4.3.8 Visual Quality (Issue #9) 



4.3.9.1 Alternative A: Deferred Harvest (No Action) - Direct and 

 Indirect Effects 



Under Alternative A: Deferred Harvest (No Action) road building and 

 harvesting would not take place. There would be no immediate change to 

 visual quality. Since the stand would remain in an overstocked condition it 

 would remain at high risk to pine beetle infestation and high intensity stand 

 replacing fire. Either of these events, particularly stand replacing fire could 

 have a very noticeable impact on visual quality at some point in the future. 



4.3.9.2 Alternative B: Harvest - Direct and Indirect Effects 



Approximately 2.5 miles of new permanent roads would be built with this 

 project. Following harvest, these roads would remain in place but would be 

 closed to all public motorized traffic. 



The commercial thinning proposed for the area would maintain a forested 

 appearance with several small openings from a distance. There would be and 

 average of 50 trees per acre across the harvest area. When the ground is snow 

 covered, the portions of harvest units over approximately 35% slope may 

 appear as a mottled white and green as opposed to the solid green look of a 

 forest with a closed tree canopy. From within the harvest units the area would 

 appear much more open than it currently is and sight distances would be 

 increased. Since the stands have been overstocked for a number of years and 

 the smaller trees would be removed the remaining trees would have few if any 

 low live limbs and have a somewhat unnatural appearance immediately after 

 harvest. Because of the variance in stand structure the appearance would vary 

 throughout the harvest area. Overstocked Douglas-fir sites may appear more 

 open because the existing trees have small crowns due to the present 

 overcrowdmg and competition. In stands where there are larger ponderosa 

 pine and western larch with full crowns the stands would have a clumpier 

 appearance because of the crown size and the availability of large mature trees 

 to leave unharvested on the site. This appearance would slowly change as the 

 tree crowns expand over a period of years. 



Skyline corridors from skyline logging would be visible as narrow (10-15 foot 

 wide) clearcut stripes running in perfectly straight lines up and down the 

 slope. These corridors would be most visible if viewed when aligned with the 

 corridor. As the viewpoint moves to either side, trees adjacent to the corridor 

 would screen it from view. If the stand adjacent to the corridor is thinned so 

 that the canopy is not continuous, the corridors would not appear as abrupt as 

 they would if they passed through a dense portion of the stand that has not 

 been thinned, however corridors can be noticeable even in thinned stands for 

 several years. Corridors would be oriented so that they do not align 

 themselves with common viewpoints. This would reduce their visual impact. 



Deadman Gulch Timber Sale Environmental Assessment 4-1 1 



