Mitigation measures implemented during salvage operations are expected 

 to minimize impacts to water quality resulting from the proposed salvage 

 harvest. These measures are also expected to help reduce the effects from 

 the proposed harvest activities and the recent wildfire. Mitigation and 

 rehabilitation measures planned for the proposed harvest areas have been 

 demonstrated to be effective in reducing erosion and sediment delivery to 

 stream channels (Robichauld 2000 and Klock 1975). Mitigation measures 

 include providing drainage on roads and skid trails, revegetating disturbed 

 sites by grass seeding, minimizing the area effect by skidding, and 

 retaining logging residue on disturbed areas for use as protective cover 

 and mulch. Full suspension of logs would be required across SMZ's, 

 RMZ's, and complex terrain. Slope skidding restrictions would also be 

 utilized to provide additional protection and reduce soil disturbance on 

 sensitive slopes. Portions of the sale area are drained by ephemeral draws, 

 swales, and wet areas that lack discemable stream channels. Equipment 

 restrictions and designated crossings would be utilized to protect all wet 

 areas and ephemeral draws. 



Recent studies concluded that trees killed by wildfire and left standing 

 could provide some shade to small mountain streams (Amaranthus 1988). 

 DNRC would not harvest in SMZ's and would retain a majority of 

 recruitable trees in the RMZ that could provide LWD to streams. 

 Monitoring of shade effects following the fires of 2000 on Sula State 

 Forest found that: 1) bare tree trunks did provide appreciable shade to 

 stream banks, 2) by retaining all trees in the first 50 feet perpendicular to 

 the stream there was minimal change in stream shading (Frank & 

 Mathieus DNRC unpublished report 2001). A combination of not 

 harvesting in the SMZ and retaining larger diameter snags within the 

 harvest units outside the SMZ would retain 98% of recruitable trees that 

 could fall into streams. DNRC inventoried the number, height, diameter, 

 and distance of trees from streams along 100 foot transects perpendicular 

 to streams to determine the representative number of trees that could fall 

 and be recruited into streams. These mitigations would maintain available 

 stream shading and provide all available woody debris for stream channel 

 stability and fish habitat. 



Based on implementation of mitigation measures, increases in sediment 

 yields are expected to be low to moderate with Alternative B: Harvest. 

 There will also be a number of dead trees falling across the creeks in the 

 next few years. This inlux of logs to the streams may cause some bank 

 erosion where stream flow is directed to the stream banks. In the long term 

 these logs will help slow stream flow and trap sediment. 



Sediment delivery increases associated with the proposed project are 

 expected to be minor and temporary due to the rocky soils, area treated, 

 location of harvest units on the landscape, SMZ locations, and mitigations 



Fish Creek Salvage Environmental Assessment 4-4 



