INTRODUCTION 



Tlie Idaho Batholith comprises 16,000 mi^ (41,440 km^) of -steep, highly erodible 

 terrain in central Idaho. Because experience has shown that roadbuilding in the 

 Batholith can cause accelerated erosion rates and lead to mass instability problems, 

 many stands of overmature ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir have not been harvested. 



In an attempt to develop an environmentally acceptable logging system, in 1971 the 

 Forest Service, USDA, in cooperation with Boise Cascade Corporation began an experiment 

 with balloon logging in Anderson Creek near Garden Valley, Idaho, on the Boise National 

 Forest. The selection of this system was based on projections (Mcintosh 1968) of 

 balloon yarding costs from tests conducted in British Columbia and reports from Boliemia 

 Lumber Company's balloon logging operation in Deception Creek, Oregon, where an onion- 

 shaped balloon proved successful. 



Major objectives of this study are to evaluate environmental impacts, logging 

 capability, and economic feasibility of balloon logging in the Rocky Mountain area. 

 Gardner and others (1973) reported that this balloon logging experiment appeared to be 

 environmentally acceptable based on short-term observations, was physically capable of 

 logging the area within the restraints caused by terrain, and was marginal from an 

 economic standpoint for logging in the Idaho Batholith. 



The purpose of tliis summary report is to present a detailed analysis of the bal- 

 loon logging costs, production data, and to evaluate the environmental effects of 

 balloon logging after several years' observation. During August 1977 the balloon sale 

 area was revisited in order to make a visual inspection of the environmental impacts as 

 they appeared several years after the logging was completed. Photos were taken of the 

 area and these showed that visual effects of the logging disappear rapidly where ground 

 disturbance was minimized. This inspection covered roads, cut areas, landings, and 

 streams. 



ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 



The balloon logging system proved to be an effective logging tool from an environ- 

 mental viewpoint. The 3,000 ft (914 m) maximum yarding reach with this system allowed 

 the area to be logged from existing roads. This resulted in far less damage to the 

 logged area (Anderson Creek watershed) , as compared to logging done in previous years 

 with cat-and- jammer logging systems and the associated dense network of roads. The 

 scars from the old logging and roads are still readily apparent, even though it has 

 been over 20 years since much of the logging took place. Figure 1 shows an extreme 

 example in the northerii part of the Idaho Batholith of how an area looks when closely 

 spaced roads are required to facilitate the logging method. In contrast, figure 2 

 shows an example of the appearance of an area shortly after being logged with the 



1 



