Redbird Fuels Treatment Project -...

Redbird Fuels Treatment Project

Silvicultural Resources Report

Prepared by: Elizabeth Botner

District Silviculturist

for: Redbird Ranger District

Daniel Boone National Forest

August 15, 2011

Revised July 26, 2012

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.


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Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Affected Environment.................................................................................................... 1

Existing Condition ..................................................................................................... 1 Desired Condition ...................................................................................................... 6

Environmental Consequences ......................................................................................... 9 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 9 Spatial and Temporal Context for Effects Analysis ......................................................... 9 Proposed Action .......................................................................................................11 Alternative 1 – No Action ..........................................................................................11 Alternative 2 – Proposed Action .................................................................................12

Monitoring Recommendations .......................................................................................14 References...................................................................................................................17

List of Tables

Table 1 - Crosswalk between forest type and biophysical settings included in the proposal......... 3 Table 2 - Cause of wildfires on NFS and privately owned lands within the Redbird Ranger

District ..................................................................................................................... 6 Table 3 - Actions included in the cumulative effects analysis for silvicultural resources ............10 Table 4 - Effects indicators................................................................................................14 Table 5 - Trigger points for restoring and maintaining historic fire-regulated communities:

Appalachian Dry-Mesic Oak, Appalachian Shortleaf Pine, and Dry-Xeric Oak Biophysical Settings....................................................................................................................15

Table 6 - Trigger points for restoring and maintaining historic fire-regulated communities: Mixed Mesophytic and Conifer-Northern Hardwood Biophysical Settings .................................16

List of Figures

Figure 1- Biophysical setting acreage by proposed burn unit................................................... 5 Figure 2 - Forest plan prescription area acreage by proposed burn unit..................................... 7


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Introduction This report has been prepared to describe the impact of the proposed action on the silvicultural1 resources in the proposed project area. These resources will be described in terms of seral stage and biophysical setting. For this analysis, effects are based on stand information contained in the Forest Service’s FSVeg database, which includes forest type, condition class, age, site index, etc. Data from FSVeg includes historical stand information, as well as additional data collected for the purposes of analyzing this proposal.

Effects (direct, indirect and cumulative) to the silvicultural resources (comprised of the existing dominant overstory and understory tree species as well as their current and future regenerative capacity) will be assessed within the proposed burn units. Long-term effects (approximately 10 years) would consider the results and the need for repeated burns to apply the adaptive management process. The monitoring plots placed across the landscape would measure various effects based on aspect, topography, and biophysical setting.

No public comments were received concerning the proposed action.

Affected Environment

Existing Condition The project area is situated in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield of the Cumberland Plateau and Mountain physiographic region, characterized by a forested, hilly landscape bisected by deep, V-shaped valleys and scattered small mid-slope benches. Elevations tend to increase from north to south, and range from 800 feet at stream bottoms, up to 1,200-1,500 feet on ridgetops. Given the elevation, slopes are relatively steep, and can range from 35-75 percent. Soils on hillsides are typically deep loamy soils with rock fragments. Stream bottom soils are also loamy, and may remain wet for extended periods. Drainage patterns are dendritic in nature and typically flow northward. Rock strata in the project area are sandstone with no capacity for solution weathering and, thus, do not exhibit caves or cave-like structures.

A relatively young district, the Redbird was established in 1965 with the initial land acquisition of 60,000 acres from a divesting timber corporation. Land acquisition continued with purchases from various extractive corporations (e.g., timber harvest, mining) as well as private citizens. Federal land acquisitions often excluded minerals rights, which were separated from surface estate and retained by the seller. Past land use includes bottomland agriculture and residential development, timber harvesting, and mineral extraction. Current NFS land use consists of timber harvesting and other silvicultural activities such as crop tree release and midstory removal, chemical treatment for hemlock woolly adelgid (non-native insect) , routine maintenance of roads, trails and recreation facilities, and watershed improvement (e.g., riparian area protection, erosion control structures/water bars). Subsurface extraction of privately owned natural gas and oil reserves also occurs on some lands where the Forest Service owns the surface, but not minerals rights. Land ownership within the proposed burn units themselves is solely NFS lands. However, private land abuts the proposed units in some places, and the project area, at large, is a mosaic of private and federal ownership. Land use along private ownership includes residential

1 Silviculture – the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests and woodlands to meet the diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis.

Silvicultural Resources

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dwellings, subsistence farming, timber harvesting, and mineral extraction (e.g., natural gas, oil, coal).

The primary counties containing the proposed burn units are predominantly forested, with between 80-94 percent of their total area in a forested condition (Kentucky Division of Forestry 2009). Vegetation is primarily second-growth forest, dominated by deciduous broad-leaf trees, and classified as mixed mesophytic and Appalachian oak. Both the physiographic conditions and high frequency of rain contribute to a wide variety of vegetation. Bottomland drainages are characterized by the presence of American beech, sycamore, yellow poplar, basswood, cucumber tree, and red maple. Eastern hemlock, a typical component of riparian drainages, is currently being impacted by an infestation of hemlock woolly adelgid, a non-native insect with the potential to diminish the presence of hemlocks in these areas. Upland areas are dominated by the presence of multiple species of oak and hickory as well as ash, yellow poplar, blackgum, sourwood, sassafras, elm, and red maple. American chestnut (and to a lesser extent, American elm) were once present in large numbers across the landscape. The onset of forest pathogens chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) and Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma ulmi) impacted eastern forests through the mortality of these species, thus creating a “dominance gap” which was in turn filled by varieties of oaks, already common and present across the landscape (Abrams 2000).

