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 both increase 1 percent 

 during project activities and 

 revert to existing levels 

 following completion of the 

 project . 



Influence of Fire 



The influence of fire has been 

 reduced across the northern Rocky 

 Mountains, including most of western 

 Montana. Modern fire-suppression 

 techniques have been effective for 

 at least 50 years. However, 

 relatively cool, moist habitat types 

 make up much of Stillwater State 

 Forest, and mixed- severity and 

 stand-replacing fire regimes are the 

 normal disturbance factor, occurring 

 at intervals of 50 to 250 years. 

 Therefore, the lower- than- 

 characteristic frequency of fire 

 occurrences during the past 50 years 

 on most sites on Stillwater State 

 Forest had a lesser effect than in 

 areas characterized by warm, dry 

 habitats. Nonetheless, fire- 

 associated species, such as the 

 black-backed woodpecker {Picoides 

 arcticus) , are probably less 

 abundant on Stillwater State Forest 

 currently than would typically have 

 been expected under natural fire 

 regimes. Species preferring the 

 dense coniferous in-growth of shade- 

 tolerant tree species (such as 

 subalpine fir and grand fir) under 

 mature forest canopy likely 

 benefited. Shrub amounts and 

 distribution important for many 

 nongame and big game species have 

 also been influenced by fire- 

 suppression activities during the 

 past half century. However, the 

 effects of the departure from 

 historic shrub conditions are 

 unclear because past logging has 

 created favorable conditions for 

 shrub growth in some instances. 



Stand-Age and Covertype 

 Characteristics 



Mature and old stands are essential 

 habitat for wildlife species 

 associated with the late serai 

 stages of forest -stand development 

 for all or some life requirements. 

 A partial list of these species 

 includes pileated woodpeckers 

 (Dryocopus pileatus) , American 

 marten (Martes americana) , brown 

 creepers (Certhia americana) , and 

 winter wren (Troglodytes 

 troglodytes) . The proposed project 

 area currently contains 1,34 8 acres 

 of mature stands (100 to 14 9 years 

 old) and 1,323 acres of old stands 

 (more than 150 years old) , with 

 overstory canopy closure of at least 

 40 percent. A majority of these 

 stands are currently mixed-conifer, 

 Douglas-fir/western larch, and 

 western white pine covertypes. 

 Stillwater State Forest has less 

 acres in the seedling/sapling class 

 (0 to 3 9 years old) than were 

 historically present {Losensky 

 1997h) , and a greater percentage of 

 acres in mature stands. Modern fire 

 suppression has led to an increase 

 in shade-tolerant mixed-conifer 

 stands, while the amount of western 

 larch/Douglas-fir stands has been 

 reduced. The representation of 

 western white pine has also been 

 reduced due to mortality caused by 

 white pine blister rust. 



Patch Characteristics and 

 Connectivity 



Wildlife species that require 

 connectivity of forest habitat types 

 between patches or those species 

 that are dependent upon interior 

 forest conditions can be sensitive 

 to the amount and spatial 

 configuration of appropriate 

 habitats. Therefore, patch size and 

 juxtaposition can influence habitat 

 quality and population dynamics for 

 some species. Some species are 

 adapted to thrive near patch edges, 

 while others are adversely affected 

 by the presence of edge or the 

 presence of other animals that 



Appendix E-Wildlife Analysis 



Page E-3 



