Border Lakes Subsection Forest Resource Management Plan

1. Border Lakes Subsection Forest Resource Management Plan SFRMP Training Session October 2006

2. Purpose of Session • Provide a brief overview/context of SFRMP. • Expose staff to considerations in developing the plan and the resulting goals and strategies. • Walk through some case examples for discussion. • Provide an opportunity to ask questions about the Border Lakes plan.

3. What is an SFRMP? • DNR plan for vegetation management on forest lands administered by DNR Forestry and Wildlife. • Using ECS subsections as the planning unit. • Focus on forest composition goals, vegetation management, creating multi-year stand examination lists, and identifying new access needs.

4. Scope of SFRMP • Focus is on future forest composition goals and vegetation management strategies. • Appropriate SFRMP issues are directly affected by, or directly affect, management of vegetation on DNR lands. • Issues are generally defined by • Forest vegetation conditions and trends • Threats to forest vegetation • Vegetation management opportunities.

6. Completed Late-2006 Completion Mid-2007 Completion Late-2007 Completion 2008 Completion SFRMP Schedule

7. Why SFRMP? • Need for new management plans in many Forestry Areas. • Need to improve public awareness/ involvement in DNR forest management planning (i.e., opening the "black box"). • Need for interdisciplinary approach to address complex forest management issues.

8. Why by subsections? • Plan on natural or ecological boundaries rather than administrative boundaries. • Subsection level has been used for other landscape planning/assessment efforts. • Old Growth Forest designations • Basis for DNR ERF guideline • White pine initiative • Tomorrow’s Habitat for the Wild and Rare. • Fewer plans (30 Areas vs. 17 subsections) • GIS capabilities now make it easier to do plans on ecological landscape basis.

9. SFRMP Process Objectives • Effectively informs and involves the public and stakeholders. • A process that is credible to most. • A clear process that is well communicated to the public (i.e., transparent). • Reasonable and feasible within current staffing levels and workloads. • Results in improved forest management.

10. Key Aspects of SFRMP • A Department plan (i.e., interdisciplinary, consent-based process) • Department involvement and support • A defined and documented process • Public review/input opportunities • Aggressive time schedules • Adaptive

11. SFRMP Components • Assessment & Preliminary Issues (2000) • Strategic Direction (2002) • Desired future forest conditions (DFFCs) • Goals and strategies • Responding to final issues • 10-Year Stand Selection Results and New Access Needs (2005) • Final Plan (2006)

12. Border Lakes SFRMP Team • Current • Maya Hamady, Walt Gessler, Bill Schnell, John Stegmeir • Past members • Mike Albers, Tom Engel, Dana Frame, Joe Geis, Bob Heisel, Dave Ingebrigtsen, Bob Maki, Laurie Martinson, Tom Rusch, Ray Tarchinski, Jim Weseloh, Steve Wilson

14. Land Ownership • 2.8 million acres (all ownerships) • USFS lands 56% • Wilderness & national park 44% • State lands in SFRMP 13% (298,000 acres) • 98% Forestry admin. • Timberlands 265,000

15. Forest Composition

17. NE Regional Landscape DFFCs • A forest that: • approximates/moves toward the range of variability for natural plant communities • has spatial patterns (size and location of openings) that are consistent with the ecology of northeastern Minnesota • provides diverse habitat to maintain natural communities and viable populations • The desired future forest condition is a long-term condition and can only be achieved by moving in incremental steps

18. NE Landscape Goals and Strategies • Mesic White-Red Pine (12% of landscape) • Goals • Increase white and red pine component • Increase 101+ growth stage of w/r pine • Strategies • Harvest aspen & birch out of mature birch-conifer growth stage (51-100 years). • Implement conifer retention where present.

19. NE Landscape Goals and Strategies • Mesic Aspen-Birch (20% of landscape) • Goals • Increase the 81+ year multi-aged conifer growth stage • Increase the white pine, white spruce, and tamarack component. • Strategies • Reserve white pine seed trees • Encourage spruce/fir regeneration to protect pine. • Underplant white pine & white spruce • Mimic natural patterns of disturbance in harvest via variable retention of residuals.

20. NE Landscape Goals and Strategies • Dry Mesic White-Red Pine (11% of landscape) • Goals • Increase red/white pine & white spruce components • Increase the old growth stages (121+ years) • Strategies • Restore pine on sites currently dominated by hardwoods, aspen in particular • Underplant red/white pine & white spruce • Maintain current stands dominated by pine • Manage to enhance mature white pine & multi-aged pine-spruce-fir.

21. NE Landscape Goals and Strategies • Jack-pine – Black spruce (21% of landscape) • Goals • Increase jack pine component • Strategies • Maintain jack pine composition where it currently exists • Harvest mature jack pine and restore via variety of methods as sites dictate

22. NE Landscape Goals and Strategies • Northern Hardwoods (10% of landscape) • Goals • Increase white pine, yellow birch, white spruce and white cedar components • Increase multi-aged growth stage (>150 years) • Strategies • Apply uneven-aged management in 51-100 year stands to increase multi-aged characteristics

23. Final Issues • Timber harvest levels • Timber productivity • Timber sale access • Forest cover type composition • Within stand composition • Forest age composition • Forest spatial patterns • Riparian and ecological processes • Rare & sensitive plant communities, species, biodiversity

24. Issue: Timber Harvest Levels • DFFC: Provide a sustainable timber harvest level, considering current & future ecological, economic, & social needs. • Strategies: • Integration of strategies for all the issues.

