Five-Year Review and Recommendations National Forests and Grasslands in Texas Revised Forest Land and Resource Management Plan September 2009 Needs Editing Table of Contents I. Introduction ............................................................................................. ...... 3 II. Area of Analysis ........................................................................................... 3 III. Management Review of Comprehensive Evaluation A. Summary of Findings ........................................................................ 4 B. Need for Change Determination ....................................................... 12 IV. Comprehensive Evaluation A Ecological ..................................................................................... 19 1. Vegetative Communities .......................................................... 19 2. Animal/Plant Habitats ............................................................... 27 3. Fish and Wildlife ........................................................................ 42 4. Soil and Water ......................................................................... 45 5. Riparian Habitats ...................................................................... 48 6. Insects and Disease .................................................................. 53 7. Wildfire Protection ..................................................................... 57 8. Air Quality ................................................................................. 59 B Social and Economic...................................................................... 60 1. Recreation ................................................................................. 60 2. Scenery...................................................................................... 69 3. Heritage .................................................................................... 71 4. Forest Products ......................................................................... 73 5. Minerals .................................................................................... 75 6. Grazing ..................................................................................... 81 7. Landownership and Special Uses ............................................. 82 8. Access/Travel Management ...................................................... 87 9. Collaboration.............................................................................. 92 10. Jobs and Income ...................................................................... 94 C Evaluation of New Information....................................................... 100 1. Emerging Issues........................................................................ 100 2. Changes in National/Regional Policy/Direction......................... 102 3. Annual Budgets 2003-2007………………………………………. 105 V. List of Preparers ........................................................................................ 108 VI. Literature Citation ..................................................................................... 109 - 2 - I. Introduction The National Forests and Grasslands in Texas’s (NFGT) Revised Forest Plan was signed in 1996, but an injunction was issued by Judge Schell on August 17, 1997 which prohibited the NFGT from engaging in timber harvesting under any method unless for insect or disease control, fire protection, or any other reason necessary to maintain the health of the forest land. The injunction was lifted by Judge Schell on July 25, 2003. This cleared the way for the NFGT to fully implement the provisions of the 1996 Revised Land and Resource Management Plan (the Plan) and to apply the standards and guidelines for managing Red-cockaded woodpecker habitat. As stated in 36 CFR 219.10(g) (1982 Planning Regulations), the Forest Supervisor shall review the conditions on the land covered by the Plan at least every five years to determine whether conditions or demands of the public have changed significantly. Now, after five years of implementing the 1996 Revised Plan, this new 2007 Five-Year Review and Recommendations report is being prepared. It differs somewhat in format from the 1990 5-Year Review, since it is for a Revised Plan instead of a new one II. Area of Analysis The area being analyzed in this report is the NFGT. The planning area consists of the Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine, and Sam Houston National Forests in east Texas, and the Caddo and Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands in north central Texas. There are approximately 675,808 National Forest acres in 12 counties. Approximately 38,100 acres of National Grasslands are located in 3 counties. The forests are within 2 hours driving distance of the Houston metropolitan area and within 4 hours driving distance of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The Forest Supervisor’s office located in Lufkin, Texas directs the management of these public lands. The forests have four ranger districts with offices in Milam, Zavalla, Ratcliff, and New Waverly, Texas. The Caddo and LBJ National Grasslands office is based in Decatur, Texas. - 3 - The 1996 Revised Forest Plan identifies the goals and objectives expected for the NFGT. It also allocates the land area to particular management area choices. Management areas are relatively large areas with unique locations having common management direction called management area prescriptions. Management area prescriptions are composed of specific activities or practices scheduled for application on the management area and designed to achieve stated objectives. Each prescription also has an associated set of standards and guidelines which provide rules, constraints, and the usual course of action needed to implement proposed activities. The management area prescription with its associated activities, practices, standards, and guidelines is the operational link in achieving the desired future condition (DFC) for a particular management area. III. Management Review of Comprehensive Evaluation A. Summary of Findings 1. Area of Analysis The area being analyzed in this report is the NFGT. The planning area consists of the Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine, and Sam Houston National Forests in east Texas, and - 4 - the Caddo and Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands in north central Texas. There are approximately 675,808 National Forest acres in 12 counties. Approximately 38,100 acres of National Grasslands are located in 3 counties. The Forests are within 2 hours driving distance of the Houston metropolitan area and within 4 hours driving distance of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The Forest Supervisor’s office located in Lufkin, Texas directs the management of these public lands. The Forests have four ranger districts with offices in Milam, Zavalla, Ratcliff, and New Waverly, Texas. The Caddo and LBJ National Grasslands office is based in Decatur, Texas. 2. Roles and Contributions The National Forests and Grasslands in Texas are located in 12 counties in east Texas and 3 counties in north central Texas. Below is a breakdown of National Forest acres by county. ACREAGE TOTALS BY FORESTS- BY COUNTIES Angelina Jasper San Augustine Nacogdoches Total Angelina 58,520.00 21,013.38 64,388.62 9,237.86 153,159.86 Trinity Houston Total Davy Crockett 67,313.14 93,319.42 160,632.56 San Aug. Sabine Shelby Jasper Newton Total Sabine 4,287.30 95,454.37 59,211.67 64.00 1,780.93 160,798.27 San Jac. Walker Montgomery Total Sam Houston 60,632.39 54,597.06 47,800.83 163,030.28 TOTAL NATIONAL FORESTS IN TEXAS 637,620.97 NATIONAL GRASSLANDS CADDO Acres Fannin 17,873.58 LBJ Acres Montague 61.00 Wise 20,251.63 TOTAL GRASSLANDS 38,186.21 - 5 - Acres on the NFGT changed slightly based on the disposal of work centers on the Davy Crockett, Sabine, and Sam Houston National Forests in 2006. 3. Ecological a. Red-cockaded Woodpecker There are 4 Red-Cockaded Woddpecker (RCW) Habitat Management Areas (HMAs) on the Forest. Each ranger district has one HMA that encompasses most of its forested land area. Populations of Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers on the forests are slightly increasing. Current management direction has been concentrated in the RCW HMAs. Management activities have been mainly thinning within mature sawtimber stands. These thinnings typically remove most of the mature loblolly trees and hardwoods, resulting in eventual restoration within these areas to longleaf and shortleaf pine. The forest is making steady progress toward its 2003 USFWS RCW Recovery Plan goal of two primary core populations (Sam Houston and Angelina/Sabine RCW populations) and one secondary core population (Davy Crockett RCW population). National Forests in Texas’s RCW population goals are: Sam Houston (goal = 350 active clusters, currently 178 active clusters), Angelina/Sabine (goal = 350 active clusters, currently 72 active clusters); and Davy Crockett (goal = 250 active clusters, currently 65 active clusters). b. Management Indicator Species Based on survey results of NFGT’s point-count monitoring, stable population densities have been ascertained for Yellow-throated Vireo, Acadian Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, whitetailed deer, and gray/fox squirrel and possible increasing population densities have been ascertained for Eastern Wild Turkey, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, and Yellow-breasted Chat. The NFGT tracks 26 rare plants. Each plant species falls into one of two categories of rarity: sensitive plants (22 species) and four federally-threatened plants (earthfruit, Navasota ladies’tresses, white bladderpod,