Indirect Effects to Fishers 



• Indirect E^ect* qfthe JVo-^ction 

 JtltemaHve to Fishers 



Fisher habitat would remain 

 relatively unchanged in the 

 short term. 



• Indirect Ilffects qfthe Action Alternative 

 to Fishers 



Approximately 202 acres of 

 denning habitat and 343 acres 

 of foraging habitat would be 

 modified by removing dead wood 

 used by fishers and their 

 prey. All downed wood and 

 snags within 165 feet of 

 perennial streams would be 

 retained. The downed wood and 

 snags retained in the 165 -foot 

 perennial stream buffer would 

 provide increased denning/ 

 resting sites and prey 

 availability. 



Outside of the stream buffer, 

 denning/ resting sites, along 

 with small mammal prey, could 

 be reduced with the removal of 

 snags and downed trees; 

 however, by retaining the 

 majority of snags and existing 

 cull downed wood, the amount 

 of denning/resting sites and 

 forage availability that 

 existed prior to the blowdown 

 event would be maintained. 

 The existing live trees would 

 be expected to continue to 

 provide snags and downed wood 

 into the future . 



Since structural components of 

 fisher habitat would be 

 reduced in the uplands and 

 retained in the 165-foot 

 buffer around perennial 

 streams, fisher habitat is 

 expected to increase slightly 

 over the conditions 

 experienced prior to the wind 

 event, but, overall, decrease 

 over the existing condition. 

 Therefore, fishers are 

 expected to experience some 

 habitat loss, but the retained 



habitat provides more 

 structure than was present 

 prior to the wind event . The 

 proposed project would not 

 prohibit use or travel through 

 the project area. 



Cumulative Effects to Fishers 



• Cumulative Effects of the J\o-Jlction 

 Mtemative to Fishers 



No additional cumulative 

 effects would occur. 



• Cumulative E^ffects of the taction 

 Mtemative to Fistiers 



This project would further 

 reduce the quality of fisher 

 habitat. The Soup Creek 

 Salvage and Goat Squeezer 

 Timber Sale projects are 

 expected to reduce fisher 

 habitat quality and quantity. 

 The additional reduced quality 

 is not expected to 

 substantially affect fishers; 

 therefore, minor cumulative 

 effects are expected. 



> piieated WoodpecKers 



Pileated woodpeckers are listed 

 by DNRC as sensitive and play an 

 important ecological role by 

 excavating cavities that are used 

 in subsequent years by many other 

 species of birds and mammals. 



Pileated woodpeckers excavate the 

 largest cavities of any 

 woodpecker. Preferred nest trees 

 are western larch, ponderosa 

 pine, Cottonwood, and quaking 

 aspen, usually 2 inches dbh and 

 larger. Pileated woodpeckers 

 primarily eat carpenter ants, 

 which inhabit large downed logs, 

 stumps, and snags. Aney and 

 McClelland (1985) described 

 pileated nesting habitat as 

 "stands of 50 to 100 contiguous 

 acres, generally below 5,000 feet 

 in elevation, with basal areas of 

 100 to 125 square feet per acre, 

 and a relatively closed canopy." 

 The feeding and nesting habitat 

 requirements include large snags 



Page E-14 



Wildlife Analysis 



