• Direct and Indirect Effect* nfthe , Iction 

 tllternatire to Pileated 'W'wtdpeckerH 



Timber harvesting would occur outside of the 

 pileated woodpecker nesting season; 

 therefore, no direct effects to reproducing 

 pairs or their nestlings are expected. 

 Harvesting during the winter and summer 

 could displace feeding woodpeckers. The 

 effects of harvesting disturbances are 

 unknown; however, Bull et al. (1995) 

 observed a discernible woodpecker roosting 

 near a harvest unit consistently throughout 

 harvesting. If displacement of woodpeckers 

 occurred, there appears to be abundant 

 habitat in and adjacent to the project area; 

 therefore, negligible negative direct effects 

 would occur. 



Salvage harvesting would remove primarily 

 Douglas-fir and western larch. The harvests 

 would focus on insect-infested brood trees to 

 reduce spread and mortality due to forest 

 insects. If successful, many live large trees 

 . would die over a period of time instead of 

 most of these trees dying out in the next 

 several years. Under this alternative, current 

 snag levels would be reduced heavily (refer 

 to the Deadwood Resource section in the 

 Coarse-Filter Analysis), resulting in a 

 decrease in foraging and nesting structure. 

 However, snag recruitment would continue to 

 provide feeding habitat over time. In all 

 stands, at least 2 large snags per acre, on 

 average, would be retained where they 

 currently exist and canopy closure would be 

 reduced slightly. Therefore, pileated 

 woodpecker foraging and nesting sites are 

 expected to decrease in the short-term, but 

 some structure would be retained. 



• Cumulative ElffectM qfthe JVo-* Iction 

 tlltemative to Pileated Woodpecker* 



No additional reductions in foraging and 

 nesting habitat or movement corridors would 

 occur in the short-term. 



• Cumulative EfffectHttft/ietlcttontlUemative 

 to Pileated 'WoodfteckerH 



Foraging and, to a lesser extent, nesting 

 structure would be removed. This would be 

 additive to the reductions of deadwood by 

 unauthorized firewood cutting in the area, 

 resulting in decreased habitat for pileated 

 woodpeckers. Due to the topography and 



location of the proposed units, illegal firewood 

 cutting is expected to be a minor concern. 

 Current and recruitment of nesting and 

 foraging material are expected to be retained. 

 If the expected amount of deadwood were left 

 on site, the effects to pileated woodpeckers 

 would be minimal. 



BIG GAME 



DFWP delineated major winter ranges for big 

 game species in the State. The project area lies 

 in mule deer and elk winter ranges. White-tailed 

 deer, mule deer, elk, and moose use the area in 

 the nonwinter period. Typically, moose winter in 

 other areas farther away. The big game analysis 

 focuses on elk winter-range habitat. 



This project could affect thermal cover and 

 downed-wood loading on the winter range. 

 Thermal cover is an important component on a 

 winter range, especially the winter range for 

 white-tailed deer. Thermal cover provides areas 

 of lower snow loads that allow animals access to 

 forage and to conserve energy while moving. 

 Additionally, the closed canopy also reduces 

 heat-loss expenditures to the environment. 

 Excessive downed-wood material can inhibit 

 movement in stands and prevent access to 

 forage. 



Effects to Elk 



• I>irect and Indirect Elffecttt f^the JVo^lction 

 « Iltematice on Elk 



No additional direct effects are expected. 



Many of the trees proposed for harvesting are 

 expected to die and lose their crown by next 

 winter. Additionally, if these brood trees are 

 not removed, additional large trees (with large 

 crowns) are expected to die within the next 

 several years, further reducing overstory 

 canopy closure and contributing to the 

 downed-woody-debris component of these 

 stands. In the near term, this alternative is 

 expected to reduce overstory canopy cover 

 and increase downed-woody-debris loading 

 in these stands. These conditions are 

 expected to reduce the snow intercept and 

 forage access. However, these effects to the 

 overstory cover would be dampened by an 

 increasing understory and midstory. Elk 

 habitat would be negatively affected to a 

 minimal degree under this alternative. 



PageC-10 



Wildlife Analysis 



