Example KFRP Specification.pdf

Benchmark Condition:

Describe current condition of planning area including:

• Current management system

• Annual precipitation

• Soils information (specifically harvest equipment operability ratings from soil survey but other information as appropriate).

• Stand age and general condition – note any disease or pest issues that affect planned practice(s)

• Species composition, both overstory and understory

• Fuel Model, NWCG Fire Behavior class (https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_int/int_gtr122.pdf and/or https://gacc.nifc.gov/rmcc/predictive/Fire%20Behavior%20Fuel%20Model%20Descriptions.pdf) Other information as applicable.

Current forest conditions include: A moderate conifer overstory (Douglas fir, Ponderosa pine, Sugar pine with dominant trees showing healthy live-crown ratios; a mixed conifer-hardwood stand beneath the overstory (co-dominate with mature hardwoods (Pacific madrone, Oregon white oak California black oak, Canyon live oak, and an understory shrub component that includes poison oak, whiteleaf manzanita, deer brush, Tan oak bushes, honeysuckle vines, Himalaya blackberry, hardwood seedlings, and conifer seedlings. Brush is heaviest on ridgetops in Unit 1C where manzanita thickets are >6 ft. Mature hardwoods are common and are being overtopped by faster growing conifers, putting these shade-intolerant trees at risk of being shaded out. Drought stress is moderate to severe in younger age classes for conifers, especially for Douglas fir. Many younger Douglas-fir trees are showing low live-crown ratios, poor vigor, and mortality due to overstocking. As a result of fire exclusion for the last 100 years, young conifers, hardwood sprouts, and brush have grown up to make a dense understory. The conifer overstory gives way to Oregon white oak woodland in pockets of Unit 1D. The overall number of trees-per-acre (TPA is 739 in the southern tax lots (Units 1A, 1B, 1D and 1036 TPA in the denser forest of the northern tax lot (Unit 1C. Fuel typing on the property is TU5 (Very High Load, Dry Climate Timber-Shrub) and TU3 (Moderate Load, Dry Climate Timber-Shrub).

https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_int/int_gtr122.pdf https://gacc.nifc.gov/rmcc/predictive/Fire%20Behavior%20Fuel%20Model%20Descriptions.pdf https://gacc.nifc.gov/rmcc/predictive/Fire%20Behavior%20Fuel%20Model%20Descriptions.pdf

Natural Resources Conservation Service, Oregon

FOREST STAND IMPROVEMENT SPECIFICATION

666A OR-Specification February 2019

Unit 1A,1B,1D Summary of Plots

Size Classes:

2-24

Size Classes:

2-10

Size Class:

All

Avg TPA 604 475 135 739

Date: 02/01/2024 Avg Spacing

(ft) 8.5 10.0 N/A

Field: 1a,1b,1d Avg DBH (in) 7.5 5.0

Plot Size: 1/20 % Conifer 65 66 39

# of Plots: 17 % Hardwood 35 34 61

Species Common Name Avg

TPA

Avg

DBH

Species Common Name

Avg

TPA

Avg

DBH

Arbutus menzeisii Pacific Madrone 85 7.5

Pseudotsuga menziesii

Douglas-fir 360 6.6

Pinus lambertiana Sugar Pine 28 9.6

Pinus ponderosa Ponderosa pine 7 18.7

Quercus kelloggii California Black Oak 111 9.0

Quercus garryana

Oregon White Oak 13 6.4

1 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

Tr e e s p e r A cr e

Diameter Size Class (in)

Average Stand Distribution by Size and Type

Conifer Hardwood

FOREST STAND IMPROVEMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET

February 2019 Natural Resources Conservation Service, Oregon

FOREST STAND IMPROVEMENT SPECIFICATION

666A OR-Specification February 2019

Unit 1C Summary of Plots

Size Classes:

2-24

Size Classes:

2-10

Size Class:

All

Name: Avg TPA 858 724 178 1036

Date: 02/01/2024 Avg Spacing

(ft) 7.0 7.4 N/A

Field: 1c Avg DBH (in) 6.0 4.4

Plot Size: 1/20 % Conifer 58 61 50

# of Plots: 9 % Hardwood 42 39 50

Species Common Name Avg

TPA

Avg

DBH

Species Common Name

Avg

TPA

Avg

DBH

Arbutus menzeisii Pacific Madrone 67 5.9

Pseudotsuga menziesii

Douglas-fir 464 5.2

Pinus lambertiana Sugar Pine 31 4.6

Quercus chrysolepis

Canyon Live Oak 173 7.1

Quercus kelloggii California Black Oak 69 7.5

Quercus garryana

Oregon White Oak 53 8.8

Pinus ponderosa Ponderosa pine Present

Notholithocarpus densiflorus

Tan Oak Present

1 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

Tr e e s p e r A cr e

Diameter Size Class (in)

Average Stand Distribution by Size and Type

Conifer Hardwood

FOREST STAND IMPROVEMENT SPECIFICATION

666A OR-Specification February 2019 Forest Stand Improvement Specification Requirements Practice

Purpose (Check All That Apply)

Reduce wildfire hazard. Restore natural plant communities.

