FIRE MANAGEMENTFire management is directed by the Alaska Inter-agency Fire Management Plan for the Matanus-ka/Susitna area2. Fire management practices,including suppression priorities and prescribedburning, are designed to implement the landmanagement policies laid out in the land use plansfor this area.The highest level of protection from wildfire isgiven to critical protection areas (see Map 3, page18). These are populated areas and areas withphysical developments. In this region, criticalprotection areas include the roaded area from Pal-mer to Willow, the Talkeetna and Trapper Creekareas, and cabin sites scattered through the valley.Most of the remaining lowlands are in the nextlevel of protection, the full protection zone. Thethird level of protection, the modified action area,applies to the Susitna Flats State Game Refuge, thehigh elevation areas from Mount Susitna to BelugaMountain, the lower slopes of the Talkeetna Moun-tains, upper Lake Creek, and the Happy Rivervalley. In the area affected by the Susitna ForestryGuidelines, only the upper Skwentna drainagereceives the lowest level of protection — a limitedaction area. See Appendix A - Glossary for definitionsof the protection levels.

This section sets guidelines that apply throughoutthe SFG area. These guidelines cover timber saledesign, harvesting systems and schedules, slashdisposal, site preparation, and reforestation, anduse of chemicals for forest management.

PUBLIC USETimber harvest areas will be available for publicuse except when special restrictions are necessaryto protect public safety, prevent damage to naturalresources including regrowth, or protect the safetyof the operator and security of the operator'sequipment or materials.See also:

Road Management -Public Usein Section IV of this chapter.

2 ADNR. 1986. Alaska Interageney Fire Management Plan-Mat/Su Planning Area. Anchorage, AK. 51 pp.+ maps

TIMBER SALE DESIGNOverall Intent Forest management in the SusitnaForestry Guidelines area is intended to create andmaintain a mosaic of age classes that will providefor a mixture of cut and uncut areas to provide andprotect fish and wildlife habitat, and produce tim-ber. Forests will also be managed to provide areasfor public recreation in a variety of settings (alsoAppendix E - Recreation Opportunity Spectrum). Tomeet this intent, DOF will use the practicesdescribed hi this section when designing timbersales. These general guidelines may be varied on asite-by-site basis by DOF in consultation with DFG.Multiple Use. Forested lands open to timber harvest-ing shall be managed in a manner consistent withthe maintenance of the site-specific conditionsnecessary for multiple use and with the manage-ment intent for the subunit.Cut and Leave Areas. To ensure that adequate year-round cover is available to meet wildlife speciesneeds, harvests will be designed to leave no lessthan 40% of the cover habitat in each subunit incover at all times. Leave areas can be cut after theoriginal harvests regenerate enough to function ascover habitat similar to the uncut areas. All buffersset aside from harvesting that meet the criteria forcover habitat (see Appendix A - Glossary) are in-cluded in the cover area calculations. Vegetationleft as cover habitat may contain either commercialforests or non-commercial vegetation, but must besuitable cover. Visual quality and recreation needswill also be considered in determining what per-centage of cover to retain hi each subunit.The DNR Division of Forestry, after interagencyreview with the DNR divisions of Land and Parksand Outdoor Recreation and the Department ofFish and Game, will determine the rotation age,reentry timing, and species composition for eachstand. These decisions will be based on co-primarydesignations and management intent, site charac-teristics, markets, habitat conditions, and objec-tives for wildlife management, recreation, andvisual quality within the stand and in the sur-rounding forest. (See Appendix E - Recreation Oppor-tunity Spectrum for the Susitna Forestry GuidelinesArea for the range of recreation opportunities andsetting considered in the SFG.)Rsh and Wildlife. DFG will identify the main fishand wildlife species managed in each timber salearea. This information will be included hi theFive-Year Schedule of Timber Sales and Forest

Susitna Forestry Guidelines -17

Map 3. Generalized Fire Protection Levels

Critical Areas Full Protection Modified Action

P L A N N I N G A R E A

IS 20 25-t 1—5

SCALE IN MILES

P A L M E R .

