and biological capacity to produce timber. Criteria used to define TPCC classes are shown in Appendix C. Table 1-3 shows the results of TPCC in the JKSYUS. The purpose of TPCC is to identify commercial forest land which could be managed on a sustained yield basis. This land would form the timber production base for computation of the annual allowable harvest. As new data become available from intensive on-site analysis, management direction for future management plans may be altered on specific tracts. Analysis of TPCC data disclosed wide variation in production capability of commercial forest lands in the JKSYUS. Three timber management classes (high intensity, low intensity, and limited) reflecting this variation were identified and different management prescriptions are proposed for each management class. Table 1-1, summarizing the proposal, shows the area by management class, proposed annual harvest and management treatments prescribed to take place during the 10-year period. The order or sequence of treatments as listed is typical, although not every acre would necessarily receive the same combination of treatments. A discussion of treatments and sequence of treatments may be found in Section 1.3. 1.2.1.1 High Intensity Forest Management Lands The high intensity category may also be referred to as the timber production base. These commercial forest lands are suitable for continuous timber production with reasonable assurance of successful results from the application of intensive timber management practices. Approximately 16 percent of the high intensity lands possess soil, topographic and climatic conditions suitable for clearcut harvest techniques. Regeneration can be accomplished within 5 years of harvest with standard artificial reforestation methods. The remaining high intensity lands exhibit characteristics which would make regeneration within 5 years unlikely if they were clearcut. Two-stage shelterwood harvest technique is proposed for the majority of these these areas. Establishment of a new could be accomplished within 5 years of the regeneration cut under this prescription, using artificial reforestation methods. Approximately 4,000 acres of high intensity lands in the Klamath SYU are composed of multi-storied stands located in frost pockets or in areas with high populations of pocket gophers. Approximately 900 of these acres are recommended for single tree selection cutting during the decade. 1.2.1.2 Low Intensity Forest Management Lands Low intensity lands are commercial forest land by definition since they are capable of growing in excess of 20 cubic feet of commercial coniferous species per acre per year. They are not included in the timber production base for allowable cut determination because the regeneration period is expected to be in excess of 5 years after clearcutting or after the regeneration cut of a shelterwood regime. A one decade trial harvest program from low intensity lands is proposed to determine what practices, if any, might be effective to facilitate regeneration within the prescribed 5 year period, and to gather empirical data on the actual regeneration period. 1.2.1.3 Limited Forest Management Lands Approximately 44,260 acres of commercial forest land have only limited forest management potential. These lands are characterized by shallow rocky soils, extremely droughty conditions resulting in severe regeneration problems, highly erodible soils, high water tables, and/or very steep slopes. Regeneration time, if these lands were logged, would be considerably in excess of 5 years, and successful reforestation would be uncertain. No planned annual harvest is proposed from these lands because of probable site degradation. Harvesting would be restricted to mortality-salvage or road right-of-way timber if it should become necessary to construct roads through any limited management land. No volume figure is projected or included in the proposal. 1.2.2 Operations Inventory For BLM to carry out the timber management program effectively, specific information as to the location and current condition of the various forest types within the land base must be available to the managers. This is accomplished through the Operations Inventory (OI). The OI is an intensive inventory providing forest type maps which show the location and identification number of each homogeneous forest type island. Corresponding cards list acreage, silvicultural needs and opportunities for forest management practices such as overstory removal or thinning. Operations Inventory thus provides a basis for establishing priorities for treatment based on stand conditions and productivity. 1.2.3 1977 Reinventory A reinventory of commercial forest land in the JKS YUS was completed in 1977 employing procedures for extensive inventory jointly developed by the USFS and BLM (USDA, FS 1976). The reinventory uses the same basic inventory design as was used for determination of the present allowable cut, but with further refinement to include stratification of commercial forest land based on information obtained from the OI and TPCC. DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROPOSAL The reinventory indicates a forest distribution as displayed in Table 1-4. Age classes range from non-stocked, where reproduction has not been established, to 400 years. The age class distribution of the present forest is greatly out of balance when compared to that of a regulated forest. Whereas a regulated forest would have approximately equal areas for each age class, the present forest is as shown in Figure 1-3. 1.2.4 Other Resource Inventories Other inventories were conducted to identify and categorize specific resource capability and potential. A detailed soil survey for the entire Medford District was completed in December of 1975. Recreation planners applied portions of the BLM's Recreation Information System, an inventory approach for determining inherent potential of potential of the land to support various recreation activities. Visual resource specialists inventoried and classified the JKSYUs for visual and esthetic considerations. A review and compilation of known cultural resource data (Class I cultural resource inventory) has been completed for the JKSYUs. Wildlife biologists inventoried deer and elk winter range and spotted owl nest sites. Fisheries biologists conducted surveys of Class I and Class II streams. Botanical surveys for endangered, threatened, and rare plants were completed for the Medford district in August 1978. 1.2.5 Land Use Allocation The final step in determination of lands included in the proposal involved application of the Bureau planning system. After identifying resources and opportunities based on inventory data, BLM resource specialists make realistic recommendations to maximize their particular resource. Recommendations inevitably conflict on occasion. The identification and--where feasible --resolution of these conflicts is the heart of the BLM land use allocation process. All of the potential conflicts and possible ways to resolve these conflicts are analyzed. Those alternatives that best resolve conflicts while maintaining the maximum possible quality and quantity of all resource values involved are selected. The Medford District utilized this capability during the conflict analysis stage of the Management Framework Plan (MFP) process. Numerous alternative solutions to individual conflicts were considered prior to formulating the proposed action which was circulated for public review and comment in September 1978. Final decisions cannot be made until 30 days after a final environmental statement is filed with the Environmental Protection Agency. When final MFP decisions are made, they will form the management guidelines within which specific action plans are formulated. Annual or multiyear timber harvest, reforestation, herbicide, and other forest practice plans |