Achieve a desired level of tree stocking and density.

Improve forest health by reducing damage from pests or moisture stress.

To improve wildlife habitat. Increase carbon storage in selected trees.

Increase quality of forest products. Improve aesthetics and recreation values.

Alter water yield.

All forest activities shall comply with Oregon Forest Practices Act. It is the landowner’s responsibility to contact ODF a minimum of 15 days prior to activity commencement.

Treatment Description: Describe treatment to be used, tree selection method, and any limitations (diameter limits, trees to never/always cut, and attributes of a quality crop (leave) tree.

Future desired conditions for this stand will be a healthy, well stocked mixed hardwood-conifer stand, where both overstory and understory components are more appropriately representative of a healthy forest for this area. Efforts will be made to reduce stem density, ladder fuels, and crown connectivity ultimately increasing tree vigor. Also include the reduction of surface fuels from existing understory brush and saplings, as well as slash that will be generated from the recommended thinning treatment. In addition to achieving increased growth and improving overall health and growth rates, we are improving the stands resistance to insects, disease, and the effects of wildfire. Fuel loading will be modified so wildfire behavior would be of a low intensity and crown fire potential is greatly reduced. Future goals for this unit should be to protect and enhance the most suitable mixed harwood-conifer species for this site.

Detailed Treatment Description A healthier average spacing of approximately 15-17 feet between individual leave-trees and well-formed clumps should be targeted. This should leave an average between 225 and 150 trees/acre. A well-executed thinning from below in the conifer components and drip-line thinning around the large dominant trees would ensure a fully stocked stand and adequate growing space for trees while reducing ladder fuels.

Clumps of co-dominant trees can be left to provide shelter from wind and snow effects and also cover for wildlife. It will also ensure that this unit can continue to provide these beneficial values and resistance/resilience to insect and disease.

In order of leave tree preference (if all things are equal, such as health, form, vigor, and size) the following trees should be left where possible. In descending order of leave trees (1) Sugar pine, (2) Ponderosa pine, (3) White Oak, and/or Black Oak, (4) Canyon live oak (5) Pacific madrone, (6) Douglas-fir, and (7) Tan oak, if no other species with good form are available. All leave-trees should be selected because of good form and vigor and oriented to be able to overtop any adjacent competing vegetation and healthy live crown ratios of at least 30%. All cut trees should be cut as close to the ground as possible. Trees and saplings can be clumped where risk of wind throw and sun scald is high. The clumps can be thinned at a future date when leave trees are more likely to survive those stresses.

Any desirable, large open-growing hardwoods greater than 16 inches DBH or overstory conifers greater than 20 inches DBH should be left and thinned underneath at least out to the drip-line. Also, 3 to 6 large snags of different species and levels of decomposition should be left per acre if not a falling hazard.

FOREST STAND IMPROVEMENT SPECIFICATION

666A OR-Specification February 2019

For oaks; a well-executed drip-line thinning for overstory trees using an understory brush reduction treatment would ensure adequate growing space for trees and reduce ladder fuels, an average 20 foot spacing between the crowns of individual trees or clumps of trees should be the target. Remove saplings and pole sized trees under the dripline of hardwood trees with DBH greater than 12 inches. Remove the majority of stems smaller than 6 inches in diameter where remaining trees are not a fire hazard to the dominant overstory trees. Any desirable, large open-growing hardwoods greater than 16 inches DBH should be left and thinned underneath at least 1.5x the radius of the dripline to reduce ladder fuel Some clumps of oaks that are growing together and forming a single well-rounded crown can be left and managed as one tree with one crown.

Opportunity to keep “wildlife” trees, with cavities, large horizontal limbs, or other features of deformity or decay, since wildlife will utilize these trees often for nesting or perching while hunting. If acorn granaries or small cavities are present in even small branches, retain for continued use of avian habitat.

For shrubs; Attempt to retain sufficient numbers of desirable understory species to maintain species diversity. The selective cutting and preservation of individual plants or clumps of brush where these species are present is compatible with the objective for the unit. Many native species of brush provide natural biomass which provides suitable forage and wildlife habitat. Mechanical brush management is needed for the unit, see 314js Mechanical Brush Management for specifications. The Unit has reasonable access where chippers and other equipment may be useful. Established Tanoak, Poison oak, blackberry, buck brush, live oak, and other brush species encroaching on trees, should be cut to as close to the ground or cutting obstacle level as possible (no more than 4” in height). The younger growth of these species will re-establish after cutting, and be more desirable for wildlife. Brush plants ≤ 2 feet in height are most beneficial for wildlife and should be retained as individual plants, or in small clumps, where they do not pose a fire hazard to surrounding vegetation.

