Mills Rim Restoration and Fuelwood Proposed Action The Kiowa and Rita Blanca Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands (Cibola NF&G), proposes to improve wildlife habitat in the locality of the Mills Rim Campground on the Kiowa and Rita Blanca Ranger District. The Project Area is located 10 miles northwest of Roy, New Mexico, in Harding County, with the following legal description: T21N, R25E, sections 11 and 12. The project is bounded on the north by Mills Rim Canyon and FS Road K600, the southwest by K90A and east by the FS Road K90, approximately 10 miles northwest of Roy, NM (refer to the enclosed map). Purpose and Need The purpose of the Mills Rim Restoration and Fuelwood Project is to improve wildlife habitat, improve stand conditions and reduce fire hazard adjacent to the Mills Rim Campground area by decreasing the density of live and dead fuels within the pinyon juniper woodland and grassland vegetation types and reinroducing fire. In the pinyon-juniper woodland, there is need to reduce the accumulation of dead pinyon pine that were killed over the past 10 15 years by drought and associated bark beetle infestation. Approximately 50% of the pinyon pine are currently dead, which has increased fuel loading and would increase fire intensity and adverse effects to wildlife habitat and soil if a high intesity fire were to occur. Restoring open patches within the pinyon-juniper woodland would provide important fawning habitat for mule deer. Treatments will also be beneficial for the Western Bluebird, a management indicator species for the Kiowa and Rita Blanca District, which nests in pinyon-juniper ecosystems but prefers to have adjacent open areas. There is a need to decrease tree densities in historically open grasslands where pinyon pine and junipers have become established, reducing forage quantity and availability for mule deer, elk and pronghorn. Historic uses and active fire suppression have interrupted the natural fire regime in these fire dependent ecosystems. This has resulted in a reduction of the natural vegetative production and has degraded the community structure normally found in an open grassland ecosystem. Without treatment in the grassland, pinyon pine and junipers will continue to become established, altering the natural species composition by reducing native grasses and forbs. The project area falls within the Mills Canyon Management Area but because it is only an overlay to the Kiowa and Rital Blanca Management Area, the direction given for the Kiowa and Rita Blanca Management Area in part 3 and the Grasslands-wide direction of part 2 apply as well of the Land and Resource Management Plan for the Kiowa, Rita Blanca, Black Kettle, and McClellan Creek National Grasslands 2012. Adhering to the plan, pinyon-juniper woodlands can be controled with the use of mechanical equipment, chemicals or with prescribed fire.
Existing Conditions Data including information on species, status (live or dead), number stems, diameter, height and damage was collected using the Common Stand Examination (CSE) quick plot protocol. Plots were systematically distributed throughout the project area on a 10x10 chain interval (660 ), and a total of 8 plots were measured. Seventy five percent of sampled plots were located in the pinyon-juniper woodland, with the remaining located in the adjacent grassland. One-tenth acre fixed radius plots (37.2 radius) were used to measure trees greater than 5 diameter at root collar (drc), and one-one hundredth acre nested plots (11.8 radius) were used to measure seedlings and saplings at each plot. Because sampled plots fell in more open and rocky areas, it is believed that trees per acre (>5 diameter) shown in Table 1 is somewhat underestimated. Data collected in the proposed treatment area(s) indicated the following existing stocking: Trees per Acre P-J Woodland Grassland Pinyon Pine Juniper Species Pinyon Pine Juniper Species Live trees (>5 drc) 7 23 0 5 Seedlings/saplings (<5 drc) 417 83 50 0 Live tree total: 424 106 50 5 Dead trees (>5 drc) 7 0 0 0 TABLE 1. Trees per acre. P-J Woodland: Two-needle pinyon has experienced up to 90% mortality in places but averages approximately 50% dead across the areas sampled. Tree mortality in pinyon pine is found across all size and age classes, but is most evident in the pole sized trees (5-9 drc), which were also the most abundant in the project area. It is estimated that before the Ips beetle outbreak, the project area was dominated by younger, pole sized trees with only a small component (<10%) of late development with medium size (9 21 drc) tree structure. One-seed juniper (Juniperus monosperma) is dominant, but Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorem) is also present. Since the Ips Beetle outbreak, natural regeneration of pinyon pine has been abundant, averaging over 400 seedlings/saplings per acre. Juniper Grassland: Sampled plots indicated that Grasslands are still less than 10% canopy cover per acre, but numerous seedlings and saplings have established. Data indicates that all established seedlings/saplings are pinyon pine, but numerous junipers also exist, consisting of mainly one-seed juniper. Large one-seed junipers (>10 drc) are common, as well as pole-sized junipers and some pinyon pine. Pinyon pine mortality is also abundant in the grassland area, particularly adjacent to the P-J woodland type, where it has seeded in.
