continued high road densities and low cover availability. Continued 

 development is also likely on private lands within the Highway 93 

 corridor that could reduce habitat values for grizzly bears further. 

 Therefore, under the Alternative A: Deferred Harvest (No Action), habitat 

 would continue to be of low quality, with the potential for continued 

 reductions. However, these cumulative effects would be very minimal due 

 to the low quality of existing habitat and the very low existing potential 

 for grizzly bear use. 



4.3.11.2.3 Alternative B: Harvest - Direct and Indirect Effects 



Implementation of Alternative B: Harvest would result in increased road 

 density and decreased cover. A total of approximately 2.5 miles of new 

 road would be constructed to access the Project Area. All new roads 

 would be closed to public access after completion of the harvest. The 

 effect of these new roads would be very minimal due to the effectiveness 

 of access control in this area as a result of the close proximity of occupied 

 private lands near the only access point (Henderson and Hillis 1998). 

 Cover would be reduced, however the moderate levels of retention would 

 provide some screening cover within the Project Area. The effects of 

 these treatments would be minimal due to the low quality of existing 

 habitat and the consequent low potential for grizzly bear use resulting 

 from the existing high road densities (>3 miles/sq. mile) on private lands 

 dominating the northern half of the Analysis Area, the low quality of 

 seasonal habitats within the Project Area, the close proximity of human 

 development, the lack of grizzly bear occupancy in the Bitterroot 

 Ecosystem, and the relative isolation of the Project Area between major 

 highway corridors. 



4.3.11.2.4 Cumulative Effects of Alternative B: Harvest 



From a cumulative effects standpoint, continued intensive management of 

 adjacent private lands for timber production, resulting in maintenance of 

 high road densities and low cover availability, coupled with continued 

 human development on private lands within the highway 93 corridor could 

 continue to reduce habitat values for grizzly bears. Therefore, as with 

 Alternative A: Deferred Harvest (No Harvest), implementation of 

 Alternative B: Harvest would have minimal cumulative effects on grizzly 

 bears as habitat would continue to be of low quality, with the potential for 

 continued reductions, and the likelihood of use by grizzly bears would 

 continue to be low. 



4.3.11.3 Gray Wolves 



4.3.11.3.1 Alternative A: Deferred Harvest (No Action) - Direct 

 and Indirect Effects 



If no harvest were to occur in the Project Area, there would not be any 

 changes in cover or road density. Although cover and road density have 



Deadman Gulch Timber Sale Environmental Assessment 4-15 



