# WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN (2016) > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aconfederated_colville%3A8500c993b1b1c642 ## Record - **Collection:** Tribal code - **Document type:** Tribal code ## Text WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN For the Colville Indian Reservation Prepared By: Land & Property Management Colville Confederated Tribes Nespelem, Washington And Revised by Mt Tolman Fire Staff Keller, Washington April 2016 Wildland Fire Management Plan For the Colville Indian Reservation Revised by: Mt Tolman Fire Staff 90 Mt Tolman Road Keller, WA 99140 (509) 634-3100 Recommended for Approval by: ___________________________________________________ Fire Management Officer, Ike Cawston Date Recommended for Approval by: ___________________________________________________ Forest Manager, Joseph Holford Date Recommended for Approval by: ___________________________________________________ Superintendent, Debra Wulff Date Recommended for Approval by: ___________________________________________________ Colville Tribal Council Chairman Date Approved by:__________________________________________________________________ Northwest Region Office, Regional Director, Stanley Speaks Date Wildland Fire Management Plan Table of Content TABLE OF CONTENT Chapter I - Wildland Fire Management Plan Introduction ........................................................................... 9 Purpose and need .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Environmental Compliance .......................................................................................................................... 9 Authority for Implementation of the Wildland Fire Management Plan ........................................................ 9 Compliance with bureau of Indian Affairs Policy ...................................................................................... 10 Enabling Management Policies................................................................................................................... 10 Resource values to be protected .................................................................................................................. 10 Role of Wildland Fire Management Plan ................................................................................................... 10 Fire Policy history ....................................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter II – Tribal Goals and Objectives Directed Toward Wildland Fire Management .......................... 12 Tribal Fire Management Policy .................................................................................................................. 12 Tribal Fire Management Goals ................................................................................................................... 12 Specific Fire Management Goals ................................................................................................................ 12 Fire Management Standards ....................................................................................................................... 13 Fire Management Guidelines ...................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter III – Description of Area ............................................................................................................... 14 Location ...................................................................................................................................................... 14 Land Ownership .......................................................................................................................................... 14 General Climate/Weather............................................................................................................................ 14 Fire/Fuels .................................................................................................................................................... 15 Historical Perspective ................................................................................................................................. 15 Existing Conditions..................................................................................................................................... 19 Plant Associations ....................................................................................................................................... 20 Ponderosa Pine PAG’s ................................................................................................................................ 20 Douglas-fir PAG’s ...................................................................................................................................... 21 Grand Fir PAG ............................................................................................................................................ 21 Subalpine Fir PAG’s ................................................................................................................................... 23 Fuel Models ................................................................................................................................................ 24 Chapter IV – Values to be Protected ........................................................................................................... 27 Socioeconomic/Tribal Trust Responsibilities; Life .................................................................................... 27 Socioeconomic/Tribal Trust Responsibilities; Budgets, Staffing, Training Requirements ........................ 27 Resources, Property and Other Values ....................................................................................................... 27 Timber ......................................................................................................................................................... 27 Range/Agriculture ....................................................................................................................................... 28 Cultural/Historical/Religious Values .......................................................................................................... 29 Wildland Urban Interface ........................................................................................................................... 32 Air Quality .................................................................................................................................................. 33 Water Quality .............................................................................................................................................. 33 Wildlife Habitat .......................................................................................................................................... 34 Large Ungulates .......................................................................................................................................... 35 Other Mammals .......................................................................................................................................... 37 Threatened or Endangered Species Habitat – Birds.................................................................................... 38 Sharp-tail Grouse ........................................................................................................................................ 39 Bald Eagle ................................................................................................................................................... 41 Threatened or Endangered Species Habitat – Mammals ............................................................................ 42 Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 Wildland Fire Management Plan Table of Content Lynx ............................................................................................................................................................ 42 Threatened or Endangered Species Habitat – Fish ..................................................................................... 44 Bull Trout .................................................................................................................................................... 44 Chinook Salmon.......................................................................................................................................... 44 Threatened or Endangered Species Habitat – Plants................................................................................... 45 Soils ............................................................................................................................................................ 45 Other Values to be Protected ...................................................................................................................... 46 Chapter V – Preparedness Strategy............................................................................................................. 47 Authority and Responsibility ...................................................................................................................... 47 Overhead Staff ............................................................................................................................................ 48 Superintendent ............................................................................................................................................ 48 Forest Manager ........................................................................................................................................... 48 Fire Management Officer ............................................................................................................................ 48 Finance Section ........................................................................................................................................... 48 Tribal Coop Coordinator ............................................................................................................................. 48 Office Assistant II ....................................................................................................................................... 49 Logistic Section .......................................................................................................................................... 49 Assistant Fire Management Officer - Logistics ......................................................................................... 49 Training Officer .......................................................................................................................................... 49 Lead Dispatcher .......................................................................................................................................... 50 Dispatcher ................................................................................................................................................... 50 Warehouse Manager ................................................................................................................................... 50 Fire Prevention Officer ............................................................................................................................... 51 Fire Prevention Technicians ....................................................................................................................... 52 Heavy Equipment Mechanic ....................................................................................................................... 52 Fire Lookouts .............................................................................................................................................. 52 Relief Lookouts........................................................................................................................................... 52 Assistant Fire Management Officer – Fuels/Fire ........................................................................................ 52 Prescribed Fire/Fuels Specialist .................................................................................................................. 53 Supervisory Fuels Technician ..................................................................................................................... 53 Operations Specialist .................................................................................................................................. 