we have not planned any cattleguard6 on the road6 .
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts. By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM’ s)
per allotment will not increase as a result of this timber sale.
Alternative 6 ha6 been listed as the "PREFERRED" Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
rS-6200-28b(3'92>
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public
Comment Letter # 11
Salmon National Forest Response
Gene Krebsbach
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200 28b(3'92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
iJj\°~/l r<”<&
rt»
Public Comment Letter # 12
HC |i "2 v 3-
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Salmon National Forest Response
United StateB
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.0. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Terry Benten
HC 12
P.0. Box 273
Coeur d' Alene, ID 83814
Dear Mr Benten:
Thank you for your comments of August 6, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists. Their
ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter.
1 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
For all alternatives, the entire road system constructed for thi6 6ale will
be gated and administratively closed to motorized traffic. In addition, the
road through the K£SR will have slash piled on it to discourage and/or
eliminate human travel by foot or horse. This will negate or greatly
decrease any predicted effects due to roading.
2 . INCONSISTENCY WITH FOREST SERVICE POLICY REGARDING CUTTING TIMBER
IN KESR
"Key' Elk" (4A or 4B) management prescriptions in the Forest Plan emphasize
management of big game habitat in winter and summer ranges. Our particular
timber sale contains cutting units within areas that received 3A anadiocncuE
fish habitat prescriptions and 5A, 5B and 5C timber management prescription
in the Forest Plan, not the "Key Elk" prescriptions.
Any selected action alternative, however, would meet Forest Plan Wildlife
Standards and Guidelines for wildlife prescriptions.
3 . REMOVAL OF KESR FROM THE TIMBER BASE
During the Forest planning process, all areas of key elk summer range on thi6
Forest were mapped A portion of these areas were then selected to receive
a 4 B Management Area Prescription which places management emphasis first and
foremost on elk habitat objectives. The amount of acres given the 4B
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3/92)
II
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public
Comment Letter #
12
Salmon National
Forest Response
Terry Benton
prescription was sufficiently large to
which, in combination with surrounding
established in the Idaho Department of
for elk.
provide necessary core areas for elk
areas, would support target population
Fi6h and Game Species Management Plan
4 PNV COSTS
Since the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) , we have analyzed three
additional alternatives. Alternative 6 now ie the most economically
efficient as determined by the calculation of present net value (PNV) . (See
Final EIS.) Due to the variables involved in performing economic analysis
that cover lone periods of time (in thi6 case up to 120 years) , the
differences in PNV between the alternatives are relatively insignificant. It
is interesting to note that alternatives with the same mix of silvicultural
prescriptions will show an increasingly negative PNV with an increase in
acres when stumpage rates are somewhere below 5100/mbf (such as those used to
calculate the long-term average) . On the other hand a very slight increase
in stumpage rates, for example close to or a little over 5100/mbf will show
the opposite. That is, with an increase in acres the PNV will be
increasingly positive. Therefore given the likelihood of a reduced national
timber supply and increased stumpage values it i6 likely that alternatives
which harvest the most acres will eventually have the highest PNV. We will,
however, consider PNV along with all the factors and resources before
choosing the final course of action.
5 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYEP PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (86202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
6 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AirD CATTLE GUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguard6 on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguard6 on the roads.
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts. By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase as a result of this timber sale
Alternative 6 has been listed as
EIS. We have not yet chosen the
the "PREFERRED" Alternative in the
"Selected" Alternative but will do
Final
so in the
Caring (or the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3'R2>
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 12
Salmon National Forest Response
Terry Benton
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200 28M3/92)
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 13
August 8, 1992
Proposed Mover Salt Timber Sale
John Burns, Supervisor "
Salmon National Forest
P. 0. Box 729
Salmon, Idaho 83467
Dear John;
I have some comments on your recent DEIS for a proposed
timber sale in the Moyer and Salt Creek drainages of the
Taylor Mt. Roadless Area.
Appendix C of the 1985 Salmon National Forest Plan says that
"This area contains both key elk summer and winter range for
the 200-250 animals in the Moyer Creek herd."
Both alternatives 2 and 4 in the DEIS are contrary to the
goal of maintaining or enhancing elk habitat on key ranges.
Either of these alternatives would adversely impact the elk,
so you should select neither.
Alternative 3 would have less impact on elk, but still
involves 25 miles of new and reconstructed road. What would
be the proposed road funding method? I don't understand how
we can afford to build 25 miles of forest road for 4 MMBF of
timber. If this is a "hard money" road, then I would oppose
this alternative also.
If there is any timber sale in this area, then I would hope
you would close any new roads after the timber is cut, for
the following reasons:
This roadless area is good bear habitat. More open
roads would encourage more bear hunting and more
human impacts in general, something the bears do
not need.
SAlMOM H. F-
Cattle and sheep should be kept out of areas where
they are not currently grazed. An open road will f||Q 1 0 i’2
create demand to introduce livestock.
Into 0
I definitely oppose alternatives 2 and 4. If the sal^p
appears not to be below cost, and the road is not to ih(?
built from appropriated funds, then I would support taf
alternative 3. ELM
Act i'
Sincerely,
RRY/W
AO
12 3 4
12 3 4
12 3 4
12 3 4
12 3 4
CC's TO:.
Idaho 83402
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States Forest
Department of Service
Agriculture
Salmon P.0. Box 729
National Salmon, ID 83467
Forest
Reply to; 1950
Date :
Jerry Jayne
1568 Lola Street
Idaho Falla, ID 83402
Dear Mr. Jayne:
Thank you for your comments of August 8, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists. Their
ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the re6t
of this letter.
1 . INCONSISTENCY WITH FOREST SERVICE POLICY REGARDING CUTTING TIMBER
IN KESR
"Key Elk" (4A or 4B) management prescriptions in the Forest Plan emphasize
management of big game habitat in winter and summer ranges. Our particular
timber sale contains cutting units within areas that received 3A anadromous
fish habitat prescriptions and 5A, 5B and 5C timber management prescription
in the Forest Plan, not the "Key Elk" prescriptions.
Any selected action alternative, however, would meet Forest Plan Wildlife
Standards and Guidelines for wildlife prescriptions.
2 . FUNDING FOR ROADS
All road construction would be accomplished under the timber sale contract.
However, we will request supplemental funds to help pay for the expensive
construction of the upper Woodtick Creek crossing. These supplemental funds
come from the US Treasury' but they differ from "hard money" in that if the
sale is "bid up", or doe6 not sell, the funds return to the Treasury'. The
proposed 9.3 miles of reconstruction work i6 relatively inexpensive.
3 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYER PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (#6202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
Caring for the Land pnd Serving People
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 13
Salmon National
Forest Response
Jerry Jayne
4 . RESTP I CTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLEGUARDS
We are committed
existing fence .
area, go we have
to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they ciogb
There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
not planned any cattleguards on the roads
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration Animal units per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase a6 a result of this timber sale
Alternative 6 has been listed as the
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Sel
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the
your comments back to us in 30 days.
"PREFERRED* Alternative in
ected" Alternative but will
Final EIS for your review
the Final
do so in the
Please have
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
fS-6200 -2f»bO q:i
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 14
Salmon National Forest Response
August 8, 1992
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.0. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Dear Mr. Burns,
I am writting in regards to the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale, after reviewing the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement, I would ask you to choose alternative three.
Alternative three would protect the elk's calving and
nursery areas the best. Half ofthe analysis area has
been mapped as key elk summer range, but the entire area
receives heavy spring, summer, and fall elk and mule deer
use. This area needs special consideration to protect
the wildlife resources within it. Alternative three
would also protect our recreation resources in the Moyer
Salt area, which is primarily related to big game
hunting in the fall.
Your DEIS states that the Moyer Peak Jeep Trail
(#6202) will be closed near Moyer Peak, I would ask you
to close the jeep trail in Section 15 to be most effective.
My other concern is that the newly constructed
roads have the potential of bringing cattle into the area
and would cause conficts with the elk. Therfore I ask
that fences and cattleguards be implemented at all
critical points to protect our wildlife resources in this
area .
Sincerely ,
CI_ciudi<L
Claudia Whitten
601 (Jeyman St.
Salmon Id. 83467
SALMON N. F,
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Claudia Whitten
601 Neyman Street
Salmon, ID 83467
Dear Ms. Whitten:
Thank you for your comments of August 8, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists. Their
ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter.
1 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
The quality of elk habitat in the Moyer-Salt project area is recognized
throughout the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and project analyses. A
list of nine specific wildlife mitigation measures is included in the EIS,
six of which deal with minimizing the predicted effects of thi6 project on
elk habitat. These measures range from protection of natural ecotones to
placing slash on a portion of the closed road system to decrease the ease of
human access.
2 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYEP PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (#6202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
3 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLEGUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads.
/•if? 10 92
Into 0 Action Q
SUP
IMP 123456
1AF 1 2 3 4 5 6
ELM 1 2 3 4 5 6
RRWW 123456
AO 123456
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlif e conflicts. By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3'92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 14
Salmon National Forest Response
Claudia Whitten
2 .
result is a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase as a result of this timber sale.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREPERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review Please have
your comments back to ue in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3'92)
r-T*rt7~T?r.i. ■ .
MOYER SALT TIMBER
Public Comment Letter It 1.5
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Salmon National Forest Response
United States Forest Salmon P.0. Box 729
\ Department of Service National Salmon, ID 83467
Agriculture Forest
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Doris Cole
555 North Roop Street #46
Susanvi lie, CA 96130
Dear Ms. Cole:
Thank you for your comments of August 10, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analy6i6
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
1 . WILDERNESS CONCERNS
We appreciate your concern for the roadless resource and we would simply
point out that under any of the action alternatives, over eighty percent of
the Taylor Mountain Roadless Area would remain undeveloped for the
foreseeable future .
2 . DISTURBANCES FROM TIMBER HARVEST ACTIVITIES
It is true that timber harvesting activities cause ground and vegetative
disturbances. In the environmental impact statement we discuss the specific
impacts each alternative ha6 on all resources. You will be receiving a copy
of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) so you can review our
analysis of all the resources.
3 . BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
We have included additional discussion of biological diversity in the Final
(EIS), both in Chapters III and IV and additional material in Appendix H.
Please review these sections of the Final EIS. We have made our best attempt
at discussing biological diversity of this area by using the most recent
literature and scientific information. If you still have questions
concerning the biological diversity discussion, let U6 know within 30 days.
In any action alternative, we would be directly and indirectly affecting the
natural integrity within specific disturbance areas (roads and harvest
units) . Thi6 would not exceed 16 percent of the Taylor Mountain Roadless
Caring lor Ihe Land and Serving People
FS-6200 2Rb(3'92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 15
Salmon National Forest Response
^TVie, p-cA\ o\-o wi A_cvcfi u)V\q.+ U Coo*> ' cl cr 4-o b t- 1 (i c. vvi o jT_
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DoriG Cole
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Area. The remainder of the roadless area would not be affected and
naturalness would remain high. Also within the analysis area, we will not
cut any old growth retention stands (See Figure III -3.)
