Project Progress
Jay Anderson’s June 15, 2011 Update on Staney Community Forestry Initiative Projects
All,
Pardon my delay in communication. It is not for a lack of progress following our collaborative efforts, just a variety of other competing efforts.
Below are some meager steps I wanted to daylight regarding agency and partner steps towards the DFC's you all shared in crafting.
First, the measurable stuff....
FY11 Projects (that are funded)
These are funded projects to be implemented this year (some are on multi-year contracts and may get implemented in 2012). Amount cover contract costs, agency personnel costs to develop the units and their prescriptions, in addition to contract admin costs
- 100 Acres Wildlife Thinning - $68,843
- 15 Acres Riparian Thinning - $57, 714
- 0.5 mile In-stream restoration - $27,187 (additional funding support from POW RAC = $28,500) This project will be accomplished by Forest Service crews)
- 21 miles of road storage (watershed improvements) - $92,371
The POW Planning Team is also funded (salary) to continue working on required analyses for integrated project opportunities within Staney Community Forestry Project area. Things like the 4,000+acres of wildlife thinning in OGR's; Requisite planning, identification and prioritization efforts on some of the 76 Red or Grey fish pipes; Timber Sale Analysis (Naukati EIS); etc.
Second, and still important progress...
1.- The Regional Forester has designated the Staney Community Forestry Area as a Stewardship Area. This is largely a symbolic designation that implies upon the District and our partners, the importance of, and expectation to use, the agency's Stewardship Authorities for implementing projects (and associated land management objectives) for the area. This desigantion is a first step in working towards an objective you identified as a group, - using Stewardship Contracting in the project area - and it will continue to be an important objective for the Tongass as we develop and implement shared land management objectives for the Staney Stewardship Area.
2. - In an effort to try and institutionalize the valuable public data you crafted (Staney Working Group DFC's), I asked my planning team to take your DFC's and the Existing Condition (which they know a lot about) and finish the equation... EC + PA = DFC... or Existing Condition + Proposed Action = Desired Future Condition. In this instance, since we're thinking and working at a landscape level, I asked them to think of the PA as 'Possible Actions' (basically, the types of actions on the landscape which could generally yeild the DFC's you identified). In order to do this, the team identified 'Undesired Conditions' on the landscape which needed to be treated, and then applied some of the more prescriptive elements of your DFC's as Goals and Objectives. The group worked this into a matrix of sorts, which served the agency as a useful outline for a more robust version of a Landscape Assessment (LA).
LA's are a common tool the agency uses to asess, at a coarse level, the opportunities within a given landscape. Once such effort was done previously for Staney, but it stopped with the collection of existing data from our GIS files. You all may recognize that effort as the "Proposal for Action" document, which is still available on the Staneycreek.org website. What the new (revised) LA will represent, is a well documented, publicly refined LA that captures much more information about what people want from the landscape, in addition to what we already know about it.
Keith Rush from The Nature Conservancy agreed to take this raw material and craft a working draft of the more formalized Landscape Assessment for the Staney Stewardship Area - which in my opinion serves as an incredibly useful tool for future management. In effect, your input; along with agency specialists and guidance from the Forest Plan have been merged into a Landscape Assessment that answers the "why here, why now" question that FS land managers now, and well into the future, will be asking about most, if not all of the projects we could conceive in the Staney Stewardship Area. This is a huge step towards crafting a solid environmental analysis for almost any given project and is a reflection of public interest and involvment that I am personally greatful to have been part of.
Once this final product is complete, it will be posted to the Staneycreek.org website.
3. In a form of more measurable progress, I have recently signed a Decision Notice (categorical exclusion) for 2 additional in-stream restoration segments in the Staney Watershed. These were creeks identified in the Staney Watershed Restoration Plan, but which were not addressed previously in the Staney Restoration and Enhancement EA #1. With a fresh set of eyes, our Hydrologists and Fisheries Biologists have crafted a plan for this work, and we'll be implementing it this summer, with youth crews from around the island.
4. We're also putting the final touches on a another Decision Notice (Cat-Ex) that will place over 4,000 acres of thinning in young, stem-excluded timber stands, "on the shelf" for future implementation. These acres are stratified by primary need (wildlife, timber+wildlife, wildlife+riparan, etc.) and represent a swift place to spend a variety of internal, appropriated funds, should they materialize in future budget cycles. This work is almost always contracted out to local thinning crews, and if enough funds are available, could be built into larger, more longer-term contracts (even Stewardship Contracts) to try and stablize the overall effect of government spending on this important work.