53 Aviation Manager ....................................................................................................................................... 53 Heli-tack Crew ............................................................................................................................................ 54 Supervisory Equipment Operator................................................................................................................ 54 Equipment Operators .................................................................................................................................. 54 District Fire/Fuels Technicians ................................................................................................................... 54 Engine Operators ........................................................................................................................................ 55 Support Facilities ........................................................................................................................................ 55 Equipment ................................................................................................................................................... 55 Facilities ...................................................................................................................................................... 55 Mt. Tolman Fire Center Offices .................................................................................................................. 55 Fire Training Center.................................................................................................................................... 55 Fire Warehouse ........................................................................................................................................... 55 Heavy Equipment Shop .............................................................................................................................. 56 Detection ..................................................................................................................................................... 56 Fire Lookouts .............................................................................................................................................. 56 Aerial .......................................................................................................................................................... 56 Coordination Agreements ........................................................................................................................... 56 Cooperators ................................................................................................................................................. 57 Non-Fire Support Overhead ........................................................................................................................ 57 Training and Qualifications ........................................................................................................................ 57 Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 4 Wildland Fire Management Plan Table of Content Training Program ........................................................................................................................................ 57 Physical Fitness Program ............................................................................................................................ 58 Air Operations............................................................................................................................................. 58 Chapter VI – Mobilization Strategy ............................................................................................................ 59 Dispatch Hierarchy ..................................................................................................................................... 59 Weather Forecasts ....................................................................................................................................... 59 Local Weather Stations for Determining Fire Danger Indices .................................................................... 60 Criteria and Action Guidelines ................................................................................................................... 60 Pre-suppression ........................................................................................................................................... 60 Closure Plan ................................................................................................................................................ 60 Incident Mobilization Guide ....................................................................................................................... 64 Mission Statement....................................................................................................................................... 64 Policy .......................................................................................................................................................... 64 Objectives ................................................................................................................................................... 64 Administrative Procedures .......................................................................................................................... 65 Multiple Fire Situations .............................................................................................................................. 67 Reciprocal Areas ......................................................................................................................................... 68 Extended Attack Mobilization Strategy ...................................................................................................... 68 Off-Reservation Dispatch Procedures ......................................................................................................... 68 Overhead Crews .......................................................................................................................................... 68 Equipment and Supplies ............................................................................................................................. 69 Aircraft ........................................................................................................................................................ 70 Reports ........................................................................................................................................................ 71 Precaution Levels ........................................................................................................................................ 71 Preparedness Levels .................................................................................................................................... 72 Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) Mobilization Strategy ................................................... 72 Chapter VII – Prevention Strategy .............................................................................................................. 75 Specific Items that Warrant Special Mention ............................................................................................. 75 Fire (Burning) Permit System ..................................................................................................................... 75 Public Information and Education .............................................................................................................. 75 Closures/Restrictions .................................................................................................................................. 77 Enforcement ................................................................................................................................................ 77 Hazard Abatement ...................................................................................................................................... 77 Prevention Workload Analysis (PWA) ....................................................................................................... 78 Firework Policy........................................................................................................................................... 78 Public Information and Education .............................................................................................................. 78 Information ................................................................................................................................................. 78 Education .................................................................................................................................................... 79 Public Safety Measures ............................................................................................................................... 79 Fire Critique ................................................................................................................................................ 79 Annual Summary Report ............................................................................................................................ 80 Annual Fire Management Plan Review ...................................................................................................... 80 Chapter VIII – Appropriate Management Response Strategy .................................................................... 81 Fire Management Zones ............................................................................................................................. 81 Decision Responsibilities and Risk Analysis .............................................................................................. 85 Stage I – Initial Fire Assessment................................................................................................................. 87 Stage II – Short –Term Implementation Actions ........................................................................................ 87 Stage III – Long-Term Assessment and Implementation Actions .............................................................. 88 Periodic Fire Assessment ............................................................................................................................ 89 Wildland Fire Decisional Support System (WFDSS) ................................................................................. 89 AMR Prescription Determination ............................................................................................................... 90 Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 5 Wildland Fire Management Plan Table of Content Prescription Parameters .............................................................................................................................. 90 Chapter IX – Fuel Management/Hazard Reduction .................................................................................. 101 Risk - Hazard Assessment ........................................................................................................................ 101 Non-Urban Interface Hazard Reduction Workload .................................................................................. 102 Wildland Urban Interface Hazard Reduction Workload ........................................................................... 103 Example Strategies.................................................................................................................................... 103 Indirect ...................................................................................................................................................... 103 Direct ........................................................................................................................................................ 103 Rearrangement .......................................................................................................................................... 103 Treatment Plan Development Strategy ..................................................................................................... 103 Fuel Bed Conditions ................................................................................................................................. 