United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

Forest 

Service 

Pacific Northwest 

Region 

March 2012 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

APPENDICES

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Powers Ranger District

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest

Coos County, Oregon

Information Contact: 

Wesley H. Crum, Forester 

42861 Highway 242 

Powers, OR 97466 

Phone (541) 439-6200
VICINITY MAPS 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, 

gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should 

contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil 

Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and 

TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 

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Ashland

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T.39S.

T.40S.

R.1W. R.1E.

Rogue River-Siskiyou 

National Forest

Klamath

National

Forest

Mt. Ashland Ski Area

The U.S. Depart ment of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discimination

in all its programs and activities on the base of race, color, national

orgin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation,

or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication

of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should

contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil 

Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence 

Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964

(voice and TDD). USDA is an equal oppotunity provider and employer.

Printed on recycled paper
EDEN RIDGE TIMBER SALES 

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 

LIST OF APPENDICES 

APPENDIX A – PROCESS RECORD; CORRECTED NOTICE OF INTENT 

APPENDIX B – PRELIMINARY SILVICULTURAL DIAGNOSIS 

– PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT 

APPENDIX C – HYDROLOGY REPORT 

APPENDIX D – GEOLOGY& SOILS REPORT 

APPENDIX E – FIRE/FUELS AND AIR QUALITY REPORT 

APPENDIX F – BOTANICAL RESOURCES REPORT 

APPENDIX G – WILDLIFE REPORT AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION 

APPENDIX H – AQUATIC BIOTA REPORT AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION 

 – BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT 

APPENDIX I – TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYTEMS REPORT 

APPENDIX J – HERITAGE RESOURCES 

APPENDIX A 

PROCESS RECORD; CORRECTED NOTICE OF INTENT 

APPENDIX A 

FEDERAL REGISTER - CORRECTED NOTICE OF INTENT 



APPENDIX B 

PRELIMINARY SILVICULTURAL DIAGNOSIS 

PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT 

PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 1 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

APPENDIX B 

Port-Orford-Cedar Report 

and 

Risk Key Assessment 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Prepared by 

Stephen F. Boyer 

Pacific Zone Silviculturist 

September 15, 2011 
PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 2 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

BACKGROUND 

On most of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Port-Orford-cedar (POC) is concentrated in 

Riparian Reserves except on the Powers Ranger District where POC is well distributed across the 

landscape. 

The Powers Ranger District has the greatest concentration of POC occurring in the world, from the South 

Fork of the Coquille River to Iron Mountain. This district is also unique in having stands with POC stand 

components of up to 70 to 80 percent. Included within the district are the Port-Orford-cedar Research 

Natural Area, Big Tree Viewing Area, which includes the largest POC in the world at nearly 12 feet in 

diameter, and the Coquille River Falls Research Natural Area. 

The 2008 inventory showed 47,902 acres of POC present on the district, of which 2,349 acres (4.9%) are 

infested with PL. The research natural areas are infested with POC root disease, Phytophthora lateralis

(PL). 

Phytophthora lateralis 

PL is a virulent, non-native pathogen that was introduced into the native range of POC in the early 1950s 

and its place of origin is unknown. PL readily kills POC of all ages that are growing on sites favorable 

for infection. Once an area becomes infested, it is difficult to eradicate PL. 

PL can cause mortality within weeks of infection in the case of small trees and in one to four years when 

large trees are infected (Roth et al. 1987). Trees usually lose all foliage two to three years after death. In 

areas where the disease has been active for several years, dead and dying trees with all degrees of foliage 

symptoms are visible (Hadfield et al. 1986). 

PL is spread in the following ways (Hansen et al. 2000; Zobel et al. 1985): 

-Human vectors over long distances via resting spore transported in infested plant material or soil. 

-Locally via waterborne spores moving in ditches, streams, or overland flow. 

-Via mycelia growing across root contacts and grafts between infected and uninfected POC. 

PL is favored in areas of slow-moving or standing water and on poorly drained microsites, especially 

when such sites occur below roads. Susceptible areas are segregated by the following risk categories 

(USDA Forest Service, 2004: Record of Decision and Land and Resource Management Plan Amendment 

for Management of Port-Orford-cedar in Southwest Oregon, Siskiyou National Forest). 

High-risk Sites 

Low-lying wet areas (infested or not) that are located downslope from already infested areas or below 

likely sites for future introductions, especially roads. They include streams, drainage ditches, gullies, 

swamps, seeps, ponds, lakes, and concave low lying areas where water collects during rainy weather 

(USDA-FS 2004). High risk sites are defined as streamside POC within 100 feet below a road and nonstreamside POC within 50 feet below a road or 25 feet above a road (Figure 1).
PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 3 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Figure 1. High-risk Sites 

For the purposes of this analysis, probability (USDA-FS 2004, section 3&4, page 37) below 6.1% for 

spread and establishment of PL in previously uninfested areas is considered low risk. This probability 

corresponds to Low-risk sites defined as follows: 

Low-risk Sites 

These are sites with characteristics unfavorable for spread and infection by PL. Low risk sites are defined 

as streamside POC greater than 100 feet from a road and non-streamside POC greater than 50 feet from a 

road. 

Probabilities of spread are based on literature and professional judgment of forest pathologists with 

substantial amounts of experience evaluating PL in the laboratory and in the field. 

EDEN RIDGE TIMBER SALES - CURRENT CONDITION 

Field observations noted variable amounts of standing small to medium diameter snags in PL pockets 

associated with profuse natural regeneration of POC seedlings and saplings in the Eden Ridge Timber 

Sales (ER) Planning Area. Infected and healthy POC seedlings usually occur intermingled. 

Figure 2. Examples of PL Pockets – Eden Ridge Planning Area 

Unit 326 Unit 332 Unit 326
PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 4 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Field reconnaissance in combination with GPS waypoints during summer 2011 noted clumps of five (5) 

to twelve (12) 4” to 30” diameter standing snags occurring in Port-Orford-cedar root disease pockets 

(Phytophthora lateralis) in the southern portion of the Planning Area adjacent to the 5000 Road. Most of 

the snags are < 12” diameter. Larger 24” to 32+” diameter snags were observed interspersed in the 

overstory north of this road and below the southernmost waypoint. This area is not proposed for 

treatment in ER. 

Figure 3. GPS Waypoints in Phytophthora lateralis pockets 

 Yellow dots = GPS way points 

Port-Orford-Cedar Inventory 

An updated POC inventory based on field verification was finalized in 2008 on the Powers Ranger 

District of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. POC presence and PL root disease is mapped in 

small portions of the Planning Area. 

Most of ER Planning Area is mapped as canopy cover 1 in the updated inventory. This attribute is 

defined as 2-5% canopy cover of POC foliage present in mapped polygons. Canopy cover is estimated 

during air photo interpretation and field verification in some cases (see Attachment A: Polygon Attribute 

Table-Data Dictionary). 

Canopy cover 1 can be considered to not measurably contribute to land management objectives1. Where 

POC is a small percentage of the stand or does not provide unique stand attributes, its loss is probably not 

meaningful when measured against management objectives (USDA 2004, p. 34). In these circumstances, 

the decision to manage for POC is determined by the ER Interdisciplinary Team. 

Landscape-scale POC distribution should be considered for ER as surrounding private timber company 

land is being managed for planted Douglas-fir regeneration on a 40-50 year rotation. Dead and dying 

POC seedlings and saplings, likely infected with PL are present in road ditches and drainages in the 

surrounding land ownership. PL has been diagnosed in dying POC regeneration alongside the 5000 Road 

west of the eight mile gate before entering into FS ownership (June 14, 2011, field trip with Frank 

Betlejewski, Interregional POC Manager). 

 

1

 Pers. conv. Frank Betlejewski, Interregional Port-Orford-cedar Program Manager, Southwest Forest Insect and Disease 

Service Center. 
PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 5 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Figure 4. Port-Orford-cedar Distribution in Eden Ridge Planning Area 

Measurably contributing POC and PL infection is present west of the private inholding around Doe 

Swamp. This area is mapped as canopy cover 2, defined as 6-20% POC present in mapped polygons, 

which triggers the POC Risk Key. 

Figure 5. POC and PL Infection near Doe Swamp 

Previous tree planting of 98,100 POC seedlings occurred in 1937 across 144 acres in a portion of the area 

inventoried as canopy cover 2 (see stand history of main silvicultural diagnosis report). This plantation is 

adjacent to the land ownership boundary around Doe Swamp with private timber company which has 

recently been clearcut harvested in 2010. Many planted POC appear to be deformed with busted tops that 

are being out competed and overtopped by larger Douglas-fir. 
PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 6 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Figure 6. POC Plantation near Doe Swamp 

Proposed treatment activities and road building through PL pockets in ER Units 326 and 327 can have 

potentially adverse effects to POC in this area. A project-specific POC Risk Key assessment is required 

in areas with measurably contributing POC to help determine where risk reduction management practices 

would be applied and to comply with the LRMP amendment (USDA 2004). 

Figure 7. PL Pocket in Unit 326 Adjacent to Railroad Grade Proposed for Road Reconstruction 
PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 7 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR RISK KEY 

The POC Risk Key is used to clarify the environmental conditions that require implementation of one or 

more of the disease controlling management practices listed in the 2004 Record of Decision (ROD) and 

Land and Resource Management Plan Amendment for Management of Port-Orford-cedar in Southwest 

Oregon Siskiyou National Forest. The objectives of the amended POC management Standard and 

Guidelines are to: 

Maintain POC on sites where the risk for infection is low. 

Reduce the spread and severity of root disease in high-risk areas to retain its ecological function 

to the extent practicable. 

Reestablish POC in plant communities where its numbers or ecosystem function have been 

significantly reduced. 

Reduce the likelihood of root disease becoming established in disease-free 7th field watersheds. 

Program objectives are to maintain POC as an ecologically and economically significant species on 

National Forest (NF) lands. POC management will provide cost-effective mitigation for management 

activities that create appreciable additional risk to important uninfected POC though not to reduce all risk 

to all trees at all cost (USDA-FS 2004). In areas proposed for timber harvest and road building, 

mitigation would be required as described in the POC Risk Key assessment (USDA 2004, Appendix A). 

Project-specific NEPA analysis will appropriately document the application of the Risk Key and the 

consideration of the available management practices. Application of the Risk Key and application of 

resultant management practices will make the project consistent with the mid- and large-geographic and 

temporal-scale effects described by the SEIS analysis, and will permit the project analysis to tier to the 

discussion of those effects (USDA FS 2004). 

Application of the Risk Key 

1a. Are there uninfected Port-Orford-cedar (POC) within, near, or downstream of the activity 

area that’s ecological, Tribal, or product use or function measurably contributes to meeting land 

and resource management plan objectives? Yes. 

Measurably contributing POC and PL infection is present west of the private inholding around Doe 

Swamp. This area is proposed for commercial thinning treatments, road reconstruction of an 

existing railroad grade and construction of a new system road to access ER Units# 326 and 327. 

Harvest units and road building are within a wet western hemlock plant association (Atzet et al. 

1996). 

1b. Are there uninfected Port-Orford-cedar within, near, or downstream of the activity area 

that, were they to become infected, would likely spread infections to trees whose ecological, 

Tribal, or product use or function measurably contributes to meeting land and resource 

management plan objectives? No. 

Surrounding treatment areas near or downstream of the Doe Swamp area are inventoried as 

canopy cover 1, which indicates POC as not measurably contributing to LRMP objectives at the 

stand-level scale. 
PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 8 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Whether or not areas with POC are considered measurably contributing in the ER Planning Area, 

landscape-scale POC distribution should be considered as surrounding private timber company 

land downstream from the Doe Swamp area is being managed for Douglas-fir regeneration on a 40-

50 year rotation. The ecological value of maintaining healthy POC during treatment activities on 

Forest Service land should be considered important for vegetation diversity. 

1c. Is the activity area within an un-infested 7th field watershed as defined in Attachment 1? 

No. 

2. Will the proposed project introduce appreciable additional risk of infection to these uninfested Port-Orford-cedars? Yes.

Recommended Management Practices (Mitigation Measures)

Project Scheduling- schedule commercial treatments/road building west of Doe Swamp to occur during 

the dry season (or wash project equipment). 

Utilize Uninfested Water- Use uninfested water sources for equipment washing, road watering and other 

water-distribution needs or treat water with bleach to prevent/reduce the spread of PL. 

Unit Scheduling- Conduct work in all timber sale units where PL is not present before working in units 

infested with PL. 

Road Management Measures- Implement proactive disease-prevention measures including not building 

roads (e.g., Road W through PL pockets in Units 326 and 327) or relocating the proposed road to avoid 

these infested areas. 

Resistant POC Planting- Silvicultural prescriptions for sites having potential for growing POC will 

provide for the establishment of the species through natural or artificial regeneration and maintenance as a 

viable stand component through the current and future rotations. 

Washing Project Equipment- Wash project equipment prior to beginning work in uninfested project 

areas, when leaving infested areas to work in uninfested areas, and when leaving the project area to 

minimize the transportation of infested soil to uninfested areas. 

Roadside Sanitation- Remove POC along both sides of the road. Recommended width is 25 feet above 

the road or the top of the cut bank and 50 feet below the road. Remove POC 100 feet below the road 

where crossing streams. 

Site-Specific POC Management- Manage to favor POC uphill from creeks, on ridgetops and on welldrained sites to emphasize management of POC on sites where conditions make it likely that trees will 

escape infection. Emphasis may include priority retention during thinning or other silvicultural 

treatments and planting to increase the presence of POC in areas unfavorable to PL. 

Recommended Treatments 

The following active treatments (Figure 8) are recommended: 
PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 9 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Figure 8. Port-Orford-Cedar Root Disease Treatments 

 Roadside Sanitation Wide Thin Gaps 

Wide-Thin Gap Treatments 

Remove all live POC within PL infection sites. Leave non-susceptible tree species on site. Thin out all 

live POC within 2 to 3 crown radii from last infected POC along the perimeter of infection sites to 

separate healthy POC from potential root contact with infected POC. Pile and burn all POC slash and 

follow-up underburn to potentially mitigate disease presence. Sites can be planted with non-susceptible 

tree seedlings. 

Roadside Sanitation 

Manage for non-susceptible tree species by removing all POC along road sides and high risk sites as 

follows: 

100-feet below roads at stream crossings, width of high water table. 

25 feet above roads and 50-feet below roads in non-streamside areas. 

Planting 

Restore POC within its natural range by planting non-PL infested areas and low risk areas with resistant 

POC. Gaps and root rot pockets may be site prepared and planted with Port-Orford-cedar seedlings for 

stand health and enhance structural and species diversity within a stand. 
PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 10

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Recommended planting spacing is twenty-five (25) feet apart or in approximately ten (10) tree clusters at 

100-150 foot spacing to lessen the potential for root grafting (USDA 2004, ROD, pg. 36). These spacing 

guidelines can be flexible to meet site-specific conditions. Avoid stagnant water and plant POC in areas 

that maximize chances of maintaining moist surface soil year-round. 

POC’s distribution in Coos County appears primarily to reflect edaphic conditions (Zobel, 2011). During 

introduction of disease-resistant POC, the General Soil Type Digger-Preacher-Remote is an appropriate 

soil type to plant POC (based on POC’s native distribution in historical cruise data in pre-harvest forests). 

ER is within the ‘Oregon Transitional’ Block/Zone 340 (2,501-4,000 ft. elevation) for disease-resistant 

seed (Hamlin, 2005). Seed is collected from seed orchards established since 2001 at the Dorena Genetic 

Resource Center, USDA Forest Service, in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Seedlings should be grown primarily 

from this seedlot. 

Plant openings created by WTG treatments in PL pockets with Douglas-fir where openings > 1⁄4 acre. 

Western hemlock is anticipated to naturally regenerate in openings and does not need be planted. Do not 

plant POC as these PL pockets are considered high risk and should be managed for non-host species to 

reduce the potential for long-term PL disease persistence on site. Post-planting tree netting of seedling 

terminal buds may be needed to reduce big game browse damage on Douglas-fir.

Climate Change Consideration 

In anticipation of potential climate change and species migration, combine seedlots for sowing POC seed 

for planting as follows: 

 Original Lower Southern 

 Zone Elevation Zone Latitude Zone 

 340 (50%) 325 (25%) 440 (25%) 

If a lower elevation or southern latitude source is not available, then increase the original zone percentage 

accordingly (Hamlin, 2009). 

The Tyee Formation is the dominant geologic type in the coastal mountains in Douglas, Lane, and 

Lincoln counties and extends as far north as Tillamook County. Tyee supports moderate performance of 

POC in terms of both its incidence and volume. Knowing the relative performance of POC on these 

edaphic units should help to decide where POC could be introduced during efforts to move its range north 

as climatic warming continues (Zobel 2011). 

REFERENCES 

Atzet, Thomas, D.E. White, L.A. McCrimmon, P.A. Martinez, P Reid Fong, and V.D. Randall. 1996. 

Field Guide to the Forested Plant Associations of Southwestern Oregon. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL 

TP-17-96. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon. 

Betlejewski, Frank. Pers. Com., June 14, 2011; field trip with Interregional POC Manager. 

Hansen, E.M. 2000. Final Report on Demographics of Port-Orford-cedar on Sites Infested with P. 

lateralis for Many Years. Unpublished report. Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State 

University, Corvallis. 5 pp. 

Hadfield, J. S.; Goheen, D. J.; Filip, G. M.; Schmitt, C. L.; and Harvey, R. D. 1986. Root Diseases in 

Oregon and Washington Conifers. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Forest Pest 

Management. R6-FPM-250-86. Page 7; 27 pp. 
PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 11

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Roth, L.F., Harvey, R.D., and Kliejunas, J.T. 1987. Port-Orford-cedar root disease. R6-FPM-PR-010-

91. USDA Forest Service, PNW Region. 11 pp. 

USDA Forest Service. 2004. Record of Decision and Land and Resource Management Plan Amendment 

for Management of Port-Orford-cedar in Southwest Oregon, Siskiyou National Forest. Portland, Oregon. 

485 pp. 

Zobel, D.B.; Roth, L.F.; Hawk, G.M. 1985 Ecology, Pathology, and Management of Port-Orford-Cedar 

(Chamaecyparis lawsoniana). USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Experiment Station General 

Technical Report PNW-181. 161 pp. 
PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR REPORT Page - 12

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

ATTACHMENT A 

Port-Orford-Cedar Field Inventory 

Polygon Attribute Table - Data Dictionary 

Polygon #: A number corresponding to a black number on the aerial photo as an identifier of individual 

polygons. This numbering system is sequential for each aerial photo. The Rogue/Siskiyou N.F. overall 

unique number for that polygon is shown in the margin directly to the left of this number. 

POC Root Disease Presence/Absence: If coded 66 then POC Root Disease (Phytophthora lateralis) has 

been detected and delineated within the polygon. If coded 00 then no POC root disease has been detected 

or delineated within the polygon. Note: in some situations POC root disease may be present or shown on 

the Interregional Data Base for that area but the root disease killed trees were not detected on the 1997 

aerial photo. 

Live POC Canopy Cover: This is the percent of the land within a polygon which is estimated to be 

covered by POC foliage. It represents the density or concentration of POC within a polygon and is done 

during photo interpretation with field verification in some cases. The codes used are: 

 1*- Canopy cover of POC within this polygon is 2 to 5%. 

 2 - Canopy cover of POC within this polygon is 6 to 20% 

3 - Canopy cover of POC within this polygon is 21 to 40% 

4 - Canopy cover of POC within this polygon is 40%+ 

* 2% is the lowest canopy cover of POC that can be reliably mapped using aerial photos or field verification . POC may be 

present outside of such classified polygons but its concentration is, on average, low. 

Survey Date: This is either the date when a polygon was field verified or the date of photo interpretation. 

Estimated # of Live POC By Size Classes: This data is normally estimated during photo interpretation 

but for some smaller polygons the trees were counted during field verification. The size classes employed 

are: S = Small (less than 22" dbh); M = Medium (22" to 32" dbh); L = Large (32" +). 

Estimated # of Dead POC By Size Class: The size classes are the same as for Live POC. 

Field Verification Level: This is the reliability of field verification to validate the work of photo 

interpretation and data integration on a given polygon. Due to the size of the analysis area and the limited 

amount of time available for this work it is not feasible to do more than briefly sample polygons. 

Learning the ecology of where POC is present and absent and applying this knowledge to areas away 

from roads is one of the important values of field verification. 

The codes used are: 1 - Field verification where the field person is reasonably confident that the polygon 

classifications are correct. 2- Field verification where the polygon is large and only a very small sample 

was examined or where distances observation (with and without binoculars) was done. 3 - Field 

verification was not done. 

Source: The 1992 Interregional Data Base Codes were used along with year of data. 

Remarks: Any useful information that the photo interpreter felt should be passed on to the data user. No 

more than 60 characters 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-1 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis 

Prepared by 

Stephen F. Boyer 

Pacific Zone Silviculturist 

January 12, 2012 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-2 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... B-4 

II. STAND IDENTITY AND LOCATION .................................................................................. B-6 

A. RRSNF Existing Vegetation Layer .......................................................................................... B-6 

III. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................................. B-7 

A. Physiography ............................................................................................................................. B-7 

B. Vegetation - Stand Conditions .................................................................................................. B-11 

C. Forest Health ............................................................................................................................. B-14 

D. Stand History ............................................................................................................................. B-18 

E. Large Woody Material and Snags ........................................................................................... B-19

IV. MANAGEMENT DIRECTION ............................................................................................. B-24

A. Desired Conditions .................................................................................................................... B-25 

B. Silvicultural Objectives ............................................................................................................. B-25 

V. SILVICULTURAL TREATMENTS ...................................................................................... B-26 

A. Variable Density Thinning (VDT) ........................................................................................... B-26 

B. Forest Vegetation Simulator ..................................................................................................... B-26 

C. Simulated Treatments Discussion ............................................................................................ B-37 

D. Other VDT Treatments ............................................................................................................ B-38 

E. Port-Orford-Cedar Root Disease Treatments ........................................................................ B-38 

F. Riparian Reserve Treatments ................................................................................................... B-41

G. Non-Commercial Treatments .................................................................................................. B-42

H. Fuels Management .................................................................................................................... B-42

VI. REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ B-44 

TABLES 

Table B-1. Alternative 2: Units, Acres and Proposed Logging Systems ...................................................B-5 

Table B-2. Soil Map Units for Eden Ridge Planning Area .........................................................................B-8 

Table B-3. Stand Competition; Curtin 1982 ................................................................................................B-12

Table B-4. Stand Exam Summaries, Eden Ridge Timber Sales ................................................................B-12

Table B-5. 2009 Stand Exam Summaries, Eden Ridge Timber Sales .......................................................B-14

Table B-6. Plantation Data in Eden Ridge Planning Area .........................................................................B-18

Table B-7. District Records of Commercial Timber Sale Activity within Planning Area .......................B-19

Table B-8. Eden Ridge 2009 Stand Exams - Down Woody Data (FSVEG Report 19) ............................B-21 

Table B-9. 2009 Stand Exams Standing Dead (Snags) from Plot Data (FSVEG Report 19) ..................B-21 

Table B-10. Snag Data for Western Hemlock Plant Series .........................................................................B-23

Table B-11. Down Wood Data for Western Hemlock Plant Series ...........................................................B-24

Table B-12. Stand #199 .................................................................................................................................B-27 

Table B-13. Stand 6032030-0199; 50 Year Stand Summary ......................................................................B-29 

Table B-14. Stand #604 .................................................................................................................................B-31

Table B-15. Stand 6048010-0604; 50 Year Stand Summary ......................................................................B-32 

Table B-16. Stand #802 .................................................................................................................................B-34 

Table B-17. Stand 6048030-0802; 50 Year Stand Summary ......................................................................B-35 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-3 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

FIGURES 

Figure B-1. Preacher-Bohannon, Landform Positions ...............................................................................B-9 

Figure B-2. Port-Orford-Cedar Disease, Adjacent to 5000 Road and Associated Spurs ........................B-15

Figure B-3. Laminated Root Rot in Eden Ridge Planning Area ...............................................................B-17

Figure B-4. Planted Stands in Northeast Portion of Planning Area ..........................................................B-19

Figure B-5. Down Wood Conditions from Historical Railroad Logging ..................................................B-20

Figure B-6. Stand #199 (within ER Units 2/201) .........................................................................................B-27 

Figure B-7. No Treatment 6032030-0199 .....................................................................................................B-28 

Figure B-8. Thin to 35% Relative Density 6032030-0199 ...........................................................................B-28 

Figure B-9. Growth Data Stand #199 ...........................................................................................................B-30

Figure B-10. Stand #604 (within ER Unit 320/324) .....................................................................................B-31

Figure B-11. No Treatment 6048010-0604 ...................................................................................................B-32 

Figure B-12. Thin to 35% Relative Density 6048010-0604 .........................................................................B-32 

Figure B-13. Growth Data Stand #604 .........................................................................................................B-33 

Figure B-14. Stand #802 (within ER Unit 307) ............................................................................................B-34 

Figure B-15. No Treatment 6048030-0802 ...................................................................................................B-35 

Figure B-16. Thin to 35% Relative Density 6048030-0802 .........................................................................B-35 

Figure B-17. Growth Data Stand #802 .........................................................................................................B-36

Figure B-18. POC High-risk Sites .................................................................................................................B-40

Figure B-19. Example Non-Commercial Treatments .................................................................................B-42

MAPS 

Map B-1. Proposed Units for Eden Ridge Timber Sales (Alternative 2) ..................................................B-4 

Map B-2. Existing Vegetation Layer and Alternative 2 Units ...................................................................B-6 

Map B-3. Soil Mapping for Eden Ridge Planning Area .............................................................................B-8 

Map B-4. Preacher-Bohannon Loams (Soil Map Units 46D and 46E) ......................................................B-9 

Map B-5. Remote-Digger-Preacher (Soil Map Units 49E and 50E) ..........................................................B-10

Map B-6. Umpcoos- Rock Outcrop (Soil Map Unit 58F) ...........................................................................B-10

Map B-7. Existing Vegetation Polygons Exceeding 50% RD within Candidate Stands ..........................B-13 

Map B-8 – Existing Vegetation Polygons >= 70% Canopy Cover within Candidate Stands ...................B-13 

Map B-9. POC and PL Distribution in Eden Ridge Planning Area ..........................................................B-15

Map B-10. GPS Points of Laminated Root Rot Infection ..........................................................................B-16

Map B-11. Previous Fires on Eden Ridge Planning Area ..........................................................................B-18

Map B-12. Standing Snags Occurring in Phytophthora lateralis Pockets .................................................B-22

Map B-13. Port-Orford-Cedar Root Disease Treatments ..........................................................................B-39 

Map B-14. Existing Vegetation Polygons, Cover Class 2 ...........................................................................B-41

ATTACHMENT A 

2009 Stand Exam Locations 

Stand #199 (within ER 2/201) 

Stand #604 (within ER 320/324) 

Stand #802 (within ER 307) 

Stand #747 (within ER 906/905) 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-4 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

I. INTRODUCTION 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales project (ER) is located on the Powers Ranger District of the Rogue RiverSiskiyou National Forest. The Planning Area is approximately 6,516 acres of Forest Service land within 

the South Fork Coquille River and the Middle Fork Coquille River 5th-Field watersheds, and the 

Headwaters of South Fork Coquille River, Coal Creek, Mill Creek, Lower Rock Creek and Myrtle Creek 

6

th-Field watersheds. The South Fork Coquille 5th-Field watershed was designated as a Tier 1 Key 

Watershed by FEMAT in 1983 and selected for directly contributing to anadomous salmonid and bull 

trout conservation in the Northwest Forest Plan (USDA 1994). Adjacent private timber company lands 

owned by Plum Creek surround the Planning Area. 

Alternative 2 proposes to treat seventy-five (75) units totaling 3,314 acres for harvest treatments, 

principally commercial thinning for stocking-level control (Map B-1) with some small group selection 

(gap treatments) to treat laminated root rot (Phellinus weirii) pockets and eradication treatments mostly in 

the understory, in areas infested with Port-Orford-cedar root disease (Phythophthora lateralis) and 

sanitation treatments along roadsides in areas with uninfested Port-Orford-cedar. Follow-up planting of 

resistant conifer seedlings is proposed for forest health and species diversity objectives in root disease 

pockets. Nine (9) units totaling 363 acres are proposed for noncommercial treatments that include 

thinning small diameter trees, planting Port-Orford-cedar and removing disease-infected or damaged 

understory trees. 

Map B-1. Proposed Units for Eden Ridge Timber Sales (Alternative 2) 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-5 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table B-1. Alternative 2: Units, Acres and Proposed Logging Systems 

Unit 

Number Logging Systems

Rounded 

Acres

Unit 

Number Logging Systems

Rounded 

Acres

Unit 

Number Logging Systems

Rounded 

Acres

001 Ground Based 187 302 Skyline 7 331 Skyline 13

002 Ground Based 137 303 Ground Based 12 332 Ground Based 44

003 Skyline 135 304 Skyline 6 333 Ground Based 86

004 Ground Based 8 305 Skyline 8 334 Ground Based 88

005 Ground Based 126 306 Skyline 15 335 Skyline 38

006 Ground Based 102 307 Ground Based 24 336 Skyline 49

007 Ground Based 70 308 Ground Based 13 337 Skyline 19

101 Ground Based 65 309 Ground Based 14 338 Skyline 24

102 Skyline 46 310 Ground Based 49 340 Skyline 19

103 Skyline 61 311 Ground Based 36 341 Ground Based 25

201 Ground Based 117 312 Skyline 38 342 Skyline 16

202 Skyline 57 313 Ground Based 93 343 Ground Based 18

203 Ground Based 19 314 Skyline 40 344 Skyline 30

204 Skyline 48 315 Skyline 26 345 Ground Based 17

205 Skyline 14 316 Skyline 33 401 Ground Based 8

206 Ground Based 25 317 Ground Based 74 402 Skyline 20

207 Ground Based 17 318 Ground Based 25 403 Skyline 5

208 Skyline 21 319 Ground Based 86 Total: 3314

209 Skyline 79 320 Skyline 37 Noncommercial

210 Ground Based 13 321 Skyline 16 900 900 85

211 Skyline 23 322 Ground Based 35 901 901 7

212 Skyline 26 323 Skyline 31 902 902 7

213 Skyline 22 324 Ground Based 95 903 903 5

214 Skyline 36 325 Ground Based 135 904 904 14

215 Skyline 29 326 Ground Based 155 905 905 140

216 Ground Based 17 327 Ground Based 47 906 906 82

217 Skyline 6 328 Skyline 52 907 907 12

218 Ground Based 17 329 Skyline 41 908 908 9

301 Skyline 13 330 Ground Based 18 Total: 363

Proposed logging systems are ground-based on 2,089 acres within thirty-nine (39) units and skyline on 

1,225 acres within thirty-six (36) units. To access treatment units, proposed new classified road 

construction is 10.8 miles, classified road reconstruction is 6.1 miles and 0.3 miles of temporary road 

construction. No logging system or road construction/reconstruction is proposed for treating noncommercial units. 

The Planning Area is primarily accessed by Forest Roads 3300, 3358 and cost share Road 5000 with 

secondary access provided by cost share roads 5000200, 5000210, 5000290, 5000297, 5000420, 

5000440, 5000441, 5000448 and 5000449. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-6 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

This report is prepared as a preliminary silvicultural diagnosis, as required by FSH 2409.17 (Silvicultural 

Practices Handbook), section 8.22. Upon a final decision for Eden Ridge timber Sales under NEPA, a 

site-specific silvicultural prescription would be developed for each individual stand identified for 

treatment and address each land allocation classification (Matrix, Riparian Reserve) during 

implementation. Silvicultural prescriptions would describe desired future conditions, specify tree 

spacing, target relative density (RD), preferred species, canopy retention, post-harvest treatments and 

other key stand components. Final silvicultural prescriptions would be approved by a Region 6 certified 

silviculturist. 

II. STAND IDENTITY AND LOCATION 

Map B-2 displays proposed units for Alternative 2 overlayed onto the Rogue River-Siskiyou National 

Forest (RRSNF) existing vegetation layer stored in the Forest’s GIS reference library. The attribute table 

for the existing vegetation layer contains stand and location numbers for each polygon linked to FSVEG, 

the Forest Service’s corporate spatial layer for inventorying forest stands on National Forest lands. 

Additionally, a FACTS (Forest Activity Tracking System database) identification number is assigned to 

each existing vegetation polygon for tracking commercial and noncommercial vegetation treatments 

planned and implemented on forest stands. 

Map B-2. Existing Vegetation Layer and Alternative 2 Units 

A. RRSNF Existing Vegetation Layer 

The existing vegetation layer was created through computer-automated delineation using eCognition 

software and populated with data derived from Gradient Nearest Neighbor (GNN) models produced by 

the Interagency Mapping and Assessment Project (IMAP). Forests stands with homogeneous forest types 

and structures were delineated across the entire Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest based on aerial 

imagery using eCognition software with a minimum stand size of 5 acres. 

The plot data used in the GNN models comes from a variety of sources: Forest Inventory and Analysis 

(FIA) Periodic and Annual plots, USFS Region 6 Current Vegetation Survey (R6-CVS), USFS Region 5 

Inventory (R5), Bureau of Land Management Current Vegetation Survey (BLM-CVS), and Bureau of 

Land Management Fire Effects Monitoring and Inventory Protocol (FIREMON) plots. This plot data was 

imputed to assign attribute conditions across the landscape based on Landsat Thematic Mapper data using 

direct gradient analysis and nearest neighbor models. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-7 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The Forest’s existing vegetation data is appropriate for mid-scale, broad watershed-level, planning efforts 

and is typically insufficiently accurate for site-specific uses on its own. The data is summarized here at 

the stand-level because it is currently the best-available data, and this is the level at which management 

actions are implemented. Though the data should provide appropriate information at the watershed level 

and appropriately guide planning efforts, it is recognized that specific site locations (stands) may not be 

sufficiently accurate at this scale. The proportion of a watershed or broad Planning Area in the given 

forest condition should typically be appropriately represented, even though specific stands may be 

insufficiently accurate. 

The data presented in this existing vegetation layer needs to be ground-verified at the stand-level before 

stand silvicultural prescriptions are written. As stand-level information is gathered, the data provided 

here will be verified and the existing vegetation layer updated to reflect the most current and bestavailable data 1

.

III. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT 

Location 

ER Planning Area is located on Eden Ridge approximately four (4) air miles southeast of Powers, 

Oregon. The legal description of: Township 31 South, Range 10 West, Sections 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 

21, 29 and 30; and Township 31 South, Range 11 West, Sections 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27,

Willamette Meridian; Coos County, Oregon. 

Topography 

Elevations range 2,080 to 3,540 feet. Slopes range from 0-10% on flat ridgetops to 80+% along steep 

inner gorges bordering Wooden Rock Creek and Coal Creek. Generally, aspect is south to southwesterly 

with easterly to westerly aspects along drainages and some northerly aspects in the Middle Fork Coquille 

River 5th-Field watershed in the northern half of the Planning Area. 

Precipitation 

Average annual rainfall is 80 to 100 inches (Meyer, Amaranthus, 1979). A strong maritime influence 

results in high winter precipitation and moderate year-round temperatures (USDA, 1995). 

A. Physiography 

Eden Ridge is situated within the Coast Range Physiographic province to the northeast of South Fork 

Coquille River. This river forms the boundary between two major physiographic provinces, the Coast 

Range province to the north and the much older Klamath Mountain province to the south (USDI, 1994). 

The Coast Range consists of rhythmically bedded sandstone and siltstone that have only minor 

deformation, except along major faults. Mountains of the Coast Range are characterized by highly 

dissected ridges with very steep side slopes and narrow, sharply defined ridgetops. Bedrock commonly is 

exposed on the steeper slopes. The sedimentary rock is weakly consolidated and consequently easily 

weathered (USDA Soil Conservation Service, 1989). With the close maritime influence, the Coast Range 

has the highest average winter temperatures, the coolest summers and the greatest rainfall in Oregon (Orr 

et. al., 1992). 

 

1 Pers. conv. and document „RRS Existing Veg metadata summary‟ received from Guenther Castillon, Assistant Forest 

Silviculturist, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-8 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Geology

The Tyee Formation is present in large blocks on the Powers District spreading from Sand Rock 

Mountain to Eden Ridge, all along the south fork of the Coquille River, south from Hanging Rock, along 

Panther Ridge to Bald Knob. The Tyee Formation was deposited in the middle Eocene, apprx 49 million 

years ago (Orr et al., 1992). Tyee Formation is composed of thick rhythmically bedded, buff to greenishgray sandstone with thin interbedded dark colored mudstone. Local coal beds are found in this unit 

(Meyer, Amaranthus, 1979). 

Soils 

Soils are derived from sedimentary bedrock, Tyee sandstone. Map B-3 displays Planning Area soil 

mapping. Table B-2 displays map unit composition and some soil characteristics (USDA SCS 1989). 

Map B-3. Soil Mapping for Eden Ridge Planning Area 

Table B-2. Soil Map Units for Eden Ridge Planning Area 

MU# Map Unit*

%Component

Surface texture/thickness

Depth/AWC

%Component

Surface texture/thickness

Depth/AWC

%Component

Surface texture/thickness

Depth/AWC

14F

Digger-Preacher-Umpcoos,

50-80% slopes

30% Digger, 

gravelly loam/6”, mod deep, AWC 

2-5”

30% Preacher, 

loam/14”, deep, AWC 6.5-12.5”

25% Umpcoos, 

very gravelly sandy loam/3”, 

shallow, AWC 0.5-1.5”

15F

Digger-Umpcoos-Rock outcrop, 

50-90% slopes

30% Digger, 

gravelly loam, mod deep, AWC 2-

5”

25% Umpcoos, 

very gravelly sandy loam/3”, 

shallow, AWC 0.5-1.5”

25% Rock outcrop

Hard fractured sandstone

24 Gardiner sandy loam

85% Gardiner

sandy loam/9” deep, AWC 6-6.5”

46D

Preacher-Bohannon loams, 

3-30% slopes

50% Preacher, 

loam/14”, deep, AWC 6.5-12.5”

30% Bohannon

gravelly loam/11”mod 

deep/AWC 2.5-6.5”

46E

Preacher-Bohannon loams, 

30-60% slopes

40% Preacher, 

loam/14”, deep, AWC 6.5-12.5”

30% Bohannon

gravelly loam/11”

mod deep/AWC 2.5-6.5”

49E

Remote loam, 

30-50% slopes

75% Remote

loam/5”, deep/AWC 6-8”

50E

Remote-Digger-Preacher complex, 

30-50% slopes

35% Remote

loam/5”, deep/AWC 6-8”

30% Digger, 

gravelly loam/6”, mod deep, 

AWC 2-5”

25% Preacher, 

loam/14”, 

deep, AWC 6.5-12.5”

58F

Umpcoos-Rock outcrop, 

70-99% slopes

40% Umpcoos, 

very gravelly sandy loam/3”, 

shallow, AWC 0.5-1.5”

25% Rock outcrop

Hard fractured sandstone

Deep = 40-60” Mod Deep = 20-40” Shallow = 0-20” AWC = Available Water Capacity 

* see 1989 Soil Survey of Coos County for inclusions in map units. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-9 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table B-2 displays soil depth ranging from deep and moderately deep (Preacher-Bohannon) to shallow 

(Umpcoos-Rock Outcrop). Mapped soils are in General Soil Map Units 10 - Preacher-Bohannon; 11 -

Digger-Preacher-Remote; and 13 - Umpcoos-Rock Outcrop-Digger. Broad land use considerations 

describe productivity for Douglas-fir as high for general map unit 10, moderate for unit 11 due to soil 

fertility and low in unit 13 due to droughtiness and hazard of windthrow (USDA SCS 1989). Map B-4 

displays areas mapped as Preacher-Bohannon, the highest productivity soils in the Planning Area. 

Map B-4. Preacher-Bohannon Loams (Soil Map Units 46D and 46E)

Preacher-Bohannon loams: There are approximately 2,198 acres of this general soil map unit, formed in 

colluviums and residuum of the Tyee sandstone, siltstone and conglomerate. Soil thickness over 

sandstone ranges 10-60 inches. Soil erosion is high only when the duff and litter are disturbed. Water 

infiltration is rapid with high available water capacity for plant growth. Site productivity is high (Gross, 

1992a). Figure B-1 displays relative landform positions of Preacher and Bohannon soils. 

Figure B-1. Preacher-Bohannon, Landform Positions

Map B-5 displays Remote-Digger-Preacher soil associations mapped in the Planning Area. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-10 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Map B-5. Remote-Digger-Preacher (Soil Map Units 49E and 50E) 

Digger-Preacher-Umpcoos association and Remote loam. There are approximately 1,428 acres of this 

general soil map unit. Rock outcrops occasionally present. Soil thickness ranges 20-60+ inches. Erosion 

hazard is low when the duff and litter are undisturbed. Site productivity is high (Gross, 1992b).

Map B-6 displays Umpcoos-Rock outcrop mapped in the Planning Area. 

Map B-6. Umpcoos- Rock Outcrop (Soil Map Unit 58F) 

Umpcoos-Rock Outcrop-Digger. These are the shallowest soils with relatively lower site productivity 

and hazard of windthrow as described above for General Soil Map Unit 13. There are approximately 

1,867 acres of this general soil map unit in the Planning Area. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-11 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

B. Vegetation - Stand Conditions 

Overstory is dominantly composed of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) with subordinate amounts of 

western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and minor amounts of Port-Orford-cedar (Chamaecyparis

lawsoniana). Hardwoods occur in the mid-story and understory and consist of chinquapin (Chrysolepis

chrysophylla), tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) and some red alder (Alnus rubra) occurring in riparian 

areas adjacent to streams. Conifer regeneration is mostly western hemlock with more localized profuse 

Port-Orford-cedar seedlings/saplings associated with drainages and areas with high water tables. 

Understory vegetation dominantly consists of salal (Gaultheria shallon), Pacific rhododendron 

(Rhododendron macrophyllum), tall in places (> 10 feet), and lower covers of dwarf Oregongrape 

(Mahonia nervosa), prince’s pine (Chimaphila Pursh), sword fern (Polystichum munitum), western 

twinflower (Linnaea borealis), woods rose (Rosa gymnocarpa), evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium

ovatum) and some grasses. 

Plant Associations 

The Eden Ridge Planning Area is in the western hemlock series with understory conifer regeneration 

dominantly composed of western hemlock seedlings and saplings. Western hemlock is considered to be 

the climax forest species throughout the Coast Range Province and is most efficient in soils of the Tyee 

sandstone parent material (USDI 1994). 

The following southwest Oregon plant associations (Atzet et al., 1996) were keyed during field 

reconnaissance (listed in descending order of prevalence): 

Western Hemlock/Pacific Rhododendron-Dwarf Oregongrape (TSHE/RHMA3-BENE2-SWO). 

This plant association is the wettest of the western hemlock series and coolest of the coastal western 

hemlock plant associations. This association has a dense shrub layer consisting of Pacific rhododendron 

and salal. 

Western Hemlock/Evergreen Huckleberry/Western Sword-Fern (TSHE/VAOV2/POMU). 

This plant association is found in warm and wet environments. This association generally has multiple 

species of ferns with Oregon oxalis ground cover and rarely occurs on ridgetops or valleys. 

Western Hemlock/Salal-Pacific Rhododendron-SWO (TSHE/GASH/RHMA3).

This plant association was keyed along the northeastern perimeter and is found in warm sites, drier than 

the above two plant associations and occurs commonly on upper slopes.

Current Stand Condition 

Candidate stands are mostly single-storied in stem exclusion (Oliver, 1996) with scattered openings from 

root disease infection in the northern portion of the Planning Area that have more multi-layered structure 

from natural regeneration of conifers and hardwoods. Live crowns are receding from dense stand 

conditions with crown ratio ranging 15-20% on suppressed and intermediate crown class trees to 30-40% 

for dominant and codominant trees. Hardwood thickets of chinquapin are present and interspersed within 

stands and are associated with rocky, shallow soils (Atzet, Wheeler, 1989) and rock outcrops. Candidate 

stands are generally 60-70 years old. An older stand, located in the eastern corner of the Planning Area, is 

proposed for noncommercial treatments within Unit 900. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-12 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Relative Density 

Relative Density (RD) index is used on ER for determining thinning treatment thresholds for candidate 

stands. RD is calculated using quadratic mean diameter and stand basal area (Curtis 1982) or by dividing 

a stand’s existing Stand Density Index (SDI) (Reineke 1933) by a maximum SDI characteristic of the 

stand’s species composition (Woodall 2009). The SDI maximum for Douglas-fir in Oregon of 595 was 

used for ER (Larsen, 2001, Daniel et al., 1979). Calculated RD numbers from the Curtis method describe 

stand competition as follows (Ellen 1984). 

Table B-3. Stand Competition; Curtin 1982 

70%+ Grossly overstocked (unmanaged mature stands)

60% Approximate “normal” stocking

50-70% Stand density sufficient to cause competition-related mortality

35-50% Stand vigor and growth are maximized

<35% Individual tree growth maximized

Previous environmental analysis of similar stands on Powers and Gold Beach Ranger Districts identified 

a RD of 50% as a threshold of undesirable competition-related tree mortality (USDA 2007). This RD 

threshold will be used for ER. 

Previous timber stand exams were conducted in portions of proposed units in 1986 and 1999. Table B-4 

displays previous stand summary information in 1986 and 1999 indicating dense stocking conditions 

exceeding treatment thresholds in most stands at the time of stand exam data collection. 

Table B-4. Stand Exam Summaries, Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

1986 Stand Exams - Eden Ridge

ER Unit# (est) Stand Age 2011 Stand Age

Ba/ 

Ac SDI RD

3 40 65 207 472 0.79

332, 333 43 68 253 463 0.78

333 38 63 171 309 0.52

340, 341 40 65 176 389 0.65

1999 Stand Exams - Eden Ridge

5,7,9 53 65 283 505 0.85

5,7,9 54 66 203 377 0.63

210, 332 51 63 240 469 0.79

332, 333 54 66 253 463 0.78

332, 333 51 63 280 498 0.84

340, 341, 342 57 69 250 428 0.72

340, 341, 342 58 70 262 504 0.85

216, 343, 344 53 65 222 412 0.69

Not in proposed unit 49 61 242 425 0.71

401, 402 50 62 230 476 0.80
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-13 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

A data query of the Forest’s existing vegetation GIS layer displays 1,996 acres exceeding 50% RD in 

candidate stands for Eden Ridge Timber Sales (Map B-7). Queried polygons are concentrated in the 

eastern portion of the Planning Area and are associated with the more productive Preacher-Bohannon 

soils. These areas are higher priority for treatment though computer-generated existing vegetation data 

will need ground verification at the stand-level for determining data accuracy and developing site-specific 

silvicultural prescriptions (see RRS Existing Vegetation section description). 

Map B-7. Existing Vegetation Polygons Exceeding 50% RD within Candidate Stands 

RD >= 50% in blue shaded areas 

Canopy Cover 

A data query of the Forest’s existing vegetation GIS layer displays most candidate stands exceeding 70% 

canopy cover for Eden Ridge Timber Sales (Map B-8). 

Map B-8. Existing Vegetation Polygons >= 70% Canopy Cover within Candidate Stands 

Canopy Cover >= 70% in blue shaded areas 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-14 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

2009 Timber Stand Exams 

Recent timber stand exams were conducted in 2009 to ground verify existing vegetation polygon 

information located within candidate stands (see Attachment A for polygon locations). Table B-5 

displays stand exam summaries. Attributes in parenthesis are for trees greater than or equal to 6” dbh for 

candidate stands proposed for commercial treatments.

Table B-5. 2009 Stand Exam Summaries, Eden Ridge Timber Sales # TSE plots location# stand# acres

ER unit (apprx)

Trees / ac

Canopy Cover+

Basal Area / ac

Tree

Species 

(based on 

plot data)

QMD SDI

RD

(Curtis)

Merch BF/ac*

10 yr 

Radial 

growth 

(20th/ 

inch)

3 6032030 199 17 2/201 544/

(244) 77% 333/(333)

82%PSME 

14%TSHE 

4%CACH

10.6/

(15.8)

597/

(560) 0.84 68,751 9-11, avg=10

3 6048010 604 5 320/324 96/

(96) 58% 253/(253) 100%PSME 22.0/(22.0)

340/

(340) 0.54 58,599 15-31, avg=24

4 6048030 802 21 307 1670/

(220) 81% 376/(372)

86%PSME 

8%TSHE 

6%CACH

6.4/

(17.6)

821/

(683) 0.89 106,689** 5-20, avg=11

8 6048010 747 38 906/905 (noncommercial) 152 50% 165

69%PSME, 

16%CHLA, 

10%TSHE, 

5%CACH

14.1 264 0.44 34,493 7-28, 

avg=17

+ Canopy cover projected by Stand Visualization System (SVS) from inventory conditions from FVS, version 6.21, ICASCA variant. 

* Board foot volumes projected by FSVEG, Report 17. 

** Estimated volume is unrealistic due to small sample size and 61” DF, 226’ tall present on one of the plots. 

( ) Attributes for trees >= 6” dbh 

High RDs, closed canopy conditions, receding live crowns and low average ten year radial growth 

indicate suppressed growth is occurring in densely-stocked candidate stands. This is evidenced by the 

presence of standing 7-16” diameter snags from self thinning in stand #802 (see snag section). 

Additionally, root disease is present adjacent to stand #199 (within ER units #2 and 201, see laminated 

root rot section). These candidate units have a high percentage of susceptible tree species in the overstory 

predisposed to further infection and spread from root contact with infected trees. 

C. Forest Health 

Port-Orford-Cedar Root Disease 

Port-Orford-cedar (POC) root disease, Phytophthora lateralis (PL) is present in small portions of the ER 

Planning Area within drainages and roadsides adjacent to the 5000 road and associated spur roads. Field 

observations noted variable amounts of standing small to medium diameter snags in PL pockets with 

scattered natural regeneration of POC seedlings and saplings. Infected and healthy POC seedlings occur 

intermingled with scattered overstory POC in proximity. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-15 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Figure B-2. Port-Orford-Cedar Disease, Adjacent to 5000 Road and Associated Spurs 

Unit 326 Unit 332 Unit 326

POC and occasionally Pacific yew are susceptible to PL. This disease can cause mortality within weeks 

of infection in the case of small trees and in one (1) to four (4) years when large trees are infected (Roth et 

al., 1987). Trees usually lose all foliage two (2) to three (3) years after death. In areas where the disease 

has been active for several years, dead and dying trees with all degrees of foliage symptoms are visible 

(Hadfield et al., 1986). 

POC decays more slowly than other tree species making it more valuable for nutrient supply, sediment 

storage and dissipating flow in the channel. PL infected areas may contribute some trees to streams 

through mortality. Dead trees may stand for a long period of time before being delivered to streams 

(USDA Forest Service, 1995). 

Port-Orford-Cedar Inventory 

An updated POC inventory, based on field verification, was finalized in 2008 on the Powers Ranger 

District. Map B-9displays areas where POC exists in the Planning Area and associated PL infestation 

locations. POC is mostly a minor component (2-5% of the tree species composition in the overstory and 

midstory) except where POC was planted in the 1940s west of Doe Swamp (see EIS Appendix B, POC 

Report). 

Map B-9. POC and PL Distribution in Eden Ridge Planning Area 

 (Yellow = Uninfected POC Red = Infected POC) 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-16 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Outside of the Planning Area, dead and dying POC seedlings and saplings are present in roadside ditches 

and drainages in the surrounding private timber company ownership. PL has been diagnosed in dying 

POC regeneration alongside the 5000 Road west of the eight mile gate before entering into FS ownership 

(June 14, 2011, field trip with Frank Betlejewski, interregional POC manager). 

Landscape-scale POC distribution should be considered to sustain healthy populations of POC on Forest 

Service land ownership during implementation of silvicultural treatments in Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

(see Management Direction). Surrounding private timber company land appears to be managed for 

Douglas-fir regeneration only, with little healthy POC present in planted stands. These private lands are 

managing their timber crop on a 40-50-year rotation (USDA 1995). The POC report for ER is contained 

in EIS Appendix B. 

Sudden Oak Death (SOD) 

Currently the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is outside the quarantine area for SOD. If new 

SOD infestations result in an expansion of the quarantine area boundary to include the Planning Area, 

compliance with state and federal quarantine regulations will be required. 

Laminated Root Rot 

Laminated root rot is affecting forest health on portions of ER, particularly in the northern half of the 

Planning Area, in forest stands adjacent to FS Roads 5000440, 5000440003 and 5000448. Root rot 

pockets are approximately 1/8th to 1⁄4 acre with larger infection centers occurring within proximity to each 

other in the northeastern section (Map B-10). 

Map B-10. GPS Points of Laminated Root Rot Infection 

Overstory tree species is dominantly composed of Douglas-fir in candidate units and across all of Eden 

Ridge. Stand-level infection is expected to increase as root rot pockets continue to expand in size from 

infected root contact with healthy susceptible trees. Disease infection extensively decays roots of 

susceptible host trees and either causes windthrow or mortality by destroying the tree’s ability to take up 

water and nutrients (Hadfield et al., 1986). Windthrow is more common with laminated root rot than 

other root pathogens and is present in candidate stands. 

Although timber volume losses caused by laminated root rot are most conspicuous as tree mortality or 

windthrow, tree growth may also be reduced for several years before tree death (Bloomberg and Reynolds 

1985, Thies 1983). For commercial forest land in Oregon, reduction in wood volume is estimated to be 

40-70% on areas affected (Goheen and Hansen, 1993). 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-17 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Figure B-3. Laminated Root Rot in Eden Ridge Planning Area 

 Unit 2 Unit 201

Laminated root rot spreads by root contact between uninfected trees when living roots penetrate infected 

roots. In pole-sized and larger trees, the root disease can spread outwards an average rate of one (1) foot 

per year. This pathogen can live saprophytically in infected dead roots for fifty (50) years or more. Tree 

species present in candidate stands are listed in decreasing order of susceptibility: 

Douglas-fir and white fir > western hemlock > Port-Orford-cedar 

All hardwoods are immune

Mistletoe 

Hemlock dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium tsugense) infection is present in a very few scattered overstory 

western hemlock trees in candidate stands. Effects are usually minor until hosts reach ages in excess of 

120 years (USDA Forest Service, 2008). Heavier mistletoe infection was observed in an older western 

hemlock stand located on a ridgetop within noncommercial Unit# 900. Noncommercial treatments to 

sanitize mistletoe from this stand should be carefully considered as this stand may be a unique feature of 

vegetative diversity at the landscape-scale in the context of surrounding younger forests dominantly 

composed of Douglas-fir, which is a non-host to this species of dwarf mistletoe. Chances of lateral 

spread are minimal.

Windthrow 

In addition to windthrow trees being present in laminated root rot pockets, windthrown trees are evident 

along the perimeter adjacent to large openings created by timber harvest on private timber company lands. 

Windthrow creates pockets of variable-sized down wood, particulary where susceptible forest stands have 

a high percentage of western hemlock in the overstory tree species composition (e.g. Unit 213). 

Windthrow is also present on landforms with shallow soils (i.e., Umpcoos-Rock Outcrop-Digger). 

Fire 

The fire occurrence rate in the South Fork Coquille drainage is relatively low for lightening and humancaused fires. The fire occurrence interval for western hemlock series in the Klamath region is about 65 

years (USDA 1995). Previous reported fires mostly occur in the west half of the ER Planning Area (Map 

B-11). 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-18 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Map B-11. Previous Fires on Eden Ridge Planning Area 

1964 Debris Burning 129 acres 1965 Campfire 20 acres 

1970 Lightening 0.1 acres 2001 Lightening 0.5 acres 

D. Stand History 

Forest stands in the Eden Ridge Planning Area were extensively railroad logged in the 1930s and 1940s 

with steam donkeys as railroad lines were constructed through the area. Harvested areas were likely 

covered in slash or burned with abundant quantities of residual down wood still present today in many 

proposed units. Some areas in the northern section of the Planning Area appear to have incurred a forest 

fire during the logging operation2. Large contiguous areas of post-harvest early seral vegetation are 

visible on 1943 air photos taken of Eden Ridge (see compilation EIS Chapter III, subsection 14). 

Approximately 10% of the Planning Area has documentation of post-harvest reforestation treatments 

(Table B-6). Historical records for ten (10) plantations documented 648 acres of tree planting between 

1939 and 1943. Conifer species planted were Douglas-fir and Port Orford cedar. Approximately 232 

acres of understocked areas from poor seedling survival within plantations were naturally regenerated and 

later determined stocked between 1954 and 1963. 

Table B-6. Plantation Data in Eden Ridge Planning Area 

Unit Year Logged Year Planted/ 

Acres

Tree Species 

Planted

Year Site Prep. 

or Release 

Year Natural 

Regen/ Acres

P-1 Early 1900’s 1939/44 ac 30,000 POC 1947 1954/11 ac

P-2 Early 1900’s 1940/36 ac 13,500 POC Unknown 1954/14 ac

P-3 Early 1900’s 1940/37 ac 25,300 POC Unknown 1954/15 ac

P-4 Early 1900’s 1941/144 ac 98,100 POC 1937 1954/68 ac

P-5 Early 1900’s 1942/57 ac 28,000 POC 1937 1954/27 ac

P-6 Early 1900’s 1942/100 ac 74,000 DF Unknown 1954/23 ac

P-7 Early 1900’s 1942/40 ac 28,000 DF Unknown 1954/18 ac

P-8 Early 1900’s 1946/48 ac 33,000 POC 1937 1963/24 ac

P-9 Early 1900’s 1946/127 ac 70M DF 1937 1954/26 ac

P-10 Early 1900’s 1946/15 ac 10M DF 1937 1954/5 ac; 1963/1 ac

Total Acres: 648 ac 232 ac

 

2

 Silver Doe Timber Sale, Silvicultural prescription, Stand Area Description. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-19 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

There are no records that stocking level control occurred on these plantations or naturally regenerated 

stands during the early stages of stand development. Field reconnaissance noted many areas that appear 

planted or precommercially thinned due to the spatial arrangement of overstory trees, particularly in the 

northeast portion of the Planning Area. 

Figure B-4. Planted Stands in Northeast Portion of Planning Area 

Unit 002 

Long-time residents of Powers stated that aerial seeding was a post-harvest treatment implemented on 

Eden Ridge3

though no records currently exist to validate these statements. 

Past Management 

Table B-7 lists previous commercial timber sale activity within the Planning Area (since historical 

railroad logging in the 1930s and 1940s). None of the candidate stands for Eden Ridge Timber Sales are 

located within these previous contemporary timber sale units. 

Table B-7. District Records of Commercial Timber Sale Activity within Planning Area 

Timber Sale Year Remarks

Silver Doe Thin 2010-current Skinny Doe units 5, 6, 7 

Backwoods Thin 2000-2006

Silver Doe ATV #1 2006 Skinny Doe unit 19

Doe Swamp Thin 1997-2000

Sweeney Butte HCC 1969 southeast of Backwoods Thin # 6

Oversite Salvage 1961 along south boundary, east of 5000420

Unnamed HCC 1957 east of Backwoods Thin # 1

 

3

 Pers. conv. with Eric Martz, Powers Ranger District silviculturist (retired). 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-20 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

E. Large Woody Material and Snags 

Observations based on an informal walk through candidate stands prior to 2009 by the previous district 

silviculturist noted Large Woody Material (LWM), 20 inch plus diameter at breast height (dbh), limited 

on the forest floor. Where observed, LWM was in the class 4 and 5 range. Standing snags over 16 inch 

diameter are also limited with most snags being within the 8 to 11 inch diameter range. 

Current Condition – Down Wood 

Stand self-thinning is evident in many stands proposed for treatment. High RDs exceeding stated density 

thresholds has caused tree mortality to occur in the suppressed and intermediate crown class trees. 

Correlations between living tree biomass and deadwood biomass emerge when stands exceed 75% RD 

(Woodall 2009). Down wood boles from self-thinning are smaller in diameter than historical logging 

slash, present around old railroad grades and in riparian areas. 

Figure B-5. Down Wood Conditions from Historical Railroad Logging 

 ER Unit 326 ER Unit 1 

Root rot infection caused by laminated root (Phellinus weirii) contributes more localized pockets of down 

wood, particularly in the northern half of the ER Planning Area. Infected areas resemble between 1-DF-3 

and 2-DF-3 in the Pacific Northwest photo series (Maxwell 1980) which estimates 59 to 111 tons per acre 

of forest residue respectively. Laminated root rot centers are more susceptible to windthrow (Hadfield et 

al. 1986) and may supply important concentrations of down woody material as infected dead trees do not 

remain standing for very long. 

In addition to laminated root rot centers, windthrown trees are evident along the perimeter of the Planning 

Area adjacent to large openings created by timber harvest on private timber company lands. Down wood 

from windthrow is also present on landforms with shallow soils (e.g. Umpcoos/Rock outcrop). 

Down woody material information using Brown’s transect protocol was recorded during 2009 stand exam 

data collection (see attachment A, for vegetation polygon locations). Table B-8 displays quantitative 

downed woody data for stands sampled. Down woody material present on stand exam plots is mostly 

associated with laminated root rot pockets and old railroad logging slash. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-21 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table B-8. Eden Ridge 2009 Stand Exams - Down Woody Data (FSVEG Report 19) 

Location# stand#

ER

Unit #

(apprx)

Tons/ac 

(0-

0.24")

Tons/ac 

(0.25-

0.99")

Tons/ac 

(1-

2.99")

Sound 

Tons/ac 

(3+")

Rotten 

Tons/ac 

(3+")

Tons / 

ac 

(ALL)

Ave. 

Diam. 

3+ 

Rotten

Pieces/

acre 

(ALL)

Photo 

Series 

(1980)

6032030 199 2/201 0.64 1.98 3.87 0.00 43.87 50.36 19.60 168

1DF3 

4DF4

6048010 604 320/324 0.37 0.46 1.94 0.00 4.98 7.74 7.60 45

2DF4 

3DF4

6048030 802 307 0.59 1.80 2.90 1.41 8.05 14.75 6.00 533

2DF4 

3DF4 

4DF4

6048010 747 906/905 0.30 1.91 5.58 0.41 60.49 68.70 16.70 312

4DF4 

3MC3 

1MC4 

1DFHD4 

4DFHD4

In riparian areas of the South Fork of the Coquille watershed, large wood is delivered to stream channels 

by debris flows, streamside landslides, recruitment from adjacent riparian forests, and transport from 

upstream sites. Federal and private activities removed massive amounts of wood for salvage following 

the 1964 flood. Standing large wood has been lost from riparian areas primarily by harvest, scouring 

debris flows and salvage following windthrow (USDA Forest Service 1995). 

Current Condition – Snags 

Currently there are scattered snags in ER due to stand density, past fires and forest disease conditions 

causing tree mortality. Table B-9 lists standing dead (snags) present on the 2009 stand exam plots. 

Table B-9. 2009 Stand Exams Standing Dead (Snags) from Plot Data (FSVEG Report 19) 

location# stand#

ER

Unit #

(apprx)

Total Stand 

Dead Species DBH Hgt TPA

6032030 199 2/201 0

6048010 604 320/324 0

6048030 802 307 5 PSME 7" 15' 37.4

PSME 11" 64' 15.2

PSME 13" 97' 10.8

PSME 16" 78' 7.2

PSME 15" 89' 8.1

6048010 747 906/905 2 PSME 28" 86' 0.8

PSME 42" 38' 0.4

Snags are deficient in two of the vegetation polygons inventoried in the eastern portion of the Planning 

Area, small 7 to 16 inch snags are present in an older stand in the western portion near Coal Creek and 

scattered larger 20+inch snags are present in the noncommercial units west of the 5000 Road. 

Field reconnaissance in combination with GPS waypoints during summer 2011 noted clumps of five (5) 

to twelve (12), four (4) inch to thirty (30) inch diameter standing snags occurring in Port-Orford-cedar 

root disease pockets (Phytophthora lateralis) in the southern portion of the Planning Area adjacent to the 

5000 road (Map B-12). 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-22 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Map B-12. Standing Snags Occurring in Phytophthora lateralis Pockets 

Most of the snags are < 12 inch diameter. Larger 24 inch to 32+inch diameter snags were observed 

interspersed in the overstory north of this road and below the southernmost waypoint. This area is 

currently outside candidate units proposed for commercial treatments and will be assessed for POC 

treatment needs and possible funding in the Sale Area Improvement (KV) plan. POC is not considered a 

desirable tree species for wildlife use as snag habitat4.

Land And Resource Management Plan (LRMP) 

The Siskiyou National Forest LRMP (1989) is the existing policy direction for snags and coarse down 

wood objectives. However, scientific studies on wildlife habitat (Johnson, O’Neil, 2001) have 

determined that snag retention based on biological potential is a flawed technique4. This technique was 

used for determining snag requirement standards and guidelines in the LRMP. 

The Southwestern Oregon Provincial Interagency Executive Committee requested a province-wide 

process be developed for determining levels of snags and down woody material in forests in the late 

1990’s. As a result, landscape stratification based on Plant Association Groups (PAGs), was developed 

across the Forest. 

A key element of desired conditions for PAGs is down dead woody material. Existing large woody 

material varies depending on past logging operations and PAG in southwest Oregon. Desired levels of 

dead wood were modeled by PAG, based on Ecology Plot data, adjusted by past conditions with 

consideration of the DecAID5 advisory system. These models were intended to be used as a baseline for 

managers to develop prescriptions for landscape management. Treatment units proposed for ER are 

within the maritime western hemlock PAG model derived from this process (Siskiyou NF, 2000). 

 

4

 Personal conversation: Dave Clayton, Rogue River-Siskiyou NF Wildlife Biologist, January 18, 2012 

5

 DecAID is a wood advisory tool for Washington and Oregon forests and is based on Habitat Model for Wildlife Tree Retention. 

USDA Forest Service, Region 6, Portland Oregon: Kim Mellen (editor) 2003. The title can be read as decayed wood advisor and 

management aid “decay-aid” or “decision-aid”. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-23 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Ecological processes within PAGs vary due to changes in climate, topography and soil. Each PAG has a 

mean and range for snags and down wood derived from ecological plot data. These recommended means 

and ranges (standard deviations) are broken into diameter classes: 6 to 9 inches, 10 to 19 inches and 20 

inches and greater and into decay classes: 1 through 5 (White, unpubl.). 

Because the Forest’s PAG data is at a finer scale, the Forest is currently using plant series data from new 

PAG classifications, delineated by geographical regions (Cascades, Siskiyous, Coast), for determining 

snag and down wood objectives on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest6

. 

Snag Recommendations

The LRMP specifies a desired snag quantity of 185 to 235 snags per 100 acres delineated into hard and 

soft 11+, 15+, 17+ and 25+ snag diameter classes to maintain habitat capability of woodpeckers 

(indicators of cavity nesting species) at not less than 60% of potential population levels (LRMP, IV-33 to 

36). Snag quantities are dependent on woodpecker species present in the treatment area. 

As previously discussed, the Forest is choosing to use plant series data derived from new PAG 

classifications to determine snag and down wood objectives. Table B-10 displays snag data for the 

western hemlock plant series in the coast geographic region.7

 This data reflects snag quantities present in 

older stands derived from PAG inventory plots and represents desired snag quantities to develop in 

candidate units post-treatment.

Table B-10. Snag Data for Western Hemlock Plant Series 

COAST - Snags

SERIES Diameter

Minimum

TPA

Maximum

TPA

Mean

TPA

Standard

Deviation

TPA

Western Hemlock 0-10” 0 211.73 28.64 49.45

Western Hemlock 11-19” 0 42.74 7.93 12.51

Western Hemlock 20”+ 0.38 16.83 6.27 4.37

Large snags over 20 inch diameter are particularly essential for forest function. In addition, at least 96 

wildlife species in Oregon and Washington are associated with snags in forests, using snags for shelter, 

roosting and hunting. Most species use snags greater than 14 inch diameter (Rose et al. 2001). Ridges, 

upper thirds of slopes, and riparian areas or lower third of slopes are very important for late-successional 

dependent species. Snags in various size classes also are important to the recruitment pathways of the 

down, coarse materials important to soils. 

In areas where past management has resulted in a lack of large snags needed for cavity nesting species, 

snags would be created from live trees left in stands. Whenever possible, creation of a minimum of 2 or 

more snags per acre over 20 inch dbh within all commercially treated units should be part of each 

silvicultural prescription. Creation can be through girdling, topping the trees with chain saws, blasting, 

inoculation with heart rot fungi, or deliberate injury. These methods would open the trunk to 

development of a hollow core used by woodpeckers and a variety of other birds, mammals, and other 

wildlife. 

 

6

 Pers conv. David Clayton, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Wildlife Biologist, January 18,2012 

7

 Hochhalter (et al.) Ecology Group, Southwest Oregon Province, plant series data from PAG plots. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-24 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Large Wood Recommendations 

As with snags, down logs are important for wildlife and aquatic ecosystem function. In addition, large 

coarse woody material is particularly important to maintaining and holding soils in place. The following 

table displays down wood data (pieces per acre, tons and size) for the western hemlock plant series in the 

coast geographic region8 and represents desired down wood quantity and size objectives. 

Table B-11. Down Wood Data for Western Hemlock Plant Series 

COAST – Down Wood 

SERIES

Diameter

Min PPA

Max PPA

Mean

PPA

Std Dev. 

PPA

Min 

TONS

Max 

TONS

Mean 

TONS

Std Dev 

TONS

Min 

LENGTH

Max 

LENGTH

Mean 

LENGTH

Std Dev 

LENGTH

Western Hemlock 0-10" 0 428 110 131 0 12 3 3 0 275 63 59

Western Hemlock 11-19" 0 184 52 46 0 35 11 8 5 120 64 37

Western Hemlock 20"+ 0 204 35 46 0 116 38 37 6 367 111 94

Under the Action Alternatives, snags and down wood would be retained to support ecosystem function 

(see Wildlife Report). Management activities shall be planned to maintain enough large woody material 

(dead and down) to maintain a healthy forest ecosystem (SIS LRMP 1989). LWM already on the ground 

would be protected from disturbance to the greatest extent possible during logging and other land 

management activities that might destroy the integrity of the substrate. 

Evaluations would occur after density management treatments to assess potential needs for snag/down 

wood creation. In areas lacking adequate amounts of down woody material (include snags in 

calculations), green trees may be felled. Any leave trees damaged during harvest operations would be left 

standing or felled for safety, but left on site. The intent is to provide future snags or trees with cavities or 

deformities utilized by wildlife. 

IV. MANAGEMENT DIRECTION 

Candidate stands proposed for treatment are located on suitable forest land designated as Management 

Areas 14 (General Forest) and 11 (Riparian) in the Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource 

Management Plan (USDA, 1989) and as Matrix or Riparian Reserve land allocations as amended by the 

1994 Northwest Forest Plan. No Late-Successional Reserves or other land allocations are proposed for 

treatment in this Planning Area.

The primary management goal for General Forest is to obtain full yield timber within the capability of 

the land and the management requirements of other resources (LRMP, IV-139). Most timber harvest and 

other silvicultural activities would be conducted in that portion of Matrix with suitable forest lands, 

according to standards and guidelines (NWFP, C-39). Applicable Standards and Guidelines for Matrix: 

Provide specified amounts of coarse woody debris in matrix management. Manage to provide a 

renewable supply of large down logs well distributed across the matrix landscape in a manner that 

meets the needs of species and provides for ecological functions. Develop models for groups of 

plant associations and stand types that can be used as a baseline for developing prescriptions. 

Coarse woody debris already on the ground should be retained and protected to the greatest extent 

possible from disturbance during treatment which might otherwise destroy the integrity of the 

substrate. 

 

8

 Hochhalter (et al.) Ecology Group, Southwest Oregon Province, plant series data from PAG plots. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-25 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The management goal for Riparian is to manage these areas under the principles of multiple-use while 

maintaining the integrity of these riparian ecosystems which includes streambank stability, vegetation, 

terrestrial and aquatic habitats (LRMP, IV-126). The primary treatment objective in Riparian Reserves is 

to benefit riparian area and wetland functions, including future recruitment of large woody debris into 

streams (see hydrology report for more information on Management Direction in riparian areas). 

Applicable standards and guidelines for timber management in Eden Ridge Timber Sales: 

Apply silvicultural practices for Riparian Reserves to control stocking, reestablish and manage 

stands, and acquire desired vegetation characteristics needed to attain Aquatic Conservation 

Strategy objectives. 

For the portion of Riparian Reserves located within Key Watersheds, standards and guidelines for Key 

Watersheds as well as standards and guidelines for Riparian Reserves apply (NWFP, C-30). Applicable 

Standards and Guidelines for Key Watersheds (NWFP, C-7):

Outside of Roadless Areas – Reduce existing system and non-system road mileage. If funding is 

insufficient to implement reductions, there will be no net increase in the amount of roads in Key 

Watersheds. 

Additionally the programmatic Record of Decision and LRMP amendment for Management of PortOrford-Cedar in Southwest Oregon, Siskiyou National Forest (USDA 2004) amended Standards and 

Guidelines to have the following objectives for management of Port-Orford-cedar: 

Maintain POC on sites where the risk for infection is low. 

Reduce the spread and severity of root disease in high-risk areas to retain its ecological function 

to the extent practicable. 

Reestablish POC in plant communities where its numbers or ecosystem function have been 

significantly reduced. 

Reduce the likelihood of root disease becoming established in disease-free 7th field watersheds. 

Project-specific NEPA analysis will appropriately document the application of the Port-Orford-Cedar risk 

key and the consideration of the available management practices (see POC Report, EIS Appendix B). 

Application of the risk key and application of resultant management practices will make the project 

consistent with the mid- and large-geographic and temporal-scale effects described by the SEIS analysis, 

and will permit the project analysis to tier to the discussion of those effects (ROD, p 33). 

A. Desired Conditions 

The desired conditions for candidate stands in Eden Ridge Timber Sales is sustainable, cost-efficient 

timber production, within LRMP standards and guidelines, to support current and future economies while 

treating to improve forest health and resiliency. 

The desired condition for Riparian Reserves within candidate stands is for these riparian areas to continue 

to serve their existing aquatic ecosystem protection functions (effective stream shade, bank stabilization, 

provision of wood and leaf litter to the stream channel, etc.) at lower tree densities that are on a trajectory 

to develop high quality, sustainable riparian habitat. 

B. Silvicultural Objectives 

The primary silvicultural objective for ER is to control existing dense tree stocking conditions within 

commercial stands to develop more sustainable, full yield timber production on suitable lands while 

harvesting projected density and disease-related tree mortality in support of the Forest’s Probable Sale 

Quantity. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-26 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

A secondary objective is to treat subordinate amounts of root disease infection to improve forest health 

and sustain or increase tree growth and vigor by retaining or planting non-host tree species. Riparian 

Reserve treatments will be designed to protect or improve riparian stand conditions to meet Aquatic 

Conservation Strategy objectives stated in the NW Forest Plan. 

V. SILVICULTURAL TREATMENTS 

In order to produce sustained full yield timber from these stands, intermediate harvest treatments using 

variable density thinning (VDT) techniques are proposed. 

A. Variable Density Thinning (VDT) 

VDT uses a combination of low and crown thinning to release larger dominant and co-dominant trees. 

Spacing between trees is variable depending on tree diameter distribution on the ground and thinning 

intensity. Individual stand characteristics will be heterogeneous and post-harvest tree spacing will not 

have a rigid, grid-like appearance. 

Intensity of density management treatments ranges light (150-225 trees per acre [tpa]), medium (90-150 

tpa) or heavy (50-90 tpa) thinning with a target RD of approximately 35-50%. Tree species composition 

is maintained or enhanced by favoring a diverse mixture of conifers and hardwoods. 

Stocking level control to reduce stand density to a RD of 35-50% will allow stand vigor and growth to be 

maximized (Ellen 1984) by creating more growing space for retained trees and controlling inter-tree 

competition for site resources. Retained trees will ideally have 40% live crown ratios following treatment 

to respond to increased availability of site resources. A live crown ratio of 40% represents a generally 

acceptable level of individual tree vigor (Daniel et al. 1979). 

Although maximum gross production in coastal Douglas-fir is obtained when RD exceed 40%, thinning 

to relative densities below this optimum may produce less growth per unit area but this will be offset by 

greater growth per tree (Drew and Flewelling,1979). Reducing treated stands to this target 35-50% RD 

range will achieve the desired future condition of sustainable, cost-efficient timber production while 

treating candidate stands to improve forest health and resiliency. 

Future thinning treatments would occur when stand density grows back to 50% RD or when dominant 

and codominant trees have about 40% live crown ratios. For Douglas-fir, a live crown ratio of 40% 

appears to correspond with a SDI of about 50% of the maximum SDI (i.e., 50% RD) (Long, 1985). 

Untreated candidate stands would continue on a track of suppressed stand growth and lost economic 

opportunities to capture density and disease-related tree mortality. 

B. Forest Vegetation Simulator 

Stand growth attributes were projected with Forest Vegetation Simulator (USDA FS: Dixon 2002; Keyser 

2008 (revised October 4, 2011) on existing vegetation polygons within candidate stands proposed for 

commercial thinning treatments (see Table B-5 -2009 Stand Exam Summaries). Stand #199 is presented 

as an example and the following figures and tables are stand data for trees >= 6” dbh from simulations for 

no treatment and thinning from below treatments to 35% and 45% RD respectively. Stand Visualization 

System (McGaughey, 1997) was used to visually display no harvest and harvest treatments (i.e., no 

treatment and 35% RD treatment). 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-27 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Figure B-6. Stand #199 (within ER Units 2/201) 

Table B-12. Stand #199 

Existing Condition: Location-Stand 6032030-0199

Age

Trees/ 

acre

Basal 

Area/ 

acre

Quadratic 

Mean 

Diameter

Relative 

Density 

(Curtis)

Canopy 

Cover

52 243 335 15.9 84 77

No Treatment - projected growth

62 238 363 16.7 89 79

72 220 374 17.7 89 79

82 195 374 18.8 86 78

92 176 374 19.8 84 77

102 158 373 20.8 82 76

Thin to 35% Relative Density - post harvest

52 68 150 20.1 33 43

Thin to 35% Relative Density - projected growth

62 68 168 21.3 36 46

72 68 186 22.5 39 48

82 67 206 23.7 42 51

92 67 225 24.8 45 53

102 66 243 25.9 48 54

Thin to 45% Relative Density - post harvest

52 93 189 19.3 43 51

Thin to 45% Relative Density - projected growth

62 92 210 20.4 46 54

72 92 231 21.5 50 57

82 92 253 22.5 53 59

92 89 270 23.5 56 60

102 87 286 24.5 58 62
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-28 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Figure B-7. No Treatment 6032030-0199 

 Current Conditions Projected 50 years 

Figure B-8. Thin to 35% Relative Density 6032030-0199 

 Post Harvest Projected 50 years 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-29 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table B-13. Stand 6032030-0199; 50 Year Stand Summary 

No Treatment 35% RD Thin 45% RD Thin

Stand 

Attribute

Current 

Condition

50 

years 

postharvest

Stand 

Attribute

After 

Harvest

50 years 

postharvest

Stand 

Attribute

After 

Harvest

50 years 

postharvest

Relative 

Density 84 82

Relative 

Density 33 48

Relative 

Density 43 58

Trees 

per acre 243 158 

(-85)

Trees

per acre 68 66 (-2)

Trees 

per acre 93 87 (-6)

Canopy 

Closure 77 76

Canopy 

Closure 43 54

Canopy 

Closure 51 62

QMD 

Growth 15.9 20.8 

(+4.9)

QMD 

Growth 

20.1 

(+4.2)

25.9 

(+5.8)

QMD 

Growth 

19.3 

(+3.4)

24.5 

(+5.2)

Basal 

Area 

per acre

335 373 

(+38)

Basal 

Area 

per acre

150 243 

(+93)

Basal 

Area 

per acre

189 286 

(+97)

Retain 45% of BA, 

Remove 34,937 mbf/ac

Retain 56% of BA, 

Remove 27,187 mbf/ac, 

HTH again in 20 yrs (RD>=50)
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-30 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

Q

M

D

Year

No Action

Thin 35% RD

Thin 45% RD

Quadratic Mean Diameter Growth

Figure B-9. Growth Data Stand #199 

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

2009201020202030204020502060

Basal Area (ft2/acre)

Year

Basal Area Growth

Stand 0199

No Action

Thin 35% RD

Thin 45% RD
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-31 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Figure B-10. Stand #604 (within ER Unit 320/324) 

Table B-14. Stand #604 

Existing Condition: Location-Stand 6048010-0604

Age

Trees/ 

acre

Basal 

Area/ 

acre

Quadratic 

Mean 

Diameter

Relative 

Density 

(Curtis)

Canopy 

Cover

56 96 256 22.2 54 57

No Treatment

66 95 283 23.3 59 61

76 95 310 24.5 63 63

86 94 337 25.6 67 66

96 94 365 26.7 71 68

106 92 388 27.8 74 69

Thin to 35% Relative Density - post harvest

56 51 177 25.3 35 43

Thin to 35% Relative Density - projected growth

66 51 197 26.7 38 46

76 50 217 28.1 41 49

86 50 238 29.5 44 51

96 50 260 30.9 47 53

106 50 281 32.2 49 55

Thin to 45% Relative Density - post harvest

56 72 220 23.7 45 50

Thin to 45% Relative Density - projected growth

66 72 243 24.9 49 53

76 72 267 26.2 52 56

86 71 291 27.4 56 59

96 71 315 28.5 59 61

106 71 339 29.7 62 63
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-32 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Figure B-11. No Treatment 6048010-0604

 Current Conditions Projected 50 years 

Figure B-12. Thin to 35% Relative Density 6048010-0604 

 Post Harvest Projected 50 years 

Table B-15. Stand 6048010-0604; 50 Year Stand Summary 

No Treatment 35% RD Thin 45% RD Thin

Stand 

Attribute

Current 

Condition

50 years 

postharvest

Stand 

Attribute

After 

Harvest

50 years 

postharvest

Stand 

Attribute

fter 

Harvest

50 years 

postharvest

Relative 

Density 54 74 Relative Density 35 49 Relative Density 45 62

Trees

per acre 96 92(-4) Trees per acre 51 50 (-1) Trees per acre 72 71 (-1)

Canopy 

Closure 57 69 Canopy Closure 43 55 Canopy Closure 50 63

QMD 

Growth 22.2 27.8 

(+5.6)

QMD 

Growth 

25.3 

(+3.1)

32.2 

(+6.9)

QMD 

Growth 

23.7 

(+1.5)

29.7 

(+6.0)

Basal 

Area 

per acre

256 388 

(+132)

Basal 

Area 

per acre

177 281 

(+104)

Basal 

Area 

per acre

220 339 

(+119)

Retain 69% of BA, 

Remove 15,425 mbf/ac

Retain 80% of BA, 

Remove 6,729 mbf/ac, 

HTH again in 20 yrs (RD>=50)
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-33 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

Q

M

D

Year

Quadratic Mean Diameter 

Growth

Stand 0604

No Action

Thin 35% 

RD

Thin 45% 

RD

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

2009201020202030204020502060

T

P

A

Year

Trees per Acre

Stand 0604

No Action

Thin 35% 

RD

Thin 45% 

RD

Figure B-13. Growth Data Stand #604 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-34 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Figure B-14. Stand #802 (within ER Unit 307) 

Table B-16. Stand #802 

Existing Condition: Location-Stand 6048030-0802

Age

Trees/ 

acre

Basal 

Area/ 

acre

Quadratic 

Mean 

Diameter

Relative 

Density 

(Curtis)

Canopy 

Cover

70 220 372 17.6 89 75

No Treatment

80 211 387 18.3 90 75

90 199 396 19.1 91 75

100 189 405 19.8 91 75

110 179 414 20.6 91 75

120 180 424 20.8 93 75

Thin to 35% Relative Density - post harvest

70 49 173 25.4 34 41

Thin to 35% Relative Density - projected growth

80 55 186 24.9 37 43

90 72 201 22.6 42 47

100 71 213 23.4 44 48

110 71 227 24.2 46 50

120 70 240 25.0 48 51

Thin to 45% Relative Density - post harvest

70 67 219 24.5 44 50

Thin to 45% Relative Density - projected growth

80 67 233 25.3 46 51

90 89 251 22.7 53 55

100 89 265 23.4 55 56

110 88 280 24.2 57 57

120 87 294 24.9 59 58
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-35 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Figure B-15. No Treatment 6048030-0802 

 Current Conditions Projected 50 years 

Figure B-16. Thin to 35% Relative Density 6048030-0802 

 Post Harvest Projected 50 years 

Table B-17. Stand 6048030-0802; 50 Year Stand Summary 

No Treatment 35% RD Thin 45% RD Thin

Stand 

Attribute

Current 

Condition

50 years postharvestStand 

Attribute

After Harvest50 years 

post-harvest

Stand 

Attribute

After 

Harvest

50 years 

postharvest

Relative 

Density 89 93 Relative Density 34 48 Relative Density 44 59

Trees 

per acre 220 180 (-40)

Trees 

per acre 49

70 (+21) 

trees grow 

into >= 6"

Trees 

per acre 67

87 (+20) 

trees grow 

into >= 6

Canopy 

Closure 75 75 Canopy Closure 41 51 Canopy Closure 50 58

QMD 

Growth 17.6 20.8 (+3.2)

QMD 

Growth 25.4 (+7.8)

25.0 (-0.4) 

trees grow 

into >= 6

QMD 

Growth 24.5 

(+6.9)

24.9 

(+0.4) 

trees grow 

into >= 6

Basal Area 

per acre

372 424 (+52) Basal Area 

per acre

173 240 (+67) Basal Area 

per acre

219 294 (+75)

Retain 48% of BA, 

Remove 50,482 mbf/ac

Retain 60% of BA, 

Remove 37,026mbf/ac, 

HTH again in 20 yrs (RD>=50)
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-36 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2009 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Basal Area (ft2/acre)

Year

Basal Area Growth

Stand 0802

No Action

Thin 35% RD

Thin 45% RD

0

50

100

150

200

250

2009 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

T

P

A

Year

Trees per Acre

Stand 0802

No Action

Thin 35% RD

Thin 45% RD

Figure B-17. Growth Data Stand #802 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-37 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

C. Simulated Treatments Discussion 

FVS simulated treatments display higher tree mortality, lower tree diameter (QMD) growth and slower 

basal area growth projected over the next 50 years for the no treatment scenarios compared to thinning 

treatments to control stocking density. Tree mortality from dense stand conditions could otherwise be 

captured as timber harvest volume during thinning treatments that would release growing space to 

retained trees to grow into larger trees more quickly as displayed in the 50 year stand parameters. 

Relatively stable stocking with low tree mortality after thinning treatments over the simulated timeframe 

meets the primary objective of sustainable harvest on lands allocated to Matrix. RD stays within the 

target 35-50% RD range for the thinning treatment to 35% RD and ranges 45-62% RD for the 45% RD 

treatment. A second thinning treatment opportunity is projected in 20 years for the 45% RD treatment 

when the stand again exceeds 50% RD. 

Residual tree stocking from active treatments falls within the ‘heavy thin’ category (50-90 tpa). 

Treatments to medium or light thin tree stocking conditions to retain more trees may be done in riparian 

reserves, stands with high height to diameter ratios (particularly plantations) or on landform positions 

susceptible to windthrow. Retained trees would be managed for future harvests, seed source, stand 

structure and creation of large diameter snags/down wood to meet habitat and soil productivity standards 

and guidelines. These stands are projected to produce high quality timber product while providing for 

multiple-resource benefits. 

Active treatments retained 45-69% (average 54%) and 56-80% (average 65%) of the initial basal area for 

the 35% RD and 45% RD treatments respectively. Thinning to retain higher amounts of basal area is 

anticipated where windthrow may be an issue adjacent to large openings. Harvest volume ranges 15,425-

50,482 MBF per acre and 6,729-37,026 MBF per acre for the 35% RD and 45% RD treatments 

respectively. These harvest volumes are likely overestimated, particularly for stand 0802, due to the 

small sample size during the 2009 stand exams and the tendency for FSVEG to overestimate stand 

volume 9. 

Exceptions occurred in stand 0604 where initial stand conditions had relatively lower stand density which 

permitted for increasing basal area growth and lower tree mortality over the next 50 years in the no 

treatment scenario, though QMD was still lower compared to both thinning treatments. Additionally, 

post-harvest QMD growth decreased and trees per acre increased for stand 0802 in approximately 20 

years due to initial stand conditions having small trees in the understory which grew into trees >= 6” dbh 

over the simulated timeframe affecting these stand parameters. QMD growth was still higher compared 

to no treatment. 

A 61” diameter, 226’ tall Douglas-fir recorded in the plot data for stand 0802 was not retained over the 

simulated timeframe, though stayed in the stand longer with thinning treatments (10 years for no 

treatment versus 40 years for thinning treatment to 35% RD). These situations would receive a different 

‘Wide Thin gap’ treatment to release and retain these desirable trees within the stand and over the 

landscape. 

Canopy cover was not reduced below 40% for thinning treatments and ranged 51 to 63% versus 69-76% 

for the no treatment scenario in 50 years. Canopy cover recovery is influenced by a variety of factors 

including tree species present after treatment, growth response of crowns to open space, and the amount 

of in-growth of hardwoods and conifers. 

 

9

 Pers. conv. Guenther Castillon, Assistant Forest Silviculturist, FSVEG coordinator, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-38 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

A precautionary note, FVS simulated treatments generate numbers that should not be considered absolute 

values for stand parameters. These simulations are more valuable for displaying the relative differences 

between treatment scenarios. More refined number will be determined during collection of more 

extensive stand exam information and during the development of site-specific silvicultural prescriptions 

to determine actual thinning intensity. 

D. Other VDT Treatments 

Gap Development 

VDT may include creation of irregular shaped openings (i.e. gaps) interspersed within some thinning 

units to primarily treat laminated root rot infection centers. Forest heath treatments would harvest all 

susceptible tree species (Douglas-fir, white fir, western hemlock) within and along the perimeter of 

infection pockets and 50-100’ out from the last symptomatic tree while favoring resistant or immune 

species for leave trees. Gaps may be site prepared and planted afterwards with Port-Orford-cedar 

seedlings (see planting) for improving stand health and stocking conditions to meet sustainable timber 

harvest objectives while enhancing structural and species diversity. Gap size is estimated to be 1⁄4 to 2 

acres depending on extent of infection centers and proximity to existing openings on adjacent private 

timber company lands. Larger gap sizes are estimated to occur in the northeastern corner to treat smaller 

connected root rot infection pockets (see Map B-11).

Additionally, portions of dense stands where live tree crowns are <15-20% and not likely to respond to 

thinning may also receive gap treatments. 

Skips 

VDT may include no-thin areas (i.e. skips). Skips can be strategically placed to protect riparian areas, 

hardwood thickets, minor tree species, pockets of large down wood, other unique stand attributes and 

inaccessible areas. 

Wide-Thin Gaps 

Wide-thin gaps (WTG) may occur around genetic trees selected for cone collection, Port-Orford-cedar 

root disease pockets favoring resistant trees (see POC root disease treatments), or release of desirable 

large trees from competing vegetation. Generally, one (1) to four (4) trees would be retained in WTG. 

The size of WTG would be approximately 1⁄4 - 1⁄2 acre. 

Thinning treatments would be designed to hasten development of late seral conditions to enhance riparian 

and upland areas, as recommended in the South Fork Coquille watershed assessment (USDA 1995), by 

increasing stand growth through VDT, creating structural diversity through skip and gap treatments and 

improving forest health and resistance to forest pathogens. 

VDT treatments would harvest conifers with diameters ranging approximately 7-24 inches and larger. 

Extracted commercial timber volume is estimated to range eight (8) to twenty (20) thousand board feet 

per acre and could yield up to fifty-three (53) million board feet for the entire project. 

E. Port-Orford-Cedar Root Disease Treatments 

The POC Risk Key assessment for ER (see EIS Appendix B) recommends the following active treatments 

(Map B-13): 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-39 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Map B-13. Port-Orford-Cedar Root Disease Treatments 

Wide thin gap 

Wide thin gaps to remove all live POC within PL infection pockets and retain non-host tree species on 

site. Thin all live POC within 2 to 3 crown radii from last infected POC along the perimeter of infection 

sites to separate healthy POC from potential root contact with infected POC. Pile and burn all POC slash 

and follow-up underburn to potentially mitigate disease presence10. 

Field reconnaissance noted most infected POC within PL pockets to be sapling to small pole-sized trees 

with very few scattered overstory POC in candidate stands (except in plantation P-4 west of Doe Swamp). 

Wide Thin Gaps are anticipated to be mostly understory treatments. 

Road Sanitation 

Manage for non-susceptible tree species by removing all POC along road sides and high risk sites as 

follows: 

100-feet below roads at stream crossings. 

50-feet below roads 

25-feet above roads 

 

10 Underburning was discussed and determined by Powers Fire to be undesirable due to cost, logistics of building fireline, 

current fuel loading from historical logging slash and associated fire suppression tasks. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-40 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Figure B-18. POC High-risk Sites 

Planting 

Restore POC within its natural range by planting non-PL infected areas and low risk areas with diseaseresistant POC. Plant laminated root rot pockets with disease-resistant POC seedlings as described in ‘Gap 

Development’ and noncommercial units receiving biomass treatments. 

Recommended planting spacing is twenty-five (25) feet apart or in approximately ten (10) tree clusters at 

100-150 foot spacing to lessen the potential for root grafting (USDA 2004, ROD, pg. 36). These spacing 

guidelines can be flexible to meet site-specific conditions. Avoid stagnant water and plant POC in areas 

that maximize chances of maintaining moist surface soil year-round. 

POC’s distribution in Coos County appears primarily to reflect edaphic conditions (Zobel, 2011). During 

introduction of disease-resistant POC, the General Soil Type Digger-Preacher-Remote is an appropriate 

soil type to plant POC (based on POC’s native distribution in historical cruise data in pre-harvest forests). 

ER is within the ‘Oregon Transitional’ Block/Zone 340 (2,501-4,000 ft. elevation) for disease-resistant 

seed (Hamlin, 2005). Seed is collected from seed orchards established since 2001 at the Dorena Genetic 

Resource Center, USDA Forest Service, in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Seedlings should be grown primarily 

from this seedlot. 

Plant openings created by WTG treatments in PL pockets with Douglas-fir where openings > 1⁄4 acre. 

Western hemlock is anticipated to naturally regenerate in openings and does not need be planted. Do not 

plant POC as these PL pockets are considered high risk and should be managed for non-host species to 

reduce the potential for long-term PL disease persistence on site. Post-planting tree netting of seedling 

terminal buds may be needed to reduce big game browse damage on Douglas-fir. 

Climate Change Consideration 

In anticipation of potential climate change and species migration, combine seedlots for sowing POC seed 

for planting as follows: 

 Original Lower Southern 

 Zone Elevation Zone Latitude Zone 

 340 (50%) 325 (25%) 440 (25%) 

If a lower elevation or southern latitude source is not available, then increase the original zone percentage 

accordingly (Hamlin, 2009). 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-41 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The Tyee Formation is the dominant geologic type in the coastal mountains in Douglas, Lane, and 

Lincoln counties and extends as far north as Tillamook County. Tyee supports moderate performance of 

POC in terms of both its incidence and volume. Knowing the relative performance of POC on these 

edaphic units should help to decide where POC could be introduced during efforts to move its range north 

as climatic warming continues (Zobel, 2011). 

In areas proposed for timber harvest, road construction, reconstruction and maintenance; wash all vehicles 

before entering work site and wash all vehicles after working in PL infection sites (see mitigation 

measures in POC Risk Key assessment, EIS Appendix B for details). 

F. Riparian Reserve Treatments 

Proposed treatments in Riparian Reserves are similar to upland treatments in Matrix forests. Primary 

objectives are to enhance riparian stand attributes to meet the Aquatic Conservation Strategy objectives of 

the Northwest Forest Plan (USDA/USDI 1994). Compliance with project design criteria for VDT 

treatments in Riparian Reserves would be documented in the silvicultural prescription. 

Although most stands exceed 70% canopy cover (Map B-12), a data query of the Forest’s existing 

vegetation GIS layer shows some polygons within candidate stands having an open cover class (i.e., 10% 

<= canopy cover < 40%). Where present, Riparian Reserves within these existing vegetation polygons 

are tributaries to Coal Creek and would not receive active management treatments due to current 

conditions not meeting the minimum 50% canopy cover desired in Riparian Reserves. 

Queried polygons are within or encompass Alternative 2 proposed Units 310, 313, 314, 316, 318, 319, 

322, 323, 326, 329, 332, 333, 335, 337. Computer-generated existing vegetation data will need ground 

verification at the stand-level for determining data accuracy and development of site-specific silvicultural 

prescriptions. 

Map B-14. Existing Vegetation Polygons, Cover Class 2 

10% <= Canopy Cover < 40% in blue shaded areas
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-42 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

G. Non-Commercial Treatments 

Non-commercial treatments are proposed for 363 acres within the ER Planning Area. Options include 

restoration, rehabilitation, reforestation, removal or thinning of non-commercial sized trees. The purpose 

of Timber Stand Improvement is to comply with the National Forest Management Act of 1976 and the 

1989 Land and Resource Management Plan. 

Figure B-19. Example Non-Commercial Treatments 

Unit 905 

Portions of non-commercial treatment units have high height to diameter ratios on overstory trees and 

forest health issues with laminated root rot, shallow soils and windthrow (e.g., unit 908). These areas 

may be treated by removing small diameter material for biomass and planting with POC and other 

resistant tree species. 

Plantation Treatments 

Plantations with commercial-sized trees would be treated by VDT though may have a different prescribed 

tree spacing compared to adjacent stands due to closer spacing of planted trees. Some plantations within 

commercial unit boundaries may be considered non-commercial due to tree size, density and high height 

to diameter ratios. These areas may be treated (or skipped) by removing small diameter material for 

biomass and planting. 

H. Fuels Management11

Harvest activities associated with the Proposed Action would add needles, limbwood, and tops to the 

existing fuel bed in varying degrees throughout each treatment area. Disturbed ground vegetation and 

larger woody material would contribute to the dead fuel loading. In comparison with the natural longterm accumulation of ground fuels, harvest would contribute fuels to the site at an accelerated rate. The 

fuels remaining after harvest would be mostly of the smaller size classes, as most of the larger fuels 

would be removed for utilization, unless contractual requirements specify that they be left on site. 

The estimated fuel bed remaining after harvest is best described as a Fuel Model 11- Light Logging Slash, 

of the Fire Behavior Fuel Models. The Photo Series For Quantifying Forest Residues (GTR PNW-51), 3-

DF-3-PC; with a substantial reduction 3.1-9.0 inch size class due to increased utilization also is 

representative of this fuel type. 

 

11

 Input from Rick MacDonald, Fire Management Officer, Powers Ranger District
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-43 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

This fuel bed typically has 5 to10 tons per acres of 0 to 3 inch size class fuels. In the event of an unplanned fire start, the potential for rapid-fire spread would be higher than a stand in a natural condition (2 

to 7 chains per hour in a natural state, compared to 6 to 9 chains per hour after harvest). Below, are fuels 

treatment options considered for the proposed units. Implementation of these fuels treatment methods 

would likely be one or a combination of several treatments. 

No treatment: This method would be appropriate for sites where fuel loadings fall well below LRMP 

Standard and Guideline recommended maximums. When residual fuels exceed the guidelines, not 

treating the fuels may be appropriate in areas of low risk where risks may be assumed for a period, until 

the hazard has been reduced by natural processes. 

Hand piling fuels concentrations: This method would be effective in breaking up fuel continuity 

thereby reducing fire spread rates. Hand piling, followed by burning of the piles, can remove most fuels 

from a site. Hand piling is most effective in continuous moderate fuel loadings (25 to 50 tons per acre), 

and is less effective in scattered light fuels. This method may also be employed in areas where no other 

disposal methods are prescribed, or in conjunction with non-burning types of treatments, but where the 

risks may warrant some sort of hazard reduction; such as the piling proposed along Roads 2000, 5000, 

290, 440, and 448. On the commercially thinned units that are adjacent to the aforementioned roads, 

logging slash within 100 feet of these roads would be hand piled and burned. 

Yarding of tops: This method would be effective in removing concentrations of the 0 to 3-inch size 

class fuels. In all treatment areas using ground-based or skyline yarding, tops of commercial trees would 

be left attached to a commercial log while yarding (Yard Tops Attached – YTA). The tops would be 

piled and disposed at the landing location. 

Piling and Burning Landing Slash: This method would be effective in disposing of all remaining unmerchantable vegetation on log landings (piling and burning). 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-44 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

VI. REFERENCES

Atzet, T., White, D.E., McCrimmon, L.A., Martinez, P.A., Fong, P.R., Randall, V.D. 1996. USDA 

Forest Service, September 1996. Field Guide to the Forested Plant Associations of Southwestern Oregon. 

Technical Paper. R6-NR-ECOL-TP-17-96. 

Atzet, T., Wheeler, D. 1989. USDA Forest Service. Key Species for Plant Associations on the Rogue 

River, Siskiyou, and Umpqua National Forests. Compiled by Anita Seda. R6-TM-TP-009-89. Updated 

1997. R6-NR-ECOL-TP-026-97. 

Bloomberg, W.J., Reynolds, G., 1985. Growth loss and mortality in laminated root rot infection centers 

in second-growth Douglas-fir on Vancouver Island. Forest Science. 31: 497-508.

Curtis, R.O., 1982. A Simple Index of Stand Density for Douglas-fir. Forest Sci., Vol. 28, No. 1, pp 

92-94. 

Daniel, T.W., Helms, J.A., Baker, F.S., 1979. Principles of Silviculture (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill Book 

Company. New York. 500 pp. 

Dixon, Gary E. comp. 2002 (revised frequently). Essential FVS: A user’s guide to the Forest 

Vegetation Simulator. Internal Rep. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 

Forest Management Service Center. CA Variant: 

Drew, J.T. and Flewelling, J.W. 1979. Stand density management: An alternative approach and its 

application to Douglas-fir plantations. Forest Science. 25, pp. 518–532. 

Ellen, Dave. 1984. Curtis’ Relative Density in Practical Use. An unpublished, informal paper, Estacada 

Ranger District, Mt. Hood National Forest. 

Goheen, D.J., Hansen, E.M., 1993. Effects of pathogens and bark beetles on forests. In: Schowalter, 

T.B., Filip, G.M., eds. Beetle-pathogen interactions in conifer forests. London: Academic Press: 175-

196. 

Gross, E. 1992a. US Forest Service, 2520 Watershed Protection and Mgt, 5/1/1992 letter, Ed Gross, 

Siskiyou NF Forest Soil Scientist (retired). Soil interpretations for Skinny Doe Commercial Thin 

Environmental Assessment. Units 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Unpublished. 

Gross, E. 1992b. US Forest Service, 2520 Watershed Protection and Mgt, 5/1/1992 letter, Ed Gross, 

Siskiyou NF Forest Soil Scientist (retired). Soil interpretations for Skinny Doe Commercial Thin 

Environmental Assessment. Units 1, 13, 14, 15 and 19. Unpublished. 

Hadfield, J. S.; Goheen, D. J.; Filip, G. M.; Schmitt, C. L.; and Harvey, R. D. 1986. Root Diseases 

in Oregon and Washington Conifers. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Forest Pest 

Management. R6-FPM-250-86. Page 7; 27 pp. 

Hamlin, J.; Stevens, R. 2005. Port-Orford-cedar JR13 Breeding Zones. Proposed by Jim Hamlin, 

Umpqua National Forest Geneticist, USDA Forest Service and Rod Stevens, USDI Bureau of Land 

Management. Information presented at the Port-Orford-cedar technical meeting, May 17-18, 2011. South 

Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve Interpretive Center, Charleston, Oregon. 
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Hamlin, J. 2009. Suggested Seedlot Bulking for Climate Change in Oregon. Proposed by Jim Hamlin, 

Umpqua National Forest Geneticist, USDA Forest Service. Information presented at the Port-Orfordcedar technical meeting, May 17-18, 2011. South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve 

Interpretive Center, Charleston, Oregon. 

Hansen, E.M. 2000. Final Report on Demographics of Port-Orford-cedar on Sites Infested with P. 

lateralis for Many Years. Unpublished report. Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State 

University, Corvallis. 5 pp. 

Johnson, D.H., O’Neil, T.A. 2001. Wildlife –Habitat Relationships in Oregon and Washington. Oregon 

State University Press, Corvallis, Oregon. .736 pp. 

Keyser, Chad E. comp. 2008 (revised October 4, 2011). Inland California and Southern Cascades (CA) 

Variant Overview – Forest Vegetation Simulator. Internal Rep. Fort Collins, CO: U. S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Management Service Center. 56p. 

Larsen, D.R., 2001. Stand Density Index. Table 1., Suggested maximum SDI by species and source. 

Long, J.N., 1985. A Practical Approach to Density Management. College of Natural Resources, Utah 

State University. Logan, Utah. Agricultural Experiment Station. Journal Paper No. 2939. 

Maxwell, W.G., Franklin, W.R. 1980. USDA Forest Service. Photo Series for Quantifying Natural 

Forest Residues in Common Vegetation Types of the Pacific Northwest. GTR##. 

Meyer, L.C., Amaranthus, M.P. 1979. USDA Forest Service, November 1979. Siskiyou National 

Forest, Soil Resource Inventory. Pacific Northwest Region. 258 pp. 

McGaughey, R. J. 1997. Visualizing forest stand dynamics using the stand visualization system. In: 

Proceedings, 1997 ASPRS-ACSM-RTI Spring Convention. 1997 April 7-10. Seattle, WA. Bethesda, 

MD: American Congress on Surveying and Mapping 4:248-257. 

Oliver, C.D., Larsen, B.C., 1996. Forest Stand Dynamics. Updated Version. John Wiley & Sons Inc. 

IBSN 0-471-13833-9. 520 pp. 

Orr, E.L; Orr, W.N.; Baldwin, E.M. 1992. Geology of Oregon, Fourth Edition. Kendall/Hunt 

Publishing Company. Dubuque, Iowa. 254 pp. 

Reineke, L.H., 1933. Perfecting a stand density index for even-aged forests. Journal of Agricultural 

Research 46 (7): 627-638. 

Roth, L.F., Harvey, R.D., and Kliejunas, J.T. 1987. Port-Orford-cedar root disease. R6-FPM-PR-010-

91. USDA Forest Service, PNW Region. 11 pp. 

Thies, W. G., 1983. Determination of growth reduction in Douglas-fir infected by Phellinus weirii. 

Forest Science. 29: 305-315.

Thies, W. G.; and Sturrock, R. N. 1995. Laminated root rot in western North America. USDA Forest 

Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, and Canadian Forestry Service, Pacific Forestry Centre. 

Resource Bulletin PNW-GTR-349. 32 pp. 
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USDA Forest Service, 1989. Land and Resource Management Plan. Siskiyou National Forest, Pacific 

Northwest Region, Grants Pass, OR. 

USDA Soil Conservation Service, July 1989. Soil Survey of Coos County, Oregon. 269 pp. 

USDI Bureau of Land Management, July 1994. Watershed Analysis Middle Fork Coquille Analytical 

Watershed. BLM, Coos Bay District, Myrtlewood Resource Area. 

USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management, 1994. Final Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement on Management of Habitat for Late Successional and Old-Growth 

Forest Related Species Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl. Two volumes and appendices. 

Portland, OR. 

USDA Forest Service, September 1995. South Fork Coquille Watershed Analysis. Iteration1.0. Powers 

Ranger District, Siskiyou National Forest. 

USDA Forest Service, 2000 (apprx). White, D. Down Wood and Snag Guide for Southwestern 

Oregon, Plant Association Group Membership. Unpublished. 

USDA Forest Service, 1996, 1997, 2001. Webb, L., White, D. Siskiyou National Forest Siskiyou 

Supplement – Guidelines for Harvest Prescriptions (Large Woody Material, Green Tree Retention, 

Wildlife Reserve Tree (Snag) Retention. Unpublished. 

USDA Forest Service, 2004. Record of Decision and Land and Resource Management Plan 

Amendment for Management of Port-Orford-cedar in Southwest Oregon, Siskiyou National Forest. 

Portland, Oregon. 485 pp. 

USDA Forest Service, May 2007. Decision Notice, Coastal Healthy Forest Treatments, Chetco, Gold 

Beach and Powers Ranger Districts. Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest. 17 pp. 

USDA Forest Service, 2008. Western Forestry and Conservation Association. Advanced Insect and 

Disease Field Session. Identification, Life Cycles, Control Measures and Silvicultural Regimes

handbook. Information presented at insect and disease field training session, July 14-17, 2008. Klamath 

Falls, Oregon 

Woodall, C.W., Westfall, J.A., 2009. Relationships between the stocking levels of live trees and dead 

tree attributes in forests of the United States. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Stations. 

Available online September 30, 2009. 

Zobel, D.B.; Roth, L.F.; Hawk, G.M. 1985 Ecology, Pathology, and Management of Port-OrfordCedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana). USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Experiment Station 

General Technical Report PNW-181. 161 pp. 

Zobel, D.B. 2011. Suggested guidelines for planting POC, based on cruise data. Extracted from: Zobel, 

D. 2011. Port-Orford-cedar in Coos County – A historical perspective. Unpublished manuscript. 

Information presented at the Port-Orford-cedar technical meeting, May 17-18, 2011. South Slough 

National Estuarine Research Reserve Interpretive Center, Charleston, Oregon. 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-47 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

ATTACHMENT A 

2009 Stand Exam Locations

Stand #199 (within ER2/201) 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-48 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales # TSE plots location# stand# acres

ER unit (apprx)

Trees / ac

Canopy Cover+

Basal Area / ac

Tree

Species 

(based on 

plot data)

QMD SDI

RD

(Curtis)

Merch BF/ac*

10 yr 

Radial 

growth 

(20th/ 

inch)

3 6032030 199 17 2/201 544/

(244) 77% 333/(333)

82%PSME 

14%TSHE 

4%CACH

10.6/

(15.8)

597/

(560) 0.84 68,751 9-11, avg=10

+ Canopy cover projected by Stand Visualization System (SVS) from inventory conditions from FVS, version 6.21, ICASCA variant. 

* Board foot volumes projected by FSVEG, Report 17. 

** Estimated volume is unrealistic due to small sample size and 61” DF, 226’ tall present on one of the plots. 

( ) Attributes for trees >= 6” dbh 

Stand #604 (within ER 320/324) 

 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-49 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

 # TSE plots location# stand#

acres

ER unit (apprx)

Trees / ac

Canopy Cover+

Basal Area / ac

Tree

Species 

(based on 

plot data)

QMD SDI

RD

(Curtis)

Merch BF/ac*

10 yr 

Radial 

growth 

(20th/ 

inch)

3 6048010 604 5 320/324 96/

(96) 58% 253/(253) 100%PSME 22.0/(22.0)

340/

(340) 0.54 58,599 15-31, avg=24

Stand #802 (within ER 307) 
Appendix B – Preliminary Silvicultural Diagnosis Page B-50 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales # TSE plots location# stand# acres

ER unit (apprx)

Trees / ac

Canopy Cover+

Basal Area / ac

Tree

Species 

(based on 

plot data)

QMD SDI

RD

(Curtis)

Merch BF/ac*

10 yr 

Radial 

growth 

(20th/ 

inch)

4 6048030 802 21 307 1670/

(220) 81% 376/(372)

86%PSME 

8%TSHE 

6%CACH

6.4/

(17.6)

821/

(683) 0.89 106,689** 5-20, avg=11

Stand #747 (within ER 906/905) 

 

 # TSE plots

location#

stand#

acres

ER unit (apprx)

Trees / ac

Canopy Cover+

Basal Area / ac

Tree

Species 

(based on 

plot data)

QMD SDI

RD

(Curtis)

Merch BF/ac*

10 yr 

Radial 

growth 

(20th/ 

inch)

8 6048010 747 38 906/905 (noncommercial) 152 50% 165

69%PSME, 

16%CHLA, 

10%TSHE, 

5%CACH

14.1 264 0.44 34,493 7-28, 

avg=17
APPENDIX C 

HYDROLOGY REPORT 

EDEN RIDGE 

TIMBER 

SALES

Hydrology Report

Maureen Joplin, Hydrologist
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-1 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................C-3 

II. BACKGROUND ...........................................................................................................C-5 

III. MANAGEMENT DIRECTION .................................................................................C-5 

IV. CURRENT CONDITIONS - CHANNEL CONDITION & MORPHOLOGY .....C-6 

A. AQUATIC RESTORATION PLAN - SOUTH FORK COQUILLE ...................................................C-6 

1. Wooden Rock Creek ....................................................................................................................................C-7 

2. Coal Creek ...................................................................................................................................................C-8 

B. SOUTH FORK COQUILLE WATERSHED ANALYSIS (1995) ........................................................C-8 

1. Coal Creek ...................................................................................................................................................C-9 

2. Coal Creek Level II Stream Survey, August 2010 .......................................................................................C-10

C. CHANNEL MORPHOLOGY & LARGE WOOD - MIDDLE FORK COQUILLE .........................C-13

D. CHANNEL MORPHOLOGY & LARGE WOOD - SOUTH FORK COQUILLE ............................C-14

V. CURRENT CONDITION - WATER QUALITY ......................................................C-16 

VI. HYDROLOGIC EFFECTS MECHANISMS & ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK ....C-21 

A. CHANNEL MORPHOLOGY AND LARGE WOOD ...........................................................................C-22

B. SEDIMENT DELIVERY .........................................................................................................................C-23

C. WATER YIELD (PEAK FLOWS) ..........................................................................................................C-24

D. WATER QUALITY – TEMPERATURE (S.F.COQUILLE TMDL, 2001) ........................................C-26

E. CUMULATIVE WATERSHED EFFECTS ...........................................................................................C-26

1. Hydrologic Maturity Assessment for Planning Area ...................................................................................C-28

2. Road Density Assessment for Planning Area ..............................................................................................C-28

3. Large Woody Material Assessment for Planning Area ...............................................................................C-29

4. Stream Temperature Assessment for Planning Area ....................................................................................C-30

5. Overall Risk of Adverse Cumulative Watershed Effects as of 2009 ...........................................................C-30

VII. HYDROLOGIC EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVES ...............................................C-32 

A. NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE ................................................................................................................C-32 

B. ACTION ALTERNATIVES - DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF 

ROAD CONSTRUCTION ......................................................................................................................C-32 

C. ACTION ALTERNATIVES - DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF 

 HARVEST THINNING ..........................................................................................................................C-34 

D. ACTION ALTERNATIVES - DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF 

 YARDING ACTIVITIES AND LANDING CONSTRUCTION .........................................................C-35 

E. OVERALL RISK OF ADVERSE CUMULATIVE WATERSHED EFFECTS 

FROM PROPOSED ACTION ...............................................................................................................C-37 

F. ALTERNATIVE 3 – DIRECT, INDIRECT, AND CUMULATIVE EFFECTS .................................C-38 

1. Direct and Indirect Effects ...........................................................................................................................C-38 

2. Cumulative Effects ......................................................................................................................................C-39 

G. ALTERNATIVE 4 – DIRECT, INDIRECT, AND CUMULATIVE EFFECTS .................................C-39 

1. Direct and Indirect Effects ...........................................................................................................................C-39 

2. Cumulative Effects ......................................................................................................................................C-40

VIII. REFERENCES .........................................................................................................C-41 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-2 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

ATTACHMENT 1 

DATA SOURCES FOR GIS ANALYSIS – February, 2010 

ATTACHMENT 2 

Products of GIS Analysis For Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

February, 2010 

MAPS 

Map C-1. Watershed Index Map ......................................................................................................................C-4 

Map C-2. 2010 Coal Creek Stream Survey Reaches .......................................................................................C-11

Map C-3. Existing Shade for Planning Area in South Fork Coquille Subwatersheds .....................................C-20

Map C-4. Existing Shade for Planning Area in Middle Fork Coquille Subwatersheds ...................................C-21

Map C-5. Subwatershed Road Density ............................................................................................................C-29

FIGURES 

Figure C-1. Oblique View Looking South of Eastern Portion of Planning Area .............................................C-13

Figure C-2. Oblique View Looking South at Western Portion of Planning Area ............................................C-14

Figure C-3. Potential Considerations for Peak Flow Increases ........................................................................C-25

TABLES 

Table C-1. Status of Impaired Stream Listings ................................................................................................C-17

Table C-2. Average Seven-day-Maximum Temperature Measurements .........................................................C-19

Table C-3. Average Existing and Potential Shade by Subwatershed ...............................................................C-19

Table C-4. Factors that Influence Stream Surface Shade ................................................................................C-26

Table C-5. Regeneration Harvest as Percent of Subwatershed ........................................................................C-28

Table C-6. Summary of Risk of Adverse Watershed Effects ..........................................................................C-31 

Table C-7. Private Ownership by Subwatershed .............................................................................................C-31

Table C-8. Proposed Road Construction .........................................................................................................C-34 

Table C-9. Road Density Increase by Subwatershed .......................................................................................C-34 

Table C-10. Harvest Thinning by Subwatershed .............................................................................................C-35 

Table C-11. Project Acreages by Logging System for Action Alternatives ....................................................C-36 

Table C-12. Percent of Subwatershed Affected by Ground Based Equipment ................................................C-36 

Table C-13. Project-wide Riparian Logging System Comparison by Action Alternative ...............................C-37 

Table C-14. Units Located in Sensitive Watershed Areas – Proposed Action ................................................C-38 

Table C-15. Units Located in Sensitive Watershed Areas – Alternative 3 ......................................................C-39 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-3 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

EDEN RIDGE TIMBER SALES 

APPENDIX C 

HYDROLOGY REPORT 

Maureen Joplin, Hydrologist August 16, 2011 

I. INTRODUCTION 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales and its ―Planning Area‖ are located on public lands administered by 

the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Powers Ranger District. 

The Proposed Action for this project (EIS Alternative 2) would enact the following vegetation 

management actions: 

3,314 acres of commercial variable density management thinning treatments (in several 

separate timber sales), on 75 Units, producing approximately 53 million board feet of 

commercial volume; ground-based systems would be used on approximately 2,119 acres, or 

64%; Skyline systems would be used on approximately 1,195 acres, or 36% of the treated 

area. Also included is use of approximately 31 miles of existing Classified roads, 

construction of 10.8 miles of new Classified road (in 43 segments), construction and 

decommissioning of 0.3 miles of temporary road, use and reconstruction of 6.1 miles of 

existing Classified road, and use of and maintenance of 5.5 miles of existing Classified road. 

Approximately 385 acres of non-commercial silvicultural treatments are also proposed. 

Two other Action Alternatives (Alternatives 3 and 4) are also considered; see EIS Chapter II for 

more detail and maps regarding these alternatives, including no-action, that are analyzed 

herein. 

The project focuses on forest stands clear-cut harvested in the 1920s and 1930s utilizing a 

railroad access system that is now overgrown (railroad grades) or in ruins (trestle stream 

crossings). This system has been largely replaced on both private and public timber lands by 

roaded access. Some National Forest System lands in the Planning Area that were previously 

harvested by railroad systems remain inaccessible by roads. 

The Planning Area is located within a block of National Forest System lands that are surrounded 

by intensively managed, privately owned, timber production lands. The Forest Plan designates 

the Planning Area as ―matrix‖, where timber production is an expected use. The Powers 

Ranger District is considering timber harvest and road construction that would result in 

commercial harvesting in the area over the next 5 years. 

The Planning Area falls within the South Fork Coquille River and the Middle Fork Coquille River 

5th-Field watersheds (see Map C-1). Two watershed analyses have been completed that cover 

the Planning Area and contain a synthesis of scientific knowledge about watershed trends and 

conditions at watershed scales as well as by smaller sub-watersheds. Water quality analysis 

and management planning has been completed for the South Fork of the Coquille River by the 

State of Oregon. The Forest Service has also completed a plan for aquatic restoration specific 

to the South Fork Coquille River. These documents are listed below along with the 

subwatersheds that contain the Planning Area: 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-4 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

 Myrtlewood Resource Area, Coos Bay District, Bureau of Land Management, 1994. 

Middle Fork Coquille Analytical Watershed.

(Lower) Rock Creek and Myrtle Creek subwatersheds 

 Powers Ranger District, Siskiyou National Forest, USDA Forest Service, 1995. South 

Fork Coquille Watershed Analysis. 

Coal Creek, Headwaters South Fork Coquille (Wooden Rock Creek), and Mill Creek 

subwatersheds 

 Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 2001. South Fork Coquille River Total 

Maximum Daily Load Allocation and Water Quality Management Plan.

 Powers Ranger District, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, USDA Forest Service, 

2007. Aquatic Restoration Plan, South Fork Coquille Watershed. This document 

includes summary information from both the SF Coquille Watershed Analysis and the 

Water Quality Management Plan. 

Map C-1. Watershed Index Map 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-5 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

II. BACKGROUND 

The Coquille River, formed by the confluence of its north and south forks, begins at the town of 

Myrtle Point. The South Fork, 62.8 miles (101.1 km) long, rises in southern Coos County, and 

flows generally north. It receives the Middle Fork, 40.3 miles (64.9 km) long, then joins the 

North Fork from the south at Myrtle Point. The combined river meanders generally west, past 

Coquille. It enters the Pacific at Bandon, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Cape Blanco 

(Wikipedia web site). 

The nearest weather data collection station is located in Powers at an elevation of 286 feet. 

Weather in the coast ranges is moderated by the Pacific Ocean, especially in the summer when 

temperatures regularly drop to the 45 to 55 degree range. Average annual rainfall at Powers is 

about 61 inches with only a couple of these arriving as snow (Wikipedia Website). The Planning 

Area occurs along the ridgeline of mountains south of Powers at elevations ranging from 2,500 

to 3,500 feet above sea level. The Planning Area receives annual precipitation ranging from 

100-150‖ dominantly as rain (Oregon Climate Service, PRISM; Oregon Dept. of Forestry 

LocatOR website). 

Although snow is common in the Planning Area, a persistent snowpack is unusual. The 

Planning Area is generally in a weather zone referred to as the ―transient snow zone‖ (TSZ), 

characterized by both rain and snow. Rain-on-snow events are common during the winter and 

early spring and can result in sudden spikes in stream flow as rain and melting snow combine 

into runoff. 

III. MANAGEMENT DIRECTION 

The Northwest Forest Plan‘s (NWFP) Aquatic Conservation Strategy (ACS) has four 

components: Riparian Reserves, Key Watersheds, Watershed Analysis, and Watershed 

Restoration. It is guided by nine objectives which are meant to focus agency actions to protect 

ecological processes at the 5th-field hydrologic scale, or watershed, at the 6th and or 7th fields 

(subwatershed and or drainage), and at the site level. 

Standards and Guidelines for Riparian Reserves are located on pages C-30 through C-38 in the 

Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP). Timber harvest is prohibited in Riparian Reserves except 

where needed to attain Aquatic Conservation Strategy objectives (refer to NWFP, page B-11).

The Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource Plan (LRMP) provides standards and 

guidelines for soil and water resources on pages IV-44 through VI-48. Management 

prescriptions for Riparian areas are provided on pages IV-124 through IV-128. LRMP riparian 

areas extend at least 100 feet to either side of perennial channels; 150 feet is recommended for 

Class I and II streams. This would be less than the buffer widths provided by the Northwest 

Forest Plan of one to two site potential tree heights (175 feet and 350 feet, respectively) and its 

additional buffer of one site potential tree height for ephemeral channels. 