5. We're working to also prepare a Decision Notice for a 70-acre Commercial Thinning project at Dargon Point, just outside the Staney Stewardship Area. I include this here, because it's so very close to the Stewardship Area boundary, and it fits well with some of the Stewardship Area DFC's that I figured people would like to know more about it... This project is a small-scale attempt to make more Young Growth Timber available to the wood products industry, from one of the rare stands which is presently ready for Commercial Thinning. The primary reason for the thinning is timber production, and we'll also make good gains on reducing stem-exclusion (and thereby increasing forage) if this project goes to bid. Dargon Point is competing with other, higher priorities right now, but it is getting attention from our Tongass Young Growth coordinator, as the summer progresses. Pending the availability of resource specialists to review and report on the proposed project, I hope to sign a decision memo on it, later this season.
6. Soon, the public will see a Scoping Notice for the Naukati Timber Sale EIS - this is a Timber project being developed from within the Staney Stewardship Area, which focuses on the Timber Supply and Economic Sectors the working group developed. At first glance, there is a larger amount of volume / acres in the project proposal, than the Staney Timber DFC's would suggest. However, this is a function of the agency's requirement to draw logical boundaries for meaningful analysis (using Value Comparison Units and Watershed boundaries) and does not represent a final decision. It is simply a starting point for analysis.
Specific to this timber project, I believe it will be important to reconvene as a group under another public workshop, later in the planning cycle (Winter 2011 / Spring 2012) to identify specific interests in the proposed sale, it's various alternatives, and ideally - what we want to see built into Stewardship Contracts / Agreements with the final version of the Timber Sale. These follow-up, project-specific collaborative workshops are the place to get prescriptive about a project if there is a desire to do so; to craft any geographically specific alternatives the group wishes the agency to consider (unit-by-unit, road-by-road, knitty-gritty kinds of discussions).
I hope this update finds you all well and enjoying the summer that has finally arrived, and would encourage any of you to make contact if you have questions or concerns about planned and future actions for the Staney Stewardship Area.
J.
Jason C. Anderson
Thorne Bay District Ranger
Desired Future Conditions as developed at the April 15-16, 2010 Workshop and as revised based upon suggestions made during the workshop.
Sector Desired Future Conditions (DFCs): The Staney Collaborative Group has developed these DFCs to suggest how the Forest Service should manage the Staney area.
Subsistence
1. Deer productivity -
a. Maintain deer productivity within the project area:
i. Manage young-growth stands to maintain "no net loss" of habitat value for deer as stands enter stem-exclusion stage.
1. Determine scope of need for YG treatments based on # of acres entering stem exclusion over time.
2. Schedule treatment priorities based upon change in habitat.
ii. In old growth, maintain forest structure in high-value winter range.
b. Indicator: Monitor deer population size over time within OG and YG using pellet transects and DNA mark-recapture techniques. Test effectiveness of YG management techniques in maintaining deer populations.
2. Access
a. Road access to areas used for hunting is maintained at current levels
b. Implement ATM so that access to subsistence hunting areas is maintained over time.
c. Prioritize YG management for hunting areas with road access and deer browse nearby (i.e., combine good habitat and "hunt-ability")
3. Data gaps
a. Develop research and monitoring to address key information needs, including:
i. Deer population trends and effectiveness of YG treatments (potential for adding a module to the TWYGS study).
ii. Status of fish populations and subsistence use.
iii. Traditional ecological knowledge to understand historic patterns of use (see Langdon TEK study on salmon use in Klawock/west coast POW).
iv. Uses of other resources - berries, mushrooms, and firewood
Terrestrial Habitat
Managed Matrix: Young Growth Management
Reestablish total pre-harvest understory productivity of the Staney Project Area within 50 years to provide habitat for Sitka Black-tailed deer and other species that depend on forest habitats. Without silvicultural management, current habitat in young growth will substantially decrease into the future.
1. Highest Short-term Priority: At a minimum, maintain quantity and distribution of habitat sufficient to support deer populations that support use by humans and natural predators, while ensuring long-term sustainability of populations.
a. Take management action to prevent loss of understory in young growth stands that are nearing stem exclusion, emphasizing stands that will be most productive over the next 10-20 years. Without silvicultural management, current habitat in young growth will substantially decrease into the future.
b. Emphasize management (thinning, for example) in areas where deer will be accessible to human hunters.
c. Within this short-term priority, the land use designation (non-development/ development LUDs) is not used to prioritize actions.