Extensive research conducted by a wide array of scientists in varying disciplines has documented a long history of natural and anthropogenic disturbances that have shaped the forests of today (Abrams and Nowacki 1992, Delcourt et al. 1998, Frost 1998, Van Lear et al. 2000, McEwan et al. 2007, Nowacki and Abrams 2008, Knapp et al. 2009). Some of these studies have analyzed fossil pollen, fire scars, dendrochronology, witness tree studies and historical records as evidence of regional fire history. This history provides information such a fire return intervals, changes in forest structure and composition and human/environment interactions.

The Forest Service classifies stands by forest type, which is based on the existing vegetation present. For example, a stand classified as white oak-red oak-hickory if oak and hickory trees comprise ≥ 50 percent stocking of live trees not overtopped (e.g., overstory). For the purpose of this report, vegetation will be described by biophysical setting, a grouping of ecologically similar vegetation types modeled with characteristic disturbance inputs and used for Fire Regime Condition Class assessments 2. See Table 1 below for a cross walk between forest type and biophysical setting. Appalachian Dry Mesic Oak and Mixed Mesophytic biophysical settings are located in each of the ten proposed burn units, and comprise 94 percent of the total proposed project area.

2 See the Fuels Resource Specialist report for further discussion of fire regime condition class.


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Table 1 - Crosswalk between forest type and biophysical settings included in the proposal

Biophysical Setting (BPS) Name (code) Forest Type Name (code)

Appalachian Dry-Mesic Oak Forest (APOK)

Upland Hardwoods-White Pine (42) Southern Red Oak-Yellow Pine (44) White Oak-Red Oak-Hickory (53) White Oak (54) Northern Red Oak (55) White Oak-Black Oak-Hickory (85) Red Maple (87)

Appalachian Shortleaf Pine Forest (ASLP)

Shortleaf Pine-Oak (12) Shortleaf Pine (32)

Conifer Northern Hardwood Forest (NHDW2)

White Pine (3) White Pine-Hemlock (4) Hemlock (5) Hemlock-Hardwood (8) White Pine-Cove Hardwood (9) White Pine-Upland Hardwood (10)

Eastern Dry-Xeric Oak Forest (OKHK1)

Chestnut Oak-Scarlet Oak-Yellow Pine (45) White Oak-Black Oak-Yellow Pine (47) Northern Red Oak-Hickory-Yellow Pine (48) Post Oak-Black Oak (51) Chestnut Oak (52) Scarlet Oak (59) Chestnut Oak-Scarlet Oak (60) Chestnut Oak-White Oak-Scarlet Oak (84)

Mixed Mesophytic Hardwood Forest (MMHF)

Cove Hardwood-White Pine-Hemlock (41) Bottomland Hardwood-Yellow Pine (46) Yellow Poplar (50) Yellow Poplar-White Oak-Northern Red Oak (56) River Birch-Sycamore (72) Willow (74) Sycamore-Pecan-American Elm (75) Silver Maple-American Elm (76) Sugar Maple-Beech-Yellow Birch (81)

Non-forested lands (transmission lines, road and railroad rights-of-way

Non-forested (0) Brush species, including Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel (99)

Appalachian Dry-Mesic Oak and Eastern Dry-Xeric Oak Forests Oaks have maintained a place in eastern forests for more than 6,000 years (Moser et. al. 2006), and ethnobotanical remains (e.g., nutshells of acorns, hickories, walnuts, and chestnuts) identified in Kentucky have dated back nearly 9,000 years (Delcourt et al. 1998). Periodic land clearing and use of fire by Native Americans prior to European settlement helped foster the disturbance-mediated eastern forests comprised of fire-tolerant tree species, such as oaks and chestnuts (Delcourt et al. 1998, Abrams 2006); this is also true of Europeans during and after the colonization of America (Abrams and Nowacki 1992; Brose 2001; McEwan et al. 2007, 2010). The historical fire regime of these mixed-oak forests was typically low-severity, dormant-season events that would occur on an approximately 3 to13-year basis (Knapp et. al. 2009). Such burns


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helped to maintain the dominance of oaks and other fire-adapted species (Nowacki and Abrams 2008) that characterize the upper elevations and ridgetops of this area. Van Lear, Brose and Keyser (2000) describe the physiognomy of oak leaves as being fire-adapted: “This litter remains curly, creating a porous fuelbed for surface fires. Unlike leaf litter of mesophytic species which forms a flat mat upon compaction and decays rapidly, oak leaf litter undergoes little decay during the winter.” The thicker bark of oaks and associated upland species, compared to bottomland species, can limit the killing impacts of low severity fires (Southerland and Smith 2000). The vigorous sprouting ability of oaks and other hardwoods helps those species maintain a presence in a forest experiencing many types of disturbance (e.g., weather events, fire, harvest, etc.).

