Glossary

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Colville National Forest

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26240 Glossary

TERM DEFINITION

Active channel The portion of a stream channel commonly wetted during and above base 

flows, identified by a break in rooted vegetation or moss growth on rocks 

along stream margins (Taylor and Love 2003). The active channel is 

somewhat lower than bankfull and is sometimes called the ordinary high 

water mark.

Active floodplain The area bordering a stream that is inundated by flows at a surface elevation 

defined by two times the maximum bankfull depth measured at the thalweg. 

(Thalweg is a line drawn to join the lowest points along the entire length of a 

streambed in its downward slope, defining the deepest channel, thus making 

the natural direction or profile of a watercourse. The thalweg is almost 

always the line of fasted flow in any river).

Active restoration Deliberate activities to influence the processes needed to improve 

conditions. Investment of human actions of the ecosystem processes and 

functions. As an example, this might include seeding native grasses and 

planting native shrubs and trees, or thinning trees to restore fire regimes.

Activity A measure, course of action, or treatment that is undertaken to directly or 

indirectly produce, enhance, or maintain a desired condition or objective on a 

Forest, Grassland, Prairie, or other comparable administrative unit.

Animal unit month 

(AUM)

The amount of oven-dry forage required by 1 animal unit for a period of 30 

days. An animal unit is considered to be 1 mature cow, either dry or with calf 

up to 6 months in age. (Society for Range Management. 1998. (Society for 

Range Management 1998)

Aquatic ecological 

condition

The AEC is a model to evaluate the status of local populations of focal 

species and their habitat at the HUC12 or sub-watershed scale. The results 

are then aggregated to produce an ecological sustainability or viability 

outcome for each focal species at the subbasin (HUC 8) scale. It is 

described in the Process for Evaluating the Contribution of National Forest 

System Lands to Aquatic Ecological Sustainability (Reiss et al. 2008). 

Aquatic ecosystem Any body of water and its associated riparian area, and all organisms and 

non-living components within it functioning as a natural system. 

Assessment An analysis and interpretation of the social, economic, or ecological 

characteristics of an area using scientific principles to describe existing 

conditions as they affect sustainability.
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TERM DEFINITION

Biological legacy Organisms, organic matter and biologically created patterns that persist from 

the pre-disturbance ecosystem and influence recovery processes in the 

post-disturbance ecosystem.

Canopy closure The proportion of the sky hemisphere obscured by vegetation when viewed 

from a single point (Korhonen et al. 2006).

Canopy cover The proportion of the forest floor covered by the vertical projection of tree 

crowns (Korhonen et al. 2006).

Capability The potential of an area of land to produce resources, supply goods and 

services, and allow resource uses under an assumed set of management 

practices and at a given level of management intensity. Capability depends 

upon current conditions and site conditions such as climate, slope, landform, 

soils, and geology, as well as the application of management practices, such 

as silviculture or protection from fire, insects, and disease.

Characteristic fire When a fire occurs within the time, space, and severity parameters of the 

natural fire regime of the vegetation group (Hardy, 2005). Also, see 

uncharacteristic fire. 

Class I and II areas (air 

quality)

Class I areas defined under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 are 

afforded the highest level of protection from air pollutants in the nation. All 

other lands in the nation are designated as Class II areas.

Coarse filter/coarse 

filter management

Land management that addresses the needs of all associated species, 

communities, environments and ecological processes in a land area (see 

fine filter management). 

Coarse filter conservation focuses on assuring adequate representation of 

ecosystem diversity, and is generally accomplished by comparing the current 

condition of landscape structure and composition to a set of reference 

conditions. Management direction then addresses the landscape 

components that have departed from reference conditions to assure 

adequate representation across the plan area. A fine-filter approach may be 

needed if the coarse-filter does not adequately provide ecosystem conditions 

needed to maintain populations (Samson 2002) (see fine-filter).

Coarse woody debris Coarse woody debris consists of any woody material greater than three 

inches in diameter and is derived from tree limbs, boles, roots, and large 

(greater than 12 inches in diameter) wood fragments and fallen trees in 

various stages of decay. Provides living spaces for a host of organisms and 

serves as long-term storage sites for moisture, nutrients, and energy.

Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR)

The listing of various regulations pertaining to management and 

administration of the Colville National Forest. 
Glossary

Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

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TERM DEFINITION

Community (ecological) A group of organisms living together; any group of interacting organisms.

Connectivity See habitat connectivity. 

Core area/ core habitat A core area represents the closest approximation of a biologically functioning 

unit consisting of habitat that could supply all the necessary elements for 

every life stage (e.g., spawning, rearing, migratory and adult) and include 

one or more groups of bull trout (USFWS 2014)

Corridor (utility) See Transportation and utility corridors. 

Corridor (wildlife) Avenues along which wide ranging animals can travel, plants can propagate, 

genetic interchange can occur, populations can move in response to 

environmental changes and natural disasters, and threatened species can 

be replenished from other areas.

Cover Vegetation used by wildlife for protection from predators, or to ameliorate 

conditions of weather, or in which to reproduce. 

Hiding cover – vegetation consisting primarily of trees, capable of hiding 90 

percent of a standing adult animal from the view of a human at a distance of 

200 feet or less. 

Thermal cover – cover used by animals to ameliorate chilling effects of 

weather, for elk, a stand of coniferous trees 40 feet or taller with an average 

crown closure of 70 percent or more.

Critical (key) habitat Specific areas 

• within the geographical area occupied by the species at the time of 

listing, if they contain physical or biological features essential to 

conservation, and those features may require special management 

considerations or protection; and

• outside the geographical area occupied by the species if the agency 

determines that the area itself is essential for conservation

• http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/criticalhabitat.htm

Crossing (structure) That point in a linear feature (i.e., trail, road, stream) where the feature 

intersects and continues past another feature (i.e., a road crosses over or 

through a stream). Crossing structures are human-made structures that 

facilitate the ability of an animal to travel across a road and reduce the 

likelihood of a collision with a vehicle.

Cultural resources Such resources as archeological, historical, or architectural sites, structures, 

places, objects, ideas, and traditions that are identified by field inventory, 

historical documentation, or other evidence and that are important to 

specified social or heritage groups or scientific and management endeavors. 
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TERM DEFINITION

Cumulative effects The combined effects of two or more management activities. The effects 

may be related to the number of individual activities, or to the number of 

repeated activities on the same piece of ground. Cumulative impacts can 

result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place 

over a period of time.

Decommission (roads) Activities that result in restoration of unneeded roads to a more natural state 

through reestablishment of vegetation and restoration of ecological 

processes interrupted or adversely affected by the unneeded road (FSM 

7734).

Designated Monitoring 

Area (DMA)

A representative Designated Monitoring Area is a monitoring site in a 

riparian complex that is representative of a larger area. The DMA should be 

placed in the most sensitive complex responsive to management influences. 

(MIM Technical Reference 1737-23, 2011)

Designated route A National Forest System (NFS) road or an NFS trail on NFS lands that is 

designated for motor vehicle use pursuant to 36 CFR 212.1 on a motor 

vehicle use map.

