• Many salvage operations have taken 

 place over several years and have 

 reduced the number of large, sound 

 snags across both the project area 

 and Swan River State Forest . In 

 stands of past salvage operations, 

 the number and species composition 

 of large snags have changed. The 

 removal of snags also affected the 

 structure of the snag component . 



VEGETATION COURSE -FILTER ANALYSIS 



COVERTYPE REPRESENTATIONS 



The current covertype distributions 

 within the project area and across 

 Swan River State Forest are 

 displayed in TABLE C-1 - COVERTYPE 

 DISTRIBUTION BY ACRES AND PERCENT OF 

 TOTAL ACRES. This table is based on 

 the cumulative-effects analysis for 

 covertypes in the Goat Squeezer 

 Environmental Impact Statement. 



throughout the salvage area. On 

 average, approximately 7 or 8 

 trees per acre have blown down 

 and approximately 5 standing 

 trees per acre have died. These 

 stands still retain 100 to 150 

 live trees per acre. Because so 

 few trees per acre have blown 

 down or died, the stand 

 composition has probably not been 

 changed by these natural events . 



Shade-tolerant trees would 

 continue to regenerate under 

 closed- canopy forests. The long- 

 term covertype effects would see 

 a change to an overstory 

 dominated by shade- tolerant 

 species; thus, the covertype 

 classification would change to 

 the dominant species in the next 

 success ional stage of the stand. 



TABLE C-1 - COVERTYPE DISTRIBUTION BY ACRES AND 

 PERCENT OF TOTAL ACRES 



Direct and Indirect Impacts to 

 Covertypes 



• Direct and Indirect Impacts qfthe JVo- 

 Action Jtltemative to Covertypes 



Wind damage and disease mortality 

 are random events. While large 

 areas have little damage or 

 mortality, 1- to 2-acre patches 

 of concentrated damage and 

 mortality are scattered 



As stands age over time, 

 natural forest succession 

 and fire suppression would 

 reduce the variability of 

 covertypes on the landscape. 



• Direct and Indirect E^ffects of the 

 Action Jtltemative on Covertypes 



Since the trees planned 

 for removal were already 

 killed by a natural event, 

 stand covertype 

 composition would not 

 change beyond what has 

 occurred naturally. 



Cumulative Zn^acts to 

 Covertype 



Cumulative Effects qftJve JVo- 

 miction Alternative on Covertypes 



Douglas-fir bark beetle 

 brood trees would not be removed. 

 This may cause increased Douglas- 

 fir mortality over large areas. 

 Covertypes may shift as Douglas - 

 fir fades from the overstory and 

 is replaced by other shade- 

 tolerant species. 



Cumulative Effects ofUie ,Iction ,Memative 

 on Covertjfjies 



The removal of Douglas-fir bark 

 beetle brood trees may reduce 



Page C— 4 



Vegetation Analysis 



