SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST HIDDEN SPRINGS RANGER DISTRICT BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF TES PLANTS LEE MINE HARDWOOD RESTORATION HARDIN COUNTY Introduction Forest Service Manual (FSM) Section 2672.41 requires a biological evaluation (BE) and/or biological assessment (BA) be conducted for all Forest Service planned, funded, executed, or permitted programs and activities. The objectives of this BE are: 1) to ensure that Forest Service actions do not contribute to the loss of population viability of any native or desired non-native species or contribute to trends toward federal listing; 2) to comply with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) so that federal agencies do not jeopardize or adversely modify critical habitat (as defined in ESA) of any federally listed species; and, 3) to provide a process and standard ensuring that federally threatened or endangered and Regional Forester’s Sensitive plants receive full consideration in the decision-making process. The Hidden Springs/Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District has known occurrences of TES (federally threatened or endangered and Regional Forester’s Sensitive) plant species, which were considered in this analysis. This BE documents the analysis of potential effects of the proposed action to TES plant species and associated habitats. It also serves as biological input for the environmental analysis of project-level decision making to ensure compliance with the ESA National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Forest Management Act (NFMA). Background The Lee Mine project area is located on National Forest System (NFS) land in Hardin County, Illinois, Township 11 South, Range 8 East. The proposed 1400-acre project area is situated in the Big Creek watershed in the eastern portion of the Forest, a relatively small site (less than a hundredth of a percent of the Forest) with non-native pine stands interspersed among hardwood stands. Big Creek flows through part of the compartment, and is designated as a Candidate Recreational River under The National Wild and Scenic Act, as described in the Wild and Scenic River Guidelines. Big Creek from bank to bank is classified as a Zoological Area which is a natural area category. Part of the River-to-River Trail also passes through the area. Prescribed burning has taken place on 371 acres within the Lee Mine area since 2007. During the 1940’s and 1950’s, 572 acres of non-native pine stands were planted within the project area to stabilize soil. Planting the pines successfully reduced erosion. However, field observations indicate that the pine overstory is suppressing the growth of the hardwood trees in the project area, particularly oaks and hickories, the hard mast of which yields the greatest benefit for many wildlife species. Oak and hickory seedlings and saplings remain abundant in the project area, but without treatment the stand will eventually be dominated by shade-tolerant species, limiting native plant and animal community diversity and resilience. Purpose and Need for Action Shawnee National Forest (Forest) is proposing to implement management activities in the Lee Mine area to restore and maintain the health and diversity of the site by restoring the native-hardwood oak- hickory forest-type through removal of non-native pines, application of prescribed fire, timber stand improvement, development of up to 18 vernal ponds, and installation of erosion-control structures. This project is designed to advance the site towards the desired future condition of the Even-Aged Hardwood and Natural Area management areas described in the 2006 Shawnee National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Plan) (pages 59-61 and 76-78). The proposed activities work towards meeting Forest Plan goals and objectives for converting pine stands to hardwood. Big Creek is being adversely affected by severe erosion and runoff; intervention is needed to prevent sediment-loading to the creek. The Elizabethtown spur of the River-to-River Trail passes through the area. Being a recent development, it would benefit from maintenance and erosion control. The opportunity exists to provide early-life–cycle habitat for amphibians with the development of vernal ponds. Proposed Action The Forest Service proposes to enhance wildlife habitat in the project area by restoring the native hardwood oak-hickory forest-type in current pine stands, applying prescribed fire to the area, installing erosion-control features for the protection of Big Creek, establishing up to 18 vernal ponds, and improving conditions on the River-to-River Trail spur that crosses the area. We would utilize site-preparation treatments and a commercial sale to reduce the pines on the site to 30-40 square feet basal area (BA) per acre. While establishing high-quality early-successional habitat, this will provide the light and growing space required to restore the native-hardwood oak-hickory forest community to the area (Figure 5). To facilitate natural regeneration, small shade-tolerant trees (less than 10-inch diameter at breast height [dbh]) in the understory would be cut to further increase the amount of sunlight reaching seedlings and saplings on the forest floor. See Alternative 2—the Proposed Action—for a detailed description. Alternative 1 – No Action Under this alternative, current management would continue in the project area. None of the proposed management activities would be implemented. Alternative 2 – The Proposed Action The Forest Service proposes to enhance wildlife habitat in the project area by restoring the native hardwood oak-hickory forest-type in current pine stands, applying prescribed fire to the area, installing erosion-control features for the protection of Big Creek, establishing up to 18 vernal ponds, and improving conditions on the River-to-River Trail spur that crosses the area. We would utilize site-preparation treatments and a commercial sale to reduce the pines on the site to 30-40 square feet BA per acre. While establishing high-quality early-successional habitat, this will provide the light and growing space required to restore the native-hardwood oak-hickory forest community to the area. 2 Commercial Timber Harvest We propose to utilize a commercial sale to reduce the pine density on about 572 acres of the project area, using the shelterwood method (Figure 5). We would designate the pine trees to be removed, leaving about 30 to 40 square feet BA of pine per acre. Tree-spacing after harvest would be up to 50 feet between mature pine trees. The design of the harvest will incorporate the USDA Forest Service National Best Management Practices (BMP) for Water Quality Management on NFS Lands and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Forestry BMP, as well as Forest Plan filter-strip guidelines, snag- retention strategies and other measures for the conservation of biological diversity (FLMP, pages 40-41, 201-202 and 288-289). The appearance of harvested areas will change with treatment, allowing much more sunlight to the forest floor. Skid-trails and log-landings would be located to limit ground-disturbance. Logs would be loaded onto trucks at log-landings and hauled off-site. System roads would be constructed or maintained and used to remove trees from the project area. All landings would be located along the system road within the stand. Within three years following harvest, we would perform site-preparation activities to enhance the development and growth of hardwoods, including cutting small (less than 10-inch dbh), undesirable, shade-tolerant, woody species to further increase sunlight to desirable trees and leaving larger native trees to maintain diversity. Mechanical shears or chainsaws may be used to remove trees. Prescribed Fire Prescribed Fire would be applied to the area as often as every two years, including 1033 acres not already approved for burning under another decision. This will release existing shade-intolerant tree species and provide site conditions favorable for future regeneration. Firelines would be constructed manually or mechanically, generally following past fire-control lines or using existing man-made or natural boundaries where practical. Vernal Ponds We would construct up to 18 vernal ponds to provide a seasonal water source for amphibians, bats and other wildlife species and repair the failed impoundments of six existing vernal ponds. Roads We would upgrade or realign roads where necessary to facilitate removal of cut pines and/or to protect rare plant species. Erosion Control Erosion-control work would be done on system roads and the River-to-River Trail, including the installation of water bars and water turnouts, ditch cleaning, stabilizing the road or trail surface with rock or other methods. We would construct a rock check-dam at the point where a drainage-way meets Big Creek in order to capture sediment running off private land in the headwaters of Big Creek. Herbicides The herbicides sethoxydim and/or clethodim would be applied as needed to protect sensitive plant species from the adverse effects of invasive plant infestations. Alternative 3 – Cut and Leave on the Ground 3 Under this alternative, we would treat the same trees as under Alternative 2; but, rather than removing felled trees from the site, we would leave them on the ground. We would designate the pine trees to be felled, leaving about 30 to 40 BA of pine per acre. Tree-spacing after felling would be up to 50 feet between mature pine trees. Implementation of this alternative would be in accordance with State of Illinois Forestry Best Management Practices