2. Reestablish and maintain a diverse understory mosaic that is well-distributed across the landscape at multiple scales.
a. Emphasize management on sites with the highest long-term potential deer winter habitat value (based on pre-harvest estimated value).
b. When choosing between sites of equal productivity, focus management in non-development Land Use Designations (LUDs), especially Old-growth Reserves, Beach and Estuary Fringe, and Riparian Management Areas.
c. Outside of non-development LUDs, emphasize improving the ecological condition of second growth stands adjacent to Old Growth Reserves ("OGR") and old growth patches to improve their effective size and to minimize fragmentation.
d. Distribution and diversity should reflect pre-harvest distribution, recognizing that a portion of the landscape will remain in young-growth at all times.
e. When implementing management actions, reestablish a mosaic of habitats rather than a single treatment over large areas.
f. We suggest using 200 acres as the minimum size of a unit of young growth in evaluating distribution and connectivity.
3. Reestablish and maintain diverse stand structure that is well-distributed across the landscape at multiple scales.
a. In addition to DFCs identified above, retain large residual trees not previously harvested to provide opportunities for future nesting by Queen Charlotte Goshawk and other species, potential cavity habitat, and eventually a source of large woody debris.
4. Reestablish and maintain connectivity within young growth stands.
a. Avoid creation of large amounts of residual slash.
b. Leave un-thinned corridors where slash may hinder movement.
5. Where beach fringe connectivity has been broken by past harvest, reserve adjacent old-growth forest from harvest until the beach fringe returns as a functional old-growth habitat.
6. Improve/Restore beach fringe and riparian areas dominated by young growth to accelerate recovery of functional old-growth connectivity and habitat character.
7. Monitor effectiveness of habitat management on wildlife habitats, and coordinate with ADFG population monitoring, particularly for deer, bear, marten, and in the long term, endemic species.
Old-growth Forest in Timber Development LUDs
1. Avoid removal of more than 50% of the pre-harvest productive old-growth in the project area to promote viability of Queen Charlotte Goshawk.
2. Maintain sufficient patches of productive old-growth to maintain current levels of denning habitat for black bears.
3. Within the Staney Project Area reestablish and maintain old-growth habitat connectivity between patches of old-growth.
4. Establish and maintain old-growth habitat connectivity between old-growth non-development LUDs inside and outside the project area. Staney Creek is potentially isolated by non-federal lands to the south and to the northwest, and by timber harvest to the east. Functional connectivity needs to be assessed to determine whether gaps exist and corridors are needed in the following areas:
a. From the Medium OGR in VCU 5890 to medium OGR in VCU 5920 to ensure connectivity to the southwest.
b. North Fork of Staney Creek through the Logjam area to Honker Divide to the east/north.
c. Mouth of Staney Creek through Gutchi Creek to the north.
5. Maintain forest structure and habitat values of Beach and Estuary Fringe when addressing activities such as personal use and illegal harvest that may pose a risk to both the overall habitat quality and the needs of individual species such as bald eagles.
Young-growth Forest in Non-Development LUDs
1. Manage young growth to reestablish the functionality of all components of the Tongass Conservation Strategy, including reserves, connectivity, and fine-filter conservation within the Staney Project Area within 200 years.
2. Ensure that small and medium old-growth reserves meet all size, composition and shape criteria under TLMP. This may require adding adjacent young-growth to the OGRs and altering the shapes.
3. Subject to the immediate short-term priorities above, when choosing between sites of equal productivity, focus management in non-development LUDs, especially Old-growth Reserves, Beach and Estuary Fringe, and Riparian Management Areas to achieve Old-growth character as quickly as possible.
Endemic Species
Desired future conditions for endemic species should be a high priority, but until a full analysis of existing information, information gaps, and risk are completed, no additional DFCs have been specified. This analysis should be a high priority.
Invasive Species
1. Establish a Tongass "early invader" program to identify new populations coming onto the island, and focus attention on monitoring and controlling them where necessary. The communities on POW can play a critical role. Establish a system that makes it easy for residents to report invasive populations so that information is available for designing effective containment strategies.
2. Aggressively manage invasive species that pose a high risk to habitat and population conservation.
Aquatic Habitat
Maintain, restore, or enhance ecological connectivity within all watersheds to maintain or improve fish migration.
· Complete grey pipe analysis
· Develop prioritization of all red pipes
· Red pipes removed, replaced, or 404 waiver.
· Pull all structures on all live streams (1-4) on all proposed maintenance level 1 roads.
· Data Gap - Identify all red pipes in project area.
Achieve an invasive free project area
· Prevent any new introduction of any invasive species
· Treat known and new introductions to eliminate invasives.
Maintain or restore landscape hydrological functions.