Continued human interaction and decades of fire suppression in the 20th century served to alter fire regimes across the United States. In the east, this has resulted in a change in the structure and composition of the hardwood forests, with shade-tolerant, fire-sensitive vegetation replacing shade-intolerant, fire-dependent or fire-mediated species (Nowacki and Abrams 2008). Oak is losing canopy dominance (Taylor and Lorimer 2003), and some oak replacement species include sugar maple, blackgum, yellow poplar, and red maple (Abrams 2000, 2006). It is generally understood that oak is better adapted to fire than some of its competitors (such as red maple), due, in part, to the heavier energy allocation of the oak’s root system, as well as their vigorous sprouting ability (Hodges and Gardiner 1993, van Lear et al. 2000, Yaussy 2005, Abrams 2006, Brose 2010, Green et al. 2010). Brose et al. (2008) reported a six-fold increase of oaks in the shrub stratum of an area in Kentucky that experienced a wildfire two years following a controlled burn, along with a two-fold increase of red maple in the shrub stratum. Arthur et al. (1998) have suggested repeated fires can decrease the total number of red maple stems following repeated burning. Alexander et al. (2008) yielded the following conclusion: “The results of this study and others have demonstrated that prescribed fire can be used to decrease seedling populations of shade-tolerant, fire-sensitive competitor species such as red maple (Arthur et al. 1998; Barnes and Van Lear 1998; Loftis 2004; Lorimer 1985; Signell et al. 2005). However, a concern is raised that without additional mechanical treatment to the midstory, the current prescribed fire regime is acting as a selection agent for a more competitive red maple seedling cohort.” Additional studies completed by Green et al. (2010) confirmed that multiple prescribed fires reduced the number of red maple seedlings as well as improved the growth of oak seedlings.

Mixed Mesophytic Forest While oak, hickory, and its associates are dominant on upper slopes, ridgetops, and benches, fire-sensitive mixed mesophytic species dominate the drainages and valleys, forming a mosaic of mesic and xeric sites, based on topography, aspect and moisture regime. Mixed mesophytic tree species include sugar maple, American beech, hemlock, birch, basswood, magnolias, and buckeyes. The fire regime for mixed mesophytic forests is infrequent, low-intensity fires, which are rarely stand-replacing fires. The fire return interval (approximately 50 years) is much higher than that of the oak-dominated forest (Davenport 2005). The majority of species that occur in a mixed mesophytic forest are thin barked, making them more susceptible to injury by fire than are thicker-barked species (Burns and Honkala 1990). The leaf litter of mixed mesophytic tree species is usually less flammable more xeric species and decays quickly, thus underpinning the lack of fire (Van Lear et al. 2000, Abrams 2006). Figure 1 illustrates the distribution of the various biophysical settings by proposed burn unit.


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Figure 1- Biophysical setting acreage by proposed burn unit

Tree Growth, Wounding and Compartmentalization The hardwood trees contained in the project area are deciduous, and experience an annual cycle that includes new growth, maintenance, and dormancy. Under normal conditions, the cambium3 of a tree is dormant or inactive during the winter months and resumes its annual growth pattern by adding a new layer of cells on the wood after bud growth resumes (Panshin and de Zeeuw 1964). Trees do not heal, or repair damaged tissue the way the human body does. Rather, a wounded tree will compartmentalize the injury. After being wounded, a tree will plug its vascular system both above and below the wound. The cambium will then form a new wall that separates and protects tissue forming after the wound from the wounded tissue (Shigo 1979, Smith and Sutherland 2006).

“Fires wound trees: but not all of them, and not always” (Sutherland and Smith 2000, p.111). The intensity and duration of fire combined with the varying physiological characteristics of the hardwood trees yields variance in wounding. Sutherland and Smith (2000, 2006) suggested that most fire-caused injuries are not from the flame, but rather from heating without combustion. The characteristics (e.g., thickness) of the bark of a specific tree species, then, become a factor in determining the potential of fire to damage an individual tree. Bark will insulate the living tissue below it from the heat produced by fire: a thick-barked tree would require a much longer heating period to cause injury to the cambium below than a thin-barked tree (Sutherland and Smith 2000). Dissections of fire scars have indicated a rapid response to wounding and effective compartmentalization of the wound by oaks (Smith and Sutherland 1999). Additional dissections have indicated that trees with thick bark were not injured by prescribed fire, and thin-barked species such as red maple were more severely injured with greater frequency than either oaks or hickories (Smith and Sutherland 2006)

3 Cambium – the layer of living cells between the wood and the inner-most bark of a tree.


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Wildfire History The DBNF has fire records dating from 1985 through 2010 for wildfires occurring on NFS lands, and dating from 1997 through 2009 for wildfires occurring on private and state-owned lands (Geospatial Interface Fire map). These records include the cause and the size of the wildfire. Table 2 displays the causes of wildfires within the Redbird District.

Table 2 - Cause of wildfires on NFS and privately owned lands within the Redbird Ranger District

Fire Cause Number of NFS Fires

Number of State/Private

Fires

Acreage for NFS Fires

Acreage for State/Private

Fires Lightning 12 3 363 397 Equipment Use 5 14 135 520 Smoking 2 6 2 69 Campfire 5 11 135 111 Debris Burning 59 221 2,078 4,642 Railroad 0 0 0 0 Arson/Incendiary 729 1,004 75,783 47,069 Children 7 16 64 2,942 Misc./Unknown Cause 68 89 2,009 3,734

TOTALS 887 fires 1,364 fires 80,569 ac. 59,484 ac.

