Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest Draft ... - Cal Fire

Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest Draft Management Plan, June 2008
Based on field work and forest inventory data, stands were assessed for meeting the Board of
Forestry late-successional forest definition. Due to the fact that the Forest was largely clearcut at
the time of transfer to State ownership, most stands on the Forest are currently 50-60 years old,
and no late-successional stands currently exist on BMDSF. Some of the functional characteristics
of late-successional stands, such as large down logs, large decadent trees, and snags exist in
scattered stands throughout the Forest. These attributes will be retained and recruited wherever
feasible. Such stands provide a valuable starting point for the recruitment of additional adjacent
acreage to late successional conditions through management.
Structural characteristics such as snags, downed woody debris, decadent trees, and irregular tree
characteristics (large branches, irregular form, hollows) will be retained to a density where they
do not pose a safety hazard, fire hazard, impede the establishment and growth of new trees on
the site, or provide a source of pest and disease to infect nearby healthy trees. Recruitment of
large diameter snags will be accomplished by leaving, where feasible, dead trees, large trees that
show signs of poor vigor, stress, or disease. No treatments are planned to actively create snags
by girdling or topping live trees, unless prescribed on individual research installations. A key
component of late-successional forest stands are the decadent components, snags, and large
down logs. Snags from the dominant and predominant members of the stand are preferred to
later become down logs.
Silvicultural Methods
Silvicultural methods will be used that promote growth and regeneration in order to develop and
maintain an all-aged forest composed of a mosaic of age and size classes consistent with the
desired future forest structure conditions. Specific research projects may occasionally utilize
unconventional methods that do not follow the general direction for silvicultural methods
described below.
Uneven-aged management will be the dominant forest management method at BMDSF.
Currently the ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir and mixed conifer stands are made up of groups and
aggregates of even-aged size classes resulting from the 1949 and 1950 harvesting just prior to
transfer of ownership to the State. Special and Alternative silvicultural prescriptions will be used
to a lesser extent, as required to develop a fully regulated all aged forest. Even-aged methods will
be used in a minority of cases, where warranted by fire prevention concerns, pest and disease or
regeneration difficulties. Specific research projects may also use even-aged methods. In most
cases, even-aged harvests will be a green tree retention method, i.e. a significant amount of
mature trees from the previous stand will be left on site to provide structural and habitat diversity,
and to enhance regeneration of new trees. Although timber harvesting will focus on the removal
of conifers, some hardwoods may also be removed to maintain natural relative site occupancy of
hardwood to conifer species for this area. The majority of the timber harvesting will be conducted
under the following regeneration methods:
Selection (unevenaged): Under the selection method, trees are harvested individually or in small
groups sized from .25 acres to a maximum of 2.5 acres. Single tree selection will be the primary
prescription for the Douglas-fir and mixed conifer stands. Group selection will be used within the
pine stands to avoid species conversion and to maintain species diversity. Openings will be
created to obtain more pine regeneration rather than the more shade tolerant Douglas-fir which is
favored by single tree selection. For purposes of natural regeneration, group openings shall retain
at least one seed tree per acre greater than 18 inches DBH, with full crown and superior
phenotype. Artificial regeneration may be used to supplement natural regeneration.
Transition (unevenaged): The transition method will be used to develop an unevenaged stand
from a stand that currently has an unbalanced irregular or evenaged structure. The transition
method involves the removal of trees individually or in small groups from irregular or evenaged
stands to create a balanced stand structure and to obtain natural reproduction. This method will
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