United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Intermountain Region Targhee National Forest Targhee National Forest LIST OF ACRONYMS USED IN THE REVISED FOREST PLAN AMP Allotment Management Plan AMS Analysis of The Management Situation AOP Annual Operating Plan (Annual Plan of Operations) ASQ Allowable Sale Quantity ATV All Terrain Vehicle AUM Animal Unit Month BLM Bureau of Land Management C&H Cattle and Horse (Allotment) DFC Desired Future Condition EM Ecosystem Management GIS Geographic Information System GYCC Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee IDT Interdisciplinary Team IGBC Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee IGBG Interagency Grizzly Bear Guidelines INFISH Inland Native Fish Strategy MBF Thousand Board Feet MIS Management Indicator Species MIST Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics MMBF Million Board Feet NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NFMA National Forest Management Act NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service OHV Off-Highway Vehicle PACFISH Anadromous Fish Habitat and Watershed Conservation Strategy PAOT Persons At One Time PFC Properly Functioning Condition ROD Record of Decision ROS Recreation Opportunity Spectrum RPD Rangeland Project Decision RVD Recreation Visitor Day S&G Sheep and Goat (Allotment) T&E Threatened and Endangered VQO Visual Quality Objective WFUD Wildlife and Fish User Day REVISED FOREST PLAN for the TARGHEE NATIONAL FOREST Intermountain Region R-4 April 1997 Lead Agency USDA - Forest Service Targhee National Forest PO BOX208 St Anthony, ID 83445 Responsible Official Dale N Bosworth Intermountain Region USDA Forest Service 324 25th Street Ogden, UT 84401 For Further Information Contact JerryB Reese Targhee National Forest PO Box208 St Anthony, ID 83445 (208) 624-3151 (208) 624-4049 (fax) This Rewed Earest Plan was prepared according to Secretary of Agriculture regulations (36 CFR 219), which are based on the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA) This Revised Forest Plan was developed in accordance with regulations (40 CFR 1500) for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) A detailed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been prepared as required by NEPA and 36 CFR 219 If any particular provision of this Revised Plan, or the application of the action to any person or circum- stances, is found to be invalid, the remainder of the proposed action and the application of that provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status (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 the USDA Office of Communications at (202) 720-2791 To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture. U S Department of Agriculture, Washington, D C 20250, or call 1-800-245-6340 (voice) or (202) 720-1127 (TDD) USDA is an equal opportunity em- ployer Please recycle this document when it IS ready to be discarded TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents Contents-I List of Figures Contents-2 Chapter I Forest Plan Revision Introduction Purpose of the Forest Plan Revision 1-1 Revision Structure 1-2 Location of the Forest 1-3 Chapter II Summary of the Analysis of the Management Situation Introduction 11-1 Purpose of Preparing an AMS 11-1 Primary Emphasis of the Plan 11-1 Results of Monitoring 11-1 Public Interaction and DFC 11-2 New Information 11-3 Need for Change 11-3 Chapter 111 Forestwide Standards and Guidelines, St section Direction, i Management Prescriptions Introduction 111-2 Part 1 - Forestwide Standards and Guidelines 111-4 Part 2 - Subsection Descriptions and Direction 111-34 Lemhi/Medicine Lodge Subsection (M332Ek) 111-38 Centennial Mountains Subsection (M332Ea) 111-42 Island Park Subsection (M331Aa) 111-46 Madison-Pitchstone Plateaus Subsection (M331Ab) 111-50 Teton Range Subsection (M331Db) 111-54 Big Hole Mountains Subsection (M331Dk) 111-58 Caribou Range Mountains Subsection (M331Di) 111-62 Part 3 - Management Prescriptions 111-65 Chapter IV Implementation Forest Timber Schedule 1v-1 Chapter V Monitoring and Evaluation Introduction v-1 Relationship to Other Monitoring Activities v-1 Types of Monitoring v-1 Items to be Monitored v-2 Monitoring and the Budget v-2 Monitoring Item Summary v-3 How the Monitoring Information Will be Used v-5 Contents - 1 Appendix A - National Direction Relevant to Land and Resource Management A- 1 Appendix B - U S Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion 6-1 Literature Cited, References R-1 Glossary G-1 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1-1 Vicinity Map of Targhee National Forest on a National Scale 1-4 FIGURE 1-2 Vicinity Map of the