From the table above, it is clear that arson-caused fires occur with the most frequency and affect the greatest amount of area of all the causes of wildfire described. While this illustrates the presence of fire in and around the project area, wildfire cannot be expected to result in the desired condition as outlined in the purpose and need for this project. Wildfires, started by one of the causes above are by definition uncontrolled - fire intensity, duration, and location result from local conditions and timing of the set. Within the project area, the majority of human-caused fires were ignited at the base of the slope proceeded uphill rapidly; this leads to both a quicker rate of spread and higher average flame length than fires ignited at the top of a ridge and move downhill. Fire intensity resulting from an uphill-moving fire (in contrast with a downhill-backing fire, as proposed) on the same ground, under the same conditions, will be much greater; this creates higher amounts of tree scorch and increased over-story mortality (Coons 2012). Typically, the base of the slopes is characterized of mixed mesophytic forests, which are not as suited to withstand fire as are oak forests.

Desired Condition The Land and Resource Management Plan for the Daniel Boone National Forest (Forest Plan) was revised and approved for implementation April 16, 2004. The mission of the Daniel Boone National Forest is to sustain the ecological health and productivity of the lands and waters entrusted to our care and provide for compatible human uses. While this is a broad statement, the Forest Plan lends additional guidance of the management of the various natural resources. Based on the Forest Plan, the proposed burn units are composed of four prescription areas, and the approximate percentage of the proposed treatment area each encompasses: cliffline community,


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10 percent; riparian corridor, 17 percent; rare communities, less than 1 percent;4 habitat diversity emphasis, 56 percent; and ruffed grouse emphasis, 17 percent.

Figure 2 displays the Forest Plan prescription area acreage by proposed burn unit in the Redbird Project.

Figure 2 - Forest plan prescription area acreage by proposed burn unit

1.C. Cliffline Community The emphasis of this prescription area is the protection, maintenance, or enhancement of habitat conditions of the unique cliffline ecosystems. Overstory trees are usually old, and are found above and below the cliffline. Prescribed fire is allowed within this prescription area, and scorch marks on trees may occasionally be encountered. Prescription area standards that apply to the proposed action are as follows:

1.C-VEG-2. When timber is harvested, heavy equipment such as skidders or yarders are not to be allowed in this area.

While the proposed action does not include any timber harvesting, this standard should be applied as a proxy for any heavy equipment that would be involved in construction of the fire line, and in containment activities (e.g., dozer, fire engine).

1.E. Riparian Corridor The emphasis of this prescription area is to maintain the biological integrity of the aquatic communities with a species composition, diversity, and functional organization that are natural for this region. Many large trees form nearly continuous canopy cover, snags are abundant, and

4 Approximately 0.9 acre of rare communities is located within the proposed Sugar unit. An area this small is not visible in figure 2.


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patches of dead and/or dying trees occur intermittently. Prescription area standards that apply to the proposed action are as follows:

1.E-VEG-2. All motorized equipment must be serviced outside of riparian corridors.

1.E-VEG-5. The removal of coarse woody debris (pieces greater than 3 feet long and 4 inches in diameter on the small end) is allowed only if it poses a risk to public safety or water quality degrades habitat for aquatic or riparian-associated species, or when it poses a threat to private property or Forest Service infrastructures.

1.G Rare Communities The emphasis of this prescription area is the promotion of habitat conditions that support the diverse and locally unique assemblages of plant and animals occurring within. The rare community overlapping with the proposed Sugar burn unit is a bog, which comprises less than 1 acre of that unit. Bog vegetation is expected to be influenced regularly by prescribed fire, which may burn through portions of the bog. Prescription area standards that apply to the proposed action are as follows:

1.G-FIRE-1. Use prescribed fire only when not detrimental to the rare community.

1.G-FIRE-2. Do not use heavy equipment in rare community sites for prescribed burning.

1.G-FIRE-WET-1. Do not build firelines for prescribed burns through streamhead seeps/bogs, swamps, or other natural wetland rare community management zones, if they are likely to change the hydrologic balance.

1.K. Habitat Diversity Emphasis The emphasis of this prescription area is to maintain biodiversity, and these areas are managed to provide a wide array of habitat conditions for a wide diversity of communities. Major plant communities to be managed include, mixed mesophytic and upland oak, as well as yellow pine, which occurs on a scattered basis within the project area, but is not considered an emphasis for the Redbird Ranger District. Conditions in the various communities will range in age, density, and composition, both in terms of species occurrence and vertical structure. Portions of this prescription area would be managed as fire-adapted communities, where fire can drive both the structural and compositional conditions. Prescription area objectives and standards that apply to the proposed action are as follows:

1.K-Objective2.A. Manage distinct blocks, ranging from 500-25,000 acres in size as fire-influenced5 or fire-mediated6 communities.

1.K-Objective 2.G. Maintain with fire, 31,500 to 42,000 acres in upland oak and upland oak-yellow pine forest. This should be developed on both dry-mesic and dry-xeric sites.

3.H.1. Ruffed Grouse Emphasis The emphasis of this prescription area is to provide management that favors species that use young-aged forests conditions, such as the ruffed grouse. This focus intends to provide young

5 Fire-influenced community here means a community in which fires occur, but as low intensity or frequency, and when this fire affects vegetation, the effects are generally expected to be small, and not an important contributor to community composition and structure. These are no-target communities. 6 Fire-mediated here means a community in which fire occurs and in which fire is expected to drive community composition and structure. These are target communities.