1 MAIHTA1K FISH HABITAT
Conclusions reached within the DEIS regarding expected effects to water
quality and aquatic habitats are based upon available information,
professional experience and judgement, and related research. In the case of
the proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale, the Hydrology Effects section of the
FEIS discusses the history, nature, and effects of activities within a
neighboring watershed of similar geologic origin, in order tc provide a
foundation upon which conclusions concerning expected effects to water
quality and aquatic habitat within the Woodtick Creek and Moyei Creek
watersheds can be based As indicated within the FEIS, post • urplementat ion
aquatic conditions observed within the Deep Creek drainage, with road desiar.,
layout and densities similar to or exceeding those of the proposed Moyei Sail
action alternatives, strengthen the conclusions that, with the exception cf
Alternative 3, the levels of timber management activity proposed within t lie
array of Moyer Salt action alternatives are indeed fully compatible with
Forest water quality and aquatic habitat maintenance goals The probable
incompatibility of Alternative 3 with water quality and fisheries resource
goals stems from an si t e - speci f i c inability to effectively implement, within
the Salt Creek drainage, those same mitigation measures which have been
proven successful within other Forest watersheds in protecting and
maintaining aquatic habitats.
Pre - implementation substrate core sampling operations on Woodtick Creek, and
post ■ implementation core sampling operations on Deep Creek, have indicated
that substrate conditions currently exceed maximum habitat potential on both
streams. Although lab analysis of macroinvertebrates is not yet complete,
cursory observations have shovr. no discernible difference in diversity or
vigor between pre-pro3ect Woodtick Creek populations and pos t - impl emen t a t i on
Deep Creek populations. Given the current condition of substrate quality
within the Moyer Salt analysis area, and the observed pos t - impl emen t at l on
conditions within Che Deep Creek drainage, there is little evidence to
suggest that macroinvertebrate or vertebrate aquatic resources would be
adversely impacted as a result of implementation of action Alternatives
2A, 4, S, or 6. Additional analysis of Alternative 3 beyond that included
within the DEIS, has identified an high risk, of surface erosion and sedirent
impacts within the Salt Creek drainage, and a consequent risk to existing
macroinvertebrate and vertebrate aquatic Gpecies.
5 . UNEVEN - AGED MANAGEMENT AS A DETAILED ALTERNATIVE
The Draft EIS, on page 2-2, includes our rationale for not proposing
uneven-aged management. In the lodgepole community, the presence of heavy
fuels make it a physical impossibility. Even when it is possible cc skid
logs and save a residual stand, it is often not possible to dispose of the
slash without clearcut t ing
Two alternatives were developed in response to general concerns about
ithin the lodgepole community. Alternatives € and
k-ith islands in order to better meet visual
standard clearcutting
would utilize clearcutting
Caring lor the Lend and Serving People
F S-62M 4 2Sbn
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 15
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SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
Doris Cole
quality objectives and maintain habitat for other resources dependant upon
structural diversity. Where clearcutting is prescribed, many of the 6tands
would have approximately IS percent of the area within the unit left in uncut
islands ranging from 1/2 an acre to one acre in size. With heavy fuel
loadings, 6uch as those found in the analysis area, the retention of islands
is the only practical and economically feasible alternative to standard
clearcutting .
Harvest treatments prescribed for stands within the Douglas-fir community
were expanded to include the modified irregular 6helterwood system Thi6
system perpetuates or creates from two to four age groups and canopy levels
The concept of the irregular shelterwood system is to mimic natures natural
reproduction system. The end result i6 a diversified stand structure which
maintains a forested appearance and provides vertical diversity through
multiple canopy layers.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supennsor
Enclosure
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3 92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 15
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Salmon National Forest Response
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 15
Salmon National Forest Response
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MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 16
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.0. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Tom Rieger
Forester
Salmon Intermountain, Inc.
P.0 Box 928
Salmon, ID 83467
Salmon national Forest
Attn: Lynn Bennett
DEIS Response - Moyer Salt Timber Sale,
P. 0. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Dear Mr. Bennett:
1
I support Alternative #2, the propose
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft Environmental
I i eel that this is the best alternative,
raw material for the local forest products
protects wildlife Bnd fisheries through sp
management practices for logging and road
d action, in the
Impact Statement,
because it provides
industry and
ecific best
building.
This proposed action will provide an estimated 4.9 MM
board feet of timber to the local forest products industry.
This local industry is solely dependent on the National Forest
and the BLM for its raw material supply.
Salmon I n t ermoun t a i n is one of the largest private employers in
Lemhi County, and needs these raw materials to continue
operating.
Moyer and Woodtick Creeks are important streams for
anadromous fish species. There has been no use of the Wood-
tick, or Moyer creeks by anadromous fish since the 1960 s, due
to chemical pollution from an abandoned mine up stream from the
study area. This will continue to be the case until the water
contamination from the Black Bird Mine is corrected.
By using proven beat management practices (BMP), there
be no degradation to the current and future fisheries Bnd
habitat in the study area.
BMP for road construction: - windrow slash at the toe
the slope to provide for b sediment trap.
- grass seed rut and fill slopes to help stabilize
will
their
of
Dear Mr. Rieger:
Thank you for your comments of August 8, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists. Their
ideas are the basi6 for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter.
1 . COMMUNITY STABILITY
Thank you for your support of our proposed alternative. We agree that timber
harvest play6 a key role in the economic future of Salmon. The demand for
timber from the Salmon National Fore6t and part6 of the Cobalt Ranger
District has been strong and i6 expected to increase. One objective of the
Forest Plan is to provide timber outputs at a level that will allow the
continuation of industries dependent on those outputs.
2 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYER PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (#6202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the 6pur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle accesB.
3 . TIMBER SALES AND ROADLESS /WILDERNESS ISSUES
The "Roadless Area/Wi ldemes6 Issue" is not considered appropriate rationale
for "stopping this timber harvest." The roadless resource i6 included in the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement as an affected resource and the effects
of the various alternatives are displayed so that the public will understand
some of the trade-offs that occur when development occurs in a previously
undeveloped area.
Caring lor Ihe Land and Serving People
FS-6200 2fib(3'92>
MOYER
Public Comment Letter # 16
Page 2 August 8, 1992
- place water bars on road at completion of harvest
activities.
BMP for logging: - locating and flagging Bkid trails
prior to harvesting activities.
- directional falling in shelterwood and seedtree
harvest units.
- water bar and grasB seed skid trails over 20 V. slope
at the end of harvesting activities in the unit.
- leave 10 - 20 tons/acre of logging Blash per unit,
this will not only provide for long term nutrient
recycling, but provide woody debriB for eedlment
traps throughout the harvest unit (short term
benef it).
- maintain adequate filter strips adjacent to the
streams.
This timber sale will also provide money to the Forest Service
to realign the culvert at Woodtick Creek and F. S. road t 107.
This culvert is an obstruction to fiBh migration on Woodtick
Creek. If anadromouB fish ever do return to this drainage, it
will allow them to reach their spawning grounds upstream.
This area is UBed by a wide variety of wildlife. To help
protect the wildlife of the area, all harvesting activities
should take place behind closed gates. This will allow
logging, hauling, and road building in two subdivisions at a
time. It will also let the wildlife use the remaining
subdivisions without being bothered by the timber sale
activities. Harvesting some of the timber in this area will
open up new forage areas for wildlife, thus improving overall
habitat. I feel the Moyer Jeep Trail should be closed, to
2 prevent motorized vehicles from using roBds thBt are behind a
1 ocked gate.
TIMBER SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
Tom Rieger
-- — Muernauve m the Final
t h f re n0t yet Ch°Ben thG 'Selected’ Alternative bat -ill do »o in the
Record of Decision. Encloeed is the Final FIS for your review Please have
your comment b back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Fore6t Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring for the Land end Serving People
FS-6200-28H3 <?2>
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 16
Salmon National Forest Response
Page 3 August 8, 1992
The timber in this Etudy Brea 1b infested with insect and
diBeaae problems (spruce budworm, mountain pine beetle , and
dwarf mistle-toe). Harvesting the timber in this area will
greatly reduce the potential for a catastrophic Insect and
disease infestation and resulting timber loss. The timber
harvest will bIso reduce the potential lor a major fire in the
area, by breaking up the continues fuel base, providing fire
lines (roads) end giving the Forest Service good roaded access
to the area.
The Moyer Salt Timber Sale will lay within the Taylor
Mountain Roadless Area, #13-902. The Roadless A r ea / W i 1 der neBS
3 lSBue should not be grounds for stopping this timber harvest.
This roadless area was not recommended for wilderness in RARE I
or RARE II, nor is it currently listed for wilderness
consideration in theSalmon Forest Plan, page C-24. Only 167. of
the Roadless Area will be affected, leaving approximately
53,000 acres in a roadless condition. There have bIbo been
numerous small intrusions into this roadless area. These
intrusions alone should eliminate this area for any
consideration as a wilderness area.
I believe that the Forest Service has done a good and
thorough Job of evaluating this proposed timber sale and its
resulting effects on the environment, which will be minor, and
should proceed with this timber sale.
Sincerel y
Dallas Olson
President
SALMON IHTERMOUHTAIH, INC.
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 17
Salmon National Forest Response
August 10, 1992
/-UV> I - - ■
Adion Q
United StateB
Department of
Agriculture
ForeGt Salmon
Service National
Forest
P 0. Box 729
Salmon. ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Bert Jefferies
RT 1 Box 7B
Salmon. ID 83467
Hr. John Burns, Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, Idaho 83467
Dear John
I would like to register my support for the Salmon National
Forest's planned Moyer Salt Timber sale located on the Cobalt
Ranger District. It has come to my attention that opposition to
the sale is based largely on concern for damage to summer elk
habitat. Having worked in the Salmon National Forest for over four
years, it has been my observation that well-managed timber harvests
have only temporary impact on elk populations. In spite of all the
activity on the Beartrack project, there are more elk in the
Leesburg area now than four years ago when I first became involved
with the project. It is not uncommon to see elk standing around
drill rigs early in the morning when the drill crews arrive. The
accusations that this sale will disturb the Key Elk Summer Range
are unfounded.
It is not true that logging activity in this sale area will
have a permanent impact on elk populations; in fact, a well-managed
timber harvest will likely improve the habitat over the long term.
Sincerely yours.
'HU 79,
-TLcj. 3 3 AC.7
Dear Hr. JefferieB:
Thank you for your commence of August 9, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists.
Thanks for your vote of confidence in our management of the Forest. All
proposed action alternatives contain many mitigation measures and management
requirements designed to specifically help ensure that elk habitat is
adequate to support the elk population goal of the current Idaho Department
of Fish and Game's 5-Year Elk Species Management Plan. We will continue to
do our best in managing all the resources of the Forest including the elk
Alternative 6 has been listed as the -PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS We have not yet chosen the -Selected- Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 day6 .
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
ForeGt Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-2Rb(3'92l
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 18
Salmon National Forest Response
United State6 Forest
Department of Service
Agriculture
Salmon P.0. Box 729
National Salmon, ID 03467
Forest
Moyer Salt Draft EIS Comment
On August 10, 1992, Deborah Bohren (Box 607, Ketchum, ID) phoned John Burns
and expressed her concerns. She favored Alternative 3 In order to protect elk
habitat and also expressed the need to work together and consider all concerns
and maintain environmental quality.
Deborah Bohren
P.O. Box 607
Ketchum, ID 83340
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Dear Mg. Bohren:
Thank you for your commentG on August 10, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Draft
Environmental Statement. Your comments are an important part of the
environmental analysis process and have been reviewed and discussed by our
team of resource specialists.
Preserving or maintaining key elk habitat is also important to the Salmon
National Forest be evidenced by our Forest Plan guidelines. All proposed
action alternatives contain many mitigation measures and management
requirements designed to specifically help ensure that post-sale elk habitat
is adequate to support the elk population goal of the current Idaho
Department of Fish and Game’s 5-Year Species Management Plan.
