Draft REVISED ‘INIMIM FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN Prepared for March 2018 U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Yuba Watershed Institute Prepared by Jo Ann Fites-Kaufman, PhD, Rebecca Robinson, MS, and Chris Friedel ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The preparation of this report was made possible by the generous support of the Bella Vista Foundation. Special thanks go to the Board of Directors of the Yuba Watershed Institute (Corinne Munger, Ann Hobbs, Bob Erickson, Kurt Lorenz, Gary Parsons, and Daniel Nicholson) for providing extensive comments and edits to earlier drafts, and to Jerry Tecklin for his detailed recollections of past treatments and uncommon plant populations. The data collection effort would not have been possible without the assistance of a stellar field crew, which included Rusty Fites-Kaufman, Casey Fites-Kaufman, and Nathaniel Van Order. TABLE OF CONTENTS Revised ‘Inimim Forest Management Plan 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Plan Overview ............................................................................................................... 3 2. ECOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................. 5 2.1 Ecological Sustainability ................................................................................................ 5 2.2 Natural Range of Variability .......................................................................................... 6 2.3 Biodiversity .................................................................................................................... 7 2.4 Landscape Ecology ....................................................................................................... 7 2.5 Traditional Native American Use ................................................................................... 7 3. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING ............................................................................................... 9 3.1 Ecological Groups: Vegetation, Topography, and Soils .............................................. 10 3.1.1 Productivity .............................................................................................................. 11 3.1.2 Topography .............................................................................................................. 12 3.1.3 Ecological Group Descriptions ................................................................................. 12 3.2 Old Forests .................................................................................................................. 15 3.3 Habitat Connectivity .................................................................................................... 15 3.4 Wetlands ..................................................................................................................... 16 3.4.1 Meadows ................................................................................................................. 17 3.4.2 Seeps and Springs .................................................................................................. 18 3.4.3 Riparian Areas ......................................................................................................... 18 3.4.4 Ponds ....................................................................................................................... 18 3.5 Fire .............................................................................................................................. 18 4. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................... 20 4.1 Ecological Goals and Objectives ................................................................................. 20 4.1.1 Ecological Resilience ............................................................................................... 20 4.1.2 Vegetation Composition and Structure .................................................................... 20 4.1.2.1 Landscape Scale .............................................................................................. 20 4.1.2.2 Patch and Within-Patch Scales ........................................................................ 22 4.1.2.3 Invasive Species .............................................................................................. 22 4.1.2.4 Uncommon Plants and Communities ............................................................... 23 4.1.3 Old Forest ................................................................................................................ 23 4.1.4 Fire as an Ecosystem Process ................................................................................ 23 4.1.5 Habitat Connectivity ................................................................................................. 24 4.1.6 Wetlands and Special Habitats ................................................................................ 24 4.1.7 Animal and Plant Species ........................................................................................ 24 4.2 Fire Safety and Fuels .................................................................................................. 24 4.2.1 Fuels ........................................................................................................................ 24 4.2.2 Safety ....................................................................................................................... 25 4.2.3 Prevention and Education ........................................................................................ 25 4.3 Sustainable Uses and Management ........................................................................... 25 4.4 Traditional Native American Uses ............................................................................... 25 4.5 Adaptive Management ................................................................................................ 25 i Revised ‘Inimim Forest Management Plan March 2018 Preliminary – Subject to Revision Table of Contents 5. MANAGEMENT APPROACHES ........................................................................................ 27 5.1 Practices ..................................................................................................................... 27 5.1.1 Emphasis ................................................................................................................. 27 5.1.2 Burning .................................................................................................................... 27 5.1.3 Thinning ................................................................................................................... 27 5.1.4 Invasive Plants ......................................................................................................... 27 5.1.5 Special Habitats ....................................................................................................... 28 5.1.6 Prioritization ............................................................................................................. 28 5.1.7 Extent of Treatments ............................................................................................... 28 5.1.8 Traditional Ecological Management ......................................................................... 28 5.1.9 Heterogeneity and Marking Guidelines .................................................................... 28 5.2 Treatment Types and Limitations by Vegetation Type and Environmental Setting ..... 29 5.3 Prioritizing Treatments ................................................................................................ 31 6. MONITORING ..................................................................................................................... 33 7. COMMONLY USED TERMS ............................................................................................... 34 8. LITERATURE CITED .......................................................................................................... 36 APPENDIX A. ECOLOGICAL GROUPS ................................................................................. 42 A.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 42 A.1.1 Classifications and Terminology used to Describe Vegetation ............................... 42 A.2 Ecological Group Descriptions .................................................................................... 43 A.3 Mapped Ecological Groups ......................................................................................... 44 A.3.1 Dry Productive ......................................................................................................... 44 A.3.2 Dry Low Productive ................................................................................................. 44 A.3.3 Moist Productive ...................................................................................................... 45 A.3.4 Moist Low Productive .............................................................................................. 45 A.3.5 Moderate Productive ............................................................................................... 46 A.3.6 Moderate Low Productive .......................................................................................