2044 Fischer Fire Economic Recovery Project

Regional Ecosystem Office 333 SW 1^st P.O. Box 3623 Portland, Oregon 97208-3623 Website: www.reo.gov E-Mail: reomail@or.blm.gov Phone: 503-808-2165 FAX: 503-808-2163
	Memorandum
Date:	March 9, 2005
To:	Forest Supervisor, Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests
From:	/s/Anne Badgley, Executive Director
Subject:	Regional Ecosystem Office Review of Fischer Fire Economic Recovery Project

Summary: The Regional Ecosystem Office (REO) interagency Late-Successional Reserve (LSR) Work Group has concluded its review of the Fischer Fire Economic Recovery Project within the Eagle Managed Late-Successional Area (MLSA), Wenatchee National Forest ("the Forest"). The Forest proposes to salvage fire-killed trees on an estimated 563 acres in the MLSA and to reforest approximately 523 acres. The REO, based upon the review by the LSR Work Group, concurs with the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests in its findings of consistency with the Standards and Guidelines (S&Gs) under the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP).

Basis for the Review: Silviculture, risk reduction, and salvage treatments in LSRs and MLSAs are subject to REO review under the NWFP S&Gs (C-12-15). As required by the NWFP S&Gs (C-11), the Wenatchee National Forest prepared a Late-Successional Reserve Assessment (LSRA). In 1997, the Wenatchee National Forest formed a "Forest LSR Assessment Team" to prepare a single document to assess all "high risk" LSRs and MLSAs on their forest. Within this document, the 4,474 acre Eagle MLSA containing 3,194 acres of late-successional habitat (page 5) is described. Most of the late-successional habitat was at comparative high risk (page 108) and its functionality for unique habitat and connectivity was "low quality" (page 121-123). These management assessments were reviewed by REO and found to be consistent under the NWFP S&Gs (C-11).

The LSRA includes:
(1) a history and inventory of overall vegetation conditions within the reserve,
(2) a list of identified late-successional associated species known to exist within the reserve and information on their locations,
(3) a history and description of current land uses within the reserve,
(4) a fire management plan, and
(8) proposed monitoring and evaluation components to help evaluate if future activities are carried out as intended and achieve desired results.

The document deferred:
(5) criteria for developing appropriate treatments,
(6) identification of specific areas that could be treated under those criteria, and
(7) a proposed implementation schedule tiered to higher order plans. Salvage and reforestation treatment criteria were not identified in the LSRA.

Background and Project Description:

Salvage: In August 2004, the Fischer Fire burned approximately 16,513 acres of which 1,037 acres fell within the Eagle MLSA. Salvage is proposed on 563 acres in the MLSA. Reforestation is proposed on an estimated 523 acres within the MLSA to accelerate recovery of forest habitats. The remaining areas have enough green trees to reforest naturally. All trees (snags) 36-inches d.b.h. (diameter at breast height) or larger will be retained and all standing live trees that are likely to survive are retained in the MLSA.

Snags and Down Log Management: The desired future condition is to retain snags and down wood at the upper level of the natural range of variation within the MLSA. Approximately 10 snags per acre will be retained on the dry forest type and 15 snags per acre on the mesic forest type; 4 of those trees should be over 20-inches dbh or the largest available. These levels and sizes are based on those proposed in the LSRA, revised with more recent research.

Downed logs would be retained to meet the LSRA levels 6-14 snags per acre in the dry forest type and 9-21 snags per acre in the mesic forest type.

Reforestation: The Forest proposes to restore habitat by planting desired tree species where natural regeneration will not naturally occur over a five year period.

Review of the Project: The activities reviewed by the LSR Work Group were those proposed in the Eagle MSLA under the Fischer Fire Economic Recovery Project. The LSR Work Group reviewed the Preferred Alternative and other documents provided by the Wenatchee National Forest including:

Fischer Fire Economic Recovery Project, Background and draft Preferred Alternative, January 2005.
Summary of Evidence and Conclusions January 14, 2005.
Forest-wide Assessment for Late Successional Reserves and Managed Late Successional Areas Wenatchee National Forest, February 1997.

The Work Group’s review was based on the information within these documents, briefings, and subsequent communications.

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

Treatments that move existing conditions (post-wildfire) toward desired conditions were designed using the desired habitat conditions derived from the Forest LSRA.
A combination of information and analyses tools was used to determine dead wood levels and distribution within the salvage and surrounding units that included existing stand exam information, snag surveys, current direction, Eagle MLSA Assessment, various research articles, DecAID advisory tool and Forest Vegetation Simulator with Fire and Fuels Extension with citations provided.
The rate of restoration of late-successional forest habitat will be increased with planting treatments. Without such treatments, it is projected that desired stand characteristics for late-successional conditions would not develop in terms of species composition, stocking levels, and desired habitat within a reasonable time period.
Adequate snags and down woody debris will be retained to meet sensitive species home range criteria for nesting and roosting, no merchantable trees likely to survive are planned for harvest, salvage would occur in opening greater than 10-acres, dead wood in salvage units would be retained in appropriate amounts and configurations based on province and site-specific Eagle MLSA guidelines, application of dead wood retention requirements would leave the most persistent sizes and species, and the species composition of largest dead wood would approximate the original stand.
Approximately 474 acres of 1,037 acres burned within the Fischer Fire within the Eagle MLSA would remain in a post-fire, unsalvaged condition.

Conclusion: Based upon the interagency REO LSR Work Group’s review and conclusion, the REO concurs with the Wenatchee National Forest’s conclusion that the proposed silvicultural treatments are consistent with the NWFP S&Gs for managing MLSAs and LSRs.

This memo serves as final documentation of the REO review. If you have any questions, please contact Shawne Mohoric (503-808-2175).

cc: Keith Satterfield, Acting District Ranger, Wenatchee River Ranger District

Robert Stoehr, Project Manager, Wenatchee-Leavenworth Ranger District

LSR Work Group

2044/ShM