Draftelliott State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Draft Elliott State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan AUGUST 2008 Prepared by: Oregon Department of Forestry Acronyms and Abbreviations AIP Aquatics Inventories Project BGEPA Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act AOP Annual Operations Plan BLM Bureau of Land Management BMP Best Management Practice BOF Board of Forestry BOFL Board of Forestry Land CA conservation area CFR Code of Federal Regulations cfs cubic feet per second CSA Conservation Support Area CSF Common School Fund CSFL Common School Forest Land DBH diameter breast height DEQ Oregon Department of Environmental Quality DFC desired future condition DO dissolved oxygen DSL Oregon Department of State Lands EIS Environmental Impact Statement ESA Endangered Species Act ESU evolutionarily significant unit FIA Forest Inventory and Analysis FMP Forest Management Plan FPA Forest Practices Act FPFO Forestry Program for Oregon FVS Forest Vegetation Simulator GIS geographic information system GPS global positioning system HAS headwater amphibian species HCP Habitat Conservation Plan HU harvest unit IP Implementation Plan ITP Incidental Take Permit LC50 50 percent lethal concentration LWD large woody debris MBF thousand board feet MBTA Migratory Bird Treaty Act MMBF million board feet MMMA Marbled Murrelet Management Area MOCA Managed Owl Conservation Area NEPA National Environmental Policy Act n number of samples NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service Public Review Draft Elliott State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan i Acronyms and Abbreviations – continued NSO Recovery Plan Final Draft Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl NTP natural thermal potential OAR Oregon Administrative Rule OCFWRU Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit ODF Oregon Department of Forestry ODFW Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife ORS Oregon Revised Statute QMD quadratic mean diameter RMA Riparian Management Area ROOTS Reforestation Organization Operations Tracking System SE standard error SDI stand density index Services U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service SLI Stand Level Inventory SNC Swiss needle cast disease SUV steep, unique, or visual land T&E core threatened and endangered core TMDL total maximum daily load USC United States Code USDI U.S. Department of the Interior USFS U.S. Forest Service USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service °C degrees Celsius °F degrees Fahrenheit ii July 2008 Acronyms and Abbreviations Public Review Draft Elliott State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan iii Acknowledgements This Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) was developed through a team effort of many talented individuals from government agencies, organizations, and the public. The hard work and expertise of this team has led to an HCP that will guide management of the Elliott State Forest into the future. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to all who participated in the planning process. The core team, steering committee, and other resource specialists are all current or former Oregon Department of Forestry employees, except where otherwise noted. Specifically, I wish to thank: Steering Committee Members Dan Shults (Chair), Southern Oregon Area Director Ray Craig, Steve Thomas, Jim Paul, and Nancy Hirsch, Assistant State Forester John Lilly and Steve Purchase, Department of State Lands, Assistant Directors Mike Bordelon, Ross Holloway Lisa DeBruyckere, Nancy Hirsch, and Mike Cafferata, State Forests Program Directors Jim Young, Coos District Forester and Project Leader Mike Schnee and Barbara Lee, Policy and Planning Managers Cary Greenwood and Dan Postrel, Agency Affairs Directors Steve Denney, ODFW Southwest Region Director Ian Whitlock, Michele Logan, and Jas Adams, Department of Justice John Griffith, Coos County Commissioner Rick Howell, South Coast Education Service District Superintendent Core Planning Team Members Jim Young, Project Leader Greg Kreimeyer, Coos District Representative Larry Sprouse, Robert Fields, and Jennifer Wright, Project Coordinators Marcia Humes, Wildlife Biologist Logan Jones, Planning Coordinator Mike Schnee and Barbara Lee, Policy and Planning Managers Jeff Brandt, Adaptive Management Unit Manager and Research and Monitoring Coordinator Liz Dent, Riparian and Aquatic Specialist John Seward, Geotechnical Specialist Doug Robin, Silviculturalist Jane Hope and Roger Welty, Planning Specialists Jasen King, Project Technical Writer Jeff Foreman, Public Information Officer Randy Smith, Wildlife Biologist Marnie Allbritten, Wildlife Biologist (ODFW) Howard Crombie, Tom Loynes, and Alan Ritchey, Fisheries Biologists (ODFW) iv August 2008 Acknowledgements Additional Resource Specialists Randy Smith, Mike Wilson, and Matt Gostin, Wildlife Specialists Dan