· Stabilize all segments of roads that are degrading water quality and/or aquatic habitat
· Data gaps
o Impacts from upland canopy closures on hydrological function
o Long term stream and air temperature data
o Existing road conditions in all watersheds in the project area (except Staney)
No net gain in miles of road or number of fish stream crossing structures.
No net loss of aquatic habitat or essential fish habitat.
· Data gaps
o Baseline data
o Effects on habitat from climate change
Achieve TLMP riparian DFCs
Economics
Continuity and duration of work
· Ensure availability of long term supply in work and byproducts that leads to investment in equipment and manufacturing (e.g., 10 years)
o Need reliable supply of employment opportunity for both thinning and timber harvest
· Maintain existing jobs in natural resource management sector on POW
o 250 acres of thinning a year is a full-time job (could be 2 or 3 depending on prescription)
o Provide year round jobs that support a family and provide some benefits.
· Use locally manufactured products
o Local manufacture equals local employment
· Use a collaborative process to try and meet multiple objectives and avoid litigation delays
· Contracts that are greater than 1 year at a time
· Develop a marketing plan and implement a marketing program to develop consistency and long term reliability from natural resources sector.
Increase number of local jobs
· Establish a training program for local youth to learn about employment opportunities in the natural resources field
· Institute a preference system to increase the number of Local Contractors (POW) awarded the projects
· Enhance economic effectiveness of projects
Facilitate Bidding Process for local contracts
· Establish better advertisement policies for local contracts so that local contractors know how and when to bid
· More available Forest Service staff (COs) for bidding process
· The FS should evaluate all of the options available so that local contractors benefit (i.e., stewardship authorities or best value contracting)
· Use Stewardship authority is to implement the project
Information Needs and Data Gaps
· Complete economic analysis of the impacts from implementing the Staney Community Forestry Project.
· Determine the number of jobs and economic activity expected from the natural resources sector and develop work plan based upon the results.
· Establish monitoring program to determine effectiveness of projects and use of local employees
Timber Supply
Young Growth
· Managed for a variety products, with a variety of treatments, over a variety of rotation ages
· Are currently on schedule for future timber supply
· In the interim, treatments will be driven by Terrestrial Habitat and Subsistence DFCs
· Whenever possible by-products from treatments will be made available for utilization
· Managed for a consistent, sustainable supply of wood for a range of products from fast growing, low value fiber production (e.g., biomass) to slower growing, tight grained, clear wood production (e.g., music wood)
· Creating different aged stands and producing a variety of products will lead to an integrated timber industry
o More opportunities for local residents
o Better utilization of harvested wood
Old Growth
· Supply will be consistent and sustainable for 100 year period
· Supply will come from the realistic, economic timber base
· 10% of this economic base can be harvested per decade
o Some years more than the decade rate will be harvested
o Some years less than the decade rate
o No more than 10% of economic base harvested per decade
· After 100 years some of the young growth will be ~150 years old and attaining old growth wood characteristics and value
· Produce old growth value products into the distant future
· Multiple harvesting techniques (e.g., clear cut, selective, variable retention, etc.) will be incorporated to allow for economic opportunity and continuance of stand functions
· When feasible, use partial harvest techniques (e.g., helicopter selective, ground based variable retention, etc) that help meet Terrestrial Habitat and Subsistence DFCs
· Every Sector will get something, no Sector will get everything
· Temporary roads and troads with forwarders should be used to mitigate impacts
Road closures will be planned and timed to ensure access for timber harvest and timber management activities.
Data Gap: Volume calculation of a realistic, economic old-growth unit pool
· Stands
· Acres
· Volumes
· Species mix
· Accounting for all costs
o Logging systems - helicopter, cable, shovel, etc.
o Roads - construction, reconstruction, brushing, etc.
o Logging costs - felling, hauling, etc.
o Harvest types - clear cut, selective, variable retention, etc.
o Manufacturing costs
o Other costs
Considerations: Large and small operators bid on 2-3 MMBF State sales. They should be able to bid on similar sized FS sales after a NEPA document has cleared the realistic, economic base.