We are also concerned about all the other resources we manage and have
addressed those as well as elk habitat in our final document.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EXS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 19
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Salmon National Forest Response
United States ForeBt
Department of Service
Agriculture
Salmon P.O. Box 729
National Salmon, ID 83467
Forest
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Cheryl Hart
P.O. Box 267
Carmen, ID 83462
Dear M6 . Hart :
Thank you for your comments of August 9, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale.
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists. Their
ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter.
1 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
Analyses quantifying post-sale elk habitat conditions were completed for all
alternatives and are summarized in Table IV-8 on page IV-38 of the EIS.
These data indicate a slight increase in elk habitat potential in Area II and
a slight decrease in Area I with a net result very near current. There will,
however, be a decrease in elk habitat security and an increase in
vulnerability of hunted elk. However, thi6 area will not by any means be
devastated and will remain in very acceptable elk habitat condition
post - sale .
2 . INCONSISTENCY WITH FOREST SERVICE POLICY REGARDING CUTTING TIMBER
IN KESR
"Key Elk" (4A or 4B) management prescriptions in the Forest Plan emphasize
management of big game habitat in winter and summer ranges. Our particular
timber sale contains cutting units within areas that received 3A anadromou6
fish habitat prescriptions and 5A, 5B and 5C timber management prescription
in the Forest Plan, not the "Key Elk" prescriptions.
Any selected action alternative, however, would meet Forest Plan Wildlife
Standards and Guidelines for wildlife prescriptions.
3 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYER PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (#6202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Caring (or (he Land and Serving People
FS-eioo-zebo^ii
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 19
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Salmon National Forest Response
Cheryl Hart 2
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
4 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLEGUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguard6 on new roads whenever they cro6s an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads .
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal unit6 per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase as a result of thi6 timber 6ale
5 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLE GUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads.
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent 1 ivestock /wi ldl i f e conflicts By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the 6ame number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock. Thi6 reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase ae a result of this timber sale.
6 .
DISTURBANCES FPOM TIMBER HARVEST ACTIVITIES
It is true that timber harvesting activities cause ground and vegetative
disturbances. In the environmental impact statement we discuss the specific
impacts each alternative has on all resources. You will be receiving a copy
of the Final EIS so you can review our analysis of all the resources
Alternative 6 has been listed as the ’’PREFERRED* Alternative in tbe Final
EIS We have not yet chosen the "Selected” Alternative but will do gc in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Caring (or Ihe Land and Serving People
rS-6200 28h(3 9
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 20
T)eatte po/tKdoK, f r.
12511 Sfate 75
PO got 310
'KctcAukH. 075 $3340
VL- 726-$ 124 ?ax: 726-7054
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Se rvice
Salmon P.O. Box 729
National Salmon, ID 83467
Forest
Reply to: 1950
Date :
August 9, 1992
John Bums, Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, Idaho 83467
Mr. Bums:
I am writing today to express my support for Alternative 4 in the DEIS which was
recently completed by the Salmon National Forest. The 6.9 MMBF cut on 847 acres in the
Panther Creek drainage of the Cobalt Ranger District will be of great economic importance
to the people of the State of Idaho. As for the 27.1 miles of road construction and
reconstruction, I am sure that the impact on habitat will be minuscule.
The DEIS states that the Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (#6202) will be closed near Moyer
Peak. Please, I believe that this is a cnicial error and that the trail should remain open
through its’ entire length, enough trails have been closed already, do not close another.
As the drought has affected so many of us over the past seven years I believe that
it would be of great help to allow livestock grazing into this area immediately. An open
range area would be the best use and would cause the least amount of stress on wildlife as
the cattle or sheep would not concentrate too heavily into one area.
T ou,
Uhjl rrmu-
Deane F. Johnson, Jr.
SALMON n r.
® 1 1 '22
Into 0 Action Q
SUP —
1 UP 1 2 3 4 5 6
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ELM 1 2 3 4 5 6
RRWW 123456
AO 123456
CC't TO: . — .
Deane Johnson
P.O. Box
Ketchum, ID 83340
Dear Ms. Johnson:
Thank you for your comments of August 9, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists. Their
ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of thi6 letter.
1 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYER PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (#6202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
2 . PROVIDE OPEN RANGE FOR LIVESTOCK
We agree with you, that an open range would be the best use and cause the
least amount of stress. When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing
allotments, wildlife boundaries, and forage production capabilities were used
to establish livestock grazing limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife
conflicts. By increasing the available area within a given allotment with
the same number of cattle, the result i6 a dispersal of livestock. Thi6
reduces concentrated U6e in a specific area and thus improves the general
range condition, resulting in better habitat for both the livestock and
wi ldlif e .
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3'92l
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 21
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SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agr lcul tore
Forest
Service
Salmon P.0. Box 729
National Salmon, ID 83467
Forest
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Jan Benefiel
350 E 25th Street
Idaho Falls, ID 83404
Dear M6 . Benefiel:
Thank you for your comments of August 8, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists Their
ideaG are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter.
1 . PNV COSTS
Since the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) , we have analyzed three
additional alternatives. Alternative 6 now is the most economically
efficient as determined by the calculation of present net value (PNV) (See
Final EIS.) Due to the variables involved in performing economic analysis
that cover long periods of time (in this case up to 120 years), the
differences in PNV between the alternatives are relatively insignificant. It
i6 interesting to note that alternatives with the same mix of silvicultural
prescriptions will show an increasingly negative PNV with an increase in
acres when stumpage rates are somewhere below $100/mbf (such as those used to
calculate the long-term average) . On the other hand a very slight increase
in stumpage rates, for example close to or a little over $100/mbf will 6how
the opposite. That is, with an increase in acres the PNV will be
increasingly positive. Therefore given the likelihood of a reduced national
timber supply and increased stumpage values it is likely that alternatives
which harvest the most acres will eventually have the highest PNV We will,
however, consider PNV along with all the factors and resources before
choosing the final course of action.
2 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLE GUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new road6 whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads.
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200 28b(3/92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 21
Salmon National Forest Response
Jan Benef iel 2
When the Forest Plan was developed, grating allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent 1 i vestock/wi ldl i f e conflicts. By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock.. This reduces concentrated U6e in a
specific area and thu6 improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units p°r month (AITM's)
per allotment will not increase be a result of thi6 timber sale
3 . RFMQVAL OF KESF FROM THE TIMBER BASE
During the Forest planning process, all areas of key elk summer range on th)6
Forest were mapped. A portion of these areas were then selected to receive
a 4B Management Area Prescription which places management emphasis first and
foremost on elk habitat objectives. The amount of acres given the 4B
prescription was sufficiently large to provide necessary core areas for eW
which, in combination with surrounding areas, would support target population
established in the Idaho Department of Fi6h and Game Species Management Plan
for elk.
Alternative 6 ha6 been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected” Alternative but will do 60 in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 day6 .
Sincerely ,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-2Bb(V9
Public Comment Letter # 22
MOYER SALT TIM
August 8, 1992
1135 East Bonneville
Pocatello, Idaho 83201
John Burns, Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
p.O. Box 729
Salmon, Idaho 83467
Ax lion Q
Dear Mr. Burns:
RE: Moyer Salt Timber Sale
I have reviewed the alternatives suggested by the Forest
Service concerning the Moyer Salt Timber Sale.
My overriding concern about this sale is the 3200 acre area
which has been identified as Key Elk Summer Range.
Alternatives 2 and 4 , in my view, will severely impact elk.
Alternative 4 is the most destructive of the proposed
alternatives , allowing cutting in and road buiiding through
the middle of this critical area. Alternative 2 isn t mu
better with similar amounts of road building and timber
harvest activities in the Summer Range area.
Alternative 3 provides a compromise between timber harvest
and elk protection, and it has my support.
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United StateG
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.O Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Ron Watters
1135 East Bonneville
Pocatello, ID 83201
Dear Mr Watters:
Thank you for your commentB of August 8, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Your commentG are an important part of the environmental analysis process and
have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource specialists Their
idea6 are the basis for our response to your concerns and comprise the rest
of this letter.
MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
All proposed action alternatives meet the Fore6t Plan Area Prescription for
the project area and with stated mitigation measures will result in port -sale
habitat conditions that are compatible with the Idaho Department of Fish and
Game's elk population goals for this Game Management Unit. Alternative 3
will have the least impact of the conventional alternatives on the mapped
KESR but would have the greatest impact on the excellent elk habitat in Salt
Creek. The overall effects of this alternative are thus very similar to
those predicted for several others such as 2A.
Alternative 6 ha6 been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3/92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 23
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Servi ce
Salmon P.0. Box 729
National Salmon, ID 83467
Forest
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Peter Liporac
Rt 3
P.O. Box 282
Blackfoot, ID 83221
Dear Mr. Liporac:
Thank you for your comments of August 7, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basi6 for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
1 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
All proposed action alternatives contain many mitigation measures and
management requirements designed to specifically help ensure that post-sale
elk habitat is adequate to help support the elk population goal of the
current Idaho Department of Fish and Game's 5-Year Elk Species Management
Plan .
2 . NO LOGGING
In the Salmon National Forest Plan, we identified lands within the Moyer Salt
analysis area as being suitable for timber harvest. Through this
Environmental Impact Statement process, we are analyzing an array of
alternatives, including a No Action Alternative, to determine the level of
timber harvest that best meets timber goals while protecting other
resources .
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS . We have not yet chosen the "Selected” Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 day6 .
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-26b(3'92>
MOYER SALT TIMBER
Public Comment Letter # 24
irnoNt
» 756-6293
Salmon Intermountain, Inc.
P. O. 1IOX 928
SALMON, IDAHO 83467
sTHiiirr ad
200 NUK I II U
Sol non National Forest
Attn: Lynn Bennett
DEIS Response - Moyer Salt Timber
P. 0. Box 7£9
Sa 1 non, 1 D 839E7
SAIMQN N. F,
Rugust 10, 1993:
AUG 3 0 :Jl
l"'o 0 Aclron tj
SUP
U'P 1 2 3 4 5 6
TAF 1 2 3 4 5 G
CIM 1 2 3 4 5 6
IIKWW 1 2 3 4 5 6
AO 123456
CC's TO:
Dear Mr. Bennett:
1 support Alternative #£, the proposed action, in the
Moyer Salt Timber Sale Draft E n v i r o n m e n t a 1 Impact Statement.
1 feel that this is the best alternative, because it provides
raw material for the local forest products industry and
protects wildlife and fisheries through specific best
management practices for logging and road building.
This proposed action will provide an estimated 9.9 MM
board feet of timber to the local forest products industry.
This local industry is solely dependent on the National Forest
and the BLM for its ran material supply.
Salmon Intermountain is one of the largest private employers in
Lemhi County, and needs these raw materials to continue
operat ing.
Moyer and Woodt ict Creeks are important streams for
anadromous fish species. There has been no use of the Wood-
tick, or Moyer creeks by anadromous fish since the 1980’ 5, due
to chemical pollution from an abandoned mine up stream from the
study area. This will continue to be the case until the water
contamination from the Black Bird Mine is corrected.
By using proven best management practices (BMP), there will
be no degradation to the current and future fisheries and their
habitat in the study area.
BMP for road construction: - windrow slash at the toe of
the slope to provide for a sediment trap.
- grass seed cut and fill slopes to help stabilize
them.