18 - Susitna Forestry Guidelines

FIGURE 1.Examples of Cutting Units and Harvest Units

f *

) Cutting Unit Boundary

Harvest Unit Boundary

Uncut VegetationV» - •::I*?--£i-Bi,*»1

Seed Trees

5 Acres

Qearcut Harvesting System:55-acre clearcut with 50-acrecutting unit and 5-acre island

B Seed Tree Harvesting System:50-acre harvest unit andcutting unit, harvest unit andcutting unit boundaries are the same

Group Selection System:150-acre harvest unit withtwelve 1-5 acre cutting units

Susitna Forestry Guidelines - 18a

18b- Susitna Forestry Guidelines

Land Use Plans (FLUPs) for individual sales. Thepublic will be able to comment on the guidelinesfor habitat management by commenting on theschedule and FLUPs.Cutting Unit Size and Shape. Size. The total area ofcutting units within a harvest unit shall be 5-50acres to optimize benefits for wildlife habitat (seeFigure 1, page 18a). The 50-acre limit applies to allharvesting systems except single-tree selection.Total cutting unit area may be increased on a site-by-site basis by DOF in consultation with DFG andDPOR only so long as the enlarged cutting areacontinues to meet the other guidelines in this docu-ment that address fish and wildlife habitat, recrea-tion, and visual quality, and to meet themanagement intent for the subunit. Preliminarycutting unit design will be included in the ForestLand Use Plan available for public and interagencyreview. If a proposed cutting unit is greater than 50acres, the Forest Land Use Plan for the timber salewill state the reasons for enlarging the cutting unitand describe the techniques that will be used toaddress the other uses in the area.Unharvested strips at least 330 feet wide shall beleft between harvest units. Leave strips are in-tended to provide escape cover, thermal cover,resting cover, visual screens in hunting areas, andtravel corridors for marten, moose, bear, and otherwildlife.Shape. Timber stands shall be designed for shapeand edge contrast to provide for wildlife needs andvisual quality. In general, cuts shall be designedwith irregular borders to increase the amount offorage-producing edge habitat and habitat diver-sity.Width. Cutting openings generally shall be nowider than approximately 660 feet to allow accessto cover for bears and moose and to encourage fullutilization of browse. In areas where DFG iden-tifies important marten populations, openingsshall be no wider than approximately 330 feet, toavoid creating open areas that are barriers to mar-ten travel.Where maximum cutting opening widths aregreater than approximately 660 feet, or in cutslarger than 50 acres, residual islands of dense covershall be left within the opening to provide cover,bedding, and shelter for moose. Islands shall be 0.5- 5 acres, spaced 660-990 feet apart. Where possible,islands should be designed to maximize conifercover to provide snow interception and have treesat least 13-20 feet high for hiding cover.

Orientation. In areas of heavy snow accumulationwhere drifting may bury browse, harvest openingsshould be oriented downwind. Openings shall alsobe oriented to minimize blowdown and loss ofmoose habitat. In other areas, a variety of cuttingopening orientations shall be included in timberharvest plans to cover the range of conditions thatmay be important to moose.South Parks Highway 9c. To disperse moosebrowse and minimize conflicts between moose andmotorists in revegetating harvest areas, timber har-vest openings in South Parks Highway 9c will belimited to 10 acres.South Parks Highway 14b. To minimize conflictsbetween moose and travel along the highwayand railroad, timber harvests in South ParksHighway 14b will be designed to minimizemoose browse production near the road and rail-road. Timber sales east of the Parks Highwayshould be by single-tree selection only. In-dividual cutting units west of the highwayshould be no larger than five acres.Petersville Road 3a. Timber in Petersville Road 3awill be managed to maintain or enhance wildlifehabitat, especially for moose. Timber in this sub-unit may be harvested for personal use or commer-cial sales with harvest units of up to 30 acres.

