Johnny O'Neil Late Successional Reserve Habitat Restoration and ...

or retention of large tree/denning/resting habitat and increases the potential for fire to
remove existing large snags.
Action Alternatives
NSO nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat is used as a surrogate for fisher in this analysis.
Refer also to discussion as applied to goshawk effects; in general, there is a high degree of
overlap of habitat use of goshawk, fisher, and NSOs in this portion of the species ranges so
effects to them are similar. Combining these habitat classifications, thinning is proposed to
occur within approximately 880 acres of habitat (about 5 percent of the available habitat in
the analysis area) in Alternative 2, with fewer acres proposed in other action alternatives
(Table 1). Of the 880 acres, about 167 acres are proposed for thinning within higher quality
denning/resting habitat (NSO roosting) habitat. Of these,71 acres are commercial and
commercial/non-commercial thinning and 96 acres are non-commercial thinning; the 71
acres represent about 0.7 % of the higher quality (denning/resting) habitats and about
within the fisher analysis area]. Additionally, Alternative 2 proposes about 664 acres of
commercial and commercial/non-commercial thinning and 46 acres of non-commercial
within suitable ‘foraging’ habitat; combined these represent five percent of the available
foraging habitat in the fisher analysis area.
Mechanical thinning and prescribed fire will occur within or adjacent to habitat that could
be utilized by fisher, but habitat will not be removed or modified to the extent that degrades
its quality. Project design features are intended to result in long term development and
retention of habitat and individual key habitat elements for fisher such as large trees
(hardwoods in particular), snags, or trees containing structures associated with fisher use;
large California black oaks are features that are a focus in this project. Long-term,
beneficial effects are expected by reducing the proportion of the suitable habitat on the
landscape affected by high intensity fire and the long term retention of key features such as
large hardwoods.
Variable density thinning from below will be implemented using a “skip-and-gap”
approach that will help maintain or introduce stand heterogeneity, habitat connectivity and
prey availability. Areas for “skips” will be located around large-diameter leave-trees,
aggregations of vigorous dominant or co-dominant conifers, and/or other wildlife features
such as snags, dead/downed logs, and large California black oaks. Thinning and other fuels
reduction treatments may remove or fall individual trees or snags that may be used for
denning or resting. By meeting the recommendations for snags in the KNF LRMP (USDA
Forest Service 1994), and because the felling or removing of large trees would only occur
under limited circumstances, such removals of denning or resting trees are expected to be
minimal and not expected to be significant to the population.
Because this species is sensitive to disturbance, the Johnny O’Neil project has the potential
to affect individuals if fishers are present. Thinning and other fuels reduction activities will
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