North Soup and Blue Retro Density Management Study ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT EA: OR125-08-01 Umpqua Field Office Coos Bay District Bureau of Land Management Prepared this 18 day of February by: Frank Price Forest Ecologist - Team Lead Jeremy Hunt Sale Planning/Logging Systems John Chatt Wildlife Biologist Pat Olmstead Fish Biologist Tim Barnes Soil Scientist/Geologist/Energy Coordinator John Colby Hydrologist Jim Counts Civil Engineer Bill Elam Fuels Specialist Meredith Childs Forester, Silviculture/Noxious Weed Coordinator Jennifer Sperling Botanist Paul Gammon Hazardous Materials Coordinator Nancy Zepf Recreation Specialist John Guetterman GIS Specialist Stephan Samuels Cultural Specialist/Archaeologist Scott Knowles Environmental Justice Coordinator TABLE of CONTENTS CHAPTER I.: PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION ............................................................................. 1 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................................................................. 1 PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION ........................................................................................................................................... 2 CONFORMANCE WITH EXISTING LAND USE PLANS ..................................................................................................................... 4 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ................................................................................................................................................................. 5 IDENTIFIED ISSUES ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6 POTENTIAL ISSUES IDENTIFIED AND ELIMINATED FROM FURTHER ANALYSIS ............................................................................ 6 CHAPTER II.: ALTERNATIVES ...................................................................................................................... 7 NO-ACTION ALTERNATIVE .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 PROPOSED ACTION ALTERNATIVE – IMPLEMENT THE PHASE TWO STUDY PLAN ....................................................................... 7 PROJECT DESIGN FEATURES ...................................................................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER III.: AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT & ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ................... 22 REASONABLY FORESEEABLE ACTIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 22 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................................................. 23 VEGETATION AND STAND STRUCTURE ....................................................................................................................................... 24 HYDROLOGY .............................................................................................................................................................................. 38 GEOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 SOILS .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 47 WILDLIFE INCLUDING T&E SPECIES ......................................................................................................................................... 48 AQUATIC SPECIES INCLUDING T&E SPECIES ............................................................................................................................ 53 BOTANICAL SPECIES INCLUDING SPECIAL STATUS SPECIES ...................................................................................................... 59 NOXIOUS WEEDS ........................................................................................................................................................................ 65 FUELS ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 66 RECREATION .............................................................................................................................................................................. 68 CULTURAL RESOURCES.............................................................................................................................................................. 69 SOLID AND HAZARDOUS WASTE ................................................................................................................................................ 70 RESOURCES NOT ANALYZED IN DETAIL .................................................................................................................................... 71 UNAFFECTED RESOURCES .......................................................................................................................................................... 72 CHAPTER IV.: List of Agencies and Individuals Contacted ........................................................................... 72 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................................................................. 73 Tables Table I-1: Proposed Project Locations ................................................................................................................................. ……….2 Table II-1: Project Acres by Land Use Allocation ............................................................................................................................ 8 Table II-2: Summary of the Proposed Action .................................................................................................................................. 8 Table II-3: Current and Target Stocking for the North Soup Site ................................................................................................... 10 Table II-4: Current and Target Stocking for the Blue Retro Site .................................................................................................... 10 Table II-5: Average Stand Diameter by Treatment and Total Number of Trees to Recruit for Snags and Down Wood ................ 11 Table II-6: North Soup Acres by Treatment and Subtreatment ....................................................................................................... 12 Table II-7: Seasonal Restrictions .................................................................................................................................................... 17 Table II-8: Miles of Renovation by Surface Type .......................................................................................................................... 18 Table III-1: Early Stand Histories for the North Soup and Blue Retro Sites ................................................................................... 24 Table III-2: Current Species Distribution of Overstory Trees on the North Soup and Blue Retro Sites ........................................ 28 Table III-3: 1st Phase Density Management Study Treatment Histories for the North Soup & Blue Retro Sites ............................ 34 Table III-4: North Soup and Blue Retro Trees per Acre and Average DBH by Treatment ............................................................ 35 Table III-5: Miles of Stream, by Stream Order ............................................................................................................................... 40 Table III-6: Forest Operations Inventory age classes, BLM-administered land .............................................................................. 42 Table III-7: Miles of Renovation by Surface Type ......................................................................................................................... 45 Table III-8: Special Status Wildlife Species on the Coos Bay District, excluding aquatic, marine, or species in the Strategic Category. ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 48 Table III-9: Blue-Retro Project Effects Determination for Aquatic Special Status Species ............................................................ 56 Table III-10: Streamside Retention Buffers Effects on Stream Habitats ......................................................................................... 58 Table III-11: North Soup Project Effects Determination for Aquatic Special Status ...................................................................... 59 Table III-12: Special Status Species Fungi Species Suspected within Project Area. ...................................................................... 60 Table III-13: Percent of sites of special status species fungi species in Coos Bay District ............................................................ 64 Cover: Trees on the Blue Retro Density Management Study