displacement. Erosivity is moderate and can be controlled with standard drainage features. Clay 

 rich soils of low bearing strength which occur at shallow depth along portions of the main access 

 roads can be impassable when wet if not graveled. These soils have a limited dry season of use 

 and tend to remain moist till July. 



Dominant soils in the project area on the east side of the valley are Bignell gravelly clay loams 

 with lesser areas of Worock gravelly loams on moderate slopes of 15-35%. These soils are 

 mainly well drained on convex slopes and include somewhat poorly drained areas in draws. 

 Worock soils have shallow topsoils over deep cobbly clay loams forming in tertiary deposits and 

 volcanics. Bignell soils have deep gravelly clay loam topsoils over finer textured gravelly clay 

 loam subsoils. Main soil concerns are potential rutting, compaction and displacement. Erosivity 

 is moderate and can be controlled with standard drainage features. Clay rich soils of low bearing 

 strength which occur at shallow depth along portions of the main access roads can be impassable 

 when wet if not graveled. These soils have a longer dry season of use and tend to dry out earlier 

 in the year than the west side of the valley. 



Small riparian potholes occur in the area and will be avoided. Swales on the toeslopes include 

 areas of somewhat poorly drained soils that support wetsite vegetation (bluejoint reedgrass) 

 indicative of a seasonally high watertable. There is an existing segment of irrigation ditch in the 

 SE V4 of Section 8 that is deeply eroded and downcut, and the largest source of sediment within 

 the project area (refer to hydrology report). 



Cumulative Effects 



Most of the project area has not been previously harvested and so no existing cumulative effects 

 were noted. There are several small areas (estimated 26 acres) that were thinned and brush 

 stacked by hand labor and hauled out with ATV's and pickups. The post and rail operations 

 resulted in minor effects to soils and few trails are evident. 



Economics 



Because of the proposed sales location it is reasonable to assume that sawmills from Townsend, 

 Hall, Seeley Lake, Deer Lodge and Missoula would compete for the offered raw materials. 

 While Granite County is known for its ranching and cattle production, there is a long history of 

 the local logging industry providing raw materials for mining and lumber production. 



Total timber harvest from Montana forests has declined since the 1987 harvest of 1,400,000 

 MBF, to 854,000 MBF in 1999. This represents a 40% reduction in annual harvest which has 

 resulted in a corresponding reduction in milling capacity. 



The following table provides some general demographic information pertinent to Granite, Powell 

 and Deer Lodge Counties. 



66 



