Six is a multistoried Douglas-fir stand, although a fire-maintained open forest 

 condition was the normal situation during the pre European-settlement period. 

 Depending on the stage of stand development and the fire severity, fire may 

 maintain the site in a shrub and herb stage, thin the stand or in the case of a severe 

 fire, replace the stand and revert it to the shrub and herb stage. Climax Douglas-fir 

 stands are more likely to occur on sites where Douglas-fir is the climax species as 

 well as the serai dominant, notably on sites within the PSME/CARU-CARU and 

 PSME/PHMA-PHMA habitat types. Frequent low to moderate fires in the climax 

 conditions on these sites will create a more open, park like stand of Douglas-fir, 

 whereas a severe fire returns the stand to the shrub and herb stage (Fischer and 

 Bradley 1987). 



Prior to European settlement forested sites such as the project area were 

 composed of large ponderosa pine, western larch, and Douglas-fir. Drier aspects 

 were predominantly ponderosa pine while western larch became a major 

 component in more moist areas. These stands frequently grew in fairly open 

 conditions that were maintained by frequent low intensity surface fires that 

 occurred on an average interval of once every 13 years. These fires served to 

 maintain the open character of the stand by killing most of the small trees that had 

 become established in the under-story but did not usually damage the large trees 

 in the overstory. Fire also perpetuated the dominance of ponderosa pine on the 

 site as it is more fire resistant than Douglas-fir in the sapling stage. While no 

 records of past harvest exist, the stand was very likely logged in the latter portion 

 of the 1890's when lower slopes in the area were being aggressively harvested. 

 Large snags and snag recruits are limited because of past harvest. The best snags 

 that currently exist within the project area are located in the unentered stands on 

 and near the eastern ridge top. These trees were probably too small to be 

 economically harvested in the early day logging and have now grown to a 

 relatively large size. Following the removal of most of the large trees on the site 

 the area regenerated into a dense stand of Douglas-fir. With effective fire 

 exclusion these stands have regenerated into more dense stands of ponderosa pine 

 and Douglas-fir than was historically present in the stand. Dwarf mistletoe occurs 

 throughout most of the Douglas-fir stands. Due to the stand's dense character the 

 trees are competing with each other for moisture, nutrients and growing space. 

 Mortality from competition is common in the stand. The predominant stand 

 structure within the project area is second growth Douglas-fir, western larch, and 

 ponderosa pine. Tree size ranges from 5" to 26" dbh with most trees between 6" 

 and 8" dbh. Species composition varies throughout the stand but is approximately 

 40 % Douglas-fir, 20% western larch, and 40% ponderosa pine. The proposed 

 harvesting would reduce the tree canopy cover in the harvested areas by 

 approximately 40-60%. Harvesting would leave the dominant ponderosa pine and 

 western larch whenever possible. Following harvesting the site would have 

 approximately 50 trees per acre ranging from 8" to 26" dbh. Growth rates should 

 increase dramatically due to the thinning, as competition between trees would be 

 substantially reduced. Other plant species currently on the site such as grass, forb 

 and shrub species should also experience an increase in growth and vigor as a 



Deadman Gulch Timber Sale Environmental Assessment 3-9 



