Southwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management Plan – 2013 3.2. Fire Management Considerations for Specific Fire Management Units 3.2.1. Bear Creek FMU Snap Shot FMU Number: 001 Radio Frequency: Refer to Rogue River-Siskiyou NF Frequency List and Coverage Maps General Risk Category: High Fire Behavior Indicator: Burning Index (BI). Pocket Cards available at: RSF Interior - BI Pocket Card RSF Interior - ERC Pocket Card NFDRS Weather Station: Interior Special Interest Group (SIG) 1. Bald Knob RAWS 2. Long Prairie RAWS 3. Agness 2 RAWS Nearest Weather Station: Buckhorn Springs RAWS Acres/Agency/Land Use Allocation: Wildland Bear Creek Urban Grand Total FMU Interface USFS 23,001 23,001 BLM 20,457 20,457 PV 174,318 174,318 State 967 967 Totals 218,743 218,743 Predominant Vegetation Types: Vegetation complexes generally flow from grass shrub in heavily developed valley bottoms, to a mix of chaparral shrublands with timber litter in the mid elevations, and timber understory with heavy dead and down in the uplands. Unit: Rogue River-Siskiyou NF, Medford BLM, ODF SW District IA Dispatch Office: Medford Interagency Communications Center (MICC) Medford ODF – ODF responsible for fire suppression on Medford BLM lands Medford ODF Communities adjacent or within FMU: Medford, Ashland, Jacksonville, Central Point, Phoenix and Talent LMP Options available for response to ignition: Full range of management responses (from suppression to monitoring), including use of wildland fire for resource benefit Page 44 of 342 Southwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management Plan – 2013 Full suppression Special safety considerations: Explosives storage container at Mt. Ashland Ski area Diesel and propane tanks located at the Mt. Ashland Ski Area Page 45 of 342 Southwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management Plan – 2013 Page 46 of 342 Southwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management Plan – 2013 3.2.2. FMU Guidance – See Section 3.1 3.2.3. FMU Characteristics 3.2.3.1. Safety Remote area conditions exist Poor and hazardous road conditions exist Steep slopes exist in some areas Cell phone and radio reception may be unreliable Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) exists throughout the entire FMU 3.2.3.2. Physical This FMU is essentially all wildland urban interface and includes the larger communities of Medford, Ashland, and Jacksonville which are designated as communities at risk. The Bear Creek FMU encompasses all of the Ashland Municipal Watershed. The Ashland Research Natural Area is located in the northern part of the Ashland Watershed, and the Mt. Ashland Ski area lies in the southern portion. There are several buildings located near or at the ski area, some of which have diesel and propane tanks. Other communities include White City, Central Point, Talent and Phoenix. Some portions of this area are in a developed agricultural state of which some would be conducive to burning. All the areas in these fuel complexes are intermixed ownership mainly private and BLM. 3.2.3.3. Biological Wildlife: Category A: Complete Protection Townsend’s big-eared bat is found in the FMU. See GIS data and fauna observations. Category A: Complete Protection Overstory and understory need protection, no disturbance. Keep crews out of caves and mines. These include: Bat Caves and Mines Category B: Overstory Protection Light underburn is acceptable. Need to protect large trees, snags, logs, and canopy. Bald Eagle Nest Sites Golden Eagle Nest Sites Northern Spotted Owl Nest Sites Known Spotted Owl Activity Centers Great Gray Owl Reproductive Sites Page 47 of 342 Southwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management Plan – 2013 Category C: Protect from Surface Disturbance No fire lines, roads, fire camps, heavy equipment. Mardon Skipper Sites Fisheries: Coho salmon (Onchorynchus kisutch), fall Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), summer and winter steelhead (O. mykiss), and Pacific lamprey (Entoshpenus tridentatus) are native anadromous fish species present in the Bear Creek FMU. Steelhead are known to occur in the Neil Creek, and Horn Gulch (Wagner Creek) drainages. Within USFS lands all other fish bearing waters within the FMU exclusively support resident trout populations. Botany: Most critical botanical resource concern when suppressing fires in this FMU: Do not build dozer line on the Forest boundary (Rogue/Klamath divide) from the summit of Mt. Ashland westward along the main ridge 1 mile toward Grouse Gap. Do not stage fire suppression activities from this summit and ridge either. This summit and ridge hosts the world’s largest populations of Lupinus lepidus ssp. ashlandensis (Mt. Ashland lupine) and Horkelia hendersonii (Henderson’s horkelia). The location is T40S, R1E, Sec 20, NE ¼ of the NE ¼, Sec 17 south ½, Sec 21 NW ¼ of the