Summary: The Regional Ecosystem Office (REO) interagency Late-Successional Reserve (LSR) Work Group has concluded its review of the documents provided by the Forest regarding proposed activities in LSRs within the Coil Fiber Timber Sale Contract Modification, Deschutes National Forest. The REO, based upon the review by the LSR Work Group, concurs with the Deschutes National Forest in its findings of consistency with the Standards and Guidelines (S&Gs) under Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) for the Coil Fiber Timber Sale Contract Modification Project.

Basis for the Review: Silviculture, risk reduction and salvage treatments in LSRs are subject to REO review under the NWFP S&Gs (C-12-15).

Background and Project Description: As required by the NWFP S&G (C-11), the Deschutes National Forest prepared a Late-Successional Reserve Assessment (LSRA) for the 76,000 acre Metolius LSR. The Metolius LSRA was completed and reviewed by the REO in 1996.

In August of 2003, the B&B Complex burned approximately 92,000 acres (75,355 acres on the Sisters Ranger District). The Coil Fiber Timber Sale was under contract at the time of the fire. The sale is entirely within the perimeter of the fire and sale units were burned with varying degrees of intensity. The purpose of the Coil Fiber Timber Sale is to recover economic value from dead trees and trees that are highly likely to die due to fire damage on approximately 194 acres of the sale (Units 8, 10, 11, and 15) before that value is lost due to decay, while protecting other resources and not impeding the development of late-successional forest conditions.

The Coil Fiber Timber Sale is located in the Metolius LSR, and is in Management Strategy Area C, as described in the Metolius LSRA. Prior to the B&B Complex wildfire, this management strategy area was composed primarily of small trees (9 to 20.9-inches d.b.h.) with moderate (40-60 percent) canopy closure. Most of the area was considered to be dispersal habitat for the northern spotted owl, with some patches of suitable habitat.

The B&B Complex burned at a range of intensities, from stand-replacement to underburn. Three Coil Fiber units (8, 10, and 11) experienced stand-replacing fire (more than 75 percent of the trees are dead) while Unit 15 burned in a mosaic pattern; resulting canopy closure in Unit 15 ranges from 0-40 percent. Due to the tree mortality from the fire, none of the four units currently qualifies as spotted owl habitat.

The project will remove dead trees and trees that are highly likely to die due to fire damage from approximately 194 acres over 4 units (Units 8, 10, 11 and 15). Only dead and dying trees excess to what is necessary for wildlife habitat and soil protection will be salvaged. All off-road equipment will be washed to prevent noxious weed spread. Slash will be grapple piled on skid trails. Piles remaining after treatment in the four units will be burned. Most units are planned for reforestation. There will be no new road construction.

Review of the Project: The activities reviewed by the LSR Work Group were those proposed in the document entitled "Coil Fiber Timber Sale Contract Modification Project, Northwest Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines Associated with LSRs, July 2004." The Work Group’s review was based on the information within this document, briefings, and conference calls.

The interagency LSR Work Group review concluded that the proposed treatments in LSRs meet the objectives for managing LSRs. This conclusion was reached in part for the following reasons:

1. The project does not salvage in disturbed sites less than 10 acres (C-14).
2. The proposed action proposes to salvage only in stands with post-disturbance crown closures that are less than 40 percent (C-14).
3. There are no proposed treatment units within currently suitable northern spotted owl habitat or late-successional forests. The proposed action will not result in the degeneration of suitable spotted owl habitat or other late-successional conditions (C-13).
4. Management is designed to accelerate and not impede the development of late-successional forests and focuses on long-range objectives that are based on desired future condition of the forest (C 13-14). The proposed action meets this S&G by providing for rapid establishment of tree species and sizes important for late-successional forest development and attainment of important attributes such as development of multiple canopy structure for spotted owl habitat over time. Included in the project are plans to reforest units to ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir, and to reduce fuels in the units to levels identified in the Metolius LSRA.
5. Standing live trees will be retained, including those injured but likely to survive (C-14). Dead trees (with the exception of those left to meet snag requirements identified in the Metolius LSRA) will be removed including those trees injured in the fire that are highly unlikely to survive. All injured trees that are likely to survive will be retained. Likelihood of survival of fire-injured trees will be determined on a case-by-case basis using the guidelines described by D. Scott, C. Schmitt, L. Spiegel, "Factors Affecting Survival of Fire Injured Trees: A Rating System for Determining Relative Probability of Survival of Conifers in the Blue and Wallwoa Mountains," USDA PNW, BMPMSC-03-01, 2002.
6. The proposed action meets or exceeds snag and down woody debris requirements described in the Metolius LSRA while focusing on retaining the largest snags likely to persist the longest (C-14). The analysis of the Coil Fiber Timber Sale provided an assessment of snag and down wood levels at both the stand and unit scales as well as the larger watershed scale. The Coil Fiber Timber Sale affects a very small portion of the Metiolus basin. The effects of the Coil Fiber Timber Sale were also assessed in conjunction with the reasonable estimates of planned activities associated with future salvage of timber in the remaining parts of the B&B Fire Complex. Because of this larger context analysis, the forest was able to make findings of consistency with the NWFP that are based on sound logic and rationale. The DECAID tool was considered in the analysis.

Conclusion: Based upon the interagency REO LSR Work Group’s review and conclusions, the REO concurs with the Deschutes National Forest’s conclusion that silviculture and salvage activities proposed in the Coil Fiber Timber Sale Contract Modification Project are consistent with the Northwest Forest Plan.