change the current amount of old-growth 

 stands or the cover-type representation in old- 

 growth stands on Stillwater State Forest. The 

 following harvest treatments are proposed in 

 old-growth stands: 



combination group selection and stand 



improvement, 



modified seedtree/shelterwood with 



reserves, and 



improvement cutting. 



The treatments proposed in old-growth stands 

 would retain most of the large trees and favor 

 the retention of western larch and Douglas-fir. 

 Most of the old-growth stands that would be 

 entered have been entered previously with 

 timber harvests. As stated in Chapter III, 

 Stillwater State Forest is low in the amount of 

 old-growth stands in the western larch/ 

 Douglas-fir cover type needed to meet its 

 "one-half historic minimum" standard. The 

 proposed harvest would not change this 

 situation in the short term, and old-growth 

 stands that are entered should be able to 

 maintain their classification as old growth for 

 many years. The stands that would be con- 

 verted from the mixed-conifer cover type to 

 the western larch/Douglas-fir cover type 

 would increase the future options for manage- 

 ment and meeting DNRC's connmitments. 

 Stillwater State Forest also has opportunities 

 with future timber management proposals to 

 convert some old growth that is currently in 

 the mixed-conifer cover type directly to a ' 

 western larch/Douglas-fir old-growth stand. 

 This can be done by entering these stands with 

 harvest treatments that remove a portion of 

 shade-tolerant species while retaining most of 

 the older western larch and Douglas-fir. These 

 treatments would be similar to disturbances 

 caused by mixed-severity fire events. 

 Stillwater State Forest would likely look for 

 these opportunities in future timber sale ■ 

 proposals. ^ i 



EFFECTS TO OLD-GROWTH 

 ATTRIBUTES j 



Large live trees 



'■ifm 



Most of the large live trees in the old-growth 

 stands proposed for harvesting would be *« 

 retained. The change in stocking levels would 

 likely decrease the stress on these trees, in- 

 creasing vigor and very likely increasing their 

 resistance to some insect and disease mortality. 

 At the same time, trees retained in the 17-to- 

 20-inch dbh size class may experience some 

 increase in vigor and growth rates from the 

 reduction in stocking levels; therefore, they 

 may become larger trees sooner. The reduc- 

 tion of stocking levels in a stand does increase 

 the risk of blowdown; however, since many of 

 these stands have been entered before and 

 stocking is not extremely dense, most of these 

 trees are likely quite wind firm. The drier sites 

 and broken nature of the topography in the 

 proposed harvest units reduce the risk of 

 blowdown. 



Coarse woody material j a ^^Aip^^^si^ Ifsi ^M-. tdo 



The amount of coarse woody material on the 

 ground after harvesting would increase in the 

 old-growth stands being entered. As a mitiga- 

 tion to ensure this occurs, the Timber Sale 

 Contract specifications would require from 12 

 to 15 tons of coarse woody debris to be distrib- 

 uted throughout the harvest unit. The sale 

 administrator would ensure that a large 

 percentage of the larger cull material is re- 

 tained in the unit when logs are manufactured. 

 This larger material is important for the nutri- 

 ent-recycling processes that occur in forest 

 soils and as habitat for wildlife. Leaving 12 to 

 15 tons of larger coarse woody debris scattered 

 throughout a harvest unit would meet the 

 hazard reduction law and not increase fire 

 hazards above existing conditions. 



;'<; 



Snags per acre 



The overall amount of snags per acre may 

 decrease slightly due to harvesting activities. 

 In addition, some low-vigor trees that would 

 likely die and become snags in the near future 

 would be harvested. Some snags would 



Chapter IV: Environmental Consequences 



^IV-5] 