- place water bars on road at completion of harvest
act i v i t i e s.
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Forest
Salmon
P.O. Box 729
Department of
Service
National
Salmon, ID 83467
Agriculture
Forest
Reply' to: 1950
Date :
Dalian Olnon
President
Salmon Intermountain, Inc.
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Dear Mr. Olson:
Thanh you for your comments of August 10, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of thiB letter.
1 . COMMUNITY STABILITY
Thank you for your support of our proponed alternative. We agree that timber
harvest plays a key' role in the economic future of Salmon. The demand for
timber from the Salmon National Forest and parts of the Cobalt P.anaer
District has been strong and is expected to increase. One objective of the
Forest Plan is to provide timber outputs at a level that will allow the
continuation of industries dependent on those outputs
2 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYEP. PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (06202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
3 . TIMBER SALES AND ROADLESS /WILDERNESS ISSUES
The "Roadless Area/Wi ldemess Issue" is not considered appropriate rationale
for "stopping this timber harvest." The roadless resource is included in the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as an affected resource and the
effects of the various alternatives are displayed so that the public will
understand some of the trade-offs that occur when development occurs in a
previously undeveloped area.
Caring (or Ihe Land and Serving People
FS-6200 28MVQ2
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 24
Salmon National Forest Pape £ August 10, 1 S92
at the end of harvest! Tig activities in the unit.
— leave lO — £0 tons/acre of logging slash per unit,
this will not on 1 y provide f or long term nutr Sent
recycling, but provide woody debris for sediment
traps throughout the harvest unit (short term
benefit).
- maintain adequate filter strips adjacent to the
streams.
This timber sale will also provide money to the Forest Service
to realign the culvert at HoodticP Creel< and F.S. road F 107.
This culvert is an obstruct i on to fish migration on lloodt iclt
Creep. If anadromous fish ever do return to this drainage, it
will allow them to reach their spawning grounds upstream.
This area is used by a wide variety of wildlife. To help
protect the wildlife of the area, all harvesting activities
should tape place behind closed gates. This will allow
logging, hauling, and road building in two subdivisions at a
time. It will also let the wildlife use the remaining
subdivisions without being bothered by the timber sale
activities. Harvesting some of the timber in this area will
open up new forage areas for wildlife, thus improving overall
habitat. I feel the Moyer Jeep Trail should be closed, to
prevent motorized vehicles from using roads that are behind a
locPed gate.
The timber in this study area is infested with insect and
disease problems (spruce budworm, mountain pine beetle , and
dwarf r i st 1 e-toe) . Harvesting the timber in this area will
greatly reduce the potential for a catastrophic insect and
disease infestation and resulting timber loss. The timber
harvest will also reduce the potential for a major' fire in the
area, by breaPing up the continues fuel base, providing fire
lines (roads) and giving the Forest Service good loaded access
t o the area.
The Moyer Salt Timber Sale will lay within the Taylor
Mountain Roadless Area, W13-908. The Roadless Or e a /H i 1 d e rn e s s
issue should not be grounds for stopping this timber harvest.
This roadless area was not recommended for wilderness in RARE 1
or RORE II, nor is it currently listed for wilderness
consideration in the Salmon Forest Plan, page C - £ 4 . Only IF’/,
of the Roadless Ores will be affected, leaving approximately
53,000 acres in a roadless condition. There have also been
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
Alternative 6 has been listed an the " PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 day6 .
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BUPJ1S
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Cndnc ’*** ! •'r'f4 pnc* S**'1
MOYER
Public Comment Letter # 25
Jonn R S«*an»on
MOO Edmund Brvd.
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TIMBER SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States Forest
Department of Service
Agriculture
Salmon
National
Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
John Swan6on
3400 Edmund Blvd
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Dear Mr. Swanson:
Thank you for your comments of August 7, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
ROADLESS CONCERNS
The wilderness allocation issue i6 addressed by the Salmon National Forest
Land and Resource Management Plan. Thi6 Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) displays the effects to the roadless resource of the No Action
Alternative as well as six action alternatives. As you can see from the
analysis, all alternatives leave over eighty percent of the Taylor Mountain
Roadless Area in an undeveloped condition for the foreseeable future.
We are also concerned about other resources in the analysis area and have
fully addressed the effects to these in Chapter IV.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED" Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to U6 in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28M3/92I
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 26
Salmon National Forest Response
August 10, 1992
sajmqn a F.
Mr: ] /, > /
John Burns, Forest Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
F.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
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Input on Draft Environmental Impact Statement (1)£IS)
for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale, ccvro-
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1 2 3 4 5 6
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1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 G
Dear Mr. Burns:
This letter contains my comments and recommendations on the above-
referenced DEIS for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale in the Panther
Creek, drainage of the Cobalt Ranger District. Please consider my
input and include this letter in the appropriate administrative
record.
At the outset, please oppose and reject alternatives 2 and 6 .
These alternatives would allow logging and road construction
through the middle of the 3,200-acre tract of key elk summer range.
This tract was inventoried in the early 1980s during the forest
planning process, and it is optimum elk habitat supporting a
relatively large number of elk. Alternatives 2 and 4 violate the
-j Forest Service recommendation that "timber harvest on key elk habi-
tats should be limited to those activities that will maintain or
enhance the habitat for that particular elk use." (From Elk
Habitat Relationships for Centra 1 Idaho) In short, implementation
oT either alternative 2 or 4 wouTd'be disastrous for these elk and
contrary to Forest Service policy.
Alternative 3 is the only DEIS action alternative which reasonably
accommodates the needs of elk and their habitat. This alternative
also shows the most favorable economic efficiency based on its
Present Net Value. In addition, alternative 3 is considered a
compromise and is reportedly endorsed by Idaho conservationists.
I further request and recommend that all of the inventoried Key
2 Elk Summer Range be removed from the timber base. In the future,
logging should be allowed on the least-sensitive lands or where
habitat fragmentation is already present, while the most sensitive
wildlife habitats and those with good connectivity should be fully
protected.
There are other important issues in this DEIS. For example, the
3 Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (Ho. 6202) should be closed throughout
Section 15. This would provide the most enforceable and effective
protection. In addition, new roads may encourage additional cattle
. use, which may conflict with elk. Fences and cattle guards should be
^ constructed at all critical points to prevent such conflicts.
United States Forest
Department of Service
Agricul ture
Salmon
National
Forest
P.0 Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
June Ringer
129 E Fairview Avenue Apt 2
Glendale, CA 91207
Dear Mb . Ringer :
Thank you for your comments of August 10, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
1 . INCONSISTENCY WITH FOREST SERVICE POLICY REGARDING CUTTING TIMBER
IN KESR
The document, "Elk Habitat Relationships for Central Idaho", contains good
information concerning management of elk habitat. Portions of this document
were adopted in the Forest Plan. These management standards and guidelines
help accomplish specific goals in areas that received "Key Elk" (4A or 4B)
management prescriptions in the Forest Plan.
Our particular timber sale, however, contains cutting units within areas that
received 3A anadromous fish habitat prescriptions and 5A, 5B and 5C timber
management prescriptions in the Forest Plan, rather than the "Key Elk"
prescriptions. Any selected action alternative, however, would meet Forest
Plan Wildlife Standards and Guidelines for wildlife prescriptions.
2 . REMOVAL OF KESR FROM THE TIMBER BASE
During the Forest planning process, all areas of key elk summer range on thi6
Forest were mapped. A portion of these areas were then selected to receive
a 4 B Management Area Prescription which places management emphasis first and
foremost on elk habitat objectives. The amount of acres given the 4B
prescription was sufficiently large to provide necessary core areas for elk
which, in combination with surrounding areas, would support target population
established in the Idaho Department of Fish and Game's Species Management
Plan for elk.
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28M3 92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 26
Salmon National Forest Resoonse
2.
Again, please support, adopt and Implement alternative 3 and other-
wise work for the effective protection of the Key Elk Summer Range.
Thank you very much tor considering my views.
S lncerely ,
/June Rlnge
;r
129 East Fatrview Avenue, Apt. 2
Glendale, CA 91207
A/ June Ringer 2.
3 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYER PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail ( 6 2 0 2 ) would remain open for historical accpre,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This 6pur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access
4 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AMD CATTLE GUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they crosF an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts. By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result ie a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thu6 improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer rang
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase as a result of this timber sale
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED" Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do sc in th
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Pleasr have
your comments back to us in 30 day6 .
Sincerely.
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor Ihe Land and Serving People
rS-f?on
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 27
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SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States Forest
Department of Service
Agriculture
Salmon
National
Forest
P.0. Box 729
Salmon. ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Katie Fite
11541 Lloyd Lane
Caldwell, ID 83605
Dear Ms. Fite:
Thank you for your comments of August 9, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
1 . NO LOGGING
In the Salmon National Forest Plan, we identified lands within the Moyer Salt
analysis area as being suitable for timber harvest. Through this
Environmental Impact Statement process, we are analyzing an array of
alternatives, including a No Action Alternative, to determine the level of
timber harvest that best meets timber goals while protecting other
resources .
2 . INCONSISTENCY WITH FOREST SERVICE POLICY REGARDING CUTTING TIMBER
IN KESR
"Key Elk" (4A or 4B) management prescriptions in the Forest Plan emphasize
management of big game habitat in winter and summer ranges. Our particular
timber sale contains cutting units within areas that received 3A anadromous
fish habitat prescriptions and 5A, 5B and 5C timber management prescription
in the Forest Plan, not the "Key Elk" prescriptions.
Any selected action alternative, however, would meet Forest Plan Wildlife
Standards and Guidelines for wildlife prescriptions.
3 • CLOSURE OF THE MOYEP. PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (86202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 27
Salmon National
Forest Response
Katie Fite
4 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLE GUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, 60 we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads.
When the Fore6t Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock, grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts. By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock. Thi6 reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer rang"
areas are not given special considerat ion . Animal units per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase as a result of this timber 6ale .
Alternative 6 ha6 been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Pleas** have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BORNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring for fhe Land and Serving People
FS-6200 2Sb( * °
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 28
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Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon P.0 Box 729
National Salmon, ID 83467
Forest
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Mike and Jeanne Stanford
Cliffs Rt
Jordan Valley, OR 97910
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Stanford:
Thank you for your comments of August 4, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists .
Thanks for your vote of confidence in our management of the Forest. All
resources our important to us and we have disclosed the effects of timber
harvesting and road building on each. We will continue to do our best in
managing all the resources on the Forest and fulfill our mission, including
to provide a continuous flow of raw materials to the community and thus
encourage economic stability.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
Environmental Impact Statement EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected"
Alternative but will do so in the Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final
EIS for your review. Please have your comments back to us in 30 day6 .
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
CaMnp for the I. and P^d Serving pf'r r,P
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 29
Salmon National Forest Response
August 7, 1992
United States Forest
Department of Service
\fy/J Agriculture
Salmon
National
Forest
P.0. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
John Burns, Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
P.0. Box 729
Salmon, ID 834G7
Mr. Burns,
Reply to: 1950
Date :
I am writing to express my concerns about the Moyer Salt I imber sale.
Alter reviewing the DEIS, 1 would Like to make the following comments.
1. Alternatives 2 and 4 appear to damage the very heart of the area’s elk
summer range. These areas should be left for the benefit of the elk.
2. Alternative 3 protects the elk while still allowing logging on the least
sensitive lands. All inventoried elk summer range should be excluded
from the timber base.
