Idaho Panhandle National Forests FOREST PLAN MONITORING AND EVALUATION REPORTS 2007, 2008 and 2009 i The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program (not all prohibited bases apply to all programs). Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202)720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. ii Idaho Panhandle National Forests FOREST PLAN MONITORING AND EVALUATION REPORTS 2007, 2008, and 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - 1 II. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS - - - - - - 3 III. MONITORING ITEMS - - - - - - - 4 A-1 Outputs of Goods and Services - - - - - 4 A-2 Effects on and of National Forest Management - - - 5 B-1 Harvested Lands Restocked in Five Years - - - 12 B-2 Timberland Suitability - - - - - - 14 B-3 Validate Maximum Size Limits for Harvest Areas - - 15 B-4 Insect and Disease Hazard - - - - - 17 B-5 Road Construction - - - - - - 20 B-6 Actual Sell Area and Volume - - - - - 21 C-1 Visual Quality - - - - - - - 24 D-1 Off road vehicles - - - - - - 37 E-1 Heritage Resources - - - - - - 39 F-1 Population Trends of Indicator Species - - - - 45 F-2 Grizzly Bear Recovery - - - - - - 49 F-3 Caribou Recovery - - - - - - 68 G-2 Water Quality - - - - - - - 72 G-3 Fish Habitat Trends - - - - - - 76 G-4 Fish Population Trends 83 H-1 Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Plants - - - 94 I-1 Minerals - - - - - - - 103 J-1 Land Ownership Adjustments - - - - - 104 K-1 Prescriptions and Effects on Land Productivity - - - 105 IV. OTHER TOPICS OF INTEREST - - - - - 122 Ecosystem Restoration - - - - - - - 122 Old Growth - - - - - - - - 126 Snags - - - - - - - - - 135 APPENDICES - - - - - - - - - 137 A. Forest Plan Monitoring Requirements - - - - 139 B. Forest Plan Programmatic Amendments - - - - 142 C. List of Contributors - - - - - - - 144 iii LIST OF TABLES 1. Quantitative Estimates of Performance Outputs and Services - - 4 2. Payments to Counties with Harvested Timber Volume - - - 5 3. Distribution of Payments to Counties FY 1991-2000 - - - 6 4. Distribution of Payments to Five Northern Idaho Counties Fiscal Year 2001 7 5. Distribution of Payments to Five Northern Idaho Counties Fiscal Year 2002 7 6. Distribution of Payments to Five Northern Idaho Counties Fiscal Year 2003 7 7. Distribution of Payments to Five Northern Idaho Counties Fiscal Year 2004 8 8. Distribution of Payments to Five Northern Idaho Counties Fiscal Year 2005 8 9. Distribution of Payments to Five Northern Idaho Counties Fiscal Year 2006 8 10. Distribution of Payments to Five Northern Idaho Counties Fiscal Year 2007 8 11. Distribution of Payments to Five Northern Idaho Counties Fiscal Year 2008 9 12. Distribution of Payments to Five Northern Idaho Counties Fiscal Year 2009 9 13. Total Number of Employees - - - - - - 10 14. Forest Average for Stands Satisfactorily Stocked Within Five Years - 13 15. Recommended Suitability Changes, 2004-2008 - - - - 14 16. Acres and Number of Units sold that will create openings through the use of even-aged silviculture - - - - - - 16 17. Miles of Road Construction and Reconstruction, 1988 – 2009 - - 20 18. Timber Volumes Offered and Sold (MMBF) and Total Acres Sold - 21 19. South Zone Timber Sales Sold in FY 2005 through 2009 - - - 24 20. Central Zone Timber Sales Sold in FY 2005 through 2009 - - 25 21. Sandpoint RD Timber Sales Sold in FY 2005 through 2009 - - 25 22. Bonners Ferry RD Timber Sales Sold in FY 2005 through 2009 - - 26 23. Priest Lake RD Timber Sales Sold in FY 2005 through 2009 - - 26 24. South Zone Timber Sales Closed FY 2005 through 2009 - - - 27 25. Central Zone Timber Sales Closed in FY 2005 through 2009 - - 27 26. Sandpoint RD Timber Sales Sold in FY 2005 through 2009 - - 28 27. Bonners Ferry RD Timber Sales Sold in FY 2005 through 2009 - - 28 28. Priest Lake RD Timber Sales Closed in FY 2005 through 2009 - - 35 29. Meeting threshold for the five year period from 2005 through 2009 - 36 30. Total Number of Violations Issued - - - - - 37 31. Summary of population monitoring on the IPNFs for MIS from 1998 to 2009 48 32. Number of known grizzly bear mortalities by cause and jurisdiction from 1982 – 2009 - - - - - - - 51 33. Status of the SRZ in relation to the demographic recovery targets, 2007-2008 52 34. Status of the CYRZ in relation to the demographic recovery targets, 2007-2008 52 35. Grizzly bear habitat security in BMUs situated within the CYRZ IPNFs, 1999-2009 - - - - - - - - 54 36. Grizzly bear habitat security in