The Siskiyou National Forest typically utilizes a standard site potential tree height of 175 feet for 

analysis purposes. For the project area a stream network was generated from a digital 

elevation model. A mapped perennial channel is initiated when a collection area reaches 25 

acres. Field work verifying the presence of ephemeral or perennial channels was used to 

confirm the model was accurate. Mapping used for analysis of the alternatives displays the 

following riparian buffers: 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-6 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

 Class I Streams: perennial, fish habitat 350 feet 

 Class II Streams: perennial, non-fish bearing 175 feet 

 Class III Streams: ephemeral or intermittent 175 feet 

The Siskiyou LRMP prescribes that vegetation on lands in the S.F. Coquille River Basin be 

managed to maintain water temperature. Oregon state Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) 

allocations require streams to meet state temperature standards. Since the South Fork Coquille 

River exceeds temperature standards, the state has determined that no water temperature 

increases from anthropogenic sources is allowable (refer to Water Quality section of this report). 

Under Northwest Forest Plan direction, Key Watersheds are not a designated area or matrix, 

but overlay all allocations. Timber harvest cannot occur in Key Watersheds or Riparian 

Reserves unless watershed analysis is performed to characterize the aquatic, riparian, and 

terrestrial features within a watershed and to guide activities toward meeting Aquatic 

Conservation Strategy goals (ROD, page B-20, USFS, 1994). Outside of Inventoried Roadless 

Areas (RARE II) management direction is to reduce existing system and non-system road 

mileage. If funding is insufficient to implement reductions, there will be no net increase in the 

amount of road in Key Watersheds (Standards and Guidelines page C-7). 

Water quality in Oregon is managed in compliance with Section 303(d) of the 1972 Federal 

Clean Water Act by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). DEQ is responsible for designating streams and water 

bodies that require effluent limitations, and, for developing Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) 

allocations that will ensure water quality standards are met. The most recent listing of impaired 

waters is available on a DEQ website as ―Oregon‘s 2004/2006 Integrated Report Database‖

(www.deq.state.or.us/wq/assessment/rpt0406). 

The Coquille Subbasin has a completed TMDL that covers most of the Rogue River-Siskiyou 

N.F. occurring in that Subbasin. In order to implement the State‘s waste load allocations, federal 

land management agencies develop Water Quality Management Plans (WQMP) in cooperation 

with DEQ. A WQMP for the South Fork Coquille River above the Forest Boundary was 

completed in the year 2000; it addresses lands of all ownerships in this part of the watershed. 

On National Forest System lands, water temperature is the water quality parameter of most 

concern in this area. 

IV. CURRENT CONDITIONS - CHANNEL CONDITION & 

MORPHOLOGY 

Detailed descriptions of existing condition of the Planning Area may be found in watershed and 

water quality analyses cited above. Stream surveys were also conducted for Coal and Wooden 

Rock Creeks in 1991 and 1992, and are cited by the watershed analyses and the restoration 

plan. An additional stream survey was completed for Coal Creek in 2010. Information relevant 

to current condition in the Planning Area has been extracted and/or paraphrased from these 

documents and presented below in descriptions of existing condition. 

A. AQUATIC RESTORATION PLAN - SOUTH FORK COQUILLE 

The South Fork Coquille (SFC) is a Tier 1 Key Watershed as defined by the Northwest Forest 

Plan (1994) and is approximately 108,300 acres (169 sq. miles) in size. In 2005, the Rogue 

River-Siskiyou National Forest engaged in an Integrated Work Planning process. As part of that 

process, fifth-field watersheds across the Forest were prioritized for resource value and 

restoration potential. The South Fork Coquille ranked as number 1 on the Forest for fisheries, 

water, and wildlife values. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-7 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Past management activities on NFS land have increased upstream sediment delivery and 

depleted large wood recruitment into the streams. The primary limiting factors within the South 

Fork Coquille Watershed are: 

 loss of mature forest within the Riparian Reserve;

 higher than optimum stream temperatures; 

in-stream fish habitat below potential condition; 

 excessive fine sediment in stream channels; and

 obstructions at road crossings that inhibit upstream movement of fish and movement of 

large woody material to fish-bearing stream reaches. 

Excess bedload is most evident where it is stored in unconstrained reaches. Aerial photo 

interpretation illustrates aggradation has buried large boulders and created wide gravel bars, 

literally filling pools and covering riparian vegetation. Fish habitat in all sub-watersheds within 

the South Fork Coquille Basin were identified as being adversely impacted by high stream 

temperatures and lack of large woody debris. Bankfull width-depth measures in several 

streams are indicative of channel widening. Channel widening increases solar radiation on 

surface waters and decreases depths available for fish. (Restoration Plan - Executive 

Summary) 

Change in late seral successional stage in Riparian Reserves from 100 years ago was found to 

be substantial in all subwatersheds. For Wooden Rock Creek drainage (upper portion of 

Headwaters SF Coquille subwatershed), late seral successional stage has declined from 89% 

100 years ago to a present level of 1%. Coal Creek subwatershed is similar with a decline from 

85% to 1%. (Original data from South Fork Coquille Watershed Analysis, Iteration 1.1, 

September 1995) 

1. Wooden Rock Creek 

Summer flows at its mouth have been determined to be roughly twice the volume as the 

mainstem South Fork Coquille, which makes Wooden Rock a significant tributary. The lower 

2.5 miles flows into a wide valley floor located on the gently dipping bedrock surface. Wooden 

Rock flows over both Tyee and Flournoy Formations that are dominated by sandstones. 

Weathering and erosion of these formations yields sand and gravel-sized substrate to the 

channel. The low gradient channel provides the best existing resident trout habitat above the 

Coquille River falls. 

Wooden Rock has the highest densities of both trout and large wood in the upper basin (Chen 

1991). Three large wood jams exist in the lower 2.5 miles of habitat. One jam has been 

estimated to contain over 50,000 cubic feet of wood. Increased trout densities appear to be 

related to increased amounts of cover. Three distinct reaches are separated by a series of 

barrier falls (at the 2.5-mile and 4.0-mile marks) in a stair step formation that prohibits upstream 

migration (Stream Survey, Summer 1992). 

Populations above the barriers appear to be exclusively rainbow trout, but at much lower 

densities. (Original information from South Fork Coquille Watershed Analysis, Iteration 1.1, 

September 1995). 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-8 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

2. Coal Creek 

Coal Creek is a key cold water contributor to the South Fork Coquille River. A dual-pipe culvert 

just upstream of the confluence with the South Fork Coquille River creates a partial barrier to 

anadromous adult salmonids and a full barrier to lamprey. A project is currently planned to 

remove the two culverts and replace them with a bridge. There are no other proposed 

restoration projects identified anywhere within Coal Creek or the rest of the project Planning 

Area. The Aquatic Restoration Plan states (p.20) that little timber harvest had occurred in 

Wooden Rock, Coal, or Hayes Creek subwatersheds, therefore that plan concentrated on other 

areas. The Restoration Plan refers to ―recent‖ harvest, i.e., managed stands less than 30 years 

old that contain densely stocked plantations that need thinning. 

Roads analysis performed for the Aquatic Restoration Plan rated the 3358 and 5000 roads as a 

high environmental concern based on the following factors: 

 Percent of sub-watershed stream network with roads within one site tree height. 

 Stream crossing frequency within the sub-watershed and on a per mile basis for each 

road segment. 

 Number of miles of road in high erosion potential by sub-watershed and percentage of 

road segment in high erosion areas. 

Percent of road segment within one site tree height. 

 Percent of sub-watershed stream system with roads within one site tree height. 

 The presence of road crossings in streams containing coho salmon, coho salmon critical 

habitat, or coastal cutthroat trout within a sub-watershed and per each road segment. 

 Whether or not it is a Northwest Forest Plan Key Watershed. 

B. SOUTH FORK COQUILLE WATERSHED ANALYSIS (1995) 

The Coquille Basin, including the South Fork, occupies the Klamath and the Coast Range 

Physiographic Provinces. These geologies produce fine grain sediments which are transported 

to stream channels. A strong maritime influence results in high winter precipitations and 

moderate year-round temperatures. Annual precipitation ranges from 50 to 110 inches per 

year, with very little snow pack. Thus, 90% of the mean annual discharge of the Coquille occurs 

from November to April, with less than 1% occurring during August and September. 

The Upper South Fork Coquille Watershed straddles the Klamath/Siskiyou province which is 

separated by the Coquille River Fault Zone (Dott 1971) from the Coast Range province. Both 

geologies weather rapidly and produce fine grain sediments that are transported to stream 

channels. Therefore, sediment inputs are naturally high. (Page 9) 

Soils on the steep Tyee sandstones have a tendency to fail as debris flows which scour streams 

to bedrock and deposit sediment and large wood at tributary junctions. Rockfall is common 

where Tyee bluffs overlie softer formations. 

Turbidity, or water clarity, affects fish habitat and recreational uses such as fishing and 

sightseeing making it a critical component of the river value. Water samples in the analysis 

area were rated as first, second and third lowest in turbidity (highest quality) of all samples 

(DEQ, 1993) from Coquille (RM 24.5) to above Rock Creek (RM 81.0) 

The water of the South Fork is clear most of the year except during winter storms when 

sediment from banks and slides can cloud the water for short periods. During these higher 

flows, it has been observed that streams flowing through the Klamath Province rocks (Sucker, 

Johnson, and Rock Creeks) are less turbid than streams on the Coast Range rocks (Yager 

1995). 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-9 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

An exception to this tendency is the turbidity contributed by slides and surface erosion from road 

construction, timber harvest, and natural landslides. Without historical turbidity measurements, 

water clarity changes can only be pieced together by anecdotal accounts from long time 

residents and historical sediment delivery estimates. The following is a summary of 

representative historical accounts: From 1934 to the 1940's: 

"The river stayed clear during storms. There was only the Agness Road and the Pepper 

Road over Sand Rock Saddle down to Johnson Creek. The rest of the drainages had no 

roads. After the increase in logging and roads, the river started running muddy during high 

water and lots of debris was in it." (Townsend 1995) 

From the 1970's until recently: 

"The river would take up to a week to clear. It now clears in a couple of days." (Hallett 1995) 

"In the past, the clarity of the stream would return to normal in 8 days, but today it takes only 

2-3 days. Decreased logging, improved practices within the last decade, and paving of 

Forest Service Road 33 located along the river have improved the stream's clarity." (Stinson, 

1995) Sediment delivered from timber harvest and road construction significantly increased 

from 1940 through the early 1970's which would be associated with higher turbidity levels. 

The passage of time, decreases in logging activity, decreases in road construction, and 

improved practices have recovered water clarity from past decades. 

―A 1964 flood following a major storm likely mobilized considerable quantities of instream 

wood, but the input, storage, and transport volumes are unknown. To evaluate the storm 

damage, the Forest Service assembled an evaluation committee in 1966. The committee 

found that "woody debris" buildup in streams greatly contributed to stream damage, and 

recommended that debris be removed from the stream channel. In response to that 

recommendation, state and federal regulations were made requiring removal of all debris 

from streams. As a result, private and federal activities removed massive amounts of wood 

for salvage or stream cleaning in the 1960's and 1970's.‖ (Page A8) 

―All streams within the key watershed have less than desirable levels of large wood. The 

riparian zones within the key watershed are lacking late seral conditions that were present 

historically which serve as a recruitment source for large wood.‖ (Page A15) ―Three large 

wood jams exist in the lower 2.5 miles of habitat. One jam has been estimated to contain 

over 50,000 cubic feet of wood.‖ ―Anecdotal accounts indicate abundant log and beaver 

dams, most of which have been removed in association with timber production.‖ (Page A31, 

specific to Wooden Rock Creek) 

1. Coal Creek 

Coal Creek flows westward into the mainstem of the South Fork Coquille approximately one 

mile upstream of the Forest Boundary. Coal Creek derives its name from short-lived coal 

mining operations that existed there. It is unknown what effect these activities may have had on 

the stream channel. The relatively steep, confined character of the channel has high energy 

and debris transport capabilities and is very stable. Its sensitivity to disturbance is considered 

very low and recovery potential excellent. This accounts for fairly quick recovery from repeated 

past large disturbances. 

The Coal Creek watershed has a broad upper flat and is steeply incised into the Tyee 

sandstones. A series of falls at the 1.4 river mile mark create an anadromous barrier for 

salmonids (Stream Surveys, 1989, 1992). Resident cutthroat and rainbow are present above 

this barrier. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-10 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The lower reach flows through a narrow confined canyon with substrates dominated by bedrock 

with boulders. The gradient for the most part is steep exceeding 4 percent. Deep plunge pools, 

cascades, and high gradient riffles are abundant. Cover for fish is provided in the way of depth, 

surface turbulence, and bed roughness elements (Chen 1991). A few large wood 

accumulations are present, but average only two pieces of large wood per mile. The remaining 

wood is composed of smaller pieces resulting from logging (Stream Survey1992). 

In the upper portion of the surveyed reach, Coal Creek enters a wider valley floor which 

changes the gradient, wood accumulations, and habitat composition. There are deep pools 

created by large wood, cascades, low gradient glides, slower riffle habitat, and complex side 

channels (Chen, 1991). Streambed substrate changes from dominantly bedrock, to gravel and 

cobble. The channel is no longer confined and floodplains appear. The channel sensitivity to 

disturbance increases and its recovery potential decreases in this area. The lower gradient, 

variety of habitat types, density of juveniles, and deep holding pools indicate this section is key 

spawning and rearing area for winter steelhead. 

Summer temperatures are 55o to 62 oF., which are cooler than the mainstem. When the 

mainstem's summer temperatures approach 70 oF., juvenile salmonids congregate in Coal 

Creek. Debris flows from Coal Creek have deposited a large fan in the South Fork Coquille. 

Numerous juvenile steelhead were observed in summer 1994 in the pools just below the 

culverts on Forest Road #33 (USDA, 1994). 

Disturbance History, Sediment and Large Wood 

Over the years, many wood jams were removed for merchantable timber and firewood, or to aid 

fish passage. A debris flow that swept down Coal Creek from a debris avalanche in the gorge 

was triggered by a 1974 storm, a 25-year storm event. The channel was scoured down to 

bedrock in many places. This event destroyed riparian vegetation up to 200 feet laterally along 

the channel, allowing alder to become established and dominate the riparian area. The 

absence of historical stream survey records make it difficult to determine how the channel has 

changed as the result of the debris flow; however, the channel appears to have recovered from 

both the natural and human disturbances. The debris flow may have altered the channel shape 

and substrate composition by creating more bedrock reaches. 

Coal Creek differs somewhat from the other tributary watersheds in having extensive harvest in 

sensitive areas which contributed to sediment and loss of large wood. Coal Creek is the highest 

at 17%, Wooden Rock Creek is second highest at 10% within a range of 4 to17%. 

2. Coal Creek Level II Stream Survey, August 2010 

The Coal Creek watershed is located in the Coast Range Physiographic Province and is 

comprised largely of sandstones from the Tyee Formation. The Tyee Formation is 

characterized by steep slopes (cliffs), fine textured soils derived from sandstone parent rock, 

and bedrock confined stream channels. 

Geomorphology of the Coal Creek watershed ranges from broad gently sloped mountain tops 

(Eden Ridge) to steeply sloped and incised canyons and inner gorges. Also observed were 

small sections of unconfined flat-bottomed alluviated channels featuring mild stream gradients, 

wood jams, stored sediments, elevated terraces, side channels, and minor floodplain 

development. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-11 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Tributary streams were generally moderate to high gradient, V-notched, and incised. Generally 

canyon widths were narrow and vary between 40 feet in Reach 4 to 80 feet in Reach 3. 

Channel sinuosity was low (1.02 – 1.09). 

The stream survey extended 6.14 river miles from the mouth of Coal Creek and describes four 

reaches based on changes in stream flow and canyon morphology (Map C-2). The majority of 

the survey is located on private lands with the exception of Reach 4. 

Map C-2. 2010 Coal Creek Stream Survey Reaches 

The following is summary information from the individual stream survey reaches: 

Reach 1 

 Rosgen channel type B2a; moderately entrenched, structurally controlled, boulder 

dominated; high end of the slope range for this channel type 

 Inner steam banks generally stable 

 Average stream gradient 5.7% (moderately steep) 

 Medium and large class large wood material (LWM) lacking 

 Instream small class LWM scarce (15.1 pieces/mile) 

 Inner riparian habitat consisted of small diameter alder, bigleaf maple, myrtle, vine 

maple, Douglas-fir, and western hemlock). 

 Outer riparian vegetation consists of a small tree class Douglas-fir forest in Reach 1 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-12 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Reach 2 

 Rosgen channel type A2a+; steep, deeply entrenched and confined with structurally 

controlled (bedrock) slopes 

 Inner steam banks generally stable 

 Average stream gradient 13.7% (steep) with cascades and waterfalls (fish barriers) 

 Medium and large class LWM lacking 

 Instream small class LWM scarce (17.9 pieces/mile) 

 Debris flow near end of reach at mouth of tributary entering Coal Ck. from the south 

 Inner riparian habitat consists of small diameter alder, bigleaf maple, myrtle, vine maple, 

Douglas-fir, and western hemlock 

Reach 3 

 Rosgen channel type B3a; moderately entrenched in coarse materials at the high end of 

the slope range for this channel type 

 Inner steam banks generally stable 

 Average stream gradient 3.9% (mild to moderately steep) with small amounts of 

floodplain 

 Medium and large class LWM lacking 

 low gradient gravel dominated riffles and mid channel scour pools, moderate gradient 

cobble dominated rapids, plunge pools, and side channels 

 instream small class LWM moderately abundant in Reach 3 (42.7 pieces/mile) 

 Inner riparian habitat consists of small diameter alder, bigleaf maple, myrtle, vine maple, 

Douglas-fir, and western hemlock 

 Outer riparian vegetation consists of early successional vegetation 

 August 2010 stream discharge 6.84 cfs taken at beginning of reach 

Reach 4 

 Rosgen channel type A4; steep, deeply entrenched and confined; incised in coarse 

depositional materials. 

 Inner steam banks generally stable 

 Average stream gradient 9.2% (steep) with waterfalls 

 Medium and large class LWM lacking 

 steeply sloped narrow V-shaped canyon with a stream gradient of 9.2% 

 several waterfalls ranging in height from 9 to 55 feet 

 Instream small class LWM abundant (77 pieces/mile) 

 Inner riparian habitat consists of small diameter alder, bigleaf maple, myrtle, vine maple, 

Douglas-fir, and western hemlock 

 Outer riparian vegetation consists of a large tree class Douglas-fir and western hemlock 

forest early successional vegetation 

Stream Survey conclusions regarding large wood recruitment are as follows: 

Large woody material, particularly medium and large class pieces are not common in Coal 

Creek, almost certainly as a result of past logging of the riparian forest and instream salvage 

logging. LWM densities increase on the portions of Coal Creek that flow across Forest 

Service land. On portions flowing across private timberland instream LWM is not common. 

Likewise, the riparian forest on publicly owned land is generally in a mid seral stage, 

regenerating from past logging but in most areas had matured to the point of providing small 

class LWM. Conversely, the riparian forest on private corporate land is in an early and 

pioneer seral stage and incapable of providing instream LWM. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-13 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

C. CHANNEL MORPHOLOGY & LARGE WOOD - MIDDLE FORK COQUILLE 

About 25% of the Planning Area lies within the Middle Fork Coquille watershed, along the 

watershed divide. Streams in this portion of the Planning Area flow northward and are first and 

second order streams, non-fish bearing, and dominantly ephemeral. Topography along the 

divide includes broad gentle slopes that give way abruptly to steep, often raveling, slopes and 

benches that dominate the upper Myrtle Creek subwatershed. This reflects the structural 

control of the Tyee sandstones (Figure C-1). Cliffs formed where the bedding is exposed 

readily erode into steep ravines that bottom in a bench formed by a more resistant sedimentary 

layer. Most of this rugged topography is outside the Forest boundary. Channel substrate is 

generally fine grained sediment generated by eroding Tyee Formation sandstones or exposed 

weathered bedrock. Field examinations on NFS lands found well developed understory 

vegetation and woody material sufficient to provide structural elements to small channels 

characteristic of the area. Large, well decayed wood is present as cull wood left by historic 

logging. 

Benched topography supports shallow ponds or swampy areas, but true floodplains are scarce. 

Channels would be classified as Rosgen type A or B with substrates ranging from fine to small 

gravel, or bedrock where durable outcrops are exposed. In the Lower Rock subwatershed the 

watershed divide is broader and cliff-forming elements of the Tyee are more subtle. Streams in 

this area also drain a steep headwater area, but do not cut through nick points formed by 

prominent topographic benches (Figure C-2). Channel morphology is similar to that described 

above, with the exception of a single third order stream (Shields Creek). 

Figure C-1. Oblique View Looking South of Eastern Portion of Planning Area 

Green and yellow lines delineate the Forest boundary; purple mark the subwatershed divides. Coal Creek Canyon is 

visible in the background at the upper right. Gentle uplands dominate this area except for the headwater areas of the 

Lower Rock Creek subwatershed.
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-14 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Figure C-2. Oblique View Looking South at Western Portion of Planning Area

Gentle uplands dominate this area except for the eroding bluffs (upper right area of photograph) of the Myrtle Creek 

subwatershed 

D. CHANNEL MORPHOLOGY & LARGE WOOD - SOUTH FORK COQUILLE 

The Coal Creek and Wooden Rock Creek subwatersheds of the South Fork of the Coquille 

River contain about 75% of the Planning Area. They are underlain by the Tyee sandstone and 

contain topography that is formed by the even, sloping surface of sedimentary bedrock. 

Streams are typically deeply incised with substrates that vary from sand and gravel to 

sandstone bedrock. These channels steeply join the prominent canyon confining the lower 

half of Coal Creek. This canyon cuts the Tyee formation deeply—canyon walls extend up to 

700 vertical feet—and contains numerous bedrock nick points and waterfalls. 

Stream morphology along Coal Creek is dictated primarily by the bedrock of the canyon walls 

and bottom. The 2010 Stream Survey reports Coal Creek is steep and dominated by coarse 

gravel, boulders and bedrock in confined reaches. Also reported are two old log jams 

composed of large but decayed wood. Watershed analysis (1995) documents a powerful debris 

flow that scoured lower Coal Creek of sediment, wood, and vegetation. Log jams composed of 

large wood are capable of resisting the high flows of Coal Creek, as is evidenced by the 

remaining structures. It is likely that Coal Creek contained a series of such jams when ―old 

growth‖ trees were the dominant vegetation. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-15 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Large wood is a common structural component in the Pacific Northwest that dissipates the 

energy of high flows and increases the retention time and quantity of sediment deposits. Large 

wood resulting from recruitment from late seral forests into streams forms a structural network 

that can trap sediment to depths of many feet. Removal of the structural wood results in erosion 

of the gravel deposits to bedrock. This was likely the case for confined reaches of Coal Creek. 

Older log jams are likely to eventually fail as a result of decay; any sediment retained by these 

structures would be transported to the South Fork Coquille. 

There is no large wood data available from private timber lands; NFS lands currently supply 

small size class woody material; however most of these lands are not in close proximity to Coal 

Creek. Little or no source of medium and large class woody material are currently available, 

therefore confined portions of Coal Creek will remain high gradient, bedrock channels that 

transport sediment and small wood to the S.F. Coquille. The alluvial fan at the mouth of Coal 

Creek bears witness to this mode of sediment transport and deposition. Functionally, Coal 

Creek would be considered in degraded condition since its ability to trap and retain sediment 

has been compromised by the loss of both in-stream and recruitable large wood. The current 

decayed condition of existing wood jams suggests that these structures will eventually fail and 

be transported downstream. Regeneration harvest activity on private land along Coal Creek 

has continued during the writing of this report. Opportunities for recruitment of large wood into 

Coal Creek are expected to remain low for the foreseeable future. 

Three proposed units are located in the headwater area of the Mill subwatershed. Field 

examination revealed first and second order streams that are ephemeral and well vegetated. 

Channels have a steep to moderate gradient, are V-shaped with low sinuosity, and colluvial 

slopes. Substrates are dominated by sand, silt, and small gravel. Drainage from these units 

continues onto private lands where channels are also ephemeral. LWM in the small size class 

is supplied by the stands on NFS land. None of this material would be transported downstream 

since streams are too small to transport it, and there is no known landslide activity in this 

location. 

The Planning Area includes approximately four miles of Wooden Rock Creek along its eastern 

edge. The headwaters of Wooden Rock Creek are located on rounded, gently to steeply 

sloping topography. The main channel has a low gradient and a sinuous pattern with well 

developed floodplains. No stream survey information is available for this portion of the channel. 

Field examination of tributary channels near proposed units reveal that they are confined in Vor U-shaped valleys with low gradients allowing for the formation of small floodplains in some 

locations. Channel substrates include sand and gravel. Tributaries near proposed units wind 

through heavy vegetation and remnant large wood from historical logging. Large wood is 

present both as slope cover and as buried structural elements in the stream. Existing trees are 

large enough and in sufficient quantities to provide continued recruitment to the tributary 

channel. 

The following discussion is extracted/paraphrased from the Coal Creek Level II Stream Survey, 

August 2010. This portion of the Stream Survey describes channel habitat and condition on 

Reach 4 of Coal Creek. Reach 4 occurs entirely within NFS land and is similar to other 

tributaries within the Planning Area, with one exception: many of the smaller upland streams 

visited during field examination contained large wood cull logs that were left by railroad era 

logging. 

Reach 4 is located in a narrow V-shaped colluvial canyon. There is very little channel 

sinuosity in Reach 4 and stream gradient is steep (9.2%), however, gravel dominated  ̳flats‘ 

occur upstream of wood jams and waterfall sills. Estimated average canyon width is 40 feet. 

The high percent of channel substrate identified as sand and gravel is the result of small 

sediment being collected and stored behind wood jams and bedrock outcrops.
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-16 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The riparian habitat in Reach 4 consists of a small and large tree class conifer forest of 

Douglas-fir and western hemlock. The riparian habitat, and conifer forest growing on adjacent 

hillslopes, is in a mid seral stage having regenerated from railroad logging that occurred in the 

1940s. The riparian vegetation is currently characterized by a relatively even-aged stand with 

a high degree of canopy closure. No roads or old skid trails were noted in the surveyed 

section of Reach 4. The mid seral riparian forest appeared to have matured to the point of 

being capable of providing instream small class woody material. 

Reach 4 contains a moderately abundant amount of small class woody material but lacks 

material in the medium and large size classes. Wood counts totaled 59 pieces of woody 

material (nearly all small class) for a reach density of 79.7 pieces/mile. Specifically, 57 pieces 

of small class woody material and 2 pieces of medium class material. No large class woody 

material was observed in Reach 4. A mid seral riparian forest regenerating from past logging 

combined with stream cleanout operations would explain the absence of medium and large 

class LWM. 

No fish were detected in Reach 4. Reach 4 contained several waterfalls ranging in height 

from 9 feet to 55 feet. The last fish seen were at the end of Reach 3 and in Tributary 11. 

V. CURRENT CONDITION - WATER QUALITY 

Water quality standards are established to protect beneficial uses of the State‘s waters. 

Beneficial uses are assigned by basin in the Oregon Administrative Rules for water quality. The 

Planning Area occurs in the South Coast Basin which has beneficial uses listed below (Oregon 

Administrative Rule 340-041-0300; adopted by the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission, 

2003). 

Public Domestic Water Supply 

Private Domestic Water Supply 

Industrial Water Supply 

Irrigation 

Livestock Watering 

Fish and Aquatic Life 

Wildlife and Hunting 

Fishing 

Boating Water Contact Recreation 

Aesthetic Quality 

Hydro Power 

The state adopted new stream temperature standards in 2004 (OAR 340-041-0028). For 

stream temperature, the state has defined the following categories: 

Core cold water habitat: streams where temperatures are maintained within the range 

considered optimal for salmon and steelhead rearing. Temperature in these waters 

should maintain a seven-day average maximum no higher than 16oC (60.8oF). 

 Salmon and trout rearing and migration: These waters are expected to maintain a 

seven-day average maximum no higher than 18oC (64.8oF), except during times and 

places of salmonid spawning. 

 Migration corridors: Some major rivers in Oregon are designated as being migration 

corridors only, and the seven-day average maximum temperature should be no higher 

than 20oC (68oF). 

Spawning: During places and times of spawning, the seven day average maximum 

temperatures are expected to be no greater than 13oC (55.4oF). 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-17 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

All streams in the South Fork Coquille drainage above the Forest boundary are designated 

―Core Cold-Water Habitat‖. Streams that drain northward from the Planning Area into the 

Middle Fork Coquille River are designated ―Salmon and Trout Rearing and Migration‖. No 

additional criteria for spawning have been applied to streams within the Planning Area. This 

information is available to the public on DEQ‘s website (refer to Fish Use Maps, figures 300a 

and 300b). Information regarding streams listed by the State as impaired is provided in Table 

C-1 with updated water quality standards for temperature. 

Table C-1. Status of Impaired Stream Listings 

STREAM 

NAME AND 

RIVER 

MILES

PARAMETER 

FOR LISTING

SEASON WATER QUALITY 

STANDARD

BENEFICIAL USE 

PROTECTED BY 

STANDARD

STATUS

South Fork Coquille Watershed

Coal Creek

0 to 6.5 

miles

Temperature Summer Rearing temperature 

16oC (60.8oF)

Anadromous fish 

passage; Salmonid 

fish rearing

Attaining: 

some pollutant 

standards are 

met

Wooden 

Rock Creek

0 to 7.9

Temperature Summer Rearing temperature 

16oC (60.8oF)

Anadromous fish 

passage; Salmonid 

fish rearing

Attaining: 

some pollutant 

standards are 

met

Hayes Creek

0 to 3.2

Temperature Summer Rearing temperature 

16oC (60.8oF)

Anadromous fish 

passage; Salmonid 

fish rearing

Attaining: 

some pollutant 

standards are 

met

Middle Fork Coquille Watershed

Myrtle 

Creek 

0 to 17

Sedimentation Undefined The formation of 

appreciable bottom or 

sludge deposits or the 

formation of any 

organic or inorganic 

deposits deleterious to 

fish or other aquatic 

life or injurious to 

public health, 

recreation, or industry 

may not be allowed.

Resident fish and 

aquatic life

Salmonid fish 

rearing

Salmonid fish 

spawning

Insufficient 

data to 

determine 

whether a 

standard is 

met.

Rock Creek

0 to 14.8 

miles.

Phosphate

Phosphorus

Summer Total phosphates as 

phosphorus (P): 

Benchmark 50 ug/L in 

streams to control 

excessive aquatic 

growths

Aquatic Life Insufficient 

data

Rock Creek

0 to 14.8 

miles.

Sedimentation Undefined The formation of 

appreciable bottom or 

sludge deposits or the 

formation of any 

organic or inorganic 

deposits deleterious to 

fish or other aquatic 

life or injurious to 

public health, 

recreation, or industry 

may not be allowed.

Resident fish and 

aquatic life

Salmonid fish 

rearing’

Salmonid fish 

spawning

Insufficient 

data
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-18 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Status - An assessment category assigned to each record based on evaluating water quality information using the 

assessment methodology decision rules. 

o Category 1: All standards are met. (This category is not used.) 

o Category 2: Attaining - Some of the pollutant standards are met. 

o Category 3: Insufficient data to determine whether a standard is met. 

 3B: Potential concern - Some data indicate non-attainment of a criterion, but data are 

insufficient to assign another category. 

o Category 4: Water is water quality limited but a TMDL is not needed. This includes: 

 4A: TMDL approved - TMDLs needed to attain applicable water quality standards have 

been approved. 

 4B: Other pollution control requirements are expected to address all pollutants and will 

attain water quality standards. 

 4C: Impairment is not caused by a pollutant (e.g., flow or lack of flow is not considered 

a pollutant.) 

o Category 5: Water is water quality limited and a TMDL is needed, Section 303(d) list.

The Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality and its partners prepared a Total Maximum Daily 

Load assessment and Water Quality Management Plan (TMDL/WQMP) for the Upper South 

Fork Coquille watershed in 2001. The assessment addressed temperature exceedences in 

303(d) listed streams and many of their tributaries, and concluded that ―no thermal loads are 

available for allocation to anthropogenic sources in this system‖. For the purposes of the 

Planning Area, this means that any increases in stream water temperature resulting from land 

management activities would be a violation of state water quality standards. 

The Middle Fork Coquille River is listed as impaired for both dissolved oxygen (river mile 0 to 

11.2) and temperature (river mile 0 to 39.6) and a TMDL is needed. None has been prepared 

as of the date of this report. 

Table C-2, extracted from the WQMP, shows that stream temperatures in the mainstem South 

Fork Coquille exceed state standards and increase dramatically after flowing out of the Forest. 

Table C-2 indicates that none of the measured tributaries meet the current water quality 

standard for temperature. A stream survey of Coal Creek completed in August of 2010 reported 

stream temperatures ranging from 10oC to 16oC. The data provides confirmation that summer 

water temperature near the mouth of Coal creek hovers near the temperature standard; 

however, water in the most upstream reach of the survey is cooler than the temperature 

standard. The 2010 stream survey also measured the temperature of 11 tributaries to Coal 

Creek. Temperatures of these tributaries ranged from 11o to 16oC with all but one tributary 

cooler than 16oC.

Many factors can affect water temperature, and it is difficult to relate forest management 

activities directly to water temperature changes. It has become standard practice in the Pacific 

Northwest to utilize stream shading as a surrogate measure and predictor of long term water 

temperature changes. Effective shade from the forest canopy screens the water‘s surface from 

direct rays of the sun. Highly shaded streams typically have cooler stream temperatures due to 

reduced input of solar energy (Brown 1972, Beschta et al. 1987). DEQ has assigned limits to 

solar radiation reaching streams by utilizing effective shade as a surrogate target for solar 

loading. For the South Fork Coquille Subbasin, DEQ has adopted a target of at least 82% 

effective shade. Percent effective shade can be linked to specific areas and, thus, to 

management actions needed to solve problems that cause water temperature increases (Park 

1993). Table C-3 lists existing and potential stream shade values, as well as other beneficial 

management goals contained in the WQMP (DEQ, 2001). 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-19 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table C-2. Average Seven-day-Maximum Temperature Measurements 

Table C-3. Average Existing and Potential Shade by Subwatershed 

*Private timber companies own land in these drainages 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-20 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Stream shade provided by forest canopy is generally sufficient on small streams on NFS land 

within the Planning Area. Maps C-3 and C-4 display existing shade values for the Planning 

Area that were generated by the RAPID model. NFS riparian zones in the Planning Area are 

dominated by shade in the 85-100% category with scattered areas in the 65-84% shade 

category. Occasional spots in lower categories appear; many of these are adjacent to the 

Forest Boundary and probably reflect map/photo boundary location errors. Regeneration 

harvests present in 1996 are readily detected in Maps C-3 and C-4 as abrupt changes in 

existing shade from green to red/orange at the Forest Boundary. Existing vegetation was 

derived from aerial photography from 1996; therefore it does not reflect more recent 

regeneration harvests that have occurred on private timber lands adjacent to the Planning Area. 

For a more recent assessment of harvest activity and road density, refer to the discussion of 

cumulative watershed effects section of this report. 

Map C-3. Existing Shade for Planning Area in South Fork Coquille Subwatersheds 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-21 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Map C-4. Existing Shade for Planning Area in Middle Fork Coquille Subwatersheds 

VI. HYDROLOGIC EFFECTS MECHANISMS & ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK 

Hydrologic issues are examined in this report by describing the mechanisms for environmental 

effects as they relate to the proposed action and alternatives; followed by a description of the 

effect at the local and subwatershed scales. This report provides a context for effects by 

documenting levels of existing disturbance, discussing thresholds for watershed disturbance, 

and describing cumulative impacts that are based on the Action Alternatives in combination with 

reasonably foreseeable actions.
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-22 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

A. CHANNEL MORPHOLOGY AND LARGE WOOD 

Streams where treatments are proposed under the Eden Ridge Timber Sales are located on 

steep hillslopes and on more gentle uplands adjacent to subwatershed ridges. Field 

examination revealed channel substrates with exposures of resistant bedrock strata, or sand 

and gravel weathering products of less durable layers of the formation. The Planning Area 

contains numerous small streams (only a few feet wide) that are first and second order 

channels, are intermittent or ephemeral, and may include boggy areas and seeps. Stream 

valleys are often V-shaped and the active channel less than ten feet wide. Small wood and 

vegetation are sufficient to provide channel and slope stability. Wood falling into the channel 

cannot travel downstream due to the lack of streamflow and topographic confinement. 

Sediment transport in these small channels is moderated by the presence of heavy vegetation 

in the form of both trees and shrubs, and by wood present in the channel and on adjacent steep 

slopes. Wood falling directly into small channels contributes to their sediment capture and 

holding capacity. NFS lands in the Planning Area have little opportunity to provide large wood 

to the main stems of Coal Creek or Wooden Rock Creek since the majority is located in the 

uplands away from the channel. Proposed Units 308, 309 and 315 are close enough to provide 

wood to Coal Creek. Units 202, 209, 212, 213, and 214 are close enough to provide wood to 

Wooden Rock Creek. The remaining project units are too far away from large or mainstem 

channels to be an instream wood source, and/or are not drained by streams large enough to 

transport large wood. 

All proposed units have been harvested in the past; the largest diameter trees observed in 

riparian reserves associated with units was approximately 24‖; the majority are 6‖ to 18‖

diameter. In-channel large woody material in Region 6 is defined as a minimum of 50 feet long 

with a DBH of 36 inches at the small end. Currently, none of the trees within Riparian Reserves 

of the Planning Area meet this criterion, with the exception of downed cull logs left by historical

harvest activity. The role of LWM as a structural element is critical in the larger channels of 

Wooden Rock Creek and Coal Creek. Both these channels transport large amounts of sand 

and gravel since these are the weathering products of the surrounding sandstone. Wooden 

Rock Creek is dominated by low gradient reaches with floodplains that can easily store fine 

sediment with moderate amounts of instream wood. Debris dams composed of smaller wood 

also provides for effective sediment trapping and retention. Such is not the case for Coal Creek, 

a steep, confined, bedrock channel with low sinuousity and no floodplain. Coal Creek is 

dependent on large wood distributed throughout the mainstem channel to dissipate the force of 

storm events and to provide durable wood material for large log jams that can form sediment 

dams. 

Project activities could destabilize slopes and receiving streams by generating runoff from 

compacted roads and trails, and by intercepting and concentrating surface and subsurface 

water into erosive flows. Changes in flow and sediment load over time are primary forces in 

alteration of channel morphology. Road construction in subwatersheds that exceed generally 

accepted thresholds for road density is a concern, particularly if it occurs in mid- or lower slope 

positions where water is naturally more concentrated. New road construction or reconstruction 

on previously forested alignments (such as railroad grades) needs to be evaluated in terms of 

its ability to intercept and channel water both on upland slopes and at channel crossings. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-23 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

B. SEDIMENT DELIVERY 

Reduced canopy cover following timber harvest can allow more direct raindrop impact on the 

soil surface, increase the amount of rain reaching the soil, and change the accumulation and 

melting pattern of snow. Thinning activities can induce changes in soil properties that can 

accelerate natural rates of erosion and sediment delivery to streams. 

Fine sediment-- especially clays that remain suspended except in very still water-- reduces 

water clarity, thus affecting water quality. Coarser sediment may bury stream gravels and pools 

or, change channel shape and flow in cases of high sediment input such as debris flows. 

Sediment delivery to the South Fork Coquille is a concern since this channel is critical habitat for 

coho salmon (below the town of Powers). Coal Creek and Wooden Rock Creek drain the 

Planning Area and are two major tributaries of the SF Coquille that provide cooler water. Debris 

flow activity has been documented in Coal Creek Canyon, and an alluvial fan at the mouth is a 

display of debris deposits. Watershed Analysis documents a severe debris flow in 1974 that 

resulted from a 25 year recurrence level storm event. The Powers Ranger District has had to 

clear the 33 Road of debris delivered at the mouth of Coal Creek repeatedly, in spite of two nine 

foot diameter culverts. 

A reduced canopy cover could contribute to quicker runoff, which could increase sheet and rill 

and gully erosion as well as increase the erosive power of receiving streams. Compacted soils 

resulting from road/trail construction and the use of heavy equipment also contribute to 

increased runoff. Rapid re-growth of the understory after thinning typically balances removal of 

the canopy except where soil compaction discourages moisture infiltration and new growth. 

Harvest operations may trigger accelerated erosion in unstable areas if the combination of 

canopy removal, road reconstruction, and new road construction generates enough cumulative 

impact to result in increased or concentrated runoff. High risk areas include steep slopes 

associated with riparian reserves of higher order channels (3rd order and higher) within the 

transient snow zone. 

Roads intercept runoff from upslope areas, so both existing and increased road density is a 

concern. The intercepted runoff and rain falling directly on the surface of the road is collected in 

a drainage ditch on the uphill side of the road. Roads also intercept near-surface groundwater 

flowing through the slope. The flow in the drainage ditch is periodically discharged underneath 

the road through a culvert to prevent excessive road erosion and flooding. This effectively 

concentrates flow on the hillside at the point the flow discharges from underneath the road. This 

concentrated flow often causes a channel to form which, during storm events, transports flow to 

streams more rapidly than prior to road construction. This has the effect of increasing the 

drainage network, thereby increasing peak flow and runoff speed. Roads, by increasing the 

drainage network, have the potential to increase peak flows through concentration of runoff and 

more rapid routing to stream channels (Wemple 1996). The increased energy of peak flows 

results in elevated rates of erosion and sediment transport. Roads create unprotected ditches, 

cut slopes and fills that can contribute sediment to streams. Elevated sediment is either stored 

or transported downstream and may contribute to morphological changes (filling of pools, 

channel widening) and/or degraded water quality. 

Road density may be used as an indicator of the potential for channel network expansion to 

increase peak flows. Densities under 2 miles per square mile are considered low; over 3 miles 

per square mile suggest a concern for sediment. Subwatersheds containing the Planning Area 

have road densities well over 4 miles per square mile (Watershed Analysis). 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-24 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Slope distance of roads and road culvert discharge points from surface channels are also 

important. For example, a road near the top of a slope and far from a natural channel will 

intercept the storm water it receives directly and whatever flows to it from the small slope area 

uphill. By contrast, a road in a midslope or lower slope position will intercept runoff from a 

much larger upslope area, as well as subsurface flow penetrated by the roadcut, that will be 

concentrated in ditches and released into existing channels via culverts. Existing and proposed 

roads can have long term adverse effects on water and sediment transport that must be 

considered and mitigated during thinning treatment. Roads can also increase sedimentation 

through structural failure. Road structural failure is most commonly caused by culvert 

embankment failure and slope failure. 

C. WATER YIELD (PEAK FLOWS) 

Stream response to storms and runoff is generally measured in terms of increased water flow 

volume and velocity. Precipitation and snowmelt increase stream flow until a peak is reached 

and stream flow declines toward ground-water supported levels. The speed and duration of 

stream response is a function of the size and drainage network configuration of the watershed, 

topographic and vegetative watershed characteristics, and storm/runoff event size and duration. 

Peak flows are categorized in terms of their return interval, that is, the estimated time interval 

between specified flood events. The two year return interval generally determines basic stream 

morphology since it occurs regularly over the long term and thus distributes the bulk of the long 

term sediment load (Rosgen 1996). Data for this interval is also more readily available than for 

longer intervals. Uncertainty regarding peak flow behavior increases with increasing recurrence 

interval because data is lacking for larger more infrequent storm events. Uncertainty also 

increases with size of the drainage basin because of increasing variability, especially from 

human induced watershed effects (i.e., reservoirs, urban development, water use) (Grant et al. 

2008). In forest management, peak flow increases are considered a primary contributor to 

increased risk of cumulative watershed effects (CWE). If project analysis demonstrates that no 

peak flow increases would be generated, or reasonably anticipated, direction to avoid CWE 

contained in the LRMP and NWFP are satisfied. 

For the past several decades, watershed response to forest harvest has been studied 

quantitatively through paired watershed studies in small drainages. Streamflow response to 

primarily clear cut harvest and road construction has been measured and reported over a wide 

range of forested landscapes with an equally wide range of results (Moore and Wondzell, 2005). 

In a recent State-of-the-Science review (2008) Gordon Grant of Oregon State University 

presented conclusions based on a review of paired watershed studies. Grant selected studies 

that occurred primarily in the Pacific Northwest region and within the rain-on-snow hydrologic 

regime. Of particular interest is the stated goal of Grant‘s study to anticipate impacts resulting 

from current thinning forest practices based on results from past forest regeneration harvest 

practices. Grant‘s (2008) analysis presents the following generally accepted conclusions 

regarding the change in peak flows resulting from forest harvest in small basins: 

Canopy removal increases peak flow as follows: 

• During the fall season, through reduced evapotranspiration 

• During the winter and spring through increased snow accumulation and melt 

• During all seasons through reduced rain/snow interception 

Canopy removal decreases peak flow: 

 During all seasons by reducing fog drip. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-25 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Grant et al. (2008) observed that flows altering stream morphology are those with recurrence 

intervals greater than one year. Rosgen (1996) has shown that floodplain morphology is 

shaped by bankfull flows that correspond to the one to two year recurrence interval. Grant et al. 

(2008) places our upper limit of detection for changes in peak flow at the six year recurrence 

interval. Study data consistently shows that as storm events become larger, the increase in 

peak flow change decreases and the significance of the change becomes undetectable. 

Storm events become increasingly rare as magnitude increases; there are practical limits to the 

length of time stream flow has been recorded and to the accuracy of measurement of very large 

events. All of these factors contribute to the six year detection limit. With these limitations in 

mind, Grant et al. displayed how peak flow change measured within the rain-on-snow regime 

changes with the percent of area harvested. There is a general trend for peak flow increases to 

decline as harvest area drops. Once harvest acreage drops below the 15% level (for transient 

snow zone), peak flow changes are undetectable. For the rain dominated areas the harvest 

level generating detectable peak flow increases is about 29%. 

Grant proposed two classes of stream channel that are most susceptible to peak flow changes 

resulting from flows in the one to five year range of recurrence interval: gravel bed channels and 

sand bed channels. These are generally higher order streams (3rd order and up). In the 

Planning Area these would be Coal Creek and Wooden Rock Creek. First and second order 

mountain streams typically are shaped by storm events with 10+ year recurrence intervals. 

Grant (2008) provides a general guideline for assessing harvest peak flow effects in the table 

reproduced below. Roads play a leading role in the generation of increased peak flows at the 

small basin scale. This is due to their ability to intercept and concentrate subsurface and 

surface water. Road networks combine with stream networks to accelerate water drainage from 

the land. Note also that thinning would be expected to generate a low risk of increased peak 

flows as compared to equivalent timber removal in large patches. 

Cumulative Watershed Effects (CWE) analysis for the alternatives was performed by comparing 

the percent of (sixth field) subwatersheds affected by proposed activities with the thresholds 

provided by Grant et al. (2008). Comparisons included consideration of existing watershed 

condition, road density, and reduced hydrologic recovery in managed stands harvested less 

than 30 years previously. 

Figure C-3. Potential Considerations for Peak Flow Increases 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-26 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

D. WATER QUALITY – TEMPERATURE (S.F.COQUILLE TMDL, 2001) 

Stream temperature is an expression of heat energy per unit volume, which in turn is an 

indication of the rate of heat exchange between a stream and its environment. The heat transfer 

processes that control stream temperature include solar radiation, longwave radiation, 

convection, evaporation and bed conduction (Wunderlich, 1972; Jobson and Keefer, 1979; 

Beschta and Weatherred, 1984; Sinokrot and Stefan, 1993; Boyd, 1996). With the exception of 

solar radiation, which only delivers heat energy, these processes are capable of both 

introducing and removing heat from a stream. 

Anthropogenic increase in heat energy is derived from solar radiation as increased levels of 

sunlight reach the stream surface and raises water temperature. The pollutant (solar heat 

energy) is a source of stream temperature increase that is within management measures and is 

targeted in this TMDL. 

Table C-4. Factors that Influence Stream Surface Shade 

Description Measure

Season Date

Stream characteristics Aspect, Bankfull Width

Geographic Position Latitude, Longitude

Vegetative Characteristics Buffer Height, Buffer width, buffer Density

Solar Position Solar Altitude, Solar Azimuth

Over the years, the term shade has been used in several contexts, including its components 

such as shade angle or shade density. For purposes of this TMDL, shade is defined as the 

percent reduction of potential solar radiation load delivered to the water surface. Thus, the role 

of effective shade in this TMDL is to prevent or reduce heating by solar radiation and serve as a 

linear translator to the solar loading capacities. 

The percent effective shade is perhaps one of the easiest and straightforward stream 

parameters to monitor/calculate and is most helpful in directing water quality management and 

recovery efforts. Using solar tables or mathematical simulations, the potential daily solar load 

can be quantified. The measured solar load at the streams surface can easily be measured with 

a Solar Pathfinder or estimated using mathematical shade simulation computer programs 

(Boyd, 1996 and USFS, 1993). 

Potential causes for water temperature increases would be associated with canopy removal at 

temporary and permanent stream crossings for both roads and skyline corridors. Canopy 

removal elsewhere on roads and for thinning outside the primary shade zone would not affect 

stream temperature since there is no surface water present. 

E. CUMULATIVE WATERSHED EFFECTS 

The project Planning Area is surrounded by private timber production lands that have been, and 

continue to be, harvested by regeneration methods. Existing watershed disturbance as of 2009 

was analyzed for both private and NFS lands in project subwatersheds in order to provide a 

realistic context for the contributions of the Action Alternatives to cumulative watershed effects. 

For most of the Planning Area, risk for adverse CWE is at the moderate/high threshold level. 

Risk analysis utilized a process developed for the Pacific Northwest in response to a request 

from the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding determination of the cumulative effects to 

fish populations protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-27 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The process is documented as Determining the Risk of Cumulative Watershed Effects Resulting 

from Multiple Activities (USDA, Forest Service, 1993). This process was developed by Forest 

Service fish biologists and hydrologists from Regions 1, 4 and 6, and reviewed by forest 

industry, National Marine Fisheries Service, and tribal representatives. 

Evaluation of peak flow data in Oregon and Washington was conducted by Grant et al. (2008) in 

a publication titled Effects of Forest Practices on Peak Flows and Consequent Channel 

Response: A State-of- Science Report for Western Oregon and Washington. Discussions and 

conclusions in the Grant et al. report are relevant to, and update, the analysis process 

developed in 1993 because peak flow changes are an indicator of watershed response to 

management actions and represent a host of indirect effects. Grant et al. states: 

―In general, the magnitude of channel morphologic changes because of peak flow 

increases alone are likely to be much less significant than other impacts associated with 

forest harvest activities. Effects of deforestation on landslides, debris flows, and surface 

erosion are well documented (e.g., Reid 1993, Sakals et al. 2006, Sidle et al. 1985) and 

these are likely to have far more direct effects on channel structure than peak flows alone, 

as these processes typically involve direct introduction of sediment into stream channels. 

In particular, accelerated geomorphic processes associated with forest roads are likely to 

have some of the most pronounced effects on forest streams (e.g., Wemple et al. 2001).‖ 

This section describes the indicators used for the assessment of existing watershed condition 

as of 2009, including modifications based on information provided in Grant et al. (2008) and 

based on the author‘s professional judgment. 

The 1993 USDA/USFS protocol provides a means of assessing the relative risk of incurring 

adverse cumulative effects from actions which, individually, would be ―not likely to adversely 

affect‖ fish production. For the Planning Area, this protocol is used to assess the existing 

condition resulting from past and recent timber management on both National Forest System 

and privately owned lands. 

Grant et al. (2008) concluded that watershed studies at the scale of larger drainage areas (more 

than approximately four square miles) are rare, and that variables specific to a particular 

watershed could influence study results more than timber harvest (for example basin condition 

and vegetation types). For this reason, 6th field subwatershed boundaries were used for 

analysis rather than the 5th field watershed boundary. In this case, the subwatersheds involved 

have a similar management history, geology, and soil characteristics (refer to Watershed 

Analyses, USFS 1995 and BLM, 1994). The Planning Area is contained in five subwatersheds 

that experience rain, fog and transient snow associated with a marine influenced climate (USFS 

Watershed Analysis, 1995). The Planning Area is dominantly in a precipitation regime 

dominated by rain, with rain-on-snow occurring at the highest elevations. 

Watershed condition and channel condition rating factors used for this analysis are described 

below: 

Hydrologic Maturity (forest canopy recovery) -- A coarse filter for ―immature vegetation‖

that is often used is the percent of clear cut (regeneration harvest) forested stands less 

than 30 years old. Watersheds with more than 30% of such stands are at high risk 

(USDA 1993). Likewise, Grant et al. (2008) predicted peak flow changes would become 

detectable when stands less than 30 years old occupy more than 29% of the area in 

rain-dominated zones, and more than 15% in the transient snow zone. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-28 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Road Density -- areas that exceed 3.6 mi/sq.mi. in high relief watersheds, and that 

exceed 4.6 mi/sq.mi. in low relief watersheds are considered to be at high risk of 

adversely impacting water quality and water yield (USDA 1993). 

Temperature -- used as an indicator of habitat and channel condition (USDA 1993); 

stream temperature should not exceed fish tolerance or state thresholds. 

Large Woody Material -- used as an indicator of habitat and channel condition (USDA 

1993). 

1. Hydrologic Maturity Assessment for Planning Area 

Forest canopy cover was assessed by inventorying stands less than 30 years old in the affected 

subwatersheds up to the year 2009 (see Attachment 1 for methodology). This assessment 

captures private timber land harvest activity as well as that on BLM and NFS lands. Table C-5 

summarizes this assessment as percent of each subwatershed harvested and provides a risk 

rating. Harvest from 2005 to 2009 is provided to show where the most recent activity has 

occurred. 

Table C-5. Regeneration Harvest as Percent of Subwatershed 

Subwatershed Total Regeneration 

Harvest 1977-2009

Regen Harvest 

2005-2009

Risk Rating 

(USDA, 1993)

Coal Creek 41% 11% High

Headwaters SF 

Coquille 10% 2% Low

Mill Creek 23% 2% Moderate

Myrtle Creek 32% 8% High

Lower Rock 

Creek 40% 12% High

2. Road Density Assessment for Planning Area 

Subwatersheds in the Planning Area would be classified as ―low relief‖ for the purposes of road 

density threshold comparison. Table C-6 shows that except for Lower Rock Creek 

subwatershed, existing road density for the project subwatersheds is at the moderate risk levels 

for low relief watersheds (below 4.6 mi./sq.mi). Lower Rock Creek subwatershed is in the ―high 

risk‖ category. 

Road density, expressed as miles/square mile is an easily calculated index of watershed 

disturbance and a useful coarse filter for determining current watershed condition as a basis for 

risk of cumulative watershed effects (USDA, 1993). Road density information has been updated 

to 2009 specifically for the subwatersheds in the Planning Area (see Attachment 1 for 

methodology). 

Map C-5 depicts road densities that include state/county and classified (BLM/FS) roads, but do 

not include temporary roads or skid trails (no data). High risk ratings begin at 4.6 miles/sq.mi. 

(USDA, 1993). The map below shows that most NFS lands in the Planning Area have densities 

less than 3.8 miles/sq.mile. NFS lands along the edges of the Forest/private land boundary 

have road densities higher than 3.8 miles/sq.mile. Subwatersheds that include the Planning 

Area would be rated ―moderate‖ or ―high risk‖ for watershed effects associated with roads. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-29 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Map C-5. Subwatershed Road Density 

3. Large Woody Material Assessment for Planning Area 

Coal Creek subwatershed forms the core of the Action Alternatives in that it contains the 

majority of the harvest units, proposed road construction, and haul routes. Other 

subwatersheds are peripherally involved along subwatershed divides. The 2010 Stream Survey 

for Coal Creek found little or no medium or large size class woody material and little potential for 

future recruitment (refer to detailed information under Existing Environment section of this 

report). Coal Creek would be rated ―Poor‖ for large woody material, as an indicator of habitat 

and channel condition (USDA 1993) based on the condition of the main channel. According to 

watershed analyses and stream surveys, quantities of large woody material in stream channels, 

and quantities available for recruitment to stream channels, are low throughout the affected 

watersheds. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-30 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Within the last 100 years, standing and downed conifers were removed from, and roads were 

built along, the majority of riparian areas in the Middle Fork Coquille River basin. Since red 

alder responds to heavy disturbance activities such as logging and road building, the riparian 

areas were converted from mixed conifer stands with a hardwood understory to red alderdominated stands with a shrub understory.‖ (P16). 

―The entire length of the Middle Fork Coquille River and portions of nearly every tributary 

stream are constrained by roads. In general, the drainage has a deficit of in-stream structure 

(large woody debris) and channel complexity, with the exception of a few isolated stretches on 

some tributaries.‖ (P17, 18). 

4. Stream Temperature Assessment for Planning Area 

Existing shade maps show that most streams on National Forest System land within the 

Planning Area are well shaded by the existing tree canopy. This is generally not the case on 

the mainstem channels, which have long reaches through private timber lands. Although both 

Coal Creek and Wooden Rock Creek contribute cooler water to the South Fork Coquille River, 

their temperatures at the confluences are at or higher than state standards. This suggests that 

subwatershed condition as a whole is not currently good enough to bring stream temperatures 

in these two subwatersheds into compliance with state standards. This is reflected in the 

State‘s decision to allow no increase in water temperature that could result from management 

activities for the S. Fork Coquille. 

The main channel of Coal Creek is poorly shaded by trees; canopy cover is generally below 

64% shade. The channel is well shaded by the steep and narrow canyon through which it flows. 

Streams within the proposed units and on NFS land in the Planning Area are generally well 

shaded by conifers and occasional hardwoods such as big leaf maple, myrtle, and alder. 

RAPID analysis indicates that stream shading on NFS land is dominantly 84 percent to 100 

percent. Wooden Rock Creek, in the vicinity of the Planning Area, is dominated by shade 

values below 64% along the mainstem. Since this channel is oriented mainly north-south there 

is little opportunity for topographic shading during the warmest part of the day. 

The Middle Fork Coquille River is also listed for temperature; however it is unlikely that the small 

amounts of runoff from lands in the Planning area have a measurable influence in such a large 

and actively harvested watershed. The State has yet to make a determination regarding the 

sources of elevated stream temperature in this watershed. 

5. Overall Risk of Adverse Cumulative Watershed Effects as of 2009 

Table C-6 summarizes the existing condition information and provides an overall risk rating for 

detectable watershed effects for each subwatershed in the Planning Area. Note that for all but 

the Headwaters S.F. Coquille subwatershed, the risk is ―high‖. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-31 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table C-6. Summary of Risk of Adverse Watershed Effects 

Subwatershed Hydrologic 

Maturity 

Risk Factor

Road Density 

Risk Factor

Temperature

Effective 

Stream Shade 

Increase 

Needed

Large 

Woody 

Material

Overall risk 

of Adverse 

Watershed 

Effects

Coal Creek High Moderate 18% Poor High

Headwaters SF 

Coquille Low Moderate 16% Fair Moderate

Mill Creek Moderate Moderate (no data) Poor* High

Myrtle Creek High Moderate (no data) Poor* High

Lower Rock Ck High High (no data) Poor* High

*condition based on generalized description/history from watershed analysis

Table C-7 shows that private land holdings dominate each of the project subwatersheds, except 

for the Headwaters SF Coquille. Ongoing regeneration harvest on private lands is expected to 

continue. The risk for adverse cumulative watershed impacts (i.e. peak flow increases, channel 

morphology shifts), as assessed above, would remain at or somewhat above current levels. 

Based on recent harvest activity levels, it would be reasonable to assume that the risk of 

adverse watershed effects in the Headwaters SF Coquille subwatershed would remain at 

moderate levels when averaged over the entire subwatershed. Within the Headwaters 

subwatershed, private timber production land dominates the Wooden Rock Creek drainage. 

The S.F.Coquille Watershed Analysis identifies Wooden Rock Creek as an important tributary to 

the S.F. Coquille within the Headwaters subwatershed. Wooden Rock Creek discharge is twice 

that of the main stem at the confluence and provides low temperature water into the 

temperature-sensitive S.F.Coquille. Increasing risk of adverse watershed effects resulting from 

continuing regeneration harvest on private lands is anticipated for the Wooden Rock Creek 

drainage (refer to Existing Shade Maps, showing low stream canopy along Wooden Rock 

Creek, and Oblique Views showing regeneration harvests). For this portion of the Headwaters 

subwatershed, risk of stream water temperature increases and risk of peak flow increases 

would be high. 

Table C-7. Private Ownership by Subwatershed 

Subwatershed Acres in 

Private 

Ownership

% of 

subwatershed

% of 

subwatershed 

harvested in the 

last 30 years

% of Private 

Subwatershed 

Acreage Estimated to 

be Available for 

Future Harvest

Coal Creek 6,000 60 41 19

Headwaters SF 

Coquille 9,904 25 10 15

Mill Creek 10,966 79 23 56

Myrtle Creek 17,918 89 32 57

Lower Rock Creek 21,481 84 40 44

Risk of adverse watershed effects in the remaining subwatersheds are at high levels and are 

likely to remain at high risk levels as a result of continuing regeneration harvest on private lands. 

Table C-7 indicates that large portions of the project subwatersheds have been regeneration 

harvested over the last 30 years, and much is still available. All but a few per cent of the 

harvested acreage over the last 30 years have occurred on private timberlands. Private lands 

still available for harvest could maintain the risk for adverse watershed effect at a high level for 

decades. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-32 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The mainstem of Coal Creek has lost structural elements and is currently degraded in its ability 

to trap and store sediment. No substantial recovery of this condition is anticipated. Likewise, 

substantial improvements in water temperature in the SF Coquille River downstream of the 

Forest Boundary are unlikely given the overwhelming lack of existing shade along the river and 

the current harvest trends on the private uplands. 

VII. HYDROLOGIC EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVES 

A. NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE 

Under this alternative, no direct effects from harvest or thinning activities would occur on 

National Forest System lands in the Planning Area. There would be no potential for changes to 

channel morphology, large woody material, sediment delivery, and peak flows as a result of 

NFS land management activities in the Planning Area. 

As noted above, the risk of adverse watershed effects in the remaining subwatersheds are at 

high levels and are likely to remain at high risk levels as a result of continuing regeneration 

harvest on private lands. Private lands still available for harvest could maintain the risk for 

adverse watershed effect at a high level for decades.

B. ACTION ALTERNATIVES - DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS 

OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION 

The Proposed Action includes almost 11 miles of new permanent road construction and a third 

of a mile of temporary road. Road density is used as an indicator for increased risk of 

cumulative watershed effects. Road density increases are minor in all subwatersheds except 

for Coal Creek where density would increase by approximately 0.43 miles/square mile to a total 

of 4.62 mi./sq.mi. (refer to Cumulative Watershed Effects sub-section). This number suggests 

that road density is a concern and that road placement and design should avoid high risk areas. 

Proposed new system roads would cross approximately 1.6 miles of Riparian Reserve. 

Proposed temporary roads would cross approximately 0.25 miles of Riparian Reserve. These 

disturbances would cause localized impacts associated with vegetation removal and surface 

disturbance within the road construction zone. For proposed system roads this loss of 

vegetation would be permanent, as would the routing of streams through culverts and 

modification of both surface and subsurface slope runoff water flow. 

Field examinations along the railroad grade proposed for conversion indicate that subsurface 

slope flows in the area are minimal. The grade has cuts that expose up to 15 vertical feet of cut 

bank. Few seeps were observed and the grade retains water at only a few locations within its 

3.5 mile length. Proposed system road construction would occur primarily along watershed 

divides and secondary ridgelines. Perennial channels are less than 10 feet wide (three feet or 

less of active channel is typical) except for the unnamed tributary bordering Unit 338. This 

tributary contains a channel with a relatively wide and saturated valley bottom of about 40 feet in 

the proposed crossing location. 

New road construction occurs mainly in the uppermost areas of the watershed where streams 

are first and second order. During the summer months, surface discharge from these channels 

drops to less than a few gallons per minute and may be intermittently subsurface. Constructed 

stream crossings would occur on proposed new permanent roads and on existing railroad 

grades proposed for conversion to permanent road. These roads and crossings would not be 

anticipated to result in measureable increases to water temperature for the following reasons: 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-33 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

 All of the crossings are located on first and second order streams. These channels are 

only a few feet wide and have small discharges. 

 Sun exposure would be 100% blocked as the water flows through the culvert. Exposure 

upstream and downstream of the culvert would occur over a few linear feet and would be 

reduced by adjacent forest canopy; this limited exposure is not enough to cause a 

measureable change in water temperature. 

 The largest watershed area above these crossings totals approximately 60 acres. 

Others are 30 acres or less. This presents very little drainage area to collect surface 

water to these crossings. Stream discharge from such small drainage basins is low, 

especially during the summer when ground water levels are lowest. 

Skyline corridors would remove minor amounts of canopy in the primary shade zone where the 

corridor crosses perennial streams. Skyline corridors that cross Riparian Reserves are required 

to be 12 feet or less in width, and no less than 150‘ apart, and be utilized with full log 

suspension. Surrounding trees and understory would make shade loss resulting from these 

gaps in the canopy negligible. The open area would be occupied by the growth of neighboring 

trees within a few years. No measureable increase in water temperature is anticipated at 

corridor locations. 

Proposed roads located in tractor Units 303, 307, 308 and 309 are exceptional among the 

proposed new roads in that they are located at the midpoint of the Coal Creek watershed near 

the main channel. Road Q1 crosses approximately 0.11 miles of private land, and would 

require a steep gradient (estimated at about 20%) for approximately 500 feet. Units 303, 307, 

308, and 309 are located in an area that is considered sensitive to hydrologic impacts; slope 

position and distance to Coal Creek are low. Sediment and runoff generated by road 

construction on these units could reach Coal Creek. The temporary road and its two crossings 

present surface disturbance that could shed sediment both during construction and during 

crossing removal and rehabilitation. The following mitigating measures are recommended for 

these units: 

 Unit 309: Harvest treatment should be excluded from the zone between the south bank 

of Coal Creek and the slope break. This would avoid disturbance of oversteepened 

slopes that would shed sediment directly into Coal Creek. 

 Units 303, 307, 308 and 309: Sediment transport would be monitored by the sale 

administrator. Any visible sediment input to Coal Creek originating from these units 

would require implementation of mitigating measures that would capture/prevent 

sediment transport recommended by a soil scientist, hydrologist, or engineer. 

The haul route for the proposed project would utilize existing NFS and private system roads. 

Hauling to support the proposed sales would occur only during the dry season and during dry 

conditions. Haul roads would all be engineered for effective drainage and armored with rock to 

provide an all-weather surface. It is unlikely that sediment generated from use of haul roads 

under these conditions would exceed background levels. Field examination of the haul route 

indicates that fine sand and silt originate mainly from road cuts and ditches. Slope failures, 

visible rills and gullies are rare, occurring sporadically on oversteepened colluvial slopes or fills. 

Best Management Practices for road maintenance would be sufficient to capture sediment that 

may be generated by proposed hauling. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-34 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table C-8. Proposed Road Construction 

Subwatershed

New Road Construction

(miles)

Temp Road construction

(miles)

Alt.2 Alt 3 Alt.4* Alt.2 Alt.3 Alt. 4

Coal Creek 6.61 1.87 0.25 0.29 .03 0

Headwaters SF 

Coquille 2.27 1.31 0 0 0 0

Mill Creek 0 0 0 0 0 0

Myrtle Creek 0.78 0.54 0 0 0 0

Lower Rock Ck 1.15 0.68 0 0 0 0

Total 10.81 4.4 0.25 0.29 0.03 0

*Reconstruction along 3 rail grades includes new road construction where stream crossings replace 

rail trestle bridges.

Table C-9. Road Density Increase by Subwatershed 

Subwatershed

Square miles 

Existing 

Road 

Density 

(miles/sq.mi.)

New Road Construction Density 

Increase (Mi/sq.mi) 

Temporary Road Density 

Increase 

Proposed

ActionAlt.2

Alt. 3 

Reduced 

Roads

Alt. 4 

No New 

Roads

Proposed

ActionAlt.2

Alt. 3 

Low Risk 

Units & 

Roads

Alt. 4 

No New 

Roads

Coal Creek

15.55 4.19 0.43 0.12 0 .02 <0.01 0

Headwaters SF 

Coquille

62.86

4.25 0.04 .02 0 0 0 0

Mill Creek

21.77 3.94 0 0 0 0 0 0

Myrtle Creek

31.29 4.12 0.02 .02 0 0 0 0

Lower Rock 

Creek

39.91

4.68 0.03 0.02 0 0 0 0

C. ACTION ALTERNATIVES - DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS 

OF HARVEST THINNING 

Table C-10 displays areas proposed for commercial thinning and the percent of the 

subwatershed they would affect. Figures are low for all of the subwatersheds except Coal 

Creek. As shown in Table C-5, 41% of the subwatershed has been regeneration harvested in 

the last 30 years. Proposed commercial thinning presents stand impacts that are less severe 

than regeneration harvest (Grant et al., 2008); however, quantitative data is scant. Grant et al. 

(2008, Figure C-3) provide a generalized guide to impact levels on peak flows. Watershed 

impacts tend to be low for both rain-dominated and transient snow zone regimes up to about 

40% harvest levels. Impacts rise to moderate in for the 40 to 80% harvested range and jump to 

high at 100% harvest levels. Moore and Wondzell (2005) found that harvest effects on peak 

flows generally recover within 10 to 20 years. These figures are for regeneration harvest not for 

thinning. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-35 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Based on these crude guidelines, the proposed commercial thinning would introduce at most, a 

moderate risk of increasing or altering peak flow response in the Coal Creek subwatershed, and 

would introduce no detectable risk in the other project subwatersheds. Based on the discussion 

below, it is likely that the proposed thinning would have a low risk of increasing peak flows in 

Coal Creek. 

The Action Alternatives contains elements that lower the potential risk of peak flow increases as 

follows: 

 Harvest treatment would be a variable density thin. This would leave an intact and 

growing forest canopy to attenuate storm events. 

 Avoidance of the primary shade zone--provides undisturbed buffer between harvest 

areas and stream channels. 

 Limitation on canopy removal in Riparian Reserve of 50%--provides a shaded buffer 

between harvest areas and stream channels. 

 Limitation of equipment use in Riparian Reserve—prevents compaction that may reduce 

water infiltration within 100‘ of stream channels. 

 Limitation of skid trail impacts—reduces potential for compaction that may cause 

increased runoff from storm events/snowmelt. 

 Wet weather/seasonal use restrictions—prevents compaction of wet/saturated materials 

and displacement that could result in concentrated surface runoff. 

 Harvest is concentrated in upper portions of watersheds where stream discharges are 

low. 

Table C-10. Harvest Thinning by Subwatershed 

Subwatershed Subwatershed 

Acreage

Acres of Proposed 

Commercial Thin Harvest

% of Subwatershed Affected 

by Proposed Commercial 

Thinning

Alt. 2 Alt. 3 Alt. 4 Alt. 2 Alt. 3 Alt. 4

Coal Creek 9,952 1,760 1,615 1,427 18% 16% 14%

Headwaters SF 

Coquille 40,233 585 637 642 1.5% 1.6% 1.6%

Mill Creek 13,935 33 33 33 <1% <1% <1%

Myrtle Creek 20,028 172 172 172 1% 1% 1%

Lower Rock Creek 25,544 764 783 783 3% 3% 3%

D. ACTION ALTERNATIVES - DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS 

OF YARDING ACTIVITIES AND LANDING CONSTRUCTION 

Proposed yarding activities include those conducted by ground based heavy equipment 

(―tractors‖) and those conducted by skyline cable equipment operating from a landing. Surface 

disturbance resulting from ground-based equipment utilizing limited skid trails can be limited to 

approximately 15% of the area. Skyline yarding typically disturbs approximately 5% of the 

surface area; helicopter operations are estimated at 2%1

. Direct surface impacts are discussed 

in the soil report for this project. Hydrologic impacts resulting from tractor use would be low due 

to the design constraints of the project. 

 

1

 Percentages derived from Geology & Soils Report; EIS Appendix D. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-36 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Tractor units are limited to areas where slopes are 35% or less and equipment would not travel 

closer than 100‘ to any stream channel. This effectively limits heavy equipment use to upland 

areas. Under the Proposed Action, tractor units account for approximately 2,119 acres (64%) of 

the total harvest acreage. Under LRMP standards and guidelines, a maximum of 15% or 318 

acres could incur direct surface disturbance from heavy equipment use. This number includes 

past disturbances within an activity area. 

Table C-11. Project Acreages by Logging System for Action Alternatives 

Logging 

System

Proposed

Action

Alt. 2

Alternative 

3

Alternative 

4

Ground Based 2,119 1,786 1,441

Skyline 1,195 941 457

Helicopter 0 513 1160

Total Acres 3,314 3,240 3,058

Table C-12. Percent of Subwatershed Affected by Ground Based Equipment 

Subwatershed Subwatershed 

Acreage

Acres of Proposed 

Ground Based 

Commercial Thin Harvest

Alt.2 Alt.3 Alt.4

% of Subwatershed 

Affected By Ground 

Based Commercial 

Thinning

Alt.2 Alt.3 Alt.4

Coal Creek 9,952 1,189 947 654 12% 9.5% 6.5%

Headwaters SF 

Coquille 40,233 225 209 170 .5% .5% .4%

Mill Creek 13,935 8 8 8 <.1% <.1% <.1%

Myrtle Creek 20,028 65 46 33 .3% .2% .2%

Lower Rock Ck 25,544 632 576 576 2.5% 2.3% 2.3%

Proposed tractor acres contain approximately 255 acres of Riparian Reserve. Harvest would 

occur within the Riparian Treatment Zone which is approximately 2/3 of the total defined 

Riparian Reserve (one site potential tree height from the stream channel), excluding the Primary 

Shade Zone. This would be about 170 acres occurring mainly along first and second order 

channels. Units 307, 308 and 309 are the only exceptions in that they border the main channel 

of Coal Creek. These units are located in a hydrologically sensitive area due to their proximity 

to Coal Creek. Refer to mitigating measures recommended under the Direct and Indirect 

Effects of Road Construction discussion, above. 

Skyline units have the same 15% LRMP soil disturbance limitation. Skyline yarding is capable 

of accomplishing harvest with surface disturbance of 5% of the activity area; equivalent to 

roughly 60 acres out of the 1,195 acres of skyline units. 

Project design eliminates most equipment use near Riparian Reserves. Skyline corridors that 

cross Riparian Reserves are required to be 12 feet or less in width, and no less than 150‘ apart, 

and be utilized with full log suspension. Harvest near perennial streams stops at the primary 

shade zone. Riparian Reserve within skyline units is estimated to total 201 acres. 

Approximately one third of this area would be occupied by the primary shade zone; thus, of the 

total 1,190 acres of skyline units, about 134 acres would be included in the skyline harvest area 

(Table C-13). Hydrologic impacts from skyline yarding are expected to be low since the 

overwhelming majority of the activity occurs in the uplands where stream widths are narrow. No 

measureable water temperature increases are anticipated.
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-37 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table C-13. Project-wide Riparian* Logging System Comparison by Action Alternative 

Alternative Ground Based

Yarding Skyline Yarding Helicopter Yarding

Total 

Riparian

Harvest

Acres

Coal Creek 

Subwatershed 

Only

Total 

Acres

Riparian 

Acres

Total 

Acres

Riparian 

Acres

Total 

Acres

Riparian 

Acres

Proposed

Action Alt. 2 2,119 255 1,190 134 0 0 389 182

Alt. 3 1,786 157 941 173 513 56 386 161

Alt. 4 1,441 77 457 97 1,160 203 377 103

*actual estimated riparian harvest; does not include primary shade zone

E. OVERALL RISK OF ADVERSE CUMULATIVE WATERSHED EFFECTS 

FROM PROPOSED ACTION 

The Proposed Action (Alternative 2) would present no measureable increase in risk for adverse 

cumulative watershed effects in the Headwaters SF Coquille, Mill Creek, Myrtle Creek or Lower 

Rock Creek subwatersheds. This is due to: 

 The minor involvement of these subwatersheds in the Proposed Action (refer to tables 

above).

 The location of units/roads at or near ridges and watershed divides where effects would 

be minimal.

Risk of adverse cumulative watershed effects in the Coal Creek subwatershed is currently high 

since the main channel is already in a degraded condition. The addition of the proposed 

harvest acreage and road construction within this degraded subwatershed may contribute to 

additional risk of adverse effects; however, limited stand management could be conducted 

without increasing risk if the impacts could be limited to the site scale. The following conditions 

would allow containment of impacts to the local or unit level (site scale): 

 NFS lands contain hydrologically mature stands with large in-stream and upland wood 

present; this provides vegetative buffers that would counter increased runoff or 

sediment transport. 

 NFS lands are located mainly in the uplands where streams are small and discharges 

are low; risk of hydrologic impact from this portion of watershed is low. 

 The majority of the proposed units are located thousands of feet away from the main 

channel. 

 Proposed thinning is designed to enhance the growth and vigor of the stand by removing 

intermediate and suppressed trees. 

 Stream buffers and equipment limitations are designed to eliminate off-site impacts. 

Some proposed units are located in areas that have a greater potential for hydrologic impacts. 

These units are listed in Table C-14. Their combined acreage is relatively small; however these 

units are would present more risk of measurable impact than the rest of the project. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-38 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table C-14. Units Located in Sensitive Watershed Areas – Proposed Action 

Unit Number Logging

System

Acres Concern for Elevated Resource Damage

301, 302, 304, 305, 306 Skyline 49 Proximity to Coal Creek; location within Coal 

Creek canyon on steep slopes; requires new 

road construction 

303, 307, 308, 309 Tractor 63

312, 315, 321, 338 Skyline 104 Steep slopes adjacent to major tributaries of 

Coal Creek

Total Acres 214

F. ALTERNATIVE 3 – DIRECT, INDIRECT, AND CUMULATIVE EFFECTS 

1. Direct and Indirect Effects 

The direct effects of Alternative 3 are similar to those described for the Proposed Action except 

for those areas where harvest and/or road construction has been eliminated, or where the 

logging system has been changed to ―helicopter‖. 

Tables C-9, 10, & 11 show the change in harvest acreage and road construction under all 

alternatives. Approximately 1.5 miles of new system road would be constructed within the 

defined Riparian Reserve; temporary road would be about 0.03 mile. Harvested acreage would 

not change except within the Coal Creek and Headwaters S.F. Coquille subwatersheds. The 

only substantial change is for the Coal Creek subwatershed where about 363 acres would be 

eliminated from proposed harvest; and about 361 acres would be harvested by helicopter. 

Under Alternative 3, tractor units contain approximately 100 acres of Riparian Reserve. Harvest 

would occur on approximately 2/3 of the total defined width of Riparian Reserve (one site 

potential tree height from the stream channel), excluding the primary shade zone. Actual 

harvest would occur on about 67 acres, mainly along first and second order channels. Units 

307, 308 and 309 are the only exceptions in that they border the main channel of Coal Creek. 

Mitigation for units located along Coal Creek is the same as that recommended for the 

Proposed Action. The following mitigating measures are recommended for these units: 

 Unit 309: Harvest treatment should be excluded from the zone between the south bank 

of Coal Creek and the slope break. This would avoid disturbance of oversteepened 

slopes that would shed sediment directly into Coal Creek. 

 Units 303, 307, 308 and 309: Sediment transport would be monitored by the sale 

administrator. Any visible sediment input to Coal Creek originating from these units 

would require implementation of mitigating measures that would capture/prevent 

sediment transport recommended by a soil scientist, hydrologist, or engineer. 

Alternative 3 includes 260 acres within skyline units, and 84 acres within helicopter units. Actual 

harvest within Riparian Reserve would be approximately 173 and 56 acres, respectively. Total 

actual harvest within the Riparian Reserve under Alternative 3 would be approximately 386 

acres (refer to Table C-12). There is little change in the acres of Riparian Reserve harvest 

between the Proposed Action and Alternative 3; however, the logging system utilized shifts 

more toward skyline and helicopter systems as shown in Table C-12. 

Helicopter logging eliminates the ground disturbance associated with tractor logging and 

eliminates yarding corridors resulting from skyline yarding. Helicopter landings require larger 

areas (one to two acres) than log decks to accommodate landing clearances, fueling, and 

support vehicle parking. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-39 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Most of the units converted to helicopter logging under this alternative are in the upland areas 

that would be logged with tractors under the Proposed Action. As described under the 

Proposed Action, these areas would sustain direct effects of the logging system used but are 

not considered ―sensitive‖ to disturbance. Some of the units located in sensitive areas of the 

subwatershed described under the Proposed Action (Table C-13) are eliminated, or the logging 

system changed, under this alternative. Units 304 and 338 are eliminated; Units 307 and 308 

would be harvested by helicopter instead of utilizing tractors supported by construction of Roads 

Q1-Q4 (1.4 mi.). Table C-14 information has been modified to reflect these changes and is 

presented in Table C-15 below. 

Table C-15. Units Located in Sensitive Watershed Areas – Alternative 3 

Unit Number Logging

System

Acres Concern for Elevated Resource Damage

301, 302, 305, 306 Skyline 43 Proximity to Coal Creek; location within Coal Creek 

303, 309 Tractor 26 canyon on steep slopes

312, 315, 321 Skyline 80 Steep slopes adjacent to major tributaries of Coal 

Creek

Total Acres 149

Road construction/reconstruction mileage is substantially reduced under this alternative. Most 

of the reductions are to roads located in areas with low hydrologic impact sensitivity: upland 

areas near the watershed divide and along ridgelines. Road Q, as identified above, is an 

exception. Under Alternative 3 this road construction would be excluded, removing the most 

likely project-generated sediment source into Coal Creek. 

2. Cumulative Effects 

Under Alternative 3, the risk for cumulative adverse watershed effects remains small for all 

subwatersheds, except Coal Creek. Risk levels for the Coal Creek subwatershed are less than 

those in the Proposed Action due mainly to the reduction of road construction (refer to Table C8). Road density would be elevated slightly over existing levels but would remain in the 

―moderate‖ range for this risk factor. The relatively small reduction in harvest is not likely to 

have an impact on cumulative effect risk since tree removal is limited to thinning (see discussion 

under the Proposed Action) and since the acreage involved is less than 4% of the 

subwatershed. 

G. ALTERNATIVE 4 – DIRECT, INDIRECT, AND CUMULATIVE EFFECTS 

1. Direct and Indirect Effects 

Alternative 4 would eliminate new system road construction and reduce reconstruction to 1.3 

miles. Reconstruction includes 0.7 miles on an existing railroad grade; therefore, new road 

segments may need to be constructed at up to three first or second order streams that had 

previously been crossed with rail trestle bridges. This would result in loss of approximately one 

acre of the Riparian Reserve to permanent stream crossings. These crossings account for 

approximately 0.25 miles of new construction in the Coal Creek subwatershed, but would not 

substantially add to the existing road density (Table C-8, 9). In the other project subwatersheds 

there would be no increase in road density over existing levels. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-40 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Site-scale surface disturbance and indirect effects resulting from road construction or 

reconstruction (refer to discussion under the Proposed Action) would be eliminated except at 

the three stream crossings discussed above; and, except for road surfacing and removal of 

trees/vegetation on the existing road/rail templates. 

Many upland units would be harvested using helicopter methods and some would be eliminated 

(refer to project alternative maps in EIS). All of the units identified as being located in areas with 

high hydrologic resource sensitivity under Alternatives 2 and 3 would be eliminated from the 

harvest except for Units 312 and 315. Both of these units would be harvested by helicopters 

under this alternative, removing harvest disturbance associated with skyline logging on these 

units under Alternatives 2 and 3. 

In the upland units, direct disturbance would be avoided, except for landings, on 1,160 acres 

that would be helicopter harvested. Helicopter landings would account for approximately 20 to 

40 acres with each landing being one to two acres in size. Landings would not be located in the 

Riparian Reserve and are generally on ridgelines or divides; they represent a minor, scattered 

surface disturbance that would have little to no hydrologic impact. 

Alternative 4 contains the least riparian reserve harvest and utilizes skyline and helicopter 

loggings systems most (refer to Table C-11). The remaining ground-based harvest of 1441 

acres would be limited by the LRMP standard and guide to 15% of the activity area subject to 

detrimental soil condition (refer to Soils Report for additional detail). 

This represents roughly 216 acres of the ―tractor‖ ground under Alternative 4. Harvest by 

thinning rather than by regeneration represents a further reduction in surface disturbance simply 

by cutting and removing fewer trees and less slash. 

2. Cumulative Effects 

Alternative 4 presents the least ground disturbance of all of the Action Alternatives. Harvest 

acreage reductions between alternatives are low. Table C-9 shows only a 6% decrease 

between the Proposed Action and Alternative 4. Reductions in surface disturbance are gained 

by eliminating road construction and increasing use of helicopter logging systems. Table C-10 

shows the distribution of logging systems by harvest acres. 

Alternative 4, like the others, presents no risk of adverse watershed effects in any subwatershed 

but Coal Creek. Ground based equipment harvest would include 15% of the subwatershed. 

Surface impact due to harvest by skyline and helicopter yarding would be a minor contribution to 

overall watershed disturbance. 

Coal Creek subwatershed has been 40% regeneration harvested in the last 30 years, therefore 

Alternative 4 could still contribute to the risk of adverse cumulative watershed effects. Grant et 

al. (2008) suggested that harvest alone is relatively benign in increasing peak flows except at 

levels above 80% harvest. Roads are responsible for the bulk of peak flow increases. Since 

Alternative 4 avoids new road construction and any significant contribution to subwatershed 

road density, it is unlikely that peak flow increases from NFS land in Coal Creek would occur. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-41 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

VIII. REFERENCES 

Beschta, R. L., Dilby, G.W., Brown, G.W., Holtby, L.B., and Hodstra, T.D. 1987. Stream 

Temperature and Aquatic Habitat, Fisheries and Forestry Interactions, pp 192-232. University of 

Washington. 

Brown, G.W. 1972. An improved temperature model for small streams. Water Resources 

Research Institute Report 16. Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. 

Bureau of Land Management. 1994. Myrtlewood Resource Area, Coos Bay District, Middle 

Fork Coquille Analytical Watershed. 

Chen, G. K. 1991. South Fork Coquille Basin: Fisheries Summary. USDA Forest Service. 

Siskiyou National Forest, Powers Ranger District. Powers, Oregon. 17 pp. 

Furniss, M.J., Roelofs, T.D., Yee, C.S. 1991. Chapter 8, Road construction and maintenance. 

In: Meehan, W.R., ed. Influences of forest and rangeland management on salmonid fishes and 

their habitats. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 19:297-323. 

Gordon E. Grant, Sarah L. Lewis, Frederick J. Swanson, John H. Cissel, and Jeffrey J. 

McDonnell. 2008. Effects of forest practices on peak flows and consequent channel response 

in western Oregon: a state-of-science report. Pacific Northwest Research Station, General 

Technical Report. 

Moore, D. and S. Wondzell. 2005. Physical Hydrology and the Effects of Forest Harvesting in 

the Pacific Northwest: A Review. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 2001. South Fork Coquille River Total Maximum 

Daily Load Allocation and Water Quality Management Plan 

Oregon DEQ, 2004/2006. Oregon‘s 2006 Water Quality Status Assessment Report. 

Department of Environmental Quality, Portland, OR. 

Park, C. 1993. Shadow: Stream temperature management program users manual. Siskiyou 

National Forest, Grants Pass, Oregon. Version 2.3. 

Reid, L.M. 1993. Research and cumulative watershed effects. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR141. Albany, CA: USDA, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. 

Rosgen, David. 1996. Applied River Morphology. Copyright Wildland Hydrology Inc., Hilton 

Lee Silvey. Printed by Printed Media Companies, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Sakals, M.F.; Innes, J.L.;Wilford, D.J.; Sidle, R.C.; Grant, G.E. 2006. The role of forests in 

reducing hydrogeomorphic hazards. Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. 80(1):11-22.

Sidle,R.C.; Pearce, A.J.; O‘Loughin, C.L. 1985. Hillslope stability and land use. Water 

Resources Monograph No. 11. Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union. 

USDA Forest Service, 1993. ―Determining the Risk of Cumulative Watershed Effects Resulting 

from Multiple Activities‖.

 

USDA Forest Service, 2007. ―Aquatic Restoration Plan, South Fork Coquille Watershed‖. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-42 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

USDA Forest Service, 1989. ―Land and Resource Management Plan for the Siskiyou National 

Forest. 

USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management, 1994. Record of Decision for 

Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within 

the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl. 

USDA Forest Service, 1995. Powers Ranger District, Siskiyou National Forest, South Fork 

Coquille Watershed Analysis. 

Wemple, B.C.; Jones, J.A.; Grant, G.E. 1996. Channel network extension by logging roads in 

two basins, western Cascades, Oregon. Water Resources Bulletin. 32: 1195-1207.

Wemple, B.C.; Swanson, F.J.; Jones, J.A. 2001. Forest roads and geomorphic process 

interactions, Cascade Range, Oregon. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 26(2): 191–

204.

Website References

Wikipedia: ―Coquille River, Oregon‖ and ―Powers, Oregon‖

Oregon Department of Forestry: LocatOR website). 

Oregon Climate Service: Average Annual Precipitation; www.wrcc.dri.edu/pcpn/or.gif

Oregon‘s 2004/2006 Integrated Report Database: 

www.deq.state.or.us/wq/assessment/rpt0406

ATTACHMENT 1 

DATA SOURCES FOR GIS ANALYSIS – February, 2010 

Process for Road Density Calculations and Logging Activity by Time Period for ER TIMBER SALE GIS Support (Cole 

Belongie, GIS SPECIALIST- DRM/CSA 2) 

Road Density

1. Collected Road data for the 5 watershed areas (Coal Creek, Headwaters South Fork Coquille River, Mill 

Creek – South Fork Coquille River, Myrtle Creek, & Rock Creek) from Rogue River Siskiyou corporate data 

library (T\FS\Reference\GIS\r06_rrs\Data\Transportation.mdb\Transporation\RoadEvent & 

T\FS\Reference\GIS\r06_rrs\Data|WBD_SW_OR.gdb\rrsis_huc6) and BLM road data that covers highways 

and public roads (T\FS\Reference\GeoTool\r_06\DatabaseConnections\idb – sde.default as 

myself.sde\S_USA_OR.Transportation\S_USA_OR.HighwayBLM & S_USA_OR.RoadPublicBLM). 

2. Ran an “Identity” against the watersheds to find the miles of road for each watershed. Totaled the miles 

of road in each watershed and divided it by the area of the watershed. Broke down the numbers by the 

FS Roads, Other Roads, and All Roads combined for each watershed (table provide to resource staff). 

3. Ran a “Kernel Line Density” Analysis on the linear road features for the watersheds. Used an output cell 

size of 100 x 100 meters and a search radius of 1 mile. The output was done in square kilometers and 

square miles (map provided). Reclassified the results into 4 classes using Natural Breaks (Jenks). 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-43 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Logging Activity by Time Period

Data used for this analysis included:

Change Detection Map (created by PNW FS Lab for Northwest Forest Plan Interagency Regional 

Monitoring Program) Data used for years of 1977 – 2002, 

http://www.reo.gov/monitoring/reports/10yr-report/map-data/index.shtml

LANDSAT data 1979, 1989, 1999, 2005, & 2009 http://glovis.usgs.gov/

NAIP imagery 2006 Half Meter and 2009, 1 meter (ArcGIS Image Service published by USDA Forest 

Service RSAC) 

Rogue River – Siskiyou Corporate & Regional Forest Service GIS data listed above including FS 

ownership (T:\FS\Reference\GIS\r06_rrs\data_sis/ownership) 

Processes: 

1. The PNW change detection map displays the stand-replacing fires and harvests that occurred between 

1972 and 2002 in the Oregon portion of the area governed by the Northwest Forest Plan. These 

disturbances were detected through a classification-based change detection process that was performed 

using a series of Landsat images (both MSS and TM). Disturbances are both geo-referenced and 

temporally referenced in approximately 4-year intervals. It should be noted that this layer does not depict 

partial disturbance, nor does it show stand-replacing disturbance unrelated to fire and harvest (i.e. 

landslides, river course changes, etc.) Only the “Cut” disturbances were used for this analysis ranging 

from 1977 – 2002. 

2. The regional change detection raster data was “Extracted by Mask” to the 5 area watershed analysis area. 

The data was then converted to polygons and the pertinent years to the study were pulled out leaving 

only the 6 time periods that were relevant to the study (77-84, 84-88, 88-92, 92-96, 96-00, & 00-02). That 

data was also spilt to show only Non-FS land to calculate the acres of FS and Other logging activities. 

3. The Landsat data from various years was acquired to supplement the PNW change detection data and to 

verify the polygons for the study area. The data was also used along with the NAIP imagery to heads up 

digitize logging activity polygons for the years not covered by the PNW change detection data. The 

downloaded Landsat bands from various Landsat Satellites were combined for each year acquisition to 

display the data in False Color. The False Color display was utilized to show healthy vegetation in red and 

to show bare soil, urban areas, etc. in a blue – green color. This makes spotting clear cuts and logging 

activity fairly easy. The GIS function of “Composite Bands” was used to combine the relevant Landsat 

bands and the correct display combinations were retrieved from various Landsat and NASA informational 

websites. 

4. Potential logging activity was located on the Landsat images and then compared to the time period before 

and after to narrow down during which time period the logging happened. For example, if logging activity 

appeared on the 1999 Landsat imagery, the 1989 image was checked to see if that activity was identified 

then. If not, the 2005 image was checked to see if the area had started to regenerate, these checks 

allowed the time period and the validity of the logging activity to be verified. 

5. The NAIP imagery was also used to identify logging activity due to the good resolution and true color 

properties. This data was also used to refine the analysis. The 5 watershed area does contain some 

agriculture and small town environments. The NAIP imagery was used to differentiate the open 

agricultural land, wide river banks, and urban environments from the areas that could be potentially 

confused with logging activity from the Landsat imagery alone. 

6. Heads up digitizing was done at various scales (averaging 1:24,000) to collect the data mostly for the time 

period from 200-2009. An attribute was added to the digitized polygons to track and discern ownership. 

During this process none of the polygons from the PNW change detection map that overlapped these 

years (ex. 1996 – 2002) were doubled counted. During this process 30 more polygons were also added to 

the years of 1979-1999 (totaling 540 acres). These polygons were determined to have been missed by the 

large scale regional analysis, dropped due to the resolution of the data, or partial disturbances mentioned 

above. 
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-44 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

7. All data for logging activity was gathered and an “Identity” function was run on the data in GIS to populate 

it with the watershed name in which it fell. The acres were then calculated for each polygon using the 

“calculate geometry” function in GIS. All ownership and Non-FS land were calculated separately allowing 

logging activity from FS land to be easily determined. Acres of logging activity were totaled for each time 

period (provided spreadsheet) by watershed and then divided by the watershed acres to get the 

percentage of watershed area. 

Considerations: 

Some judgment calls were made during the digitizing process. The best available data was used to eliminate 

as many errors as possible. The scale and accuracy of all data used for the analysis was the limiting factor in 

the final results. The change detection map created by the PNW was relied on for a majority of the historic 

data. 

ATTACHMENT 2 

Products of GIS Analysis For Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

February, 2010

Logging Watershed Name Acres

Percentage 

of 

Watershed 

Acres Watershed Name

Watershed 

Acres

Cut 77-88 Coal Creek 319.74 3.21 Coal Creek 9967.09

Cut 88-00 Coal Creek 1465.42 14.70

Headwaters 

South Fork 

Coquille River 40172.39

Cut 99-05 Coal Creek 1233.62 12.38

Mill Creek-South 

Fork Coquille 

River 14058.37

Cut 05-09 Coal Creek 1113.09 11.17 Myrtle Creek 19987.13

Cut 77-88 Headwaters South Fork Coquille River 2601.79 6.48 Rock Creek 25543.11

Cut 88-00 Headwaters South Fork Coquille River 2026.16 5.04

Cut 99-05 Headwaters South Fork Coquille River 1419.72 3.53

Cut 05-09 Headwaters South Fork Coquille River 802.71 2.00

Cut 77-88 Mill Creek-South Fork Coquille River 954.97 6.79

Cut 88-00 Mill Creek-South Fork Coquille River 1069.35 7.61

Cut 99-05 Mill Creek-South Fork Coquille River 1010.70 7.19

Cut 05-09 Mill Creek-South Fork Coquille River 248.29 1.77

Cut 77-88 Myrtle Creek 858.25 4.29

Cut 88-00 Myrtle Creek 2143.64 10.73

Cut 99-05 Myrtle Creek 1867.09 9.34

Cut 05-09 Myrtle Creek 1562.64 7.82

Cut 77-88 Rock Creek 1546.85 6.06

Cut 88-00 Rock Creek 2961.10 11.59

Cut 99-05 Rock Creek 2657.66 10.40

Cut 05-09 Rock Creek 3137.86 12.28
Appendix C - Hydrology Report Page C-45 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Forest Service Roads

Watershed Name Miles of Road

Area of 

Watershed 

(Sq. Miles)

Road Density 

(miles per sq. 

mile)

Coal Creek 9.76 15.58 0.63

Headwaters South Fork Coquille River 166.58 62.81 2.65

Mill Creek-South Fork Coquille River 16.60 21.98 0.76

Myrtle Creek 2.18 31.25 0.07

Rock Creek 2.89 39.94 0.07

Other Roads

Watershed Name Miles of Road

Area of 

Watershed 

(Sq. Miles)

Road Density 

(miles per sq. 

mile)

Coal Creek 55.52 15.58 3.56

Headwaters South Fork Coquille River 100.15 62.81 1.59

Mill Creek-South Fork Coquille River 69.97 21.98 3.18

Myrtle Creek 126.45 31.25 4.05

Rock Creek 184.04 39.94 4.61

All Roads

Watershed Name Miles of Road

Area of 

Watershed 

(Sq. Miles)

Road Density 

(miles per sq. 

mile)

Coal Creek 65.28 15.58 4.19

Headwaters South Fork Coquille River 266.73 62.81 4.25

Mill Creek-South Fork Coquille River 86.57 21.98 3.94

Myrtle Creek 128.63 31.25 4.12

Rock Creek 186.93 39.94 4.68

Total Miles of Roads 734.14
APPENDIX D 

GEOLOGY& SOILS REPORT 

Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-1 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Geology & Soils Report 

/s/ Joni D. Brazier Date: September 30, 2011 

 Joni D. Brazier, Soil Scientist 

 Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest 

I. Introduction 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales project is located on the Powers Ranger District of the Rogue River – 

Siskiyou National Forest. The Planning Area is approximately 6,516 acres and is located approximately 4 

air miles southeast of the city of Powers, Oregon at the closest point, with a legal description of: 

Township 31 South, Range 10 West, Sections 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 29 and 30; and Township 31 

South, Range 11 West, Sections 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27; Willamette Meridian; Coos County, 

Oregon. Elevations range from 2,500 to 3,500 feet. It is located within a block of National Forest System 

lands which are surrounded by private timber production lands. 

The Proposed Action (Alternative 2) proposes to treat 3,314 acres on 75 units, with commercial harvest 

treatments. These harvest treatments would primarily include commercial thinning, but also include some 

small group selection (gap treatments) to treat laminated root rot (Phellinus weirii) pockets, eradication 

treatments mostly in the understory in areas infested with Port-Orford-cedar root disease (Phythophthora 

lateralis), and sanitation treatments along roadsides in areas with uninfested Port-Orford-cedar. In 

addition, 9 units totaling 363 acres are proposed for noncommercial thinning treatments. 

Proposed logging systems include ground-based on 2,119acres within 39 units, and skyline (cable) 

systems on 1,195 acres within 36 units. To access treatment units, there is proposed approximately 10.8 

miles of new Classified road construction (in 43 segments), construction and decommissioning of 0.3 

miles of temporary road, reconstruction of 6.1 miles of existing Classified road, and maintenance of 5.5 

miles of existing Classified road. 

This report will describe background geology and analyze effects to existing soil resources within the 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area, more specifically, soil productivity and slope stability. Strongly 

associated resources are described and analyzed in the following specialist‟s reports: 

a) Hydrology 

b) Silviculture 

II. Management Direction 

Land management direction is contained in the Siskiyou National Forest (SNF) Land and Resource 

Management Plan (LRMP) (UDSA Forest Service 1989) as amended by the Northwest Forest Plan 

(USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management 1994). The Eden Ridge Planning Area 

contains three Management Allocations. The majority of the area is allocated to Matrix, as carried 

forward from the 1989 LRMP as General Forest Prescription (Management Area (MA) 14), as well as 

NWFP Riparian Reserve and LRMP Management Prescription MA-11, and LRMP Prescription Special 

Wildlife Sites (MA-9). However no harvest treatments are proposed in MA-9 areas. 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-2 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The authorities governing Forest Service soil management are outlined in Forest Service Manual (FSM) 

2550 – Soil Management (WO Amendment 2500-2010-1, Effective November 23, 2010). Regional 

direction for maintaining and protecting the soil resource from detrimental disturbance to soil productivity 

is given in FSM 2500 – Watershed Protection and Management, Region 6 Supplement No. 2500-9801.

The Siskiyou National Forest (SNF) LRMP provides standards and guidelines (S&Gs) for soil and water 

resources on pages IV-44 through IV-48. In regard to soils and geology, they include S&Gs for 

detrimental soil conditions, soil erosion, mass movement, and large woody material. 

Detrimental soil conditions include compaction, displacement, puddling, and severely burned soil 

conditions. Detrimental soil conditions are further defined in FSM 2500, Region 6 Supplement No. 2500-

98-1. On the Siskiyou National Forest, the total area of detrimental soil conditions should not exceed 15 

percent of the total acreage within the activity area, including roads and landings (Siskiyou National 

Forest, 1989). 

Surface organic matter (duff, litter) is vital for protecting surface soils from erosion. Mineral soil 

exposure (loss of duff and litter) should not exceed the following limits (ibid.): 

o 40% mineral soil exposed on soils classed low-to-moderate erosion hazard; 

o 30% mineral soil exposed on soils classed high erosion hazard; 

o 15% mineral soil exposed on soils classed very high erosion hazard. 

Standards and Guidelines for large woody material stress the importance of addressing site-specific needs. 

In general, five to twenty pieces of large woody material per acre should remain on each site; material 

should be from a range of decomposition classes; each piece should be at least 20 inches in diameter at 

the large end and contain at least 40 cubic feet volume (ibid.). To better guide site-specific needs, 

additional tools based on Plant Association Groups (PAGs) and down wood information collected with 

stand exam data, are used to refine the large woody material prescriptions. Because the Forest‟s PAG 

data is at a finer scale, the Forest is currently using plant series data from new PAG classifications, 

delineated by geographical regions (Cascades, Siskiyous, Coast), for determining snag and down wood 

objectives on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest (refer to the Silvicultural Diagnosis, Appendix B, 

for more detail). 

In addition, the Northwest Forest Plan requires that all unstable areas and potentially unstable areas be 

managed as Riparian Reserve. 

III. Affected Environment 

A. Geology 

The South Fork Coquille River forms the boundary between two major physiographic provinces, the 

Coast Range Province to the north and the Klamath Mountain Province to the south (USDI Bureau of 

Land Management, 1994). The Eden Ridge Planning Area is just within the south end of the Coast Range 

Province. The Planning Area is almost entirely overlying the Tyee Formation. A small sliver of the 

Umpqua Formation is within the very northwest corner of the Planning Area; however no activities are 

proposed in this area in any of the alternatives, therefore it will not be discussed further in this report. 

The Tyee Formation is prominent along the Central Oregon coast from approximately Salem southward 

to Myrtle Point (Beaulieu, 1971). South of Myrtle Point, isolated outcrops cap various ridge tops along 

the axis of a major syncline fold (ibid.), and the Eden Ridge Planning Area is an example of this (see Map 

D-1). 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-3 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The Tyee Formation is of middle Eocene age (approximately 49 million years), and is made up of thick 

marine sediments deposited in a forearc basin from rivers with watersheds that extended into the interior 

of Idaho (Orr et al., 1992). Tyee sandstone is considered “arkosic”, or rich in white mica, quartz, and 

potassium feldspar, and matches the minerals of the Idaho batholith (Orr et al., 1992). 

It is composed of thick rhythmically bedded, cliff-forming, buff to greenish-gray sandstone with thin 

interbedded dark colored mudstone; the sandstone is composed of medium to coarse-grained, micaceous, 

arkosic, and lithic wacke (Beaulieu, 1971; Meyer & Amaranthus, 1979). Some conglomerates of 

andesite, quartzite, chert, and basalt as well as local coal beds are also located in this formation (ibid.). 

Map D-1. Geology of the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area (data from DOGAMI, 2009) 

B. Slope Stability 

The Tyee Formation exhibits northerly strikes and dips gently, meaning that it has not been as greatly 

folded and faulted as, for example, much of the Umpqua Formation it overlies (Beaulieu, 1971). This is 

exhibited in the relatively gently sloping topography of Eden Ridge over the majority of the Planning 

Area. Very steep slopes and cliffs are found bordering the gently sloping sandstone slabs, and are 

associated with fluvial processes where drainage systems have downcut through the resistant sandstone 

layers as the landmass has been subjected to tectonic uplift, which is still occurring. Soils on these steep 

slopes have a tendency to fail as debris flows (USDA Forest Service, 1995). 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-4 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Where Tyee bluffs overlie softer siltstones, rock fall is common, and benches within the bluffs often 

result from large naturally-occurring deep-seated slumps and transitional failures (ibid.). An example of 

this can be seen in Figure C-2 within the Hydrology Report, which shows an oblique view of eroding 

bluffs and benches on the northern side of the Planning Area in the Myrtle Creek subwatershed. 

The slopes to the north of and going below the 448 Road in Section 18 were examined for slope 

instability based on the indication this area is a deep seated slump (Meyer and Amaranthus, 1979). 

Benchy terrain was encountered with locations of very small seeps/sag ponds toward the western end. No 

evidence of current instability was found however, and a review of the recently clear-cut private lands to 

the north, downslope and within the same headwaters of Myrtle Creek, indicate this is not an active area 

of instability, though ancient movement gives the terrain its current shape. 

An example of inner gorge instability is found along first order streams within the Planning Area on the 

southwest end (section 26, area of Proposed Action Units 307, 308), where streams are flowing through 

steep, V-shaped inner gorge systems. Flows are regularly cutting the toeslopes of these steep walls, 

resulting in localized bank failures and slumping, and trees tipping into and across the channel. A review 

of the forest landslide layer has no records of landslides on the forest in the Planning Area, and none were 

found during field reviews. 

B. Soils 

Soils in the Planning Area are developing from Tyee sandstone. Elevations range from approximately 

2,080 to 3,540 feet, with average annual precipitation ranging from 100 to 150 inches, predominantly as 

rain in the winter. A strong maritime influence results in typically moderate year-round temperatures. 

Map D-2 displays the soil map units within the Planning Area, and Table D-1 lists these map units with 

some soil characteristics (USDA SCS, 1989). 

Map D-2. Soils of the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area (data from USDA SCS, 1989) 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-5 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table D-1. Soil Characteristics of Soil Map Units within the Eden Ridge Planning Area 

Map 

Unit

Map Unit Name Soil Characteristics

14F Digger-PreacherUmpcoos 

association, 50-

80% slopes

Digger (30%): Moderately deep; well drained; surface - gravelly loam/6” depth; subsoil 

- gravelly, v. gravelly, and v. cobbly loams; located on side slopes.

Preacher (30%): Deep; well drained; surface – loam/14” depth; subsoil – clay loam; 

located on ridgetops & side slopes.

Umpcoos (25%): Shallow; well drained; surface – v. gravelly sandy loam/3” depth; 

subsoil – v. gravelly sandy loam; located on very narrow ridgetops & steep side slopes 

along drainageways.

15F Digger-UmpcoosRock outcrop 

association; 

50-90% slopes

Digger (30%): Moderately deep; well drained; surface - gravelly loam/6” depth; subsoil 

- gravelly, v. gravelly, and v. cobbly loams; located on concave side slopes.

Umpcoos (25%): Shallow; well drained; surface – v. gravelly sandy loam/3” depth; 

subsoil – v. gravelly sandy loam; located on convex side slopes above rock outcrop & 

narrow ridgetops.

Rock outcrop (25%): Hard, fractured sandstone located on precipitous side slopes 

along drainageways & on very narrow ridgetops.

24 Gardiner sandy 

loam; 

0-3% slopes

Gardiner (85%): Deep; well drained; surface – sandy loam/9” depth; subsoil – loamy 

fine sand; located on floodplains.

33 Kirkendall silt 

loam; 

0-3% slopes

Kirkendall (80%): Deep; well drained; surface – silt loam/7”depth; subsoil – silt loam; 

located on floodplains.

44E Preacher-Blachly 

association; 

30-60% slopes

Preacher (60%): Deep; well drained; surface – loam/14”depth; subsoil – clay loam; 

located on broad ridgetops and benches of mountains.

Blachly (25%): Deep; well drained; surface – silty clay loam/7” depth; subsoil – silty 

clay; located on broad ridgetops and benches of mountains.

46D PreacherBohannon loams; 

3-30% slopes

Preacher (50%): Deep; well drained; surface – loam/14”depth; subsoil – clay loam; 

located on concave areas on benches, side slopes and broad ridgetops.

Bohannon (30%): Moderately deep; well drained; surface – loam and gravelly 

loam/11” depth; subsoil – gravelly loam; located on convex side slopes.

46E PreacherBohannon loams; 

30-60% slopes

Preacher (40%): Deep; well drained; surface – loam/14” depth; subsoil – clay loam; 

located on concave side slopes.

Bohannon (30%): Moderately deep; well drained; surface – loam and gravelly 

loam/11” depth; subsoil – gravelly loam; located on ridgetops and convex side slopes.

49E Remote loam; 30-

50% slopes

Remote (75%): Deep; well drained; surface – loam/5” depth; subsoil – gravelly & v. 

gravelly clay loam; located on side slopes of mountains.

49F Remote loam; 50-

75% slopes

Remote (75%): Deep; well drained; surface – loam/5” depth; subsoil – gravelly & v. 

gravelly clay loam; located on side slopes of mountains.

50D Remote-DiggerPreacher 

complex; 12-30% 

slopes

Remote (35%): Deep; well drained; surface – loam/5” depth; subsoil – gravelly & v. 

gravelly clay loam; located on narrow ridgetops & steeper side slopes.

Digger (30%): Moderately deep; well drained; surface - gravelly loam/6” depth; subsoil 

- gravelly, v. gravelly, and v. cobbly loams; located on narrow ridgetops & steeper side 

slopes.

Preacher (25%): Deep; well drained; surface – loam/14”depth; subsoil – clay loam; 

located on broad ridgetops & less sloping side slopes.

50E Remote-DiggerPreacher 

complex; 30-50% 

slopes

Remote (35%): Deep; well drained; surface – loam/5” depth; subsoil – gravelly & v. 

gravelly clay loam; located on convex side slopes & narrow ridgetops.

Digger (25%): Moderately deep; well drained; surface - gravelly loam/6” depth; subsoil 

- gravelly, v. gravelly, and v. cobbly loams; located on convex side slopes & narrow 

ridgetops.

Preacher (20%): Deep; well drained; surface – loam/14”depth; subsoil – clay loam; 

located on concave, less sloping areas.

58F Umpcoos-Rock 

outcrop 

association; 70-

99% slopes

Umpcoos (40%): Shallow; well drained; surface – v. gravelly sandy loam/3” depth; 

subsoil – v. gravelly sandy loam; located on ridgetops & in more gently sloping areas.

Rock outcrop (35%): Hard, fractured sandstone located on steeper areas along 

drainageways & on upper slopes of mountains.
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-6 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

D. Soil Productivity 

The main General Soil Map Units in the Planning Area are 10 – Preacher-Bohannon; 11 – DiggerPreacher-Remote; and 13 – Umpcoos-Rock outcrop-Digger. Natural productivity is rated as High for 

General Map Unit 10, Moderate for General Map Unit 11, and Low for General Map Unit 13 (USDA 

SCS, 1989). Refer to the Silviculture Report for additional discussion of soil productivity, including 

maps displaying the location of soils based on productivity, and the vegetation communities they are 

supporting. 

The following table (Table D-2) displays the relative sensitivities of each of the soil map units in the 

Planning Area to disturbance (Web Soil Survey: http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/), based off of 

various soil properties. The higher the rating, the higher the sensitivity the soil has to disturbances that 

can affect soil productivity. 

Table D-2. Sensitivities of Soils in the Planning Area to Selected Disturbances 

Map 

Unit

Site Degradation 

Susceptibility

Soil Compaction 

Resistance

Soil Rutting 

Hazard

Erosion Hazard 

(Road/Trail)

Erosion Hazard 

(Off-Road, OffTrail)

Soil 

Restoration 

Potential

14F Highly susceptible Low Severe Severe Very severe High

15F Highly susceptible Low Severe Severe Very severe High

24 Moderately 

susceptible

Moderate Moderate Slight Slight High

33 Slightly susceptible Moderate Severe Slight Slight High

44E Highly susceptible Low Severe Severe Severe High

46D Moderately 

susceptible

Low Severe Severe Moderate High

46E Highly susceptible Low Severe Severe Severe High

49E Highly susceptible Low Severe Severe Severe High

49F Highly susceptible Low Severe Severe Very severe High

50D Moderately 

susceptible

Low Severe Severe Moderate High

50E Highly susceptible Low Severe Severe Severe High

58F Highly susceptible Low Slight Severe Very severe Moderate

The following paragraphs give a brief explanation of each rating, summarized from the Descriptions in 

the Web Soil Survey. Refer to the complete descriptions for more detail. 

Site Degradation Susceptibility: Rates each soil for its susceptibility for soil degradation to occur during 

disturbance, seen conversely is the soil‟s buffering capacity to resist change. Ratings represent relative risk of water 

and wind erosion, salinization, sodification, organic matter and nutrient depletion and /or redistribution, and loss of 

adequate rooting depth. 

Soil Compaction Resistance: Rates each soil for its resistance to compaction, which is predominantly 

influenced by moisture content, depth to saturation, percent of sand, silt, and clay, soil structure, organic matter 

content, and content of coarse fragments. 

Soil Rutting Hazard: This rating indicates the hazard of surface rut formation through the operation of 

forestland equipment. Soil displacement and puddling may occur simultaneously with rutting. “Slight” 

indicates soil is subject to little or no rutting; “Moderate” indicates rutting is likely; “Severe” indicates that ruts 

form readily. 

Erosion Hazard (Road/Trail): Ratings indicate the hazard of soil loss from un-surfaced roads and trails. 

Ratings are based on soil erosion factor K, slope, and content of rock fragments. “Slight” indicates that little or 

no erosion is likely; “Moderate” indicates some erosion is likely, and roads/trails may require occasional 

maintenance, and that simple erosion-control measures are needed; “Severe” indicates that erosion is expected, 

roads/trails require frequent maintenance, and costly erosion-control measures are needed. 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-7 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Erosion Hazard (Off-Road, Off-Trail): Ratings indicate the hazard of soil loss from off-road and off-trail 

areas after disturbance activities that expose the soil surface. Ratings are based on slope and soil erosion factor 

K, with soil loss caused by sheet or rill erosion where 50 to 75 percent of the surface has been exposed by 

logging, grazing, mining, or other kinds of disturbance. 

Soil Restoration Potential: Rates each soil for its inherent ability to recover from degradation (i.e. soil 

resilience). Soil resilience is dependent upon adequate stores of organic matter, good soil structure, low salt and 

sodium levels, adequate nutrient levels, microbial biomass and diversity, adequate precipitation for recovery, 

and other soil properties. 

Overall, the soils within the Eden Ridge Planning Area are sensitive to disturbances that can have an

adverse effect to soil productivity. Interestingly, these soils also show an inherent ability to recover well 

from these disturbances, either naturally or through implementation of restoration activities. This has 

been apparent in field reviews throughout the Eden Ridge area looking at the residual effects of past 

actions, discussed below. 

The Eden Ridge Planning Area was extensively railroad logged in the 1920s and 1930s utilizing steam 

donkeys, and was likely covered in slash or burned. There is evidence indicating a wildfire burned 

through northern areas of the Planning Area as well during these historical harvest operations. 

Field reviews looking at soil condition from these past impacts were conducted throughout the Planning 

Area, particularly focusing in stands being proposed for treatments with this project. Within the stands, 

outside of railroad grade impacts, no detrimental disturbance still measurable affecting site productivity 

was found. Decomposing organic litter is providing a consistent blanket across the forest floor to protect 

surface soils from erosion. Occasional evidence of soil displacement from gouging along a steam donkey 

trail was found, but soil pits and shovel resistance tests, as well as observation of vegetation cover, did not 

indicate a measureable difference inside and outside of that past direct disturbance 60 to 80 years later. 

Railroad grades, on the other hand, while in places are supporting large trees, are predominantly still 

heavily compacted and inhibiting or slowing vegetation establishment. These field observations validate 

the resiliency these soils have to disturbance and their ability to recover naturally over time when given 

the opportunity, particularly considering the high level of disturbance experienced in the 1930s and 40s. 

Recent stand management has occurred in the Planning Area, though none of these commercial timber 

sale units are within proposed stands for this project. An area that has experienced recent thinning using 

skyline harvest systems was reviewed on the western end of the Planning Area. Soil sampling through 

the stand did not reveal any detrimental disturbance from the recent commercial thinning activity, let 

alone any measurable cumulative impacts to site productivity from the historical steam donkey/railroad 

logging. 

IV. Effects Mechanisms and Analysis Framework 

A. Slope Stability 

Slope stability can be impacted by management actions, through actions that alter soil holding strength of 

root systems through vegetation changes, change drainage patterns through soil movement or compaction, 

or undermine slopes. Specific activities as related to the Eden Ridge Timber Sales project include road 

construction and reconstruction, silviculture treatments, and logging systems. 

Roads 

Road building in forest land is widely recognized as one of the primary causes of debris avalanches in 

managed forests (Sidle, 1980). Roads change the surface and subsurface water flow patterns, which can 

cause concentrations of flow and soil saturation where it didn‟t exist before, leading to a slope failure. 

Roads have the potential to accelerate slumps, earthflows, and possibly creep landslides (Megahan, 1986). 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-8 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The added weight of fill material on steep slopes, combined at times with improperly routed water that 

causes saturation of the fill slope, often results in eventual failure. Also roadcuts in steep, unstable terrain 

can trigger debris avalanches by removing downslope support. 

Road maintenance provides an opportunity to minimize risk of slope failures along road prisms, by 

providing proper drainage, and recognizing and improving areas that are recognized to be at risk of 

failure. 

Silviculture Treatments 

Through increasing the depth of the saturated zone in the soil, and reducing root strength, the removal of 

trees can increase slope failures (Megahan, 1986). When the majority of vegetation is removed, such as 

in a clearcut, the amount of water in the soil profile is increased for a time due to a reduction in plant 

uptake and transpiration, as well as reduction in canopy interception. Roots increase the strength of soil 

by helping to bind soil particles together, and to reinforce a soil mass by anchoring it to the underlying 

bedrock, particularly in shallower soils (Ziemer, 1981a). When trees die or are cut, the roots die and 

decay, resulting in a decline of reinforcement by the roots; approximately 50% of the original root 

reinforcement is lost within 2 years after deforestation, with 90% gone within 9 years (Ziemer, 1981a). 

However, if only some of the vegetation is removed, such as in a thinning, the loss of root strength is 

greatly reduced. This is because the remaining trees‟ root systems are still there to anchor the soils, and 

they take advantage of the reduction in competition by expanding their root systems (Ziemer, 1981b). 

Based on the silvicultural treatments proposed (thinning), it is not expected that there would be a 

measurable effect that would result in an increase in slope failures in the Planning Area (refer to effects 

discussion, below). 

B. Soil Productivity 

Soil productivity can be impacted by management activities, through actions that reduce effective ground 

cover, displace soil, cause soil compaction or otherwise adversely impact soil structure, destabilize slopes, 

and change nutrient cycling processes through vegetation and down wood manipulation. Specific 

activities as related to the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project include road construction and reconstruction 

(including temporary road construction and decommissioning), silviculture treatments, activity fuels 

treatments, and use of heavy equipment logging systems.

Roads 

Of any of the forest management activities being proposed with this project, the road system being 

used/reconstructed/constructed is expected to result in the greatest opportunity for soil erosion per unit 

area (Megahan, 1986).

 Existing System Roads (and historical railroad grades) 

Existing system roads are considered a long term commitment of the soil resource to something other than 

soil productivity. The use of existing system roads during the implementation of this project would not 

result in a change to the current condition of the soils that are committed to supporting the transportation 

system. However, where system roads have been closed for a period of years, some level of road 

reconstruction and maintenance would be necessary to make them suitable for treatment access. 

Road (and railroad grade) reconstruction generally requires the removal of vegetation and the reshaping 

of the former road prism, possibly including ditches, from a road in disrepair. The road may have 

achieved some degree of restoration from past use, but whatever that degree, it would be reversed. The 

conditions of roads needing reconstruction vary greatly, from those with near complete restoration to 

those with hardly any. Reconstruction of these routes, however, has far less impact to soil productivity 

(since it had long since been comprised) than to native soil sites, and that is the benefit of reusing them 

over new construction. Nonetheless, soil is compacted and short-term erosion from newly exposed soils 

is likely. 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-9 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

New System Roads 

The construction of new system roads would be a long term commitment of the soil resource to 

something other than soil productivity. Road construction requires the removal of vegetation and the 

reshaping of the ground to form a road prism. Minimal disturbance would be on flat terrain where surface 

soils would be displaced during grading operations, and the surface compacted. On slopes, cut-and-fill 

slopes would be created, displacing a much greater amount of surface and subsurface soil and potentially 

bedrock, and affecting a wider area along the route due to creation of cut slopes and fill slopes. 

 Temporary Roads and Landings 

Construction of temporary roads (and associated landings) detrimentally compact soils and contribute to 

erosion by allowing water to run overland rather than naturally infiltrate at the point of raindrop impact, 

resulting in indirect impacts on pathways for water movement. Properly designed and constructed 

temporary roads require structures for channeling this now-redirected water flow to desired locations. 

Temporary roads and landings are expected to have an irretrievable reduction in soil productivity since 

they are bladed (soil is mixed and displaced) and compacted. Even once rehabilitated, the soil profile is 

modified to a degree that may take many decades to return to the productive state of the undisturbed 

forest soils adjacent to it. Landings also, with their likely deep compaction, and soil mixing from 

construction and recurrent disturbance are expected to produce irretrievable reductions in soil 

productivity. 

Nonetheless, their use is temporary, with the expectation that following use they would be returned to the 

highest degree of productivity reasonably achievable. 

Silvicultural Treatments 

Silvicultural treatments being proposed include: commercial thinning (i.e. “variable density thinning”) 

and non-commercial thinning. Variable density thinning may include the creation of irregular shaped 

openings (“gaps”), no-thin areas (“skips”), and wide-thin gaps and roadside sanitation that focus on 

selectively thinning to manage Port-Orford root disease issues. These actions have the potential to affect 

soil productivity, and organic matter and large woody material through changes to vegetation. 