3. To prevent incursions of cattle into elk areas it is important to
provide fencing and cattleguards to minimize conflicts between cattle
and elk.
Thanks for the opportunity to express these views.
Joel Tinsley
54 South St.
Blackfoot, LD 83221
SMtta.N u. f.
fir. 17
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Joel Tinsley
54 South Street
Blackfoot, ID 83221
Dear Mr. Tinsley:
Thank you for your comments of August 7, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
1 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
Analyses quantifying post-sale elk habitat conditions were completed for all
alternatives and are summarized in Table IV-8 on page IV-38 of the
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) . These data indicate a slight increase
in elk habitat potential in Area II and a slight decrease in Area I with a
net result very near current. There will, however, be a decrease in elk
habitat security and an increase in vulnerability of hunted elk. However,
thi6 area will not by any means be devastated and will remain in very
acceptable elk habitat condition post-sale.
All proposed action alternatives contain many mitigation measures and
management requirements designed to specifically help ensure that post-sale
elk habitat is adequate to help support the elk population goal of the
current Idaho Department of Fish and Game's (IDF&G) 5-Year Elk Species
Management Plan.
2 . REMOVAL OF KESR FROM THE TIMBER BASE
During the Forest planning process, all areas of key elk summer range on this
Forest were mapped. A portion of these areas were then selected to receive
a 4 B Management Area Prescription which places management emphasis first and
foremost on elk habitat objectives. The amount of acres given the 4B
prescription was sufficiently large to provide necessary core areas for elk
which, in combination with surrounding areas, would support target population
established in the IDF&G Species Management Plan for elk.
m
Caring for the Land and Serving People
1 c. r :np :9hn
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 29
Salmon National Forest Response
Joel Tinsley
3 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLEGUAP.DS
We are committed to install cattleguarcn on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently nc fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the road6 .
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts. By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thu6 improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase as a result of thi6 timber sale.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed i6 the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
O’»"0
and Serving Fpopi
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 30
Salmon National
Forest Response
DRS. IRWIN & LOHMANN
United States Forest
Department of Service
Agriculture
Salmon P.O. Box 729
National Salmon, ID 83467
ForeBt
1 12 Wesl Fifth
Jerome. Idaho 83338
Telephone: (208) 324-1157
Reply to: 1950
Date :
August 7 , 1992
James Irwin
112 West Fifth
Jerome, ID 83338
John Burns, Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon , ID 83467
Dear Mr. Burns:
This is a letter in regards to pro-
posed timber sale in the Key Elk
-j summer range. I am very concerned
about the possibility of new road
construction affecting this summer
range, particularly since increased
road access has been consistently
and repetatively shown to have a
detriment on the elk herds. For
that reason, I support alternative
three as described in the draft
environment impact statement.
SALMON N. F.
f : |P ^ J O
Into 0
1 1.1 p
Action Q
Dear Mr. Irvin:
Thank you for your comments of August 7, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
For all alternatives, the entire road system constructed for thi6 sale will
be gated and administratively closed to motorized traffic. In addition, the
road through the KESR will have slash piled on it to discourage and/or
eliminate human travel by foot or horse. Thi6 will negate or greatly
decrease any predicted effects due to roading.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to ue in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
JSI/lls
1 2 3 4 5 G
Caring lor Ihe Land and Serving People
FS-f.200 2cH(VQ2I
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 31
P.O. Box 8787
Moscow, ID 83843
10 August 1992
Forest Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Dear John:
Thank you for letting me respond to the draft EIS for the
Moyer Salt timber sale on the Cobalt District. I have been
visiting Panther Creek quite regularly (even in its cobalt
blue phase) for the past twenty or so years, and value it
highly.
I doubt very much that Alt. 4 in this EIS can be legally
1 adopted, since it hopelessly contradicts most of the rather
weak Forest Plan standards. In any case, it builds far too
2 many roads and harvests way too much timber in elk habitat.
Alt. 3 still builds way too many roads, but at least does
its very best to avoid the planning area's most useful
_ wildlife habitat. This alternative also includes a very
^ useful jeep road closure, near Moyer Peak. Given the general
failure of overall machine use planning on the Salmon, it's
at least good to see this kind of site-specific vehicle
planning in action.
It's also crucial in your final decision making for this
4 area to insure that the new roads built do not get opened to
cattle use, and above tall, that they are built to low
standards and then kept closed to all machines. The very
last thing that the Salmon National Forest needs is more
open roads.
Please send me the final EIS when it is published.
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Salmon National Forest Response
United StateB
Department of
Agriculture
ForeBt Salmon
Service National
Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Dennis Baird
P.O. Box 8787
Moscow, ID 83843
Dear Mr. Baird:
Thank you for your consents of August 10, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
nro a ^OTmenCG are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
comorise^rh Their,ide" 8re th* baBia our response to your concerns and
comprise the reBt of this letter.
1 .
IV KESR
^consistency with forest service policy regarding nrrriNG timber
■Key Elk- (4A or 4B) management prescriptions in the Forest Plan emphasize
management of big game habitat in winter and summer ranoes . Our particular
timber sale contains cutting units within areas that received 3A anadromous
fish habitat prescriptions and 5A, SB and SC timber manaoement prescription
in the Forest Plan, not the -Key Elk- prescriptions.
Any selected action alternative, however, would meet Forest Plan Wildlife
Standards and Guidelines for wildlife prescriptions.
2 ■ maintain wii.dt.tff habitat
Alternative 4 is the most intensive of the proposed timber manaa-ment
However' elk habit»c potential in the mapped KESR (i e
^ u W°Uld th? "OBt Und?r thiG Alternative
(Table IV-8) . Elk habitat potential in Area I would decrease, but the net
effect would be very near neutral.
the enti" r°8d ByEtem constructed for this sale -ill
road th t a*niniBtratlvely Closed to motorized traffic. In addition, the
road through the KESR will have slash piled on it to discouraqe and/or
eliminate human travel by foot or horse. This will negate or oreatly
decrease any predicted effects due to roading.
Cprina for I rnj pn* ^„fv;nQ poorir
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 31
Salmon National Forest Response
Dennis Baird
3 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYER PEAK JEEP TRAIL
2
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (86202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barriex
that prevents vehicle access.
4 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLE GUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new road6 whenever they cro66 an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundai les,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent 1 ive6tock/wildlif e conflicts By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result is a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM' s)
per allotment will not increase a6 a result of this timber sale
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED" Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to U6 in 30 day6 .
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
rS-6200 2Sb(3 9
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 32
"How Many Brahms Symphonies Do We Need?’1
\ATien Bob Marshall, the first Recreation Director ot the U S Forest Service was asked how much wilderness \
eeded. he replied. 'How many Brahms symphonies do we need V Wilderness areas, like great symphonies are not
rested by a simple blink ol an eye nor one stroke of a pen They are established over a long penod of time by the
imarkable foresight and the tireless energy of a tew personalities -jt u f
August 10, 1992
John Burns, Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
p.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Be: Moyer Salt Timber Sale
Dear Mr. Burns:
This letter concerns the proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale in the Taylor
Mountain Roadless Area.
I support Alternative 3 which would protect critical wildlife habitat. All
Key elk summer range should be removed from the Salmon Forest timber base,
2 In addition, please close the Moyer Peak jeep trail 6202 at section 15. If
cattle grazing is going to occur in the area which is slated to be logged, then
3 cattleguards and fences need to be constructed to prevent conflicts with elk.
The Salmon Forest needs to more carefully consider its role as a steward of
the land and its wildlife, rather than champion extractive uses first.
A few years ago I was in Washington, D.C. A fellow Idahoan was describing
the difference between hunting an Oregon elk and an Idaho elk. An Idaho elk, he
said, is a large animal, with wide branching antlers -- a mighty beast to
behold. Unfortunately, an Oregon elk is usually a spike, a animal barely past
be.i.g a calf. The difference is that Oregon forests have largely been logged and
roaded, reducing elk habitat and security cover during hunting season. However,
in Idaho, there are still large tracts of roadless lands, and also four million
acres of designated Wilderness. Elk still have a chance to grow old in some
parts of Idaho. I hope the Salmon Forest will continue to be one of them.
Sincerely,
hynne Stone
Box 3519
Ketchum, ID 83340
AUG 19 —
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Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Lynne Stone
P. O. Box 3519
Ketchum, ID 83340
Dear M6 . Stone:
Thank you for your comments of August 19, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
1 . REMOVAL OF KESR FROM THE TIMBER BASE
During the Forest planning process, all areas of key elk summer range on this
Forest were mapped. A portion of these areas were then selected to receive
a 4 B Management Area Prescription which places management emphasis fir6t and
foremost on elk habitat objectives. The amount of acres given the 4B
prescription was sufficiently large to provide necessary core areas for elk
which, in combination with surrounding areas, would support target population
established in the Idaho Department of Fish and Game's Species Management
Plan for elk.
2 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYER PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (£6202) would remain open for historical accesB,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
3 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLEGUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, so we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads.
When the Forest Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlife conflicts. By increasing the
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3/92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 32
Salmon National
Forest Response
Lynne Stone
available area within a given allotment with the Game number of cattle,
result i6 a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM
per allotment will not increase a6 a result of this timber sale.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Sel
Record of Decision. Enclosed i6 the
your comments back to us in 30 days.
* PREFERRED* Alternative in
ected* Alternative but will
Final EIS for your review.
the Fin
do so
Please
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
the
in
range
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a 1
in the
have
Caring lor the LBnd and Serving People
FS-6200 28H3 Q
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 33
United States Department of the Interior
SALI..JN II. F.
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Office of Environmental Affairs _ , - •
500 NE Multnomah Street, Suite fe'OO J • ~
Portland, Oregon 97232-203G
Ini., 6 At. it. t Q
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PRIDE IN SSS
AMERICA ww
ER 92/620
John Burns, Forest Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, Idaho 83467
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CC'S 10:
18, 1992
JL
Dear Hr. Burnai
Th« Department of the Interior has reviewed the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Moyer Salt Timber Sale, Cobalt Ranger
District, Salmon National Forest, Lemhi County, Idaho. The following comments
are for your use and information when preparing the final documents.
GENERAL COMMENTS
On January 29, 1991, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) provided a
species list (number 1-4-91-SP-204 ) for the Moyer Salt Timber Sale which
indicated no federally listed species are present in the analysis area.
Provisions under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act require the Salmon
National Forest (Forest) to update the list of threatened, endangered, or
proposed species after 180 days if the project has not commenced. The Service
considers the project to be initiated when the timber is sold; therefore, the
species list should be updated.
In addition to federally listed species, the Service is concerned about
potential impacts to anadromous and resident fish and their habitat, wildlife
species and their habitat, State and federally listed sensitive species, and
potential cumulative impacts of the proposed project on watershed and
ecological resources.
Methods for accessing harvest units other than by roads was not clearly or
quantitatively discussed under each Alternative in the DEIS. The Service
recommends that the final documents address access methods that do not require
road construction in the existing alternatives or additional alternatives.
SPECIFIC COMMENTS
Page 1 - 1 (Purpose) The DEIS indicates the annual allowable Gale quantity is
21 million board-feet of timber. The level of annual harvest that the Forest
can sell timber and meet long-term fish and wildlife habitat management goals
and objectives while supporting long-term sustainable yield of timber for
local communities, as this project is purported to do, needs to be disclosed.
benefits f
ry-16 The DEIS states that
rora this proposed action may
other Incalculable
enhance the econom
and
ic
often unforseen
viability of the
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Charles S. Polityka
Regional Environmental Officer
500 NE Multnomah Street Suite 600
Portland, OR 97232
Dear Mr. Polityka:
Thank you for your commente of Auguat 18, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and diBcussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
1 UPDATE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE SPECIE? LIST
The species list for this analysis area was updated (by telephone) on
March 31, 1993. At that time the gray wolf was placed on the list and a
Biological Assessment wa6 subsequently completed for that species.