Targhee National Forest and the Surrounding Area 1-5 FIGURE 111-1 Subsection Overlay on the Targhee National Forest and the Surrounding Area 111-36 FIGURE 111-2 Targhee National Forest Principal Watersheds 111-37 FIGURE 111-3 Lemhi/Medicine Lodge Subsection (M332Ek) 111-39 FIGURE 111-4 Centennial Mountains Subsection (M332Ea) 111-43 FIGURE 111-5 Island Park Subsection (M331Aa) 111-47 FIGURE 111-6 Madison-Pitchstone Plateaus Subsection (M331Ab) 111-51 FIGURE 111-7 Teton Range Subsection (M331Db) 111-55 FIGURE 111-8 Big Hole Mountains Subsection (M331Dk) 111-59 FIGURE 111-9 Caribou Range Mountains Subsection (M331Di) 111-63 Contents - 2 Chapter Revised Forest Plan 1n traduction -- I CHAPTER I FOREST PLAN REVISION INTRODUCTION a PURPOSE OF THE LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN (FOREST PLAN REVISION) This Revised Forest Plan (Revision, or Plan) guides all natural resource management activities and establishes management standards for the Targhee National Forest (hereinafter referred to as "the Forest") The Revision embodies the provisions of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) as amended by the National Forest Management Act (NFMA), Endangered Spe- cies Act (ESA), and other guiding documents The forestwide standards and guidelines, subsection direction and management prescriptions state the Revision's management direction, however, the project outputs, services, and rates of implementation are dependent on the annual budgeting process The Forest Plan will be revised every 10-15years, or sooner should conditions or demands significantly change Development of the Revision occurs within the overall framework of both National and Regional Plan- ning The Revision and accompanying Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) are "tiered to the Inter- mountain Regional Guide Regional planning is a two-way street that helps convey direction from Na- tional to the Forest level, and helps transmit information from the Forest to the National level The Regional Guide establishes standards and guidelines, and resolves Regional issues During the Revision process, alternatives were developed, analyzed, compared, and a preferred alter- native selected This Revision is based on the "selected alternative" displayed in the accompanying Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) The planning process and analysis procedures used in devel- oping this Revised Plan, as well as the other management alternatives that were considered, are de- scribed or referenced in the EIS In the development of the alternatives, estimates were made based on a broad averages, as to the various activities and resulting outputs of implementingthat alternative These estimates were used to compare alternatives and to arrive at the preferred alternative Actual outputs may vary slightly from those displayed in the preferred alternative, however, the intent of the preferred alternative will be met Revised Forest Plan direction serves as an "umbrella" for the environmental analysis for proposed projects at the Forest and Ranger District levels Future environmental analyses for those projects will refer to this Plan, the accompanying EIS, and related documents wherever possible (the travel plan will be implemented by a separate decision based on the EIS associated with this Plan) Analysis and decision documents will be developed for project level activities not specifically described in this Plan and will concentrate on issues unique to the project Landscape or watershed analysis is one means of implementing Revised Forest Plan direction It is not a process independent of the Plan, but fits under the Plan "umbrella" This process evaluates ecologi- cal, social, and economic conditions-present and historical-at a geographic scale between the entire Targhee National Forest and a much smaller individual project area It generally assesses conditions at a watershed (such as Camas Creek) or subsection (such as Centennial Mountains) scale This assess- ment precedes analysis and decision-making on individual project proposals in the landscape analysis area Subsequent site-specific project analyses use the broader scale analysis to set the context for the proposed activities and their anticipated results Most projects will not be preceded by a landscape analysis because it is an intense analysis process a However, landscape analysis may be helpful for w - identifying and evaluating ecosystems in properly functioning condition and systems at risk, - providing baseline data and information for project planning, - understanding the role of historical processes and patterns within which current management actions