Detrimental disturbance as it relates to these silvicultural treatments will be discussed under Harvest 

Systems, below. 

Vegetation uptakes nutrients from the soil in a mostly soluble, inorganic form, and converts them to an 

organic form for metabolism. Most of a tree‟s nutrients are distributed in the leaves, twigs, and branches; 

as the tree discards leaves, branches, bark, or dies, the plants organic nutrients are returned to the soil. 

Organic material returned to the soil is decomposed and the nutrients are mineralized (i.e., converted to an 

inorganic form) by soil organisms depending on the soil‟s physical conditions (such as moisture, 

temperature, aeration, etc...) (Farve and Napper, 2009). All of the silvicultural treatments manipulate to 

various extents the vegetation component that is a part of the nutrient cycle of the soils it is directly 

growing on. However, since all of these treatments maintain a component of the original forest system, 

including some overstory vegetation and the forest floor organic litter layer (i.e., they are not harvest 

systems such as clear-cuts that drastically change the vegetation component), it is not expected that direct 

or indirect effects to soil productivity as it relates to nutrient cycling would be measurable. 

In the forest, precipitation is intercepted, retained, and redistributed by the tree canopy. Water ultimately 

evaporates from the canopy (interception) or drips through (through-fall) or runs down the stems (stem 

flow) to the forest floor. Tree canopies intercept precipitation, moderating and metering its fall to the soil 

surface. They also redirect this intercepted moisture toward the drip line of the tree, and away from the 

base of the trunk. In extreme rainfall conditions in the absence of deep-crowned tree cover, such as 

following clear-cut or shelterwood logging, the rate of water striking the surface could exceed the rate of 

the soil‟s ability to absorb it, with localized sheet erosion a likely result. 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-10 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Such effects are generally only relevant to degrees of canopy removal associated with clear-cutting or 

shelterwood logging, or high intensity stand replacement fire. The treatments in the Eden Ridge Timber 

Sales Project, however, are variable density thinning, or select removal of diseased or susceptible trees 

forming small gaps, where a measurable direct or indirect effect of this sort is unlikely, since there would 

still be various levels of an overstory component. 

As discussed in Chapter II, prescribed amounts of snags and downed wood would be left on a per-acre 

basis consistent with historical fire regime effects and plant association (plant series) capabilities where 

existing amounts are below such levels. However, this mitigation is only effective where such snags are 

available in adequate numbers. Where they are not so available, there would be an opportunity to create 

more from remaining live trees. Snag creation would have a positive effect on long-term soil productivity 

since snags are a source of future down logs, which are a critical component of long-term soil 

productivity. 

There is a limit to this mitigation, however. Snag creation invariably creates “hard” snags, not those in 

advanced stages of decay. Ideally, a stand would have representatives of snags in all stages of decay at 

any one time. Since timber management activities exert a disproportional impact on soft snags (since 

they are most likely to be felled as hazards) than hard snags (more likely to be retained as non-hazards), 

and they can only be replaced with created or retained hard snags, the inevitable result is an imbalance 

between the number of snags in advanced decay (near-term down logs) and hard snags (likely to remain 

hard as either a snag or down log) for a few decades. 

Harvest (Logging) Systems 

Logging systems (ground-based, skyline-cable, and aerial) have the potential to adversely impact soil 

productivity through detrimental compaction, displacement, erosion, and loss of effective ground 

cover/organic matter. Ground-based systems typically have the greatest potential for effects, whereas 

aerial systems typically have the least potential for adverse effects. 

Ground-based Systems (tractor, rubber-tired skidder, harvester-forwarder) 

Ground-based logging systems have the greatest potential to adversely affect short and long-term soil 

productivity. Logging and other equipment can compact and „puddle‟ soils over which they operate 

(landings, skid roads, roadways, etc). Tractor, or ground based logging has the greatest potential to cause 

soil compaction, which decreases soil volume and pore space and modifies soil structure and results in a 

decrease in gas, water, and nutrient exchange, slows root penetration, and can aggravate soil drought, 

especially in Mediterranean climates such as that of SW Oregon (Atzet et al., 1989), though soil drought 

may be less of a concern here where there is a much stronger maritime weather influence. Puddling is 

the destruction of soil structure, primarily when wet, by severe compaction, to the point where ruts or 

imprints are made and the soil structure has been so destroyed as to prevent water from infiltrating into 

the soil profile. 

Compaction may inhibit occupation of the soil by organisms that assist in the decomposition of wood to 

soil organic material that improves site productivity, and help to aerate the soil. Compaction also 

possibly inhibits the growth of beneficial fungi (mycorrhizae) that provide nutrients to plant roots 

(Keslick, 1997). Ectomycorrhizal fungi form an essential interface between soil and trees. They usually 

colonize more than 90 percent of the feeder roots of host plants (Goodman and Trofymow, 1998). Plant 

development is also restricted in compacted soils due to poor aeration and impeded root growth. As a 

result, soil productivity is adversely affected (Floch, 1988). 

Soil moisture content, soil characteristics, and force affect the level of compaction that can occur from 

harvest systems. Fine-textured soils dominated by expandable clay minerals, and well-graded, coarser 

textured soils are most likely to compact when moist, whereas finer textured soils dominated by nonexpandable clay minerals, and of poorly graded, coarser textured soils such as most pumice and coarse 

ash soils, are less affected by soil moisture (Atzet et al, 1989).
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-11 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Compaction from logging activities is now routinely mitigated, by designating and minimizing the 

number of skid trails used; by requiring logging equipment to use only those roads and skid trails created 

during past timber harvest where feasible; using equipment and or techniques shown effective to prevent 

or minimize compaction (such as low psi (pounds per square inch) or operating on slash to disperse 

weight); and allowing operations only during conditions when soils are unlikely to be detrimentally 

compacted beyond the 15% LRMP allowances (such as on dry or frozen ground; or over deep snow with 

a firm base). These mitigations have been proven successful and are applied to all Action Alternatives in 

this project. 

Detrimental displacement is defined as the removal of more than 50% of the soil‟s „A‟ horizon (topsoil) 

from an area greater than 100 square feet that is at least 5 feet in width. This displacement occurs by 

natural means, such as heavy rains that cause erosion on exposed surfaces (such as skid trails and skyline 

corridors), or by mechanical means such as churning tractor treads or dragging of logs across the ground. 

Erosion is a form of detrimental displacement. The majority of erosion occurs by sheet erosion (the even 

removal of thin layers of soil by water moving across extended areas of gently sloping land) and is 

difficult to detect, as there are no dramatic effects to alert one to its occurrence. Rills and gullies, 

however, are dramatic examples of erosion that are easily detected. 

Detrimental displacement is routinely mitigated by designating and minimizing the number of skid roads 

and skyline corridors used; requiring a minimum of one-end log suspension to prevent soil gouging; and 

placing percent slope limitations on ground-based harvest equipment. Additionally, erosion associated 

with skid trails and skyline corridors can be effectively mitigated by the placement of cross drains (water 

bars); drainage dips; placement of down wood and slash; and erosion control seeding (or any vegetative 

cover on exposed soil). These measures have been used for many decades and there has been 

considerable monitoring and demonstration of their effectiveness. 

Large woody material, such as large logs, and standing snags (future large down logs), are critical 

components in the development and retention of productive soils. Snags are routinely felled if they are 

believed to be a safety hazard to operations. Operation of logging equipment can mechanically 

damage/destroy downed logs in advanced stages of decay. Logging and burning has the potential to 

eliminate these features, particularly those in advanced degrees of decay, from the landscape if care isn‟t 

taken to retain them in adequate sizes, numbers, and distribution across the landscape. 

Skyline-Cable Systems 

Using cables to suspend one or both ends of logs as they are pulled from the stand to the landing largely 

eliminates the potential for compaction and puddling within the stand. What remains, however, is the 

potential for detrimental soil displacement if one or both ends of the log are dragged across the ground 

from the stump to the landing. Full suspension (where the log is lifted entirely off the ground during 

yarding to the landing) and one-end suspension (where one end of the log is allowed to drag along the 

ground), are effective mitigations that are now regularly employed to minimize detrimental displacement, 

as well as the use of a pre-designated skid trail or skyline corridor layout. Skyline systems typically result 

in approximately 5% detrimental soil conditions. 

 Aerial Systems 

Helicopter logging has the least impact of all logging systems on soil productivity. This is a form of full 

suspension, with no part of the log being drug across the ground, except for very short distances as logs 

are lifted off the ground from a central point between logs. Such logging eliminates any potential for 

equipment-generated detrimental soil displacement, compaction, or puddling and their attendant erosion 

effects. Helicopter logging does, however, require larger, though fewer landings, with the associated 

compaction and displacement effects (typically around 2%). 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-12 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

An exception to this is the practice of pre-bunching in helicopter units. Pre-bunching is the short-distance 

yarding (using small and lightweight yarding equipment) of numerous logs to a reduced number of 

collection sites within the stand where they would then be picked up by the helicopter. The potential soil 

benefit is the elimination of skid roads, with their multiple soil compacting and soil displacing passes by 

heavy equipment with logs in tow; but the practice still induces some level of soil compaction and 

displacement for short distances in single passes. 

Activity Fuels Treatments 

Activity fuels treatment refers to the slash and accumulated fuel resulting from the proposed density 

management treatments. Several methods of activity fuels treatment are being proposed, and include the 

following: burning tree tops that were yarded to landing sites, and burning materials accumulated by 

harvest activity that is piled. 

 Leave Tops Attached 

This treatment requires that the top of the tree be yarded to the landing along with the last log (or whole 

tree if small enough). In some small tree cases, this practice may mitigate the potential for detrimental 

soil displacement from the dragging log end as the limbs of the top cushion and elevate that end and 

prevent soil gouging and displacement. 

With the increased interest in harvesting biomass, there has been an increased need to understand how 

removing the branches and needles from the site might be affecting short and long-term soil productivity. 

Most studies have been based on models and/or nutrient budgets which forecast likely effects; however 

long-term field studies have also been started. In a review of literature regarding the effects of whole tree 

harvesting on soil productivity, Farve and Napper (2009) refer to a summary of effects by Waring and 

Running (2007: 214) that found that “a whole-tree harvest can remove as much as three times the 

nutrients as compared to a conventional bole-only harvest....however, since the soil nutrient 

(belowground) pool contains most of the nutrient capital of a forest ecosystem (by several orders of 

magnitude), in general, removal of the whole tree during timber harvesting should result in only a small 

percentage of nutrient loss from the forest ecosystem.” With implementation of the Eden Ridge Timber 

Sales Project, where only a portion of trees are being removed instead of all the trees, the impacts of 

leaving tops attached is expected to be even less, and likely immeasurable. Therefore this will not be 

analyzed further. 

Handpile burning 

Heat produced during the combustion of aboveground fuels (i.e., dead and live vegetation, litter, duff) is 

transferred to the soil surface and downward through the soil by several heat transfer processes (radiation, 

convection, conduction, vaporization, and condensation). As heat is transferred downward into and 

through the soil, it raises the temperature of the soil. The greatest increase in temperature occurs at, or 

near, the soil surface. Within short distances downward in the soil, however, temperatures can rapidly 

diminish so that within 2.0 to 3.9 inches (5 to 10 cm) of the soil surface the temperatures are scarcely 

above ambient temperature (Neary et al., 2005). 

Typical physical effects to soil that can occur from fire include changes to soil structure (particularly as a 

result of loss of organic matter), changes in porosity and bulk density, loss of cover (i.e., canopy, litter, 

duff), water repellency, and runoff and erosion vulnerability. 

Organic matter plays a key role in soil structure in the upper part of the mineral soil at the duff-upper Ahorizon interface, in that it acts as a glue that helps hold mineral soil particles together to form aggregates. 

Fire can impact the organic matter content in soil by killing the living organisms at temperatures as low as 

122 to 140oF, and by destructively distilling to completely consuming nonliving organic matter at 

temperatures of 224oF and 752oF, respectively (Neary et al., 2005). 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-13 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Loss of the organic matter component in the soil breaks down the soil structure, which in turn results in a 

reduction in the amount and size of soil pore space. When the soil structure collapses, it particularly 

reduces the amount of macropore spaces, and increases the bulk density of the soil, resulting in a loss to 

soil productivity. 

When fire results in the loss of canopy, litter, and duff cover, it exposes the mineral soil to erosion 

processes. The litter and duff layers also act as an insulator that protects the underlying soil layers from 

heating, and if they are consumed, it exposes the mineral soil to greater soil heating impacts. Fireinduced water repellency may occur when combustion of organic matter vaporizes hydrophobic organic 

substances that then move downward in the mineral soil and condenses into a water repellent layer. This 

in turn increases risk of soil erosion. Water repellent layers have the greatest impact within the first year 

after fire, as they tend to break down fairly quickly. 

Typical chemical effects to soil that can occur from fire include nutrient losses, cation exchange capacity 

loss, and changes to pH. Nitrogen is the most limiting nutrient in wildland ecosystems, and as such 

requires special consideration when managing fire. Nitrogen loss increases with increasing temperatures 

through volatilization, with no loss of N at temperatures below 392oF all the way up to complete loss of N 

at temperatures above 932oF (Neary et al., 2005). The amount of N lost is generally proportional to the 

amount of organic matter combusted, and burning during moist litter and soil conditions have shown a 

decrease in the amount of total N lost compared to dry conditions (DeBano et al., 1979; cited in Neary et 

al. 2005). 

Nitrogen that is not volatized either remains as part of the unburned fuels or it is converted to highly 

available NH4-N that remains in the soil (DeBano et al., 1979; Covington and Sackett 1986; Kutiel and 

Naveh 1987; DeBano 1991; cited in Neary et al. 2005). This temporary increase in fertility from 

available N is usually short-lived and is quickly utilized by vegetation within the first few years after 

burning (Neary et al., 2005). 

The cation exchange capacity of soil can be impacted by fire through the destruction of organic matter. 

The negatively charged particles of organic matter adsorbs otherwise highly soluble positively charged 

cations, which prevents them from being leached out of the soil. As the amount of organic matter is 

destroyed from fire, so too is the soils cation exchange capacity. 

Cation nutrients (i.e., Ca, Mg, Na, K, NH4) become concentrated in the ash following fire, and can be lost 

in several ways such as volatization (but this takes very high temperatures), particulate loss in smoke, 

runoff and erosion, and there can be a long term loss of cations to leaching due to the soils reduction in 

cation exchange capacity. Cation exchange capacity rebuilds over time with new accumulation of organic 

matter. The release of soluble cations from the organic matter during combustion can temporarily 

increase soil pH, but this is dependent in part upon the amount and chemical composition of the ash. 

Thick layers of ash (termed the ash-bed effect) found from severe burning conditions tends to have the 

greatest impact on raising soil pH. 

Typical biological effects to soil that can occur from fire include loss of microorganisms, loss of mesoand macrofauna, and loss of roots and reproductive structures such as seed banks. Impacts from fire to 

microorganisms as well as their recovery can be very complex because so many variables are involved. 

In general it can be stated that “intense wildfire can have severe and sometimes long-lasting effects on 

microbial population size, diversity, and function”, whereas at the other end of the spectrum, “lowseverity underburning generally has an inconsequential effect on microorganisms.” (Neary et al., 2005). 

This range of effects is in part related to the amount of organic matter impacted by fire, and the 

temperature and depth of soil heating. If both of these can be minimized, so will impacts to the microbial 

population in the soil. Effects of fire to meso- and macrofauna, such as mites, insects, and earthworms, is 

also highly variable, depending in part on species, habitat and adaptations. 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-14 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Whether or not plant roots and seed banks are destroyed by fire depends on how deep in the soil they 

reside, the fire severity and amount of soil heating, and the moisture content of the plant tissues and the 

soil. Higher moisture content tends to lower the temperature at which living biomass can be killed. Plant 

tissue can be killed at as low as 104oF, and seeds can be killed at as low as 122oF. 

Moist soil is a better conductor of heat into the soil so lethal temperatures may extend deeper into the soil 

surface. However, high moisture content in the litter and duff aids in facilitating a low severity 

underburn, which results in very little impact to roots and seeds except at the very surface of the litter 

layer. 

Pile/concentrated slash burning increases the residence time of the fire due to concentrated fuels, which 

can lead to more consumption of organic matter, higher soil heating temperatures, heating deeper into the 

soil profile, and thus resulting in isolated patches of severely burned soils directly under the slash pile. 

Mitigations minimizing to the extent possible the size of the piles and burning during moist soil moisture 

conditions can reduce these impacts by keeping burn temperatures and soil heating as low as possible. 

Smaller burn scars tend to recover quicker as well due to the high amount of un-impacted soil around 

them that contribute to recolonization of soil microorganisms and other soil biota. 

The 1998 Regional Supplement to the Forest Service Manual (FSM 2520 R-6 Supplement 2500-98-1, 

Effective August 24, 1998) defines detrimentally burned soil as: 

 

“The condition where the mineral soil surface has been significantly changed in color, oxidized to a 

reddish color, and the next one-half inch blackened from organic matter charring by heat conducted 

through the top layer. The detrimentally burned soil standard applies to a contiguous area greater 

than 100 square feet, which is at least 5 feet in width”. 

Burning of slash piles should not exceed the detrimentally burned soil standard since individual burn piles 

are designed to be discontinuous and not greater than 10 feet in diameter. Even if these burn scars are 

taken into account, it is expected that less than 2 percent of the area would be left in a severely burned 

condition. 

Detrimental burning occurs when high intensity fire consumes organic matter above and within the soil, 

heating the soil to the point where the mineral soil surface changes color and the next one-half-inch 

deeper of soil organic matter is charred. This can happen under natural high-intensity wildfire conditions 

or by management actions beneath burn piles or „prescribed burns‟ when the prescriptions are applied 

incorrectly or “escape” the parameters of their prescription and become overly intense. 

Detrimental burning is most likely under extreme fire weather and dry fuel moisture conditions where 

fuel accumulations are greatest. Reduction of this fuel through management action decreases the 

potential of high intensity fire and detrimental burning of the soil. In areas where fuels have been treated 

(reduced), it is common to have only approximately 20% of the soils in a wildfire-burned area to be in a 

detrimentally burned condition; this is half of what has been observed in areas where fuels had not been 

treated. 

Large woody material, such as large logs, and standing snags (future large down logs), are critical 

components in the development and retention of productive soils. Burning has the potential to eliminate 

these features, particularly those in advanced degrees of decay, from the landscape if care isn‟t taken to 

retain them in adequate sizes, numbers, and distribution across the landscape. 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-15 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

V. Environmental Consequences 

A. Alternative 1 – No-Action 

Under the No-Action Alternative, no project activities would take place. No slopes or soils would be 

disturbed from road management (construction, reconstruction, maintenance, decommissioning) 

activities. Slope stability throughout the Planning Area would continue at its natural rates, based on the 

natural conditions of the forest vegetation and climatic conditions. 

Soils would continue to develop along current trajectories and under natural vegetation and climatic 

conditions. The forest floor would remain intact, maintaining a natural level of effective ground cover. 

The current level of large woody material would be unaffected. 

B. Direct and Indirect Effects Common to Action Alternatives 

1. Slope Stability 

Roads 

Many of the proposed roads are ridge top routes with no grade. There would be very little to no risk that 

these segments would fail or otherwise create slope instability. However, other roads would be on slopes 

with grade and/or would cross riparian areas, and/or reconstruct sections of old railroad grade trestles, 

where there could be an increased chance of failure at some point in the future. Therefore, only the miles 

of road with characteristics having increased risk are compared between Action Alternatives (Table D-3). 

The road characteristics are based upon the tables in EIS Chapter II and field knowledge of the proposed 

routes. 

Table D-3. Miles of New Road with Conditions that Could Increase Risk of Failure 

Alternative 2 Alternative 3 Alternative 4

Miles of new classified and 

temporary road that crosses 

riparian/ has some grade/ 

reconstruction of railroad trestle

4.74 miles 0.32 miles 0 miles

Silvicultural Treatments 

It is not expected that there would be an increased chance of slope instability due to the silvicultural 

treatments (commercial or non-commercial) being planned with the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project, 

under any Action Alternative. It is expected that the thinning treatments planned would not reduce the 

density of remaining live tree roots enough to cause a weakening of the soil-root reinforcement. The 

remaining trees‟ root systems would respond to the reduction in competition and expand in the soil profile 

before the root systems of the cut trees had significantly decayed. 

2. Soil Productivity 

Roads 

Under all Action Alternatives, the proposed road system would have an effect on soil productivity 

through increased likelihood of surface erosion, as well as a commitment of the soil resource to 

something other than supporting a forest ecosystem. The potential extent of the effects between each 

alternative is shown in Table D-4. For the acreage of land taken out of productivity, the range is based on 

a minimum road width of 12 feet, and a maximum road width of 16 feet. Level of erosion from road 

surfaces compares the overall miles of road surface that would exist and have the potential to shed 

sediment, between alternatives.
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-16 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table D-4. Estimated Acres of Total Commitment of Soil Resource/Loss of Soil Productivity 

Alternative 2 Alternative 3 Alternative 4

Acres taken out of Productivity

(range based on est. road 

widths)

78 acres -104 acres 63 acres – 84 acres 60 acres – 80 acres

Long-term opportunity for 

Erosion: Miles of System Road 

(existing & new 

construct/reconstruct)

53.4 mi. 43.1 mi. 40.5 mi.

Short-term opportunity for 

Erosion: Miles of Temporary 

Road

0.3 mi. 0.03 mi. 0 mi.

Silvicultural Treatments 

As discussed earlier, since all of the silvicultural treatments (commercial and pre-commercial) maintain a 

component of the original forest system, including some overstory vegetation and the forest floor organic 

litter layer (i.e., they are not harvest systems such as clear-cuts that drastically change the vegetation 

component), it is not expected that direct or indirect effects of proposed silvicultural treatments to soil 

productivity would be measurable. 

Harvest (Logging) Systems and Pile Burning 

Table D-5, below, provides an estimate of the maximum amount of detrimental disturbance that could 

potentially occur with each harvest system, per alternative. However, implementation of mitigation 

measures is expected to result in less than the estimated acreages actually resulting in detrimental

disturbance (in particular displacement and compaction). 

In addition, review of recently commercially thinned stands in the Eden Ridge Planning Area also showed 

very little to no evidence of residual detrimental disturbance, which is another indication that this is a 

worse-case scenario estimate of disturbance. 

Table D-5. Estimated Acres of Detrimental Disturbance per Action Alternative 

Alternative 2 Alternative 3 Alternative 4

Ground-based harvest system

(est. 15%)

313 acres 268 acres 216 acres

Skyline harvest system (est. 5%) 61 acres 47 acres 23 acres

Aerial harvest system (est. 2%) 0 acres 10 acres 23 acres

Pile & Burn (est. 2%) 21 acres 16 12

Totals 399 acres 341 acres 274 acres

C. Cumulative Effects 

The cumulative effects area for the soil resource is the proposed treatment units and road systems in the 

Planning Area, and areas downslope of proposed treatments and road systems that could be impacted by 

soil movement/slope instability. 

Past actions in these areas include the historical railroad logging and related burning/wildfires from the 

1920s and 30s. As discussed earlier in this report, the soils and slopes in the Planning Area are in a state 

of near to total recovery from those past actions, based on growth of vegetation, lack of erosion or other 

active mass wasting, and build-up of organic matter in the surface soils. Therefore proposed actions 

under the Action Alternatives would have no measureable adverse cumulative effect with these past 

activities within the stands. There are no other current or proposed activities in the Planning Area that 

would occur at the same location; therefore there are no other potential cumulative effects with any of the 

Action Alternatives. 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-17 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

VI. References 

Atzet, T., R.F. Powers, D.H. McNabb, M.P. Amaranthus, and E.R. Gross. 1989. Maintaining long-term 

forest productivity in Southwest Oregon and northern California. P. 185-201 in Maintaining the long-term 

productivity of Pacific Northwest forest ecosystems, Perry, D.A., et al. (eds.). Timber Press, Portland, 

OR.

Beaulieu, John D. 1971. Geologic Formations of Western Oregon (West of Longitude 121o30‟). State of 

Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Bulletin 70. 72 pg. 

Farve, R., and C. Napper. 2009. Biomass Fuels and Whole Tree Harvesting Impacts on Soil Productivity 

– Review of Literature. USDA, Forest Service, National Technology and Development Program. 2000-

Inventory & Monitoring 0920 1803-SDTDC, May 2009. 60 p. 

Floch, R.F. 1988. Shovel logging and soil compaction: A case study. Masters Thesis, Oregon State 

Univ., Corvallis, OR. May 1988. 

Goodman, D.M. and J.A. Trofymow. 1998. Comparison of communities of ectomycorrhizal fungi in 

old-growth and mature stands of Douglas-fir at two sites on southern Vancouver Island. Can. J. For. Res. 

28: 574-581. 

Keslick, J.A. Jr. 1997. Fact Sheets: “Dozer” blight. One absorptive structure, mycorrhiza. How to kill a 

tree. 

Megahan, W.F. 1986. Recent studies on erosion and its control in forest lands in the United States. In: 

Richard, F., ed. Range basin sediment delivery: Proceedings; 1986 August; Albuquerque, NM. IAHS 

Pub 159, Wallingford, Oxon, United Kingdom: 178-189. 

Meyer, LeRoy C. and Michael P. Amaranthus. 1979. Siskiyou National Forest Soil Resource 

Inventory. 258 pg. 

Neary, Daniel G.; Ryan, Kevin C.; DeBano, Leonard F., eds. 2005. Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects 

of fire on soils and water. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-42-vol.4. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 250 p. 

Oregon Department of Geologic and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI). 2009. Oregon Geologic Data 

Compilation (OGDC) – Release 5. 

Orr, E.L.; Orr, W.N.; and E.M. Baldwin. 1992. Geology of Oregon, Fourth Edition. Kendall/Hunt 

Publishing Company. Dubuque, Iowa. 254 pg. 

Sidle, R.C. 1980. Slope Stability on Forest Land. Pacific Northwest External Publication PNW209, 

Oregon State University: Corvallis; 23 pg. 

Siskiyou National Forest. 1989. Land and Resource Management Plan, Siskiyou National Forest. U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Region Six. 

Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. 

Web Soil Survey. Available online at http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1995. South Fork Coquille Watershed Analysis, 

Iteration 1.0. Siskiyou National Forest, Powers Ranger District. 
Appendix D – Geology & Soils Report Page D-18 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1998. FSM 2520 – Watershed Protection and 

Management, R-6 Supplement No. 2500-98-1. Region 6, Portland, Oregon. 6 pg. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2010. FSM 2500 – Watershed and Air Management, 

Chapter 2550 – Soil Management, Amendment No. 2500-2010-1. Effective November 23, 2010. 

National Headquarters (WO), Washington D.C. 20 pg. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1989. Soil Survey of Coos County, Oregon. 

269 pg. 

U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 1994. Watershed Analysis, Middle Fork 

Coquille Analytical Watershed. Coos Bay District, Myrtlewood Resource Area. 80 pg. 

Ziemer, R.R. 1981a. Root Strength (Botany), 1981 McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology. 

Ziemer, R.R. 1981b. Some Effects of Silvicultural Options on the Stability of Slopes. New York, N.Y.: 

Natl. Counc. Paper Ind. For Air and Stream Improv.: 1981; Stream Improv. Tech. Bull. 344. 
APPENDIX E 

FIRE/FUELS AND AIR QUALITY REPORT 

Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-1 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

FIRE/FUELS and AIR QUALITY 

REPORT 

EDEN RIDGE TIMBER SALES 

APPENDIX E 

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest 

Powers Ranger District 

Coos County, Oregon 

Prepared by: 

Rick MacDonald, Powers Ranger District 

Date: August 5, 2011 

I. Introduction 

This report documents analysis of potential effects to the fire and fuels resources associated with the Eden 

Ridge Timber Sales Project. This report will describe the existing conditions or affected environment in 

relation to the area‟s potential for wildfire, fuels and air quality; discuss applicable management direction; 

identify the issues or concerns relative to potential effects to these resources; and describe the potential 

resource impacts. 

II. Alternatives Considered in Detail 

Alternative 1 - No-Action: Alternative 1 identifies and describes the current conditions of the physical, 

biological, social and economic environments associated with the treatment units. As required by NEPA, 

a no-action alternative is included and analyzed as a basis for which the Action Alternatives can be 

compared. Under this scenario, Alternative 1 - No-Action would not authorize variable density 

management and other connected actions to obtain the Purpose and Need for the Eden Ridge Timber Sale 

Project. 

The No-Action alternative should not be confused with a baseline, however. Whereas a baseline is 

essentially a description of the affected environment at a fixed point in time, the No-Action alternative 

assumes that other things would happen to the affected environment, particularly in a dynamic, changing 

ecosystem over time. How this ecosystem could change over time without the proposed management 

actions is discussed more fully in those affected resources that describe potential consequences. 

Alternative 2 - Proposed Action: This alternative is the Proposed Action and is designed to meet the 

Purpose and Need for the project and area. The Proposed Action would commercially thin second growth 

conifer stands artificially and naturally regenerated following timber harvest in the 1930‟s through the 

1940‟s within lands allocated as matrix. Treatments would also include variable density thinning (VDT) 

within Riparian Reserves that overlap into overstocked drier upland forests. This alternative would 

reflect the maximum potential effects in regard to the Relevant Issues. 
Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-2 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Alternative 2 would commercially thin 75 treatment units totaling approximately 3,314 acres. Harvest 

activities would use a combination skyline and ground based logging systems. 

During tractor and skyline yarding activities, tops of trees removed from all proposed units would be 

yarded (YTA) and piled on landings. In addition, following timber harvest, concentrations of logging 

slash from units adjacent to Forest Roads 5000, 290, 440, and 448 would be piled by hand and burned up 

to 100 feet from the road(s) and all landing piles of slash would be burned. 

Alternative 3: Alternative 3 would commercially thin 65 treatment units totaling approximately 3,240 

acres. Harvest activities would use a combination of helicopter, skyline, and ground based logging 

systems. During tractor and skyline yarding activities, tops of trees removed from all proposed units 

would be yarded (YTA) and piled on landings. In addition, following timber harvest, concentrations of 

logging slash from units adjacent to Forest Roads 5000, 290, 440, and 448 would be piled by hand and 

burned up to 100 feet from the road(s) and all landing piles of slash would be burned. On units where the 

logging system would be helicopter based, slash would be treated by YTA, piled and burned at landing 

sites. 

Alternative 4: Alternative 4 would commercially thin 53 treatment units totaling approximately 3,058 

acres. Harvest activities would use a combination of helicopter, skyline, and ground based logging 

systems. During tractor and skyline yarding activities, tops of trees removed from all proposed units 

would be yarded (YTA) and piled on landings. In addition, following timber harvest, concentrations of 

logging slash from units adjacent to Forest Roads 5000, 290, 440, and 448 would be piled by hand and 

burned up to 100 feet from the road(s) and all landing piles of slash would be burned. On units where the 

logging system would be helicopter based, slash would be treated by YTA, piled and burned at landing 

sites. 

III. Affected Environment – Fire / Fuels 

Eden Ridge Planning Area falls within the South Fork Coquille River and the Middle Fork Coquille River 

5th-Field watersheds, and the Lower Rock Creek, Myrtle Creek, Headwaters South Fork Coquille River, 

Coal Creek, and Mill Creek 6th field watersheds. Watershed Analyses have been conducted within these 

drainages and contain a synthesis of scientific knowledge about watershed trends and conditions at 5th

field watershed scales as well as by smaller 6th field sub-watersheds. Elevations range from 

approximately 2,500 to 3,500 feet. The Planning Area includes approximately 6,516 acres and is located 

approximately 4 air miles southeast of the city of Powers, Oregon at the closest point, with a legal 

description of: Township 31 South, Range 10 West, Sections 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 29 and 30; and 

Township 31 South, Range 11 West, Sections 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27; Willamette Meridian; Coos 

County, Oregon. 

The fire occurrence rate in the South Fork Coquille drainage is relatively low for lightening and humancaused fires. The fire occurrence interval for western hemlock series in the Klamath region is about 65 

years (USDA 1995). Previous reported fires mostly occur in the west half of the ER Planning Area (see 

Map B-11 in Silvicultural Diagnosis Appendix B). There have been no substantial fires recorded in the 

Planning Area during the twentieth century. Most of the lightning storm events are accompanied by 

moderate and sometimes heavy rainfall. Under these circumstances, fires have sometimes been started, 

burned small areas, and then have been put out by the accompanying rainfall shortly thereafter. Most 

lightning fires have been detected while they are small in size, and have been suppressed before becoming 

larger than one acre. 

The potential for human caused starts could be considered low to moderate. Public and industrial users 

travel the main road through the area during the dry season, and industrial logging activity on the private 

lands within the Planning Area during the past decade has been quite active. Hunters frequent the area 

during the fall, but camping opportunities are limited. 
Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-3 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The existing levels of dead and down fuels in the proposed treatment units are considered light, consisting 

primarily of fine limbwood from the self-pruning occurring in the stands. In the Photo Series for 

Quantifying Natural Forest Residues in Common Vegetative Types of the Pacific Northwest (PNW-105, 

1980), the classification 1-MC-3 closely represents the fuels present in these stands, with 2.5 to 5 tons per 

acre of 0 to 3-inch material, with a small amount of larger material. These fuels are compact and low to 

the ground, and are best described as a Fuel Model 8-Closed Timber Litter, of the Fire Behavior Fuel 

Models (Anderson 1982). 

Live ground fuels are also scattered and comprise a very minor amount of the available fuels. Salal and 

Oregon Grape are the primary ground cover, and are considered a low to no threat component of the 

overall fuel picture due to its fire resistant nature. Wild Rhododendron and Evergreen Huckleberry make 

up the shrub layer of vegetation, with burning characteristics similar to Salal. In general, ladder fuels 

capable of carrying a fire from the ground to the crowns of trees are minimal within these stands. The 

trees themselves are generally reaching a point where their bark thickness is more likely to tolerate the 

heat that is generated by the low to moderate intensity surface fire which may pass through the stands. 

Fires, burning in this fuel model, are generally characterized by slow burning ground fires; with short 

flame lengths (less than 4 feet), and present only minimal control problems, under normal dry season 

weather conditions. High winds and temperatures, steep slopes, and low humidity can cause control 

difficulties in this fuel model; as well as create a more stand-damaging effect. Fire behavior is influenced 

by the shading and wind-breaking effects of the closed conifer canopy. This shading effect generally 

maintains a cooler microclimate, as opposed to an open-grown area where increases in solar radiation and 

wind tend to decrease fuel moisture and increase fire intensity. The closed canopy creates conditions 

conducive to cooler fire behavior by reducing fuel bed heating (a function of shading) and by buffering 

the prevailing wind speeds. While these stands could tolerate a surface fire, they are still vulnerable to an 

independent crown fire initiated from the outside, and carried into the area by weather (wind) and/or 

topographic conditions. The closed canopy condition would readily allow fire to move from one crown to 

another. Steeper slopes would amplify this situation due to pre-heating. Such a fire would likely be lethal 

to the stand. 

A. Management Direction 

The activities associated with Eden Ridge Timber Sales are tiered to, and would be designed to comply 

with direction established in the 1989 Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan

(SNF-LRMP) as amended by the 1994 Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and bureau 

of Land Management Planning Documents within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl (Northwest 

Forest Plan, USDA 1994). 

Management prescriptions for fire management within General Forest – Matrix (SNF-LRMP; page IV143) and Riparian (SNF-LRMP; page IV-128) would be applied to this project. A high level of wildfire 

prevention activities should be maintained and direct treatment methods should be emphasized in the 

management of natural and activity fuels. 

The Biscuit Fire of 2002 provided considerable empirical evidence that many stands of commercial 

thinning size had poor chances of surviving a wildfire, where no fuels treatments had been employed. A 

goal of this project is to improve forest resiliency which would help control the possibility of stand 

replacement disturbances such as those created by severe wildfire. The range of harvest treatments 

proposed with the Eden Ridge Timber Sales needs to consider stand and fuels treatment which would 

promote stand survivability, in the event that they are subjected to a wildfire, or perhaps are intentionally 

burned, in the future. 
Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-4 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

IV. Relationships of Fuels and Fire Effects on Thinning Aged Stands

Peterson, et al., 2005, Omi and Martinson, 2002, and Agee and Skinner, 2005 present a hierarchy of 

potential treatments to prevent stand replacement disturbances by fire. The initial step to be taken is to 

reduce the potential for a surface fire to get into the crowns of the trees in the stand. Research indicates 

that to keep a surface fire on the surface, breaking the ladder fuel chain, while concurrently raising the 

crown base height (with emphasis on raising crown base height), must be accomplished. The general 

recognized practice to accomplish this is to thin from below (Peterson, et al., 2005, Omi and Martinson, 

2002, and Agee and Skinner, 2005). The three papers referenced go on to say fuels created by any 

harvest operations must be reduced to the point where surface fire intensity will be low enough to prevent 

mortality of residual trees by crown fire initiation (keep the fire on the ground), as well as minimizing any 

lethal amounts of heat being applied to the base of the bole of the tree. Agee and Skinner (2005) state that 

timber stand improvement work, without treatment of the fuels created by such activities, were burned 

more severely than unmodified areas. Omi and Martinson (2002) also reach this same conclusion. Agee 

and Skinner (2005) said that whole tree harvest, with disposal of tops at the landing; is most effective at 

preventing surface fuel increases in the residual stand. 

The next level of treatment is to prevent the spread of an active crown fire, once it has been initiated. Fire 

can spread from crown to crown through heat transfer, via two mechanisms. Pre-heating of the crowns by 

an advancing surface fire will allow a passive crown fire (torching) to escalate to an active crown fire, and 

propagate in the direction of fire spread, so long as the surface fuels allow this pre-heating to occur 

(notwithstanding the thorough treatment of surface fuels), and by the continuity of the crowns which 

allow for the aerial spread of the fire. Combinations of steeper slopes, drier/hotter conditions, and the 

influence of wind can exacerbate this problem; and could lead to an independent crown fire, spreading 

through the crowns without the need of pre-heating by burning surface fuels, and regardless of the crown 

base height. Reducing the crown densities is the common recommendation. Given the proper degree of 

crown bulk density reduction, this chain can effectively be broken, causing the fire to drop back to the 

surface. There are general guidelines for addressing crown continuity. An example of a field based rule 

is that the distance between adjacent tree crowns should be the average diameter of the crown of the 

codominant trees in the stand (Peterson, et al. 2005). Another rule of thumb taught at S-490 (Advanced 

Wildland Fire Behavior Calculations) is that thinning to a 75% canopy closure is generally adequate. 

Thinning to below these levels further reduces the risk of crown-to-crown fire spread. 

Reduction of crown density can open up the understory so that mid-flame wind speed may be increased, 

fine fuel moisture may be reduced due to increased solar radiation (Agee and Skinner, 2005 and Omi and 

Martinson, 2002), and growth of fine herbaceous fuels may be promoted due to increased exposure to 

sunlight (Omi and Martinson 2002). 

Using the Fire Behavior Field Reference Guide (PMS 436-4), the effects to surface winds and fine fuel 

moistures, as a result of opening up the canopy can be described. Wind Adjustment Tables indicate that a 

wind speed of 10 mph at the 20 ft. level would result in a 1-2 mph mid flame wind speed (ground level); 

in a fully sheltered stand, such as can be found with the existing condition. Implementation of the 

Proposed Action would leave the stand in a partially sheltered condition, with a resulting mid flame wind 

speed of 3 mph. The table itself offers only 3 levels of sheltering: Fully Sheltered, Partially Sheltered, 

and Unsheltered. 

Fine Fuel Moisture Adjustment Tables offer two levels of comparison, Shaded (>50% shading) and 

Exposed (<50% shading) of surface fuels. The differences in fine fuel moisture corrections can range 

from 1-3%. The existing condition would be considered as shaded, any portion of the proposed action 

which opens up the canopy more than 50% would be considered exposed. 
Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-5 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Both the wind and fine fuel moisture components described above relate more to the probability of 

ignition and rate of fire spread, than to fire intensity, in the overall picture of fire behavior. The amount, 

size, and arrangement of the fuel left on site will dictate fire intensity and any resultant mortality. 

These variable density treatments are designed to enhance overall forest vigor and resiliency. Density 

management would release remaining trees from inter-tree competition for sunlight, water and soil 

nutrients when compared to untreated areas. More fire resistant stands would be created by retaining the 

largest of the existing trees while developing larger trees at a faster rate. Larger trees are more fire 

resistant in nature because of their thicker bark and higher crown base height. Post-treatment objectives 

are to develop a sustainable forest resilient to drought, wind, insects, disease, fire and other natural 

disturbances. 

IV. Affected Environment – Air Quality

The Planning Area for Eden Ridge Timber Sales is approximately twelve miles west of the coastal crest. 

The combination of good air circulation along the Pacific coast and relatively limited industrial 

development has resulted in only minor air quality problems west of the coastal crest. Wildland fires that 

occasionally occur are the primary source of air quality problems in this area. 

The nearest Class I Airshed is the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, approximately 30 miles south of the Planning 

Area. The nearest Smoke Sensitive Receptor Area (SSRA) listed in the Oregon Smoke Management Plan 

is the city of Coos Bay, about 38 miles to the north/northwest. 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) were established by the Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1963

and subsequently amended (as amended, at 42 USCA 7401 to 7671(q)). Primary air quality standards 

were established under the act to protect public health; secondary standards were established to protect 

public welfare from any known or anticipated adverse effects associated with the presence of ambient air 

pollutants. 

Particle pollution, also called particulate matter or PM, is a complex mixture of extremely small particles 

and liquid droplets in the air (i.e., dust, soot and particles too small to see). When breathed in, these 

particles can reach the deepest regions of the lungs. Exposure to particle pollution is linked to a variety of 

significant health problems. Particle pollution also is the main cause of visibility impairment in the 

nation‟s cities and National Parks. 

To better protect public health and welfare for millions of Americans across the country, the EPA on 

September 21, 2006 issued the Agency‟s most protective suite of national air quality standards for particle 

pollution ever. The final standards address two categories of particle pollution: fine particles (PM2.5), 

which are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller; and inhalable coarse particles (PM10) which are 

smaller than 10 micrometers (a micrometer is 1/1000th of a millimeter; there are 25,400 micrometers in an 

inch). 

EPA strengthened the 24-hour fine particle standard from the 1997 level of 65 micrograms per cubic 

meter (p.g/m3) to 35~ig/m3, and retained the annual fine particle standard at 15p~g/m3

. The Agency also 

retained the existing national 24-hour PM10 standard of 150p.g/m3. The Agency revoked the annual PM10 

standard, because available evidence generally does not suggest a link between long-term exposure to 

current levels of coarse particles and health problems.

To further comply with this direction, the Forest has several strategies to manage prescribed fire smoke: 

Curtailment, reduction, avoidance, dilution, and education. Also, since the early 1990s, harvest amounts 

have dropped dramatically, further reducing the amount of pollutants generated by prescribed burning. 
Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-6 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

A. Management Direction 

The activities associated with Eden Ridge Timber Sales would be designed to comply with direction 

established in the 1989 Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (SNF-LRMP) as 

amended by the 1994 Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and bureau of Land 

Management Planning Documents within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl (Northwest Forest Plan, 

USDA 1994). 

Forest-wide Standards and Guidelines for air quality resources (SNF-LRMP; pages IV-48 through 50) 

would be applied to this project. Activities shall be planned: to maintain air quality at a level adequate 

for the protection and use of the National Forest resources, coordinate with the appropriate air quality 

regulatory agencies, reduce total suspended particulate emissions and minimize the impact of prescribed 

burning on smoke sensitive areas. 

The use of prescribed fire would be limited in the implementation of the Proposed Action, or any of the 

Action Alternatives. Fire would be applied for the burning of landing slash, and burning of hand piled 

slash. 

V. Environmental Consequences: Fire / Fuels 

Following review of the affected environment, alternatives considered and formal scoping with the 

public, the following concerns were identified for discussion: 

FIRE/FUELS – What kind of effect would density management (thinning) treatments and other 

connected actions have on fuel loading and fire hazard conditions? 

Modeling of crown fire initiation, the potential to sustain an active or independent crown fire, and the 

types of treatments needed to mitigate these problems, generally requires in-depth stand data (stand 

examinations). FVS-FFE (Forest Veg Simulator-Fire Fuels Extension) is the analytical tool which uses 

stand exam data to estimate potential mortality and the type of fire burning within a given stand. The 

modeling uses a simulated silvicultural harvest prescription to remove trees from the stands. A simulated 

fire is then run through these stands under set weather and fuel moisture parameters, using surface fuel 

types assigned to most nearly represent the results of either the pre-harvest conditions, or post-harvest 

conditions representing different levels of fuel treatment. 

Analysis for selected examples shows that in their existing condition most stands of the stands proposed 

for treatment would generally tolerate a wildfire burning under the 95th percentile conditions; with less 

than 25% potential mortality resulting from the fire (see table below). Fire characteristics tend to be 

surface fires, with low flame lengths, and the modeling shows that crown fires are difficult to initiate in 

all sizes/ages of stands. While the fuel models in these stands varied between Low to Moderate Load 

Conifer Litter models, the Moderate Load Conifer Litter model was used to represent a worst case 

scenario in the analysis. 

FFE modeling results, % mortality based on Basal Area and type of fire: 

Unit Existing Condition Post-Harvest, 

Leave Tops

Post-Harvest, 

Yard Tops

201 12%, Surface Fire 17%, Surface Fire 9%, Surface Fire

303 20%, Surface Fire 26%, Surface Fire 18%, Surface Fire

334 9%, Surface Fire 12%, Surface Fire 7%, Surface Fire

102 14%, Surface Fire 34%, Surface Fire 8%, Surface Fire
Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-7 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Alternative 1 – No-Action

Under the No-Action Alternative, no management activities within the Planning Area would occur. It 

would be expected that current stand conditions would continue to develop in a natural and undisturbed 

manner into the foreseeable future. 

Deep shading, tight canopy cover inhibiting air flow, low crown ratios, and advanced decomposition of 

the more volatile surface fuels aid in reducing fire severity in forested stands. The stands in the Eden 

Ridge Planning Area are reasonably resilient to the effects of wildfire in their current condition. These 

stands have survived through many years of vulnerability to the potential adverse effects of fire, and have 

evolved into a condition of becoming more resistant and resilient to these effects. Crown base heights are 

generally raised and the fuel ladder would continue to be eliminated (both positive fire resistive 

attributes). They could tolerate most surface fires, with the only true threat to mass mortality being an 

independent crown fire situation. 

This condition would not remain static over time however. While fuels in the majority of the areas 

proposed for commercial thinning presently constitute a low to moderate hazard, stand dynamics would 

slowly alter this situation over time. Natural foliage loss and self-pruning are presently contributing fine 

fuels to the litter layer. Suppressed and intermediate trees would slowly begin to die out and contribute 

larger fuels to the forest floor. This process is being somewhat offset by the meltdown (slow 

decomposition) of these same fuels, with the smaller more flammable fuels decomposing at a much faster 

rate than the larger fuels. The process of fuels build up and the inevitable changes in stand dynamics is a 

very slow cycle, possibly taking numerous decades to actually develop a noticeable hazard. The results of 

these processes would more readily facilitate fire spread and contribute to potentially higher severity fire, 

which can put the stand at an increasingly higher risk of mortality than currently exists. During this same 

time period, the trees themselves would be developing a thicker bark layer, making them more resistant to 

the effects of fire, countering (to a degree) the potentially higher fire severity created by fuels being 

contributed from the stand itself. 

Alternative 2 - Proposed Action 

Alternative 2 would commercially thin 75 treatment units totaling approximately 3,314 acres. Harvest 

activities would use a combination skyline and ground based logging systems. During tractor and skyline 

yarding activities, tops of trees removed from all proposed units would be yarded (YTA) and piled on 

landings. 

In addition, following timber harvest, concentrations of logging slash from units adjacent to Forest Roads 

5000, 290, 440, and 448 would be piled by hand and burned up to 100 feet from the road(s), essentially 

creating a „cleaner‟, more defensible space along the aforementioned roads. All landing piles of slash 

would be burned. 

Prescriptions and treatments would be designed, whereby in the event of an unwanted wildfire, the treated 

stands would be left in such a condition that wildfire would pass though without generating unacceptable 

levels of mortality, and provide an area where the fire can be managed by ground based initial attack 

resources. 

Direct Effects - The direct effects of this project from a fire and fuels perspective would be a short-term 

increase in fuels loading and the associated fire hazard within the units as generated from activitygenerated slash. Such an increase would be ameliorated by implementing activity fuels treatments. Other 

untreated slash would be expected to reach a near natural condition within approximately 5 years. 
Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-8 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The Variable Density Thinning (VDT) proposed for this project calls for modifying the existing canopy 

cover to a condition of 35 to 50 percent. This action, in itself, generally reduces the potential for a 

running crown fire by opening up the spacing between tree crowns. 

The primary concern to fire managers, related to fuels remaining after harvest, is the amount of the 

smaller diameter (0 to 3 inch) fuels that are left on site. These smaller fuels constitute a hazard from two 

points. The finer fuels are the most receptive to an ignition source (spark, match, lightning), and are the 

elements that promote rapid fire-spread and increased flame lengths. While the larger fuels (3 inches and 

greater) contribute to the duration and intensity of a fire (once one has started), the reduction of these 

fuels is of lesser importance than the reduction of the finer fuels, in the scheme of hazard reduction to 

reduce the potential for adverse affects of wildfire. Besides being of lesser importance in hazard 

reduction, the retention of this larger material would provide a multitude of other benefits, which enhance 

site productivity and complement other ecosystem values. 

The stands are most vulnerable to the potential adverse effects of fire from the time the fine fuels (needles 

and small twigs) become cured, until these fuels drop to ground level and become part of the litter layer. 

Curing usually occurs within the first month of exposure to late spring/early summer like weather 

conditions. The needles would generally fall off the twigs by the second or third year following harvest. 

The twigs decompose at a slower rate, taking four to six years to fall from the main branches. Larger 

branch wood follows suit, taking upwards of eight to twelve years to decompose to ground level. Once 

these smaller diameter fuels (<1”) have all reached ground level, decomposition is rapidly accelerated, 

and the risks associated with a wildfire have substantially diminished. Without treatment, the first 0 to 5 

years present the window of highest risk. 

Harvest activities (i.e., tractor and skyline yarding systems) associated with the Proposed Action would 

add needles, limbwood, and tops to the existing fuel bed in varying degrees throughout each treatment 

area. Disturbed ground vegetation and larger woody material would contribute to the dead fuel loading. 

In comparison with the natural long-term accumulation of ground fuels, harvest would contribute fuels to 

the site at an accelerated rate. The fuels remaining after harvest would be mostly of the smaller size 

classes, as most of the larger fuels would be removed for utilization, unless contractual requirements 

specify that they be left on site. The estimated fuel bed remaining after harvest is best described as a Fuel 

Model 11- Light Logging Slash, of the Fire Behavior Fuel Models. The Photo Series For Quantifying 

Forest Residues (GTR PNW-51), 3-DF-3-PC; with a substantial reduction 3.1-9.0 inch size class due to 

increased utilization also is representative of this fuel type. This fuel bed typically has 5 to10 tons per 

acres of 0 to 3 inch size class fuels. In the event of an un-planned fire start, the potential for rapid-fire 

spread would be higher than a stand in a natural condition (2 to 7 chains per hour in a natural state, 

compared to 6 to 9 chains per hour after harvest). 

Effects to the activity-generated fuel bed as a result from implementation of mechanical pre-bunching has 

shown that fuels are concentrated under the tracks of the machine as it travels over the area. Needles and 

small diameter limbs (fuels) are crushed / compressed. This condition actually accelerates the results of 

natural decomposition and subsequent faster response to a reduction of potential fire intensities. 

Below, are fuels treatment options considered for the proposed units. Implementation of these fuels 

treatment methods would likely be one or a combination of several treatments. 

No treatment: This method would be appropriate for sites where fuel loadings fall well below LRMP Standard 

and Guideline recommendations by photo series (S&G 12-2, page IV-59). When residual fuels exceed the 

guidelines, not treating the fuels may be appropriate in areas of low risk where risks may be assumed for a 

period, until the hazard has been reduced by natural processes. 
Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-9 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Hand piling fuels concentrations: This method would be effective in breaking up fuel continuity thereby 

reducing fire spread rates. Hand piling, followed by burning of the piles, can remove most fuels from a site. 

Hand piling is most effective in continuous moderate fuel loadings (25 to 50 tons per acre), and is less effective 

in scattered light fuels. This method may also be employed in areas where no other disposal methods are 

prescribed, or in conjunction with non-burning types of treatments, but where the risks may warrant some sort 

of hazard reduction; such as the piling proposed along Roads 2000, 5000, 290, 440, and 448. On the 

commercially thinned units that are adjacent to the aforementioned roads, logging slash within 100 feet of these 

roads would be hand piled and burned. 

Yarding of tops: This method would be effective in removing concentrations of the 0 to 3-inch size class fuels. 

In all treatment areas using ground-based or skyline yarding, tops of commercial trees would be left attached to 

a commercial log while yarding (Yard Tops Attached – YTA). The tops would be piled and disposed at the 

landing location. 

Piling and Burning Landing Slash: This method would be effective in disposing of all remaining unmerchantable vegetation on log landings (piling and burning). 

SNF-LRMP Standards & Guidelines (S&G) 7-2 (Detrimental Soil Conditions) directs that the application 

of prescribed fire be conducted so that thresholds for bare soil exposure are not exceeded. Burning in the 

winter and spring windows of opportunity would best meet this objective, and would also compliment the 

objectives of maximizing the retention of Large Woody Material (S&G 7-8). 

Forest-wide Standards and Guidelines for fire management (SNF-LRMP; pages IV-59 through 62) would 

be applied to this project. The fire hazard presented by natural, activity or prior activity fuels should be 

reduced to appropriate levels; and proposed activities should be designed and coordinated on the ground 

to help make the fuel treatment and fire protection as practical and economical as possible. 

Indirect Effects - The indirect effects of this project from a fire and fuels perspective would be an 

increase in potential fire intensity due to reduced canopy closures. The reduction of canopy closure 

would allow for an increase in solar radiation and air movement. Both of which, would potentially 

decrease fuel moistures and allow an herbaceous and shrub understory to develop. These conditions 

would continue to develop until the residual canopies grow together. At that time, the treated stands 

would return to near natural conditions. 

Alternative 3

Alternative 3 would commercially thin 65 treatment units totaling approximately 3,240 acres. Harvest 

activities would use a combination of helicopter, skyline, and ground based logging systems. During 

tractor and skyline yarding activities, tops of trees removed from all proposed units would be yarded 

(YTA) and piled on landings. 

In addition, following timber harvest, concentrations of logging slash from units adjacent to Forest Roads 

5000, 290, 440, and 448 would be piled by hand and burned up to 100 feet from the road(s) and all 

landing piles of slash would be burned. On units where the logging system would be helicopter based, 

slash would be treated by YTA, piled and burned at landing sites. 

Direct and Indirect Effects – The effects of Alternative 3 would be much the same as those described for 

Alternative 2, as the fuels treatment proposed for this alternative are the same, the only difference being 

the acres (3,240 as opposed to 3,314) proposed for treatment. Fuels treatments for this alternative would 

continue to result in conditions that meet LRMP Standards and Guidelines, and contribute to the 

improvement of vigor and resiliency of the forestlands located in this Planning Area. 
Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-10 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Alternative 4

Alternative 4 would commercially thin 53 treatment units totaling approximately 3,058 acres. Harvest 

activities would use a combination of helicopter, skyline, and ground based logging systems. During 

tractor and skyline yarding activities, tops of trees removed from all proposed units would be yarded 

(YTA) and piled on landings. In addition, following timber harvest, concentrations of logging slash from 

units adjacent to Forest Roads 5000, 290, 440, and 448 would be piled by hand and burned up to 100 feet 

from the road(s) and all landing piles of slash would be burned. On units where the logging system 

would be helicopter based, slash would be treated by YTA, piled and burned at landing sites 

Direct and Indirect Effects – The effects of Alternative 4 would be much the same as those described for 

Alternative 2, as the fuels treatment proposed for this alternative are the same, the only difference being 

the acres (3,314 as opposed to 3,058) proposed for treatment. Fuels treatments for this alternative would 

continue to result in conditions that meet LRMP Standards and Guidelines, and contribute to the 

improvement of vigor and resiliency of the forestlands located in this project area. 

Cumulative Effects

Analysis for determining cumulative effects is considered to include stand density reduction and activitygenerated fuels on fuel loading and fire hazard in the Eden Ridge Planning Area. This analysis relies on 

current environmental conditions as a proxy for the impacts of past actions. This is because existing 

conditions reflect the aggregate impact of all prior human actions and natural events that have affected the 

environment and might contribute to cumulative effects. Any other past, present or future treatment 

activities such as Four Does, Lookout Partner, Backwoods Thin (past), and Silver Doe (present), would 

be expected to meet LRMP Standards and guidelines. This cumulative effects area is considered adequate 

since the concern is relevant to activity-generated fuels. 

Under all Action Alternatives, although there may be a short-term increase in fire hazard due to the 

generation of fine fuels, there would be a long-term benefit by decreasing tree/crown spacing and 

roadside fuels so that defensive measures could be deployed. 

The long-term combined (cumulative) effects of this project and other past, present and future projects 

from a fire and fuels perspective would be to improve the defensible space along the system roads as 

described in the Action Alternatives. Stands along these roads would be thinned and slash would be 

treated with hand piling concentrations and YTA to help establish a defensible space if another wildfire 

were to start in the area. This along with the removal of the future potential for natural tree mortality 

would contribute to reducing the potential for high severity, stand replacement wild fire in this portion of 

the forest. 

VI. Environmental Consequences: Air Quality 

Alternative 1 – No-Action 

Under the No-Action Alternative, no management activities within the Planning Area would occur and 

there would be no direct, indirect or cumulative effect to air quality or the Class I Federal areas. 

All Action Alternatives 

All Action Alternatives (including the Proposed Action) would burn landing piles and hand piles which 

may affect air quality. Though the amount of burning may vary between Action Alternatives, the intent 

of this discussion of effects is to disclose to what extent burning activities would have on the air quality in 

the Coos Bay area, or to visibility in the Class I Federal area (Kalmiopsis Wilderness). Direct, indirect 

and cumulative analysis of all Action Alternatives relates to those activities which may affect the Coos 

Bay and Kalmiopsis Wilderness Class I Federal areas; therefore, effects analysis is combined below. 
Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-11 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The use of prescribed fire would be limited in the implementation of the Proposed Action, or any of the 

Action Alternatives. Fire would be applied for the burning of landing slash and burning of hand piled 

slash. The proposed action (Alternative 2), calls for the treatment of 3,314 acres on 75 units. For the 

purposes of this analysis, the assumption will be made that these treatments would be spread out over a 

period of 5 years or approximately 1 sale per year with 15 units per sale. Thus, on average, the Proposed 

Action could generate as much as 7.3 tons of PM, 5.4 tons of PM10, and 4.6 tons of PM2.5 per year, which 

is well below the thresholds defined in the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Alternative 3 would 

produce approximately 86 % of the TSP produced by Alternative 2, and Alternative 4 would produce 

approximately 70 % of the TSP produced by Alternative 2. (Piled Fuels Biomass and Emissions 

Calculator, PNW Research Station, 04/2011). 

SNF-LRMP Standards and Guidelines 8-1 would be followed. This standard states, “Management 

activities shall be planned to maintain air quality at a level adequate for the protection and use of National 

Forest resources and meet or exceed applicable Federal and State standards and regulations.” (36 CFR 

219.27(a)(12). 

For the protection of Class I Area visibility values, as well as preventing any air quality degradation in the 

Coos Bay area, avoidance is the key to preventing any impacts due to man-made pollutants, such as 

smoke created by slash disposal. Any burning planned to occur would require development of a Burn 

Plan, to include avoidance measures. Among various factors taken into account; detailing prevailing 

wind direction, timing, and coordination with regulatory agencies would ensure that any burning would 

occur during conditions where any smoke would not degrade air quality within the Coos Bay and/or 

visibility within the Kalmiopsis Wilderness (Class I Airshed). 

Further, burning would not take place during the visibility protection period of Class I Airsheds, which is 

July 1 to September 15. Using the direction and tools described above, slash disposal managers would 

consult with Smoke Management agencies to determine what proper atmospheric conditions are best to 

assure that impacts to either are avoided. It the case of the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Action Alternatives, 

burning under conditions where transport winds and mixing heights are favorable, as well as following 

the daily Smoke Management forecast, would assure no adverse impacts to the nearest SSRA(Coos Bay), 

or the nearest Class I Airshed. As the majority of burning that would be done is pile burning, and can be 

accomplished in a broad window of opportunity, there is little risk of not being able to meet the slash 

disposal needs as a result of this constraint. 

Burning would not take place within 38 miles of the Coos Bay area or within 30 miles of the Kalmiopsis 

Wilderness (Class I Area). Further, burning would not take place during the visibility protection period of 

July 1 to September 15. Therefore there are no expected direct adverse effects to air quality in either the 

Coos Bay area or the Class I Area. 

The potential for smoke produced by any of the proposed actions, to indirectly enter either of these areas 

would be mitigated by the avoidance methods such as implementation of the visibility protection period 

and not burning during weather conditions when smoke could travel to those areas. 

Cumulative Effects 

All past, present, and foreseeable future projects; have been, are, or would be conducted under the same 

air quality restrictions. Therefore, there would be no measurable adverse cumulative effects to air quality 

expected to occur. Since all burning would be prescribed and controlled, there would be ample 

opportunity to schedule burning when the atmospheric conditions are optimal for smoke dispersal. 

Likewise, there would be an opportunity to limit the size of burning events to control emissions. 
Appendix E – Fire/Fuels and Air Quality Report Page E-12 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

It is expected that none of the Action Alternatives would result in a violation of National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards, or an appreciable reduction in air quality related values. There would be no adverse 

cumulative effects predicted from proposed treatments. Any project generated emissions would be 

smaller in volume than natural fires, and can be scheduled to take advantage of favorable meteorological 

conditions. 

REFERENCES 

Agee, James K.; Skinner, Carl N. 2005. Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments. Forest 

Ecology and Management 211 83-96 

Anderson H.E. 1982. Aids to Determining Fuel Models for Estimating Fire Behavior. USDA USFS. 

GTR-INT-122. Ogden, UT: Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 

Omi, P.N., Martinson, E.J. 2002. Effects of fuels treatments on wildfire severity. Final report, Joint Fire 

Sciences Program. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. 

Peterson, David L.; Johnson, Morris C.; Agee, James K.; Jain, Theresa B.; McKenzie, Donald; Reinhardt, 

Elizabeth D. 2005 Forest structure and fire hazard in dry western forests of the Western United States. 

Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-628. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific 

Northwest Research Station. 30p. 
APPENDIX F 

BOTANICAL RESOURCES REPORT 

BOTANICAL RESOURCES REPORT 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest 

Powers Ranger District 

Clint Emerson 

District Botanist 

August 29, 2011 

CONTENTS 

I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................F-1 

II. PROJECT AND EFFECTS SUMMARY ...............................................................................................F-1 

III. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................................................F-2 

A. BOTANICAL RESOURCES .....................................................................................................................F-2 

1. Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Plants and Fungi ............................................................................F-2 

2. Strategic Plants and Fungi ...........................................................................................................................F-3 

3. Survey and Manage Plant and Fungi Species ..............................................................................................F-3 

B. PRE-FIELD ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................F-4 

1. Sensitive Vascular Plant, Lichen, Moss and Liverworts ..............................................................................F-4 

2. Sensitive Fungi ............................................................................................................................................F-6 

C. FIELD INVENTORY RESULTS ...............................................................................................................F-7 

IV. INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES ...............................................................................................................F-8 

A. CURRENT CONDITIONS WITHIN THE PLANNING AREA ...............................................................F-8 

V. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS .............................................................................................................F-9 

A. EFFECTS ON THREATENED, ENDANGERED & SENSITIVE PLANTS & FUNGI SPECIES ..........F-9 

1. Direct and Indirect Effects ...........................................................................................................................F-9 

a. Oregon bensonia ...................................................................................................................................F-9 

b. Sensitive Fungi .....................................................................................................................................F-10

2. Cumulative Effects ......................................................................................................................................F-11

B. EFFECTS ON THE ECOSYSTEM FROM INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES ..............................................F-12

1. Direct and Indirect Effects ...........................................................................................................................F-12

2. Cumulative Effects ......................................................................................................................................F-12

VI. PROJECT DESIGN CRITERIA FOR BOTANICAL RESOURCES ...............................................F-13

VII. REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................F-14

ATTACHMENT A .........................................................................................................................................F-17

Complete Table of Current Threatened, Endangered, Sensitive, Strategic, and Survey and Manage Vascular Plant, 

Liverwort and Fungi Species Documented or Suspected to Occur on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, 

potential effects of the proposed project on these species, and rationale for determination of effects. 

ATTACHMENT B .........................................................................................................................................F-33 

Bensonia Maps – Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

ATTACHMENT C .........................................................................................................................................F-37

Target Invasive Plant Species and Treatment List for the Westside of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-1 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

I. INTRODUCTION

This report will describe and analyze effects to botanical resources within the Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

(hereto referred to as the project). It will cover Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive (TES) and Survey 

and Manage (SM) vascular plant, fungi, lichen and bryophyte species, and Invasive Plant species. 

Closely associated resources are described and analyzed in the following specialist’s reports: 

a) Dead and down wood quantities are discussed in the Wildlife and Silviculture reports. 

b) Hydrologic and aquatic affects is in the Hydrology and Fisheries report. 

c) General vegetation and forest ecology is discussed in the Silviculture Report. 

The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this project incorporates and summarizes the information 

in this report. 

II. PROJECT AND EFFECTS SUMMARY

Project Summary: A detailed description of the proposal can be found in the EIS, Chapter I. In brief 

summary, the Proposed Action for the project proposes to use variable density thinning across 3,314 acres 

of matrix and Riparian Reserve lands on the Powers Ranger District. Another 385 acres are proposed for 

non-commercial treatments that include thinning small diameter trees, planting Port-Orford-cedar and 

removing disease-infected or damaged understory trees. The project lies within the South Fork Coquille 

River and the Middle Fork Coquille River 5th-Field watersheds, and the Headwaters of South Fork 

Coquille River, Coal Creek, Mill Creek, Lower Rock Creek and Myrtle Creek 6th-Field watersheds, none 

of which are significant botanically. The South Fork Coquille 5th-Field watershed is designated as a Tier 

1 Key Watershed, selected for directly contributing to anadomous salmonid and bull trout conservation in 

the Northwest Forest Plan (USDA 1994). 

Effects Summary: No significant botanical issues were raised during internal or public scoping. Effects 

to botanical resources fall under the category “other issues”. Other issues as used in this environmental 

analysis are those that have been determined to be relevant, are used to disclose consequences, may affect 

design of component actions, may prescribe Project Design Criteria (PDC), or whose disclosure of 

environmental effects are required by law or policy. Other Issues differ from Significant Issues in that 

they often describe minor and/or non-variable consequences.

There are no populations, nor is there any habitat for any federally listed Threatened or Endangered plant 

or fungi species within the project. The project would have no effect on any Threatened or Endangered 

plant or fungi species or their habitat. 

Oregon bensonia (Bensonia oregana), a Sensitive vascular plant species, was found within the project. 

The planned project may impact individuals or habitat of Oregon bensonia, but will not likely 

contribute to a trend towards federal listing, or cause a loss of viability to the population or species 

within its range. The project will have no impact on any other Sensitive vascular plant, lichen or 

bryophyte species. PDCs focusing on avoidance of known sites of Oregon bensonia are recommended, 

the specifics of which are outlined later in this report. Sensitive fungi may be present within the project 

but surveys were deemed impractical. Based on existing data the regional Interagency Special Status and 

Sensitive Species Program (ISSSSP) provided literature review and several analysis documents which are 

all incorporated by reference to this document. 

Based on the regional assessment, this project may impact individuals or habitat of Sensitive fungi, 

but will not likely contribute to a trend towards federal listing, or cause a loss of viability to any 

population or species within its range. 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-2 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

High priority invasive plants are absent from the Planning Area. Several lower priority invasive plant 

species were documented along roads and landings. The risk of invasive plant species spread in the 

project area was determined to be low to moderate with implementation of the PDCs listed in Chapter 

II of the EIS. 

III. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

This section summarizes current botanical resources in the affected area and those components with the 

potential to be affected by the Proposed Action. Resources with no potential to be affected may be 

identified, but need not be analyzed. This information provides the baseline needed to understand 

impacts associated with the project. 

The analysis area for botanical resources consists of: 

For vascular plants, lichens, mosses, liverworts and invasive plant species, the Eden Ridge 

Timber Sales Planning Area boundaries consisting of 6,516 acres of Forest Service land within 

the South Fork Coquille River and the Middle Fork Coquille River 5th-Field watersheds, and the 

Headwaters of South Fork Coquille River, Coal Creek, Mill Creek, Lower Rock Creek and 

Myrtle Creek 6th-Field watersheds. 

For fungi the scale of analysis is the PNW Region 6 of the Forest Service in Oregon and 

Washington. 

A. BOTANICAL RESOURCES 

1. Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Plants and Fungi 

Forest Service Manual (FSM) chapter 2670 outlines the policy and direction for the management of 

TES vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and fungi and their habitat on Forest Service lands. FSM 

chapter 2670 requires a Biological Evaluation (BE) report in order to determine and document effects 

from proposed actions on TES species. This Botanical Resources report satisfies the BE 

requirement as stated in the Forest Service Manual. 

The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976 also contains language relating to diversity and 

species viability that guides decision and management of native plant species on Forest Service lands. 

The language in the currently used planning rule (1982) states “management prescriptions, where 

appropriate and to the extent practicable, shall preserve and enhance the diversity of plant and animal 

communities, including endemic and desirable naturalized plant and animal species, so that it is at least 

as great as that which would be expected in a natural forest and the diversity of tree species similar to 

that existing in the Planning Area.” This language led to the following additions to the Siskiyou 

National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan in1989: 

Forest-wide Standards and Guidelines for Special Status Plants (see LRMP IV 26-27, 37) 

Standards and guidelines applicable at the project level are: 

1. Monitor the effects of management activities on TES plant species. If the results of monitoring 

show a decline in species viability then, alter the management strategy. 

2. Analyze the potential effects of all ground disturbing projects on TES plant species and habitat. 

Mitigate project effects to avoid a decline in species viability at the Forest level. 

3. Map, record, and protect essential habitat for TES plant species. Species management guides 

should be prepared to address the effects of land management activities on local populations of 

TES at a broader scale, and to identify opportunities to enhance and develop habitat locally. 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-3 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

2. Strategic Plants and Fungi 

Strategic, is a new category of species established in May of 2007 by the Interagency Special Status and 

Sensitive Species Program (ISSSSP). Strategic Species are not considered “sensitive” species under 

Forest Service Manual (FSM) 2670. These are species listed by the Oregon Biological Inventory Center 

(ORBIC) as category 3 because of information gaps (i.e., distribution, habitat, threats) resulting in status 

or taxonomic uncertainties. 

These species may be rare or uncommon but the current level of scientific knowledge is not adequate 

enough to make an accurate determination for listing as TES. ISSSSP staff in the Regional Office (RO) 

work in coordination with field offices to compile information to remove these uncertainties. The 

management requirement for this group of species is to record survey and location information in the 

agency’s corporate database: Natural Resource Information System (NRIS). Strategic species are not 

specifically targeted during surveys and in the event new sites are located active management is not 

required. However, the rarity of a given species will be taken into account when deciding whether or not 

a site should be protected. 

3. Survey and Manage Plant and Fungi Species 

The 1993 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) and 1994 Record of Decision for Amendments 

to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents within the Range of the 

Northern Spotted Owl (also known as the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP)) created the survey and manage 

standard and guideline for all land allocations on the west side of the Cascades in Oregon, Washington 

and northern California and east Cascade forests within the range of the northern spotted owl. 

The standard and guidelines were created to gain information that could help manage a set of lesser 

known and possibly rare taxa. Species of fungi, lichens, bryophytes and vascular plants were included to 

determine the status of their population viability. 

The original survey and manage provision of the NWFP was amended in 2001 and 2004, then it was 

completely removed in 2007. A recent settlement agreement to a lawsuit (Conservation Northwest, et al. 

v. Sherman, et al., No. 08-1067-JCC (W.D. Wash.)) reinstated the program to the 2001 species list and 

level of management. 

On December 17, 2009, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued an order in 

Conservation Northwest, et al. v. Sherman, et al., No. 08-1067-JCC (W.D. Wash.), granting Plaintiffs’ 

motion for partial summary judgment and finding NEPA violations in the Final Supplemental to the 2004 

Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to Remove or Modify the Survey and Manage Mitigation 

Measure Standards and Guidelines (USDA and USDI, June 2007). In response, parties entered into 

settlement negotiations in April 2010, and the Court filed approval of the resulting Settlement Agreement 

on July 6, 2011. Projects that are within the range of the northern spotted owl are now subject to the 

survey and management standards and guidelines in the 2001 ROD, as modified by the 2011 Settlement 

Agreement. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sale Project applies a 2006 Exemption from a stipulation entered by the court in 

litigation regarding Survey and Manage species and the 2004 Record of Decision related to Survey and 

Manage Mitigation Measure in Northwest Ecosystem Alliance v. Rey, No. 04-844-MJP (W.D. Wash., Oct. 

10, 2006). Previously, in 2006, the District Court (Judge Pechman) invalidated the agencies’ 2004 RODs 

eliminating Survey and Manage due to NEPA violations. Following the District Court’s 2006 ruling, 

parties to the litigation entered into a stipulation exempting certain categories of activities from the 

Survey and Manage standards and guidelines, including both pre-disturbance surveys and known site 

management. 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-4 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Also known as the Pechman Exemptions, the Court’s Order from October 11, 2006 directs: 

“Defendants shall not authorize, allow, or permit to continue any logging or other grounddisturbing activities on projects to which the 2004 ROD applied unless such activities are in 

compliance with the 2001 ROD (as the 2001 ROD was amended or modified as of March 21, 

2004), except that this order will not apply to: 

a. Thinning projects in stands younger than 80 years old;

b. Replacing culverts on roads that are in use and part of the road system, and removing culverts if 

the road is temporary or to be decommissioned; 

c. Riparian and stream improvement projects where the riparian work is riparian planting, obtaining 

material for placing in-stream, and road or trail decommissioning; and where the stream 

improvement work is the placement large wood, channel and floodplain reconstruction, or removal of 

channel diversions; and 

d. The portions of project involving hazardous fuel treatments where prescribed fire is applied. Any 

portion of a hazardous fuel treatment project involving commercial logging will remain subject to the 

survey and management requirements except for thinning of stands younger than 80 years old under 

subparagraph a. of this paragraph.” 

Per the 2011 Settlement Agreement, the 2006 Pechman Exemptions remain in force: 

“The provisions stipulated to by the parties and ordered by the court in Northwest 

Ecosystem Alliance v. Rey, No. 04-844-MJP (W.D. Wash. Oct. 10, 2006), shall remain in 

force. None of the following terms or conditions in this Settlement Agreement modifies in 

any way the October 2006 provisions stipulated to by the parties and ordered by the court 

in Northwest Ecosystem Alliance v. Rey, No. 04844-MJP (W.D. Wash. Oct. 10, 2006).” 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project meets Exemption a. because it entails no regeneration harvest and 

entails thinning in stands less than 80 years old (see Eden Ridge TS Silviculture Report, 2011). 

Therefore, no specific survey and manage surveys were conducted for any plant or fungi species listed in 

the standards and guidelines.

B. PRE-FIELD ANALYSIS 

Based on the applicable laws, policies and procedures outlined above, a review of potential TES plant and 

fungi species was conducted in order to determine the extent of botanical analysis needed for the project. 

The NRIS database was consulted in order to determine the potential likelihood of encountering TES 

plant and fungi species within this project. The results of the data query showed that Oregon bensonia is 

the only sensitive plant species previously known to occur within the planning/analysis area. 

1. Sensitive Vascular Plant, Lichen, Moss and Liverworts 

An analysis of the 99 vascular plants, 17 mosses, 7 liverworts and 11 lichen species listed TES and either 

suspected or documented on the RRSNF was completed to determine potential habitat that should be 

surveyed (the complete list and analysis can be seen as Attachment A). The analysis considered the 

location where the project would occur as well as the type, intensity and duration of disturbance the 

project would entail in relation to the quality of habitat present. Using GIS, digital aerial imagery and 

known variables such as elevation, aspect and surrounding vegetation type it was determined that the 

project is within the geographic distribution and elevation ranges and contains potential suitable habitat

for the following Forest Service Sensitive listed vascular plant, moss, liverwort and lichen species. 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-5 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table F-1. List of Potential Sensitive Vascular Plant, Lichen, Moss and Liverwort Species with 

Habitat in the Eden Ridge TS Planning Area 

Vascular Species Habitat/Distribution

Arctostaphylos hispidula

Gasquet or Howell’s 

manzanita

Forest edges, brush fields, barren ridgelines. Often on serpentine but not always. 

Usually found with other manzanita species especially A. columbiana. Fire 

dependent species. Occurs sporadically from Coos Co., OR south into Humboldt Co., 

CA. Nearest site to this project is about 15 miles to the southwest on the RRSNF. 

Bensoniella oregana

Oregon bensonia

Seeps, springs, moist meadows and wet roadside ditches along upper slopes and 

ridges. Range is restricted to the Coast and Siskiyou Mountains In extreme SW 

Oregon and NW California. Elevations 2,800 to 5,200 feet. Known sites within the 

Planning Area.

Carex crawfordii

Crawford’s sedge

Seeps, springs, moist meadows and wet roadside ditches along upper slopes and 

ridges. Range is restricted to the Coast and Siskiyou Mountains In extreme SW 

Oregon and NW California. Elevations 2,800 to 5,200 feet. Nearest site to the 

project is about 27 miles to the west.

Carex gynodynama

hairy sedge

Moist meadows, open forests, seeps. Found in the Coast Range and KlamathSiskiyou Mts. from Coos County, Oregon to Monterrey County California.

Illiamna latibractreata

California globe mallow

Moist sites, stream sides in coniferous forests. Often in open or partial shade, 

disturbed ground, often recently burned. Elevation 300-4000 ft. Coos, Curry, 

Douglas, Jackson and Josephine Cos., OR; south to Humboldt Co., CA. The closest 

known site to the project is 5 miles to the southwest on RRSNF lands. 

Romanzoffia thompsonii

Thompson’s mistmaiden

Sunny vernally wet, mossy (esp. Bryum miniatum), rocky hillsides at 750-6,000 ft. 

Douglas, Jackson, Lane, Linn, Marion Cos., in foothills and west Cascades of OR. In 

relation to this Planning Area, there is a known site on BLM land within 20 miles to 

the east. 

Lichen Species Habitat/Distribution

Chaenotheca subroscida

Usually in shaded moist situations, esp. close to the base of trunks. On old THPL, 

PIEN trunks, decorticated stumps and dry twigs of Picea under canopy. Occurring 

throughout SW Oregon. Known site approximately 20 miles east of this project.

Moss Species Habitat/Distribution

Codriophorus depressus

Forming mats on rocks in perennial or intermittent streams, and in the spray zone of 

waterfalls, between 400 and 11,000 feet elevation. Habitats are subject to scour at 

high water.

Tayloria serrata

Forming green sods on old dung, rotten wood, or on soil enriched by dung on 

roadsides, trails, in dry to moist coniferous forest of various age classes including 

early seral, and in wetlands. Decomposed dung may be scarcely visible or 

completely humified. Scattered sites throughout SW OR. Nearest site about 40 miles 

NE of this project.

Liverwort Species Habitat/Distribution

Diplophyllum plicatum

Tends to occur in either Western hemlock/Douglas-fir stands with western cedar 

present or Sitka Spruce older forests stands. It occurs in areas that sustain year-round 

cool habitats with high humidity which are fairly common along the immediate coast 

and in the Coast Range. Many populations known just to the north of the project, the 

closest being about 5 miles away.

Porella bolanderi

Forming shaded to partly exposed mats on a variety of rock types (siliceous, 

calcareous, and metamorphic) and trunks of Quercus, Umbellularia, and Acer 

macrophyllum (Piippo and Norris 1996). In the Pacific Northwest, known elevations 

range from 500-3,000 feet.
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-6 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

2. Sensitive Fungi 

Rare ephemeral fungi, such as mushrooms, coral’s and club’s , are treated separately from the above 

listed species because of the difficulty in surveying and detecting them prior to projects being 

implemented. Surveys for species presence are often difficult, because fungi can be seen only when 

fruiting bodies are produced. Even with above-ground fruiting bodies present, their correlation with the 

extent and abundance of the fungal organisms underground is unknown (Straatsma and Krisai-Greilhuber 

2003). Because of the logistics and costs involved with completing surveys, which takes two years with 

several visits to each unit, the Forest Service Region 6 policy has been to manage these species at a 

broader landscape scale by conducting regional “strategic” surveys. These are surveys for the sake of 

finding new sites, not for clearance of a project. Therefore the effects analysis for fungi is based on 

existing knowledge of the distribution of each species and focuses on the likelihood of extirpation of a 

population. 

The following table lists the Sensitive fungi species either documented or suspected on the RRSNF with 

the potential to be found in the Planning Area: 

Table F-2. List of potential sensitive fungi that may occur in Planning Area 

Arcangeliella camphorata (16) Phaeocollybia psuedofestiva (38)

Boletus pulcherrimus (22) Phaeocollybia scatesiae (18)

Cudonia monticola (31) Phaeocollybia spadicea (68)

Dermocybe humboldtensis (4) Ramaria largentii (21)

Leucogaster citrinus (45) Ramaria spinulosa var. diminutive (1)

Otidea smithii (12) Rhizopogon chamaleontinus (1)

Phaeocollybia attenuata (152) Rhizopogon ellipsosporus (7)

Phaeocollybia californica (35) Rhizopogon exiguous (5)

Phaeocollybia olivacea (99) Sowerbyella rhenana (53)

*The number in parentheses represents the amount of known sites in the PNW as of 2007. 

In order to determine the likelihood of finding Sensitive fungi species in the Planning Area several 

documents written by the Region 6 ISSSSP were referred to. These documents include: 

Fungi Effects Analysis Guidelines, 10/2008; Attachment 1- Likelihood of Occurrence Key, 9/2004; 

Attachment 2- Conservation Assessment for Fungi in Region 5 & 6, 7/2007; Attachment 4 – Potential 

Impacts to Fungi Table; and Habitat Summary for Sensitive Fungi Species, 2007. (ISSSSP website: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/species-index/flora-fungi.shtml) 

Most of the species in the table above are associated to some degree with forest floor litter, down woody 

material, host tree/shrub species, or a combination thereof. While this association is known, details about 

the requirements for forest floor litter or down woody material for most fungal species are not well 

understood, and host specificity is not often known beyond the broad categories of conifers hardwoods or 

plant families within these categories. Down woody material and forest floor litter are direct food sources 

for fungi that play a role in decomposing organic material. Host trees (or shrubs in some cases) provide 

necessary carbohydrates to some fungi through transference of carbohydrates from the roots of the host to 

the fungus via an underground network termed mycelia. 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-7 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Down woody material requirements for most fungal species are not well understood. Down woody 

material may function to retain moisture, allowing root tips to support active ectomycorrhizae (Harvey et 

al. 1976, Harvey et al. 1978, Amaranthus et al. 1989, Harmon and Sexton 1995). These fallen tree 

"reservoirs", large limbs, and stumps can provide refugia for seedlings and mycorrhizal fungi, especially 

in drier forest communities. As stands mature, the availability of downed wood may be crucial for 

establishment of fungi as well as plant seedlings (Kropp 1982). 

Down woody material is a direct food source for wood-decaying fungi. Studies in Scandinavia and North 

America indicate that the presence of large down wood promotes higher diversity of wood-decay fungi 

species (Kruys, 1999, Crites and Dale 1998, Ohlson et al. 1997, Høiland and Bendiksen 1996, Bader et al. 

1995, Wästerlund and Ingelög 1981). Høiland and Bendiksen (1996) found that rare wood-inhabiting 

fungal species occurred primarily on long (average length = 11 meters) and well decayed (average decay 

Class III) down wood. When surface area is taken into consideration, fine woody debris appears to be 

equally important to species diversity (Kruys and Jonsson 1999). 

The presence of large, well decayed down wood in managed stands can provide habitat for both 

ectomycorrhizal and wood-decay fungi, as well as plant seedlings. For some fungi, spore dissemination 

into disturbed areas is the primary method of re-establishment. Remnant stands of late seral forest 

neighboring managed areas may serve as refugia (Clarkson and Mills 1994). In addition, resistant fungal 

propagules may remain in soils or down wood after disturbance (Baar et al. 1999). Regardless of the 

method of re-establishment, it may take a great deal of time before fungal species can be detected. 

The size and scale of down woody material influence the range in size of fungal individuals. Fungal 

colonies can range in size from microscopic to many acres and can persist for years or decades (Smith et 

al. 1992, De la Bastide et al. 1994, Bonello 1998). Typically fungi are patchily distributed, in part due to 

patchy distribution of substrate (living host plants, down wood). Scattered islands of down wood 

throughout a management unit, including many sizes ranging from twigs to large logs, as well as a variety 

of decay classes, may provide better fungal habitat than one size or decay class of down wood 

homogeneously covering the forest floor. 

Data on quantities or coverage of down wood necessary to support a diversity of fungi in Pacific 

Northwest forests do not currently exist. In the dry forests of western Montana, Harvey et al. (1981) 

estimated that 25-37 tons of down wood per hectare are needed to support ectomycorrhizal activity 

necessary for forest communities developing after stand removal. 

C. FIELD INVENTORY RESULTS 

Surveys for the above listed vascular plant, lichen, moss and liverwort species were conducted between 

June and August of 2010 with revisits to some areas occurring in June of 2011. Surveys were conducted 

by contract (Siskiyou Biosurvey, LLC) and by agency botanists. High potential habitat areas were 

delineated prior to commencing surveys. The intuitive controlled survey method was utilized, so that 

each delineated habitat area was searched with a high degree of likelihood that TES species would be 

found if present. In accordance with Region 6 Forest Service direction, fungi surveys were not 

conducted. 

Oregon bensonia was the only sensitive species found during surveys. It was relocated at a handful of 

historically known sites, as well as being located in several new areas, including within some of the 

proposed units and roads in this project. There were several sites found along the edge of existing road 

beds where wet conditions have persisted due to the change in hydrology caused by the roads original 

construction. One site was found within a historical road bed scheduled for rebuilding. Units/roads with 

sites include 007, 314, 318, 319 and 326 and road 5000-448 (see map in Attachment B for details). 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-8 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Based on results of downed wood material surveys during stand exams in some units in 2009 (Boyer, 

Silviculture Diagnosis, 2011) and from field observations during surveys for TES plant species, the 

Project Area appears to be stocked with coarse down wood probably due to debris remaining from 

historical railroad logging. There is sufficient substrate and habitat currently available for colonization by 

Sensitive saprophytic fungi, although there are less large diameter structures than desired. Though the 

structure and composition of the forest does not qualify it as old-growth, there is likely to be sufficient 

opportunity for colonization of the existing tree species by Sensitive ectomycorrhizal fungi. 

IV. INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES

Definition of an Invasive Plant 

Those plant species designated as Invasive Plants by the Secretary of Agriculture or by the responsible 

State official. Invasive Plants generally possess one or more of the following characteristics: aggressive 

and difficult to manage, poisonous, toxic, parasitic, a carrier or host of a serious insect or disease, or being 

non-native or newly introduced and not common to the state. Generally, species that can survive and 

reproduce in a natural setting away from landscape areas are considered invasive. 

Management Direction 

Management direction on this subject is given in the Siskiyou NF LRMP under forest-wide standards and 

guidelines item 12-6: "Control of Invasive Plants should be accomplished in cooperation with state, 

county, and private organizations through Weed Control Districts or Coordinated Resource Management 

Agreements. Preventive management is critical to an effective control program." 

In addition, this document incorporates by reference all the standards and guidelines described in the 

Pacific Northwest Region Invasive Plant Program Preventing and Managing Invasive Plants Record of 

Decision and Final Environmental Impact Statement Volumes I-III, 2005. That document amends the 

Siskiyou NF LRMP to include an updated set of information on preventing and managing invasive plant 

species in Region 6. 

Current Management Direction for Invasive Plants as stated in the Forest Service Manual 2080, 

Amendment No. 2000-95-5, effective November 29, 1995 states the following: 

District Rangers are responsible for: 

1. Determining the risk of Invasive Plant introduction or spread as part of the NEPA process for 

proposed actions, especially for ground disturbing and site altering activities. 

2. Enforcing closures or prohibition orders issued under 36 CFR parts 261.50 (a) and 261.58 (t) and 

enforcing contract specifications intended to prevent and control the spread of Invasive Plants. 

3. Ensuring that the contracts and permits contain appropriate clauses concerning the prevention 

or spread of Invasive Plants as described in the Pacific Northwest Region Invasive Plant 

Program Preventing and Managing Invasive Plants Record of Decision (September 2005).

Policy: When any ground disturbing action or activity is proposed, determine the risk of 

 introducing or spreading Invasive Plants associated with a proposed action. 

A. CURRENT CONDITIONS WITHIN THE PLANNING AREA 

Invasive plant surveys were completed as part of the TES plant surveys previously discussed. The 

Planning Area was found to be relatively void of invasive plants, especially species that are prioritized for 

active treatments (see Attachment C, Priority Invasive Plants Documented or Suspected on the RRSNF 

for a list of priority species).
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-9 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) was found to be common along at least some portion of each road 

within the Planning Area. The district uses only biological controls when treating Tansy, no manual or 

spraying treatments are used. Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) was also found to be fairly common along 

roads and within old landings. The district is not actively treating bull thistle, as it is biennial, it comes 

and goes quickly from locations and does not cause irreparable harm. Canadian thistle (Cirsium arvense)

was found to be less common than the other two previously listed species but is more of a concern for 

persistence and harm to the environment. One historical site of Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) is 

known from the Planning Area but was not relocated during surveys. 

V. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

This section assesses the potential effects to botanical resources caused by implementation of each 

alternative. Analysis focuses on the following “other” issues identified in Chapter I of the Environmental 

Impact Statement: 

a) TES Plant and Fungi Species 

b) Invasive Plant Spread 

A. EFFECTS ON THREATENED, ENDANGERED AND SENSITIVE PLANTS AND

FUNGI SPECIES 

1. Direct and Indirect Effects 

Alternative 1(No-Action) 

The current condition would remain the same under this alternative. Natural processes would continue to 

progress in a random succession with an unknown future outcome. Known and unknown TES plant and 

fungi species that currently exist within the project boundary would respond and continue to evolve 

within the natural system. There would be no direct or indirect effects from implementing this 

alternative. 

Action Alternatives 

The differences in Alternatives 2, 3 and 4 have no bearing on effects to Oregon bensonia because under 

all Action Alternatives, the known sites found in Units 007, 314, 318, 319 and 326 would undergo 

vegetation treatments. Effects to sensitive fungi species would also remain relatively similar because of 

only subtle changes in alternative proposal acreages in relation to the larger landscape. For these reasons 

effects for each alternative have been lumped in the discussion below. 

a. Oregon bensonia 

Direct and Indirect Effects 

Direct effects to sensitive plants may include impacts such as trampling by foot or equipment, piling of 

vegetation or logs on known sites or any other soil disturbing activity that could potentially uproot 

individuals or a population. Examples of indirect effects are things like edge effect (Chen et al., 1992) 

which can cause changes in microclimatic conditions that may be necessary for a species to persist. If 

Project Design Criteria (PDC) were not implemented there is a high likelihood that the populations of 

Oregon bensonia found within treatment areas of this project would be directly impacted by workers or 

their equipment. There is also potential for indirect impacts from thinning due to the potential for lower 

relative humidity and moisture retention levels in the soil from decreased canopy and shade cover causing 

the sites to dry out. 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-10

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Avoidance of the populations located within this project is recommended so that direct and indirect 

effects are minimized to insignificant. The methods for avoidance are discussed in the PDC section 

below. Acknowledging there may be habitat and populations that were not found during the surveys of 

the project it is determined that the Eden Ridge Timber Sale Project may impact individuals or 

habitat, but will not likely contribute to a trend towards federal listing, or cause a loss of viability to 

the population or species. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales project will have no impact on any of the 

other Sensitive vascular plant, lichen, moss or liverwort species listed as having potential habitat in the 

project. 

b. Sensitive Fungi 

Threats and impacts to fungi may occur at several scales. At a local habitat scale, impacts or threats could 

include anything that affects (removes, alters) the substrate on which fungi grow. Impacts may also occur 

on a larger scale as a result of the cumulative effects of many smaller local impacts. Local threats 

combined on larger scales could alter the distribution of populations across regional landscapes, resulting 

in the impairment of landscape-wide species persistence. For example, the loss of several populations 

within one area could truncate population continuity, inhibiting the ability of a species to disperse across 

distances. Such disjunct distributions can often result in expanding areas of extirpation. As cumulative 

effects may be difficult to address, perhaps the most useful strategy is to focus on what can be managed 

locally, assuming that cumulative effects would thus be minimized as well. 

Larger-scale, indirect effects (such as climate change or air pollution) are difficult to assess, given limited 

knowledge of even microhabitat requirements of most fungi. The effect of larger-scale issues on fungi 

populations remains unknown, and cannot be adequately addressed with the management options 

discussed in this document. 

Management activities may pose direct or indirect threats to fungal individuals or mycelial mats, 

depending on the timing or intensity of the activity. Types of activities that can result in threats to fungal 

individuals or alter habitat conditions beyond a given threshold of tolerance include activities that: 

o intensively or extensively remove or consume the woody substrate, forest floor litter, or shrub 

hosts with which the species is associated; 

o remove or destroy the fungal organism; or 

o remove host tree species or significantly modify the microclimate at the species’ site. 

The following table from the regional Interagency Special Status Sensitive Species Program (ISSSSP) 

“Fungi Effects Analysis Guidelines” highlights potential impacts to Sensitive fungi: 

Table F-3. Potential habitat impacts to sensitive fungi species 

Thinning Increase in solar radiation up to 60%. Modification of forest floor conditions. 

Retention of large wood is an important factor in protecting Ectomycorrhizal (EM) and 

Saprobe/wood decaying species viability 

Direct Impacts Indirect Impacts

Removal of host 

trees necessary to 

sustain EM

Disturbance of 

mycelial network

Moisture retention capability

overstory shade

forest floor litter and duff 

large wood

Nutrient source

Large woody material or host trees for regeneration of inoculum source

Soil compaction (less for helicopter)

root growth and root tip availability for fungi
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-11

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Alternatives 2 (Proposed Action), 3and 4 all propose thinning, not regeneration harvest and because the 

forest is early to mid seral in structure and composition, there is less potential for Sensitive fungi to occur. 

There is low probability of extirpating a population at the watershed or regional scale. 

Impacts to sensitive fungi would be minimized by following a harvest prescription that leaves at least 40-

60% canopy and follows existing wildlife guidelines for the retention of Large Woody Material (LWM) 

to be left on the ground. The retention of legacy trees and downed woody material is beneficial for both 

mycorrhizal and wood/litter saprobe fungi species (Smith et al., 2002; Lemkuhl et al., 2004; Kranabetter 

et al., 2001). Therefore, in theory, there should be suitable substrate and habitat available for the 

continued and future colonization of sensitive fungi species within the stands proposed for treatment in 

this project. 

Using the ISSSSP Attachment 1 - Likelihood of Occurrence Key it was determined that Outcome 2 was 

the likely scenario for this Planning Area. Outcome 2 in the document states the following: 

Outcome 2: Reasonable likelihood of occurrence; low risk to species viability or trend toward 

listing 

Because: 

a) The species is likely to occur in the proposed project area, but habitat requirements are too broad 

or too poorly understood to reasonably mitigate adverse effects through management of habitat at the 

project specific scale. Broad-scale inventories with management of all known sites may contribute 

toward species viability, and 

b) Allocated Reserve areas (Northwest Forest Plan allocations, as well as reserve areas designated 

elsewhere) could provide for viability of the species or could help to ensure that the project would not 

contribute to the need to list. 

With regard to Sensitive fungi species, implementing any of the proposed alternatives for the Eden Ridge 

timber sale may impact individuals or habitat but would not likely contribute to a trend toward federal 

listing, or cause a loss of viability to the species or population. 

2. Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative effects are "those effects on the environment that result from the incremental effect of the 

action when added to past, present and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of what agency 

(federal or nonfederal) or person undertakes such other actions. 

Oregon bensonia 

The scale considered for cumulative effects to Oregon bensonia is the extent of the species distribution 

(Coast and Siskiyou Mts. of Coos, Douglas, Josephine and Curry County, Oregon disjunct to the south in 

Humboldt County, California). There are roughly 60 populations of this species known in Oregon. 

Management of this species dates back to the early 1980s when Forest Service botanists began conducting 

surveys prior to proposed projects and recommending PDCs to protect populations of Oregon bensonia 

(Rare Plant Siting Forms, Gold Beach and Powers RD 1978-present). 

It is likely that adverse effects occurred to some populations of Oregon bensonia from past logging prior 

to the early 80s. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project would not incrementally increase any significant 

effects to Oregon bensonia because it would have no direct or indirect effects to the species with the 

proposed PDCs being implemented. 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-12

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Sensitive fungi 

The scale considered for cumulative effects to Sensitive fungi is the Pacific Northwest Region 6 area in 

Oregon and Washington because this is the level used by ISSSSP biologists to develop the analysis tools 

that have allowed for the assessment of Sensitive fungi without doing field surveys to verify species 

presence or absence within projects. There is a high probability that adverse effects have occurred to 

several of the listed Sensitive fungi species in the past 100 or so years within the region. 

Acknowledging that impacts may occur to Sensitive fungi sites, that are as yet unknown because of a lack 

of surveys and/or an inadequate protocol, is inevitable. Therefore it is can also be said that with these 

potential direct and indirect effects there would also be cumulative effects because of the certainty that 

there have been past impacts. There is also likely to be future impacts because of the lack of information 

on the distribution of these Sensitive species. Overall these effects are not likely to be significant enough 

to cause a loss of viability to a population or species, keeping in mind there is a high level of uncertainty. 

B. EFFECTS ON THE ECOSYSTEM FROM INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES 

1. Direct and Indirect Effects

Alternative 1 (No-Action) 

There are no known high priority invasive plant species within the Planning Area. There would be no 

chance to infest new areas because no actions would occur if this alternative were chosen. This 

alternative would result in no direct or indirect effects with regard to invasive plant spread. 

Action Alternatives 

For effects determinations, the alternatives are similar enough to lump together, although Alternative 4 

(3,058 ac.) would have slightly less impact than Alternative 3 (3,240 ac.) which in turn would have 

slightly less impact than Alternative 2 (3,314 ac.). This is due to the amount of acres of disturbance being 

slightly less for Alternative 4 and Alternative 3, with both proposing less thinning than Alternative 2. 

Direct effects with regard to spreading invasive plants are actions such as parking road working 

equipment on an invasive plant site that has gone to seed then moving the equipment to another area in 

the Planning Area and potentially spreading the seed to a new site. Several scenarios similar to this 

example have been considered and PDCs were developed to avoid the introduction and/or spread of 

invasive species in the project. Direct effects would be minimized to insignificant by following the 

PDCs. 

The removal of canopy in an area adjacent to an existing invasive plant site is an example of an indirect 

effect that could lead to further spread of that species by opening up bare ground and increasing available 

sun light. The actions proposed for this project have some potential to increase light and expose bare soil 

after thinning occurs, which has been shown to increase invasive plant colonization (Nelson et al., 2008). 

With the limited amount of current seed source in the project this proposal has low to moderate risk of 

introducing or increasing invasive plants. 

2. Cumulative Effects 

Based on the limited potential for direct or indirect effects it is anticipated that there would be low to 

moderate risk of increasing cumulative effects on the spread of invasive plant species within the project. 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-13

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

VI. PROJECT DESIGN CRITERIA FOR BOTANICAL RESOURCES

Resource 

Type

Project Design Criteria Objective Where Applicable Reference

Sensitive 

Vascular 

Plants

Layout aggregated retention 

zones or skips in areas 

where Bensoniella oregana

was found. A buffer of 100 

foot radius from the edge of 

each population is 

recommended.

Protect existing known sites of 

the sensitive plant Bensoniella 

oregana by avoiding direct 

trampling, maintaining coarse 

woody debris for moisture 

retention and maintaining the 

current amount of shade to 

light ratio.

Units 007, 314, 318, 

319 and 326. See 

map in Attachment B 

for details.

Draft Conservation Assessment 

for Bensoniella oregana, J. 

Ferriel, 2005; Management 

Recommendations for 

Bensoniella -Version 2.0; R. 

Holmes and L. Hoover; 1998.

Sensitive 

Vascular 

Plants

Populations of Bensoniella 

oregana found within the 

road prizm will be flagged 

prior to implementation of the 

project. No equipment or 

vehicles should be parked or 

driven within the flagged 

areas.

Protect existing known sites of 

the sensitive plant Bensoniella 

oregana by precluding any 

direct trampling of individuals 

or a population.

Road 5000-448. See 

map in Attachment B 

for details.

Draft Conservation Assessment 

for Bensoniella oregana, J. 

Ferriel, 2005; Management 

Recommendations for 

Bensoniella -Version 2.0; R. 

Holmes and L. Hoover; 1998.

Sensitive 

Vascular 

Plants

The site of Bensoniella 

oregana in unit 326 intersects 

with a proposed new road. 

The proposed new road 

should be moved further to 

the north of the buffer area. 

Protect existing known sites of 

the sensitive plant Bensoniella 

oregana by avoiding direct 

trampling, maintaining coarse 

woody debris for moisture 

retention and maintaining the 

current amount of shade to 

light ratio.

Proposed new road 

intersection with 

existing road in Unit 

326. See map in 

Appendix B for 

details.

Draft Conservation Assessment 

for Bensoniella oregana, J. 

Ferriel, 2005; Management 

Recommendations for 

Bensoniella -Version 2.0; R. 

Holmes and L. Hoover; 1998.

Sensitive 

Fungi

Avoid thinning below 40% 

canopy cover with 60% or 

above preferred. Use 

dispersed retention with 

random aggregate retention 

or skips as outlined in the 

Silviculture Report for this 

project.

Allow for continued and future 

ectomycorrhizal colonization of 

remaining trees post-thinning.

Throughout the 

project areas.

Luoma et. al. 2004: Response of 

ectomycorrhizal fungus 

sporocarp production to varying 

levels and patterns of green-tree 

retention.

Sensitive 

Fungi

Maintain down wood in all 

stages of decay across 

forested landscapes.. 

Following the current forest 

standards should meet this

criteria.

Many fungal species are 

associated with larger down 

woody material in advanced 

stages of decay. Allows for 

future saprophytic fungi 

colonization by retaining as 

much downed large wood as 

possible.

Throughout the 

project areas.

R. Huff and K. Cushman, 2007; 

Conservation Assessment for 

Fungi Included in Forest Service 

Regions 5 and 6 Sensitive and 

BLM California, Oregon and 

Washington Special Status 

Species Programs.

Sensitive 

Fungi

Maintain all larger well 

decayed logs during stand 

treatments. 

In younger stands, following 

disturbance or harvest, the 

presence of large, well 

decayed down wood legacy 

can provide habitat for both 

ectomycorrhizal and wooddecay fungi, as well as plant 

seedlings. For some fungi, 

spore dissemination into 

disturbed areas is the primary 

method of re-establishment. 

Following forest standards 

should meet this criteria.

Throughout the 

project areas.

R. Huff and K. Cushman, 2007; 

Conservation Assessment for 

Fungi Included in Forest Service 

Regions 5 and 6 Sensitive and 

BLM California, Oregon and 

Washington Special Status 

Species Programs.

Invasive 

Plants

Depending upon funding 

availability collect KV funds 

to monitor and treat invasive 

species within the Planning 

Area for up to 5 years after 

completion of the project.

Avoid larger scale infestations 

by monitoring and treating 

invasive plants as soon as 

they are discovered within the 

Planning Area after work is 

complete.

Throughout the 

project areas.
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-14

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Resource 

Type

Project Design Criteria Objective Where Applicable Reference

Invasive 

Plants

Before entering RRSNF 

lands the contractor is 

required to clean the 

undercarriage, tires, wheels 

and other parts of off-road 

equipment to prevent the 

spread of seed from off forest 

areas. When leaving RRSNF 

to work in other areas the 

contractor should clean 

vehicles again before 

returning to work on this 

project.

Prevent the introduction of 

invasive plant seed into the 

Planning Area from other 

projects that the contractor has 

worked on in the recent past. 

Throughout the 

project areas.

Pacific Northwest Region 

Invasive Plant Program, 

Preventing and Managing 

Invasive Plants, Record of 

Decision; 2005.

Invasive 

Plants

Use locally collected native 

grass seed for erosion 

control, wildlife seeding and 

invasive plant abatement.

Prevent the inadvertent 

establishment of non-native 

grass species into the project 

area.

Throughout the 

project areas.

Pacific Northwest Region 

Invasive Plant Program, 

Preventing and Managing 

Invasive Plants, Record of 

Decision; 2005.

Invasive 

Plants

Use only certified weed free 

straw/mulch if needed for 

erosion control or other 

purposes during road 

construction.

Prevent the inadvertent 

establishment of non-native 

grass species into the project 

area.

Throughout the 

project areas.

Pacific Northwest Region 

Invasive Plant Program, 

Preventing and Managing 

Invasive Plants, Record of 

Decision; 2005.

Invasive 

Plants

All rock sources for road 

work/construction must first 

be inspected by a botanist on 

the district to ensure they are 

weed free before being used.

Prevent the inadvertent 

dispersal of invasive plant 

seed into the project areas.

Throughout the 

project areas.

Pacific Northwest Region 

Invasive Plant Program, 

Preventing and Managing 

Invasive Plants, Record of 

Decision; 2005.

VII. REFERENCES

Castellano, M.A., J. E. Smith, T. O’Dell, E. Cázares and S. Nugent. 1999. Handbook to Strategy 1 

Fungal Species in the Northwest Forest Plan. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 

General Technical Report PNW-GTR-476. 

Chen, J., Franklin, J., Spies, T.; Vegetation Responses to Edge Environments in Old-Growth Douglas-Fir 

Forests; Ecological Applications, 2(4). 1992. pp. 387-396 1992. 

Christy, J. A. and D. H. Wagner. 1996. Guide for the identification of rare, threatened or sensitive 

bryophytes in the range of the northern spotted owl, western Washington, western Oregon and 

northwestern California. USDI-Bureau of Land Management, Eugene District; USDA-Forest Service, 

Siuslaw National Forest; The Nature Conservancy; and The Northwest Botanical Institute. 

Ferriel, J. 2005. Draft Conservation Assessment for Bensoniella oregana. USDA Forest Service. Rogue 

River-Siskiyou National Forest, Gold Beach, Oregon. 

Hickman, James C. 1993. The Jepson Manual Higher Plants of California. University of California 

Press. Berkeley, CA. 1,400 pp. 

Hitchcock, C. L. and A. Cronquist. 1973. Flora of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington 

Press. Seattle, Washington. 

Interagency Special Status and Sensitive Species Program (ISSSSP); 2011 

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-15

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Kranabetter, J.M. and P. Kroeger. 2001. Ectomycorrhizal mushroom response to partial cutting in a 

western hemlock-western redcedar forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 31: 978-987. 

Lawton, E. 1971. Moss Flora of the Pacific Northwest. The Hattori Botanical Laboratory. Nichinan, 

Japan. 

, and D.R. Hosford. 2004. Truffle abundance and mycophagy by 

northern flying squirrels in eastern Washington forests. Forest Ecology and Management 200(1-3):49-65. 

Luoma, D., Eberhart, J., Molina, R., Amaranthus, M.; Response of ectomycorrhizal fungus sporocarp 

production to varying levels of green tree retention. Forest Ecology and Management 202 (2004) 337–

354. 

McCune, B. and L. Geiser. 1997. Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest. Oregon State University 

Press. Corvallis, Oregon.

Mullens, L. and Showalter, R. 2007. Rare Plants of Southwest Oregon, USDA Forest Service & USDI 

Bureau of Land Management. Grants Pass, Oregon. 

Oregon Natural Heritage Program Data Base. 2006. Portland, Oregon. 

Smith, J. E., R. Molina, M. M. P. Huso, D. L. Luoma, D. McKay, M. A. Castellano, T. Lebel, and Y. 

Valachovic 2002. Species richness, abundance, and composition of hypogeous and epigeous 

ectomycorrhizal fungal sporocarps in young, rotation-age, and old-growth stands in Douglas-fir 

(Pseudotsuga menziesii) in the Cascade Range of Oregon, USA. Canadian Journal of Botany 80: 186-

204. 

USDA Forest Service. 1989. Final Environmental Impact Statement, Land and Resource Management 

Plan (LRMP), Siskiyou National Forest. Siskiyou National Forest, Grants Pass. 

USDA Forest Service. 1991. Forest Service Manual: wildlife, fish, and sensitive plant management 

(Section 2670), WO Amendment 2600-91-3, effective 5/31/91. 

USDA/USDI. 1994A. Final supplemental environmental impact statement on management of habitat for 

late-successional and old growth forest related species within the range of the northern spotted owl. 

Forest Service/Bureau of Land Management. Portland, Oregon. 

USDA-Forest Service/USDI-Bureau of Land Management. 1994. Record of Decision for Amendments 

to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the 

Northern Spotted Owl, Standards and Guidelines for Management of Habitat for Late-Successional and 

Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl. 

USDA-Forest Service/USDI-Bureau of Land Management. 2001. Record of Decision and Standards and 

Guidelines for Amendments to the Survey and Manage, Protection Buffer, and other Mitigation Measures 

Standards and Guidelines. Portland, OR. 135 pp. 

USDA-Forest Service/USDI-Bureau of Land Management. 2004. Record of Decision to Remove or 

Modify the Survey and Manage Mitigation Standards and Guidelines in Forest Service and Bureau of 

Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl. 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-16

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

USDA-Forest Service. 2007. Record of Decision to Remove the Survey and Manage Mitigation 

Standards and Guidelines From Forest Lands and Resource Management Plans Within the Range of the 

Northern Spotted Owl. 

USDA Forest Service. 1978- 2008. Sensitive and endemic plant records and plant survey records on file 

at Gold Beach RD, Gold Beach, Oregon. 

USDA Forest Service. 1989. Final Environmental Impact Statement, Land and Resource Management 

Plan (LRMP), Siskiyou National Forest. Grants Pass, Oregon. 

USDA Forest Service. 1995. Forest Service Manual: Series 2000 - National Forest Resource 

Management, WO Amendment 2000-95-5, effective 11/29/95 - Invasive Plant Management. 

USDA Forest Service. 1995. Current Management Direction for Invasive Plants, Forest Service Manual 

2080, Amendment No. 2000-95-5, effective November 29, 1995. Washington DC 

USDA Forest Service. 1998. Pistol River Watershed Analysis. Gold Beach Ranger District. Gold Beach, 

OR.

USDA-Forest Service/USDI-Bureau of Land Management. ISSSSP Conservation Planning Tools. 

 http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/planning-tools/

USDA Forest Service. 2005. Pacific Northwest Invasive Plant Program Final Environmental Impact 

Statement. Region 6, Portland, OR. 

USDA Forest Service. 2008. Current Management Direction for Native Plant Revegetation, Forest 

Service Manual 2070, 2070.3 and 2070.46, effective February 13, 2008. Washington DC 

USDA Plants Database. http://plants.usda.gov 2008. 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-17

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

ATTACHMENT A 

Complete Table of Current Threatened, Endangered, Sensitive, Strategic, and Survey and Manage 

Vascular Plant (118 species), Lichen (47 species), Moss (34 species), Liverwort (13 species) and Fungi 

(189 species) Species Documented or Suspected (Total=401 species) to Occur on the Rogue RiverSiskiyou National Forest (RRSNF). List is from the Region 6 Regional Forester/ Interagency Special 

Status and Sensitive Species Program, Jan. 2008 and the Survey and Manage Settlement Agreement, July 

2011. 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

VASCULAR PLANTS

Adiantum jordanii

(California 

maidenhair fern)

Sensitive Documented

Growing under myrtle-wood along 

intermittent stream banks, moist draws and 

within moist rocky crevices. Elevations less 

than 3600 feet. Known from about 22 

occurrences along the Lower Rogue and 

Lower Umpqua river canyons of OR; very 

common in CA.

No Impact

No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. Outside 

the necessary plant association.

Allium bolanderi 

var. bolanderi

(Bolander’s onion)

Strategic Documented

Rocky clay soils including serpentine; < 1000 

m (3280 ft.). N/A

No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Arabis 

macdonaldiana

(Macdonald’s 

rockcress)

Endangered Documented

On barren to shrub covered rocky serpentine 

soil and Jeffrey pine woodlands at 500 to 

4,000 ft elevation. Range is confined to the 

heavily serpentinized bands of soil located 

along the far western portion of the CA/OR 

border within/near the Kalmiopsis Wilderness 

S to Red Mtn, CA.

No Effect

No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Arabis modesta

(Rogue canyon 

rockcress)

Strategic Documented

Deep soil on steep slopes, cliffs, shaded 

canyon ledges; 150–500 m (500-1,600 feet). 

Restricted range-Rogue Canyon in 

Josephine Co., near Provolt, Jackson Co.; 

Siskiyou Co., CA.

N/A

No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Arabis 

suffrutescens var. 

horizontalis (Crater 

Lake rockcress)

Sensitive Suspected

Peaks in the High Cascades on gravelly or 

stony slopes and dry pumice at 5500 to 8200 

feet. No Impact

No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Arctostaphylos 

hispidula

(Gasquet or 

Howell’s 

manzanita)

Sensitive Documented

Dry rocky ridges and gravelly soils, often on 

serpentine. Shrub communities or sparse 

forest, often growing with A. columbiana. 

Curry, Douglas and Josephine Cos., OR; 

south to Sonoma Co., CA.

No Impact

Potential suitable habitat is present but the species 

was not detected during surveys.

Arnica viscosa

(Shasta arnica) Sensitive Suspected

Open, rocky, subalpine to alpine sites in the 

high Cascades of S. Oregon and N. 

California; 2000–2500 m (6500 to 8500 feet). No Impact

No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Asplenium 

septentrionale

(grass-fern)

Sensitive Documented

On rock outcrops mostly consisting of breccia 

tuff materials; in the Cascades at mid to high 

elevations.

No Impact

No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. 

Necessary geologic formations lacking.

Bensoniella 

oregana

(Oregon bensonia)

Sensitive Documented

Seeps, springs, moist meadows and wet 

roadside ditches along upper slopes and 

ridges. Range is restricted to the Coast and

Siskiyou Mountains In extreme SW Oregon 

and NW California. Elevations 2,800 to 

5,200 feet.

MIIH

May impact individuals or habitat, not likely to 

contribute toward federal listing. Sites found in units 

007, 314, 318, 319, 326 and road 5550-448.

Botrychium 

minganense

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

Suspected Meadows, open forest along streams or 

around seeps; 1500–3100 m. Not known 

from the Siskiyou or Coast Mts., only 

suspected on High Cascades RD.

N/A This project is outside the expected range for this 

species.

Botrychium 

montanum

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

Suspected Shady conifer woodland, especially under 

Calocedrus along streams; 1500–2100. Not 

known from the Siskiyou or Coast Mts, only 

suspected on High Cascades RD.

N/A This project is outside the expected range for this 

species.

Botrychium 

pumicola

(pumice grapefern)

Sensitive Suspected Grows in deep pumice soils created by the 

eruption of Mt. Mazama. Mostly restricted to 

within or near Crater Lake in the high 

Cascades mountains of Oregon. 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-18

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

Calachortus 

howellii

(Howell’s mariposa 

lily)

Sensitive Documented Serpentine soil, dry rocky slopes. Low to 

middle elevations, often on Ceanothus 

cuneatus covered slopes or in open Jeffrey 

pine stands. Restricted to the Illinois River 

Valley in Josephine County, Oregon.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. This 

species has a narrow range confined to the Illinois 

Valley.

Calachortus nudus 

(Shasta star-tulip)

Strategic Suspected Moist, grassy areas, lake, bog margins; 

1200–2500 m. Restricted to the eastern 

portion of the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains in 

Oregon and California. 

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Camassia howellii

(Howell’s camas)

Sensitive Documented Dry, open serpentine slopes. Confined to an 

area east of I-5 between Sexton Mtn. and 

Merlin with a few outlying populations.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Camissonia 

graciflora (slenderflowered eveningprimrose)

Sensitive Documented Open or shrubby slopes, grasslands, oak 

woodlands, less than 4500 feet. Eastern 

Siskiyou Mts. In Oregon down through 

California into Baja.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Carex abrupta

(abrupt-beaked 

sedge)

Sensitive Suspected Moist meadows, open forest; fields and 

roads, above 4,000 feet. West Cascades, 

Blue Mts., and Northern Basin; not known 

from Siskiyou or Coast Mts. 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Carex capitata

(capitate sedge)

Sensitive Suspected Wet meadows and bogs at high elevations. 

High Cascades and Great Basin; not 

expected in Siskiyou or Coast Mts.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Carex comosa

(bristly sedge)

Sensitive Suspected Swamps and marshes and other wet places; 

sea level to 1,200 feet. Patchy distribution 

throughout N. America.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Carex crawfordii

(Crawford’s sedge)

Sensitive Suspected Seeps, springs, moist meadows and wet 

roadside ditches along upper slopes and 

ridges. Range is restricted to the Coast and 

Siskiyou Mountains In extreme SW Oregon 

and NW California. Elevations 2,800 to 

5,200 feet.

No Impact Potential suitable habitat is present but the species 

was not detected during surveys.

Carex gynodynama

(hairy sedge)

Sensitive Documented Moist meadows, open forests, seeps. Found 

in the Coast Range and Klamath-Siskiyou 

Mts. from Coos County, Oregon to Monterrey 

County California.

No Impact Potential suitable habitat is present but the species 

was not detected during surveys.

Carex 

klamathensis

(Klamath sedge)

Sensitive Documented Serpentine wetlands/Darlingtonia bogs at 

1,300 to 1,800 feet. Restricted to Josephine 

County, Oregon w/isolated disjunct 

population near Redding, CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Carex nervina

(Sierra nerved 

sedge)

Sensitive Documented Moist to wet places, often shaded, 3,600 feet 

and higher. East Klamath-Siskiyou Mts. and 

Sierra Nevada Mts.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Carex scabriuscula

(Siskiyou sedge)

Sensitive Documented Wet serpentine areas above 2,800 feet in the 

Coast Range and 5,000 feet for inland 

ranges. Open and sunny sites w/little cover. 

Northern Klamath-Siskiyou Mts. south to Mt. 

Eddy California.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Carex serratodens

(saw-tooth sedge)

Sensitive Documented Moist meadows and rocky places near 

streams and seepages, frequently on, but not 

limited to serpentine soils; below 6,000 feet. 

Douglas, Jackson and Josephine Counties, 

Oregon; also found in the Sierra Nevada and 

Coast Ranges of California.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Castilleja 

schizotricha

(split-hair 

paintbrush)

Sensitive Documented On decomposed granite or marble, 5,000-

6,000 feet, north aspects, in red-fir forest. 

Siskiyou crest in Jackson and Josephine 

Counties and south into the Red Buttes 

Wilderness.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Cheilanthes covillei

(Coville’s lip-fern)

Sensitive Documented Rock crevices, base of rocks, rocky slopes, 

sun to shade. West Cascades in Jackson 

Co.; also occurs in CA, NV, UT and AZ.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Cheilanthes 

intertexta

(coastal lip-fern)

Sensitive Suspected Rock crevices, foothills to mid-montane. 

Current known sites in Oregon on andesite. 

Klamath Mtns. In Douglas and Jackson Cos., 

OR. Also occur in CA and NV.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Chlorogalum 

angustifolium

(narrow-leaved 

Sensitive Suspected Open dry places, heavy soils in meadows 

and woodlands below 1,500 ft. 3 sites in 

Jackson and Josephine Cos., OR, more 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-19

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

amole) common in CA. species.

Cicendia 

quadrangularis

(timwort)

Sensitive Documented Open places, vernally wet meadows; oak 

savannah. Klamath Mts., Columbia Basin, 

Wiillamette Valley. Also Sierra Nevada 

foothills and Coast Range CA; western S. 

America.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Cimicifuga elata

(tall bugbane)

Sensitive Documented In SW OR mostly found in open canopied 

ABCO and PSME forests at mid to upper 

elevations (4,300-5,400 ft.) on north facing 

cool slopes. BC to SW OR in the West 

Cascades and East Siskiyou Mts.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Clintonia 

andrewsiana

(Andrew’s bead-lily)

Strategic Suspected Found on alluvial terraces within 2nd  

growth and old growth redwood forests. 

Known sites in OR are historical as the 

species is now considered extirpated. 

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Collomia mazama

(Mt. Mazama 

collomia)

Sensitive Documented Open woods, wet meadows, road cutbanks 

generally above 9,000 ft. but found between 

4,500-6,000 ft. on the Rogue-Umpqua divide. 

Southern Cascades in Douglas, Jackson and 

Klamath Cos.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Coptis asplenifolia

(fernleaf 

goldthread)

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

N/A- not 

suspected on 

the RRSNF

Moist, coniferous forests, seeps, and bogs; 0-

1500m; B.C.; Alaska, Wash.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. Not 

known in OR.

Coptis trifolia

(three leaf 

goldthread)

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

N/A- not 

suspected on 

the RRSNF

Wet to mesic, coniferous and mixed forests, 

bogs, willow scrub, and tundra, often 

associated with mosses; 0-1500m

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. Only in 

northern OR.

Corydalis aquaegelidae

(coldwater 

fumewort)

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

N/A- not 

suspected on 

the RRSNF

Seeps, springs or streams with relatively cold 

water, a substrate of gravely sand, upper 

level canopy closure of 70 to 90 percent, and 

little herbaceous competition. Sites are 

between 370 m (1200 ft) and 1310 m (4260 

ft) in elevation. Along the crest of the 

Cascades as far south as the Willamette NF.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. Only 

extends south as far as the Willamette NF in the 

Cascades.

Cryptantha milobakeri

(Milo-baker’s 

cryptantha)

Sensitive Documented Rocky or gravelly slopes, generally 

coniferous forests below 4,500 feet.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Cupressus bakeri

(Baker’s cypress)

Sensitive Documented Dry forested, brushy or open slopes, usually 

rocky ground or serpentine soils at 3,800 to 

6,000. West Cascades and East Siskiyou 

Mts. south to the Sierra Nevada.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Cyperus 

acuminatus

(short-pointed 

cypress)

Sensitive Suspected Edges of ephemeral pools, ponds, streams or 

ditches, below 1,200 ft. Klamath Mts. and 

Willamette Valley in OR. Also in WA, MT, 

CA, TX.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Cypripedium 

fasciculatum

(clustered lady’s 

slipper)

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category C

Documented Open coniferous forest, sometimes with 

Pacific dogwood on north facing slopes and 

elevations 1,000-3,500 ft.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Cypripedium 

montanum

(mountain lady’s 

slipper)

Survey and 

Manage 

Category C

Documented Mesic to dry (rarely wet) coniferous, 

deciduous, and broadleaf evergreen forests, 

openings, and thickets, around shrubs on 

open slopes; 0--2400 m; Alta., B.C.; Alaska, 

Calif., Idaho, Mont., Oreg. (Cascade and 

Siskiyou Mts.), Wash., Wyo.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Delphinium 

nudicaule

(red larkspur)

Sensitive Documented Talus and well drained gravelly soils or rocky 

slopes. Jackson and Josephine Cos., OR; 

common in CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Dicentra pauciflora

(few-flowered 

bleedingheart)

Sensitive Documented High elevation on rocky to gravelly soils. 

