Table Rocks Management Area Draft Management Plan
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TABLE ROCKS Butte Falls Resource Area MANAGEMENT AREA Draft Management Plan and The Nature Conservancy April 2012 TABLE ROCKS MANAGEMENT AREA DRAFT MANAGEMENT PLAN Butte Falls Resource Area Medford District Bureau of Land Management U.S. Department of the Interior Southwest Oregon Field Office The Nature Conservancy 2012 Table of Contents TABLE ROCKS MANAGEMENT PLAN ...................................................................................... 1 I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 3 A. Table Rocks Designation Background ...................................................................... 4 BLM ACEC Background ........................................................................................... 5 Conservancy Ownership Background ...................................................................... 6 B. Table Rocks ACEC and Conservancy Land Management Plan History ................... 7 C. Native American Tribal Interest ............................................................................... 8 D. Goals and Objectives ................................................................................................. 8 II. Area Description ............................................................................................................. 9 A. Location and Climate ................................................................................................ 9 B. Access ....................................................................................................................... 10 C. Visual Resources ...................................................................................................... 10 D. Geology ..................................................................................................................... 11 E. Minerals and Mining ............................................................................................... 12 F. Hydrology ................................................................................................................ 13 G. Soil ........................................................................................................................... 13 H. Botanical Resources ................................................................................................ 14 Open grasslands (California oatgrass valley grassland; Rogue-Umpqua upland grassland) ................................................................................................................ 17 Oregon white oak savanna ..................................................................................... 18 Chaparral (ceanothus chaparral; oak-ceanothus chaparral) ................................ 19 Pine-oak woodland ................................................................................................. 20 Mixed oak-madrone-conifer woodland ................................................................. 21 Vernal pool-mounded prairie (vernal pool-mounded prairie; vernally wet scablands/rocky intermounds) .............................................................................. 22 Special Habitats ...................................................................................................... 24 Nonvascular plants ................................................................................................. 25 Special Status Plants .............................................................................................. 27 Noxious Weeds and Nonnative Invasive Plants .................................................... 28 I. Wildlife ..................................................................................................................... 31 Special Status Wildlife Species .............................................................................. 32 J. Fire and Fuels ........................................................................................................... 34 Fire History and Risk ............................................................................................. 35 Fire Regime and Condition Class ........................................................................... 35 Fire Hazard ............................................................................................................. 37 Fire Suppression .................................................................................................... 37 K. Timber Harvest and Special Forest Products ......................................................... 39 L. Site History .............................................................................................................. 39 Prehistoric and Ethnographic ................................................................................ 39 Historic ................................................................................................................... 42 M. Rights-of-Way, Easements, and Leases ................................................................. 45 N. Manmade Features ................................................................................................. 47 Lower Table Rock ................................................................................................... 47 Upper Table Rock ................................................................................................... 51 i O. Recreational Use/Environmental Education/Safety ............................................. 54 Recreational Use .................................................................................................... 54 Environmental Education ...................................................................................... 58 Safety ...................................................................................................................... 60 P. Surrounding Land Use ............................................................................................ 60 III. Management Recommendations ................................................................................ 61 A. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 61 B. Boundary ................................................................................................................. 62 C. Visual Resources ...................................................................................................... 62 D. Minerals and Mining ............................................................................................... 62 E. Hydrology and Soil .................................................................................................. 63 F. Botanical Resources ................................................................................................. 63 G. Wildlife .................................................................................................................... 65 H. Fire and Fuels ......................................................................................................... 66 I. Cultural Resources and Uses .................................................................................... 66 J. Rights-of-way, Easements, and Leases ................................................................... 67 K. Recreational Use, Environmental Education, and Safety ...................................... 67 IV. Monitoring and Evaluation ......................................................................................... 70 Appendix A: Conservation Action Planning Process ...................................................... 73 Appendix B: BLM Visual Resource Management ............................................................ 89 Appendix C: Special Status Plant Species in the Table Rocks Management Area .......... 94 Appendix D: Special Status Wildlife Species in the Table Rocks Management Area ... 102 Glossary ........................................................................................................................... 107 References ....................................................................................................................... 108 Maps ................................................................................................................................. 111 ii Tables Table 1: Table Rocks Land Management ............................................................................ 7 Table 2: Watersheds Within the Table Rocks Management Area .................................... 13 Table 3: Soil Types in the Table Rocks Management Area .............................................. 14 Table 4: Plant Communities in the Table Rocks Management Area ................................ 16 Figures Figure 1: Oregon white oak savanna plant community. ................................................... 18 Figure 2: Chaparral plant community. ............................................................................. 20 Figure 3: Vernal pool-mounded prairie plant community. .............................................. 22 Figure 4: Dwarf wooly meadowfoam. ............................................................................... 27 Figure 5: Vernal pool fairy shrimp. ................................................................................... 33 Figure 6: Fire regime condition classes in the Table Rocks Management Area. ............. 36 Figure 7: Fire hazard ratings in the Table Rocks