Seed TO 2_LostLakeFuelsRxSummary.pdf

SILVICULTURE SUMMARY PRESCRIPTION Item No. 4-1, 4-2 & 4-3 Acres: 60 Acres Thinning and Excavator Piling Seed Task Order Number 2 Task Order Name: Kootenai Fuels Reduction Unit Name: Lost Lake Fuels Units 283A, 283B & 284

Location – Approx. 3.5 miles south of Eureka, MT.

Legal –T 35N R27W South East Corner of Section 1 Approximate Elevation – 3000-3300 ft Average Stand Age – 60-120 years Average Slope – 5-30% Average Tree Height - 80 feet Average Aspect – NE

THINNING PRESCRIPTION: Intermediate – Thin from below.

Thinning shall be completed on Items 4-1, 4-2 and 4-3 in accordance with the specifications from the R1 Mechanical Fuels Treatment IDIQ. Unit boundaries are marked in fluorescent pink flagging and white unit signs.

Lost Lake Fuels Unit 283A and 283B

• Cut nearly all trees 9” DBH and smaller. Trees 9” DBH or less to retain are rare but may include:

o The rare well-formed Western Larch and occassional high quality Douglas fir (long and broad crowns, pointy tops, straight bole) that is not acting as ladder fuels or directly competing with a neighboring higher quality tree.

Lost Lake Fuels Unit 284

• Cut nearly all 7” and smaller DBH Douglas fir

• Cut Douglas fir up to 10” dbh where the are growing within 20-30’ of large overstory PP or WL.

o Trees 7” dbh or less to retain are rare but may include:

Well-formed Ponderosa Pine and Western Larch and occassional high quality Douglas fir (long and broad crowns, pointy tops) where not acting as ladder fuels or directly competing with a neighboring higher quality tree.

If multiple nice small trees are present in an area, thin to 5-15’ spacing.

All Units (283A, 283B, 284)

• Trees designated for removal shall be cut below the lowest live limb, except when prevented by natural obstacles. All live limbs below the cutting point shall be removed. Trees shall be completely severed from the stump. Stumps shall be cut at or below 6 inches above ground level on the uphill side and shall be cut horizontally, not slanted.

• Designated cut trees shall be felled away from unit boundaries or roads. Any trees falling on such areas shall be removed. All thinning slash shall be placed on or near the ground surface, so that it is not leaning against or suspended by an uncut tree, stump, log, or any obstacle.

• Do not cut snags. Snags shall be defined as all standing dead trees of any species greater than 10” DBH and 20’ tall or taller.

• Buck fuels created through thinning activities into lengths less than 10 feet, and buck the top from the remainder of the tree at a 4 inch diameter. Buck pre-existing downed fuels into lengths less than 10 feet, up to a diameter of 7 inches, and leave the remainder of the tree larger than 7 inches diameter un-bucked.

EXCAVATOR PILE: Excavator piling shall be completed on Items 4-1, 4-2 and 4-3 in accordance with the specifications from the R1R4 Mechanical Fuels Treatment IDIQ. Acceptable equipment for slash piling is an excavator equipped with a bucket and a thumb approved by the Contracting Officer. Other equipment may be approved in writing by the Forest Service.

• Excavator Piling shall include piling of all fuel concentrations generated by slashing and natural accumulations of fuels within the unit boundary. A slash concentration is defined as an area where the amount of slash in a 50-foot radius area or smaller, is sufficient to build a pile that meets contract specifications. Piles shall be constructed to facilitate full consumption when they are burned.

• Leave an average of 5-10 tons per acre of down coarse woody debris. The most desirable coarse woody debris shall consist of logs >10” diameter and greater than 10’ in length where they exist. In areas where larger diameter logs are not present, acceptable coarse woody debris will be material greater than 4 inches diameter on the small end and longer than 3 feet in length. In all areas, the larger diameter pieces are more desirable than smaller diameter pieces needed to meet this requirement.

• Piles shall be located outside of live residual/leave tree driplines, in openings or areas of low tree densities. Piles shall be kept as far away from designated leave trees as feasible--a minimum of 15 feet where possible, or as mutually agreed to by the Contractor and the Government, to minimize damage to residual trees when the piles are burned. Piles shall be located at least 10 feet from unit boundaries.

• Piles shall be constructed no more than 12 feet in diameter, and no less than 8 feet in height (tall and compact, not sprawling is desired), shall be constructed compact and free of dirt and duff, shall have a good base to prevent the pile from toppling and shall not be made on down logs, rotten stumps or rocks.

Material shall be piled in a parallel configuration, similar to pencils in a box. Once a pile meets the maximum diameter and minimum height; slash may be added vertically on the edge of a pile to prevent the pile from toppling. All objects which extend more than 2 feet in any direction from the pile profile shall be cut off and returned to the pile. No stumps shall be placed in piles.

• All excavator piling shall be conducted in such a manner as to allow operations without damaging residual live trees. All standing trees shall be retained in an undamaged condition. At the discretion of the Contracting Officer, concentrations of fuels may be left un-piled if it is deemed that piling operations will damage the remaining live trees. Placement of piles shall be in such a manner to not damage road surfaces or road drainage structures. No slash shall be left within 5 feet of culverts, nor on trails, roads or fill-slope after piling.

All Other Considerations

(1) Minimize damage to the leave tree boles.

(2) Any tree designated for retention that poses a safety hazard may be felled by the contractor without prior approval of the Forest Service. All such hazard trees felled to provide for safe work conditions will remain adjacent to the stump.

(3) Excavator piling operations shall be conducted when soil moisture is 18% or less or on frozen ground.

(4) Thinning work should coincide with excavator piling work as much as practical to ensure that slash created through this contract does not pose an unacceptable wildfire risk for an extended period of time. All units with thinning completed during any timeframe in 2022 shall be excavator piled by June 16th of 2023, prior to the 2023 fire season. Any thinning units completed in 2023 shall have excavator piling work completed by the final contract completion date of October 13th, 2023.

(5) Prior to project implementation any off-road equipment used shall be weed washed and inspected.

(6) No timber products may be hauled from contract area under this Task Order.

(7) Protect all survey monuments.

(8) Road damage as a result of the Contractors operations shall be repaired by the contractor at no expense to the government.

(9) Slash shall not be left on the roadways or in ditches. All woody debris shall be removed from the road surface and ditch immediately to prevent the disruption of traffic or the blocking of water flow.