Matrix (General Forest Management Area and Connectivity/Diversity Blocks)

Objectives

Produce a sustainable supply of timber and other forest commodities to provide jobs and contribute to community stability.

Provide connectivity (along with other allocations such as riparian reserves) between late-successional reserves.

Provide habitat for a variety of organisms associated with both late-successional and younger forests.

Provide for important ecological functions such as dispersal of organisms, carryover of some species from one stand to the next, and maintenance of ecologically valuable structural components such as down logs, snags, and large trees.

Provide early-successional habitat.

Land Use Allocations

The matrix within the planning area has been divided into the northern and southern General Forest Managements Area and Connectivity/Diversity blocks. There are approximately 482,081 acres of BLM-administered land in the General Forest Management Area and 28,761 acres in Connectivity/Diversity blocks. Connectivity/Diversity blocks vary in size and are distributed throughout the northern GFMA.

Management Actions/Direction

Management Actions/Direction - General Forest Management Areas

Apply the management actions/direction in the Special Status and SEIS Special Attention Species section.

Conduct timber harvest and other silvicultural activities in that portion of the Matrix with suitable forestlands, according to management actions/direction summarized below and in the Timber section (see Appendices E and F).

Provide a renewable supply of large down logs well distributed across the Matrix lands in a manner that meets the needs of species and provides for ecological functions. Down logs will reflect the species mix of the original stand. Models will be developed for groups of plant associations and stand types that can be used as a baseline for developing prescriptions.

Leave a minimum of 120 linear feet of logs per acre greater than or equal to 16 inches in diameter and 16 feet long. Decay class 1 and 2 logs will be credited toward the total. Where this management actions/direction cannot be met with existing coarse woody debris, merchantable material will be used to make up the deficit;
In areas of partial harvest, apply the same basic management actions/direction, but they can be modified to reflect the timing of stand development cycles; and
Retain coarse woody debris already on the ground and protect it to the greatest extent possible from disturbance during treatment (e.g., slash burning and yarding).

Provide a renewable supply of large live trees and snags well distributed across the Matrix lands in a manner that provides habitat for cavity using birds, bats, and other species; provides structure and habitat diversity; provides future sources of large down logs; and provides for other ecological functions. Retained live trees and snags will reflect the species mix of the original stand. Emphasize retention of the largest trees and snags available to provide the unique structure and functions associated with these large old trees.

Retain 100 acres of the best northern spotted owl habitat as close as possible to a nest site or owl activity center for all known (as of January 1, 1994) northern spotted owl activity centers.

Retain late-successional forest patches in landscape areas where little late-successional forest persists. This management actions/direction will be applied in fifth field watersheds (20 to 200 square miles) in which Federal forestlands are currently comprised of 15 percent or less late-successional forest. (The assessment of 15 percent will include all Federal land allocations in a watershed.) Within such an area, protect all remaining late-successional forest stands. Protection of these stands could be modified in the future when other portions of a watershed have recovered to the point where they could replace the ecological roles of these stands.

Within the General Forest Management Area north of Grants Pass (northern GFMA) retain at least 6 to 8 green conifer trees per acre in regeneration harvest units.

Within the General Forest Management Area south of Grants Pass (southern GFMA) retain at least 16 to 25 large, green conifer trees per acre in regeneration harvest units.

Modify site treatment practices, particularly the use of fire and pesticides, and modify harvest methods to minimize soil and litter disturbance. Plan and implement treatments to:

Minimize intensive burning unless appropriate for specific habitats, communities, or stand conditions. Prescribed fires should be planned to minimize the consumption of litter and coarse woody debris;
Minimize soil and litter disturbance that may occur as a result of yarding and operation of heavy equipment; and
Reduce the intensity and frequency of site treatments.

Where sites are occupied by Siskiyou Mountain Salamander or Del Norte Salamander, protect the site from ground disturbing activities. Designate a buffer of at least the height of one site-potential tree or a 100-foot horizontal distance, whichever is greater, surrounding the location. Within the site and the surrounding buffer, maintain at least 40 percent canopy closure and avoid any activities that would directly disrupt the talus layer. Develop and use standardized survey protocol to determine occupancy. These sites are referred to as managed late-successional reserves in the SEIS ROD.

Conduct surveys for roosting bats. As an interim measure, prohibit timber harvest within 250 feet of sites containing bats. Develop management standards and guidelines for each site.

Retain snags and green trees within a timber harvest unit at levels sufficient to support species of cavity-nesting birds at 40 percent of potential population levels. Meet the 40 percent minimum throughout the Matrix with per-acre requirements met on average areas no larger than 40 acres.

Within the matrix, provide snags and future sources of snags to maintain 100 percent of the potential population levels of white-headed and black-backed woodpeckers. Within the range of these species, this level of snag retention will be added to the normal standards and guidelines for snag retention levels in the Matrix. It is assumed these snag levels provide adequate habitat for pygmy nuthatches and flammulated owls.

In addition to the previous green-tree retention management actions/direction, retain green trees for snag recruitment in timber harvest units where there is an identified, near-term (less than three decades) snag deficit. These trees do not count toward the green-tree retention requirements.

Within the known or suspected ranges and within the habitat types of vegetation communities associated with the species, survey for Allotropa virgata, Bensoniella oregana, Cypripedium fasciculatum and Cypripedium montanum. Survey for Del Norte salamanders, Siskiyou Mountain salamanders, and red tree voles. These surveys will precede the design of all ground-disturbing activities to be implemented in 1997 or later.

Protect known occupied locations of Ptilidium californicum (Liverwort) by deferring timber harvest and avoiding removal of fallen trees and logs. The district has one known site at this time. If Ulota meglospora (Moss), Aleuria rhenana (Fungus), Otidea leoporina, Otidea onotica and Otidea smithii (Fungi) are discovered, defer ground-disturbing activities.

Additional trees may need to be retained to contribute to bat roost sites on a site-specific basis.

Retain some large hardwood trees, where present in harvest units, to provide habitat diversity.

Management Actions/Direction - Connectivity/Diversity (C/D) Blocks Spaced Throughout the Matrix Lands in the Northern GFMA

Maintain at least 25 to 30 percent of each block in late-successional forest. Riparian reserves and other allocations with late-successional forest count toward this percentage. Blocks may be comprised of contiguous or noncontiguous BLM-administered land. The size and arrangement of habitat within a block will provide effective habitat to the extent possible.

Retain at least 12 to 18 green conifer trees per acre in regeneration harvest units.