Burning is planned on 21,730 acres. Maximum levels of particulate and carbon monoxide pollutants would be 51 percent above present levels. Particulates would have significant adverse impact upon air quality locally for short periods throughout the year. 8.4.2 Soils 8.4.2.1 Erosion About 64,100 tons of soil would erode as a result of yarding, slash disposal and road construction activities. This is 64 percent below the amount of soil eroded from treated lands in the JKSYUS presently. Site-specific impacts would still be expected on some areas such as low-fertility sites. 8.4.2.2 Soil Productivity Compaction would result in a 14.8 percent loss of productivity on 6,540 acres that would not be ripped or otherwise treated to reduce compaction. This would be a significant adverse impact. 8.4.3 Water Resources 8.4.3.1 Water Yield Increased water yield from the BLM-administered lands would be 4,150 acre-feet per year. This is 61 percent less than increases from present activities and less than 1 percent below that which would occur with the proposed action. Streambank erosion would be reduced and channel stability improved when compared to present conditions with subsequent improvement in water quality. Overall yield from major watersheds, however, would not be significantly reduced. 8.4.3.2 Water Quality Sediment Yield Yarding, transportation, gross yarding and mechanical scarification activities would impact streams by adding 14,755 tons of sediment to them. This is 48 percent below the sediment added from BLM-administered lands presently and 2 percent less than the proposed action. This alternative would have significant adverse impacts on water quality in localized areas. ALTERNATIVE NO. 4 Chemical Quality An additional 20,440 pounds of nitrogen would be added to streams as a result of clearcutting, shelterwood harvest and slash burning. This represents an increase of less than 1 percent of that added from the areas prior to disturbance, an insignificant amount overall, but significant in localized areas. 8.4.4 Vegetation Adoption of the Forestry Program for Oregon recommendations would result in the following significant impacts to vegetation during the first decade: (a) Early successional stages would be initiated on approximately 28,600 acres based on clearcut and regeneration cut acres. (b) Removal of timber in the 70-200 year age classes would occur on approximately 6,675 acres on high intensity land. This constitutes about 5 percent of the existing timber in these age classes. (c) Old-growth timber (200+ years) would be removed on about 27,000 acres on high intensity lands. This accounts for approximately 27 percent of existing old-growth timber on high intensity lands. (d) Short-term destruction of surface vegetation due to yarding methods (including gross yarding) would occur on about 9,700 acres. This could lead to an increase in soil erosion on these acres. about (e) Complete long-term elimination of vegetation would occur on 1,770 acres based on new road construction with continued maintenance of these roads. 8.4.5 Animals During the first decade about 84,500 acres would be subjected to habitat modification through harvest, road building and thinning practices. In most cases, modification would be great enough to change the animal composition and density on those acres. Clearcutting and shelterwood regeneration harvest would cause about a 160 percent increase in early successional stage vegetation. This would benefit those species adapted to exist in this habitat type (see Table 2-6), and potentially could lead to a 160 percent increase in animals that use this habitat. Existing and newly created early successional stage habitat would be modified on 27,220 acres by herbicides used to eliminate competition with favored conifers. This would lower the value of these acres to many animal species by reducing plant structure, diversity and density. ALTERNATIVE NO. 4 About 27 percent of the old growth currently existing on the high intensity lands of the JKSYUS would be harvested during the first decade. This could result in a 27 percent reduction of old-growth dependent species such as the northern spotted owl, redback vole and pileated woodpecker on those lands. Old growth would be eliminated on the high intensity lands of the JKSYUS by the year 2028 if this alternative were implemented. The use of poison bait for gopher control would have an adverse impact to gophers on the 8,250 acres so treated. Worst case analysis discloses a total of 14,755 tons of sediment (see Section 8.4.3.2) could be deposited in the streams of the JKSYUs. This could be detrimental to an individual stream and its fishery resource, but it would be insignificant to the JKSYUs as a whole. No adverse impacts are expected to occur to any Federally listed threatened or endangered species. The Siskiyou Mountain salamander and the river otter (which are currently undergoing status review) and the northern spotted owl (a species the State of Oregon considers threatened) could have their habitat reduced or degraded. While individuals may be affected, the species would not be impacted (see Section 3.6.4). 8.4.6 Recreation Increasing timber management activity during the first four decades would correlate with increasing degradation and alteration of the recreation experience. High quality recreation opportunites would be most available during the first two decades. During the third and fourth decades, recreation resources would be adversely impacted by timber management and road construction activities. Approximately 29,748 acres of harvested land would be previously undisturbed areas. While hunting, camping and ORV use would probably increase; general sightseeing, fishing and miscellaneous use reductions would be expected. 8.4.7 Cultural Resources For the first four decades, increasing timber management activity and associated ground surface disturbance would cause some unidentified cultural sites to be inadvertently damaged or destroyed. 8.4.8 Visual Resources The effects of intensified old-growth harvest would adversely impact those people who appreciate the transcendent beauty of these specimens. Impacts of this alternative would be the same as those for the proposed action. Impacts would be the same as those of the proposed action. ALTERNATIVE NO. 5 8.4.10 Noise The impacts of noise intrusiveness would steadily increase until the fifth decade when a reduction in timber management activity is expected. 8.4.11 Ecologically Significant Areas Impacts would be the same as those of the proposed action. 8.4.12 Socioeconomic Conditions Average annual timber harvest within the Medford timber shed would be expected to be about 3 percent less than with current management both in the short term and the long term. Annual local employment and personal income generated by the annual harvest would be about 9 percent less than with current management while public revenues would be about 14 percent less. By the 1990's, these respective annual differences would amount to about 7 percent and 13 percent. Social impacts would be approximately equal to those of the proposed action. 8.4.13 Health This is a Herbicide use is planned on 27, 220 acres under this alternative. significant increase over the present situation where no herbicides are used, and an 8 percent decrease from the proposed action. The impacts to human health would be expected to be similar in nature to those of the proposed action. 8.4.14 Energy Use Total energy consumption would be approximately 1.376 trillion Btu's. 8.5 NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE NO. 5 This alternative specifies continuation of the current level of timber management. That means continuation of the present allowable cut of 21.93 MM cu. ANNUAL HARVEST VOLUME IN MM CU. FT. ALTERNATIVE NO. 5 ft. (128 MM bd. ft.) which was computed in 1970 from a commercial forest base of 327,270 acres. As shown in Figure 8-6, the combined JKSYUs can maintain this level of harvest for 10 decades. This alternative assumes continuation of the same level of management and, except for road construction, the same management practices as projected in 1970. For this alternative the level of road construction expected to take place during the next 10 years is assumed to be the same as that of the proposed action since the major road systems have already been completed in the JKSYUS. This alternative carries the assumption that the 70,360 acres removed from the base through timber production capability classification (TPCC) in the development of the proposal will not satisfactorily regenerate commercial timber when the existing timber is removed. Further, it is assumed that timber harvest activities would take place uniformly over the JKSYUs with equal emphasis on all commercial forest lands in the old base, including those which would not regenerate. 8-6 10 20 DECADES 30 Comparison of Proposed Annual Allowable Cut with Annual Allowable Cut Using Alternative No. 5 40 |