Desired conditions The social, economic, and ecological attributes toward which management 

of the land and resources of the plan area are to be directed. Desired 

conditions are aspirations and are not commitments or final decisions 

approving projects and activities, and may be achievable only over a long 

period (36 CFR 219.7).

Desired landscape 

character

Appearance of the landscape to be retained or created over time, 

recognizing that a landscape is a dynamic and constantly changing 

community of plants and animals. Combination of landscape design 

attributes and opportunities, as well as biological opportunities and 

constraints. (Landscape Aesthetics-A Handbook for Scenery Management, 

Agriculture Handbook Number 701, December 1995, USDA Forest Service)

Developed recreation 

site

Distinctly defined area where facilities are provided for concentrated public 

use; e.g., campgrounds, picnic areas, boating sites, and ski areas.

Diameter at breast 

height (d.b.h.)

The diameter of a standing tree at a point 4 feet, 6 inches from ground level.

Dispersed recreation Outdoor recreation that takes place outside developed recreation sites.
Glossary

Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

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TERM DEFINITION

District population 

segment (DPS)

• The term “DPS” is used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 

to refer to regional subgroups of bull trout and is the term used in the 

Endangered Species Act to describe subunits of species that are eligible 

for listing, or to describe subgroups of species that could be delisted 

separately by meeting specific recovery objectives identified in a Species 

Recovery Plan.

Disturbance A discrete event that changes existing plant and wildlife community 

composition or structure, and interrupts, changes, or resets the ongoing 

successional sequence.

Disturbance processes Stresses and agents that influence ecosystem dynamics and processes 

operating within known resilience parameters. Stresses and agents can 

include invasive species, fire, changes in climate, weather events (wind, ice), 

pollution, and timber harvest.

Disturbance regime Any recurrent disturbance that tends to occur in a forested area. It is often 

defined in terms of timing, frequency, predictability, and severity. (Puettmann 

et al. 2009)

Diversity The distribution and abundance of different plant and animal communities 

and species within an area. 

Ecological conditions Components of the biological and physical environment that can affect 

diversity of plant and animal communities and the productive capacity of 

ecological systems. These components could include the abundance and 

distribution of aquatic and terrestrial habitats, roads and other structural 

developments, human uses, and invasive, exotic species. (36 CFR 219.16) 

Ecological health

(ecosystem health)

The state of and ecosystem in which processes and functions are adequate 

to maintain diversity of biotic communities commensurate with those initially 

found there.

Ecological restoration The process of assisting the recovery of resilience and adaptive capacity of 

ecosystems that have been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. Restoration 

focuses on establishing the composition, structure, pattern, and ecological 

processes necessary to make terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems 

sustainable, resilient, and healthy under current and future conditions. (FSM 

2000 Chapter 2020).

Ecosystem An interacting system of organisms considered together with their 

environment; for example, marsh, watershed, and lake ecosystems. 

Ecosystem diversity The variety and relative extent of ecosystem types, including their 

composition, structure, and processes, within all or a part of an area of 

analysis. (36 CFR 219.16) 
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TERM DEFINITION

Ecosystem health

(ecological health)

A condition where the parts and functions of an ecosystem are sustained

over time and where the system’s capacity for self-repair is maintained, such 

that goals for uses, values, and services of the ecosystem are met. 

(www.icbemp.gov )

Ecosystem services Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. For 

example, healthy ecosystems provide:

• The stuff of life – food, fresh water, timber, and fiber for clothing.

• Protection from extreme weather, floods, fire, and disease.

• Regulation of the Earth’s climate.

• Filtration of wastes and pollutants.

• Regeneration of clean air, water, and soil.

• Inspiration, recreation and spiritual sustenance, and support for a 

way of life. (Island Press 2007)

Edaphic Relating to, or determined by, conditions of the soil, especially as it relates to 

biological systems; soil characteristics, such as water content, pH, texture, 

and nutrient availability that influence the type and quantity of vegetation in 

an area. 

Effect (impact), 

economic

The change, positive or negative, in economic conditions, including the 

distribution and stability of employment and income in affected local, 

regional, and national economies that directly or indirectly results from an 

activity, project, or program.

Effect (impact), 

physical, biological

The change, positive or negative, in the physical or biological conditions that 

directly or indirectly results from an activity, project, or program.

Effect (impact), social The change, positive or negative, in social and cultural conditions that 

directly or indirectly results from an activity, project, or program.

Endangered species Any species of animal or plant that is in danger of extinction throughout all or 

a significant portion of its range. An endangered species must be designated 

by the Secretary of Interior as endangered in accordance with the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973.
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TERM DEFINITION

Evaluation An appraisal and study of social, economic, and ecological conditions and 

trends relevant to a unit. The analysis of monitoring data that produces 

information needed to answer specific monitoring questions. Evaluation may 

include comparing monitoring results with a predetermined guideline or 

expected norm that may lead to recommendations for changes in 

management, a land management plan, or monitoring plan. Evaluations 

provide an updated compilation of information for use in environmental 

analysis of future project and activity decisions.

Even-aged management The application of a combination of actions that results in the creation of 

stands in which trees of essentially the same age grow together. Managed 

even-aged forests are characterized by a distribution of stands of varying 

ages (and, therefore, tree sizes) throughout the forest area. An even-aged 

stand of trees is one in which there are only small differences in age among 

the individual trees. Regeneration in a particular stand is obtained during a 

short period at or near the time that a stand has reached the desired age or 

size for regeneration and is harvested. Clearcut, shelterwood, or seed tree 

cutting methods produce even-aged stands.

Fine filter management Management that focuses on the welfare of a single or only a few species 

rather than the broader habitat or ecosystem (see coarse filter 

management). Coarse and fine-filter management approaches are generally 

complimentary to provide ecological conditions that support ecosystem and 

species diversity.

Fire intensity A general term relating to the heat energy released by a fire.

Fire management Activities required for the protection of burnable wildland values from fire and 

the use of prescribed fire to meet land management objectives.

Fire regime Description of the patterns of fire occurrences, frequency, size, severity, and 

sometimes vegetation and fire effects as well, in a given area or ecosystem. 

A fire regime is a generalization based on fire histories at individual sites. 

Fire regimes can often be described as cycles because some parts of the 

histories usually get repeated, and the repetitions can be counted and 

measured, such as fire return interval. (NWCG. 2008)

Fire severity The degree to which a site has been altered or disrupted by fire. A product of 

fire intensity, fuel consumption, and residence time.

Floodplain Lowland and relatively flat area adjacent to rivers and streams, formed from 

river sediments that are subject to recurring flooding.
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TERM DEFINITION

Focal species Those species whose abundance, distribution, health, and trend over time 

and space are indicative of the functioning of the larger ecological system 

(Committee of Scientists. 1999. USDA Forest Service).

