SAWTOOTH NATIONAL FOREST LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN 2007 MONITORING AND EVALUATION REPORT FY 2008 2007 Sawtooth NF Monitoring and Evaluation Report (September 2008) Page - 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................4 II. 2007 FOREST PLAN MONITORING and EVALUATION REPORT ORGANIZATION ..........................................................................................................6 III. SUMMARY OF MONITORING RESULTS ......................................................6 III-A: Five Annual Monitoring Elements Found in Table IV-1 of the Forest Plan....6 1. A quantitative estimate of performance comparing outputs to services with those predicted in the Forest Plan (Forest Plan, p. IV-5) .......................6 Threatened, Endangered, Proposed and Candidate Species Objectives .................. 7 Air Quality and Smoke Management Objectives .................................................... 9 Soil, Water, Riparian and Aquatic Resources Goals and Objectives ...................... 9 Wildlife Resources Objectives ................................................................................ 9 Vegetation Resources Objectives ............................................................................9 Botanical Resources Objectives ............................................................................ 10 Nonnative Plants Objectives.................................................................................. 10 Fire Management Objectives................................................................................. 11 Timberland Resources Objectives......................................................................... 12 Rangeland Resources Objectives........................................................................... 12 Minerals and Geology Resources Objectives........................................................ 12 Lands and Special Uses Objectives....................................................................... 13 Facilities and Roads Objectives............................................................................. 13 Recreation Resources Objectives .......................................................................... 14 Scenic Environment Objectives............................................................................. 14 Heritage Program Objectives................................................................................. 14 Tribal Rights and Interests Objectives................................................................... 14 Wilderness, Recommended Wilderness, and IRA Objectives............................... 15 Wild and Scenic River Objectives......................................................................... 15 Research Natural Areas Objectives ....................................................................... 15 Social and Economic Objectives ........................................................................... 15 Sawtooth National Recreation Area Objectives ..................................................... 15 2. Documentation of costs associated with carrying out planned management prescriptions as compared with costs (Forest Plan, p. IV-5) ........................15 3. Population trends of the management indicator species will be monitored and relationships to habitat changes determined (Forest Plan, p. IV-6) ......17 4. Accomplishment of ACS priority subwatershed restoration objectives (Forest Plan, p. IV-6) .....................................................................................19 5. Terms and conditions or reasonable and prudent measures that result from consultation under Section (a) of the ESA (Forest Plan, p. IV-6) .........20 Terms and Conditions................................................................................20 Conservation Recommendations ..............................................................21 III-B: Monitoring Elements Found in Table IV-2 of the Forest Plan with Annual and Three-Year Reporting Requirements ..........................................23 III-C: Annual Project Level Monitoring that Contributes to Forest Plan Monitoring 2007 Sawtooth NF Monitoring and Evaluation Report (September 2008) Page - 2 Requirements ....................................................................................................34 IV. FUTURE MONITORING AND EVALUATION REPORTS AND SCHEDULE ..........................................................................................................35 V. ERRATA..................................................................................................................35 Tables Table 1 Noxious Weed Acres Infested and Treated: 2004-2007 by District ....................... 11 Table 2 Predicted Forest Plan Budget Level vs. FY 2007 Actual Allocation...................... 16 Table 3 Management Indicator Species for the Sawtooth National Forest.......................... 17 Table 4 Aquatic restoration accomplishments by WARS priority subwatersheds.... 20 Table 5 FY07 Aquatic Restoration Projects ........................................................................ 25 Figures Figure 1 Location Map – Sawtooth National Forest ............................................................... 5 ATTACHMENTS Attachment 1 South Fork Ponderosa Pine Thinning Project Field Review Summary Attachment 2 Lower Rock Creek Dispersed Recreation Project Field Review Summary Attachment 3 Lower Rock Creek Fuels Reduction Project Field Review Summary Attachment 4 Big Water Gulch Culvert Replacement Project Field Review Summary Attachment 5 2007 Sawtooth Aquatic Management Indicator Species Monitoring Report Summary Attachment 6 Errata #6 to the Forest Plan 2007 Sawtooth NF Monitoring and Evaluation Report (September 2008) Page - 3 I. INTRODUCTION In September 2003, the Forest began implementing its revised Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) which will shape management of the Forest for the next 10 to 15 years. The revised Forest Plan defines a strategy that manages Forest resources to attain a set of desired resource and social and economic conditions by emphasizing the maintenance or restoration of watershed conditions, species viability, terrestrial and aquatic habitats, and healthy, functioning ecosystems. One of the lessons learned from experience implementing the original Forest Plans is that plans need to be dynamic to account for changed resource conditions such as large scale wildfire or listing of additional species under the Endangered Species Act, new information and science, and changed regulation and policies such as the roads analysis policy. To accomplish this, the 2003 Forest Plan has embraced the principles of adaptive management. Monitoring and evaluation are critical to these principles. The goal of our monitoring program is to help us determine what in the Plan is working well and what is not, and to help identify if we need to change management direction or monitoring methods. Monitoring and evaluation is intended to tell us how forest plan decisions have been implemented, how effective the implementation has proven to be in accomplishing desired outcomes, and how valid our assumptions were that led us to decide on the management strategy detailed in the Forest plan. Monitoring and evaluation of key results over time will help us determine if we are making satisfactory progress toward the desired conditions identified in the Plan or if a “need for change” in the existing strategy is required. As long as the monitoring and evaluation results determine that the management strategy outlined in the Forest plan is resulting in acceptable progress toward Forest Plan desired conditions, then the conclusion would be that there is no need for change in that strategy. However, if monitoring and evaluation concluded that the Forest Plan strategy is not effective in light of conditions and circumstances at the time of the assessment, then the Forest Supervisor would make the determination as to what the “needs for change” are and whether plan amendment or revision would be needed. This document reflects the final monitoring report for the fourth year of implementing the revised Sawtooth National Forest Plan. 2007 Sawtooth NF Monitoring and Evaluation Report (September 2008) Page - 4 Figure I-1. Location Map – Sawtooth National Forest 2007 Sawtooth NF Monitoring and Evaluation Report (September 2008) Page - 5 II. 2007 FOREST PLAN MONITORING and EVALUATION REPORT ORGANIZATION As previously stated, monitoring and evaluation provide knowledge and information to keep the Land and Resource Management Plan viable. Appropriate selection of indicators, and monitoring and evaluation of key results helps us determine if we are meeting or moving towards the desired conditions identified in the Plan. Chapter IV of the 2003 Forest Plan provides the list of activities, practices and/or effects to be monitored and the various indicators to be used as measures. While most of the monitoring elements require that some level of data be gathered each year, the majority of elements are designed to evaluate the effects of management over time. Therefore, results of monitoring efforts for most elements are reported after evaluation of data that has been gathered for multiple years. Chapter IV, Table IV-1 of the Forest Plan identifies elements related to National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and other pertinent laws and regulations that are reported on either an annual basis