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forest within the larger, mature forest. Younger areas may be dominated by dense seedling/sapling stems. Some small canopy openings may be present, and evidence of prescribed fire is possible.

Environmental Consequences

Methodology For this project, in addition to professional judgment, prior experience, and collaboration with other ID team members, a review of applicable literature and stand information contained in the Natural Resource Information System Field Sampled Vegetation (NRIS FSVeg, or FSVeg) database were used to evaluate the proposed treatment and its potential effects on the silvicultural resources located therein. Pre-implementation monitoring plot data has been collected, and post-implementation monitoring plot data would be collected to determine the effectiveness of the proposed treatments, and to assist in determining the triggering of subsequent prescribed burns. Analysis of effects is based on the potential for fire to damage current silvicultural resources. The long-term enhancement of growing conditions for fire-mediated and fire-influenced communities can be used as an indicator of the effects of the proposed action on these communities; data gathered from the pre- and post-implementation permanent fuels plots (as described in Monitoring Recommendations below) would reflect changes in vegetative density in terms of competition for nutrients, light and water.

Incomplete and Unavailable Information Data contained within the FSVeg database is sampled data and is normally collected on a stand-level basis. Because the Forest Service typically defines a stand based on similarities in the type of vegetation present, age, and condition, assumptions based on plot data can be extrapolated to describe the stand. Due to the variable local topography, plots are spread throughout the stand to account for variations in aspect, slope, and elevation. These plots constitute a sample of the area, as opposed to a complete field inventory.

Spatial and Temporal Context for Effects Analysis The spatial bounds for the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects to silvicultural resources are restricted to the boundaries of the ten proposed treatment units since potential impacts of the proposal would not be mobile, in terms of both developing and mature trees. The temporal bounds for cumulative effects to the silvicultural resource is ten years; short-term effects (1 to 2 growing seasons) would examine conditions following the initial controlled burns, while the long-term effects (approximately 5 to 10 years following each controlled burning event) would consider the results and the need for repeated controlled burns to apply the adaptive management process. Monitoring plots placed across the landscape within the proposed burn units would measure the various effects based on aspect, topography, and biophysical setting.

Connected Actions, Past, Present, and Foreseeable Activities Relevant to Cumulative Effects Analysis A number of projects implemented either recently, ongoing, or for future implementation have the potential to overlap in either time or space with the proposed project, and the possibility of cumulative effects based on the actions involved. Table 3 enumerates those projects.


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Table 3 - Actions included in the cumulative effects analysis for silvicultural resources

Project Activity Timing Units Affected Approx. Project Area

Thinning of Sapling Stands Crop tree release Past

Britton Branch 2, Granny’s Branch 1, Granny’s Branch 2, Sugar

36 acres, 38 acres, 65 acres, 5 acres

Group One Proposal – Red Bird River Project

Pond construction (may remove trees)

Past, Future

Britton Branch 1, Granny’s Branch 1

< 1 acre, < 1 acre


Dam maintenance – remove saplings threatening integrity of dam

Past Britton Branch 1 1 acre


Road construction (C), reconstruction (R) & closure (X)

Future Granny’s Branch 1, Granny’s Branch 2, Sugar

1.8 mi C, 0.4 mi C & 0.5 mi R, 0.2 mi R


Establish brushy riparian openings Future

Britton Branch 1, Granny’s Branch 1, Venus

< 2 acres, < 2 acres, < 1 acre


Regenerate brushy riparian openings Future Rockhouse 2,

Sugar, Venus < 2 acres, < 2 acres, < 1 acre


Create early seral habitat using commercial timber sales

Future Granny’s Branch 1 ~ 10 acres


Create early seral habitat for ruffed grouse using commercial timber sales

Future Sugar ~ 68 acres


Create early seral habitat for ruffed grouse using non-commercial methods, chainsaws & hand tools

Future Rockhouse 2, Sugar 22 acres, ~ 2 acres

Bowen’s Church & Cherry Tree Prescribed Burns

Conduct a single controlled burn for each unit Past Cherry Tree 723 acres

Soft Mast Improvement Planting

Plant soft mast-producing seedlings on the edges of existing wildlife openings

Future Rockhouse 2, Sugar, Venus

< 1 acre, ~ 1 acre, ~ 1 acre

Midstory Removal Reduce the density of midstory trees using chainsaws and hand tools

Present

Britton Branch 1, Britton Branch 2, Granny’s Branch 1, Granny’s Branch 2

98 acres, 33 acres, ~ 31 acres, ~ 68 acres

Suppression of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

Treat the non-native invasive insect hemlock woolly adelgid using biological and chemical methods

Present Sugar

Up to 142 acres of biological control, dependent on occurrence of infestation


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Proposed Action

Design Features and Mitigation Measures Regeneration areas ten years old or younger located within the proposed treatment units would be excluded from burning activities by installing a fireline around them. These areas are typically populated with small seedling to pole-sized trees susceptible to damage or mortality from controlled burning. Areas with newly planted seedling would also be excluded from burning by installing a fireline around them unless the initial burn would take place prior to the planting. Prescribed burning would take place when fuel, soil, and weather conditions provide for removal of small diameter dead and down fuels but would not result in a significant reduction of live overstory trees through cambium damage. This design feature is reiterated with Forest Plan standard DB-FIRE-8, which states that no prescribed burning would take place between May 1 and July 31 to protect Indiana bat summer habitat, which includes live, large overstory trees.