This unit contains natural skips and gaps in the dominant overstory canopy which can be beneficial for wildlife habitat. Where this is achievable during the treatment, a small number of skips and gaps in the overstory canopy should be maintained in some areas.

Fuel breaks/roadside; Fuel breaks are recommended, along the road which will provide added protection from fire. This strategic area to install a fuel break will involve a heavier reduction for thinning, pruning, and brushing. Spacing should be roughly 20 feet between leave trees and will be around 110 trees per acre.

Any leave trees should be limbed up to a height of 6 to 12 feet, without removing more than 40% of the crown. The area will have minimal if any standing dead trees and no brush component. The fuel break along roads should be a minimum of 50 feet with a transition from before mentioned treatments starting around the 75 -100 feet mark. It’s recommended around structures to extend that buffer out to 200 feet and beyond but this will not be federally funded as the home and structures will be netted out. The goal of this level of treatment is to reduce fire behavior when and if a wildfire were to occur but not exclude it as well as to potentially provide additional protection around ingress/egress routes. A fire contained to the ground gives firefighters a reasonable place to stop the progression.

Timing of Treatment: If slash is to be left on-site (even temporarily), Douglas-fir, Grand fir, and Ponderosa Pines with a DBH greater than 3” should be cut/thinned in the fall (between September and December). This will help ensure that slash has an adequate time to ‘cure’ reducing the chance of species-specific bark beetle infestation. Slash with a DBH greater than 3” can host bark beetles known to infect the previously mentioned tree species and studies indicate a higher incidence of infestation from slash created January – July. If slash is created within the ‘no-slash’ window it shall be disposed of before April (flight time for the slash infesting bark beetles).

FOREST STAND IMPROVEMENT SPECIFICATION

February 2019

Pruning is recommended in this stand for conifer species only. Any retained conifer trees with branches having less than a 6’-8’ vertical clearance from the ground should be pruned to reduce ladder fuels. These trees should be pruned to a minimum height of 6’-8’ or to a 2/3rd live crown ratio, whichever is less. Always retain 2/3rd of a tree’s live crown ratio, at minimum, to support overall tree health.

All cut material should be treated. It is recommended that all slash is Hand piled/burned. Refer to Job Sheet 384 – Woody Biomass Treatment for more specific instructions on treating slash created from this project.

**Use of heavy equipment tracked or tired should be reserved for times of year when the soils are less likely to be compacted and/or heavily scarified. Typically, when the soils have had a chance to dry for several days or weeks. High concern is rutting, erosion, and/or channeling of water. NRCS contracting officer will be a useful resource on this subject or when filing a notification through ODF to consult the stewardship forester on the subject.

February 2019 Natural Resources Conservation Service, Oregon

FOREST STAND IMPROVEMENT SPECIFICATION

Trees to Manage For

Douglas-fir Western hemlock Red alder Ponderosa pine

Sitka spruce Western redcedar Lodgepole pine Western larch

Oregon white oak Other (Describe): Canyon live oak, Sugar Pine, Pacific

Madrone, California Black Oak Soil (Number/Name): 48F/JOSEPHINE GRAVELLY LOAM (35-55 percent north slopes), 61E/POLLARD LOAM (20 to 35 percent slopes), 6F/BEEKMAN-COLESTINE COMPLEX (50-80 percent north slopes), 7F/BEEKMAN-COLESTINE COMPLEX (50-75 percent south slopes)

Tree Species Site Index/Base Age Tree Species Site Index/Base Age

(48F) Well suited to production of Douglas-fir, Ponderosa pine

DF -130/90 (61E) Well suited for production of Douglas-fir, Sugar pine, and Ponderosa pine

DF - 126/90

(6F) Well suited to production of Douglas-fir, Ponderosa pine

DF – 115/90

(7F) Well suited to production of Douglas-fir, Ponderosa pine

DF – 105/100

Current Number Trees Per

Acre

Desired Number Trees Per Acre

Number of Trees Per Acre to Remove

Tree Size to Remove

739-1036 150-225 see attached specifications Class 12 and below

Average Tree Spacing: 15-17ft. (Spacing is the average distance, some trees will be closer, some farther apart.)

Pre-commercial Thinning (PCT)

Thinning Method

Chainsaw/Hand Heavy Equipment

Other (Describe): Masticate

Woody Residue Treatment (See 384 Specification for detailed requirements)

Slash Dispo sal

Yes Disposal Method

Pile Lop/Scatter

No Other: Chip, masticate, and/or remove off-site.