serai stages either exclusively or 

 seasonally. 



Human activity, generally 

 recreational, on Stillwater State 

 Forest ranges from high along Lower 

 Whitefish Road and within Upper 

 Whitefish Lake Campground to low or 

 moderate along the high elevation 

 Whitefish Divide and Stryker Ridge 

 of the Whitefish Mountain Range. 

 Dispersed and locally concentrated 

 recreation, combined with timber 

 harvesting, are the primary human 

 activities that, directly and 

 indirectly, affect wildlife. 



Timber Harvesting 



Timber-harvesting activities have 

 occurred on Stillwater State Forest 

 for several decades. Early timber 

 harvesting concentrated mainly on 

 large serai tree species, such as 

 western larch (.Larix occidentalis) 

 and western white pine. Recent 

 harvesting activities have, through 

 various silvicultural prescriptions, 

 promoted western larch, western 

 white pine, and lodgepole pine 

 {Pinus contorta) . Snag retention 

 and recruitment have been recently 

 considered in managing timber on 

 Stillwater State Forest. 



Other Timber Harvest Projects Under 

 Contract 



Timber sale projects in progress on 

 Stillwater State Forest include: 



• The Taylor-South Timber Sale 



Project, located in Sections 6, 7, 

 17, 18, 19, 20, 29, 30, 31, 32, 

 and 33, T32N, R22W, is southeast 

 of the proposed Dog/Meadow Timber 

 Sale Project. This project will 

 harvest 4 91 acres (based upon 

 contract acreages, which differ 

 from acres reported in the FEIS) 

 of mixed conifers, western larch, 

 and Douglas -fir (Pseudotsuga 

 menziesii) . The largest impacts 

 to wildlife are reductions in 

 grizzly bear hiding cover and 

 pileated woodpecker habitat. 

 Hiding cover within the Lazy Creek 

 Grizzly Bear Subunit would be 



reduced by 491 acres. 



• The Chicken/Werner Timber Sale 

 Project is directly east of the 

 proposed Dog/Meadow Timber Sale 

 Project area in Sections 19, 20, 

 29, 30, 32, and 33, T33N, R22W. 

 This project will harvest up to 

 684 acres, if the optional 

 helicopter units are harvested 

 (based upon contract acres, which 



differ from acres reported in the 

 FEIS) . The largest impacts to 

 wildlife are reductions in Canada 

 lynx denning habitat, grizzly bear 

 hiding cover, and nesting habitats 

 for pileated woodpeckers and 

 boreal owls. Hiding cover within 

 the Lazy Creek Grizzly Bear 

 Subunit would be reduced by 6 84 

 acres. There would be no long- 

 term increase in the percent of 

 the subunit with open- or total - 

 road densities higher than 1996 

 levels. The percentages of the 

 subunit with greater than 2 miles 

 of total road per square mile of 

 land and greater than 1 mile of 

 open road per square mile of land 

 would increase 1 percent during 

 project activities and revert to 

 existing levels following 

 completion of the project. 



• The Good/Long/Boyle Timber Sale 

 Project, located in Sections 17, 

 19, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 

 33, T32N, R23W, and Section 1, 

 T31N, R24W, is directly south of 

 the proposed Dog/Meadow Timber 

 Sale Project area. Approximately 

 5 MMBF of timber will be harvested 

 from 1,026 acres (based upon 

 contract acreages, which differ 

 from acres reported in the EA) . 

 Approximately 190 acres would be 

 changed directly to the O-to-39- 

 year age class. Four harvest 

 units are within the Lazy Creek 

 Grizzly Bear Subunit, and hiding 

 cover would be reduced by 597 

 acres. There would be no long- 

 term increase in the percentage of 

 the subunit with open- road or 

 total -road densities higher than 

 1996 levels. The percent of the 



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Dog/Meadow Timber Sale Project Draft EA 



