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Appendix A – Proposed Treatment Descriptions for the 

Action Alternatives

Proposed treatments for the Hwy 46 project area are thinning, gaps, skips, Dominant Tree Release (DTR), 

quality early seral habitat creation, sugar pine restoration (including shelterwood with reserves), meadow 

restoration, understory habitat enhancements, riparian treatments, hazardous fuels treatments.

Activities Common to Thinning

Thinning would maintain/increase the health and vigor of the remaining trees not harvested. Skips and 

gaps ranging between 1-3 acres (see Gaps, and DTR description below) would be placed in many of the 

stands to promote vertical and horizontal diversity (see Appendix B for a unit by unit prescription). 

Conifer trees would be removed through commercial thinning. Sugar pine would not be removed from the 

stand; however they may be cut for operational purposes. Generally, remnant large woody debris on the 

forest floor would be maintained or increased throughout the stand. Snags would be maintained on site if 

not a hazard to logging operations. Units in LSR will not have trees 20 inches dbh and greater harvested, 

unless they occur in gaps. Units not in LSR will not have trees 30 inches dbh and larger harvested. Either 

could have these trees cut for operational purposes, but not removed from the stand.

Project generated fuels may be removed with treatments such as piling and burning, underburning, 

firewood collection, whole tree harvesting or chipping. However, not every acre harvested would have 

fuels treatments prescribed. Areas which are projected to be below the standards and guidelines (FW-212 

and 252) presented by the Forest Plan would likely have minimal fuels treatments prescribed. All postharvest fuels treatments would reduce fuel loads within the stand.

Activities Common to Gaps and Quality Early Seral Habitat 

Retention trees would be left (see description below for specifics) in openings to function as legacy trees 

that would benefit a variety of resources. Live retained trees would be released to encourage large tree 

development, future snag creation, diversity in future stand structure, and development of future large 

down woody debris. 

Retention trees may be spaced both sparsely throughout the opening and also in clumps, increasing the 

diversity across the landscape. Emphasis would be placed on retaining multiple desired retention tree 

species where feasible. Live trees with ‘elements of wood decay’ may be selected as retention trees, 

which could include trees with features like dead tops, broken tops and heart rot. This would increase the 

diversity of the prescriptions across the landscape. 

Live retention trees may or may not be used as snag (wildlife) enhancement projects; however, retention 

trees meeting criteria for wildlife trees (i.e. having Phellinus pini conks or other elements of wood decay) 

would serve as a wildlife tree and offset the need for further enhancement. Snags would be maintained on 

site, if not a hazard to logging operations.

Harvest Treatment Descriptions

Thinning: The silvicultural prescriptions are designed to reduce tree density and inter-tree competition 

which will result in:

• Maintenance or improvement of stand health and vigor.
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• Acceleration of large diameter tree development due to enhanced growth.

• Increase structural and species diversity by allowing advanced regeneration to release into the 

mid and overstory.

• Increased shrub and herbaceous growth developing more understory complexity.

• Provide timber products to the local economy.

Most of the commercial thinning will be implemented using a Designation by Description (DxD) 

prescription. With this method, trees are designated as cut trees if they are within a given spacing of trees 

larger in diameter. For example, in a 15 foot DxD prescription, all smaller trees within 15 feet of the 

largest trees will be cut, leaving the largest trees spaced between 15 to 30 feet apart. This is essentially a 

“thin from below”, favoring the largest and most vigorous trees in the stand. Desired residual trees per 

acre as well as average diameter are used to calculate the spacing. Maximum diameter cut limits and 

species retention can be identified to protect relic old trees or minor species components.

A variety of thinning intensities are prescribed in this project. Heavier thinnings of 40-60 residual tpa are 

prescribed for stands with larger trees, as these trees need more space to grow than smaller ones. Most of 

the plantations are of similar age and structure and are prescribed thinnings to 70-90 tpa. A few of the 

youngest plantations will receive a thinning ranging from 80-110 residual tpa to allow the trees room to 

grow without lowering the canopy cover below 40% in riparian reserves.

