Helena – Lewis and Clark National Forest Tenmile –South Helena Project

Proposed Alternative 4 - Appendix B: Terminology 1

Tenmile – South Helena Proposed Alternative 4

Appendix B: Terminology November 14, 2016

Below are descriptions of proposed treatments and road activities included in alternative 4.

Treatment Types

Regeneration Harvest: This harvesting technique creates new age classes, resulting in uneven-aged, 2-aged, or even-aged stands. There are three types of regeneration harvest: clearcutting with reserve trees, seedtree with reserve trees, and shelterwood with leave trees. Harvest type and single or group tree selection depends on the tree species and desired regeneration. For 1 or 2-aged systems, most of the overstory is removed and the stand is dominated by new regeneration. For 3-aged systems, only single trees or small groups are removed, with regeneration established in gaps.

Clearcut with Reserve Trees: Dead and dying lodgepole pine would be cut and removed. Most overstory trees would be removed. Leave trees may be retained for snags or structure; leave trees are defined site specifically with prescriptions. Other live conifers would be retained when they occur; primarily Douglas-fir with spruce and subalpine fir. These units would naturally regenerate with lodgepole pine resulting in even-aged stands.

Figure 1. Example of clearcut with reserve trees post treatment.

Helena – Lewis and Clark National Forest Tenmile –South Helena Project

Proposed Alternative 4 - Appendix B: Terminology 2

Seedtree with Reserve Trees: Dead and dying lodgepole pine trees would be removed. Well-distributed healthy Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine would be retained at a rate of about 10-20 trees per acre to provide seed for regeneration. Natural regeneration would be promoted, though ponderosa may be planted. A mix of lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and/or whitebark pine regeneration is expected that contributes to landscape diversity in species composition and density. The seed trees would be left as reserves.

Shelterwood with Reserve Trees: A mix of dead and dying lodgepole and other tree species would be cut except those needed to provide seed and shelter for regeneration. A group shelterwood would be left in a clumpy distribution. Live trees would be retained at about 20 to 50 trees per acre in a clumpy distribution made up of mostly healthy Douglas-fir to provide seed and shelter for seedlings. Natural regeneration would be promoted, though planting may occur for species diversity

Figure 2. Example of seedtree with reserve tree post treatment.

Figure 3. Example of shelterwood with reserve trees post treatment.

Helena – Lewis and Clark National Forest Tenmile –South Helena Project

Proposed Alternative 4 - Appendix B: Terminology 3

Improvement Harvest: This harvest technique is typically located within dry or mixed forests throughout the project area. Prescriptions are designed to enhance growth, quality, vigor, and composition of a stand after establishment by thinning from below and removing overstory trees (i.e., “crown thinning”). Density, structure, and/or composition of the stand are altered. The stand maintains a forested appearance as substantial amounts of healthy and live trees would be retained within units. The potential for a crown fire is also reduced. Removal methods in most cases include the use of mechanical equipment and/or potentially helicopter to a lesser extent.

Precommercial Thinning: These types of treatment are located in young plantations established from past harvest that are typically composed of small diameter trees and contain roughly 400 to 2,500 trees per acres. Treatments would focus on thinning young stands leaving about 100 - 200 trees per acre of the best-formed trees. Species such as ponderosa pine, whitebark pine, and aspen would be favored where they occur. This would enhance growth and vigor and reduce the long-term risk of mountain pine beetle caused mortality. The limbs and tops of the fallen trees may be lopped and scattered to speed decomposition. Hand or machine piling and burning of piles would be completed where the fuel loading is an unacceptable risk.

Aspen enhancement: Treatments in mature and young stands would release existing aspen from conifer competition and promote the regeneration and spread of aspen clones. Conifers within and surrounding aspen clones would be either removed or killed and left standing. In addition to providing browse for wildlife and extending the life of the clone, fire suppression efforts would be enhanced because of the relative fire resistance of aspen stands. Cut tree diameter limits and cutting distance from aspen would be established and defined in site-specific stand and unit prescriptions.

Figure 4. Example of improvement harvest post treatment.

Figure 5. Example of precommercial thinning treatment post treatment.