Alternative 1 – No Action

Direct and Indirect Effects If this project were not implemented, disturbances, natural or anthropogenic, would continue to alter the existing forest, thus perpetuating a successional pattern that favors more shade-tolerant species. Shade-tolerant species, such as red maple would continue to grow and out-compete less shade-tolerant species. Fire-mediated communities would continue to decline and would not attain a position of dominance in terms of their advanced regeneration. Susceptibility to insect and diseases would continue to increase, especially in older oak forests.

Historically, fire has been present on the Redbird Ranger District in the form of arson-caused fires. Arsonists typically set fires from the roads near the lower part of a slope. This type of ignition location can increase the potential for damage to the silvicultural resources (Coons 2012) and can result in increased flame lengths compared to flame lengths typically found with backing fires. Furthermore, arson fires are frequently set in mixed mesophytic areas, which are community types that are not fire-mediated; when wildfires are set in windy or droughty conditions, the potential for damage to the mixed mesophytic communities is increased since their moisture levels are reduced.

In the absence of controlled burning, some portions of the forest would continue to burn through arson. Arson-caused fires account for 82 percent of wildfires set on NFS lands on the district, and account for 94 percent of NFS land burned in a wildfire. While these fires may serve to reduce fuel loading, their impact on fire-influenced communities (e.g., the wounding or mortality of individual trees, changes in species composition) can be detrimental depending on the conditions in which the wildfire is set. Weather conditions and seasonality of a wildfire determine its severity on living trees, and precludes the exclusion of special areas (e.g., new regeneration, tree planting).

Cumulative Effects If the No Action alternative were selected, other projects identified in table 3 (p. 10) would continue to be implemented and would move those areas toward the desired future conditions guiding those projects. Portions of the other projects overlap with the boundaries of the proposed burn units. Some of these other project contains activities designed to maintain or promote the presence certain vegetative communities in appropriate locations. Continued human interaction and decades of fire suppression in the 20th century served to alter fire regimes across the


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United States. In the east, this has resulted in a change in the structure and composition of the hardwood forests, with shade-tolerant, fire-sensitive vegetation replacing shade-intolerant, fire-dependent or fire-mediated species (Nowacki and Abrams 2008). Under the No Action alternative, unplanned wildfires would continue to occur, many of which are arson-caused, and ignited under conditions (high winds, low moisture, occurring during spring green-up) known to cause damage to desired vegetation. These unplanned wildfires would consume fuels (otherwise treated under the Proposed Action) with an intensity that would damage desired vegetation. This alternative would not reduce fire regime condition classes 7 within the proposed burn units, nor promote fire-mediated upland ecosystems.

Alternative 2 – Proposed Action

Direct and Indirect Effects Implementing the proposed action would apply fire across the landscape in a controlled manner, with a specific focus on reintroducing fire to the ridgetops and upper slopes of the project area. These locations are the natural home to fire-mediated and fire-influenced communities such as oak-hickory forests that have been defined in this document as the Appalachian dry-mesic oak and Eastern dry-xeric oak biophysical settings. Implementing a controlled burn in the proposed areas would consist of ignition occurring at the top of the slope (within primarily Appalachian dry-mesic and Eastern dry-xeric oak BPSs) and allowed to back down slope, which would result in shorter flame lengths than an uphill-running fire and, subsequently, a lower intensity fire than a wildfire (Park, personal communication).

The height of bark char is thought to be a useful predictor of wounding and mortality of trees (Loucks and Arthur 2004). Consequently, lower flame lengths would be expected to produce bark char at lower height, indicating a smaller potential for wounding from a controlled burn set under proper climatic conditions.

The effects of controlled burning on silvicultural resources vary with fire intensity and species composition, and, as such, controlled burning can be used as a tool to maintain or alter species composition, specifically, oaks (Brose and van Lear 1999, Dickinson 2006). Decades of fire suppression in the 20th century have helped to increase stand density as well as promote the colonization of the mid and understory canopies by shade tolerant species, which reduces light reaching the forest floor (Dey et al. 2010). The application of repeated controlled burns would result in the mortality of some thinner-barked, shade-tolerant species that proliferated in the absence of fire. Research taking place on the Daniel Boone National Forest has suggested repeated fires decrease the total number of red maple stems and seedlings (Arthur 1999, Green 2010), a vigorous competitor of oak and hickory. The reduction of competitive species should promote desirable species such as oak and hickory. However, the vigor and current position of the oak and hickory advanced regeneration prior to the application of a controlled burn determines the potential of these desirable species to prosper following the burn (Dey et al. 2010).

