Management Goals & Treatments
A team of natural resource specialists from the Flathead National Forest/Coram Experimental Forest and regional scientists participated in a three-day workshop in June 2016 to develop the ASCC treatments for the site. The team developed a set of management objectives, desired future conditions, and silvicultural tactics for each adaptation option:
maintain relatively unchanged conditions over time
Management Goals:
Maintain pre-treatment species composition and structure of western larch and mixed conifer, but with slightly decreased representation of shade-intolerant species
Sustain vigor of existing desirable trees
Maintain fire-resistant trees with thick bark, high crowns, and low canopy bulk density
Maintain low surface fuels
Maintain tree health with low incidence of insects and diseases
Strategies & Approaches:
Uniform thin of retaining shade-intolerant conifer species to 75-85 ft2/acre
Favor western larch retention
Reduce ladder fuels and burn slash piles
allow some change in current conditions, but encourage eventual return to original conditions
Management Goals:
Increase proportion and development of long-lived, fire-adapted species
Maintain genetic diversity via large diameter, long-lived trees and planting tree improvement seed
Enhance spatial and structural heterogeneity
Maintain high productivity and supply of wood products at regular intervals
Promote development of large-diameter, long-lived trees to promote old-growth characteristics
Reduce hazard of crown fire
Maintain low surface fuels
Maintain low levels of insects and diseases
Maintain and improve forage production
Strategies & Approaches:
Use group selection to create 2-4 acre openings with feathered edges, retaining 6-8 seed tree clumps per acre in openings, favoring retention of western larch and western white pine
Uniform thinning to 75-85 ft2/acre in the matrix
Plant western larch and western white pine in group openings (2-4 acre)
Slash and/or remove damaged trees to facilitate site preparation
Reduce ladder fuels and burn slash piles
actively facilitate change to encourage adaptive responses
Management Goals:
Increase proportion and development of the most fire-adapted and drought-tolerant species and genotypes (30% western larch, 25% western white pine, 35% ponderosa pine, and 10% other (i.e. Douglas-fir, aspen, paper birch))
Enhance spatial and structural heterogeneity
Maintain high productivity and supply of timber products at regular intervals
Promote development of large-diameter long-lived trees (average 10-16 trees per acre) in clumps with scattered trees
Maintain low level of insects and diseases
Reduce hazard of crown fire and spread by reducing ladder fuels
Maintain low surface fuels
Maintain and improve forage production
Strategies & Approaches:
Seed tree cut with reserves, leaving 6-8 scattered seed tree clumps of western larch and western white pine per acre
Plant tree improvement seed of western larch, western white pine, and ponderosa pine (assisted range expansion, species not on site) from high, mid, and low elevations
Slash and/or remove damaged trees to facilitate site preparation
Reduce ladder fuels and burn slash piles