NW ¼. UTM coordinates at the midpoint of this 1-mile strip are 4659013 (N), and 522720 (E). Other botanical resources that could be damaged by suppression activities in this FMU (including noxious weed issues specific to this FMU): o Ashland Research Natural Area and McDonald Peak Botanical Area are present. o Engelmann Spruce (rare in the Klamath Mtns. and rare this far south) occupies 6-7 miles of stream reaches in the East Fork Ashland Creek watershed. A large dalmation toadflax (noxious weed) population occurs at T39S, R1E, Sec 28, SW ¼ of the NE ¼. Other rare plant and noxious weed locations to be avoided in this FMU can be located in the GIS Reference Data. 3.2.3.4. Resources Cultural Resources: Page 48 of 342 Southwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management Plan – 2013 The impacts to all cultural resources will be mitigated, as set forth in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Dispatch resource specialist to direct handline and dozer line around historic sites/features. Cultural resource sites (both archeological sites and historic sites) have been recorded on BLM lands within the Bear Creek FMU. The Rich Gulch Diggings Mining Ensemble National Register site is located within the corporate boundary of Jacksonville, OR. The legal description is Section 31 T. 37S R. 2W. Ten (10) acres of this ensemble are on BLM lands. Fire fighting operations or ground disturbing activities have the greatest chance of impacting this area which contains intact segments of ditch, man-made ravines, tailings piles, roadway reservoir and headgate, and glory holes. Other types of cultural resource sites known to exist in this FMU include archeological lithic sites, historic trails, mining tailings, and mining ditches. These site types are at greatest risk from fire fighting operations or ground disturbing activities. Historic cabins or other wooden buildings associated with mining sites, homesteads, etc. are also known to be present in this FMU. In addition to potential impacts from fire fighting operations or ground disturbing activities, these wooden structures are at risk from the fire itself. Suppression Constraints: Collecting artifacts from public lands is illegal. That means do NOT collect such items as arrowheads, grinding stones, bottles, insulators as well as all other cultural artifacts. Instead, note the location of these items on a map (GPS if possible) and report information to a resource advisor or to the BLM District Archeologist. If prehistoric artifacts (such as arrowheads, grinding stones etc.) are found during fireline construction and/or other ground-disturbing activities that will receive heavy firefighter traffic, do collect the item; note the location on a map (GPS if possible) and turn the item in to a resource advisor or BLM District Archeologist. Please leave contact information with collected items should there be any questions about the location. Regardless of whether or not they currently flow water, do NOT breach mining or other ditches. Timber and Silviculture: Values: Stands where trees average 20 inches or greater in diameter and crown closure reaches 60 percent or greater. Stands Page 49 of 342 Southwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management Plan – 2013 receiving above average silvicultural investments for the purposes of research, genetics and seed production. Objectives: Suppress all crown and canopy fires. Limit or suppress all fires where scorching and bole damage are potential. Suppression constraints: No restrictions on retardant. Limit bole damage by mechanized suppression efforts. No restrictions on low – moderate severity back burns/burn-outs. Special Areas: Holton Creek Research Natural Area, 423 acres Values: Natural systems and late successional forest communities. Objectives: Maintain natural system and watershed processes, however protect from stand replacing wildfire. Suppression constraints: Dispatch resource specialist. No heavy equipment or vehicles off existing roads; no dozer lines in the RNA. No restrictions on hand lines, low to moderate severity back burns/burnouts, or fire retardant/ foam. Cascade Siskiyou National Monument Botanical Resources – 1,508 acres Values: There are eight (8) known sites for the federally listed Gentner’s fritillary containing about 196 plants on 8 acres. There are 78 sites for 6 Bureau sensitive species occupying about 1,500 acres. Of the 78 sites, 45 are for the Ashland thistle which occupies over 1,443 acres. The other 5 species have small scattered populations. Objectives: Protect federally listed plant sites from disturbance caused by fire suppression activities, and conserve Bureau sensitive plant sites. Low to moderate severity fire can benefit many of the special status plant species however ground disturbance (dozers, hand lines) within occupied habitat from suppression activities can