Upland species tend to possess thicker bark than bottomland species, making the upland species more resistant to fire damage. While the proposed burn units contains a range of slope position and aspects, it is not expected that fire will burn 100 percent of each unit, but rather create a

7 Fire regime condition class – a qualitative measure classified into three classes describing the relative degree of departure from historical fire regimes, and representing alterations of key ecosystem components such as species composition, structural stage, stand age, canopy closure, and fuel loadings (adapted from http://www.nwcg.gov/pms/pubs/glossary/f.htm).

http://www.nwcg.gov/pms/pubs/glossary/f.htm

http://www.nwcg.gov/pms/pubs/glossary/f.htm


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patchwork of burned and unburned areas. The moist nature of bottomland and cove areas would limit the entrance of fire, though some burning would be expected. Due to the nature of local topography and aspect within the Redbird Ranger District, small areas of mixed mesophytic areas comprise small portions of the proposed burn units; these areas are not targeted for burning, and ignition would not occur here. Corporate experience regarding typical fire behavior using the ignition locations and methods proposed for this project conclude that while fire may back down into a mixed mesophytic area, the prescribed fire intensity along with the natural moisture regime would likely preclude the spread of fire throughout such an area. Controlled fire would cause some damage to timber and may detract or add to the multiple values of a tree. A fire-damaged tree would have an improved value to wildlife species that are cavity nesters, such as the endangered Indiana bat. As a forest product, a fire-damaged tree would have a decreased value if the damage were severe enough to affect wood quality. Smith and Sutherland (1999, 2000) have shown that low-intensity fires produce some fire scars in oak, and that most fire-caused injuries result from the intensity of heat present during the fire, rather than the flames. Loomis (1974) suggested that oak trees with wounds less than 6 inches wide are unlikely to lose quality and no more than 3 board feet in volume, and that pole-sized trees were unlikely to lose any quality. Unpublished data of the authors indicates that most prescribed fire-caused wounds were less than 1 inch in width” (Sutherland and Smith 2000, p.111). Based on these studies, it is expected that the proposed action may result in some damage to individual trees, but the damage would not have a significant negative effect on the overall value of the resource. Their studies have also exhibited that effective compartmentalization by oak is a contributor to its survival.

Cumulative Effects Implementing the controlled burning using adaptive management, as proposed, would help reduce prolific regeneration of fire-intolerant species colonizing fire-mediated/fire-influenced communities. When considered in connection with ongoing midstory removal and creation of early seral habitat and past crop tree release (focused on regenerating oak/hickory-dominated stands), the proposed action would have beneficial cumulative effects for promoting and maintain oak and hickory as vital overstory components in appropriate locations (Alexander et al. 2008). When considering implementation of the proposed action in terms of the mixed mesophytic areas where fire is a more infrequent component, the fire-intolerant species could experience some wounding and mortality, though such damage is expected to be minimal due to the moist nature of those communities.

Future creation of the temporary and permanent riparian brushy openings has small portions that would overlap with half of the proposed burn units. These overlapping areas comprise less than 10 acres of the approximately 120,000-acre district riparian prescription corridor, and negative cumulative effects would be negligible. Treatment of eastern hemlock trees infested with the invasive insect, hemlock woolly adelgid is also occurring within the riparian corridor prescription area, in an effort to preserve hemlock genetic material. While most hemlock is located along riparian drainages and creekside where prescribed fire is not expected to spread easily, some infested and declining hemlocks could be subject to wounding or fire-caused mortality from prescribed burning. Given the dismal predictions of hemlock morality from the hemlock woolly adelgid, fire-caused injury could compound that mortality, but not significantly. The distribution of hemlock, and hemlock conservation treatment areas across the district to protect hemlock individuals would outweigh potential negative effects of fire wounding hemlock individuals.

Future planting of soft mast trees along the edges of existing wildlife openings would be excluded from controlled burning activities until seedlings are well established. If possible, burn units that overlap with the plantings areas would be controlled burned prior to planting.


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Certain past and future actions (pond construction, dam maintenance, road construction) have the potential connected action of tree removal. These past and future actions comprise approximately 3 acres of forested areas, less than 0.05 percent of the forested areas for the proposed action area. Cumulative effects would be negligible.

The proposed Cherry Tree burn unit was controlled burned in spring 2010 under a separate decision. The decision matrix, utilizing the trigger points found in table 5 and table 6 of this document, would be utilized to determine the conditions under which the Cherry Tree unit would be controlled burned for the first time under this proposal.

Compliance with Forest Plan and Other Relevant Laws, Regulations, Policies and Plans Based on the analysis, the proposed actions and associated design criteria are consistent with Forest Plan direction for silvicultural resources and complies with the National Forest Management Act requirements relating to renewable (sustainable) multiple uses.

Summary of Effects By following Forest Plan standards, best management practices, and design criteria developed for this proposal, damage to desired vegetation would be short-term (see table 4). Depending on the age and species of the tree, the proposed project would result in varying levels of damage to the vegetation. Some seedling and sapling mortality would be expected, and damage may affect mature trees. The intent of this proposal is to reintroduce fire across the landscape and move acres towards lower fire regime condition classes, which by definition would potentially result in changes in species composition and structure. Therefore, some mortality would be expected. Such damage would enhance growing conditions for fire-mediated and fire-influenced communities long-term. Conditions for germinating seeds would be improved. Competition for nutrients, light, and water would be reduced.

Table 4 - Effects indicators Effects Indicator No Action Proposed Action

Fire-mediated communities

Shade-tolerant species, such as red maple would continue to grow and out-compete less shade-tolerant species. Fire-influenced and fire-mediated communities would continue to decline. Fire-mediated species would not attain a position of dominance in terms of their advanced regeneration. Susceptibility to insect and diseases would continue to increase, especially in older oak forests

Enhance growing conditions for fire-mediated and fire-influenced communities long term. Conditions for germinating seed would be improved. Competition for nutrients, light, and water would be reduced

Monitoring Recommendations Permanent fuels plots have been established in each biophysical setting occupying at least 10 percent of each proposed burn unit. Data collected for these plots includes counts of seedlings, saplings and overstory trees, as well as assessment of damages for the latter. Particular focus would be given to the effects of the previous controlled burning on target tree species such as oak, hickory, and maple.