Josephine Co., OR south to the Sierra 

Nevada in CA. 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Draba howellii

(Howell’s whitlowgrass)

Sensitive Documented Granitic north facing rock crevices, above 

4,000 feet. Restricted to the KlamathSiskiyou Mts. in SW OR and NW CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Epilobium 

oreganum

(Oregon willowherb)

Sensitive Documented Darlingtonia fens and other wet serpentine 

areas at low elevations. Josephine Co., OR; 

CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Epilobium 

siskiyouense

(Siskiyou willowSensitive Documented Boulder fields, rock crevices and rocky 

slopes on serpentine soils at 5,500 to 8,200 

feet. Jackson and Josephine Cos., OR; 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-20

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

herb) Siskiyou and Trinity Cos., CA. species.

Ericameria 

arborescens

(goldenfleece)

Sensitive Documented In OR occurring in openings of PSME/LIDE 

forest; disturbance and fire are necessary for 

germ. 1,200-2,700 ft. Known from 6 sites in 

Curry Co., OR; abundant in CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Erigeron cervinus

(Siskiyou daisy)

Sensitive Documented In rocky places or crevices on solid rock. Also 

in open areas, medium to high elevations and 

sometimes glaciated areas. River and stream 

banks at lower elevations, usually near seeps 

or vernally wet areas. Siskiyou Mts. of Curry 

and Josephine Cos., OR and Trinity, Del 

Norte and Siskiyou Cos., CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Erigeron 

petrophilus

(cliff daisy)

Sensitive Documented High elevation serpentine slopes and cliffs. 

Jackson and Josephine Cos., OR; CA 

Klamath and Coast Range.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Eriogonum lobbii

(Lobb’s buckwheat)

Sensitive Documented Gravelly ridges and talus slopes at moderate 

to high elevations. Not generally found on 

serpentine soils. Curry and Josephine Cos., 

OR; more common in CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Erythronium 

howellii

(Howell’s adder’stongue)

Sensitive Documented Open woods, often on serpentine or in 

ecotonal areas. Illinois Valley OR south to 

Trinity Mts. in CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Eschscholzia 

caespitosa

(gold poppy)

Sensitive Suspected Dry flats and brushy slopes below 3,500 feet. 

Josephine and Douglas Cos., OR. 

Throughout CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Eucephalis vialis

(wayside aster)

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

Documented Coniferous forest at elevations of 152 to 457 

m (500 to 1,500 ft). Typically the species 

occurs on dry, upland sites dominated by P. 

menziesii. Interior valley species ranging 

from Linn Co., OR to Del Norte Co., CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Frasera 

umpquaensis

(Umpqua swertia)

Strategic Documented Open woods or at edges of meadows. In mid 

to upper elevation true fir dominated forests 

or mixed conifer forests (4,000 to 6,000 feet). 

Rogue-Umpqua divide with small disjunct 

pops. Into Trinity Co., CA.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Fritillaria gentneri

(Gentner’s fritillary)

Endangered Documented Open, dry low elevation sites in mixed oakmadrone woodlands, ponderosa pine 

woodlands, chaparral, and grasslands 1,000 

to 5,000 ft. Often found on ecotones. 

Jackson and Josephine Cos., OR; Siskiyou 

Co., CA.

No Effect No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Galium 

kamtschaticum

(boreal bedstraw)

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

N/A- not 

suspected on 

the RRSNF

Moist, cold, coniferous forests in the silver fir 

or mountain hemlock plant associations, in 

wet canopy gaps. Northerly aspects, from 

643-967 m (1930-2900 feet) in elevation. 

Circumboreal; in PNW AK to WA Cascade 

Range, does not extend south of Snoqualmie 

Pass

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. Not 

known or suspected in Oregon.

Gentiana newberryi

(Newberry’s 

gentian)

Sensitive Suspected Sub-alpine wet meadows between 3,500 and 

6,500 ft. Central Cascade’s OR south 

through the Sierra Nevada in CA and NV.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Gentiana 

plurisetosa

(elegant gentian)

Sensitive Documented Wet mountain meadows on granitic soils, 

3,900 to 6,200 feet. Josephine Co., OR; 

Siskiyou, Trinity and Del Norte Cos., CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Gentiana setigera

(Waldo gentian)

Sensitive Documented Serpentine wet meadows and Darlingtonia 

bogs, seeps on slopes at elevations below 

3,800 feet.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Hackelia bella

(beautiful 

stickseed)

Sensitive Suspected Stream banks, roadsides, open slopes, forest 

openings 3,000 to 6,000 feet. Klamath Mts. 

and w Cascades Jackson Co., OR; NCA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Hastingsia 

bracteosa var. 

atropurpurea

(purple flowered 

rush-lily)

Sensitive Documented Wet meadows, rocky seeps, serpentine

Darlingtonia fens at lower elevations. Illinois 

Valley Josephine Co., OR. 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Hastingsia Sensitive Documented Wet meadows, rocky seeps, serpentine No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-21

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

bracteosa var. 

bracteosa (large 

flowered rush-lily)

Darlingtonia fens at lower elevations. Illinois 

Valley Josephine Co., OR. 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Hieracium horridum

(shaggy 

hawkweed)

Sensitive Suspected Rocky places, crevices; 1350–3300 m; OR, 

CA & NV. High Cascades, Sierra Nevada.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Horkelia 

hendersonii

(Henderson’s 

horkelia)

Sensitive Documented Dry granitic flats and rubbly talus slopes 

6,000 to 7,000 feet. Known from Mt. Ashland 

in OR; and from one location in Siskiyou Co., 

CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Horkelia tridentata 

ssp. tridentata

(three-toothed 

horkelia)

Sensitive Documented Dry, open coniferous forest on granitic or 

igneous soils, 1,000 to 8,000 feet. Ashland 

area only in OR; Sierra Nevada, Cascade 

Range and Modoc Plateau in CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Iliamna 

latibracteata

(California globemallow)

Sensitive Documented Moist sites, stream sides in coniferous 

forests. Often in open or partial shade, 

disturbed ground, often recently burned. 

Elevation 300-4000 ft. Coos, Curry, Douglas, 

Jackson and Josephine Cos., OR; south to 

Humboldt Co., CA.

No Impact Potential suitable habitat is present but the species 

was not detected during surveys.

Keckiella lemonii

(bush beardtongue)

Sensitive Documented Rocky slopes, coniferous and mixed forests, 

chaparral, 600-6000 feet. Klamath Mts. in 

Jackson and Josephine Cos., OR; CA, NV 

more common.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Lewisia leana

(Lee’s lewisia)

Sensitive Documented Rocky or gravelly ridges or benches at higher 

elevations, often on serpentine soils. 

Klamath Mts. in Curry, Josephine, Douglas 

and Jackson Cos., OR; south to Fresno Co., 

CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Lillium kelloggii

(Kellogg’s lily)

Strategic Suspected 

(previously 

extant at 

historical 

populations 

that cannot 

be relocated)

Gaps and openings usually created by 

disturbance events; redwood forests, 

brushfields and roadsides. <3,500ft. 

Currently thought to be extirpated in OR; 

more common in N CA, Del Norte and 

Humboldt Cos.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Limnanthes 

floccosa spp. 

bellingeriana

(bellinger’s 

meadow foam)

Sensitive Documented Vernal meadows/pools in full sun, basalt 

scablands 1,000-4,000ft. Jackson and 

Klamath Cos., OR; Shasta Co., CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Limnanthes gracilis 

var. gracilis

(slender meadow 

foam)

Sensitive Suspected Vernally wet meadows and stream edges, 

valleys and foothills, sometimes serpentine 

soils, <2,500 ft. Douglas and Josephine 

Cos., OR, particularly the Illinois Valley.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Lomatium cookii

(Cook’s lomatium)

Endangered Suspected Alluvial silt or clay deposits over serpentine 

bedrock, alluvial meadows, moist grasslands 

and along seasonal streams restricted to the 

Rogue and Illinois Valleys of Jackson and 

Josephine Cos., OR.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Lomatium 

engelmanii

(Englemann’s 

desert parsley)

Sensitive Documented Gravelly serpentine slopes in coniferous 

forest and open areas at mid to high 

elevations (3,000-6,000). Siskiyou Mts. 

Josephine Co., OR; Siskiyou & Trinity Cos., 

CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Lotus stipularis

(stipuled trefoil)

Sensitive Documented Open forest, stream beds, ditches, chaparral 

and logged areas below 4,000 ft. Josephine 

Co., OR; throughout CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Lupinus lepidus 

var. ashlandensis

(Mt. Ashland 

lupine)

Sensitive Documented Sub-alpine, dry, gravelly openings on granitic 

soils in full sun at or near ridges (>7,000ft.). 

Known from one pop. on Mt. Ashland, 

Jackson Co., OR.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Lupinus tracyi

(Tracy’s lupine)

Sensitive Documented Dry openings, edges of forest, open woods, 

on granitic and metavolcanic soils at mid to 

high elevations. Known from a few sites in 

the Siskiyou Mts of Curry and Josephine 

Cos., OR; Siskiyous in CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Meconella oregana

(white fairy poppy)

Sensitive Suspected Vernally moist meadows and seeps on 

serpentine and/or gravelly/sandy soils. BC 

continuing south to the east Cascades to 

central California w/spotty populations 

occurring.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-22

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

Mimulus bolanderi

(Bolander’s 

monkeyflower)

Sensitive Documented Burns, openings in chaparral (especially 

Ceanothus cuneatus brush fields) & 

disturbed areas 1,000-2,500ft.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Mimulus congdonii

(Congdon’s 

monkeyflower)

Sensitive Suspected Oregon white-oak, wedgeleaf ceanothus and 

whiteleaf Manzanita chaparral 1,000-3,000ft. 

Applegate Valley in OR; Sierra foothills and 

Coast Range in CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Monardella 

purpurea

(Siskiyou 

monardella)

Strategic Documented Rocky, open serpentine scrub forest, 

chaparral, woodlands and montane forest,

1,400-4,000ft. Curry, Jackson and Josephine 

Cos., OR; to central CA in Coast Range and 

Klamath Mts.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this

species.

Navarretia 

leucocephala ssp. 

leucocephala

(white flowered 

navarettia)

Sensitive Suspected Vernal pools; < 2100 m. OR and CA interior 

valleys.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Nemacladus 

capillaris

(slender 

nemacladus)

Sensitive Suspected Dry slopes, burned areas, volcanic outcrops; 

400–2100 m. Jackson Co. OR; more

common throughout CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Ophioglossum 

pusilum

(Adder’s tongue)

Sensitive Suspected Open fens, wet meadows, marsh edges, 

grassy shores, pastures and roadside 

ditches. Occurs sporadically throughout the 

PNW spread across to the East Coast.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area.

Pellaea 

andromedifolia

(coffee fern)

Sensitive Suspected Rocky dry areas, rock crevices and under 

boulders often on steep slopes. S OR to Baja 

CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Pellaea mucronata 

ssp. mucronata

(bird’s foot fern)

Sensitive Suspected Rocky dry areas, all elevations. Josephine 

and Jackson Cos., OR; CA, NV and Mexico.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Perideridia 

erythrorhiza

(red rooted 

yampah)

Sensitive Documented Vernally moist depressions in heavy, poorly 

drained soils. Oak and Pine woodlands at low 

to mid elevations in the Cascades, serpentine 

habitats in the Siskiyous. Douglas, Klamath, 

Josephine & Jackson Cos., OR.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Phacelia leonis

(Siskiyou phacelia)

Sensitive Documented Rocky to sandy openings in coniferous 

forests. Ultramafic soils 3,900 to 6,500ft. 

Josephine Co., OR; Klamath Mts. CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Pinus sabiniana

(gray pine)

Strategic Documented Dry foothills on the west slope of the Sierra 

Nevada, and in the coast ranges, nearly

ringing the Central Valley of California; 30--

1900m. Handful of populations in OR that 

may be from cultivation.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Pilularia americana

(American pillwort)

Sensitive Suspected Vernal pools, mud flats, lake margins, 

reservoirs. Rare throughout OR, CA and 

central and SE USA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Plagiobothrys 

figuratus ssp. 

corallicarpus (coral 

seeded allocarya)

Sensitive Suspected Vernally moist, rocky, open areas in 

grassland meadows. Jackson and Josephine 

Cos., OR.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Plagiobothrys 

greenei

(Greene’s popcorn 

flower)

Sensitive Suspected Vernally wet areas, and along trails and 

roads. Jackson and Josephine Cos., OR; 

CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Platanthera 

orbiculata var. 

orbiculata (lesser 

round-leaved 

orchid)

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

N/A- not 

suspected on 

the RRSNF

Mesic to wet coniferous and deciduous 

forest, fen forest; 0--1500 m. Not currently 

known in OR. Mostly in Canada extending 

down into WA and ID on the west coast.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Poa rhizomata

(timber bluegrass)

Sensitive Suspected Dry Douglas-fir and Ponderosa pine forest. 

Known from a handful of sites in Jackson and 

Lane Cos., OR; Trinity and Siskiyou Cos., 

CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Polystichum 

californicum

(California swordfern)

Sensitive Suspected Creek banks and canyons in redwood and 

mixed evergreen forests, rocky open slopes 

to 3000 ft. Known from a few disjunct pops. 

In Douglas, Linn, Curry and Coos Cos., OR; 

common in CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-23

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

Rafinesquia 

californica

(California chicory)

Sensitive Suspected Open sites in scrub, woodland; often 

common after fire; 100–1500 m, rare in OR, 

common throughout CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Rhamnus illicifolia

(redberry)

Sensitive Documented Chaparral and oak woodlands below 5,000ft. 

Jackson Co., OR; common in CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Rhynchospora 

capitellata 

(brownish 

beakrush)

Strategic Suspected Moist to wet meadows, swales, seeps, 

stream banks, flatwoods, fens, and bogs; 0–

1600 m. Known from 1 site in a Sphagnum 

bog near Brookings, OR; scattered sites 

across continental US.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Ribes divaricatum 

var. pubifloroum

(straggly 

gooseberry)

Sensitive Suspected Coastal bluffs, forest edges; 5–1485 m. 

Known from a handful of sites along the 

lower Rogue River in OR; more common in 

CA. 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Romanzoffia 

thompsonii

(Thompson’s 

mistmaiden)

Sensitive Documented Sunny vernally wet, mossy (esp. Bryum 

miniatum), rocky hillsides at 750-6,000ft. 

Douglas, Jackson, Lane, Linn, Marion Cos., 

in foothills and west Cascades of OR

No Impact Potential suitable habitat is present but the species 

was not detected during surveys.

Rorippa columbiae

(Columbia cress)

Sensitive Suspected Wet seasonal inundations in riparian, 

lakeshore, vernal pool, ditch and playa 

habitats from near sea level to 5,300 ft. PNW 

endemic. Only 11 known pops.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Saxifragopsis 

fragariodes

(joint-leaved 

saxifrage)

Sensitive Documented Rocky crevices, often in rock gardens, 4500 

to 9000 ft. Curry and Josephine Cos., OR; 

CA & WA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Scheuzeria 

palustris var. 

americana

(American 

scheuzeria)

Sensitive Documented Floating mats, bogs, lake margins 1400–

2000 m. CA to Alaska, e N. America.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Schoenoplectus 

subterminalis

(water clubrush)

Sensitive Documented Quiet relatively shallow water. Lakes, ponds, 

marshes. Scattered in CA and OR to AK and 

east NE Canada and many eastern states.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Scirpus pendulus

(drooping bulrush)

Sensitive Documented Marshes and wet meadows, river terraces, 

ditches, 2500 to 3000 ft. Clackamas, Curry, 

Jackson, Josephine, Linn and Marion Cos., 

OR; one site in CA near Yreka.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Sedum moranii

(Rogue River 

stonecrop)

Sensitive Documented Rock outcrops in lower canyons. Found on 

greenstone outcrops on west or southwest 

slopes. Rogue River Canyon, Josephine 

Co., OR.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Sidalcea 

malachroides

(maple-leaved 

sidalcea)

Strategic Suspected Mostly within the range of Redwoods. 

Occurs in disturbed areas and clearings 

along the coast below 2,000 ft. Coastal 

northern CA. Two historic sites in Oregon 

are no longer extant. 

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Sidalcea malviflora 

ssp. patula (coast 

checker bloom)

Sensitive Documented Coastal. Open woodlands, openings within 

mixed forests, meadows, or grassy places at 

low elevations. Often serpentine. From Coos 

Co. OR south to Humboldt Co. CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Silene hookeri ssp. 

bolanderi

(Bolander’s 

catchfly)

Sensitive Documented Oak woodland rocky knolls and slopes, often 

on serpentine, below 5,000 ft. Josephine 

Co., OR; NW CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Silene 

serpentinicola

(serpentine 

catchfly)

Strategic Suspected Serpentine soils, chaparral, conifer forest; 

100–800 m. Klamath Range CA.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Solanum parishii

(Parish’s horsenettle)

Sensitive Documented Chaparral, oak/pine woodlands, meadows 

and brush fields in dry PSME or QUGA 

communities. Jackson, Josephine Cos., OR; 

south to Baja. 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Sophora leachiana

(western sophora)

Sensitive Documented South or west facing slopes on disturbed 

open, sunny habitat. Mixed conifer hardwood 

vegetation. Endemic to small area in 

Josephine Co., OR.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Streptanthus 

glandulosus

Sensitive Suspected Serpentine or metamorphic (Franciscan 

formation), rocky, gen barren slopes, 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-24

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

(common jewel 

flower)

chaparral openings, steep woodland; 150–

1400 m. OR and CA.

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Streptanthus 

howellii

(Howell’s 

streptanthus)

Sensitive Documented Dry rocky serpentine slopes in open conifer/ 

hardwood forests from 1000 to 4500 ft. SW 

OR, NW CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Tauschia howellii

(Howell’s tauschia)

Sensitive Documented Dry exposed ridges in gravelly granitic and 

serpentine flats, in coniferous forests at high 

elevations (6,600-7,100 ft). Jackson Co., OR; 

Siskiyou Co., CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Trillium 

angustipetalum

(Siskiyou trillium)

Sensitive Documented Coniferous forest, woodland, and chaparral 

at low to mid elevations. Lower Rogue 

canyon Curry Co., OR; sporadically through 

CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Utricularia minor

(lesser 

bladderwort)

Sensitive Documented In ponds or bogs in shallow, standing or slow 

moving water. Circumpolar in distribution. 

Several counties in OR.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Viola primulifolia 

ssp. occidentalis

(western bog violet)

Sensitive Documented Serpentine Darlingtonia fens at lower 

elevations. Curry and Josephine Cos., OR; 

Del Norte Co., CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Wolffia columbiana

(Columbia watermeal)

Sensitive Suspected Free floating in quiet water. Widely 

distributed throughout N. America.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Zigadenus 

fontanus

(small-flowered 

death camas)

Sensitive Suspected Dry, open to partial shade, on south-facing 

slopes and ridgelines.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

MOSSES

Andreaea 

schofieldiana

Sensitive Documented Forming mats on dry and exposed to moist, 

shaded igneous rocks, montane to subalpine. 

Endemic to the Pacific Northwest. 

Southwestern British Columbia to Siskiyou 

and Del Norte counties, California.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Anomobryum 

julaceum

Strategic Suspected Earth cliff crevices, on tussock tundra with 

seeps and late snow melt areas, and on 

granitic outcrops. Widespread in the 

temperate regions of the Northern and 

Southern Hemispheres.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Brotherella roellii Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

N/A- not 

expected on 

the RRSNF

Forms small glossy, golden yellow-green 

mats on rotten logs, stumps and the bases of 

red alder (Alnus rubra) trees in mixed low 

elevation deciduous and coniferous forest 

edges, usually in floodplains. Endemic to the 

Pacific Northwest, known only from SW BC 

and WA.

N/A Not expected in Oregon.

Bruchia bolanderi Strategic Documented Found ephemerally in the subalpine zone in

montane wet meadows and along moist 

stream banks in the Cascade Range 

between 3500 and 5000 feet.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Bryum 

calobryoides

Sensitive Documented Forming sods or occurring as individuals 

among other mosses, on both acid and basic 

rocks and soil in shaded to exposed boulder 

fields, montane to alpine meadows, cliffs, and 

outcrops. Elevations range from 3,000 to 

7,000 feet.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Buxbaumia aphylla Strategic Suspected A pioneer on dry, mineral-poor soil (sandy, 

pumice, or clayey) and well-decayed wood, in

exposed to shaded sites in forests, cutbanks 

of trails and roads, and recovering burns. 

Mostly 4,000 to 6,000 in the high Cascades.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Codriophorus 

depressus

Sensitive Suspected Forming mats on rocks in perennial or 

intermittent streams, and in the spray zone of 

waterfalls, between 400 and 11,000 feet 

elevation. Habitats are subject to scour at 

high water.

No Impact Potential suitable habitat is present but the species 

was not detected during surveys.

Codriophorus 

rysyzardii

Strategic Suspected Shaded, moist rocks and cliffs along shady 

streams or in forests, often in the splash 

zone, but never aquatic 1000-6000 feet; 

PSME, TSHE, PISI forests. Endemic to 

northwestern North America, from Alaska to 

Oregon.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-25

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

Didymodon norrisii Strategic Suspected Rock outcrops, calcareous and volcanic 

boulders, fields, and cliffs in runoff areas, in 

low to moderate elevations (200-1500 m). 

Endemic to Western North America. Known 

only from CA, OR (Jackson Co.) and BC.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Encalypta 

brevicollis

Sensitive Documented On soil in shaded crevices in igneous rocks, 

along ridge tops with frequent fog 

penetration. Curry Co., OR; historic sites in 

WA; throughout Canada.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Encalypta brevipes Sensitive Documented Soil on ledges and in crevices on cliffs, 

reported from both igneous and siliceous 

substrates (Horton 1983; Hedderson and 

Brassard 1992). Sites may be subject to 

frequent fog penetration. Circumboreal. In the 

Pacific Northwest known from Alberta, British 

Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Entosthodon 

fasicularis

Sensitive Suspected Occurring as individual plants or forming 

small sods on seasonally wet, exposed soil in 

seeps or along intermittent streams. It is 

usually hidden among grasses, other 

mosses, and litter. Habitats known to the 

author and described by McIntosh (2005) are 

grassland, oak savanna, grassy balds, and 

rock outcrops.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Grimmia anomala Strategic Documented Forming small cushions on igneous or 

serpentine rocks, shaded or in crevices of 

exposed rocks, 4000-7000 ft. Circumboreal 

occurring in several states.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Helodium blandowii Sensitive Documented Forming mats and small hummocks in 

medium to rich montane fens with calcareous 

groundwater. Circumboreal, extending south 

in the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada to 

California.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Hygrohypnum 

alpinum

Strategic Documented Irrigated emergent, acidic rocks in montane 

streams; low to moderate elevations, 200--

850 m ; B.C.; Alaska, Calif., Oregon, Idaho, 

Montana, Washington; Europe

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Iwatsukiella 

leucotricha

Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

N/A- not 

expected on 

the RRSNF

Trunks and branches of conifers and 

occasionally on alder trees along exposed, 

higher elevation coastal ridges in Washington 

and Oregon. Globally this species occurs in 

Japan and adjacent eastern Asia. In the 

Pacific Northwest it is known from the coastal 

areas of Alaska, British Columbia, and 

Oregon.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Meesia uliginosa Sensitive Documented Forming turfs in medium to rich montane fens

5000-6000ft. One of several species of socalled "brown mosses" that occur in mineralrich fens. Circumboreal distribution.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Orthodontium 

gracile

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

Documented On boles of redwood trees in moist old 

growth or mature second growth forest. 

Within the range of redwoods from sw OR 

south to central coast CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Orthodontium 

pellucens

Sensitive Documented On boles of redwood trees in moist old 

growth or mature second growth forest. 

Within the range of redwoods from SW OR 

south to central coast CA.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Oxystegus 

tenuirostris

Strategic Suspected Occurs on damp to moist soil, soil over rock, 

peaty banks, humid cliffs, rarely on tree 

bases and logs that may be occasionally 

flooded. Sea level to sub-alpine. Widely 

distributed in the world but with very few sites 

in the Columbia Gorge in OR.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Pseudocalliergon 

trifarium

Sensitive Suspected No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Ptychostomum 

cyclophyllum

Strategic Documented Wet soil along the edge of ditches or among 

tree roots subject to inundation, wet seepage 

beside gravel runway, on silty-clay wet area 

of muskeg, on tundra. Widely distributed in 

world, only a few sites in OR from Jackson 

Co.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-26

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

Racomitrium 

aquaticum

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

Occurs in Europe and Asia. Not known from 

N. America. See Codriphorus rhyzardii for 

this species in N. America.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Rhizomnium 

nudum

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

Suspected Occurs in coniferous forests in Oregon 

mostly at mid to high elevations. It is known 

from low-gradient riparian zones within oldgrowth stands of silver fir with scattered 

Shasta red fir (Abies magnifica var. 

shastensis). The understory is often very 

sparse. 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Schistostega 

pennata

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

Suspected Moist lowland forest and in most crevices and 

caves. On mineral soil in shaded pockets of 

overturned tree roots.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Scouleria 

marginata

Strategic Suspected Occurs on bedrock material or very large 

boulders along the margins of perennial river 

systems. It is frequently submerged but is 

usually exposed during periods of low water 

flow. The rock material may be granitic or 

volcanic in origin but must be large enough 

so it would not be moved during turbulent 

floodwater events.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Splachnum 

ampulaceum

Sensitive Suspected Forming green sods on old dung of 

herbivores, or on soil enriched by dung, in 

peatlands or other wetlands. The sodden, 

decomposed dung would scarcely be visible, 

or may be completely humified.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Tayloria serrata Sensitive Documented Forming green sods on old dung, rotten 

wood, or on soil enriched by dung on 

roadsides, trails, in dry to moist coniferous 

forest of various age classes including early 

seral, and in wetlands. Decomposed dung 

may be scarcely visible or completely 

humified.

No Impact Potential suitable habitat is present but the species 

was not detected during surveys.

Tetraphis 

geniculata

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

N/A- not 

expected on 

the RRSNF

Inhabits well rotted stumps and logs in 

shaded, humid locations at low to mid 

elevations.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Thamnobryum 

neckeroides

Strategic Suspected Growning on rocks and trees, often in 

shaded, damp locations in mixed Dougfir/western hemlock forest with Acer 

macrophyllum British Columbia, Idaho, 

Montana, Oregon, and Washington in PNW; 

world wide distribution but rare.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Tomentypnum 

nitens

Sensitive Documented Medium to rich montane fens where it favors 

slightly elevated sites such as logs, stumps, 

or hummocks formed by Vacccinium 

uliginosum and Betula glandulosa. 

Circumboreal.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Tortella fragilis Strategic Suspected Calcareous cliffs from sea-level to alpine 

elevations. Widespread world distribution.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Tortula 

mucronifolia

Sensitive Documented On soil, tree roots, and sheltered ledges and 

crevices of rock outcrops and cliffs at 5,000-

7,000ft. ABMAS/ABCO forest. Widely 

distributed throughout the Northern 

Hemisphere.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Triquetrella 

californica

Strategic Suspected On exposed to shaded soil, rocks, sand, or 

gravel in dry or moist situations. Reported 

from trails, roadsides, picnic areas, 

playgrounds, and rock outcrops from sea 

level to about 1,600 feet elevation, within 10

miles of the coast. Endemic to CA and OR, 

very rare globally.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

LIVERWORTS

Anastrophyllum 

minutum

Strategic Documented On peaty soil at relatively high elevations (> 

5,500' asl) in the Tsuga mertensiana zone. 

Can be found on ledges or at the base of 

cliffs. Circumboreal distribution.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Calypogeia Sensitive Documented Usually restricted to poor fens containing No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-27

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

sphagnicola Sphagnum. Also found in serpentine 

influenced Darlingtonia fens growing among 

other liverworts (Sphagnum not present).

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Cephaloziella 

spinigera

Strategic Documented Sphagnum bogs and fens at mid to high 

elevations. Widespread in boreal zone; very 

rare in OR w/only a few sites.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Chilocyphus 

gemmiparus

Sensitive Documented Found emergent to sub-emergent in clear 

cold montane streams flowing through 

meadows as well as forest. 5,000-7,000ft. 

Only 7 localities known, 5 of them are in 

Oregon.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Cryptometrium 

tenerum

Sensitive Documented Forming small to locally extensive mats on 

bare, usually shaded and humid soil on 

hillsides, rock outcrops, and streambanks. In 

Oregon between sea level and 1000 feet 

elevation.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Diplophyllum 

plicatum

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

Suspected Tends to occur in either Western 

hemlock/Douglas-fir stands with western 

cedar present or Sitka Spruce older forests 

stands. It occurs in areas that sustain yearround cool habitats with high humidity which 

are fairly common along the immediate coast 

and in the Coast Range.

No Impact Potential suitable habitat is present but the species 

was not detected during surveys.

Herbertus aduncus Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

N/A- not 

expected on 

the RRSNF

Found in cool, moist sites in a variety of 

forest types, often on moist cliffs in OR. 

More common in AK, BC and WA.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Harpanthus 

flotovianus

Strategic Suspected Sphagnum bog and fens at higher elevations 

in the montane boreal zone. Widespread 

around the northern hemisphere in boreal 

and montane regions.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Kurzia makinoana Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

Suspected Occurs on well-shaded, rotten wood and 

humic soil at low elevations, especially on 

stream terraces, darlingtonia bogs, 

floodplains, and other cool, moist forest 

locations. 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Marsupella 

emarginata var. 

aquatica

Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

Suspected Restricted to streams with relatively fast 

moving water and rocky bottoms; in 

subalpine, montane situations. Widespread 

around the northern hemisphere in boreal 

and montane regions.

N/A No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Porella bolanderi Sensitive Suspected Forming shaded to partly exposed mats on a 

variety of rock types (siliceous, calcareous, 

and metamorphic) and trunks of Quercus, 

Umbellularia, and Acer macrophyllum (Piippo 

and Norris 1996). In the Pacific Northwest, 

known elevations range from 500-3000 feet.

No Impact Potential suitable habitat is present but the species 

was not detected during surveys.

Tritomaria 

exsectiformis

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

Suspected Found on rotting wood and moist soil at the 

edge of very clear and cold springs in the 

high Cascades of OR. Arctic circumboreal 

distribution. 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Tritomaria 

quinquedata

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

Suspected Occurs on wet humus over boulders, shaded 

cliffs, soil over exposed rock surfaces, 

decaying branches at the fringes of spray 

zones, and among heather on slopes.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

LICHENS

Bryoria 

pseudocapillaris

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

Suspected Grows in areas of frequent maritime fog on 

exposed trees (especially Sitka spruce and 

shore pine) and shrubs growing on coastal 

windswept dunes, rocky headlands, and in 

one case, coastal mountains, up to 500 

meters (1,600 feet) above sea level within 15 

km (10 miles) of the ocean

No Impact

No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Bryoria spiralifera Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

Suspected Grows on exposed trees (especially Sitka 

spruce and shore pine) and shrubs on 

forested, coastal, windswept dunes and 

headlands at or near sea level within 3 km (2 

miles) of the ocean

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Bryoria subcana Sensitive Suspected On bark and wood of conifers in forests of 

coastal bays, streams, dune forests, and high 

precipitation ridges and summits within 50 km 

(30 mi) of the ocean.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Buellia oidalea Survey and On bark or wood of trunks and twigs of No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-28

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

Manage 

Category E

coniferous trees and broad-leaved trees and 

shrubs along the immediate Pacific coast, in 

open places such as dunes & salt marshes.

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Calicium abietinum Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

On lignum or occasionally bark of conifer 

trees or lignum of oak logs and stumps, also 

fenceposts, especially in the open ecotone 

between forests and meadows. This species 

is mostly found in sparsely forested regions.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Calicium 

adspersum

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

Forming small crusts on bark of living Abies 

grandis, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quercus

sp., Sequoia sempervirens and Thuja plicata

at or below 2,000 feet elevation usually 

occurs in relatively open stands in drier 

microhabitats where sheltered from 

precipitation.

No Impact

No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Cetrelia cetrariodes Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

Grows primarily on the bark of alder, and 

occasionally on mossy rock.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Chaenotheca 

chrysocephala

Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

Found on the bark of TSHE, THPL and other 

conifer species.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Chaenotheca 

ferruginea

Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

Found on the bark of TSHE, THPL and other 

conifer species.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Chaenotheca 

furfuracea

Survey and 

Manage 

Category F

Found on the bark of TSHE, THPL and other 

conifer species.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Chaenotheca 

subroscida

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

Usually in shaded moist situations, esp. close 

to the base of trunks. On old THPL, PIEN 

trunks, decorticated stumps and dry twigs of 

Picea under canopy.

No Impact Potential suitable habitat is present but the species 

was not detected during surveys.

Chaenothecopsis 

pusilla

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

Found on the bark of TSHE, THPL and other 

conifer species.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Cladonia norvegica Strategic & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category C

On decaying bark or wood at the base of 

conifer trees and on decaying logs in humid 

forests, from sea level to 1300m elevation

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Collema 

nigrescens

Survey and 

Manage 

Category F

On bark of hardwood trees and shrubs, 

including Garry oak, canyon live oak, big-leaf 

maple, cottonwood, and vine maple

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Dermatocarpon 

luridum

Survey and

Manage 

Category E

This is a species of the east coast. See D. 

meiophyllizum below for this species.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Dermatocarpon 

meiophyllizum

Sensitive Fresh water aquatic. Seepy terraces, slopes 

and riparian edges with ALRU, PSME, TSHE, 

and Acer spp. and on granite rocks along 

stream edges.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Fuscopannaria 

saubinetii

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Heterodermia 

leucomela

Sensitive Occurs on large PISI on windswept forested 

headlands. Also in coastal redwood forests, 

low coastal scrub. Conifers in hyper-maritime 

localities.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Heterodermia 

sitchensis

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

Restricted to the immediate coaston twigs of 

Picea sitchensis on ridgetop exposed to 

ocean winds in old-growth temperate 

rainforest with Tsuga heterophylla

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Hypogymnia 

duplicata

Survey and 

Manage 

Category C

Grows as an epiphyte on mountain hemlock, 

western hemlock, Pacific silver fir, Douglas-fir 

and subalpine fir in old-growth forests of the 

western Cascades, Olympics and Coast 

Range, primarily between 330 and 1660 m 

(1,100-5,450 ft) elevation. 

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Hypogymnia vittata Survey and N/A- not No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-29

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

Manage 

Category E

expected in 

Oregon

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Hypotrachnya 

revoluta

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

Within a few kilometers of the ocean and less 

than 1500 feet in elevation in

Picea sitchensis forest or open dunes and 

wetlands supporting scattered trees and 

shrubs; or exposed rocks.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Lecanora 

caesiorubella ssp. 

merrillii

Strategic On bark of trees and shrubs, and on 

decaying wood (including redwood 

fenceposts) in dry, open deciduous or 

coniferous woodland, chaparral, and salt 

marsh from sea level to about 1500 ft 

elevation

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Lecanora pringlei Strategic No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Lecidea dolodes Strategic No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Leptogium 

burnetiae var. 

hirsutum

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Leptogium 

cyanescens

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

On bark of Alnus, Salix, Picea, rotten logs 

and rocks in very humid areas either near the 

coast or in dense riparian areas. In the PNW 

known from 2 localities in OR, 1 each in WA , 

BC and AK.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Leptogium 

teretiusculum

Strategic and 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

Shaded and humid bark of hardwood trees in 

riparian areas. In southern Oregon and 

northern California the substrate is Quercus 

spp. In Idaho, the substrate is riparian 

Populus.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Lobaria linita var. 

tenuoir

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Microcalicium 

arenarium

Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Nephroma bellum Survey and 

Manage 

Category F

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Nephroma 

isidiosum

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Nephroma 

occultum

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Niebla cephalota Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

On exposed coastal trees, shrubs (less often 

rock), always within sight or sound of the 

ocean.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Pannaria 

rubiginosa

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

Moist lowland habitats, largest populations 

for OR and WA in coastal thickets of old 

shrubs on wet deflation plains.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Peltigera pacifica Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

Low elevation moist forests on soil, moss, 

rocks, logs, and tree bases.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Peltula euploca Strategic Noncalcareous rock, in exposed, dry, or 

shaded and damp habitats. In southwestern 

Oregon it occurs on basalt in dry Quercus

and Pinus ponderosa associations, and at 

edges of vernal pools.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-30

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Listing 

Category

RRSNF 

Occurrence 

Info

Habitat/Distribution Effects 

Call Rationale For Determination of Effects

Platismatia 

lacunosa

Survey and 

Manage 

Category E 

Oregon Coast 

Range 

Excluded 

From 

Management

Often on hardwood boles and branches in 

riparian forest. Also found in conifer forest 

both in 2nd and old growth.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Pseudocyphellaria 

perpetua

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Pseudocyphellaria 

rainierensis

Sensitive & 

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

Mesic to moist old growth forest. Lower to 

mid canopy on conifer wood and bark. 

Southern extent is Lane Co., OR.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Ramalina pollinaria Sensitive Low elevation swamps, often with Picea on 

bark and wood.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Sigridea californica Strategic No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Stenocybe clavata Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Teloschistes 

flavicans

Survey and 

Manage 

Category A

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Tholurna dissimilis Survey and 

Manage 

Category B

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Usnea hesperina Survey and 

Manage 

Category E

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Usnea longissima Survey and 

Manage 

Category F

Coast Range on deciduous trees and shrubs 

as well as PSME. Often in or near riparian 

settings or on ridge tops above rivers.

No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.

Usnea sphacelata Strategic No Impact No suitable habitat within the Planning Area. The 

project would occur well outside the suspected 

distribution and/or the known elevation range of this 

species.
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-31

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Fungi Species (work in progress)

Acanthophysium farlowii Survey and Manage 

Category B

Albatrellus avellaneus Sensitive & Survey and 

Manage Category B

Suspected

Albatrellus caeruleoporus Sensitive and Survey 

and Manage Category B

Albatrellus ellisii Survey and Manage 

Category B

Alpova alexsmithii Survey and Manage 

Category B

Alpova olivaceotinctus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Arcangeliella camphorata Survey and Manage 

Category B

Arcangeliella crassa Survey and Manage 

Category B

Arcangeliella lactarioides Survey and Manage 

Category B

Asterophora lycoperdoides Survey and Manage 

Category B

Asterophora

parasitica

Survey and Manage 

Category B

Baeospora myriadophylla Survey and Manage 

Category B

Balsamia nigrens Survey and Manage 

Category B

Boletus haematinus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Boletus pulcherrimus Sensitive & Survey and 

Manage Category B

Bridgeoporus nobilissimus Sensitive & Survey and 

Manage Category A

Catathelasma ventricosa Survey and Manage 

Category B

Chalciporus piperatus Survey and Manage 

Category D

Chamonixia caespitosa Sensitive & Survey and 

Manage Category B

Choiromyces alveolatus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Choiromyces venosus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Chroogomphus loculatus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Chrysomphalina grossula Survey and Manage 

Category B

Clavariadelphus ligula Survey and Manage 

Category B

Clavariadelphus 

occidentalis

Survey and Manage 

Category B

Clavariadelphus 

sachalinensis

Survey and Manage 

Category B

Clavariadelphus 

subfastigiatus

Survey and Manage 

Category B

Clavariadelphus truncatus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Clavulina castanopes var. 

lignicola

Survey and Manage 

Category B

Clitocybe senilis Survey and Manage 

Category B

Clitocybe subditopoda Survey and Manage 

Category B

Collybia bakerensis Survey and Manage 

Category B

Collybia racemosa Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cordyceps ophioglossoides Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius barlowensis Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius boulderensis Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius cyanites Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius depauperatus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius magnivelatus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius olympianus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius speciosissimus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius tabularis Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius umidicola Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius valgus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius variipes Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius verrucisporus Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cortinarius wiebeae Survey and Manage 

Category B

Cudonia monticola Sensitive & Survey and 

Manage Strategy B

Cyphellostereum laeve Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Dermocybe humboldtensis Sensitive & Survey and 

Manage Strategy B

Destunzia fusca Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Destunzia rubra Sensitive & Survey and 

Manage Strategy B

Dichostereum boreale Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Elaphomyces anthracinus Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Elaphomyces subviscidus Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Endogone acrogena Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Endogone oregonensis Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Entoloma nitidum Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Fayodia bisphaerigera Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Fevansia aurantiaca Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Galernia atkinsoniana Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Galerina cerina Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Galerina heterocystis Survey and Manage 

Strategy E

Galerina sphagnicola Survey and Manage 

Strategy E

Gastoboletus imbellus Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Gastroboletus ruber Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Gastroboletus subalpinus Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Gastroboletus turbinatus Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Gastroboletus vividus Survey and Manage 

Strategy B

Gastrosuillus amaranthii Survey and Manage 

Strategy E

Gastrosuillus umbrinus

Gautieria magnicellaris

Gautieria otthii

Gelatinodiscus flavidus

Glomus radiatum
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-32

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Gomphus bonarii

Gomphus clavatus

Gomphus kauffmanii

Gymnomyces abietis

Gymnomyces fragrans

Gymnomyces nondistincta

Hebeloma olympianum

Helvella crassitunicata

Helvella elastica

Hydnotrya inordinata

Hydnotrya subnix

Hydropus marginellus

Hygrophorus caeruleus

Hygrophorus karstenii

Hygrophorus vernalis

Hypomyces luteovirens

Leucogaster citrinus

Leucogaster microspores

Macowanites chlorinosmus

Macowanites lymanensis

Macowanites mollis

Marasmius applanatipes

Martellia fragrans

Martellia idahoensis

Mycena quinaultensis

Mycena tenax

Mythicomyces corneipes

Neolentinus adhaerens

Neolentinus kauffmanii

Nivatogastrium nubigenum

Octavianina cyanescens

Octavianina macrospora

Octavianina papyracea

Otidea leporina

Otidea smithii

Phaeocollybia attenuata

Phaeocollybia californica

Phaeocollybia dissiliens

Phaeocollybia fallax

Phaeocollybia gregaria

Phaeocollybia kauffmanii

Phaeocollybia olivacea

Phaeocollybia oregonensis

Phaeocollybia piceae

Phaeocollybia pseudofestiva

Phaeocollybia scatesiae

Phaeocollybia sipei

Phaeocollybia spadicea

Phellodon atratus

Pholiota albivelata

Podostroma alutaceum

Polyozellus multiplex

Pseudaleuria quinaultiana

Psuedorhizina californica = 

Gyromitra californica

Ramaria abietina

Ramaria amyloidea

Ramaria araiospora

Ramaria aurantiisiccescens

Ramaria botrytis var. 

aurantiiramosa

Ramaria celerivirescens

Ramaria claviramulata

Ramaria concolor f. marrii

Ramaria concolor f. tsugina

Ramaria conjunctipes var. 

sparsiramosa

Ramaria coulterae

Ramaria cyaneigranosa

Ramaria gelatiniaurantia

Ramaria gracilis

Ramaria hilaris var. 

olympiana

Ramaria largentii

Ramaria lorithamnus

Ramaria maculatipes

Ramaria rainierensis

Ramaria rubella var. blanda

Ramaria rubribrunnescens

Ramaria rubrievanescens

Ramaria rubripermanens

Ramaria spinulosa var. 

diminutiva

Ramaria stuntzii

Ramaria suecica

Ramaria thiersii

Ramaria verlotensis

Rhizopogon abietis

Rhizopogon atroviolaceus

Rhizopogon brunneiniger

Rhizopogon chamaleontinus

Rhizopogon ellipsosporus

Rhizopogon evadens var. 

subalpinus

Rhizopogon exiguus

Rhizopogon flavofibrillosus

Rhizopogon inquinatus

Rhizopogon truncatus

Rhodocybe speciosa

Rickenella swartzii

Russula mustelina

Sarcodon fuscoindicus

Sedecula pulvinata

Sowerbyella rhenana

Sparassis crispa

Spathularia flavida

Stagnicola perplexa

Thaxterogaster pingue

Tremiscus helvelloides

Tricholoma venatum

Tricholomopsis fulvescens

Tuber asa

Tuber pacificum

Tylopilus porphyrosporus
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-33

ATTACHMENT B 

Figure F-1. Oregon bensonia distribution in Eden Ridge TS 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-34

Figure F-2. Oregon bensonia buffered sites in Units 314, 318 and 319 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-35

Figure F-3. Oregon bensonia buffer site in Unit 007. 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-36

Figure F-4. Oregon bensonia site on proposed road in Unit 326 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 
Appendix F - Botanical Report Page F-37

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

ATTACHMENT C 

Target Invasive Plant Species and Treatment List for the Westside of the Rogue RiverSiskiyou National Forest 

Species ODA 

Category

Treatment Where in Project

Wooly distaff thistle 

(Carthamnus lanatus)

A & T Manually pulling Not known in project.

Biddy-Biddy (Acaeana 

nova-zelandiae)

B Manually pulling and herbicide. Not known in project.

Broom – French, Scotch, 

Portuguese, Spanish

B Manually pulling and weed wrenching and 

herbicide of cut stems.

3353-350 road. Probably many 

other locations.

English ivy (Hedera helix) B Manually pulling and herbicide. Not known in project.

False Brome 

(Brachypodium sylvaticum)

B Manually pulling and herbicide. Not known in project.

Gorse (Ulex europaeus) B Manually by cutting, bulldozing, and weed 

wrenching. Herbicide of cut exposed stems.

Not known in project but along 

road leading to project.

Himilayan blackberry 

(Rubus discolor)

B Manually by cutting, bulldozing, and weed 

wrenching. Herbicide of cut exposed stems.

Not known in project.

Spotted knapweed 

(Centaurea maculosa)

B Manually by pulling and herbicide treatment. Not known in project.

Meadow knapweed 

(Centaurea pratensis)

B Manually by pulling and herbicide 

treatments.

Not known in project.

Japanese knotweed 

(Polygonum cuspidatum)

B Manually by pulling and injection of 

herbicide into stem canes.

Not known in project.

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum 

salicaria)

B Manually by pulling. Not known in project.

Tansy ragwort (Senecio 

jacobaea)

B & T Manually by pulling. Not known in project.

Canadian thistle (Cirsium 

arvense)

B Manually by pulling and herbicide. Not known in project.

Italian thistle (Carduus 

pycnocephalus)

B Manually by pulling and herbicide. Not known in project.

Yellow starthistle 

(Centaurea solstitialis)

B & T Manually by pulling and herbicide. Not known in project.
APPENDIX G 

WILDLIFE REPORT AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION 

Wildlife Report 

And 

Biological Evaluation 

EDEN RIDGE TIMBER SALES 

APPENDIX G 

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest 

Powers Ranger District 

Coos County, Oregon 

Prepared by: John Lowe, Wildlife Biologist 

Date: August 15, 2011 

Reviewed by: David Clayton, Forest Wildlife Biologist 

Date: August 22, 2011 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-1 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................G-3 

II. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................G-8 

A. ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED IN DETAIL .................................................................... G-8 

III. PROPOSED, ENDANGERED, THREATENED & SENSITIVE SPECIES ........G-10 

A. LATE-SUCCESSIONAL FOREST ........................................................................................ G-11 

1. Northwest Forest Plan Standard and Guideline C-44 ............................................................ G-11 

B. DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES AND CRITICAL HABITAT LISTED UNDER ESA ....... G-12 

1. Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) ............................................................... G-12 

2. Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) ................................................................. G-16 

C. EFFECTS TO SPECIES LISTED UNDER ESA AND CHU ............................................... G-18 

1. Northern Spotted Owl ............................................................................................................ G-18 

a. Northern Spotted Owl Project Design Criteria - Mitigation Measures ........................... G-19 

b. Direct and Indirect Effects .............................................................................................. G-20 

c. Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................................... G-21 

2. Marbled Murrelet .................................................................................................................. G-22 

a. Marbled Murrelet Project Design Criteria - Mitigation Measures .................................. G-22 

b. Direct and Indirect Effects .............................................................................................. G-24 

c. Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................................... G-24 

D. FOREST SERVICE SENSITIVE SPECIES .......................................................................... G-25 

1. American Peregrine Falcon (Falco pergrinus anatum) ......................................................... G-26

a. Direct and Indirect Effects .............................................................................................. G-26

b. Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................................... G-27 

2. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) ................................................................................. G-27 

3. Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) .......................................................................... G-28 

4. Lewis’ Woodpecker (Menalerpes lewis) ............................................................................... G-30 

5. Pacific Fisher (Martes pennanti) ........................................................................................... G-30 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects .............................................................................................. G-32

b. Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................................... G-32 

6. Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) ........................................................ G-33

7. Fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes) ..................................................................................... G-33 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects .............................................................................................. G-33

b. Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................................... G-34 

8. Northwestern Pond Turtle (Emmys marmorata marmorata) ................................................ G-34 

9. Foothill Yellow-legged Frog (Rana boylii) ........................................................................... G-35 

10. Mardon Skipper (Polites mardon) ....................................................................................... G-35 

11. Johnson’s Hairstreak (Callophrys johnsoni) ....................................................................... G-36 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects .............................................................................................. G-36

b. Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................................... G-37 

12. Coronis Fritillary (Speyeria coronis coronis) ...................................................................... G-37 

IV. MANAGEMENT INDICATOR SPECIES ...............................................................G-38 

A. MIS – RISK ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................... G-38 

1. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) ................................................................................................... G-38 

2. Pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) ........................................................................... G-39 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects .............................................................................................. G-40

b. Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................................... G-40 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-2 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

3. Woodpecker Group ............................................................................................................... G-41 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects .............................................................................................. G-42

b. Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................................... G-42 

4. American marten (Martes americana) .................................................................................. G-43 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects .............................................................................................. G-44

b. Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................................... G-44 

5. Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) and 

Roosevelt’s Elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) ........................................................................ G-45 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects .............................................................................................. G-47

b. Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................................... G-48 

V. OTHER RARE OR UNCOMMON SPECIES ...........................................................G-49 

A. NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN SURVEY AND MANAGE SPECIES .............................. G-49 

1. Del Norte Salamander (Plethodon elongates) ....................................................................... G-50 

2. Oregon Red Tree Vole (Arborimus longicaudus) ................................................................. G-51 

3. Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) ........................................................................................... G-52 

B. PROTECTION BUFFER SPECIES ....................................................................................... G-52 

VI. NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRDS .................................................................G-53 

A. MIGRANT BIRD SPECIES AND ASSOCIATED HABITAT ............................................ G-53 

1. Direct, Indirect, and Cumulative effects ................................................................................ G-54 

VII. DOWN WOOD AND SNAGS ...................................................................................G-55 

VIII. LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................G-58 

Attachment A - Wildlife Project Design Criteria 

Attachment B - Wildlife Analysis Area 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-3 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Powers Ranger District proposes intermediate commercial harvest treatments using variable density 

thinning techniques and other connected actions on approximately 3,314 acres of second growth conifer 

stands artificially and naturally regenerated following timber harvest during the 1920s through the 1930s. 

Commercial treatments are detailed in Environmental Impact statement (EIS) Tables and displayed on 

EIS Maps in chapter II. Candidate stands are located on suitable forest land primarily designated as the 

Matrix land allocation under the Forest Plan as amended by the Northwest Forest Plan. Within the 3,314

acres of treatments, also included are treatments within Riparian Reserves that overlap into overstocked 

drier upland forests (1,097 total acres). 

Commercial treatments would involve harvest of conifers with diameters 7 inches and larger dbh which is 

a viable product size under current and anticipated market conditions. No old residual trees (old growth) 

would be cut, except in instances where they are identified as danger trees. Estimated commercial 

volume could average 8 to 20 thousand board feet (mbf) per acre. Other wood product commodities are 

anticipated including biomass (chips), and firewood. Harvest treatments from this alternative could yield 

up to an estimated 53 million board feet and would be implemented utilizing multiple timber sale 

contracts over an approximate 5-year period. 

Treatments would occur within the South Fork Coquille River and the Middle Fork Coquille River 5thField watersheds, and the Lower Rock Creek, Myrtle Creek, Headwaters South Fork Coquille River, Coal 

Creek, and Mill Creek 6th field watersheds. Treatments segregated by watershed were identified to assist 

with effects analysis and alternative formulation. 

There are four alternatives in detail in the Eden Ridge Timber Sales EIS. These include Alternative 1 

(No-Action), Alternative 2 (Proposed Action), Alternative 3 and Alternative 4. 

Alternative 1 is the No-Action alternative. It represents the current condition and is the basis for 

comparison of effects from implementation of the three Action Alternatives (Alternatives 2, 3 and 4). 

Alternative 2, the Proposed Action, is designed to address and maximize attainment of the Purpose and 

Need outlined in EIS Chapter I. Alternative 2 also represents the maximum extent of proposed treatments 

and connected actions (e.g., harvest systems and roads). 

Alternative 3 is similar to and is based on the Proposed Action, but differs from the candidate stands and 

opportunities associated with the Proposed Action, with modifications that include only ―high-moderate 

benefit/low risk‖ new roads. In relation to Alternative 2, this modification would reduce the treated area 

on some units resulting in a change in configuration, or in some cases, units would be combined or 

dropped. This alternative proposes helicopter logging systems, based on the change in access for 

conventional systems. 

Alternative 4 is also similar to and is based on the Proposed Action, but differs from the candidate stands 

and opportunities associated with the Proposed Action, with modifications that include only the use (with 

some reconstruction and maintenance) of existing roads for treatment access. This alternative also 

excludes some of the higher risk treatments within Riparian Reserves (primarily those associated with 

perennial streams). In relation to Alternative 2 and Alternative 3, these modification would reduce the 

treated area on some units resulting in a change in configuration, or in some cases, units would be 

combined or dropped. This alternative also proposes helicopter logging systems, based on the change in 

access for conventional systems. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-4 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table G-1. Comparison of Action Alternatives by Activity 

Activity Alternative 2 

(Proposed Action)

Alternative 3 Alternative 4

Thinning 2,217 acres 2,187 acres 2,093 acres

Riparian Reserves Thinning 1,097 acres. 1,053 acres 965 acres

Est. Volume 53 MMBF 52 MMBF 49 MMBF

Logging System

Skyline 1,195acres 941 acres 457 acres

Tractor 2,119acres 1,786 acres 1,441 acres

Helicopter 0 acres 513 acres 1,160 acres

Classified Road Construction 10.8 miles 4.5 miles .25 miles

Temporary Road Construction 0.3 miles 0.3 miles 0

Classified Road Reconstruction 6.1 miles 4.1 miles 1.7 miles

Proposed activities include felling (for thinning), pre-bunching, yarding, piling, burning, temporary road 

construction, classified road construction, road reconstruction, hazard tree felling, landing construction, 

road maintenance, tree topping/girdling, down woody material creation, seeding with native grasses, 

log/rock hauling, helicopter operations. 

A summary of effects to species of concern is displayed in Table G-2 below. 

Table G-2. Effects Determination for Species of Concern 

Species Action Alternative

2 3 4 Comments

Threatened and Endangered Wildlife

Northern spotted owl NLAA NLAA NLAA

Suitable habitat is not present in any treatment area. Dispersal habitat would be 

treated and maintained. Any pockets of remnant* trees found within proposed 

treatment units will be left untreated as Wildlife Areas to Protect. Some remnant trees 

may be felled as hazards but would be subject to PDC #9 Attachment A.

Northern spotted owl 

CHU NE NE NE No CHU in project.

Marbled murrelet NLAA NLAA NLAA

Suitable habitat is not included in any treatment area. Any pockets of remnant trees 

found within proposed treatment units would be left untreated as Wildlife Areas to 

Protect. Some remnant trees may be felled as hazards but would be subject to PDC 

#9 Attachment A.

Marbled murrelet 

CHU NE NE NE No CHU in project.

Sensitive Species – Forest Service R6

American peregrine 

falcon MIIH MIIH MIIH

Potential disturbance to individuals and potential limited adverse effects to prey 

species. All activities within disturbance distance of known site would be seasonally 

restricted. 

Bald eagle NI NI NI No known nests on Powers RD or in the vicinity of the Planning Area.

Harlequin duck NI NI NI No medium to large stream riparian habitat in project

Lewis’s woodpecker NI NI NI No pine woodlands in Planning Area or along haul route.

Pacific fisher MIIH MIIH MIIH

Thinning (canopy closure reduction) may degrade up to 3,300 acres of foraging habitat, 

disturbance could occur. Some remnant trees may be felled as hazards but would be 

subject to PDC #9 Attachment A.

Townsend’s bigeared bat NI NI NI There are no known caves, wooden bridges or abandoned buildings within the project.

Fringed myotis MIIH MIIH MIIH Minimal, but some impacts to existing snags or trees with cavities could occur.

Northwestern pond 

turtle NI NI NI Suitable habitat in the Planning Area, but unlikely any alternative will impact turtles.

Foothill yellow-legged 

frog NI NI NI No treatments within suitable riparian buffers

Mardon Skipper NI NI NI No suitable habitat within treatment areas.

Johnson’s hairstreak MIIH MIIH MIIH Minimal, but some habitat degradation and disturbance could occur.

Coronis fritillary NI NI NI No suitable habitat within treatment areas.
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-5 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species Action Alternative

2 3 4 Comments

White-headed 

woodpecker NI NI NI Outside of known range

Northern waterthrush NI NI NI Outside of known range

California Wolverine NI NI NI Outside of known range

Pacific Pallid bat NI NI NI Outside of known range.

Oregon spotted frog NI NI NI Outside of known range

Siskiyou mountain 

salamander NI NI NI Outside of known range.

California slender 

salamander NI NI NI Outside of known range.

Black salamander NI NI NI Outside of known range

Siskiyou short-horned 

grasshopper NI NI NI Outside of known range

Insular blue butterfly NI NI NI Outside of known range

Hoary elfin NI NI NI Outside of known range

Franklin’s bumblebee NI NI NI Outside of known range

Siskiyou Hesperian NI NI NI Outside of known range

Crater Lake tightcoil NI NI NI Outside of known range

Green sideband NI NI NI Outside of known range. Range limited to western slope of Coast Range and 

immediate adjacent Coast itself.

Traveling sideband NI NI NI Outside of known range

Chace sideband NI NI NI Outside of known range

Oregon shoulderband NI NI NI Outside of known range

Evening fieldslug NI NI NI Outside of known range

Management Indicator Species

Bald eagle Covered above

Northern spotted owl Covered above

Osprey NI NI NI No suitable habitat within treatment areas.

Pileated woodpecker M M M

Minimal impacts to these species, but some impacts to existing snags or trees with 

cavities. Some remnant trees may be felled as hazards but would be subject to PDC #9 

Attachment A.

Woodpeckers (Acorn, 

Downy, Hairy, 

Northern flicker, Redbreasted sapsucker, 

white-headed 

woodpecker,& Lewis)

M M M

American marten M M M

Minimal impacts, but canopy reduction could reduce habitat suitability until forest understory shrubs grow and restore canopy cover. Some remnant trees may be felled as 

hazards but would be subject to PDC #9 Attachment A.

Columbian blacktailed deer M M MBeneficial impacts from improvement of forage; i.e., more grasses, forbs, and shrubs. 

Some minimal impacts from increased road miles and reduced thermal/hiding cover.

Roosevelt elk M M M

Other Rare or Uncommon Species

Bats (fringed, longeared, and longlegged myotis; silverhaired, pallid, and 

Townsend’s bigeared bats)

M M M

Minimal impacts to these species, but some impacts to existing snags or trees with 

cavities.

Great gray owl NI NI NI No Habitat

Red tree vole (Mesic 

Zone) M M M Canopy connectivity reduced and undiscovered nest trees may be felled. 

Del Norte salamander M M M Some talus habitat may be impacted. Known sites will be protected.

Neo-tropical Migratory Birds

All birds in this 

category

Variable impacts, but no more than M for any species, because the scale of impacts is small, compared to the 

availability of habitats within the watersheds and forest. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-6 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Threatened & 

Endangered Species:

NE = No Effect

BE = Beneficial Effect

NLAA = May Affect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect

LAA = May Affect, Likely to Adversely Affect

CHU = Critical Habitat Unit

All other 

species

NI = No Impact

BI = Beneficial 

Impact

MIIH = May Impact Individuals or Habitat, but will not likely contribute to a trend towards Federal listing or cause a 

loss of viability to the population or species

WIFV = Will Impact Individuals or Habitat with a consequence that the action may contribute to a trend towards 

Federal listing or cause a loss of viability to the population or species

M –may affect some individuals or some habitat but effect is minimal

Ng – negative effect to habitat and species

B – Beneficial

Note: some species are on more than one list

*Remnant trees = Generally large old trees that were not removed during earlier regeneration harvest activities or that survived 

stand replacement fires. In some cases they are single trees, while other areas have groups of older trees up to a half acre in size. 

These trees generally range from 34‖ dbh to in excess of 60‖ dbh and are often at least twice the diameter of the average tree in 

the stand they are located in. They often have a ―wolfy‖ structure consisting of moss covered limbs/platforms > 4-6‖ diameter, 

and fire scars or charred bark. Generally, bark is thicker and more furrowed and crowns tend to be more flat topped, less 

―pointed‖ than younger trees. 

Effects to Species of Concern 

Species of concern are those species listed by the Endangered Species Act as Threatened or Endangered, 

the Regional Forester as Sensitive, Other Rare or Uncommon Species, Management Indicator Species by 

the Siskiyou Land and Resource Management Plan, or Birds of Conservation Concern including focal 

Neo-tropical Migratory Bird Species by Oregon-Washington Chapter of Partners in Flight in their 

published Landbird Conservation Plan (PIF 1999, 2000). Effects to species are generally based on the 

effects to their habitat or potential effects from disturbance during nesting season. 

The Forest consults with the USDI Fish and Wildlife Service (per Section 7 of the Endangered Species 

Act) about any management activities which ―may affect‖ individuals of listed species or their habitat. 

For detailed information on the natural history and management of the Forest’s Endangered and 

Threatened species, see the most recent programmatic ―Formal Consultation on Timber Harvest, Meadow 

Restoration and Quarry Activities Proposed by the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest (Tails # 13420-

2009-F-0146)(USDA, USDI 2009). Information in the referenced document was used in the subsequent 

determination of effects to Threatened and Endangered species for this project. 

Threatened and Endangered Species 

The effects determination for thinning and associated treatments for all Action Alternatives is May 

Affect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect (NLAA) for the northern spotted owl. Project Design Criteria 

would assure that no suitable habitat would be removed; however up to 3,314 acres of dispersal habitat 

may be treated and maintained. The project area and proposed haul route are located outside 1992 and 

2008 Critical Habitat Units (CHUs), therefore there would be No Effect (NE) to spotted owl critical 

habitat. 

For the marbled murrelet, the effects determination for thinning and associated treatments is May Affect, 

Not Likely to Adversely Affect (NLAA) for all Action Alternatives. Project Design Criteria would 

assure that no habitat would be removed. The project area is located outside Critical Habitat Units 

(CHUs). The proposed haul route travels through marbled murrelet CHU; however, hauling is not 

expected to have any impact due to high use from private timber operations and public use accessing the 

national forest. Therefore, the effects determination for marbled murrelet Critical Habitat is No Effect 

(NE). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-7 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Sensitive Species 

The determinations for Sensitive species that are NOT likely to occur in the project area is No Impact. 

For all Action Alternatives, the determinations for Sensitive species that are likely to occur in the project 

area is no more than May Impact Individuals or Habitat (MIIH), but would not likely contribute to a 

trend towards Federal listing or cause a loss of viability to the population or species, because of potential 

disturbance to individuals and limited adverse effects to habitat from treatments. Adverse effects are 

limited because the scale of impacts is very small compared to the scale of the distribution of these 

species and their habitat across the watersheds and forest. 

Management Indicator Species 

Effects to Management Indicator Species (MIS), is based upon effects to their habitat. The determination 

for the bald eagle and osprey is No Impact because riverine habitat along major creeks and streams 

would not be impacted with this project under all Alternatives. Northern spotted owl is addressed as 

Threatened or Sensitive species. The determinations for woodpeckers (pileated, downy, hairy, acorn, 

white-headed, northern flicker, red-breasted sapsucker, Lewis’ woodpecker) would be M (may affect 

some individuals or some habitat but effect is minimal under all Action Alternatives), because some 

snags would likely be felled. The determination for American marten would be M, because mature 

habitat would be thinned reducing canopy cover from near 100% to 40-50% and some snags and remnant 

trees may be felled for safety. Late-successional habitat would not be removed however. The 

determinations for Columbian black-tailed deer and Roosevelt elk are M for all Action Alternatives 

because forage would be created by thinning while thermal cover would be reduced. Disturbance from 

humans may increase due to increased access to new areas from road construction/maintenance activities. 

Other Rare and Uncommon Species 

The determination for bats (fringed, Townsend’s big-eared, long-eared, and long-legged myotis; silverhaired and pallid) and black-backed woodpecker is M – may affect some individuals or some habitat 

but effect is minimal because some potential habitat will be removed. Some large snags, which are 

habitat for these birds and bats, will likely be felled during treatments associated with operations. The 

determination for white-headed woodpecker and flammulated owl is No Impact, because the project 

area is outside the known range of the species. The determination for great gray owl is NI – no impact

because there are no meadows of 10 acres or greater within the Planning Area. The FAUNA database 

contains only one incidental sighting of a great gray owl within the Siskiyou portion of the Rogue RiverSiskiyou National Forest. This location is over 4 miles from the largest meadow (7 acres) in the project 

area. 

The determination for red tree vole is M - may affect some individuals or some habitat but effect is 

minimal. Surveys for the proposed treatment units are not required because they fall under the 2006 

Pechman Exemptions, thinning in forest stands younger than 80 years of age. However, past surveys 

have located nest trees in proposed treatment units. Those nest trees have been identified and marked as 

wildlife trees to protect. Some undiscovered red tree vole nest trees may be felled or blow down. 

Thinning may isolate individual tree canopies reducing inter-connected tree canopies which may be used 

by foraging and dispersing red tree voles. The determination for the Del Norte salamander is M – may 

affect some individuals or some habitat but effect is minimal because some talus habitat may be 

impacted. Past surveys have located occupied sites. These sites would be protected from ground 

compaction activities with a buffer of 100’ or one site tree length, whichever is greater. 

Neotropical Migratory Birds/Landbirds (NTMB) 

The effects to migratory birds/landbirds are variable depending on the habitat associations of the 

individual species, but no more than minimal (M) for any species. It is expected that project activities 

would fall some snags and thus have a potential adverse effect on cavity nesting birds in certain areas. 

However, all Action Alternatives would leave existing dead wood used by cavity-dependent species, and 

where needed, snags and down wood may be created. Disturbance to individuals and limited adverse 

effects to habitat from treatments are limited in scale when compared to the distribution of the species and 

habitats within the watersheds and Forest. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-8 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

II. INTRODUCTION

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project for the Powers Ranger District of the Rogue River-Siskiyou 

National Forest requires a Biological Evaluation to be completed (FSM 2672.4). It is Forest Service 

policy to protect the habitat of listed Threatened or Endangered species from adverse modification or 

destruction, as well as to protect individual organisms from harm or harassment as appropriate (Forest 

Service Manual (FSM) 2670.3). This Biological Evaluation was prepared for the proposed Eden Ridge 

Timber Sales Project, which would be authorized, funded, and conducted on the Rogue River-Siskiyou 

National Forest (RRSNF).

The purpose of this evaluation is to determine and document the possible effects that the proposed activity 

and alternatives would have on any Endangered, Threatened, Proposed, or Sensitive wildlife species 

(FSM 2672.4). A second objective of this evaluation is to ensure these species receive full consideration 

in the decision-making process, to maintain species viability and meet defined recovery goals. The 

Biological Evaluation process (FSM 2672.43) provides a description of office analysis, and mitigation 

activities necessary to ensure proposed management actions will not likely jeopardize the continued 

viability of: 

Species listed or proposed to be listed as Endangered (E) or Threatened (T) by the USDI Fish and 

Wildlife Service. Species listed as Sensitive (S) by the USDA Forest Service Region 6 (USDA 

FS 2008, FSM 2670.44). 

The Biological Evaluation is a 5-step process. Each Proposed, Endangered, Threatened, and Sensitive 

species (PETS) potentially occurring in the proposed Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project area was evaluated 

based on these steps, (evaluation of impacts on a given species may be complete at the end of step #1 or 

may extend through step #5). 

Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) also directs each Federal agency to insure that any action 

authorized, funded or carried out by such agency is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any 

Threatened or Endangered species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of their critical 

habitat. The ESA also directs each Federal agency to confer or consult with the appropriate Secretary on 

any action, which is likely to jeopardize or affect the continued existence of any species or its critical 

habitat. 

A. ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED IN DETAIL 

No-Action Alternative

Alternative 1 is the No-Action Alternative. It represents the current condition and is the basis for 

comparison of effects from implementation of the three action alternatives. Under No-Action, stands 

proposed for thinning treatment would continue to be overstocked, with intense competition for growing 

resources, e.g. sunlight, water, nutrients, space. This process maintains a relatively high canopy closure, 

preventing the establishment or growth of a grass/forb/shrub ground cover. Stands would continue to 

self-thin the intermediate and overtopped trees, while the co-dominate trees would continue to have poor 

crown development and slow diameter growth. Snag development, especially in the smaller tree classes, 

is promoted as trees in dominant position continue their advantage. 

Stand structure elements such as horizontal and vertical structural diversity, large down wood, snags and 

multiple canopy layers would likely develop in these stands if no thinning occurs. These characteristics 

would develop over a longer time period as the stand naturally progresses through the different stages of 

stand development. The No-Action Alternative promotes the availability of smaller snags and down 

wood while the Action Alternatives promote the availability of larger snags and down wood. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-9 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Alternative 2 (Proposed Action) 

The Powers Ranger District proposes variable density thinning treatments, Port Orford cedar sanitation 

and planting treatments, and other connected activities on approximately 3,314acres of candidate stands. 

These stands are located on suitable forest land designated as Matrix and Riparian Reserve land 

allocations under the Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan as amended by the 

Northwest Forest Plan. 

Alternative 2 proposes intermediate commercial harvest treatments using variable density thinning 

techniques and other connected actions on second growth conifer stands artificially and naturally 

regenerated following timber harvest during the 1920s through the 1930s. Commercial treatments are 

detailed in Tables and Maps in EIS Chapter II. Candidate stands are located on suitable forest land 

primarily designated as the Matrix land allocation under the Forest Plan as amended by the Northwest 

Forest Plan. Within the 3,314 acres of treatments, also included are treatments within Riparian Reserves 

that overlap into overstocked drier upland forests (1,097 total acres). 

Approximately seventy-five (75) treatment units would be designed for timber harvest with associated 

harvest systems that would use a combination of ground-based, skyline and helicopter operations 

depending on soil, slope and hydrological concerns. Also included is an additional 363 acres of noncommercial silvicultural treatments. 

Commercial treatments would involve harvest of conifers with a minimum of 7 inches dbh, which is a 

viable product size under current and anticipated market conditions. No old residual trees (remnant) 

would be cut, except in instances where they are identified as danger trees. Estimated commercial 

volume could average 8 to 20 thousand board feet (mbf) per acre. Other wood product commodities are 

anticipated including biomass (chips), and firewood. Harvest treatments from this alternative could yield 

up to an estimated 53 million board feet and would be implemented utilizing multiple timber sale 

contracts over an approximate 5-year period. 

Treatments would occur within the South Fork Coquille River and the Middle Fork Coquille River 5thField watersheds, and the Lower Rock Creek, Myrtle Creek, Headwaters South Fork Coquille River, Coal 

Creek, and Mill Creek 6th field watersheds. 

To access the 75 units for treatment, approximately 31 miles of existing Classified roads would be used 

for the haul route and approximately 11 miles of new classified system road construction would be built, 

6.1 miles of reconstruction of existing classified roads, 5.5 miles of road maintenance and .3 miles of 

decommissioning and construction of new temporary roads within units are being considered these over a 

5-year period. 

Alternative 3 

This alternative is similar to and is based on the Proposed Action, but differs from the candidate stands 

and opportunities associated with the Proposed Action, with modifications that include only ―high to 

moderate benefit/low risk‖ new roads. This theme was derived from comments received during scoping. 

Road ―benefit‖ relates to the amount of area accessed for a given segment or length or road. A ―high 

benefit‖ new road would be one that provides current and future access for a large area, as compared to a 

―low benefit‖ road which for its length and potential environmental impact, would access fewer acres. A 

―high risk‖ new road could be one that would require crossing high risk or a number of Riparian Reserve 

areas, or is in a position on the terrain that would allow surface runoff into perennial streams, or is a road 

that would have steeper grades and/or involve a large amount of cut and fill of material during 

construction. An assessment of the new roads associated with the Proposed Action (Roads Analysis) is 

contained in EIS Appendix H (Transportation and Logging Systems Report). 

In relation to Alternative 2, this modification would reduce the treated area on some units resulting in a 

change in configuration, or in some cases, units would be combined or dropped. This alternative includes 

helicopter logging systems, based on the change in access for conventional systems. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-10 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Alternative 3 also responds to the goals and objectives outlined by the Land and Resource Management 

Plan (1989 Forest Plan) for the Siskiyou National Forest, as amended by the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan, 

and helps move the Planning Area toward desired conditions described in that plan. This alternative is 

also designed to improve overall forest health by stimulating natural processes that encourage more stable 

and resilient forest vegetative conditions, manage stand densities and species composition, and provide 

for a sustainable yield of commercial timber and other commodities, with less environmental impact and 

risk (primarily associated with roads), as compared to the Proposed Action. 

Alternative 4 

This alternative is also similar to and is based on the Proposed Action, but differs from the candidate 

stands and opportunities associated with the Proposed Action, with modifications that include only the 

use (with reconstruction and maintenance) of existing roads for treatment access. This alternative also 

excludes some of the higher risk treatments within Riparian Reserves (primarily those associated with 

perennial streams). 

In relation to Alternative 2 and Alternative 3, these modification would reduce the treated area on some 

units, resulting in a change in configuration, or in some cases, units would be combined or dropped. This 

alternative includes helicopter logging systems, based on the change in access for conventional systems. 

Alternative 4 also responds to the goals and objectives outlined by the Land and Resource Management 

Plan (1989 Forest Plan) for the Siskiyou National Forest, as amended by the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan, 

and helps move the Planning Area toward desired conditions described in that plan. This alternative is 

designed to improve overall forest health with less environmental impact and risk (primarily associated 

with roads and treatments in proximity to perennial streams), as compared to the Proposed Action or 

Alternative 3. 

III. PROPOSED, ENDANGERED, THREATENED & SENSITIVE SPECIES

In compliance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)(1973 et seq.) and the Forest Service 

Biological Evaluation process for Proposed, Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive (PETS) wildlife 

species, the list of species potentially occurring within the RRSNF was reviewed. The January 31, 2008 

Pacific Northwest Region (R6) listing of species applicable to the RRSNF was reviewed in regard to 

potential effects on any of these species by actions associated with the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area was buffered by 2 miles (see Map Attachment B), which is 

a northern spotted owl home range plus one half mile. This effects Analysis Area distance will 

encompass the home range of most of the species analyzed in this document. The term project area, is 

used to describe where action would occur, such as units where forest thinning is proposed and where 

road construction or road improvements are proposed. 

The Plum Creek Timber Company owns approximately 30,000 of the 39,731 acres within the Analysis 

Area. Timber harvest activities on the surrounding private lands are typically on a 40-50 year 

regeneration rotation. These harvest activities keep the surrounding lands in a fairly consistent early 

successional vegetation stage. Additionally, 8,634 acres within the Analysis Area are managed by the 

USFS and the remaining 444 acres are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-11 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

A. LATE-SUCCESSIONAL FOREST 

―Late-successional forests are those forest seral stages that include mature [21-32‖ DBH or 80-200 years 

of age] and old-growth [>32‖ DBH or >180-200 years old] age classes.‖ (NWFP FSEIS Vol. 1, Glossary, 

p. 9 and ROD, p. B-1) (NWFP FSEIS Vol. 1, p. 3&4 – 13 and 3&4 - 26). ―Although the processes that 

created the current late-successional and old-growth ecosystems are not completely understood, they 

include: (1) tree growth and maturation, (2) death and decay of large trees, (3) low-to-moderate intensity 

disturbances (e.g., fire, wind, insects, and diseases) that create canopy openings or gaps in the various 

strata of vegetation, (4) establishment of trees beneath the maturing overstory trees either in gaps or under 

the canopy, and (5) closing of canopy gaps by lateral canopy growth or growth of understory trees.‖ 

(NWFP ROD, p. B-2). 

Two Threatened species that occur within the fifth-field watersheds associated with the project areas use 

late-successional forest habitat for their survival needs. These Threatened species are the northern spotted 

owl and the marbled murrelet. The most important habitat component these species need in latesuccessional forest is very large trees with large cavities or platforms, which are needed for nesting. The 

majority of trees used for nesting by the marbled murrelet and the northern spotted owl are conifers 

greater than 50‖ dbh with unique structure, such as large limbs or cavities (Nelson and Wilson, 2002; 

LaHaye and Gutierrez, 1999; Forsman and Giese, 1997). In addition, some species, such as the Pacific 

fisher, use large deciduous hardwoods with cavities and large limbs (Yaeger, 2005). 

Although there are a number of characteristics in late-successional forest, quantification of old-growth 

forest generally uses a combination of diameters (described above) and canopy closure (generally greater 

than 50%), because diameter and canopy closure are easily measured and because these are the types of 

stands where the characteristics of late-successional forest are likely to begin developing or may already 

occur. For example, a stand, which is sixty years of age, could be dominated by 21-32‖ dbh trees with 

high canopy cover, but is not likely to contain giant trees, large cavities, or large limbs. This stand could 

contain a few large snags or large down wood; therefore, this stand is only beginning to develop latesuccessional forest characteristics. 

Patch sizes have been fragmented by past timber harvest and wildfire reducing the overall sizes and 

number of patches. There is a need to grow larger patches of older forest (LSRA, 1995). Additionally, 

the diversity within existing late-successional forest habitat is probably less than it was historically, when 

low to moderate intensity fires were historically more common than they have been over the past 100 

years. Low to moderate intensity fires increase diversity by creating gaps and scattered dead wood where 

small groups or individual large trees are killed by burning. 

Within the Eden Ridge Planning Area, there is an estimated 3,314 acres of proposed treatment acres that 

are best represented by the mature (21-32‖ dbh) forest habitat type, however these “mature” stands do 

not contain giant trees, large cavities, or large limbs, and are not considered late-successional 

forest. Further, based on historical records and stand examination, these stands are currently less than 80 

years old. 

1. Northwest Forest Plan Standard and Guideline C-44

The Northwest Forest Plan ROD has Standards and Guidelines designed to limit harvest of older forest in 

watersheds/analysis areas where little late-successional forest remains (Northwest Forest Plan ROD, page 

C-44). Standard and Guideline C-44 of the Northwest Forest Plan ROD establishes the need to provide 

for retention of old-growth fragments in watersheds where 15% or less is late-successional forest within 

5

th field watersheds. 

NWFP S&G (C-44) discusses that,‖...Within such an area, all remaining late-successional stands should 

be protected‖. NWFP ROD B1-4 discusses structure and composition of late-successional and old growth 

forest ecosystems and does not limit the determination of such stands to diameter and canopy closure. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-12 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The entire area associated with proposed treatments (the Project Area) is within the land allocation 

designation of Matrix. Two 5th field watersheds are affected by the project. Existing late-successional 

and old-growth forest habitat by 5th field watershed is summarized in Table G-3. 

Table G-3. Posthabitat1 Conditions Within 5th field Watersheds Affected by the Proposed Action 

5

th Field Watershed Watershed - USFS 

acres

% Late-successional % Old-growth

Middle Fork Coquille River 1,534 43% (653 ac) 1% (14 ac)

South Fork Coquille River 65,370 21% (14,001 ac) 14% (8,967 ac)

As part of implementation for the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project, an analysis exercise would be done 

to determine whether or not any 5-acre portion of a candidate stand contains 6 or more trees with potential 

late-successional structure. If an area contains 6 or more trees with potential structure, it constitutes 

potential suitable habitat. Any stand with a potential suitable habitat (remnant late-successional tree) 

component would be further assessed with a walk-through of the area that would be impacted (USDI, 

2006). If a late successional component is confirmed, that portion of the stand (or the entire stand) would 

be excluded from treatments (including 1⁄2 site tree un-thinned buffer) (see PDC#6). 

Therefore, the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project would not affect (change or reduce) the current 

condition regarding late-successional or old-growth forest, in conformance with Standard and 

Guideline at Northwest Forest Plan C-44. 

B. DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES AND CRITICAL HABITAT LISTED UNDER ESA 

1. Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) 

The northern spotted owl was listed as threatened throughout its range ―due to loss and adverse 

modification of spotted owl habitat as a result of timber harvesting and exacerbated by catastrophic events 

such as fire, volcanic eruption, and wind storms‖ (USDI FWS 1990:26114). 

More specifically, threats to the spotted owl included low populations, declining populations, limited 

habitat, declining habitat, inadequate distribution of habitat or populations, isolation of populations within 

physiographic provinces, predation and competition, lack of coordinated conservation measures, 

inadequacy of regulatory mechanisms and vulnerability to natural disturbance (USDI FWS 1992b). A 

primary spotted owl recovery goal of the Revised Recovery Plan is to conserve older stands that are either 

occupied or contain high-value spotted owl habitat. Long-term spotted owl recovery could benefit from 

forest management where the basic goals are to restore or maintain ecological processes and resilience. 

In general, to advance long-term spotted owl recovery and ecosystem restoration in moist forests in the 

face of climate change and past management practices; the principles recommended to be applied by land 

managers include: 

1) Conserve older stands that have occupied or high-value spotted owl habitat as described in 

Recovery Actions 10 and 32. On Federal lands this recommendation applies to all land-use 

allocations outside of Congressionally Reserved Areas. 

2) Management emphasis needs to be placed on meeting spotted owl recovery goals and long-term 

ecosystem restoration and conservation. 

3) Continue to manage for large, continuous blocks of late-successional forest. 

 

1

 Posthabitat is defined as late-successional forest habitat (mature and old growth), which is synonymous with nesting-roosting 

habitat for northern spotted owls. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-13 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Recovery Action 10 – Conserve spotted owl sites and high value spotted owl habitat to provide 

additional demographic support to the spotted owl population. 

Recovery Action 32 – Because spotted owl recovery requires well distributed, older and more 

structurally complex multi-layered conifer forests on Federal and non-federal lands across its range, land 

managers should work with the Service to maintain and restore such habitat while allowing for other 

threats, such as fire and insects, to be addressed by restoration management actions. These high-quality 

spotted owl habitat stands are characterized as having large diameter trees, high amounts of canopy cover, 

and decadence components such as broken-topped live trees, mistletoe, cavities, large snags, and fallen 

trees (USFWS 2011). 

Critical habitat for the northern spotted owl was designated on 1 January 1992 (USDI FWS 

1992a). A revised designation of critical habitat was published in the Federal Register in August 

2008 (USDI FWS 2008b). Critical habitat for the northern spotted owl corresponds closely with 

those areas designated as Late-Successional Reserve in the Northwest Forest Plan (USDA and 

USDI BLM 1994). The spotted owl’s listing reflected primarily the loss of suitable habitat for 

spotted owls. There is no Northern Spotted Owl Critical Habitat designated within the Eden 

Ridge Planning/Analysis Area. 

In their 2004 evaluation of the status of the northern spotted owl, Courtney et al. (2004) state that 

present major threats to the species include the effects of past and current timber harvest; loss of 

habitat to fire; and barred owls. The 2004 authors go on to state that other threats are also present 

but of threats identified at the time of listing, only one (predation linked to fragmentation) is not 

well supported. 

In their five year status review of the spotted owl, Courtney et al. (2004) report that predation on 

spotted owls has not been directly observed though great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) are 

presumed to be a major spotted owl predator. Furthermore, an evaluation of numerous corpses 

strongly indicates predation as the cause of death (Courtney 2004). Miller (1989) does report 

predation of juvenile spotted owls by great horned owls and starvation as the two main causes of 

mortality. Johnson (1992) implicates northern goshawks (Accipiter gentiles), Cooper’s hawks 

(Accipiter cooperi), red-tailed hawks, and great horned owls as potential avian predators. 

In their work in western Oregon, Forsman et al. (1984) identify great horned owls as a spotted owl 

predator. The five year status review includes a report by Leskiw and Gutiérrez (1998) of perhaps 

having recorded the predation of a spotted owl by a barred owl (Strix varia); Gutiérrez et al. 

(1995) share that fisher (Martes pennanti) have been seen climbing in spotted owl nest trees and 

may eat spotted owl eggs and young. It appears then that predation of adult spotted owls, their 

young, and or eggs could be preyed upon by wildlife species associated with late seral conifer 

forest as well as those associated with edge habitat. 

Management direction for the northern spotted owl has its basis in A Conservation Strategy for the 

Northern Spotted Owl (Thomas et al. 1990). Direction stems from the Northwest Forest Plan, 

which amended current forest planning documents and established a system of Late-Successional 

Reserves (LSR) across the landscape to provide habitat for the recovery of spotted owl 

populations. Thomas et al. (1990) disclosed northern spotted owls’ use of old-growth forests 

almost exclusively and rarely use clearcuts or young forest plantations. When young stands are 

used, they typically contain remnant large trees (Thomas et al. 1990). Where timber harvest has 

occurred, spotted owls are usually found in the remaining patches of old-growth and mature forest 

(Forsman 1982). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-14 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Habitat features associated with forests used by spotted owls include multi-layered canopies, 

relatively high canopy closure, large diameter trees, and numerous snags and logs (Forsman 1982, 

Thomas et al. 1990). These stand features are related to requirements for feeding, nesting, and 

roosting (Forsman 1982). Spotted owls most commonly nest in tree cavities or on platforms 

created by debris or mistletoe infections (Thomas et al. 1990). 

Northern spotted owls generally inhabit older forested habitats because they contain the structures and 

characteristics required for nesting, roosting, foraging (NRF), and dispersal. A definition of NRF habitat 

in the Klamath Province is difficult to identify because of the variety of ecological types and frequent fire 

history (USDA Forest Service 1996). The Mt. Ashland LSR Assessment (USDA Forest Service 1996) 

identified stands which supported northern spotted owl as >17‖ average diameter and >60% canopy 

closure (CC). The Rogue River/South Coast Biological Assessment defines Nesting/Roosting/Foraging 

(NRF) habitat as >21‖ average diameter and >60% CC (USDA Forest Service, USDI Fish and Wildlife 

Service 2009c).

Zabel et al. (2003) identified habitat models for northern spotted owls in the Klamath Province of 

northern California which correctly classified owl-occupied sites with >85% accuracy. Within Douglasfir habitats below 6,000 ft. elevation in the Eastern Klamath Ecological zone, these sites were classified as 

>17‖ average diameter and >60% CC. Zabel et al. (2003) concluded that their model performed best at 

the 200 hectare radius (0.5 mi). 

The primary prey of northern spotted owls in the Analysis Area are dusky-footed woodrats (Neotoma 

fuscipes) and northern flying squirrels (Glaucomy sabrinus) (USDA Forest Service 1996). Dusky-footed 

woodrats are occasionally abundant in early mixed-conifer forests and present in late stages of forest 

development (Carey et al. 1999). Northern flying squirrels are generally associated with older forests. 

Zabel et al. (1995) verified a trend of negative, linear relationship between home range size during the 

breeding season and the proportion of woodrats in the diet of northern spotted owls. The proportion of 

northern flying squirrels in the diet was positively correlated with home range size. 

Spotted Owl Environmental Baseline 

Habitat data for northern spotted owl analyses was derived from Geographic Information System (GIS) 

coverages. The analysis is based on satellite imagery. The use of satellite imagery allows large areas to 

be assessed on a consistent basis and is considered the ―best available‖ data that maps and provides 

consistent vegetation characteristics throughout the Analysis Area regardless of ownership. It is 

important to note some limitations in terms of the satellite imagery used for analysis as such, individual 

pixels of data may not exactly match on the ground. 

Information on general forest cover types on Forest Service and National Park Service lands in Oregon 

and Washington was obtained through a contract with Pacific Meridian Resources Company. The cover 

type data (Prehabitat) were produced using a combination of 1988 and 1991 Landsat imagery and were 

classified into vegetation categories based on tree size and stand structure. This cover type data was 

classified into vegetation categories based on size, structure and canopy closure date. Data is updated 

when vegetation conditions changed (such as timber harvest). Prehabitat was updated and called 

Posthabitat after the Biscuit Fire. 

Data available for habitat analysis in the Biscuit Fire Recovery Project could not be classified the same as 

Zabel et al. (2003) classified habitat in their best model for northern spotted owl habitat. The available 

data had the following tree size classifications: 1-9, 9-21, 21-32, and greater than 45 inches and canopy 

cover classifications at 10-40, 40-70, and greater than 70. Therefore, analysis for this project defines late 

successional forest habitat for northern spotted owls as near to Zabel et al. classifications for the Western 

Klamath area as possible. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-15 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

USDI Fish and Wildlife Service describe two types of habitats for spotted owls: nesting-roosting foraging 

(NRF) and dispersal. Survival of individuals and successful reproduction is dependent upon NRF and 

replacement of deceased spotted owls and colonization of developing NRF habitat is influenced by 

dispersal habitat. Late successional forest habitat described in the Northwest Forest Plan is synonymous 

with northern spotted owl NRF habitat as it was understood in 1994. 

Posthabitat is defined as late-successional forest habitat (mature and old growth), which is synonymous 

with nesting-roosting habitat for northern spotted owls (based primarily on Zabel et al. 2003). Included 

are stands dominated by trees greater than 21‖ dbh with greater than 40% over-story canopy cover. 

Stands with 9-21‖ dbh with greater than 40% canopy closure are defined as dispersal-foraging habitat. 

Late-successional forests are ―stands dominated by conifer trees that are 21 to 32 inches dbh...‖ (NWFP 

FSEIS Vol. 1, p. 3&4- 26). Another definition: ―Late-successional forests are those forest seral stages 

that include mature and old-growth age classes.‖ (NWFP FSEIS Vol. 1, Glossary, p. 9 and ROD, p. B-1). 

Areas with greater than 32‖ dbh with two or more canopy layers ―would generally best fit the definition 

of old growth.‖ It is important to note that there are some limitations in terms of the satellite imagery 

used for this analysis. Field verification is necessary to validate the size classifications, because shadows, 

large crowns and closed canopies can be depicted as LS or OG. 

The Revised Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl, June 2011 includes Recovery Action 32 – 

Because spotted owl recovery requires well distributed, older and more structurally complex multilayered conifer forests on Federal and non-federal lands across its range, land managers should work with 

the Service to maintain and restore such habitat while allowing for other threats, such as fire and insects, 

to be addressed by restoration management actions. These high-quality spotted owl habitat stands are 

characterized as having large diameter trees, high amounts of canopy cover, and decadence components 

such as broken-topped live trees, mistletoe, cavities, large snags, and fallen trees (USFWS 2011). 

The Rogue River-Siskiyou NF and Medford BLM drafted guidelines identifying forest stands meeting 

Recovery Action 32. Forest stands meeting the described conditions are a subset of suitable habitat and 

actual stand conditions vary across the range. (USDA/USDI 2010). 

The sub-basin that contains the proposed units, the Analysis Area, and 5th field watersheds contain 

approximately 36,328 acres of NRF and 22,471 acres of dispersal habitat. 

Table G-4. Environmental Baseline of Spotted Owl Habitat (USDI 2009) 

Watershed 

(major subbasins)Total Forest 

Acres

Habitat Capable 

Acres

Spotted Owl NRF 

Habitat Baseline

Spotted Owl 

Dispersal Habitat 

Baseline

Coquille Sixes 89,149 17,680 36,328 22,471

The Forest manages all or part of LSRs within the Forest as a portion of the network of reserves designed 

for the conservation of the spotted owl. These reserves theoretically either currently provide sufficient 

amounts of habitat and numbers of spotted owls to maintain local populations, or, if deficient in habitat or 

owls, should provide sufficient habitat and owls in the future. The NWFP (USDA FS and USDI BLM 

1994a) directs that LSRs be managed to improve late-successional forest conditions, therefore habitat for 

the spotted owl should improve accordingly over time within these reserves (USDI 2009). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-16 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

2. Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) 

The marbled murrelet is a small seabird (Alcidae) that nests along the Pacific coast from Alaska to central 

California, and winters as far south as Baja California, Mexico. Murrelets forage at sea where they 

consume a diversity of prey species including small fish and invertebrates, but nest on large limbs in old 

growth coniferous forests. In the Pacific Northwest, murrelets have been found as far inland as 53 miles 

(USDI FWS 1997). Dillingham et al. (1995), examining murrelet survey data for the Rogue RiverSiskiyou N.F., found that no murrelets were detected more than 32 miles from the ocean, although 

surveys had been conducted up to 47 miles inland. South of the divide between the Rogue and Coquille 

Rivers, the farthest inland murrelets had been detected was 17 miles (Dillingham et al. 1995). The Eden 

Ridge Timber Sales Project is approximately 28 miles from the ocean. 

The 2009 status review (USFWS 2009d) reconfirmed the murrelet’s status as a threatened species and 

summarized the terrestrial habitat. Throughout the forested portion of their range, marbled murrelet 

habitat use is positively associated with the presence and abundance of mature and old growth forests, 

large core areas of old growth, low amounts of edge and fragmentation, proximity to the marine 

environment, and increasing forest age and height (Hamer and Nelson 1995b). In all cases, marbled 

murrelets focus on the presence of platforms used for nesting. Platform presence is more important than 

the size of the nest tree, and tree size alone is not a good indicator of the abundance of platforms (Evans 

Mack et al. 2003). The presence of platforms is the most important characteristic of marbled murrelet 

nesting habitat (Burger 2002). Individual tree attributes that provide platforms suitable for nesting 

include large or forked branches, deformities caused by broken tops or mistletoe infection, or other 

structures large enough to provide a platform for a nesting adult murrelet (Hamer and Nelson 1995b). 

Platforms are defined as limbs 4 inches (10 centimeters) in diameter or more and 33 feet (10 meters) or 

more above ground (Burger 2002). Tree diameter and height have been positively correlated with 

platform size and the abundance of platforms, but the relationship may change depending on the variety 

of tree species and forest types marbled murrelets use for nesting (Huff et al. 2006). Overall, nest trees in 

Washington, Oregon, and northern California have been greater than 19 inches (48 centimeters) dbh and 

greater than 98 feet (30 meters) tall (Hamer and Nelson 1995). Other important attributes of the platform 

are vertical and horizontal cover and substrate. Known nest sites have platforms that are generally 

protected by branches above (vertical cover) or to the side (horizontal cover) (Huff et al. 2006). Marbled 

murrelets appear to select limbs and platforms that provide protection from predation (Luginbuhl et al. 

2001; Marzluff et al. 2000; Raphael et al. 2002) and inclement weather (Huff et al. 2006). Substrate, such 

as moss, duff, or needles, on the nest limb is important for protecting the egg and preventing it from 

falling (Huff et al. 2006). Murrelet habitat is mapped by using spotted owl NRF habitat as a preliminary 

screen. 

Range-wide habitat loss is by far the greatest terrestrial threat to murrelets. Timber harvest has reduced 

the amount of old growth forest habitat within western Oregon and Washington by more than 80 percent 

and it is likely disproportionate harvesting has occurred within the range of the murrelet compared with 

forests further inland (USDI FWS 1992b). The NWFP establishes all murrelet occupied stands on 

Federal lands as LSRs, which greatly restricts the habitat modification activities that can occur. In 1996, 

the Service designated murrelet critical habitat, which largely overlaps mapped LSRs within the murrelet 

range on Federal lands. Predation via corvids and or rodents is also considered a threat to reproductive 

success. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-17 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

An account of the taxonomy, ecology, and reproductive characteristics of the marbled murrelet can be 

found in the 1988 species status review (Marshall 1989), the final rule designating the species as 

threatened (USDI FWS 1992b), the final rule designating critical habitat for the species (USDI FWS 

1996), Ecology and Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet (Ralph et al. 1995), Recovery Plan for the 

Marbled Murrelet (USDI FWS 1997), and the Service’s BO for Alternative 9 (USDI FWS 1994) of the 

Final Environmental Impact Statement on Management of Habitat for Late-Successional and Old-Growth 

Forest Related Species Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl (USDA and USDI 1994a). 

In 1995, it was estimated 1,077 occupied murrelet sites occurred within Washington, Oregon, and 

California. Suitable habitat for the murrelet was estimated at 2,561,500 acres of Federal lands in the 

listed range of this species (Ralph et al. 1995). Murrelet habitat is protected on Federal land under the 

NWFP. 

The loss of significant amounts of suitable, unoccupied murrelet habitat may hamper efforts to stabilize 

and recover this species. The Federal listing of the murrelet as Threatened was primarily based on the 

loss of late-successional forest and the subsequent reduction in the number of nest sites available to 

murrelets (USDA and USDI 1994; Carter and Erickson 1992). This loss of habitat may also explain gaps 

in their inland distribution. 

Current management direction for the marbled murrelet comes from the Northwest Forest Plan ROD and 

the Marbled Murrelet Recovery Plan (USDA and USDI BLM 1994, USDI FWS 1997). If surveys 

determine a stand is occupied, a Late-Successional Reserve is set up to protect all contiguous existing and 

recruitment habitat (i.e., stands that are capable of becoming marbled murrelet habitat within 25 years) 

within one-half mile of the occupied site. Suitable habitat is generally 80 years old or more with trees 

averaging 32 inches dbh or more, with at least one platform > 5.9 inches in diameter containing nesting 

substrate (e.g., moss, epiphytes, duff) on that platform which has overhead protective cover (tree branch 

or foliage), and has an access route through the canopy that a murrelet could use to approach and land on 

the platform (USDI 2009). 

Marbled Murrelet Critical Habitat 

Critical habitat for marbled murrelets was designated in May 1996 (61 FR 102:26256-26320). The 

Service has designated approximately 3.9 million acres of land as critical habitat, of which 78 percent 

(3.0 million acres) is located on Federal lands within the area covered by the NWFP boundary. 

The Service considers two components of marbled murrelet habitat to be biologically essential: 1) 

terrestrial nesting habitat and associated forest stands and 2) marine foraging habitat used during the 

breeding season. Within areas essential for successful marbled murrelet nesting, the Service has focused 

on the following primary constituent elements: 1) individual trees with potential nesting platforms and 2) 

forested areas within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of individual trees with potential nesting platforms, and 

with a canopy height of at least one-half the site potential tree height. Within the boundaries of 

designated critical habitat, only those areas that contain one or more primary constituent element are, by 

definition, critical habitat. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales project is within the known range (Area A) of the marbled murrelet; 

however, there is no designated marbled murrelet critical habitat within the Planning/Analysis 

Area. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-18 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

C. EFFECTS TO SPECIES LISTED UNDER ESA AND CHU 

A summary of presence, habitat and determination of effects with mitigation is shown in Table G-5. 

Table G-5. ESA Species & Critical Habitat Unit (CHU) Presence and Effects Determination 

Wildlife Species Sighting/Habitat Habitat or Species 

Present

Determination of 

Effects with 

mitigation

Federally Endangered, Threatened, or Proposed Species

Northern spotted owl

Suitable Habitat 

present/species known 

for area

Suitable habitat not 

affected by project/species 

may be affected

NLAA

Northern Spotted Owl 

Critical Habitat Unit

CHU not within project 

area

CHU not present No Effect

Marbled Murrelet

Suitable Habitat present

/species not known for 

area

Habitat not affected by 

project/species may be 

affected

NLAA

Marbled Murrelet

Critical Habitat Unit

CHU not within project 

area

CHU not present No Effect

 

 No Effect 

 NLAA = May Affect, Not likely to Adversely Affect 

 LAA = Likely to Adversely Affect 

1. Northern Spotted Owl

No-Action Alternative 

The No-Action Alternative would not result in any change in levels of disturbance to spotted owl nest 

sites. No spotted owl pairs would be affected by disturbance in habitat and dispersal opportunities would 

not be reduced from current conditions. In the absence of large-scale disturbance (wildfire, insects, and 

disease) the densities of northern spotted owls would likely remain stable, notwithstanding other threats 

identified by the Sustainable Ecosystems Institute report (Courtney et al. 2004) which include barred owls 

and West Nile Virus. 

All Action Alternatives 

The FAUNA database contains 4 spotted owl records within the analysis area. Three of the records are 

for observations of one historic owl in 1991 and 1992. The forth was an incidental observation from 

1992. The project area was surveyed to protocol in 2008 and 2009. No spotted owls were detected 

within any of the proposed units; however, contract surveyors reported an incidental observation of a 

spotted owl. Detected owls may be using the project area for forage and would likely continue to do so. 

Originally some larger trees existed within the units; however, boundaries for the harvest units were redelineated or portions of units were dropped to avoid areas where large diameter trees were common and 

there was potential for suitable habitat for spotted owls (PDC #5 Attachment A). The nature of the 

treatment prescription would retain the largest overstory trees (PDC #15 &16). 

In general, noise disturbance has the potential to adversely affect a spotted owl such that their normal 

behavior is disrupted. The degree to which an individual spotted owl may be affected from noise 

disturbance varies with the proximity (distance), intensity (sound level) and duration of the disturbance. 

Activities that generate noise levels that result in the alteration of an individual owl’s behavior would 

constitute a form of harassment as defined by the ESA. Harassment is ―an intentional or negligent act or 

omission which creates the likelihood of injury by annoying it to such an extent as to significantly disrupt 

normal behavior patterns which include, but are not limited to, breeding, feeding, and sheltering‖ (50

CFR 17.3). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-19 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The potential effects of elevated stress hormones on spotted owl population dynamics are not well 

understood. Evidence of recreation effects on spotted owls was reported by Swarthout and Steidl (2001) 

who found that the closely related Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) was affected by hikers. 

They reported that juveniles and adults were unlikely to flush at distances ≥24 m from hikers, 

respectively. Delaney et al. (1999) studied the effects of chainsaw and helicopter noise on Mexican 

spotted owls. They found that no spotted owls flushed when noise stimuli were >105 m away. This study 

further shows that spotted owls may be sensitive to some types of noise disturbance.

Required Project Design Criteria (PDCs) have been developed for northern spotted owls on the Rogue 

River-Siskiyou National Forest. The following table portrays zones of restricted operations and distances 

from specific activities for known activity centers: 

a. Northern Spotted Owl Project Design Criteria - Mitigation Measures 

If a new activity center is located, the following mitigation measures would be applied where appropriate: 

Table G-6. Northern Spotted Owl Mitigation Measures and Affected Harvest Units 

Activity Zone of Restricted 

Operation Harvest Unit

Blast of more than 2 pounds of explosive 1 mile Rock Quarry

Blast of 2 pounds or less of explosive 120 yards None

Impact pile driver, jackhammer, or rock drill 60 yards None

Type III-IV Helicopter or single-engine airplane 120 yards None

Type I or II Helicopter 0.25 miles None

Chainsaws, power tools (hazard trees, tree 

harvest, fuel reduction work, etc.) 65 yards None

Heavy equipment 35 yards None

Table G-7. Project Mitigation Measures (PDCs) for the Protection of Northern Spotted Owl 

Any of the following Mandatory PDCs may be waived in a particular year if nesting or reproductive success surveys 

conducted according to the FWS-endorsed survey guidelines reveal that spotted owls are non-nesting or that no young are 

present that year. Waivers are valid only until March 1 of the following year. Previously known sites/activity centers are 

assumed occupied unless protocol surveys indicate otherwise.

Disturbance

1) Work activities (such as tree felling, yarding, road construction, hauling on roads not generally used by 

the public, prescribed fire, muffled blasting) that produce loud noises above ambient levels, or produce 

thick smoke that would enter the stand, will not occur within specified distances (see above table) of 

any nest site or activity center of known pairs and resident singles between 1 March and 30 June (or 

until two weeks after the fledging period) – unless protocol surveys have determined the activity center 

to be not occupied, non-nesting, or failed in their nesting attempt. The restricted zone is 1.0 mile for any 

un-muffled blasting. This distance may be shortened if significant topographical breaks or blast blankets 

(or other devices) muffle sound traveling between the blast and nest sites. March 1 – June 30 is considered 

the critical early nesting period; the action agency biologist has the option to extend the restricted season 

during the year of harvest, based on site-specific knowledge (such as a late or recycle nesting attempt). 

The boundary of the prescribed area may be modified by the action agency biologist using topographic 

features or other site-specific information. The restricted area is calculated as a radius from the assumed 

nest site (point). 

Disturbance

2) If an active spotted owl nest or activity center is located within or adjacent to a project area, delay 

the project activity until September 30th or until an action agency biologist determines that young are 

not present. For a given situation, the ―adjacent‖ distance is determined by the action agency biologist – if 

needed, contact Level 1 team for guidance. If any project activity is so close to a known or suspected owl 

site that the disturbance would flush a nesting spotted owl, curtail the project activity until September 30. 

The field biologist has the discretion to conduct surveys and determine fledging activity. 

Disturbance

3)Broadcast burning will not take place within 0.25 mile of known active northern spotted owl nests 

between 1 March and 30 June (or until two weeks after the fledging period) unless smoke will not drift 

into the nest stand. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-20 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Quarries

1) For active nest sites or unsurveyed suitable habitat within 0.25 mile of the quarry operation (1.0 mile 

for blasting), restrict operation of the quarry from March 1 through June 30 (unless protocol surveys 

demonstrate non-nesting). 

Recommended

2) For active nest sites or unsurveyed suitable habitat within 0.25 mile of the quarry operation, restrict 

operation of the quarry from March 1 through September 30 (unless protocol surveys demonstrate nonnesting). 

Remnant 

Trees

Remnant trees will be retained. Remnant trees felled for operational needs will be retained on-site. PDC 

#9 Attachment A.

Above-ambient noises further than these (Table G-6) distances from spotted owls are expected to have 

ether negligible effects or no effect to spotted owls. The types of reactions that spotted owls could have 

to noise that the Service considers to have a negligible impact, include flapping of wings, the turning of a 

head towards the noise, hiding, assuming a defensive stance, etc. (USFWS 2003). 

If spotted owls are detected in or adjacent to treatment units, Project Design Criteria from the USDI Fish 

and Wildlife Service Formal Consultation on timber harvest, meadow restoration and quarry activities 

proposed by the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest (TAILS #: 13420-2009-F-0146) dated August 27, 

2009 (USDA/USDI, 2009c) would be applied to proposed activities (PDC# 2&3 Attachment A). 

b. Direct and Indirect Effects

The proposed action would commercially treat and maintain up to 3,314 acres of spotted owl dispersal 

habitat and non-commercially treat up to 363 acres The resultant canopy closure (40-50%) and residual 

tree structure (the larger tree component) is likely to maintain the dispersal function of the treated stands. 

The reduced structural complexity, e.g., loss of snags and vertical canopy diversity, is a degradation of 

habitat quality for late-successional associated species but the effect on wildlife from this degree of 

change is likely minimal and dispersal habitat is likely to be maintained. Over the long term, the thinning 

should allow the remaining trees to reach a larger diameter and develop larger branches sooner than 

would be possible if no thinning were done. Spotted owl dispersal habitat would be maintained by the 

project. 

No snags or down woody material is proposed for removal. No new road construction is proposed within 

any spotted owl home range (1.3 miles). No northern spotted owl activity center (300 meter) occurs 

within the project area or along the haul route. One core area (0.5 mile) occurs along the haul route. One 

home range occurs within the project area and portions of 3 home ranges occur along the haul route. 

Thirty two acres of dispersal habitat would be maintained within the mean home range of northern spotted 

owl - activity center #290. 

Harvest and vegetation treatments may improve foraging habitat conditions for prey (USDI, 2009). 

Lemkuhl et al. (2006) confirmed the importance of maintaining snags, down wood and mistletoe. 

Primary prey species of spotted owls are small mammals that include northern flying squirrels 

(Glaucomys sabrinus) and dusky-footed (Neotoma fuscipes) and bushy-tailed (N. cinerea) woodrats, 

followed by tree voles (Arborimus and Clethrionomys) and mice (Peromyscus spp.). While flying 

squirrels tend to increase in abundance in older forests, they can also be common in younger stands. 

Dusky-footed wood rats tend to be more abundant in younger and drier forest stands and bushy-tailed 

woodrats are often associated with cliffs, rocky outcrops, and talus, but they also occupy hollow trees and 

logs. Tree voles appear to show a positive correlation with stand age and are more abundant in oldgrowth forests. 

Density management can have short term (less than 5 years) adverse impacts on prey species and foraging 

and dispersal habitat given the removal of vegetative cover for small mammals. However, Gomez et al. 

(2005) noted that commercial thinning in young stands of Coastal Oregon Douglas-fir (35-45 yr) did not 

have a measurable short-term effect on density, survival or body mass of northern flying squirrels, an 

important prey species for spotted owls. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-21 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Gomez et al. (2005) also noted the importance of fungal sporocarps, which were positively associated 

with large down wood. Some disturbance of habitat may improve forage conditions, provided understory structure and cover are retained. Removal of some tree canopy, provided it is not too extreme, 

would bring more light and resources into the stand, stimulating forbs, shrubs and other prey food. The 

understory habitat conditions for prey food should increase over the next few years, until shrubs and 

residual trees respond to again close in the stand. 

In addition, residual trees, snags and down wood that are retained in the thinned stands would 

provide some cover for prey species over time, and would help minimize harvest impacts to some 

prey species. Some arboreal prey species would venture into harvest units a short distance for 

food. Northern spotted owls seldom venture far into non-forested stands to hunt. However, edges 

can be areas of good prey availability and potentially increased vulnerability (i.e., better hunting 

for owls) (Zabel 1995). The retained trees may respond favorably to more light and resources and 

gain height and canopy over time (USDI, 2009). Any areas found meeting Recovery Action 32 

definitions would be excluded from treatment areas under all Action Alternatives. 

There is the potential for disturbance to any dispersing spotted owls that may be moving through 

the project area searching for suitable habitat, or to any potential foraging spotted owls, within the 

disturbance limits identified in Table G-6 above. If any spotted owls are discovered in the project 

area, the above PDCs are required, unless it is determined through protocol surveys that they are 

not nesting. Because of this potential for disturbance to spotted owls, the Eden Ridge Timber 

Sales Project is considered ―may affect, not likely to adversely affect‖ for the northern spotted 

owl. 

The Proposed Action is considered ―No Effect‖ (NE) to northern spotted owl critical habitat, because 

the project area and treatment units are not within northern spotted owl Critical Habitat Units (CHU). 

The nearest treatment unit to spotted owl CHU is over 1.5 miles and the nearest road identified for use 

during the proposed action is over 0.8 miles from the nearest CHU. 

c. Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative Effects include the effects of past, present and foreseeable future State, local, or private 

activities that are reasonably certain to occur within the Analysis Area. Cumulative effects compound the 

effects of loss of habitat and harassment potential associated with timber harvest operations and other 

activities on both private and public lands. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is basically an 

island of Forest Service land, surrounded by Private and Bureau of Land Management land. Due to the 

private ownership status of the area surrounding the Planning Area, vehicular access by the public is 

limited to only the eastern portion of the proposed project area. 

Present and foreseeable future actions that may affect terrestrial wildlife species or habitats on the Forest 

include: wildland fire, fuels treatments, developed and dispersed recreation, timber harvest and vegetation 

treatments, reforestation, restoration, road management, and special uses. All of these activities would be 

designed to meet the direction provided within the Northwest Forest Plan and the local Land and 

Resource Management Plans (i.e., Forest Plans), and in accord with Aquatic Conservation Strategy 

objectives (NWFP 1994, Siskiyou NF LRMP 1989). 

Density management effects of this project also combine with those of district-wide pre-commercial, 

commercial thinning, meadow restoration, and danger tree felling. Approximately 8,634 acres within the 

Analysis Area are managed by the USFS. There are approximately 300 acres currently being thinned 

under the Silver Doe Timber Sale within the Planning Area. There are approximately 675 acres of 

commercial thinning identified under the Coastal Healthy Forest Treatment (CHFT) Project within the 

Analysis Area. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-22 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Approximately 50 acres are currently being treated and treatments on the remaining 625 acres may occur 

during the life of the CHFT Project. No National Forest projects, which would remove spotted owl 

habitat, are anticipated in the project area or Analysis Area. Plum Creek Timber owns approximately 

30,000 of the 39,731 acres within the Analysis Area. These acres are on an approximate 40 year 

regeneration harvest rotation. There is little habitat on private land for spotted owls in the Analysis Area. 

The remaining approximately 444 acres are managed by the BLM. 

2. Marbled Murrelet 

No-Action Alternative 

The No-Action Alternative would not result in any change in levels of disturbance to marbled murrelet 

nest sites. No marbled murrelet would be affected by disturbance in habitat and nesting opportunities 

would not be reduced from current conditions. In the absence of large-scale disturbance (wildfire, insects, 

and disease) the densities of marbled murrelet would likely remain stable, notwithstanding other threats. 

Action Alternatives 

There is potential for disturbance to murrelets from activities in adjacent non-murrelet habitat. The 

majority of information on disturbance to nesting marbled murrelets has been from anecdotal 

observations and inferred from studies on other seabird species (Long and Ralph 1998). Professional 

opinions vary on the subject but it is the Service’s and the BLM’s positions to approach the issue 

cautiously until such data exist to support a less restrictive approach to disturbance issues. The sensitivity 

of an individual to disturbance is likely related to the baseline level of disturbance the bird is accustomed 

to, the level and proximity of disturbance (Hamer and Nelson 1998), and the timing of the disturbance 

within the nesting cycle and daily activity periods. Many bird species, including murrelets, can habituate 

to relatively high levels of disturbance over time (Long and Ralph, 1997; Hamer and Nelson 1998). 

However, for murrelets, the adverse effects of disturbance may also lead to nest abandonment by adults, 

reduced nest attentiveness (leading to increased vulnerability of predation), aborted feeding visits, 

premature fledging, and avoidance of otherwise suitable habitat (Hamer and Nelson 1998). 

Scattered throughout the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area, are small pockets and scattered, 

individual large trees (remnant structure), some of which could serve as nesting habitat and are considered 

―potential nesting structure‖ (Roberts, 2004). Marbled murrelet surveys were conducted on one stand 

within the Eden Ridge Timber Sales project area adjacent to Alternative 2, Unit 401 in 1996 and 1997. 

No detections were made during these surveys. Murrelet surveys were also conducted in 16 stands of 

potential habitat within and adjacent to proposed Eden Ridge Timber Sales treatment areas in 2008 and 

2009. Surveys included all or portions of Alternative 2, Units: 001, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 101, 102, 

203, 204, 218, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330 and 331. No murrelets were detected and no 

suitable habitat was discovered within the surveyed stands. 

a. Marbled Murrelet Project Design Criteria - Mitigation Measures 

To protect marbled murrelets from disturbance; the following Project Design Criteria (PDC) from the 

USDI Fish and Wildlife Service Formal Consultation on timber harvest, meadow restoration and quarry 

activities proposed by the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest (TAILS #: 13420-2009-F-0146) dated 

August 27, 2009 (USDA/USDI, 2009) would be applied to proposed activities. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-23 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table G-8. Marbled Murrelet Mitigation Measures and Affected Harvest Units 

Activity Zone of Restricted 

Operation

Harvest Unit

Blast of more than 2 pounds of explosive 1 mile 401, 402 & 403

Blast of 2 pounds or less of explosive 120 yards 401 & 402

Impact pile driver, jackhammer, or rock drill 120 yards 401 & 402

Type III-IV Helicopter or single-engine airplane 120 yards 401 & 402

Type I or II Helicopter 0.25 miles 401, 402 & 403

Quarry operations 0.5 miles Rock quarry

Chainsaws, power tools (hazard trees, tree harvest, 

small placer dredges, etc.)

120 yards 401 & Portions of 402

Heavy equipment 120 yards 401 & Portions of 402

Burning where smoke will drift into occupied sites 

or unsurveyed habitat

0.25 miles 401, 402 & 403

Table G-9. Project Mitigation Measures for the Protection of Marbled Murrelet 

Habitat

For Survey Area A - If the project removes or degrades suitable habitat, the project must be surveyed 

to protocol (current Pacific Seabird Group 2-year protocol to document presence/absence of the 

murrelet). If it is not feasible to complete the 2-year protocol, the USFWS will be contacted on a 

case-by-case basis to discuss other means of ensuring that potential nest trees are not impacted. A 

new unmapped LSR must be established for any timber stand in marbled murrelet Survey Areas A or 

B that is determined to be or assumed to be occupied by marbled murrelet. (per NWFP ROD, page C10).

Habitat

Occasionally individual hazard trees are found which have not been surveyed for murrelet use and 

which have the potential to support a murrelet nest. If these trees are an immediate threat to human 

safety, they will be cut. Otherwise, these trees will be removed during the non-nesting season (16 

September to March 31) (UDSI 2009).

Disturbance

For Survey Area A - Work activities (such as tree felling, yarding, road and other construction 

activities, hauling on roads not generally used by the public, muffled blasting) which produce noises 

above ambient levels will not occur within specified distances (see above table) of any occupied 

stand or unsurveyed suitable habitat between April 1 – August 5. For the period of August 6 –

September 15, work activities will be confined to between 2 hours after sunrise to 2 hours before 

sunset. 

Disturbance

Blasting (open air/unmuffled) – No blasting activities 1 April through 15 September within 1.0 

mile of occupied stands or unsurveyed suitable habitat. This distance may be shortened if 

significant topographical breaks or blast blankets (or other devices) muffle sound traveling between 

the blast and nest sites or less than 2 lbs of explosives are used.

Disturbance Clean up trash and garbage daily at all construction and logging sites. Keep food out of sight so as 

to not attract crows and ravens (predators on eggs or young murrelets).

Disturbance

Recommended - Between 1 April and 15 September, concentrate disturbance activities spatially and 

temporally as much as possible (e.g., get in and get out, in as small an area as possible; avoid 

spreading the impacts over time and space).

Fuels

(I) Burning would not take place within 0.25 mile of known occupied marbled murrelet sites, or 

unsurveyed marbled murrelet habitat between April 1 and August 6 unless smoke will not drift into 

the occupied site. 

(II) All broadcast and under-burning operations (except for residual ―smokes‖) will be completed in 

the period from two hours after sunrise to two hours before sunset. 

(IV) During helicopter operations, flights over suitable habitat will be restricted (helicopter should be 

a least 1,500 feet above ground level); if not possible, fly a minimum of 500 feet above suitable 

habitat (above canopy).

Quarries

For any occupied stands or unsurveyed suitable habitat within 0.5 mile of the quarry operation, 

restrict operation of the quarry from April 1 to September 15. Agency biologists also have the 

discretion to modify the 0.5-mile zone depending on topography and the level of noise - what 

equipment will be present (crusher or dozer/ripper or only loading of existing stockpiled rock).
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-24 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

b. Direct and Indirect Effects 

Marbled murrelet habitat would not be removed or degraded by the proposed activities. Over the long 

term, the thinning should allow the remaining trees to reach a larger diameter and develop larger branches 

sooner than would be possible if no thinning occurred. The planned haul route utilizes roads already 

receiving high timber haul use off of private lands and portions are open to public use. Any potential 

nesting murrelets along this route have likely developed a tolerance to motorized traffic on these roads 

including road maintenance and road improvement activities. 

There are occasional scattered remnant trees within proposed treatment units. Field reviews have 

identified and removed scattered pockets of remnant trees from treatment areas and any subsequent 

pockets identified will also be excluded from treatment (PDC #6 Attachment A). Individual remnant 

trees would be retained and any remnant trees felled for safety or operational needs would remain on-site 

(PDC #9 Attachment A). 

To prevent disturbance to occupied or unsurveyed potential habitat a seasonal restriction for activities 

within specified distances (see Table G-8) would be required for Unit 401 and all road work for portions 

of Road 5000-210 (PDC #7 Attachment A). 

There would be ―no effect‖ to murrelet critical habitat from the Action Alternatives because there is no 

identified critical habitat within the project area. Because of the potential for disturbance to nesting 

marbled murrelets from implementation activities to unknown sites, a ―may affect, not likely to 

adversely affect‖ determination is made for the marbled murrelet. 

c. Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative Effects include the effects of past, present and foreseeable future State, local, or private 

activities that are reasonably certain to occur within the Analysis Area. Cumulative effects compound the 

effects of loss of habitat and harassment potential associated with timber harvest operations and other 

activities on both private and public lands. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is basically an 

island of Forest Service land, surrounded by Private and Bureau of Land Management land. Due to the 

private ownership status of the area surrounding the Planning Area, vehicular access by the public is 

limited to only the eastern portion of the proposed project area. 

Present and foreseeable future actions that may affect terrestrial wildlife species or habitats on the Forest 

include: wildland fire, fuels treatments, developed and dispersed recreation, timber harvest and vegetation 

treatments, reforestation, restoration, road management, and special uses. All of these activities would be 

designed to meet the direction provided within the Northwest Forest Plan and the local Land and 

Resource Management Plans (i.e., Forest Plans), and in accord with Aquatic Conservation Strategy 

objectives (NWFP 1994, Siskiyou NF LRMP 1989). 

Density management effects of this project also combine with those of district-wide pre-commercial, 

commercial thinning, meadow restoration, and danger tree felling. Approximately 8,634 acres within the 

Analysis Area are managed by the USFS. There are approximately 300 acres currently being thinned 

under the Silver Doe Timber Sale within the Planning Area. There are approximately 675 acres of 

commercial thinning identified under the Coastal Healthy Forest Treatment (CHFT) Project within the 

Analysis Area. 

Approximately 50 acres are currently being treated and treatments on the remaining 625 acres may occur 

during the life of the CHFT Project. No National Forest projects, which would remove murrelet habitat, 

are anticipated in the project area or Analysis Area. Plum Creek Timber owns approximately 30,000 of 

the 39,731 acres within the Analysis Area. These acres are on an approximate 40 year regeneration 

harvest rotation. There is little habitat on private land for marbled murrelet in the Analysis Area. The 

remaining approximately 444 acres are managed by the BLM. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-25 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

D. FOREST SERVICE SENSITIVE SPECIES 

In compliance with the Forest Service Biological Evaluation process for Proposed, Threatened, 

Endangered, and Sensitive (PETS) wildlife species, the list of species potentially occurring within the 

RRSNF was reviewed. The January 31, 2008 Pacific Northwest Region (R6) listing of species applicable 

to the RRSNF was reviewed in regard to potential effects on any of these species by actions associated 

with the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project. 

