A Plan for the Klamath Tribes’ Management of the Klamath Reservation Forest May, 2008 K. Norman Johnson Jerry F. Franklin Debora L. Johnson The cover picture was taken at the Bull Pasture stand southeast of Buckhorn Springs.All pictures without credits in the report were taken on the Reservation Forest during our field work. Contents Introduction Part I: The Desired Future Condition ................................................................ 222 Goals for Restorative Management of the Klamath Reservation ............................................. 3 19th and Early 20th Century Forest Conditions on Klamath Reservation Forest.................... 5 Key disturbance processes .................................................................................................... 6 Change from historical conditions .......................................................................................... 8 Desired Future Conditions for the Habitat Types of the Klamath Reservation Forest ............ 9 Habitat Types Historically Dominated by Ponderosa Pine .............................................. 11 Representative stands to use as a guide to desired future conditions ...................... 13 Structural goals ........................................................................................................ 17 Large trees .......................................................................................................... 17 Small trees .......................................................................................................... 17 Susceptibility to insect attack ............................................................................. 19 Shrubs ................................................................................................................ 20 Red Fir and Mountain Hemlock Habitat Types............................................................... 20 Lodgepole Pine Habitat Types ........................................................................................ 20 Lodgepole Pine/Bitterbrush ..................................................................................... 21 Proposed management strategy .......................................................................... 22 Maintaining/enhancing bitterbrush .................................................................... 23 Lodgepole Pine on Ponderosa Pine Sites .................................................................. 24 Wet Lodgepole Pine .................................................................................................. 24 Lodgepole pine on marginal and high elevation sites ................................................ 25 Aspen, Willow, and Other Hardwoods ............................................................................ 26 Meadows ........................................................................................................................ 26 Shrub lands, sagebrush, and juniper habitat types ........................................................ 26 Riparian Areas ................................................................................................................ 27 Roads ............................................................................................................................. 27 Relationship of Proposed Approach to Climate Change ....................................................... 27 Part II: Current Condition and Needed Activities .................................................................. 313131 Complex Forests .................................................................................................................. 31 Simplified Forests ................................................................................................................ 31 A Proposed Revised Classification ....................................................................................... 33 Locating the Remaining Complex Forest .............................................................................. 34 Considering Watersheds and Rivers .................................................................................... 36 An Overall Strategy for Restoring the Klamath Reservation Forests ..................................... 37 Recognizing Different Management Emphases on the Reservation Forest ........................... 38 Comparison to the Forest Service Plan ................................................................................ 40 Identifying Management Reference Sites and Generalized Prescriptions ............................. 40 Inventory and Monitoring ..................................................................................................... 46 Prescriptions for Reference Areas ................................................................................................... 525252 Part III: Current Inventory and Growth, Harvest Estimates, Costs, Revenues, and Organization .......................................................................................................................................696969 Inventory Data ..................................................................................................................... 69 All forest types (Tables I1a, I1b) ..................................................................................... 70 All Forest Types .............................................................................................................. 72 The Ponderosa Pine/Mixed Conifer Types ..................................................................... 72 Current Growth on the Ponderosa Pine/Mixed-Conifer Types ................................. 73 Biomass .................................................................................................................... 74 Comparison of Desired Future Conditions and Current Conditions .................................... 75 Testing Treatment Effectiveness .......................................................................................... 76 Landscape planning for fuels management on the Klamath Reservation ............................. 77 Potential Economic Return from Timber Sales on the Klamath Reservation Forest .............. 80 Market Discussion ......................................................................................................... 80 Sample Appraisals ......................................................................................................... 82 Eastside Buyers ............................................................................................................. 83 Application of the Prescriptions: Residual Stand Conditions and Harvest Per Acre ............ 88 Potential Total Harvest over the Next 20 Years .................................................................... 91 Using Biomass from the Klamath Reservation Forest to Fuel a Biomass Plant..................... 92 Plan Implementation ............................................................................................................ 93 Targeted fuels reduction near towns and settlements .................................................... 94 Density and fuels reduction across the Reservation Forest -- a landscape approach ..... 94 Specific Goals, Standards, and Guidelines for Management of the Klamath Reservation Forest ............................................................................................................................. 96 Forest-wide Goals, Standards, and Guidelines .................................................................... 97 Forest Management Strategies ....................................................................................... 97 General Goals ........................................................................................................... 97 Tree Removal ............................................................................................................ 97 Snag and Down Wood ............................................................................................... 97 Fish, Wildlife, and Sensitive Plants ................................................................................. 98 Mule Deer Habitat Objectives and Standards ........................................................... 99 History (adapted from a paper by Rick Ward) ...................................................... 99 Approach .......................................................................................................... 100 Desired future condition ................................................................................... 101 Standards.......................................................................................................... 102 Guidelines ........................................................................................................ 103 Raptors and Colonial Nesting Birds ........................................................................ 104 Bald eagles ............................................................................................................ 104 Threatened and Endangered Species ........................................................................... 105 Northern spotted owls ............................................................................................. 105 Water Quality and Riparian Management ..................................................................... 105 Standards ..............................................................................................................