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Table 5 - Trigger points for restoring and maintaining historic fire-regulated communities: Appalachian Dry-Mesic Oak, Appalachian Shortleaf Pine, and Dry-Xeric Oak Biophysical Settings

Categorya Combined Fuel Loadingb Duff Layerc Vegetative Indicatord

FL1 FL2 FL3 DL1 DL2 DL3 VI1 VI2 VI3

C

Condition Condition Condition Fuel Loading is less than 4 tons per acre over 50 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Fuel Loading is between 4 and 10 tons per acre over 50 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Fuel Loading is greater than 10 tons per acre over 50 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Duff Layer is less than 1 inches over 20 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Duff Layer is between 1 and 3 inches over 50 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Duff Layer is greater than 3 inches over 50 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Seedling count is greater than 600 desirable stems per acre within 1 year post burn

Seedling count is between 300 and 600 desirable stems per acre within 1 year post burn

Seedling count is less than 300 desirable stems per acre within 1 year post burn

I

Intensity Intensity Intensity Implement when 10 hour fuel moistures are greater than 13

Implement when 10 hour fuel moistures are between 10 and 13


Reduce intensity by implementing when duff moistures are greater than 100 percent

Maintain or Increase intensity by implementing when duff moistures are between 70 and 100 percent

Maintain or Increase intensity by implementing when duff moistures are between 30 and 70 percent

Reduce intensity by implementing when fuel moistures are greater than last burn

Reduce intensity by implementing when fuel moistures are greater than last burn

Maintain or Increase Intensity Through weather and fuel conditions

Where natural generation of pine seedlings are found, employ control lines to exclude areas containing seedlings from next implementation.

T

Timing Timing Timing Implement during growing season

Implement During dormant or growing season

Implement during growing season

Implement during dormant or growing season





Implement During dormant or growing season

F

Frequency Frequency Frequency Implement next burn after a minimum of 8 years

Implement next burn between 6 and 7 years

Implement next burn within 4-5 years

Implement next burn after a minimum of 8 years





Implement next burn within 4-5 ears

a FL = Fuel Loading, DL = Duff Layer, V I=Vegetative Indicator; C = Condition, I = Intensity, T = Timing, F = Frequency. Example: CDL1 = Condition, Duff Layer 1 b Combined fuel loading tons per acre does not include larger than 3-inch diameter dead fuels as they are not likely to be consumed during normal environmental conditions. c Duff Layer is representative of both the fermentation (Oe) and humus(Oi) layers of decomposing materials between the litter layer and mineral soil Maintenance of the Oe + Oa layers

is critical for site nutrient retention and soil stabilization (Elliott, Vose, and Clinton, 2002). d Where seedling count is reference as an indicator; the species would vary dependent on the BPS for the plot location, with the count being representative of desirable species for

each BPS.

Silv icultural Resources

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Table 6 - Trigger points for restoring and maintaining historic fire-regulated communities: Mixed Mesophytic and Conifer-Northern Hardwood Biophysical Settings

Category d Combined Fuel Loading a Duff Layer b Vegetative Indicator c FL1 FL 2 FL 3 DL1 DL2 DL3 VI1 VI2 VI3

C

Condition Condition Condition Fuel Loading is less than 3 tons per acre over 50 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Fuel Loading is between 3 and 8 tons per acre over 50 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Fuel Loading is greater than 8 tons per acre over 50 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Duff Layer is less than 1 inch over 20 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Duff Layer is between 1 and 2 inches over 50 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Duff Layer is greater than 2 inches over 50 percent of area within 1 year post burn

Overstory Mortality of less than 2 percent of area with isolated torching within 1 year post burn

Overstory Mortality is between 2 and 5 percent of area and less than 5 acre pockets within 1 year post burn

Overstory Mortality is greater than 5 percent of area or pockets greater than 5 acres within 1 year post burn

I

Intensity Intensity Intensity Implement when 10 hour fuel moistures are greater than 13



Reduce intensity by implementing when duff moistures are greater than 100 percent

Maintain or increase intensity by implementing when duff moistures are between 70 and 100 percent

Maintain or increase intensity by implementing when duff moistures are between 30 and 70 percent

Implement when 10 hour fuel moistures are greater than 13



T

Timing Timing Timing Implement during growing season






F

Frequency Frequency Frequency Implement next burn after a minimum of 8 years









a Combined fuel loading tons per acre does not include larger than 3-inch diameter dead fuels as they are not likely to be consumed during normal environmental conditions. b Duff Layer is representative of both the fermentation (Oe) and humus(Oi) layers of decomposing materials between the litter layer and mineral soil Maintenance of the Oe + Oa layers is critical for site nutrient retention and soil stabilization (Elliott, Vose, and Clinton, 2002). c Where seedling count is reference as an indicator; the species would vary dependent on the BPS for the plot location, with the count being representative of desirable species for each BPS. d FL = Fuel Loading, DL = Duff Layer, V I=Vegetative Indicator; C = Condition, I = Intensity, T = Timing, F = Frequency. Example: CDL1 = Condition, Duff Layer 1


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http://basenet.fs.fed.us/

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