Croatan and Uwharrie National Forests
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United States Department of Agriculture Biennial Monitoring Evaluation Report for the Years 2016 and 2017 Uwharrie National Forest Croatan National Forest Uwharrie Ranger District Croatan Ranger District USDA Forest Service December 2018 Last edited: April 2019 This report was edited on April 11, 2019, to correct statements on pgs 8 and 62. For More Information Contact: Michelle Aldridge, Planning Staff Officer National Forests in North Carolina 160 Zillicoa Ave. Asheville, NC 828-257-4200 In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. 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Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: [email protected]. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. | Page 2 Table of Contents List of Tables and Figures ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 14 Section 1: Unit Level Monitoring .......................................................................................................................... 18 Category 1: The status of select watershed conditions. ......................................................................... 18 Category 2. The status of select ecological conditions including key characteristics of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems ................................................................................................................................. 28 Category 3. The status of focal species to assess the ecological conditions under 36 CFR 219.9 ........... 34 Category 4. The status of a select set of ecological conditions required under 36 CFR 219.9 to contribute to the recovery of federally listed threatened or endangered species, conserve proposed and candidate species, and maintain a viable population of species of conservation concern.............. 49 Category 5. The status of visitor use, visitor satisfaction, and progress toward meeting recreation objectives. ............................................................................................................................................... 59 Category 6. Measurable changes on the plan area related to climate change and other stressors ..... 64 Category 7. Social, Economic, and Cultural Sustainability must be addressed in the monitoring program ................................................................................................................................................................ 65 Category 8. The effects of each management system to determine that they do not substantially and permanently impair the productivity of the land (16 USC 1604(g)(3)(C). ............................................... 77 Section 2: Broad Scale Monitoring .................................................................................................................... 83 Category 6: Broad Scale: Measureable changes on the plan area related to climate change and other stressors that may be affecting the plan area. ........................................................................................ 83 Category 7. Broad-Scale: Social, Economic, and Cultural Sustainability must be addressed in the monitoring program.............................................................................................................................. 103 | Page 3 List of Tables and Figures Figures Figure 1A. Index of Biotic Integrity for the Uwharrie compared with other ownerships. ......................... 21 Figure 1B. EPT Rating for the Uwharrie compared with other ownerships ............................................... 21 Figure 3A. Trend in Relative Abundance of Brown-Headed Nuthatch across the Uwharrie National Forest, 1997-2016 (data source: R8Bird 2018). .......................................................................................... 37 Figure 3B. Trend in Relative Abundance of Scarlet Tanager in All Habitat Types across the Uwharrie National Forest, 1997-2016 (data source: R8Bird 2018). ........................................................................... 37 Figure 3C. Trend in Relative Abundance of Scarlet Tanager in Old Growth Habitats across the Uwharrie National Forest, 1997-2016 (data source: R8Bird 2018). ........................................................................... 37 Figure 3D. Trend in Relative Abundance of Brown Headed Cowbird in Old Growth Habitats across the Uwharrie National Forest, 1997-2016 (data source: R8Bird 2018). ........................................................... 38 Figure 3E. Trend in Relative Abundance of Acadian Flycatcher across the Uwharrie National Forest, 1997-2016 (data source: R8Bird 2018). ...................................................................................................... 39 Figure 3F. Trend in Relative Abundance of Pileated Woodpecker across the Uwharrie National Forest, 1997-2016 (data source: R8Bird 2018). ...................................................................................................... 39 Figure 3G. Trend in Relative Abundance of Pileated Woodpecker in All Habitat Types across the Uwharrie National Forest, 1997-2016 (data source: R8Bird 2018). ........................................................................... 40 Figure 3H. Trend in Relative Abundance of Northern Bobwhite Quail across the Uwharrie National Forest, 1997-2016 (data source: R8Bird 2018). .......................................................................................... 40 Figure 4A. Locations of Schweinitz’s Sunflower Management Areas (Uwharrie NF) ................................ 55 Figure 4B. Location of Longleaf Old Growth Patches on Uwharrie NF (UNC-Greensboro) ....................... 56 Figure 7A. Uwharrie: Locations of Prescribed Fires and the Wildland Urban Interface ............................ 72 Figure 7B Croatan: Locations of Prescribed Fires and the Wildland Urban Interface ................................ 73 Tables Table S1. Summary of Recommended Changes for Uwharrie NF by Monitoring Category ...................... 11 Table S2. Summary of Recommended Changes for the Croatan by Monitoring Category ....................... 12 Table Intro. Categories of monitoring questions and indicators based on the 2012 Planning Rule ........ 17 Table 1A: Monitoring Questions, Indicators, and Report Timing by National Forest for Category 1. ........ 19 Table 1B: Plan Components for Category 1 by National Forest ................................................................. 19 Figure 1C. EPT Biotic Index for the Uwharrie compared with other ownerships ...................................... 22 Table 1C. Watershed Condition Framework Evaluation for Uwharrie (6th level HUCs; 2011) ................. 23 Table 1D. Watershed Condition Framework Evaluation for Croatan (6th Level HUCs; 2011) .................... 23 Table 2A. Monitoring Questions, Indicators and Report Timing by National Forest for Category 2. ........ 28 Table 2B: Plan Components for Category 2 by National Forest ................................................................. 30 Table 2C. Activity in Selected Ecological Systems for Uwharrie NF (3-year) ............................................ 31 Table 2D. Activity in Selected Ecological Systems for Croatan NF (3-year) .............................................. 32 Table 3A Monitoring Questions, Indicators, and Report Timing by National Forest for Category 3 .......... 34 Table 3B. Plan Components relevant for Category 3 by National Forest. ................................................. 35 Table 4A. Monitoring Questions, Indicators,