27. Issue: Timber Productivity • DFFC: TP is increased on state forestlands through more intensive management on some lands. • Strategies • Harvest stands at a younger age • Evaluate HRLV stands • Increase intermediate stand treatments • Convert stands of low quality birch & aspen to conifers • Manage some ERF for large sawtimber.

30. High Risk-Low Volume (HRLV) • Stands that are “high risk” or decadent due to old age, low volume, or I&D problems. • Primarily aspen, birch, j. pine, balsam fir, lowland black spruce forest types • All HRLV stands assigned a “field visit” preliminary prescription. • All HRLV will be field visited during the 10-year planning period. • HRLV decision tree developed to guide management decision.

31. HRLV (cont.) • 15,000 acres or about 27% of all stands selected. • Anticipated to be the primary opportunity for cover type conversion goals • Estimated that 50% of HRLV stands will result in a timber sale.

32. Issue: Timber Sale Access • DFFC: Access provided for state forest management while protecting or minimizing negative effects on other forest resources. • Strategies • Continue maintenance of “system” roads. • Follow policies and guidelines for NR management access routes and temporary access. • Cooperate in access planning across ownerships.

33. Issue: Forest Cover Type Composition • DFFC: Increase acres of upland conifers • Strategies • Allow natural succession of some aspen, birch and BG to conifers. • Convert some aspen, birch and BG to conifers. • Manage for w. pine/w. cedar understory. • Selective & uneven-age harvest to favor conifer regeneration. • Reserve conifer seed trees. • Protect advanced conifer regeneration. • Use prescribed fire.

34. Issue: Within Stand Composition • DFFC: Species and structural diversity within stands will be increased. • Strategies • Uneven-aged management in w.pine, lowland/northern hardwoods, cedar, and a portion of spruce-balsam cover types. • Follow MFRC site-level guidelines to retain diversity. • Retain diversity when thinning. • Reserve seed trees in harvest/regeneration sites. • Protect advanced regeneration.

35. Issue: Within Stand Composition (cont.) • Strategies (cont.) • Regenerate via natural succession in some stands. • Protect regeneration from browsing. • Use Rx fire for fire dependent habitats. • Increase w.pine in other cover types. • Increase upland cedar, oak, yellow birch and tamarack in other cover types. • Manage plantations to resemble natural stands. • Maintain some black spruce, j.pine, and r.pine as pure stands.

36. Issue: Forest Age Composition • DFFC 1: Balanced age structure for even-age types. • Strategies • Treat selected stands. • ERF in a variety of age classes. • DFFC 2: More old pine and conifers. • Strategies • Multi-aged/layered stands • Some lowland mixed conifers as all-aged.

37. Issue: Forest Age Composition (cont.) • DFFC 3: Retain old forest component. • Strategies • Maintain adequate ERF. • Manage riparian areas primarily as old forest. • Allow some stands to succeed without harvest. • Use prescribed fire.

38. Extended Rotation Forest (ERF)

39. Issue: Forest Spatial Patterns • DFFC 1: Average patch size is larger • Strategies: • Use riparian corridors & existing old forest to enlarge large old patches. • Restore or maintain original stand size. • Harvest adjacent to recently harvested sites. • Use selective harvest to retain old patches. • Coordinate patch management with others. • Reserve areas from harvest.

40. Forest Spatial Patterns (cont.) • DFFC 2: Connectivity between patches. • Strategy: • Use riparian corridors & existing old forest to connect large old patches. • DFFC 3: Maintain some old large patches. • Strategy: • Manage some large patches as ERF.

41. Forest Spatial Patterns (cont.) • DFFC 4: Patches are distributed in a range of sizes and ages. • Strategies: • Establish definitions and goals for patches. • Plan harvest across a range of timber sale sizes. • Utilize prescribed fire.

42. Patch sizes

44. Example patches

45. P=patch FP=future patch O=old I=intermediate Y=young   1=large 2=medium large 3=medium U=upland L=lowland D=deciduous C=conifer M=mixed Patch codes (e.g., PO2UC)

46. Forest Spatial Patterns (cont.) • DFFC 5: Patches represent the cover types in the subsection. • Strategy: • Increase upland conifer medium and large patches.

47. Issue: Riparian & Ecological Processes • DFFC: Water quality is protected and natural processes are allowed to occur. • Strategies: • Manage for ERF in most riparian areas. • Favor b.fir, w.pine, w.spruce & cedar in upland, low fire frequency areas. • Favor j.pine, r.pine & aspen in upland, high fire frequency areas. • Apply SNN act restrictions where applicable. • Apply MFRC site-level guidelines.

48. Issue: Rare & sensitive plant communities, species, ecological processes & biodiversity • DFFC 1: R&S species and plant communities are protected. • Strategies: • Protect old growth. • Protect identified Ecologically Important Lowland Conifers (EILC). • Refer to NH database in stand selection. • Use NPC field guide. • Protect sensitive & high quality NPCs and species.

49. EILC • DNR OG Guideline did not address old growth lowland conifers • Department direction to identify EILC as a pool for potential old growth stands • Team identified approximately 3,600 acres of EILC • Stands are reserved from harvest during this 10-year plan, but don’t affect harvest levels • Team selected based on criteria such as: • old age (e.g., >100 years) or all-aged • limited human-caused disturbance • ecologically significant or representative of a range of NPCs • part of an identified corridor

50. Issue: Rare & sensitive plant communities, species, ecological processes & biodiversity (cont.) • DFFC 2: Genetic variability of tree species is retained. • Strategy: • Use appropriate seed sources. • DFFC 3: Ecological processes and biodiversity are protected. • Strategies: • Use identified strategies to managed towards DFFCs. • Use NPC field guides in managing NPCs.