Focal species serve an umbrella function in terms of encompassing habitats 

needed for other species, are sensitive to the changes likely to occur in the 

area, or otherwise serve as an indicator of ecological sustainability. The 

long-term sustainability of the focal species is assumed to be representative 

of a group of species with similar ecological requirements and this group is 

assumed to respond in a similar manner to environmental change.

Forage All browse and non-woody plants available to livestock or wildlife for grazing 

or harvestable for feed.

Forb Any herb other than grass.

Forest health The perceived condition of a forest derived from concerns about such factors 

as its age, structure, composition, function, vigor, presence of unusual levels 

of insects and disease, and resilience to disturbance. Perception and 

interpretation of forest health are influenced by individual and cultural 

viewpoints, land management objectives, spatial and temporal scales, the 

relative health in stands that comprise the forest, and the appearance of the 

forest at a point in time.

Forest land Land at least 10 percent occupied by forest trees of any size or formerly 

having had such tree cover and not currently developed for non-forest use. 

Lands developed for non-forest use include areas for crops, improved 

pasture, residential or administrative areas, improved roads of any width and 

adjoining road clearing, and power line clearings of any width. (36 CFR 

219.16)

Forest products, 

commercial use (nontimber harvest)

The sale of special forest products to commercial entities.

Forest products, 

firewood, commercial 

use

The sale of firewood, a type of special forest product, to commercial entities. 

Forest products, 

firewood, permitted 

personal use

The collection of firewood, a type of special forest product, for personal, noncommercial use.
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Colville National Forest

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TERM DEFINITION

Forest road or trail A road or trail wholly or partly within or adjacent to and serving the National 

Forest System that the Forest Service determines is necessary for the 

protection, administration, and utilization. (Title 36, Code of Federal 

Regulations, Part 212—Administration of the Forest Transportation System, 

section 212.1.)

Fuels Any material that will carry and sustain a forest fire, primarily natural 

materials, both live and dead.

Goods and services The various outputs, including on-site uses, produced from forest and 

rangeland resources.

Grazing allotment Area designated for the use of a certain number and kind of livestock for a 

prescribed period of time.

Grizzly bear core 

habitat

An area of secure habitat within a bear management unit that contains no 

motorized travel routes or high use non-motorized trails during the nondenning season and is more than 0.3 miles (500 meters) from a drivable 

road. Core areas do not include any gated roads but may contain roads that 

are impassible due to vegetation or constructed barriers. Core areas strive to 

contain the full range of seasonal habitats that are available in the bear 

management unit.

Grizzly bear 

management unit 

(GBMU)

Areas established for use in grizzly bear analysis. GBMUs generally (a) 

approximate female home range size; and (b) include representations of all 

seasonal habitat components.

A subunit of the Selkirk Grizzly Bear Recovery Area. Each BMU is intended 

to approximate the size of a female grizzly bear home range, include some 

portion of all seasonal habitats, and not cross political boundaries of land 

management agencies. Boundary lines follow natural features such as 

rivers, streams, and watershed boundaries; and man-made features such as 

roads, ownership and Public Land Survey System (PLSS) section lines. A 

project analysis unit upon which direct, indirect and cumulative effects 

analyses are performed.

Groundwaterdependent system 

(ecosystem)

An area that requires access to groundwater to maintain its community of 

plants, animals, and processes. Examples include springs, seeps, fens, and 

wetlands. 

Guidelines Information and guidance for project and activity decision making to help 

achieve desired conditions and objectives in the plan area.

Habitat capability The estimated ability of an area, given existing or predicted habitat 

conditions, to support a wildlife, fish, or plant population. It is measured in 

terms of potential population numbers.
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TERM DEFINITION

Habitat connectivity A measure of the ability of organisms to move among separated patches of 

suitable habitat (Hilty et al. 2006), and is important for providing the longterm viability of populations (Hanski 2002), and for allowing species to 

respond to changing climate (Heller and Zavleta 2009). Landscape features 

influence how of if a species can move. These may include natural features 

such as topography or land cover, or human created features such as 

highways or roads.

Habitat effectiveness A measurement of the effect of human access on wildlife and wildlife habitat. 

In this proposal habitat effectiveness is analyzed as an index of the amount 

of habitat that is impacted by human access for a given species. Generally, 

two types of indices (measures) are used to assess the impacts of roads and 

trails on wildlife habitats: (1) the density of travel routes (e.g., miles of 

route/square miles of habitat) or (2) the zone of influence. The zone of 

influence refers to the distance on each side of a road or trail within which 

habitat use by a species of interest is affected by the human use that occurs 

on the road or trail. Both density and zone of influence are determined by 

species-species research (see Gaines et al. 2003 for a review).

Heritage resources Archaeological and historic sites, structures, buildings, artifacts, sacred sites, 

and traditional cultural properties identified through research, field inventory, 

and historic documentation that are important to the American public and 

American Indian Tribes.

High quality habitat Habitat that completely satisfies a species life history (e.g., food, shelter, 

security) requirements. 

Historical range of 

variability

Refers to the dynamic behavior and functioning of ecosystems before 

dramatic changes occurred with European settlement, generally considered 

to be the mid-1800s for this area (Aplet and Keeton 1999). The historical 

range of variability provides a framework to determine changes to ecosystem 

attributes that have occurred between historical and current conditions and 

recognizes that ecosystems experience a range of conditions across which 

processes are resilient and self-sustaining

Horizontal cover That portion of a tree or shrub that grows horizontally (parallel to the ground) 

out from the main trunk/stem of the plant (i.e., a tree bough) and provides 

cover up to approximately 5 to 7 feet above the ground. Horizontal cover 

refers to the stems/boughs that are used by snowshoe hares and are 

subsequently considered foraging habitat for lynx.
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TERM DEFINITION

Hydrologic unit (HU) 

system

A nested-hierarchical classification of hydrologic units (watersheds) 

delineated national by the United States Geological Survey with six levels of 

classification of successively smaller hydrologic units. Individual hydrologic 

units are denoted numerically by a unique hydrologic unit code, with the 

number of digits within the code based on the level of classification, and both 

a general hydrologic unit name, and a specific name. The following table 

shows the classification, names, # of digits in the code, level of classification, 

average size, and an example of name and number of at each level of 

classification from the hydrologic hierarchy of the Ninemile subwatershed. 

Hydrologic 

Unit (HU) 

name 

# of digits 

in HUC 

HU Level Average 

Size (sq. 

miles) 

Example 

Name 

Example Number 

Region 2 1st 180,000 Pacific 

Northwest 

Region 

17

Subregion 4 2nd 17,000 Upper 

Columbia 

Subregion 

1702 

Basin 6 3rd 10,000 Upper 

Columbia Basin 

170200

Subbasin 8 4th 700 Sanpoil 

Subbasin 

17020004

Watershed 10 5th 227 

(40,000-

250,000 

acres) 

Upper Sanpoil 

Watershed 

1702000401

Subwaters

hed (SWS) 

12 6th 40 

(10,000-

40,000 

acres) 

Ninemile 

Subwatershed 

170200040107

Hydrologically 

connected road

A segment of road that is connected to the natural stream channel network 

via surface flow (Flanagan et al. 1998). Roads that are hydrologically 

connected deliver water, sediment, and chemicals generated on the road 

surface directly to the stream channel network. 

