treatment would improve flammulated owl habitat by improving foraging 

 habitat, retaining nesting structure, and retaining patches of denser 

 structure along Deadman Gulch and associated draws and no-harvest areas 

 that can serve as roosting habitat. In addition, reducing the risks of stand 

 replacing disturbances would result in longer-term stability of the suitable 

 flammulated owl habitat. Consequently, there would be minor positive 

 cumulative effects to flammulated owls by implementing proposed 

 Alternative B: Harvest. 



4.3.12.2 Pileated Woodpeckers 



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

 and Indirect Effects 



Without the proposed harvest, ponderosa pine would continue to 

 experience competition with encroaching Douglas-fir, leading to, and 

 potentially accelerating, mortality of the largest size class of ponderosa 

 pine. This would create additional nesting habitat for pileated 

 woodpeckers in the short term (several decades) by the creation of large 

 snags, but lead to long term deficits in nesting habitat due to the failure of 

 smaller size classes to grow into larger size classes, especially for 

 ponderosa pine. In addition, foraging and nesting habitat would be created 

 over the short term as ponderosa pine trees continue to succumb, however 

 as this cohort is removed and replaced with smaller size Douglas-fir, 

 foraging and nesting habitat would decline. 



Under the Alternative A: Deferred Harvest (No Action), there would be a 

 continued, and potentially increasing, risk of stand replacing wildfire. 

 Hutto (1995) found that pileated woodpeckers did occur in burned forests, 

 but he suggested that they require a mix of forest types and they are 

 generally always detected near intact forest. Therefore, stand replacing 

 fire could result in an increase in foraging substrate, but lower long-term 

 nesting suitability, which would be dependent upon the actual extent and 

 intensity of the particular fire event, should one occur. However, the close 

 proximity of fire suppression resources and the high priority of fire 

 suppression resulting from the presence of occupied residences in the 

 Analysis Area reduces somewhat the likelihood of extensive fire 

 disturbances. In summary, short-term (several decades) nesting and 

 foraging habitat conditions would be maintained or slightly enhanced for 

 pileated woodpeckers under Alternative A: Deferred Harvest (No Action), 

 however, long-term (>50 years) sustainability of nesting habitat could be 

 compromised due to the expected high risk of attrition of preferred large 

 ponderosa pine trees. 



Deadman Gulch Timber Sale Environmental Assessment 4-19 



