United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Starry Goat Northern Region Final Environmental Impact Statement March 2018 Part 2 Three Rivers Ranger District Kootenai National Forest Lincoln County, Montana Table of Contents- Part 2 Table of Contents- Part 2 .............................................................................................................. i Chapter 4. ............................................................................................................ 1 Response to Comments for Starry Goat DEIS ............................................................................ 1 Comment Categories ............................................................................................................... 1 2015 Forest Plan Direction ...................................................................................................... 2 Alternatives ............................................................................................................................. 3 Aquatics ................................................................................................................................... 3 Climate Change ....................................................................................................................... 8 Costs of Project ..................................................................................................................... 14 Eligible Wild and Scenic Rivers ............................................................................................ 14 Fire and Fuels Management .................................................................................................. 14 Forest Vegetation ................................................................................................................... 18 Forest Vegetation – Old Growth ............................................................................................ 28 Inventoried Roadless Areas ................................................................................................... 29 NEPA ..................................................................................................................................... 30 Road Effects .......................................................................................................................... 31 Scientific Integrity ................................................................................................................. 31 Soils ....................................................................................................................................... 32 Timber Suitability .................................................................................................................. 37 Travel Management ............................................................................................................... 38 Water Resources .................................................................................................................... 45 Wildlife – Endangered Species Act ....................................................................................... 56 Wildlife – Canada Lynx ......................................................................................................... 57 Wildlife – Grizzly Bear ......................................................................................................... 58 Wildlife – Habitat Connectivity ............................................................................................ 63 Wildlife – Other Species ....................................................................................................... 63 Wildlife – Sensitive Species .................................................................................................. 66 Wildlife – Wolverine ............................................................................................................. 69 Wildlife and Recreation ......................................................................................................... 70 Literature Cited .......................................................................................................................... 71 General Reference ................................................................................................................. 71 Air Quality ............................................................................................................................. 71 Aquatic Habitat and Species.................................................................................................. 72 Economics ............................................................................................................................. 76 Fire and Fuels ........................................................................................................................ 76 Forest Vegetation ................................................................................................................... 79 Invasive Plant Species ........................................................................................................... 87 Inventoried Roadless Areas ................................................................................................... 88 Minerals ................................................................................................................................. 89 PTES Plants ........................................................................................................................... 89 Recreation .............................................................................................................................. 90 Scenic Resources ................................................................................................................... 90 Soils ....................................................................................................................................... 91 Transportation........................................................................................................................ 96 Water Resources .................................................................................................................... 96 Wildlife ................................................................................................................................ 100 Threatened, Endangered, and Proposed Species ...................................................... 100 Sensitive Species ...................................................................................................... 107 Starry Goat FEIS - Part 2 i Other Species of Interest ........................................................................................... 115 Appendix and Maps ............................................................................................ 1 Appendix A: Glossary and Acronyms ......................................................................................... 1 Glossary ................................................................................................................................... 1 Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................................................ 25 Appendix B: Best Management Practices (BMP) ..................................................................... 29 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 29 BMP Implementation Process ............................................................................................... 29 KNF BMP SELECTION AND DESIGN FORM (KNF-BMP-1) ......................................... 31 Appendix C: Starry Goat Harvest Treatment Summary ............................................................ 46 Alternative 2 – Harvest Treatment Summary ........................................................................ 46 Alternative 3 – Harvest Treatment Summary ........................................................................ 54 Alternative 4 – Harvest Treatment Summary ........................................................................ 61 Appendix D – Starry Goat Access Management Plan Table ..................................................... 71 Appendix D – Starry Goat Access Management Plan Map ...................................................... 74 Appendix E – Past Harvest Activities in the Project Area ........................................................ 75 Appendix F – Starry Goat Monitoring Plan ............................................................................ 105 Appendix G – List of Preparers and Recipients ...................................................................... 107 List of Recipients ................................................................................................................ 109 Local Government and Elected Officials ................................................................. 109 Federal Agencies ...................................................................................................... 109 Organizations ........................................................................................................... 109 State Agencies .......................................................................................................... 109 Native American Tribes and Organizations ............................................................. 109