Thinning to 40-100 tpa is prescribed to provide a wide range of canopy covers within the stands while 

still maximizing areas of stand and individual tree growth. This treatment is prescribed for some of the 

older stands that already have some species and structural diversity and will be applied with individual 

tree marking to ensure diversity retention and to allow for clumpiness desired for these stands. Unit 150 is 

prescribed a 60-100 thin due to its smaller average diameter and varied structure.

No Harvest Skips: No treatment areas, called skips, are proposed within the stands to promote 

complexity by providing variable density within and among stands. Skips can be areas left untreated due 

to 1) resource considerations such as protection buffers adjacent to streams and special habitat areas, 2) 

logistical considerations such as logging feasibility, 3) areas not in need of thinning or 4) leaving 

untreated areas embedded within a stand to promote complexity. This combination of treatment and no 

treatment will result in skips within the stands to promote variable density both at the stand scale and 

across the landscape.

Dominant Tree Release (DTR): Dominant tree release gaps (DTR) are proposed as a tool to promote 

complexity by providing variable density within stands, allowing for maximum tree growth, increased 

crown depth and expansion, enhanced species growth into the mid and overstory, as well as allowing for 

understory development. One or more dominant trees are left and all other trees within a radius of these 

tree(s) are removed, creating either a 1⁄4 acre gap or a 1⁄2 acre gap around the tree(s). If desirable advanced 

regeneration is present in the opening, than it is released by the treatment and grows into the overstory at 

a faster rate. If no advanced regeneration is present, than the appropriate species is planted. Generally for 

this project, 1⁄4 acre DTRs are created on northerly slopes where climax species such as western hemlock 

and western redcedar are present (planted if not present); while 1⁄2 acre gaps are created on southerly 

slopes and planted with seral species such as sugar pine, western white pine, or incense cedar. Climax 

species may be planted in the shady (southern) portions of these gaps as well. Stand selection for DTR 

placement is based on a variety of factors including plant association, stand structure, and land allocation.
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Wildlife Gaps: Gaps one to three acres in size are proposed to be located in twelve units (Units 6, 16, 18, 

21, 22, 23, 28, 32, 35, 47, 180, and 200). These gaps will contribute to the quality early seral habitat as 

described in Quality Early Seral Habitat below as well as adding species and structural complexity at both 

the stand and landscape level. Gaps would not be a conventional clear-cut treatment. The objective would 

be to leave some green trees in either scattered pockets and/or scattered throughout the opening postharvest. Seven to eight trees per acre of residual trees will be left in each gap. Gaps will be broadcast 

burned where practical and all will be planted with seral conifers. These retention trees would be released 

to grow to encourage large tree development, future snag development, diversity in future stand structure, 

and development of future large down woody debris. In 30 to 60 years the stand structure would be more 

complex with at least a two cohort stand making up the overstory. 

Visual Enhancement Gaps: To enhance scenic views, three gaps have been proposed in this project. 

Units 27 and 30 would each have a 1⁄2 acre “scallop” along the powerline corridor with residual overstory 

to soften the view of the straight line of the corridor. Unit 69 would have a 1/3 acre gap below road 46 to 

increase the view of Mt. Jefferson from the summit pull-out.

Meadow Restoration: The proposed treatment is to cut and remove most of the conifers within the 

boundaries of the historic meadow, leaving 7-8 tpa of larger live trees and retaining any relic conifers 

from before the fire. The reduction in water uptake by the trees currently there should help to restore 

moisture to portions of the meadow as well as reduce shade, allowing meadow plants to re-establish.

Sugar Pine Restoration: Proposed treatments aim to both protect and reinvigorate existing sugar pine as 

well as re-establishing it in areas suitable to its prolonged existence. Prescriptions will include 

shelterwood with reserve cuts, broadcast burning, planting of rust resistant stock, and pre-commercial 

regeneration release.