Table G-10. R-6 Sensitive Species Known or Suspected to Occur on the RRSNF

R6 Sensitive Species Habitat Presence Species 

Presence

Determination of Effects 

with mitigation

American peregrine falcon Habitat present Species present MIIH

Bald eagle Habitat present Species present NI

Harlequin duck No habitat Suspected NI 

Lewis’ woodpecker No habitat NI

White-headed woodpecker Not within range

Northern waterthrush Not within range

California wolverine Not within range

Pacific fisher Habitat present Suspected MIIH

Pacific pallid bat Not within range

Townsend’s big-eared bat Habitat present Suspected NI

Fringed myotis Habitat present Suspected MIIH

Northwestern pond turtle Habitat present Potential NI

Oregon spotted frog Not within range

Foothill yellow-legged frog Habitat present Suspected NI

Siskiyou mountains salamander Not within range NI

California slender salamander Not within range

Black salamander Not within range

Siskiyou short-horned grasshopper Not within range

Coronis fritillary No habitat NI

Mardon skipper No habitat NI

Insular blue butterfly Not within range

Hoary elfin Not within range

Johnson’s hairstreak Habitat present Suspected MIIH

Franklin’s bumblebee Not within range

Siskiyou Hesperian Not within range

Crater Lake tightcoil Not within range

Traveling sideband Not within range

Green sideband Not within range

Chace Sideband Not within range

Oregon shoulderband snail Not within range

Evening fieldslug Not within range

NI = No Impact 

MIIH = May impact individuals or habitat, but will not likely contribute to a trend towards Federal listing or cause a loss 

of viability to the population or species
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-26 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The Planning Area is outside the known range for the following species and they will not be discussed in 

this document further: white-headed woodpecker, northern waterthrush, California wolverine, 

Pacific pallid bat, Oregon spotted frog, Siskiyou mountains salamander, California slender 

salamander, black salamander, Siskiyou short-horned grasshopper, insular blue butterfly, hoary 

elfin, Franklin’s bumblebee, Siskiyou hesperian, pristine springsnail, Crater Lake tightcoil, Pacific 

walker, robust walker, green sideband, Chace sideband, traveling sideband, Oregon shoulderband, 

evening field slug. 

1. American Peregrine Falcon (Falco pergrinus anatum) 

The American peregrine falcon was identified as an Endangered species in the 1970s and then delisted in 

1999. Peregrine falcons are typically associated with cliffs, which serve as nesting and perching sites. 

Nest site criteria include ledges, potholes, and small caves that are near water, inaccessible to mammalian 

predators, and offer protection from rain and snow, and heat and cold. Peregrine falcons feed almost 

exclusively on birds. 

Cliffs with suitable ledges provide nesting habitat for peregrine falcons. Peregrine habitat on the Siskiyou 

portion of the Forest is managed in accordance with the Regional Forester's letter of July 19, 1999 

(USDA 1999b) and Standard and Guideline 4-5 of the Land and Resource Management Plan for the 

Siskiyou National Forest (1989). To date, six active nests are known on the Siskiyou portion of the 

Forest. On 25 August 1999, the USDI (1999) Fish and Wildlife Service removed (delisted) the American 

peregrine falcon throughout its range as a threatened species from the Federal List of Endangered and 

Threatened Wildlife, thereby removing all protections provided by the Act. A strategy for the 5-year 

monitoring plan that follows the delisting has been developed and is being implemented (FWS 2003). 

Evaluation of impacts of proposed actions on the peregrine falcon should follow the process described in 

FSM 2673.4 and be documented in the Biological Evaluation. If a proposed project may potentially 

impact the species or its habitat, surveys using the Regional protocol should be conducted. 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects 

The presence of humans detected by a raptor in its nesting or hunting habitat can be a significant habitataltering disturbance even if the human is far from an active nest (Knight and Temple 1995). Some 

peregrine falcons are extremely sensitive and refuse to breed if humans have been in the vicinity of their 

aeries (Olsen and Olsen 1980). Even brief absence by parent birds can lead to missed feedings, predation 

on eggs or young, or to overheating, chilling, or desiccation of eggs or young (Suter and Joness, 1981). 

There is one known peregrine falcon site within the Analysis Area. Three proposed treatment units 

(#401, #402, and #403) are within the disturbance distances and would be seasonally restricted for all 

activities - January 1 to July 31. Until a Site Management Plan is developed, disturbance distances for 

seasonal restrictions have been designated at the maximum distance for the primary management zone of 

800m radius (Pagel 1991). However, based on the aspect, topography and location of the aerie, an 

additional 800 meters has been added to the NW half of the initial primary management zone radius. 

Maintenance activities on portions of roads 5000-200, 5000-210, and 5000-290 would also be seasonally 

restricted January 1 to July 31 or until it has been determined by the district wildlife biologist that either 

fledging has occurred or that the site is unoccupied (PDC #10 Attachment A). Helicopter landing 

locations within 1 mile of the known or any newly found peregrine falcon sites would require approval of 

the district wildlife biologist prior to implementation (PDC #11 Attachment A). 

All Action Alternatives of the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project ―may adversely impact individuals, 

but not likely to result in a loss of viability on the planning area, nor cause a trend to federal listing 

or a loss of species viability range wide” for the American peregrine falcon due to the potential for 

disturbance to individuals and potential limited adverse effects to prey species from treatments. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-27 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

b. Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative Effects include the effects of past, present and foreseeable future State, local, or private 

activities that are reasonably certain to occur within the Analysis Area. Cumulative effects compound the 

effects of loss of habitat and harassment potential associated with timber harvest operations and other 

activities on both private and public lands. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is basically an island of Forest Service land, surrounded by 

Private and Bureau of Land Management land. Due to the private ownership status of the area 

surrounding the Planning Area, vehicular access by the public is limited to only the eastern portion of the 

proposed project area. 

Present and foreseeable future actions that may affect terrestrial wildlife species or habitats on the Forest 

include: wildland fire, fuels treatments, developed and dispersed recreation, timber harvest and vegetation 

treatments, reforestation, restoration, road management, and special uses. All of these activities would be 

designed to meet the direction provided within the Northwest Forest Plan and the local Land and 

Resource Management Plans (i.e., Forest Plans), and in accord with Aquatic Conservation Strategy 

objectives (NWFP 1994, Siskiyou NF LRMP 1989). 

Density management effects of this project also combine with those of district-wide pre-commercial, 

commercial thinning, meadow restoration, and danger tree felling. Approximately 8,634 acres within the 

Analysis Area are managed by the USFS. There are approximately 300 acres currently being thinned 

under the Silver Doe Timber Sale within the Planning Area. There are approximately 675 acres of 

commercial thinning identified under the Coastal Healthy Forest Treatment (CHFT) Project within the 

Analysis Area. 

Approximately 50 acres are currently being treated and treatments on the remaining 625 acres may occur 

during the life of the CHFT Project. No National Forest projects, which would remove habitat, are 

anticipated in the project area or Analysis Area. Plum Creek Timber owns approximately 30,000 of the 

39,731 acres within the Analysis Area. These acres are on an approximate 40 year regeneration harvest 

rotation. There is little habitat on private land for spotted owls in the Analysis Area. The remaining 

approximately 444 acres are managed by the BLM. 

Road access around the peregrine falcon site is not available to the general public, because all access is 

through private gates, although the Forest Service has access through a cost share agreement. However, it 

is likely that peregrine falcons are habituated to vehicular traffic due to the nearly constant truck activity 

on the private timber lands. There are other potential nesting and roosting sites within the Analysis Area 

on private lands. It is not known whether there are any peregrine falcons utilize these areas. 

2. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 

Bald eagles were listed as Endangered in Oregon and elsewhere by the FWS in 1967 (USDI FWS 1967). 

The bald eagle was removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened plants and wildlife by a 

ruling published in the Federal Register on July 9, 2007 and effective August 8, 2007 (72 FR37345). 

Bald eagles continue to be protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940. The Act 

prohibits disturbance, recently defined by FWS as: “to agitate or bother a bald or golden eagle to a 

degree that causes, or is likely to cause, based on the best scientific information available, 1) injury to an 

eagle, 2) a decrease in its productivity, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or 

sheltering behavior, or 3) nest abandonment, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, 

or sheltering behavior” (50 CFR 22.3). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-28 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The Final Environmental Assessment Proposal to Permit Take Provided Under the Bald and Golden 

Eagle Protection Act (USDI 2009) and Eagle Permits; Take Necessary to Protect Interests in Particular 

Localities; Final Rule (50 CFR Parts 13 and 22) finalizes permit regulations to authorize limited take of 

bald eagles and golden eagles under the Bald and Gold Eagle Protection Act. 

Bald eagle habitat on the Rogue River-Siskiyou NF is protected and managed in accordance with the 

Pacific Bald Eagle Recovery Plan (USDI FWS 1986), and Standards and Guidelines 4-3 and 4-4 of the 

Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (USDA 1989). As part of the recovery 

plan, key nesting habitat areas have been identified on the Rogue River-Siskiyou NF along the Rogue, 

Illinois, and Sixes Rivers (USDI FWS 1986). 

Most bald eagles nest within 0.6 to 1.2 miles of aquatic foraging areas, which is typically a lake, 

reservoir, large river, or coastal estuary (Anthony et al. 1982, Stalmaster 1987, Anthony and Isaacs 1989, 

Johnsgard 1990, Garrett et al. 1993). Nest trees are usually the dominant trees in the stand, often much 

larger than the surrounding trees (Anthony et al. 1982, Stalmaster 1987). The nest trees provide adequate 

support for the large nests, an open flight path to the nest, and a view of the surrounding terrain 

(Stalmaster 1987). Although bald eagles usually nest near water, they will search areas away from water 

to find suitable structure for their nest (Anthony et al. 1982, Stalmaster 1987). Young stands are avoided, 

but eagles do desire large openings in the canopy provided by lakes, rivers, and meadows (Stalmaster 

1987). 

Roosting and perching habitat is also important. Roost trees are often the largest trees in the stand 

(Anthony et al. 1982). When selecting roost trees, eagles choose trees providing greater shelter versus 

trees close to food. On the other hand, trees used for perching are usually near water and food. Perches 

are used for resting, hunting, and eating. The species of tree is less important than the location and form 

of the tree (Stalmaster 1987). 

Bald eagles require an abundant supply of food because of their large size. Bald eagles feed on fish, 

waterfowl, small mammals, and carrion (Stalmaster 1987, Johnsgard 1990). The specific diet may vary 

by season and location (Stalmaster 1987). 

On the Rogue River-Siskiyou NF, major rivers provide the best habitat for bald eagles. The South Fork 

Coquille River is the nearest large river, approximately 2.2 miles SW of the Planning Area. The nearest 

known nest is approximately 4.5 miles NW of the Planning Area and there are no known nests on the 

Powers Ranger District. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project is considered a “No Impact” for the Bald Eagle because there are 

no known nests within disturbance distances from the project and the project is beyond the distance where 

most bald eagles nest. 

3. Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) 

The harlequin duck is a short-distance east-west migrant that moves to breeding streams from Pacific 

coastal areas (Cooper and Wright, 1998). Harlequin ducks migrate northward and inland in spring, 

arriving at their breeding areas in the intermountain western U.S. late-April through mid-May, with males 

departing for west coast molting areas soon after females begin incubating (Spahr et al. 1991). Breeding 

females move to the coast later depending on breeding success and whether or not females abandon 

young. Non-breeding females also remain on rivers through the incubation period. Successful females 

and juveniles arrive on the coast in mid to late September. Some coastal breeding populations are 

probably non-migratory (Cooper and Wright, 1998). Young accompany their mothers to coastal molting 

or wintering areas in the late summer (Regehr et al. 2001). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-29 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The harlequin duck winters on the coast as far south as central California, and nests on inland rivers as far 

east as Montana. The harlequin duck has been documented on National Forests in both states (COL, 

CRG, DES, GIP, MBS, MTH, OKW, OLY, RRS, SIU, UMP, WAW, WIL) and four BLM districts in 

Oregon (CB, EU, RO, SA). 

In Oregon, records of arrival on inland streams can be found from the first week of March, including a 

few reports of pairs (Dowlan 1996). Breeding occurs primarily on the rivers in northern Oregon, with 

occasional records from the Umpqua drainage. A pair was on Lost Creek in the McKenzie drainage in 

January, 1992, and an unspecified number of ducks was reported from the McKenzie in late February, 

1991. 

Pairs are seen on breeding streams in greatest numbers between the second week of April and the end of 

May, though a few records of pairs can be found through June. Some of these late observations appear to 

represent late-nesting or non-nesting pairs (Dowlan 1996). In September 2007 a female with young was 

photographed on the Powers RD (J. Lowe 2007, pers. com.). 

Inland, the harlequin duck dives for food in strong currents or fast-flowing streams, looking for prey on or 

near the bottom. Their diet is almost exclusively aquatic invertebrates, but also insects and a few small 

fish (Bellrose 1976). 

Harlequin ducks typically nest on the ground in well-concealed locations, usually on mid-stream islands 

(Wiggins 2005) although successful nest sites have also been located in tree cavities or cliff ledges which 

afford safety from high water (Street 1999). Occasionally harlequin ducks may nest up to 45m away from 

a stream (EUG BLM), but nests are typically located close (within 10m) to water and have some degree 

of vertical cover close to the nest (Bruner 1997; Robertson and Goudie 1999). Nests may also be situated 

at the base of trees, on piles of woody debris, under fallen logs, or on sheltered banks (Robertson and 

Goudie 1999). They will sometimes nest beside mountain lakes and lake outlets. They tend to breed in 

the same area in successive years. The male defends the female until incubation begins, then the pair 

bond ends (NatureServe 2010). The female harlequin lays her eggs in a mass of down; after the eggs are 

laid, the male migrates to the coast to molt (Street 1999). 

Harlequin ducks have been the focus of management actions in eastern North America, the Pacific 

Northwest, and in the Rocky Mountain states due to concern over declining populations. Relative to 

other species of ducks, they occur at low population densities and exhibit high breeding site fidelity, low 

reproductive rates, and delayed reproduction. All of these traits contribute to making harlequin duck 

populations particularly slow to recover from habitat degradation or loss (Wiggins 2005). 

The primary factors thought to be responsible for local declines in the number of harlequin ducks are the 

degradation of breeding streams, such as damming, and human disturbance (such as rafting and other 

river-associated recreation) during the breeding season. In many areas, the vast majority of harlequin 

ducks breed on National Forest System lands, thus human recreation use of breeding streams during the 

summer months has the potential to cause stream abandonment or to decrease reproductive success 

(Wiggins 2005). 

Hunting harlequin ducks contributes directly to mortality. Winter hunting is currently allowed in the state 

of Washington, despite the harlequin being listing as a priority species for the state. Wiggins (2005) has 

suggested that even a low level of hunting pressure is likely to have a significant impact on population 

stability in the western United States. Activities such as logging, road-building, and mining may act to 

increase sedimentation along breeding streams that may affect its food source. Livestock grazing may 

also represent a threat to harlequin duck nesting habitat. In areas with heavy livestock grazing, livestock 

may directly disturb nesting activities of female harlequin ducks (Wiggins 2005). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-30 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Suitable habitat for the species is not present in the Eden Ridge Timber Sales project area; however, 

suitable habitat does exist within the watershed outside of the Planning Area. The Eden Ridge Timber 

Sales Project is a ―No Impact” determination for the harlequin duck because suitable habitat for the 

harlequin duck does not exist in the project area. 

4. Lewis’ Woodpecker (Menalerpes lewis) 

Lewis’ woodpeckers are migratory in southwestern Oregon, with sporadically large populations in the 

winter and scattered breeding pairs in the summer reported. Gilligan et al. (1994) reports that they are 

common breeders in summer in Jackson and Josephine Counties but in the last 10 years they have not 

been documented (N. Barrett 2008, pers. com.) and there are few recent breeding records (Janes et al. 

2002). This species is closely tied to the ponderosa pine/oak savannah habitats of eastern and southwest 

Oregon. 

Nests are often in large ponderosa pine snags or mature oaks while the birds forage on insects and acorn 

meat. In winter they store acorn meat in crevices in trees and power poles. Because this woodpecker 

does not usually excavate its own cavity, they have a close tie to older snags within the forest that are 

likely to contain cavities and have crevices for food storage. 

Conservation: The population of Lewis’ woodpeckers has fallen dramatically across Oregon as pine – 

oak woodlands are lost (Gilligan et al. 1994). A contributing factor in the decline has been the spread of 

the European starling, which aggressively out-competes this species for available cavities. Habitat loss is 

due to a wide variety of concerns that include urbanization of valley floors, fire suppression and 

encroachment of conifer forests, timber harvest of pine components in the oak forests, etc. 

This species would benefit from a variety of active management practices designed to enhance large 

ponderosa pine snags in an open stand. This includes wide spaced thinning of ponderosa pine, and 

commercial thinning of young pine stands. Snag creation within pine stands would also benefit the 

species. Treatments that remove the large trees and older snags from stands would be detrimental to the 

species. 

Suitable habitat for the species is not present in the Eden Ridge Timber Sales project area or along the 

haul route; therefore, a ―No Impact” determination for Lewis’ woodpecker has been made for this 

project. 

5. Pacific Fisher (Martes pennanti) 

Pacific fisher was petitioned for listing by the Center for Biological Diversity and several other 

environmental organizations in November 2000. After a 12 month review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service found Pacific fisher to be a distinct population segment (DPS) and gave a ―warranted but 

precluded‖ decision to the petition, designating the West Coast DPS a Federal Candidate species (USDI 

2004). 

According to reviews, the fisher occurs throughout most of Canada and possibly extreme southeastern 

Alaska. Its distribution extends south through several forested areas of the northeastern United States. In 

the western United States, fisher populations are known to occur in western Montana, the Idaho 

panhandle, the southern Sierra Nevada of California, the Klamath and Siskiyou mountains of 

northwestern California and extreme southwestern Oregon, and the southern Cascade Range of 

southwestern Oregon. There has been a recent fisher reintroduction effort in the Olympic Peninsula in 

2007 and 2008 (Happe et al. 2008). 

The fisher is one of the most habitat-specialized mammals in western North America (Buskirk and Powell 

1994). Specialization appears to be tied primarily to denning and resting habitats. The varied diet of 

fishers suggests they may forage in a variety of habitats. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-31 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Fishers use landscapes at different spatial scales for different behaviors and activities (Powell 1994). For 

example, fishers may establish their home ranges at the landscape scale, forage at the patch scale, and 

select habitat for resting or denning at the patch scale as well as at a finer scale of habitat characteristics 

of elements within a patch (Powell 1994, Powell and Zielinski 1994). 

In the southern Oregon Cascades, Aubry and Raley (2006) located and typed 641 different resting 

structures. Fourteen percent of the rest structures were reused by the same animal on more than 1 

occasion, and 3 %were used by another radio-collared fisher at some time during the study. Both male 

and female fishers primarily used live trees for resting. Use of logs and cull piles by females and males 

was similar. Females used a greater proportion of snags for resting than males. 

Both male and female fishers used mistletoe brooms in live trees more than any other micro-site (females 

31%, males 21%). Mistletoe brooms in live trees were suspected rest sites for an additional 44 % of live 

trees used by females, and 33 %of live trees used by males. Rodent nests were used in 24 % of the trees 

used by male fishers. 

Cavities in both conifers and hardwoods are used by fishers for resting. However, to create suitable rest 

cavities, trees must be old enough to have suffered the type of stresses that create infection courts for 

heartrot fungi, and large enough to form cavities large enough to be used by fishers (Zielinski et al. 2004). 

Large trees also provide platform-type resting structures such as mistletoe brooms, clumped branches that 

support rodent nests, or rust brooms that can support the weight of fishers. Once these large trees die and 

fall, they become the type of log that fishers have been known to use as rest sites. Removal of understory 

and mid-story canopies around large structures may also reduce the effectiveness of the structure as a 

secure rest site because they contribute to the microclimate of the site. Under- and mid-story canopies 

probably also provide some protection for female and juvenile fishers from predation or harassment by 

large raptors and mobbing by corvids because sight distance is reduced in dense, multi-storied stands. 

In southwestern Oregon, Aubry and Raley (2006) located 13 natal and 18 maternal dens. For natal dens, 

fishers used both live trees and snags with openings that accessed hollows created by heartwood decay. 

The most commonly used tree species were incense cedar, true fir, and western white pine. Douglas-fir, 

incense cedar and true firs were used as maternal dens. Structures used for maternal dens were more 

variable than those used for natal dens, and included cavities in the bole or butt of large live trees and 

snags, and large hollow logs (Aubry and Raley 2006). Natal den trees need to be large enough to 

accommodate a cavity capable of containing an adult female fisher and multiple kits (Aubry and Raley 

2006). In the southern Cascades of Oregon, the average dbh and height of live trees used for natal dens 

was 92 cm (36‖) and 40 m (131’) respectively. The average dbh and height of snags used for natal dens 

was 89 cm (35‖) and 26 m 85’) respectively (Aubry and Raley 2006). 

Fishers appear to be a generalist predator and opportunistic in their foraging strategies, which is reflected 

in their diverse diet (Zielinski and Duncan 2004, Aubry et al. 2002, Zielinski et al. 1999, Powell 1993). 

There is some indication of seasonal variation in the fisher’s diet (Zielinski et al. 1999) which is likely 

linked to seasonal abundance of prey and forage species. While fishers require structures provided by 

older aged or residual stands for denning and resting, they appear to use a wider variety of stands for 

foraging. Jones and Garton (1994) found that fishers did not use non-forested sites while resting or 

hunting, but they did use pole-sapling forests for hunting significantly more than for resting. The 

inclusion of berries in the diet of fishers suggests that they do forage, at least occasionally or seasonally, 

in more open stands where many fruit-bearing shrubs and forbs are found. Fisher have not been detected 

in the Analysis Area and there are only 4 records of fisher observations for the Powers Ranger District, 

the nearest being over 15 miles from a proposed treatment unit. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-32 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects 

Thinning may reduce existing canopy closure of between 70 to 100%, to between 40 and 50%, which 

could result in a reduction of denning, resting and foraging habitat for 10-15 years, until shrub and tree 

canopy closure returns. This would occur incrementally over the life of this project, since the proposed 

3,314 acres would be broken into multiple sales over an approximate 5 year span. Some remnant trees 

may be felled as hazards but would be subject to PDC #9 (see Wildlife Report and EIS Chapter II). 

All Action Alternatives of the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project “may adversely impact individuals, 

but not likely to result in a loss of viability on the planning area, nor cause a trend to federal listing 

or a loss of species viability range wide,” for Pacific fisher because it could result in a reduction of 

denning, resting and foraging habitat. 

b. Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative Effects include the effects of past, present and foreseeable future State, local, or private 

activities that are reasonably certain to occur within the Analysis Area. Cumulative effects compound the 

effects of loss of habitat and harassment potential associated with timber harvest operations and other 

activities on both private and public lands. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is basically an island of Forest Service land, surrounded by 

Private and Bureau of Land Management land. Due to the private ownership status of the area 

surrounding the Planning Area, vehicular access by the public is limited to only the eastern portion of the 

proposed project area. 

Present and foreseeable future actions that may affect terrestrial wildlife species or habitats on the Forest 

include: wildland fire, fuels treatments, developed and dispersed recreation, timber harvest and vegetation 

treatments, reforestation, restoration, road management, and special uses. All of these activities would be 

designed to meet the direction provided within the Northwest Forest Plan and the local Land and 

Resource Management Plans (i.e., Forest Plans), and in accord with Aquatic Conservation Strategy 

objectives (NWFP 1994, Siskiyou NF LRMP 1989). 

Density management effects of this project also combine with those of district-wide pre-commercial, 

commercial thinning, meadow restoration, and danger tree felling. Approximately 8,634 acres within the 

Analysis Area are managed by the USFS. There are approximately 300 acres currently being thinned 

under the Silver Doe Timber Sale within the Planning Area. There are approximately 675 acres of 

commercial thinning identified under the Coastal Healthy Forest Treatment Project within the Analysis 

Area. Around 50 acres are currently being treated and treatments on the remaining acres may occur 

within the next 10 to 15 years. Density management projects could reduce canopy closure for 10-15 years 

until the shrub and tree canopies return. Stands that lack remnant tree structure likely only function as 

foraging habitat for fisher. Density management would likely increase growth and allow young stands to 

become suitable for fisher sooner than if they were not treated. No USFS projects, which would remove 

or degrade old-growth/remnant trees (other than safety hazards), are occurring or are anticipated in the 

project area or Analysis Area. 

Plum Creek Timber owns approximately 30,000 of the 39,731 acres within the Analysis Area. These 

acres are on an approximate 40 year regeneration harvest rotation. There is little habitat on private land 

for Pacific fisher in the Analysis Area because the vast majority of it is non-forested. Jones and Garton 

(1994) found that fishers did not use non-forested sites while resting or hunting. The remaining 

approximately 444 acres of the Analysis Area are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 

whose management practices are similar to the USFS. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-33 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

6. Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) 

Townsend’s big-eared bats can be distinguished by their enormous ears, up to 40 millimeters in length 

and by the glandular masses on their muzzles. They are medium sized and have dull, soft hair. Their 

backs vary from brown, grayish brown, to black, with paler undersides. Their ears are by far the largest 

ears of any bat along the Oregon coast. Their flight membranes are dark brown and very thin. 

They occur in a wide variety of habitats, its distribution tends to be geomorphically determined and is 

strongly correlated with the availability of caves or cave-like roosting habitat (e.g., old mines) (Pierson et 

al. 1999). Saul and others (1977) found Townsend’s big-eared bats roosting in a variety of structures in 

southwest Oregon: caves, bridges, abandoned mines, barns and houses. Suitable roosts sites and 

hibernacula fall within a specific range of temperature and moisture conditions. The species may also use 

tree cavities for night roosting. 

Townsend’s big-eared bats seem particularly sensitive to almost any type of disturbance (Verts & 

Caraway 1998.) They roost in areas seldom disturbed by humans. Roost sites should be protected from 

disturbance (May to mid September for maternity roosts, and October-April for hibernacula) as human 

disturbance may cause the bats to permanently abandon roost sites (Maser et al .1981). Roosts commonly 

are deserted and the bats move to alternate, frequently less-desirable roosts in response to the mere 

presence of humans (Humphrey and Kunz, 1976). 

Moths make up the majority of the diet for C. townsendii, but they will also ingest beetles, true bugs, and 

flies. Their flight is slow, and they are able to hover at a point that interests them. In addition to foraging 

on the wing, it will take insects from foliage. 

The proposed project does not affect caves, mines, wooden bridges, or buildings. The Eden Ridge 

Timber Sales Project would have ―No Impact‖ on the Townsend’s big-eared bat because suitable 

habitat for this species would not be impacted. 

7. Fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes) 

Csuti et al. (1997) considered this species a cave-dwelling bat, even though most of the specimens they 

examined were from buildings. It appears to be adapted to living in areas with diverse vegetative 

substrates. In SW Oregon, M. thysanodes appears to be a snag obligate and they are known to roost 

within and under the bark of snags (D. Clayton, pers. obs.). Fringed myotis are suspected to occur in or 

near the project area. 

Current management direction is the Northwest Forest Plan ROD page C-43. This standard and 

Guideline provides additional protection for caves, mines and abandoned wooded bridges and buildings 

that are used as roost sites for bats. There are no documented sightings for the area, however, they are 

known to occur in the coast range and are suspected to occur within the Analysis Area. 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects 

The project does not affect caves, mines, wooden bridges, or buildings. As such, no impact is expected to 

these potential bat roost sites. By design, the project maintains and promotes the development of large 

trees, large snags and decadent trees which could serve as roosting habitat. However, a few large snags 

may be felled as hazard trees during this project. 

Due to minor direct and indirect effects, the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project “may adversely impact 

individuals, but not likely to result in a loss of viability on the planning area, nor cause a trend to 

federal listing or a loss of species viability range wide,” for all Action Alternatives for fringed myotis

because there may be some impacts to existing snags or trees with cavities. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-34 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

b. Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative Effects include the effects of past, present and foreseeable future State, local, or private 

activities that are reasonably certain to occur within the Analysis Area. Cumulative effects compound the 

effects of loss of habitat and harassment potential associated with timber harvest operations and other 

activities on both private and public lands. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is basically an 

island of Forest Service land, surrounded by Private and Bureau of Land Management land. Due to the 

private ownership status of the area surrounding the Planning Area, vehicular access by the public is 

limited to only the eastern portion of the proposed project area. 

Present and foreseeable future actions that may affect terrestrial wildlife species or habitats on the Forest 

include: wildland fire, fuels treatments, developed and dispersed recreation, timber harvest and vegetation 

treatments, reforestation, restoration, road management, and special uses. All of these activities would be 

designed to meet the direction provided within the Northwest Forest Plan and the local Land and 

Resource Management Plans (i.e., Forest Plans), and in accord with Aquatic Conservation Strategy 

objectives (NWFP 1994, Siskiyou NF LRMP 1989). 

No National Forest projects, which would impact caves, mines or abandoned wooded bridges and 

buildings, are anticipated in the Analysis Area or on the Powers Ranger District. These types of 

―structures‖ are not known to exist within the Analysis Area. Any cave or mine found within the 

Analysis Area or on the district would be surveyed for bats and likely fitted with a bat gate. There is 

potential for some existing snags or trees with cavities to be removed as hazards in conjunction with 

future Forest Service activities. This could occur on future CHFT thinning projects and hazard tree 

removal along open roads. Hazard tree removal is likely to have minimal impact to Townsend’s bigeared bats. 

Activities on private lands within the Analysis Area are likely to have similar impacts. Past and current 

removal of snags as hazard trees along roads and within timber harvest units occur. There is likely little 

recruitment of future snags within private timber lands because of regeneration harvest practices. The 

amount and disposition of abandoned wooded bridges and buildings is unknown, however, the few that 

are known to exist would not be impacted by the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project, or any future Forest 

Service project. 

8. Northwestern Pond Turtle (Emmys marmorata marmorata) 

Northwestern pond turtles are capable of living in a wide variety of aquatic habitats. The northwestern 

pond turtle inhabits marshes, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, sloughs, and slow moving portions of creeks and 

rivers (Nussbaum et al. 1983, Stebbins 1985, Brown et al. 1995). Pond turtles may also be found in 

abandoned gravel pits, stock ponds, and sewage treatment plants (Holland 1994). In the Rogue River 

drainage, records of pond turtle sightings are almost equally divided amongst rivers, larger-order streams, 

and small ponds (Holland 1994). 

The size of habitats used by northwestern pond turtles is quite variable from place to place. Turtles have 

been observed using small ephemeral ponds only a few square meters in size (Holland 1994). On the 

other hand, turtles are also known to live in Upper Klamath Lake which covers an area of several dozen 

square kilometers. In areas where water is present only part of the year, turtles aestivate in the mud in the 

watercourse or in upland areas during late summer or early spring (Holland 1994). Pond turtles seem to 

prefer areas that possess some type of refugia such as undercut banks, submerged vegetation, rocks, logs, 

or mud (Nussbaum et al. 1983, Stebbins 1985, Holland 1994, Brown et al. 1995). Areas containing 

basking sites for thermoregulation such as rocks, logs, or emergent vegetation are also preferred 

(Nussbaum et al. 1983, Stebbins 1985, Holland 1994, Brown et al. 1995). Partially submerged logs, 

vegetation mats, mud banks, rocks, and tree branches provide areas for sunning (Nussbaum et al. 1983, 

Stebbins 1985). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-35 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

There is habitat for northwestern pond turtles within the Analysis Area. However, it is unlikely that any 

Action Alternative would impact turtles because suitable habitat would not be changed, removed or 

degraded by the proposed activities. Therefore, a ―No Impact” determination for northwestern pond 

turtle has been made for the project. 

9. Foothill Yellow-legged Frog (Rana boylii) 

Foothill yellow-legged frogs live in sections of low-gradient streams with exposed bedrock or rock and 

gravel substrates. They lay their eggs in late spring or early summer, and they attach them to the bottom 

of quiet scour-pools or riffles in gentle-gradient streams, often where there is only slight flow from the 

main river. Hatchlings cling to the egg mass initially, and then to rocks. Tadpoles live in pools that often 

have a connection to the main river flow, but little or no silt. Froglets live in pools with gravel and 

cobbles. 

Adults live in pool edges (often in a deep pool with sedge clumps around the edge), in bedrock at the edge 

of the main channel or under cobbles at the bottom of the pool (Corkran and Thoms, 1996). This is 

mainly a frog of rocky or gravelly streams in southwestern Oregon and is seldom seen far from water. 

Habitat is confined to the immediate vicinity of permanent streams below 1800 feet, including those that 

may be reduced to waterholes connected by trickles during the dry season (Nussbaum et al. 1983). The 

FAUNA database contains no records of sightings of foothill yellow-legged frog in the Eden Ridge 

Timber Sales Analysis Area. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project would have ―No Impact‖ on the foothill yellow-legged frog 

because suitable habitat for this species would not be impacted. 

10. Mardon Skipper (Polites mardon) 

Mardon skippers are univoltine, completing one life cycle annually. Adults typically emerge between 

May and July, but possibly later at higher elevations. Individuals live between five days and two weeks 

(Potter et al. 2002). A unique feature of this species is that it is reported as spending its entire life cycle in 

one location, without migration. Its dispersal distance is unknown. Eggs are laid into tufts of Festuca

spp. bunchgrass upon which the larvae feed for approximately 3 months. Hibernation is believed to occur 

in the grass as well (USDA and USDI BLM 2007). 

Surveys into areas neighboring known populations has expanded knowledge considerably from 37 known 

in 1999 to over 60 sites in 2004. Additional surveys in 2005 located approximately 11 additional sites in 

Oregon, and one additional site on the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District, Gifford Pinchot National Forest. 

In 2005, four new Mardon skipper sites were located on Rogue River National Forest lands 6.5 km north 

of Medford District BLM sites in the southern Oregon Cascades. The 2007 total of approximately 73 

sites is almost double the number of sites known in 1999. However, this increase is likely not due to 

increased habitat or expanding populations, but instead due to increased survey effort in areas not 

previously surveyed (Kerwin and Huff 2007). 

There is a historical record of the skipper from 2 miles north of Gold Beach just inland of the beach. The 

skipper has been found at Lone Ranch Beach in Curry County north of Brookings during surveys in 2007 

(Ross, 2007). In 2008, another new site was located in the Signal Butte area on BLM land approximately 

0.75 miles west of the forest boundary (USDI, 2008). In 2009, a site was located in the Quosatana 

watershed on the Gold Beach Ranger District. In 2010, another site in the Signal Buttes area was 

discovered as well as a large site in the East Fork Pistol watershed was discovered. Occupied sites in 

Curry County have all been in wet serpentine meadow with adjacent dry meadow habitat. These habitat 

characteristics do not occur in any treatment units. No records currently exist for the Powers Ranger 

District. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-36 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Adult skippers feed on nectar from a variety of herbaceous plants though they also make use of other 

grass/forbs including such species as common camas (Camassia quamash), western buttercup 

(Ranunculus occidentalis), and Idaho blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium idahoense). The southern Oregon 

populations are reported as occupying small (0.5 – 10 ac.) high-elevation (4,500 – 5,100 ft.) grassy 

meadows with mixed conifer forests. 

Witt (2009) indicated an apparent association between this butterfly species and serpentine influenced 

meadows. In California, the populations are located on serpentine balds dominated by Festuca idahoensis

in sparse Jeffery pine (Pinus jeffreyi) forests. In both the Oregon and California areas, frequent lowintensity fires are considered to have historically played an important role in maintaining grassland plant 

communities. 

The dominant threat to this species is loss of habitat including loss via encroachment by invasive 

nonnative and native vegetation, and vegetative succession from grassland to forest (Kerwin and Huff 

2007). 

The meadows in the Planning Area are typically sandstone, not serpentine and are not included in the 

proposed treatment areas. The Action Alternatives are not expected to impact Mardon skipper habitat and 

is very unlikely to affect individuals; therefore, the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project is considered ―No 

Impact‖ for Mardon skipper. 

11. Johnson’s Hairstreak (Callophrys johnsoni)

This small brown butterfly occurs in isolated pockets in the western mountains of California up into 

British Columbia. At lower elevations on the west slope of the Cascade Mountains and in the Coast 

Range, M. johnsoni feeds on Arceuthobium tsugense growing on large mature western hemlock in old 

growth forests. Butterflies fly in the forest canopy most of the time, but may nectar on flowers in open 

areas along roadsides. At higher elevations in the Cascade Mountains, this species feeds on A. abietinum 

growing on true firs in subalpine forests. Southward, M. johnsoni is particularly associated with an 

Arceuthobium growing on Brewer spruce at high elevations in the Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern 

Oregon and northwestern California (Miller and Hammond 2007). On the RRSNF, range maps indicate a 

population in the coastal mountains of Coos, Curry and Josephine counties. A second population is in 

northern Jackson County around Crater Lake National Park. 

This butterfly is an old growth obligate and spends much of its time in the tops of mature conifer forests, 

making survey efforts extremely difficult. They do nectar on some plants, like Oregon grape and males 

come into damp earth sites, such as seeps and springs. Caterpillars feed on pine dwarf mistletoe 

(Arceuthobium campylopodum) which grows on pines and others conifers. It is also known to use coastal 

hemlock mistletoe. Timber harvest of mature forests may be a potential threat to this species 

(NatureServe 2010). 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects 

Because surveys have not been conducted in the project area and potential habitat may occur in treatment 

units, all Action Alternatives for the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project ―may adversely impact 

individuals, but not likely to result in a loss of viability on the planning area, nor cause a trend to 

federal listing or a loss of species viability range wide‖ for Johnson’s hairstreak due to the removal of 

overstory trees which may have mistletoe. Adverse effects are limited because the scale of impacts is 

very small compared to the scale of the distribution of this species and mistletoe would continue to persist 

within the Planning Area, as should this species if it does occur. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-37 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

b. Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative Effects include the effects of past, present and foreseeable future State, local, or private 

activities that are reasonably certain to occur within the Analysis Area. Cumulative effects compound the 

effects of loss of habitat and harassment potential associated with timber harvest operations and other 

activities on both private and public lands. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is basically an 

island of Forest Service land, surrounded by Private and Bureau of Land Management land. Due to the 

private ownership status of the area surrounding the Planning Area, vehicular access by the public is 

limited to only the eastern portion of the proposed project area. 

Present and foreseeable future actions that may affect terrestrial wildlife species or habitats on the Forest 

include: wildland fire, fuels treatments, developed and dispersed recreation, timber harvest and vegetation 

treatments, reforestation, restoration, road management, and special uses. All of these activities would be 

designed to meet the direction provided within the Northwest Forest Plan and the local Land and 

Resource Management Plans (i.e., Forest Plans), and in accord with Aquatic Conservation Strategy 

objectives (NWFP 1994, Siskiyou NF LRMP 1989). 

Density management effects of this project also combine with those of district-wide pre-commercial, 

commercial thinning, meadow restoration, and danger tree felling. Approximately 8,634 acres within the 

Analysis Area are managed by the USFS. There are approximately 300 acres currently being thinned 

under the Silver Doe Timber Sale within the project area. There are approximately 675 acres of 

commercial thinning identified under the Coastal Healthy Forest Treatment Project within the Analysis 

Area. Around 50 acres are currently being treated and treatments on the remaining acres may occur 

within the next 10 to 15 years. Since Johnson’s hairstreak is an old-growth obligate, it is not expected to 

occur in any CHFT projects and no USFS projects, which would remove or degrade old-growth/remnant 

trees, are occurring or are anticipated in the project area or Analysis Area. Plum Creek Timber owns 

approximately 30,000 of the 39,731 acres within the Analysis Area. These acres are on an approximate 

40 year regeneration harvest rotation. There is little habitat on private land for Johnson’s hairstreak in the 

Analysis Area. The remaining approximately 444 acres of the Analysis Area are managed by the Bureau 

of Land Management (BLM), whose management practices are similar to the USFS. 

12. Coronis Fritillary (Speyeria coronis coronis) 

A relatively large (~ 3in.) butterfly that occurs in lower Rogue & Illinois River valleys of Jackson and 

Josephine counties. It is expected in Coos, Curry and Douglas counties and locally distributed in the 

Siskiyous. 

The coronis fritillary inhabits lower elevation canyons and grasslands as well as mid-montane meadows 

and forest margins and openings (Pyle 2002). Caterpillars spend winter in first instar before feeding (Pyle 

2002). In spring larvae feed mostly on Viola hallii, found in rocky serpentine habitats (Hammond pers. 

comm.). Adults seem to move uphill shortly after emerging, probably in search of nectar (Warren 2005). 

Adult’s nectar on bull thistle, other composites, and chokecherry (Pyle 2002). Females, at least, 

apparently return to basin habitats later in the season to deposit eggs. The single annual brood flies from 

mid-May to mid-September. 

Rocky serpentine meadow habitat does not occur in the Analysis Area or within proposed units. The 

project is not expected to impact habitat and is very unlikely to affect individuals. The Eden Ridge 

Timber Sales Project is considered a ―No Impact ―for coronis fritillary. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-38 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

IV. MANAGEMENT INDICATOR SPECIES

Management Indicator Species (MIS) associated with the Siskiyou NF LRMP (USDA 1989) represent the 

issues, concerns, and opportunities to support recovery of Federally-listed species, provide continued 

viability of Sensitive species, and enhance management of wildlife and fish for commercial, recreational, 

scientific, subsistence, or aesthetic values or uses. Management indicators representing overall objectives 

for wildlife, fish, and plants may include species, groups of species with similar habitat relationships, or 

habitats that are of high concern (FSM 2621.1). 

An indicator species represents all other wildlife species which utilize a similar habitat type. Indicator 

species act as a barometer for the health of various habitats and will be monitored to quantify habitat 

changes predicted by implementation of the Forest Plan (1989 pages IV-10 and 11, FEIS page III-102). 

MIS and habitats include bald eagle (habitat along major rivers), osprey (habitat along large rivers), 

spotted owl (late-successional forest), pileated woodpecker and American marten (mature/interior forest), 

black-tailed deer and Roosevelt elk (early successional forest stages, and woodpeckers/cavity nesters 

(wildlife trees [snags]). Bald eagle and spotted owl are discussed in an earlier section. 

The Forest has developed the Siskiyou National Forest MIS Forest-Wide Environmental Baseline and 

Species Account (Draft: USDA Forest Service) to which this document incorporates by reference. Please 

refer to this document for background information that includes a more exhaustive review of habitat use 

and ecology, distribution of the species, Forest-level habitat evaluations, and viability assessments.

A. MIS – RISK ASSESSMENT 

Table G-11. Management Indicator Species and Determination of Effect 

Species Determination of Effects

Osprey No Impact

Pileated Woodpecker Minimal Impact

Woodpeckers (others) Minimal Impact

American Marten Minimal Impact

Black-tailed deer Minimal Impact

Roosevelt elk Minimal Impact

MIS and habitats include bald eagle (habitat along major rivers), osprey (habitat along large rivers), 

spotted owl (late-successional forest), pileated woodpecker and American marten (mature/interior forest), 

black-tailed deer and Roosevelt elk (early successional forest stages, and woodpeckers/cavity nesters 

(wildlife trees [snags]). Bald eagle and spotted owl are discussed in an earlier section.

1. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 

Osprey are commonly observed along the South Fork Coquille River, the Rogue River, Elk River and in 

the Chetco fifth-field watersheds. This species is closely associated with open water (lakes, rivers, and 

streams). Ospreys historically have required large live trees (usually with broken tops) or large snags for 

nesting. However, by the mid-1970s they had begun to use artificial nest platforms, poles and other manmade structures (Marshall et al. 2003). Ospreys arrive during early spring (March), nest, and then leave 

for wintering grounds by October. Their primary diet includes fish and lamprey, which they hunt while in 

flight. Nests in Oregon are usually located within 2 miles of water and accessible fish populations 

(Marshall et al. 2003). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-39 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The nearest known osprey nest is approximately 1 mile from the haul route and over 3 miles from the 

nearest treatment unit. Road construction and thinning treatment activities are not likely to occur near 

any undiscovered nests, because the locations are not close to the main stem of the South Fork Coquille, 

where osprey are likely to nest. Removal of mature trees, unless determined a hazard, is not expected to 

occur during the project operations. Therefore it is unlikely that a potential nest tree would be removed or 

impacted. Therefore, a ―No Impact” determination to osprey has been made for the Action Alternatives. 

2. Pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) 

Pileated woodpeckers are generally associated (feeds and breeds) with the Mixed forest habitat type, and 

is present in the Oak habitat type. Pileated woodpeckers use mature and older, closed canopy stands for 

nesting and roosting, but may use younger (40-70 years), closed-canopy stands for foraging if large snags 

are available; large snags and decadent trees are critical habitat components for pileated woodpeckers; 

down logs do not appear to be an important foraging substrate for pileated woodpeckers on the west side 

of Oregon and Washington (Hartwig et al. 2004, Mellen et al. 1992, Raley and Aubry 2006). 

In the Coast Range of western Oregon, pileated woodpeckers preferred deciduous riparian habitats and 

forest stands > 40 years of age for foraging, however, nests and roosts were located only in forest stands > 

70 years of age (Mellen et al. 1992). Nests were predominantly in broken topped snags; Douglas-fir was 

the primary species used, with a few nests in red alder. Roosts were in snags and live trees and 

significantly larger in dbh than nest trees; Douglas-fir was the predominant species used, but also red 

alder, big-leaf maple, and western redcedar (Mellen 1987). 

The selected alternative for the Northwest Forest Plan was determined to meet the NFMA requirement to 

provide for a diversity of plant and animal communities (USDA and USDI 1994a). The pileated 

woodpecker was one of 36 birds determined to be closely associated with late-successional and oldgrowth forests, with occurrence of large snags necessary for optimal habitat (USDA and USDI 1994b; 

3&4-177). A viability assessment was completed by the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment 

Team (FEMAT) (1993). The viability outcome for the pileated woodpecker was 100 percent likelihood 

of Outcome A – ―Habitat is of sufficient quality, distribution, and abundance to allow the species 

population to stabilize, well distributed across federal lands‖ (USDA and USDI 1994b; 3&4-179). This 

outcome determination was based on provisions of: 1) a large system of late-successional reserves, 2) 

standards and guidelines for Riparian Reserves, and 3) retention of green trees, snags, and coarse woody 

debris within the Matrix. 

A pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) habitat relationship model was developed in July 2011 as 

part of the ILAP (Integrated Landscape Assessment Project). The Wildlife Habitats module was lead by 

Anita Morzillo of Oregon State University’s College of Forestry. The model was developed for western 

Oregon and Washington. 

The Wildlife Habitat Relationship Model (WHR) was developed by reviewing the literature on pileated 

woodpecker habitat to determine vegetation types and structural stages used by the woodpecker. Each 

combination of VDDT (Vegetation Dynamics Development Tool) State Class and PVT (Potential 

Vegetation Type) was determined to be habitat or non-habitat for each VDDT modeling zone. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-40 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table G-12. Pileated Woodpecker Suitable Habitat Based on Literature Review by ILAP 

Suitable Size 

Classes

Suitable 

Canopy 

Closures

Suitable

Canopy Layers

Suitable Cover 

Types Additional Habitat Info

Giant tree

(> 30‖ dbh)

Closed

(>60%) Multi-layered Douglas-fir >100 logs/ha with majority > 38cm

Large tree

(20 – 30‖ dbh)

Medium

(40-60%)

Douglas-fir/Bigleaf 

maple/grand-fir

>8 snags/ha with 20% >51 

cm dbh

Medium tree

(15-20‖ dbh)

Douglasfir/hardwoods

The Forest Service has been implementing the NWFP and monitoring late-successional habitat trends 

since 1994. The 10-year monitoring report (Haynes et al. 2006) states ―...it appears that the status and 

trends in abundance, diversity, and ecological functions of older forests are generally consistent with 

expectations of the Plan. The total area of late-successional and old-growth forest (older forests) has 

increased at a rate that is somewhat higher than expected, and losses from wildfires are in line with what 

was anticipated.‖ As a result, projects consistent with the NWFP should be expected to maintain viability 

of late-successional associated species such as the pileated woodpecker. 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects 

Snags that pose a hazard to project operations would likely be felled and retained (see Attachment A – 

PDC #12). However, felled snags would still have woodpecker value as down wood foraging habitat. 

Trees damaged during operations may become future snags or trees with cavities. Additional snags 

would be created if funding is available. Non-commercial treatments that thin young stands are not 

expected to increase risks to pileated woodpeckers. This project is expected to have M - minimal 

impacts to these species, but there is the potential that an occasional existing snag or tree with cavities 

may be impacted. 

b. Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative Effects include the effects of past, present and foreseeable future State, local, or private 

activities that are reasonably certain to occur within the Analysis Area. Cumulative effects compound the 

effects of loss of habitat and harassment potential associated with timber harvest operations and other 

activities on both private and public lands. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is basically an 

island of Forest Service land, surrounded by Private and Bureau of Land Management land. Due to the 

private ownership status of the area surrounding the Planning Area, vehicular access by the public is 

limited to only the eastern portion of the proposed project area. 

Present and foreseeable future actions that may affect terrestrial wildlife species or habitats on the Forest 

include: wildland fire, fuels treatments, developed and dispersed recreation, timber harvest and vegetation 

treatments, reforestation, restoration, road management, and special uses. All of these activities would be 

designed to meet the direction provided within the Northwest Forest Plan and the local Land and 

Resource Management Plans (i.e., Forest Plans), and in accord with Aquatic Conservation Strategy 

objectives (NWFP 1994, Siskiyou NF LRMP 1989). 

Density management effects of this project also combine with those of district-wide pre-commercial, 

commercial thinning, meadow restoration, and danger tree felling. Approximately 8,634 acres within the 

Analysis Area are managed by the USFS. There are approximately 300 acres currently being thinned 

under the Silver Doe Timber Sale within the Planning Area. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-41 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

There are approximately 675 acres of commercial thinning identified under the Coastal Healthy Forest 

Treatment Project within the Analysis Area. Around 50 acres are currently being treated and treatments 

on the remaining acres may occur within the next 10 to 15 years. Density management projects could 

reduce canopy closure for 10-15 years until the shrub and tree canopies return. Density management 

would likely increase growth and allow young stands to become suitable for woodpecker foraging and/or 

nesting sooner than if they were not treated. No USFS projects, which would remove or degrade oldgrowth/remnant trees (other than when safety hazards), are occurring or are anticipated in the project area 

or Analysis Area. 

Plum Creek Timber owns approximately 30,000 of the 39,731 acres within the Analysis Area. These 

acres are on an approximate 40 year regeneration harvest rotation. There is little snag habitat on private 

lands for woodpeckers in the Analysis Area because the vast majority of it is non-forested and most snags 

are felled for safety purposes during regeneration harvest activities. The remaining approximately 444 

acres of the Analysis Area are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), whose management 

practices are similar to the USFS. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales project has the potential to cumulatively impact foraging habitats for 

pileated woodpeckers due to the potential of reducing snag density for operator safety requirements. This 

effect is expected to be minimal. 

3. Woodpecker Group

The woodpecker group includes acorn, black-backed, downy, hairy, Lewis’, and white-headed 

woodpeckers, as well as northern flickers and red-breasted sapsuckers. These species are generally 

associated (feeds and breeds) with oak woodland, Mixed forest, and/or Grassland habitat types. 

Woodpeckers excavate nests in snags and trees. They also forage in decayed wood. White-headed and 

black-backed woodpeckers are unlikely inhabitants of the fifth-field watersheds. 

Acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus): This species is common in the Rogue Valley and 

adjacent hills and was thought to be likely extirpated in Coos Co, although a likely wandering or vagrant 

individual was observed for a period of 4 days in Powers during the spring of 2011 (Lowe pers. Obs. 

2011). Typically restricted to oaks, mixed conifer/oak, and tanoak, but uses adjacent stands (Marshall et 

al. 2003). 

Black-backed woodpecker (Picoides arcticus): This species is rare to locally common near the summit 

and on the west side of the Cascades. The westernmost extent of its range is in the Siskiyou Mountains. 

It has been found in most types of conifer forests but observations increase dramatically if the forest 

contains a high proportion of dead trees. It is most abundant in recently burned or beetle killed forests. 

Downy woodpecker (Picoides pubeseus): This species is found mostly at low to moderate elevation in 

deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, and less often in coniferous forests (Marshall et al. 

2003). All but one of several nest reports from Oregon were in dead trees. A preference is shown for 

decayed wood for nesting, though sound wood is also utilized (Marshall et al. 2003). 

Hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus): This species is resident in forests throughout Oregon with the 

exception of juniper. It is common throughout most of range, but uncommon to fairly common along the 

coast and in western interior valleys. Found primarily in mixed-conifer and ponderosa pine forests, as 

well as adjacent deciduous stands, especially during the breeding season (Marshall et al. 2003). 

Lewis’ woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis): This species is associated with open woodland habitat near 

water. Primarily breeds in Oregon white oak, ponderosa pine, and riparian cottonwood communities and 

important components of this breeding habitat include open woodland canopy and large-diameter dead or 

dying trees. Formerly widespread, it is currently common year-round only in the white oak-ponderosa 

pine belt east of Mt. Hood (Marshall et al. 2003). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-42 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

White-headed woodpecker (Picoides albolarvatus): This species occurs mainly in open ponderosa pine 

or mixed-conifer forests dominated by ponderosa pine. A small population exists in true firs in the 

Siskiyou Mountains southwest of Ashland. In addition to uncut old-growth, they commonly use areas 

which have undergone various silvicultural treatments if large-diameter ponderosa pine and other oldgrowth components remain (Marshall et al. 2003). 

Red-breasted sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber): This species is found in moist coniferous coastal forest 

and mixed deciduous-coniferous forest west of the Cascade crest. Studies in the Oregon Cascades, Coast 

Range, and S. Washington Cascades showed increasing abundance with stand age and a close association 

with old-growth forest. Nest cavities are typically in large snags or live trees with decayed interiors 

(Marshall et al. 2003). 

Northern flicker (Colaptes auratus): Northern flickers are a common resident throughout Oregon 

(Marshall et al. 2003). Northern flickers may be encountered in almost any terrestrial habitat, but are 

generally most abundant in open forests and forest edges adjacent to open country. They typically avoid 

dense forest (Marshall et al. 2003). Most nests in forested areas are in older open forests, along older 

forest edges, and in larger-diameter remnant snags (Marshall et al. 2003). 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects 

Snags that pose a hazard to project operations would likely be felled and retained (see Attachment A –

PDC #12. However, felled snags would still have woodpecker value as down wood foraging habitat. 

Trees damaged during operations may become future snags or trees with cavities. Additional snags 

would be created if funding is available. Non-commercial treatments that thin young stands are not 

expected to increase risks to cavity nesting woodpeckers. This project is expected to have M - minimal 

impacts to these species, but there is the potential that an occasional existing snag or tree with cavities 

may be impacted. 

b. Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative Effects include the effects of past, present and foreseeable future State, local, or private 

activities that are reasonably certain to occur within the Analysis Area. Cumulative effects compound the 

effects of loss of habitat and harassment potential associated with timber harvest operations and other 

activities on both private and public lands. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is basically an 

island of Forest Service land, surrounded by Private and Bureau of Land Management land. Due to the 

private ownership status of the area surrounding the Planning Area, vehicular access by the public is 

limited to only the eastern portion of the proposed project area. 

Present and foreseeable future actions that may affect terrestrial wildlife species or habitats on the Forest 

include: wildland fire, fuels treatments, developed and dispersed recreation, timber harvest and vegetation 

treatments, reforestation, restoration, road management, and special uses. All of these activities would be 

designed to meet the direction provided within the Northwest Forest Plan and the local Land and 

Resource Management Plans (i.e., Forest Plans), and in accord with Aquatic Conservation Strategy 

objectives (NWFP 1994, Siskiyou NF LRMP 1989). 

Density management effects of this project also combine with those of district-wide pre-commercial, 

commercial thinning, meadow restoration, and danger tree felling. Approximately 8,634 acres within the 

Analysis Area are managed by the USFS. There are approximately 300 acres currently being thinned 

under the Silver Doe Timber Sale within the project area. There are approximately 675 acres of 

commercial thinning identified under the Coastal Healthy Forest Treatment Project within the Analysis 

Area. Around 50 acres are currently being treated and treatments on the remaining acres may occur 

within the next 10 to 15 years. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-43 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Density management projects could reduce canopy closure for 10-15 years until the shrub and tree 

canopies return. Density management would likely increase growth and allow young stands to become 

suitable for woodpecker foraging and/or nesting sooner than if they were not treated. No USFS projects, 

which would remove or degrade old-growth/remnant trees (other than when safety hazards), are occurring 

or are anticipated in the project area or Analysis Area. 

Plum Creek Timber owns approximately 30,000 of the 39,731 acres within the Analysis Area. These 

acres are on an approximate 40 year regeneration harvest rotation. There is little snag habitat on private 

lands for woodpeckers in the Analysis Area because the vast majority of it is non-forested and most snags 

are felled for safety purposes during regeneration harvest activities. The remaining approximately 444 

acres of the Analysis Area are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), whose management 

practices are similar to the USFS. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales project has the potential to cumulatively impact foraging habitats for cavity 

nesting woodpeckers due to the potential of reducing snag density for operator safety requirements. 

4. American marten (Martes americana) 

Hargis et al. (1999) stated that in North America, American martens are closely associated with mature 

conifer stands with complete canopy closure, and small (<100m), limited, and interspersed openings that 

are used as forage areas. Thomas et al. (1993) and Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team 

(FEMAT 1993) list marten as ―closely associated‖ with late-successional and old-growth forests and the 

old-growth elements of large snags and down logs. The reports also indicate a strong relationship of 

marten with riparian areas. Buskirk (1992) reported that knowledge is almost completely lacking 

regarding behavioral or population responses of martens to such landscape attributes as stand size, stand 

shape, area of stand interiors, amount of edge, stand insularity, use of corridors, and connectivity. 

Marten use a variety of structures for rest and den sites. Resting and denning sites offer protection from 

predation and thermal stress; thus, availability of quality denning sites likely increases the rates of 

survival and fecundity in marten (Raphael and Jones 1997). 

In northwestern California, Slauson and Zielinski (2009) found marten rest sites primarily in old-growth 

stands, which were used disproportionate to their availability. In serpentine habitats, rock piles and shrub 

clumps made up 42% of rest sites. 

Table G-13. Structures Used as Resting Sites by American Martens in Northwestern California 

Structure Resting 

Sites

Comments

Snag 37% Primarily conifer, dbh range 41-140 cm (16-55‖)

Log 23% All conifer, diameter range 44-122 cm (17-48‖)

Live tree 17% Conifer and hardwood, dbh range 57-165 cm (22-64‖)

Slash pile 10% Used by a single male; composed of some large (>60 cm (32‖) diameter) logs

Rock pile 8% Used more commonly in serpentine habitats

Shrub clump 6%

Sample Size 56

From Table 3 in Slauson and Zielinski (2009), comments added. (Klamath-Siskiyou and N California Coastal Forest 

ecoregions). 

The diet of American marten is highly diverse. In the western United States in winter, most prey are 

captured beneath the snow surface, but squirrels may be caught in trees (Buskirk and Ruggiero 1994). 

Snags, downfall, and large woody material provide cover, denning sites, and access points to forage areas 

below the snow (subnivean habitat). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-44 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Zielinski and Duncan (2004) found that in the southern Sierra Nevada, diets of both marten and fisher 

were more diverse than previously reported for North America. Of the major taxonomic groups, 

mammals were most common followed by insects and plants (mostly fruits). 

An American marten (Martes americana) model was developed in July 2011 as part of the ILAP 

(Integrated Landscape Assessment Project). The Wildlife Habitats module was lead by Anita Morzillo of 

Oregon State University’s College of Forestry. The model was developed for western Oregon and 

Washington. 

The Wildlife Habitat Relationship Model (WHR) was developed by reviewing the literature on American 

marten habitat to determine vegetation types and structural stages used by the marten. Each combination 

of VDDT (Vegetation Dynamics Development Tool) State Class and PVT (Potential Vegetation Type) 

was determined to be habitat or non-habitat for each VDDT modeling zone. 

Table G-14. American Marten Suitable Habitat Based on Literature Review by ILAP 

Suitable

Size Classes

Suitable Canopy 

Closures

Suitable

Canopy Layers

Suitable

Cover Types

Giant tree

(> 30‖ dbh)

Closed

(>60%) Multi-layered Alaska-cedar

Large tree

(20 – 30‖ dbh)

Medium

(40-60%) Cedar swamp habitats

Medium tree

(15-20‖ dbh) Douglas-fir

a. Direct and Indirect Effects 

The FAUNA database contains no observations of marten within the Analysis Area and only 16 for the 

entire Powers Ranger District between 1979 and 1997, and none since. The nearest recorded sighting is 

over 7.5 miles from a proposed treatment unit. 

Thinning may reduce existing canopy closure of between 70 to 100%, to between 40 and 50%, which 

could result in a reduction of denning, resting and foraging habitat for 10-15 years when shrub and tree 

canopy closure increases. This would occur incrementally over the life of this project, since the proposed 

3,314 acres would be broken into multiple sales over an approximate 5 year span. Remnant trees, snags 

and down wood suitable for denning & resting would be retained per PDC # 9 Attachment A, however 

some may be felled and retained. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project is considered M –―may affect 

some individuals or some habitat but effect is minimal‖ for marten 

b. Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative Effects include the effects of past, present and foreseeable future State, local, or private 

activities that are reasonably certain to occur within the Analysis Area. Cumulative effects compound the 

effects of loss of habitat and harassment potential associated with timber harvest operations and other 

activities on both private and public lands. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is basically an 

island of Forest Service land, surrounded by Private and Bureau of Land Management land. Due to the 

private ownership status of the area surrounding the Planning Area, vehicular access by the public is 

limited to only the eastern portion of the proposed project area. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-45 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Present and foreseeable future actions that may affect terrestrial wildlife species or habitats on the Forest 

include: wildland fire, fuels treatments, developed and dispersed recreation, timber harvest and vegetation 

treatments, reforestation, restoration, road management, and special uses. All of these activities would be 

designed to meet the direction provided within the Northwest Forest Plan and the local Land and 

Resource Management Plans (i.e., Forest Plans), and in accord with Aquatic Conservation Strategy 

objectives (NWFP 1994, Siskiyou NF LRMP 1989). 

Density management effects of this project also combine with those of district-wide pre-commercial, 

commercial thinning, meadow restoration, and danger tree felling. Approximately 8,634 acres within the 

Analysis Area are managed by the USFS. There are approximately 300 acres currently being thinned 

under the Silver Doe Timber Sale within the Planning Area. There are approximately 675 acres of 

commercial thinning identified under the Coastal Healthy Forest Treatment Project within the Analysis 

Area. Around 50 acres are currently being treated and treatments on the remaining acres may occur 

within the next 10 to 15 years. Density management projects could reduce canopy closure for 10-15 years 

until the shrub and tree canopies return. Stands that lack remnant tree structure likely only function as 

foraging habitat for marten. 

Density management would likely increase growth and allow young stands to become suitable for marten 

sooner than if they were not treated. No USFS projects, which would remove or degrade oldgrowth/remnant trees (other than when safety hazards), are occurring or are anticipated in the project area 

or Analysis Area. 

Plum Creek Timber owns approximately 30,000 of the 39,731 acres within the Analysis Area. These 

acres are on an approximate 40 year regeneration harvest rotation. There is little habitat on private land 

for marten in the Analysis Area because the vast majority of it is in an early successional stage. The 

remaining approximately 444 acres of the Analysis Area are managed by the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM), whose management practices are similar to the USFS. 

5. Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) and Roosevelt’s Elk 

(Cervus elaphus roosevelti) 

Black-tailed deer are an edge adapted species using dense hiding cover during the day, emerging in the 

morning and evening to feed in more open areas (Maser et al. 1981). Throughout much of western 

Oregon, black-tailed deer reside year-round in relatively flat areas at mid to low elevations, on south 

facing slopes dominated by vine maple (Acer circinatum), huckleberry (Vaccinium spp), and salal 

(Gaultheria shallon) plant communities (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2008). 

Black-tailed deer rely upon several different successional stages of vegetation to meet their life needs. 

Areas with heavy canopy closure are used during all seasons. In summer, areas of heavy canopy closure 

are used to facilitate thermal regulation during periods of high temperatures. During winter, heavy 

canopy closure moderates temperatures and intercepts snowfall during winter storms. The reduction of 

snow depth under heavy canopy reduces energetic expenditure during movements of deer and provides 

areas of browse that would normally be under the snow surface. Areas with little or no overstory canopy 

cover are important for deer as forage areas. Forest gaps and natural openings provide optimal conditions 

for shrubs and forbs to grow, which deer depend on for forage. 

Quality deer ranges provide both forested conditions for thermal regulation and hiding/escape cover 

interspersed with open areas for optimal foraging conditions. Decreased canopy closure in young stands 

should provide increased light and resources for forage plants. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-46 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Summer Roosevelt elk forage consists of a combination of lush forbs, grasses, and shrubs high in 

nutrients and easily digestible. Generally, higher elevation wet meadows, springs, and riparian areas in 

close proximity to forested stands offer these conditions for the longest period. Such areas provide 

nutritious forage and moist, cool places for bedding and escaping summer heat and insects (Oregon 

Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2003). 

Elk achieve peak body condition during late summer and fall. Winter survival depends on fat reserves 

animals are able to store, thus, quality forage during summer and fall is crucial. Additionally, this forage 

is needed to meet the rigors of breeding and migration for those animals moving to winter ranges. The 

late summer/fall period can be critical on many elk ranges during drought years (Oregon Department of 

Fish and Wildlife, 2003). 

Winter is when elk survival is severely tested. Day length shortens, temperatures drop, and rain and snow 

increase. Forage becomes less abundant and accessible, and nutritional quality declines. Elk energy 

requirements can be high, and during this time they are dependent on stores of body fat. At this time they 

increasingly seek out an environment that helps minimize energy consumption. Such areas typically 

provide protection against weather and offer security for minimizing harassment or disturbance. During a 

typical winter, elk may lose 20 to 25 percent of their body weight. Elk losing more than 30 percent body 

weight likely will not survive (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2003). 

Cover is an important component of elk habitat and provides both thermal and hiding properties. During 

summer it provides cooler, shaded areas for elk to bed during the heat of the day. During winter it 

provides a warmer, protected environment out of the cold, wind, rain, or snow. Lichens and other plants 

associated with cover can be an important source of forage for wintering animals. Adequate thermal 

cover reduces the energy needed by elk and contributes to over winter survival (Oregon Department of 

Fish and Wildlife, 2003). 

Cook et al. (2004), reviewed four thermal cover studies conducted on elk and deer across North America 

and concluded that they indicate the thermal cover benefit attributed to dense forest cover is probably not 

operative across a considerable range of climate, including climates in boreal ecosystems of the 

northeastern United States, maritime ecosystems of the inland Pacific Northwest, and in cold, dry 

ecosystems of the central Rocky Mountains. Cook et al. (2004) also concluded that the experimental 

studies outlined above evaluated the weather moderating influences of forest cover (i.e., influences on 

wind speed, ambient temperature, and long- and short-wave radiation fluxes). They did not evaluate other 

potentially beneficial aspects of forest cover, which under some circumstances could include enhanced 

security, reduced snow depth and a better foraging environment. Thus, results of these experimental 

studies cannot be used to categorically reject all potential benefits of forest cover to elk. 

Hiding cover is also referred to as security cover and allows elk to escape and hide from intrusions or 

disturbances. These intrusions can be human (hunters, vehicles, hikers, etc.) or natural (predators). 

Factors affecting elk security are topographic relief, vegetation density, and proximity to human activity. 

Hiding cover becomes more important if other components that provide security are absent. This can be 

particularly important where predator numbers or human intrusions are high. Inadequate security or 

hiding cover can make elk more vulnerable to predators, harvest by hunters, or other sources of mortality 

that can lead to abandonment of traditionally used areas. Regulating hunters can sometimes help, 

however this provides little benefit if predation and/or other human disturbance are occurring (Oregon 

Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2003). 

Roads are a major contributor to habitat fragmentation because they divide large landscapes into smaller 

patches and convert interior habitat into edge habitat. As additional road construction and timber harvest 

activities increase habitat fragmentation across large areas, the populations of some species may become 

isolated, increasing the risk of local extirpations or extinctions (Noss and Cooperrider 1994). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-47 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Heavily roaded areas may contain fewer patches of forest cover large enough to function effectively as 

habitat for elk. The direct impacts of roads and associated traffic on elk can be summarized in three basic 

categories: 1) Elk avoid areas near open roads, 2) Elk vulnerability to mortality from hunter harvest, both 

legal and illegal, increases as open road density increases, and 3) In areas of higher road density, elk 

exhibit higher levels of stress and increased movement rates (Rowland et al. 2004). 

The adverse effects of roads and traffic on both deer and elk are numerous. High road densities and the 

associated traffic have been shown to decrease habitat quality and increase vulnerability for both deer and 

elk. Deer and elk are likely to be affected by the following road or motorized trail-associated factors: 

collisions, hunting, poaching, displacement or avoidance, disturbance at a specific site (Gaines et al. 

2003). Elk experience higher levels of stress when exposed to increased road density. Physiological 

indicators of stress, such as fecal glucocorticoids, have been observed in elk exposed to increased road 

density and traffic on roads (Millspaugh et al. 2001). Energetic costs of moving away from disturbance 

associated with roads may be substantial (Cole et al. 1997). During winter, when big-game species are on 

winter ranges, forage availability and value is generally low due to senescence of grasses and forbs. 

During this period open roads and the associated traffic have even greater detrimental effects on big-game 

due to their inability to escape harassment (disturbance) and both legal and illegal hunting pressure due to 

deep snow. In elk, if body fat is reduced below 9% as animals enter the winter period, the probability of 

surviving the winter is reduced (Cook et al., 2004). 

Numerous studies have demonstrated that elk frequency increases at greater distances from open roads. 

This response varies in relation to traffic rates, topography, and type of road. Wisdom (2004) found that 

the consistency of elk selection away from roads appeared to increase with increasing rates of traffic. 

Generally, higher open road densities increase both legal and illegal harvest of elk. McCorquodale et al. 

(2003) analyses supported the inference that harvest vulnerability in elk in the south-central Cascades of 

Washington was strongly affected by the presence and/or density of open roads, but that topographic 

complexity influenced the likelihood that elk were killed apart from roading effects. Elk experience 

higher levels of stress when exposed to increased road density. Physiological indicators of stress, such as 

fecal glucocorticoids, have been observed in elk exposed to increased road density and traffic on roads 

(Millspaugh et al., 2001). Energetic costs of moving away from disturbance associated with roads may be 

substantial (Cole et al., 1997). 

Wisdom et al. (2005) studied the responses of elk to four (hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and 

ATVs) off-road recreational activities at the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range in northeast Oregon. 

They found that movement rates of elk were substantially higher during periods of all four off-road 

activities as compared to periods of no human activity. Within these activities, they found that movement 

rates of elk were highest during ATV riding in both morning and evening passes. Flight responses in elk 

were initiated from ATVs from as much as 1,600 yards away. Movement rates and flight responses in 

deer were not as substantial as in elk however deer tended to seek dense cover when disturbed, which 

may reduce forage opportunities and a reduction in opportunities to put on needed fat for winter. 

Shifts in elk distribution away from roads used by motorized vehicles have been documented across many 

areas of the western United States (Rowland et al. 2000). Many National Forests in the west have 

incorporated this information into road density management objectives for big-game winter ranges in 

their Land and Resource Management Plans. However, road density and the effects of motorized use on 

elk are not limited to the winter period. 

a. Direct and Indirect Effects 

Black-tail deer and Roosevelt elk use all successional stages to meet their habitat needs for cover, forage 

and reproduction. Natural or created openings provide the majority of foraging habitat, which is assumed 

to be the most restrictive habitat component in this region (Forest Plan FEIS, III-106-107). Deer and elk 

represent more than 180 wildlife species that need early successional stages to meet some or all of their 

requirements (Brown, 1985). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-48 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Forage habitat is available within existing meadows, harvest units less than 10 years old and open canopy 

forested areas. Meadows and large grassy areas would be protected from disturbance. Corridors, skid 

trails, landings, slash piles, equipment operation and road construction will not be permitted within 

meadows and identified large grassy areas (see PDC # 14 in Attachment A). 

Forested conditions provide hiding (vegetation capable of hiding 90% of a standing adult deer or elk at 

200 feet or less), thermal cover (a forest stand > 40ft tall with > 70% canopy cover) and optimal cover (a 

forest stand with overstory, sub-canopy, shrub, and herbaceous strata and >70% canopy). Proposed 

thinning units currently provide hiding and thermal cover. 

Evidence is consistent that vehicular traffic on forest roads evokes an avoidance response by elk. Even 

though habitat near roads is not denied to elk, it may not be fully used (Lyon, 1983). Christenson et al. 

(1993) reported that even primitive roads that see little summer use are often used extensively during the 

hunting season. 

Road construction of 10.8 miles of new road, 0.3 miles of temporary road and re-construction of 6.1 miles 

of unclassified roads could potentially increase harassment. Although temporary roads are scheduled to 

be closed to motorized use after implementation and the new roads would be closed unless being used for 

commercial operations, they still provide a vector for additional disturbance to deer and elk during 

implementation. They are also likely to increase non-motorized use of the area during hunting season and 

during other recreational activities. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales project has the potential to improve forage for deer and elk by reducing 

canopy closure which would allow sunlight to penetrate the canopy and invigorate the grass, forb, and 

shrub component in the understory on an estimated 3,314 acres. The non-commercial treatment of 363 

acres could also provide a forage benefit to big-game. This would depend upon the spacing of the 

residual stand. More open spacing would provide a greater benefit to big-game by allowing the 

understory forage component to grow which would increase forage. 

The proposed treatment is considered M –may affect some individuals or some habitat but effect is 

minimal for blacktail deer and Roosevelt elk because of loss of thermal cover and adverse effects due to 

potential increased harassment from new and temporary roads. The increase in available forage would 

provide a beneficial effect. 

b. Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative Effects include the effects of past, present and foreseeable future State, local, or private 

activities that are reasonably certain to occur within the wildlife Analysis Area. Cumulative effects 

compound the effects of loss of habitat and harassment potential associated with timber harvest operations 

and other activities on both private and public lands. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is 

basically an island of Forest Service land, surrounded by Private and Bureau of Land Management land. 

Due to the private ownership status of the area surrounding the Planning Area, vehicular access by the 

public is limited to only the eastern portion. 

Present and foreseeable future actions that may affect terrestrial wildlife species or habitats on the Forest 

include: wildland fire, fuels treatments, developed and dispersed recreation, timber harvest and vegetation 

treatments, reforestation, restoration, road management, and special uses. All of these activities would be 

designed to meet the direction provided within the Northwest Forest Plan and the local Land and 

Resource Management Plans (i.e., Forest Plans), and in accord with Aquatic Conservation Strategy 

objectives (NWFP 1994, Siskiyou NF LRMP 1989). 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-49 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Density management effects of this project also combine with those of district-wide pre-commercial, 

commercial thinning, meadow restoration, and danger tree felling. Approximately 8,634 acres within the 

Analysis Area are managed by the USFS. There are approximately 300 acres currently being thinned 

under the Silver Doe Timber Sale within the Planning Area. There are approximately 675 acres of 

commercial thinning identified under the Coastal Healthy Forest Treatment Project within the Analysis 

Area. Around 50 acres are currently being treated and treatments on the remaining acres may occur 

within the next 10 to 15 years. Density management projects could reduce canopy closure for 10-15 years 

until the shrub and tree canopies return. 

Plum Creek Timber owns approximately 30,000 of the 39,731 acres within the Analysis Area. These 

acres are on an approximate 40 year regeneration harvest rotation. Because of the current land 

management practices on these private lands, large amounts of forage habitat for deer and elk exist, 

however there is little hiding cover as a result. The remaining approximately 444 acres of the Analysis 

Area are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), whose management practices are similar 

to the USFS. 

V. OTHER RARE OR UNCOMMON SPECIES

A. NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN SURVEY AND MANAGE SPECIES 

On December 17, 2009, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued an order in 

Conservation Northwest, et al. v. Sherman, et al., No. 08-1067-JCC (W.D. Wash.), granting Plaintiffs’ 

motion for partial summary judgment and finding NEPA violations in the Final Supplemental to the 2004 

Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to Remove or Modify the Survey and Manage Mitigation 

Measure Standards and Guidelines (USDA and USDI, June 2007). In response, parties entered into 

settlement negotiations in April 2010, and the Court filed approval of the resulting Settlement Agreement 

on July 6, 2011. Projects that are within the range of the northern spotted owl are subject to the survey 

and management standards and guidelines in the 2001 ROD, as modified by the 2011 Settlement 

Agreement. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project is consistent with the Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource 

Management Plan as amended by the 2001 Record of Decision and Standards and Guidelines for 

Amendments to the Survey and Manage, Protection Buffer, and other Mitigation Measures Standards and 

Guidelines (2001 ROD), as modified by the 2011 Settlement Agreement. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project applies a 2006 Exemption from a stipulation entered by the court in 

litigation regarding Survey and Manage species and the 2004 Record of Decision related to Survey and 

Manage Mitigation Measure in Northwest Ecosystem Alliance v. Rey, No.04844-MJP (W.D. Wash., Oct. 

10, 2006). Previously, in 2006, the District Court (Judge Pechman) invalidated the agencies’ 2004 RODs 

eliminating Survey and Manage due to NEPA violations. Following the District Court’s 2006 ruling, 

parties to the litigation entered into a stipulation exempting certain categories of activities from the 

Survey and Manage standards and guidelines, including both pre-disturbance surveys and known site 

management. Also known as the Pechman Exemptions, the Court’s Order from October 11, 2006 directs: 

“Defendants shall not authorize, allow, or permit to continue any logging or other ground-disturbing 

activities on projects to which the 2004 ROD applied unless such activities are in compliance with the 

2001 ROD (as the 2001 ROD was amended or modified as of March 21, 2004), except that this order will 

not apply to: 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-50 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

a. Thinning projects in stands younger than 80 years old: 

b. Replacing culverts on roads that are in use and part of the road system, and removing culverts 

 if the road is temporary or to be decommissioned; 

c. Riparian and stream improvement projects where the riparian work is riparian planting, 

 obtaining material for placing in-stream, and road or trail decommissioning; and where the 

 stream improvement work is the placement large wood, channel and floodplain reconstruction, 

 or removal of channel diversions; and 

d. The portions of project involving hazardous fuel treatments where prescribed fire is applied. Any 

 portion of a hazardous fuel treatment project involving commercial logging will remain subject to 

 the survey and management requirements except for thinning of stands younger than 80 years old 

 under subparagraph a. of this paragraph.” 

Per the 2011 Settlement Agreement, the 2006 Pechman Exemptions remain in force: 

“The provisions stipulated to by the parties and ordered by the court in Northwest Ecosystem Alliance v. 

Rey, No. 04-844-MJP (W.D. Wash. Oct. 10, 2006), shall remain in force. None of the following terms or 

conditions in this Settlement Agreement modifies in any way the October 2006 provisions stipulated to by 

the parties and ordered by the court in Northwest Ecosystem Alliance v. Rey, No. 04844-MJP (W.D. 

Wash. Oct. 10, 2006).” 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project meets Exemption a. because it entails no regeneration harvest 

and entails thinning only in stands less than 80 years old (USDI and USDA 2011). 

Currently all treatment stands for all Action Alternatives are under 80 years of age and do not require 

Survey and Manage Surveys. Based on the Silvicultural Diagnosis and stand exams, the proposed stands 

range from 53 to 73 years of age in 2011 (see stand exam information in EIS Chapter II). 

The 2011 Settlement Agreement states: 

“For projects with signed Records of Decision, Decision Notices, or Decision Memoranda from 

December 17, 2009, through September 30, 2012, the Agencies will use either of the following 

Survey and Manage species lists: 

a. The list of Survey and Manage species in the 2001 ROD (Table 1-1, Standards and Guidelines, 

pages 41-51). 

b. The list of Survey and Manage species and associated species mitigation, Attachment 1 to the 

Settlement Agreement.” 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project applies the Survey and Manage species list in the 2001 ROD (Table 

1-1, Standards and Guidelines, pages 41-51) and thus meets the provisions of the 2001 Record of 

Decision and Standards and Guidelines for Amendments to the Survey and Manage, Protection Buffer, 

and other Mitigation Measures Standards and Guidelines, as modified by the 2011 Settlement 

Agreement. 

1. Del Norte Salamander (Plethodon elongates) 

This species occurs in talus slopes protected by overstory canopy that maintains cool, moist conditions on 

the ground. The species is a slope-valley inhabitant, and sometimes occurs in high numbers near riparian 

areas. Riparian Reserves, in combination with Late-Successional Reserves and other reserves, will offer 

some protection to the species but substantial numbers also occur in upland areas. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-51 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Additional mitigation options in this upland matrix include identifying locations (talus areas inhabited by 

the species) by using a standardized survey protocol [no longer required; the species is in Category D], 

then protecting the location from ground-disturbing activities. Designate a buffer of at least the height of 

one site-potential tree or 100-feet horizontal distance, whichever is greater, surrounding the location. 

Within the site and its surrounding buffer, maintain 40 percent canopy closure and avoid any activities 

that would directly disrupt the surface talus layer. Partial harvest within the buffer may be possible if 40 

percent canopy closure can be maintained; in such cases, tree harvest must be conducted using helicopters 

or high-lead cable systems to avoid compaction or other disturbance of talus (PDC #4 Attachment A). 

There are 46 known Del Norte Salamander locations within the proposed units and one within a proposed 

non-commercial unit (Table G-15). All historical locations would be identified and given a protection 

buffer as described above. These buffers overlap multiple proposed treatment units in some cases. This 

Project (all Action Alternatives) is considered M –may affect some individuals or some habitat but 

effect is minimal. 

Table G-15. Known Del Norte Salamander Locations 

Alt 2 –

Unit #

Del Norte 

Sites

Alt 3 –

Unit #

Del Norte 

Sites

Alt 4 –

Unit #

Del Norte 

Sites

006 1 006 1 006 1

211 1 211 1 211 1

303 1 215 6 215 7

308 2 303 1 322 3

322 3 307 2 323 6

323 2 322 3 326 8

326 8 323 2 331 2

329 6 326 8 332 1

331 2 329 6 334 2

332 1 331 2 341 4

333 6 332 1 342 2

334 7 333 6

340 7 334 4

341 5 341 4

342 2 342 2

Alt 2 – Road #Q4

1 site

Non-Commercial Unit #906

1 site

Note: Some Protection Buffers overlap multiple units 

2. Oregon Red Tree Vole (Arborimus longicaudus) 

The Oregon red tree vole is a nocturnal, arboreal mammal specialized in feeding on needles of 

Douglas-fir and other coniferous trees (Maser 1998). The species is endemic to western Oregon (Verts 

1998) primarily in coniferous forests of western Oregon (Csuti et al. 1997, Maser 1998). Red tree voles 

are most commonly found in Douglas-fir but may also be found inhabiting Sitka spruce and western 

hemlock in coastal areas. Red tree voles are usually associated with old-growth forests; however, they 

may occur in younger stands and may not be dependent on old growth for survival (Aubry et al. 1991, 

Corn and Bury 1991, Gilbert and Allwine 1991). Nests are constructed of twigs and discarded resin ducts 

in the canopy of larger trees (Csuti et al. 1997, Maser 1998). Larger trees, at least 25 to 30 years old, are 

selected because they can provide the structural support for nests as well as adequate protection from 

inclement weather. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-52 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

In southwestern Oregon, the largest available trees are selected for nesting, even in old growth (Carey 

1991). Abandoned nests of birds and other small mammals are also used (Maser 1998). The home range 

of the red tree vole is one or more trees (Brown 1985) and they can spend their entire lives in the forest 

canopy (Carey 1991). 

Portions of the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project were surveyed to protocol in 2001. Eighteen of 24 nest 

trees confirmed in the Planning Area were found in proposed treatment units. Current Survey Protocol 

states: ―Survey results using this protocol should be considered valid for 5 years after completion of the 

survey.‖ Although the surveys are no longer valid, all confirmed nest trees have been identified and 

marked as Wildlife Trees to Protect. 

Proposed treatments are expected to impact 3,314 acres of potential red tree vole habitat. Trees with 

undiscovered red tree vole nests may be cut or blown down following treatment. Thinning would isolate 

individual tree canopies and reduce the current inter-connected tree canopies. This Project (all Action 

Alternatives) is considered M –may affect some individuals or some habitat but effect is minimal. 

3. Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa)

Within the range of the northern spotted owl, the great gray owl is most common in lodgepole pine forests 

adjacent to meadows. However, it is also found in other coniferous forest types. In some locations, such 

as on the Willamette National Forest west of the crest of the Cascade Range, at least some shelterwood 

harvesting seems to be beneficial for the species by opening up otherwise closed canopy cover for 

foraging. In doing so, consequences to species such as northern goshawk and American marten must be 

evaluated. Specific mitigation measures for the great gray owl, within the range of the northern spotted 

owl, include the following: provide a no-harvest buffer of 300 feet around meadows and natural openings 

and establish 1/4-mile protection zones around known nest sites. Protect all future discovered nest sites 

as previously described. 

Great gray owls forage in relatively open, grassy habitat including bogs, natural meadows, open forests 

and selective/regeneration harvest areas. Diet in western US is primarily pocket gophers and voles. Great 

gray owls tend to select nest sites in mature or remnant old-growth mixed-conifer forests near openings 

(within 200m of openings) that have sufficient prey numbers (Platt & Goggans, 1992). Suitable nesting 

habitat adjacent to natural openings 10 acres and larger is necessary to be surveyed. 

The FAUNA database contains one incidental sighting of a great gray owl within the Siskiyou portion of 

the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. This location is over 2 miles from the nearest proposed 

treatment unit and over 4 miles from the nearest meadow or natural opening within the project area. 

There are no natural meadows 10 acres or larger within the Planning Area. 

This project will have NI – no impact to great gray owl because suitable nesting/foraging habitat does 

not occur within or near the project or Planning areas. 

B. PROTECTION BUFFER SPECIES 

Under the 2001 ROD, Standard and Guidelines for certain cavity nesting birds, Canada lynx, and some 

bat roosts (protection buffer species) were identified as in the NWFP, 1994. Species potentially in the 

project area include bats that use caves, mines, and abandoned wooden bridges and buildings. Other 

protection buffer species: Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), white-headed woodpecker (Picoides 

albolarvatus), black-backed woodpecker (Picoides arcticus), flammulated owl (Otus flammeolus), and 

pygmy nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea) were not considered because the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project is 

outside the known range for their species. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-53 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Bats that use caves, mines and abandoned wooden bridges and buildings. The project does not affect 

caves, mines, wooden bridges, or buildings. As such, no impact is expected to these potential bat roost 

sites. By design, the project maintains and promotes the development of large trees, large snags and 

decadent trees which could serve as roosting habitat. However a few large snags may be felled with this 

project (i.e., hazard trees). This project M –may affect some individuals or some habitat but effect is 

minimal to these species. There may be some impacts to existing snags or trees with cavities. 

VI. NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRDS

In 1918 the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) was passed to enforce a treaty between the United States, 

Mexico, and Canada. This law addressed the issue of poaching migratory birds - Under the M33TA, 

except as permitted by regulation, it is unlawful at anytime, by any means or in any manner, to pursue, 

export, import, transport, or carry any migratory bird. It is the position of the Federal Government that 

the prohibitions of the MBTA do not apply to land management activities of Federal agencies or their 

employees acting in their official capacities. 

In September, 2000, the USDA Forest Service Land Bird Strategic Plan was distributed. This plan set 

forth goals and actions to assist meeting the Forest Service commitment to provide habitat for sustainable 

resident and migrant landbird populations and monitor their populations through time. An Executive 

Order (EO) 13186) was signed in 2001. Provisions within this document directed agencies to integrated 

bird conservation principles, measures, and practices into agency planning process, restore and enhance 

habitat of migratory birds as practicable, and ensure that analysis evaluates the effects of actions on 

migratory birds, especially species of concern. 

In December, 2008, the USDA Forest Service and USDI Fish and Wildlife Service signed a 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Promote the Conservation of Migratory Birds (USDA, USDI 

2008). The purpose of this MOU is to strengthen migratory bird conservation by identifying and 

implementing strategies that promote conservation and avoid or minimize adverse impacts on migratory 

birds. Focus first on species of management concern along with their priority habitats and key risk 

factors. Within the National Forest System, conservation of migratory birds focuses on providing a 

diversity of habitat conditions at multiple spatial scales. The Rogue River-Siskiyou NF is within Bird 

Conservation Region 5 (Northern Pacific Forest). 

A. MIGRANT BIRD SPECIES AND ASSOCIATED HABITAT 

This analysis is based on neo-tropical migratory birds/land bird focal species identified by Partners in 

Flight (PIF): Conservation Strategy for Landbirds in Coniferous Forest of Western Oregon and 

Washington. As per the Partners In Flight Bird Conservation Plan ―... if you provide all of the habitats to 

some degree over some landscape, then you will probably be taking care of most if not all of the landbirds 

in that habitat. The conservation emphasis is on ecosystems, habitats, and habitat conditions, not 

species.‖ 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-54 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table G-16. Focal Migrant Bird Species and Associated Habitat 

Habitat Condition Habitat Attribute Bird Species

Coniferous forest Old-growth 

/ Mature Large snags Vaux’s swift, pileated woodpecker

Coniferous forest Old-growth 

/ Mature

Large trees; conifer cones; 

mid-story tree layers Brown creeper; red crossbill; varied thrush

Coniferous forest Mature / 

Young

Varied canopy closure; 

deciduous canopy & 

understory; complex forest 

floor

Hermit warbler, Hammond’s flycatcher; 

Pacific-slope flycatcher; Wilson’s warbler; 

winter wren, Northern goshawk, purple finch

Coniferous forest Young / 

Pole Deciduous canopy Black-throated gray warbler

Coniferous forest Pole Deciduous subcanopy / 

understory Hutton’s vireo

Coniferous forest Early-seral

Residual canopy trees, snags, 

deciduous vegetation; nectarproducing plants

Olive-sided flycatcher; western bluebird; 

orange-crowned warbler; rufous hummingbird

Coniferous forest Unique Mineral springs Band-tailed pigeon

Coastal scrub Early-seral Coastal fog belt, dense 

riparian shrub. Allen’s hummingbird

Oak woodlands 

(including nonforested prairie)Unique

California quail, western screech-owl, Nutall’s 

woodpecker, oak titmouse, wrentit, California 

thrasher, black-chinned sparrow, Oregon vesper 

sparrow, horned lark

Cliffs, waterfalls 

& forest Unique Cliffs near waterfalls within forested habitat. Black swift

Riparian Riparian Large trees adjacent to major 

rivers. Dense shrub habitat. Bald eagle, willow flycatcher

Large cliffs Unique Peregrine falcon

1. Direct, Indirect, and Cumulative effects 

Vaux’s swift and pileated woodpecker are associated with large snags; effects to these species would be 

minimal as PDFs retain snag components in units and if funding is available, more would be created 

following treatment. The brown creeper; red crossbill and varied thrush are identified as oldgrowth/mature obligate species. Remnant trees and minor species including hardwoods would be retained 

thus having minimal effect to this species grouping. Hermit warbler is closely associated with a densely 

closed Douglas-fir canopy. Thinning treatment impacts have been reported as a 1-3 year slight reduction 

in relative abundance and abundance levels are similar to those in untreated stands in 5-15 years. (PIF, 

1999). Hammond’s flycatcher; Pacific-slope flycatcher, Wilson’s warbler, winter wren, Northern 

goshawk and purple finch are most closely tied to deciduous canopy and complex forest floor/understory 

habitat which would be retained /increased in treatment prescriptions, therefore having minimal to 

beneficial effects to the species overall. 

Some species such as Olive-sided flycatcher; western bluebird; orange-crowned warbler; Rufous 

hummingbird may decrease in the short term because habitat may be removed during landing clearing and 

temporary road construction. Effects to the peregrine falcon and bald eagle are addressed in the Sensitive 

Species section of this report. 

Because of the limited acres of dry land grass sites, the biggest concern with NTMB on Forest Service 

lands may lie in degradation of riparian habitat, and subsequent loss of brush cover favored by many 

species (Bock et al. 1992). Riparian habitat in the project area would not be altered or impacted by the 

proposed activities since the Riparian Guidelines (USDA FS 2006) provide protection (no treatment 

within 25 feet) of riparian habitat. Since the majority of the species occupy or require a riparian habitat 

component; the proposed project would not be impacting this habitat type. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-55 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Overall, potential population numbers for grass and shrub nesting birds are expected to increase. The 

long term impacts of fuels reduction may have beneficial impacts by maintaining grasses by reducing 

brush competition for available space. 

Another benefit is the creation of some snag trees (usually 0.5 - 1 per acre) caused by logging activities or 

scorching from burning; although there are mitigations to help limit this, some may occur; thus creating 

some foraging and nesting habitat for woodpeckers and secondary cavity nesters. For those species 

dependent on acorns, reducing conifer encroachment on oaks helps to maintain and increase growth of 

oaks, thus benefiting bird foraging habitat. Lastly, the remnants of some unburned or partially burnt piles 

may benefit nesting and cover habitat in areas that currently lack these components. 

Disturbance from operations and smoke during the nesting period is also a concern for NTMBs. Efforts 

should be made to reduce impacts to nesting birds that may be present in the project area that may be 

directly impacted by operations. Timing of operations should occur outside of the spring 

breeding/nesting season as much as possible (May 15 to July 15). 

Effects to NTMBs from the Action Alternatives are variable depending on the habitat associations of the 

individual species. Impacts to habitat for some species may occur from commercial thinning of mature 

and younger forests, hazard tree felling, landing clearing/road construction. However, due to the limited 

amount of area affected by these projects, relative to the availability of habitats within the watersheds and 

forest, effects to NTMBs are expected to be (M) minimal. 

VII. DOWN WOOD AND SNAGS

Observations based on an informal walk through candidate stands prior to 2009 by the previous district 

silviculturist noted large woody material (LWM), 20 inch plus diameter at breast height (dbh), limited on 

the forest floor. Where observed, LWM was in the decomposition class 4 and 5 range (soft). Standing 

snags over 16 inch diameter are also limited with most snags being within the 8 to 11 inch diameter range. 

Current Condition – Down Wood 

Down woody material (large and small) fulfills a number of important ecological functions such as 

stabilizing surface soils, increasing organic content in soils over the long-term, providing habitat for the 

many organisms that depend on snags and down logs in various stages of decay, and ensuring adequate 

coarse woody material recruitment to meet the ecological needs of aquatic systems over time. 

Existing snag numbers are expected to be low due to stand age, and site-specific observations. Most 

thinning at the age treatment is being proposed (60 to 80 years old) are currently lacking snags of 

sufficient size (14 inch dbh and above). Under the Action Alternatives, snags and down wood would be 

retained to support ecosystem function (PDC #12; Attachment A). Management activities shall be 

planned to maintain enough large woody material (dead and down) to maintain a healthy forest ecosystem 

(SIS LRMP 1989). CWM already on the ground would be protected from disturbance to the greatest 

extent possible during logging and other land management activities that might destroy the integrity of the 

substrate. 

Current Condition – Snags 

Currently there are scattered snags in ER due to stand density, past fires and forest disease conditions 

causing tree mortality. Snags are deficient in two of the vegetation polygons inventoried in the eastern 

portion of the Planning Area, small 7 to16 inch snags are present in an older stand in the western portion 

near Coal Creek and scattered larger 20+inch snags are present in the non-commercial units west of the 

5000 Road. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-56 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Field reconnaissance in combination with GPS location waypoints during summer 2011 noted clumps of 

five (5) to twelve (12), four (4) inch to thirty (30) inch diameter standing snags occurring in Port-Orfordcedar root disease pockets (Phytophthora lateralis) in the southern portion of the Planning Area adjacent 

to the 5000 Road. POC is not considered a desirable tree species for wildlife use as snag habitat2.

Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) 

The Siskiyou National Forest LRMP (1989) is the existing policy direction for snags and coarse down 

wood objectives. However, scientific studies on wildlife habitat (Johnson, O’Neil, 2001) have 

determined that snag retention based on biological potential is a flawed technique. This technique was 

used for determining snag requirement standards and guidelines in the LRMP. 

The Southwestern Oregon Provincial Interagency Executive Committee requested a province-wide 

process be developed for determining levels of snags and down woody material in forests in the late 

1990s. As a result, landscape stratification based on Plant Association Groups (PAGs), was developed 

across the Forest. 

A key element of desired conditions for PAGs is down dead woody material. Existing large woody 

material varies depending on past logging operations and PAG in southwest Oregon. Desired levels of 

dead wood were modeled by PAG, based on Ecology Plot data, adjusted by past conditions with 

consideration of the DecAID3 advisory system. These models were intended to be used as a baseline for 

managers to develop prescriptions for landscape management. Treatment units proposed for ER are 

within the maritime western hemlock PAG model derived from this process (Siskiyou NF, 2000). 

Ecological processes within PAGs vary due to changes in climate, topography and soil. Each PAG has a 

mean and range for snags and down wood derived from ecological plot data. Recommended means and 

ranges (standard deviations) are broken into diameter classes: 6 to 9 inches, 10 to 19 inches and 20 inches 

and greater and into decay classes: 1 through 5 (Siskiyou NF, 2000; White et al., unpubl.). 

Because the Forest’s PAG data is at a finer scale, the Forest is currently using plant series data from new 

PAG classifications, delineated by geographical regions (Cascades, Siskiyous, Coast), for determining 

snag and down wood objectives on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest1. 

Snag Recommendations 

The LRMP specifies a desired snag quantity of 185 to 235 snags per 100 acres delineated into hard and 

soft 11+, 15+, 17+ and 25+ snag diameter classes to maintain habitat capability of woodpeckers 

(indicators of cavity nesting species) at not less than 60% of potential population levels (LRMP, IV-33 to 

36). Snag quantities are dependent on woodpecker species present in the treatment area. 

As previously discussed, the Forest is choosing to use plant series data derived from new PAG 

classifications to determine snag and down wood objectives 

Table G-17 displays snag data (trees per acre) recently derived for the western hemlock plant series in the 

coast geographic region.4

 This data reflects snag quantities present in older stands derived from 

numerous PAG inventory plots and represents desired snag quantities (trees per acre) to develop in 

candidate units post-treatment. 

 

2

 Pers conv. David Clayton, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Wildlife Biologist, January 18, 2012 

3

 DecAID is a wood advisory tool for Washington and Oregon forests and is based on Habitat Model for Wildlife Tree Retention. 

USDA Forest Service, Region 6, Portland Oregon: Kim Mellen (editor) 2003. The title can be read as decayed wood advisor and 

management aid “decay-aid” or “decision-aid”.

4

 Hochhalter (et al.) Ecology Group, Southwest Oregon Province, plant series data from PAG plots. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-57 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table G-17. Snag Data for Western Hemlock Plant Series 

COAST - Snags

SERIES Diameter Average TPA

Western Hemlock 0-10” 28.64

Western Hemlock 11-19” 7.93

Western Hemlock 20”+ 6.27

Large snags over 20 inch diameter are particularly essential for forest function. In addition, at least 96 

wildlife species in Oregon and Washington are associated with snags in forests, using snags for shelter, 

roosting and hunting. Most species use snags greater than 14 inch diameter (Rose et al. 2001). Ridges, 

upper thirds of slopes, and riparian areas or lower third of slopes are especially important for latesuccessional dependent species. Snags in various size classes also are important to the recruitment 

pathways of the down, coarse materials important to soils. 

In areas where past management has resulted in a lack of large snags needed for cavity nesting species, 

snags would be created from live trees left in stands. Whenever possible, creation of a minimum of 2 or 

more snags per acre over 20 inch dbh within all commercially treated units should be part of each 

silvicultural prescription. Creation can be through girdling, topping the trees with chain saws, blasting, 

inoculation with heart rot fungi, or deliberate injury. These methods would open the trunk to 

development of a hollow core used by woodpeckers and a variety of other birds, mammals, and other 

wildlife. 

Evaluations would occur after density management treatments to assess potential needs for snag/down 

wood creation. In areas lacking adequate amounts of down woody material (include snags in 

calculations), green trees may be felled. Any Leave Trees damaged during harvest operations will be left 

standing or felled for safety, but left on site (PDC #12 Attachment A). The intent is to provide future 

snags or trees with cavities or deformities utilized by wildlife. 

Large Wood Recommendations 

As with snags, down logs are important for wildlife and aquatic ecosystem function. In addition, large 

coarse woody material is particularly important to maintaining and holding soils in place. The following 

table displays down wood data (pieces per acre, tons and size) for the western hemlock plant series in the 

coast geographic region5 and represents desired down wood quantity and size objectives. 

Table G-18. Down Wood Data for Western Hemlock Plant Series 

COAST – Down Wood 

SERIES DIAMETER

Average 

PIECES 

PER ACRE

Average

TONS

Average 

LENGTH 

(feet)

Western Hemlock 0-10" 110 3 63

Western Hemlock 11-19" 52 11 64

Western Hemlock 20"+ 35 38 111

Under the Action Alternatives, snags and down wood would be retained to support ecosystem function 

(see Wildlife Report). Management activities shall be planned to maintain enough large woody material 

(dead and down) to maintain a healthy forest ecosystem (SIS LRMP 1989). LWM already on the ground 

would be protected from disturbance to the greatest extent possible during logging and other land 

management activities that might destroy the integrity of the substrate. 

 

5

 Hochhalter (et al.) Ecology Group, Southwest Oregon Province, plant series data from PAG plots. 
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-58 

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Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-68 

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Attachment A 

Wildlife Project Design Criteria (PDCs), Mitigation Measures and Opportunities 

PDC

#

Project Design Criteria/Mitigation Measure Objective Where

1

Canopy cover within proposed stands will be 

maintained at 40% or greater. Decadent woody 

material such as large snags and downed wood will be 

retained per Forest Guidance (White 1994) providing 

benefits for spotted owl prey species.

Maintain northern spotted 

owl dispersal habitat.

All Units - All Alternatives -

Required to meet BABO 

Consultation

2

If an active spotted owl nest or activity center is 

located within or adjacent to a project area, or work 

activities that produce loud noises above ambient 

levels, or produce thick smoke that would enter the 

stand, will not occur within restricted distances of any 

spotted owl nest site or activity center of known pairs 

and resident singles between 1 March and 30 June (or

until two weeks after the fledging period) – unless 

protocol surveys have determined the activity center to 

be not occupied, non-nesting, or failed in their nesting 

attempt. The restricted zone is 1.0 mile for any 

unmuffled blasting. This distance may be shortened if 

significant topographical breaks or blast blankets (or 

other devices) muffle sound traveling between the blast 

and nest sites. March 1 – June 30 is considered the 

critical early nesting period; the action agency biologist 

has the option to extend the restricted season during the 

year of harvest, based on site-specific knowledge (such 

as a late or recycle nesting attempt). The boundary of 

the prescribed area may be modified by the action 

agency biologist using topographic features or other 

site-specific information. The restricted area is 

calculated as a radius from the assumed nest site 

(point). Restricted Distances: ≤1 mile for blast of 

more than 2 lbs. of explosive; ≤1/4 mile for Type I or II 

helicopters; ≤120 yards for blast of < 2 lbs of 

explosive and Type III-IV helicopters or single-engine 

airplanes; ≤65 yards for chainsaws; ≤60 yards for 

impact pile driver, jackhammer, or rock drill; ≤35 

yards for heavy equipment.

Limit harassment and 

disturbance to Threatened 

species (n. spotted owl).

Any newly discovered nest site 

within or adjacent to Project 

Area. 

Restricted: Blasting - All 

Alternatives - Unit 401, 402, 

403. Portions of Road - 5000-

210.

3

If an active spotted owl nest or activity center is 

located within or adjacent to a project area, delay the 

project activity until September 30th or until an action 

agency biologist determines that young are not present. 

For a given situation, the ―adjacent‖ distance is 

determined by the action agency biologist. If any 

project activity is so close to a known or suspected owl 

site that the disturbance would flush a nesting spotted 

owl, curtail the project activity until September 30. 

The field biologist has the discretion to conduct 

surveys and determine fledging activity.

Limit harassment and 

disturbance to Threatened 

species (n. spotted owl).

Any newly discovered nest site 

within or adjacent to Project 

Area. No currently known nest 

sites impacted by this project.
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-69 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

PDC

#

Project Design Criteria/Mitigation Measure Objective Where

4

Protecting talus habitat from ground disturbing 

activities, designate a buffer of at least one site 

potential tree or at least 100' horizontal distance, 

whichever is greater for all known Del Norte 

Salamander locations. Maintain at least 40% canopy 

closure and avoid activities that would disturb the 

surface talus layer. Partial harvest within the buffer 

may be possible if 40% canopy closure can be 

maintained; in such cases, tree harvest must be 

conducted using helicopter or high lead cable systems 

to avoid compaction or other disturbance of talus.

Protect all known Del 

Norte sites from activities 

that may cause 

compaction.

Known sites - Alt 2 Units: 006, 

211, 303, 308, 322, 323, 326, 

329, 331, 332, 333, 334, 340, 

341, and 342. Alt 3 Units: 006, 

211, 215, 303, 307, 322, 323, 

326, 329, 331, 332, 333, 334, 

341, 342 Alt 4 Units: 006, 

211, 215, 322, 323, 326, 331, 

332, 333, 334, 341, 342 Road 

Q4 and Non-Commercial Unit 

906

5

Exclude from treatment any stands meeting Recovery 

Action 32 high-quality spotted owl nesting, roosting, 

and foraging (NRF) habitat. To be determined by 

wildlife biologist

Protect n. spotted owl 

nesting, roosting, and 

foraging habitat.

All Units

6

As part of implementation, an analysis exercise will be 

done to determine whether or not any 5-acre portion of 

a candidate stand contains 6 or more trees with 

potential late—successional structure. If an area 

contains 6 or more trees with potential structure, it 

constitutes potential suitable habitat. Any stand with a 

potential suitable habitat (remnant late-successional 

tree component) will be further assessed with a walkthrough of the area that would be impacted (USDI, 

2006). If a late successional component is confirmed, 

that portion of the stand (or the entire stand) will be 

excluded from treatments (including 1⁄2 site tree unthinned buffer).

To protect potential highquality n. spotted owl 

nesting, roosting, and 

foraging habitat and 

potential marbled murrelet 

habitat.

All Units

7

For marbled murrelet Survey Areas A and B work 

activities (such as tree felling, yarding, road and other 

construction activities, hauling on roads not generally 

used by the public, muffled blasting) which produce 

noises above ambient levels will not occur within 

restricted distances of any occupied stand or 

unsurveyed suitable habitat between April 1 – August 

5. For the period of August 6 – September 15, work 

activities will be confined to between 2 hours after 

sunrise to 2 hours before sunset. Restricted Distances: 

≤1 mile for blast of more than 2 lbs. of explosive; ≤1/4 

mile for Type I or II helicopters; ≤120 yards for all 

other noises above ambient.

Limit harassment and 

disturbance to Threatened 

species (marbled 

murrelet).

RESTRICTED: 

All Alternatives - Unit 401. 

Portions of Road - 5000-210.

8

Clean up trash and garbage daily at all project sites. 

Keep food out of sight so as to not attract predators 

[e.g., crows, ravens, and jays (predators on eggs or 

young birds)].

Limit harassment and 

disturbance to Threatened 

species (marbled murrelet) 

and other bird species.

Project Area

9

Remnant trees will be retained. Remnant trees felled 

for operational needs will be retained on-site.

Structural diversity for 

multiple species.

Project Area

10

Protect all existing and newly discovered peregrine 

falcon nest sites during the courtship period through 

the dispersal of young (January 1 - July 31). 

Implement Seasonal Restrictions on All Activities 

(January 1 to July 31) within disturbance distances.

Manage habitat for 

Sensitive species 

(peregrine falcon) viability 

and maintenance of 

populations throughout 

their existing range on the 

Forest.

Any newly discovered nests. 

One known nest site impacted 

by this project. 

ALL ACTIVITIES 

RESTRICTED: Units 401, 

402, and 403 (All Alternatives). 

Portions of Roads - 5000-200, 

5000-210, 5000-290
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-70 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

PDC

#

Project Design Criteria/Mitigation Measure Objective Where

11

Helicopter landing locations within 1 mile of the 

known or any newly found peregrine falcon sites will 

require approval of the district wildlife biologist prior 

to implementation

Limit harassment and 

disturbance to nesting 

Sensitive species –

peregrine falcon.

Project Area

12

To the extent compatible with safety provisions retain 

all snags with tree diameter >=10‖. Retain on site, all 

commercial size down-woody material. "Leave-trees" 

damaged during project operations will be left on site. 

The intent is to maintain or minimize the loss of 

existing snag numbers following all treatment 

activities. All snags felled for safety will remain on 

site.

Maintain wildlife reserve 

trees, snags, and down 

wood for multiple species.

Project Area

13

Leave trees damaged during harvest operations will be 

left standing or felled for safety, but left on site. The 

intent is to maintain damaged trees, which may become 

snags or develop cavities, to contribute to the large 

woody material needs following all treatment activities.

Management activities 

shall be planned to 

maintain enough large 

woody material (dead and 

down) to maintain a 

healthy forest ecosystem 

for multiple species.

Project Area

14

Do not operate equipment in or construct/locate 

corridors, skid trails, landings, slash piles, or any roads 

within meadows and identified grassy areas.

Protect grassy areas which 

provide habitat for deer, 

elk, and other wildlife.

Project Area

15

In conformance with the marking guidelines, within 

harvest units, leave up to 4 dominant / co-dominant 

trees per acre which contain nests, wildlife cavities, 

structural deformities, and/or damage likely to lead to 

snag formation.

Management activities 

shall be planned to 

maintain enough large 

woody material (dead and 

down) to maintain a 

healthy forest ecosystem 

for multiple species.

All Units

16

Decadent woody material such as large snags and 

downed wood will be retained per Forest Guidance 

providing benefits for spotted owl prey species. Multicanopied, uneven-aged tree structure will remain post 

treatment, providing important habitat features for 

spotted owl NRF habitat. If found, no spotted owl nest 

trees will be removed.

To provide and maintain 

important habitat features 

for spotted owl NRF 

habitat.

Project Area

17

Following harvest operations, if KV or stewardship 

funding is available, snags will be created by girdling, 

inoculation, or topping to increase snags to an average 

of 2 or more snags >20 inches dbh per acre 

representative of the dominant and co-dominant tree 

class.

Management activities 

shall be planned to 

maintain enough large 

woody material (dead and 

down) to maintain a 

healthy forest ecosystem 

for multiple species.

All Commercially Treated Units

18

Following harvest operations, if KV or stewardship 

funding is available, non-commercial treatments to 

enhance meadow and other grassy area conditions, may 

be enacted. Treatments may include removal of 

encroaching brush and conifers, underburning and 

vehicle access controls. Treatment of these sites would 

be directed by Wildlife Biologists.

Meadow enhancement, 

which provide habitat for 

deer, elk, and other 

wildlife.

Coal Meadows, Sweeney 

Meadows, proximity of Alt. 2 

Unit 316, and other identified 

locations within the Project Area 

but outside of treatment units.
Appendix G – Wildlife Report and Biological Evaluation Page G-71 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

PDC

#

Project Design Criteria/Mitigation Measure Objective Where

19

Following harvest operations, if KV or stewardship 

funding is available, Seeding of disturbed sites 

associated with logging skid trails, landings, temporary 

roads and burned slash piles will reduce the 

opportunity for non-native plants(including noxious 

weeds) to invade disturbed sites and reduce erosion 

from exposed mineral soils. Seeding exposed mineral 

soil with native grass seed (~4-8 lbs/acre) will restore 

and improve forage for wildlife that benefit from 

grasses and forbs; e.g. deer, elk, mice, rabbits and their 

predators.

Reduce erosion, provide 

wildlife forage, and 

minimize invasive species 

establishment.

Skid trails, landings, temporary 

roads and burned slash piles. 

20

Following harvest operations, if KV or stewardship 

funding is available, artificial nest/roost box creation 

may be appropriate.

Provide nesting sites for 

cavity nesters.

Any created gaps/openings 

within all treatment units, 

meadows or grassy areas, and 

riparian areas within the Project 

Area

Attachment B 

Wildlife Analysis Area 

0 1.5 3 

Fisher Local Populatio
APPENDIX H 

AQUATIC BIOTA REPORT AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION 

BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT 

Aquatic Biota 

Biological Evaluation & Specialist Report 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest 

Powers Ranger District 

42861 Highway 242 

Powers, OR 97466 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-2 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Title Page 

 

Project Name: Eden Ridge Timber Sales (ER) 

Project Location: 

4

th Field HUC Coquille River 17100305 

5

th Field HUC Lower South Fork Coquille River 1710030501

 Middle Fork Coquille River 1710030502

6

th Field HUC Mill Creek 171003050106 

 Headwaters S. Fork Coquille River 171003050101 

 Coal Creek 171003050105 

 Lower Rock Creek 171003050206 

 Myrtle Creek 171003050209 

Watershed Analyses (WA): Middle Fork Coquille Analytical Watershed (BLM 1994) 

South Fork Coquille Watershed Analysis (USFS 1995) 

Land Allocation of Project Area: Matrix 

 Riparian Reserve 

Administrative Unit: Powers Ranger District, Rogue River-Siskiyou National 

Forest 

Prepared By: Karla Cottom, Fisheries Biologist, Powers RD 

Reviewed By: Susan Maiyo, Forest Fisheries Biologist, RRSNF 

Document Date: September 15, 2011 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-3 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................H-4

II. DESCRIPTION OF AFFECTED SPECIES AND HABITAT .................................H-4

A. Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Fish Species ........................................................H-4

B. Status of Listed Species, Essential Fish Habitat, and Critical Habitat ..............................H-5

C. Description of Habitat Environmental Baseline ................................................................H-7

III. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES ...................H-7

A. Alternative 2 - Proposed Action ........................................................................................H-7

B. Alternative 3 .....................................................................................................................H-8

C. Alternative 4 .....................................................................................................................H-8

IV. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT ELEMENTS AND DESIGN CRITERIA ...........H-8

A. Overview of Eden Ridge Project Actions ..........................................................................H-8

B. Project Elements and Project Design Criteria ..................................................................H-9

1. Timber Felling and Yarding .................................................................................................. H-9 

2. Timber Hauling ..................................................................................................................... H-17 

3. Fuels Treatment ............................................................................................................H-18 

4. Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Road Decommissioning, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction, and New Road Construction ................................. H-18 

5. Other Enhancement Activities ............................................................................................... H-25 

V. EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVES ...............................................................................H-27

A. Effects of the No Action Alternative (Alternative 1) .........................................................H-27

B. Effects of the Proposed Action (Alternative 2) ..................................................................H-27

C. Effects of Alternative 3 .....................................................................................................H-32

D. Effects of Alternative 4 .....................................................................................................H-33

E. All Action Alternatives – Habitat and Watershed Condition Indicators ...........................H-34

VI. SUMMARY AND COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES ....................................H-36

VII. CONCLUSIONS AND DETERMINATIONS ........................................................H-37

VIII. LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................H-39

ATTACHMENT A 

Fish Distribution and Project Activities Map – Alternative 2 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-4 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

I. INTRODUCTION

The overall Planning Area is located on National Forest System Lands within two 5th-Field watersheds, 

South Fork Coquille River and the Middle Fork Coquille River, which both have Watershed Analyses 

have been completed. The 6th Field watersheds within these 5th Field watersheds are Lower Rock Creek, 

Myrtle Creek, Headwaters South Fork Coquille River, Coal Creek, and Mill Creek. Adjacent private 

timber company lands owned by Plum Creek surround the Planning Area. 

The Planning Area for the Eden Ridge Timber Sales (ER) is located on Eden Ridge approximately four 

(4) air miles southeast of Powers, Oregon. The legal description of: Township 31 South, Range 10 West, 

Sections 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 29 and 30; and Township 31 South, Range 11 West, Sections 21, 

22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27, Willamette Meridian; Coos County, Oregon 

Biological Evaluation Background Information 

The Biological Evaluation process (FSM 2672.43) is intended to conduct and document activities necessary 

to ensure Proposed Actions will not likely jeopardize the continued existence or cause adverse modification 

of habitat for: 

A. Fish species listed or proposed to be listed as Endangered (E) or Threatened (T) or Proposed

for Federal listing (P) by the National Marine Fisheries Service. 

 B. listed as Sensitive (S) by USDA, Forest Service. 

II. DESCRIPTION OF AFFECTED SPECIES AND HABITAT

A. Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Fish Species 

In compliance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Forest Service Biological 

Evaluation (BE) process for Endangered, Threatened, Proposed or Sensitive fish species (Siskiyou LRMP 

S&G 4-2; page IV-27), the USDA Forest Service Region 6 Sensitive Species List (January 31, 2008) was 

reviewed and field reconnaissance was conducted in regard to potential effects on any of these species by 

actions associated with the Eden Ridge Timber Sales. The results are summarized in the Table H-1 below. 

Also see Attachment A (Fish Distribution and Project Activities Map). 

Table H-1. Potentially Affected Species, Status, and Habitats Assessed (Pacific Northwest Regional 

Forester’s Sensitive Species (List updated January 2008)

Species/Habitat Pre-field Review Field Surveys

Common name Scientific Name

Existing Sighting or 

Potential Habitat

(Yes*/No**)

Habitat or 

Species 

Confirmed

(Yes*/No**)

Threatened Species

OC Coho Salmon Oncorhyncus kisutch Yes Yes

Critical Habitat

OC coho salmon O. kisutch Yes Yes

Essential Fish Habitat

Coho salmon O. kisutch Yes Yes

Chinook Salmon O. tshawytscha Yes Yes

Sensitive Species

SONCC Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha No No
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-5 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Species/Habitat Pre-field Review Field Surveys

Common name Scientific Name

Existing Sighting or 

Potential Habitat

(Yes*/No**)

Habitat or 

Species 

Confirmed

(Yes*/No**)

PC chum salmon O. keta No No

OC Steelhead O. mykiss Yes Yes

Inland redband trout O. mykiss No No

Pit sculpin Cottus pitensis No No

Western ridged mussel Gonidea angulata No No

Klamath rim pebblesnail Fluminicola sp. No No

Highcap lanx Lanx alta No No

Scale lanx Lanx klamathensis No No

Robust walker Pomatiopsis binneyi No No

Pacific walker Pomatiopsis californica No No

Pristine springsnail Pristinicola hemphilli No No

*Yes – The proposed project‟s potential effects on these species will be further analyzed in this document. 

**No – No further analysis is necessary, and a determination of “No Impact” is rendered. 

B. Status of Listed Species, Essential Fish Habitat, and Critical Habitat 

Oregon Coast Coho Salmon and Critical Habitat (Threatened) 

Oregon Coast (OC) coho ESU was listed as Threatened on August 10, 1998 (63 FR 42587). This listing 

was reevaluated and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) determined listing OC coho was not 

warranted on January 17, 2006. The listing was once again reevaluated and NMFS determined a listing 

of threatened was warranted on February 4, 2008 (73 FR 7816). OC coho salmon critical habitat was 

designated as threatened also on February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7816). Final protective regulations for OC 

coho salmon were issued on February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7816). On April 28, 2009 NMFS announced that 

it was initiating a status review of OC coho. On May 26, 2010, NMFS affirmed the listing of the OC 

coho salmon as Threatened (75 FR 29489). 

Critical habitat is defined in Section 3(5)(A) of the ESA as “the specific areas within the geographical 

area occupied by the species Oregon Coast Coho on which are found those physical or biological features 

(I) essential to the conservation of the species and (II) which may require special management 

considerations or protection.” Section 7 of the ESA prohibits the destruction or adverse modification of 

designated critical habitat (CCH). 

On the RRSNF, the South Fork Coquille River, though occupied by OC coho, is exempt from Critical 

Habitat designation due to economic benefits of exclusion outweighing the benefits of designation. 

Further, marine habitats are not included as critical habitat due to the difficulty in identifying specific 

areas critical to the species. The habitat indicators addressed in this BE that are pertinent to aquatic 

habitat health, also represents the primary constituent elements of proposed CH for OC coho salmon. 

Therefore, this analysis is sufficient for consultation of proposed CH as well. 

NMFS developed a list of Primary Constituent Elements (PCEs) that are essential for the conservation of 

OC coho, and which are based on the life history of the coho salmon. These PCEs are: freshwater 

spawning sites, freshwater rearing sites, freshwater migration corridors, estuarine areas, nearshore marine 

areas, and offshore marine areas. These PCEs in concert with OC coho distribution data, were used to 

delineate the spatial extent of the critical habitat. The lateral extent of this designation is limited to the 

ordinary high water mark (i.e., bankfull elevation). For the purposes of this BE, the PCEs are cross 

referenced with the respective Habitat Indicators in Table H-2 below. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-6 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table H-2. OC Coho Critical Habitat Essential Habitat Features and Respective Habitat 

Indicators 

PCEs of OC coho 

Critical Habitat Habitat Indicator

Freshwater Spawning 

Sites

Change in Peak/Base Flows, Water Temperature, Sediment/Turbidity, Chemical 

Contamination/Nutrients, Substrate

Freshwater Rearing 

Sites

Change in Peak/Base Flows, Floodplain Connectivity, Water Temperature, 

Sediment/Turbidity, Chemical Contamination/Nutrients, Water Quality Indicators, 

Riparian Reserves, Substrate, Large Woody Debris, Pool Frequency, Pool Quality, 

Width/depth Ratio, Off-channel Habitat, Streambank Condition

Freshwater Migration 

Corridors

Physical Barriers, Change in Peak/Base Flows, Water Temperature, 

Sediment/Turbidity, Chemical Contamination/Nutrients, Riparian Reserves, Substrate, 

Large Woody Debris, Pool Frequency, Pool Quality, Width/depth Ratio, Floodplain 

Connectivity, Off-channel Habitat, Streambank Condition

Estuarine Areas Physical Barriers, Water Temperature, Sediment/Turbidity, Chemical 

Contamination/Nutrients, Change in Peak/Base Flows, Water Quality Indicators, 

Riparian Reserves, Substrate, Large Woody Debris, Pool Frequency, Pool Quality, 

Width/depth Ratio, Floodplain Connectivity, Off-channel Habitat, Streambank 

Condition

Nearshore Marine 

Areas

N/A to RRSNF Actions

Offshore Marine 

Areas

N/A to RRSNF Actions

Essential Fish Habitat 

Interim final rules for Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(b)) 

were published in the Federal Register/ Vol. 62, No. 244, December 19, 1997 and final rules published in 

the Federal Register/ Vol. 67, No. 12, January 17, 2002. These rules are pertinent to Chinook salmon and 

coho salmon habitat within the Southern Oregon Coastal Basin. Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) has been 

defined by NMFS as “those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or 

growth to maturity.” This definition includes all waters historically used by anadromous salmonids of 

commercial value. 

Because federally listed Threatened fish species and/or critical habitat are present as associated with this 

project, consultation requirements were conducted in accordance with the ESA (SIS LRMP S&G 4-2). A 

Biological Assessment was prepared for consultation purposes and is contained in EIS Appendix H (and 

incorporated by reference into this BE). 

Action Area 

The Action Area, as defined by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), is all areas to be affected directly or 

indirectly by the federal action and not merely the immediate area involved in the action [50 CFR § 

402.02]. The Action Area not only includes the immediate footprint of the harvest and road related 

activities, but any downstream reaches which may be affected indirectly. The ESA Action Area is also 

analyzed for Forest Service Sensitive Species. 

