PW 



existing road system has three drive-thru fords crossing Gladstone Creek. All three are v/eii armored and 

 one had no surface flow at the fme of inspection, hov/ever, these crossing sites potentially contribute direct 

 sediment delivery into the channel. The existing road system will continue to be a chronic source of 

 potential sediment input into the affected streams unless remedial action and proper mitigation measures 

 are undertaken. 



Cumulative Watershed Effects: 



Past management activities in both Gladstone and French Creek drainages include grazing, fre 

 suppression, road construction and timber han;est. Timber management activities in both drainages have 

 been minimal over the past 30 years. Harvesting has been limited to small clearcuts and selective cutting. 

 The total past timber harvest represents 12% of Gladstone Creek's total area and 22% of French Creek. 

 Portions of each v/atershed have been developed for home sites with minimal forest crown removal. A 

 salvage harvest occurred v/ithin the Gladstone basin after a fire burned in Bear Gulch. Other tree 

 harvesting has been limited to the removal of dead standing trees for firewood use. 



All stream channels and ephemeral draw bottoms draining the proposed sale area were inventoried and 

 evaluated by a DNRC Hydrologist. Stream channel evaluations (Pfankuch, 1975) were used to assess 

 stream stability and impact of development and past management activities. Both French Creek and 

 Gladstone Creek and their tributaries were found to be in relatively stable condition. Portions of the 

 mainstem of Gladstone Creek showed evidence of past peak flow events resulting in channel adjustments. 

 These v/ere limited to isolated reaches with gullies and debris torrent/bedload deposition along old 

 abandoned channel bottoms. It appears that these secluded reaches v;ere the result of natural 

 catastrophic peak flows that did not result in increased water yields from timber han;est. The reaches 

 containing these features are not located directly downstream of any past timber han/est. 



A cumulative watershed effects analysis v/as completed by DNRC to determine the existing conditions of 

 the proposed sale area. Gladstone and French Creek v/ere analyzed using the Equivalent Clearcut Area 

 (EGA) methodology outlined in Forest Hydrology Part II (Region 1- USFS, 1974). ECA is calculated as a 

 function of area (acres) treated, percent forest crown removal, precipitation patterns and estimates of the 

 amount of hydrologic recovery due to vegetative regrowth. The results of the ECA analysis are 

 summarized in the table below: 



Field evaluation and results from the cumulative watershed effects analysis indicate that past management 

 activities within the proposed sale have resulted in impacts to water quality. These impacts are limited to 

 sediment delivery and erosion from roads and are restricted to stream crossings and isolated segments of 

 existing road located adjacent to Gladstone Creek. There is no evidence of cumulative watershed effects 

 resulting from past timber harvest in either v;atershed. 



ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES 



The proposed timber sale is comprised of three action alternatives. Alternative B prescription is to treat 

 approximately 181 acres with selection harvest and clearcut with reserves. This treatment would remove 



