associated with old stands, such 

 as American martens, northern 

 goshawks, and pileated 

 woodpeckers, which benefited from 

 the increasing stand ages due to 

 modern fire suppression. 



Cumulative Effects 



• Ciimulatice ^ffectjt qfA^o-*1clion ^Alternative 

 »1 on Coarae Filter 



Under this alternative, the 

 existing habitats within the 

 proposed project area would 

 continue to provide habitat for 

 wildlife species requiring denser 

 stands with a canopy that is more 

 closed. Surrounding stands would 

 retain a mosaic of age classes, 

 representing young stands that 

 have been recently harvested to 

 mature stands. Adjacent harvested 

 stands would continue to emulate 

 stand-replacing fire regimes. 

 Edge habitats between these 

 earlier harvested stands and the 

 State parcel would continue to 

 exist. This alternative would 

 cause neither changes in the 

 amount of fragmentation nor 

 changes in patch size and 

 configuration. Habitats for 

 forested interior and old-stand- 

 associated species would continue 

 to develop across much of 

 Stillwater State Forest. 



• Cumulalice HlffecLt qf miction »Hternntive B on 

 Conr*e Filter 



This alternative would open up 

 stands and decrease the amount of 

 interior habitat, while increasing 

 edge habitats within Stillwater 

 State Forest. The proposed 

 harvest units would blend with 

 several recent harvest units 

 adjacent to the proposed units, 

 increasing patch size and 

 offsetting some of the edge 

 habitats developed by the proposed 

 activities. Some wildlife species 

 would benefit from this increase 

 in edge and jvixtaposition of 

 different covertypes, while, for 

 other species, fragmentation would 

 limit available habitat. Again, 



landscape connectivity would be 

 retained through retention buffers 

 preserving riparian plant 

 communities. Although this 

 alternative would remove 

 approximately 939 acres of 

 potential habitat for old-stand- 

 associated species, stands on much 

 of Stillwater State Forest 

 continue to advance toward 

 conditions necessary for these 

 species . 



Special Habitats 



Approximately 8.2 miles of perennial 

 streams are within the proposed 

 project area. In western Montana, 

 85 percent of all bird species use 

 riparian areas, which comprise 1 

 percent of the land. Half of those 

 bird species, or 40 to 45 percent of 

 all birds, are restricted to 

 riparian areas for breeding purposes 

 ^Mosconi and Hutto, 1982) . Also, 

 paper birch CBetuIa papyrifera) , 

 willow {Salix spp.), and black 

 Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) 

 occur in conjunction with numerous 

 meadow systems in the general 

 vicinity. No avalanche chutes are 

 within the proposed project area; 

 however, rock outcrops and cliffs 

 exist in the project area. 



Direct and Indirect Effects 



• Direct and Jntlirect Flffecln qfJS'o-, Iction 

 ,1lternatice • 1 on Special JIabitat» 



The riparian plant communities 

 along approximately 8.2 miles of 

 perennial streams and several 

 miles of intermittent streams 

 within the proposed project area 

 would not be affected by this 

 alternative. Streamside areas 

 would continue to move toward more 

 shade-tolerant conifer species, 

 such as grand fir and Engelmann 

 spruce. Paper birch and black 

 Cottonwood would continue to occur 

 in the stream corridors, meadows, 

 and seasonal wetlands (small low 

 areas that seasonally collect 

 water) . All of these areas would 

 remain unaffected under this 

 alternative. Therefore, the 



Appendix E-Wildlife Analysis 



Page E-5 