104 Guidelines ................................................................................................................................................. 104 Treatment Plan Implementation Strategy ................................................................................................. 105 Implementation Team ............................................................................................................................... 105 Duties ........................................................................................................................................................ 105 Prescribed Burning Parameters ................................................................................................................. 106 Scheduling................................................................................................................................................. 106 Authorization to Burn ............................................................................................................................... 107 Mop Up ..................................................................................................................................................... 107 Financing .................................................................................................................................................. 109 Burn Complexity....................................................................................................................................... 109 Smoke Management Strategy ................................................................................................................... 109 Monitoring Strategy .................................................................................................................................. 110 WFDSS Strategy ....................................................................................................................................... 110 Chapter X – Burned Area Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (BAER)..................................... 112 Specifications, Treatment and Funding Conditions .................................................................................. 113 Watershed Treatments .............................................................................................................................. 113 Natural Resource Specifications (Other then Watersheds): ...................................................................... 114 Protection of Threatened and Endangered Species (Flora and Fauna) ..................................................... 114 Weed Control ............................................................................................................................................ 114 Timber Resource Values ........................................................................................................................... 114 Cultural Resource Treatments................................................................................................................... 115 Cultural Resources Damage Assessment, compliance and Rehabilitation (including archeology, cultural landscapes and traditional cultural properties).......................................................................................... 115 Historic Structure Condition, Assessment, Compliance and Rehabilitation ............................................. 116 Infrastructure & Safety Specifications ...................................................................................................... 116 Fence ......................................................................................................................................................... 116 Resource Protection and Public Safety Actions ........................................................................................ 117 Facility Replacement ................................................................................................................................ 117 Facility Construction/Structural Stabilization and Clean-up .................................................................... 117 Slash Mitigation ........................................................................................................................................ 118 Other Rehabilitation Measures.................................................................................................................. 118 BAER Measures for Protecting Investments ............................................................................................ 119 Dust Abatement ........................................................................................................................................ 119 Research and Continuous Forest Inventory (CFI) Plots ........................................................................... 119 Other ......................................................................................................................................................... 119 Minimum Impact Fire Suppression........................................................................................................... 119 REFERENCES CITED ............................................................................................................................. 121 ACRONYMS AND GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................ 124 APPENDIX 1…………………………………………………………………………………................132 Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 6 Wildland Fire Management Plan Table of Content LIST OF FIGURES Figure III - 1. Precipitation Zones on the Colville Indian Reservation. ..................................................... 16 Figure III - 2. Fire Management Zones on the Colville Indian Reservation. ............................................. 22 Figure III - 3. FBO Fuel Models on the Colville Indian Reservation. ....................................................... 26 Figure IV - 1 Wildland/Urban Interface Zones on the Colville Reservation. ............................................ 32 Figure IV - 2. Colville Indian Reservation Big-game Winter Range. ....................................................... 36 Figure IV - 3. Hellsgate and Omak Game Reserves on the Colville Indian Reservation. ......................... 36 Figure IV - 4. Sharp-tail Grouse Leks, Nesting and Winter Range on the Colville Reservation. ............. 40 Figure IV - 5. Balk Eagle Nest and Winter Roost Sites on the Colville Reservation. ............................... 42 Figure IV - 6. Lynx Habitat Distribution on the Colville Reservation. ..................................................... 43 Figure VIII - 1. National Wildfire Coordinating Group Policy Framework and Flowchart. ..................... 83 Figure VIII - 2. Fire Management Zones and Representative Locations on the Colville Reservation. ..... 93 Figure VIII - 3. Energy Release Component (ERC) Calculated for Nespelem and Kramer, both in FMU1/RL Non-Urban Trust Areas. ................................................................................................... 92 Figure VIII - 4 . Energy Release Component (ERC) Calculated for Kramer in a FMU2/RL Non-Urban Trust and FMU3/RL Non-Urban Trust Areas)................................................................................. 957 Figure VIII - 5. Energy Release component (ERC) Calculated for Gold Mountain in a FMU3/RL Figure VIII - 6 Energy Release Component (ERC) Calculated for WUI (ERC) Figure VIII - 7 Energy Release Component (ERC) Calculated for FMU 6 and 7/RL Natural/Wilderness areas..99 LIST OF TABLES Table IV - 1. Value Estimate of Current (2001) Range and Agriculture Values. ...................................... 28 Table IV - 2. Risk of Significant Negative Effects to Cultural Resources from Fire, Suppression and Rehabilitation. * ................................................................................................................................. 31 Table IV - 3. Known Occurrences of Endangered or Threatened Plant Species on Lands within or Adjacent to the Colville Indian Reservation. ..................................................................................... 45 Table V - 1. Available Shared Fire Support Resources. ............................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Table VI - 1. Manning and Specific Action Guides for the Colville Reservation. .................................... 61 Table VI - 2. Closure Plan Action Guidelines for the Colville Reservation. ............................................. 63 Table VII - 1. Fire Prevention Specific Manning and Action Guide for the Colville Reservation. ........... 76 Table VII - 2. Fire Problem Identification – Colville Reservation ............................................................ 78 Table VIII - 1. WFIP Implementation Stages for the Colville Reservation. .............................................. 86 Table VIII - 2. Guide for Wildland Fire Suppression Response in the FMU1 (Low Elevation Shrub /Grassland-Dry) /RL Non-Urban Trust Areas on the Colville Reservation……………………….Error! Bookmark not defined. Table VIII - 3. Guide for Wildland Fire Suppression Response in the FMU2 (Low Elevation Shrub /Grassland-Dry)/RL Non-Urban Trust Areas on the Colville Reservation. ..................................... 914 Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 7 Wildland Fire Management Plan Table of Content Table VIII - 4. Guide for Wildland Fire Suppression Response in the FMZ3 (Low Elevation Timber/Shrub - Dry)/RL Non-Urban Trust Areas on the Colville Reservation. .............................. 935 Table VIII - 5. Guide for Wildland Fire Suppression Response in the FMZ4 (Mid-High Elevation Timber/Shrub - Moist)/RL Non-Urban Trust Areas on the Colville Reservation. ...Error! Bookmark not defined.7 Table VIII - 6. Guide for Wildland Fire Suppression Response in the FMU5 WUI (Wildland UrbanInterface Areas on the Colville Reservation…………………………………………………….….9Error! Bookmark not defined. Table VIII - 7. Guide for Wildland Fire Suppression Response in the FM6 (Subalpine Forest)/RL Grizzly and FMU7 Mountain/Moses Mountain Areas on the Colville Reservation. ....................... 100 Table IX - 1. Proposed Average Annual Fuels Treatment Activity, PFIRM Colville Reservation. ....... 103 Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 8 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter I. Introduction CHAPTER I - WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN INTRODUCTION PURPOSE AND NEED The Wildland Fire Management Plan for the Colville Indian Reservation is a strategic plan that defines the fire program role in the management of wildland and prescribed fire on the Colville Indian Reservation. This Wildland Fire Management Plan (WFMP) is an integral part of the Colville Indian Reservation Plan For Integrated Resources Management (PFIRM). The implementation of this WFMP will allow fire to play its natural ecologic role on the Reservation while protecting human life, structures and cultural resources. The WFMP includes fire prescriptions, incorporates the use of management-ignited prescribed fire in predetermined areas, and allows for multiple suppression strategies on all fires declared wildland. Fire is an active and powerful natural force that has the potential to affect most all areas and land management programs of the Colville Indian Reservation. The WFMP will govern a highly complex fire program that meets Colville PFIRM objectives. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE This Wildland Fire Management Plan is tiered to the Colville Indian Reservation Plan For Integrated Resource Management Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision. The Record of Decision for this EIS is, in essence, a programmatic statement of intent that establishes basic policies and sets forth the planning element that will be employed by the Colville Natural Resources Department in future site-specific decisions. Copies of the Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision may be obtained from the Colville Confederated Tribes, Department of Natural Resources, P. O. Box 150, Nespelem, WA 99155. AUTHORITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN The Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy directs that every Federal land area with burnable vegetation will have a Wildland Fire Management Plan. The goals and objectives for the WFMP on the Colville Indian Reservation are established by the Colville Confederated Tribes Department of Natural Resources and implementation of the fire management program on the Reservation is the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Interior (USDI), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 9 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter I. Introduction COMPLIANCE WITH BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS POLICY The secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, through the wildland fire bureau directors and the Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs, is responsible for the fire management activities of the Department (including such activities when contracted for, in whole or in part, with other Agencies or Tribes) under the statutes cited in 910 DM 1.1. Enabling Management Policies References that identify current fire management policies, authority and management’s direction for the Colville Confederated Tribes can be found in the following: Bureau of Indian Affairs Manual #99-04 Part 90, Release 5/99.       25 CFR 163.28 Fire management authority given to the Secretary, USDI. National BIA Fire Management Planning Analysis (FMPA) Handbook, 1997 National Fire Management Analysis System (NFMAS) Technical Manual, 1997. National Interagency Incident Management System (IMS) Technical Publications PMS 310-1-2000 and PMS 330-1-1993. Interagency Helicopter Operations Guide (IHOG),. Record of Decision and Plan for Implementation, Integrated Resources Management Plan, Colville Indian Reservation, RESOURCE VALUES TO BE PROTECTED Fire can either destroy or enhance resources on the Colville Indian Reservation thereby affecting the Tribe’s economic well-being. It may be necessary for the Fire Management Staff to aggressively suppress wildland fire to protect resource values, and at other times wisely and judicially utilize prescribed fire to protect and enhance other resource values. Colville Tribal members have expressed their interest in both aspects of the fire management program. Natural resources such as forestry, range, wildlife, water and air quality are integral parts of the culture and economics of the Colville Indian Reservation and both aspects of fire management can be used to protect these multifaceted resource values. Person-made or natural resource components of Colville historic and cultural resources can be irreversibly damaged by uncontrolled fire and need to be protected whenever possible. ROLE OF WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN The Wildland Fire Management Plan for the Colville Indian Reservation describes the operational procedures in fire management that implements portions of the Colville Indian Reservation Plan For Integrated Resource Management, 2015-2030. The WFMP is the primary link between the Reservation’s resource management plans and fire management field operations. The Fire Management Planning Analysis (FMPA) determines most effective level (MEL) fire suppression program levels based on resource values. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 10 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter I. Introduction FIRE POLICY HISTORY Fire policy and fire management on the Colville Indian Reservation has been guided through the years by national fire policy direction and trends. Fire policy has been modified substantially during the last century. The first national fire policy came after several years of severe fires between 1910 and 1935. In the context of the ecological theory of the time, fire exclusion was believed to promote ecological stability. In addition, fire exclusion could also reduce commodity damages and economic losses. In 1935 the “10 AM Policy” was instituted wherein the objective was to prevent all human caused fires and contain any fire started by 10 a.m. the following day. By the 1960’s fire management costs were increasing exponentially. In addition, research was demonstrating that some positive benefits could be derived from natural and prescribed fire, and some leeway was granted for early and late season fires. A 10-Policy was added in 1971, which set a presuppression objective of containing all fires within 10 acres. In 1977, a new fire policy encouraged a pluralistic approach – fire by prescription. In the event initial attack failed alternatives to full suppression were to be considered. Fire suppression became fire management. Review following the 1988 Yellowstone fires continued fire policy evolution. The review affirmed the positive benefits of fire, but also identified the inherent risks and liabilities of using fire and recommended greater planning, preparation, cooperation, and management oversight. The extent and fatalities of the 1994 South Canyon Incident led to another review that again affirmed the positive benefits of fire. It recognized that fire was part of a larger problem, one of several symptoms of natural ecosystems becoming increasingly unstable due to altered regimes. It talked about the needs for landscape level resource management, the integration of fire into land management planning and implementation, and the involvement of all affected landowners and stakeholders. A report 1995 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy & Program Review documented these findings. This direction was reviewed following the 2000 fire season with a report prepared by the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture, Managing the Impact of Wildfires on Communities and the Environment: A Report to the President in Response to the Wildfires of 2000. The report focuses on several key points: restoring landscapes and rebuilding communities, undertaking projects to reduce risks, working directly with communities, and establishing accountability. Congress expressed its support with substantial new financial resources along with new direction for aggressive planning and implementation to reduce risks of wildland fire in Wildland Urban Interface acres. The Secretaries’ report and the Congressional action are generally known as the National Fire Plan. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 11 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter II. Goals and Objectives CHAPTER II – TRIBAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES DIRECTED TOWARD WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT TRIBAL FIRE MANAGEMENT POLICY Support and direction for the Colville Fire Management Program is located within the Colville Indian Reservation Integrated Resource Management Plan 2015-2030 The PFIRM provides support for fire suppression, pre-suppression programs and prescribed burning programs. Tribal Fire Management Goals An important goal of the Colville Confederated Tribes is to manage the Tribe’s natural resources holistically through the development and implementation of the Integrated Resources Management Plan 2015-2030 that was approved by Colville Business Council Resolution. The Colville PFIRM establishes a list of fifteen socio-economic, ecosystem enhancement and protection goals to be achieved on the Colville Indian Reservation. In order to accomplish these FIRM goals under direction of the Federal Wildland and Prescribed Fire Policy and Fire Management Planning Analysis, fire management specific goals along with standards and guidelines have been established. Specific Fire Management Goals The following fire management specific goals have been developed for the Colville Reservation:          Every firefighter, every fireline supervisor, every fire manager and every Agency administrator will take positive actions to ensure compliance with established safe firefighting practices. Recognize the role of wildland fire as an essential ecological process and natural change agent and incorporate applicable knowledge into the fire planning process. Life and property values will be protected from damaging wildfires. Prescribed fire will be used for protecting and resource benefits under approved plans and acceptable conditions. Air quality impacts will always be considered in the prescribed fire planning process. An effective fire suppression capability will be maintained with minimum funding requirements and the utilization of suppression methods least damaging to the Reservation’s resource values and environment. An aggressive wildland fire prevention program will be supported. Utilize only trained and qualified personnel on wildland and prescribed fire assignments. All wildland fires will be rehabilitated to minimize further damage or destruction to soil, water, forest, wildlife, roads, fauna and flora. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 12 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter II. Goals and Objectives Fire Management Standards The following standards have been developed to coordinate the requirement of the Colville Fire Management Goals with guidelines set forth by the Federal Wildland and Prescribe Fire Policy, and the Fire Management Planning Analysis:        Firefighter and public safety are the first priority in every fire management activity. Maintain an effective wildland fire suppression program and responsive prescribed fire management program. Develop fire management plans, programs, and activities that will support tribal land and resource management plans and their implementation when attainable. Foster Federal, State, Tribal, and Local interagency coordination and cooperation. Maintain a fire management program that is economically viable, based on values to be protected, costs, and land resource management objectives. All wildland fire personnel will be trained to those standards listed in the Wildland and Prescribed Fire Qualifications System Guide (PMS 310-1) Rehabilitate all wildland fires according to standards and guidelines outlined in the BAER Handbook. Fire Management Guidelines To meet the Reservations’ fire management goals and standards, the following guidelines will be followed: 1. Manage a wildland fire program that provides for firefighter and public safety, is cost-efficient, is responsive to land stewardship needs and to other resources management goals and objectives. 2. Maintain a training program that will provide sufficient numbers of trained and qualified firefighters to support the wildland fire and prescribed fire programs. 3. Maintain a comprehensive fuel's management program that addresses multi-disciplinary fire applications. 4. Conduct a fuel's inventory that will integrate with the GIS database and provide for long term trend monitoring. 5. Actively participate in interagency fire management operations through planning and sharing of resources under formal agreements. 6. Maintain a wildland fire prevention program that will strive to reduce all human caused wildland fires. 7. Continue to utilize Fire Management Planning Analysis for program planning. 8. Support and maintain a responsive and effective Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation team. 9. Promote tribal contracting and employment opportunities when available. 10. Aggressively suppress all wildland urban-interface wildfires. 11. Utilize “Light-Hands-on-the-Land fire tactics whenever feasible. 12. Provide for a safe working environment by strictly adhering to national standards for qualifications, physical fitness, and personal protective equipment as outlined in PMS 310-1,. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 13 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area CHAPTER III – DESCRIPTION OF AREA LOCATION The 1,392,265-acre Colville Indian Reservation is located in the north central portion of the State of Washington. The Reservation, the largest in the State of Washington measures approximately 35 miles north to south and 80 miles east to west. About 610,000 acres of the Reservation are in Okanogan County and 782,000 acres in Ferry County. More specifically, the Reservation is bounded on the east and south by the Columbia River, on the west by the Okanogan River and on the north by the township line common to Townships 34 and 35 north of the Willamette meridian. Much of the Reservation is mountainous covered by conifer forest, but lands bordering the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers are arid and naturally covered with vegetation of steppe environments. About 1,023,700 acres of the Reservation are in tribal trust and the remaining lands are in a non-trust status (owned by private individuals or corporations). The principal towns on the Colville Reservation are Nespelem, Keller, Elmer City and Coulee Dam in the central portion, Inchelium in the eastern portion and East Omak on the western boundary. In addition to the Reservation communities, a large number of people live in more rural locations throughout the Reservation. This wildland urban interface with natural vegetation fuel complexes is increasing each year. LAND OWNERSHIP The land ownership pattern on the Reservation is complex and dynamic. Two basic categories of ownership are present: trust lands, which are held in trust by the U.S. Government, and fee patent lands, which are on the county land records and are taxed. Trust lands include both tribal lands owned collectively by the Tribes and allotted lands owned by Tribal members. Joint ownership of an allotment by several heirs is common. Non-Indians own most fee lands, while both the tribes and individual tribal members own some fee lands. Small amounts of land within the Reservation are owned by, or held in easement by, the U.S. Government, State of Washington, Ferry County or Okanogan County. These publicly owned lands are mostly rights-of-way associated with highway and road construction or dams and developments. The total trust land amounts to approximately 1,063,200 acres, of which 1,023,700 acres are tribal lands and 39,500 acres, are allotted lands. Fee land acreage is approximately 321,886 acres. The amount of lands under tribal ownership is continuing to increase with the tribal policy of buying fee and allotted land whenever possible (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 1979). GENERAL CLIMATE/WEATHER Because of the location of the Reservation and its elongated east-west shape, the Reservation encompasses the interface of three climatic regimes. Vegetation of the southern portion of the Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 14 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area Reservation along the Columbia River reflects the strong influence of the arid and semi-arid climates and steppe region (shrub and grass dominated vegetation) of the north central Columbia Basin. The western half of the Reservation displays the strong influence of the rain shadow cast by the Cascade Mountain range that produces a warmer and drier climate than the ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forestlands to the east. The eastern half of the Reservation (in particular the northeast corner) is influenced by the maritime weather patterns that produce the cooler and moister climates that add grand fir and western red-cedar to the forest composition in the extreme northeastern Washington. The bulk of the annual precipitation comes during the winter months in the form of snow at the higher elevations, and rain at the lower elevations. Summers are characterized by a hot dry period, July through mid September, punctuated by monsoon type thunderstorms. See Figure III - 1 for precipitation patterns. FIRE/FUELS Historical Perspective Many elders say the forest is different today than it used to be. They picture the forest as having been open and park-like with big ponderosa pine trees and very little brush. They describe riding horseback through a forest unimpeded by thick vegetation. In 1904, a forester named Franklin Reed described two forest types on the Reservation (Reed 1904): "... a pure, open stand of bull pine (ponderosa) with a ground cover of bunch grass. The stand consists of 10 to 15 trees, 12 inches and over diameter breast-high, per acre..." Reed describes this pine type as occurring on predominantly southern exposures up to 3,500 feet elevation. The second type, which he called mixed forest, occurred above 3,500 feet elevation, on all north exposures below that, and in the bottom of deep, narrow, sheltered valleys, such as the San Poil River and Hall, and Barnabee Creeks. He describes this mixed stand as: "... a dense stand of red fir (Douglas-fir) and larch with a varying intermixture of yellow (ponderosa) and lodgepole pine. The stand is often so dense as to prevent the growth of grass, but where it is open enough the ground cover is usually pinegrass. (The) proportion of timber under 12 inches in diameter breast high is so high that the yield per acre is not heavy..." These early descriptions indicate that forest conditions in the historical past may have been different than they are today. Historical conditions are likely to represent the forest as influenced by natural processes, and thus may be indicative of the nature or ecology of the forest. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 15 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area Figure III - 1. Precipitation Zones on the Colville Indian Reservation. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 16 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area Reed describes fire on the Reservation as follows: "Fires have occurred in the timbered portion of the Reservation every summer since anything was known about the country. At one time or another, the whole area has been burned over. Once a forest fire gets burning no attempt is ever made to put it out unless it gets so near to threaten destruction to buildings or fences." Boyce and Dumas (1997) pointed out that fires have burned through Reservation forests for thousands of years, most likely since the recession of the ice age 10,000 to 15,000 years before present. The Reservation is subject to considerable summer thunderstorm activity. Additionally, the indigenous people had a tradition of igniting fires for various reasons. These factors, in conjunction with rainfall patterns, created a historic pattern of frequent fires across the Reservation. At the dryer low elevations, fire resistant ponderosa pine predominated in mosaics of even-aged, relatively open stands. At the highest elevations or in very moist areas, seral species were periodically replaced by cataclysmic fire events. Between 1910 and 1930 there were several large stand-replacing fires in the higher elevations characterized by sub-alpine fir and lodgepole pine. By 1930, though, fire suppression had begun to change the forest. The transition between forest and rangeland appears to have expanded into areas that did not support trees in the past. The density of trees throughout all alterations of the forest has increased as well, primarily from the suppression of fires. Further discussion on the changing forest in response to fire control is shown in the Forest Vegetation section. Historically the frequency, intensity, and extent of fires differed considerably across the Reservation. These differences can be categorized by the concept of the fire regimes as described by Agee (1981). They are a function of growing environment (temperature and moisture patterns), ignition pattern (lightning, human), and plant species characteristics (fuel accumulation, adaptations to fire). Fire regimes found on the Colville Reservation include” High-severity regimes: Fires are very infrequent (more than 100 years); they are usually high intensity, stand replacement fires. They are typically moist and cool areas where fire occurs under unusual conditions, such as during long drought and with dry, hot winds (Pickford, et. al. 1980). Fires are often of short duration (days to weeks) but of high intensity and severity. Historically this regime would be characterized by the sub-alpine habitat types and covers about 80,500 acres. In Table I - 1 below describing the Vegetative Cover Types these would be categorized as lethal natural fire regimes. Moderate-severity regimes: Fires are infrequent (25-100 years); they are partial stand replacement fires, including significant areas of high and low severity. They occur in areas with typically long summer dry periods and fires will last weeks to months. Periods of intense fire behavior are mixed with periods of moderate- and low-intensity fire behavior; variable weather is associated with variable fire effects. Historically this regime would be characteristic of the wet Douglas-fir, grand fir habitat types and areas dominated by hardwoods or a hardwood conifer mix, and covers about 612,823 acres. These Vegetative Cover Types are categorized as mixed natural fire regimes (Table I - 1). Low-severity regimes: Fires are frequent (1-25 years); they are low intensity fires with few overstory effects. Frequent fires limit the time for fuel to accumulate, so typical fire intensity is Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 17 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area moderate to low. Historically this regime would be characteristic of the ponderosa pine and dry Douglas-fir habitat types and covers about 242,305 acres. These Vegetative Cover Types (Table I – 1) are categorized as non-lethal natural fire regimes. Table III - 1. Plant Association Groups (Cover Types) Identified on the Colville Indian Reservation. PLANT ASSOCIATION GROUPS Ponderosa Pine – Grass Ponderosa Pine – Bitterbrush PLANT ASSOCIATIONS Ponderosa Pine/bluebunch Wheatgrass (PIPO/AGSP) Ponderosa Pine/Idaho fescue (PIPO/FEID) Ponderosa Pine/bitterbrush (PIPO/PUTR) Ponderosa Pine/ricegrass (PIPO/ORHY) Ponderosa Pine/bitterbrush/bluebunch wheatgrass (PIPO/PUTR/AGSP) Ponderosa Pine/bitterbrush/Idaho Fescue (PIPO/PUTR/FEID) CROWN* DENSITY AREA ACRES 45% 68,175 40% 45% 50% 45% 64,838 45% Douglas-fir – Warm, Dry Douglas-fir/Idaho fescue (PSME/FEID) 90% Douglas-fir – Cool, Dry Douglas-fir/pinegrass (PSME/CARU) Douglas-fir/pinegrass/bearberry (PSME/CARU/ARUV) Douglas-fir/spirea (PSME/SPBEL) 95% 85% Douglas-fir – Warm, Moist Douglas-fir/snowberry (PSME/SYAL) Ponderosa Pine/snowberry (PIPO/SYAL) 100% 90% Douglas-fir – Cool, Moist Douglas-fir/oceanspray (PSME/HODI) Douglas-fir/ninebark/heartleaf arnica (PSME/PHMA/ARCO) Douglas-fir/ninebark-pachistima (PSME/PHMA-PAMY) 22,960 86,332 90% 95% 95% 253,666 257,385 100% Grand Fir Grand fir/twinflower (ABGR/LIBOL) Grand-fir/twinflower/Pacific Yew (ABGR/LIBOLTABR) Grand-fir/fairy bells (ABGR/DIHO) Western Red-cedar/twinflower (THPL/LIBOL)** Western Red-cedar/wild sarsaparilla (THPL/ARNU3) 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 51,450 Subalpine Fir – Warm Subalpine fir/twinflower (ABLA2/LIBOL) 100% 18,015 Subalpine Fir – Cold Subalpine fir/huckleberry (ABLA2/VACCI) Subalpine fir/pine grass (ABLA2/CARU) Subalpine fir/pachistima (ABLA2/PAMY) 100% 100% 100% 62,469 TOTAL --886,810 * Existing crown closure density (tentative – needs adjustment for Reservation) ** The western red-cedar plant associations have been included in the grand fir PAG because of their limited area and distribution. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 18 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area Non-forest regimes: Vegetation of the southern portion of the Reservation along the Columbia River reflects the strong influence of the arid and semi-arid climates and steppe region (shrub and grass dominated vegetation) of the north central Columbia Basin. Fires are frequent (1-25 years); the effect on vegetation varies by species composition and community structure. For example, longer fire free intervals lead to dominance of bitter/sage brush communities which when burned are replaced for a time by herb dominated communities. This savanna type covers approximately 446,165 acres. Existing Conditions The fire regimes as shown above have formed the structure of natural forests on the Reservation. However, few Reservation forestlands have been managed for natural conditions such as those created by fires of the past. Fire is less prevalent on today's landscape than in historic times, due to effective fire control policies. Success in fire suppression has allowed more uniform and increasing fuel loads across the Reservation, shifting forest fire effects that were typically of low and moderate severity in historic fires to severe fires today. Ironically, the increased risk of valuable timber loss has forced the use of more intensive and often mechanized forms of suppression actions. This in turn has added to fire costs with greater impacts on other resource values (CCT 1992). Fire exclusion, and past selective cutting, has changed the structure, composition and density of the today’s existing forest. Fire suppression removed the primary source of natural thinning in forest stands. It also removed a powerful force that selected in favor of seral species by favoring thickbarked fire resistant trees and shade intolerant pioneer species. Additionally, suppression of naturally recurring fires has allowed the accumulation of fuels. Selective harvest methods have advanced the successional character by disproportionately removing seral species while opening up the forest canopies enough to favor the establishment of either brush or shade tolerant climax species. Favoring the creation of understory plant communities changed the structure, or multiple canopy stands. Existing conditions now after eighty years of management are many multi-level stands that support more trees per acre than they did historically. The upper canopy levels are often made up of the remnants of the pre-management forest, largely ponderosa pine and western larch. The lower levels are frequently made up of over-dense stands of shade tolerant, climax species. Accumulated fuel levels are high. Historical photographs and narratives illustrate a change in understory vegetation with brush becoming a more dominant component. Land use patterns have also altered the natural fire regimes. In the savanna areas noted above approximately 20,000 acres is now cultivated. There are significant areas of urban concentration, approximately 1,600 acres and more rural urban interface that is difficult to map but is estimated at approximately 4,000 acres. The fire management zones (Figure III - 2) are based upon areas of habitat types noted above, natural fire regimes, natural ignition patterns, and expected fire behavior given current fuels conditions. Areas by zones are Zone 1: 397,256 acres, Zone 2: 318,070 acres, Zone 3: 319,950 acres and Zone 4: 255,480 acres. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 19 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area Plant Associations Clausnitzer and Zamora (1987) developed the classification system used on the Colville Indian Reservation to describe 28 plant associations found on forested areas. This ecological classification provides for the identification of biological site potential by means of vegetation characteristics and involves the recognition of land units based on potential climax vegetation or plant associations (Daubenmire 1968). The Plant Association Group (PAG) is the environmental unit used by the Colville Reservation forest resource management teams. Plant Association Groups provide a means to organize many forest stands into a more manageable number of identifiable units having relatively similar biotic and abiotic environments. The PAG vegetation, soils and other physical characteristics on a site serve as indicators of future species composition, productivity potential and probable responses to management actions. The 28 forest plant associations identified on the Reservation were combined into nine plant association groups (PAG’s) based on similar environmental conditions, disturbance regimes, response to disturbance and productivity. Figure I-3 provides a list of these forest plant associations and acreage on the Reservation for each PAG. Compared to lands in the Cascade Mountains to the west and Selkirk Mountains to the east, the Reservation supports a limited diversity of plant associations. Based on information in the plant association database the major climax tree species on the Reservation Figure I-3 is Douglas-fir. Four relatively similar Douglas-fir PAG’s occupy over 70 percent of the Reservation forest. Ponderosa pine PAG’s occur at the lowest elevations and constitutes about 15 percent of the forested landscape. Grand fir occurs at higher elevations east of the San Poil River, with volcanic ash modified soils generally being the only environmental factor differing between the Douglas-fir and grand fir associations. Subalpine fir PAG’s dominate the highest elevations, making up the remaining 8 percent of the potential forest vegetation. Ponderosa Pine PAG’s The forested area of the Reservation classified into the ponderosa pine PAG’s is dominated by ponderosa pine with only minor amounts of Douglas-fir. Quaking aspen may occur on wetter soils. These PAG’s include a large part of the deer and elk winter range. Ponderosa pine forests present at the turn of the century were the result of frequent low intensity fires, caused by both lightning and aboriginal ignitions. The result was a forest mosaic of small to moderate sized even-aged patches. Stocking levels were low, creating very open stands. Now, stands in the ponderosa pine PAG’s are often choked with understory regeneration as the result of an extended period of fire exclusion. The extensive stocking has encouraged a proliferation of a number of bark beetle species. Whereas fire formerly thinned the stands from below, the bark beetles are now thinning them from above, killing the most valuable trees first. This is occurring despite repeated entries that have removed high-risk trees and reduced the amount of old-growth to low levels. Mistletoe, which was formerly a localized problem, is now widespread with understory trees being rapidly infected by residual overstory. The large stumps Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 20 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area created by several cycles of previous logging are increasingly the focus of annosum root rot centers. Plentiful ladder fuels, mistletoe brooms and dead and down material makes the threat of catastrophic fire a greatly increased possibility in the area identified in the ponderosa pine PAG’s. Under existing conditions, tree mortality appears to be increasing and site productivity declining in these PAG’s. Douglas-fir PAG’s Tree species occurring on lands in the Douglas-fir PAG’s include Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, western larch, lodgepole pine, and quaking aspen. The lower elevation area in these PAG’s provides deer and elk winter range. Fire history indicates slightly less frequent fires of slightly higher intensity than in the drier ponderosa pine PAG’s and has created a large mosaic of patches burned by surface fires or crowning fires. Fire resistant and seral species were favored, with regeneration occurring in the fire created openings and fire induced thinning occurring elsewhere. Individual stands within the complex mosaic were largely even-aged. All the common forest pests, while present, were usually at endemic levels. With fire control starting in the early 1900s, the natural thinning and stand replacement function in these PAG’s no longer occurred to any level of significance. The introduction of selection logging along with fire control no longer opened up stands sufficiently to favor the establishment of shade intolerant seral species. Additionally, the fire functions of duff reduction for site preparation and continual culling of the more fire sensitive climax species was eliminated. The result has been a massive conversion to a condition of overstocked Douglas-fir understories. The seral species overstories diminished as successive stand entries continue. Armillaria and laminated root disease, which formerly were endemic, have exploded in the presence of their preferred host, Douglas-fir. Bark beetles in epidemic proportions are serious pests related to the overstocked conditions while mistletoe has spread under the multi-canopy conditions. Grand Fir PAG The grand fir PAG has the greatest diversity of tree and understory plant species. Tree species include grand fir, Douglas-fir, western larch, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, western red-cedar (moister soils), Sitka alder, paper birch, and quaking aspen. Lands in this PAG provide deer and elk summer range, hiding and thermal cover. This PAG, located on soils more moist than occupied by Douglas-fir PAG’s, sometimes occupies favorable aspects or sheltered positions in a complex matrix within the Douglas-fir zone. The natural fire frequency within lands classified in the grand fir PAG varies from somewhat longer than the Douglas-fir PAG’s to nearly rotation length in the wettest locations. In most cases, recurring fires precluded the development of thin barked, shallow rooted climax grand fir while favoring fire resistant western larch. Douglas-fir in older age classes also has a thick bark and might be classified as moderately fire resistant. In many cases the natural stands prior to wildfire suppression were nearly indistinguishable from the Douglas-fir zone stands except for a more lush understory vegetation and an increased component of Douglas-fir allowed by the longer fire frequency. Historically, grand fir was well represented only in the most humid or protected locations. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 21 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area Figure III - 2. Fire Management Zones on the Colville Indian Reservation. FMZ 4 FMZ 3 FMZ 2 FMZ 1 N E W S Colville Indian Reservation March 2002 22 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area Here, as in the Douglas-fir zone, fire exclusion and selection logging have allowed the development of understories of the most shade tolerant species (grand fir and Douglasfir), resulting in chronic overstocking, multi-level stands, and large numbers of host trees for a variety of forest pests and diseases. Annosum root rot in grand fir is a serious problem along with various heart rot fungi. Armillaria and laminated root rots attack both grand fir and Douglas-fir. Dwarf mistletoe in Douglas-fir and western larch reacts dramatically when closed stands are opened up, and the understories are soon infected in multi-story stands. The spruce budworm and tussock moth are expected to soon become epidemic and the combination of all of the above plus the chronic overstocking can be expected to create future bark beetle problems. Fuel buildup and large quantities of ladder fuels, combined with the fire sensitive grand firs, insures that any fire in the future will cause serious damage or stand replacement. Subalpine Fir PAG’s Tree species located on lands within the subalpine fir PAG’s include subalpine fir, Douglas-fir, western larch, lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, Sitka alder, quaking aspen, and paper birch. The area provides cover for deer and elk during the summer season along with forage in disturbed areas. Being at the highest elevations or in the coldest areas, lands in these PAG’s have the lowest fire frequency. The longer period between fires, plus generally favorable climatic conditions, allowed for higher fuel accumulations than in most forest areas of the Reservation. Fires, when they occurred, were more likely to be catastrophic in nature and resulted in stand replacement with seral, fire related lodgepole pine or lodgepole pine-western larch mixtures. In some areas, even-aged fire-resistant old-growth western larch stands developed. Climax subalpine fir is found only in limited areas on the Reservation. Fire suppression and selection logging have allowed many old-growth western larch stands to develop understories of shade tolerant subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce or Douglas-fir, with each successive selection harvest decreasing the amount of western larch remaining in the overstory. Armillaria, laminated, and annosum root rots are damaging the shade tolerant species. Douglas-fir and western larch mistletoe infections have become serious in the partially harvested overstories, and understories are becoming infected. Spruce budworm and tussock moth are now present in the host species (Douglas-fir and subalpine fir) and are expected to cause future significant losses. Lodgepole stands have not, for the most part, been selectively logged but for many years were bypassed because of low product values. This has resulted in a large inventory of lodgepole at or near rotation age, most of which is in an overstocked condition. Mountain pine beetle activity is increasing and will continue for many years into the future. Lodgepole mistletoe, while present, is usually not serious due to the extensive even-aged structures and younger age of the stands. