South Fork Sprague Watershed Ecosystem Analysis Report Fremont National Forest Bly Ranger District June 1995 FREMONT FOREST WATERSHEDS SOUTH FORK SPRAGUE WATERSHED SCALE 1: 900000: ECOSYSTEM ANALYSIS REPORT FOR THE SOUTH FORK SPRAGUE RIVER WATERSHED TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION A. Purpose B. Intended Use C. Management Direction II. DESCRIPTION OF THE WATERSHED AREA A. General Watershed Description 11-1-12 B. Beneficial Uses 11-13-23 III. ISSUES AND KEY QUESTIONS A. Introduction B. Issues with Key Question and Parameters C. Assumptions IV. ANALYSIS OF ISSUES Issue 1 IV-1- Issue 2 IV- Issue 3 IV- Issue 4 IV- Issue 5 VI- V. INTERACTIONS A. Management and Non-Management Actions V-1 B. Common Ecological Process V-1 C. Summary V- VI. MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS A. Recommendation Summary VI-1-7 B. Possible Projects VI-8-11 C. Monitoring Recommendations VI-12-13 D. Data Gaps VI-14-15 VII. APPENDICES References VII-1 Core Team Members VII-3 Key Contacts VII-4 Maps and Data VII-5 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ECOSYSTEM ANALYSIS REPORT FOR THE SOUTH FORK SPRAGUE RIVER WATERSHED I. INTRODUCTION The Fremont National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) provides direction for management of resources and outlines Standards and Guidelines for use in implementing projects. The Forest Service is concerned that the Standards and Guidelines may not go far enough to maintain the desired condition outlined in the Forest Plan. We also believe it is necessary to better define the desired condition so that it is specific to each watershed. To do this we must shift our focus from individual projects to a landscape view of the watershed. It is not the intent of this analysis to change the Forest Plan. If needed changes do become evident, then an amendment will be prepared. Any amendment will include public involvement and follow National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. Our goal, and the Forest Plan desired condition, is to have a healthy forest ecosystem which provides sustainable beneficial uses (see beneficial uses section-Chapter II) to the public. Our Forest Plan currently looks at the natural resources and beneficial uses separately, which is a segmented approach to management. Watershed analysis looks at the ecosystem as a whole, not just the individual parts. This ecosystem analysis report presents a current understanding of the processes and interactions of concern occurring within the South Fork Sprague River watershed on the Bly Ranger District, Fremont National Forest. It is intended to help us understand how past land-use activities interact with the physical and biological environments in the watershed. This analysis provides a logical way to learn more about how ecological systems function within the watershed by incorporating knowledge specific to the watershed into our planning process. This information is essential to protect beneficial uses and to protect and sustain the natural systems that society depends on. The analysis provides a vehicle to efficiently identify and balance multiple concerns. The analysis will provide a summary of trends in resources where restoration actions are needed and a checklist to ensure relevant topics are not overlooked during project analysis. The analysis used existing information, therefore some information team members wanted was not available to assist in describing conditions, predicting trends, or evaluating relationships. The Data Gaps section (Chapter VI) outlines data that would improve this analysis and aid evaluation of future activities. The analysis focuses on specific issues, values and uses identified within the watershed that are essential for making sound management decisions. Historic, current, and desired condition of the watershed while also describing processes and activities affecting resources in the watershed. I-1 The analysis was conducted by an eight member core-team (consisting of a soil scientist, hydrologist, wildlife biologist, silviculturist, and others-see appendix for listing of members and experience) and followed the eight step process outlined in the "Federal Agency Guide for Pilot Watershed Analysis." This document is written for the Bly District Ranger. Although the public is free to receive and review the analysis, it will only be sent to those who specifically request copies. The public will be encouraged to participate in the planning of specific projects as they are proposed by the Bly Ranger District. The Bly Ranger District will use this analysis to select specific projects that will move the watershed toward the desired condition described in this analysis and the Forest Plan. These projects will then be addressed through separate analyses conducted on a project-by-project basis by an ID Team. The project analysis process will include involvement by the general public and result in a site specific decision as required by NEPA. CHAPTER II DESCRIPTION OF WATERSHED AREA ECOSYSTEM ANALYSIS