APPENDIX C 



VEGETATION ANALYSIS 



INTRODUCTION 



The following analysis provides a 

 detailed description of the present 

 conditions of the forest and 

 addresses the potential effects of 

 the proposed alternatives in 

 relation to the following issues: 



• Douglas -fir and spruce bark 

 beetles may potentially cause 

 additional tree mortality if 

 timber harvesting does not remove 

 trees with existing populations of 

 beetles. 



• The risk of catastrophic fires may 

 increase on Swan River State 

 Forest and adjacent lands if 

 excessive dead and down fuel is 

 not removed and densely 

 overstocked stands are not 

 thinned. 



• Salvage logging and the removal of 

 down woody material may be 

 detrimental to the occurrence of 

 white trillium {Trillium ovatum) 

 and other sensitive plant species. 



• Harvesting could remove or change 

 the amount, distribution, and 

 attributes of old-growth stands on 

 Swan River State Forest . 



BACKGROUND 



On April 14, 2002, a strong windstorm 

 blew down approximately 1 MMBF of 

 live timber across 1,500 acres of 

 Swan River State Forest. The forest 

 also has an ongoing severe 

 infestation of Douglas-fir bark 

 beetles, which has caused heavy tree 

 mortality to another 0.5 MMBF in the 

 same area. 



DNRC is required by law to establish 

 a timber program that provides for 

 the timely salvage of dead and dying 

 timber that is threatened by 

 insects, diseases, wildfires, or 

 windthrow on State forests (Section 



77-5-207, MCA) . Under this 

 requirement, DNRC shall, to the 

 extent practicable, harvest dead and 

 dying timber before there is 

 sxibstantial wood decay and value 

 loss. 



In 1996, DNRC adopted the SFLMP 

 under an EIS Record of Decision and 

 subsequent approval by the Land 

 Board. This project is conceived 

 and proposed in accordance with the 

 direction provided by the SFLMP. 



ANALYSIS METHODS 



The SFLMP directs DNRC to take a 

 coarse- filter, landscape -analysis 

 approach. A course- filter approach 

 was done in reference to effects to 

 age class, covertypes, and old- 

 growth timber stands. Each 

 alternative analyzes the effects to 

 snags, coarse woody debris, and 

 noxious weed occurrence and 

 distribution. Old-growth amounts, 

 distribution, and attribute level 

 are discussed. The data for the 

 existing condition was from a 

 combination of DNRC's Goat Squeezer 

 Timber Sale Project EIS, stand-level 

 inventory (SLI) , field observation, 

 and 77 one-fifth-acre plots within 

 old-growth stands in the project 

 area. Maps, SLI spreadsheets, and 

 plot sheets used in the analysis are 

 located in the project file. 



ANALYSIS AREA 



GENERAL 



The analysis area is looked at on 2 

 scales: the Swan River State Forest 

 management block and the project 

 area. Each level is looked at 

 because of the connection between 

 them. The project is within the 

 State forest and directly affects 

 the timber base and other attributes 

 at the forest -management level. 

 Each level is important to consider 



Big Blowdown Salvage 



Page C-1 



