conclude that bears may occupy the affected area within several years' 

 time. Repeated entry over several years to harvest insect-killed timber 

 that was influenced by the Dirty Ike fire could lead to potential direct 

 conflicts with grizzly bears with each passing year. Thus, it is 

 recommended that future operations for insect-related salvage occur 

 during the denning period (November 15 - April 15), or strict 

 sanitation guidelines be implemented to reduce the availability of bear 

 attractants. Additionally, it is recommended that, during the course of 

 future bug salvage operations, should additional road construction be 

 required to access affected timber, said road(s) would have effective 

 road closure devices (e.g., locked gates, tank traps, etc.) installed upon 

 completion of the salvage operation. 



Given the proposed fire salvage, there would be low risk of direct or 

 indirect effect to grizzly bears. For future related harvest of insect- 

 killed timber, there may be low to moderate risk of direct or indirect 

 effects to grizzly bears, depending upon timing of the operations, and 

 the extent, location, and closure status of potential roads, and the status 

 of grizzly bear activity in the area. 



4.3.3.1.1.4 Cumulative Effects of Alternative B: Harvest 



There has been a lack of grizzly bear activity within the analysis area 

 over the last several years, with the nearest, and most recent, activity 

 occurring approximately 14 miles east of the project area. In addition 

 to this proposed action, the Dirty Ike Road project, which would 

 construct approximately 1.5 miles of new road within the current 

 project area. Additionally, there is the impact of the existing seed 

 tree/shelterwood harvests and road density on surrounding private 

 industrial ground. Thus, the proposed fire salvage, potential salvage of 

 insect-killed timber and new road construction would bring ((1) 

 repeated entries into the project and analysis areas, (2) increase total 

 road density, but not open road density, and (3) reduce hiding cover 

 within the analysis area, while fostering conditions that could produce 

 an ample food source for grizzly bears.) Although there has not been 

 recent activity of grizzly bears within the analysis area, the rapidly 

 increasing distribution of grizzly bears within the adjacent Blackfoot 

 River Valley and Garnet Range lead one to believe that grizzly bears 

 may occupy the analysis area in the near future. As such, repeated 

 harvest entries would increase risk of conflicts with operators. To 

 reduce risk of conflicts, it is recommended that sanitation restrictions 

 (i.e., food storage, garbage disposal) be implemented during the non- 

 denning period (April 15 - November 15) for operations related to this 

 proposed activity, both fire-killed and insect-killed timber harvest. 

 Due to the current absence of grizzly bear activity within the analysis 

 area, and no net increase in open road densities, there would be low 



Dirty Ike Salvage Environmental Assessment 4-12 



