located within 1 mile of the project area (J. Fontaine, US FWS, personal 

 communication, September 2003). 



3.2.3.1.3 Lynx (Federally threatened) 



Lyn;^ are currently classified as Federally threatened under the 

 Endangered Species Act. h\ North America, lynx distribution and 

 abundance is strongly correlated with snowshoe hares, their primary prey. 

 Consequently, lynx foraging habitat follows the predominant snowshoe 

 hare habitat, early- to mid-successional lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, and 

 Engelmann spruce forest (Ruediger et al. 2000). For denning sites, the 

 primary component appears to be large woody debris, in the form of either 

 down logs or root wads (Koehler 1990, Squires and Laurion 2000, Mowat 

 et al. 2000). These den sites may be located in regenerating stands that are 

 >20 years post-disturbance, or in mature conifer stands (Koehler 1009, 

 Ruediger et al. 2000) . 



Within the project area, elevations range from 3,072 to 6,520 feet. On the 

 8,506 acres of School Trust land and approximately 73,000 acres of USFS 

 land within a 5 mile radius of the project area, there are 18,095 acres of 

 primary lynx habitat types (i.e., those habitat types which lynx would use 

 if present on the landscape), on USFS land, and 23,140 acres of secondary 

 lynx habitat types (e.g., those habitat types which lynx would utilize only 

 if primary habitat types are in close proximity; (Ruediger et al. 2000)), on 

 both ownerships. Lynx tracks have been located in the area (Montana 

 Natural Heritage Database). 



3.2.3.2 Sensitive Species 



3.2.3.2.1 Pileated Woodpeckers 



The pileated woodpecker is one of the largest woodpeckers in North 

 America (15-19 inches in length), feeding primarily on carpenter ants 

 {Camponotus spp.) and woodboring beetle larvae (Bulland Jackson 1995). 

 The pileated woodpecker nests and roosts in larger diameter snags, 

 typically in mature to old-growth forest stands (McClelland et al. 1979, 

 Bull et al. 1992) . Due primarily to its large size, pileated woodpeckers 

 require nest snags averaging 29 inches dbh, but have been known to nest 

 in snags as small as 15 inches dbh in Montana (McClelland 1979). Pairs 

 of pileated woodpeckers excavate 2-3 snags for potential nesting sites each 

 year (Bull and Jackson 1995). Snags used for roosting are slightly 

 smaller, averaging 27 inches dbh (Bull et al. 1992). Overall, McClelland 

 (1979) found pileated woodpeckers to nest and roost primarily in western 

 larch, ponderosa pine, and black cottonwood. The primary prey of 

 pileated woodpeckers, carpenter ants, tend to prefer western larch logs 

 with a large end diameter greater than 20 inches (Torgersen and Bull 

 1995). Thus, pileated woodpeckers generally prefer western larch and 

 ponderosa pine snags > 15 inches dbh for nesting and roosting, and would 



Fish Creek Salvage Environmental Assessment 3-19 



