Attachment 2 - Overall Project Description.docx

Vegetation Management Heritage Contract for TSI (2022)

The White River National Forest will be using the Region 2 Three Forest Programmatic Agreement with the Colorado State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) Regarding Vegetation Management Undertakings (2017). The overall proposed project is located on four of the five Ranger Districts on the WRNF: Aspen/Sopris, Blanco, Dillon, and Eagle/Holy Cross, in Eagle, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, and Summit Counties. The project is spread throughout the WRNF with most of the project acreage in the Dillon and Eagle/Holy Cross Ranger Districts.

The proposed project entails pre-commercially thinning previously managed stands that are fully stocked and need density reduction. Target lodgepole pine stands that have been affected by natural disturbances including the recent mountain pine beetle epidemic or wildfire. Silvicultural treatments completed in the lodgepole pine cover-type need density reduction treatments. Current stocking levels often exceed 2,500 trees per acre. Desired stocking within 10 years of establishment is between 600-1200 trees per acre (Alexander and Edminster, 1980; Lotan and Critchfield, 1990). In specific areas it is also desirable to treat previously harvested areas that were planted with Engelmann spruce that also have an overwhelming abundance of subalpine fir regeneration

Stands proposed for treatment would have fully stocked understories that are in need of density reduction. Dense understories comprised of lodgepole pine have regenerated or are expected to regenerate under partially dead canopies created by recent natural disturbances including wildfire and insect outbreaks.

· The management objective of the large-scale project consists of 23,129 acres of treatment in total.

· The APE for the 2022/2023 field work includes a total of 1520 acres of previous survey. Please verify acreage via shapefile included in the package.

· Contract includes a survey area for a total of 1018 acres for the 2022/2023 field season. Several sites will need revisiting/rerecording – please see SOW for more details.