Indicator A measure or measurement of an aspect of a sustainability criterion. A 

quantitative or qualitative variable that can be measured or described and, 

when observed periodically, shows trends. Indicators are quantifiable 

performance measures of outcomes or objectives for attaining criteria 

designed to assess progress toward desired conditions. 

Inner gorge An area where a stream has incised into a hillslope or valley bottom where 

surface materials may be unstable or erodible. The top of the inner gorge 

occurs where the slope of the wall breaks to <50 percent.

Instream flow Water flowing in a stream channel. Instream flow is used to designate a 

specific stream flow measured in cubic feet per second (cfs) at a particular 

location for a defined time for protection and preservation of fish, wildlife, 

recreation, and other non-consumptive water uses in a waterway.
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TERM DEFINITION

Interdisciplinary team 

(ID Team)

A group of people that collectively represent several disciplines and whose 

duty is to coordinate and integrate the planning activities.

Invasive species Non-native species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or 

environmental harm or harm to human health. Non-native species are any 

species, including its seeds, eggs, spores, or other biological material 

capable of propagating that species, that is not native to that ecosystem 

(with respect to a particular ecosystem). (EO13112)

Inventoried roadless 

area

Areas identified in a set of inventoried roadless area maps, contained in the 

Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation, Final Environmental Impact 

Statement, Volume 2, dated November 2000, and any subsequent update or 

revision of those maps through the land management planning process. (36 

CFR 294.11)

Issue Issues may be considered as: (1) A potential factor for determining need for 

change for a plan; (2) Specific resource concerns about a proposed action 

under NEPA (FSM 1950); (3) Points of contention or disagreement; or (4) A 

subject or question of widespread public interest about management of the 

National Forest System. 

Key habitat (grizzly 

bear)

Vegetation components that are crucial for grizzly bear survival, such as 

Whitebark pine, riparian habitats, berry-producing shrub fields, natural 

meadows, and forest cover.

Key watershed Key watersheds are a network of watersheds designated at the 

subwatershed scale (6th field, HUC12), to serve as strongholds for important 

aquatic resources or having the potential to do so. They are areas crucial to 

threatened or endangered fish and aquatic species of concern and/or 

interest, and/or areas that provide high quality water important for 

maintenance of downstream populations. Management emphasizes 

minimizing risk and maximizing restoration or retention of ecological health. 

Landscape A heterogeneous land area composed of interacting ecosystems evaluated 

at a broad scale to facilitate understanding of process, composition, 

structure, and pattern. In most cases this will be at a scale of a 5th field HUC, 

at10’s of thousands of acres, to provide an understanding of coarse filter 

broad scale interplay and dynamics of soils, climate, fire, insects, hydrology, 

genetics, large home range wildlife, and vegetation. 

Landscape character Particular attributes, qualities, and traits of a landscape that give it an image 

and make it identifiable and unique. (Agricultural Handbook Number 701)

Large woody debris Large pieces of relatively stable woody material located within the bankfull 

channel and appearing to influence bankfull flows.
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TERM DEFINITION

Life history 

requirements

Habitat and other environmental conditions need to support the series of 

living phenomena exhibited by an organism in the course of its development 

from inception to death. This includes seasonal behaviors and daily routines 

of juvenile and adults of the species.

Lynx analysis unit 

(LAU)

An area of at least the size used by an individual lynx, from about 25 to 50 

square miles. A project analysis unit upon which direct, indirect and 

cumulative effects analyses are performed.

Listed species (TE) Listed species (TE) are those listed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service as threatened or 

endangered under the ESA (FSH 1909.12, 43.22a).

Maintenance level 

(roads)

Maintenance levels define the level of service provided by, and maintenance 

required for, a specific road. Maintenance levels must be consistent with 

road management objectives and maintenance criteria. The objective 

maintenance level is the maintenance level to be assigned at a future date 

considering future road management objectives, traffic needs, budget 

constraints, and environmental concerns. The objective maintenance level 

may be the same as, or higher or lower than, the operational maintenance 

level. (FSH 7709.59)

Management area A specifically identified area on National Forest System lands to which 

specific plan components (desired conditions, objectives, identification of 

suitable and unsuitable land uses, or special designations) are applied. 

Management direction A statement of multiple-use and other goals and objectives, the associated 

management prescriptions, and standards and guidelines for attaining them.

Management indicator 

species (MIS)

A species selected because its welfare is presumed to be an indicator of the 

welfare of other species using the same habitat. A species whose condition 

can be used to assess the impacts of management actions on a particular 

area.

Management practice A specific activity, measure, course of action, or treatment.

Management 

prescription

Management practices and intensity selected and scheduled for application 

on a specific area to attain multiple-use and other goals and objectives.

Mechanized Wheeled forms of transportation (including non-motorized carts, 

wheelbarrows, bicycles and any other non-motorized, wheeled vehicle).
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TERM DEFINITION

Mechanical transport Any contrivance for moving people or material in and over land, water, or air, 

having moving parts that provides a mechanical advantage to the user and 

that is powered by a living or non-living power source. This includes, but is 

not limited to, sailboats, hang gliders, parachutes, bicycles, game carriers, 

carts, and wagons. It does not include wheelchairs when used as necessary 

medical appliances. It also does not include skis, snowshoes, rafts, canoes, 

sleds, travois, or similar primitive devices without moving parts. (FSM 

2320.3)

Minerals – leasable Coal, oil, gas, phosphate, sodium, potassium, oil shale, Sulphur, and 

geothermal resources.

Minerals - locatable Those hardrock minerals that are mined and processed for the recovery of 

metals. They also may include certain nonmetallic minerals and uncommon 

varieties of mineral materials, such as valuable and distinctive deposits of 

limestone or silica.

Minimum impact 

suppression tactics 

(MIST) 

The concept of minimum impact suppression tactics is to use the minimum 

amount of forces necessary to effectively achieve fire management 

protection objectives. It implies a greater sensitivity to the impacts of 

suppression tactics and their long-term effects, when determining how to 

implement an appropriate suppression response. Fire managers and 

firefighters select tactics that have minimal impact to values at risk. These 

values are identified in approved Land or Resource Management Plans. 

Standards and guidelines are then tied to implementation practices which 

result from approved Fire Management Plans. Minimum impact suppression 

tactics is not intended to represent a separate or distinct classification of 

firefighting tactics but rather a mindset of how to suppress a wildfire while 

minimizing the long-term effects of the suppression action on other 

resources. The principle of fighting fire aggressively but providing for safety 

first will not be compromised in the process and when selecting an 

appropriate suppression response, firefighter safety must remain the highest 

concern.

Mitigation measures Modifications of actions taken to: (a) avoid impacts by not taking a certain 

action or parts of an action; (b) minimize impacts by limiting the degree or 

magnitude of the action and its implementation; (c) rectify impacts by 

repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment; (d) reduce or 

eliminate impacts over time by preservation and maintenance operations 

during the life of the action; or, (e) compensate for impacts by replacing or 

providing substitute resources or environments.

