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Ringo Survey and Manage Botanical Report Prepared by: Christina Veverka Botanist for: Crescent Ranger District Deschutes National Forest August 4, 2017 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.) Survey and Manage Botanical Report Ringo Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 2 Resource Indicators and Measures ........................................................................................................ 2 Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 2 Affected Environment .............................................................................................................................. 4 Existing Condition ................................................................................................................................ 4 Environmental Consequences ................................................................................................................... 6 Alternative A – No Action .................................................................................................................... 6 Alternative B – Proposed Action .......................................................................................................... 6 Alternative C ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Regulatory Framework ............................................................................................................................. 9 Land and Resource Management Plan .................................................................................................. 9 Federal Law .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Other Guidance or Recommendations .................................................................................................. 9 Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 9 References Cited ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Appendix A. 2003 Survey & Manage Species List for the Deschutes Forest ........................................ 11 Tables Table 1. Survey and Manage botanical sites within the Ringo planning area. ............................................. 5 Table 2. Survey and Manage sites within treatment units - Proposed Action and Alternative ..................... 8 1 Survey and Manage Botanical Report Ringo Introduction This report documents the survey findings, project effects, and project recommendations regarding the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) Survey and Manage botanical species that occur within the Ringo project area. Considered in this document are those species from the bryophyte, lichen, fungi, and vascular plant groups identified in the Record of Decision and Standards and Guidelines for Amendments to the Survey and Manage, Protection Buffer, and other Mitigation Measures Standards and Guidelines (January 2001) and the 2003 species list that are known to occur or were found to occur during surveys in proposed Ringo treatment units. The Ringo project area lies partially within the area of the Northwest Plan, which was developed in 1994 to protect old-growth forest habitat and halt the decline of the northern spotted owl (USFS/USDI 1994). Included in the Northwest Forest Plan are the Survey and Manage Guidelines which lists over 400 species of invertebrates, fauna, fungi, lichens, and bryophytes that are associated with late-successional forests (USFS/USDI 2001). The inclusion of these species within the reserve network of the NWFP was the need to protect the suite of species associated with old-growth forests, and not just habitat for northern spotted owl (Molina 2008). As outlined in the 2001 Survey and Manage Guidelines, there are six categories of Survey and Manage species. These categories are based upon the practicality of conducting pre-disturbance surveys, the relative rarity of the species, and the understanding of their level of association with late-successional or old growth forests. The species are placed the following in categories as follow: Category A (Rare, Pre-Disturbance Surveys Practical) Manage All Known Sites, Pre-Disturbance Surveys. Category B (Rare, Pre-Disturbance Surveys Practical) Manage All Known Sites. Category C (Uncommon, Pre-Disturbance Surveys Practical) Manage High-Priority Sites, Pre- Disturbance Surveys. Category D (Uncommon, Pre-Disturbance Surveys NOT Practical or NOT Necessary) Manage High-Priority Sites. Category E (Rare, Status Undetermined) Manage All Known Sites. Category F (Uncommon or Concern for Persistence Unknown, Status Undetermined) Manage known sites is NOT a requirement for this category. o Strategic Surveys are required for all of the above categories. Due to the vast number of botanical species (297) in the 2003 species list, a sub-list was created for the Deschutes Forest based on those species that are either suspected or documented on the Forest. This list encompasses 81 species, of which 61 species require pre-disturbance surveys; those species in Categories A, B, and C (Appendix A). Resource Indicators and Measures The resource measure used in this analysis is the occurrences of Survey and Manage botanical species within the project planning area. Methodology Pre-field review - A pre-field review of the Forest Service NRIS database was conducted in June 2014 to determine whether there were known occurrences of any Survey and Manage botanical species within the 2 Survey and Manage Botanical Report Ringo Ringo Planning area. A review was also conducted of the ORBIC database for state records of rare botanical species within the planning area. Prior to botanical field surveys, a GIS analysis was conducted to determine where the highest potential habitat for Survey and Manage species was located within the planning area. This analysis used corporate GIS layers of aerial imagery, vegetation types and locations of large-diameter trees (e.g. old-growth forest stands), and identified Nesting, Roosting, and Foraging (NRF) areas to isolate areas of mixed conifer, old- growth forest stands. These stands were then field checked during the summer of 2014 to verify potential habitat, and a list compiled of those project units that would be targeted for Survey and Manage surveys. Potential habitat was identified throughout Odell Butte, which lies in the southern part of the Ringo area. Fungi surveys were focused on habitat on Odell Butte. Botanical Surveys - Survey and Manage Survey protocols included those from the Standard and Guidelines for Survey and Manage (2001 ROD) and Region 6 fungi survey protocols (Van Norman et. al 2011). These protocols specify that fungal surveys are required for habitat-disturbing activities within late-successional/old-growth forest habitat (e.g. large diameter trees, multi-storied canopies, large diameter woody debris and snags (USFS 1993). Each survey area within old-growth forest units received at least two survey visits at three week intervals during the spring and fall fruiting season for fungi. Spring surveys were conducted when at least 50% of the ground within the project unit was free of snow, with a second visit in the same project units when the snow had all melted but the ground surface was still moist. Fall surveys were initiated in September after precipitation had moistened the ground and mushroom fruiting was observed in project units. A second survey was conducted two to three weeks after the first survey to observe late-fruiting species. Surveys were discontinued once freezing night-time temperatures froze above-ground sporocarps (e.g. fruiting structures.) Surveys were started in September of 2014 and continued through May of 2016. Species Identification and Verification Many of the rare Survey and Manage fungi, particularly the coral fungi (Ramaria species) are taxonomically difficult to identify to species. Because of the importance of proper specimen identification, there is a joint Forest Service/Bureau of Land Management regional identification and verification service for rare plant specimens through the ISSSSP (Interagency Sensitive and Special Status Species Program). For the Ringo surveys, all Survey and Manage specimens that required species identification or verification were collected and submitted to the Inventory Coordinator at the Regional Office. All data collected for each specimen was entered into the Forest Service’s natural resource database (NRIS) and the specimens sent to the Mycological Herbarium at Oregon