BMUs situated within the SRZ, IPNFs, 1999-2009 - - - - - - - - 55 37. Actions taken in individual BMUs that resulted in changes from Bear Year 2006 to Bear Year 2007 in the SRZ and CYRZ within the IPNFs - - 56 38. Actions taken in individual BMUs that resulted in changes from Bear Year 2007 to Bear Year 2008 in the SRZ and CYRZ within the IPNFs - - 57 39. Actions Taken that Resulted in Changes from Bear Year 2008 to Bear Year 2009 in the SRZ and CYRZ on the IPNFs - - - - 59 40. Seasonal administrative use within the IPNFs portion of the SRZ by iv BMU, 2007 - - - - - - - - 63 41. Seasonal administrative use within the IPNFs portion of the SRZ by BMU, 2008 - - - - - - - - 63 42. Seasonal administrative use within the IPNFs portion of the SRZ by BMU Seasonal Administrative, 2009 - - - - - 64 43. Seasonal administrative use within the IPNFs portion of the CYRZ by BMU, 2007 - - - - - - - - 64 44. Seasonal Administrative Use within the IPNFs portion of the CYRZ by BMU, 2008 - - - - - - - - 65 45. Seasonal Administrative Use within the IPNFs portion of the CYRZ by BMU, 2009 - - - - - - - - 65 46. Summary of restricted and closed route monitoring within the SRZ and CYRZ located on the IPNFs, 2007-2009 - - - - 66 47. Summary of restricted and closed route maintenance within the SRZ and CYRZ located on the IPNFs, 2007-2009 - - - - 66 48. Bird Creek Predicted and Measured Sediment and Runoff - - - 75 49. North Zone PIBO EM Sites - - - - - - 76 50. Central Zone PIBO EM Sites - - - - - - 78 51. South Zone PIBO EM Sites - - - - - - 79 52. Status of bull trout populations in representative core areas of the IPNFs - 83 53. Relative abundance of sampled species - - - - - 87 54. Number of individuals of each species observed in each size class - 91 55. Average of individuals observed, by size class, for 8 streams - - 91 56. Electrofishing data for West Fork St. Maries River - - - 92 57. IPNF Rare Plant Survey Acres 2007-2009 - - - - 94 58. IPNF Rare Plant Survey Acres 2007-2009 - - - - 96 59. Clustered Lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium fasciculatum) Monitoring at Chloride Gulch - - - - - - - 99 60. Land Ownership Adjustment - - - - - - 104 61. Ranges of impacts evaluating existing conditions on 11 timber sales on the IPNF - - - - - - - 106 62. Background and monitoring results of post-harvest detrimental soil impacts on four timber sales and two prescribed burns - - - 107 63. Bulk densities for undisturbed controls - - - - - 111 64. Bulk densities for compacted areas - - - - - 111 65. Bulk density results for a transect traversing north to south through the meadow - - - - - - - - 112 66. Ranges of impacts evaluating existing conditions on 3 timber sales on the IPNFs - - - - - - - - 113 67. Background and monitoring results of post-harvest detrimental soil impacts on four timber sales - - - - - - - 114 68. Hydrophobicity Transect - - - - - - 116 69. Ranges of impacts evaluating existing conditions on 3 timber sales on the IPNFs - - - - - - - - 117 70. Background and monitoring results of post-harvest detrimental soil impacts on four timber sales - - - - - - - 118 71. Summary comparison of the burned units on the HBO sale - - 118 72. Miles of Roads Decommissioned - - - - - 124 73. FIA Current Estimated Percent Old Growth by Geographic Area 127 74. Mapped Allocated Old Growth Stands Acres By River Sub-Basin 131 75. Acres of Allocated Old Growth Compared to Management Area Goal 132 v 76. Old Growth Habitat Type Series Distribution 132 77. Estimates of the number of snags per acre by diameter class for each IPNF Zone - - - - - - - - 136 78. Estimates of the number of snags per acre by diameter class for IPNF Geographic Areas - - - - - - - 136 79. Estimates of the number of snags per acre by diameter class for IPNF Landscape Areas - - - - - - - 137 80. Forest Plan Monitoring Requirements - - - - 139 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Total Number of Employees - - - - - - 11 2. Timber Volume Offered and Sold - - - - - 22 3. Total Acres Sold - - - - - - - 22 4. Overall compliance rates by landownership category among audit years - 73 5. 2007 East Fork Lightning Creek Cross-section, Reach 1 - - 81 6. 2009 East Fork Lightning Creek Cross-section, Reach 1 - - 81 7. Number of redds in consistently monitored streams since 1983 in the Pend Oreille basin - - - - - - - - - 84 8. Number of redds observed in in the St. Joe River drainage - - 84 9. Number of redds observed since 1985, in the Upper Priest Lake drainage