See also:Personal Use Wood - Petersville Road 7cin Section I of this chapter.Site Preparation - Site Reconnaissance in this section.

Arrangement of Cutting Units. Wildlife habitat, includ-ing escape and thermal cover, refuges from deepsnow, and alternate food sources, shall be con-sidered when designing the arrangement of cut-ting units and leave areas. The location of matureconifer stands near early winter moose concentra-tion areas will benefit moose.Well-drained upland sites that produce abundantbrowse are preferred sites for clearing; poorly-drained upland sites that produce less browse arebetter suited for maintenance as wildlife cover inmoose winter range.Recreation and Visual Quality. The size and shape ofcutting areas will be designed with considerationof recreation values and scenic quality. Cuttingareas will reflect local topography and be designedto appear similar to natural openings afterrevegetation. Sales will be designed by DOF inconsultation with DPOR. The Department ofCommerce and Economic Development Division

Susitna Forestry Guidelines - 19

of Tourism will have the opportunity to commenton proposed sales during interagency review of theFive-Year Schedule of Timber Sales.Resource Management Lands. Timber harvesting is anallowed use in subunits designated resourcemanagement. However, because the appropriatelong-term designation of these lands has not beendetermined, timber sale contracts shall not exceedfive years. Subunits designated for resourcemanagement are: Susitna Lowlands 2f, 5b, 6b, 8b,9c, and 12a and Mount Susitna 3c, 4d, and 6c.

AverageStand Diameter

^14 inches

12-1 3.9 inches

10-1 1.9 inches

8-9.9 inches

6-7.9 inches

Minimum Number 01Trees Left Per Acre

High sites Low sites

50 trees/ac

60 trees/ac

75 trees/ac

90 trees/ac110 trees/ac

90 trees/ac

100 trees/ac

120 trees/ac

150 trees/ac190 trees/ac

HARVESTING SYSTEMSPreferred Systems. Where birch is the primaryspecies harvested, seed tree harvesting (see Appen-dix A - Glossary) is the preferred harvesting systemfor wildlife habitat and timber production. Seedtree harvests provide a natural seed source forregeneration, and exposed mineral soil and sunlitopenings that are needed for abundant germina-tion and growth of birch seedlings. Where whitespruce is the primary species harvested, single-treeselection is the preferred system. Single-tree selec-tion allows harvest of spruce large enough to pro-vide house logs and sawtimber while leaving forestcover on the site. Spruce are more tolerant of shadethan birch and can grow under forest cover. Single-tree selection, group selection, or shelterwood cut-ting may be prescribed on certain sites wherebeneficial for wildlife, timber management, recrea-tion, visual quality, or other considerations.Full-tree Logging. Full-tree logging is encouraged inmost areas to provide disturbance of the organicsoil for site preparation and to achieve maximumwood utilization from harvested areas. Other log-ging systems may be used where appropriate be-cause of topography, economic factors, ormanagement of other resources.Single-tree Selection. Where single-tree selectionharvesting is used, stands will be managed toretain forest cover, maintain a variety of tree ages,and keep openings small. Residual stands in areasharvested by single-tree selection must meet thefollowing standards for trees per acre. (See AppendixA - Glossary for definitions of high and low sites.)

HARVESTING SCHEDULESConcentrate Harvesting. Logging activities should beconcentrated in the shortest possible time for eachunit. Where timber sales are planned to progressthrough a series of adjacent subunits, harvest activityshould be completed in one subunit before startingin the next. Intensive harvest activity in a singleseason typically causes less disturbance to wildlifethan low level activity over several seasons.Moose Concentration Areas. DFG will identify wintermoose concentration areas in individual subunitsbefore a timber sale is offered. DFG will provide DOFwith recommendations on harvest scheduling inwinter concentration areas during the timber saledesign process. Recommendations will reflect thesize of the proposed timber operation and the likelyseverity of winter conditions. For example, smalloperations with little equipment may providebrowse with little disturbance to moose, while largeoperations might disrupt use patterns. Similarly,moose in areas that receive high snowfall and havedifficult conditions for travel are more sensitive todisturbance.Coordination with Other Activities. Where possible, tim-ber harvest schedules should be coordinated withother activities to reduce overall impacts.Seasonal Scheduling. Most current timber harvestingis done in winter when access is easier and distur-bance to aquatic habitats, wetlands, and bear activityareas is lowest. Winter logging also benefits sucker-ing in aspen and cottonwood. On the other handwinter harvesting can make site preparation moredifficult.Future harvesting will also be concentrated in thewinter. Schedules for harvesting may be specified inindividual sales based on considerations of access,site preparation, and forest regeneration. Summer

