Happy Valley Timber Sale 

 Appendix D: Vegetative Analysis 



increases in the amount and distribution of noxious weeds on the Kalispell Unit. This has 

 occurred at the project level as well. Spotted knapweed and Saint Johnswort is present in 

 patches generally less than Vi acre in size along road edges on state and adjacent lands. 



D. Effects Analysis 



1. Proposed Project Actions: 



a .) Harvest/Logging : 

 Unit 1a & b: 160acres modified seedtree/machine scarify/partial plant WL & PR 



Unit 2 a-c: 283 acres individual select/group select/machine spot pile/partial plant WL & PP 

 - all harvest units would be logged with ground based logging systems 



b .) Roads: 



~ 2.0 miles of reconstruction 



~ 4.9 miles of unimproved logging roads are to be permanently closed and /or 

 obliterated, 

 c.) After harvest treatments : 



Unit 1a & b : machine pile and burn ~ 160 acres/ partial plant openings with WL & PP 

 Unit 2a, - c : machine spot pile and burn -283 acres/ partial plant openings with WL & 

 PP 



d.) Silvicultural treatment reguirements for implementation : 



• Unit 1a & b - 40 foot spacing between seedtrees, variable spacing for growing 

 stock. Cut all DF within 50 of root disease centers 



• Unit 2a, b, & c -variable 20 to 35 foot spacing between leave trees. Cut all DF 

 within 50 feet of root disease centers. 



• Favor retention of ponderosa pine, western larch, and vigorous Douglas fir 



• Remove all trees with thinning crowns or flattened tops 



• Unit 1 & 2 - protect pockets of advanced regeneration 



• Retain snags 7 inches DBH and larger wherever they occur, except within 200 

 feet of open roads and property boundaries. 



2. Effects on Cover Type and Age Class Distribution 



a). Direct and indirect Effects 



1 . NO ACTION: Short term effects are not anticipated with the no action alternative. 

 In the long term, the general trend of increasing percentage of Douglas fir 

 in stand species composition would continue without disturbance. Percentage of 

 western larch would decrease in the long term, moving the cover type to DF and away 

 from the appropriate DFA/VL cover type. As displayed in Table 2, the Happy Valley parcel 

 currently is in the DFA/VL cover type, which is also the appropriate cover type. As trees in 

 the upper canopy levels age the effect of density would be to decrease or stagnate 

 individual tree growth rates in the younger, mid and lower canopy levels of most stands. 

 Using the current definition of "old growth", it would require 50 to 70 years for the stands 

 to reach the minimum age for possible classification as "old growth". 



2. ACTION ALTERNATIVE: Harvesting according to silvicultural prescriptions would 

 result in the reduction of stand density, providing for increased growth rates and vigor in 

 younger trees. Openings created in the stands will allow for natural regeneration or spot 

 planting areas for WL & PP, thereby continuing the species on the site. Age class groups 

 for stands on the Happy Valley tract would remain unchanged or result in a decrease of 

 age within the same age class group. 



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 11/25/2003 



