Ground-truthing Project Final Report, 2005: Landscape analyses of select Forest Service logging project areas, with emphasis on the protection of rare big-tree forests. before today before today Emerald Bay Tuxekan Island before today before today TRUTHING TECHNOLOGY ROUTE PLANNING TIMBER UNIT SURVEYS Logjam Chasina North WHAT’S BEEN LOST WHAT STILL STANDS GIS Prepared by: Richard Carstensen & Bob Christensen for the Sitka Conservation Society • Ground-truthing Project final report • Carstensen & Christensen • SCS A Project of Sitka Conservation Society with supplementary funding by: The Turner Foundation The Wolfensohn Family Foundation Southeast Alaska Conservation Council The Skaggs Foundation Ken Leghorn David Wigglesworth Jack Ozment and aerial support from Lighthawk Sitka Conservation Society Box 6533 Sitka, Alaska 99835 (907) 747 7509 ph // (907) 747 6105 fx [email protected] // www.sitkawild.org “Working to protect the natural environment of the Tongass, and to protect Sitka’s quality of life, since 1967” Ground-truthing Project final report • Carstensen & Christensen • SCS • Contents Tips on navigating this document in Acrobat ............................................................................4 Executive Summary ...................................................................................5 Goals ..........................................................................................................................................5 Critical Issues .............................................................................................................................5 Big, old trees ..............................................................................................................................5 Regulatory changes needed ................................................................................................................................................8 Previous work ...........................................................................................10 Concepts and definitions.........................................................................12 Big-tree forest ........................................................................................................................12 High-volume forests .............................................................................................................12 Volume class vs volume strata ...............................................................................................13 Size/density relationships ......................................................................................................13 High-grading ..........................................................................................................................14 Proportionality .......................................................................................................................14 Spatial and temporal scales ....................................................................................................14 Habitat connectivity ...............................................................................................................16 Restoration and enhancement ...............................................................................................16 ASQ, market demand, MIRFs, falldown ...............................................................................18 Methods ....................................................................................................20 SITE SELECTION .................................................................................................................20 PRE-FIELD REVIEW ...........................................................................................................20 FIELD ......................................................................................................................................21 Navigation ................................................................................................................................21 Photography .............................................................................................................................22 Lighthawk flight .......................................................................................................................22 Size/density measurements ......................................................................................................22 Big tree searches ......................................................................................................................23 Ground-truthing forest type maps ............................................................................................23 Past logging..............................................................................................................................23 Wildlife habitat .......................................................................................................................24 Other field notes .......................................................................................................................24 POST-FIELD ..........................................................................................................................24 Downloads ...............................................................................................................................24 Journaling.................................................................................................................................25 GIS synthesis ...........................................................................................................................25 ArcReader projects ..................................................................................................................25 Timber projects visited ...........................................................................26 Corner Bay ...............................................................................................................................26 Sitkoh Bay................................................................................................................................27 False Island ..............................................................................................................................29 Saook .......................................................................................................................................30 Ushk .........................................................................................................................................30 Geology and logging ................................................................................................................28 • Ground-truthing Project final report • Carstensen & Christensen • SCS Threemile .................................................................................................................................32 Emerald Bay ............................................................................................................................34 Summore Change .....................................................................................................................36 Tuxekan ....................................................................................................................................37 Kosciusko.................................................................................................................................40 Logjam .....................................................................................................................................42 Cholmondeley ..........................................................................................................................44 Chasina ....................................................................................................................................46 Findings and recommendations .............................................................50 TLMP revision .........................................................................................................................50 Upland big trees ....................................................................................................................50 Protection of rare big-tree stands and individuals .................................................................50 Forest structure maps ............................................................................................................51 Cedars ...................................................................................................................................51 Karst ......................................................................................................................................52 Alluvial forests .........................................................................................................................52 Unraveling: implications for buffers .....................................................................................53 Creeping “megacuts” ...............................................................................................................54 Connectivity analyses ..............................................................................................................55 Timber waste .........................................................................................................................55