Helena – Lewis and Clark National Forest Tenmile –South Helena Project

Proposed Alternative 4 - Appendix B: Terminology 4

Shaded Fuel Break: The purpose of this treatment is to reduce the potential for crown fire within forested stands and provide locations where wildfires could be more easily and safely managed. Silvicultural prescriptions would be developed on a site-specific basis and would consider slope, topography, aspect, forest type, stand composition, and expected fire behavior adjacent to the fuel break. Prescriptions would include hand and/or mechanical removal of dead trees, pruning 6 to 8 feet from the ground (as needed) to increase canopy spacing and reduce ladder fuels. Slash created would be piled by hand or mechanically, and broadcast or jackpot burned where feasible to reduce surface fuel loading. Generally the residual stand would be comprised of the largest, most fire-resistant trees (ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir), with basal areas ranging from 20 to 60 square feet and spacing between crowns of 30 to 60 feet, with a generally maintained park-like structure. Stands consisting of dead lodgepole pine could have wider spacing depending on the extent of mortality within a stand; live windfirm trees would be retained as available, and subsequent forest regeneration would be managed to develop the desired stand structure.

Figure 9. Example of shaded fuel break post treatment.

Figure 6. Example of aspen stand pretreatment. Figure 7. Example of aspen enhancement post treatment.

Figure 8. Example of shaded fuel break post treatment.

Helena – Lewis and Clark National Forest Tenmile –South Helena Project

Proposed Alternative 4 - Appendix B: Terminology 5

Private Land Buffer: This treatment is intended to create shaded fuel breaks (see shaded fuel break description) that would facilitate wildfire suppression activities adjacent to private property boundaries, evacuation routes and infrastructure. Treatment could extend from 100 to 200 yards from private boundaries onto National Forest System lands depending on such factors as topography, aspect, slope, configuration (size and spacing) of private inholdings, and expected fire behavior in adjacent stands. Silvicultural prescriptions would be developed, in coordination with private landowners when feasible, for each unit that would incorporate site-specific considerations such as natural fuel breaks, topography, aspect, stand composition, expected fire behavior, and all design criteria for the project. Implementation of private land buffer units would be conducted by the Forest Service in coordination with private landowners when feasible. There would likely be opportunities for neighboring landowners to enter into agreements with the Forest Service to assist in and expedite completion of treatments however in all situations the Forest Service would oversee all prescriptions and implementation activities.

Figure 10. Example of private land buffer pretreatment.

Prescribed Burning: Treatments that utilize fire to accomplish a variety of goals, primarily fuels reduction and vegetation restoration. This treatment type includes the rearrangement of fuels which comprises the use of mechanized equipment for the removal of hazard trees, heavy concentrations of slash / jackstraw trees, and slashing understory vegetation prior to prescribed burning. Also included is broadcast-burning such as low-severity prescribe burning, a larger-scale burning technique with the purpose of reducing hazardous fuels and restoring appropriate fire regimes to the landscape. Aerial ignition, by heli-torch or plastic sphere dispenser (PSD), may be used to reduce the amount of personnel needed, mitigate safety concerns related to snags and hand igniters. Low-Severity prescribed burning: Low-severity prescribed burning is used to improve dry forests and grass-shrub areas. In forest areas, savannah conditions would be created with understory ladder fuels and crown fire potential reduced by the treatments. In non-forest areas, encroaching conifers would be reduced. Mechanical and hand rearrangement of fuels would occur, with trees strategically slashed or thinned to facilitate prescribed burning. Direct mortality <5%, indirect mortality <10%, and <1 acre mortality patches may occur in the overstory. Objectives include reducing fine woody debris (<3” diameter), reducing duff fuel

Figure 11. Example of private land buffer post treatment.

Helena – Lewis and Clark National Forest Tenmile –South Helena Project

Proposed Alternative 4 - Appendix B: Terminology 6

loading while minimizing exposure of soil (<10%), and retaining most coarse woody debris (>3” diameter) for nutrient cycling and wildlife habitat.

Jackpot Burn: Jackpot burning would be conducted to consume concentrations of natural fuels and/or treatment-generated slash. Pre-positioning of fuels mechanically or by hand may be done to facilitate this activity. This activity may involve burning loose piles or areas of slash where fuels are not continuous. This would cause generally <10% mortality in the residual overstory, and burn patches would cover 30-50% of the ground surface.