20 - Susitna Forestry Guidelines

harvesting will be directed to well-drained siteswhere summer harvests can aid site preparation.Potential contractors will be advised of require-ments for winter operations (e.g., the need to leaveequipment on site) before a contract is issued.Data Collection. Where practical, DFG should com-plete site-specific habitat evaluations of unitsscheduled for timber harvest before harvesting oc-curs. In particular, DFG should evaluate moosebrowse quantity, quality, and utilization. These datacan be used to better define moose range distributionand quality.See also:

Bald Eagle Habitat and Trumpeter Swan Nesting Areasin Section III of this chapter.

SLASH DISPOSALGeneral. Slash disposal benefits reforestation, helpsavoid insect and disease outbreaks, reduces theamount of fuel available for wildfires, improveshabitat, and aids movement through cutoverareas. Slash disposal can also be designed tobenefit visual quality, and aid recreational use ofcutover areas. Logging and road constructionslash should be disposed to avoid hinderingwildlife from using cutover areas. Disposal can beaccomplished either mechanically, or by burning,or by a combination of both methods. Slash thatfalls on uncut lands adjacent to harvest areasshould be cleaned up or removed to facilitatemoose use of cover and feeding areas.The preferred method of slash disposal is to mixthe mineral soil and organic matter. This mini-mizes the amount of piled material that couldhinder public access through the site and degradevisual quality. The Division of Forestry and theDepartment of Fish and Game are cooperating onexperiments to determine the best techniques formixing the mineral soil and organic matter.Controlled Burning. Controlled burning may be usedas a means of manipulating vegetation, as amethod of site preparation and/or as a means ofslash disposal. Controlled burning is recom-mended when climate, soil, and fuel load condi-tions are conducive to safely removing slash,maintaining forest openings, and improving thequality and quantity of moose forage.DEC Permits are required for all open burningused for forest management (18 A AC 50.030(e)).All open burns must comply with DEC regulationsfor open burning in 18 A AC 50.050. Applicants

should contact DEC before stacking slash anddesigning their burning program. DOF burningpermits are required on all projects, from May 1through September 30. Burn barrels, or warming,cooking, or signal fires are exempt from DOF per-mit requirements.Fire Prescriptions, If burning is proposed for slashdisposal, the Forest Land Use Plan for the timbersale will state whether broadcast burning or pilingand burning will be used. Fire prescriptions and aburn plan specific to the residue and topographyof the site will be prepared by DNR after harvestingis completed. No broadcast burning will be con-ducted outside the area described in the burningprescription. A heliotorch may be used in roadlessareas for controlled burning for regeneration orother silvicultural purposes. Use of a heliotorchrequires a burn plan. Slash disposal burns usingthe pile and burn method will not require a burnplan, except where the Area Forester determines aplan is in the best interest of the State.Public Notice. Members of the public who will beaffected by the burn will be contacted by DOF. Thepublic and local community councils will receivewritten notice of burning activities when DOFprepares the burn plan. Signs will be posted onmajor roadways to notify the public of any ongoingcontrolled burning in process.Private Land. No broadcast burning operation willbe conducted within 1/4-mile of privately ownedbuildings or improvements nor within 1 /8-mile ofundeveloped private land.Windrows. If extensive windrows are built, open-ings should be cut through the windrows to allowmoose passage, especially on moose trails.Marten Habitat In areas where DFG has identifiedimportant marten populations, slash piles andother logging debris that will protrude through thesnow should be retained to provide marten accessto prey beneath the snow and to improved denningand cover habitat.Winter Operations. Prior to spring break-up eachyear, winter roads and skid trails must be clearedof all logging debris and slash in the areas over andimmediately adjacent to all bodies of water in andadjoining the harvest unit (See 18 AAC 70.020.)Solid Waste Management. Non-wood solid wastemust be removed from the site of forest operationsand properly disposed of in a permitted landfillfacility. (See 18 AAC 60.200 and 95.130.)