2 . HO ROAD ACCESS FOR TIMBER HARVEST
Due to comments received after release of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) , three helicopter alternatives were considered; all, however
include some new roads. 1^0 of these alternatives were dropped from further
study because of increased costs of logging and transportation with minor
benefits to wildlife.
A third helicopter alternative (Alternative 5) was considered and analyred in
detail. Approximately 1.15 miles of new road construction was necessary to
facilitate the removal of timber. Chapter II of the Final Environmental
Impact Statement discusses this alternative and Table II-2 shows a comparison
of the effects against the other alternatives.
3 ASP vs. FISH AND WILDLIFE HABITAT MANAGEMENT QQA1,S
The Forest Plan sets ASQ and timber goals by meeting Bet standards for other
resources. The result is 21 MMBF ASQ . Conclusions reached on fish and
wildlife habitat management goal in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28b(3'92l
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 33
Salmon National Forest Response
Page Summary-16 The DEIS states that other incalculable and often unforeoen
benefits from this proposed action may enhance the economic viability of the
project and that other Forest resources could benefit from thiB project.
Specific information is needed on short- and long-term economic impacts to
fiBh and wildlife resources. The final document may include an analysis of:
(1) the economic effects on big game hunting and wildlife observation, (2) the
economLc value of unroaded foreBt, economic value of resident and anadromous
fishes, and (3) costs of mitigating adverse effects on fish and wildlife
resources .
Page Summary-5 The DEIS states that the index for measuring potential effects
of alternatives on fishery resources is maintenance of anadromous and resident
fiBh habitat. The Service believes the index for effects on fishery resources
should be how the proposed action would help the Forest meet or exceed fishery
habitat management objectives for the analysis area.
Page 2-3 More detail is needed on the nature of the “clumps'* of vegetation
that would be left in clearcut areas and what objectives this action would
fulfill. Sufficient information for addressing final documents should be
given in Table 2-1 for addressing this issue.
Charles S. Polityka 2-
(EIS) are based on available information, professional experience and related
research .
4 . ECONOMIC IMPACTS TO FISH AND WILDLIFE
As discussed on page 4-11 of the Moyer Salt Draft EIS, all new roads
constructed to access proposed cutting units are slated for year-round
closure except during po6t-6ale open access firewood gathering periods
Long-term angler access to the mid and upper reaches of Woodtick Creek would
remain, as a result, essentially unchanged from present conditions As an
existing road parallels mainstem Moyer Creek, this project would likewise
have no effect on existing angler opportunities or harvest levels within that
drainage. Consequently, no economic impacts to fisheries resources would h®
expected as a result of implementation of any of the proposed Moyer Salt
timber harvest alternatives.
All proposed alternatives, with their appropriate mitigation measures, meet
Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines for wildlife habitat management in 3A-5A
and 3A-5B Prescription Areas. Therefore, these alternatives are all in
concert with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game's big game population
goals for this GMU . Consequently, there are no predicted economic impacts to
the wildlife and recreation resources.
Page 2-2 and 2-3 Justification given for using the clearcut method of harvest
is that it would mimic natural tree removal events (l.e. fire), and allowing
natural revegetation of the area, but the following paragraphs discuss in
detail potential artificial reseeding efforts. Including scarification of
soils. The final documents should include criteria that would be used to
determine if reseeding would be necessary, how scarification of soils would
mimic natural events, and why scarification and reseeding would be necessary
or desirable alternatives, even if natural plant succession 1b slow in
occurring. The Department also suggests that if reseeding is ultimately
necessary, a specified mix of only native plant species would be used. The
species to be planted should also be identified.
Page 2-3 Since areas covered with sedges would be scarified and sedges may
indicate the presence of wetlands, the Department requests that the final
documents provide measures that would be undertaken to protect wetlands.
Table 2-1 The section of the table listing management and mitigation measures
for soils and hydrology, discusses mitigating impacts from cut and fill
slopes, roads that would be closed and presumably obliterated, constructed
landing sites, and scarified strips of soils in harvest areas. The final
documents should address how the above mitigation measures would be applied to
each alternative.
Page 2-11 Alternative 3 is described as the alternative designed to respond
to concerns about effects of the proposed project on wildlife and as the
alternative developed from using substantive input from the public. The
implication is that other alternatives were developed with less public
involvement with regard to fish and wildlife impacts. It appears from the
Service’s review of Alternative 4 and from your disclosure that this
alternative may not meet Forest management objectives for resources other than
timber and that adequate consideration of fiBh and wildlife impacts and
5 . CLUMPS IN CLEAR CUTS
In your letter you requested more detail on the nature of the clumps of
vegetation that would be left in the clearcut areas and what objectives this
action would fulfill. Generally speaking, leaving some existing vegetation
in clearcut6 has a variety of benefits. When considering visual impacts,
leaving 6mall clumps of uncut trees tends to breakup the stark contrast in
the landscape created by the new clearcuts. Also, if we were to completely
clearcut the entire stand, followed by piling and burning, we would expect
lodgepole pine to be the predominant regenerated species. Leaving some of
the advanced subalpine fir and Engelmann 6pruce regeneration will help
maintain species diversity. Depending on the size of the "clump" left ether
benefits may be achieved as well. Please refer to Alternative S of the FEIS
for a full description of leaving uncut "islands" within the clearcuts
6 . SCARIFICATION and RESEEDING
Historically, many of our lodgepole stands have been suddenly destroyed and
subsequently replaced after natural catastrophic events such as wildfires
Generally these fires were of an intensity that ground vegetation was
removed, thus exposing a mineral seedbed conducive to natural seeding. Most
of the clearcuts proposed in the Moyer Salt Timber Sale occur on habitat
types where grouse whortleberry is the predominant ground cover. Past
experience of logging on these habitat types indicates that sufficient
scarification to prepare a mineral seedbed occurs during the logging
operation. On other habitat types where pinegrass, elk sedge, or sitka alder
i6 present in the understory, scarification as a separate operation is
necessary to prepare a mineral seedbed. For the proposed action alternatives
this would be necessary on approximately 50-100 acres. The National Forest
Management Act doe6 state that regulations should be developed specifying
guidelines which insure that timber will be harvested only where "there is
C8rlng lor the Land and Serving People
rs-6:oo ;Sh<
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 33
Salmon National Forest Response
attendant public comments may be lacking in other a 1 ternat 1 ves . The
Department suggests that the eame level of effort in evaluating wildlife
resource impactB should be provided for all alternatives.
0 £ggg— i— 1 Ana 1 y a i a of potential cumulative impacts to water quality and
aquatic habitat should include not only the percentage of each drainage to be
harvested , but the effects of the previous Salt Creek and Tick Creek Timber
Sales which occurred within the analysis area. Cumulative effects analysis
should include any other management activities which have occurred or may
occur within or adjacent to the analysis area, including grazing activities.
“| Ppq9 3*6 Past impacts to wetlands from road crossings are discussed. In
general, the Department supports the Forest’s efforts to upgrade road crossing
of wetlands and to avoid all impacts to wetlands in the project area.
Pfiqg The Department supports the proposed removal of the existing culvert
on Woodtick Creek which presently acts as a fish migration barrier.
) Pffqgg 2-21 and 2-22 The discussion of planned monitoring activities for water
quality, fishery resources, and wildlife resources needs clarification. The
variables to be monitored should be specified, and the sampling frequency,
length of the sampling period, and number of monitoring sites to be sampled
should be listed.
SUMMARY COMMENTS
3 Based on given information, the Department would prefer Alternative 3 because
a larger core area is available for habitat for wildlife, and a lower
percentage of the drainage is to be harvested. However, comparison of
alternatives is difficult without having cumulative effects of all previous
actions and planned future actions, addressed adequately and monitoring
efforts clarified.
We appreciate the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Regional Environmental Officer
Charles S. Polityka
assurance that such lands can be adequately restocked within five years after
harvest." In the absence of scarification on habitat types where pinegrass,
elk sedge, or alder is present, regeneration would be delayed well beyond the
five-year regeneration period required by NFMA when clearcutting
Similar stands that have been clearcut on the Cobalt Ranger District have
been successfully restocked within five years. Stocking levels may be as
high 86 4,000 trees per acre (See DEIS page 3-19) . However it iB standard
practice to examine and monitor cutting units after harvest to ensure desired
regeneration and stocking levels are achieved. In the event some areas do
not meet acceptable stocking levels, interplanting (artificial seeding) may
be prescribed.
7 . PROTECTION OF WETLANDS
Identified wetlands in the lower areas of Units 25 and S14 will be flagged so
that surface disturbance within these areas would be avoided.
8 . SOIL AND HYDROLOGY MITIGATION MEASURES
All mitigation measures as well as standards and guidelines are applied to
all alternatives as listed in Table 2-1 of the Draft EIS An additional
mitigation has been added to the Final EIS which states that "brush blade
will be used for clearing slash off roads and landings during operations to
keep slash piles free of soil."
All mitigation measures listed will be part of the sale package for the
selected alternative. Chapter 4 of the DEIS, on page 4-1, states that
effects common to all action alternatives would be mitigated by the measures
listed in Table 2-1 and specific effects are discussed further in this
chapter .
9 . EVALUATION OF ALL ALTERNATIVES
Wildlife effects, as well as other resources, were evaluated at the same
level for all action alternatives. Please see Chapter IV, Environmental
Consequences for full disclosure of effects of timber harvesting and read
building on each resource Alternative 4, as stated in Chapter 2 of the
Draft EIS, was developed to respond to concerns about economics as well as
effectiveness in treating insect and disease conditions in the project level
Because it has the most new road construction and highest acreage devoted to
timber harvest it doe6 not always have the least effect on other resources
However, by using Best Management Practices, it shows no adverse impacts to
many of the other resources and provides a reasonable range of alternatives
to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Salmon National Forest's Forest
Plan .
10 . IMPACTS TO WATER QUALITY
In the Final EIS, Table IV-2, we have included the percent of drainages
harvested in the analysis area (see page IV-5) and discussed the effects of
the previous Salt and Tick Creek Sales to the area. In addition, the POISED
sediment prediction model was run for all of the proposed alternatives and
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 33
Salmon National Forest Response
Charles S. Polityka
4 .
the results are shown in Table 1V-4 of the FEIS. Future activity in the area
is discussed in the cumulative effects section on page 1V-12.
11 . MIGRATION BARRIER ON WQQDT1CK CREEK
We are not proposing to remove but to realign the existing culvert on
Woodtick. Creek that is a barrier to fish migration at high water flows.
1 2 . WATER QUALITY
The project files contain maps of the wetlands within the analysis area.
Since there was not any significant, difference between the action
alternatives in regards to wetland impacts, this information was not
displayed in the DEIS.
1 3 . ALTERNATIVE 3 FAVQRCD, CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ANP MONITOR! NO EFFORTS
Please review Alternative 3 in the FEIS. Since release of the DEIS, new
findings, through sediment modeling results done in 1992, show that
Alternative 3 would not maintain anadromous and resident fish habitat in the
Salt Creek drainage. In addition, mainstem Moyer Creek, below the mouth of
Salt Creek, would be at high risk of being adversely impacted. We have
identified and developed three additional alternatives for your consideration
in the FEIS.