In the shelterwood with reserve cuts stands would be thinned to 10-20 or 20-30tpa, leaving the largest 

trees. Reserve trees would be spread across treatment area. Sugar pine or legacy trees would not be 

harvested. 

Quality Early Seral Habitat: The proposed regeneration harvesting will meet all Green Tree Retention 

guidelines outlined within the Northwest Forest Plan providing a minimum of 15% of each unit uncut in a 

combination of clumps and scattered trees (USDA, 1994). An average of 7-8 tpa of live larger trees will 

be left for snag recruitment. All units will be broadcast burned, planted at 150-200 tpa of seral species, 

and seeded with native grass species for big game forage. Some snags may also be created from the 

residual trees.

Post-Harvest Tree Planting

Reforestation would be expected to occur within five years of harvest, and occur from both tree planting 

and natural regeneration. Post-harvest densities would be sufficiently low to allow shade-intolerant 

species such as Douglas-fir to regenerate in addition to increasing diversity with the ingrowth of species 

such as western white pine and western red cedar. Slash and other debris would be utilized as shade and 

as a deterrent to browse by ungulates. Planting in identified root rot pockets would be species that are less 

susceptible to root rot like western red cedar, sugar pine, and white pine. No additional effects would be 

realized by completion of this project because planting has been accounted for in the Forest and Stand 

Structure analysis.

Quality early seral habitat units as well as gaps and some DTRs will be planted with the appropriate 

species. Spacing in units/gaps where early seral habitat is the objective will be planted at a wider spacing 

to keep the unit in the brush/forb stage as long as possible while still meeting the Willamette Forest Plan
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guidelines requiring a minimum of 150 trees per acre stocking after five years. DTRs will be planted if 

adequate advanced regeneration is not present after harvest.

Non-commercial Treatments

Understory Habitat Enhancement: These treatments include enhancement of understory vegetation and 

meadow enhancement. Units 54, 82, 89, 92, and 560 will thin conifers less than 7 inches dbh to reduce 

shading of ground vegetation. No commercial harvest of conifers is proposed for these units. The 

northwest portion of unit 73 is a dry meadow being encroached by Douglas-fir. Enhancement would 

involve falling and leaving the encroaching trees leaving approximately 190-220 tpa. Unit 560 has been 

partially treated for understory vegetation enhancement due to a fire line that was cut through the unit 

during the 2017 fire season. Some site rehabilitation and further treatment is necessary to achieve 

management objectives.

Riparian Treatments: Units 6, 100, 190, 430, and 520 would have conifers thinned to the stream bank 

for some the portions of streams. In addition, small gaps (less than 1⁄4 acre in size) would be created within 

these treatment areas in locations where it would be the most beneficial to hardwood release. Total acres 

of these gaps would not exceed 4 acres. All portions within the no-harvest buffers will be felled and left. 

Thinning intensities will match the prescription for the rest of the unit.

Hazardous Fuels Treatments: This prescription would reduce fuels in the Wildland-Urban Interface

through non-commercial methods. The primary objectives are to reduce ladder fuels and surface fuel 

loads (horizontal and vertical continuity). Stands with this treatment are generally older (>120yrs old) and 

would focus on cutting trees and shrubs no greater than 10 inches at dbh. Changes to the fuel and stand 

structure would reduce potential wildfire behavior in the Breitenbush Wildland-Urban Interface. 

Treatments include: cutting/thinning, hand piling and burning, chipping, mastication, or firewood.

Post-Harvest Fuels Treatments Description

Slash from logging would be reduced with a variety of methods. 

• Underburning: this would include both broadcast burning and jackpot burning. Variable retention 

regeneration and sugar pine restoration units would be treated with underburning as well as some 

of the wildlife gaps. Units with sugar pine in them would be protected from damage by pulling 

back slash and debris from the bole and by burning only in the fall.