Clough, Watershed Assessment John Seward, Jason Hinkle, and Keith Mills, Geotechnical Specialists Gary Lettman, Social & Economics Specialist Pam Overhulser, Forest Analyst/Harvest Modeling Dr. John Sessions, OSU, Harvest Modeling Norma Kline and Robert Fields, Harvest Modeling Chris Bradbury, Lisa Zwart, and Ryan Miller, GIS Specialists Terry Leischner, Mapping/Stand Level Inventory Mike DeLaune and Dave Enck, Stand Level Inventory Alan Kanaskie, Forest Pathologist Dave Overhulser, Forest Entomologist Liz Dent, Riparian and Aquatic Specialist Jon Germond and Rod Krahmer, ODFW Kevin Maurice, Brian Cox, Lee Folliard, and, Richard Szlemp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Frank Bird and Chuck Wheeler, National Marine Fisheries Service Consultants Kate Lighthall, Technical Writer Linda Lamb, Writing Consultant Bonnie Dash, Technical Editor, Envirocal Mike Schnee, Primary Negotiator, Michael Schnee Consulting In any attempt to acknowledge a body of contributors, some names inevitably will be omitted. I apologize to any individual whom I have neglected to acknowledge for this project. We greatly appreciate the contributions of all those who participated in developing this HCP. Marvin D. Brown Oregon State Forester Public Review Draft Elliott State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan v Table of Contents Front Material Acronyms and Abbreviations.................................................................................................. i Acknowledgments................................................................................................................ iv Map Section Elliott State Forest Vicinity Map Elliott State Forest Ownership Some of Coos County’s Major Forest Fires Elliott State Forest Management Basins Elliott State Forest Conservation Areas Chapters Executive Summary ES.1. Background......................................................................................................... ES-2 ES.2. Purpose ............................................................................................................... ES-3 ES.3. The Forest........................................................................................................... ES-4 ES.4. Goals................................................................................................................... ES-5 ES.5. Alternatives Considered....................................................................................... ES-6 ES.6. Proposed Approach – Alternative 2 ..................................................................... ES-7 ES.7. Implementation.................................................................................................... ES-9 ES.8. Achievements .....................................................................................................ES-10 Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1. Purpose .................................................................................................................. 1-1 1.2. Goals...................................................................................................................... 1-2 1.3. Covered Species..................................................................................................... 1-3 1.4. Scope of the Incidental Take Permit ....................................................................... 1-5 1.4.1. Permit Period and Area............................................................................. 1-5 1.4.2. Type of Take ............................................................................................ 1-5 1.4.3. Covered Activities .................................................................................... 1-6 Public Review Draft Elliott State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan vi Table of Contents (continued) Chapter 2. Legal Context 2.1. Legal and Policy Mandates for Western Oregon State Forests................................. 2-1 2.1.1. Common School Forest Lands .................................................................. 2-1 2.1.2. Department of State Lands Asset Management Plan.................................. 2-1 2.1.3. Board of Forestry Lands ........................................................................... 2-2 2.1.4. Forest Management Plans ......................................................................... 2-2 2.1.5. Forestry Program for Oregon.................................................................... 2-3 2.2. Regulatory Framework........................................................................................... 2-4 2.2.1. Endangered Species Act ........................................................................... 2-4 2.2.2. National Environmental Policy Act ........................................................... 2-5 2.3. Federal Plans and Rules .........................................................................................