Lis for the Land and Resource Management Plan United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service FY 2011 Monitoring and Evaluation Report Ouachita National Forest Arkansas and Oklahoma Arkansas Counties: Ashley, Garland, Hot Spring, Howard, Logan, Montgomery, Perry, Pike, Polk, Saline, Scott, Sebastian, Yell Oklahoma Counties: Leflore, McCurtain 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 (including gender identity and expression), marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, reprisal, or because all or a 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, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call toll-free at (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845- 6136 (Spanish Federal-relay). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Table of Contents Forest Supervisor’s Certification ............................................................ F-1 Priorities, Recommendations, and Focus Areas ................................... P-1 Summary of the 2011 Monitoring and Evaluation Report ...................... S-1 The Ouachita National Forest ................................................................. 1 Monitoring of the Forest Plan .................................................................. 2 Purpose of the Monitoring and Evaluation Report Organization of the Monitoring and Evaluation Report Implementation of the Forest Plan Project Decisions Made in Fiscal Year 2011 Implementation Monitoring Reviews General Forest .......................................................................................... 3 Landownership and Land Administration Land Line Location, Maintenance, or Management Landownership Pattern and Land Exchanges Transportation System and Access Management Transportation System Bridge Inspections Access/Travel Management MA – 8 Administrative Sites Facility Operation and Maintenance Special Uses ............................................................................................. 10 Commodity and Commercial Uses ......................................................... 11 Minerals and Energy Development Livestock Grazing/Range Activities Timber Sale Program Firewood Timber - Allowable Sale Quantity (ASQ) Timber Volume Offered and Sold Air Quality ................................................................................................. 15 Fine Particulate Matter Ozone Terrestrial Ecosystems ............................................................................ 17 Terrestrial Community Types Common Upland Communities MA 6 – Rare Upland Communities MA 14 – Ouachita Mountains (Habitat Diversity Emphasis) and MA 15 – West Gulf Coastal Plain (Habitat Diversity Emphasis) MA 21 – Old Growth Restoration (Pine-Grass Emphasis) MA 22 – Renewal of the Shortleaf Pine/Blue-Stem Grass Ecosystem and RCW Habitat FY 2011 Monitoring and Evaluation Report i Terrestrial Habitat and Health ................................................................. 23 Soils Fire Influences and Fuels Terrestrial Non-native Invasive Species Insects and Disease Vegetation Management Forest Regeneration Terrestrial Habitats and Conditions ........................................................ 30 Vertical Structure Early Seral Stage Mid-Seral Stage Late Seral Stage Other Terrestrial Habitat Components – Wildlife Cave and Mine Habitat Large Trees near Water Snags, Cavity/Den Trees, and Down Logs/Woody Debris Mast Production Old Growth Habitat Terrestrial MIS Summary Habitat Capability Modeling Management Indicator Species and Wildlife Habitat Management Eastern Wild Turkey Northern Bobwhite Pileated Woodpecker Prairie Warbler Scarlet Tanager White-tailed deer Other Habitat Considerations -Wildlife Hunting Wildlife Management Areas Walk-In Turkey Areas R8 Sensitive Species and Terrestrial Species of Viability Concern...... 52 Bald Eagle Caddo Mountain Salamanders Rich Mountain Slit-mouth Snail Sensitive Bats (Eastern small-footed bat and Southeastern Myotis) Terrestrial Proposed, Endangered, and Threatened Species Habitat .. 55 Terrestrial American Burying Beetle Indiana Bat Least Tern Piping Plover Red-cockaded Woodpecker American Alligator Riparian and Aquatic Ecosystems .......................................................... 