The Proposed Action is located within portions of the South Fork Coquille River 5th field and the Middle 

Fork Coquille River 5th field. Timber harvest, timber hauling and new road construction would occur 

primarily in Coal Creek 6th Field watershed and in the upper headwaters of 6th Field Watersheds: 

Headwaters S. Fork Coquille River, Lower Rock Creek and Myrtle Creek. Only timber haul activities 

adjacent to units would occur within the headwaters of Mill Creek -South Fork Coquille 6th field 

watershed. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-7 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

OC Steelhead (Sensitive) 

On the RRSNF, Oregon Coast (OC) steelhead occurs within the South Fork Coquille River and Sixes 

River drainages. The OC steelhead trout distinct population segment (DPS) was proposed as threatened 

under the ESA on August 9, 1996 (61 FR 41541), but was found not warranted for listing. OC steelhead 

is currently listed as a species of concern by NMFS and as a Sensitive Species by USFS Region 6. 

Other Species (Sensitive) 

PC chum salmon, inland redband trout, pit sculpin, western ridged mussel, Klamath rim pebblesnail, 

highcap lanx, scale lanx, robust walker, pacific walker, and pristine springsnail, are not known to occur or 

have suitable habitat within proximity to any of the proposed changes included within any of the Action 

Alternatives. As such, a No Impact determination is rendered and these species will not be discussed 

further within this document. 

C. Description of Habitat Environmental Baseline 

Information used in this analysis includes Geographic Information System data and Aquatic Habitat 

Inventories (Forest Service 2010). Properly Functioning Condition ratings are based on the NOAA Table 

of Population and Habitat Indicators, as modified by the Rogue River/South Coast Level 1 Team for the 

Klamath Province/Siskiyou Mountains. 

Refer to Eden Ridge Timber Sales Biological Assessment, August 2011 for a complete description of the 

environmental baseline conditions. 

This analysis evaluates the direct and indirect potential effects of the proposed actions on Oregon Coast 

coho, CCH, EFH and OC steelhead trout. There is no potential to affect CCH 8.8 miles downstream, 

while there is potential to affect EFH and OC steelhead trout. EFH and OC steelhead are located in the 

Action Area, so any potential effect to one (i.e., EFH) would obviously result in an effect to the other (OC 

coho). 

III. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES

Under Alternative 1, the No-Action Alternative, no forest management actions would be taken. There 

would be no thinning activities, road maintenance, or construction activities associated with this 

alternative. 

A. Alternative 2 - Proposed Action 

Alternative 2 proposes variable density thinning treatments, Port Orford cedar sanitation and planting 

treatments, laminated root rot treatment and other connected activities on approximately 3,680 acres 

within the Planning Area. The stands are located on suitable forest land designated as Matrix and 

Riparian Reserve land allocations under the Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource Management 

Plan as amended by the Northwest Forest Plan. Refer to EIS Chapter II for more detail on these 

treatments, including location maps.

Approximately 3,314 acres would be designed for timber harvest on 75 units with associated harvest 

systems that would use a combination of ground-based and skyline operations depending on soil, slope 

and hydrological concerns. Tractor, or ground-based systems, would be used on approximately 2,119 

acres, or 64% of the treated area. Skyline systems would be used on approximately 1,195 acres, or 36% 

of the treated area. Helicopter systems are not proposed under this alternative but could be an option to 

reduce environmental effects if economics were favorable. Under this alternative, harvest systems were 

designed to meet specific environmental protection needs and Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines in the 

most cost-effective manner. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-8 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

It is estimated the Proposed Action could produce up to 53 million board feet from the 3,314 acres being 

considered, from multiple timber sales over approximately five years. Also included in this project is an 

additional 363 acres of non-commercial silvicultural treatments. Two yarding landings are being 

Constructed/Reconstructed within the Riparian Reserve (RR). 

To access the 3,314 acres of treatment, approximately: 

31 miles of existing roads would be used for Timber Haul route; 

0.3 miles of temporary Road Construction and Decommissioned (0.3 miles in RR); 

6.1 miles of Road Reconstruction of existing road or railroad templates (1.4 miles in RR); 

10.8 miles of New Road Construction would be built (1.6 miles in RR); and 

5.5 miles of Road Maintenance within the units.

B. Alternative 3 

Alternative 3 would enact the following vegetation management actions: 3,240 acres of commercial 

variable density management thinning treatments (in several separate timber sales), on 65 Units, 

producing approximately 52 million board feet of commercial volume; Within the 3,243 acres of 

treatments, also included are treatments within Riparian Reserves that overlap into overstocked drier 

upland forests (1,053 total acres). 

Ground-based systems would be used on approximately 1,789 acres, or 55%; Skyline systems would be 

used on approximately 941 acres, or 29%; and helicopter systems would be used on approximately 513 

acres, or 16% of the treated area. Use of approximately 31 miles of existing roads, construction of 4.5 

miles of new road, construction and decommissioning of 0.03 miles of temporary road, use and 

reconstruction of 4.1 miles of existing road, use of and maintenance of 5.5 miles of existing road; and 363 

acres of non-commercial silvicultural treatments are included. 

C. Alternative 4 

Alternative 4 would enact the following vegetation management actions: 3,058 acres of commercial 

variable density management thinning treatments on 53 Units, producing approximately 49 million board 

feet of commercial volume. Within the 3,058 acres of treatments, also included are treatments within 

Riparian Reserves that overlap into overstocked drier upland forests (965 total acres). 

Ground-based systems would be used on approximately 1,441 acres, or 47%; Skyline systems would be 

used on approximately 457 acres, or 15%; and helicopter systems would be used on approximately 1,160 

acres, or 38% of the treated area. Use of approximately 31 miles of existing roads, use and reconstruction 

of 1.74 miles of existing road, use of and maintenance of 5.0 miles of existing road; and 363 acres of noncommercial silvicultural treatments are included. 

IV. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT ELEMENTS AND DESIGN CRITERIA

A. Overview of Eden Ridge Project Actions 

The actions of the project alternatives can be divided into five Project Elements (PE): 

1. Timber Felling and Yarding 

2. Timber Hauling 

3. Fuels Treatment 

4. Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, and New Road Construction

5. Other Enhancement Activities 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-9 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table H-3. Summary of Project Elements by Alternative

Project Elements

Alternatives

1 2 3 4

1. Timber Felling and Yarding

Timber Harvest 0 acres 3,314 acres 3,240 acres 3,058 acres

Timber Harvest within RR 0 acres 1,097 acres 1,053 965 acres

2. Timber Hauling

Timber Haul 0 miles 31 miles 31 miles 31 miles

3. Fuels Treatment

Fuels Treatment 0 acres 1,600 acres 1,145 acres 1,300 acres

4. Roads

Temporary Road Construction and 

Decommissioned 0 miles 0.3 (0.3 miles in RR)

0.3 (0.3 miles in 

RR)

0.3 (0.3 miles 

in RR)

Road Reconstruction of existing 

road or railroad templates 0 miles 6.1 miles (1.4 miles in RR) 4.1 miles 1.74 miles

New Road Construction 0 miles 10.8 miles (1.6 

miles in RR) 4.5 miles 0.25 miles1

Road Maintenance 0 miles 5.5 miles 5.5 miles 5.5 miles

5. Other Enhancement Activities

Non-commercial silvicultural 

treatments 0 miles 363 acres 363 acres 363 acres

Snag/down wood creation, riparian 

snags, stream enhancement, native 

grass/forb seeding/invasive plant 

treatments

None Yes Yes Yes

B. Project Elements and Project Design Criteria 

1. Timber Felling and Yarding 

a. Timber Felling – Commercial Silvicultural Treatments 

The ER project proposes intermediate commercial harvest treatments using variable density thinning 

(VDT) techniques and other connected actions on approximately 3,314 acres of second growth conifer 

stands artificially and naturally regenerated following timber harvest during the 1920s through the 1930s. 

Design Criteria associated with commercial treatments are detailed in Table H-4.

Commercial treatments would involve harvest (felling and yarding) of conifers with diameters 7 inches 

and larger DBH which is a viable product size under current and anticipated market conditions. No old

residual trees (old growth; trees > 80 years old) would be cut, except for danger trees. Trees could be 

felled using mechanized feller-bunchers, cut-to-length harvesters, or hand (chainsaw) felling. The 

acreage of Riparian Reserves to be treated is likely to be less due to some areas not needing treatment.

The primary silvicultural objective for ER is to control existing dense stocking conditions and to treat 

subordinate amounts of root disease infection within candidate stands to improve forest health and to 

sustain or increase tree growth and vigor throughout treatment areas including the Riparian Reserve. 

Felling actives would be designed using VDT techniques. VDT uses a combination of low and crown 

thinning to release larger dominant and co-dominant trees. Spacing between trees is variable depending 

on tree diameter distribution on the ground and thinning intensity. Individual stand characteristics would 

be heterogeneous and post-harvest tree spacing would not have a rigid, grid-like appearance. 

 

1

 Reconstruction along 3 rail grades includes new road construction where stream crossings replace rail trestle bridges. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-10 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table H-4. Overall Design Criteria for Timber Yarding and Felling within Riparian Reserves 

Channel Project Activities Buffer

Riparian 

Reserve PDCRR Name

Range of 

Commercial 

Prescriptions 

Outside of Buffer 

(TPA)

Ephemeral and 

Intermittent

Non-fish

Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer except for 

hazard trees, corridor or 

anchor trees (for skyline 

cable yarding) may be felled 

and left at site, no 

commercial removal.

Stream side to 25 feet 

along both sides of 

channel.

One site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (175 

feet each side; 

total width 350 

feet)

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Density management and 

commercial extraction

allowed.

25 feet from stream side 

to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one site potential tree 

height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Ephemeral and 

Intermittent

Non-fish

Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer except for 

hazard trees, corridor or 

anchor trees (for skyline 

cable yarding) may be felled 

and left at site, no 

commercial removal.

Stream side to 35 feet 

along both sides of 

channel.

One site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (175 

feet each side; 

total width 350 

feet)

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone

Medium Thin = 90-150

Density management and 

commercial extraction

allowed.

35 feet from stream side 

to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one site potential tree 

height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Medium Thin = 90-150, 

Ephemeral and 

Intermittent

Non-fish

Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer except for 

hazard trees, corridor or 

anchor trees (for skyline 

cable yarding) may be felled 

and left at site, no 

commercial removal.

Stream side to 40 feet 

along both sides of 

channel.

One site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (175 

feet each side; 

total width 350 

feet)

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone

Heavy Thin = 50-90.

Density management and 

commercial extraction

allowed.

40 feet from stream side 

to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one site potential tree 

height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Heavy Thin = 50-90.

Perennial

Non-fish

Bearing 

Stream

No-cut buffer (same as 

Ephemeral and Intermittent

Streamside to 50-60 feet 

along both sides of 

channel

Same as above.

Primary Shade 

Zone (includes 

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone)

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Medium Thin = 90-150, 

Heavy Thin = 50-90.

Density management and 

commercial extraction 

allowed (same as Ephemeral 

and Intermittent).

50-60 feet from stream 

side to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one size potential 

tree height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Medium Thin = 90-150, 

Heavy Thin = 50-90.

Perennial

Fish Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer (same as 

Ephemeral and Intermittent

Same as Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream

Two site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (350 

feet each side; 

total width 700 

feet)

Same as 

Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Medium Thin = 90-150, 

Heavy Thin = 50-90.

Density management and 

commercial extraction 

allowed (same as Ephemeral 

and Intermittent).

Same as Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream, except Riparian 

Treatment Zone extends 

from 50-60‟ buffer limit 

to edge of two sitepotential tree buffer

Same as 

Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Medium Thin = 90-150, 

Heavy Thin = 50-90.
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-11 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Intensity of density management prescription treatments ranges from light, medium or heavy thins with a 

target relative density (RD) of approximately 35-50%. Tree species composition is maintained or 

enhanced by favoring a diverse mixture of conifers and hardwoods. Trees per acre (TPA), including the 

Riparian Reserves, is described as light thin equals a range of 150-225 per acres, medium thin equals a 

range of 90-150 TPA, and a heavy thin equals 50-90 TPA. 

Approximately 80% of the treatment would consist of medium thins based on productivity of the 

landscape. Areas within units that occur on the perimeter of existing openings or are predominately 

western hemlock may receive no thinning or light thin buffers to prevent wind throw. 

VDT may include creation of irregular shaped openings (i.e., gaps) interspersed within some thinning 

throughout the units, including the Riparian Reserve. Gaps would primarily treat root disease pockets by 

removing all tree species predisposed to infection. Gap size is estimated to be 1⁄4 to 2 acres depending on 

extent of root disease and proximity to existing openings on adjacent private timber company lands. 

VDT may include no-thin areas (i.e., skips). Skips can be strategically placed to protect hardwood 

thickets, minor tree species, pockets of large down wood, other unique stand attributes and inaccessible 

areas. 

Wide-thin gaps (WTG) may occur around genetic trees selected for cone collection, Port-Orford-cedar 

root disease pockets favoring resistant trees, or dominant tree release of desirable trees from competing 

vegetation. Generally, one (1) to four (4) trees would be retained in WTG. The size of WTG would be 

approximately 1⁄4 - 1⁄2 acre. 

Thinning treatments within Riparian Reserves are designed to enhance development of late seral 

conditions as recommended in the South Fork Coquille Watershed Analysis (1995) by moving stand 

structure forward by increasing tree growth through density management, creating structural diversity 

through skip and gap treatments, and to improve forest health and resistance to forest pathogens. 

Site-specific silvicultural prescriptions would be developed for each individual stand identified for 

treatment and address each land allocation classification (Matrix, Riparian Reserve) during 

implementation. Silvicultural prescriptions would describe the desired future condition; specify tree 

spacing, target residual density (RD), preferred species, canopy retention, post-harvest treatments and 

other key stand components. Final silvicultural prescriptions would be approved by a Region 6 certified 

silviculturist. 

VDT treatments would harvest conifers with diameters ranging approximately 7-24 inches and larger. 

Extracted commercial timber volume is estimated to range 8-20 thousand board feet (mbf) per acre and 

could potentially yield up to 53 million board feet for the entire project. 

b. Timber Felling – Laminated Root Rot Silvicultural Treatments 

Laminated root rot (Phellinus weirii) disease infection extensively decays roots of susceptible host trees 

and either causes windthrow or mortality by destroying the tree‟s ability to take up water and nutrients 

(Hadfield et al., 1986). Windthrow is more common with laminated root rot than other root pathogens. 

Tree species present in proposed treatment units are listed as follows in decreasing order of susceptibility: 

Douglas-fir and white fir> western hemlock > Port-Orford-cedar. All hardwoods are immune. Proposed 

treatment sites would occur outside of the Riparian Reserve since disease infection prefers a drier 

environment to subsist. These gaps would be openings of 1⁄4 acre in size up to 2 acres located in the upper 

portions of watersheds. These gaps would be 10% or less of the individual unit and would equal less than 

1% of the entire 5th field watersheds. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-12 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Laminated root rot is affecting forest health on portions of Eden Ridge Planning Area, particularly in the 

northern half in forest stands adjacent to FS roads 5000440, 5000440003, and 5000448. Treatments for 

non-commercial silvicultural treatments are the same as described for the commercial silvicultural 

treatments, including no-cut buffers. Irregular shaped openings 1⁄4 to 2 acres for tree yield (Matrix) 

reasons centered on root rot pockets may be created to treat portions of stands infected with laminated 

root rot. No more than fifteen percent of the acres within each unit would be treated. 

Gap Development Treatment 

Approximately 330 acres (.1%) of Gap Development Treatment would be treated out of the total project 

3,300 acres and is only within the Coal Creek 6th field watershed. These openings would not occur within 

the watersheds with the same year and would be planted with POC following the treatment. 

Treatments would fall all susceptible tree species within and along the perimeter of infection pockets 

while favoring resistant or immune species for leave trees. Gaps may be site prepared and planted 

afterwards with Port-Orford-cedar seedlings for stand health and enhance structural and species diversity 

within a stand. 

c. Timber Felling – Port Orford Cedar Root Disease (POC) Silvicultural Treatments 

Port Orford cedar root disease (Phytophthora lateralis) (PL) treatment consists of Wide Thin Gaps, 

roadside sanitation and tree planting resistant POC seedlings. Proposed activities would occur mostly in 

Riparian Reserves. 

Wide-Thin Gap Treatments (WTG) 

Fall all live POC within PL infection sites. Leave non-susceptible tree species on site. Thin out all live 

POC within 2 to 3 crown radii (50-100 feet) from last infected POC along the perimeter of infection sites 

to separate healthy POC from potential root contact with infected POC. Pile and burn all POC slash and 

follow-up underburn to potentially mitigate disease presence. Sites can be planted with non-susceptible 

tree seedlings. This treatment would likely be an understory treatment of infested POC seedlings, 

saplings and small poles and not result in creation of a gap in the overstory canopy. 

Roadside Sanitation 

The Roadside Sanitation is located on ridge top roads. Treatment would manage for non-susceptible tree 

species by removing all POC along road sides and high risk sites as follows: 

100-feet each side of roads at stream crossings. 

25 feet above roads and 50-feet below roads in areas with measurably contributing POC. 

Only one headwater perennial stream crossing is located in a proposed new classified road construction 

(road „W‟) for accessing unit 327, which is approximately 4 miles above the CCH habitat. All other 

treatments if near stream crossings are on ephemeral or intermittent streams. Approximately 104 acres 

(.031%) of Roadside Sanitation would be treated out of the total project 3,300 acres. 

Planting 

POC would be restored within its natural range by planting non-PL infested areas with resistant POC 

seedlings. Also, laminated root rot pockets would be planted with resistant POC seedlings after 

treatments as described in the section on laminated root rot. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-13 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

d. Timber Felling -- Non-Commercial Silvicultural Treatments for Instream Enhancement 

Removal or thinning of 150 non-commercial sized trees is proposed for 363 acres within the ER Planning 

Area. When occurring within Riparian Reserve, most of the trees would be directional felled toward the 

creek for future instream enhancement and left onsite. A few of the trees in Unit 345 or any other unit 

located near a road and outside of the Riparian Reserve may be removed via log truck and placed 

instream during a future instream enhancement project. 

The purpose of the non-commercial treatments is to improve the health and vigor of Riparian Reserves for 

future large wood instream recruitment within the South Fork Coquille 5th Field Watershed. The project 

acres with these stand conditions that would benefit from these treatments are located in Units 900, 901, 

902, 903, 904, 905, 906 and 345 (see EIS for detail). Portions of proposed units for non-commercial 

treatments have high height to diameter ratios on overstory trees and forest health issues with laminated 

root rot, shallow soils and potential wind throw. Approximately 50 trees per mile would be placed within 

approximately 3 miles of stream (150 trees total, approximately 22,650 cubic feet of wood). The 

proposed enhancement is located in resident fish habitat ranging from two miles to seven miles upstream 

of CCH. 

e. Timber Yarding 

As noted above, tractor, or ground-based systems, would be used on approximately 2,119 acres, or 64% 

of the treated area. Skyline systems would be used on approximately 1,190 acres, or 36% of the treated 

area. Helicopter systems are not proposed under this project but could be an option if economics were 

favorable. Some terrain would require partial suspension (or full suspension) systems on stands that had 

previously been cable logged without suspension in the past. 

Project Design Criteria for Timber Felling and Yarding 

Project Design Criteria for Riparian Reserves (PDCRR) (Park 2005) are used to prevent shade reduction 

in riparian areas. Density management thinning is designed to improve stand health with treatments 

and/or commercial extraction while allowing attainment of or restoration of Aquatic Conservation 

Strategy (ACS) objectives under the Northwest Forest Plan. Riparian buffers originally estimated were 

adjusted slightly wider for ephemeral and intermittent non-fish bearing streams with medium and heavy 

thin buffers, a change from 25 feet to 35 feet and 40 feet respectively, as suggested by NMFS in order to 

facilitate an expeditious consultation. NMFS suggested that the buffer change would reflect their concern 

for addressing activities in riparian areas in relation to riparian buffer adequacy and loss in the short-term 

of small wood contribution to streams. Their concern has been elevated to a Level 2 Interagency Science 

Team and is currently being addressed. 

Exposure to direct solar radiation, as described in the PDCRR will often cause a dramatic increase in 

stream temperatures. When shaded throughout the entire day, far less heat energy would be transferred to 

the stream. The ability of riparian vegetation to shade the stream depends on vegetation height, density, 

stream width and position relative to the stream. 

Thinning can affect stream temperature by removing shade trees. The amount of shade lost depends on 

stream width, tree height and stream orientation. The following figure display thinning effects similar to 

those proposed under this project, for one mile of stream. Most daily solar radiation occurs between 

10am and 2pm. Trees that provide stream shade during this time are considered “primary shade trees”. 

Primary shade trees would not be removed. Figure H-1 displays buffer width as a function of angular 

canopy density for mature trees. A mature tree is defined an individual tree that has reached most of its 

potential height growth. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-14 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

At a point the shade density increases very little as the sun‟s angle decreases or the sun gets lower in the 

sky. This is the secondary shade zone. The primary shade tree zone for mature trees varies from 50 to 60 

feet in width. Very little additional shade is gained when the sun is low enough to intercept the secondary 

shade trees. Therefore, in dense stands such as the plantations proposed for treatment, trees outside the 

“primary shade zone” can be thinned with a neutral effect on stream shade. 

Figure H-1 Buffer Widths and Angular Canopy Density

Riparian Reserve treatments and project design elements fall into three categories; fish-bearing 

perennial streams, non-fish-bearing perennial streams, and intermittent and ephemeral streams

(see next sections). 

General Design Criteria for Riparian Reserves

No density management treatment would reduce the existing overstory canopy within 

Riparian Reserve to less than 50% (on average at the stand level). 

No commercial extraction of trees would occur within 25 ft. of stream course.

To reduce the risk of sediment delivery, soil compaction or the loss of soil infiltration capacity in 

the riparian area to the streams, yarding activities, within 100 feet of stream courses, pre and 

post activity would not result in a loss of more than 10% of the soil infiltration capacity 

which reduces concerns for sediment reaching the stream. This activity would include 

existing skid trails, which could be re-utilized as necessary and then be deep ripped (as feasible) 

to re-establish soil infiltration capacity. 

Yarding activities should achieve full suspension over the active channel2. To facilitate log 

suspension with skyline operations, corridors for cable rigging would be allowed to pass through 

Riparian Reserves. A maximum clearing width of 12 ft. is required and logs may be yarded 

through this corridor if necessary. Corridors must be spaced at a minimum of 200 feet apart if 

they pass through Riparian Reserves. Corridor “rub trees” within the Riparian Reserve, even if 

damaged, would either be left standing or felled and left in place. 

Design Criteria for Perennial Streams

This includes permanently flowing perennial fish-bearing and nonfish-bearing streams. The primary 

concern regarding yarding Riparian Reserves with fish bearing streams is prevention of sediment delivery 

to streams, prevention of concentrated overland flow, wood recruitment, and maintenance of stream 

temperatures. 

 

2

 Active channel is the bank full width of flowing perennial or intermittent streams. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-15 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Project design features would follow direction provided in NWFP Temperature TMDL Implementation 

Strategies 20053. This involves protection, maintenance and enhancement of existing stream shade, and 

maintenance of the existing micro-climate, ambient air temperature, and air movement. 

The primary difference between fish-bearing and nonfish-bearing stream is the width of the entire 

Riparian Reserve (which is differentiated by fish-bearing status) as shown below: 

Fish-bearing Riparian Reserve widths are two site potential tree heights each side of stream 

course (175 ft. X 2 = 350 ft. each side; total width 700 ft). 

Nonfish-bearing Riparian Reserve widths are one site potential tree height each side of 

stream course (175 ft. each side; total width 350 ft.). 

The Stream Channel Protection Zone is from the edge of stream course up to 25 feet. No commercial 

extraction) would occur within 25 ft. of the active stream channel.

The Primary Shade Zone is an area where canopy retention standards to meet TMDL Implementation 

Strategies, however some density management, fuels reduction or other enhancement treatments could 

occur. The Primary Shade Zone is an area where no commercial extraction would occur (larger trees 

felled for skyline corridor clearing would be left), however some density management or other 

enhancement treatments could occur. Distance from active stream channel varies according to height of 

existing overstory trees and hill slope in immediate area. The following table establishes the width of the 

Primary Shade Zone. 

Table H-5. Primary Shade Zone Width, Based on Adjacent Hill Slope within Perennial Streams 

Hill Slope

<30%

Hill Slope

30% to 60%

Hill Slope 

>60%

Primary Shade Zone 

Width (slope distance)

50 ft. 55 ft. 60 ft.

The Temperature Implementation Strategies allow the distances in the above table to be less (but not less 

than 25 ft.) if the trees are located on a south facing slope (175-185 degree azimuth) and therefore do not 

provide stream shade. Note: no large wood, old residual trees (old growth; trees>80 years old), with a 

potential for instream recruitment would be cut). 

 

3

 Northwest Forest Plan Temperature TMDL Implementation strategies - Evaluation of the Northwest Forest Plan Aquatic 

Conservation Strategy and Associated Tools to achieve and maintain stream temperature water quality standards. USFS and 

BLM; latest version September 9, 2005. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-16 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Figure H-2. Riparian Reserve Design Elements – Perennial Fish & Non-Fish Bearing Streams 

Design Criteria for Non Fish-bearing Intermittent and Ephemeral Streams

Seasonally flowing intermittent and ephemeral non-fish-bearing streams have buffers established for the 

prevention of sediment delivery to streams, prevention of concentrated overland flow, and maintenance of 

micro-climates, ambient air temperature and humidity. There are no fish-bearing ephemeral and 

intermittent stream channels. 

The primary difference between perennial and intermittent/ephemeral stream are the buffers for no-cut, 

and density management and commercial extraction. The intermittent/ephemeral Riparian Reserves and 

non-fish bearing Riparian Reserves are the same, one site potential tree heights on each side of stream 

course (175 feet on each side; total is 350 feet); see Table 4. 

Figure H-3. Riparian Reserve Design Elements – Ephemeral and Intermittent Stream Channels 

Total Riparian 

Reserve Width 

Riparian 

Treatment 

Zone

One Site 

Potential

Tree Height

One Site 

Potential

Tree Height

Riparian 

Treatment 

Zone

Stream Channel Protection Zone 

(50-60 feet:

includes 25 Foot No Cut Buffer) 

Riparian 

Treatment 

Zone

Two Site Potential Tree Heights

(Fish bearing) 

One Site Potential Tree Height

(Non-fish Bearing)

Riparian 

Treatment 

Zone

Total Riparian 

Reserve Width 

Stream Channel Protection Zone

(25-40 feet; includes No-Cut 

Buffer 25 feet)
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-17 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

2. Timber Hauling 

The only haul route segment adjacent to EFH with a gravel-surface is the remaining 200 feet of road 

NFSL 5000 with a 12 percent slope, which parallels Coal Creek. This section of road is crowned, has two 

ditch relief culverts which drains into an 80 feet vegetated buffer. The remaining road segment of haul 

route coming from the gravel-surface road is a 50 feet asphalt-surfaced segment, which drains around a 

corner into a well vegetative buffer before reaching the stream. The haul routes from the units are gravel 

surfaced roads down to the paved NFSL Road 3300 adjacent the South Fork Coquille River. Table H-6 

displays the amount of haul occurring over perennial stream crossings within the most impact being in the 

Coal Creek 6th Field. At the junction of the NFSL Road 5000 and NFSL Road 200, the entire haul merges 

into the NFSL Road 5000 for approximately one mile. The timber haul would average about 14 

truckloads daily from this location down the 5000 Road. 

Table H-6. Summary of Perennial Stream Crossings That Would Occur during Haul 

Watershed Number of Perennial 

Stream Crossings

South Fork Coquille 5th Field ,Headwater South Fork 6

th Field watershed 3

South Fork Coquille 5th Field, Coal Creek 6th Field watershed 22

South Fork Coquille 5th Field, Mill Creek 6th Field watershed 4

TOTAL 29

Design Criteria for Haul 

OPERATIONS WITHIN THE NORMAL OPERATING SEASON (June 1 to Oct 31st). Project design 

features would be implemented to make it unlikely that sediment would reach stream channels. 

Road crown would be maintained. 

Operations shall cease at any time when the travel way of the road is wet and turbid water or fines 

are observed moving off the road surface to ditch lines that deliver to EFH or any stream type. 

If fine sediment is observed to be moving off the road surface to ditch lines or streams due to timber 

sale activities, the Forest Service is responsible to have the Timber Sale Purchaser place sediment 

filters to prevent this sediment from reaching any stream. 

IF OPERATIONS OUTSIDE THE NORMAL OPERATING SEASON: November 1 through May 31st

are allowed, the following rules must be applied to timber haul on gravel roads adjacent EFH or any 

stream type stream channels:

Operations shall cease at any time when the travel way of the road is wet and turbid water or fines 

are observed moving off the road surface to ditch lines that deliver to EFH or any stream type. 

If fine sediment is observed to be moving off the road surface to ditch lines or streams due to 

timber sale activities, the Forest Service is responsible to have the Timber Sale Purchaser place 

sediment filters to prevent this sediment from reaching any stream. 

Road Rutting: No hauling down the gravel road surface if rutting is occurring, indicating the 

subsurface is wet. 

Wet weather conditions must be monitored daily by the Forest Service for the chance of 

precipitation, especially 1 inch of rain in 24 hours. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-18 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

3. Fuels Treatment 

Activity fuels treatment refers to the slash and accumulated fuel resulting from the proposed density 

management treatments. While there may be some slash from previous harvesting or from natural 

conditions, the majority of material would be generated through density management treatment and 

commercial removal. Activity fuels treatments proposed for this project include only those that are 

predicted to be necessary to obtain a resultant and acceptable fuels/fire risk. Several methods of activity 

fuels treatment are being proposed, and include the following: burning tree tops that were yarded to 

landing site, burning materials accumulated by harvest activity that is piled (by hand or mechanical 

equipment), or under burning. 

Design Criteria for Fuels Treatment in Riparian Reserves 

The Stream Channel Protection Zone cited in the PDCRR is from the edge of the stream course 

up to 25 feet. No vegetation management would occur within 25 feet of the active stream 

channel. 

No hand piles would be located or burned within the channel. 

Prescribed fire would not be ignited within this zone but fire may be allowed to “back down” to 

the stream channel. Specially designed criteria for prescribed burning within Riparian Reserves 

are show in Figure H-4. 

Figure H-4. Riparian Reserve Design Elements - Prescribed Under Burning 

Stream

Edge of channel 25’

10 ’

Back burn down

Ignition

The Burn Boss can adjust the 

100’ ignition distance as needed 

to meet burn objectives and 

protect the ground vegetation 

within the 25’ zone

Infiltrated water from 

precipitation

Reason for protection of the 25’ zone: 

Increased water pressure from groundwater 

and the rise and fall of the stream’s water 

can make this area more sensitive to slope 

failure

Maintain most of the ground

vegetation

Riparian Reserve Width

 Maintain overstory trees

Prescribed Burn in Riparian Reserves

 Project Design Criteria 

Reducing high fuel Loading 

Pump chances

- 

 -

Use mechanical treatment and pile burning as 

needed prior to under burning to protect the overstory trees. Pile and burning should 

be no closer to the stream than 25’ to maintain ground vegetation. 

 Fire, engineering and aquatic resource personnel will work together 

to determine suitable pump chances and the measures needed for the protection of 

aquatic resources. Refuel 100’ feet from a stream or use measures to assure fuel 

does not reach flowing water. Water withdrawal equipment must have a 3/32 intake 

screen in order to avoid fish entrapment.

Roque River Siskiyou N.F

 August 2008

4. Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Road Decommissioning, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction, and New Road Construction 

The Eden Ridge Planning Area currently has a minimal existing road network, because it has not been 

vegetatively managed for many decades, and when the logging that created the candidate stands of today 

were created, most of the area was logged by railroad systems. Most of the existing roads evolved from 

these early railroad grades but do not adequately serve the Planning Area for today‟s needs and systems. 

The current existing road system within Eden Ridge, overall, is currently managed and maintained. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-19 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Refer to EIS Chapter II for the general locations of road use, proposed reconstruction/road 

decommissioning, road reconstruction and maintenance needs associated with the 6th field watersheds. 

There would be 23 Intermittent/Ephemeral Non Fish bearing crossings built and 12 perennial crossings in 

the 3.19 miles of road activities that would occur in Riparian Reserve. 

Table H-7. Summary of All Road Activity in Riparian Reserves 

Road System –

By Road Type

Road Number or 

Unit

Number of 

Intermittent/Ephemeral 

Non-fish Bearing

Road Crossings

Number of 

Perennial Road 

Crossings

Total

Road Segments 

Miles

Distance 

from 

CCH/EFH

Temporary Road (Access) Construction – New Roads to be Built in Riparian, No Existing Template. Decommission 

Afterwards

Q4 1 1 0.21 9.3/2.3

R 0 0 0.03 9.4/2.4

Total Crossings/Miles 1 1 0.25 Total Miles

Road Reconstruction

5000299 0 1 0.57 11.7/4.7

5000442 1 0 0.25 11.0/4.0

5000442.1 1 0 0.07 11.0/4/0

5000443 2 0 0.28 11.7/4.7

5000446 1 0 0.09 11.8/4.8

5000451 2 0 0.11 4.2/5.2

Total Crossings/Miles 7 1 1.36 Total Miles

New Permanent Road Construction

B 2 0 0.16 8.8/8.8

F 1 0 0.17 11.7/11.7

J 0 1 0.05 23.6/4.6

O4 4 0 0.10 14.5/7.5

S1 0 1 0.06 9.8/2.8

S3 0 1 0.06 9.7/2.7

S5 0 1 0.05 10.3/3.3

S6 1 0 0.06 10.3/3.3

S7 0 2 0.11 11.0/4.0

S8 1 0 0.04 10.3/3.3

S9 3 0 0.05 12.0/5.0

T 1 0 0.10 17.5/10.5

U 0 1 0.12 14.5/7.5

W 1 3 0.33 15.4/8.4

Z 1 0 0.13 15.6/8.6

Total 

Crossings/Miles 15 10 1.58 Total Miles

Grand Total – Proposed Crossings

and Miles of Roads to be Built in 

Riparian Reserves

Intermittent/Ephemeral

Crossings

23

Perennial Road 

Crossings

12

Total Miles

3.19
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-20 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

a. Road Maintenance 

This activity includes several routine related activities which maintain drainage, cuts and fills and 

surfacing of the road prism to accommodate light and commercial road traffic; while maintaining the 

integrity of the road facility and minimizing effects to natural resources adjacent to the road. Much of 

this work is done with a motor grader, dump trucks and backhoe and includes travel way surface 

maintenance, drainage ditch maintenance, culvert cleaning, surface rock replacement, shaping of the 

roadway and ditches by blading, removal of slough materials, compacting and other mechanized and hand 

work. 

It is estimated that road maintenance would be needed on the road system utilized for this project, over at 

least ten years. The FS Road 290 that access some of the timber sales is gated to prevent public access 

during periods when POC disease could spread. 

b. Temporary Road (Access) Construction & Decommissioning 

Approximately 0.29 miles of new temporary road is proposed, in two segments, not longer than 0.25 

miles in length (Table H-8). Temporary roads include those roads needed only for the purchaser‟s use, 

such as roads used to haul timber from landings to permanent National Forest System roads. The Eden 

Ridge Timber Sales Project may need other new temporary road construction for candidate stand access if 

it minimizes resource damage. These roads would be built and removed by the operator as part of the 

Forest Service timber sale or stewardship contract. 

Table H-8. Proposed Temporary Road (Access) Construction & Decommissioning 

Road 

Segment 

Reference

Length 

(miles) Notes

Distance to Coho 

Critical Habitat

(Stream 

Miles)/EFH

Q4 0.25 No template, crosses a intermittent 

channel

9.3/2.3

R 0.03 Short spur; joins with existing road 9.4/2.4

TOTAL 0.29

c. Road Reconstruction 

Reconstruction involves maintenance and improvements to existing road or railroad template, to make 

them suitable for logging equipment and harvest treatment access. Reconstruction involves restoring a 

road to operational condition. 

Road repairs could have one or more of the following work items: removing fallen trees, cleaning out 

culvert inlets, removing and disposing of small cut slope slides, falling danger trees, replacing minor 

amounts of road surfacing, replacing, adding additonal drainage structures, etc. Treatments could include 

grading, clearing, restoring road width loss, or stabilizing a cut or fill (embankment) slope that was lost 

due to storm damage, by placing riprap materials (large boulders) against existing slopes, and may 

include widening and surface rock replacement. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-21 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table H-9. Road Reconstruction in Relation to CCH/EFH 

Road Numbers Distance to 

CCH/EFH (miles)

5000291 8.9/1.9

5000298 10.0/3.0

5000299 26.8/19.8

5000299.1 9.9/2.9

5000442 18.5/11.5

5000442.1 11.4/4.4

5000443 11.8/4.8

5000446 23.8/4.8

5000447 4.6/4.6

5000448.1 10.7/3.7

5000451 4.2/4.2

d. Landing Construction/Reconstruction 

Some of the areas associated with the candidate stands have an existing network of roads and landings 

from previous harvests. However, there would also be a need for some additional areas created for log 

landings. These would primarily occur in areas where no landing currently exist or where a change in 

logging systems (e.g., where skyline logging is now prescribed in areas previously railroad logged). Two 

existing landings are known to exist in the Riparian Reserve and outside of the primary shade zone. 

Site L-13 is an existing landing with a primary road located within it. It is situated where 90% of the 

landing is upslope of the road and 10% of the landing is downslope of the road, approximately 100 feet 

above the stream channel above the break in slope. The 10% section of the landing is where the yarder 

would be located and in a well vegetated site. 

Site L-14 is a new landing and is located adjacent to the main haul route road and would be situated 

completely above the road. The road is located approximately 80 to 100 feet above the stream channel. 

The riparian zone buffer consists of large trees and a brush and forbs well vegetative component. The 

yarder would be stored away from the stream on the upslope side of the road. 

Design Criteria for Landings in Riparian Reserve 

All landings, designated skid trails, staging or decking within Riparian Reserves would: 

Be of minimum size as possible to only allow operations; 

Be located above the break in slope above the stream channel; 

Landing slopes would be armored with logs or other woody material capable of protecting the 

slope surface; 

Landing surfaces would drain away from the stream channel during use, and, would be 

revegetated/mulched after use; and 

Landing site restoration would consist of : 

-Loose soil material on the downslope side would be pulled back. 

-Placement of slash on bare soils located on the downhill slope. 

All new landings will be at least 100 feet away from stream channels. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-22 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Landing site restoration would consist of: 

o Placement of slash on bare soils located on the downhill slope. 

o Loose material on the downslope side would be pulled back. 

o Be of minimum size as possible to only allow operations; 

o Be located above the break in slope above the stream channel; 

o Have a well vegetated strip between the work site and the stream channel, which is a 

minimum or greater of the no-cut buffers; 

Table H-10. Landings in Riparian Reserves 

Landing in Riparian

Distance to Coho 

Habitat/EFH Existing or New

Perennial or Intermittent

L-13 9.0/2.0 Existing Perennial, non-Fish Bearing

L-14 (unit 309) 9.4/2.4 New Perennial, Fish Bearing (non CCH)

e. New Road Construction 

In order to adequately and efficiently access the Planning Area for today‟s management systems, there is 

a need for additional classified roads. Given the current situation, these new access roads could not be 

developed without the need to cross some drainages designated as Riparian Reserve. A total of 

approximately 11.1 miles of new road construction is proposed. Of the 11.1 miles of road, 0.3 miles 

would be temporarily contructed, used then decommssioned. The remaining new road construction 

would include approximately 10.8 miles, in 43 segments, ranging from 0.11 miles to 1.93 miles. Most of 

the new roads would be managed as Maintenance Level 1 (closed until further need). New permanent 

roads in Riparian Reserve total 1.58 miles. 

All proposed new system roads would be rocked as needed to minimize erosion and allow for extended 

use during wet conditions. All new roads (including those crossing Riparian Reserve) would be 

engineered and designed to minimize environmental impacts. Designed roads constructed on NFSL 

would be accomplished to standards appropriate for the intended uses; considering safety, cost of 

transportation, and impacts on lands and resources. Designed roads would be constructed as stable and 

durable structures to facilitate maintenance during and after use and monitored every five years. 

This design would include necessary drainage facilities, adequate erosion control, closure devices, and 

resource protection devices. Closure of all new construction of system roads would typically be 

accomplished via a road entrance closure of native materials (logs, earth, boulders) after timber sale 

activites had occurred, placing them into Maintenance Level 1 Status. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-23 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table H-11. Proposed New Road Construction, Location and Distance to CCH 

Road 

Segment 

Reference

Road Length

(Contiguous -

miles)

Notes

Distance to Coho 

Critical 

Habitat/EFH

(Stream Miles)

A 0.23 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade 4.3/4.3

B 0.74 Crosses some riparian; some grade up to 10% 9.1/9.1

C 0.03 Begins on PVT; ties to road M for FS access 24.3/5.3

D 0.60 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade 28.5/9.5

E1 0.34 Ridgetop road, skyline and GB access, no grade 24.0/5.0

E2 0.22 Ridgetop road, skyline and GB access, no grade 24.05.0

E3 0.20 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade 24.05.0

F 0.39 Crosses riparian, minimal grade 7.9/7.9

G 0.15 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade 3.7/3.7

H 0.21 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade 3.33.3

I 0.09 Ties to existing route planned for reconstruction 23.9/4.9

J 0.08 Crosses riparian; provides GB access 23.8/4.8

K 0.36 Begins on PVT; for FS skyline access 23.3/4.3

L 0.01 Begins on PVT; for FS skyline access 23.5/4.5

M 0.81 Ties to road C for FS access, minimal grade 28.1/9.1

N 0.04 Begins on PVT for FS access 23.1/3.1

O1 0.28 First segment for skyline access; minimal grade 23.6/4.6

O2 0.23 Second segment for skyline access; minimal grade 23.5/4.5

O3 0.24 Third segment for skyline access; minimal grade 23.4/4.4

O4 0.18 Additional segment for skyline access; minimal grade 23.2/4.2

P1 0.06 Begins on PVT, ties to P2 for FS access 8.9/1.9

P2 0.08 Ties to P1 for FS access 9.0/2.0

P3 0.13 Ridgetop skyline access 9.3/2.3

P4 0.11 Ridgetop skyline access 9.4/2.4

Q1 0.11 Begins on PVT; ties to roads Q2 & Q3 for FS access 9.1/2.1

Q2 0.05 Second segment for GB access 9.1/2.1

Q3 0.10 Second segment for GB access 9.1/2.1

S1 0.09 Joins existing road with existing road planned for reconstruction 10.0/3.0

S2 0.12 Joins existing road with existing road planned for reconstruction 9.9/2.9

S3 0.06 Construction of old railroad grade trestle to classified road 10.0/3.0

S4 0.15 Additional segment for GB access 9.9/2.9

S5 0.05 Construction of old railroad grade trestle to classified road 10.0/2.0

S6 0.24 Additional segment for GB & skyline access 11.9/4.9

S7 0.11 Construction of old railroad grade trestle to classified road 10.2/3.2

S8 0.04 Construction of old railroad grade trestle to classified road 10.4/3.4

S9 0.06 Construction of old railroad grade trestle to classified road 10.8/3.8

T 1.93 Crosses some riparian; some grade up to 10% 13.0/6.0

U 0.38 Crosses some riparian; minimal grades 14.6/7.6

V 0.14 Ridgetop road, skyline & GB access, no grade 11.3/4.3

W 0.61 Crosses some riparian; minimal grades 12.0/5.0

X 0.22 GB access; minimal grade 11.6/4.6

Y 0.18 GB access; minimal grade 12.0/5.0

Z 0.35 Crosses some riparian; some grade up to 10% 11.9/4.9

TOTAL 10.81
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-24 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Design Criteria for Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Reconstruction, Road 

Decommissioning, and Landing Construction 

General Design Criteria

Minimize hydrologic connectivity and sediment delivery from roads. This includes roads inside 

and outside of Riparian Reserves. Road drainage will be routed away from potentially unstable 

channels, fills, and hillslopes. 

All exposed soils near streams will be mulched for erosion control measures. 

No side-casting (placement of unconsolidated earthen waste materials resulting from road 

construction or maintenance) in Riparian Reserves 

Minimize or avoid disruption of natural hydrologic flow paths, including diversion of streamflow 

and interception of surface and subsurface flow when considering constructing or reconstructing 

roads or landings either inside or outside of Riparian Reserves. 

New or replaced permanent stream crossings would be designed to accommodate at least the 100-

year flood, including associated bedload and debris. 

Where physically feasible, construction or reconstruction of stream crossings would avoid 

diversion of streamflow out of the channel and down the road 

All designated skid trails, staging or decking within Riparian Reserves would: 

o Be of minimum size as possible to only allow operations; 

o Be located above the break in slope above the stream channel; 

o Have a well vegetated strip between the work site and the stream channel, which is 

minimum or greater of the no-cut buffers; 

Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning Design Criteria

Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning would be managed in accordance with water quality 

Best Management Practices4(BMPs) R-23. In order to prevent continued low level casual use, and to 

minimize resource impacts, such roads would be obliterated at the completion of their intended use. 

Effective obliteration is generally achieved through a combination of the following measures: 

o Temporary culverts are removed and natural drainage configuration is re-established; 

o Road surfaces are ripped; 

o Sideslopes are reshaped and stabilized; road is effectively drained; and 

o Road is blocked to further use, and road is returned to vegetation production through revegetation 

(seeding, planting browse species, or hardwood/conifer trees). 

o Temporary roads built would be closed after the season of use of if kept open over winter would 

be winterized. Drainage work to winterize temporary roads would include water bars at suitable 

intervals and out sloping. 

New Road Construction Project Design Criteria

Some of the new classified roads would cross Riparian Reserves under specially designed Project Design 

Criteria for Riparian Reserves (see below). 

No new road construction is proposed nor would be allowed to cross or disturb any fish 

bearing perennial stream, especially the banks of fish bearing portions/tributaries of Coal Creek 

and Wooden Rock Creek. 

 

4

General Water Quality Best Management Practices, Pacific Northwest Region, November 1988. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-25 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

New classified road construction would only be allowed to cross non fish bearing perennial 

streams or intermittent streams and would include engineering design as Operational 

Maintenance Level 2 roads during use and Maintenance Level 1 (Table 11) when not in use for 

harvest activities. 

Perennial channels will be dewatered or water will be rerouted during construction with 

manufactured or natural sediment filters will be placed within the channel to prevent sediment 

from discharging downstream. 

New permanent stream crossings would be designed to accommodate at least the 100-year flood, 

including associated bedload and debris. 

Relief ditch spacing would get spaced and the road sloped such that water does not channelize 

when leaving the relief culvert. 

Roads would be designed to minimize hydrologic connectivity and sediment delivery. This 

includes roads inside and outside of Riparian Reserves. Road drainage would be routed away 

from potentially unstable channels, fills, and hillslopes. 

No side-casting (placement of unconsolidated earthen waste materials resulting from road 

construction or maintenance) in Riparian Reserves 

Minimize or avoid disruption of natural hydrologic flow paths, including diversion of streamflow 

and interception of surface and subsurface flow when considering constructing or reconstructing 

roads or landings either inside or outside of Riparian Reserves. 

Where physically feasible, construction of stream crossings would avoid diversion of streamflow 

out of the channel and down the road. 

5. Other Enhancement Activities 

a. Snag/Down Wood Creation 

In areas where past management has resulted in a lack of large snags needed for cavity nesting species, 

snags may be created from live trees left in stands. Creation can be through girdling, topping the trees 

with chain saws, blasting, inoculation with heart rot fungi, or deliberate injury. These methods would 

open the trunk to development of a hollow core used by woodpeckers and a variety of other birds, 

mammals, and other wildlife. Whenever possible, creation of snags over 14” DBH should be part of each 

prescription through top removal or girdling. Evaluations would occur after density management 

treatments to assess potential needs for snag/down wood creation. In areas lacking adequate amounts of 

down woody material (include snags in calculations), green trees may be felled. 

b. Riparian Snags 

Snags and down large coarse wood would be retained to support forest function. This project is planned 

for down logs to be retained and are considered excess only when all site considerations have met and in 

accordance with Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines. 

Large woody material (LWM) fulfills a number of important ecological functions such as stabilizing 

surface soils, increasing organic content in soils over the long-term, providing habitat for the many 

organisms that depend on snags and down logs in various stages of decay, and ensuring adequate large 

woody material recruitment to meet the ecological needs of aquatic systems over time. 

Within Riparian Reserve, prescriptions would account for future large woody material recruitment. If 

residual trees are felled (e.g., human safety or skyline corridors), provisions for replacement trees would 

be made during operations. Whenever possible, creation of snags over 20” DBH within riparian areas of 

each treatment unit should be part of each prescription through top removal, inoculation or girdling. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-26 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Throughout the Riparian Reserves, snags 10 inches diameter or greater are not considered a fuel or safety 

hazard. Site specific treatments such as hand piling would depend on specific fuel loading and wildlife 

recommendations. 

There would be long term biological diversity beneficial effects from accelerating the development of 

late-successional conditions within Riparian Reserves to enhance the recovery of the northern spotted owl 

and marbled murrelet, improving stand conditions to reduce the likelihood of future stand replacement 

fires, restoring species diversity, adding snags and down wood, and reducing the effects of fragmentation 

in the long term. 

Snag/Down Wood Creation Design Criteria 

In areas where past management has resulted in a lack of large snags needed for cavity nesting species, 

snags would be created from live trees left in stands. Whenever possible, creation of 2 or more snags 

over 20” dbh within each treated acre should be part of each silvicultural prescription. Creation can be 

through girdling, topping the trees with chain saws, blasting, inoculation with heart rot fungi, or deliberate 

injury. These methods would open the trunk to development of a hollow core used by woodpeckers and a 

variety of other birds, mammals, and other wildlife. 

Evaluations would occur after density management treatments to assess potential needs for snag/down 

wood creation. In areas lacking adequate amounts of down woody material (include snags in 

calculations), green trees may be felled. Any leave trees damaged during harvest operations would be left 

standing or felled for safety, but left on site. The intent is to provide future snags or trees with cavities or 

deformities utilized by wildlife. 

c. Stream Enhancement 

The Eden Ridge Project proposes to place 150 large trees in stream channels and adjacent floodplains to 

increase channel stability, rearing habitat, pool formation, spawning gravel deposition, channel 

complexity, hiding cover, low velocity areas, and floodplain function. Live and dead trees may be 

removed from riparian areas to provide wood for enhancement projects, under special conditions 

described in the Design Criteria. This action would involve the use of log trucks and dump trucks for 

transport and excavator-type machinery, spyders, cable yarders, draft horses, or helicopters for placement. 

Plans and designs would be consistent with Forest Plan direction, K-V opportunities, and watershed 

restoration plans (e.g., USDA FS 2006). Approximately 1 Mile of upper Coal Creek tributaries within 

Units 905 and 906 would have trees felled toward the channel and approximately 1 mile of Wooden Rock 

would have stream enhancement. Approximately 50 trees per mile would be placed within approximately 

3 miles of stream (150 trees total, 22,650 cubic feet). The proposed enhancement is located in resident 

fish habitat ranging from 10 miles to 27 miles upstream of CCH and 3 to 8 miles for EFH. 

Stream Enhancement Design Criteria 

 Place LW and boulders only in those areas where they would naturally occur and in patterns that 

closely mimic that which would naturally occur for that particular stream type. 

 LW includes whole conifer and hardwood trees, logs, and root wads. LW size (diameter and 

length) should account for bankfull width and stream discharge rates. When available, trees with 

rootwads should be a minimum of 1.5 x bankfull channel width, while logs without root wads 

should be a minimum of two times the bankfull width. Place wood in a manner that most closely 

mimics natural accumulations of LW for that particular stream type. Structures may partially or 

completely span stream channels or be positioned along streambanks. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-27 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

 No conifers should be felled in the riparian area for in-channel large wood placement unless 

conifers are fully stocked and are consistent with project design criteria in vegetation treatment 

categories. Felled hazard trees can be used for in-channel wood placement. 

 LW may be buried into the streambank or channel but shall not constitute the dominant 

placement method of LW. 

 Tree Removal for LW Projects: 

o Trees may be removed by cable, ground based equipment, horses or helicopters, or felled 

directly into the stream. Felled trees may be stock-piled for later instream enhancement 

projects. 

o Individual trees or small groups of trees (<5) should come from the periphery of 

permanent openings (roads etc) or from the periphery of non-permanent openings (e.g.

plantations, along recent clear-cuts, etc.). 

o Trees selected for LW enhancement projects must be spaced at least one site potential 

tree height apart and at least one crown width from any trees with potential nesting 

structure for ESA-listed bird species. 

 Instream work would occur during the ODFW instream work period. 

d. Native Grass/Forb Seeding 

Exposed mineral soil (landings and temporary roads) may be seeded with native grass seed to restore and 

improve forage for wildlife that benefit from grasses and forbs; e.g., deer, elk, mice, rabbits and their 

predators. Seeding may also reduce the opportunity for non-native plants (including noxious weeds) to 

invade disturbed sites and reduce erosion. 

e. Invasive Plant Treatments 

Monitor and treat invasive plants within project area boundaries to reduce/eliminate current populations 

and reduce the future spread of non-native vegetation. Treatment would be completed in disturbed areas 

within the watersheds by hand pulling only. 

V. EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVES

A. Effects of the No Action Alternative (Alternative 1) 

With this alternative, no activities would occur; there would be no direct (or indirect) effects from this 

alternative. The consequences of this alternative would be that riparian stands would continue to have 

natural suppression occurring, and younger non-dominant trees would continue to die off. The stands 

would continue on the same trajectory of attaining late-successional habitat characteristics of large 

diameter trees, multi-storied canopy, and a diverse species component, but it could take several hundred 

years for this to occur through the natural process of stand development. 

B. Effects of the Proposed Action (Alternative 2) 

The overall effects of Alternative 2 have been analyzed for ESA listed coho salmon and its critical habitat 

and coho and Chinook essential fish habitat in the 2011 Eden Ridge Timber Sales Biological Assessment. 

The effects for listed aquatic species and their habitat are similar to the effects for OC steelhead since 

they occupy similar habitat. The effects analysis from the biological assessment is summarized in this 

section; refer to the August 2011 ER Thin Fish BA for a complete analysis. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-28 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

As stated earlier, the proposed activities under the ER Timber Sales were split into five project elements: 

1) Timber Felling and Yarding, 2) Timber Hauling, 3) Fuels Treatment, 4) Road Maintenance, Temporary 

Road Construction and Decommission, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction and 

New Road Construction, and 5) Other Enhancement Activities. Below is a table which displays 

proximity of project activities in relation to EFH. 

Table H-12. Proximity of Project Elements to EFH within Coal Creek 6th Field Watershed 

Project Elements (PE) Distance to EFH*

Timber Felling and Yarding 1.8 miles > 10.5 miles 

Timber Hauling (Gravel Roads) *50 feet to100 feet > 

10.5miles

Fuels Treatment 1.8 miles > 10.5 miles

Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommission, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction and New Road 

Construction

1.8 miles > 10.5 miles

Other Enhancement Activities 1.8 miles > 10.5 miles

*OC Steelhead habitat is one mile above EFH. 

**This section of road is about 200 feet long and immediately leaves the EFH and travels up the ridge where 

it normally is about 1.8 mile > 10.5 miles above EFH. 

The effects analysis from the Biological Assessment analyzed Alternative 2 and are summarized in this 

section; refer to the August 2011 ER Timber Sales Fish BA for the complete analysis. Effect analysis for 

the other Action Alternatives is contained below. 

Direct Effects 

The Proposed Action for Eden Ridge Timber Sales has only stream enhancement activities occurring 

directly within the stream channels that contain fish or fish habitat. The direct effects from the Proposed 

Action are expected to be on resident fish only (non-Endangered, Threatened, Proposed or Sensitive fish 

species). Therefore, there would be no impact to any Endangered, Threatened, Proposed or Sensitive fish 

species. 

Indirect Effects 

The Proposed Action for Eden Ridge Timber Sales would be removing some trees within the Riparian 

Reserve. In the Project Area only Unit 309 is adjacent a fish bearing perennial stream channel in the Coal 

Creek Drainage. The harvesting that is occurring within the Riparian Reserve would be providing a 25-

foot Stream Channel Protection Zone and an additional 30-40 foot Primary Shade Zone for the Perennial 

Stream Channel. These zones would not allow any removal of vegetation for timber harvest. There is a 

small chance that during project implementation that a few trees may be felled within these two zones, 

however the project is designed to not allow tree removal within these two zones. With the possibility 

that a few trees are removed from the Primary Shade Zone or the Stream Channel Protection Zone, it is 

unlikely to affect water temperatures in stream reaches. Much of the streams in the project area are small 

systems that are heavily vegetated, and have a large groundwater influence on water temperature. 

All the other units are upstream of the fish bearing perennial stream or they are located on non fish 

bearing ephemeral or intermittent stream channels. The harvesting that is occurring within the Riparian 

Reserve would be at least providing a 25-foot Stream Channel Protection Zone for all channels, and an 

additional 30-40 foot Primary Shade Zone for Perennial Stream Channels. These zones would not allow 

any removal of vegetation for timber harvest. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-29 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The harvesting of timber within Riparian Reserves is designed to promote growth of larger trees as well 

as allow the growth of understory species to provide for diverse, healthy, riparian vegetation. By 

allowing other species to come in under the current Douglas-fir dominated stand, the project would put 

these stands on a trajectory of attaining late-successional characteristics sooner within the Riparian 

Reserve. 

The Stream Channel Protection Zone (25 foot no cut buffer on either side of the channel) is a buffer 

designed to protect the actual riparian area that occur along stream channels. This buffer width provides 

protection from ground based activities and harvesting of vegetation. These buffers would protect all 

species that utilize the riparian areas within the project. This area of protection would ensure that water 

temperatures in these areas would not be affected, and that there would be a source of small woody 

material for aquatic species that depend upon the riparian areas, along with ensuring that groundwater 

flow would continue to maintain the riparian zones at the project scale. 

The proposed timber harvest would not impact shade producing trees, nor would it be impacting future 

large wood recruitment to fish habitat. The stream channels within the Project Area are on average 3 feet 

wide for ephemeral and intermittent channels and 8-feet wide for perennial stream channels. If any of the 

trees cut by thinning harvest were to fall into a channel, they are 10 times greater in length than the 

streams are wide, and would not move with the flows typically occurring in these channels. Much of 

these pieces of LWD would not have naturally made it downstream to stream reaches where fish are 

present. 

There is a causal mechanism for Timber Hauling and Road Maintenance since these activities would 

occur near EFH. Specifically, along the haul road (NFSL 5000) where two relief culverts are located 

along a rocked road that parallels EFH for about 200 feet. There are no stream crossings or bridges along 

the haul route in proximity of EFH. The haul route does cross perennial streams that flow into Coal 

Creek; which are well over two miles upstream of EFH if sediment from haul was to reach the stream the 

sediment would not move downstream to EFH. The remaining 11 miles of the haul route are not in 

proximity with EFH. There is approximately 50 million board feet of timber that could be removed with 

this project. On average one truckload of timber would contain 5,000 board feet. This would equate to 

approximately 11,000 truckloads of timber to be hauled over the haul route that exits along Coal Creek 

over an approximate five year period (seasonal hauling of approximately 14 truckloads per day). 

The activities of Timber Hauling and Road Maintenance are extremely unlikely to deliver sediment to 

EFH. The main haul route for the project consists of maintained, gravel surfaced roads with an 

engineered drainage system. These roads are designed for all-weather use and carry year-round truck 

traffic generated by private timber harvest. The Forest Service is currently implementing the Coastal 

Healthy Forest Treatments Project 2007 along this same haul route. Existing traffic levels have resulted 

in no known detrimental sediment contributions to Coal Creek. Haul traffic in support of the proposed 

action is well within the design limits of the haul route. 

Approximately 200 feet of NFSL Road 5000 is adjacent to EFH. This section of road is relatively steep, 

well maintained gravel surfaced road, with a crown. Approximately 800 feet of the road in this section 

(which contains a tight switchback) receives surface water from itself and about six acres of adjacent 

hillside. Drainage of this area is provided by the two relief culverts onto naturally vegetated slopes 

adjacent to Coal Creek. These relief culverts on the crowned road, partially drain to vegetative buffers 

(50-80 feet), while the other part of the road crown drain onto steeply sloped dissipater transporting onto a 

steep slope that ends at the channel. Sediment delivery could occur from runoff during rain events and 

deliver to EFH. At this time, there is no indication that sediment is being delivered to the stream in the 

200 feet of the haul route that is adjacent Coal Creek. Project design features would minimize road 

generated sediment entering EFH as described below: 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-30 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

OPERATIONS WITHIN THE NORMAL OPERATING SEASON (June 1 to Oct 31st).. 

Project design features would be implemented to make it unlikely that sediment would reach stream 

channels. 

Road crown would be maintained. 

Operations shall cease at any time when the travel way of the road is wet and turbid water or fines are 

observed moving off the road surface to ditch lines that deliver to EFH or any stream type. 

If fine sediment is observed to be moving off the road surface to ditch lines or streams due to timber 

sale activities, the Forest Service is responsible to have the Timber Sale Purchaser place sediment filters 

to prevent this sediment from reaching any stream. 

IF OPERATIONS OUTSIDE THE NORMAL OPERATING SEASON: November 1 through May 31st

are allowed, the following rules must be applied to timber haul on gravel roads adjacent EFH or any 

stream type stream channels:

Operations shall cease at any time when the travel way of the road is wet and turbid water or fines are 

observed moving off the road surface to ditch lines that deliver to EFH or any stream type. 

If fine sediment is observed to be moving off the road surface to ditch lines or streams due to timber 

sale activities, the Forest Service is responsible to have the Timber Sale Purchaser place sediment filters 

to prevent this sediment from reaching any stream. 

Road Rutting: No hauling down the gravel road surface if rutting is occurring, indicating the subsurface 

is wet. 

Wet weather conditions must be monitored daily by the Forest Service for the chance of precipitation, 

especially 1 inch of rain in 24 hours. 

Adding additional rock to the road where needed to ensure that hauling occurs on a durable surface. 

Restricting grading/cleanout in ditches that delivery water to EFH; this will retain vegetation that 

captures fine sediment. 

If a cross drain or relief culvert is determined to contribute sediment to EFH, then appropriate sediment 

controls will be installed to prevent sediment delivery. 

The road maintenance that will occur with this project will upgrade the road by placing new rock on the 

surface of this road and improving drainage along the road. In the long term the road maintenance will 

reduce the amount of sediment coming off the road by preventing erosion of the native substrate, and by 

preventing saturation and failure of the travel way and associated drainage system

The amount of sediment which could reach EFH would be insignificant and indistinguishable from 

background levels. Sediment derived from Timber Haul would be primarily directed to ditch lines and 

then out of the ditch lines via ditch relief culverts to the forest floor with little to no sediment above 

existing levels. Sediment could be transported to stream channels along the two hundred feet of road 

adjacent Coal Creek where the road and ditch line are connected to streams. Road Maintenance work 

completed prior to haul and Road Maintenance work conducted after haul would further reduce the 

amount of off-site sediment movement after hauling. Any sediment generated as a result of the proposed 

haul would be immeasurable. Lastly, a restriction on when log haul can occur would minimize sediment 

generation on the surface of the road where it could wash into the ditch lines. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-31 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Timber Hauling and Road Maintenance design criteria in conjunction with the distance from EFH would 

minimize sediment effects to OC coho. The criteria have been designed to minimize sediment delivery to 

EFH, however there is a chance during the first major storm event after operations have ceased there 

would be an initial input of sediment. Any sediment yield to Coal Creek from Timber Hauling and Road 

Maintenance under the Proposed Action would be undetectable from the small amounts already generated 

at this location, and therefore insignificant. 

There is a causal mechanism for sediment generation on units since Temporary Road Construction and 

Decommission, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and 

Other Enhancement Activities are occurring near perennial streams approximately two miles to 11 miles 

above EFH. The stream enhancement component of Other Enhancement Activities would occur within 

Coal Creek approximately three to eight miles upstream of EFH. New Road Construction would consist 

of 12 perennial crossings and at least 23 intermittent channels crossings in the Coal Creek subwatershed. 

The closest perennial crossing associated with a proposed activity unit is over two miles above EFH. 

This crossing is on a small channel that is approximately two feet wide and flows intermittently below the 

road crossing for approximately 1,500 feet before flowing into Coal Creek approximately two miles 

above EFH. The remaining crossings are approximately three miles above EFH and the remaining nine 

perennial crossings are over two miles upstream from EFH and will not be further analyzed. 

Landing Construction/Reconstruction would occur within Riparian Reserves at two locations, L-13 and 

L-14. L-13 is an existing landing site located mostly uphill (90%) of the main haul road, approximately 

50 feet from a non-fish bearing perennial stream and two miles from EFH. HL-14 is new landing located 

immediately uphill of the main haul route road. Downhill of the main haul route is a resident fish bearing 

section of Coal Creek approximately 80 to 100 feet downslope, and 2.4 miles from EFH.

The activities of Temporary Road Construction and Decommission, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and Other Enhancement Activities are extremely 

unlikely to deliver sediment to EFH approximately two miles to 10.5 miles downstream to EFH in Coal 

Creek. The closest perennial crossing associated with a proposed road activity unit is over two miles 

above EFH. The next two closest crossings are approximately two miles above EFH and the remaining 

nine perennial crossings are over two miles upstream. There is no probability construction of roads 

would modify peak or base flows, because openings created by new roads would be of insufficient size to 

affect flows.

All but two landings are located outside of the Riparian Reserves. Landing Construction/Reconstruction

would have adequate vegetative cover or mulch material to prevent erosion and retain local sediment. 

The two landings located inside of the Riparian Reserve have been field reviewed by a hydrologist and an 

engineer. These landings are not within areas occupied by flowing water or riparian-dependent 

vegetation. Trees yarded to the landings could disturb slopes of the landing and generate sediment that 

would wash into stream channels. In order to prevent this, landing slopes would be armored with logs or 

other woody material capable of protecting the slope surface. Landing surfaces would drain away from 

the stream channel during and after use, and, would be revegetated and mulched after use. All landings 

are subject to season of use restrictions. These design features in addition to the two mile+ distance from 

EFH ensure that sediment would not be delivered to EFH. 

Temporary Road Construction and Decommission, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and Other Enhancement Activities design criteria 

in conjunction with the distance from EFH would minimize sediment effects to EFH. The criteria have 

been designed to minimize sediment delivery to EFH, however there is a chance during the first major 

storm event after operations have ceased there would be an initial input of sediment. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-32 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Any sediment yield to Coal Creek from Temporary Road Construction and Decommission, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and Other Enhancement 

Activities under the Proposed Action would be undetectable from the small amounts already generated at 

this location, and therefore insignificant. 

Overall, the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project Proposed Action has been designed to minimize impacts to 

aquatic habitats. Field reconnaissance during implementation by Interdisciplinary Team specialists would 

refine this project to only apply vegetation management where needed. Project Design Criteria and 

Mitigation Measures were developed to minimize impacts to water quality, Riparian Reserves, and 

aquatic habitats. 

Cumulative Effects 

Past activities that have occurred on National Forest System lands are documented in the Silvicultural 

Diagnosis Repot (EIS Appendix B). Table B-7 lists previous commercial timber sale activity within the 

Planning Area (since historical railroad logging in the 1920s and 1930s). None of the candidate stands for 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales are located within these previous contemporary timber sale units. 

The most recent activity is primarily commercial thinning and has not been observed to result in increased 

measurable sediment delivery to streams within the Coal Creek Watershed. These projects would have no 

adverse cumulative effects when combined with the effects of the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project. In 

general, there are several different types of foreseeable projects that occur across the landscape in these 

watersheds such as non-commercial thinning for fuels reduction and meadow restoration. These projects 

are designed to avoid treatments in Riparian Reserves. There would be some prescribed burning 

associated with these projects that would not impact Riparian Reserves or aquatic habitats. The 2005 

Coastal Healthy Forest Treatments Project has one or two candidate stands within the Eden Ridge 

Planning Area that may eventually be thinned (but is not as yet, planned or scheduled). 

Activities that occur off forest are primarily timber harvests within private timberlands and are seen to be 

impacting upstream reaches of the Coal Creek Drainage. Under the Oregon Forest Practices Act, timber 

harvest is allowed to occur within riparian areas; however a one tree buffer is necessary along fish bearing 

streams. These restrictions reduce the amount of sedimentation that occurs on private lands. Some 

sedimentation may occur from areas where there are intermittent stream channels or where perennial nonfish bearing streams are found. This increase in sedimentation could impact fish habitat by filling in pool 

habitat and reducing spawning habitat. 

In general, the Oregon Forest Practices Act provides direction for protection and maintenance of 

important aquatic habitats across the state. Currently on private lands, small landslides have been 

observed to be contributing sediment to the immediate channel but no observed sediment has been 

reaching listed species habitat. 

Overall, cumulative effects on NFS and private lands from past and present project actions have impacted 

large woody material that would provide habitat to fish within these watersheds; the Eden Ridge Project 

does not propose to impact Riparian Areas adjacent to stream channels with listed species present. 

Although there is a slight chance that sediment might be delivered to fish habitat from roads and the haul 

route, the amount of sediment delivered is expected to be of a small quantity, and during a time of year 

when the amount of sediment being created by this project would not be measurable beyond background 

levels naturally within the stream channels. The overall predicted cumulative effect for the affected 

watershed would be an immeasurable contribution of sediment from landslides from private land and 

above Endangered, Threatened, Proposed or Sensitive fish species habitat. This effect is likely to occur 

only when the winter rains come and it would be part of the background sediment. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-33 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

C. Effects of Alternative 3

Direct Effects 

Alternative 3 for Eden Ridge Timber Sales has only stream enhancement activities occurring directly 

within the stream channels that contain fish or fish habitat. The direct effects from this alternative are 

expected to be on resident fish only (non-Endangered, Threatened, Proposed or Sensitive fish species). 

Therefore, there would be no impact to any Endangered, Threatened, Proposed or Sensitive fish species. 

Indirect Effects 

Effects from this alternative are expected to be similar to the effects of the Proposed Action. This 

alternative would reduce the number of trucks hauling down the road but since the amount of sediment 

that may enter the stream channel due to log haul activities and road maintenance activities is not 

measurable, the effects are similar to the Proposed Action. 

There would be less riparian vegetation treated as compared to Alternative 2. Treating fewer riparian 

acres would promote less growth of larger trees as well as allow the growth of understory species to 

provide for diverse, healthy, riparian vegetation. By treating less riparian vegetation acres as compared to 

Alternative 2, other species would not come in under the current Douglas-fir dominated stand and would 

result in slowing down attainment of late-successional characteristics within the Riparian Reserve. This 

could result in an increase of future small diameter instream recruitment in perennial, intermittent, and 

ephemeral streams instead of mature, large woody material. 

Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative effects for this alternative would be similar to those listed for the Proposed Action. 

D. Effects of Alternative 4

Direct Effects 

Alternative 4 for Eden Ridge Timber Sales has only stream enhancement activities occurring directly 

within the stream channels that contain fish or fish habitat. The direct effects from this alternative are 

expected to be on resident fish only (non-Endangered, Threatened, Proposed or Sensitive fish species). 

Therefore, there would be no impact to any Endangered, Threatened, Proposed or Sensitive fish species. 

Indirect Effects 

Effects from this alternative are expected to be similar to the effects of the Proposed Action and 

Alternative 3. This alternative would reduce the number of trucks hauling down the road but since the 

amount of sediment that may enter the stream channel due to log haul activities and road maintenance 

activities is not measurable the effects are similar to the Proposed Action. 

There would be less riparian vegetation treated as compared to Alternative 2. Treating fewer riparian 

acres would promote less growth of larger trees as well as allow the growth of understory species to 

provide for diverse, healthy, riparian vegetation. By treating less riparian vegetation acres as compared to 

Alternative 2, other species would not come in under the current Douglas-fir dominated stand and would 

result in slowing down attainment of late-successional characteristics within the Riparian Reserve. This 

could result in an increase of future small diameter instream recruitment in the project‟s perennial, 

intermittent, and ephemeral streams instead of mature, large woody material. 

Cumulative Effects 

Cumulative effects for this alternative would be similar to those listed for the Proposed Action. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-34 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

E. All Action Alternatives – Habitat and Watershed Condition Indicators 

The NMFS “matrix of pathways and indicators” (NMFS 1996), was used to help determine the effects of 

the Action Alternatives (Alternatives 2, 3, and 4). This process was intended to be utilized when 

considering project level effects at the watershed scale. 

All Action Alternatives would result in a neutral effect to the following indicators: 

Temperature: Timber Felling and Yarding, Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, Road Maintenance, 

Temporary Road Construction and Decommission, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction, and Other Enhancement Activities would not 

affect shade to the extent to causes changes in stream temperature to EFH >0.8 miles away. The 

Proposed Action would result in a neutral (0) effect to the temperature indicator. The Proposed Action 

for Eden Ridge Timber Sales would harvest trees within the Riparian Reserve. Only unit 309 is adjacent 

to a non-Endangered, Threatened, Proposed or Sensitive species fish bearing perennial stream channel, in 

the Coal Creek drainage. The harvesting that would occur within the Riparian Reserve adjacent to the 

fish bearing stream segment would be located outside of the 25-foot Stream Channel Protection Zone and 

an additional 30-40 foot Primary Shade Zone for the Perennial Stream Channel. These zones would not 

allow any removal of vegetation for timber harvest. 

There is a small chance that during project implementation that a few trees may be cut within these two 

zones, however the project is currently designed to not allow tree removal within these two zones. In the 

likelihood that a few trees are removed from the Primary Shade Zone or the Stream Channel Protection 

Zone, it is unlikely to affect water temperatures in the adjacent stream reaches. Much of the streams in 

the Project Area are small systems that are heavily vegetated, and exhibit a large groundwater influence 

on water temperature. 

All the other units are upstream of fish bearing perennial streams or they are located on non fish bearing 

ephemeral or intermittent stream channels. The harvesting that would occur within the Riparian Reserve 

would be located outside of the 25-foot Stream Channel Protection Zone for all channels, and an 

additional 30-40 foot Primary Shade Zone for Perennial Stream Channels. These zones would not allow 

any removal of vegetation for timber harvest. 

The harvesting of timber within the project area is designed to promote growth of larger trees as well as 

allow the growth of understory species to provide for diverse, healthy, riparian vegetation. By allowing 

other species to come in under the current Douglas-fir dominated stand, the project would put these stands 

on a trajectory of attaining old growth characteristics sooner within the Riparian Reserve. 

The Stream Channel Protection Zone (25 foot no cut buffer on either side of the channel) is a buffer 

designed to protect the actual riparian area that occur along stream channels. This buffer width provides 

protection from ground based activities and harvesting of vegetation. These buffers would protect all 

species that utilize the riparian areas within the project. This area of protection would ensure that water 

temperatures in these areas would not be affected, and that there would be a source of small woody 

material for aquatic species that depend upon the riparian areas, along with ensuring that groundwater 

flow would continue to maintain the riparian zones at the project scale. 

The proposed timber harvest would not impact shade producing trees, nor would it impact future large 

wood recruitment to fish habitat. The stream channels within the Project Area are approximately 3 feet 

wide for ephemeral and intermittent channels and 8-feet wide for perennial stream channels. If any of the 

trees removed by thinning harvest were to fall into a channel, they would be at least 10 times greater in 

length than the streams are wide, and would not move with the flows typically occurring in these 

channels. Much of these pieces of LWD would not have naturally made it downstream to stream reaches 

where fish are present. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-35 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Chemical contamination/nutrients: Timber Felling and Yarding, Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, 

Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommission, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction, and Other Enhancement Activities would have a 

neutral (0) effect since there is no causal mechanism on the Chemical Contamination/Nutrients 

indicator. 

Physical barriers: There is no causal mechanism for Timber Felling and Yarding, Timber Hauling, 

Fuels Treatment, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommission, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction, and Other Enhancement 

Activities to affect this indicator because no culverts would be installed or replaced on any fish bearing 

streams as a result of these timber sales. Because no PEs would create or remove barriers for fish, these 

timber sales would result in neutral (0) effect to the physical barrier indicator. 

Large woody debris: Timber Hauling, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and 

Decommission, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and 

Other Enhancement Activities would have a neutral (0) effect on Large Woody Debris. Thinning 

prescriptions are designed to create a large tree forest within Riparian Reserves. These effects occur from 

0.8 miles to 11.7 miles in distance away from EFH and 0.8 miles from OC steelhead trout and based on 

the topography, size of the stream channels, and distance from EFH, trees in the Riparian Reserve are not 

expected to affect EFH downstream 

Off-channel habitat, refugia, width/depth ratio, stream bank condition, floodplain connectivity: The 

elements would have a neutral (0) effect on Off-channel Habitat, Width: Depth Ratio by Channel Type, 

Stream bank Condition, and Floodplain Connectivity because the PE‟s for this project would not occur 

within stream channels. The activities are 1.8 miles to 12.7 miles upstream of EFH and 0.8 miles above 

OC steelhead trout. These activities are not occurring in a location that would affect coho salmon, EFH 

or OC steelhead. 

Changes in peak and base flows: There would be a neutral (0) effect to Peak and base Flows from the 

ER project. There would be no effect to peak and base flows from Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, and 

Road Maintenance. These PE‟s have no causal mechanism to impact peak or base flows as they are not 

creating openings that would increase runoff from rain events nor changing flow regimes in any channels 

or increasing road densities. Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction 

and Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction would have a discountable 

insignificant negative (-) effect on peak or base flows in Coal Creek due to increased road densities. 

The Timber Felling and Yarding of trees and Other Enhancement activities would have a neutral (0) 

effect on changes in peak and base flows for the following reasons: 

The Action Alternatives would occur over small, scattered areas of each subwatershed. 

Proposed harvest units contribute fractional runoff to the receiving mainstem channels. 

Impact thresholds are based on regeneration harvest leaving a wide margin of safety for impact 

assessment resulting from proposed thinning. 

NFS lands are hydrologically recovered. 

Surface disturbance is slight in the Riparian Reserve (see Riparian Project Design Criteria in PE 

section. 

Direct surface disturbance resulting from tractor yarding is limited to gentle slopes and ridgeline 

units. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-36 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Variable Density Thinning leaves variable canopy retention from 40% to 60% in uplands (Matrix) 

and equal or greater than 50% in riparian zones, with the exception of Port Orford Cedar Root 

Disease Silvicultural treatments (POC). POC would be treated with Gap Development Treatment to 

treat portions of stands infected with laminated root rot. The total amount of openings created from 

the POC treatment within Coal Creek 6th field watershed (9,952 acres) would be .1%. Therefore, 330 

acres of small openings from POC treatments, scattered throughout the project, would only occur in 

.003% of the Coal Creek 6th field watershed. 

Increase in drainage network, road density: Due to the small magnitude of road density increase (0.9 

percent), a neutral effect to temperature, and a discountable insignificant negative effect to the sediment 

and pool character & quality habitat indicators from these PEs, the ER Thin project would have an 

insignificant negative effect to the road density/location indicator in the Coal Creek 6th field watershed.

Sediment & Pool Character & Quality Indicators: Timber Felling and Yarding, Fuel Treatment. 

There would be a neutral (0) effect to the Sediment and Pool Character & Quality Habitat indicators 

from Timber Felling and Yarding. The project design features for activities in the Riparian Reserves 

would provide adequate vegetative buffers to filter sediment, distance from EFH, location of units in 

stable terrain and ridge top/midslope and no ground based machinery in the RR, would ensure that the 

sediment would not be delivered to EFH. There would be a neutral (0) effect to the sediment and pool 

character & quality habitat indicators from the Fuel Treatment. The PDCs for Fuel Treatment activities 

in the Riparian Reserves would provide adequate vegetative buffers to filter sediment and distance from 

EFH would ensure that the sediment would not be delivered to EFH. 

VI. SUMMARY AND COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES

Table H-13. Comparison of Effects to Fish Species by Alternative and Activity Type 

Alternative

Timber 

Felling and 

Yarding

Timber Hauling Fuels 

Treatment

Road Maintenance, 

Construction and 

Decommissioning

Stream 

Enhancement

1 Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral

2 Neutral Potential sediment 

from haul route Neutral Potential sediment from haul route Neutral

3 Neutral Potential sediment 

from haul route Neutral Potential sediment from haul route Neutral

4 Neutral Potential sediment 

from haul route Neutral Potential sediment from haul route Neutral

The No Action Alternative would not alter the project area on National Forest System land. Thus, no 

effect to aquatic species or habitat would occur. 

All of the Action Alternatives, 2 through 4, would have a similar effect to Endangered, Threatened, 

Proposed or Sensitive aquatic species due to the potential of sediment entering the stream channel from 

the “Timber Hauling and Road Maintenance” activities along the haul route. This amount of sediment 

for all Action Alternatives is non-measurable. 

All of the Action Alternatives, 2 through 4, would have similar effects to aquatic habitats and a neutral 

effect on Endangered, Threatened, Proposed or Sensitive aquatic species from the “Stream Enhancement 

and Fuels Treatment” activities. 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-37 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Specific to Alternatives 3 and 4, there would be less riparian vegetation treated from “Timber Falling” as 

compared to Alternative 2. Falling fewer trees in the riparian areas would promote less growth of larger 

trees as well as less growth of understory species to provide for diverse, healthy, riparian vegetation. By 

falling less riparian vegetation as compared to Alternative 2, other species would not come in under the 

current Douglas-fir dominated stand and this would result in a longer timeframe to attain late-successional 

habitat characteristics within the Riparian Reserve, when compared to Alternative 2. This could result in 

a smaller average size of future LWD recruited within the project‟s perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral 

streams above fish habitat, when compared to Alternative 2. 

Effects to Endangered, Threatened, Proposed or Sensitive aquatic species are similar under all of the 

Action Alternatives, 2 through 4. This is due to the same site specific design elements being included in 

all of these alternatives. The differences in activities between Action Alternatives are not large enough to 

create any measurable difference downstream on aquatic species. 

VII. CONCLUSIONS AND DETERMINATIONS

Alternative 1 – No Action 

Alternative 1 would have no direct, indirect or cumulative effects to SONCC coho salmon, SONCC coho 

CH, OC coho salmon, OC coho CH, SONCC Chinook salmon, OC steelhead, PC chum salmon, inland 

redband trout, pit sculpin, western ridged mussel, Klamath rim pebblesnail, highcap lanx, scale lanx, 

robust walker, pacific walker, or the pristine springsnail since there is no action. Therefore, a “No 

Impact” determination is rendered. 

Action Alternatives - Alternatives 2, 3 and 4 

The indirect and cumulative effects from Alternative 2, 3 and 4 would result in an overall nonmeasureable negative sediment effect to OC coho salmon and its critical habitat and OC steelhead on the 

Powers Ranger District. Thus, a May Affect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect determination is rendered 

for OC coho salmon, No Effect determination to OC coho salmon critical habitat, Will Not Adversely 

Affect Essential Fish Habitat for coho salmon or Chinook salmon and May Impact Individuals or 

Habitat, But Will Not Likely Contribute to a Trend Towards Federal Listing or Cause a Loss of 

Viability to the Population or Species OC steelhead trout due to the non-measureable sediment delivery 

of the hauling and road maintenance activities. 

These Alternative would have a No Impact to PC chum salmon, inland redband trout, pit sculpin, western 

ridged mussel, Klamath rim pebblesnail, highcap lanx, scale lanx, robust walker, pacific walker, or the 

pristine springsnail because these species are not known to occur or have suitable habitat within proximity 

to any of the proposed activities.
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-38 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Table H-14. Summary of Conclusion of Effects 

Endangered, Threatened, 

Proposed or Sensitive

Species

Alternatives

1 2 3 4

OC coho NE NLAA NLAA NLAA

OC coho CH NE NE NE NE

EFH – coho NE NLAA NLAA NLAA

EFH – Chinook NE NLAA NLAA NLAA

OC steelhead NI MIIH MIIH MIIH

PC Chum NI NI NI NI

Inland redband trout NI NI NI NI

Pit sculpin NI NI NI NI

Western ridged mussel NI NI NI NI

Klamath rim pebblesnail NI NI NI NI

Highcap lanx NI NI NI NI

Scale lanx NI NI NI NI

Robust walker NI NI NI NI

Pacific walker NI NI NI NI

Pristine springsnail NI NI NI NI

NE = No Effect 

NLAA = Not Likely to Adversely Affect 

NI = No Impact 

MIIH = May Impact Individuals or Habitat, But Will Not Likely Contribute to a Trend Towards Federal Listing or 

Cause a Loss of Viability to the Population or Species 
Appendix H – Aquatic Biota Biological Evaluation Page H-39 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

VIII. LITERATURE CITED

Joplin, M. 2011. Personal Communication, Hydrologist, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. 

Park, C.S. 1993. SHADOW stream temperature management program, USDA, USFS, Pacific Northwest 

Region. 

Park, C, Jubas, H. 2005. Channel and shade monitoring for the 1996 Waters Thin Fuels Reduction 

Project, Rogue Siskiyou National Forest. 

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. 2007. Coastal Healthy Forest Treatments EA. 

Rosgen, D.L. 1996. Applied River Morphology, Published by Wildland Hydrology. 

USDA Forest Service. 1989. Final Environmental Impact Statement, Land and Resource Management 

Plan Siskiyou National Forest. Siskiyou National Forest, Pacific Northwest Region. 

USDI BLM 1994 Middle Fork Coquille Analytical Watershed 

USFS 1995. South Fork Coquille Watershed Analysis. USFS Powers Ranger District. 

USFS 2010. Coal Creek Stream Survey Report. USFS Powers Ranger District Files. 
ATTACHMENT A Fish Distribution and Project Activities Map – Alternative 2 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 1 of 55

Biological Assessment for Eden Ridge Timber Sales

 

Project Name: Eden Ridge Timber Sales (ER) 

Species of Concern: Oregon Coast (OC) coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch); 

listed as Threatened, 1997. Oregon Coast Critical Habitat 

(CCH), Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). 

Determination of Effects: Oregon Coast coho salmon, CCH, and EFH: 

 NLAA: ―May Affect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect‖

Project Location: 

4

th Field HUC Coquille River 17100305 

5

th Field HUC Lower South Fork Coquille River 1710030501

 Middle Fork Coquille River 1710030502

6

th Field HUC Mill Creek 171003050106 

 Headwaters S. Fork Coquille River 171003050101 

 Coal Creek 171003050105 

 Lower Rock Creek 171003050206 

 Myrtle Creek 171003050209 

Watershed Analyses (WA): Middle Fork Coquille Analytical Watershed (BLM 1994) 

South Fork Coquille Watershed Analysis (USFS 1995) 

Land Allocation of Project Area: Matrix 

 Riparian Reserve 

Administrative Unit: Powers Ranger District, Rogue River-Siskiyou National 

Forest 

Prepared By: Karla Cottom, Fisheries Biologist, Powers RD 

Reviewed By: Maureen Joplin, Hydrologist, RRSNF 

 Susan Maiyo, Forest Fisheries Biologist, RRSNF 

Document Date: August 10, 2011 

This consultation is undertaken pursuant with Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act and the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and is implementing Federal regulations 50 CFR Part 600 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 2 of 55

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................4

II. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................4

III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTIONS (S) AND ACTION AREA ....4

A. PROPOSED ACTION (S) ........................................................................................................ 4 

 1. Timber Felling and Yarding .................................................................................................. 8 

 a. Timber Felling – Commercial Silvicultural Treatments ..................................................... 8

b. Timber Felling – Laminated Root Rot Silvicultural Treatments ........................................ 10 

c. Timber Felling – Port Orford Cedar Root Disease (POC) Silvicultural Treatments ......... 12 

d. Timber Felling - Non-Commercial Silvicultural Treatments for Instream Restoration 13 

 e. Timber Yarding ..................................................................................................................... 14 

 2. Timber Hauling ....................................................................................................................... 17 

 3. Fuels Treatment ...................................................................................................................... 18 

 4. Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Road Decommissioning, 

 Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction, and New Road Construction ................... 19 

a. Road Maintenance ................................................................................................................ 20

b. Temporary Road (Access) Construction & Decommissioning ........................................... 21 

c. Road Reconstruction ............................................................................................................ 21 

d. Landing Construction/Reconstruction ................................................................................ 22 

e. New Road Construction ........................................................................................................ 22 

 5. Other Restoration Activities .................................................................................................. 26 

a. Snag/Down Wood Creation ..................................................................................................... 26 

b. Riparian Snags ......................................................................................................................... 26 

c. Stream Enhancement ............................................................................................................... 27

d. Native Grass/Forb Seeding ...................................................................................................... 27 

e. Invasive Plant Treatments ....................................................................................................... 27 

B. ESA ACTION AREA ................................................................................................................ 28 

IV. DESCRIPTION OF AFFECTED SPECIES AND CRITICAL HABITAT ..........28

A. OREGON COAST COHO AND COHO CRITICAL HABITAT ........................................ 28 

B. ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT ................................................................................................. 28 

C. PRIMARY CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS ............................................................................ 29 

V. DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE AND POTENTIAL EFFECTS 

OF THE PROPOSED ACTIONS ...............................................................................30

A. HABITAT INDICATORS ........................................................................................................ 30 

1. Water Quality .......................................................................................................................... 30

a. Temperature Baseline ........................................................................................................... 30 

b. Effects on Temperature Indicator ........................................................................................ 31 

2. Chemical Contamination/Nutrient Baseline ........................................................................ 35 

a. Effects on Chemical Contaminants/Nutrients Indicator .................................................... 35

3. Physical Barriers Baseline ..................................................................................................... 36 

a. Effects on Physical Barriers Indicator ................................................................................ 36 

4. Sediment & Pool Character & Quality Baseline .................................................................. 36 

a. Sediment Baseline ................................................................................................................ 36

b. Pool Character & Quality Baseline ..................................................................................... 37 

c. Effects on Sediment & Pool Character & Quality Indicators ............................................. 37 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 3 of 55

5. Large Wood Baseline .............................................................................................................. 42 

a. Effects on Large Wood (LWD) Indicator ............................................................................ 42 

6. Off-channel Habitat, Width: Depth Ratio by Channel Type, Streambank Condition, 

and Floodplain Connectivity Baseline .............................................................................. 43 

a. Effects on Off-channel Habitat, Width: Depth Ratio by Channel Type, Streambank 

Condition, and Floodplain Connectivity Indicators .......................................................... 44 

7. Peak and Base Flows Baseline ............................................................................................... 44 

a. Effects on Peak and Base Flows .......................................................................................... 46 

B. WATERSHED CONDITION INDICATORS ........................................................................ 49 

1. Road Density/Location Baseline ............................................................................................ 49 

a. Effects of the PEs on the Road Density/Location Indicator ............................................... 49 

2. Human Disturbance History .................................................................................................. 50 

a. History Baseline .................................................................................................................... 50 

b. Effects to Human Disturbance Indicator ............................................................................ 50 

3. Riparian Reserves Baseline .................................................................................................... 51 

a. Effects of the PEs on Riparian Reserve Indicator .............................................................. 51 

4. Landslide and Erosion Rates Baseline .................................................................................. 52 

a. Effects of the PEs on the landslide and Erosion Rates Baseline ........................................ 53 

VI. ESA AND EFH DETERMINATION .................................................................................... 53

A. DETERMINATION OF EFFECTS ON OC COHO SALMON AND OC COHO 

CRITICAL HABITAT ................................................................................................................ 53 

B. DICHOTOMOUS KEY FOR SECTION 7 DETERMINATION OF EFFECTS ............... 54 

VII. LITERATURE CITED .......................................................................................................... 55
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 4 of 55

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The following Biological Assessment analyzes the effects of the Eden Ridge Timber Sale for the Powers 

Ranger District (RD), Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest (RRSNF). Below the Action Area are 

Oregon Coast (OC) coho salmon, listed as a ―threatened‖ species under the Endangered Species Act 

(ESA). The analysis contained herein has resulted in a determination of ―May Affect, Not Likely To 

Adversely Affect‖ to OC coho salmon, ―No Effect‖ determination to OC coho critical habitat (CCH) and 

―Would Not Adversely Affect‖ coho and Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). 

There is no anticipated incidental take associated with the proposed project actions. Any questions and/or 

comments regarding this assessment or the proposed project should be addressed to Karla Cottom, 

Fisheries Biologist, Powers RD at (541) 439-6250 or Susan Maiyo, Forest Fisheries Biologist, RSNF at 

(541) 618-2052. 

II. INTRODUCTION

The following assessment was prepared to initiate consultation pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (ESA), to evaluate and describe the potential effects of proposed Powers Ranger 

District actions on Oregon Coast Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) of coho salmon. 

The overall Planning Area is located on National Forest System Lands within two 5th-Field watersheds, 

South Fork Coquille River and the Middle Fork Coquille River, which both have Watershed Analyses 

have been completed. The 6th Field watersheds within these 5th Field watersheds are Lower Rock Creek, 

Myrtle Creek, Headwaters South Fork Coquille River, Coal Creek, and Mill Creek. Adjacent private 

timber company lands owned by Plum Creek surround the Planning Area. 

The Planning Area for the Eden Ridge Timber Sales (ER) is located on Eden Ridge approximately four 

(4) air miles southeast of Powers, Oregon. The legal description is Township 31 South, Range 10 West, 

Sections 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 29 and 30; and Township 31 South, Range 11 West, Sections 23, 

24, 25, 26, and 27 Willamette Meridian; Coos County, Oregon 

III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTIONS (S) AND ACTION AREA

Note: This Biological Assessment (BA) was being prepared as the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

was being prepared. Some acreages and road miles may not exactly correspond with the Final EIS 

numbers; however, any discrepancies are small and have been factored into this analysis. The overall 

scope of the project has been adequately analyzed and disclosed in this BA. Consultation would be 

reinitiated if the scope of the EIS expands to include effects greater than those consulted on under this BA. 

A. PROPOSED ACTION (S) 

Summary 

The Powers Ranger District proposes variable density thinning treatments, Port Orford cedar 

sanitation and planting treatments, laminated root rot treatment and other connected activities on 

approximately 3,700 acres (Maps 1 through 7) within the Planning Area. The stands are located on 

suitable forest land designated as Matrix and Riparian Reserve land allocations under the Siskiyou 

National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan as amended by the Northwest Forest Plan. 

There are no OC coho salmon, CCH or EFH located adjacent or within any thinning treatments. 

All project activities range from 8 .8 miles upstream to 20 miles upstream of CCH and 1.8 miles to 

12 miles upstream of EFH except for the haul route which is located 50 to 80 feet adjacent to EFH 

for approximately 200 feet on a gravel-surfaced road before it continues onto an asphalt-surfaced 

road for the remaining haul route. Coal Creek is a resident fish bearing perennial stream just 

beyond Unit 309. There are no fish-bearing ephemeral and intermittent stream channels within 

proposed units. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 5 of 55

See attached maps for project location and activities: 

Map 1 Vicinity 

Map 2 Project Activities includes all project elements and fish distribution 

Map 3 Mill Creek 

Map 4 Headwaters S. Fork Coquille River 

Map 5 Coal Creek 

Map 6 Lower Rock Creek 

Map 7 Myrtle Creek 

3,300 acres would be designed for timber harvest with associated harvest systems that would use a 

combination of ground-based, skyline and helicopter operations depending on soil, slope and hydrological 

concerns (Table 1) are being considered over a 10-year period. Also included in this project is an 

additional 385 acres of non-commercial silvicultural treatments. Two yarding landings are being 

Constructed/Reconstructed within the Riparian Reserve. 

To access the 3,300 acres of treatment, approximately 

31 miles of existing roads would be used for Timber Haul route; 

0.3 miles of temporary Road Construction and Decommissioned (0.3 miles in RR); 

6.1 miles of Road Reconstruction of existing road or railroad templates (1.4 miles in RR); 

10.8 miles of New Road Construction would be built (1.6 miles in RR); and 

5.5 miles of Road Maintenance within the units.

Table 1. Eden Ridge Timber Sales Unit Summary 

Unit 

Reference

Estimated 

Acres

Matrix 

Acres 

Riparian 

Reserve 

Acres 

Within 

Unit

Silvicultural 

Prescription

Proposed 

Logging 

System

Fuels 

Treatment

Existing 

Road 

Access

New Road 

Access 

Reference

Unit Distance 

to Critical 

Coho Habitat/ 

EFH (Stream 

Miles)

Middle Fork Coquille 5th Field, Rock Creek 6th Field Watershed

001 187 95 92 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT GB YTA CRM & CRR -4.2/4.2

002 137 108 29 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT GB YTA CRM -3.9/3.9

003 135 63 72 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT S YTA,P & B CRU A12.9/12.9

004 8 8 0

VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT GB YTA, P & B - A4.3/4.3

005 126 66 60 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT GB YTA, P & B - B8.8/8.8

006 102 87 15 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT GB YTA, P & B CRU & CRR D4.2/4.2

007 70 54 16 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT GB YTA, P & B CRU E1, E2 4.0/4.0

Middle Fork Coquille 5th Field, Myrtle Creek 6th Field Watershed

101 65 46 19 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT GB YTA, P & B CRU F11.7/11.7

102 46 32 14 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT S YTA, P & B CRU G7.4/7.4

103 61 46 15 VDT/LRR/P

OC-WTG S YTA CRU H6.3/6.3

South Fork Coquille 5th Field, Headwater South Fork 6

th Field Watershed

201 117 105 12 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT GB YTA, P & B CRU -11.7/4.7

202 57 24 33 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT S YTA, P & b CRU -15.3/8.3

203 19 15 4

VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT GB YTA, P & B CRU -12.1/5.1

204 48 40 8 VDT S YTA, P & B - E1, E3 11.8/4.8

205 14 13 1 VDT S YTA - E2 11.9/4.9
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 6 of 55

Unit 

Reference

Estimated 

Acres

Matrix 

Acres 

Riparian 

Reserve 

Acres 

Within 

Unit

Silvicultural 

Prescription

Proposed 

Logging 

System

Fuels 

Treatment

Existing 

Road 

Access

New Road 

Access 

Reference

Unit Distance 

to Critical 

Coho Habitat/ 

EFH (Stream 

Miles)

206 25 18 7 VDT GB YTA CRU & 

CRR I11.8/4.8

207 17 10 7 VDT GB YTA CRR I & J 11.6/4.6

208 21 13 8 VDT S YTA CRM - 12.0/5.0

209 79 41 38 VDT S YTA, P & B CRM K & L 11.4/4.4

210 13 13 0 VDT GB YTA CRM C & M 12.2/5.2

211 23 11 12 VDT S YTA CRM C & M 12.0/5.0

212 26 18 8 VDT S YTA, P & B CRM C & M 11.8/4.8

213 22 8 14 VDT S YTA CRM N 11.0/4.0

214 36 18 18 VDT S YTA, P & B CRU 14.4/7.4

215 29 29 0 VDT S YTA, P & B - O1, O2 11.4/4.4

216 17 17 0 VDT GB YTA - O1, O3 11.3/4.3

217 6 6 0 VDT S YTA, P & B - D 12.3/5.3

218 17 14 3 VDT GB YTA, P & B CRU - 12.3.5.3

South Fork Coquille 5th Field, Coal Creek 6th Field Watershed

301 13 3 10 VDT/P-3 

treatment S YTA, P & B CRU -

8.8/1.8

302 7 5 2

VDT/P-3 

treatment S YTA, P & B CRU -

8.9/1.9

303 12 12 0 VDT GB YTA, P & B CRU P2 8.9/1.9

304 6 6 0 VDT S YTA - P3 9.0/2.0

305 8 7 1 VDT S YTA - P3 9.1/2.1

306 15 11 4 VDT S YTA - P4 9.3/2.3

307 25 16 9 VDT GB YTA -

Q1, Q2, 

Q3 9.1/2.1

308 14 1 13 VDT GB YTA -

Q1, Q2, 

Q4 9.3/2.3

309 14 3 11 VDT GB YTA, P & B CU R 9.4/2.4

310 49 37 12 VDT GB YTA - S1, S2 9.8/2.8

311 36 24 12 VDT GB YTA CRR

S1, S2, 

S3, S4, 

S5, S6 & 

T 9.72.7

312 38 19 19 VDT S YTA CRR

S1, S2, 

S3, S4, 

S5, S6, & 

S7 11.7/4.7

313 93 73 20 VDT GB YTA CRR S1, S2, 

S3, & T 12.1/5.1

314 40 22 18 VDT S YTAYTA - T 17.5/10.5

315 26 22 4 VDT S YTA CRR

S1, S2, 

S3, S4, 

S5, S6, 

S7, S8, & 

S9 10.3/3.6

316 33 23 10 VDT S YTA - T 10.3/9.3

317 74 48 26 VDT GB YTA CRR

S1, S2, 

S3, S4, 

S5, S6 & 

S8 10.2/4.0

318 25 20 5 VDT GB YTA CRR - 10.6/3.6

319 86 72 14 VDT GB YTA CRU & 

CRR T16.3/9.3

320 37 21 16 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT S YTA CRU T11.0/4.0

321 16 16 0 VDT S YTA CRR - 10.9/3.9

322 35 35 0 VDT GB YTA CRR V 11.0/4.0

323 31 11 20 VDT S YTA CRR V 11.1/4.1

324 95 58 36 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT GB YTA CRR U14.5/7.5

325 135 101 34 VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT GB YTA, P & B CRU X & Y 15.1/8.1

326 155 106 49

VDT/POCWTG/ 

P3,P8,P9 

treatment

GB YTA CRR W

15.4/8.4
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 7 of 55

Unit 

Reference

Estimated 

Acres

Matrix 

Acres 

Riparian 

Reserve 

Acres 

Within 

Unit

Silvicultural 

Prescription

Proposed 

Logging 

System

Fuels 

Treatment

Existing 

Road 

Access

New Road 

Access 

Reference

Unit Distance 

to Critical 

Coho Habitat/ 

EFH (Stream 

Miles)

327 47 23 23

VDT/LRR/P

OC-PLT/ 

POC-WTG

GB YTA CRR W

11.7/ 4.7

328 52 42 10 VDT/P3 

treatment S YTA - D12.1/5.1

329 41 14 27

VDT/POCWTG/ 

P9 treatment

S YTA CRR -

15.2/8.2

330 18 7 11 VDT/P9

treatment GB YTA CRR -11.7/4.7

331 13 7 6

VDT/POCWTG/ 

P3 treatment

S YTA, P & B CRR -

11.8/4.8

332 44 39 5

VDT/POCWTG GB YTA, P & B CRU -

12.0/5.0

333 86 65 21 VDT/POCWTG GB YTA, P & B CRU -

11.7/4.7

334 88 46 42 VDT/POCWTG GB YTA, P & B CRU Z

15.6/8.6

335 38 27 11 VDT/POCWTG S YTA, P & B CRU -

11.6/4.6

336 49 24 25 VDT/POCWTG S YTA, P & B CRU -

11.5/4.5

337 19 16 3 VDT S YTA, P & B - C & M 11.8/4.8

338 24 2 22 VDT S N/A CRR

S1, S2, 

S3, S4, & 

T 9.7/2.7

340 19 11 8 VDT S YTA, P & B - O4 11.2/4.2

341 25 12 13 VDT GB YTA, P & B CRU 14.5/7.5

342 16 7 9 VDT S YTA CRU - 11.1/4.1

343 18 18 0 VDT GB YTA - O1, O3 11.3/4.3

344 30 27 3 VDT S YTA, P & B - O1, O3 11.3/4.3

South Fork Coquille 5th Field, Mill Creek 6th Field watershed

401 8 8 0

VDT/P6 

treatment GB YTA CRU -3.2/3.2

402 20 14 6

VDT/P6 

treatment S YTA CRU -3.2/3.2

403 5 2 3 VDT S YTA CRU - 3.4/3.2

Total 

Units 3,300 2,203 1,097

Table Notes and Legend

VDT Variable Density Thinning (Commercial) 

POC-PLT Port Orford Cedar; site prep and planting of resistant POC seedlings 

POC-WTG Port Orford Cedar; Wide Thin Gap, eradication treatment 

LR Laminated Root Rot; gap treatments centered around disease pockets, possible plant with POC and other 

species 

P-# Plantation thinning (circa 1939-1963); commercial and noncommercial thinning 

YTA Yarding Tops Attached

P&B Pile and Burn 

GB Ground based logging systems 

S Skyline logging systems 

CRU Classified road use = existing roads 

CRM Classified road use with reconstruction = existing roads 

CRR Classified road use with reconstruction-existing as a road template or railroad grade. 

Note: There is no Unit 339 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 8 of 55

The actions of the project can be divided into five Project Elements (PE) and are described below: 

1. Timber Felling and Yarding 

2. Timber Hauling 

3. Fuels Treatment 

4. Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, and New Road Construction

5. Other Restoration Activities 

1. Timber Felling and Yarding 

a. Timber Felling – Commercial Silvicultural Treatments 

The ER project proposes intermediate commercial harvest treatments using variable density thinning 

(VDT) techniques and other connected actions on approximately 3,300 acres of second growth conifer 

stands artificially and naturally regenerated following timber harvest during the 1930s through the 1940s. 

Design Criteria associated with commercial treatments are detailed in Table 2 and individual units are 

displayed on Map 2. 

Commercial treatments would involve harvest (felling and yarding) of conifers with diameters 7 inches 

and larger DBH which is a viable product size under current and anticipated market conditions. No old

residual trees (old growth; trees > 80 years old) would be cut, except for danger trees. Trees could be 

felled using mechanized feller-bunchers, cut-to-length harvesters, or hand (chainsaw) felling. The 

logging systems proposed for use during thinning, including the Riparian Reserve, would actually be less 

acreage than stated in Table 1. This is due to the limitation of the reach of the logging system equipment, 

i.e., lift and slope. Therefore, some Riparian Reserves buffers could be greater than stated in Table 2 and 

therefore less acres likely treated.

The primary silvicultural objective for ER is to control existing dense stocking conditions and to treat 

subordinate amounts of root disease infection within candidate stands to improve forest health and to 

sustain or increase tree growth and vigor throughout treatment areas including the Riparian Reserve. 

Felling actives would be designed using VDT techniques. VDT uses a combination of low and crown 

thinning to release larger dominant and co-dominant trees. Spacing between trees is variable depending 

on tree diameter distribution on the ground and thinning intensity. Individual stand characteristics would 

be heterogeneous and post-harvest tree spacing would not have a rigid, grid-like appearance. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 9 of 55

Table 2. Overall Design Criteria for Riparian Reserves 

Channel Project Activities Buffer

Riparian 

Reserve PDCRR Name

Range of 

Commercial 

Prescriptions 

Outside of Buffer 

(TPA)

Ephemeral and 

Intermittent

Non-fish

Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer except for 

hazard trees, corridor or 

anchor trees (for skyline 

cable yarding) may be felled 

and left at site, no 

commercial removal.

Stream side to 25 feet 

along both sides of 

channel.

One site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (175 

feet each side; 

total width 350 

feet)

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Density management and 

commercial extraction

allowed.

25 feet from stream side 

to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one site potential tree 

height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Ephemeral and 

Intermittent

Non-fish

Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer except for 

hazard trees, corridor or 

anchor trees (for skyline 

cable yarding) may be felled 

and left at site, no 

commercial removal.

Stream side to 35 feet 

along both sides of 

channel.

One site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (175 

feet each side; 

total width 350 

feet)

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone

Medium Thin = 90-150

Density management and 

commercial extraction

allowed.

35 feet from stream side 

to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one site potential tree 

height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Medium Thin = 90-150, 

Ephemeral and 

Intermittent

Non-fish

Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer except for 

hazard trees, corridor or 

anchor trees (for skyline 

cable yarding) may be felled 

and left at site, no 

commercial removal.

Stream side to 40 feet 

along both sides of 

channel.

One site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (175 

feet each side; 

total width 350 

feet)

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone

Heavy Thin = 50-90.

Density management and 

commercial extraction

allowed.

40 feet from stream side 

to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one site potential tree 

height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Heavy Thin = 50-90.

Perennial

Non-fish

Bearing 

Stream

No-cut buffer (same as 

Ephemeral and Intermittent

Streamside to 50-60 feet 

along both sides of 

channel

Same as above.

Primary Shade 

Zone (includes 

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone)

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Medium Thin = 90-150, 

Heavy Thin = 50-90.

Density management and 

commercial extraction 

allowed (same as Ephemeral 

and Intermittent).

50-60 feet from stream 

side to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one size potential 

tree height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Medium Thin = 90-150, 

Heavy Thin = 50-90.

Perennial

Fish Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer (same as 

Ephemeral and Intermittent

Same as Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream

Two site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (350 

feet each side; 

total width 700 

feet)

Same as 

Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Medium Thin = 90-150, 

Heavy Thin = 50-90.

Density management and 

commercial extraction 

allowed (same as Ephemeral 

and Intermittent).

Same as Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream, except Riparian 

Treatment Zone extends 

from 50-60‘ buffer limit 

to edge of two sitepotential tree buffer

Same as 

Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream

Light Thin = 150-225, 

Medium Thin = 90-150, 

Heavy Thin = 50-90.

Intensity of density management prescription treatments ranges from light, medium or heavy thins (see 

Figure 1) with a target relative density (RD) of approximately 35-50%. Tree species composition is 

maintained or enhanced by favoring a diverse mixture of conifers and hardwoods. Trees per acre (TPA), 

including the Riparian Reserves, is described as light thin equals a range of 150-225 per acres, medium 

thin equals a range of 90-150 TPA, and a heavy thin equals 50-90 TPA. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 10 of 55

Approximately 80% of the treatment would consist of medium thins based on productivity of the 

landscape. Areas within units that occur on the perimeter of existing openings or are predominately 

western hemlock may receive no thinning or light thin buffers to prevent wind throw. 

VDT may include creation of irregular shaped openings (i.e., gaps) interspersed within some thinning 

throughout the units, including the Riparian Reserve. Gaps would primarily treat root disease pockets by 

removing all tree species predisposed to infection. Gap size is estimated to be 1⁄4 to 2 acres depending on 

extent of root disease and proximity to existing openings on adjacent private timber company lands. 

VDT may include no-thin areas (i.e., skips). Skips can be strategically placed to protect hardwood 

thickets, minor tree species, pockets of large down wood, other unique stand attributes and inaccessible 

areas (see Figure 1.). 

Wide-thin gaps (WTG) may occur around genetic trees selected for cone collection, Port-Orford-cedar 

root disease pockets favoring resistant trees, or dominant tree release of desirable trees from competing 

vegetation. Generally, one (1) to four (4) trees would be retained in WTG (Figure 1.). The size of WTG 

would be approximately 1⁄4 - 1⁄2 acre. 

Thinning treatments are designed to enhance development of late seral conditions as recommended in the 

South Fork Coquille watershed assessment (1995) by moving stand structure forward by increasing tree 

growth through density management, creating structural diversity through skip and gap treatments and to 

improve forest health and resistance to forest pathogens. 

Site-specific silvicultural prescriptions would be developed for each individual stand identified for 

treatment and address each land allocation classification (Matrix, Riparian Reserve) during 

implementation. Silvicultural prescriptions would describe the desired future condition; specify tree 

spacing, target residual density (RD), preferred species, canopy retention, post-harvest treatments and 

other key stand components. Final silvicultural prescriptions would be approved by a Region 6 certified 

silviculturist. 

VDT treatments would harvest conifers with diameters ranging approximately 7-24 inches and larger. 

Extracted commercial timber volume is estimated to range 8-20 thousand board feet (mbf) per acre and 

could potentially yield up to 55 million board feet for the entire project. 

b. Timber Felling – Laminated Root Rot Silvicultural Treatments (See Map 2) 

Laminated root rot (Phellinus weirii) disease infection extensively decays roots of susceptible host trees 

and either causes windthrow or mortality by destroying the tree‘s ability to take up water and nutrients 

(Hadfield et al., 1986). Windthrow is more common with laminated root rot than other root pathogens. 

Tree species present in proposed treatment units are listed as follows in decreasing order of susceptibility: 

Douglas-fir and white fir> western hemlock > Port-Orford-cedar. All hardwoods are immune. Proposed 

treatment sites would occur outside of the Riparian Reserve since disease infection prefers a drier 

environment to subsist. These gaps would be openings of 1⁄4 acre in size up to 2 acres located in the upper 

portions of watersheds. These gaps would be 10% or less of the individual unit and would equal less than 

1% of the entire 5th field watersheds. 

Laminated root rot is affecting forest health on portions of Eden Ridge Planning Area, particularly in the 

northern half in forest stands adjacent to FS roads 5000440, 5000440003, and 5000448. See Figure 2 for 

photograph examples of laminated root rot. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 11 of 55

Figure 1. Illustration of Stand Treatments

 

 

 

Figure 1. Examples of Stand Treatment; Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

4. SKIP

5. WIDE -THIN GAP

(1⁄4 to 1⁄2 ACRE OPENINGS WITH A 

DOMINANT TREE RETAINED) (1⁄4 to 2 ACRE OPENINGS)

4. SKIP

5. WIDE -THIN GAP

(1⁄4 to 1⁄2 ACRE OPENINGS WITH A 

DOMINANT TREE RETAINED)

(1⁄4 to 2 ACRE OPENINGS)
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 12 of 55

Figure 2. Examples of Laminated Root Rot in Northern Portion of Planning Area

 Unit 2 Unit 201

Gap Development Treatment (See Map 2) 

Treatment for non-commercial silvicultural treatments are the same as described for the commercial 

silvicultural treatments, including no-cut buffers as stated in Table 2. 

Irregular shaped openings 1⁄4 to 2 acres for tree yield (Matrix) reasons centered on root rot pockets 

may be created to treat portions of stands infected with laminated root rot. 

No more than fifteen percent of the acres within each unit would be treated. 

Approximately 330 acres (.1%) of Gap Development Treatment would be treated out of the total 

project 3,300 acres and is only within the Coal Creek 6th field watershed. These openings would not 

occur within the watersheds with the same year and would be planted with POC following the 

treatment. 

Treatments would fall all susceptible tree species within and along the perimeter of infection pockets 

while favoring resistant or immune species for leave trees. Gaps may be site prepared and planted 

afterwards with Port-Orford-cedar seedlings for stand health and enhance structural and species 

diversity within a stand. 

c. Timber Felling – Port Orford Cedar Root Disease (POC) Silvicultural Treatments (See Map 2) 

Port Orford cedar root disease (Phytophthora lateralis) (PL) treatment consists of Wide Thin Gaps, 

roadside sanitation and tree planting resistant POC seedlings. Proposed activities would occur mostly in 

Riparian Reserves. 

 Wide-Thin Gap Treatments (WTG) 

Fall all live POC within PL infection sites. Leave non-susceptible tree species on site. Thin out all 

live POC within 2 to 3 crown radii (50-100 feet) from last infected POC along the perimeter of 

infection sites to separate healthy POC from potential root contact with infected POC. Pile and burn 

all POC slash and follow-up underburn to potentially mitigate disease presence. Sites can be planted 

with non-susceptible tree seedlings. This treatment would likely be an understory treatment of 

infested POC seedlings, saplings and small poles and not result in creation of a gap in the overstory 

canopy. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 13 of 55

Roadside Sanitation 

The Roadside Sanitation is located on ridge top roads as shown on Map 2. Treatment would manage 

for non-susceptible tree species by removing all POC along road sides and high risk sites as follows: 

100-feet each side of roads at stream crossings. 

25 feet above roads and 50-feet below roads in areas with measurably contributing POC. 

Only one headwater perennial stream crossing is located in a proposed new classified road 

construction (road  ̳W‘) for accessing unit 327, which is approximately 4 miles above the CCH 

habitat. All other treatments if near stream crossings are on ephemeral or intermittent streams. 

Approximately 104 acres (.031%) of Roadside Sanitation would be treated out of the total project 

3,300 acres. 

Planting 

POC would be restored within its natural range by planting non-PL infested areas with resistant POC 

seedlings. Also, laminated root rot pockets would be planted with resistant POC seedlings after 

treatments as described in the section on laminated root rot. 

d. Timber Felling -- Non-Commercial Silvicultural Treatments for Instream Restoration 

Removal or thinning of 150 non-commercial sized trees is proposed for 385 acres within the ER Planning 

Area. Treatment for non-commercial silvicultural treatments are the same as described for the 

commercial silvicultural treatments, including no-cut buffers as stated in Table 2. Most of the noncommercial trees would be in thinning units located in Riparian Reserves. The trees would be directional 

felled toward the creek for future instream restoration and left onsite. A few of the trees in Unit 345 or 

any other that are located near a road and outside of the Riparian Reserve may be removed via log truck 

and placed instream during a future instream restoration project. 

The purpose of the non-commercial treatments is to improve the health and vigor of Riparian Reserves for 

future large wood instream recruitment within the South Fork Coquille 5th Field Watershed. The project 

acres with these stand conditions that would benefit from these treatments is shown on Map 2 and are 

located in Units 900, 901, 902, 903, 904, 905, 906 and 345. Portions of proposed units for noncommercial treatments have high height to diameter ratios on overstory trees and forest health issues with 

laminated root rot, shallow soils and potential windthrow. Approximately 50 trees per mile would be 

placed within approximately 3 miles of stream (150 trees total, approximately 22,650 cubic feet of wood). 

The proposed restoration is located in resident fish habitat ranging from two miles to seven miles 

upstream of CCH. 

Figure 3. Example of Dense Stands Proposed for Non-Commercial Treatment – Unit 905 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 14 of 55

e. Timber Yarding 

Logging systems projected to be utilized to harvest trees are also displayed in Table 2. Tractor, or 

ground-based systems, would be used on approximately 2,119 acres, or 64% of the treated area. Skyline 

systems would be used on approximately 1,190 acres, or 36% of the treated area. Helicopter systems are 

not proposed under this project but could be an option if economics were favorable. Some terrain would 

require partial suspension (or full suspension) systems on stands that had previously been cable logged 

without suspension in the past. 

Design Criteria for Timber Felling and Yarding

Project Design Criteria for Riparian Reserves (PDCRR) (Park 2005) is used to prevent shade reduction in 

riparian areas at the same time as improving stand health with density management thinning treatments 

and/or commercial extraction while allowing attainment of or restoration of Aquatic Conservation 

Strategy (ACS) objectives under the Northwest Forest Plan. Table 2 summarizes PDCRR. Riparian 

buffers stated in Table 2 were adjusted slightly wider for ephemeral and intermittent non-fish bearing 

streams with medium and heavy thin buffers, a change from 25 feet to 35 feet and 40 feet respectively, as 

suggested by NMFS in order to facilitate an expeditious consultation. NMFS suggested that the buffer 

change would reflect their concern for addressing activities in riparian areas in relation to riparian buffer 

adequacy and loss in the short-term of small wood contribution to streams. 

Exposure to direct solar radiation, as described in the PDCRR will often cause a dramatic increase in 

stream temperatures. When shaded throughout the entire day, far less heat energy would be transferred to 

the stream. The ability of riparian vegetation to shade the stream depends on vegetation height, density, 

stream width and position relative to the stream. 

Thinning can affect stream temperature by removing shade trees. The amount of shade lost depends on 

stream width, tree height and stream orientation. The following Figure display thinning effects similar to 

those proposed under this project, for one mile of stream. Most daily solar radiation occurs between 

10am and 2pm. Trees that provide stream shade during this time are considered ―primary shade trees‖. 

Primary shade trees would not be removed. Figure 4 displays buffer width as a function of angular 

canopy density for mature trees. A mature tree is defined an individual tree that has reached most of its 

potential height growth. At a point the shade density increases very little as the sun‘s angle decreases or 

the sun gets lower in the sky. This is the secondary shade zone. The primary shade tree zone for mature 

trees varies from 50 to 60 feet in width. Very little additional shade is gained when the sun is low enough 

to intercept the secondary shade trees. Therefore, in dense stands such as the plantations proposed for 

treatment, trees outside the ―primary shade zone‖ can be thinned with a neutral effect on stream shade. 

Figure 4. Buffer widths and Angular Canopy Density
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 15 of 55

Riparian Reserve treatments and project design elements fall into three categories; fish-bearing 

perennial streams, non-fish-bearing perennial streams, and intermittent and ephemeral streams

(see next sections). 

General Design Criteria for Riparian Reserves 

No density management treatment would reduce the existing overstory canopy within 

Riparian Reserve to less than 50% (on average at the stand level). 

No commercial extraction of trees would occur within 25 ft. of stream course.

To reduce the risk of sediment delivery, soil compaction or the loss of soil infiltration capacity in 

the riparian area to the streams, yarding activities, within 100 feet of stream courses, pre and 

post activity would not result in a loss of more than 10% of the soil infiltration capacity 

which reduces concerns for sediment reaching the stream. This activity would include 

existing skid trails, which could be re-utilized as necessary and then be deep ripped (as feasible) 

to re-establish soil infiltration capacity. 

Ground based equipment would travel within 100 feet of a stream course. The only access in the 

Riparian Reserve that ground based equipment would be allowed is on designated and approved 

skid trails. When the access point is no longer needed they would then be deep ripped (as 

feasible) to re-establish soil infiltration capacity. The minimum distance of 100 feet would occur 

only if there is a ridge break and highly vegetative buffer. Use of long-lining (winch line) to 

remove from treatment areas is allowed where it is determined to be of benefit to Riparian 

Reserve conditions such as reducing the amount of skid trails needed. 

Yarding activities should achieve full suspension over the active channel1. To facilitate log 

suspension with skyline operations, corridors for cable rigging would be allowed to pass through 

Riparian Reserves. A maximum clearing width of 12 ft. is required and logs may be yarded 

through this corridor if necessary. Corridors must be spaced at a minimum of 200 feet apart if 

they pass through Riparian Reserves. Corridor ―rub trees‖ within the Riparian Reserve, even if 

damaged, would either be left standing or felled and left in place. 

Design Criteria for Perennial Streams 

This includes permanently flowing perennial fish-bearing and nonfish-bearing streams. The primary 

concern regarding yarding Riparian Reserves with fish bearing streams is prevention of sediment delivery 

to streams, prevention of concentrated overland flow, wood recruitment, and maintenance of stream 

temperatures. Project design features would follow direction provided in NWFP Temperature TMDL 

Implementation Strategies 20052. This involves protection, maintenance and enhancement of existing 

stream shade, and maintenance of the existing micro-climate, ambient air temperature, and air movement. 

The primary difference between fish-bearing and nonfish-bearing stream is the width of the entire 

Riparian Reserve (which is differentiated by fish-bearing status) as shown below: 

Fish-bearing Riparian Reserve widths are two site potential tree heights each side of stream 

course (175 ft. X 2 = 350 ft. each side; total width 700 ft). 

Nonfish-bearing Riparian Reserve widths are one site potential tree height each side of 

stream course (175 ft. each side; total width 350 ft.). 

 

1

 Active channel is the bank full width of flowing perennial or intermittent streams. 

2

 Northwest Forest Plan Temperature TMDL Implementation strategies - Evaluation of the Northwest Forest Plan Aquatic 

Conservation Strategy and Associated Tools to achieve and maintain stream temperature water quality standards. USFS and 

BLM; latest version September 9, 2005. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 16 of 55

The Stream Channel Protection Zone is from the edge of stream course up to 25 feet. No commercial 

extraction) would occur within 25 ft. of the active stream channel.