1. Decision-making process
Decision - modified consensus, a voice to dissenting opinions. Dissenting voices should put out alternate options. (No action is an alternate). Have to be able to explain your dissent and the reasons why.2. Geographical scope of the project
1. Develop prioritization of all red pipes
2. 100% red pipes addressed for removal, correction, or request for 404 waiver
3. 100% grey pipes analyzed
4. Rehabilitate 100% of riparian management areas - see TLMP riparian FDCs
5. Stabilize all segments of roads with water quality concerns
6. No net gain in miles of road or number of fish stream crossing structures
7. No new introductions of invasive species
8. Maintain or improve fish migration
9. No net loss of fish habitat - would require baseline data collection
10. Pull all structures on all live streams (Class 1-4) on all proposed ATM Maintenance Level roads
11. Treat all known invasive species populations
Data gaps
1. Identify all red pipes and road conditions in the watersheds (except Staney) in the project area
2. Variability of coho rearing
3. Long term stream and air temperature
To ensure a consistent and sustainable supply, the economic timber base (stands, acres, volumes and accounting for logging systems, roads, logging costs, harvest type, etc.) will need to be calculated. 10% of this economic base can be harvested for each decade. Both the large mill and the smaller mills will get timber from this economic base. The volume split between large mills and small mills will be based on the current usage ratio (large mill/small mills). In some years harvest may exceed the 10% rate and some years the harvest will be less; but in any one decade no more than 10% of the total economic base can be harvested.
To maintain ecosystem services, maintain old growth characteristics, and to mitigate impacts, temporary roads, troads with forwarders, and multiple harvesting techniques (e.g. selective helicopter, variable retention ground harvest, etc.) will be utilized when feasible.
Young Growth stands within development LUD's in the Staney Area will be managed for a variety of products, with a variety of treatments over a variety of rotation ages. Some young stands will not be thinned and will be managed on a 200 + year rotation. Some stands will be intensively managed with pre-commercial thinning, commercial thinning, and perhaps pruning, for a 90-year rotation. Some stands will be managed for medium rotation ages (120 - 150 years).
Road closures will be planned and timed to ensure access for timber harvest and timber management activities. New roads and reconstruction required for timber access will be components of larger sale contracts. Road costs (construction, reconstruction, brushing, etc.) will be one of the components for calculating the economic timber base.
Continuity and duration of work
· Ensure availability of long term supply in work and byproducts that leads to investment in equipment and manufacturing (e.g., 10 years)
o Need reliable supply of employment opportunity for both thinning and timber harvest
· Maintain existing jobs in natural resource management sector on POW
o 250 acres of thinning a year is a full-time job (could be 2 or 3 depending on prescription)
· Use locally manufactured products
o Local manufacture equals local employment
· Use a collaborative process to try and meet multiple objectives and avoid litigation delays
· Contracts that are greater than 1 year at a time
Increase number of local jobs
· Establish monitoring program to determine effectiveness of projects and use local employees
· Establish a training program for local youth to learn about employment opportunities in the natural resources field
· Institute a preference system to increase the number of Local Contractors (POW) awarded the projects
· Enhance economic effectiveness of projects
Facilitate Bidding Process for local contracts
· Establish better advertisement policies for local contracts so that local contractors know how and when to bid
· More available Forest Service staff (COs) for bidding process
· The FS should evaluate all of the options available so that local contractors benefit (i.e., stewardship authorities or best value contracting)
· Use Stewardship authority is to implement the project
(Number of jobs are created. Came up with a bunch of formulas. PCT - 1 person 150 acres per year. Can determine the economic benefit once you know the number of acres. Can determine the number of sawmills and logging jobs, once you know the amount of timber. Same for the number pipes, miles of streams, miles of roads closed, FS management jobs, monitoring jobs, recreation jobs, fishing industry jobs, value of subsistence, etc. To complete this, need to generate the numbers to put into the formulas.
Maybe should go from the other direction - decide the number of jobs/employment and then come up with the work to equal the DFC. Need to include economic multipliers. Jobs of residents vs. non-residents. Technology changes. The problem is that the plan is based upon federal funding. How do you create jobs that are self-sustaining? Will require very innovative thinking.)
a. Maintain deer productivity within the project area:
i. Manage young-growth stands to maintain “no net loss” of habitat value for deer as stands enter stem-exclusion stage.
A. Determine scope of need for YG treatments based on # of acres entering stem exclusion over time.
ii. In old growth, maintain forest structure in high-value winter range.
b. Indicator: Monitor deer population size over time within OG and YG using pellet transects and DNA mark-recapture techniques. Test effectiveness of YG management techniques in maintaining deer populations.
2. Access
a. Road access to areas used for hunting is maintained at current levels
b. Prioritize YG management for hunting areas with road access and deer browse nearby (i.e., combine good habitat and “hunt-ability”)
3. Data gaps
a. Develop research and monitoring to address key information needs, including:
i. Deer population trends and effectiveness of YG treatments
ii. Status of fish populations and subsistence use.
iii. Traditional ecological knowledge to understand historic patterns of use
iv. Uses of other resources – berries, mushrooms, and firewood