Monitoring A systematic process of collecting information to evaluate changes in 

actions, conditions, and relationships over time and space or progress 

toward meeting desired conditions or plan objectives.
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TERM DEFINITION

Motor Vehicle Use Map A map reflecting designated roads, trails, and areas on an administrative unit 

or a ranger district of the National Forest System (36 CFR 212.1).

National Forest System 

(NFS)

All national forest lands reserved or withdrawn from the public domain of the 

United States; all national forest lands acquired through purchase, 

exchange, donation, or other means; the national grasslands and land 

utilization projects administered under Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm 

Tenant Act (50 Stat. 525, 7 U.S.C. 1010-1012), the Midewin Tallgrass 

Prairie, and other lands, waters, or interests therein which are administered 

by the Forest Service or are designated for administration through the Forest 

Service as a part of the system. (16 U.S.C. 1608) 

National visitor use 

monitoring program 

(NVUM)

To gain a better understanding of the recreation use, importance of, and 

satisfaction associated with national forest recreation opportunities, the 

Forest Service embarked on the national visitor use monitoring project 

(NVUM) in the late 1990s. Each survey is conducted over the course of one 

year (October 1 – September 30) and includes questions regarding visitor 

use (activities), expenditures on recreation activities, and user satisfaction 

associated with the activities, settings, and infrastructure used while visiting 

the Forest.

Objectives Concise projections of measurable, time-specific intended outcomes. The 

objectives for a plan are the means of measuring progress toward achieving 

or maintaining desired conditions. Like desired conditions, objectives are 

aspirations and are not commitments or final decisions approving projects 

and activities. (36 CFR 219.7) 

Occupied habitat An area that is currently being used by a species for one or more parts of its 

life history (such as nesting, foraging, roosting, denning). This area will 

receive repeat use and the animal is not simply travelling through to 

somewhere else.

Off-highway vehicle 

(OHV)

Any motor vehicle designed for or capable of cross-country travel on or 

immediately over land, water, sand, snow, ice, marsh, swampland, or other 

natural terrain. (36 CFR 212.1)

Open motorized trail Trails that are passable by motorcycles or all-terrain vehicles and are not 

legally restricted.

Overstory That portion of the trees in a forest of more than one story, forming the upper 

or uppermost canopy layer.

Outstandingly 

remarkable value (wild 

and scenic rivers)

A river-related value that is a rare, unique, or exemplary feature that is 

significant at a comparative regional or national scale.
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TERM DEFINITION

Patch (patch size) A patch is a relatively uniform area of vegetation that differs from its 

surroundings (NCSSF 2005). Patch size is influenced by disturbance history, 

vegetation dynamics, topographic position, and soils.

For fisheries, a patch or patch size is the connected length of stream 

available to the focal species. Habitat patches within the subbasin are 

delineated by aggregating all connected stream kilometers of occupied 

habitat.

Plan area The National Forest System lands covered by a plan. (36 CFR 219.16)

Plan components Broad guidance in a plan that identifies desired conditions, objectives, 

standards, guidelines, suitability of areas, and special areas.

Plan set of documents The complete set of documentation supporting the land management plan. It 

may include, but is not limited to, evaluation reports, documentation of public 

involvement, the plan including applicable maps, applicable plan 

improvement documents, applicable NEPA documents, and the monitoring 

program for the plan area.

Planned fire (planned 

ignition)

An intentionally ignited fire with the intent to achieve specific objectives. A 

planned fire is generally covered under a NEPA decision document 

specifying a specific location, burning conditions, operational and 

management objectives, and monitoring measures. Includes all prescribed 

fire including pile burning slash piles. Also, see unplanned fire.

Planning period The time interval within the planning horizon that is used to show 

incremental changes in yields, costs, effects, and benefits (generally 15 to 

20 years).

Population (ecological) Organisms of the same species that occur in a particular place at a given 

time.

Population viability The likelihood of continued existence of a well-distributed population or 

species for a specific period. For most scientific analyses, the period is 

100 years. For example, high viability is a high likelihood of continued 

existence of well-distributed populations for a century or longer.

Potential wilderness 

area

Inventoried lands within National Forest System lands that satisfy the 

definition of wilderness found in section 2(c) of the 1964 Wilderness Act. 

(FSH 1909.12, chapter 70, 01/31/2007) 

Primitive recreation Those recreation activities that are non-motorized and do not involve 

mechanical transport. Examples include hiking, horseback riding, hunting, 

canoeing, and cross-country skiing.
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TERM DEFINITION

Project An organized effort to achieve an objective identified by location, activities, 

outputs, effects, times, and responsibilities for execution.

Project design The process of developing specific information necessary to describe the 

location, timing, activities, outputs, effects, accountability, and control of a 

project.

Proper functioning 

condition

Proper functioning condition is a concept used to assess natural habitat 

forming processes of riparian and wetland areas (Pritchard et al. 1998). 

Systems in a properly functioning condition are dynamic and resilient to 

disturbance to structure, composition and processes of their biological and 

physical components. Primary elements typically include hydrologic 

characteristics, physical structure/form, vegetative characteristics, water 

quality and quantity, and aquatic/riparian biological community 

characteristics. The general methodology to assess properly functioning 

condition provides an integrated measure of condition and can be used at a 

variety of scales from individual reaches to watersheds. 

Public access Usually refers to a road or trail route over which a public agency claims a 

right-of-way for public use.

Public involvement

(public participation)

A Forest Service process designed to broaden the information base upon 

which agency approvals and decisions are made by: (a) informing the public 

about Forest Service activities, plans, and decisions, and (b) encouraging 

public understanding about and participation in the planning processes that 

lead to final decision making.

Public issue A subject or question of widespread public interest relating to management 

of the National Forest System.

Public participation See public involvement. 

Range allotment A designated area containing land suitable and available for livestock 

grazing use upon which a specified number and kind of livestock are grazed 

under an approved allotment management plan. It is the basic management 

unit of the range resource on National Forest System lands administered by 

the Forest Service.

Rangeland Land on which the indigenous vegetation (climax or natural potential) is 

predominately grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, or shrubs, and is managed 

as a natural ecosystem. If plants are introduced, they are managed similarly. 

Rangeland includes natural grasslands, savannas, shrub lands, many 

deserts, tundras, alpine communities, marshes, and meadows.
Proposed Revised Land Management Plan

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TERM DEFINITION

Reach A relatively homogenous section of stream having a repetitious sequence of 

habitat types and relatively uniform physical attributes such as channel 

slope, habitat width, habitat depth, streambed substrate and degree of 

interaction with its floodplain. (PNW Region 6 Stream Inventory Handbook 

[2010 version 2.1])

Record of decision 

(ROD)

A document separate from but associated with an environmental impact 

statement that states the decision; identifies all alternatives, specifying which 

were environmentally preferable; and states whether all practicable means to 

avoid environmental harm from the alternative have been adopted, and if 

not, why not. (40 CFR 1505.2)

Recovery unit (bull 

trout)

Bull trout recovery units are the major units for managing recovery efforts; 

each recovery unit is described in a separate chapter in the recovery plan. 