We feel we have done an adequate job of evaluating alternatives for
cumulative effects. As far as monitoring. 6ince the DEIS was released,
additional water quality data w#g collected and a monitoring program proposed
following rood construction and again after timber harvest in the Moyer Salt
analysis area. (See FEIS, Water Quality and Fisheries Monitoring in Chapter
II) .
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but vill do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor Ihe Land and Serving rpople
I S #.:00-2HMV°2l
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter U 3A
Salmon National Forest Response
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Forest
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Salmon P.O. Box 729
national Salmon. ID 83467
For eat
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Charles Woods
105 16th Avenue
Lewiston, ID 83501
Dear Mr . Woods :
Thank you for your comments of August 4, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your corrroente are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed ajid discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of thi6 letter.
HAUrTAJN WILDLIFE habitat
All proposed action alternatives meet the Forest Plan Area Prescription for
the project area and with stated mitigation measures will result in port-sale
habitat conditions that are compatible with the Idaho Department of Fish and
Game's elk population goals for this Game Management Unit. Alternative 3
will have the least Impact of the conventional alternatives on the mapped
KESR but would have the greatest impact on the excellent elk habitat in Salt
Creek. The overall effects of this alternative are thus very similar to
those predicted for several others such as 2A.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED" Alternative in the Final
E1S. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please hove
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOK11 E. BURUS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Cnit iq (of Ihe Land and Serving Teople
fS 6200 2M-I3 «?i
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 35
August 19, 1992
James B. VanArk
Box 1164
Challis, Idaho 83226
John Burns, Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
Box 729
Salmon, Idaho 83467
Bear Mr. Burns,
Having spent a good deal of time hunting elk and hiking in the
area of your proposed Moyer Salt timber sale. 1 feel I need to
commen t .
First and foremost, this area is probably the key elk calving area
in this entire region. It appears to me that alternatives 2 and 4
disregard U.S.F.S. directives which are already in place that
mandate key wildlife areas should be maintained. Alternative 3
1 tends to at least consider the local elk population.
Secondly, study after study has shown that the elk population is
inversely related to the miles of roads in a certain area.
Although the miles of new roads are roughly equal in your
proposals. I feel alternative 3 has the least amount of impact on
2 this critical area. In addition, the Moyer jeep trail (#6202)
should be closed in section 15. Finally, these new roads should
again be closed after the timber harvest and equipped with cattle
3 guards and fences to prevent further range mismanagement.
1 thank you for your consideration and hope your decisions reflect
concern for interests other than the local lumber mill. Hopefully,
at least, this sale will make a profit considering the impact it
will have on wildlife.
S i ncere 1 y ,
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
National
Forest
P.0. Box 729
Salmon, ID 83467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
James B. VanArk
P.O. Box 1164
Challis, ID 83226
Dear Mr. VanArk:
Thank you for your comments of August 19, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
1. MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
All proposed action alternatives meet the Forest Plan Area Prescription for
the project area and with stated mitigation measures will result in port-6ale
habitat conditions that are compatible with the Idaho Department of Fish and
Game's elk population goals for this Game Management Unit. Alternative 3
will have the least impact of the conventional alternatives on the mapped
KESR but would have the greatest impact on the excellent elk habitat in Salt
Creek. The overall effects of this alternative are thus very similar to
those predicted for several others such as 2A.
2 . CLOSURE OF THE MOYER PEAK JEEP TRAIL
The Moyer Peak Jeep Trail (#6202) would remain open for historical access,
except for the spur road just west of Moyer Peak in the SE1/4NW1/4 of
Section 16. This spur road will be closed by creating an earthen barrier
that prevents vehicle access.
3 . CLOSE ALL NEW ROADS
The Cobalt Ranger District will gate and close all specified roads upon
completion of road construction. The Moyer Salt road system would be
included in the Salmon National Forest Travel Plan as a yearlong road
closure. The roads would remain closed except during active periods of the
sale or when needed for post sale activities, administrative purposes, or
periodic firewood gathering.
Caring for the Land and Serving People
FS-6200-28M3/92)
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 35
Salmon National Forest Response
James B. VanArk
4 . RESTRICTION OF LIVESTOCK WITH FENCES AND CATTLEGUARDS
We are committed to install cattleguards on new roads whenever they cross an
existing fence. There are presently no fences in the Moyer Salt analysis
area, bo we have not planned any cattleguards on the roads.
When the ForeBt Plan was developed, grazing allotments, wildlife boundaries,
and forage production capabilities were used to establish livestock grazing
limits at levels to prevent livestock/wildlif e conflicts. By increasing the
available area within a given allotment with the same number of cattle, the
result i6 a dispersal of livestock. This reduces concentrated use in a
specific area and thus improves the general range condition, resulting in
better habitat for both the livestock and wildlife. The key elk summer range
areas are not given special consideration. Animal units per month (AUM's)
per allotment will not increase as a result of this timber 6ale.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Cailng lor the Land and Serving People
I S-6200 2RM3'92»
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter It 36
Salmon National Forest Response
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Foi eat
Service
Salmon
Hat ional
Forest
r.O. Box 729
Salmon. ID 03*67
August 23, 1992
Salmon ILitional Forest
Attn. Lynn Bennett
D.E.I.S. Response- Moyer Salt Sale
P.0. Box 729
Salmon, Idaho 83967
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Guy Roberts
306 Adams Street
Salmon, ID 63167
Dear Sir:
I'm In favor of the Moyer Salt Timber Sale. I support alternative
0 9 of the D.E.I.S. Having been hit by tbe bugs and the drouth, the
timber In our forest Is dying at an alarming rate due to tbe stress,
60 harvest It before it Is too late. Under the 1I.E.F.A. Act 1 know
every little detail has been worked out.
By tbe way, the D.E.I.S. book Is one well put together book. (I
liked It.) Easy to find what 1 was looking for.
Guy Roberts
Salmon, Idaho 83967
sali.'.o:i H f-
Into 0 A'.hu l □
CUP —
IMP 1 2 3 9 5 6
TAP 1 2 3 9 5 G
ELM 1 2 3 4 5 G
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CCs 1 0: ■*
Dear Mr. Roberto t
Thank you for your coomcntB of August 23, 1992, on the Hoyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
special ists .
Thanks aloo for your vote of confidence In our management of the ForeBt.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the ■ PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). We have not yet chosen the "Selected"
Alternative but will do so in the Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final
EIS for your review. Please have your conrnents back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely.
JOHN E. BURHS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring (or Ihf land and Serving Pfopb
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 37
Salmon National Forest Response
IDAHO
COHSERVATIOM
LEAGUE
PO Bo* 26M. Knlc»wmi. W1 833-10
Wood Wax Chopld |208| 726 8437
f^,llc ,r992,,“=* 1:081 726 7485
Jolin Hums, Supervisor
Salmon National Forest
I’.O. Box 729
Salmon. ID 81467
Dear John:
please accept these comments on the Moyer Salt I imher Sale
DEIS. I would like to thank you for providing a readable and
understandable document. I he maps provided are legible, give
valuable information, and make the alternatives mote
understandable.
I he DEIS and the alternatives for the sale directly address one of the
points we have discussed with you in our appeal of the Salmon NF
1 forest plan - the removal of key elk summer range (KESR) from the
timber base ICE continues to support strongly the protection of this
habitat We are willing to support Alternative 3 which would
exempt a block of KESR from timber harvest and allow logging on the
least sensitive lands in the analysis area there is a great deal of
Forest Service direction and research to support Alternative 3
2 l he Salmon Forest Plan states on page 111 1 that "habitat for big
game species will be managed to provide for increases over current
populations," and that "selected areas of key elk summer range ... will
be managed to enhance habitat potential. Recent elk/logging
studies show that elk have more complex habitat needs than can be
expressed by a simple cover. forage ratio Security and road density
are missing components in that equation Elk consistently select a
conformation of habitats that provides access to the larger,
continuous forest communities in the environment. ..Although hiding
cover and security are often interpreted as equivalents, they do not
represent interchangeable components of elk habitat. Hiding cover
3 may contribute to security at any lime, but it dues not necessarily
provide security during the hunting season ( Habitat Selections by
Rocky Mountain Elk Under Hunting Season Stress." Lyon. C anfield,
lnlermounlain Research Station, Missoula). Also, It has been
United States
Agriculture
Forest
Service
Salmon
Nat iona 1
Foreot
P O. Box 729
Salmon, ID 03467
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Linn Klncannon
Public Lands Associate
Idaho Conservation League
P.O. Box 2671
Ketchum, ID 03340
Dear Ho. Kincannon:
Thank you for your comments of August 10, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are on important part of the environmental analysis
process and hove been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas ore the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
1 . REMOVAL OF KESR FROM THE TIMBER BASS
During the Forest planning process, all areas of key elk summer range on this
Forest were mapped. A portion of these areas were then selected to receive
a 4 B Management Area Prescription which places management emphasis first and
foremost on elk habitat objectives. The amount of acres given the 4B
prescription was sufficiently large to provide necessary core areas for elk
which, in combination with surrounding areas, would support target population
established in the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Species Management Plan
for elk.
In the upper portion of this project area (i.e. Wildlife Analysis Area ID,
timber harvest activity can actually increase elk habitat potential by
creating a more favorable ratio of cover to forage areas. Proposed
Alternative 3 would protect an area of mapped but undesignated IFLRMP) 4B
area at the expense of a more severe impact on some excellent elk sujrmer
range in the lower portion of Salt Creek where cover is limiting.
2 . INCONSISTENCY WITH FOREST SERVICE POLICY REGARDING CUTTING TIMBER
3N-EE5B
The document, “Elk habitat Relationships for Central Idaho", contains good
information concerning management of elk habitat. Portions of this document
were adopted in the ForeBt Plan. These management standards and guidelines
Caring lot the Land and Serving People
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 37
repeatedly documented. . .that vehicle traffic on forest roads evokes
an avoidance response by elk . . .Declines in elk use have been
delected as far as 2 miles from open roads, but significant reductions
in habitat effectiveness are usually confined to an area within a half
mile. The loss of habitat effectiveness has been shown to
be. . greatest where cover is poor and least where cover is good, and
greater during the hunting season than at any other lime of the year.
As a general average, habitat effectiveness can be expected to
decline by one-fourth when open road densities are 1 mile per
section and by one-half when road densities are 2 miles per section"
("Coordinating Elk and Timber Management, Montana Dept of Fish,
Wildlife, and Parks. 1985).
In the description of the effects of Alternative 2 on Area 11, the DEIS
stales that. "Total road density would increase to approximately 2.5
mile/square mile Consequently, the high value this area has a big
game security/hiding cover would be greatly decreased, even with
the roads closed." Likewise, Alternative A would place harvest units
"in an area that currently provides very good security cover for big
game (and) this alternative would definitely be less favorable to the
wildlife resources, particularly the hunted big game species, than any
of the other action alternatives." Conversely, the DEIS states that
with Alternative 3 "an unroaded area of excellent security/hiding
cover would be retained between Area 1 and Area 11."
The publication "Elk Habitat Relationships for Central Idaho," which
was written by wildlife biologists and approved by 3 forest
supervisors, slates that "timber harvest on key elk habitats should
be limited to those activities that will maintain or enhance the
habitat for that particular elk use."
