San Bernardino National Forest Land Management Plan - Part 2

Land Management Plan Part 2
San Bernardino National Forest Strategy
September 2005
wildlife habitat, increasing vegetation cover to reduce post-fire soil erosion, maintaining mixed
conifer forests in a condition less susceptible to stand replacement fire, or maintaining reduced
fuel loads adjacent to communities to decrease the threat of losing homes in wildland fires.
The Vegetation Management Program emphasizes restoring forest health and community
protection, (FH 2 - Prevent Type Conversion), (FH 3 - Restoration of Forest Health), and (Fire 2
- Direct Community Protection). Other forest restoration projects will be located further into the
national forest, away from structures, but they will still have the goal of community protection
(Fire 5 - Fuelbreaks and Indirect Community Protection). Over the next three to five years, these
vegetation treatments will be strategically integrated to maximize community protection efforts
and minimize wildland fire size, while considering habitat needs. Mortality removal will be
integrated with thinning within community defense and threat zones. Program goals include
completing approximately 20 percent of identified treatment needs. Plans are expected to include
strategically locating fuels treatments in order to take advantage of burned areas. The mix of
these activities will vary through time and across sites, but the national forest anticipates an
average annual need of 10,000 acres of fuels and vegetation reduction activities, and up to 1,000
acres per year of reforestation activities (FH 1 - Vegetation Restoration). The
location and prioritization will be determined using site-specific prescriptions
developed to guide appropriate implementation for the various objectives
described above.
• Mortality Removal - Annual Need: Included below. This includes
the removal of dead vegetation to reduce fire hazard. This category
includes the use of timber sales to remove merchantable trees, and the
contract removal of non-merchantable trees and shrubs. These
projects include treatment of all slash and are expected to move
forested areas from Condition Class 3 towards Condition Class 1. In
chaparral areas, mortality removal is planned in order to reduce the
fire hazard from high to low.
• Thinning - Annual Need: Included below. This includes the
removal of living trees from overstocked stands, in most cases trees
Barton Flats,
using a
helicopter to
remove dead
trees
of 24 inches in diameter or less. These projects include the treatment of all slash and are
expected to move forested areas from Condition Class 2 or 3 toward Condition Class 1.
Thinning is required prior to the reintroduction of fire in most cases.
• Reforestation And Restoration Of Forest Vegetation - Annual Need: 1,000 acres.
Restoration projects are either designed to facilitate natural recovery following
disturbance (fire, drought related mortality, insect and disease) or to implement planting
projects as needed when natural processes are not likely to achieve desired results.
• Fuelbreak Maintenance - Annual Need: 1,000 acres. Existing fuelbreaks are generally
maintained using prescribed fire or mechanical treatments, such as the use of chainsaws
or masticators. Most of the fuelbreaks are in high hazard chaparral areas and are
designed to limit wildland fire size by providing for firefighter access and improved
firefighter safety. A few of the fuelbreaks are in coniferous forest and serve to limit fire
spread from or towards communities or timber stands in poor condition. Most of the
existing fuelbreaks are on ridgetops or along roads.
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