REPORT FOR THE SOUTH FORK SPRAGUE RIVER WATERSHED II. DESCRIPTION OF THE WATERSHED AREA A. General Watershed Characteristics The watershed is on the southeastern edge of the East Cascades of Oregon within the Basin and Range Physiographic Province. The area lies in the transition between coniferous forest and sagebrush steppe and has characteristics of both vegetative zones. The watershed area encompasses approximately 82,100 acres, and is five miles east of the town of Bly (Map #1). Ownership is comprised of 43,140 acres (53%) of public lands administered by the Forest Service and 38,960 acres (47%) of private interest, primarily Weyerhaeuser Company lands (Map #2). Approximately 27,150 acres are within Klamath County and 54,950 acres are within Lake County (Map #2). The watershed area is also within both Klamath Basin Working Circle (78,520 acres) and the Lakeview Federal Sustained Yield Unit (Lakeview Working Circle-3,580 acres). A significant amount of timber harvest, road construction and cattle\sheep grazing has occurred in all management areas in the past. Road densities within the watershed average 3.95 miles\square mile on Forest Service lands and 2.05 miles\square mile (this figure includes only major roads minor service roads were not included) on private lands. Elevations range on the extreme north end (within the Gearhart Mountain Wilderness) from 8,370 feet from the top of Gearhart Mountain to 4,340 feet along Paradise Creek (Map #3). There are 103 miles of streams on Forest Service lands and 111 miles on private lands. The watershed has typically gentle topography. The slope on approximately 58,500 acres (71% of area) is between 0 and 15%, the slope on about 21,000 acres (26% of area) is between 16 and 35%, and only about 2,600 acres (3% of area) has slopes over 35%. Portions of the South Fork Sprague River, lower Buckboard Creek and most of Brownsworth Creek flow through canyonlands that are up to 400 feet deep, and have steep to very steep side walls. The South Fork Sprague River flows westerly until it meets the North Fork Sprague northwest of Bly to form the Sprague River. The South Fork Sprague River is one of the many headwaters of the Klamath River which flows into the Pacific Ocean near Requa, California. MAP #2 SOUTH FORK SPRAGUE WATERSHED LAND OWNERSHIP WORKING CIRCLE BOUNDARY 11-3 MAP#3 IV-4 1. Location and Land Management The ecosystem analysis area is near the eastern boundary of the Bly Ranger District of the Fremont National Forest. The analysis area is also south of the Gearhart Mountain Wilderness Area. The legal description includes sections or portions of sections in T35S, R16E; T36S, R14-15-16-17E; T37S, R14-15-16-17E; and T38S, R15-16E. Approximately 5,111 acres of the watershed are within the Gearhart Mountain Wilderness and are managed under the Management Area (MA) 10 (Map #4) Standards and Guidelines within the Fremont National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). The watershed also contains a portion of the Coleman Rim Roadless area, which includes approximately 2,363 miles of high elevation mixed conifer, meadows, and rim rock. During the forest planning process, these acres were identified as Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE)II, but were consequently redesignated as MA-5. No road building or timber harvest has occurred since the Forest Plan was adopted. The remainder of the watershed is comprised of the following MA's, acreages and management emphasis (Forest Plan): Table 1-Management Areas MA Acres* Emphasis 1 36,648 Mule Deer Forage and Cover on Winter Range 3 & 14 1,097 Old Growth Habitat for Dependent Species (Minimum and Above) 5 11,800 Timber and Range Production 6A 3,060 Scenic Viewshed 7C 9,313 Special Management Areas (Includes South Fork Wild & Scenic, Coleman Roadless and Coleman Wildlife) 8B 617 Research Natural Areas (Proposed Vee Pasture RNA) 15 6,800 Streamside Management 16 10,540 Minimum Management (Non-commercial) *Due to overlapping acreages within each management area, the combined total of the management areas will not equal the combined total number of federal acres for the watershed as listed in the general description of the watershed area. SOUTH FORK SPRAGUE WATERSHED MANAGEMENT AREAS 2. Geology and Soils The underlying bedrock is, for the most part, the parent material for the soils present. The dominant soil types (37%) are silty clay, silty loam and clay loam derived from basalt, andesite and tuff. The rock mineral composition, resistance to weathering, and age dictate the amount and type of soil that develops. The very stony scabrock flats are silty clay-clay soils and comprise nearly 23% in discrete mapping units and are minor inclusions within other mapping units, suggesting that more than 25% of the area is of this soil type. (Soil Resources Inventory (SRI), Fremont National Forest, Pacific Northwest Region, 1979) The analysis area is dominated by extrusive igneous rock (85%), of which, olivine basalt from the Tertiary geologic period is the most common type (46%).