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FOREST SERVICE HANDBOOK
MISSOULA, MONTANA
FSH 3409.11 - FOREST PEST MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK
Region 1 Supplement No. 3409.11-94-1
Effective August 19, 1994
POSTING NOTICE. Supplements are numbered consecutively by handbook number and
calendar year. Post by document name. Remove entire document and replace with this
supplement. Retain this transmittal as the first page of this document. This is the first R1
supplement to this handbook.
Superseded
New
(No. of Pages)
Document Name
3409.11,60
Digest:
61.25a - Establishes R1 direction on Bark Beetle suppression.
DAVID R. JOLLY
Regional Forester
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4
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FSH 3409.11 - FOREST PEST MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK
R1 SUPPLEMENT 3409.11-94-1
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CHAPTER 60 - MANAGEMENT OF SPECIFIC PESTS
61 - INSECTS
61.25a - Documentation for Suppression Funds
1. Project Identification. In order for a bark beetle project to be considered suppression
rather than prevention it must be within an existing outbreak area, or in areas associated with
existing outbreaks where the biological evaluation indicates that infestation will occur within
five years. Five years is used in that it takes about this period of time to analyse, plan, and
implement most projects of these types.
The biological evaluation, to be done by Forest Pest Management, will consider such things as
infestation size, age, and vigor; proximity to other infestations and susceptible stands; beetle
population trends; and those geographical and climatological factors that may influence
infestation persistence and spread. (See FSM 3421 for additional information on biological
evaluations).
2. Required Documentation for Suppression Funds. A Forest Pest Management Project
Proposal (FS-3400-2) must be completed for each prospective project. The following
documents are needed to support all project proposals: (1) environmental analysis and
associated documentation as appropriate; (2) a recent biological evaluation; and (3) an economic
analysis. Other documentation is required for certain types of projects (see FSM 3432).
3. Funding. (Refer to FSH 6509.11g Chapter 20) The use of forest pest management
suppression funds is appropriate to finance the following activities:
a. Removal or destruction of infested trees.
b. Reduction or destruction of pest populations.
c. Reduction of fire or erosion hazard resulting from pest management activities.
d. Stand examinations/compartment inventories for:
(1) Examinations for the sole purpose of getting information for Insect and
Disease Damage Survey (INDIDS) analysis.
(2) Post-treatment monitoring and evaluations to determine effects on beetle
populations, the environment, and so forth.
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(3) Examinations in areas allocated to a use other than timber or withdrawn from
the timber base (unsuitable lands) that have beetle problems.
(4) Walk-through examinations for pest population determination.
(5) Re-inventory of areas on a schedule sooner than the normal planned period
because of changing beetle conditions.
e. Environmental analysis when:
(1) Re-analysis of silvicultural diagnosis and preparation of silvicultural
prescriptions are due to rapidly changing beetle conditions.
(2) Analysis to risk rate stands for treatment priority for an environmental
assessment.
(3) There are additional beetle-induced costs to re-assess effects which may result
in more potential conflicts between resource objectives such as firewood gathering,
harvest redesign, fire hazard analysis, watershed analysis, and so forth. Additional
coordination and analysis may have to be accomplished within a shorter period of
time due to the urgency of beetle conditions.
(4) Projects need to be adjusted to react to changing beetle conditions that result in
shorter time frames in which to complete the project analysis.
f. Timber sale preparation and administration when:
(1) There are higher costs of layout, such as those associated with special marking
and cruising.
(2) There are higher costs of administration, such as purchaser agreements and
contract adjustment due to rapidly changing beetle conditions.
(3) More sale packages are involved than considered normal for the given volume
due to the spatial pattern of the problem area and the timing necessary for
treatments.
Generally these increased sale preparation and administration costs are
approximately 10 percent of total project costs. This amount can vary and needs to
be determined on a project by project basis.
g. Non-timber harvest projects including:
(1) Application of attracting and dispersing pheromones.
(2) Application of pesticides.
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(3) Non-chemical methods of population control.
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Generally, stand examinations and/or compartment inventories are scheduled in
advance of timber sales. These examinations and inventories are planned,
programmed, budgeted, and accomplished as NFSE or NFTP activities, regardless
of bark beetle conditions within proposed project areas. If the activity proposal
includes collection of bark beetle data beyond what is required for a standard stand
examination as defined in FSH 2409.21h R1 Chapter 400, the proposal should be
forwarded to FPM for funding consideration.
By December 15 of each year Forests must submit to the Regional Forester
completed Forest Pest Management Project Proposals (FS-3400-2) identifying by
pest all projects that may require funding for the year. Required supportive
documentation, including the environmental analysis, economic analysis, and the
biological evaluation, is to be retained by the Forests and not sent to the Regional
Office unless requested.
By January 15 each year the Regional Forester must submit to the Chief a
completed "Federal Lands Suppression Request Summary" summarizing all Forest
Pest Management Project Proposals (FS-3400-2) identifying all projects that may
require funding for the year.
4. Pest Detection Criteria. The following criteria will be used to assign priorities to
proposed projects:
a. Present and potential impacts: Is the problem one that has a high potential to
intensify and spread?
b. Resource values involved: Is the infestation within the timber base? Are
nontimber values threatened (recreation, wildlife, water)?
c. Urgency: What are the ramifications of waiting a year or more? Is the
outbreak increasing, static or declining?
d. Targets: Is the project associated with realistic targets?
5. Reporting Accomplishments. When both FPM and TM funds are used for activities
such as stand examination/compartment inventory, sale preparation, and so forth, the report of
accomplishment shall be according to a split funding. Example: If 100 acres are to be stand
examined and 10 percent of the funding is from suppression funds and 90 percent of the funding
is from stand exam funds, accomplishment of the examinations should be 10 acres with
suppression funds and 90 acres with stand exam funds.