Most recovery units consist of one or more major river basins. Several 

factors were considered in identifying recovery units, for example, biological 

and genetic factors, political boundaries, and ongoing conservation efforts. In 

some instances, recovery unit boundaries were modified to maximize 

efficiency of established watershed groups, encompass areas of common 

threats, or accommodate other logistic concerns. Recovery units may 

include portions of mainstem rivers (e.g., Columbia and Snake rivers) when 

biological evidence warrants inclusion. Biologically, bull trout recovery units 

are considered groupings of bull trout for which gene flow was historically or 

is currently possible. (USFWS 2013).

Recreation opportunity An opportunity for a user to participate in a preferred activity within a 

preferred setting, in order to realize those satisfying experiences which are 

desired. 

Recreation opportunity 

spectrum

A framework of land delineations that identifies a variety of recreation 

experience opportunities categorized into classes on a continuum. The 

spectrum’s continuum has been divided into six major classes for Forest 

Service use: Urban (U), Rural (R), Roaded Natural (RN), Semi-Primitive 

Non-Motorized (SPNM), Semi-primitive Motorized (SPM), and Primitive (P). 

(FSM 2311)

Recreation residence A privately owned dwelling within an established recreation residence tract 

or group on National Forest System land, authorized for maintenance and 

use under a special use permit. A vacation structure authorized for the 

purpose of facilitating the use and enjoyment of related National Forest land 

and recreation resources by holders, their families, and guests. A recreation 

residence is not intended for use as the primary or permanent residence of 

the owner. (FSM 2340.5)
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TERM DEFINITION

Recreation sites Specific places in the Forest other than roads and trails that are used for 

recreational activities. These sites include a wide range of recreational 

activities and associated development. These sites include highly developed 

facilities like ski areas, resorts, and campgrounds. It also includes dispersed 

recreation sites that have few or no improvements but show the effects of 

repeated recreation use.

Reforestation The natural or artificial restocking of an area with forest trees; most 

commonly used in reference to artificial restocking.

Refugia Locations and habitats that support populations of organisms that are limited 

to small fragments of their previous geographic range (i.e., endemic 

populations). (FEMAT)

Regional Forester The official responsible for administering a single Forest Service region.

Regulated timber 

production

The technical (rather than legal or administrative) aspect of controlling forest 

stocking, periodic harvests, growth, and yields to meet management 

objectives including sustained yield. This control can be done either by area, 

volume of growing stock, or basal area measures. A regulated forest 

reaches sustained yield when the volume cut periodically equals the amount 

of net volume growth for that same period.

Rehabilitation A short-term management alternative used to return existing visual impacts 

in the natural landscape to a desired visual quality. 

Resilience The capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while 

undergoing change so as to still retain essentially the same function, 

structure, identity, and feedbacks. (FSM 2000, Chapter 2020)

Responsible official The official with the authority and responsibility to oversee the planning 

process and to approve plans, plan amendments, and plan revisions. (36 

CFR 219.16)

Restoration The process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been 

degraded, damaged, or destroyed. It is an intentional activity that initiates or 

accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity, 

and sustainability.

Reviewing officer The supervisor of the responsible official. The reviewing officer responds to 

objections made to a plan, plan amendment, or plan revision prior to 

approval. (36 CFR 219.16)
Proposed Revised Land Management Plan

Colville National Forest

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TERM DEFINITION

Riparian area Areas adjacent to rivers, streams, seeps, springs, and wetlands that are 

shaped and maintained by water table height, flooding, scour, and soil 

deposition. Riparian areas provide habitat for aquatic and upland plants and 

animals, and provide shade, bank stability, and runoff filtration 

Riparian-dependent 

resources

Resources that owe their existence to the riparian area

Riparian ecosystem An ecosystem whose components are directly or indirectly attributed to the 

influence of surface and groundwater (www.icbemp.gov), located adjacent to 

rivers, streams, and other hydrologic features. Riparian ecosystems 

encompass both the river and adjacent floodplain, and provide the transition 

between the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem.

Riparian Habitat 

Conservation Area / 

Riparian management 

area

Lands along permanently flowing streams, ponds, lakes, wetlands, seeps, 

springs, intermittent streams, and unstable sites that may influence these 

areas where management activities are designed to maintain, restore or 

enhance the ecological health of aquatic and riparian ecosystems and 

dependent resources. 

Road A motor vehicle route over 50 inches wide, unless identified and managed as 

a trail. 

Road construction FSM 7705 defines road construction or reconstruction together as the 

supervising, inspecting, actual building, and incurrence of all costs incidental 

to the construction or reconstruction of a road (36 CFR 212.1).

Road decommissioning Activities that result in restoration of unneeded roads to a more natural state 

see decommissioning. (FSM 7734)

Road maintenance Ongoing upkeep of a road necessary to maintain or restore the road in 

accordance with its road management objectives. (FSM 7714)

Roadless area See inventoried roadless area

Scenic integrity 

objective (SIO)

The scenic integrity objectives serve as the desired conditions for the scenic 

resources and represent the degree of intactness of positive landscape 

attributes. SIOs are categorized into 5 levels. The highest scenic integrity 

ratings are given to those landscapes where valued landscape attributes will 

appear complete with little or no visible deviations evident. Lower SIOs are 

given to those landscapes where modifications to the landscape will be more 

evident.
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TERM DEFINITION

Self-sustaining 

population

Populations that are sufficiently abundant, interacting, and well distributed in 

the plan area, within the bounds of their life history and distribution of the 

species and the capability of the landscape, to provide for their long-term 

persistence, resilience and adaptability over multiple generations. 

Sensitive species Those species of plants or animals that have appeared in the Federal 

Register as proposed for classification and are under consideration for 

official listing as endangered or threatened species, that are on an official 

state list, or that are recognized by the Regional Forester as needing special 

management to prevent their being placed on federal or state lists.

Seral stage A biotic community that is a developmental, transitory stage in an ecological 

succession.

Sidecast Placement of unconsolidated excavated material from road construction and 

maintenance over the downhill side of the road.

Silvicultural practices Activities that control the establishment, composition, structure, and function 

of forested ecosystems.

Slope distance A measure of distance along a slope. 

Snag A standing dead tree usually greater than 5 feet in height and 6 inches in 

diameter at breast height (d.b.h.).

Source water protection 

area habitat

Source water is untreated water from streams, rivers, lakes or underground 

aquifers that provides public drinking water. A source water protection area 

is the land area contributing to a public water system where potential 

contamination could affect drinking water supply. Those characteristics of 

macrovegetation that contribute to stationary or positive population growth. 

Distinguished from habitats associated with species occurrence: such 

habitats may or may not contribute to long-term population persistence 

(Wisdom et al. 2000).