Susitna Forestry Guidelines - 21

See also:Road Construction - Right-of-way Slashin Section IV of this chapter.

SITE PREPARATIONGeneral. Site preparation promotes quicker refores-tation and reduces grass competition. Thisbenefits habitat and visual quality. Where naturalregeneration, artificial seeding, or planting will beused for reforestation, a bed adequate for regenera-tion will be required after timber harvest. The sitepreparation method used will depend on site char-acteristics and vegetation desired for reforestationand habitat. Requirements for site preparation andrecommended site preparation methods will beincluded in the Forest Land Use Plan for individualsales.Site Reconnaissance. During reconnaissance of apotential timber sale area, DOF will assess groundcover to determine whether grass is likely to in-vade after timber is harvested. DOF will developrecommendations for site preparation techniquesand timing to reduce grass competition with estab-lishment of new forest cover. These recommenda-tions will be included in the Forest Land Use Planfor the sale.Choice of Techniques. DOF should use the followingpractices when determining site preparationstrategies for timber sales. These generalguidelines may be varied on a site-by-site basis byDOF in consultation with DFG.Disking or other mechanical disturbance should beconsidered to break up soils that are compactedduring harvesting. Compaction may reduce see-dling growth or cause mortality.On aspen sites, cleared areas should be heavilyscarified or lightly burned to produce maximumsucker response.On paper birch sites, scarification should mix theorganic layer into the upper mineral soil layer (Ahorizon) providing optimum conditions for seedgermination and seedling survival.Timing. Areas should be scarified no later than twogrowing seasons following completion of harvestto minimize grass invasion. Scarification should bedone just prior to peak annual seedfall or just priorto artificial seeding to ensure optimum seedbedreceptivity.

Soil Exposure. Mineral soil should be exposeduniformly over the harvested area to encourageuniform distribution of trees. Mineral soil must beexposed on at least 50% of the harvested area.Mineral soil patches should be as large as feasible.See also in this section:

Harvesting Systems - Full Tree LoggingHarvesting Schedules - Seasonal SchedulingSlash Disposal - Controlled Burning

REFORESTATIONGoaJ. The goal of reforestation in the SusitnaForestry Guidelines area is to reestablish foreststhat include a mix of the species currently present(spruce, birch, aspen, and cottonwood). Theprimary species on each reforested site will varydepending on site conditions, the original foresttype, and management intent for the subunit. Har-vested areas will generally be regenerated to theoriginal forest type. Non-native species will beplanted only for research purposes such as deter-mining species survival and growth rates, not forforest management operations that would convertlarge areas to new forest types.Statutes and Regulations. AS 41.17.060 and 11 AAC95.100 and .170 govern regeneration of forest land.The regulations require regeneration of stands thatare not intended for conversion to other useswithin seven years in Region n (interior forest) andwithin five years in Region I (Coastal forest). Cur-rently, most of the SFG area is in Region II.Proposed revisions to these regulations are likelyto include all of the SFG area in Region II. Wherespecific regeneration goals are known (for ex-ample, managing for cottonwood or converting towhite spruce), they will be specified in individualmanagement units.Regeneration Information. Forest managementreports for timber sales shall specify target speciesand stocking levels, site preparation requirements,regeneration methods, and a schedule for inspect-ing regeneration on the site.Regeneration Methods. Natural regeneration is themain regeneration method currently used in theSFG area. Natural regeneration will continue to beused on most sites in the SFG area, but seeding orplanting may be used for a specific timber salebased on the results of a reforestation study on thesale. Reforestation surveys are generally per-formed two years after scarification.