4 Page IV-88 of the forest plan states that "Unroaded key elk summer
ranges and big game winter ranges will continue to support the
majority of the population of hunted species." In light of this
direction and because the Salmon Forest is planning to enter so many
roadless areas for timber harvest in the next 5 years, now is the time
to begin to protect these unroaded KESR's from timber harvest and
road intrusions.
The DEIS states that all specified roads would be gated and closed
g after construction, except during active period of the sale or when
needed for post sale activities, administrative purposes, or periodic
firewood gathering These activities, particularly firewood cutting,
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
Linn Kincannon 2 .
help accomplish specific goals in areas that received "Key Elk" (4A or 4B)
management prescriptions in the Forest Plan.
Our particular timber sale, however, contains cutting units within areas that
received 3A anadromous fish habitat prescriptions and 5A, 5B and 5C timber
management prescriptions in the Forest Plan, rather than the "Key Elk"
prescriptions. Any selected action alternative, however, would meet Forest
Plan Wildlife Standards and Guidelines for wildlife prescriptions.
3 . WILDLIFE SECURITY
You are correct in stating that hiding "does not" necessarily provide
security during hunting season." There i6 a difference between habitat
security and elk vulnerability, as discussed on pages IV-35 and 36 of the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) . Vulnerability or hunting season
security or lack of security, is definitely affected by ease of human
access. For this reason, all proposed action alternatives that would
construct roads through the mapped KESR portion of this analysis area contain
mitigation measures to gate and close the entire road system to all but
administrative use. In addition, the portions of road through the KESR will
also have slash piled on the road Burface to effectively discourage or
eliminate human traffic by foot or horse. This will negate or greatly
decrease any predicted decrease in any aspect of elk habitat that is
attributed to roads.
4 . ROAD INTRUSIONS
Pristine unroaded, unmanaged areas are attractive to many people for a
variety of reasons the most commonly stated of which is aesthetics. However,
we are unaware of any species of flora or fauna native to the Salmon National
Forest that requires totally unroaded and unaltered habitats to survive in
viable numbers. Many if not all mid to early serai species like deer and elk
actually benefit from the vegetation aspect of timber management. Our old
growth retention stand commitment and snag guideline (FLRMP) coupled with the
thousands of acres of land on this Forest that are unsuitable for timber
management more than adequately provide habitat for viable population of
other Bpecies such as pileated woodpeckers that prefer or require late serai
forests. Road access does affect some species, especially game animals.
However, virtually all new roads constructed on this Forest are closed to all
but administrative uses by direction of the current Forest Plan.
5 . MAINTAIN WILDLIFE HABITAT
For all alternatives, the entire road system constructed for this sale will
be gated and administratively closed to motorired traffic. In addition, the
road through the KESR will have Blash piled on it to discourage and/or
eliminate human travel by foot or horse. This will negate or greatly
decrease any predicted effects due to roading.
Coring lor the Innd end Serving People
f.?oo.28b(3/Q2l
(O f'-
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 37
Salmon National Forest Response
will constitute a significant use of the roads in the KESR, with all the
consequential effects on the elk. In addition, road closures are hard
to enforce when so many folks own ATY’s or trailbikes which can
easily go around gates and gain access to the road beyond. The
cumulative effects of future harvests in the area will force much, if
not all, of the wildlife to abandon the area. When added to the
effects of other planned entries into roadless areas, elk populations
(and those of other wildlife) will decrease - in direct opposition to
forest plan direction. If logging must be done in this area, continued
protection of the KESR as provided in Alternative 3 becomes more
important. ICL requests that this KESR be removed from the timber
base.
The DEIS states that biological corridors will be maintained. Please
include a map of these corridors in the FEIS. Also please map the old
growth retention stands in the FEIS.
Mitigation measures are planned which will protect anadromous fish
habitat for threatened and endangered salmon. Also, road surfaces
will be revegetated. Monitoring is planned for the life of the project
and for several years afterward to document any changes in stream
sedimentations and impacts on fish spawning habitat in Woodtick
Creek. Where will funding come from for these and other monitoring
and mitigation plans? Mitigation and monitoring should be part of
the Decision notice and logging contingent on mitigation, to insure
that it gets done.
9 Data is to be collected to document existing conditions in Woodtick
Creek, beginning in 1992. Has such data been collected? The
information collected should appear in the FEIS, otherwise we will
not know that the monitoring has been done.
10 The DEIS mentions that exclusion of fire is the reason for the
existence of large areas of mature conifer stands of one successional
stage. Fire is necessary to the preservation of biodiversity. The
analysis of forest health in the Blue Mountains of Oregon has shown
that fire suppression and timber harvest methods are the major
causes of the disastrous conditions there. You are proposing to
harvest limber to improve diversity and diminish bug problems.
Linn Kincannon
6 . MAPPING BIOLOGICAL CORRIDORS
Landscape boundaries for the Moyer Salt analysis area were delineated and a
map of those boundaries is found in Chapter III, Figure III-2. Biological
corridors are discussed further in Appendix H under the discussion of
landscape boundaries.
7 . OLD GROWTH RETENTION MAP
We have included a map of the old growth retention stands (Figure III-3) in
the Final EIS.
0 . FUNDING FOR MITIGATION MEASURES
The mitigation measures detailed in Chapter 2 are incorporated into the
timber sale design and layout, and into the timber sale contract provisions.
Specific clauses will be included in the sale contract to implement the
mitigation measures. The contracting officer is responsible for ensuring
that the logging contractor carries out the mitigation specified in the
contract .
9 . WATER MONITORING
The details for Water Quality and Fisheries monitoring are disclosed in the
FEIS, Chapter II under Project Monitoring. Water quality data was collected
on Moyer Creek and Woodtick Creek during 1992. This data is discussed in the
FEIS, Chapter III under Hydrology and Fisheries.
10 . PRESCRIBED FIRE ALTERNATIVE AND THE ROLE OF FIRE IN BIODIVERSITY
A prescribed bum alternative to address forest health concerns was
considered after we reviewed your request. It was dropped from further
consideration, however, because it does not contribute, in part to the Forest
Plan objective of satisfying the commercial demand for timber.
In the Draft EIS, Chapter III, we discussed fire history and pa6t timber
harvest activity under the Timber Resource section. We stated that both
even-aged and uneven aged stands occur in a mosaic pattern of mature forest,
younger forest, openings, and edges due in part to fire. Because fire has
been excluded from this area, only one or two age classes exist. Timber
harvesting can be used to change the vegetative distribution and abundance
ratio.
In the Final EIS, Chapter IV of the Biological Diversity section, we have
made our best attempt at discussing the biological diversity of this area and
predict the effects from timber harvest. Please review your copy of the
Final EIS and if you Btill have questions concerning biological diversity,
let us know within 30 days.
Alternative 6 has been listed as the "PREPERRED" Alternative in the Final
EIS. We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Coring for the Lnnd and Serving People
F 5 -6200 -28 b 13 '9
Public Comment Letter # 37
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
These methods have failed in the past and are not likely to be
successful now. The FEIS should document where fire suppression
and timber harvest have been effective in protecting biodiversity.
The FEIS should also include a prescribed burn alternative to address
forest health concerns. '
Thank you for this opportunity to provide input.
Sincerely,
Linn Kincannon
Public Lands Associate
1
I
I
Linn Kincannon
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Please have
Sincerely,
JOHN E. BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
e
Caring for the Land Bnd Serving People
rS-fi200-2Rbn'92>
MOYER SALT
Public Comment Letter # 38
EcCi.ll, Tcleh?
leyt . 1S32
Mr. Jchn Burns, Supervisor
Ss irr.on ilstional Forest
F.O. 3ox 729
Salmon, Idaho 83467
Dear Fir. Burns;
In September. I, a native Idaho individual in her mid 80's,
is sending another tax payment to the IP.3. It is infuriating
that I should have to help destroy our land and its natural
resources in order to subsidize corp' orate timber profits, as
the Foyer Salt timber sale may do.
Unless adequate wildlife habitat is withdrawn from timber har-
vest consideration, as programmed in Alternate #3 in your DEIS,
Idaho and the liation will lose a most critical asset.
Idaho is serving as a safety valve for over-populated areas
under pressure for. space. The Forest Service can serve as
a guide to regulate that expansion by nurturing all life, or
it can yield to corporate pressure and hasten the destruction
of wild and human habitat.
Cf course we need to maintain the local economy. If the Forest
Service will instigate programs to restore habitat and land
forms, the damaging of which it has condoned, there will soon
be an increase in available jobs.
Some economic advisors point to "clean-up stocks" as a major
investment opportunity. Let us all think rehabilitation and
clean-up.
salmom n.f.
V. el Te To bias
14061 Farm to Market Rd.
McCall, Idaho 63638
SEP 1 1 '92
Info O
AcOonQ
SALE
Salmon National Forest Response
United States Forest
Department of Service
Agriculture
Salmon P.O. Box 729
National Salmon, ID 03467
Forest
Reply to: 1950
Date :
Nelle Tobias
14061 Farm to Market Road
McCall, ID 83638
Dear Ms. Tobias:
Thank you for your comments of September 8, 1992, on the Moyer Salt Timber
Sale. Your comments are an important part of the environmental analysis
process and have been reviewed and discussed by our team of resource
specialists. Their ideas are the basis for our response to your concerns and
comprise the rest of this letter.
1. REMOVAL OF ADEQUATE WILDLIFE HABITAT FROM TIMBER HARVEST
Pristine unroaded, unmanaged areas are attractive to many people for a
variety of reasons the most commonly stated of which is aesthetics. However,
we are unaware of any species of flora or fauna native to the Salmon National
Forest that requires totally unroaded and unaltered habitats to survive in
viable numbers. Many if not all mid to early serai species like deer and elk
actually benefit from the vegetation aspect of timber management. Our old
growth retention stand commitment and snag guideline (FLRMP) coupled with the
thousands of acres of land on this Forest that are unsuitable for timber
management more than adequately provide habitat for viable population of
other species such as pileated woodpeckers that prefer or require late serai
forests. Road access does affect some species, especially game animals.
However, virtually all new roads constructed on this Forest are closed to all
but administrative uses by direction of the current Forest Plan.
2 . MAINTAIN COMMUNITY STABILITY ALONG WITH WILDLIFE HABITAT
We agree with you that maintaining the local economy is important. In fact,
providing a continuous flow of raw materials to manufacturing communities is
one of the reasons we harvest timber.
We alBo are concerned with maintaining wildlife habitat. In the Moyer Salt
analysis we have included a list of nine specific wildlife mitigation
measures, six of which deal with minimizing the predicted effects of this
project on elk habitat. These measures range from protection of natural
Coring lor the Land and Serving People
rS-6200-28b(3/92l
MOYER SALT TIMBER SALE
Public Comment Letter # 38
Salmon National Forest Response
Nelle Tobias
2 .
ecotones to placing slash on a portion of the closed road system to decrease
the ease of human access.
In addition the snag retention and replacement guidelines and old growth
retention areas, both of which are contained in our current Forest Plan
direction, will help maintain habitat for at least minimum viable population
of small game and nongame birds and mammals.
Alternative 6 ha6 been listed as the "PREFERRED* Alternative in the Final
EIS . We have not yet chosen the "Selected" Alternative but will do so in the
Record of Decision. Enclosed is the Final EIS for your review. Please have
your comments back to us in 30 days.
Sincerely,
JOHN E . BURNS
Forest Supervisor
Enclosure
Caring lor the Land and Serving People
F5-6200-28b(3'9
c)
.
.
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