The proposed action would remove 

 dying Douglas- fir trees that have 

 active broods of bark beetles. 

 This may limit mortality in the 

 remaining healthy trees by 

 reducing beetle populations and 

 preventing successful attacks and 

 allow Douglas- fir to persist in 

 the overstory. 



Cumulative In^acts to Forest Insects 

 and Diseases 



• Cumulative Impactg qfthe JVo^ction 

 Mtemative to Forest In»ects andIH»ea»es 



No harvesting of dead or dying 

 trees would occur; therefore, 

 forest stands would continue to 

 experience insect and disease 

 mortality, and fuel loading would 

 continue to increase. The current 

 forest conditions would continue. 



• Cumulative Impact* qfthe miction .lltemative 

 to Forest Insect* and Disease* 



In general, timber -management 

 activities on Swan River State 

 Forest have used harvest 

 prescriptions to reduce losses and 

 recover mortality due to insects 

 and diseases. Continued salvage 

 harvests would focus on lowering 

 the incidence of insect 

 infestations and disease 

 infections and reducing the risk 

 of stand- replacement fires. 



SENSITIVE PLANTS 



Existing Condition and Analysis 

 Methods 



The Montana Natural Heritage Program 

 database was searched in January 

 2003 for plant species and related 

 features of special concern in the 

 vicinity of Big Slowdown Salvage 

 Project area. Results of this 

 search were then compared to the 

 proposed harvest sites for potential 

 direct and indirect impacts of the 

 proposal. Mitigation measures would 

 be developed, if needed. 



All sensitive plants and their 

 related habitat features were found 

 in wet meadows, fens, and riparian 

 areas; these areas are not normally 



classified as forest stands or 

 considered for timber -harvesting 

 activities. Only 6 plant species 

 were found within the project area; 

 5 are associated with fens, and 1 

 with a riparian area. 



Concern was raised about the 

 proposed project's effects on the 

 white trillium {Trillium ovatum) . 

 The white trillium is likely to 

 occur in moist forested areas within 

 the project area and may occur in 

 abundance during years of high 

 precipitation {Shaw and On 1979) . 

 The white trillium is not listed as 

 rare, endemic, disjunct, threatened, 

 or endangered in the project area by 

 the Montana Natural Heritage 

 Program . 



Direct and Indirect Iinpacts to 

 Sensitive Plants 



• IHrect and Indirect Impacts of the JVotilction 

 t/lltemative to Sensitive Plant* 



Annual seasonal climatic 

 variations and events like 

 drought, flooding, trees blown 

 down across streams, and beaver 

 activity could alter water levels 

 in wet areas, leading to increases 

 or decreases in localized plant 

 populations. Otherwise, there 

 would be no effects to sensitive 

 plants. 



* IHrect and Indirect Impacts qfUie Jlction 

 Alternative to Sensitive Plants 



Sensitive plants associated with 

 wetlands would not be directly 

 affected by harvesting operations. 



Some white trilliums may be 

 injured during skidding 

 operations. The white trillium is 

 not considered sensitive within 

 Swan River State Forest, and the 

 overall population of trillium is 

 not expected to change within the 

 project area. 



Given the level of proposed 

 harvesting for this project, no 

 measurable changes in water yield 

 or surface-water levels are 

 anticipated from either proposed 



Page C— 14 



Vegetation Analysis 



