Klamath Falls Record of Decision: Matrix (General Forest Management Area)

Matrix (General Forest Management Area) - West Side

The Matrix, or General Forest Management Area, on the west side, totals approximately 23,550 acres. Included in the Matrix are approximately 2,300 acres of buffers around the District Designated Reserves (Late-Successional/District Designated Reserve buffers). Management direction for the Late-Successional/District Designated Reserve buffer lands is more restrictive than for the other matrix lands, and is described separately. The Matrix in the Klamath Falls Resource Area is designed to provide connectivity and biological diversity across the landscape rather than in large 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) across the landscape for forest dependent plant and animal species.

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 Allocation

There are approximately 23,550 acres of BLM-administered land in the Matrix (General Forest Management Area) on the west side.

Management Actions/Direction

Apply the management actions/direction in the Special Status and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Special Attention Species section. Conduct timber harvest and other silvicultural activities in that portion of the Matrix with suitable forest lands, according to management actions/ direction summarized below, the Timber section, and Appendix E.

A portion of BLM-administered forest lands will be available for maintenance of biological diversity, including old growth characteristics, and will not be subject to planned timber harvest. These forest lands include: nonsuitable woodlands, suitable woodlands-all categories, recreation sites, forest lands allocated for riparian-wetland area protection in Riparian Reserves, proposed areas of critical environmental concern and research natural areas, core areas around bald eagle and spotted owl nest sites, and other areas required for threatened and endangered species recovery. These forest lands total approximately 24,050 acres, of which 6,600 acres are currently old growth and 6,100 acres are mature forest.

Designate the Klamath Canyon an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (see the Special Areas section) and manage for old growth and diversity of native plant communities, as well as for historic, cultural, scenic, fisheries, and wildlife populations.

Manage the 23,550 acres of Matrix forest lands under uneven-age/multiple canopy management harvest prescriptions (see the Timber section). These forest lands will allow for migration and dispersal of organisms between the Late-Successional Reserves on U.S. Forest Service land to the north and the Klamath Canyon to the south (see Maps 3 and 4 in the map packet).

Provide a renewable supply of large down logs well 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 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. Down logs will reflect the species mix of the original stand. Where this management actions/direction cannot be met with existing coarse wood debris, merchantable material will be used to make up the deficit.
In areas of partial harvest, apply the same basic management actions/decision, but they can be modified to reflect the timing of stand development cycles where partial harvest is practiced.
Retain coarse woody debris already on the ground, and protect it to the extent compatible with ecosystem processes of the site, from disturbance during treatment (for example, underburning and yarding) that might otherwise destroy the integrity of the substrate.
Retain 16 to 25 large green trees per acre where available.
Retain snags within a timber harvest unit at levels sufficient to support species of cavity-nesting birds at 60 percent of potential population levels. Meet the 60 percent minimum throughout the Matrix with per acre requirements met on average areas no larger than 40 acres.
When an area is regeneration harvested, limit patch size to 3 acres.

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

Retain late-successional forest patches in landscape areas where little late-successional forest persists. This management action/direction will be applied in fifth field watersheds (20 to 200 square miles) in which federal forest lands 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.

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) spotted owl activity centers.

Additional information about Matrix management is found in the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision (Appendix A).