• Grapple piling: a machine grapple is commonly used in ground based units to concentrate slash in 

piles away from standing trees. These piles are burned in the fall.

• Hand pile: this labor intensive treatment will generally be reserved for fuels treatment units 

adjacent to private property and other visually sensitive areas.

• Chipping: another slash disposal method used in visually sensitive areas and around structures.

The implementation of fuels treatment may vary in method from what is the proposed in the alternatives 

to meet standards and guidelines (i.e. grapple piling instead of underburning). However, the implemented 

fuels treatments would remain within the range of effects analyzed in the Environmental Impact 

Statement. 

Hand Treatments and Mechanical Treatment: Hand treatments require manually hand piling created 

slash that is ≥1 inch in diameter and ≥3 feet in length. Mechanical treatments use machines to pile or 

chip/mulch fuels. Slash piles may occur within the unit or at landing(s). Piles would generally be placed 
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in locations to minimize the damage of residual standing snags or live trees; however some piles could be 

located to cause tree mortality to create snags for wildlife habitat. Piles would then be burned at a later 

date after the slash has sufficiently dried and conditions would not allow fire to spread to surrounding 

area.

Hand, grapple, and landing piles are covered with approved plastic following construction. This creates a 

drier pocket of fuel in the middle of the pile and enables them to be burned in the late fall or early winter 

when there is very low risk of the piles spreading into other fuels. 

Post-Harvest Underburn: Post-harvest underburns are intended to reduce fuels created by harvest 

activities and help promote structural and biological diversity in stands. Underburning would comply with 

Forest Plan standards and guidelines in regards to consumption of fuels and maintaining down-woody 

material, duff cover, and snags. Spring-like burning conditions would reduce the risk of burning large 

woody material because of high moisture content and provide conditions for lower fire intensity meeting 

fuels treatment standards and guidelines. An objective for the post-harvest underburning would be to 

minimize overstory tree mortality; however, some mortality up to 10% would be acceptable. Mortality 

trees that occur adjacent to roads may be removed for safety reasons.

Roads Treatments

Road Maintenance: For all action alternatives, existing forest roads needed for harvest activity would be 

maintained to allow safe access to harvest areas and to reduce adverse impacts to resources. Road 

maintenance associated with haul routes would result in decreased maintenance cost, improved safety, 

and reduced potential for resource damage related to degraded roads that would be needed for current and 

future resource management. Road maintenance activities may include felling danger trees, clearing and 

grubbing, replacing drainage structures, asphalt pavement patching, repairing holes in the roadbed, 

reconstructing ditches, application of dust abatement material, and placement of aggregate surfacing. 

Temporary Road Construction and Decommissioning: Temporary roads would be created in both 

action alternatives. These roads would be placed in areas to minimize impacts to resources and would be 

decommissioned and seeded by the purchaser after use and before the sale is closed. Previously disturbed 

sites would be utilized where possible. The initial effects of the construction would be compacted soils; 

however those effects would be offset by decommissioning. The effects of decommissioning would be the 

same as subsoiling, and is generally beneficial to the residual stand because of reduced compaction and 

root growth, so increased growth is possible along skid trails and landings that have treatment.

Road Realignments: For all action alternatives, road realignments are needed to facilitate haul and for 

resource protection. In these circumstances, new portions of roads will be constructed by clearing of 

vegetation, installing ditches and drainage features, grading and compacting base material and surface 

material. The unused portion of the road will have drainage features removed and the footprint subsoiled 

and seeded. Forest Service construction standards will always be followed.

Short Lake Reroute: Post-sale activities along FSR 4600-040 would include the decommissioning of 

approximately 0.4 miles of FSR 040 will be decommissioned and rehabilitated to improve natural 

hydrologic function around Short Lake and reduce road maintenance. FSR 4600-059 would be realigned 

to provide access around the decommissioned portion of FSR 040.