1240LQ23Q0095 Amendment 0001 CSE.pdf

Amendment 0001 Rio Grande Stand Exam 1240LQ23Q0095

1). What makes this exam Extensive. The intent is extensive stand exam standards, but with growth tree data for modeling growth into the future. Correction to the Table 6 (Tree Form Requirements): Field 10 (Height) should read ‘Growth Trees only and trees <4.5 feet tall’ rather than ‘All trees.’

Can DBH be recorded to the nearest inch? Yes.

What about site trees? Site trees not required.

Are growth trees required also? Yes.

Are growth trees required on the fixed pt? Yes; 1-2 tree on the large live tree point; 1-2 trees on the small live tree plot.

2). When were these stands cut? Exams are focused on sales closed no less than 5 years ago, to allow for growth responses to occur.

Is there lots of slash ? Often there is, lopped and scattered to a height of <3 feet, but variable in distribution.

The down woody diameter is 3”. This could be a nightmare if there is lots of slash. A lot of discussion went into this. The intent is to limit the data collection with minimum piece length requirement (3 feet), plot size, and in/out requirements. Piece count on a transect would be an acceptable method if piece count on a fixed plot is unmanageable, so long as the 4-8 piece average is met.

The contract says to record duff. Why not just do a Brown’s transect? The intent is to be able to use a methodology that will answer questions of both fuel loading and ecological metrics, such as pieces per acre.

Is there lots of standing dead? The salvage sales retained an average between 4-8 spruce snags per acre, plus other species. A plot size averaging 2-4 snags/plot would be selected by the contractor.

3). The veg form. Form 2 is quite detailed especially if you want forb and grass spp. I am quite familiar with all the VEG forms and this one will take quite a bit of time to complete. The ground surface form on a 1/10 acre plot is really a guess. You would get much better data on a 1/100 acre. We are willing to adjust design to most efficiently capture the intent of estimating representative cover for the setting as a whole, despite the variability that comes from logging disturbance.