Forest Plan Implementation
Procedures and Tools
Old-Growth Reserves
Old-Growth Conservation Strategy Description
An integrated old-growth conservation strategy was developed and incorporated into the 1997 Forest Plan. This strategy has two basic components. The first is a forest-wide reserve network that protects the integrity of the old-growth forest by retaining blocks of intact, largely undisturbed habitat. The old-growth reserves (OGRs) include a system of large, medium, and small habitat conservation areas allocated to the Old-growth Habitat Land Use Designation (LUD), and full protection of all islands less than 1,000 acres in size. The reserve network also includes all other non-development LUDs (e.g., Wilderness, LUD II, Remote and Semi-remote Recreation, etc.) that essentially maintain the integrity of the old-growth ecosystem. The OGRs were specifically designed to conserve habitats of the species that have the greatest viability concerns. They were designed, in part, to recognize and account for current conditions within each biogeographic province, and to better maintain future old-growth forest in provinces where past harvest has been high. The second component of the old-growth habitat conservation strategy is management of the matrix, i.e., the lands with LUD allocations where commercial timber harvest may occur. Within the matrix, components of the old-growth ecosystem are maintained by standards and guidelines to protect important areas and provide old-growth forest habitat connectivity. This component includes the beach and estuary fringe, riparian buffers, and a variety of other categories where timber harvest is not permitted.
2006-2008 OGR Refinement Process
An interagency process to refine small OGR boundaries and locations took place in parallel with the 2008 Forest Plan Amendment Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. It was initiated in 2006 and was completed in 2007. Under this process, the Tongass worked with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a comprehensive review of all small OGRs and a few medium and large OGRs. The objective of the interagency team review was to develop a consensus biological recommendation on small OGR composition and locations that was consistent with the Forest Plan. This process included the development of a biological recommendation, the refinement of that proposal with Forest Service Ranger District staff, and further refinement by the Forest Supervisor. The multiple stages of review and refinement were conducted in order to consider multiple-use objectives in addition to pure biological ones.
Current OGR Status
As a result of this process, the 2008 Forest Plan decision finalized the location of the majority of the small OGRs. The results of the small OGR refinement process are portrayed in the current Forest Plan and displayed in the LUD map. This map is based on the LUD and OGR geodatabase in the Tongass GIS library called "LUD_OGR.mdb". A summary Excel file that documents the status and changes in each small OGR during the refinement process was developed. In addition, this tracking table includes a worksheet for OGR changes that have been adopted after the 2008 Forest Plan decision. A summary of all Forest Plan amendments adopted since 2008 is provided in the table of Amendments to the 2008 Forest Plan.
Project-Level Reviews
The Forest Plan states that the mapped large and medium reserves generally achieve reserve strategy objectives, and few major modifications are anticipated. In general, the small OGRs are not in need of additional modification either. Exceptions may include OGRs in 13 value comparison units (VCUs) (see Appendix K of the Forest Plan) where critical site-specific information was lacking during the refinement process, and an assessment of landscape connectivity needs to be conducted during a project-level review to determine if small or medium OGRs should be modified. Three other situations are also listed in Appendix K of the Forest Plan where OGRs may need to be modified during project-level reviews. These include the following situations:
- where site-specific information for a small OGR indicates that Forest Plan habitat criteria are not met in the mapped location;
- where actions are proposed within the OGR that will reduce the integrity of the old-growth habitat; or
- where the OGR will be affected by a land conveyance, powerline, mine, or other project that was not considered in the Forest Plan.
Project-level reviews shall include an interagency review process and a decision process. During the interagency review, a biologically preferred location for the OGR will be identified by biologists from the Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This interagency team will jointly evaluate the location and habitat composition of the OGR by reviewing all the large blocks of productive old growth within the VCU. The interagency team will develop a proposal that meets the Criteria for Small OGRs listed in Appendix K. During the decision process, line officers will incorporate the interagency review team OGR recommendation in the NEPA process, considering the best biological location for the OGR while balancing other considerations. The interagency team will work with the decision maker to develop alternate proposals, if necessary, to meet other Forest Plan objectives.
Mapping of Small, Medium, and Large Reserves
The current LUD geodatabase (LUD_OGR.mdb) identifies the locations of the LUDs and also identifies the sizes and locations of all OGRs. The small OGRs are represented by individual Old-Growth Habitat LUD polygons. However, the medium and large OGRs also incorporate other non-development LUDs. Therefore, the LUD geodatabase provides the ability to map all OGRs and identify them by size category.
The geodatabase (LUS_OGR.mdb) includes a field for OFF_OG_Size, which identifies the official size of each Old-Growth Habitat LUD polygon, as defined during the interagency refinement process. The small OGRs are also identified by an individual identification number (OFF_ID). In addition, the functional size class of each OGR is identified in the geodatabase. The functional size class categorizes the LUDs according to the amount of productive old growth and the total area occupied by contiguous non-development LUDs. This class corresponds with the criteria identified in the 1997 Plan. An identification number (FUNCID) individually distinguishes and identifies each functional OGR. A map of OGRs by size class is provided in the Old-Growth Reserve Map.