63 MA – 9 Water and Riparian Communities ii Ouachita National Forest Ouachita Riparian Ouachita Mountain Forested Seeps West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest South-Central Interior Large Floodplain West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Hardwood Flatwoods (Red Slough) Ouachita Rivers and Streams Ouachita Ponds, Lakes, and Waterholes Watersheds, Aquatic Habitat and Health ................................................ 66 Aquatic Communities/Fisheries Habitat Aquatic Management Indicator Species (MIS) Ponds, Lakes, and Waterhole MIS Bluegill Largemouth Bass Redear Sunfish Other Pond, Lake, and Waterhole Species White Crappie Gizzard Shad Threadfin Shad Shoreline Seining Pond, Lake and Waterhole Concerns Pond, Lake and Waterhole MIS and Other Species Summary and Conclusions Stream and River MIS Basin Area Stream Survey (BASS) Arkansas River Valley Stream MIS Highland (Central Stoneroller) Creek Chubsucker Green Sunfish Longear Sunfish Pirate Perch Redfin Darter Yellow Bullhead Gulf Coastal Plain Stream MIS Highland (Central Stoneroller) Green Sunfish Longear Sunfish Orangebelly Darter Northern Studfish Northern Hog Sucker Redfin Darter Smallmouth Bass Striped Shiner Johnny Darter Channel Darter R8 Sensitive and Other Aquatic Species of Viability Concern Ouachita Darter Connectivity of Fish Habitat Aquatic Dependent Proposed, Endangered, &Threatened species and Habitat Mussels Pink Mucket and Winged Mapleleaf Scaleshell Ouachita Rock-pocketbook Arkansas Fatmucket Leopard Darter Harperella Aquatic Habitat Enhancement Activities .......................................... 92 Watershed Function and Public Water Supply ........................... 93 Recreation and Scenery Management .................................................... 94 Recreation Management MA 1 - Wilderness MA 20 - Wild and Scenic Rivers MA 17 - Semi-Primitive Areas Scenery Management MA 2 - Special Interest Areas MA 16 - Lands Surrounding Lake Ouachita and Broken Bow Lake MA 19 - Winding Stair Mountain Recreation Natural Area and Associated Non-Wilderness Designations MA 3 – Developed Recreation Areas Fee Sites Trails Recreation Participation Public and Agency Safety ........................................................................ 101 Law Enforcement Activities Heritage Resources .................................................................................. 102 Heritage Stewardship Tribal and Native American Interests Performance History ................................................................................ 105 Contribution of the Ouachita National Forest to Social and Economic Sustainability Payments to Counties Budget Resource Management Accomplishments iv Ouachita National Forest Forest Supervisor’s Certification This is the sixth M&E Report for the 2005 Revised Forest Plan (Forest Plan), effective December 2005. I have evaluated and do endorse the monitoring results and the priorities, recommendations, and focus areas presented in this Monitoring and Evaluation Report (M&E Report). Monitoring and evaluation are important tools in determining if management direction contained in the 2005 Forest Plan is effective in achieving the desired conditions for the Ouachita National Forest, if program priorities and objectives are being accomplished, and if the Plan standards (design criteria) adequately guide project implementation. This and future M&E Reports will contribute to review and updates to the 2005 Forest Plan. I have directed that the actions necessary to respond to the priorities, recommendations, and focus areas in this report be implemented. I have considered funding requirements necessary to implement these actions. ____________________________________ _______________________ NORMAN L. WAGONER Date Forest Supervisor Forest Supervisor’s Certification F-1 Priorities, Recommendations, and Focus Areas As monitoring results are analyzed, trends are identified; and as expected, some of those trends reveal resource management concerns. Additionally, some focus areas are identified due to new research or through monitoring and lack of definable trends. In the discussions below, there is a mix of both monitoring result-driven focus areas and emerging science-driven focus areas. Discussions are presented in the order they appear in the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Report. Early Seral Previous analysis reported in the Five-Year Review found “Poor” scores for early seral stage. The early seral stage is particularly important to many species, such as white-tailed deer, Northern Bobwhite, Prairie Warbler, and snakes seeking small mammals as food sources. The grass/forb seedling/sapling (early seral) condition is highly