USFS Kruzof Island Landscape Assessment
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United States Department of Agriculture Kruzof Island Forest Service Landscape Assessment Tongass National Forest September 2006 Sitka Ranger District R10-MB-575 Sitka, Alaska Team: Martin Becker Team Leader; Hydrology, Soils, Geology Melissa Dinsmore Lands J. Perry Edwards Wildlife Resources, Subsistence Patrick Heuer Silviculture, Vegetation Jeremy Karchut Heritage Resources Ginny Lutz GIS Robert Miller Fisheries Mary Beth Nelson Recreation, Special Uses Michelle Putz Writer-Editor Morgan Sandall Roads Kruzof Island Landscape Assessment Key Acronyms and Other Terms ANILCA Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act BMPs Best Management Practices CEQ Council on Environmental Quality DEIS Draft Environmental Impact Statement FEIS Final Environmental Impact Statement FONSI Finding of No Significant Impact Forest Plan Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan, 1997 GIS Geographic Information System IDT Interdisciplinary Team LTF Log Transfer Facility LUD Land Use Designation MBF Thousand Board Feet MIS Management Indicator Species MMBF Million Board Feet MM-HAZ Mass Movement Hazard (category) NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NFMA National Forest Management Act NFS National Forest System OGR Old-growth Reserve POG Productive old-growth (forest) RCS Road Condition Survey RMAs Riparian Management Areas RMO Road Management Objective ROS Recreation Opportunity Spectrum SRI Sediment Risk Index SSLSA Sitka Sound Landscape Assessment TES Threatened, Endangered, Sensitive [species] TTRA Tongass Timber Reform Act VCU Value Comparison Unit VQO Visual Quality Objective WAA Wildlife Analysis Area Printed on Recycled Paper Cover photo: view of Mount Edgecumbe on Kruzof Island The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Table of Contents Chapter 1 – Introduction Management Direction for Landscape Assessments ....................................................... 1-1 The Purpose of the Kruzof Island Landscape Assessment .............................................. 1-1 The Assessment Area....................................................................................................... 1-2 Relationship to the Forest Plan ........................................................................................ 1-5 Chapter 2 – Issues and Key Questions Regarding the Biological Characteristics of the Assessment Area.................................. 2-1 Regarding the Human Dimensions of the Assessment Area ........................................... 2-2 Chapter 3 – Assessment Area Description, and Trends and Interpretation Physical Characteristics ................................................................................................... 3-1 Geographic Location.................................................................................................. 3-1 Climate....................................................................................................................... 3-2 Landscape Processes.................................................................................................. 3-3 Ecological Classification ........................................................................................... 3-4 Geology / Soils........................................................................................................... 3-7 Hydrology ................................................................................................................ 3-19 Biological Characteristics .............................................................................................. 3-35 Forest Vegetation and Timber Resources................................................................ 3-35 Fisheries ................................................................................................................... 3-45 Wildlife and Biological Diversity............................................................................ 3-61 Subsistence............................................................................................................... 3-86 Human Dimensions........................................................................................................ 3-91 Heritage Resources and Current Human Use .......................................................... 3-91 Transportation and Facilities.................................................................................... 3-99 Recreation Use and Facilities................................................................................. 3-112 Chapter 4 – Recommendations and Opportunities Introduction...................................................................................................................... 4-1 Soils.................................................................................................................................. 4-1 Hydrology and Fisheries.................................................................................................. 4-2 Forest Vegetation............................................................................................................. 4-3 Wildlife and Biological Diversity.................................................................................... 4-3 Heritage Resources .......................................................................................................... 4-5 Roads................................................................................................................................ 4-6 Recreation Use and Facilities........................................................................................... 4-8 Summary Recommendations by VCU........................................................................... 4-11 i Chapter 5 – Glossary and References Glossary ........................................................................................................................... 5-1 References...................................................................................................................... 5-11 Appendix A – Kruzof Island Landscape Assessment Public Involvement and Comments Received ii List of Tables Chapter 1 – Introduction Table 1-1. VCUs within the Assessment Area............................................................ 1-3 Table 1-2. Land Ownership for the Assessment Area................................................. 1-3 Table 1-3. Land Use Designations for the Assessment Area...................................... 1-7 Chapter 3 – Assessment Area Description, and Trends and Interpretation Table 3-1. Distribution of High Hazard Soils (MM-HAZ 3 and 4) in the Development LUDs of the Assessment Area and the Extent of Management Activities on Such Soils by Watershed ................................................................................................................................................3-11 Table 3-2. Gage Station Data................................................................................................3-20 Table 3-3. Assessment Area Watersheds - Key to Figure 3-11; Watershed Number and Name. ................................................................................................................................................3-22 Table 3-4. Stream Miles by Class and Process Group and Drainage Densities for Key Watersheds1 in Assessment Area...........................................................................................3-29 Table 3-5. Current SRI Ratings for Watersheds by LUD Type............................................3-32 Table 3-6. Management Activity Summaries by Watershed for the Assessment Area........3-33 Table 3-7: VCU Acres on National Forest System Lands in the Kruzof Island Landscape Assessment Area....................................................................................................................3-35 Table 3-8: Acres by Volume Strata, Stand Structure and Forest Productivity on National Forest System Land within the Kruzof Island Landscape Assessment Area.........................3-38 Table 3-9: Harvest History within the Kruzof Island Landscape Assessment Area by Year and VCU .......................................................................................................................................3-39 Table 3-10: Gaps, Thickets, Travel Corridors by VCU and Stand Number within the Kruzof Island Landscape Assessment Area.......................................................................................3-41 Table 3-11: Precommercial Thinning History within the Kruzof Island Landscape Assessment Area by Year and VCU..........................................................................................................3-42 Table