The Riparian Treatment Zone (Primary Shade Zone) is an area where canopy retention standards to 

meet TMDL Implementation Strategies, however some density management, fuels reduction or other 

restoration treatments could occur. The Primary Shade Zone is an area where no commercial extraction 

would occur (larger trees felled for skyline corridor clearing would be left), however some density 

management or other restoration treatments could occur. Distance from active stream channel varies 

according to height of existing overstory trees and hill slope in immediate area. The following table 

establishes the width of the Primary Shade Zone. 

Table 3. Primary Shade Zone Width, Based on Adjacent Hill Slope within Perennial Streams 

Hill Slope

<30%

Hill Slope

30% to 60%

Hill Slope 

>60%

Primary Shade Zone 

Width (slope distance)

50 ft. 55 ft. 60 ft.

The Temperature Implementation Strategies allow the distances in the above table to be less (but not less 

than 25 ft.) if the trees are located on a south facing slope (175-185 degree azimuth) and therefore do not 

provide stream shade. Note: no large wood, old residual trees (old growth; trees>80 years old), with a 

potential for instream recruitment would be cut). 

Figure 5. Riparian Reserve Design Elements – Perennial Fish & Non-Fish Bearing Streams 

Design Criteria for Non Fish-bearing Intermittent and Ephemeral Streams 

Seasonally flowing intermittent and ephemeral non-fish-bearing streams have buffers established for the 

prevention of sediment delivery to streams, prevention of concentrated overland flow, and maintenance of 

micro-climates, ambient air temperature and humidity. There are no fish-bearing ephemeral and 

intermittent stream channels. 

Stream Channel Protection Zone 

(Includes 25 Foot No Cut Buffer) 

50-60 feet

Riparian 

Treatment 

Zone

Two Site Potential Tree Heights

(Fish bearing) 

One Site Potential Tree Height

(Non-fish Bearing)

Riparian 

Treatment 

Zone

Total Riparian 

Reserve Width 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 17 of 55

The primary difference between perennial and intermittent/ephemeral stream are the buffers for no-cut, 

and density management and commercial extraction. The intermittent/ephemeral Riparian Reserves and 

non-fish bearing Riparian Reserves are the same, one site potential tree heights on each side of stream 

course (175 feet on each side; total is 350 feet); see Table 2. 

Figure 6. Riparian Reserve Design Elements – Ephemeral and Intermittent Stream Channels

2. Timber Hauling 

The only haul route segment adjacent to EFH with a gravel-surface is the remaining 200 feet of road 

NFSL 5000 with a 12 percent slope, which parallels Coal Creek. This section of road is crowned, has two 

ditch relief culverts which drains into an 80 feet vegetated buffer. The remaining road segment of haul 

route coming from the gravel-surface road is a 50 feet asphalt-surfaced segment, which drains around a 

corner into a well vegetative buffer before reaching the stream. Map 2 displays the haul route. The haul 

routes from the units are gravel surfaced roads down to the paved NFSL Road 3300 adjacent the South 

Fork Coquille River. Table 4 displays the amount of haul occurring over perennial stream crossings 

within the most impact being in the Coal Creek 6th Field. At the junction of the NFSL road 5000 Road 

and NFSL Road 200 the entire haul merges into the NFSL Road 5000 for approximately one mile. The 

timber haul would average about 14 truckloads daily from this location down the 5000 road. 

Table 4. Summary of the Number of Perennial Stream Crossings That Would Occur during Haul 

Watershed Number of Perennial 

Stream Crossings

South Fork Coquille 5th Field ,Headwater South Fork 6

th Field watershed 3

South Fork Coquille 5th Field, Coal Creek 6th Field watershed 22

South Fork Coquille 5th Field, Mill Creek 6th Field watershed 4

TOTAL 29

Total Riparian 

Reserve Width 

Riparian 

Treatment 

Zone

One Site 

Potential

Tree Height

One Site 

Potential

Tree Height

Stream Channel Protection Zone

(No-Cut Buffer 25-40 feet.)

Riparian 

Treatment 

Zone
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 18 of 55

Design Criteria for Haul Route

OPERATIONS WITHIN THE NORMAL OPERATING SEASON: Project design features would be 

implemented to make it unlikely that sediment would reach stream channels. 

Haul would occur June 1 to Oct 31st. 

Road crown would be maintained. 

Operations shall cease at any time when the travel way of the road is wet and turbid water or 

fines are observed moving off the road surface to ditch lines that deliver to EFH or any 

stream type. 

If fine sediment is observed to be moving off the road surface to ditch lines or streams due to 

timber sale activities, the Forest Service Timber Administer is responsible to have the Timber 

Sale Purchaser place sediment filters to prevent this sediment from reaching any stream. 

IF OPERATIONS OUTSIDE THE NORMAL OPERATING SEASON: November 1 through May 31st

are allowed, the following rules must be applied to timber haul on gravel roads adjacent EFH or any 

stream type stream channels: 

Operations shall cease at any time when the travel way of the road is wet and turbid water or fines 

are observed moving off the road surface to ditch lines that deliver to EFH or any stream type. 

If fine sediment is observed to be moving off the road surface to ditch lines or streams due to 

timber sale activities, the Forest Service Timber Administer is responsible to have the Timber 

Sale Purchaser place sediment filters to prevent this sediment from reaching any stream. 

Road Rutting: No hauling down the gravel road surface if rutting is occurring, indicating the 

subsurface is wet. 

Wet weather conditions must be monitored daily by the US Forest Service Timber Sale 

Administrator for the chance of precipitation, especially 1 inch of rain in 24 hours. 

3. Fuels Treatment 

Activity fuels treatment refers to the slash and accumulated fuel resulting from the proposed density 

management treatments. While there may be some slash from previous harvesting or from natural 

conditions, the majority of material would be generated through density management treatment and 

commercial removal. Activity fuels treatments proposed for this project include only those that are 

predicted to be necessary to obtain a resultant and acceptable fuels/fire risk. Several methods of activity 

fuels treatment are being proposed, and include the following: burning tree tops that were yarded to 

landing site, burning materials accumulated by harvest activity that is piled (by hand or mechanical 

equipment), chipping, and under burning. 

Design Criteria for Fuels Treatment in Riparian Reserves

The Stream Channel Protection Zone cited in the PDCRR is from the edge of the stream course 

up to 25 feet. No vegetation management would occur within 25 feet of the active stream 

channel. 

No hand piles would be located or burned within the channel. 

Prescribed fire would not be ignited within this zone but fire may be allowed to ―back down‖ to 

the stream channel. Specially designed criteria for prescribed burning within Riparian Reserves 

are show in Figure 7. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 19 of 55

Figure 7. Riparian Reserve Design Elements - Prescribed Under Burning 

Stream

Edge of channel 25’

10 ’

Back burn down

Ignition

The Burn Boss can adjust the 

100’ ignition distance as needed 

to meet burn objectives and 

protect the ground vegetation 

within the 25’ zone

Infiltrated water from 

precipitation

Reason for protection of the 25’ zone: 

Increased water pressure from groundwater 

and the rise and fall of the stream’s water 

can make this area more sensitive to slope 

failure

Maintain most of the ground

vegetation

Riparian Reserve Width

 Maintain overstory trees

Prescribed Burn in Riparian Reserves

 Project Design Criteria 

Reducing high fuel Loading 

Pump chances

- 

 -

Use mechanical treatment and pile burning as 

needed prior to under burning to protect the overstory trees. Pile and burning should 

be no closer to the stream than 25’ to maintain ground vegetation. 

 Fire, engineering and aquatic resource personnel will work together 

to determine suitable pump chances and the measures needed for the protection of 

aquatic resources. Refuel 100’ feet from a stream or use measures to assure fuel 

does not reach flowing water. Water withdrawal equipment must have a 3/32 intake 

screen in order to avoid fish entrapment.

4. Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Road Decommissioning, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction, and New Road Construction 

The Eden Ridge Planning Area currently has a minimal existing road network, because it has not been 

vegetatively managed for many decades, and when the logging that created the candidate stands of today 

were created, most of the area was logged by railroad systems. Most of the existing roads evolved from 

these early railroad grades but do not adequately serve the Planning Area for today‘s needs and systems. 

The current existing road system within Eden Ridge, overall, are currently managed and maintained. 

Refer to Table 5, Table 6 and Map 2 for the general locations of road use, proposed reconstruction/road 

decommissioning, road reconstruction and maintenance needs associated with the 6th field watershed. 

There would be 23 Intermittent/Ephemeral Non Fish bearing crossings built and 12 perennial crossings in 

the 3.19 miles of road activities that are occurring in the Riparian Reserve. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 20 of 55

Table 5. Summary of All Road Activity in Riparian Reserves 

Road System 

– By Road 

Type

Road Number 

or Unit

Number of 

Intermittent/Ephemeral 

Non-fish Bearing

Road Crossings

Number of 

Perennial 

Road 

Crossings

Total

Road Segments 

Miles

Distance 

from 

CCH/EFH

Temporary Road (Access) Construction – New Roads to be Built in Riparian, No Existing Template. 

Decommission Afterwards

Q4 1 1 0.21 9.3/2.3

R 0 0 0.03 9.4/2.4

Total Crossings/Miles 1 1 0.25 Total Miles

Road Reconstruction

5000299 0 1 0.57 11.7/4.7

5000442 1 0 0.25 11.0/4.0

5000442.1 1 0 0.07 11.0/4/0

5000443 2 0 0.28 11.7/4.7

5000446 1 0 0.09 11.8/4.8

5000451 2 0 0.11 4.2/5.2

Total Crossings/Miles 7 1 1.36 Total Miles

New Permanent Road Construction

B 2 0 0.16 8.8/8.8

F 1 0 0.17 11.7/11.7

J 0 1 0.05 23.6/4.6

O4 4 0 0.10 14.5/7.5

S1 0 1 0.06 9.8/2.8

S3 0 1 0.06 9.7/2.7

S5 0 1 0.05 10.3/3.3

S6 1 0 0.06 10.3/3.3

S7 0 2 0.11 11.0/4.0

S8 1 0 0.04 10.3/3.3

S9 3 0 0.05 12.0/5.0

T 1 0 0.10 17.5/10.5

U 0 1 0.12 14.5/7.5

W 1 3 0.33 15.4/8.4

Z 1 0 0.13 15.6/8.6

Total 

Crossings/Miles 15 10 1.58 Total Miles

Grand Total – Proposed 

Crossings and Miles of Roads to 

be Built in Riparian Reserves

Intermittent/Ephemeral

Crossings

23

Perennial 

Road 

Crossings

12

Total Miles

3.19

a. Road Maintenance 

This activity includes several routine related activities which maintain drainage, cuts and fills and 

surfacing of the road prism to accommodate light and commercial road traffic; while maintaining the 

integrity of the road facility and minimizing effects to natural resources adjacent to the road. Much of 

this work is done with a motor grader, dump trucks and backhoe and includes travel way surface 

maintenance, drainage ditch maintenance, culvert cleaning, surface rock replacement, shaping of the 

roadway and ditches by blading, removal of slough materials, compacting and other mechanized and hand 

work. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 21 of 55

It is estimated that road maintenance would be needed on the road system utilized for this project, over at 

least ten years. The FS Road 290 that access some of the timber sales is gated to prevent public access 

during periods when POC disease could spread. 

b. Temporary Road (Access) Construction & Decommissioning 

Approximately 0.29 miles of new temporary road is proposed, in two segments, not longer than 0.25 

miles in length (Table 6 and Map 2). Temporary roads include those roads needed only for the 

purchaser‘s use, such as roads used to haul timber from landings to permanent National Forest System 

roads. The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project may need other new temporary road construction for 

candidate stand access if it minimizes resource damage. These roads would be built and removed by the 

operator as part of the Forest Service timber sale or stewardship contract. 

Table 6. Proposed Temporary Road (Access) Construction & Decommissioning 

Road 

Segment 

Reference

Length 

(miles) Notes

Distance to Coho 

Critical Habitat

(Stream 

Miles)/EFH

Q4 0.25 No template, crosses a intermittent 

channel

9.3/2.3

R 0.03 Short spur; joins with existing road 9.4/2.4

TOTAL 0.29

c. Road Reconstruction 

Reconstruction involves maintenance and improvements to existing road or railroad template, to make 

them suitable for logging equipment and harvest treatment access. Reconstruction involves restoring a 

road to operational condition. 

Road repairs could have one or more of the following work items: removing fallen trees, cleaning out 

culvert inlets, removing and disposing of small cut slope slides, falling danger trees, replacing minor 

amounts of road surfacing, replacing, adding additonal drainage structures, etc. Treatments could include 

grading, clearing, restoring road width loss, or stabilizing a cut or fill (embankment) slope that was lost 

due to storm damage, by placing riprap materials (large boulders) against existing slopes, and may 

include widening and surface rock replacement. 

Table 7. Road Reconstruction in Relation to CCH/EFH 

Road Numbers Distance to 

CCH/EFH (miles)

5000291 8.9/1.9

5000298 10.0/3.0

5000299 26.8/19.8

5000299.1 9.9/2.9

5000442 18.5/11.5

5000442.1 11.4/4.4

5000443 11.8/4.8

5000446 23.8/4.8

5000447 4.6/4.6

5000448.1 10.7/3.7

5000451 4.2/4.2
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 22 of 55

d. Landing Construction/Reconstruction 

Some of the areas associated with the candidate stands have an existing network of roads and landings 

from previous harvests. However, there would also be a need for some additional areas created for log 

landings. These would primarily occur in areas where no landing currently exist or where a change in 

logging systems (e.g., where skyline logging is now prescribed in areas previously railroad logged). Two 

existing landings are known to exist in the Riparian Reserve and outside of the primary shade zone, see 

Map 2 and Table 8. 

Site L-13 is an existing landing with a primary road located within it. It is situated where 90% of the 

landing is upslope of the road and 10% of the landing is downslope of the road, approximately 100 feet 

above the stream channel above the break in slope. The 10% section of the landing is where the yarder 

would be located and in a well vegetated site. 

Site L-14 is a new landing and is located adjacent to the main haul route road and would be situated 

completely above the road. The road is located approximately 80 to 100 feet above the stream channel. 

The riparian zone buffer consists of large trees and a brush and forbs well vegetative component. The 

yarder would be stored away from the stream on the upslope side of the road. 

Design Criteria for landings in Riparian Reserve 

All landings, designated skid trails, staging or decking within Riparian Reserves would 

o Be of minimum size as possible to only allow operations; 

o Be located above the break in slope above the stream channel; 

o Have a well vegetated strip between the work site and the stream channel, which is a 

minimum or greater of the no-cut buffers; 

Landing slopes would be armored with logs or other woody material capable of protecting the 

slope surface. 

Landing surfaces would drain away from the stream channel during and after use, and, would be 

revegetated/mulched after use. 

All landings are subject to season of use restrictions. 

Landing site restoration would consist of : 

o Placement of slash on bare soils located on the downhill slope. 

o Loose material on the downslope side would be pulled back. 

All landings will be at least 100 feet away from stream channels. 

Table 8. Landings in Riparian Reserves 

Landing in Riparian

Distance to Coho 

Habitat/EFH Existing or New

Perennial or Intermittent

L-13 9.0/2.0 Existing Perennial, non-Fish Bearing

L-14 (unit 309) 9.4/2.4 New Perennial, Fish Bearing (non CCH)

e. New Road Construction 

In order to adequately and efficiently access the Planning Area for today‘s management systems, there is 

a need for additional classified roads. Given the current situation, these new access roads could not be 

developed without the need to cross some drainages designated as Riparian Reserve. A total of 

approximately 11.1 miles of new road construction (Table 9) is proposed. Of the 11.1 miles of road, 0.3 

miles would be permenantly decommssioned. The remaining new road construction would include 

approximately 10.8 miles, in 43 segments, ranging from 0.11 miles to 1.93 miles. New roads would be 

managed as Maintenance Level 1 (Table 10, closed until further need). New permanent roads in 

Riparian Reserve total 1.58 miles. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 23 of 55

All proposed new system roads would be rocked as needed to minimize erosion and allow for extended 

use during wet conditions. All new roads (including those crossing Riparian Reserve) would be 

engineered and designed to minimize envornmental impacts. Designed roads constructed on NFSLwould 

be accompished to standards appropriate for the intended uses; considering safety, cost of transportation, 

and impacts on lands and resources. Designed roads would be constructed as stable and durable 

structures to facilitate maintenance during and after use and monitored every five years. 

This design would include necessary drainage facilities, adequate erosion control, closure devices, and 

resource protection devices. Closure of all new construction of system roads would typically be 

accomplished via a road entrance closure of native materials (logs, earth, boulders) after timber sale 

activites had occurred, placing them into Maintenance Level 1 Status (Table 10). 

Table 9. Proposed New Road Construction, Location and Distance to CCH 

Road Segment 

Reference

Road Length

(Contiguous - miles) Notes

Distance to Coho 

Critical 

Habitat/EFH

(Stream Miles)

A 0.23 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade 4.3/4.3

B 0.74 Crosses some riparian; some grade up to 10% 9.1/9.1

C 0.03 Begins on PVT; ties to road M for FS access 24.3/5.3

D 0.60 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade 28.5/9.5

E1 0.34 Ridgetop road, skyline and GB access, no grade 24.0/5.0

E2 0.22 Ridgetop road, skyline and GB access, no grade 24.05.0

E3 0.20 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade 24.05.0

F 0.39 Crosses riparian, minimal grade 7.9/7.9

G 0.15 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade 3.7/3.7

H 0.21 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade 3.33.3

I 0.09 Ties to existing route planned for reconstruction 23.9/4.9

J 0.08 Crosses riparian; provides GB access 23.8/4.8

K 0.36 Begins on PVT; for FS skyline access 23.3/4.3

L 0.01 Begins on PVT; for FS skyline access 23.5/4.5

M 0.81 Ties to road C for FS access, minimal grade 28.1/9.1

N 0.04 Begins on PVT for FS access 23.1/3.1

O1 0.28 First segment for skyline access; minimal grade 23.6/4.6

O2 0.23 Second segment for skyline access; minimal grade 23.5/4.5

O3 0.24 Third segment for skyline access; minimal grade 23.4/4.4

O4 0.18 Additional segment for skyline access; minimal 

grade 23.2/4.2

P1 0.06 Begins on PVT, ties to P2 for FS access 8.9/1.9

P2 0.08 Ties to P1 for FS access 9.0/2.0

P3 0.13 Ridgetop skyline access 9.3/2.3

P4 0.11 Ridgetop skyline access 9.4/2.4

Q1 0.11 Begins on PVT; ties to roads Q2 & Q3 for FS access 9.1/2.1

Q2 0.05 Second segment for GB access 9.1/2.1

Q3 0.10 Second segment for GB access 9.1/2.1

S1 0.09 Joins existing road with existing road planned for 

reconstruction 10.0/3.0

S2 0.12 Joins existing road with existing road planned for 

reconstruction 9.9/2.9

S3 0.06 Construction of old railroad grade trestle to 

classified road 10.0/3.0

S4 0.15 Additional segment for GB access 9.9/2.9

S5 0.05 Construction of old railroad grade trestle to 

classified road 10.0/2.0

S6 0.24 Additional segment for GB & skyline access 11.9/4.9

S7 0.11 Construction of old railroad grade trestle to 

classified road 10.2/3.2

S8 0.04 Construction of old railroad grade trestle to 

classified road 10.4/3.4

S9 0.06 Construction of old railroad grade trestle to 

classified road 10.8/3.8
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 24 of 55

Road Segment 

Reference

Road Length

(Contiguous - miles) Notes

Distance to Coho 

Critical 

Habitat/EFH

(Stream Miles)

T 1.93 Crosses some riparian; some grade up to 10% 13.0/6.0

U 0.38 Crosses some riparian; minimal grades 14.6/7.6

V 0.14 Ridgetop road, skyline & GB access, no grade 11.3/4.3

W 0.61 Crosses some riparian; minimal grades 12.0/5.0

X 0.22 GB access; minimal grade 11.6/4.6

Y 0.18 GB access; minimal grade 12.0/5.0

Z 0.35 Crosses some riparian; some grade up to 10% 11.9/4.9

TOTAL 10.81

Table 10. Road Maintenance Level Definitions 

Level 1

Basic custodial maintenance is performed to keep damage to adjacent resources to an acceptable level 

and to perpetuate the road to facilitate future management activities. While being maintained at level 

1, roads are closed to vehicular traffic. These areas will be monitored every five years to ensure any 

stream crossings are continuing to function properly during winter storms events.

Level 2

Assigned to roads open for use by high clearance vehicles. Traffic is normally minor, usually 

consisting of one or a combination of administrative, permitted, dispersed recreation, or other 

specialized uses. 

Design Criteria for Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Reconstruction, Road 

Decommissioning, and Landing Construction

General Design Criteria 

Minimize hydrologic connectivity and sediment delivery from roads. This includes roads inside 

and outside of Riparian Reserves. Road drainage will be routed away from potentially unstable 

channels, fills, and hillslopes. 

All exposed soils near streams will be mulched for erosion control measures. 

No side-casting (placement of unconsolidated earthen waste materials resulting from road 

construction or maintenance) in Riparian Reserves 

Minimize or avoid disruption of natural hydrologic flow paths, including diversion of streamflow 

and interception of surface and subsurface flow when considering constructing or reconstructing 

roads or landings either inside or outside of Riparian Reserves. 

New or replaced permanent stream crossings would be designed to accommodate at least the 100-

year flood, including associated bedload and debris. 

Where physically feasible, construction or reconstruction of stream crossings would avoid 

diversion of streamflow out of the channel and down the road 

All designated skid trails, staging or decking within Riparian Reserves would: 

o Be of minimum size as possible to only allow operations; 

o Be located above the break in slope above the stream channel; 

o Have a well vegetated strip between the work site and the stream channel, which is 

minimum or greater of the no-cut buffers; 

Landing Design Criteria 

Landing slopes would be armored with logs or other woody material capable of protecting the 

slope surface. 

Landing surfaces would drain away from the stream channel during and after use, and, would be 

revegetated/mulched after use. 

All landings are subject to season of use restrictions. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 25 of 55

Landing site restoration would consist of : 

o Placement of slash on bare soils located on the downhill slope. 

o Loose material on the downslope side would be pulled back. 

o Be of minimum size as possible to only allow operations; 

o Be located above the break in slope above the stream channel; 

o Have a well vegetated strip between the work site and the stream channel, which is a 

minimum or greater of the no-cut buffers; 

Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning Design Criteria 

Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning would be managed in accordance with water quality 

Best Management Practices3(BMPs) R-23. In order to prevent continued low level casual use, and to 

minimize resource impacts, such roads and landings would be obliterated at the completion of their 

intended use. Effective obliteration is generally achieved through a combination of the following 

measures: 

o Temporary culverts are removed and natural drainage configuration is re-established; 

o Road surfaces are ripped; 

o Sideslopes are reshaped and stabilized; road is effectively drained; and 

o Road is blocked to further use, and road is returned to vegetation production through revegetation 

(seeding, planting browse species, or hardwood/conifer trees). 

o Temporary roads built would be closed after the season of use of if kept open over winter would 

be winterized. Drainage work to winterize temporary roads would include water bars at suitable 

intervals and out sloping. 

New Road Construction Project Design Criteria 

Some of the new classified roads would cross Riparian Reserves under specially designed Project Design 

Criteria for Riparian Reserves (see below). 

No new road construction would be allowed to cross or disturb any fish bearing perennial 

stream, especially the banks of fish bearing portions/tributaries of Coal Creek and Wooden Rock 

Creek. 

New classified road construction would only be allowed to cross non fish bearing perennial 

streams or intermittent streams and would include engineering design as Operational 

Maintenance Level 2 roads during use and Maintenance Level 1 (Table 10) when not in use for 

harvest activities. 

Perennial channels will be dewatered or water will be rerouted during construction with 

manufactured or natural sediment filters will be placed within the channel to prevent sediment 

from discharging downstream. 

New permanent stream crossings would be designed to accommodate at least the 100-year flood, 

including associated bedload and debris. 

Relief ditch spacing would get spaced and the road sloped such that water does not channelize 

when leaving the relief culvert. 

Roads would be designed to minimize hydrologic connectivity and sediment delivery. This 

includes roads inside and outside of Riparian Reserves. Road drainage would be routed away 

from potentially unstable channels, fills, and hillslopes. 

No side-casting (placement of unconsolidated earthen waste materials resulting from road 

construction or maintenance) in Riparian Reserves 

 

3

General Water Quality Best Management Practices, Pacific Northwest Region, November 1988. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 26 of 55

Minimize or avoid disruption of natural hydrologic flow paths, including diversion of streamflow 

and interception of surface and subsurface flow when considering constructing or reconstructing 

roads or landings either inside or outside of Riparian Reserves. 

Where physically feasible, construction of stream crossings would avoid diversion of streamflow 

out of the channel and down the road. 

5. Other Restoration Activities 

a. Snag/Down Wood Creation 

In areas where past management has resulted in a lack of large snags needed for cavity nesting species, 

snags may be created from live trees left in stands. Creation can be through girdling, topping the trees 

with chain saws, blasting, or inoculation with heart rot fungi. These methods would open the trunk to 

development of a hollow core used by woodpeckers and a variety of other birds, mammals, and other 

wildlife. Whenever possible, creation of snags over 14‖ DBH within each plantation should be part of 

each prescription through top removal or girdling. Evaluations would occur after density management 

treatments to assess potential needs for snag/down wood creation. In areas lacking adequate amounts of 

down woody material (include snags in calculations), green trees may be felled. 

b. Riparian Snags 

Snags and down large coarse wood would be retained to support forest function. This project is planned 

for down logs to be retained and are considered excess only when all site considerations have met and in 

accordance with Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines. 

Coarse woody material (CWM) fulfills a number of important ecological functions such as stabilizing 

surface soils, increasing organic content in soils over the long-term, providing habitat for the many 

organisms that depend on snags and down logs in various stages of decay, and ensuring adequate coarse 

woody material recruitment to meet the ecological needs of aquatic systems over time. 

Within Riparian Reserve, prescriptions would account for future large woody material recruitment. If 

residual trees are felled (e.g., human safety or skyline corridors), provisions for replacement trees would 

be made during operations. Whenever possible, creation of snags over 20‖ DBH within riparian areas of 

each treatment unit should be part of each prescription through top removal, inoculation or girdling. 

Throughout the Riparian Reserves, snags 10 inches diameter or greater are not considered a fuel or safety 

hazard. If felling is necessary leave snags on site above 10‖on the large end. Below 10‖ diameter fuels 

may be hand piled from 2‖ on the large end four feet and greater. Site specific treatments such as hand 

piling would depend on specific fuel loading and wildlife recommendations. 

There would be long term biological diversity beneficial effects from accelerating the development of 

late-successional conditions within Riparian Reserves to enhance the recovery of the northern spotted owl 

and marbled murrelet, improving stand conditions to reduce the likelihood of future stand replacement 

fires, restoring species diversity, adding snags and down wood, and reducing the effects of fragmentation 

in the long term. 

Snag/Down Wood Creation Design Criteria

Following harvest operations, if funding is available, snags would be created by girdling, inoculation, or 

topping to increase snags to an average of 2.5 snags >10 inches DBH per acre representative of the 

dominant and co-dominant tree class. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 27 of 55

c. Stream Enhancement 

The Eden Ridge Project proposes to place 150 large trees in stream channels and adjacent floodplains to 

increase channel stability, rearing habitat, pool formation, spawning gravel deposition, channel 

complexity, hiding cover, low velocity areas, and floodplain function. Live and dead trees may be 

removed from riparian areas to provide wood for restoration projects, under special conditions described 

in the Design Criteria. This action would involve the use of log trucks and dump trucks for transport and 

excavator-type machinery, spyders, cable yarders, draft horses, or helicopters for placement. Plans and 

designs would be consistent with Forest Plan direction, K-V opportunities, and watershed restoration 

plans (e.g., USDA FS 2006). Approximately 1 Mile of upper Coal Creek tributaries within Units 905 and 

906 would have trees felled toward the channel and approximately 1 mile of Wooden Rock would have 

stream restoration. Approximately 50 trees per mile would be placed within approximately 3 miles of 

stream (150 trees total, 22,650 cubic feet). The proposed restoration is located in resident fish habitat 

ranging from ten miles to twenty seven miles upstream of CCH and three to eight miles for EFH. 

Stream Enhancement Design Criteria 

 Place LW and boulders only in those areas where they would naturally occur and in patterns that 

closely mimic that which would naturally occur for that particular stream type. 

 LW includes whole conifer and hardwood trees, logs, and root wads. LW size (diameter and 

length) should account for bankfull width and stream discharge rates. When available, trees with 

rootwads should be a minimum of 1.5 x bankfull channel width, while logs without root wads 

should be a minimum of two times the bankfull width. Place wood in a manner that most closely 

mimics natural accumulations of LW for that particular stream type. Structures may partially or 

completely span stream channels or be positioned along streambanks. 

 No conifers should be felled in the riparian area for in-channel large wood placement unless 

conifers are fully stocked and are consistent with project design criteria in vegetation treatment 

categories. Felled hazard trees can be used for in-channel wood placement. 

 LW may be buried into the streambank or channel but shall not constitute the dominant 

placement method of LW. 

 Tree Removal for LW Projects: 

o Trees may be removed by cable, ground based equipment, horses or helicopters, or felled 

directly into the stream. Felled trees may be stock-piled for later instream restoration 

projects. 

o Individual trees or small groups of trees (<5) should come from the periphery of 

permanent openings (roads etc) or from the periphery of non-permanent openings (e.g.

plantations, along recent clear-cuts, etc.). 

o Trees selected for LW restoration projects must be spaced at least one site potential tree 

height apart and at least one crown width from any trees with potential nesting structure 

for ESA-listed bird species. 

 Instream work would occur during the ODFW instream work period. 

d. Native Grass/Forb Seeding 

Exposed mineral soil (landings and temporary roads) may be seeded with native grass seed to restore and 

improve forage for wildlife that benefit from grasses and forbs; e.g., deer, elk, mice, rabbits and their 

predators. Seeding may also reduce the opportunity for non-native plants (including noxious weeds) to 

invade disturbed sites and reduce erosion. 

e. Invasive Plant Treatments 

Monitor and treat invasive plants within project area boundaries to reduce/eliminate current populations 

and reduce the future spread of non-native vegetation. Treatment would be completed in disturbed areas 

within the watersheds by hand pulling only. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 28 of 55

B. ESA ACTION AREA 

The Action Area, as defined by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), is all areas to be affected directly or 

indirectly by the federal action and not merely the immediate area involved in the action [50 CFR § 

402.02]. The Action Area not only includes the immediate footprint of the harvest and road related 

activities, but any downstream reaches which may be affected indirectly. 

The proposed action is located within portions of the South Fork Coquille River 5th field and the Middle 

Fork Coquille River 5th field. Timber harvest, timber hauling and new road construction would occur 

primarily in Coal Creek 6th Field watershed and in the upper headwaters of 6th Field Watersheds: 

Headwaters S. Fork Coquille River, Lower Rock Creek and Myrtle Creek. Only timber haul activities 

adjacent to units would occur within the headwaters of Mill Creek -South Fork Coquille 6th field 

watershed. 

IV. DESCRIPTION OF AFFECTED SPECIES AND CRITICAL HABITAT

A. OREGON COAST COHO AND COHO CRITICAL HABITAT 

Oregon Coast (OC) coho ESU was listed as threatened on August 10, 1998 (63 FR 42587). This listing 

was reevaluated and NMFS determined listing OC coho was not warranted on January 17, 2006. The 

listing was once again reevaluated and NMFS determined a listing of threatened was warranted on 

February 4, 2008 (73 FR 7816). OC coho salmon critical habitat was designated as threatened also on 

February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7816). Final protective regulations for OC coho salmon were issued on 

February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7816). On April 28, 2009, NMFS announced that it was initiating a status 

review of OC coho. On May 26, 2010, NMFS affirmed the listing of the OC coho salmon as Threatened 

(75 FR 29489). Table 11 lists streams with OC coho presence and/or EFH within the Action Area. The 

lateral extent of OC CCH is limited to the ordinary high water mark (i.e., bankfull elevation). 

On the RRSNF, the South Fork Coquille River, though occupied by OC coho, is exempt from critical 

habitat designation due to economic benefits of exclusion outweighing the benefits of designation. 

Further, marine habitats are not included as critical habitat due to the difficulty in identifying specific 

areas critical to the species. CCH habitat ends at the town of Powers, six miles below the confluence of 

Coal Creek and the South Fork Coquille River. 

B. ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT 

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), in accordance with the 

Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-267) designates EFH for coho and Chinook salmon 

(Federal Register, Vol. 67, No. 12). The MSA defines EFH as ―...those waters and substrate necessary to 

fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity (Federal Register, Vol. 67, No. 12).‖ EFH

closely mirrors the occupied and historic habitat of coho and Chinook salmon. Although Chinook salmon 

and its habitat are primarily located within the mainstem rivers and larger streams, coho salmon are 

located just below the Action Area. Table 11 describes Coal Creek and EFH within the Action Area. 

Table 11 does not list all the streams with EFH in the 6th field sub-watershed, rather only the streams with 

EFH within the Action Area. 

The habitat indicators addressed in this BA that are pertinent to aquatic habitat health, also represents the 

primary constituent elements of EFH for OC coho salmon. Therefore, wherever EFH effects analysis is 

discussed in this BA is sufficient for consultation of OC coho in the South Fork Coquille River 5th field 

watershed. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 29 of 55

Table 11. Coho EFH Description (StreamNet, 2003; 73 FR 7816) 

6

th Field 

SubWatershed

Stream 

Name Tributary to: Mile of Coho EFH within Coal Creek EFH Endpoint Description

South Fork Coquille 5th Field Watershed

Coal Creek Coal Creek South Fork 

Coquille River 1 Mile

Coho use: EFH is not currently used by 

Coho due to a barrier block (two 

culverts) at the confluence with the South 

Fork Coquille. The culverts are planned 

for replacement with a bridge during the 

next few years, when funding is 

available. EFH ends near where the haul 

route is adjacent Coal Creek.

C. PRIMARY CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS 

NMFS developed a list of Primary Constituent Elements (PCEs) that are essential for the conservation of 

OC coho, and which are based on the life history of the coho salmon. These PCEs are: freshwater 

spawning sites, freshwater rearing sites, freshwater migration corridors, estuarine areas, nearshore marine 

areas, and offshore marine areas. These PCEs in concert with OC coho distribution data were used to 

delineate the spatial extent of the EFH. CCH ended seven miles downstream of the designation of EFH in 

Coal Creek located upstream. The lateral extent of this designation is limited to the ordinary high water 

mark (i.e. bankfull elevation). For the purposes of this BA, the PCEs are cross referenced with the 

respective Habitat Indicators in Table 12 below as this project would relate to EFH. 

Table 12. OC Coho Critical Habitat Essential Habitat Features and Respective Habitat Indicators 

PCEs of OC 

coho Critical 

Habitat

Habitat Indicator

Freshwater 

Spawning Sites

Change in Peak/Base Flows, Water Temperature, Sediment/Turbidity, Chemical 

Contamination/Nutrients, Substrate

Freshwater 

Rearing Sites

Change in Peak/Base Flows, Floodplain Connectivity, Water Temperature, 

Sediment/Turbidity, Chemical Contamination/Nutrients, Water Quality Indicators, Riparian 

Reserves, Substrate, Large Woody Debris, Pool Frequency, Pool Quality, Width/depth Ratio, 

Off-channel Habitat, Streambank Condition

Freshwater 

Migration 

Corridors

Physical Barriers, Change in Peak/Base Flows, Water Temperature, Sediment/Turbidity,

Chemical Contamination/Nutrients, Riparian Reserves, Substrate, Large Woody Debris, Pool 

Frequency, Pool Quality, Width/depth Ratio, Floodplain Connectivity, Off-channel Habitat, 

Streambank Condition

Estuarine Areas Physical Barriers, Water Temperature, Sediment/Turbidity, Chemical 

Contamination/Nutrients, Change in Peak/Base Flows, Water Quality Indicators, Riparian 

Reserves, Substrate, Large Woody Debris, Pool Frequency, Pool Quality, Width/depth Ratio, 

Floodplain Connectivity, Off-channel Habitat, Streambank Condition

Nearshore 

Marine Areas

N/A to RRSNF Actions

Offshore 

Marine Areas

N/A to RRSNF Actions
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 30 of 55

V. DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE AND POTENTIAL 

EFFECTS OF THE PROPOSED ACTIONS

Information used in this analysis includes Geographic Information System data, Aquatic Habitat 

Inventories (Forest Service 2010), Properly Functioning Condition ratings are based on the NOAA Table 

of Population and Habitat Indicators, as modified by the Rogue River/South Coast Level 1 Team for the 

Klamath Province/Siskiyou Mountains. 

This analysis evaluates the direct and indirect potential effects of the proposed actions on Oregon Coast 

coho and EFH. There is no potential to affect CCH 8.8 miles downstream, while there is potential to 

affect EFH. EFH is located in the Action Area, so any potential effect to one (i.e., EFH) would obviously 

result in an effect to the other (OC coho).

The proposed activities under the ER Timber Sales were split into five project elements: 1) Timber 

Felling and Yarding, 2) Timber Hauling, 3) Fuels Treatment, 4) Road Maintenance, Temporary Road 

Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction and 

New Road Construction, and 5) Other Restoration Activities. Below is a table which displays proximity 

of project activities in relation to EFH. 

Table 13. Proximity of Project Elements to EFH within Coal Creek 6th Field Watershed 

Project Elements (PE) Distance to EFH

Timber Felling and Yarding 1.8 miles > 10.5 miles 

Timber Hauling (Gravel Roads) *50 feet to100 feet > 10.5miles

Fuels Treatment 1.8 miles > 10.5 miles

Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and 

Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction and New Road Construction

1.8 miles > 10.5 miles

Other Restoration Activities 1.8 miles > 10.5 miles

* This section of road is about 200 feet long and immediately leaves the EFH and travels up the ridge where it 

normally is about 1.8 mile > 10.5 miles above EFH 

A. HABITAT INDICATORS 

1. Water Quality 

a. Temperature Baseline (ODEQ) 

Coal Creek is listed under temperature on Oregon Department of Environmental Quality‘s 303(d) list 

(ODEQ 2008). The water quality temperature standard of 16oC (60.8oF) is designed to maintain core cold 

water habitat for salmon and steelhead rearing. The Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality and its 

partners (including the Rogue River-Siskiyou NF) prepared a Total Maximum Daily Load assessment and 

Water Quality Management Plan (TMDL/WQMP) for the Upper South Fork Coquille watershed in 2001. 

The assessment addressed temperature in 303(d) listed streams (including Coal Creek), and concluded 

that ―no thermal loads are available for allocation to anthropogenic sources in this system‖. For the 

purposes of the Action Area, this means that any increases in stream water temperature resulting from 

land management activities would be a violation of state water quality standards. 

The main channel of Coal Creek is poorly shaded by trees (RAPID stream shade assessment, Hydrologic 

Report); the canopy cover is generally below 64% shade. The channel is well shaded by the steep and 

narrow canyon through which it flows. Streams within the proposed units and on NFS land in the 

Planning Area are generally well shaded by conifers and occasional hardwoods such as big leaf maple, 

myrtle, and alder. RAPID analysis indicates that stream shading on NFS land is dominantly 84 percent to 

100 percent. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 31 of 55

Baseline Rating: Functioning At Risk 

b. Effects on Temperature Indicator 

Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and 

Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road 

Construction, and Other Restoration Activities 

Proximity Causal mechanisms associated with the PEs are associated with canopy removal at temporary 

and permanent stream crossings. Canopy removal elsewhere on roads and for thinning outside the 

primary shade zone would not affect stream temperature since there is no surface water present. Only one 

temporary road occurs near the main channel of Coal Creek; the remaining permanent crossings are 

located on small upland tributaries. Temporary road construction associated with Unit 308 would 

include a crossing on a tributary approximately 1,140 feet above the confluence of Coal Creek. New road 

construction occurs mainly in the uppermost areas of the watershed where streams are first and second 

order. There are two known landings located inside the Riparian Reserves approximately 80 to 100 feet 

above perennial stream channels and located greater than two miles from EFH. The Roadside Sanitation 

is located on ridge top roads as shown on Map 2, all treatments are located on ephemeral or intermittent 

streams except one location is on a headwater perennial stream crossing located in Unit 327 which is 

approximately five miles above the EFH habitat. 

Probability Trees and vegetation would be removed on the travel way and two stream crossings 

constructed—one ephemeral and one perennial associated with the temporary road construction in Unit 

308. Water temperature increases would not occur in the ephemeral channel since no water is present 

during the summer months. Measureable water temperature increases resulting from the one temporary 

perennial crossing are not expected for the following reasons: 

The active channel for the temporary crossing is only a few feet wide and drains a surface area of 

approximately 10 acres at the proposed crossing. Stream discharge at the crossing is less than 

one cubic foot/second, particularly during the summer. Sun exposure at the crossing would occur 

only in the middle of the day when the sun is directly overhead. The crossing is surrounded by 

forest that would block sunlight coming in at an angle, and understory vegetation shades the 

channel effectively due to its narrow width. 

Sun exposure would be 100% blocked as the water flows through the culvert. Exposure upstream 

and downstream of the culvert would occur over a few linear feet and would be reduced by 

adjacent forest canopy; this limited exposure is not enough to cause a measureable change in 

water temperature. 

Removal of the temporary crossing would occur in September when the cooler temperatures 

exist and sun exposure is low (due to position of sun nearer to horizon). Placement of slash 

material would provide temporary cover and allow understory vegetation to re-establish along the 

travel way during the fall and following spring. This would quickly reestablish shade capable of 

shading a channel width of a few feet or less. 

Stream shade assessment modeling (RAPID) shows that streams on NFS land in the Planning 

Area are at or above target levels of 82% forest canopy (target levels established in S.F. Coquille 

TMDL assessment; ODEQ, 2001). Removal of vegetation in scattered areas to accommodate 

road crossings would not decrease shade enough to increase water temperature. 

New road construction occurs mainly in the uppermost areas of the watershed where streams are first and 

second order. During the summer months, surface discharge from these channels drops to less than a few 

gallons per minute and may be intermittently subsurface. Constructed stream crossings within the Coal 

Creek subwatershed would occur on proposed new permanent roads and on an existing railroad grade 

proposed for conversion to a permanent road. Six perennial crossings would be constructed for new 

roads. These roads and crossings would not be anticipated to result in measureable increases to water 

temperature for the following reasons: 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 32 of 55

All of the crossings are located on first and second order streams. These channels are only a few 

feet wide and have small discharges (refer to discussion under temporary roads, above). 

The largest watershed area above these crossings totals approximately 60 acres. Others are 30 

acres or less. This presents very little drainage area to collect surface water to these crossings. 

Stream discharge from such small drainage basins is low, especially during the summer when 

ground water levels are lowest. 

Crossings would have minimal sun exposure for the same reasons as described above for the 

temporary road crossing. Since these crossings would be permanent, there would be no sun 

exposure associated with removal of the crossing. Any loss of shade above/below the culvert 

would be short term and would be balanced by the complete blockage of light as water flows 

through the culvert. 

Five perennial stream crossings are associated with conversion of the existing railroad grade to permanent 

system road. Originally the railroad grade utilized elevated trestles at crossings to avoid the extra 

distance and tight turns involved in following the natural contour. The proposed actions would construct 

new stream crossings and road approaches that closely follow the contour. These segments of new road 

construction would not result in measureable increases to water temperature for the following reasons: 

All of the crossings are located on first and second order streams. Although the old railroad grade 

crossed Coal Creek, the permanent road does not include this crossing. Water discharges at the 

proposed crossings are low; barely at the point of initiation, carry minimal water. 

Stream discharges would be low in these channels, especially during the summer when sun 

exposure is greatest and groundwater levels are at their lowest, i.e., estimated at <1 cfs. 

Therefore, an increase in stream temperature is nonexistent. 

Stream shade assessment modeling (RAPID) shows that streams on NFS land in the Planning 

Area are at or above target levels of 82% forest canopy (target levels established in S.F. Coquille 

TMDL assessment; ODEQ, 2001). Streams are well shaded by existing forest canopy and 

understory at the crossings. 

There are two known landing that would be located inside the Riparian Reserves. The Landing 

Reconstruction for Landing L13 is located on both sides on NFSF Road 290. The east side of the road is 

where the yarder would sit, this makes up about 10 % of the landing. The yarder would be located about 

80 feet from a 10 feet wide perennial stream. This portion of the landing does not affect the primary 

shade zone of 60 feet; it is an additional 20 feet out. The other 90% of the landing sits on the west side of 

the road and is part of a different drainage and the landing is several hundred feet above a stream 

identified as a modeled stream channel. These design features in addition to the two mile+ distance from 

EFH ensure that no stream shade trees would be removed that would affect stream temperature that would 

reach EFH.

The closest road work to EFH in Riparian Reserves is 1.9 miles upstream (See Table 1). The proposed 

landing constructions in the Riparian Reserve are not within the Primary Shade Zone and would be 

located greater than two miles upstream of EFH. 

Element Summary: Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road 

Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New 

Road Construction, and Other Restoration Activities would not result in any removal of Riparian Reserve 

vegetation that would cause measurable increases in water temperature that would reach EFH habitat. 

Therefore, a neutral (0) effect to stream temperature would occur from these activities. 

Timber Felling and Yarding

Proximity Timber Felling and Yarding of trees proximity is described in the PE and displayed in Table 2 

below. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 33 of 55

Same table displayed earlier in document. Table 2. Overall Design Criteria for Riparian Reserves 

Channel Project Activities Buffer

Riparian 

Reserve PDCRR Name

Range of 

Commercial 

Prescriptions 

Outside of 

Buffer (TPA)

Ephemeral and 

Intermittent

Non-fish

Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer except for 

hazard trees, corridor or 

anchor trees (for skyline 

cable yarding) may be felled 

and left at site, no 

commercial removal.

Stream side to 25 feet 

along both sides of 

channel.

One site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (175 

feet each side; 

total width 350 

feet)

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone

Light Thin = 150-

225, 

Density management and 

commercial extraction

allowed.

25 feet from stream side 

to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one site potential tree 

height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Light Thin = 150-

225, 

Ephemeral and 

Intermittent

Non-fish

Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer except for 

hazard trees, corridor or 

anchor trees (for skyline 

cable yarding) may be felled 

and left at site, no 

commercial removal.

Stream side to 35 feet 

along both sides of 

channel.

One site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (175 

feet each side; 

total width 350 

feet)

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone

Medium Thin = 90-

150

Density management and 

commercial extraction

allowed.

35 feet from stream side 

to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one site potential tree 

height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Medium Thin = 90-

150, 

Ephemeral and 

Intermittent

Non-fish

Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer except for 

hazard trees, corridor or 

anchor trees (for skyline 

cable yarding) may be felled 

and left at site, no 

commercial removal.

Stream side to 40 feet 

along both sides of 

channel.

One site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (175 

feet each side; 

total width 350 

feet)

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone

Heavy Thin = 50-

90.

Density management and 

commercial extraction

allowed.

40 feet from stream side 

to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one site potential tree 

height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Heavy Thin = 50-

90.

Perennial

Non-fish

Bearing 

Stream

No-cut buffer (same as 

Ephemeral and Intermittent

Streamside to 50-60 feet 

along both sides of 

channel

Same as above.

Primary Shade 

Zone (includes 

Stream Channel 

Protection Zone)

Light Thin = 150-

225, Medium Thin 

= 90-150, Heavy 

Thin = 50-90.

Density management and 

commercial extraction 

allowed (same as Ephemeral 

and Intermittent).

50-60 feet from stream 

side to edge of Riparian 

Reserve, along both 

sides of channel, based 

on one size potential 

tree height.

Riparian 

Treatment Zone

Light Thin = 150-

225, Medium Thin 

= 90-150, Heavy 

Thin = 50-90.

Perennial

Fish Bearing 

Streams

No-cut buffer (same as 

Ephemeral and Intermittent

Same as Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream

Two site 

potential tree 

height each side 

of stream (350 

feet each side; 

total width 700 

feet)

Same as Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream

Light Thin = 150-

225, Medium Thin 

= 90-150, Heavy 

Thin = 50-90.

Density management and 

commercial extraction 

allowed (same as Ephemeral 

and Intermittent).

Same as Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream, except Riparian 

Treatment Zone extends 

from 50-60‘ buffer limit 

to edge of two sitepotential tree buffer

Same as Perennial 

Non-fish Bearing 

Stream

Light Thin = 150-

225, Medium Thin 

= 90-150, Heavy 

Thin = 50-90.
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 34 of 55

Timber Felling would occur on 584 acres within RRs in the Coal Creek Drainage. Felling would occur 

adjacent to perennial and intermittent streams outside of a 25-foot no-harvest buffer or outside the 

primary shade zone depending on the stream classification and the range of commercial prescription 

designed for the given unit at layout. Table 1 lists the proximity of each unit to EFH. The closest units to 

EFH that would yard through a non fish bearing perennial streams outside the unit area are Unit 302 and 

304. Both of these units are a mile upstream of EFH. Table 13 displays 11 units that may have yarding 

corridor through the 50-foot no-harvest buffers near perennial streams channels. These units are in the 

range of 1.8 miles to 10.5 miles above EFH. 

Table 13. Units with Yarding Corridors through Streams by Hydrographic Category 

Unit Number Flow Classification

301 Perennial

312 Perennial

314 Perennial

323 Perennial

324 Perennial

326 Perennial

327 Perennial

329 Perennial

331 Perennial

338 Perennial

342 Perennial

Probability There is no causal mechanism for the proposed Timber Felling to affect water temperature 

in intermittent streams. Intermittent streams have little or no surface flow during the summer when 

elevated water temperature can occur. 

Timber harvest would have no measureable effect on stream temperature because: 1) existing shade 

provided in the primary shade zone (50 to 60-foot no-harvest buffer) would be retained, 2) streams in the 

proposed units receive topographic shade, 3) 60% canopy closure or greater would exist post thinning 

outside of the 50-foot no-harvest buffer, and 4) units are not in proximity to EFH, greater than 0.8 miles. 

There is no probability that Timber Felling would affect EFH due to stream temperatures in perennial 

streams from the proposed actions. The average wetted widths of perennial streams within the units are 

typically two to three feet. The 50 to 60-foot no-harvest buffer would maintain existing canopy closure 

directly over perennial stream channels. The canopy closure outside the 50-foot no-harvest buffer would 

be given the prescriptions of TPA: Light Thin = 150-225, Medium Thin = 90-150, Heavy Thin = 50-90. 

The perennial streams in the proposed units are small streams which receive shade from the adjacent 

young, dense stands as well as topographic shade. 

Constructing Yarding corridors across the perennial stream outside of Units 302 and 304 and within 11 of 

the units would not result in an increase in stream temperature because the corridors would be 12 feet in 

width at a maximum and trees adjacent to the corridors would continue to provide shade. The possibility 

of constructing corridors in nine of the units across intermittent channels would not result in an increase 

in stream temperatures because intermittent streams have little or no surface flow during the summer and 

the corridors would be 12 feet in width at a maximum and spaced at least 200 feet apart. 

Element Summary: Timber Felling and Yarding of trees may occur within the Riparian Reserve, but not 

generally within the Primary Shade Zone. The canopy closure outside the 50-foot no-harvest buffer 

would be given the prescriptions of TPA: Light Thin = 150-225, Medium Thin = 90-155, Heavy Thin = 

50-90. No-harvest buffers and other design measures within the Primary Shade Zone are specifically 

designed to protect and maintain stream shade. Yarding corridors within the Riparian Reserve would 

occur, but would not result in an increase in stream temperature because the corridors would be 12 feet in 

width at a maximum and trees adjacent to the corridors would continue to provide shade (Park 2005). 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 35 of 55

There is no probability that stream temperature or EFH would be affected from implementation of these 

Project Elements due to the considerable distance of EFH (> 1.8 miles) and because only a nominal 

amount of tree removal could occur. Therefore, the effects to water temperature from Timber Felling and 

Yarding activities would result in a neutral (0) effect to stream temperature 

Indicator Summary: Timber Felling and Yarding, Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, Road 

Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction, and Other Restoration Activities would not affect 

shade to the extent to causes changes in stream temperature to EFH >0.8 miles away. The proposed 

action would result in a neutral (0) effect to the temperature indicator. 

2. Chemical Contamination/Nutrient Baseline (WA USFS) 

The South Fork Coquille River or Coal Creek is not listed on the 303(d) list for contaminants or excessive 

nutrients. Downstream on agriculture and residential lands some contamination may occur from 

agriculture runoff or effluent from septic tanks, lawns and other sources. In the Action Area on National 

Forest Lands, the watershed is properly functioning and it is assumed that the entire watershed is properly 

functioning. 

Baseline Rating: Properly Functioning 

a. Effects on Chemical Contaminants/Nutrients Indicator 

Timber Felling and Yarding, Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road 

Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New 

Road Construction, and Other Restoration Activities 

Proximity Timber Felling and Yarding, Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, Road Maintenance, 

Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction, and Other Restoration Activities would occur 

within 25 feet from perennial streams within the Riparian Reserves approximately two miles to eleven 

miles above EFH. The stream restoration component of Other Restoration Activities would occur within 

Coal Creek approximately two to seven miles upstream of EFH. New Road Construction closest 

perennial crossing is over two miles above EFH. This crossing is on a small channel that is 

approximately two feet wide and flows intermittently in various locations below the road crossing for 

approximately 1,500 feet before flowing into Coal Creek approximately two miles above EFH. Timber

Hauling and Road Maintenance would occur adjacent to EFH for two hundred feet. The remaining 11 

miles of the haul route are not in proximity with EFH. No dust abatement would occur. 

There is no causal mechanism for new road construction or road activities to affect the chemical 

contaminants/nutrients baseline since these activities would occur during the dry season. There is no 

causal mechanism for hazardous materials (particularly petroleum products) since they would be stored 

in durable containers and located so that any accidental spill would be contained and not drained into 

riparian areas. All landing trash and logging materials would be removed. Building roads and instream 

restoration within stream channels would have no causal potential to deliver petroleum products to 

downstream critical habitats due to guidelines and design criteria set forth here where equipment would 

be required to be clean to prevent spread of P. lateralis, free of leaks and drips to prevent fuels, oils and 

other contaminants from entering stream courses. 

Element/Indicator Summary: Timber Felling and Yarding, Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, Road 

Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction, and Other Restoration Activities would have a 

neutral (0) effect since there is no causal mechanism on the Chemical Contamination/Nutrients 

indicator. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 36 of 55

3. Physical Barriers Baseline (WA, USFS) 

Coal Creek culvert restricts some adult passage and all juvenile passage near the confluence of the South 

Fork Coquille at this time. NEPA and some of the pre-work are already completed for the removal of the 

two culverts and installation of a bridge will occur when funding is available. The Coal Creek Bridge 

project is not connected to this action. There are no other known human-made structures on NFSL within 

the Action Area that block passage of coho salmon at any life stage from upstream and downstream 

migration. The 2010 Level II Stream Survey observed no coho above the culvert barriers during the 

survey. 

Baseline Rating for Physical Barriers: Not Properly Functioning 

a. Effects on Physical Barriers Indicator 

Timber Felling and Yarding, Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road 

Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, 

New Road Construction, and Other Restoration Activities 

Proximity There is no causal mechanism for Timber Felling and Yarding, Timber Hauling, Fuels 

Treatment, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction, and Other Restoration 

Activities to affect this indicator since no culverts would be installed or replace on any fish bearing 

streams as a result of these timber sales.

Element/Indicator Summary: There is no causal mechanism for Timber Felling and Yarding, Timber 

Hauling, Fuels Treatment, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, 

Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction, and Other 

Restoration Activities to affect this indicator because no culverts would be installed or replaced on any 

fish bearing streams as a result of these timber sales. Because no PEs would create or remove barriers for 

fish, these timber sales would result in neutral (0) effect to the physical barrier indicator. 

4. Sediment & Pool Character & Quality Baseline (ODEQ, WA USFS, Stream Survey USFS)) 

a. Sediment Baseline 

There are no streams in the Action Area currently listed for sedimentation or dissolved oxygen on DEQ‘s 

303(d) list (ODEQ 2008). 

The Coal Creek watershed is located in the Coast Range Physiographic Province and is comprised largely 

of sandstones from the Tyee Formation. The Tyee Formation is characterized by steep slopes (cliffs), fine 

textured soils derived from sandstone parent rock, and bedrock confined stream channels. Stream 

morphology along Coal Creek is dictated primarily by the bedrock of the canyon walls and bottom. The 

2010 Stream Survey reports Coal Creek is steep and dominated by coarse gravel, boulders and bedrock in 

confined reaches. 

Over the years, many wood jams were removed for merchantable timber and firewood, or to aid fish 

passage. A debris flow that swept down the channel from a debris avalanche in the gorge was triggered 

by a 1974 storm, a 25-year storm event. The channel was scoured down to bedrock in many places. This 

event destroyed riparian vegetation up to 200 feet laterally along the channel, allowing alder to become 

established and dominate the riparian area. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 37 of 55

The absence of historical stream survey records make it difficult to determine how the channel has 

changed as the result of the debris flow; however, the channel appears to have recovered from both the 

natural and human disturbances. The debris flow may have altered the channel shape and substrate 

composition by creating more bedrock reaches. The relatively steep, confined character of the channel 

has high energy and debris transport capabilities and is very stable. 

Little or no future source of medium and large class LWM are currently available from the Riparian 

Reserve along Coal Creek due to past logging activities and the road system, therefore confined portions 

of Coal Creek will remain high gradient, bedrock channels that transport sediment and small wood to the 

S.F. Coquille River. The alluvial fan at the mouth of Coal Creek bears witness to this mode of sediment 

transport and deposition. Functionally, Coal Creek would be considered in degraded condition since its 

ability to trap and retain sediment has been compromised by the loss of both in-stream and recruitable 

large wood (Stream Survey 2010). 

Baseline Rating: Functioning at Risk 

b. Pool Character & Quality Baseline 

The lower reach of Coal Creek flows through a narrow confined canyon with substrates dominated by 

bedrock with boulders. The lower gradient, variety of habitat types, density of juveniles, and deep 

holding pools indicate this section is key spawning and rearing area for winter steelhead. The gradient 

increases approximately one mile upstream from the mouth and designated to be the extent of EFH. A 

series of falls at the 1.4 river mile mark create an anadromous barrier for salmonids (Stream Surveys, 

1989, 1992). Resident cutthroat and rainbow are present above this barrier. The gradient for the most 

part is steep, exceeding 4 percent. Deep plunge pools, cascades, and high gradient riffles are abundant. 

Cover for fish is provided in the way of depth, surface turbulence, and bed roughness elements (Chen 

1991). 

In the upper portion of the surveyed lower reach, Coal Creek enters a wider valley floor which changes 

the gradient, wood accumulations, and habitat composition. There are deep pools created by large wood, 

cascades, low gradient glides, slower riffle habitat, and complex side channels (Chen, 1991). Channel 

substrate is dominated by boulder, bedrock and cobble but pool area tend to have the most amounts of 

fine sediment. The fines represent roughly 10 to 15 % of substrate particles in Coal Creek according to 

the 2010 Stream Survey. The upper watershed has a broad upper flat and is steeply incised into the Tyee 

sandstones. 

Baseline Rating: Functioning at Risk 

c. Effects on Sediment & Pool Character & Quality Indicators 

Fuels Treatment 

Proximity Fuel treatments could generate sediment by removing vegetation that protects the soil surface 

from erosion resulting from storm events. Surface erosion in the form of rilling or gullies could develop 

and carry sediment into streams. This type of erosion is unlikely with this project and has no causal

mechanism for the following reasons: 

Field examinations found that rill and gully erosion on the soils in the Planning Area are rare, 

even on burned regeneration harvests on private land. 

Pile burning leaves small, non-continuous burn patches that are surrounded by vegetation that 

filter sediment movement. 

Overstory forest canopy of at least 50% in the riparian treatment zone would be present to 

attenuate both rain and snowfall/snowmelt. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 38 of 55

Broadcast burning is conducted at a low intensity that leaves some slash for groundcover and 

allows understory vegetation to regrow readily. 

Project design criteria ensure that broadcast burning is ignited 100 feet from stream channels 

(except in special cases) so that fire can back down slopes in Riparian Reserves. This leaves a 

highly diverse, low intensity burn pattern that favors sediment retention and filtration. 

Element Summary: There would be a neutral (0) effect to the Sediment and Pool Character and Quality 

Habitat indicators from Fuels Treatment. Fuel Treatment would not generate sediment that would reach 

or affect EFH. 

Timber Felling and Yarding 

Proximity There is a causal mechanism at the unit scale since Timber Felling and Yarding of trees is 

occurring within the Riparian Reserve. However, there is no causal mechanism at the EFH scale as the 

units are 1.8 to 10.5 miles downstream in Coal Creek where the activities would not affect EFH. There 

are 2,203 acres, 66.8% of the total acres of timber units are mostly located on ridge tops or nearby and 

without a stream channel. Timber unit acres located on ridge top/mid-slope and have ephemeral, 

intermittent, and perennial streams account for <1,097 acres, <32.2% of total unit acres. There are two 

types of stream channel buffers in this project: 1) Stream Channel Protection Zone, which has a 25‘ wide 

no cut zone on either side of a ephemeral and intermittent channel or a buffer using the natural slope 

break of the ephemeral and intermittent channel may be utilized, which provides a natural gradient break 

as well as a natural vegetative buffer to filter in the case of potential overland flow; and 2) Primary Shade 

Zone buffers (50 to 60 feet no cut zone on either side of perennial channel), both of these buffers are 

discussed in the Temperature section above and displayed in Table 2. 

Probability Heavy equipment access, log skidding, and yarding can cause surface disturbance that result 

in erosion and sediment transport, particularly on steep slopes. The proposed actions use a variety of Best 

Management Practices and PDC to minimize surface disturbance and avoid sediment transport into 

streams. Proposed Timber Felling and Yarding is expected to generate nominal sediment that could reach 

adjacent streams, but not to EFH 1.8 miles downstream for the following reasons: 

The majority of units are located high in the watershed adjacent to first and second order 

channels. Three tractor units are located less than 500 feet from the mainstem of Coal Creek 

above EFH (Units 307, 308 and 309). All of the remaining units are in the headwaters where 

discharge rates are very low, or, adjacent to tributaries. This provides substantial distance 

between project activities and EFH (1.8 minimum distance; 10.5 miles maximum distance). 

Project Design Criteria provide a 50 to 60 foot no-cut buffer for all perennial streams. This 

provides an undisturbed zone of sediment capture and retention between equipment activity and 

flowing water. Forest canopy in this zone would continue to intercept rain and snow at existing 

levels. 

Project Design Criteria include additional protection in the form of a 100 foot infiltration 

protection zone for all stream channels. Additionally, the 10% soil compaction limit prevents 

most heavy equipment use near streams. 

Full suspension is required when yarding across streams, preventing gouging of the stream 

bottom or banks. 

Intermittent and perennial streams have large wood located through the harvest reaches. Field 

examination of first and second order streams on NFS land indicate that clean out activities did 

not occur in these areas since large wood was present as partially buried material in streams and 

as free material on adjacent slopes. This material is typically well decayed and often includes 

cull logs left by railroad logging. Small and medium wood that is not decayed is provided in 

abundance by the surrounding Forest such that walking demands nearly constant climbing over 

fallen trees. These wood pieces dissipate water energy and lengthen sediment routing rates by 

storing sediments in the stream channel. This prevents any sediment from reaching EFH. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 39 of 55

Element Summary: There would be a neutral (0) effect to the sediment and pool character & quality 

habitat indicators from the Timber Felling and Yarding. The project design features for activities in the 

Riparian Reserves would provide adequate vegetative buffers to filter sediment, distance from EFH, 

location of units in stable terrain and ridge top/midslope and no ground based machinery in the RR, 

would ensure that the sediment would not be delivered to EFH. 

Timber Hauling and Road Maintenance 

Proximity There is a causal mechanism for Timber Hauling and Road Maintenance since these activities 

would occur near EFH. Specifically, along the haul road (NFSL 5000) where two relief culverts are 

located along a rocked road that parallels EFH for about 200 feet. There are no stream crossings or 

bridges along the haul route in proximity of EFH. The haul route does cross perennial streams that flow 

into Coal Creek; which are well over two miles upstream of EFH if sediment from haul was to reach the 

stream the sediment would not move downstream to EFH. The remaining 11 miles of the haul route are 

not in proximity with EFH. There is approximately 40 million board feet of timber that could be removed 

with proposed sales. On average, one truckload of timber could contain as much as 5,000 board feet. 

This would equate to approximately 11,000 truckloads of timber to be hauled over the haul route that 

exits along Coal Creek over the ten year sale period; approximately 14 truckloads daily. 

Probability The activities of Timber Hauling and Road Maintenance are extremely unlikely to deliver 

sediment to EFH. The main haul route for the project consists of maintained, gravel surfaced roads with 

an engineered drainage system. These roads are designed for all-weather use and carry year-round truck 

traffic generated by private timber harvest. The Forest Service is currently implementing the Coastal 

Healthy Forest Treatments Project 2007 along this same haul route. Existing traffic levels have resulted 

in no known detrimental sediment contributions to Coal Creek. Haul traffic in support of the proposed 

actions is well within the design limits of the haul route. 

Approximately 200 feet of NFSL road 5000 is adjacent to EFH. This section of road is relatively steep, 

well maintained gravel surfaced road, with a crown. Approximately 800 feet of the road in this section 

(which contains a tight switchback) receives surface water from itself and about six acres of adjacent 

hillside. Drainage of this area is provided by the two relief culverts onto naturally vegetated slopes 

adjacent to Coal Creek. These relief culverts on the crowned road, partially drain to vegetative buffers 

(50-80 feet), while the other part of the road crown drain onto steeply sloped dissipater transporting onto a 

steep slope that ends at the channel. Sediment delivery could occur from runoff during rain events and 

deliver to EFH. At this time, there is no indication that sediment is being delivered to the stream in the 

200 feet of the haul route that is adjacent Coal Creek. Project design features would minimize road 

generated sediment entering EFH as follows: 

Season of operation requirement; hauling would be allowed only under dry conditions. 

, 

TIMBER HAUL OPERATING SEASON: June 1 through October 31. 

IF OPERATIONS OUTSIDE THE NORMAL OPERATING SEASON: November 1 through May 

31st are allowed, the following rules must be applied to timber haul on gravel roads adjacent EFH

stream channels: 

Operations shall cease at any time when the travel way of the road is wet and turbid water or fines 

are observed moving off the road surface to ditch lines that deliver to EFH or any stream type. 

If fine sediment is observed to be moving off the road surface to ditch lines or streams due to 

timber sale activities, the Forest Service Timber Administer is responsible to have the purchaser 

place sediment filters to prevent this sediment from reaching any stream. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 40 of 55

Road Rutting: No hauling down the gravel road surface if rutting is occurring, indicating the 

subsurface is wet. 

Wet weather conditions must be monitored daily by the US Forest Service Timber Sale 

Administrator for the chance of precipitation, especially 1 inch of rain in 24 hours. 

Adding additional rock to the road where needed to ensure that hauling occurs on a durable surface. 

Restricting grading/cleanout in ditches that delivery water to EFH; this will retain vegetation that 

captures fine sediment. 

Road crown will be maintained. 

If a cross drain or relief culvert is determined to contribute sediment to EFH, then appropriate 

sediment controls will be installed to prevent sediment delivery. 

The road maintenance that will occur with this project will upgrade the road by placing new rock on 

the surface of this road and improving drainage along the road. In the long term the road maintenance 

will reduce the amount of sediment coming off the road by preventing erosion of the native substrate, 

and by preventing saturation and failure of the travel way and associated drainage system

Magnitude The amount of sediment which could reach EFH would be insignificant and 

indistinguishable from background levels. Sediment derived from Timber Haul would be primarily 

directed to ditch lines and then out of the ditch lines via ditch relief culverts to the forest floor with little 

to no sediment above existing levels. Sediment could be transported to stream channels along the two 

hundred feet of road adjacent Coal Creek where the road and ditch line are connected to streams. Road 

Maintenance work completed prior to haul and Road Maintenance work conducted after haul would 

further reduce the amount of off-site sediment movement after hauling. Any sediment generated as a 

result of the proposed haul would be immeasurable. Lastly, a restriction on when log haul can occur 

would minimize sediment generation on the surface of the road where it could wash into the ditch lines. 

Timber Hauling and Road Maintenance PDFs in conjunction with the distance from EFH would 

minimize sediment effects to OC coho. The PDFs have been designed to minimize sediment delivery to 

EFH, however there is a chance during the first major storm event after operations have ceased there 

would be an initial input of sediment. Any sediment yield to Coal Creek from Timber Hauling and Road 

Maintenance under the proposed actions would be undetectable from the small amounts already generated 

at this location, and therefore insignificant. 

Element Summary: There would be a discountable insignificant negative (-) effect to the sediment and 

pool character & quality habitat indicators from the Timber Hauling and Road Maintenance. These PDFs 

in conjunction with the distance from EFH would minimize sediment effects to OC coho. The PDFs have 

been designed to minimize sediment delivery to EFH, however there is a chance during the first major 

storm event after operations have ceased there would be an initial input of sediment. Any sediment yield 

to Coal Creek from hauling under the proposed actions would be undetectable from the small amounts 

already generated at this location. This element would have a discountable insignificant negative (-) 

effect. 

Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and 

Other Restoration Activities 

Proximity There is a causal mechanism for sediment generation on units since Temporary Road 

Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New 

Road Construction and Other Restoration Activities are occurring near perennial streams approximately 

two miles to 11 miles above EFH. The stream restoration component of Other Restoration Activities

would occur within Coal Creek approximately three to eight miles upstream of EFH. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 41 of 55

New Road Construction would consist of 12 perennial crossings and at least 23 intermittent channels 

crossings in the Coal Creek subwatershed. The closest perennial crossing associated with a proposed 

activity unit is over two miles above EFH. This crossing is on a small channel that is approximately two 

feet wide and flows intermittently below the road crossing for approximately 1,500 feet before flowing 

into Coal Creek approximately two miles above EFH. The remaining crossings are approximately three 

miles above EFH and the remaining nine perennial crossings are over two miles upstream from EFH and 

will not be further analyzed. 

Landing Construction/Reconstruction would occur within Riparian Reserves at two locations, L-13 and 

L-14. L-13 is an existing landing site located mostly uphill (90%) of the main haul road, approximately 

50 feet from a non-fish bearing perennial stream and two miles from EFH. HL-14 is new landing located 

immediately uphill of the main haul route road. Downhill of the main haul route is a resident fish bearing 

section of Coal Creek approximately 80 to 100 feet downslope, and 2.4 miles from EFH.

Probability The activities of Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and Other Restoration 

Activities are extremely unlikely to deliver sediment to EFH approximately two miles to 10.5 miles 

downstream to EFH in Coal Creek. The closest perennial crossing associated with a proposed road 

activity unit is over two miles above EFH. The next two closest crossings are approximately two miles 

above EFH and the remaining nine perennial crossings are over two miles upstream. There is no 

probability construction of roads would modify peak or base flows, because openings created by new 

roads would be of insufficient size to affect flows.

All but two landings are located outside of the Riparian Reserves. Landing Construction/Reconstruction

would have adequate vegetative cover or mulch material to prevent erosion and retain local sediment. 

The two landings located inside of the Riparian Reserve have been field reviewed by a hydrologist and an 

engineer. These landings are not within areas occupied by flowing water or riparian-dependent 

vegetation. Trees yarded to the landings could disturb slopes of the landing and generate sediment that 

would wash into stream channels. In order to prevent this, landing slopes would be armored with logs or 

other woody material capable of protecting the slope surface. Landing surfaces would drain away from 

the stream channel during and after use, and, would be revegetated and mulched after use. All landings 

are subject to season of use restrictions. These design features in addition to the two mile+ distance from 

EFH ensure that sediment would not be delivered to EFH.

Magnitude Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and Other Restoration Activities PDFs in 

conjunction with the distance from EFH would minimize sediment effects to EFH. The PDFs have been 

designed to minimize sediment delivery to EFH, however there is a chance during the first major storm 

event after operations have ceased there would be an initial input of sediment. Any sediment yield to 

Coal Creek from Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and Other Restoration Activities under the 

proposed actions would be undetectable from the small amounts already generated at this location, and 

therefore insignificant. 

Element Summary: There would be a discountable insignificant negative (-) effect to the sediment and 

pool character & quality habitat indicators from the Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, 

Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and Other 

Restoration Activities. These PDFs in conjunction with the distance from EFH would minimize sediment 

effects to OC coho or critical habitat. The PDFs have been designed to minimize sediment delivery to 

EFH, however there is a chance during the first major storm event after operations have ceased there 

would be an initial input of sediment. Any sediment yield to Coal Creek these project elements under the 

proposed actions would be undetectable from the small amounts already generated at this location. This 

element would have a discountable insignificant negative (-) effect. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 42 of 55

Indicator Summary: There would be a neutral (0) effect to the Sediment and Pool Character & Quality 

Habitat indicators from Timber Felling and Yarding. The project design features for activities in the 

Riparian Reserves would provide adequate vegetative buffers to filter sediment, distance from EFH, 

location of units in stable terrain and ridge top/midslope and no ground based machinery in the RR, 

would ensure that the sediment would not be delivered to EFH. 

There would be a neutral (0) effect to the sediment and pool character & quality habitat indicators from 

the Fuel Treatment. The PDCs for Fuel Treatment activities in the Riparian Reserves would provide 

adequate vegetative buffers to filter sediment and distance from EFH would ensure that the sediment 

would not be delivered to EFH. 

The proposed activities would have a discountable insignificant negative (-) effect on the effects of 

Sediment and Pool Character and Quality Indicators from Project Elements Timber Hauling, Road 

Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and Other Restoration Activities. Some short-term 

immeasurable amounts of sediment would be produced from haul and road maintenance of the haul route 

after the first rain event. Over the long term the road condition would be improved, reducing future 

sediment delivery into EFH. Sediment from Project Elements activities during the first rain would be 

difficult to differentiate above background levels within EFH. This would collectively produce a 

discountable insignificant negative (-) effect to EFH. 

5. Large Wood Baseline (Stream Surveys Monitoring) 

The Forest Service contracted a Level II Stream Survey to be conducted on Coal Creek in 2010. The 

entire reach surveyed was undesirable for key pieces of large wood and total pieces of wood. The two 

upper reaches of Coal Creek were found to have abundant amounts of small wood (12 inch in diameter by 

25 feet in length); the highest one at 77 pieces per mile and the next one down was at 42 pieces per mile. 

On portions flowing across private timberlands, instream LWM is not common. Likewise, the riparian 

forest on publicly owned land is generally in a mid seral stage, regenerating from past logging but in most 

areas had matured to the point of providing small class LWM. Conversely, the riparian forest on private 

corporate land is in an early and pioneer seral stage and incapable of providing instream LWM. 

Baseline Rating for Large Wood: Not Properly Functioning 

a. Effects on Large Wood (LWD) Indicator 

Timber Felling and Yarding 

Proximity There is no causal mechanism for Timber Felling and Yarding because: 

Treatments in Riparian Reserves are a considerable distance from EFH 1.8 miles in Coal Creek. 

These activities would not be in proximity to EFH; 

The size of the wood material being removed in the Riparian Reserves is over 100 feet in length. 

The stream channel width that the adjacent trees are being extracted from ranges in size from 2 

feet to 5 feet in width. The tree lengths being removed are approximately 10 times or more than 

the average bankfull width of the nearby channel. Normal high flows in these small channels 

could not move material with these large wood dimension and weight, a nominal distance; 

Riparian roughness of standing trees, along with wood lengths >100 feet would prevent large 

wood movement from transporting downstream more than a nominal distance, if at all; 

The majority of the large wood material delivery system in these watersheds is through 

landslides; 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 43 of 55

The NFSL 5000 road for example, runs down slope, below the majority of the thinning units in 

the project area. This road would prevent any large wood in the channel from reaching EFH

downstream of the road, as LWD would not likely pass through any existing bridges or culverts 

in these roads. All potential harvest areas that may occur within potential landslide areas have 

been removed (see the Landslide and Erosion Rates section for more details; and 

Timber Felling and Timber Yarding would occur in 66.87% of the upland timber acres and 

outside of the large wood contribution zone. 

Element Summary: Effects of timber felling and yarding in the large wood contribution zones would 

have a neutral (0) effect to the large wood indicator. Thinning prescriptions are designed to create a 

large tree forest within Riparian Reserves. These effects occur from 1.8 miles to 12.7 miles in distance 

away from EFH and based on the topography, size of the stream channels, and distance from EFH, trees 

in the Riparian Reserve would not affect EFH downstream. 

Timber Hauling, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and Other Restoration 

Activities 

Proximity There is no causal mechanism for Timber Hauling, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road 

Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New 

Road Construction and Other Restoration Activities as the activities associated with these Project 

Elements would occur away from the wood contribution zone of stream channels and would have no 

effect on future wood contribution. 

Element Summary: Timber Hauling, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and 

Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction 

and Other Restoration Activities would result in a neutral (0) effect to the large woody debris indicator. 

None of the activities associated with these Project Elements would be removing trees from the Riparian 

Reserve. 

Indicator Summary: Timber Hauling, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and 

Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction 

and Other Restoration Activities would have a neutral (0) effect on Large Woody Debris. Thinning 

prescriptions are designed to create a large tree forest within Riparian Reserves. These effects occur from 

0.8 miles to 11.7 miles in distance away from EFH and based on the topography, size of the stream 

channels, and distance from EFH, trees in the Riparian Reserve are not expected to affect EFH

downstream. 

6. Off-channel Habitat, Width: Depth Ratio by Channel Type, Streambank Condition, and 

Floodplain Connectivity Baseline (WA, USFS) 

Off Channel Habitat 

Off-channel habitats are naturally rare in the constrained stream valley. The Coal Creek Watershed was 

determined by the 2010 stream survey to be not consistent with off channel habitat classification because 

it was classified to be a colluvial canyon with a valley form is narrow and V-shaped. The side channel 

habitat that was present provides for some slow water for summer rearing and winter high water refuge 

but mainly is like that of the main channel rapids. 

Baseline Rating: Functioning At Risk
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 44 of 55

Width: Depth Ratio by Channel Type 

The Coal Creek watershed is a constrained stream valley within a middle range of width and depth. 

Baseline Rating: Functioning at Risk 

Streambank Condition

The majority of headwater streams in the Action Area within the units have stable well vegetated 

streambanks.

Baseline Rating for Streambank Condition: Properly Functioning 

Floodplain Connectivity 

Floodplain connectivity in Coal Creek, in the Action Area is limited due to confinement from roads, 

naturally confined streams in narrow canyons, stream down cutting, and perhaps past practices of 

removing large wood from stream channels. 

Baseline Rating: Not Properly Functioning 

a. Effects on Off-channel Habitat, Width: Depth Ratio by Channel Type, Streambank Condition, 

and Floodplain Connectivity Indicators 

Timber Felling and Yarding, Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road 

Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction and Landing Construction/Reconstruction, 

New Road Construction and Other Restoration Activities. 

Proximity There are no causal mechanisms between any proposed PEs and the Off-channel Habitat, 

Width: Depth Ratio by Channel Type, Stream bank Condition, and Floodplain Connectivity indicators 

since no activities are occurring within any stream channels. The PEs for this project would not occur 

within stream channels. The activities are 1.8 miles to 121.7 miles upstream of EFH. These activities are 

not occurring in a location that would have no effect on EFH.

Element and Indicator Summary: The elements would have a neutral (0) effect on Off-channel 

Habitat, Width: Depth Ratio by Channel Type, Stream bank Condition, and Floodplain Connectivity 

because the PEs for this project would not occur within stream channels. The activities are 1.8 miles to 

12.7 miles upstream of EFH. These activities are not occurring in a location that would affect coho 

salmon or EFH. 

7. Peak and Base Flows Baseline 

Annual precipitation ranges from 50 to 110 inches per year, with very little snow pack. Thus, 90% of the 

mean annual discharge of the Coquille occurs from November to April, with less than 1% occurring 

during August and September. Although snow is common in the Planning Area, a persistent snowpack is 

unusual. The Planning Area is generally in a weather zone referred to as the ―transient snow zone‖

(TSZ), characterized by both rain and snow. 

Timber harvest took place principally during the late 1930s and 1940s in the Coal Creek watershed. 

About 40% of the Coal Creek watershed is public land (Forest Service) and most of this area had 

vegetative management for regeneration harvest on it. Most of these plantations have rapidly recovered 

with tree growth very fast in the wet coastal forests, and current peak flows are unaffected from this past 

harvest. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 45 of 55

The remaining 60% of the watershed is under private ownership. Private harvest in the last 30 years has 

occurred on 41% of the subwatershed. About 19% of the subwatershed, that is privately owned, has not 

yet been harvested. 

Grant et al. (2008) places the upper limit of detection for changes in peak flow at the six year recurrence 

interval. Study data consistently shows that as storm events become larger, the increase in peak flow 

change decreases and the significance of the change becomes undetectable. Storm events become 

increasingly rare as magnitude increases; there are practical limits to the length of time stream flow has 

been recorded and to the accuracy of measurement of very large events. All of these factors contribute to 

the six year detection limit. With these limitations in mind, Grant et al. displayed how peak flow change 

measured within the rain-on-snow regime changes with the percent of area harvested. There is a general 

trend for peak flow increases to decline as harvest area drops. 

Grant et al. (2008) provide thresholds for detectable increases in peak flows that can be attributed to 

harvest within a watershed. For rain-dominated areas, the threshold is 29% of the drainage basin in 

regeneration harvest. For rain-on-snow dominated areas, the threshold is 15% of the drainage in 

regeneration harvest. Regeneration harvest has occurred over 41% of the Coal Creek subwatershed; 

therefore peak flow increases have certainly occurred in the transient snow zone, and are likely to have 

occurred in the rain-dominated elevations of the subwatershed. 

Grant proposed two classes of stream channel that are most susceptible to peak flow changes resulting 

from flows in the one to five year range of recurrence interval: gravel bed channels and sand bed 

channels. These are generally higher order streams (3rd order and up). In the Planning Area, these 

would be Coal Creek and Wooden Rock Creek. First and second order mountain streams typically are 

shaped by storm events with 10+ year recurrence intervals. Proposed roads would cross first and second 

order streams. 

Figure 9. Road Density wtihin South Fork Coquille 5th Field Watershed 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 46 of 55

Baseline Rating: Not Properly Functioning 

a. Effects on Peak and Base Flows 

Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, and Road Maintenance and Other Restoration Activities 

Proximity These PEs have no causal mechanism to impact peak or base flows because these activities 

do not increase road density or creating openings that would allow more rain/snow events that would 

change flow regimes in any channels. 

Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction and Landing 

Construction/Reconstruction, and New Road Construction 

Proximity Causal mechanisms associated with these PE are associated with creating openings and 

increased road densities. The planned road activities would not be creating openings or increasing road 

densities that would change flow regimes in any channels. 

Road density for the Coal Creek analysis area is high at 4.19 mi. /sq. mi. (Table 15); proposed road 

activities account for an increase of 0.43 mi. /square mile. The National Forest Land currently has a low 

road density; therefore adding these additional roads has a low risk of roads affecting peak flows because 

they affect only about 40 acres which amounts to less than 1% of the watershed. The proposed roads to 

be built in general are short segments to access units. Only 3.9 miles of road would occur in Riparian 

Reserve. None of these roads are adjacent streams or valley bottom roads. 

Table 15. Road Density within Coal Creek 6th Field Watershed

Road Type Miles of Road

Area of 

Watershed 

(Sq. Miles)

Road Density 

(miles per sq. 

mile)

Forest Service 9.76 15.58 0.63

Other Roads 55.52 15.58 3.56

All Roads 65.28 15.58 4.19

Element Summary: Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction and 

Landing Construction/Reconstruction, and New Road Construction would have a causal mechanism to 

impact peak or base flows but would not be creating openings that would cause more rain/snow events 

that would change flow regimes in any channels or increasing road densities that would have a 

measurable amount of change for the entire watershed in peak or base flow. 

In the Primary Shade Zone the canopy cover would be left in its current condition except at stream 

crossings. Peak flows in the Coal Creek subwatershed are likely to be elevated over natural conditions as 

a result of the high levels of regeneration harvest (over 41% in the last 30 years), instream wood removal, 

and the high road densities on private lands. NFS lands in the analysis area exhibit much lower road 

density (less than 3.9 mi. /sq. mi. NFS lands have also experienced dramatically lower harvest levels 

since they have not been regeneration harvested since the railroad entries occurring in the 1940s. 

Retention of the forest canopy and placement of roads to avoid high order streams would prevent 

contribution to peak flow increases from NFS lands. This element would have a neutral (0) effect on 

peak or base flows in Coal Creek. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 47 of 55

Timber Falling and Yarding 

Proximity There is a causal mechanism for Timber Felling and Yarding to affect Peak and Base flows, 

since trees are being felled, yarded, and in turn being removed from the landscape. Most of these 

activities would occur away from stream channels and outside of one site tree distance from streams 

and/or outside the near surface water delivery zone of stream systems. Buffers within the Riparian 

Reserve are included in prescriptions for all streams to prevent accelerating delivery mechanisms to 

channels. These include no cut buffers within 25 feet of ephemeral channels for light thin, 35 feet buffers 

for medium thinning and 40 feet buffers for heavy thins and buffers of within 50-60 feet on perennial 

channels. A 100 feet buffer limits ground disturbance and compaction adjacent to all stream channels. 

Following PDCs, little ground disturbance would occur within 100 feet of stream channels to prevent 

acceleration of water delivery and loss of soil porosity. No more than 10% of soil infiltration capacity 

would be lost within 100 feet of streams as a preventative measure to prevent soil and rapid water 

delivery. This mitigation measure is to prevent creation of new and efficient delivery pathways, 

providing a protection zone near streams. 

Variable Density Thinning leaves variable canopy retention from 40% to 60% in uplands (Matrix) and 

equal or greater than 50% in riparian zones, with the exception of Port Orford Cedar Root Disease 

Silvicultural treatments (POC). POC would be treated with Gap Development Treatment to treat portions 

of stands infected with laminated root rot. Treatment would have irregular shape openings 1⁄4 to 2 acres. 

No more than ten percent of the acres within each unit would be treated for POC. Approximately 330 

acres (0.1%) of Gap Development Treatment would be scattered throughout the total 3,385 project acres 

and are located within Coal Creek 6th field watershed. The total amount of openings created from the 

POC treatment within Coal Creek 6th field watershed (9,952 acres) would be .003%. Therefore, .30 acres 

of small openings from POC treatments, scattered throughout the project, would occur in.003% of the 

Coal Creek 6th field watershed. Any openings <1% would not impact a rain on snow event within this 

watershed (Joplin 2011). 

Coal Creek subwatershed has no potential for measureable peak flow increases because the percent of the 

subwatershed that would be affected is nominal. Coal Creek subwatershed (9,952 acres) has 2,016 acres 

of proposed commercial thin harvest. Coal Creek subwatershed would have variable density thinning on 

20% of the watershed; however this figure does not represent the same magnitude of impacts as 

regeneration harvest. Currently there is little peak flow data specific to thinning activities. Grant et al. 

(2008) indicate that harvest levels may be quite high (over 80%) without peak flow increases as long as 

roads are not involved. Roads and compaction associated with ground based equipment are the primary 

mechanism for concentrating surface runoff and more rapidly delivering it to streams. The proposed 

action would utilize ground based equipment only on slopes less than 35%, affecting 21% of the 

subwatershed. Management of NFS lands utilizing thinning, combined with careful placement of the 

needed road construction and use of ground based equipment is expected to reduce the risk of 

measureable peak flow increases. 

Given the small amount of additional compaction, the RR would be left between all units and stream 

channels (reducing the potential hydrological connectivity from a unit to a stream), Variable Density 

Thinning leaves a variable retention from 40% to 60% in uplands (Matrix) and equal or greater than 

50% in riparian zones, with the exception of Port Orford Cedar Root Disease Silvicultural treatments 

(POC), and 330 acres of nominal openings from POC treatments, scattered throughout the project , would 

occur in nominal 0.1% of the Coal Creek 6th field watershed, any openings <1% would not impact a rain 

on snow event, therefore, there is no probability that timber felling and yarding would modify the peak or 

base flow indicator affecting downstream critical habitat. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 48 of 55

Element Summary: The proposed project would have a neutral (0) effect on Changes in Peak and Base 

Flows for the following reasons: 

Proposed actions would occur over small, scattered areas of each subwatershed. 

Proposed harvest units contribute fractional runoff to the receiving mainstem channels. 

Impact thresholds are based on regeneration harvest leaving a wide margin of safety for impact 

assessment resulting from proposed thinning. 

Surface disturbance is slight in the Riparian Reserve (see Riparian Project Design Criteria in PE 

section. 

Direct surface disturbance resulting from tractor yarding is limited to gentle slopes and ridgeline 

units. 

Variable Density Thinning leaves variable canopy retention from 40% to 60% in uplands 

(Matrix) and equal or greater than 50% in riparian zones, with the exception of Port Orford Cedar 

Root Disease Silvicultural treatments (POC). POC would be treated with Gap Development 

Treatment to treat portions of stands infected with laminated root rot. The total amount of 

openings created from the POC treatment within Coal Creek 6th field watershed (9,952 acres) 

would be .003%. Therefore, 330 acres of small openings from POC treatments, scattered 

throughout the project, would only occur in 0.1% of the Coal Creek 6th field watershed. 

Indicator Summary: There would be a neutral (0) effect to Peak and base Flows from the ER project. 

There would be no effect to peak and base flows from Timber Hauling, Fuels Treatment, and Road 

Maintenance. These PE‘s have no causal mechanism to impact peak or base flows as they are not 

creating openings that would increase runoff from rain events nor changing flow regimes in any channels 

or increasing road densities. Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction 

and Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction would have a discountable 

insignificant negative (-) effect on peak or base flows in Coal Creek due to increased road densities. 

The Timber Felling and Yarding of trees and Other Restoration activities would have a neutral (0) effect

on changes in peak and base flows for the following reasons: 

The action alternatives would occur over small, scattered areas of each subwatershed. 

Proposed harvest units contribute fractional runoff to the receiving mainstem channels. 

Impact thresholds are based on regeneration harvest leaving a wide margin of safety for impact 

assessment resulting from proposed thinning. 

NFS lands are hydrologically recovered. 

Surface disturbance is slight in the Riparian Reserve (see Riparian Project Design Criteria in PE 

section. 

Direct surface disturbance resulting from tractor yarding is limited to gentle slopes and ridgeline 

units. 

Variable Density Thinning leaves variable canopy retention from 40% to 60% in uplands 

(Matrix) and equal or greater than 50% in riparian zones, with the exception of Port Orford Cedar 

Root Disease Silvicultural treatments (POC). POC would be treated with Gap Development 

Treatment to treat portions of stands infected with laminated root rot. The total amount of 

openings created from the POC treatment within Coal Creek 6th field watershed (9,952 acres) 

would be 0.1%. Therefore, 330 acres of small openings from POC treatments, scattered 

throughout the project, would only occur in 0.003% of the Coal Creek 6th field watershed. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 49 of 55

B. WATERSHED CONDITION INDICATORS (WCI) 

1. Road Density/Location Baseline (USFS) 

The road density (roads per square mile) for the Coal Creek 6th field watershed is high; approximately 4.9 

miles per square mile of roads for both private timberlands and NFSL. The roads are located on ridge 

tops, mid-slopes, and valley bottoms. The watershed is comprised of steep valley walls and a heavily 

dissected stream network. Road density greater than 3 mile per mile square is considered to be not 

properly functioning. 

Baseline Rating: Not Properly Functioning 

a. Effects of the PEs on the Road Density/Location Indicator 

The PEs that would affect the road density/location indicator is Temporary Road Construction and 

Decommissioning, Road Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, and New Road 

Construction. No other PEs would change road density or locations. 

Two short temporary spur roads totaling less than 1,500 feet are proposed for construction within the 

units followed by decommissioning. These spurs (Q4 and R) would be located in Riparian Reserves 

within the Coal Creek 6th field watershed. Spur Q4 crosses one intermittent channel and one perennial 

channel. Spur R does not cross any stream channels. After harvest operations are completed, the spurs 

would be decommissioned, mulched, reseeded, and allowed to revegetate. Because the roads would exist 

on the landscape for only a short period and would not yield any meaningful effects to the watershed, the 

temporary spur roads would not impart a lasting change to the road density/location indicator. 

Reconstructed roads are proposed within Coal Creek, Lower Rock Creek and Headwaters of the South 

Fork Coquille watersheds and would total approximately 6.1 miles in length, including 1.36 miles within 

Riparian Reserves. This action would lead to a net increase of 4.75 miles of permanent road in the Coal 

Creek watershed, 1.1 mile of permanent road in the Headwater of South Fork of Coquille watershed, and 

0.25 mile of permanent road in the Lower Rock Creek watershed. 

New Road Construction roads are proposed within the 6th field watersheds: Coal Creek, Lower Rock 

Creek and Headwaters of the South Fork Coquille and Myrtle Creek; total approximately 11 miles in 

length, including 1.58 miles within Riparian Reserves. This action would lead to a net increase of 7.4 

miles of permanent road in the Coal Creek watershed, of 1.9 mile of permanent road in the Headwater of 

South Fork of Coquille watershed, .75 mile of permanent road in the Myrtle Creek watershed and 1 mile 

of permanent road in the Lower Rock Creek watershed. 

Road construction would cause localized impacts associated with vegetation removal and surface 

disturbance within the road construction zone. For proposed system roads, this loss of vegetation would 

be permanent, as would the routing of streams through culverts and modification of both surface and 

subsurface slope runoff water flow. Field examinations along the railroad grades proposed for conversion 

indicate that subsurface slope flows in the area are minimal. The railroad grade to be converted to system 

road exposes up to 15 vertical feet of cutbank along its route. Few seeps were observed and the grade 

retains water at only a few locations within its 3.5 mile length. 

Proposed system road construction would occur primarily along watershed divides and secondary 

ridgelines. Perennial channels are less than 10 feet wide (three feet or less of active channel is typical) 

except for the unnamed tributary bordering Unit 338. This tributary contains a channel with a relatively 

wide and saturated valley bottom of about 40 feet in the proposed crossing location. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 50 of 55

Proposed roads located in Tractor Units 303, 307, 308 and 309 are also exceptions to the description 

above in that they are located at the midpoint of the Coal Creek watershed near the main channel. Road 

Q1 crosses approximately 0.11 miles of private land and would require a steep gradient road constructed 

(estimated at about 20% slope) for approximately 500 feet. Units 303, 307, 308, and 309 are located in an 

area that is considered sensitive to hydrologic impacts: slope position and distance to Coal Creek are low.

The following mitigating measures are recommended for these units:

Unit 309: Harvest treatment should be excluded from the zone between the south bank of Coal 

Creek and the slope break. This would avoid disturbance of over steepened slopes that would 

shed sediment directly into Coal Creek. 

Units 303, 307, 308 and 309: Sediment transport should be monitored by the sale administrator. 

Any visible sediment input to Coal Creek originating from these units would require 

implementation of mitigating measures that would capture/prevent sediment transport 

recommended by a soil scientist, hydrologist, or engineer. 

The haul route for the proposed project would utilize existing NFSL and private system roads. Hauling to 

support the proposed sales would occur only during the dry season and during dry conditions. Haul roads 

would all be engineered for effective drainage and armored with rock to provide an all-weather surface. It 

is unlikely that sediment generated from use of haul roads under these conditions would exceed 

background levels. Field examination of the haul route indicates that fine sand and silt originate mainly 

from road cuts and ditches. Slope failures, visible rills and gullies are rare; occurring sporadically on over 

steepened colluvial slopes or fills. Best Management Practices for road maintenance listed below would 

be sufficient to capture sediment that may be generated by proposed hauling project: 

Adding additional rock to the road surface, when needed; 

Keeping the road crowned; and 

Season of operation. 

Due to the minimal impacts (as described under previous indicators in this BA) anticipated within the 

watershed resulting from these roads, this increase in road densities would be insignificant to aquatic 

habitat. Therefore, this project would have an insignificant negative effect to the road density/location 

indicator in the Coal Creek watershed. Overall, road construction in the Coal Creek subwatershed (6.6 

miles) would increase road densities by 0.43 sq. /mile/mile, 0.9 percent, (from 4.19 to 4.62 mile/square 

mile) and would include 23 intermittent/ephemeral nonfish bearing crossing, and 12 new stream crossings 

in the 3.19 miles of road activities that are occurring in the Riparian Reserve. This road work would 

represent a change (Increase) in road densities of less than 0.9 of one percent, and in particular riparian 

road densities. 

Shade would not be affected from these PEs to the extent to causes changes in stream temperature to EFH

greater than 0.8 miles away. The proposed action would result in a neutral (0) effect to the temperature 

indicator from these PEs. 

The PEs would have a discountable insignificant negative effect to the sediment and pool character & 

quality habitat indicators. Adding additional rock to the road surface, when needed; keeping the road 

crowned; and season of operation in conjunction with the distance from EFH would minimize sediment 

effects from the PEs to the Riparian Reserve and OC coho or critical habitat and would be undetectable 

from the small amounts already generated at this location. 

In summary, due to the small magnitude of road density increase (0.9 percent), a neutral effect to 

temperature, and a discountable insignificant negative effect to the sediment and pool character & quality 

habitat indicators from these PEs, the Eden Ridge Timber Sales project would have an insignificant 

negative effect to the road density/location indicator in the Coal Creek 6th field watershed.
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 51 of 55

2. Human Disturbance History 

a. History Baseline (WA, Forest Service records) 

About 60% of the Coal Creek watershed is private lands and 40% of this area is managed by the Forest 

Service. The Forest Service land has had vegetative management in the way of regeneration harvest, 

commercial thinning, and or select cuts occurring in the 1960s to throughout the 1980s. Downstream of 

National Forest, it is assumed that most of the forested lands will be in early or mid-seral conditions to 

maximize timber production. 

The majority of the Action Area is networked with roads. Road densities are high in the Action Area in 

general, as well as in each of the watersheds. 

Baseline Rating: Functioning-At-Risk 

b. Effects to Human Disturbance Indicator 

Timber Felling and Yarding are proposed on 3,300 acres. The Timber Felling and Yarding are not 

concentrated in unstable areas and are occurring on previously logged areas. The road activities occurring 

in Riparian Reserves are log hauling, and road and landing construction and were determined to have 

insignificant negative effects. The analysis of effects to the peak flow indicator determined the proposed 

timber harvest would not result in measurable changes in peak and base flow volumes and timing from 

the existing condition to EFH. Consequently, there would be an insignificant negative effect to the 

human disturbance history. 

In summary, the proposed elements would have an insignificant (0) effect on Disturbance History. The 

proposed project is a density management treatment plan that would enhance development of the midseral age stands to late successional habitat conditions. Thinning prescriptions would retain trees outside 

of the no-harvest buffers where landslides or debris flows are most likely to initiate, particularly those that 

could impact streams, ponds, and wetlands. Roads and landing constructed and other activities near 

streams would be localized, minor and not affect overall watershed conditions. 

3. Riparian Reserves Baseline 

Port Orford Cedar is an important riparian component and is suffering from root disease in some 

drainages within the Coal Creek Watershed. As a result, the riparian vegetation in some locations is now 

primarily in an early seral stage. 

Plantations are concentrated within lower Coal Creek. Overall riparian conditions are good in the upper 

watershed on public lands. It is assumed, as previously mentioned, that on private lands much of riparian 

areas will remain in early and mid-seral conditions to maximize timber production. 

Baseline Rating: Not Properly Functioning 

a. Effects of the PEs on Riparian Reserve Indicator 

Portions of all activities proposed with this project would occur within the Riparian Reserve. However, 

the Eden Ridge Timber Sales project is proposing to harvest 389 acres within the Riparian Treatment 

Zone located within the 584 acres of Riparian Reserve scattered throughout the Coal Creek watershed. 

The ER project is proposing felling and yarding within these Riparian Reserves but it provides a nontreatment buffer on the stream channels, and only removes trees from these areas in a manner to reduce 

impacts to the Riparian Reserve. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 52 of 55

In some localized and scattered instances a yarding corridor with a maximum width of twelve feet would 

facilitate reaching thinning areas at inaccessible locations within the stand. All other activities such as 

road building and landings in the Riparian Reserve would be placed well above stream channels and are 

very minimal. 

The PEs would not affect shade in the Riparian Reserve to the extent to causes changes in stream 

temperature to EFH >1.8 miles away. The proposed actions would result in a neutral (0) effect to the 

temperature indicator from the PEs. 

The amount of sediment which could reach EFH would be insignificant and indistinguishable from 

background levels. Sediment derived from Timber Haul would be primarily directed to ditch lines and 

then out of the ditch lines via ditch relief culverts to the forest floor with little to no sediment above 

existing levels. Sediment could be transported to stream channels along the two hundred feet of road 

adjacent Coal Creek where the road and ditch line are connected to streams. Road Maintenance work 

completed prior to haul and Road Maintenance work conducted after haul would further reduce the 

amount of off-site sediment movement after hauling. Any sediment generated as a result of the proposed 

haul would be immeasurable. Lastly, a restriction on when log haul can occur would minimize sediment 

generation on the surface of the road where it could wash into the ditch lines. 

Timber Hauling and Road Maintenance PDFs in conjunction with the distance from EFH would 

minimize sediment effects to OC coho or EFH. The PDFs have been designed to minimize sediment 

delivery to EFH, however there is a chance during the first major storm event after operations have ceased 

there would be an initial input of sediment. Any sediment yield to Coal Creek from Timber Hauling and 

Road Maintenance under the proposed actions would be undetectable from the small amounts already 

generated at this location, and therefore insignificant. 

Timber Hauling, Road Maintenance, Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning, Road 

Reconstruction, Landing Construction/Reconstruction, New Road Construction and Other Restoration 

Activities would have a neutral (0) effect on Large Woody Debris. Thinning prescriptions are designed 

to create a large tree forest within Riparian Reserves. These effects occur from 1.8 miles to 11.7 miles in 

distance away from EFH and based on the topography, size of the stream channels, and distance from 

EFH, trees in the Riparian Reserve are not expected to affect EFH downstream. 

In summary, due to the Sediment indicator, Temperature indicator, and Large Wood indicator were 

either insignificant or neutral (0) effect, a small amount of riparian treatments, the PDFs established for 

this project, and the lack of meaningful impacts, the reduction in functioning riparian area would be 

insignificant at the sub-watershed scale and thus the effects to the Riparian Reserves would be a neutral 

(0) effect.

4. Landslide and Erosion Rates Baseline 

The Planning Area is underlain by a geologic unit called the Tyee Formation, composed of poorly 

consolidated sandstones with fewer durable cliff-forming beds of sandstone. In the main canyon of Coal 

Creek and along its larger tributaries, slopes may be as high as 70% to vertical, supported by the more 

durable sandstone beds. Weaker parts of the formation exposed on steep slopes can fail as loose talis and 

debris flows in response to storm events. In general, the formation exhibits no mass wasting (deep seated 

failures that affect entire slopes). Weathering of exposed surfaces results in erosion products of fine 

gravel, sand, silt and clay that are easily mobilized by runoff and stream flow. Little of this material is 

stored within the main stem of Coal Creek since the middle and lower channel reaches are dominated by 

confined bedrock and boulder substrates with no floodplain. A substantial alluvial fan is located at the 

mouth of Coal Creek and extends into the S.F. Coquille River; this is the first major opportunity for 

sediment loads from Coal Creek to deposit. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 53 of 55

Past road construction and timber harvest have caused a few shallow slope failures into Coal Creek. Field 

examination indicates that the haul route and proposed roads are, or would be, stable. Expected erosion 

products would be sand, silt, and clay primarily from weathering of road cuts and loose material on fill 

slopes. Downstream on private lands it is assumed that some aggravation of unstable areas may occur to 

maximize timber production. Fires occurred infrequently, Table 16, and were of moderate to high 

severity. 

Table 16. South Fork Coquille River Watershed - Historical Fire in 6th-Field Watersheds (acres) 

6

th

–Field 

Watershed

Year Total acres 

burned

Coal Creek 1959 202

Coal Creek 1964 608

Total 809

Baseline Rating: functioning at risk 

a. Effects of the PEs on the landslide and Erosion Rates Baseline 

All PEs for this project are over two miles above EFH. No activities are occurring on unstable grounds, 

or areas with a high erosion hazard rating. All these areas were removed during the project design. All 

PEs for this activity occur outside of areas that would be prone to landslide or accelerated erosion by 

design of the project. Effects to landslides and erosion rates from the PEs are entirely discountable. The 

proposed elements would have a neutral (0) effect on the Landslide and Erosion Rates indicator. 

VI. ESA AND EFH DETERMINATION

A. DETERMINATION OF EFFECTS ON OC COHO SALMON AND OC COHO 

CRITICAL HABITAT 

The effects from the PEs are expected to only affect sediment levels in EFH from log hauling and 

permanent new road construction. Much of the discussion of possible effects to EFH centers on fine and 

coarse sediment delivery to the stream system and transport to critical habitat downstream. Riparian 

Reserves left intact at delivery zones would buffer ground disturbance from the stream system. The 

distance of the haul route and other road related activities from Coal Creek would allow small amounts of 

sediment to be delivered to EFH. This sediment delivery would be of short duration and an amount that 

would not be detectable beyond background levels. Coal Creek, where the potential for sediment could 

deliver to EFH, naturally transports very large sediment loads and has high peak flow values during storm 

periods. As a result the haul of logs along Coal Creek is immeasurable and has been determined to have a 

may affect not likely to adversely affect determination on individual coho salmon and will not 

adversely affect essential fish habitat (EFH) for coho and Chinook salmon and will have no affect on 

CCH.

Sediment – Project components that could produce sediment within the stream network include timber 

haul over roads, temporary road construction and decommissioning, road reconstruction, landing 

construction/reconstruction and new road construction. Though sediment is produced, the amount 

delivered to EFH would be immeasurable and occur for a short duration, during the rainy season. 

Additionally, restricting timber hauling to dry roadbed conditions would impede sediment mobilization. 

The amount of sediment which could reach EFH would be insignificant and indistinguishable from 

background levels. Sediment derived from Timber Haul would be primarily directed to ditch lines and 

then out of the ditch lines via ditch relief culverts to the forest floor with little to no sediment above 

existing levels. 
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 54 of 55

Sediment could be transported to stream channels along the two hundred feet of road adjacent Coal Creek 

where the road and ditch line are connected to streams. Road Maintenance work completed prior to haul 

and Road Maintenance work conducted after haul would further reduce the amount of off-site sediment 

movement after hauling. Adequate project design features would be in place to limit the amount of 

sediment to levels within the range of natural variability for the season of impact. Therefore, this increase 

in sediment would not likely render EFH unsuitable or affect coho salmon productivity, survival, or 

mortality. 

Determination and Conclusions - The Eden Ridge Timber Sales project would result in effects to 

coho salmon and EFH in Coal Creek Watershed. Thus, May Affect Not Likely to Adversely Affect

determination is rendered for coho salmon and No Effect for coho salmon critical habitat. The project 

Will Not Adversely Affect Essential Fish Habitat for coho salmon or Chinook salmon. These

determinations are based on the activity having immeasurable amounts of sediment being delivered to 

stream channels. The quantities are immeasurable and would be of short duration primarily from the 

activity of log haul and road maintenance over gravel surfaced roads adjacent to essential fish habitat. 

B. DICHOTOMOUS KEY FOR SECTION 7 DETERMINATION OF EFFECTS 

Location: Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Powers Ranger District 

Project Name: Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project 

Species: OC coho salmon 

Watersheds within Project Area: Lower South Fork Coquille River and Middle Fork Coquille River 

1. Do any of the indicator summaries have a positive (+) or negative (-) conclusion? 

A. NO............................................................................................................. No effect 

B. YES......................................................................................... May Affect, Go to 2

2. Are the indicator summary results only positive? 

A. NO.............................................................................................................. Go to 3

B. YES.............................................................................................................. NLAA 

3. If any of the indicator summary results are negative, are the effects insignificant or discountable? 

A. NO................................................................ LAA, fill out Adverse Effects Form 

B. YES........................................................................................................... NLAA 

Essential Fish Habitat 

Based on the analysis of affects from the proposed action, the Eden Ridge EIS would not adversely affect 

EFH. The proposed action would Not Adversely Affect EFH for coho or Chinook salmon.
Biological Assessment-Eden Ridge Timber Sales RRSNF Page 55 of 55

VII. LITERATURE CITED

Grant, G., S. Lewis, F. Swanson, and J. McDonnell. Draft, 2006. Effects of Forest Practices on Peak 

Flows and Consequent Channel Response in Western Oregon: A State-of-Science Report. 

Gordon E. Grant, Sarah L. Lewis, Frederick J. Swanson, John H. Cissel, and Jeffrey J. McDonnell. 2008. 

Effects of forest practices on peak flows and consequent channel response in western Oregon: a state-ofscience report. Pacific Northwest Research Station, General Technical Report. 

Joplin, M. 2011. Personal Communication, Hydrologist, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. 

Park, C.S. 1993. SHADOW stream temperature management program, USDA, USFS, Pacific Northwest 

Region. 

Park, C, Jubas, H. 2005. Channel and shade monitoring for the 1996 Waters Thin Fuels Reduction 

Project, Rogue Siskiyou National Forest. 

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. 2006. Coastal Healthy Forest Treatments EA. 

Rosgen, D.L. 1996. Applied River Morphology, Published by Wildland Hydrology. 

USDA Forest Service. 1989. Final Environmental Impact Statement, Land and Resource Management 

Plan Siskiyou National Forest. Siskiyou National Forest, Pacific Northwest Region. 

USDI BLM 1994 Middle Fork Coquille Analytical Watershed 

USFS 1995. South Fork Coquille Watershed Analysis. USFS Powers Ranger District. 

USFS 2010. Coal Creek Stream Survey Report. USFS Powers Ranger District Files. 

APPENDIX I 

TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYTEMS REPORT 

APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-1 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

APPENDIX I 

TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT 

(Project Specific Roads Analysis) 

(Economic Analysis) 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest 

January 2011
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-2 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... I-3 

A. Who Worked on this Analysis and Report? ........................................................................ I-3 

B. Background and History of Planning Area ......................................................................... I-4 

C. Summary of Proposed Action and Alternatives .................................................................. I-4 

II. MANAGEMENT DIRECTION ............................................................................................... I-5 

A. Planning Area Land Allocations .......................................................................................... I-5 

B. Management Direction for Roads ......................................................................................... I-6 

C. Transportation Planning ....................................................................................................... I-7 

D. Roads Analysis ....................................................................................................................... I-8 

III. CURRENT ROAD INFORMATION .................................................................................... I-9 

A. Definitions of Roads ............................................................................................................... I-10 

B. Current Road Inventory – Eden Ridge Planning Area ...................................................... I-10 

C. Existing Uses ........................................................................................................................... I-13 

D. Analysis of Existing Roads .................................................................................................... I-13 

IV. LOGGING SYSTEMS ............................................................................................................ I-16 

A. Analysis Process (paper and field) ....................................................................................... I-17 

B. Logging System Options ........................................................................................................ I-18 

Ground Based Systems .................................................................................................. I-18 

Skyline ............................................................................................................................. I-18 

Helicopter ........................................................................................................................ I-20 

C. Mitigation Measures and Potential Contract Language .................................................... I-21 

V. ROAD ACCESS NEEDS ........................................................................................................... I-25 

A. Existing Road (Access) Systems ............................................................................................ I-25 

B. Proposed New Classified Roads ............................................................................................ I-26 

C. Temporary Road (Access) Systems and Landings .............................................................. I-28 

D. Matrix Analysis of New Roads ............................................................................................. I-30 

VI. ECONOMICS .......................................................................................................................... I-32 

A. Background ............................................................................................................................ I-32 

B. Economic Assumptions .......................................................................................................... I-33 

C. Economic Performance of Alternatives ............................................................................... I-36 

D. Direct, Indirect and Cumulative Effects of Alternatives .................................................... I-37 

VII. SOUTH FORK COQUILLE NWFP KEY WATERSHED ............................................... I-37 

A. Background ............................................................................................................................ I-38 

B. Road Decommissioning Road Bank ..................................................................................... I-38 

ATTACHMENT A 

Example preliminary logging “paper plan” ................................................................................. I-39 

ATTACHMENT B 

Road decommissioning in South Fork Coquille Watershed ....................................................... I-39 
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-3 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT 

(Project Specific Roads Analysis) 

(Economic Analysis) 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The Eden Ridge Planning Area currently has a minimal existing road network and when the logging 

that created the candidate stands of today were created, the area was logged by historical railroad 

systems. Most of the existing roads evolved from early railroad grades but do not adequately serve the 

Planning Area for today’s needs and systems. This report documents the basis for application of 

potential logging systems and provides the basis for road use and proposed new road construction. 

Current policy requires the Forest Service to undertake a scientifically-based road analysis procedure, 

at an appropriate scale and coordinated with other ecosystem analysis, in order to make better 

decisions regarding road management. This report is prepared as a project-specific Roads Analysis. 

Road mileage within designated Key Watershed under the Northwest Forest Plan in relation to 

Standards and Guidelines is also analyzed. 

This report also includes an economic analysis of the alternatives considered in detail for the proposed 

timber sales projects. Proposed road related activities that serve the proposed logging systems are 

primary elements of costs associated with these alternatives. 

I. INTRODUCTION 

A. Who Worked on this Analysis and Report?

Transportation and logging systems planning for the Eden Ridge Planning Area and Timber Sales Project 

was conducted by several individuals. There were two preliminary logging plans including road needs 

done via an analytical or “paper planning” process. One plan was done by Pat Murphy (previous Powers 

RD presale forester), the other by Mike Dearborn (Pacific Zone Environmental Coordinator – now 

retired). Both of these individuals possessed extensive experience in logging systems and/or road design, 

or timber sale administration. These plans were done with different objectives regarding use of existing 

roads on adjacent Plum Creek lands. Since both of these people left before completion of this project, a 

logging and transportation plan was contracted with a Forest Service Enterprise Team (Steve 

Rheinberger, forester, logging engineer) for further logging systems/transportation planning input. Steve 

Rheinberger developed an extensive preliminary paper plan in February of 2010. 

These initial plans were primarily based on a set of potential treatment units (those developed for scoping 

under NEPA). Further silvilcultural and field verification of candidate stands required a revised paper 

transportation and logging system plan, including more of an interdisciplinary approach for resource 

protection. In the spring of 2010, Ken Grigsby (former Forest Service presale specialist with extensive 

logging system and transportation planning experience) developed an updated paper plan based on the 

previous plans and the current configuration of candidate stands. This planning was done with assistance 

from Maureen Joplin, Hydrologist. 

To this point, these plans were not extensively reviewed for applicability or feasibility in the field. In the 

fall of 2010, Wesley Crum (Powers presale forester with extensive logging systems and timber 

experience) took over the transportation and logging system development responsibilities. Wes spent 

considerable time in the field verifying the feasibility of stand treatments and the application of the 

transportation and logging system planning. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Wes field verified all the proposed roads (both existing and proposed). Later, a core Interdisciplinary 

Team documented all candidate stands and the associated roads needs utilizing a GIS Analyst. Road 

reconstruction and maintenance needs were identified and reviewed by Robin McAlpin, Powers 

Operations Manager. Final documentation of this report was prepared by Ken Grigsby (NEPA 

contractor) and Wesley Crum. 

B. Background and History of Planning Area

The building of the Coos Bay, Roseburg and Eastern Railroad from Coos Bay to Myrtle Point in the 

1890‟s created a transportation system which eventually opened up the timber of the Coquille Valley. 

Between 1912 and 1915, the Smith-Powers Logging Company extended this line up the South Fork of the 

Coquille to the billions of board feet of timber which the firm owned in „the vicinity of Rural, Oregon. 

Re-naming the post office Powers in 1915, the company platted a town and created a booming logging 

activity in the region (Beckman 1978). Although C. A. Smith went bankrupt in 1919, the successor firm, 

the Coos Bay Lumber Company, continued work in the area through the 1920s to the early 1950s. 

Branch rail lines extended up, Salmon Creek, up the Coquille to Land Creek, and to the southeast up Eden 

Ridge. The logging operations in the region passed to the Georgia-Pacific Corporation when that firm 

purchased the Coos Bay Lumber Company in 1952 (Beckham and Hartmann 1977). 

The Eden Ridge area was extensively railroad logged as the lines were constructed through the area. 

Back then, future forest management was not a concern, so stands were left to regenerate naturally. Most 

of the area was covered in slash, or burned as the fire hazard was very high. Most likely, brush was a 

major component for 15 to 20 years. Eventually, conifer and hardwoods overtopped the brush and the 

shrubs died back. Today the stands are still in transition to fewer hardwoods and the dominant conifers 

are out competing other conifers. Management records (that were found) show assessments of 

stocking/planting needs during WWII, or from 1939 to 1942. This is the time when the "Bill Rider" 

caused the adjacent lands to be transferred to private ownership. It is assumed that the private timber 

companies did not want the cutover area which is now referred to as the Planning Area for the Eden 

Ridge Timber Sales. The stands that have been examined as well as the sampling of tree ages indicate 

that the trees are currently around 60 to 70 years old (Crum, pers. com.) 

Eden Ridge Planning Area falls within the South Fork Coquille River and the Middle Fork Coquille River 

5th-Field watersheds, and the Lower Rock Creek, Myrtle Creek, Headwaters South Fork Coquille River, 

Coal Creek, and Mill Creek 6th field watersheds. Watershed Analyses have been conducted within these 

drainages and contain a synthesis of scientific knowledge about watershed trends and conditions at 5th

field watershed scales as well as by smaller 6th field sub-watersheds. 

C. Summary of Proposed Action and Alternatives 

The Powers Ranger District of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest is proposing variable density 

thinning and other silvilcultural treatments designed to control stocking and maintain or improve overall 

forest health and resiliency within the Eden Ridge Planning Area. 

Stand inventory records and walk-thru examinations have identified thousands of acres of regenerated 

conifer stands within the Eden Ridge Planning Area that were initiated by natural or artificial regeneration 

following clear-cut timber harvest in the 1930s through 1940s. 

Currently, dense tree stocking conditions have developed in many stands as a result of stand growth 

leading to increased inter-tree competition for site resources essential for tree health, vigor, growth and 

development. Limited availability of site resources within these dense stands is resulting in 

environmentally stressed trees and vegetation. Additionally, there are two forest pathogens; Port-OrfordCedar root disease (Phytophthora lateralis) and laminated root rot (Phellinus weirii) affecting forest 

health in small portions of the Planning Area. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The action proposed by the Forest Service to meet the Purpose and Need is variable density thinning and 

other silvicultural treatments designed to control stocking and maintain or improve overall forest vigor 

and resiliency from within the 6,516-acre Eden Ridge Planning Area. Commercial timber harvested from 

stand treatments would contribute to the Forest‟s Probable Sale Quantity. 

The Project Area for the Proposed Action includes approximately 3,300 acres and is located 

approximately 4 air miles southeast of the city of Powers, Oregon at the closest point, with a legal 

description of: Township 31 South, Range 10 West, Sections 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 29 and 30; and 

Township 31 South, Range 11 West, Sections 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27; Willamette Meridian; Coos 

County, Oregon. Elevations range from 2,500 to 3,500 feet. 

There are four alternatives considered in detail in the Eden Ridge Timber Sales EIS. These include 

Alternative 1 (No-Action), Alternative 2 (Proposed Action), Alternative 3 and Alternative 4. 

Alternative 1 is the No-Action alternative. It represents the current condition and is the basis for 

comparison of effects from implementation of the three Action Alternatives (Alternatives 2, 3 and 4). 

Alternative 2, the Proposed Action, is designed to address and maximize attainment of the Purpose and 

Need outlined in EIS Chapter I. Alternative 2 also represents the maximum extent of proposed treatments 

and connected actions (e.g., harvest systems and roads). 

Alternative 3 is similar to and is based on the Proposed Action, but differs from the candidate stands and 

opportunities associated with the Proposed Action, with modifications that include only “high-moderate 

benefit/low risk” new roads. In relation to Alternative 2, this modification would reduce the treated area 

on some units resulting in a change in configuration, or in some cases, units would be combined or 

dropped. This alternative proposes helicopter logging systems, based on the change in access for 

conventional systems. 

Alternative 4 is also similar to and is based on the Proposed Action, but differs from the candidate stands 

and opportunities associated with the Proposed Action, with modifications that include only the use (with 

some reconstruction and maintenance) of existing roads for treatment access. This alternative also 

excludes some of the higher risk treatments within Riparian Reserves (primarily those associated with 

perennial streams). In relation to Alternative 2 and Alternative 3, these modification would reduce the 

treated area on some units resulting in a change in configuration, or in some cases, units would be 

combined or dropped. This alternative also proposes helicopter logging systems, based on the change in 

access for conventional systems. 

II. MANAGEMENT DIRECTION 

A. Planning Area Land Allocations 

For this portion of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest (RRSNF), land management direction is 

contained in the Siskiyou National Forest (SNF) Land and Resource Management Plan (USDA Forest 

Service 1989) as amended by the Northwest Forest Plan (USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of 

Land Management, 1994). 

The Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning 

Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl, is now commonly known as the Northwest 

Forest Plan (NWFP). This ROD, jointly signed by the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior, amended 

the Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP or Forest Plan) and other 

existing plans within the range of the northern spotted owl. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

This amendment, which became effective on May 20, 1994, provided additional goals, objectives, 

standards, and guidelines for resource management. It added several new land allocations, each with its 

own set of Standards and Guidelines. These land allocations overlay and merge with the allocations from 

the 1989 SNF LRMP. 

The direction in the Northwest Forest Plan supersedes the SNF LRMP allocations where it is more 

restrictive or provides greater benefits to late-successional ecosystems. Direction from the SNF Forest 

Plan is retained where it is more restrictive or is unaffected by the Northwest Forest Plan.

The Eden Ridge Planning Area contains two Management Allocations/Prescriptions that would be 

affected by proposed actions. A brief description of applicable Management Allocations/Prescriptions is 

provided below. More detailed descriptions can be found in the Northwest Forest Plan, and the Siskiyou 

National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. 

Matrix 

This allocation emphasizes obtaining a full yield of timber within the capability of the land. Most 

scheduled timber harvest and other silvicultural activities would be conducted in that portion of the 

Matrix with suitable forest lands (NWFP, page C-39). Matrix lands allocated under the NWFP that 

include all areas not otherwise designated to a more protective status under the LRMP. The Eden Ridge 

Planning Area primarily includes lands allocated to Matrix, as carried forward from the 1989 LRMP as 

General Forest Prescription (Management Area 14). 

Riparian Reserve 

An estimated 2,600 acres of the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area are managed as Riparian 

Reserves. As allocated under the NWFP, Riparian Reserve includes lands along all streams, lakes, ponds, 

wetlands, unstable areas, and potentially unstable areas that are subject to special Standards and 

Guidelines designed to conserve aquatic and riparian-dependent species. The NWFP establishes a 

minimum protection buffer equal to the height of one site-potential tree, along each side of the riparian 

feature, which in the case of the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project, is 175 feet. For perennial fish-bearing 

streams this distance is two site-potential trees (or 350 feet). 