22 - Susitna Forestry Guidelines

USE OF CHEMICALSPrevention of Pest Outbreaks. Forest pest manage-ment will emphasize prevention of pest outbreaks.An annual insect and disease detection survey willbe conducted by the DNR Division of Forestry incooperation with the USDA Forest Service. DNRwill emphasize silvicultural practices that enhancenatural mortality of pests and improve tree vigorto reduce the risk of outbreaks. Examples includeharvesting mature trees of susceptible species,using group selection cuts, suppressing inter-mediate host species, using lethal trap trees aroundharvest areas, disposing of slash, and establishingutilization standards that minimize slash.DOF has not used pesticides at an operational scalein the SFG area. Pesticides may be used as a forestmanagement tool to control vegetative competi-tion, assist in establishing regeneration, or controlforest damage from insects and diseases. If chemi-cal use is proposed for a specific timber sale, publicnotice for the sale will include a description of theproposed action and its likely effects on forestgrowth and the environment.DEC Authority. The Department of EnvironmentalConservation (DEC) and US EnvironmentalProtection Agency have primary authority forregulating pesticide use, which includes herbicideuse. DEC regulations cover pesticide use and dis-posal. DEC regulations require applicants for pes-ticide permits to give public notice of the proposedaction. If a local government or 50 residents sorequest, a public hearing will be held to review theproposed action.Herbicides. Herbicide application can help promoteestablishment of desired forest species, especiallyconifers. However, herbicides have not been wide-ly used for forest management in the SFG area. Astudy of herbicide effects on fish and wildlifepopulations and habitat should be conducted priorto operational herbicide use in the Susitna Valley.See Chapter 3 - Research for recommendations onthis study.Aerial Application. Generally, pesticide applicationwould be done through ground application toremove grass. It is unlikely aerial application willbe used. Aerial application may be used to preventa large disease or insect outbreak. Pesticides willnot be applied within 1/4-mile of private dwell-ings, anadromous streams, or lakes with fishing orother recreational potential to protect fish and

wildlife habitat and human uses from directtoxicological effects. Pesticides will not be appliedwithin 250' of undeveloped private lands to avoidadverse impacts on private property.Plan of Operations. Any use of pesticides or her-bicides shall require a written plan of operationsdescribing in detail the pesticides or herbicides tobe used, the reasons for use; potential effect onhumans, wildlife, and vegetation types, the ex-pected results; the area where the chemicals will beused, the method of application, and the applica-tion rates. In addition, the plan shall describe howand when an evaluation of the effectiveness will beprepared after the application.Public Notice. Public notice must be given prior tothe use of pesticides or herbicides, and signs mustbe posted in areas where pesticides or herbicideshave been used.Evaluation. After pesticide or herbicide application,an evaluation of the effectiveness will be prepared.Fertilization. Fertilization can improve the nutrition-al status of nutrient-poor soils and make sites morehospitable to seedlings. Nitrogen fertilization ofmineral soils should be considered early in thepost-logging period to improve the seedbed.

The guidelines in this section apply only to por-tions of the Susitna Forestry Guidelines area. Theyapply either to special types of lands, for examplesshorelines or wetlands, or to particular subunits,for example Willow 2 or Susitna Lowlands 11g. Seethe map in the back pocket to locate subunits or tofind the name of a subunit.

AGRICULTURAL LANDSRsh Creek. The Fish Creek Management Plan wasamended in 1987 to allow timber harvesting priorto agricultural sales if harvesting is done before1995. DNR will not propose new sales in the FishCreek area before 1995. After 1995, the amendmentterminates and timber sales must wait until afterdesign and sale of agricultural parcels. After 1995,if timber sales are proposed before agriculturaldevelopment, the Fish Creek plan must beamended.

Susitna Forestry Guidelines - 23