Pile Burn: Hand or mechanical piling of fuels, generally follows slashing or harvest where slash disposal is needed but broadcast burning is not feasible or desirable. Slash would generally be burned when conditions are favorable, after curing. Target amounts of slash may be left to meet woody debris and nutrient cycling goals.

Figure 13. Example of low-severity prescribed burning post treatment.

Figure 14. Example of jackpot burn.

Figure 15. Example of pile burn before ignition.

Figure 12. Example of low-severity prescribed burning during treatment.

Helena – Lewis and Clark National Forest Tenmile –South Helena Project

Proposed Alternative 4 - Appendix B: Terminology 7

Slashing: Cutting generally smaller diameter trees mechanically or with chainsaws. Slashing is used to reduce ladder fuels to lower crown fire potential; to create sufficient surface fuels to carry a prescribed fire and/or to add fuels to meet woody debris goals for nutrient cycling. Prescriptions may call for the retention of certain species (such as ponderosa or limber pine), or a desired spacing in order to meet target stand conditions.

Site Preparation burn: Burning following harvest where the bulk of the canopy was removed. The goal is to reduce logging slash and prepare the site for regeneration. It is a low to moderate intensity fire where direct and indirect mortality of leave trees is <5% (reserve, shelter, or seed trees left are minimal and a high priority to protect). The goals are to reduce fine woody debris (<3” diameter), reduce duff fuel loadings, expose 5-25% mineral soil, & retain most coarse woody debris (>3” diameter) for nutrient cycling, seedling microsites, and wildlife habitat. Additional objectives include generating heat to open serotinous cones and reduce competing vegetation. Units targeting whitebark pine regeneration would have mixed severity effects; units targeting other species would have low-severity effects.

Roads

Road Maintenance: The intention of road maintenance is to keep the road in a condition that meets Best Management Practices standards, minimizes impacts to water resources, and allows for safe timber haul. Road maintenance activities would include surface blading, vegetation removal, minor slump repair, and drainage structure cleaning and/or installation.

Road Reconstruction: The intention of road reconstruction is to improve road conditions to meet Best Management Practices standards, minimize impacts to water resources, and allow for safe timber haul. In addition to basic maintenance activities (listed above), reconstruction would also involve more significant roadway improvements, such as realignment, curve widening, or subgrade boulder or cobble excavation and removal.

Figure 16. Example of slashing before ignition.

Figure 17. Example of site preparation burn.

Helena – Lewis and Clark National Forest Tenmile –South Helena Project

Proposed Alternative 4 - Appendix B: Terminology 8

Temporary Road Construction: Temporary roads for the Tenmile – South Helena Project would be improved or constructed to the minimum standard needed to provide access for harvesting equipment and log trucks, while minimizing impact to water resources. These roads would be decommissioned after harvest activities are completed.

Haul Road: Road used during project implementation to haul wood products.

Road Closure Methods and Administrative Use: Closure methods on routes closed to the public for motorized use include the following six categories:

1. Barrier Only - Road remains on the travel route system, but is closed to all motorized use. Road surface would be stabilized but culverts remain in place. Administrative motorized use would be allowed with permit.

2. Barrier and Storage - Road remains on the travel route system, but is closed to all motorized use and placed into long-term storage. Road surface would be stabilized, culverts removed, and stream courses restored to natural contours. Administrative motorized use would generally not be possible. Road could be taken out of storage status through future National Environmental Policy Act decision.

3. Emergency Access Route - Route would be decommissioned from system. Route surface and drainage would be stabilized and blocked with downed trees and/or fencing. Administrative motorized use would not be allowed. However, route template would remain on landscape to provide emergency (wildfire suppression) access.

4. Full Obliteration - Road would be decommissioned from the system and fully obliterated, including recontouring where appropriate, decompaction/ripping, revegetation, culvert removal, re-establishment of natural drainage contours. No future administrative use possible.

5. Obliteration with non-motorized system trail - Road would be decommissioned from the system and fully obliterated as described above in #4, with non-motorized system trail left in place using Forest Service non-motorized trail specifications. No future motorized administrative use possible.

6. Obliteration with non-system, single track - Road would be decommissioned from system and fully obliterated as described above in #4, with non-motorized non-system track left in place to allow for livestock and other informal access. No future motorized administrative use possible.