B. Management Direction for Roads

Current direction for road management is found in the Land and Resource Management Plans (LRMP) 

for the Siskiyou National Forest (1989). The SNF LRMP states, in part, to “Plan, design, operate and 

maintain a safe and economic transportation system to provide efficient access for the movement of 

people and materials involved in the use and protection of National forest Lands.” (Forest Management 

Goal 15; LRMP Page IV-2. Within the Forest Plan, specific Forest-Wide Standards and Guidelines for 

the Transportation System are summarized below: 

FACILITIES: TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM 

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING 

11 -1 (LRMP page IV-56) 

Transportation planning analysis shall be conducted to compare feasible alternatives where choices that maximize 

net public benefits are not obvious from environmental and resource considerations. Direction for transportation 

planning is found in FSM 771 0, Transportation Planning, and the Transportation Planning Handbook, FSH 7709 55. 
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-7 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

The analysis for transportation alternatives should: 

1. Identify viable alternative routes from the planning area to available access points. 

2. Identify the long- and short-term needs for each road (service life). 

3. Determine the traffic criteria for each route. 

4. Evaluate existing and potential mineral material sources considering site development and rehabilitation as 

described under Minerals. 

5. Estimate development, maintenance, and user costs for economic comparison of alternatives. 

6. Recommend the road system and standards to meet the needs identified. 

7. Document the analysis, decisions, and management direction for preferred routes. 

CONSTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION 

11-2 (LRMP page IV-57) 

The Road Development Plan includes the multiyear Capital Investment Program, the multiyear Timber Sale Program, 

and the Transportation information System (TIS). 

Design standards shall be based on resource management objectives, environmental constraints, user safety, 

environmental factors, traffic requirements, vehicle characteristics, road user, and economics. 

New and reconstructed roads shall be planned, constructed, and managed to carry the anticipated traffic safely with a 

minimum impact to the land and other resources. In coordination with project interdisciplinary teams, specified 

construction methods shall Include provisions for reducing environmental Impacts, with emphasis to: 

1. Minimize impacts to soil and water values. 

2. Establish or protect native vegetation on cut and fill slopes and other disturbed sites off the roadway. 

3. Limit the spread of Port-Orford-cedar root disease where risk is present, and 

4. Limit the spread of noxious weeds where risk is present. 

5. Protect other resource values. 

TEMPORARY ROADS 

11-3 (LRMP page IV-57) 

Construction of Temporary roads' should normally be discouraged. Roads planned and constructed as Temporary 

roads should be Obliterated as part of the project work. Methods used, timing, and mitigation and designed to reestablish vegetative cover on the disturbed area within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 10 years after the 

termination of contract, lease or permit (36 CFR 219.27(a)(Il)). Those roads which subsequently are determined to 

be needed for additional use, or those not Obliterated as planned, shall be entered into TIS with appropriate road 

management objectives developed. 

C. Transportation Planning 

Current Agency direction for transportation planning is found in Forest Service Handbook (FSH) 2409.18 

-Timber Sale Preparation Handbook; Chapter 30 - Project Analysis and Design - Gate 2: 

33 - TRANSPORTATION PLANNING 

33.1 - Transportation Planning in Project Design 

Plan integrated transportation and logging systems for the analysis area. Ensure that the requirements for 

construction, operation, and maintenance of roads for commercial timber sale use are consistent with harvesting 

procedures and with the Forest plan, and that they are likely to achieve resource management objectives. Apply 

the following rules: 

1. Integrate the transportation planning process with other resource analyses to ensure that the road system 

requirements meet documented resource management objectives. 

2. Consider alternative road systems and timber harvest methods in the transportation planning process. 

3. Document National Forest System roads selected in planning on the transportation atlas as long-term or 

short-term facilities. 

4. Analyze existing National Forest System roads to ensure that, before timber sale use, the roads meet the 

requirements of FSM 7720. 

5. Justify recommendations for exclusions of commercial use on National Forest System roads by a 

statement of the reasons for exclusion, other alternatives considered, and the costs involved. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

6. Consider using low-standard or controlled temporary road construction when salvaging timber resulting 

from catastrophic damage. 

33.2 - Planned Capacity 

Plan for timber sale haul roads with the capacity to safely handle the scheduled traffic. Apply the following 

rules: 

1. Permit no road use if the use would cause irreparable damage to the road or unacceptable impacts to 

adjacent resources. Damage does not include normal wear and tear correctable by maintenance activities. 

2. If the additional traffic generated by an individual sale exceeds the operational limits of a road, authorize 

the additional use only if one or more of the following conditions apply: 

a. Road construction occurs in advance of the sale. 

b. Traffic management controls can be implemented within the limits of the facility. For public safety, 

restrict public access in situations where low-standard or temporary roads are used for quick access to 

salvage. 

c. Road reconstruction occurs as a requirement of the sale. 

3. Use appropriated funds to finance that portion of the reconstruction needed to accommodate the traffic on 

the road prior to the sale. 

4. Design roads constructed on National Forest System lands to standards appropriate for the intended uses; 

consider safety, cost of transportation, and impacts on lands and resources. Design and construct roads as 

stable and durable structures to facilitate maintenance during and after use. Include necessary drainage 

facilities, adequate erosion control, gates or other closure devices, and resource protection devices. 

33.3 - Specified Roads (Classified permanent system) 

Use specified roads when: 

1. Road requirements are necessary to minimize temporary impacts on resources, especially, land, water, 

wildlife, and air. 

2. Construction is required to maintain a quality that permits future use without need to re-accomplish or 

replace work that is currently in satisfactory condition. Construction should minimize repeated 

impacts and avoid unacceptable risks to resources. It should not result in higher future capital 

expenditures that could be required if, for example, roads had to be rebuilt or relocated for each sale. 

3. Pavement structures are needed for structural support or to prevent erosion from traffic or natural 

elements, with sufficient depth for wear and maintenance during and at the termination of the sale. 

4. Construction requirements result in the lowest total transportation cost (construction, hauling, and 

maintenance) for the sale, while ensuring safety and minimizing temporary or extended resource 

impacts. 

D. Roads Analysis 

Forest Service Manual Chapter 7710 provides direction to conduct transportation system planning and 

analysis using the best available science at the appropriate scale and in conjunction with other analyses to 

inform transportation management decisions. Ensure that road construction, reconstruction, and 

maintenance standards or criteria are guided by Roads Analysis and documented through the use of road 

management objectives. 

When proposed road management activities (road construction, reconstruction, and decommissioning) 

would result in changes in access, such as changes in current use, traffic patterns, and road standards, or 

where there may be adverse effects on soil and water resources, ecological processes, or biological 

communities, those decisions must be informed by Roads Analysis. 

Current policy requires the Forest Service to undertake a “scientifically-based” Road Analysis procedure, 

at appropriate scales and coordinated with other ecosystem analyses, in order to make better decisions 

regarding road management. Roads Analysis at the forest-scale will generally provide a broad context for 

informing road management decisions. Site-specific projects may be informed by a project-scale Roads 

Analysis. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Forest Service Responsible Officials are directed to use a Roads Analysis process to ensure that road 

management decisions are based on identification and consideration of social and ecological effects. 

Roads Analysis: Informing Decisions About Managing the National Forest Transportation System (FS643) has been provided as guidance for conducting a science-based roads analysis. 

This document describes the process that was used to evaluate the current road system for current and 

future needs associated with the Eden Ridge Timber Sales and its Planning Area. The goal of this project 

scale analysis is to compare the need for roads to access the Planning Area, with the effects roads have on 

natural resources. 

This Roads Analysis is not a decision document. It is designed to provide a site-specific assessment of 

existing conditions within its analysis area and aid land managers in making more informed decisions in 

managing National Forest lands for multiple uses. 

At the Forest scale and in conformance of the Roads Management Policy, a more general assessment of 

roads in the northwestern portion of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest was conducted and 

compiled in 2004 (Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Roads Analysis). The guidance provided in this 

document was used to assist is project-specific analysis for Eden Ridge Timber Sales. 

III. CURRENT ROAD INFORMATION 

The following discussion includes the basis for use of existing roads. These roads are organized into four 

types; existing Forest Service Classified (or permanent system) roads, existing unclassified roads on 

National Forest System Lands (NFSL), existing roads currently under a Cost Share Agreement with 

adjacent private landowner interests, and roads that are private roads (not inventoried or managed by the 

Forest Service. The Eden Ridge Planning Area currently has a minimal existing road network and when 

the logging that created the candidate stands of today were created, the area was logged by historical 

railroad systems. Contemporary forest and road management has included Doe Swamp Thin, Skinny Doe 

thin, 4 Does Thin, Silver Doe Thin, Backwoods Thin and Lookout Partner Timber Sales.

Considerable effort was made during this planning effort to correctly locate and inventory existing roads 

systems discussed in this section. In many cases, roads appearing on maps or in database inventories 

were determined to be incorrect based on field examination. These anomalies occurring in several ways, 

e.g., some roads being tracked and mapped as existing Classified roads were in fact not correct. 

In other cases, roads existed and are being used that were not being tracked as Classified roads. 

Unclassified roads likewise were found to be in error, either existing as Classified roads or not existing 

but were being tracked as unclassified roads. In order to facilitate use, existing Cost Share roads and the 

inventory of adjacent privately managed roads was updated for this project. 

A. Definitions of Roads 

The following definitions are from Forest Service Manual (FSM) 7705 and are pertinent to this roads 

analysis process. 

Forest Roads. As defined in Title 23, Section 101 of the United States Code (23 U.S.C. 101), any road 

wholly or partly within, or adjacent to, and serving the National Forest System and which is necessary 

for the protection, administration, and utilization of the National Forest System and the use and 

development of its resources. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Roads are further defined: 

Road. 

A motor vehicle travelway over 50 inches wide, unless designated and managed as a trail (36 CFR 

212.1). For this analysis, a road may be classified, unclassified, or temporary. 

a. Classified Roads. 

Roads wholly or partially within or adjacent to National Forest System lands that are determined to be 

needed for long-term motor vehicle access, including State roads, county roads, privately owned roads, 

National Forest System roads, and other roads authorized by the Forest Service. 

b. Temporary Roads. 

Roads authorized by contract, permit, lease, other written authorization, or emergency operation not 

intended to be a part of the forest transportation system and not necessary for long-term resource 

management. 

c. Unclassified Roads. 

Roads on National Forest System lands that are not managed as part of the forest transportation 

system, such as unplanned roads, abandoned travelways, and off-road vehicle tracks that have not been 

designated and managed as a trail; and those roads that were once under permit or other authorization 

and were not decommissioned upon the termination of the authorization. 

Transportation Facility Jurisdiction. The legal right to control or regulate use of a transportation 

facility derived from fee title, an easement, an agreement, or other similar method. While jurisdiction 

requires authority, it does not necessarily reflect ownership. 

It is important to note that roads occurring on Forest Service managed lands are not public roads in the 

same sense as roads under the jurisdiction of public road agencies, such as State or Counties. Forest 

Service roads are not intended to meet the transportation needs of the public at large. Instead, they are 

authorized only for the administration and utilization of National Forest System Lands (NFSL). Although 

generally open and available for public use, such use is at the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture. 

Through authorities delegated by the Secretary, the Forest Service may restrict or control use to meet 

specific management direction. 

B. Current Road Inventory – Eden Ridge Planning Area 

The Roads Analysis process starts with an inventory of all roads in the Planning Area. There are various 

scales that can be used when assessing road systems. This Roads Analysis utilizes a project-scale roads 

analysis area. The Analysis Area for this assessment includes those roads that access or are proposed to 

be used in conjunction with Eden Ridge Timber Sale activities (see Table I-2). A database was developed 

to inventory all roads that are within the Analysis Area. 

Digital files representing road locations were secured from the Forest Service Geographic Information 

Systems (GIS) for the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. A review of aerial photos was completed to 

locate and add any additional roads that were not displayed on the digital maps in order to include as 

much of the existing road system as possible. 

The entire Analysis Area was then ground verified and road needs determined for use. Existing roads are 

recommended for use where attainment of the Purpose and Need would be accomplished; roads not 

meeting this objective would not. These files were combined and edited to create one set of roads within 

the Analysis Area. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Classified Road Systems 

The following discussion includes the basis for use of (Classified or permanent system) roads. Forest 

System Roads are under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service and are deemed necessary for protection, 

administration, and use of NFSL. These roads are inventoried, maintained, and managed by the Forest 

Service. Generally, these NFS roads are identified as Maintenance Level 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, under the 

following definitions. 

Table I-1. Road Maintenance Level Definitions 

Level 1

Basic custodial maintenance is performed to keep damage to adjacent resources to an acceptable level and 

to perpetuate the road to facilitate future management activities. While being maintained at level 1, roads 

are closed to vehicular traffic.

Level 2 Assigned to roads open for use by high clearance vehicles. Traffic is normally minor, usually consisting of 

one or a combination of administrative, permitted, dispersed recreation, or other specialized uses. 

Level 3 Roads in this maintenance level are typically low speed, single lane with turnouts and spot surfacing. Some 

roads may be fully surfaced with either native or processed material. 

Level 4 Most roads are double lane and aggregate surfaced. However, some roads may be single lane. Some 

roads may be paved and/or dust abated. 

Level 5 These roads are normally double lane, paved facilities. Some may be aggregate surfaced and dust abated. 

Most of the currently existing Classified road system within Eden Ridge is currently managed as 

Maintenance Level 1 or 2. 

Unclassified Roads 

The Eden Ridge Planning Area contains additional roads, trails or grades that are not inventoried, 

maintained, or currently managed by the Forest Service. As noted above, some unclassified roads were 

found to be in error, either existing as Classified roads or not existing but were being tracked as 

unclassified roads. Further use of correctly inventoried unclassified roads is discussed below under 

proposals for construction, reconstruction or use as part of the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project. 

Cost Share Roads 

The Eden Ridge Planning Area is completely surrounded by private lands owned and managed for timber 

production. There is an extensive network of existing roads to facilitate access to these lands. In the past, 

some of these roads also facilitated access to NFSL and cooperative Cost Share Agreements were put in 

place. 

These agreements require a proportionate share of use, maintenance and reconstruction of roads that serve 

mutual benefit. The intent of the cost share agreement is to eliminate the need for duplicate road systems 

and share in the cost and maintenance of these facilities that benefit both parties. While some cost share 

roads currently exist, construction, reconstruction and/or use of additional cost share roads is discussed in 

the next section. Some existing roads on private lands are also being proposed to be added to existing 

Cost Share agreements to minimize the need for construction of new roads. 

There are approximately 17.35 miles of roads within the Analysis Area. Figure I-1 shows the Planning 

Area and its current condition regarding roads. 
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-12

Figure I-1. Eden Ridge Planning Area - Current Roads 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales 
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-13

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

C. Existing Uses

COMMERCIAL - Usually non-Forest Service employees conducting commerce activities, such as 

delivering goods and services in, adjacent to, or out of the National Forest. Commercial use of the roads 

within this Roads Analysis is primarily related to delivery of goods and services e.g., hauling of 

commercial timber to attain timber commodity output goals. 

RECREATION – Typically members of the public who use Forest Service roads to access trails, campsites, 

hiking, hunting, sightseeing and other similar activities. These roads also allow public use of firewood 

and special forest products. 

ADMINISTRATIVE - Forest Service or other agency employees acting in official capacity conducting dayto-day work activities. Administrative access needs include, but are not limited to, law enforcement, fire 

prevention and control, resource surveys, road maintenance, and other activities associated with managing 

land, vegetation, water, fish, and wildlife. 

D. Analysis of Existing Roads 

This analysis utilizes a project-scale roads analysis area. The Analysis Area for this assessment includes 

those roads that access or are proposed to be used in conjunction with Eden Ridge Timber Sale activities 

(see Table I-2 and I-3). A database was developed to inventory all roads that are within the Analysis 

Area. 

Roads Analysis identified a need for all existing roads for long-term management of the Forest, and 

for access to recreation opportunities. Most of the existing roads are typically open to the public and 

maintained for vehicular traffic. These existing roads provide the long-term transportation network 

necessary to meet forest management objectives. 

The existing road system is programmed to receive annual maintenance in accordance with established 

road management objectives. However, over the last decade, a limitation on road maintenance funds on 

the Forest has resulted in a backlog of maintenance work to reduce brush, clean out drainages, and repair 

road surfaces on many of the existing roads in the Eden Ridge Planning Area. There are drainage 

improvements which would need to be implemented prior to commercial haul, in order to protect water 

quality. Many of the culverts on the roads are in poor condition or undersized, and in need of 

replacement. Many of the roads are becoming brushed in. 

Table I-2. Proposed Classified Road Use 

Classified Road Use Reference Miles

3300000 1.21

3358000 1.01

5000000 10.36

5000200 4.25

5000210 0.75

5000290 3.00

5000297 1.10

5000420 0.34

5000440 5.06

5000441 0.56

5000445 0.11

5000448 2.90

5000449 0.38

Classified Road Use Total 31.03
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Table I-3. Proposed Classified Road Use with Maintenance and Reconstruction 

Classified Use & Maintenance Reference Miles

2000 0.76

2600100 0.26

5000444 0.42

5000445 0.89

5000446 0.35

5000450 1.01

5000670 1.75

5000671 0.06

Classified Use & Maintenance Total 5.50

Classified Use W/Reconstruction 5000291 0.10

5000298 0.18

5000299 2.02

5000299.1 0.03

5000442 1.24

5000442.1 0.18

5000443 0.72

5000446 0.31

5000447 0.19

5000448.1 0.45

5000451 0.65

Classified Use W/Reconstruct Total 6.07

South Fork Coquille Watershed 

The 2004 Forest-level Roads Analysis document did not present data specific to the South Fork Coquille 

watershed. However, GIS data was developed for the South Fork Coquille Aquatic Restoration Plan 

USDA August 2007) in support of Roads Analysis. 

Issues regarding management of the roads within the Analysis Area were divided between those relating 

to potential or actual environmental effects (termed “environmental costs”) and those issues related to the 

ways that the roads are utilized (termed “road benefit”). To model these issues, factors were developed 

and analyzed using GIS software programs. 

The values for each of the access need categories were summed to get a composite benefit rating for each 

road segment. These composite scores were broken down into three categories to get an overall road 

benefit rating of High, Medium, or Low. However, if any of the roads received a rating of a 3 for any 

category, then the overall road benefit rating would be High due to the high need for access. 

The overall environmental cost and road benefit ratings were applied to the matrix shown in Figure I-2. 

This matrix is a tool (from the Forest-level Roads Analysis) to aid in developing site-specific 

recommendations for Forest road management decisions. 

The following is an explanation of terms used in this matrix: 

Consider decommission: Generally, roads with a low road benefit rating would be candidates to decommission. 

Decommissioning includes treatments that range from blocking the entrance, scattering limbs on the roadbed, 

revegetating, water barring, removing road fills, re-establishing drainage-ways, and pulling back unstable road 

shoulders; to full obliteration by re-contouring slopes. 

Keep: Roads that have a high or medium road benefit would generally be kept on the system. There may be 

opportunities to change maintenance levels to help decrease maintenance costs. 
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Keep road and review for further analysis and/or mitigation: Roads in this category have a need to maintain 

access but also have environmental concerns. Further analysis that is more site-specific may be necessary to 

determine how to best mitigate the environmental effects. Measures such as resurfacing, improving drainage 

structures, gating to reduce use but still allow access, or even reconstruction may be employed to mitigate the 

environmental effects. 

Figure I-2. Roads Analysis Matrix 

Rating Low Medium High 

Low 

Consider 

decommission Keep Keep 

 

 

 

Medium 

Consider 

decommission Keep Keep 

High 

Consider 

decommission

Keep road and 

review for 

further analysis 

and/or 

mitigation 

Keep road and 

review for 

further analysis 

and/or 

mitigation 

Figure 9 in the South Fork Coquille Aquatic Restoration Plan shows the road system in the South 

Fork Coquille watershed rated from a low to a high environmental concern. Road segments within each 

sub-watershed (6th field HUC) were rated for several factors, generally receiving a higher score if the road 

segment was near streams within riparian zones for much of its length. A sub-watershed rating was also 

developed to assist with restoration planning. The factors that were used to develop the environmental 

concern ratings were: 

(1) Percent of sub-watershed stream network with roads within one site tree height. 

(2) Stream crossing frequency within the sub-watershed and on a per mile basis for each road 

 segment. 

(3) Number of miles of road in high erosion potential by sub-watershed and percentage of road 

segment in high erosion areas. 

(4) Percent of road segment within one site tree height. 

(5) Percent of sub-watershed stream system with roads within one site tree height. 

(6) The presence of road crossings in streams containing coho salmon, coho salmon critical habitat, or 

coastal cutthroat trout within a sub-watershed and per each road segment. 

(7) Whether or not it is a NWFP Key Watershed. 

Factors (1), (2), and (3) were used to develop low, medium, and high ratings for road erosion potential. 

Factors (4) and (5) were used to develop low, medium, and high ratings for the potential of roads to 

impact the delivery of large wood to channels. Factor (6) was used to develop low, medium, and high 

ratings for the potential of roads to impact coho salmon and cutthroat trout. For factor (7), a watershed or 

sub-watershed was given a low rating if it was not in a Key Watershed and a high rating if it was. 

Road Benefit 

Environmental 

 Cost 
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For each road segment, the ratings for erosion potential, potential to block delivery of large wood, 

potential to impact coho salmon and cutthroat trout, and Key Watershed were summed to give the 

summary rating shown in Figure 9. Those roads identified as of high and medium resource concern in 

this first iteration of Roads Analysis should be considered candidates for field checks to assess the 

impacts on aquatic habitats. 

In Figure 9, roads segments shown in Red are where the Roads Analysis indicates the greatest benefit 

would be achieved for reduction in sediment delivery to streams and provide large wood contributions to 

streams. 

For the Roads Analysis, data was also developed to rate the need for keeping roads for access (road 

benefit). This data was developed in a manner similar to that used for the environmental concern ratings. 

The factors that went into the access ratings were recreation needs, fire needs, vegetation management 

needs, special uses (mining), and road maintenance facilities (quarries, water sources, borrow sources, 

waste areas, access to private lands, access to public agency lands, and road maintenance condition). 

Within the Eden Ridge Planning Area, Roads analysis performed for the Aquatic Restoration Plan rated 

the 3358 and 5000 Roads as a high environmental concern based on the environmental factors 

identified above. However, these roads also have a high benefit potential in regard to the potential 

commercial and administrative needs associated with the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project. This suggests 

that based on need, keep roads and review for further analysis and/or mitigation. 

Middle Fork Coquille 

The 2004 Forest-level Roads Analysis document did not present data specific to the Middle Fork Coquille 

watershed. There has been no detailed analysis within the watershed in support of Roads Analysis. This 

primarily due to the fact that there is minimal acreage of NFSL within this watershed; most of the area is 

owned by private timber management companies. It is apparent that roads may be rated as moderate to 

high environmental concern based on the environmental factors identified above. Middle Fork 

Coquille is not a NWFP Key Watershed. The few roads on NFSL within this watershed are primarily 

located on moderate to flat topography on stable soils. These roads also have a high benefit potential in 

regard to the potential commercial and administrative needs associated with the Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Project. This suggests that based on need, keep roads and review for further analysis and/or mitigation. 

Although road segments may fall into certain categories, no decision is inferred by this document. 

Management direction and objectives from other relevant documents need to be reviewed and considered 

before final recommendations for action are made. Decisions to implement new road facilities or road 

improvement activities would be made following analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA). Because Roads Analysis is a dynamic process, changed conditions may make it necessary to 

supplement this document. Future analysis should build from this document and/or other Roads Analysis 

documents. 

Further discussion is contained within this document regarding proposed new access needs, based on 

proposed logging system needs for management of the Eden Ridge Planning Area Matrix lands. 

IV. LOGGING SYSTEMS 

As noted above, in the fall of 2010, Wesley Crum (the current Powers Forester) assumed the 

transportation and logging system development responsibilities. Considerable time was spent the field 

determining the feasibility of stand treatments and the application of the transportation and logging 

system planning. Both existing and proposed transportation and logging systems were ground verified. 

Later, a core Interdisciplinary Team documented all candidate stands and the associated roads needs 

utilizing a GIS Analyst. 
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Field work was accomplished per FSH 2409.18 – Timber Sale Preparation handbook; Chapter 30 – 

Project Analysis and Design, Gate 2: 

31.1 - Field Reconnaissance 

Conduct field reconnaissance to develop sale designs. Since the most critical decisions involving funding and 

resource expenditures are required at Gate 2, conduct a more intensive field reconnaissance at Gate 2 than at 

Gate 1. Leave adequate flagging, stakes, marks, or other tracks in the field to ensure that sale preparation 

activities can continue in the most cost-effective manner practicable. FSM 2361 includes techniques for 

obtaining required archaeological resource clearances and FSM 2672.4 provides guidance on preparing 

biological evaluations. 

In salvage situations, use existing data and professional judgment to hasten the analysis process. The Land and 

Resource Management Planning Handbook, FSH 1909.12 and 36 CFR 219.27(d)(2)(iii) direct that unit size 

limitations must not apply to the size of areas harvested as a result of natural catastrophic conditions such as 

fire, insect and disease attack, or windstorm. Follow Regional guidelines for exceptions to unit size limitations 

in these situations. 

31.2 - Documentation 

In timber sale project design documents include sufficient site-specific information, preliminary sale design, 

and appropriate management guidance to facilitate sale plan implementation at 

Gate 3. A timber sale project plan may include one or more timber sales or permit areas and must include the 

following: 

1. Approximate cutting unit location and size. 

2. Nature and condition of timber stands proposed for harvest. 

3. Silvicultural prescriptions. 

4. Selected logging systems information. 

5. Locations and standards of local, collector, and specified roads. 

6. Planned fuel treatments. 

7. Location of key resource values. 

8. Preliminary design for resource improvements. 

9. Zones or areas with specific management requirements, constraints, or mitigation requirements. 

10. Financial and economic information as described in section 32. 

A. Analysis Process (paper and field) 

Considerations for Application of Logging Systems 

All candidate stands have all been previously logged, with the majority of the Eden Ridge Planning Area 

being previously logged via historical railroad systems. Past treatments had different (and typically less) 

consideration for sensitive slopes, sensitive soils and sensitive riparian areas. The entire area was logged 

with “steam donkey” cable systems. Past cable yarding systems, as associated with railroad transport, 

employed “high lead” or systems that did not require or utilize log suspension (as would be required 

today). Some terrain would today require partial suspension (or full suspension) systems on stands that 

had previously been cable logged without suspension in the past. 

The proposal of system(s) to be used in any given stand is based on existing classified road access, new 

system or temporary road construction needs, as well as economic and technical feasibility identified for 

each treatment unit. The two primary concerns involved with use of the various logging systems is the 

potential detrimental effects to soils and the construction of new roads. New classified or temporary 

roads may be necessary due to the need for a change in the logging system design or to access areas that 

retain no access, reflecting an adherence to current standards and guidelines set forth in the Forest Plan. 

Soil concerns elevate when ground based equipment is considered for use on steeper slopes, sensitive 

riparian areas, sensitive soil types, or unstable areas. 
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Conversely, there is an operational concern for economics between the various systems being considered, 

i.e., ground based systems are most economic from an operational cost viewpoint, skyline systems 

increase in operational costs, and aerial (full suspension or helicopter) systems are the most costly. Road 

access and landing accessibility and construction costs are also factors to consider. 

Considerations in Logging Systems and Transportation Access Planning 

The Analysis Area for logging systems and transportation access planning includes those roads that 

access or are proposed to be used in conjunction with Eden Ridge Timber Sale activities. Potential units 

were proposed considering logical and economic access for these systems. Planning then further 

segregated and rearranged systems and potential logging settings considering: 

-Logical 6th field watersheds within the two 5th fields 

-Refined silvicultural opportunities (exclusion of too young or not overly dense) 

-Consideration of “inner gorges” as defined by hydrology 

-Exclusion of clearly unsuitable areas 

-Exclusion of stands clearly representing late-successional habitat 

-Logical road access considering existing and proposed roads (including segments) 

-Logging systems (separate each unit not mixing logging systems) 

-Consideration of logical operational setting size 

See Attachment A for an example of the detailed “paper planning” accomplished for the Eden Ridge 

Timber Sales Project. 

B. Logging System Options 

Within the Eden Ridge Timber Sales Project, logging system options for stands that provide opportunities 

for commercial extraction include ground-based systems, skyline cable systems, and aerial (helicopter) 

systems. 

Ground Based Systems 

This term refers to a group of logging methods that are considered ground-based, and may also include 

mechanized harvesting equipment. Typically, logs are harvested using mechanized heavy equipment to 

skid the logs to a landing area, where they would be loaded onto a truck. These ground-based systems are 

usually utilized on terrain where slopes are less than 25-35 percent. The maximum percent slope for 

ground based systems, as designed for the Eden Ridge Planning Area is 35%. 

In all cases, all proposed skid trails should be pre-designated by the operator and approved by the Forest 

Service before felling and skidding. Skid trails should not be allowed to cross specified stream channels 

or only at Forest Service approved locations. In general, skid trail spacing should average 100 feet apart 

and located on the fall line, especially if using harvester-forwarder (cut-to-length [CTL]) systems due to 

the forwarder‟s high center of gravity. It is estimated that an average skid trail spacing of 100 feet apart 

would result in approximately 12% to 15% of the area being covered with skid trails. 

Landings for units with ground based systems can generally be located on gentle ground. If the project 

specifies that tops be left attached to the top log in ground based units, some log processing would be 

needed on the landings (i.e., the whole tree system, see below). This need would require slightly larger 

landings in order to accommodate the residual slash from the top log and residual limbs. Log processing 

can be accomplished by a relatively small and inexpensive “pull-thru” log processor or a more expensive 

and more efficient mechanical processor. 

The following table displays several examples of equipment configurations for the ground based systems. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Table I-4. Examples of Equipment Configurations 

Tractor - In this conventional system, a cutter will fall to lead toward designated skid trails, then limb and 

buck the tree in the bed where it landed when it was felled. Three methods of skidding can then be 

utilized, loader or shovel yarding, grapple or choker skidding. Shovel yarding consists of a heal boom 

loader grabbing the logs and swinging them towards the landing in stages. Grapple skidding uses swing 

grapples attached to the rear of the tractor. The clamps pick up one end of the log and the operator 

positions the log for skidding. When several logs are bunched, the grapple can pick up several ends at 

one time and skid the turn to the landing. The third method involves chokers that are attached to the logs 

and a tractor equipped with a winch pulls the logs from their beds into the skid trail. When a group of 

logs are assembled into a turn, the chokers are gathered together, the leading ends of the logs are 

suspended above the ground behind the tractor by way of an integrated arch or similar apparatus, and the 

trailing end of the logs drag along the ground on the way back to the landing. At the landing, a front-end 

or a knuckle-boom loader is used to sort and load logs decked at the landing onto log trucks. 

“Winch/line” Some areas of timber harvest where slopes generally exceed 35% slope but are relatively 

small – usually less than 250 feet wide –can be reached by a winch line from a ground based machine or 

reached from a road by a winch line or loader. The tractor uses a “bull line” to pull the logs to the skid 

trail or road. These areas are usually inside larger ground based inclusions and are considered part of the 

ground based system. 

Rubber-tired Skidder - This system is essentially the same as tractor logging in technique, although the 

skidding equipment has some operational and functional differences. While most tractors have steel 

tracks with cleats that run along a rigid rail and tend to churn up some soil when it turns, rubber-tired 

skidders are often articulated in their middle instead of a rigid frame, and they displace somewhat less 

topsoil than a tractor would when it turns. Both types of equipment can have advantages, depending on 

the situation. 

Typically, tractors can work on somewhat steeper slopes, while skidders are faster and average skidding 

distances can be somewhat longer. By virtue of the fact that both tractors and skidders bear the weight of 

one end of the logs being skidded, the weight of the machine skidding logs is not evenly distributed, but is 

instead concentrated near the back of the machine. This configuration can create disproportionately 

higher ground pressure on the soils being skidded upon than the machines rated or calculated pressure (in 

pounds per square inch) would indicate. 

Harvester-Forwarder - A harvester and forwarder are two separate pieces of equipment. The harvester 

(while traveling on pre-designated harvester trails) reaches its boom out to cut the tree, and lays it on its 

side approximately perpendicular to the axis of the skid trail. Rollers on the cutting head then pull the 

tree through delimbing knives which drops the limbs in the harvester trailing front of the harvester as they 

are severed. 

GB System Equipment configuration Notes

Whole tree

Feller/buncher, grapple skidder, 

processor, loader, (mechanized 

felling)

Logs processed on landing. Manual 

felling may be required in some units for 

oversized trees, i.e., greater than 24”. 

CTL Harvester, forwarder, loader 

(mechanized felling)

Logs processed in woods. Manual felling 

may be required in some units for 

oversized trees, i.e. greater than 24”.

Conventional Manual felling, grapple or cable 

skidder, loader

Process logs in woods or at landing (if at 

landing add processor in equipment).
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As each pre-determined length of log has been fed through the harvester head, logs are cut to length and 

allowed to fall into a stack of uniform length logs alongside the harvester trail. As the harvester travels 

through the stand, it rides on the layer of limbs that act as a cushion to help minimize soil compaction. 

Later, a forwarder uses the same trails to pick up the logs, load them onto its bunk, and transport the logs 

to the landing, completely free of the ground instead of dragging them behind the machine. Because the 

logs are transported free of the ground, the weight is evenly distributed over all of its wheels, so the 

resultant ground pressure is less than with other ground based systems. This method not only minimizes 

soil compaction, but it virtually eliminates any exposure of subsoil so there is rarely any detrimental 

displacement or erosion. Because of the specialized equipment, there is a slightly higher cost, compared 

to tractor or rubber-tired skidder. 

Skyline 

Is a system that transports logs from stumps to landings using a wire rope cable that is suspended between 

a tower and a tail tree. This cable (or skyline) functions as an overhead track for a load-carrying carriage. 

Logs are lifted by cables or other devices attached to the carriage and pulled into a skyline corridor. The 

carriage is then pulled to the landing by a mainline powered by a yarder. The skyline provides vertical lift 

so that the logs have their leading end suspended above the ground during inhaul. In some cases, the 

entire log may be suspended above the ground. 

Skyline logging is generally specified where road access is suitable, on slopes greater than 35%, and/or 

where soil or water conditions are a concern. Typical skyline systems can effectively yard logs out to 

1,000 to 1,200 feet. This capability inherently affects road locations where the yarder is positioned. 

In all cases, one-end log suspension would be required in all skyline units. Where logs are to be yarded 

across specified stream channels or wet areas, full log suspension would be required over the designated 

stream channel. In order to get adequate deflection in some units, the skyline may have to be rigged 

across major streams and/or existing roads. 

Guyline anchors are needed and within the Eden Ridge Planning Area, should be adequate in most areas. 

However, in some locations multiple stump anchors, machine anchors, and/or “deadman” anchors may be 

needed. Guyline anchors should generally be green Douglas-fir 15” to 26” DBH and 40+ years of age. 

Guy trees would have to be felled before being used. Tail tree and tail tree anchors would be needed on 

most skyline corridors. Tree sizes should be from 15” to 26”+ in most locations (Douglas-fir). Tail tree 

rigging heights may be up to 50 feet. Tree sizes and rigging heights should be guided by OR-OSHA 

Chapter 437, Division 6. 

Skyline landings would mostly be located in the road prism. Landing orientation would utilize both 

parallel and centralized (radial) configurations. In some cases, landings would need to be placed on 

narrow roads, therefore, a swing boom type yarder would be necessary. If the project specifies that tops 

be left attached to the top log in skyline units, some log processing may be needed on the landings (i.e., 

the whole tree system). This would require slightly larger landings and/or the back-haul of slash in order 

to accommodate the residual slash from the top log and residual limbs. Log processing could be 

accomplished by a relatively small and inexpensive “pull-thru” log processor or a more expensive and 

more efficient mechanical processor. 

Examples of the skyline equipment considered are displayed in the table below. The yarders in the table 

can be found in the local area (southern Oregon, northern California) and are currently in use. Skyline 

equipment would consist of a yarder/tower combination (see below), log loader, landing cat (D6 type), 

pull-thru or mechanical processor (if needed), mechanical slack pulling carriage, and radio. Labor would 

generally consist of the following: yarder engineer (1), loader operator (1), chaser (1), hooktender (1), 

rigging slinger (1), choker setter (1), and processor operator (1, if needed). 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

The left-hand table is the configuration that could typically be used. Where guyline anchors are 

inadequate (i.e., machine anchors are not feasible) and average external yarding distances are less than 

1,000 feet, the right-hand table (converted loader) could also be used. 

Table I-5. Examples of Skyline Yarders 

The following carriage is in widespread use in the local area and could match-up with the yarders 

displayed above. 

Table I-6. Example of Skyline Carriages 

Attribute Value Notes

Make Eagle

Model Eaglet Radio controlled

Weight 1,200 Pounds

Skyline min diameter 0.625 Swaged

Skyline max diameter 1.125 Swaged

Mainline min diameter 0.500 Swaged

Mainline max diameter 0.625 Swaged

Dropline diameter 0.625 Mainline

Slackpulling method Carriage Mainline off yarder

Multi-span capability Yes Open sided

Skyline clamp Yes

Yarder drums required 2 Minimum

Horsepower 14

Helicopter 

This logging system utilizes medium or heavy-lift helicopters to transfer the logs from where they are cut 

to a landing where they are loaded on trucks for haul to a mill. Helicopters are divided into three classes, 

depending on their lift capabilities. Helicopters have high operating costs and are usually utilized where 

there are concerns for ground disturbance or where road building is not desired. Aerial systems (e.g., 

helicopters) would be a system used to accomplish commercial density management where existing 

access systems are not available or would cause extensive resource damage if utilized. 

Helicopters can be used to move material from the treatment area sites, and move them to processing 

areas (i.e., landings). From the landings, material can then be removed from the forest by trucks, utilizing 

existing classified roads suitable for such use. The use of helicopters allows for full suspension of trees or 

material from the treatment area to the landing area and does not create excessive ground disturbance via 

skid trails or skyline corridors. 

Attribute Value Notes

Make Diamond

Model D2000

Type Swing boom Can operate on 

narrow roads

Tower height 42 Feet

Skyline 0.875 Diameter

Skyline 2,000 Length

Mainline 0.625 Diameter

Mainline 1,900 Length

Haulback 0.500 Diameter

Haulback 3,200 Length

# guylines 3

Horsepower 216

Attribute Value Notes

Make Yoader Conv. loader

Model Tri winch

Type Swing boom Can operate on 

narrow roads

Tower ht 40 Feet

Skyline dia 0.750 Diameter

Skyline 1,000 Length

Mainline 0.625 Diameter

Mainline 1,500 Length

Haulback 0.5625 Diameter

Haulback 1,900 Length

# guylines 0

Horsepower 230
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This system (helicopter) can be utilized where there is no directly adjacent road access. There are 

limitations however on the flight distance and elevation change from the landing to the stand where 

material would be transported. Landings must be within a distance of approximately 1 mile from the 

treated stand. There are also other factors to consider regarding helicopter systems and economic 

feasibility, including turn size, maintenance and fuel storage landings, etc. 

Within the Eden Ridge Planning Area, numerous potential log and service landings are available (see 

Figure I-3, below). Helicopter landings, in general, have an average size of about 80 feet by 200 feet and 

be located as close as possible to the harvest units they serve. However, the actual landing size and 

location can vary widely depending on terrain, slope, volume flown per acre, and flight direction. In 

general, landings should be cleared of trees and stumps and leveled as much as possible. In some cases, 

some surrounding green tree might have to be removed to facilitate flight direction. Some of the landings 

associated with the Eden Ridge Planning Area may be located on private land or private roads. These 

locations would need approval from the private land holder if used. Service landing(s) need to be no 

more than 1 mile from the harvest units (less if possible) and accessible by highway fuel trucks. 

The recommended equipment for this system would consist of a medium lift or light lift helicopter (sea 

level payload of 4,500 pound to 8,000 pounds). In addition, at least two loaders and various support 

vehicles would also be needed. Labor would consist of about 10 woods and landing crew personnel as 

well as pilots, support labor, and service labor. 

Figure I-3. Potential Helicopter Landing Sites 

1

4

2

3

9

8

7

6 5

22

21

20

19

18

16

17

15

14 13

12

11

10

0 0.2 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6

Miles
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Prebunching 

This system can be subordinate to any of the above systems. It typically involves machine cutting, 

weighing, and bundling logs to make log transport more efficient. A tracked, self-leveling machine can 

typically work on ground up to 40% slope gradient, with no adverse effect to soils (minimal additional 

detrimental soil effects within soils Standards and Guidelines). By making one pass through the stand 

and walking on slash and compacting and dispersing it, slash treatment costs can be bypassed and fire 

danger lessened. 

Use of this equipment can make all phases of the ground based, skyline, and helicopter logging 

considerably more economical and can also treat the slash at the same time. While pre-bunching could be 

used in any systems (where slopes allow), it is especially applicable to helicopter systems. The biggest 

cost factor in helicopter logging is the aircraft cost per hour; anything that can boost the volume per hour 

produced can bring down unit costs. Pre-bunching timber in a thinning into flyable bundles with a “cutto-length” processing machine has been proven to maximize volume flown per hour. Production can be 

increased as the turns fly faster, loading is consistent, no excess weight (slash) is flown, landing impact 

and size are minimized, and labor and loading costs are cheaper. The estimated savings from this type of 

operation is estimated to be about 20% to 25%. 

C. Mitigation Measures and Potential Contract Language 

Note: Other methods and equipment may be identified during sale preparation and/or field verification. 

C(T)6.42# - Special Yarding/Skidding Methods. (1/93) Methods other than those specified may be 

approved. When appropriate, such approval shall include changes in Current Contract Rates and Sale 

Area Map shall be revised. 

YARDING/SKIDDING METHODS UNITS

1. All skyline logging will be done with equipment capable of suspending all skyline areas 

 one end of the log; up to 150 foot lateral yarding required to skyline corridors

2. The carriage shall be positioned such that during lateral 

 yarding, logs are yarded away from stream courses 

3. Yarding corridors shall target a spacing of no closer than 150 feet all skyline areas 

 as much as possible 

4 Skyline corridors shall be only wide enough to allow free passage 

 of the carriage and turn of logs. Corridors shall normally not exceed 

12 feet in width 

5. A carriage capable of a means of pulling slack and maintaining a fixed all skyline areas 

 position on the skyline during lateral in-hauls is required 

6 Location of all skyline roads and tail trees shall be agreed upon all skyline areas 

by the Forest Service prior to felling 

7. Tail trees and intermediate supports may be necessary all skyline areas 

 to achieve suspension requirements 

8. All yarding across designated stream courses and all skyline areas 

within 50 feet slope distance of designated streams 

must be done with the logs suspended free 

of the ground 
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9. All yarding across wet areas must be done with the logs all skyline areas 

 suspended free of the ground 

10. Helicopter yarding specified. Logs must be broken free all helicopter areas 

 of their beds vertically and totally suspended during the 

in-haul except that during log pick-up, logs may move up to 50 ft. 

in any direction from their original lay when required by local 

 conditions or circumstances 

11. Trees shall be felled, insofar as safety permits, to angle all ground based areas 

in the direction of skidding 

12. Tractor or forwarder skid roads shall be located and all ground based areas 

approved by the Forest Service prior to felling 

13. Skid trails shall be located, as much as possible on all ground based areas 

skid trails used in previous logging operations 

14. Skidders will stay on approved skid trails and landings all ground based areas 

at all times. Skid trails will be on average 100 ft. apart 

15. Skidders equipped with an integral arch and winch system all ground based areas 

capable of elevating the leading ends 

16. Ground based skidding equipment shall not operate on all ground based areas 

slopes greater than 35 percent unless otherwise approved 

 by the Forest Service 

YARDING/SKIDDING EQUIPMENT PAYMENT UNITS

1. The carriage must be capable of lateral yarding up to 150 all skyline areas 

 feet perpendicular from the skyline (either side) 

2. A yarding system (helicopter) capable of lifting and transporting all helicopter areas 

logs fully suspended at least 3,000 ft. 

Potential Prospectus Language: 

Note: Other prospectus statements may be identified during field verification and/or sale preparation. 

1. Payload analysis calculations for skyline equipment were based on a 7/8 inch diameter skyline, 42-foot 

tower, 40-foot log length, and motorized carriage. One end log suspension and full log suspension was 

analyzed using the above configuration. 

2. In order to get adequate skyline deflection for payloads, tail trees may be necessary in some skyline units 

and skyline settings. 

3. In order to get adequate skyline deflection for payloads, intermediate supports may be necessary in some 

skyline units and skyline settings (multi-span skyline system). 

4. Multiple stump guyline anchors or machine anchors may be needed on some landings. 

5. A helicopter yarding system capable of lifting 4,500 pounds at an elevation of 3,500 feet above sea level at 

69 degrees F, and transporting logs fully suspended at least 3,000feet uphill and downhill. 

6. Prebunching may be allowed in helicopter units on slopes less than 50% upon approval by the Forest 

Service. 

7. Ground skidding on slopes greater than 35% by use of winch lines or loaders may be allowed in small, 

localized areas upon approval by the Forest Service. 
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V. ROAD ACCESS NEEDS 

Since the majority of the area being previously logged via historical railroad systems, the proposal of 

system(s) to be used in any given stand is based on existing classified road access, new system or 

temporary road construction needs, as well as economic and technical feasibility identified for each 

treatment unit. 

The two primary concerns involved with use of the various logging systems is the potential detrimental 

effects to soils and the construction of new roads. New classified or temporary roads may be necessary 

due to the need for a change in the logging system design or to access areas that retain no access, 

reflecting an adherence to current standards and guidelines set forth in the Forest Plan. Soil concerns 

elevate when ground based equipment is considered for use on steeper slopes, sensitive riparian areas, 

sensitive soil types, or unstable areas. 

In some cases, other concerns regarding engineering, logging systems, cultural protection etc. required 

new roads to be considered in lieu of the existing templates. 

Conversely, there is an operational concern for economics between the various systems being considered, 

i.e., ground based systems are most economic from an operational cost viewpoint, skyline systems 

increase in operational costs, and aerial (full suspension or helicopter) systems are the most costly. Road 

access and landing accessibility and construction costs are also factors to consider. 

A. Existing Road (Access) Systems 

Product Transport or Haul 

Hauling involves loading and transporting logs or other products on log trucks along roads associated 

with the harvest activity areas. These roads need to be in a safe and acceptable condition for this purpose, 

and could require reconstruction or maintenance prior to this use. Hauling occurs on all road surface 

types including asphalt, aggregate gravel, and native-surfaced. 

Classified Road Maintenance 

This activity includes several related activities which maintain drainage, cuts and fills and surfacing of the 

road prism to accommodate light and commercial road traffic; while maintaining the integrity of the road 

facility and minimizing effects to natural resources adjacent to the road. Much of this work is done with a 

motor grader, dump trucks and backhoe. 

Road maintenance includes travel way surface maintenance, drainage ditch maintenance, culvert cleaning, 

surface rock replacement, shaping of the roadway and ditches by blading, removal of slough materials, 

compacting and other mechanized and hand work. Classified road maintenance involves activities of a 

lesser scale and effect than Classified road reconstruction. Note that some items associated with routine 

road maintenance are sometimes included in contracts and identified as road reconstruction. 

It is estimated that road maintenance would be needed on the road system utilized for this project, over a 

number of years. This would vary according to the Actions Alternatives due to stand treatment locations, 

the proposed harvest access and logging system, and the conditions preceding the need for the road. Road 

maintenance renders the road durable and useable, and when not further needed, allows it to be in a 

storage condition that minimizes effects on soil, water and other resources. 

Road maintenance includes use of rock quarries and water sources, roadside brushing, grading, ditching, 

rocking of perennial stream crossings on native surface roads and other activities needed to maintain the 

road facility in good condition. Maintenance work is usually performed commensurate to the use of the 

road and the condition of the road. 
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-26

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Classified Road Reconstruction 

Reconstruction involves maintenance and improvements to existing Classified (system) roads, to make 

them suitable for logging equipment and harvest treatment access. Reconstruction involves restoring a 

Classified system road to its previous operational condition. Road repairs could have one or more of the 

following work items: removing fallen trees, cleaning out culvert inlets, removing and disposing of small 

cut slope slides, falling danger trees, replacing minor amounts of road surfacing etc. Treatments could 

include grading, clearing, restoring road width loss, or stabilizing a cut or fill (embankment) slope that 

was lost due to storm damage, by placing riprap materials (large boulders) against existing slopes, and 

may include widening and surface rock replacement. 

Previously existing spur roads, skid roads, or old railroad grades could be reconstructed and utilized for 

development of Classified road access. This would place the impacts on areas already affected and lessen 

the environmental impact associated with new road construction in undeveloped areas. A reconstructed 

Classified road is often more environmentally sound than a temporary road because it is designed to a 

higher standard. When closed for a long period of time, a Classified road can be a more stable facility 

when left in a storage condition. 

It is estimated that road reconstruction would be needed on portions of the road system utilized for this 

project, over a number of years and projects. This would vary according to the Actions Alternatives due 

to stand treatment locations, the proposed harvest access and logging system, and the conditions 

preceding the need for the road. Performing road repairs could also be accomplished by future 

commercial timber sales or stewardship contracts that would include requirements to perform minor road 

reconstruction work and applicable road maintenance work. 

Culvert replacement may occur in some stream channels and drains that relieve road ditches. Many 

culverts in channels are determined to be undersized to handle the water and sediment from areas above 

the structure. Culverts have a lifespan and effectiveness that diminishes as rust and corrosion decrease 

the strength and integrity of the structure. These culverts would be replaced as necessary. This project 

provides the opportunity to upgrade culverts for additional resource protection and enhancement. 

Work would entail excavating the fill covering the current culvert and removing the culvert. Fills placed 

over the new pipe would be compacted and the road prism shaped to provide good drainage in and around 

the new culvert. Project Design Criteria and preventive mitigation measures would be used to minimize 

stream channel disturbance at the site and reduce the amount of unconsolidated material remaining in the 

channel after installation of the new culvert is completed. 

B. Proposed New Classified Road Access 

New Classified roads were determined to be necessary to minimize temporary impacts on resources, 

especially, land, water, wildlife, and air. These new Classified roads are necessary to maintain a quality 

that permits future use without need to re-accomplish or replace work that is currently in satisfactory 

condition. Construction should minimize repeated impacts and avoid unacceptable risks to resources. It 

should not result in higher future capital expenditures that could be required if, for example, roads had to 

be rebuilt or relocated for each sale or entry. 

New Classified road construction is designed to result in the lowest total transportation cost (construction, 

hauling, and maintenance) for the intended management use, while ensuring safety and minimizing 

temporary or extended resource impacts (FSM 2432.34 and FSM 7700). Timber sale contracts may 

authorize construction of both specified Classified roads and temporary roads. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

All proposed new Classified roads would be created and managed as Maintenance Level 1. System roads 

are for long-term, multiple management needs, often with some potential for future use every five-to-ten 

years. At this time, the critical vehicle has been identified as a skyline yarder, and the design vehicle has 

been identified as a log truck. The traveled-way width would be 12 feet plus curve widening, fill 

widening, and turnouts, unless the critical vehicle dictates otherwise. 

All proposed new system roads would be rocked to minimize erosion and allow for extended use during 

wet conditions. The more complex new roads (and those crossing Riparian Reserve) would be engineered 

and designed to minimize environmental impacts. Closure of all new construction of system roads would 

be accomplished via a road entrance closure of native materials (logs, earth, boulders) after timber sale 

activities had occurred, placing them into Maintenance Level 1 Status. Armored drain dips would be 

installed on all new roads (instead of ditch relief culverts) to reduce long-term maintenance costs. 

Some new Classified roads would cross Riparian Reserves, under specially designed Project Design 

Criteria (see Section 3, Project Design Criteria For Riparian Reserves, EIS Chapter II). 

In addition, some of these proposed new Classified roads would potentially be constructed under terms of 

existing or new Cost Share Agreement (subject to discretion of private landowners). 

Figure I-4 shows the results of transportation and logging systems planning and analysis, as 

portrayed by the Proposed Action. 
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-28

Figure I-4. Eden Ridge Timber Sales Proposed Logging Systems and Access Needs 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-29

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

C. Temporary Road (Access) Systems and Landings 

Temporary Roads 

A temporary road is a road necessary for emergency operations or authorized by contract, permit, lease or 

other written authorization that is not a Forest road and that is not included in a Forest transportation atlas 

(36 CFR 212.1). Some new temporary road construction may be needed for candidate stand access. 

Temporary roads include those roads needed only for the purchaser‟s use for a given timber sale(s), such 

as roads used to haul timber from landings to permanent National Forest System roads. The Forest 

Service and the purchaser must agree upon the location, resource protection requirements for road 

construction, clearing widths, and closure or rehabilitation requirements. Temporary roads are not 

constructed to serve long-term future uses and must be closed prior to closure of the timber sale (FSM 

2432.34b). 

Temporary roads are proposed where it is likely that a one-time access is needed as part of a contract, for 

access to harvest units. They typically have a lower planning, design, and initial development cost than 

permanent system roads. Forest Service regulations (36 CFR 223.37) require temporary roads to be 

revegetated within ten years. These roads cannot be compared to engineered roads (permanent system 

roads) as they are not designed for multiple uses or long-term resource protection (e.g., all-weather 

maintenance). 

In this analysis, a temporary road is defined as a created travel way, for the purpose of transporting logs 

that is built, utilized, and decommissioned (obliterated) over the course of the treatment/harvest operation. 

These temporary roads would not be surfaced (rocked) and would be used during dry conditions only. 

They would be built and removed by the operator as part of the Forest Service timber sale or stewardship 

contract. 

In constructing these temporary roads, no large diameter trees (e.g., late-seral or “old growth” type trees 

would be felled for road clearing. In many cases, these temporary roads are essentially access to or an 

extension of a landing (a few hundred feet), or could actually be a travel way of several hundred feet. 

Temporary roads are considered as part of the affected (detrimental) soil conditions under the Soil Quality 

Standards and Guidelines. Maximum percent of area for detrimental soil conditions would be 15 percent 

for an activity area (including roads and landings: SNF LRMP Standards and Guidelines for Soils; 7-2). 

Temporary roads would be managed in accordance with water quality Best Management Practices1

(BMPs) R-23. In order to prevent continued low level casual use, and to minimize resource impacts, such 

roads and landings would be obliterated at the completion of their intended use. Effective obliteration is 

generally achieved through a combination of the following measures: 

o Temporary culverts are removed and natural drainage configuration is re-established; 

o Road surfaces are ripped; 

o Sideslopes are reshaped and stabilized; road is effectively drained; and 

o Road is blocked to further use, and road is returned to vegetation production through revegetation 

(seeding, planting browse species, or hardwood/conifer trees). 

Landings 

Some of the areas associated with the candidate stands have an existing network of roads and landings 

from previous harvests. However, there would also be a need for some additional areas created for log 

landings. These would primarily occur in areas where no landing currently exist or where a change in 

logging systems (e.g., where skyline logging is now prescribed in areas previously ground based or 

railroad logged). 

 

1 General Water Quality Best Management Practices, Pacific Northwest Region, November 1988. 
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-30

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

These additional landings are highly variable by Action Alternative and the selected logging system. For 

example, helicopter systems typically require larger (up to 1 acre) landing areas, whereas a tractor system 

could utilize areas barely larger than a road-width, although tractor and skyline systems would typically 

require many more landings. 

Temporary road (and landing) locations and stabilization measures are typically determined by the Forest 

Service Contract Administrator, with agreement by the contractor/purchaser. The Contract Administrator 

may request the advice of a watershed specialist in determining the most appropriate location and 

stabilization measures to be applied. Special stabilization measures would be required if need for a 

temporary road would extend for more than one year (seasonal mitigation measures). 

D. Matrix Analysis of New Roads 

As with the existing road system, issues regarding management of the roads within the Analysis Area 

were divided between those relating to potential or actual environmental effects (termed “environmental 

costs”) and those issues related to the ways that the roads are utilized (termed “road benefit”). These 

values were developed by the Interdisciplinary Team and the overall environmental cost and road benefit 

ratings were applied similar to the Roads Analysis Matrix shown in Figure I-1. This matrix is a tool 

(from the Forest-level Roads Analysis) to aid in developing site-specific recommendations for road 

management decisions. 

For the Eden Ridge Timber Sales analysis, a “high benefit” new road would be one that provides current 

and future access for a large area, as compared to a “low benefit” road which for its length and potential 

environmental impact, would access fewer acres. A “high environmental cost” new road could be one 

that would require crossing high risk or a number of Riparian Reserve areas, or is in a position on the 

terrain that would have increased likelihood of surface runoff entering a perennial stream, or is a road that 

would have steeper grades and/or involve a large amount of cut and fill of material during construction. 

As used in the Roads Analysis Matrix, road environmental costs were categorized into three levels; 

HIGH, MEDIUM (MED) or LOW, and road benefits were categorized into three levels; HIGH, 

MEDIUM (MED) or LOW 

An assessment of the new roads associated with the Proposed Action, location and access notes and 

environmental costs and road benefits is presented in the table below. 
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-31

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Table I-4. Proposed New Classified (System) Road Construction 

Road 

Segment 

Reference

Approx. 

Length 

(miles)

Notes Environmental

Cost Road Benefit

A 0.23 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade LOW HIGH

B 0.74 Crosses some riparian; some grade up to 10% MED HIGH

C 0.03 Begins on PVT; ties to road M for FS access LOW HIGH

D 0.60 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade LOW HIGH

E1 0.34 Ridgetop road, skyline and GB access, no grade LOW HIGH

E2 0.22 Ridgetop road, skyline and GB access, no grade LOW HIGH

E3 0.20 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade LOW MED

F 0.39 Crosses riparian, minimal grade MED HIGH

G 0.15 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade LOW HIGH

H 0.21 Ridgetop road, skyline access, no grade LOW HIGH

I 0.09 Ties to existing route planned for reconstruction MED MED

J 0.08 Crosses riparian; provides GB access HIGH LOW

K 0.36 Begins on PVT; for FS skyline access LOW HIGH

L 0.01 Begins on PVT; for FS skyline access LOW HIGH

M 0.81 Ties to road C for FS access, minimal grade LOW HIGH

N 0.04 Begins on PVT for FS access LOW MED

O1 0.28 First segment for skyline access; minimal grade HIGH MED

O2 0.23 Second segment for skyline access; minimal grade LOW MED

O3 0.24 Third segment for skyline access; minimal grade LOW MED

O4 0.18 Additional segment for skyline access; minimal grade LOW MED

P1 0.06 Begins on PVT, ties to P2 for FS access HIGH LOW

P2 0.08 Ties to P1 for FS access HIGH LOW

P3 0.13 Ridgetop skyline access LOW MED

P4 0.11 Ridgetop skyline access LOW MED

Q1 0.11 Begins on PVT; ties to roads Q2 & Q3 for FS access MED MED

Q2 0.05 Second segment for GB access MED MED

Q3 0.10 Second segment for GB access MED MED

S1 0.09 Joins existing road with existing railroad planned for reconstruction MED HIGH

S2 0.12 Joins existing road with existing railroad planned for reconstruction MED HIGH

S3 0.06 Construction of new road to avoid railroad grade trestle MED HIGH

S4 0.15 Additional segment for GB access LOW MED

S5 0.05 Construction of new road to avoid railroad grade trestle MED HIGH

S6 0.24 Additional segment for GB & skyline access LOW MED

S7 0.11 Construction of new road to avoid railroad grade trestle MED HIGH

S8 0.04 Construction of new road to avoid railroad grade trestle MED HIGH

S9 0.06 Construction of new road to avoid railroad grade trestle MED HIGH

T 1.93 Crosses some riparian; some grade up to 10% MED HIGH

U 0.38 Crosses some riparian; minimal grades MED MED

V 0.14 Ridgetop road, skyline & GB access, no grade LOW MED

W 0.61 Crosses some riparian; minimal grades MED MED

X 0.22 GB access; minimal grade LOW LOW

Y 0.18 GB access; minimal grade LOW MED

Z 0.35 Crosses some riparian; some grade up to 10% MED MED

TOTAL 10.81

Proposed new temporary roads were also evaluated using the same system. 

Table I-5. Proposed New Temporary Road Construction 

Road 

Segment 

Reference

Length 

(miles) Notes

Q4 0.25 No template crosses riparian HIGH LOW

R 0.03 Short spur; joins with existing road LOW LOW

TOTAL 0.29

This analysis suggests that for Action Alternative development and consideration, opportunities 

associated with new roads could utilize modifications that include only “high to moderate road 

benefit/low to moderate environmental risk” new roads. 
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-32

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

VI. ECONOMICS 

Activities associated with the Proposed Action or its alternatives may generate various economic 

benefits/costs and overall present net values or benefit cost ratios. The economic value (cash flow) of 

commodities provided under these proposals may be less than the associated costs. 

Under all Action Alternatives, varying amounts of commercial timber would be made available to the 

local wood products industry. Revenue sharing from harvested timber would provide contributions to 

federal, state, and county budgets relative to the amount of timber offered for sale. 

This report includes an economic analysis of the alternatives considered in detail for the proposed timber 

sales projects. Proposed road related activities that serve the proposed logging systems are primary 

elements of costs associated with these alternatives. 

A. Background 

Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan 

The decision to provide a sustainable and predictable supply of commercially valuable timber was made 

and documented in the Record of Decision for the Siskiyou National Forest Land and Resource 

Management Plan Final EIS (USDA 1989), as amended. The Forest Plan was designed to achieve the 

following Forest-wide goals (LRMP ROD-10): 

1. Provide a balance of resource management that will maintain a healthy Forest ecosystem, and help 

to supply local, regional and National social and economic needs. 

2. Provide a sustained yield of resource outputs at a level that will promote the stability of local 

communities. 

Timber sale projects are expected to maximize net public benefits while achieving management goals for 

other resources in the most economically efficient manner and to contribute toward having total timber 

sale program benefits equal or exceed the total costs over time. 

The lands of the Siskiyou National Forest have demonstrated their capacity to produce timber. Timber 

supply is critical to the communities of southwest Oregon. The amount of timber supplied by the Forest 

has been and will continue to be an important part of the economic picture. Timber production also 

contributes to the National economy, generates receipts to Oregon counties, and contributes to the overall 

economic health of the Nation (LRMP ROD-26). 

The Matrix land allocation, as stated in the Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and 

Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl: 

“The matrix consists of those federal lands outside the six categories of designated areas 

(Congressionally Reserved Areas, Late-Successional Reserves, Adaptive Management Areas, 

Managed Late-Successional Areas, Administratively Withdrawn Areas, And Riparian Reserves). 

Most timber harvest and other silvicultural activities would be conducted in that portion of the matrix 

with suitable forest lands, according to standards and guidelines. Most scheduled timber harvest 

(that contributing to the probable sale quantity [PSQ] not taking place in Adaptive Management 

Areas) takes place in the matrix. The matrix includes non-forested areas, and forested areas that are 

technically unsuitable for timber production, and therefore do not contribute to PSQ”
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Riparian Reserve treatments are to restore lands along all streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, unstable areas, 

and potentially unstable areas that are subject to special Standards and Guidelines designed to conserve 

aquatic and riparian-dependent species. Standards and Guidelines apply to activities in Riparian Reserves 

that may otherwise retard or prevent attainment of Aquatic Conservation Strategy (ACS) objectives, as 

defined in the 1994 ROD for the Northwest Forest Plan. 

“Apply silvicultural practices for Riparian Reserves to control stocking, reestablish and manage 

stands, and acquire desired vegetation characteristics needed to attain the Aquatic Conservation 

Strategy objectives.” 

New roads will be constructed as needed during the planning period to achieve the objectives specified in 

the Forest Plan. This is highly variable from year to year: the locations and extent of roading will be 

determined through site specific analyses at the project level (LRMP ROD-22). 

Analysis Area 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales Planning Area is situated southeast of Powers, Oregon. Centrally located, 

commercial timber products have historically and are currently being transported to the communities of 

Broadbent, Myrtle Point, Coquille, Coos Bay, Bandon, Brookings, Glendale, Winston/Dillard, Roseburg 

and surrounding areas. Timber industry jobs include a variety of logging, forestry and mill positions. 

The current level of timber harvesting on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has dropped 

substantially from the levels of the mid-1980s. This decrease has contributed to a decline in the number 

of local jobs associated with the wood products industry in this and surrounding areas. Eden Ridge 

Timber Sales are proposed for several sale auctions and awards in the next five years (under separate and 

unique sales and sale names). There are three Action Alternatives plus a No-Action Alternative being 

considered. 

The geographic scale used to assess economics includes the project activity units (Project Areas) 

associated with the Eden Ridge Timber Sales and the surrounding communities that would be affected by 

the proposed project. 

B. Economic Assumptions 

Outputs 

The estimated sale volume varies with each alternative between a high of 53,130 thousand board feet 

(MBF) in Alternative 2, the Proposed Action, 52,028 MBF in Alternative 3, to a low of 49,175 MBF in 

Alternative 4 (Table I-6). The difference in volume between the alternatives is a reduction in treatment 

acres due to harvesting systems and engineering considerations. After the “no harvest” Riparian Reserve 

acres are deducted (based on Riparian Reserve Project Design Criteria), an average volume per acre of 

commercial product is used to calculate the total harvest volume by yarding system and alternative. 

Table I-6. Projected Treatment Acres and Volume by Alternative 

Alt.

Tractor Acres 

minus 8% RR 

No Harvest

Skyline 

Acres minus 

8% RR No 

Harvest

Helicopter 

Acres minus 

8% RR No 

Harvest

Total 

Treatment 

Acres

Total 

Tractor 

Volume 

MBF

Total 

Skyline 

Volume 

MBF

Total 

Helicopter 

Volume MBF

Total Volume 

MBF 

Harvested

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 1,939 1,097 0 3,036 33,933 19,197 0 53,130

3 1,641 863 469 2,973 28,718 15,102 8,208 52,028

4 1,324 420 1,066 2,810 23,170 7,350 18,655 49,175

Harvest volume is estimated at an overall average of 17.5 MBF/acre (not a target or a threshold) 
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-34

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Yarding Costs 

Current costs and values were used which may not reflect future costs and values, but will show a relative 

comparison that should remain relatively consistent into the future. Currently, log values are near a 

historical low and costs are high due to recent increases in fuel costs. It can be expected that log values 

would increase as the economy improves and demand increases. 

For this analysis, the costs are from logging systems and transportation needs by alternative. Each 

proposed yarding system has associated costs that have been averaged based on past timber sale 

appraisals on similar terrain (Table I-7).

Table I-7. Estimated Yarding Costs by Alternative 

Alt. Tractor Yarding 

Costs @210/MBF

Skyline Yarding 

Costs @250/MBF

Helicopter Yarding 

Costs@465/MBF

Total Yarding 

Costs

1 0 0 0 0

2 $ 7,125,825 $ 4,799,375 $0 $ 11,925,200 

3 $ 6,030,675 $3,77,625 $ 3,816,487 $ 13,622,787 

4 $ 4,865,700 $ 1,837,500 $ 8,674,575 $ 15,377,775 

Note: Costs are meant to be used for the relative comparison of alternatives only and do not represent actual appraised 

costs 

Roading Costs 

New road construction, reconstruction of existing rail road grades, reconstruction of existing non-system 

roads and maintenance of system roads were identified and proposed in an effort to try and reduce 

associated harvest costs. Alternatives 2 and 3 propose new roads to increase access to harvest units and 

reduce harvest cost. Alternative 4 uses the existing system roads and proposes reconstruction of a portion 

of an existing rail road grade. 

Additional costs are applied to the road construction, reconstruction and maintenance incurred by each 

alternative (Table I-8). The unit costs used for this analysis were determined by using current bid rates 

from recent projects in the area and by using local knowledge of construction practices. The rate per mile 

is not specific to individual roads but rather an average cost per mile of road. Maintenance estimates 

were determined in the same manor with the addition of surface rock replacement assuming 1/10th of an 

inch of rock loss per 10 mmbf of haul. Maintenance collections for Roads 33 and 3358 were estimated 

using current bid rates from recent contracts. The need for collections in lieu of performance is due to 

multiple users at the same time. 

Table I-8. Transportation Cost Estimates

ALT 1 ALT 2 ALT 3 ALT 4

Road Type Miles Cost Miles Cost Miles Cost Miles Cost

Classified 31.03 31.03 $0.00 31.03 $0.00 31.03 $0.00

CUM 0 7.77 $234,654 7.77 $234,654 6.37 $192,374

CUW/R 0 3.74 $594,860 2.08 $419,440 1.89 $185,220

New 

Construction 0 10.45 $1,736,790 7.66 $1,273,092 0 $0.00

Maintenance 31.03 $62,000 52.99 $1,701,987 48.54 $1,580,910 39.29 $1,238,885

TOTALS 31.03 $62,000 52.99 $4,268,291 48.54 $3,508,096 39.29 $1,616,479
APPENDIX I - TRANSPORTATION AND LOGGING SYSTEMS REPORT Page I-35

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Classified: This designation is the existing roads system including the 33 and 3358 Roads that access the Planning Area. 

CUM: Classified Use and Maintenance. This designation is existing roads that are not part of the National Forest Road System 

and would need some improvement before becoming part of the system. These roads would be added to the National Forest 

Roads System through the Cost-Share Roads Program. 

CUW/R: Classified Use with Reconstruction. This designation consists mainly of abandoned railroad grades. The old rail 

grade prism is present but clearing and grubbing of trees and stumps, establishing drainage, placing crushed aggregate and cut 

and fill slope repairs would be needed. 

New Construction: This designation is where no existing template or prism exists. 

Maintenance: This designation is for the maintenance of the all roads as a result of log haul for this project, except for 

Alternative 1, the No-Action alternative. This cost represents the cost of reoccurring maintenance needed regardless of hauling 

activities. 

Revenue 

The benefit basis of this analysis is the timber sale revenue from the estimated volume. The present value 

of benefits is based on current log prices for timber sold in Region 6 obtained through the Transaction 

Evidence Appraisal System. This amount reflects deductions for logging, general logging overhead, road 

construction, road re-construction, road maintenance, and temporary developments. Additional 

deductions may include special tree falling costs, slash disposal, environmental protection, engineering 

design, and operator profit and risk margin. 

Economic Indicators 

The demands for timber harvest are most affected by regional and national economics as well as costs 

from other markets. One of the outputs and effects is the determination of Present Net Value (PNV), 

which estimates the maximum value that might be attained by maximizing the net value of priced outputs 

under a non-declining flow policy. This benchmark serves as a basis for an economic comparison 

between benchmarks and alternatives, as well as a basis for determining the effects of various constraints 

on outputs and costs. Further discussion is found in the SNF-LRMP Standards and Guidelines where 

economic analysis shall be included when areas have alternatives with substantial roading and harvesting, 

and choices that maximize net public benefits are not obvious from environmental and resource 

considerations. Present Net Value or Least Cost are appropriate measures of economic efficiency to use 

in this analysis (SNF LRMP, page IV-39). 

The ratio of benefit to cost (B/C) is a useful parameter of economic efficiency intended to complement 

the PNV calculations associated with projects. The ratio is simply the total discounted benefits divided 

by the total discounted costs and reflects an average value rather than the total return to the government. 

This ratio is a measure of cost efficiency given different levels of investment among the alternatives. It 

does not reflect benefits from future use of a road system developed for future harvests after this entry. 

Cost increases, with all other factors held constant would reduce the likelihood that a proposed project 

would sell. It is obvious to have stumpage values greater than logging costs for projects to be sold. Cost 

efficiency analysis utilizing PNV calculations can provide an indication of whether or not a timber sale 

would be “cost efficient”. Increasing logging costs, with all else held constant, will result in projects 

being below cost. 

It is important to recognize the impact more expensive harvest methods such as helicopter yarding in lieu 

of road construction with cable yarding or ground based methods has on the economic feasibility of a 

project. Historical information has shown that the cost to tractor yard (with associated construction for 

road access) is the least expensive operation. As yarding systems change to cable (skyline) and 

helicopter, these costs increase with helicopter yarding considered as very expensive due to the price of 

equipment and required support of material and personnel. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

C. Economic Performance of Alternatives 

Alternative 1 (No-Action) 

The No-Action Alternative would not commercially harvest any timber, and therefore, would not generate 

a PNV or B/C for meaningful comparison to the Action Alternatives. Road maintenance costs for this 

alternative (Table I-8) represents the cost of reoccurring system road maintenance needed regardless of 

hauling activities. 

Action Alternatives 

The result of the economic analysis shows that the Proposed Action (Alternative 2) is the most 

economically feasible (Table I-9). The Proposed Action has the highest positive net present value and 

benefit cost ratio. The Proposed Action utilizes no helicopter yarding by adding engineer specified, low 

impact roads and spurs to allow access for tractor and cable yarding. Alternatives 3 and 4 have negative 

B/C ratios with Alternative 4 having the lowest PNV. Generally, this decrease of returns among the 

alternatives is reflected in the use of a greater % of high-cost yarding, (i.e., helicopters) as opposed to 

conventional yarding systems. 

Table I-9. Present Net Value and Benefit/Cost Ratio Comparison between Alternatives 

Alternative Volume in 

MBF

Total Estimated 

Benefit or Revenue 

from Sale of Timber

Total Estimated 

Cost

Present 

Net Value PNV

Benefit-Cost 

Ratio (B/C)

1 No Action 0 0.00 $ 62,000.00 $ (62,000.00) 0.00

2 Proposed Action 53,130 $ 16,515,991.80 $ 16,193,491.00 $ 322,500.80 1.02

3 Less Roads–Some Heli 52,028 $ 16,173,268.65 $ 17,130,883.50 $ (957,614.85) 0.94

4 Least Roads–Max Heli 49,175 $ 15,286,540.50 $ 16,994,254.00 $ (1,707,713.50) 0.90

Note: Based on a market value of $310.86 per MBF; values and costs are meant to be used for the relative comparison of 

alternatives only and do not represent expected selling values or actual costs 

Region 6 uses Log Lines for west side forests in Oregon, as the basis of relative stumpage values for 

western Douglas-fir. Market stumpage value or the price per thousand board feet of timber contributes 

the most to this economic analysis, assuming road and yarding costs remain the same. Slight changes in 

logging costs or road construction costs do not change the B/C ratio as must as market price. To 

demonstrate, an outcome of an 11.5% increase for the price per MBF, Table I-10 summarizes the effect to 

the point where Alternative 4 is at a break-even, otherwise the point where money spent and money 

returned is the same (B/C = 1.0). The cost to maintain the road system is included in the No-Action 

Alternative to demonstrate the associated cost of the existing road system. 

Table I-10. PNV and B/C Comparison between Alternatives with an 11.5% increase in $/MBF 

Alternative Volume in 

MBF

Total Estimated 

Benefit or Revenue 

from Sale of Timber

Total Estimated 

Cost

Present 

Net Value PNV

Benefit-Cost 

Ratio (B/C)

1 No Action 0 0 $ 62,000.00 $ (62,000.00) 0.00

2 Proposed Action 53,130 $ 18,361,051.66 $ 16,193,491.00 $ 2,167,560.66 1.13

3 Less Roads–Some Heli 52,028 $ 17,980,041.69 $ 17,130,883.50 $ 849,158.19 1.05

4 Least Roads–Max Heli 49,175 $ 16,994,254.00 $ 16,994,254.00 $ 0.00 1.00

Note: Based on a market value of $345.59 per MBF; values and costs are meant to be used for the relative comparison of 

alternatives only and do not represent expected selling values or actual costs 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

D. Direct, Indirect and Cumulative Effects of Alternatives 

Alternative 1 (No-Action) 

The No-Action Alternative would not commercially harvest any timber, and thus no sawtimber or other 

forest products would be provided to regional mills, thus no economic value derived from the sale of 

forest products. No-Action would not support direct, indirect, and induced employment. It would not 

result in increased income to the regional or local economy (including the counties). Current levels of 

employment in the wood products sector would not change under this alternative. 

Action Alternatives 

All Action Alternatives could be economically viable, depending on current selling values, timber volume 

per acre, yarding systems required, proposed road construction, system road maintenance and the posttimber harvest projects. In general, the primary indirect and cumulative effect on timber harvest-related 

employment would occur from commercial timber harvest associated with the Action Alternatives from 

estimated selling years of 2013 through approximately 2017. The Action Alternatives would provide 

some opportunity for timber harvest-related employment, and higher revenues. 

Alternative 2 would provide higher net value than Alternative 3 and substantially more than Alternative 4. 

Though the combined economic benefit from implementation of any of the Action Alternatives is 

expected to be positive, each of the action alternatives from the project would have a localized beneficial 

effect for the socio-economic environment of southwestern Oregon. The Action Alternatives would also 

have an indirect benefit in the form of revenues going toward the National Forest Fund (NFF). Portions 

of revenue generated by the sale of timber from the Action Alternatives would be available to the county 

for roads and schools. 

Cumulative 

Given that the current log prices and reasonably foreseeable future of the regional economy, the 

speculation is that prices will continue to be low during the life of this proposed project. In an 

economically depressed area such as southwestern Oregon, the work provided by this project is 

potentially substantial. The project and its Action Alternatives are primarily proposed within the land 

allocation intended for the purposes of sustained timber production. The silvicultural prescriptions are 

generally an intermediate treatment, and designed to include all attributes essential for ecologically 

sustainable land management. Roads constructed, reconstructed or otherwise used and maintained by the 

Forest Service or cooperators would not only provide feasible treatments to meet the Purpose and Need 

for this project, but would provide for future management needs to achieve quality land management 

under the sustainable multiple-use management concept to meet the diverse needs of people. 

VII. SOUTH FORK COQUILLE NWFP KEY WATERSHED

The Aquatic Conservation Strategy (ACS) was designed to facilitate the management and restoration of 

aquatic ecosystems within lands covered by the Northwest Forest Plan (1994). Specifically, the strategy 

is intended to protect anadromous fish habitat on federal lands within the range of Pacific Ocean 

anadromy. 

According to the Northwest Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines, the ACS was developed to improve 

and maintain the ecological health of watersheds and aquatic ecosystems contained within them on public 

lands. The four primary components of the ACS are designed to operate together to maintain and restore 

the productivity and resiliency of riparian and aquatic ecosystems; they include: 1) Riparian Reserves; 2) 

Key Watersheds; 3) Watershed Analysis; and 4) Watershed Restoration. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Under Northwest Forest Plan direction, Key Watersheds are not a designated area or matrix, but overlay 

all allocations. Key Watershed designation is a component of the ACS that is applied to watersheds that 

contain at-risk fish species or anadromous stocks and that provide high quality water and fish habitat. 

The South Fork Coquille fifth field watershed is designated as Key Watershed (the Middle Fork Coquille 

fifth-field watershed is not). 

A. Background 

South Fork Coquille River is a Key Watershed for which Watershed Analysis has been performed (see 

EIS Chapter I and Hydrology report, EIS Appendix C). An Aquatic Restoration Plan was prepared in 

2007 (see above and Hydrology Report). As documented in the Restoration Plan, the South Fork 

Coquille (SFC) is a Tier 1 Key Watershed as defined by the Northwest Forest Plan (1994) and is 

approximately 108,300 acres in size. In 2005 the Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest engaged in an 

Integrated Work Planning process. As part of that process, fifth-field watersheds across the Forest were 

prioritized for resource valve and restoration potential. The South Fork Coquille ranked as number 1 on 

the Forest for fisheries, water, and wildlife values. 

Timber harvest cannot occur in Key Watersheds or Riparian Reserves unless watershed analysis is 

performed to characterize the aquatic, riparian, and terrestrial features within a watershed and to guide 

activities toward meeting Aquatic Conservation Strategy goals (ROD, page B-20, USFS, 1994). Outside 

of Inventoried Roadless Areas (RARE II) management direction is to reduce existing system and nonsystem road mileage. 

According to the Northwest Forest Plan, Basis for Standards and Guidelines (NWFP page B-19), 

“The amount of existing system and non-system roads within Key Watersheds should be reduced 

through decommissioning of roads. Road closures with gates or barriers do not qualify as 

decommissioning or a reduction in road mileage. If funding is insufficient to implement reductions, 

there will be no net increase in the amount of roads in Key Watersheds. That is, for each mile of new 

road constructed, at least one mile of road should be decommissioned, and priority given to roads 

that pose the greatest risks to riparian and aquatic ecosystems.”

B. Road Decommissioning Road Bank 

With the South Fork Coquille watershed, road decommissioning on the Powers Ranger District has been 

occurring since 1992. To date, the miles of decommissioned roads have totaled approximately 61.1 miles 

(see Attachment B; File Code 7720-1 regarding Road Mileage changes in Key Watersheds, 1999). This 

amount of roads removed from lands allocated to other purposes than timber production, has created a 

“road bank”, that is, the current level of road mileage through decommissioning is less than the 1992 

conditions. 

The Eden Ridge Timber Sales project could construct roads to current environmental standards, and be 

located on the landscape to minimize effects to the environment and still result no net increase in the 

miles of roads within a Key Watershed. This is due to the “road bank” of decommissioned road miles, in 

compliance with this NWFP Standard and Guideline. The precise accounting of miles of 

decommissioned road compared to new road construction would depend on the final decision for Eden 

Ridge Timber Sales Project. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

ATTACHMENT A 

Example preliminary logging “paper plan” 

ATTACHMENT B 

This letter is a copy of a letter dated and signed by Carl Linderman on February 22, 1999 File Code: 7720-1

Subject: Reply to Verification of Net Road Mileage Changes in Key Watersheds 

To: Bob O‟Leary (Forest Engineer) 

The following is a table of all Tier 1 Key Watersheds on the Powers Ranger District, and associated 

information as requested from the Regional office memo, dated February 2, 1999. 

Watershed Key WA# Tier Forest FY 1992-1997 FY 1994-1997

Dry Creek 0-365a 1 Siskiyou 0 0

Elk River 0-366a 1 Siskiyou -6.231 +1.222

S. Fork Coquille 0-367a 1 Siskiyou -40.24 -19.91

West Fork Cow Creek Siskiyou -2.73 -2.73

Cherry Creek N. Fork 

Coquille

0-324a 1 Siskiyou Not on Siskiyou 

NF

Not on Siskiyou 

NF

Total net Miles Powers RD -49.20 -21.42

Negative numbers are numbers in which more roads have been decommissioned than constructed

Positive numbers are numbers in which more roads have been constructed than decommissioned 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

In addition we are affirming the following five questions: 

1. Decommissioned and corresponding mileage can be readily identified in the field, as well as on paper, with 

detailed documentation on maps and data tables of all decommissioned roads across the district. 

2. A review of the district‟s “bank account” of road decommissioned roads was completed this year (Jan., 

1999) to be assured it meant the Northwest Forest Plan definition of road decommissioning. All road miles 

reflect in the above table meet the definition, as set forth in the Northwest Forest Plan. 

3. No roads were constructed in RARE II areas. 

4. Watershed analyses were completed for all watersheds prior to any new road construction. 

5. Signed in 1994, the powers Ranger District piloted one of the first watershed analyses - the Elk River. On 

this team was an individual who was also a representative on the FEMAT team. Insight from the watershed 

analysis and the FEMAT process helped the district to begin its road decommissioning process earlier than 

many other districts, which lead the district to begin serious decommissioning in 1992. As a result, the 

district uses the 1992 numbers to reflect the foresight. If the district must stick with the 1994 date, a FY99 

decommissioning of 1.57 miles within the Elk River Key Watershed is scheduled. This will offset the 1.22 

miles of increased miles in the Elk River Key Watershed for the period of 1994-1997.

/S/ W. Carl Linderman 

District Ranger 

Changes / Additions to the SF Coquille since the above 2/2/1999 letter was signed: 

Additions: Silver Doe TS 5000290 1.63 miles 

 5000297 1.40 miles +3.03 

Deletions: Pioneer Fish 5000680 1.26 miles 

 Enhancement 

 Road Insides 3353140 1.22 miles 

 Copper/Salmon 3353150 1.50 miles -3.98 

Net road miles SF Coquille decrease since 1999 

Watershed Key WA# Tier Forest FY 1992-1997 FY 1994-1997 FY 1998-2009

S. Fork 

Coquille 0-367a 1 Siskiyou -40.24 -19.91 - 0.95

Total miles in the “road bank “for the SF Coquille Forest Service Roads: 61.1 Miles (40.24

+19.91+0.95 miles of decommissioned road)

R.McAlpin 

5/3/10 
APPENDIX J 

HERITAGE RESOURCES 

Appendix J – Heritage Report Page J-1 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Specialist Report, Heritage Resources 

Eden Ridge Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

Prepared by: Draft: August 2011 

KRISTEN HAUGE

Archaeologist

I. Introduction

A. Analysis Methods 

The analysis methods used for cultural resources consist of a review and synthesis of all pertinent 

literature, records, and documentation available on the history and prehistory of the project and 

surrounding areas, and generally bounded by the Planning Area. This information includes not 

only that available from a variety of generalized sources, but also that information resulting from 

several years worth of Forest Service heritage resource inventories conducted within and 

adjacent to the Planning Area. The information on the results of these previous inventories and 

previously documented cultural resources also allows some idea of the type, frequency and 

location of cultural resources likely to be found within the Planning Area. 

This synthesis of past data is then used during field inventories conducted of the proposed 

activities‟ areas of potential effect (APE) and adjacent areas of high site probability. Information 

from past inventories may be used to cover a current APE if upon review it meets current 

inventory standards. Additional inventory is then conducted of the APE in areas where no 

previous inventory was conducted, where previous inventory was not adequate or around known 

sites to relocate and verify their location. 

Once field inventory is complete, identified cultural resources within the project‟s APE are 

analyzed to determine their eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places as historic 

properties. For those considered eligible, the potential effects of the project on that historic 

property is analyzed. Where adverse effects may occur to a historic property, measures are 

designed to mitigate these effects. The State Historic Preservation Office is consulted for 

concurrence on each of these three steps. The consultation on all three steps is usually 

conducted simultaneously. 

When no cultural resources are located within the project‟s area of potential effect or when the 

project meets specific terms, the project may proceed under the terms of the Programmatic 

Agreement among the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Northwest 

Region (Region 6), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the Oregon State Historical 

Preservation Officer Regarding Cultural Resource Management in the State of Oregon by the 

USDA Forest Service (R6 PA), 2004. 

B. Measurement Indicators 

The measurement indicators for cultural resources are the effects to historic properties. These 

effects may be beneficial or adverse. Beneficial effects could include stabilizing a historic 

property such as controlling erosion through an archaeological site, restoring and maintaining a 

historic building, or reducing fuel concentrations around a historic property to reduce the potential 

for a wildfire to impact it. As management actions beneficial effects are designed and agreed 

upon through consultation conducted under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 

(NHPA) with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). 
Appendix J – Heritage Report Page J-2 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Adverse effects are impacts to the integrity of the property, destroying a portion or all of the 

historic property and the information that it could yield, or destroying characteristic features or 

integrity of the historic property. A direct adverse impact occurs during the activity itself, such as 

when a road is built through a historic property and the construction process destroys the site. An 

indirect adverse impact can occur as a side effect of the activity or after the activity is complete, 

such as runoff from a road that eventually erodes a historic property adjacent to it. In some cases 

where a beneficial action is possible, a no action determination that does not implement the 

beneficial action could be adverse if it allows greater degradation or deterioration of the historic 

property. 

This planning process allows adverse impacts to be avoided altogether through project redesign, 

or mitigated through project modification or scientific investigation and/or removal of the site so 

that there are no adverse impacts to historic properties. These avoidance or mitigation measures 

are agreed to in consultation conducted under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 

Act (NHPA) with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and allow the project to proceed 

with no adverse impact to historic properties. Under certain conditions this consultation has been 

streamlined by the Programmatic Agreement among the United States Department of Agriculture 

Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6), the Advisory Council on Historic 

Preservation, and the Oregon State Historical Preservation Officer Regarding Cultural Resource 

Management in the State of Oregon by the USDA Forest Service (R6 PA), 2004. 

C. Regulatory Framework 

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies, such as 

the Forest Service, to take into account the effects of their actions, or undertakings, on historic or 

archaeological properties. This act also establishes the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation 

(ACHP) as the oversight agency which consults with federal agencies to review undertakings 

which have the potential to affect significant historic properties, although generally, this 

consultation and review capacity is delegated to State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO). The 

NHPA also provides for Native American groups to be included in consultations where prehistoric 

sites are involved. 

Project area inventories and consultation under Section 106 of the NHPA must be completed prior 

to project implementation. In some cases the consultation process has been streamlined or 

by-passed by agreement to facilitate project completion when certain conditions are met. 

Generally, these conditions include adequate inventories where no sites are located in a project's 

area of potential effect (APE), or particular site and project types which have recurring similar 

impacts which have allowed predetermined mitigation measures to be developed by agreement 

with SHPO, or projects with a low likelihood to impact historic properties. Documentation under 

these agreements is submitted to the SHPO in an annual report, and may or may not be 

submitted prior to project implementation. Section VII below includes a list of such agreements 

which affect the consultation process for projects on the Gold Beach and Powers Ranger 

Districts. 

Both NHPA and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) prohibit the disclosure of 

the nature and location of cultural resource sites where a likelihood of harm to the sites could 

occur through disclosure. The intent of this prohibition is to protect sites from vandalism and 

looting, and to retain confidentiality of sites culturally significant to American Indian Tribes. 

ARPA also establishes civil and criminal penalties for individuals removing or damaging 

archaeological resources on federal lands. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

The Land and Resource Management Plan for the Siskiyou National Forest (USFS, 1989) 

requires compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for areas where 

the commercial removal of timber is proposed. 

Any cultural resource survey has the potential for missing unique and/or significant sites. 

Avoidance or mitigation of effects will be implemented under expedited consultation with Indian 

tribes, SHPO and ACHP (as provided for under 36 CFR 800.111) for any new site discovered 

during the course of project activities. 

Other laws and regulations relevant to cultural resource management are briefly described in 

section VI below. 

II. Land Use of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest

The history and prehistory of the Siskiyou National Forest is treated in the Cultural Resource 

Overview of the Siskiyou National Forest (Beckham, 1978). 

The archeological record attests to a continuous human occupation of southwest Oregon for the 

last nine thousand years. At the time of Euroamerican contact the Native American groups either 

inhabiting or using the general vicinity were the Upper Coquille. The history of these Athabascan 

speaking peoples is unclear, but it is theorized that successive waves of Athabaskan speakers 

with slightly different cultural adaptations immigrated into southwest Oregon over time. Several 

independent groups, speaking different dialects, inhabited much of southwestern Oregon from 

the beaches to the upland forests. 

The year 1856 marked the sunset of the era of Native American dominance in the area. This year 

marked the conclusion of the Rogue Indian Wars. Following the wars the remaining aboriginal 

population was removed to the Grande Ronde or Siletz reservations. Some individuals escaped 

relocation or were allowed to return to their homelands, mainly because of intermarriage with the 

white settlers. Some of these people or their families received land claims (Indian Allotments) in 

the area after the passage of the Dawes Act. 

Some of the first European settlers in the area were miners attracted to the region during the gold 

rush era of the mid-1800's. In southwest Oregon gold was first discovered on the coast at places 

like Gold Beach (named for the gold rich, black sand deposits found there) and later in the Rogue 

River. Large mining districts were established within what would become the Kalmiopsis 

Wilderness and along the Rogue, Chetco and Illinois Rivers and their tributaries. Mining activities 

and its impacts on the land have had major and long lasting effects on the surrounding 

environment. 

Following the miners were the early settlers, farming in the flat lands along the rivers and creeks, 

and grazing cattle and sheep in the surrounding hills. These early settlers adopted a lifestyle 

characterized as a "subsistence living economy" in which the people lived off the land, using the 

abundant natural resources to supplement what they grew on small agricultural plots, in a manner 

similar to earlier aboriginal inhabitants, but with the addition of farming and modern technology 

(Beckham, 1979). 

These pioneers brought along with them a few cattle for their milk, hides and flesh and introduced 

the effects of grazing to the watersheds. These emigrants and their descendants would scatter 

throughout the surrounding canyons planting fruit trees, thereby introducing new species, building 

trails, often over older aboriginal routes, and harvesting timber for cabins, firewood and many 

other uses. 
Appendix J – Heritage Report Page J-4 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

With the establishment of the Siskiyou National Forest various trails, lookouts, camps and 

telephone lines were constructed during the first three decades of this Forests history. The 

creation of the Forest Reserve signaled an end to the assault on the public domain by timber 

speculators, land fraud experts, mill owners and dishonest politicians (Beckham, 1978). 

Local histories exist in the form of family journals, manuscripts and photo collections. Oral 

histories, often compiled later in time, are also an invaluable source of information. After 

settlements became well established, the history of the area is better documented in the form of 

newspaper articles, tax, land ownership and mining records, religious, birth, death and marriage 

records. 

A. Eden Ridge Tract 

The Eden Ridge Tract has a unique history within Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest lands. 

Originally included in the C.A. Smith Lumber and Manufacturing Company holdings, Eden Ridge 

played a role in the extensive logging history and economic development of Coos Bay and the 

surrounding county. 

From the early days of Coos County, the area has been relatively isolated from the rest of Oregon 

by the steep range of coastal mountains. Coos Bay, a natual harbor, provided access to the 

rapidly expanding markets in California through the ports of the San Francisco Bay. While coal 

from nearby coal mines was an early export and economic driver of the area, by the turn of the 

century the virgin forests of the area were drawing interest and would become the economic 

driver that would shape the growth and fuel the industry of the county for most of the next century. 

As the timber of the east coast was logged out, the immense industrial enterprise that had been 

built there began to seek other sources of timber and the virgin forests of Coos County were 

enticing, drawing the attention of such leaders of the timber industry as Weyerheuser, Menasha 

and C. A. Smith. By the early 1900s, these men and their companies began acquiring 

timberlands in often fraudulent transactions, locking up thousands of acres in corporate 

ownership. The effects of these companies would shape the fortunes of the counties where they 

operated, providing good employment and development while they were booming, followed by 

lean times as the forests were liquidated and the companies moved on. 

The early settlements in the Coos Bay region were founded in the 1850s. While the area was 

relatively isolated from the rest of the state, internally, numerous small rail lines were constructed 

to transport the timber and coal to the sea port at Coos Bay where it could be shipped to markets. 

The longest and best known of the rail lines was the Coos Bay, Roseburg and Eastern Railroad 

and Navigation Company which was constructed between Myrtle Point and Marshfield (later 

renamed Coos Bay) by 1893. With its aspirations in its name, this 28 mile stretch of railroad 

linked to the Beaver Hill coal mines along with some of the virgin stands of Douglas-fir and 

Port-Orford-cedar. While most of the smaller lines were eventually abandoned, this 28 mile line 

was purchased by the Southern Pacific in 1906 when they announced intentions to build a 

railroad from Eugene to Coos Bay. Although these plans were finally realized 10 years later when 

the Willamette Pacific Railroad was completed from Eugene to Coos Bay (Robbins, 2006:, it was 

the stretch between Myrtle Point and Coos Bay that would play a role in the logging at Eden 

Ridge. 
Appendix J – Heritage Report Page J-5 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Figure 1: Vicinity Map 

The C. A. Smith ‘System’

Born in Sweden in 1852, Charles Axel Smith came to the United States in 1867. Educated in 

Minnesota, it was there he would make the contacts that brought him into the timber industry. His 

logging entrepreneurship helped him build a successful timber operation in Minnesota, at one 

time running the largest mill manufacturing white pine in Minneapolis. As the timber of the 

northeast was depleted, he began acquiring timberlands in the Coos Bay area and he would bring 

with him the contacts and entrepreneurship that would allow him to build a business in Coos Bay 

that would be the largest employer in the area for over half a century. 

The head of Smith‟s west coast operations was the C.A. Smith Lumber and Manufacturing 

Company. This company was supported by several subsidiary companies and by 1911 was 

described as a „system‟ where different operations were carried out under separate branches of 

the organization (American Lumberman, 11 November 1911: 62). Even under foreclosure in 

1922, „the entirety of the property, its raw material, transportation, mills and distribution systems, 

as a living organization‟ (American Lumberman, 4 February 1922: 59) was seen as contributing 

to the value of a company that continued to produce under market lows. 
Appendix J – Heritage Report Page J-6 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Based in Marshfield, Oregon, the company reached into the nearby woods as well as through the 

shipping lanes to Bay Point, California. The mill built, between 1906 and 1908, brought the 

company fame as the most modern and largest electric mill in the world. The mill began operation 

in 1907, and between 1907 and 1911, the output of the company expanded from 25 MMBF to an 

estimated 150 MMBF (American Lumberman, 11 November 1911: 62), and over the next 10 

years would reach as much as 180 MMBF per year (The Timberman, August 1918: 35; American 

Lumberman, 4 February 1922: 59). By 1912, as the company had run through their nearby 

timber holdings, the logging operations run by the Smith Powers Logging Company would need to 

expand the rail from Myrtle Point to new timber holdings up to fifty miles from Marshfield, and up to 

3,000‟ in elevation. 

Among the many experienced lumbermen Smith had drawn after him to Oregon was an 

experienced lumberman and railroad logger from Minnesota named Albert Powers. He was the 

man chosen by Smith to run the woods side of the operations providing the logs to the mills and 

markets that Smith directed. Under the direction of Al Powers, the Smith Powers Logging 

Company extended the Southern Pacific Rail line from Myrtle Point up the Coquille River towards 

the community that would be named after him, Powers. The line to Powers, completed in 1915, 

would continue to be extended into the nearby creeks and Eden Ridge which together held over 

10 billion feet of timber, and would provide the raw material for one of the largest railroad logging 

operations of its time. 

By 1918, Albert Powers was known as a man who „delivered the goods‟ using all available 

technologies as well as creating new solutions to get the timber off of near vertical slopes typical 

of the country, to the mill (The Timberman, 1918: pg 33). The terrain he logged was “a sort of 

moving picture panorama of rock, sand and trees. The sliding ground was pretty hard on his 

trestles but he lashed them with wire rope to the stumps on the side hills above and held them“ 

(The Timberman, 1918: pg 33). The company was logging up to 180 million feet a year (The 

Timberman, 1918: pg 35), bringing employment to the area, and making Powers “a modern little 

city of some 1700 inhabitants” (The Timberman, 1918: pg 33). 

Constructed between 1916 and 1924, much of the rail line Powers constructed was characterized 

by log trestles which could provide a relatively straight and level rail way without the expense of 

excavating the railroad grades, although in some sections the cost was $50,000 per mile (The 

Timberman, 1918: pg 34). The Eden Ridge line required five switchbacks to ascend to 3400 feet 

in the 15 miles from Powers and was purported to access six to seven billion feet of timber (The 

Timberman, 1918: pg 34). Another main line ran up Salmon Creek and required two tunnels and 

five switchbacks to gain some 600 feet in elevation in the seven miles from the town of Powers. 

The rail line was purported to access about four billion feet of timber (The Timberman, 1918: pg 

33). While logging would continue on Eden Ridge for over two decades, in 1928 the Salmon 

Creek railroad along with timber lands in the Sixes River was sold to the Port Orford Cedar 

Products Company of Coos Bay. 

During the war years, the prices of logs rose, and army men were deployed to aid in the extraction 

of timber used in planes and ships used in the war effort. In 1918, 182 soldiers were among the 

800 men employed by the Smith-Powers company (The Timberman, 1918: pg 35). The soldiers 

worked alongside their civilian fellows, in plain dress and were relieved of the duty of saluting 

during the logging work although they did have separate sleeping quarters. The soldiers along 

with the Loyal Legion of Loggers were seen as beneficial in forestalling the rise of the I.W.W 

efforts (The Timberman, 1918: pg 35) which were affecting so many of the camps. 
Appendix J – Heritage Report Page J-7 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Camp 2 was in operation just within the current Eden Ridge project area by 1919. Camps were 

supported by a train of five construction cars to house and feed the crews (The Timberman, 1918: 

pg 35). Two of the cars were sleeping quarters, with a mess hall car, the kitchen and cook‟s 

quarters in a fourth car, and the heating unit and shower facility made up the last car. 

Figure 2: Map of the Southern Pacific Line and 

Smith-Powers Logging Railroads 
Appendix J – Heritage Report Page J-8 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

The camps moved with the operations of logging and by 1936, a second camp at Doe Swamp 

was in operation with a capacity of 400 men. This camp was run until 1941 when the Coal Creek 

Camp took over near the switchbacks and operated until the mid 1950s when it was relinquished 

to the Forest Service by Georgia Pacific. As the logging operations drew to a close, many of the 

rails were salvaged for use elsewhere. 

The Coos Bay Lumber Company 

While the rail lines were being built and the logs were being cut, Smith was going through financial 

difficulties. The low timber prices of the glutted market in 1914 proved the previous expansion of 

Smith‟s business interests to be ill-timed, and he lost control of his companies to a liquidating 

committee and over the next eight years the organization of the company would be restructured 

until the final foreclosure in 1922. Smith would be reinstated as President under the direction of 

the executive committee of the newly renamed Pacific States Lumber Company (American 

Lumberman, 4 February, 1922: 58) and the Coos Bay and Powers operations would continue as 

the Coos Bay Lumber Company. Smith would die just three years later in 1925. 

While the economic struggles of the parent C.A. Smith Lumber and Manufacturing Company 

affected the organization and name of the company, the effects on the ground were slow to come, 

and some were mostly unnoticed (Stevens, N.D.). Albert Powers remained at the helm of the 

logging operations until 1926, when his son Fred Powers took on the reins to the consternation of 

the men who looked to „Uncle‟ Al Powers for leadership. Despite the uncertainty of such 

restructuring, the company continued to produce the logs supplying the mills of the Coos Bay 

Lumber Company, and it was noted that even in the low production year of 1920, the men out of 

Powers continued to produce at respectable rates. 

From the time the mill began operations in Coos Bay in 1908, through the C.A. Smith Lumber and 

Manufacturing Company‟s reorganization as the Coos Bay Lumber Company, this company and 

its subsidiaries, was the largest employer in the county. Its holdings of Port- Orford-cedar were 

considered to be over half of the stumpage in existence (American Lumberman, 4 February, 

1922: 58). The legacy would continue after they sold to Georgia Pacific in 1956 until they were 

displaced as the largest employer by Weyerheuser in the 1970s. 

Profiles 

Charles Axel Smith: 

Charles Axel Smith was born 1852 in Sweden, came to the US in 1867 and died in 1925 after 

building large lumber industries in two states. Educated in Minnesota, he entered the lumber 

trade there building his first lumber business as the largest white pine manufacturer in 

Minneapolis. 

Albert Powers: 

Albert Powers was born on a farm in Ontario, Canada in 1861, and died in 1930. „Uncle‟ Al 

Powers was a man known to „deliver the goods‟ managing camps, rails, and loggers to supply the 

nearly 500,000 board feet of timber a day which the mills in Coos Bay processed. 

The C.A. Smith Lumber and Manufacturing Company: 

Based in Marshfield, Oregon, the C.A. Smith Lumber and Manufacturing Company was the main 

company of C.A. Smith‟s lumber system. The centerpiece of the company was the mill built 

between 1906 and 1908 in Marshfield that was the largest electric mill of its time. 
Appendix J – Heritage Report Page J-9 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Low lumber prices in 1914 would force CA Smith from the helm as the company went through 

foreclosure. In 1922 the company would reemerge as the Pacific States Lumber Company with 

the Coos Bay operations run by the Coos Bay Lumber Company. 

Smith-Powers Logging Company: 

This logging and railroad side of the C.A. Smith Lumber and Manufacturing Company was run by 

Albert Powers, an experienced Minnesota logger. 

Coos Bay – Marshfield: 

Early settlements around Coos Bay included Empire, Marshfield and North Bend. Settled in the 

1850s, the nearby coal and virgin forests helped drive early development in the area. Marshfield 

became the center of C.A. Smith‟s logging interests after the turn-of-the-century and he built the 

largest electric mill of its time to manufacture lumber from the nearby forests. Renamed Coos Bay 

in 1944, the timber industry would remain an economic mainstay of the region until its collapse in 

the 1980s. 

Powers – Rural – Wagner’s Ranch – North Carolina Settlement: 

Established in 1873 by settlers coming from North Carolina, Rural, as its 1890 post office was 

named, was a homesteading settlement for the first several decades of its existence (Peterson 

and Powers, 1977 [1952], pg 126). The coming of the Smith-Powers Logging Company railroad 

marked the heyday of the newly renamed community of „Powers‟, and by 1918 the population of 

the community was reported as 1,700 (The Timberman, pg 33). The town of Powers prospered 

for many years along with the logging of the surrounding forests. The slowing of logging has 

impacted the community which is now listed with a population of 723 (in 2009 from 

http://www.city-data.com/city/Powers-Oregon.html 14 December 2011). 

The Siskiyou National Forest – the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest: 

The Siskiyou National Forest was established on October 5th in 1906 by proclamation and 

acquired all of the Coquille National Forest (established by Public Proclamation in 1907) in 1908. 

At that time it did not include the lands known as the Eden Ridge Tract that comprise this project 

area. During the Depression, many northwest timber owners would abandon cutover lands to 

reduce their tax burden. Instead of abandoning their lands to the county, in 1933 the Coos Bay 

Lumber Company proposed to convey their lands to the Forest Service. In return the Forest 

would extend their boundaries, and thereby fire protection, to the adjacent lumber company lands. 

This agreement was made into Public Law 131 passed by Congress withdrawing the entirety of 

T31S R10 and 11W into the Siskiyou National Forest on June 10, 1935. The lands within the 

current Eden Ridge project area were relinquished to the Siskiyou National Forest between 1938 

and 1941, but no other lands were conveyed to the forest under this agreement 1958 PLO 1610 

revoked the earlier law and the northern Siskiyou National Forest boundary was returned to its 

earlier location with the exception of the Eden Ridge Tract. 

III. Overview

A. Cultural Resource Surveys and Sites

Past inventories and site reports are on file at the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Medford, 

Oregon and in the appropriate district offices. These reports potentially contain information on the 

nature and location of archaeological or historic sites which is confidential in nature and may not 

be available under the Freedom of Information Act (FSH 6209.13 11.22). The purpose of this 

exemption is to protect sites from harm, and to retain the confidentiality of sites culturally 

significant to American Indian tribes. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Past cultural work within the Eden Ridge area includes two project inventories which recorded 

some of the remains from the Eden Ridge Railroad logging activities. The sites recorded were 

described as highly degraded by ongoing use, fire, logging and natural deterioration, and were 

found not eligible to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). These surveys did not 

record the entire rail system within the Eden Ridge Tract, and with this additional work, as well as 

the fact that the entire system is now over 50 years old, the site is considered eligible under 

criterion A with some features also being considered under criterion C. While many of the 

features of the site have been heavily impacted and in some cases destroyed, some remain in a 

condition that still conveys the history of the Eden Ridge Tract. The Eden Ridge logging railroad 

site includes over eighteen miles of railroad grade, camps, donkey sleds, and skid trails. 

The condition of the features across the miles of railroad grade and skid trails is quite variable. 

While many of the features still show distinct characteristics of the technology of the logging at 

Eden Ridge, many also have become very deteriorated through natural or cultural means and 

their value mostly lies in the information they give about the locations of operations within the 

system. Because of this, treatment may not be the same for similar feature types. 

Of the over seventeen miles of railroad grade that ran through the Eden Ridge tract, about ten 

have already been converted to classified roads. These roads largely run in the old railroad 

grades following the original grades and curvature of the railroad, with some detours around 

trestles and draws. Many of the other railroad-specific features of these grades have been altered 

or destroyed by road maintenance activities, but taken as a whole, these roads still convey the 

original railroad system within the Eden Ridge Tract. 

Other features of the site include camps, donkey sleds, trestle and skid trail remains. The 

remains of the Doe Swamp Camp are still evident in a cut over area on a private land in-holding 

within the Eden Ridge area, most of the buildings are collapsed and the few buildings remaining 

are failing. Many other buildings related to these logging activities are to be found in the town of 

Powers itself. The other camps have largely been salvaged at the end of the logging activities 

with many of the buildings and other materials removed. 

The donkey sleds are in varying states of deterioration, with some very rotted and in one case 

partially burnt. While several are single features, two have the remains of three sleds, along with 

other features. 

The remains of numerous trestles lie along the railroad grades, and in some case alongside the 

current classified road system. The conditions of the trestles range from failed with upright bents 

still in place, to nearly indiscernible with only a few timbers or spikes sticking out of the vegetation 

to indicate the past. Taken along with the grade, these remains still show the original location of 

the railroad on the landscape. 

While many of the skid trails were visible on the 1943 aerial photographs, on the ground the 

condition of these trails varies with some having donkey mounds spaced along the trail, along with 

anchor trees, stumps, or down log features 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

IV. Effects

A. Potential Effects & Mitigation Measures

The effects on cultural resource sites may vary with the type of site, as well as the type of project. 

Subsurface cultural materials may be more protected than standing structures, or cultural 

materials lying on top of the surface. In addition, all sites may be impacted by activities which 

draw people into an area, increasing the likelihood of vandalism, looting or incidental damage 

done through use of an area. 

Where avoidance of a significant cultural resource site is not possible, measures are developed to 

mitigate or limit the effects of the project. Where the loss of the site, or a portion of the site will 

occur, the loss can mitigated by data recovery or interpretation of the history of the site. Data 

recovery generally includes a synthesis of known information about the site, and a plan for further 

research to retrieve further information from the site. Further information may be retrieved 

through excavation and analysis of the results, or researching and documenting the relevant 

records and histories about the site. Interpretation of the site is generally intended to inform the 

public about the history of the area to provide greater enjoyment of their cultural environment. 

Limiting the extent of disturbance to a site could include modifying the operating season of a 

project so that soil disturbance is kept to a minimum, directional felling of trees, using certain 

techniques or technology, or limiting the area where operations can take place to only a portion of 

the site. 

B. Direct and Indirect Effects 

ALTERNATIVE 1 

Under this alternative, no actions are proposed and any previously recorded, or as yet 

undiscovered sites, would remain undisturbed. There are no identified on-going impacts to 

historic properties that will continue because of no action. 

ALTERNATIVES 2, 3 and 4 

The three Action Alternatives all propose to convert some of the railroad grades to classified 

roads. Alternative 2 proposes to convert the most railroad grade to road with four miles 

reconstructed as road. Alternative 3 proposes three miles of railroad grade to be reconstructed as 

road. Alternative 4 proposes one mile of railroad grade to be reconstructed as road. 

Where the railroad grades contain multiple tracks, the road building will be confined to one. Most 

of the features also lie along the old grades. Those features that retain some integrity will be 

avoided. In some cases timber may be removed from within the feature boundary by directional 

felling keeping equipment outside the feature. Skid trail features that still retain donkey mounds 

and other associated features will be avoided with perpendicular crossings where necessary. 

The Eden Ridge logging railroad provides an opportunity to bring interpretive displays to the 

public. This has already been recognized by the USFS and the town of Powers in the creation of 

the video When Everybody Was Working. In order to mitigate the impacts proposed, information 

about the early logging at Eden Ridge will be made available on the Rogue River-Siskiyou 

National Forest webpage. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

If additional sites are encountered in the course of additional inventory or during project 

implementation, Forest specialists would consult with the State Historic Preservation Office, as 

required by law, to determine the significance of the discovery and the effects of the project upon 

them. The Confederated Tribes of the Siletz would be included in these discussions where Native 

American sites are involved. Mitigation would be accomplished and may include avoidance of the 

sites, or scientific investigation. 

Consultation with SHPO 

Project area inventories and consultation with the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO) is in 

progress at this time (DEIS). Consultation will be completed for the Eden Ridge Timber Sales 

Project by the time of the Final EIS; a Record of Decision will not be rendered prior to completion 

of this consultation. 

C. Cumulative Effects 

Before the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 was implemented, project planning 

did not include consideration of impacts to historic properties. Any projects such as timber 

harvest, road building, fire suppression activities etc that occurred prior to this, had the potential to 

adversely impact historic properties, and many of these projects occurred in areas considered 

high probability for cultural resources. 

Since the 1970s, cultural resource inventories have been conducted to locate cultural resources 

prior to project implementation. The knowledge of sites found during earlier inventories, and the 

refinement of the inventory process to locate properties, currently allows impacts from projects to 

be avoided or mitigated. While natural deterioration is ongoing, the current condition and trend of 

the historic record is that historic properties are being protected from project impacts. Information 

from the sites, their location and nature help to inform about the history of the area. Knowledge of 

the location and condition of historic properties also allows the potential for management action to 

abate or mitigate natural processes which affect the historical record. 

Wild fire and suppression activities may impact cultural resources. Public actions on Forest 

Service lands have the potential to impact heritage resources. Generally these impacts are 

minimal because they are dispersed. However, when actions begin to concentrate impacts to 

known heritage resources, management actions can be taken to mitigate those impacts. 

Cumulatively, when considering past, proposed, and ongoing and foreseeable actions, the project 

will not exacerbate effects to historic properties. The post-project condition and trend will 

continue the current condition and trend which protects historic properties through inventory and 

project design so no historic properties are impacted by project implementation. 

C. Consistency with Regulatory Framework 

The guidelines of the Forest Plan and that of other jurisdictions were recognized in the 

development of all alternatives. In addition, the laws and policies that govern cultural resource 

management on Federal lands are coordinated with the State Historic Preservation Officer 

(SHPO) of Oregon, who serves in an advisory capacity. The policies of the Forest Service and 

the SHPOs are consistent. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

V. Consulting Parties

The Advisory Council of Historic Preservation (ACHP) oversees Cultural Resource Programs and 

Laws at the National level. They work with the State Historic Preservation Offices and resolve conflicts 

of determinations of significance or effects between the SHPOs and federal agencies. When 

significant cultural resources will be adversely affected, the Advisory Council works with the SHPO 

and federal agency to develop appropriate mitigation measures. 

The Oregon State Preservation Office (OR SHPO) reviews recommendations for site significance, 

and mitigation measures when sites cannot be avoided for sites located on the Gold Beach and 

Powers Ranger Districts. 

The Confederated Tribes of the Siletz (CTSI) have general concerns about the management of the 

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, including the area comprised of the Gold Beach Ranger 

District. The Gold Beach Ranger District lies within the aboriginal territory of several of the tribes who 

make up the CTSI. Project proposals are submitted to the CTSI to solicit their concerns during the 

planning phase under a government-to-government relationship. Where American Indian sites may 

be affected, mitigation measures are developed in consultation with the Confederated Tribes of the 

Siletz, as well as the State Historic Preservation Office. 

Coquille Indian Tribe have general concerns about the management of the Rogue River-Siskiyou 

National Forest, on the Powers Ranger District along the South Fork of the Coquille River. The 

Powers Ranger District lies within the aboriginal territory of the Coquille Indian Tribe. Project 

proposals in this vicinity are submitted to the Coquille Indian Tribe to solicit their concern during the 

planning phase under a government-to-government relationship. Where American Indian sites may 

be affected in this area, mitigation measures are developed in consultation with the Coquille Indian 

Tribe, as well as the State Historic Preservation Office. 

Smith River Rancheria have general concerns about the management of the Rogue River-Siskiyou 

National Forest especially along the Winchuk and Chetco Rivers. The south end of the Gold Beach 

Ranger District lies within the aboriginal territory of the Smith River Rancheria. Project proposals in 

this vicinity are submitted to the Smith River Rancheria to solicit their concern during the planning 

phase under a government-to-government relationship. Where American Indian sites may be affected 

in this area, mitigation measures are developed in consultation with them, as well as the State Historic 

Preservation Office. 

VI. Cultural Resource Laws & Regulations

36 CFR 60 describes the process for nominating sites to the National Register. Web. 01 December 

2010 

<http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr;sid=b42048a07bd6c7c745d457841af90950;rgn=

div5;view=text;node=36%3A1.0.1.1.26;idno=36;cc=ecfr>.

36 CFR 800 describes the process for meeting compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act 

(36 CFR CH VIII 7-1-93 Edition) Web. 01 December 2010 < http://www.achp.gov/regs-rev04.pdf>. 

American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 (AIRFA) requires agencies to make a good faith 

effort to learn about Indian religious practices and consider any adverse impacts on them in their 

decision-making practices. The consideration of intangible, religious, ceremonial, or traditional 

cultural values and concerns which cannot be tied to specific cultural sites/properties could be 

considered under AIRFA. Web. 01 December 2010 

<http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/documents/policy/statutes/American_Indian_Religous_F

reedom_Act.pdf>. 
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Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA) [16 USC 470aa - 470mm, PL 

96-96]provides for criminal and civil penalties for anyone collecting artifacts or damaging 

archaeological sites on federal lands without a federally issued permit to excavate for research 

purposes. Web. 01 December 2010 

<http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/documents/policy/statutes/ARPA_PL96-95.pdf>. 

Executive Order 11593 of 1971 provides for the protection and enhancement of the cultural 

environment. Web. 01 December 2010 

<http://www.apfo.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/eo11593.pdf>.

Executive Order 13007 of June 1996, Indian Sacred Sites directs Federal land managers to "(1) 

accomodate access to and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites by Indian religious practitioners and 

(2) avoid adversely affecting the physical integrity of such sacred sites". Furthermore it states that 

"where appropriate, agencies shall maintain the confidentiality of sacred sites". Web. 01 December 

2010 

<http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/documents/policy/executiveorders/EO13007_5_24_96.pdf>.

Forest Service Handbook (FSH 6209.13 11.2, 11.22) describes the exemption of the location and 

nature of archaeologic and historic sites from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. This 

Handbook chapter is currently being revised as of 12/01/2010. 

Forest Service Manual – Chapter 2360 Heritage Program Management (FSM 2360.1-2368.1)

clarifies Heritage Program direction and requirements to line officers. This includes direction on the 

confidentiality of cultural resource information. Available Web. 01 December 2010 

<http://www.fs.fed.us/cgi-bin/Directives/get_dirs/fsm?2300>.

National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as amended through2006 [16 USC 470] (NHPA) 

requires federal agencies to take into consideration the effects of their activities or permitted activities 

on cultural resources. The NHPA also requires management of historic properties. Web. 01 

December 2010 <http://www.achp.gov/docs/nhpa%202008-final.pdf>.

National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) Sites eligible for or on the National Register must be 

managed to protect and enhance their cultural value, or to mitigate their loss. Sites are determined 

eligible by their a) importance to major events or affairs of history, b) their association with people who 

played significant roles in history, c) characteristics unique to a style, period or event in history or d) 

their potential to yield more information about history. 

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA) recognizes the 

rights of the Indian Tribes and Native American organizations as caretakers of human remains, 

funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony with which they can demonstrate a 

reasonable biological or cultural affiliation. As part of this recognition, this statute conveys to such 

groups the rights to decide upon the disposition of such items. Web. 01 December 2010 

<http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/documents/policy/statutes/American_Indian_Religous_Freed

om_Act.pdf>.

VII. Agreements with SHPO and ACHP regarding Cultural Resources

Programmatic Agreement among the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service 

Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the 

Oregon State Historical Preservation Officer Regarding Cultural Resource Management in the 

State of Oregon by the USDA Forest Service (R6 PA), 2004 allows Forests meeting agreement 

conditions to streamline the Section 106 process as follows: 
Appendix J – Heritage Report Page J-15 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

o Allows programmatic review of undertakings, which by definition, would be considered 

undertakings, but typically have negligible potential to affect historic properties (appendix A). 

o Allows programmatic review of undertakings which may have some limited potential to affect 

historic properties, but may be inspected, monitored or otherwise identified (appendix B). 

o Allows programmatic review of activities that have no potential to cause effects to historic 

properties (appendix c). 

o Allows programmatic review of No Effect or Historic properties avoided projects 

VIII. References

Beckham, Stephen Dow

1978 Cultural Resource Overview of the Siskiyou National Forest. USDA Forest Service, Rogue 

River-Siskiyou National Forest, Medford, Oregon. 

Beckham, Stephen Dow, & Hartmann, Glenn D. 

1977 Cultural Resource Overview of the Eden Ridge Tract, Coos County, Oregon. USDA Forest 

Service, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Medford, Oregon. 

Lansing, William A. 

2007 Can‟t You Hear the Whistle Blowin‟: Logs, Lignite, and Locomotives in Coos County, 

Oregon 

Peterson, Emil R. and Alfred Powers 

1952 A Century of Coos and Curry: History of Southwest Oregon. Coos-Curry Pioneer and 

Historical Association, Coquille. Binfords & Mort, Publishers, Portland, Oregon. 

Robbins, William G. 

2006 [1998] Hard Times in Paradise, Coos Bay, Oregon Revised Ed. University of Washington Press, 

Seattle WA. 

USDA Forest Service.

1989 Land and Resource Management Plan, Siskiyou National Forest. Rogue River-Siskiyou 

National Forest, Medford, Oregon. 

 Xxxx When Everybody was working. PCI Image Works, Coos Bay, Oregon. 

Ward, B.H. 

1973 Logging on the Oregon Coast in Pacific News Volume 13 No. 9 

Oregon’s Future Seaport City 

1927 The Bend Bulletin. 2 December: 3 

The American Lumberman 

The Personal History and Public and Business Achievements of One Hundred Eminent Lumbermen 

of the United States 

1905 The American Lumberman: 630

The Personal History and Public and Business Achievements of One Hundred Eminent Lumbermen 

of the United States 

1911 The American Lumberman: 395-396 

Realization of a Great Commercial Dream. The World’s Most Advanced Example of a Lumber 

Manufacturing & Distributing Organization. 

1911 The American Lumberman. 11 November: 43-142
Appendix J – Heritage Report Page J-16 

Eden Ridge Timber Sales

Popular Lumberman Resumes Executive Direction of Big Coast Organization 

1922 The American Lumberman. 4 February: 58-59

The Timberman 

Mountain Logging in Southwestern Oregon 

1918 The Timberman. August: 33-36

Coos Bay District 

1918 The Timberman. January: 57-58

IX. Glossary

Area of potential effects (APE): "means the geographic area or areas within which an undertaking 

may directly or indirectly cause alterations in the character or use of historic properties, if any such 

properties exist. The area of potential effects is influenced by the scale and nature of an undertaking 

and may be different for different kinds of effects caused by the undertaking". [36 CFR 800.16 

incorporating amendments effective August 5, 2004] 

Cultural Resource Site: the physical remains of human activity (including historic and prehistoric 

artifacts, ruins, buildings, structures, burials, petroglyphs, etc.) having scientific or social values. See 

also "historic property". 

Indian Tribe: “means an Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including 

a native village, regional corporation or village corporation, as those terms are defined in section 3 of 

the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602), which is recognized as eligible for the 

special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as 

Indians.” [36 CFR 800.16 incorporating amendments effective August 5, 2004] 

Historic Property: "means any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object 

included in, or eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of Historic Places maintained by the 

Secretary of the Interior. This term includes artifacts, records, and remains that are related to and 

located within such properties. The term includes properties of traditional religious and cultural 

importance to an Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization and that meet the National Register 

criteria." [36 CFR 800.16 incorporating amendments effective August 5, 2004] 

National Register (NRHP): "means the National Register of Historic Places maintained by the 

Secretary of the Interior." [36 CFR 800.16 incorporating amendments effective August 5, 2004] 

Undertaking: "means a project, activity, or program funded in whole or in part under the direct or 

indirect jurisdiction of a Federal agency, including those carried out by or on behalf of a Federal 

agency; those carried out with Federal financial assistance; and those requiring a Federal permit, 

license or approval. [36 CFR 800.16 incorporating amendments effective August 5, 2004]