Douglas -fir and true fir would be 

 harvested, the inoculum potential 

 would initially increase due to 

 colonization of stumps by 

 existing root rot fungi {Redfern 

 and Filip, 1991) . The increase of 

 western larch and rust-resistant 

 western white pine regeneration in 

 the area should reduce the impacts 

 of root disease. The risk of 

 blowdown adjacent to proposed 

 harvest unit boundaries would be 

 increased by the reduction of 

 canopy. Mitigation measures to 

 reduce the amount of blowdown 

 would include retaining clumps of 

 trees in high-risk areas and 

 retaining additional trees in 

 areas exposed to high winds, such 

 as ridgetops. Individual trees 

 that have shallow lateral root 

 systems, such as Engelmann spruce, 

 would not be retained in openings 

 away from timber walls that could 

 provide shelter from the wind. 

 Following hazard-reduction 

 treatments, the harvest unit 

 conditions would be more conducive 

 to fire-suppression efforts, with 

 a lower risk of high intensity, 

 stand-replacement fires occurring. 



Cumulative Effects 



• C'uutHlatite mfech ofJVo-*1clion ^llternatice 

 ,1 and miction ,1lternatice li on Imtecln and 

 DiHeiuie«/Fore«t Health Conditions 



The Stillwater Unit forest- 

 management program bases the 

 priority of timber-harvest 

 locations largely on timber-stand 

 conditions in reference to insect 

 and disease conditions, retention 

 of biodiversity, loss of value, 

 and fire -hazard reduction. 

 Therefore, treatments similar to 

 those proposed on this project 

 have been initiated and completed 

 in the analysis area. These 

 treatments harvested trees that 

 were infested with bark beetles; 

 retained trees that are more 

 resistant to insect and disease 

 attacks; retained species that are 

 less susceptible to root rot and 

 stem rots; and regenerated a tree- 



species composition that is 

 diverse and, therefore, more 

 resistant to insect and disease 

 mortality. These types of 

 treatments will likely continue to 

 be proposed and implemented in the 

 analysis area. 



NOXIOUS WEEDS 



Direct and Indirect Effects 



• Direct .Ind Indirect L^ecls qfA'o-. Iction 

 ,1lternatice *1 on J\'ojriom Weeds 



Current infestations of noxious 

 weeds are being addressed with an 

 ongoing program of site-specific 

 herbicide spraying along roads and 

 in small areas of infestation. 

 The spraying is done by a 

 certified applicator at Stillwater 

 Unit and Flathead County weed- 

 control personnel . The funding 

 for weed control comes largely 

 from the FI fee collected on 

 timber sale projects. This 

 alternative would not collect 

 funds to be used for noxious -weed 

 management and could reduce the 

 ability to treat noxious weeds. 

 No-Action Alternative A would not 

 expose additional mineral soil or 

 open up the canopy of existing 

 stands and, therefore, would not 

 increase the risk of additional 

 establishment of weed populations. 

 Currently, the project area is 

 used extensively for dispersed 

 recreation; weed seed is 

 introduced primarily from motor 

 vehicle traffic. 



• Direct . tnd Indirect fiffect* qf. Iction 

 .llternatice B on jXoxioim IV'eedji 



Action Alternative B proposes to 

 operate harvesting equipment, 

 logging trucks, and personal and 

 administrative vehicles on 

 existing road systems within the 

 harvest area. Additional mineral 

 soil would be exposed during 

 equipment operation within the 

 proposed harvest units, blading of 

 existing roads, and construction 

 of log landings and temporary 

 roads . 



Appendix C-Vegetation Analysis 



Page C-11 



