HFQLG
Project Evaluation Form
Project Name: Grays Peak Defensible Fuel Profile Zone
Project Type: Mechanical Thinning for Fuels Reduction
Also included in these notes are discussions from a pre-treatment review of the:
Dry Hills Forest Restoration Project
Forest: Lassen Ranger District: Almanor Ranger District
Date: July 11, 2011
Attendance: 21 People
Agency- none
Public- Tim Holabird, Congressman Tom McClintock representative; Frank Stewart, Counties Forester and Quincy
Library Group; Gary Stebbins, Lake Almanor West Citizen; and Maureen Stebbins, Almanor West Citizen.
USFS- Al Vazquez, Almanor District Ranger; John Zarlengo, District Silviculturist; Laura Corral, Silviculturist; Blair
Halbrooks, District NEPA Coordinator; Adam Bianchi, Timber Sale Administrator; Heidi Van Gieson, Harvest
Inspector; Mark Williams, District Wildlife Biologist; Kaley Phillips, Wildlife Biologist; Dave Wood, HFQLG
Implementation Team Leader; Colin Dillingham, HFQLG Monitoring Team Leader; Penne Ward, GIS; Patrick Doyle,
District Fuels Officer; Mike Holmes, Forest Fuels Officer; Scott Stawiarski, Forest Silviculturist; John Bassman, Eagle
Lake Ranger District Silviculturist; Jeff Watson, Management Analyst with HFQLG Implementation Team and Elise
Reierson, Office Assistant with HFQLG Implementation Team.
Grays Peak DFPZ thinning started: Nov 2010
Date completed: ongoing
Type of treatment and acres:
Grays Peak DFPZ Project, Decision Notice signed September 2, 2008.
Construct 608 acres of Defensible Fuel Profile Zone (DFPZ). The Grays Peak DFPZ project was split into two timber
sales, and two service contracts. Only the plantation mechanical thinning portion of the DFPZ was reviewed during
the field trip. We visited Unit 46 of the Grays Peak Timber Sale, which was 193 acres out of a 208 acre timber sale.
Grays Peak DFPZ project monitoring review
Resource
Attribute
Objective
Area
Reduce competition
of retained trees,
Improve
Silviculture
thin trees to 47
Forest Health
trees/ac or 90 sq ft
basal area
Silviculture
Group
Selection
Improve diversity of
stand by installing
group selection
treatments
Source of
Objective
EA and
Silviculture
prescription
EA and
HFQLG Act
Degree Met
Comments
Yes
The thinning project
reduced competition and
should increase vigor of
remaining trees
Yes
Remove ladder fuels
to prevent crown
HFQLG FEIS, Planned, not
fire initiation and
Appendix J
implemented
sustained crown fire.
Fuels
Ladder Fuels
Fuels
Surface Fuels
Rearrange fuels to
attain less than 4
foot flame length
Wildlife
Shrub
dependant
wildlife
species
Improve Shrub
Component in area
EA
Yes
Soils
Compaction
Prevent compaction
of soils during
harvest
Best
Management
Practices
Yes
Soils
Restore “A”
horizon where
removed in
historical
project
Restore soil
productivity by
replacing
windrowed A
horizon soils to
plantation
EA
Planned, not
implemented
HFQLG FEIS, Planned, not
Appendix J
implemented
Group selection treatments
implemented and followup planting is expected to
start a new age class of
pine
Thinning alone did not
create suitable DFPZ.
Follow-up mastication and
burning treatments needed
to reduce ladder fuels
Thinning alone did not
create suitable DFPZ.
Follow-up mastication and
burning treatments needed
to reduce surface fuels
Shrubs retained in
plantation and specific
shrub enhancement
treatments installed to
improve shrub habitats
Limited operating period
was implemented to
prevent compaction to
soils during wet conditions
Mastication treatment
expected to regenerate old,
less productive shrub field.
Grays Peak DFPZ Project – unit 46 of Grays
Peak DFPZ with commercial thinning to create
Defensible Fuel Profile Zone unit. Group
gathered to discuss portion of the unit that had
been implemented, as well as group selection,
untreated wildlife leave islands, and shrub
improvement gap openings.
Grays Peak DFPZ Project – John Zarlengo,
district silviculturist, explains purpose of group
selection treatment. This opening, approximately 2
acres in size, was implemented in this pine
plantation to improve stand diversity and start a
new pine age class.
Grays Peak DFPZ Project –
The Defensible Fuel Profile Zone thinning
reduced the crown closure, and there are
plans to follow-up the thinning with
mastication and underburning treatments to
meet the ladder fuels and surface fuel
objectives.
Grays Peak DFPZ Project –
Wildlife Biologists Kaley Phillips and Mark
Williams discuss the purpose of the gap
opening created to retain and enhance the
shrub component in the stand that is being
lost as the plantation matures. They
explained that the shrub habitat is important
to lots of species, such as deer and songbirds.
Grays Peak DFPZ Project –
The gap opening was installed to improve
shrub habitats. It is approximately 1 acre in
size and the conifers were reduced to 5 trees
per acre within the opening and after followup burning, the shrubs will be allowed to
occupy the site without follow-up conifer
planting efforts.
Dry Hills Forest Restoration Project (Proposed)
Dry Hills DFPZ Project –
The Defensible Fuel Profile Zone has not
been implemented yet. The planning team
leaders Blair Halbrooks, Laura Corral and
Kaley Phillips discuss the marked trees and
the objectives they hope to achieve during
the implementation phase of the project.
Dry Hills Forest Restoration Project –
Orange marked trees are planned for
retention. Smaller, unmarked trees are
scheduled for removal to create a more
resilient forest stand, which would survive in
the event of a wildfire.
Dry Hills Forest Restoration Project –
Laura Corral and Kaley Phillips discuss the
legacy pine retention and radial release
thinning aimed at restoration of these old
trees in the project area.
Follow up actions:
Complete follow-up fuel treatments at Grays Peak project to create a fully functioning DFPZ.
Finish planning Dry Hills Forest Restoration project and implement.
Notes prepared by HFQLG Monitoring Team Leader: /s/
Reviewed by District Ranger:
Colin Dillingham
__/s/ Alfred G. Vazquez
Date: 11 July 2011
Date: 18 August 2011