Coeur dÕAlene Forestry Coalition

P.O. Box 850 – 1621 No. 3rd Street

Coeur dÕAlene, ID  83816

                                                                        DRAFT

Blue Alder Field Trip Report

August 11, 2006

Jim Doran

 

On July 28, 2006 members of the Coeur dÕAlene Forest Coalition met with the Coeur dÕAlene River District Forest Service and took a field trip to review the concepts for the Blue Alder project.  The pre-field trip meeting identified the reasons for the field trip as:

1.     What are the ÒissuesÓ that the FS see on this project?

2.     How will this project help with the fire perspectives in the WUI?

3.     How will this project help (or not hinder) forest succession concerning the desired species at particular sites?

4.     How can the Coalition best facilitate this project?

5.     Is the project being designed with a long term sustainable forest in mind?

6.     What are the suggested prescription?  Where and Why?

7.     Will we get a field trip to Blue Alder with a Hydrologist?  A Silviculturalist?

8.     What are the weaknesses in the science that we will be applying to this project?  And what are the trade-off with project prescriptions?

9.     The Coalition needs to understand the forest dynamics over time.

 

Point #1:  The group assembled at Point #1 on Road #499 about ¼ mile north of the Marie Creek turn.  The issue of root rot was discussed.  Once the disease tolerant species have been re-established (White Pine & Ponderosa Pine & Larch) the long term treatments will require pre-commercial thinning.  The Douglas Fir and Grand Fir have taken over the sites and they are prone to root rot which kills them.  The proposed action being discussed is to take out the Douglas Fir and Grand Fir and restock with White Pine or Ponderosa Pine within five years of harvest.  This will re-establish the seral species for the site.  Mature and healthy fir may be left, but it should be done carefully because the mortality will be high.  The pine will dominate in a number of years.

 

A quick lesson on tree species identification was done:

  1. Ponderosa Pine: thick puzzle bark, red or yellow color when mature, three long needles per bundle.
  2. Western White Pine: banana cones, 5 long needles per bundle.
  3. Lodge Pole Pine: two needles per bundle.
  4. Grand Fir: cones point straight up, single needles, round buds on the tips.
  5.  Douglas Fir: sharp pointed buds on the tips, cones have a mouse tail, _______ needles.
  6. Hemlock:
  7. Cedar:

 

 Open spaces without re-planting is needed to allow brush to grow for wildlife forage.

The question of FS accountability (will they do what they say they will do?) was discussed.  The creation of a multi-party monitoring team is expected as this project develops.  We discussed the usefulness of the Unit by Unit Matrix that will show Òwhat the current condition is and the needÓ, Òwhat is being proposed for the unitÓ and Òwhat will the end result look like and accomplish?Ó 

 

The group sat on a re-contoured road and discussed roads issues.  There are some culvert issues on the project.  Many roads have been and will be Òlaid backÓ so that water effectively runs over them.  This does not require total obliteration.  Any new roads on the project will not be kept open.  Weed treatment was recognized.  The FS wants to spray knap weed.  Pathogen treatments were discussed.  Off Road Vehicle (ORV) use has been a problem in the area.  In fact someone drove by us and yelled something about closing roads from their truck window.  They were not happy.

 

Point #2:   The group moved to Point #2, a mile and a half up the 499 Road.  Sherri Lionberger expressed that the ladder fuels are a problem in much of this project even though the trees may not be drastically over crowded in the canopy. She also noted that to change a species composition there has to be a serious removal of the undesired species.  However, she noted that only 10% of the project area within this drainage was proposed to be treated. 

 

The variety of treatments terms were discussed: Clear Cut with Reserve, Variable Retention Harvest, Dispersed Retention Harvest, Shelterwood Harvest, Regeneration Harvest.  The politics of the forest may not allow us to apply the best forest science (silvaculture) to restore White Pine and Ponderosa Pine because the the harvest looks too heavy to the uneducated observer.

 

Point #3:  The group moved to Point #3, up Alder Creek Road on Road 4130.  A plantation was visited.  An exercise in plot and species counting was done in the plantation.  There was an overabundance of Douglas Fir and Hemlock on the sites surveyed.  A discussion was had about what the Restoration Services might be on the Blue Alder project that could be funded by the retained receipts.  These are all dependent upon the project budget.  Some of the restoration services are:

  1. Address ORV damage to trails and creeks and how to accommodate them.
  2. A few culverts need replacing on Blue Alder.
  3. Pre-commercial thinning is needed in many sites.
  4. Road maintenance and removal.
  5. Slash removal and fuel breaks from roads.
  6. Wildlife forage may requires some burning.
  7. Weed treatments are needed.
  8. Sediment traps downstream are needed.
  9. Stream restoration is not an issue on Blue Alder. 

 

Point #4:   The Group moved to Point #4, up Marie Creek on Road 202 above Searchlight Creek.  A Ponderosa Pine stand that had been thinned from below was viewed.  Opposite it, across the road, was another plantation of Ponderosa Pine that needed to be thinned.

 

Closure:   A philosophical silvacultural conversation closed the field trip.  It was noted that we were standing in a dysfunctional forest.  The root rot, blister rust, fire suppression and past harvests have left a very large acreage beyond this project in need of treatment.  The magnitude of the issue is quite sobering.  We cannot possibly ÒfixÓ the whole thing.  But we can start at particular sites and provide the best treatments to restore that part of the forest.  The issue of fire has brought us to the point of needing to do work to prevent catastrophic wildfires that are beyond what a natural fire would have done over the years if fire had not been excluded.

 

The field inventories will be completed by late September.  In October the Coalition will have an opportunity to look at the detailed information provided by the inventories.  At that time unit by unit prescriptions and the slate of potential restoration service work will be discussed.