Special areas Areas in the National Forest System designated for their unique or special 

characteristics. (36 CFR 219.7)

Special forest products Products collected from National Forest System lands that include, but are 

not limited to, bark, berries, boughs, bryophytes, bulbs, burls, Christmas 

trees, cones, ferns, firewood, forbs, fungi (including mushrooms), grasses, 

mosses, nuts, pine straw, roots, sedges, seeds, transplants, tree sap, 

wildflowers, fence material, mine props, posts and poles, shingle and shake 

bolts, and rails. Special forest products do not include sawtimber, pulpwood, 

non-sawlog material removed in log form, cull logs, small roundwood, house 

logs, telephone poles, derrick poles, minerals, animals, animal parts, insects, 

worms, rocks, water, and soil (36 CFR part 223 Subpart G).
Proposed Revised Land Management Plan

Colville National Forest

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TERM DEFINITION

Special use 

authorization

A permit, term permit, lease, or easement that allows occupancy, use, rights, 

or privileges of National Forest System land.

Species-at-risk All ESA listed TES , SOC and SOI form a suite of species recognized as 

potentially sensitive to management actions from which focal species are 

chosen to serve as surrogates for assessing current conditions and potential 

effects of alternatives to other aquatic vertebrate and invertebrate species, 

and other species-at-risk. The criteria, established in FSH 1909.12 Chapter 

43.22, determine how species–at-risk are sorted.

Species of concern 

(SOC)

Species of concern are species for which the responsible official determines 

if management actions may be necessary to prevent listing under the ESA. 

Identified species of concern may include entities such as distinct population 

segments or evolutionarily significant units that may be listed under the ESA.

Species of interest 

(SOI)

Species-of-interest (SOI) are species for which the responsible official 

determines that management actions may be necessary or desirable to 

achieve ecological or other multiple-use objectives (FSH 1909.12, 43.22c).

Species viability A viable population is one for which the number and distribution of 

reproductive individuals would “insure its continued existence”. (1982 

Planning rule)

Standards Constraints upon project and activity decision-making explicitly identified in a 

plan as ‘standards.’ Standards are established to help achieve the desired 

conditions and objectives of a plan and to comply with applicable laws, 

regulations, Executive orders, and agency directives (36 CFR 219.7(a)(3). A 

standard differs from a guideline in that a standard is a strict design criteria, 

allowing no variation, whereas a guideline allows variation if the result would 

be equally effective. (FSH 1909.12)

Stewardship Natural resource management emphasizing careful and conscientious use 

and conservation of resources and ecosystems in a sustainable manner. 

Structural Stage Tree structure is classified into five general groups based on diameter and 

canopy cover. The diameter is based on the quadratic mean diameter in 

inches of trees whose heights are in the top 25 percent of all tree heights in 

the stand. This generally means that the diameters of the larger co-dominant 

trees in a stand are used to define the structure class.

Structural Stage – Early Trees less than 10 inches d.b.h.

6 or canopy cover less than 10 percent

Structural Stage – Mid 

Open

Trees 10 to 20 inches d.b.h., canopy cover between10 and 40 percent

 6 d.b.h. = diameter at breast height.
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Colville National Forest

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TERM DEFINITION

Structural Stage – Mid 

Closed

Trees 10 to 20 inches d.b.h., canopy cover 40 percent or greater

Structural Stage – Late 

Open

Trees 20 inches or greater d.b.h., canopy cover between 10 and 40 percent

Structural Stage – Late 

Closed

Trees 20 inches or greater d.b.h., canopy cover 40 percent or greater

Subbasin A watershed with a drainage area of approximately 800,000 to 

1,000,000 acres, equivalent to a 4th-field hydrologic unit code (HUC8). 

Hierarchically, subwatersheds are contained within a 5th-field watershed, 

which are contained within subbasins. (ICBEMP) See Hydrologic Unit 

System

Subwatershed A watershed with a drainage area of 10,000 to 40,000 acres, equivalent to a 

6th-field Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC12). Hierarchically, subwatersheds are 

contained within 5th-field watersheds, which are contained within subbasins. 

(ICBEMP) ) See Hydrologic Unit System

Succession The sequential replacement over time of one plant community by another, in 

the absence of major disturbance. The different stages of succession are 

often referred to as seral stages. Developmental stages are as follows: 

Early seral: Communities that occur early in the successional path and 

generally have less complex structural developmental than other 

successional communities. Seedling and sapling size classes are an 

example of early seral forests. 

Mid-seral: Communities that occur in the middle of the successional path. 

For forests, this usually corresponds to the pole or medium saw timber-size 

growth stages. 

Late-seral: Communities that occur in the later stage of the successional 

path with mature, generally larger individuals, such as mature forests.

Suitable habitat Habitat that currently has both the fixed and variable attributes for a given 

species habitat requirements. Variable attributes change over time and may 

include seral stage, cover type and overstory canopy cover.

Suitability The appropriateness of a particular area of land for applying certain resource 

management practices, as determined by an analysis of the existing 

resource condition and the social, economic, and environmental 

consequences and the alternative uses foregone. A unit of land may be 

suitable for a variety of individual or combined management practices. 

Surrogate species Intended to represent ecological conditions that generate sustainable 

ecosystems
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TERM DEFINITION

Sustainability Meeting needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of 

future generations to meet their needs. Sustainability is composed of 

desirable social, economic, and ecological conditions or trends interacting at 

varying spatial and temporal scales embodying the principles of multiple-use 

and sustained-yield.

Thermal cover Cover used by animals to lessen the effects of weather; for elk, a stand of 

coniferous trees 12 meters (40 feet) or more tall with an average crown 

closure of 70 percent or more; for deer, cover may include saplings, shrubs, 

or trees at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall) with 75 percent crown closure. 

Threatened species Any species of animal or plant that is likely to become an endangered 

species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of 

its range and which has been designated in the Federal Register by the 

Secretary of Interior as a threatened species. 

Timber harvest The removal of trees for wood-fiber use and other multiple-use purposes.

Timber harvest as a tool Areas where timber harvest is allowed to be used to reach multiple-use 

objectives, but regulated timber production is not a suitable use.

Timber harvest, 

scheduled production

Lands where regulated timber production is suitable.

Timber production The purposeful growing, tending, harvesting, and regeneration of regulated 

crops of trees to be cut into logs, bolts, or other round sections for industrial 

or consumer use (36 CFR 219.16). In addition, managing land to provide 

commercial timber products on a regulated basis with planned, scheduled 

entries.

Transportation and 

utility corridor

A parcel of land, without fixed limits or boundaries, which is used as the 

location for one or more transportation or utility right-of-ways. (36 CPR 

219.3)

Transportation system The system of National Forest System roads, national forest trails and 

airfields on National Forest System lands. (36 CFR 212.1)

Travel management Travel management decisions include adding a route to or removing a route 

from the forest transportation system, constructing an National Forest 

System road or National Forest System trail, acquiring an National Forest 

System route through a land purchase or exchange, decommissioning a 

route, approving an area for motor vehicle use, or changing allowed motor 

vehicle classes or time of year for motor vehicle use. (FSM 7715)

Unauthorized roads or 

trails

A road or trail that is not a forest road or trail or a temporary road or trail and 

that is not included in a forest transportation atlas. (36 CFR 212.1)
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Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

Colville National Forest

767

TERM DEFINITION

Uncharacteristic fire Any fire that occurs outside the time, space, and severity parameters of the 

natural fire regime for the vegetation group.