Proposed Action The Kiowa and Rita Blanca Ranger District proposes to improve forested stands and wildlife habitat by removing live and dead pinyon pine and juniper trees on approximately 611 acres of grassland and pinyon-juniper woodlands along the rim of Mills Canyon, through the use of fuelwood permits and prescribed burning. Eighty eight acres are in a roadless area that will not be mechanically treated (see figure 1). Resulting debris would be lopped and scattered, then prescribe burned. No new roads would be constructed to implement this project; however, vehilces would be permitted to drive off of FS Road K600, K90 and K90A along specified unauthorized travel routes as stated in fuel wood permit (see attached map) in order to gain access to trees. Chainsaw cutting will be open for those with permits from September 14 th to February 15 th. The effort of this project is two-fold: 1) to improve wildlife habitat by reducing the density of trees in historic grassland/woodland communities so that native grasses and forbs can become reestablished, benefitting foraging wildlife, and 2) to reduce fire hazard by removing dead pinyon to reduce the amount of heavy fuels available to contribiute to a high severity wildfire. After the intial removal of dead pinyon pine and prescribed burning, treated areas would be reevaluated for the need to thin mid-aged, live juniper trees within the pinyon-juniper woodland to create a better balance of age classes (young, mid-age, and old). This treatment is designed to restore grassland/woodland ecosystems, reduce fire hazard and improve stand conditions in pinyonjuniper woodlands and grasslands. The Mills Rim Restoration and Fuelwood Project lies within the Kiowa and Rita Blanca Management Area, as designated in the 2012 Land and Resource Management Plan for the Kiowa, Rita Blanca, Black Kettle, and McClellan Creek National Grasslands (the Grasslands Plan). The Grasslands Plan describes the desired conditions in this management area as shortgrass prairies with inclusions, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and juniper grasslands inclusions. The proposed activities would be consistent with the management direction of the Grasslands Plan, particularly in enhancing the mosaic of the various vegetation and structural stages across the landscape. Specific Prescription Guidelines for pinyon-juniper woodland and grassland areas. Thinning would be accomplished by hand, followed by prescribed burning. Thinning in the pinyon-juniper woodland would be accomplished in two stages: 1. First Stage Most dead pinyon pine and dead juniper trees would be cut, but snags 8-inches and above at DRC averaging 5 snags per acre and snags 18-inches and above averaging 1 snag per acre would be left. No live or dead ponderosa pine, live pinyon or live juniper would be cut. No trees marked with orange paint will be cut, to provide for wildlife use. 2. Second Stage All remaining dead pinyon pine and dead juniper trees, in excess of snag retention targets, would be cut. Most live juniper trees less than 10 inches at the root crown could be cut. No live or dead ponderosa pine or live pinyon would be cut. No trees marked with orange paint will be cut, to provide for wildlife use. Only live juniper trees that have no stems greater than 10" DRC would be targeted for cutting. If a tree has at least 1 stem 10" or greater, then the whole tree will be left. Avoid cutting
smaller stems from large junipers. Grasslands would have live and dead trees thinned simultaneously. All cut trees shall be completely severed from the stump and cut below the lowest live limb, except when prevented by natural obstacles. Stumps shall be flush cut and shall not exceed four (4) inches above ground level measured on the uphill side or six (6) inches above natural obstacles. All live limbs below the cutting point shall be removed from the bole where feasible. At least two pieces of wood 9 to 12 inches in diameter of down woody material 8 to 10 feelt long should be retained per acre. Existing downed woody material in an advanced state of decay should be retained in place. Snag retention is about one quality tree per acre, or about 130 trees in the fuelwood area. The leave snags are all over 8 DBH. Criteria incuded for sang retention were existing cavities, evidence of woodpecker foraging (small holes), established bird nest present and any other sign of use by wildlife (for example, den site at base of tree, bedding site established under tree). They are identified with multiple orange paint diagnol slash marks. All proposed mechanical activities and prescribed burning would not disturb inventoried heritage resources. No new roads or temporary roads would be constructed for this project, however vehicles would be permitted to drive off of FS Road K600, K90 and K90A along specified unauthorized travel routes as stated in fuel wood permit (see attached map). Trees within 50 feet of stream channels (as identified on the map) will be retained. Large trees (greater than 10 DRC) outside of this zone will be also retained within 300 feet of stream channels. Dead pinyon trees can also be removed outside of the 50 feet zone. Off-road vehicle use will be restricted to dry and frozen periods to prevent rutting and unnecessary soil compaction (September 14 th to February 15 th ). All activity generated slash will be loped and scattered with maximum slash height of 18 inches and not be consolidated within 10 feet of any leave tree. Treatments and fuel wood removal should occur outside the nesting season (April 15 th to July 31 st ) or be preceded by surveys for nesting birds to avoid adverse consequences to nest sites. The project area may be broadcast burned at the end of the project in 3 to 5 years and as necessary for maintenance. Maintenance Maintenance would be implemented when monitoring data shows that the area is beginning to exceed its threshold for desired condition. Desired conditions are currently indicated by the TEU data. The treatment methods described above would continue to be used as needed to maintain the desired conditions. Prescribed broadcast fire would be the primary tool used to reduce tree densities and undesirable tree regeneration and promote grasses and forbs.