RCW 76.06.020(16), “ecologically atypical for a forest or vegetation type or 

plant association and refers to fire, insect or disease events that are not 

within a natural range of variability.”

WDNR. 2012. Staff Report: Forest Health Technical Advisory Committee. 

Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

Understory reinitiation Establishment of tree regeneration as older trees occupy less than full 

growing space.

Uneven-aged 

management

The application of a combination of actions that results in the creation or 

maintenance of stands with several different ages of trees. Managed 

uneven-aged forests are characterized by a distribution of tree ages 

throughout the forest area. An uneven-aged stand of trees is one in which 

there are differences in age among the individual trees. Group selection, 

variable density thinning, and shelterwood with reserves are methods that 

produce uneven-aged stands (Helms 1998)

Unplanned fire Any unplanned non-structural fire. Any unplanned fire may be concurrently 

managed for one or more objectives and those objectives can change as the 

fire spreads across the landscape, encountering new fuels, weather, social 

conditions, and governmental jurisdictions. Current policy requires that all 

arson fires be suppressed.

Unroaded Unroaded areas are large and contiguous areas, usually over 5,000 acres, 

with no Forest Service System roads. They provide a recreational setting 

without Forest Service System roads. 

Utility and 

transportation corridors

See Transportation and utility corridors. 

Variable density 

thinning

A type of variable retention harvest system that retains structural elements 

and biological legacies (snags, logs, trees) from the harvested stand for 

incorporation into the new stand to achieve various ecological objectives 

(Helms 1998)
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TERM DEFINITION

Vegetation 

management

Activities designed primarily to promote the health of forest vegetation in 

order to achieve desired results. When vegetation is actively managed, it 

means that it is manipulated or changed on purpose by humans to produce 

desired results. Where active management of vegetation is required, 

techniques are based on the latest scientific research and mimic natural 

processes as closely as possible. Vegetation management is the practice of 

manipulating the species mix, age, fuel load, and/or distribution of wildland 

plant communities within a prescribed or designated management area in 

order to achieve desired results. It includes prescribed burning, grazing, 

chemical applications, biomass harvesting, and any other economically 

feasible methods of enhancing, retarding, modifying, transplanting, or 

removing the aboveground parts of plants.

Watershed The area of land where all contributing water drains to a single defined outlet 

point. (FEMAT, IX-39). Watersheds occur and are categorized at various 

scales, described in the Hydrologic Unit system definition. 

A watershed is also the 5th field hydrologic unit within the Hydrologic Unit 

system. Fifth-field watersheds classified by the Hydrologic Unit system are 

approximately 250,000 acres. Hierarchically, 5th-field watersheds, are 

contained within subbasins, and contain subwatersheds. 

Watershed condition 

class

Watershed condition is the state of physical and biological characteristics 

and processes within a watershed that affect the hydrologic and soil 

functions supporting aquatic ecosystems (Potyondy and Geier 2010). Three 

classes are used to describe watershed condition (FSM 2521.1):

• Class 1: Functioning properly--watersheds exhibit high geomorphic, 

hydrologic, and biotic integrity relative to their natural potential 

condition;

• Class 2: Functioning at risk--watersheds exhibit moderate 

geomorphic, hydrologic, and biotic integrity relative to their natural 

potential condition;

• Class 3: Impaired function--watersheds exhibit low geomorphic, 

hydrologic, and biotic integrity relative to their natural potential 

condition.

Change in watershed condition class through focused restoration activities is 

the nationally consistent measure to demonstrate improvement in watershed 

condition on NFS lands.
Glossary

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Colville National Forest

769

TERM DEFINITION

Wetlands Areas that are inundated by surface or ground water with a frequency and 

duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do 

support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil 

conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar 

areas. 

Wild and scenic rivers Those rivers or sections of rivers designated as such by congressional 

action under the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, as supplemented and 

amended, or those sections of rivers designated as wild, scenic, or 

recreational by an act of the Legislature of the State or States through which 

they flow. Wild and scenic rivers may be classified and administered under

one or more of the following categories: 

1. Wild River Areas-- Those rivers or sections of rivers that are free of 

impoundments and generally inaccessible except by trail, with watersheds or 

shorelines essentially primitive and waters unpolluted. These represent 

vestiges of primitive America. 

2. Scenic River Areas-- Those rivers or sections of rivers that are free of 

impoundments, with watersheds still largely primitive and shorelines largely 

undeveloped, but accessible in places by roads. 

3. Recreational River Areas-- Those rivers or sections of rivers that are 

readily accessible by road or railroad, that may have some development 

along their shorelines, and that may have undergone some impoundment or 

diversion in the past.

Wilderness An area of National Forest System land designated by Congress and 

wilderness is defined in sec. 2(c) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131-

1136). The term wilderness is applied to all National Forest System lands 

included in the National Wilderness Preservation System. (FSM 2320.5) 

Wilderness resource 

spectrum (WRS)

A spectrum of wilderness conditions including finer gradations of naturalness 

and solitude mapped as pristine, primitive, semi-primitive, and transition. 

WRS is a kind of zoning where different management prescriptions apply. 

Wildland-urban 

interface (WUI)

Wildland-urban interface (WUI) is defined as “the line, area, or zone where 

structures and other human development meet or intermingle with 

undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels” (NWCC 2012). 

In applying Title I of Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) (P.L. 108-148), 

this term means: 

• An area within or adjacent to an at-risk community identified in 

recommendations to the Secretary in a Community Wildfire 

Protection Plan (CWPP), 

or, in the case of any area for which a CWPP is not in effect: 
Proposed Revised Land Management Plan

Colville National Forest

770

TERM DEFINITION

• An area extending 1⁄2 mile from the boundary of an at-risk 

community; an area within 1 1⁄2 miles of the boundary of an at-risk 

community including any land that has a sustained steep slope that 

creates the potential for wildland fire behavior endangering the atrisk community, has a geographic feature that aids in creating an 

effective firebreak, such as a road or ridgetop, or is in Condition 

Class 3, as documented by the Secretary in the project-specific 

environmental analysis; and an area that is adjacent to an 

evacuation route for an at-risk that the Secretary determines (in 

cooperation with the at-risk community) requires hazardous fuel 

reduction to provide safer evacuation. 

When not using Title I of the HFRA, use the definition of wildland-urban 

interface community from the Federal Register, January 4, 2001, pages 752 

to 753. 

Winter Range The area available to and used by wildlife (big game) during the winter 

season (Dec 1 to April 30). Generally, lands below 4,000 feet in elevation, on 

south and west aspects, that provides forage and cover.