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 23 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area Fuel Models The National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) depends upon an ordered set of weather records to establish conditions of the day. These weather conditions along with the 1978 NFDRS fuel models are used to represent the day-to-day and seasonal trends in fire danger. Modifications to the fuel models are possible by changes in live/dead ratios, moisture content, fuel loads, and drought influences by the large fuel effect on fire danger. The 13 fuel models for fire behavior estimation are for the severe period of the fire season when wildfires pose greater control problems and impact on land resources. Fire behavior predictions must utilize on-site observations and short-term data to extrapolate from remote measurement stations. The field use situation generally is one of stress and urgency. Therefore, the selection options and modifications for fuel models are limited to maintain a reasonably simple procedure to use with fire behavior prediction methods such as BEHAVE, and FARSITE. The NFDRS fuel models are part of a computer data processing system that presently is not suited to real-time, in-the-field prediction of fire behavior. Therefore, this discussion of fuel model acreage deals primarily with the 13 FBO fuel models. Conversion to the NFDRS models can be made as explained by Anderson 1982. Time since disturbance will greatly affect the assessment of fuels for any given site; therefore the following discussion is a snapshot in time. The following gives the approximate acreage of fuels conditions on the Reservation derived from satellite imagery.           Fuel Model 1 Fuel Model 2 Fuel Model 5 Fuel Model 8 Fuel Model 9 Fuel Model 10 Urban Agriculture Water* Rock/Thin Soils 325,049 Acres 294,614 Acres 335,161 Acres 226,439 Acres 107,498 Acres 13,102 Acres 1,400 Acres 37,887 Acres 10,471 Acres 11,121 Acres  Total 1,362,742 Acres *Does not include the acreage of Reservation under the waters of Rufus Woods and Roosevelt Lakes. A large portion of that area designated as Fuel Model 5 is covered with timber. These areas have a large component of the understory vegetation in brush species. This component produces a large live fuel component which does not occur in Fuel Models 8 and 9, and which differs from the species composition found in fuel model 2. In addition, the amount of large fuel loading characteristic of Fuel Model 10 is not applicable in many of these stands. However, in some areas, the fuel depth characteristic of Fuel Model 5 is not met but this Fuel Model gives a better fit than the others do. In the future, a custom Fuel Model should be developed for these areas. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 24 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area This assessment is available as a grid coverage for the Reservation. This coverage can be used with the FARSITE fire area simulator as a strategic and tactical tool for the Reservation staff. Some of the Reservation fuels characteristics remain fairly constant over a relatively long time period such as those classified as non-forest regimes as discussed previously. However, disturbance of the native forest vegetation occurs presently on the scale of approximately 20,000 acres per year. This is primarily through timber harvest and timber stand improvement activities. Therefore, at any one time there is approximately this acreage in fresh activity fuels, primarily of Fuel Model 11 and to a lesser extent Fuel Model 12. As these fuels are treated for either hazard reduction or age, the fuel assessment for that particular tract will change. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 25 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Description of Area Figure III - 3. FBO Fuel Models on the Colville Indian Reservation. N W E S Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 26 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter IV. Values to be Protected CHAPTER IV – VALUES TO BE PROTECTED During development of the Plan For Integrated Resources Management, 2015-2030 (PFIRM) a wide range of Issues, Concerns and Opportunities (ICOs) involving fire and fire impacts were disclosed and evaluated. Below is a summary of values to be protected as directed in the PFIRM. For a more detailed discussion of fire ICOs and the values to be protected consult the PFIRM. SOCIOECONOMIC/TRIBAL TRUST RESPONSIBILITIES; LIFE The first priority in every fire management activity is the safety of the firefighter and the public. The nature of fire management and fire suppression is hazardous duty for the firefighters and can pose a threat to the public. Firefighters are taught how to recognize potential hazards to their well-being and instructed not to take action that might compromise their safety. On the other hand, the public may not recognize the hazard or how to avoid being involved. A fire produces smoke that can cause unsafe visibility and breathing conditions especially for any one that suffers from a respiratory problem. SOCIOECONOMIC/TRIBAL TRUST RESPONSIBILITIES; BUDGETS, STAFFING, TRAINING REQUIREMENTS The PFIRM and this Wildland Fire Management Plan will increase the current responsibilities of the Fire Management Staff with significant changes in wildland fuel management and fire use. Increases in Fire Management budget may be necessary. The US Congress has also established separate moneys for accomplishing wildland hazard fuel reduction and this could become available once the WFMP addressing these goals is approved. RESOURCES, PROPERTY AND OTHER VALUES Timber Fire can play a duel role in forest management in that it can destroy a valuable revenue resource causing a major impact on local economics. Fire can also be used by forest management to clean up unwanted natural/activity fuels and prepare forest sites for natural and artificial regeneration. Boyce and Dumas (1997) pointed out that fires have burned through Reservation forests for thousands of years, most recently since the recession of the ice age 10,000 to 15,000 years before present. The Reservation is subject to considerable summer thunderstorm activity. Additional, the indigenous people had a tradition of igniting fires for various reasons. These factors, in conjunction with rainfall patterns, created a historic pattern of frequent fires across the Reservation. At the dryer low elevations, fire resistant ponderosa pine predominated in mosaics of even-aged, relatively open stands. At the highest elevations or in very moist areas, seral species were predominately replaced by cataclysmic fire events. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 27 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter IV. Values to be Protected Recently fire exclusion, and past selective cutting, has changed the structure, composition, and density of today’s forest. Fire suppression removed the primary source of natural thinning in forest stands. It also removed a powerful force that selected in favor of seral species by favoring thick-barked fire resistant trees and shade intolerant pioneer species. The success in fire suppression has allowed more uniform and increasing fuel loads across the Reservation, shifting fire effects that were typically of low and moderate severity to severe fires today. The 1,392,265-acre Colville Indian Reservation is comprised of 901,622-acres of forestland of which 673,025-acres has been classified as commercial forestland. The PFIRM identifies an annual allowable harvest from these forests at 77.6 MMBF per year with a present net value of $125.5 million. A PFIRM objective is to “Restore fire as a natural process by developing and implementing prescribed fire plans on a landscape basis.” In many cases, this would be accomplished with a combination of reducing stocking to desired levels, followed by prescribed fire. Standards and guidelines for the treatment of harvest fuels are contained in the PFIRM. The PFIRM also increases the level of prescribed fire on non-harvest areas to restore and maintain desired forest conditions to 6,400 acres per year. Range/Agriculture Range and agricultural lands would suffer a short-term impact causing loss of crops and/or grazing within the area burned over. The following Table IV -1 represents a value estimation of current range and agriculture values for the Colville Reservation. These figures were provided by the Colville Agency, Bureau of Land Operations Office and represent an approximate estimate. Table IV - 1. Value Estimate of Current (2001) Range and Agriculture Values. Resource Livestock Forage Wildlife/Plant Residual Dryland Grain Dryland Hay Fences Spring Development Corrals Total calculation 1,100,000 acres x 1 ac/aum x $6,00/aum 1,100,000 acres x.1ac/aum x $6.00/aum 5,000 acres x 40 bu. x $4.00/bu 3,500 acres x 2 tons x $60/ton 1,200 miles x $6,000/mi. 300 x $500/repair 10 x $2,000 value $ 660,000 $ 660,000 $ 800,000 $ 420,000 $7,200,000 $ 150,000 $ 20,000 $9,910,000 Fire could also provide long-term benefits to rangeland by reducing shrub cover, recycling nutrients, increasing biomass production, stimulation of seed production and retardation of encroachment by conifers while maintaining improved stands of grass. Fire will consume dropped ponderosa pine needles that contain a phytotoxin that can inhibit the germination and growth of grass seedlings. The PFIRM calls for 1,000 acres of rangeland to be treated by prescribed fire annually. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 28 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter IV. Values to be Protected Cultural/Historical/Religious Values Fire can play a duel role in this area; (1) causing extensive damage to cultural and historical resources, and (2) improving the site conditions by removing unwanted fuel, restoring the natural life history of important food and medicinal plants, and improving visibility. The importance of cultural resources to the CCT has been formally stated in the PFIRM and the Colville Cultural Resources Protection Ordinance (Resolution 1983-411), which sets out the basic procedures for cultural resources management on the Colville Reservation. In 1996, the Colville Business Council (Resolution 1996-29) also established the position of the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO). The THPO has been designated as the primary point of contact regarding cultural resources management on the Colville Reservation. Under the National Historic Preservation Act, the THPO is to be consulted regarding the potential of undertakings on the Reservation to adversely affect cultural resources. Over 600 cultural resources have been recorded within Colville Reservation. Prehistoric camps are the single most common type of cultural resource, many of which have been recorded along the Columbia, Okanogan, and San Poil Rivers. Camps make up a little more than a quarter of the known sites. All historic-period sites combined make up another quarter of the known sites. Many of the historic-period sites are abandoned homesteads, but corrals, mining adits and shafts, and logging camps are also present. Stacked rock features (cairns), pits hollowed out of talus slopes, and other rock alignments constitute another 20% of the recorded sites. Many of these rock features are considered to be prehistoric burials, and they are considered highly sensitive. Rock features are most common in areas of exposed bedrock, especially on ridges or promontories, or on talus slopes. Other categories of cultural resource include burials, rock art, major prehistoric villages, rock shelters, peeled trees, and prehistoric trails. Additional information on cultural and historic values can be found in the PFIRM. The Colville Confederated Tribes value cultural resources because they represent a physical link to the history of the Tribes and because of their role in traditional beliefs and activities that continue into the present day. In the Ordinance, the CCT has adopted criteria developed by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) regarding the significance of cultural resources. In brief, a cultural resource is considered significant if it is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Eligible resources are generally over 50 years old, retain their integrity of location and setting, and meet one or more of the following criteria: 1. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or 2. that are associated with the lives of person significant in our past; or 3. that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or 4. that has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. (36 CFR60.4) Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 29 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter IV. Values to be Protected Cultural resources that meet these criteria are considered eligible for inclusion in the National Register, and consideration of the effects of fire management on these resources is required under Tribal and Federal laws and regulations. An event or undertaking is considered to have a significant or adverse effect on a cultural resource if it alters the attributes of that resource such that it no longer eligible for inclusion. For example, a distinctively constructed wooden homestead would no longer be considered eligible for inclusion in the NRHP if it burned down as a result of an uncontrolled wildfire. The wildfire would be considered to have an adverse effect on that particular cultural resource. Not all cultural resources are equally at risk to damage from fire or fire-related activities like suppression or rehabilitation. Table IV-2 below summarizes the risk of damage to some of the major categories of cultural resource present on the Colville Reservation. The potential for fire damage to prehistoric cultural resources varies with the type of resource and the intensity of the fire. Hot and deep burning fires have the capacity to fracture stone tools found in campsites, and hot fires may damage pictographs painted on granite because the heat can cause the rock to "exfoliate" or loose thin slabs of material near the surface. Peeled trees are obviously at risk to damage from fires. Cairns, talus pits, and other rock features, on the other hand, tend to be relatively unaffected by fire. Fires may actually improve some traditional cultural properties because they can remove underbrush and diseased trees that interfere with traditional uses. Historic period sites, particularly abandoned homesteads, are particularly subject to fire damage because they often contain wooden structures that burn rapidly. Historic archaeological sites are more subject to fire damage than prehistoric sites because they lay closer to the surface and many of the glass and ceramic items can easily be fractured by heat. Suppression has the capacity to significantly affect any cultural resource, especially when they involve the use of heavy equipment. Standard fire-fighting procedure often involves the use of bulldozers to dig firelines along the flanks of fires and along ridgelines. Bulldozers can easily damage prehistoric campsites and historic-period home sites. People building cairns and other rock features important to traditional practices have often favored rocky ridgelines, placing them directly in the path most likely to be taken by someone building a fire-break. Rehabilitation typically focuses on stabilization of soils and restoration of vegetation in burned or bulldozed areas, so in many cases, it helps to preserve cultural resources that might otherwise be lost through erosion. Nevertheless, the use of heavy equipment during rehabilitation also creates the potential for significant negative effects. Salvage logging after a burn, like any other logging, also has the potential to adversely affect cultural resources. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 30 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected Table IV - 2. Risk of Significant Negative Effects to Cultural Resources from Fire, Suppression and Rehabilitation. * fire intensity Cultural resource Type Cool Moderate Hot Hand Line Prehistoric Camp Cairn Talus Pit Burial Quarry Rock Art House Pit Rock Shelter Peeled Tree L L L H L L L L M L L L H L L M M H M L L H M H H H H M L L H M L M L L suppression technique Mechanical Aerial Line H H M H H M H L H L L L L L L L L L rehabilitation Method Erosion Salvage Seeding Structure Logging L L L L L L L L L L M M M M L L L L Historic Homestead M H H L H L L M Logging Camp M H H L H L L M Mining Camp M H H L H L L M Mine Shaft L L L L M L L L Corral M H H L H L L M Bridge M H H L H L L M Trail L L L L M L L M Road L L L L M L L M Traditional Berry Harvest L M H L M L M L Root Harvest L M H L M L M L Trad. Cult. Prop. L L H L H L M M L = Low Risk of Damage; M = Moderate Risk of Damage; H = High Risk of Damage * This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of cultural resources or fire related activities. It is intended to portray general trends of risk. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 31 H H H H H H H L H H H H M H H M M M M H Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected Fire can also be an important positive factor in the life history of important plants used as a cultural resource. Many of the important vegetation items used in ceremonies or as food and medicinal sources, such as biscuit root, camas, and bitterroot rely on fire or similar disturbances to promote seedling establishment and/or vegetative sprouting. The application of suitable levels of fire behavior may also be a significant tool for controlling unwanted woody vegetation within specific areas, such as dry meadows. Wildland Urban Interface Increased development of the wildland/urban interface (WUI) within the Colville Reservation increases the number of person caused fires that, in turn, increases the potential for damage to both natural resources and residential structures. The damage caused by a wildland fire may be so extensive that homes, out-buildings, and other developments may be lost causing great financial burden on the property owner. The Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI) zones as defined during the Fire Prevention Plan development are shown in Figure IV-1. Figure IV - 1 Wildland/Urban Interface Zones on the Colville Reservation. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 32 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected Air Quality Smoke from wildland fires can contribute to short-term and intermediate health effects. The health effects are generally reversible but long-term exposure has the potential to cause or exacerbate a wide range of health problems. Little data exists confirming or denying a higher risk for wildland fire personnel. Individuals with asthma, allergies, or the capacity to develop reactive airways are more likely to be susceptible to the effects of smoke (Sharkey 1997). Visibility reduction from wildland fire can impact scenic vistas, as well as create hazards along transportation routes. Of particular concern are low-lying areas near bodies of water (e.g., lakes, stream and river corridors) that are prone to the development of fog. These same areas can be geographic locations where SMOG can form, a mixture of smoke particulates and fog moisture droplets. Management objectives and standards to lessen the impact of wildland fire on air quality are found in the PFIRM. Cooperation in the implementation of wildland fire projects should be accomplished with neighboring, and local, land management agencies and organizations that utilize fire use. This would serve to coordinate fire use and limit the effects on air quality. Water Quality Water can be impacted by fire since large fires tend to change the timing, duration, and volume of spring runoff. The change in timing can have an impact on how much water is available downstream during spring the irrigation season. Surface erosion may also be increased, creating more silt and debris into the water systems. These events may also change specific habitats within waterways that may temporarily impact aquatic wildlife histories. Potential risks to fisheries from wildfires include:  The potential of additional sediment to streams or lakes from erosion  Potential sediment delivery from transportation systems and/or firelines to streams and lakes.  Potential risks to fish stocks from effects of the fire.  Lost and/or altered fish habitat within the fire area.  Potential risks to the riparian/wetland functions within the fire area.  Increased downstream water temperatures. Increased sediment delivery may potentially adversely impact lakes, fisheries, and water quality. The kokanee and trout fisheries are managed by the CCT as substitute fisheries for lost salmon and steelhead runs because of Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph Dams. Fisheries have significant cultural and subsistence value to the Tribe, as well as recreational value and income value from the sale of non-tribal fishing licenses. A primary concern of fisheries after a wildfire is the increased delivery of sediment and the loss of riparian habitat. Recovery of the riparian areas and proper functioning will be dependent on Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 33 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected pattern, extent, and intensity of the burn. The use of soil and nutrient stabilization measure during emergency rehabilitation actions will reduce the risk to these fishery resources. The condition of a stream channel may affect the magnitude of impacts that may occur because of a wildland fire incident. Fire impacts may exacerbate the unstable nature of some streams and cause adverse effects to spawning habitat and water quality. The loss of large and small woody debris and riparian vegetation, contributing shade to the stream, may result in loss of rearing habitat and increased downstream water temperatures. Effects of forest fire on the structure of zooplankton, phytoplankton, benthic, and the littoral communities will vary with the amount of sediment and nutrient delivery to the streams and lakes. The greatest period of danger will be following the next episode of significant rainfall. Contour log terracing and broadcast seeding on highly burned upland slopes >35% will help maintain the functionality of the riparian zones and assist in decreasing sediment delivery to aquatic habitats. Additionally, the use of sediment collection dams may be necessary to reduce this risk. Of greater concern to any of the fishery or aquatic resources are from roads used during fire suppression and pending salvage sales. Many roads were traditionally constructed within the riparian zones. Increased activities during suppression and salvage have a high potential to deliver sediment to stream systems and lakes. These risks are increased if buffering vegetation between roads and aquatic areas have been lost in the fire. Fire suppression roads that have been compacted need to be carefully ripped with a zigzag pattern to reestablish soil function and allow water to penetrate soils and enter the ground water system. Care must be taken on slopes to prevent water from trenching and running down furrows. Large woody debris in the stream system will improve over time as burned dead trees fall from rot or windfall. Smaller wood will be less abundant for one to ten years, depending on burn severity, until recovery of the riparian zone occurs. Wildlife Habitat In general, fire affects wildlife by modifying habitat. Vegetation diversity provides for a diversity of wildlife species. Lack of diversity tends to result in fewer wildlife species, or decreasing population levels of some wildlife. Across the Colville Reservation there are several and varying habitat types. The effects of the fire and suppression activities will vary with the seasonal timing of the wildfire, the intensity and pattern of the burn and the specific habitats in the area of the wildfire. Habitats of concern are:       Shrub steppe Big game winter range Mesic areas, e.g., deciduous and riparian areas, wetlands, lakes, and streams Rock outcrops Snags Coniferous boreal forest Potential risks to wildlife from wildfire include:  Potential loss T&E species and/or habitat within the fire area. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 34 Wildland Fire Management Plan     Chapter III. Values to be Protected Potential loss of wildlife and/or habitat and winter range associated within the fire area. Potential loss of travel corridors and increased fragmentation of habitat. Potential risk to riparian/wetland function and habitat within the fire area. Potential risk to habitat improvements. The designated winter range for deer and elk is dispersed throughout the Reservation. These animals are culturally significant to Colville Confederated Tribal Members for subsistence and ceremonial uses. There are a large number of bear on the Reservation, as well as wild horses. Other species of importance may include goshawks, marten, fisher, pileated woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, white-headed woodpeckers, and snowshoe hare. Upland birds include quail, Hungarian partridge, ruffed grouse and blue grouse. Large Ungulates Although large ungulates including deer (mule and white tail) and elk are not species listed for protection, their cultural, subsistence, ceremonial and spiritual significance to the Colville Confederated Tribes requires assessment. The distribution of big-game winter range on the Reservation is shown in Figure IV-2 and the assessment of the direct and indirect effects of wildland fire on this winter range is shown below. The Reservation’s Hellsgate and Omak Game Reserves are shown in Figure IV - 3. Direct Effects: Mortality rates for the large ungulates would be expected to be low and would depend upon a fires rate of spread. The geological landscape and topographic features, such as box canyons that animals could be trapped in, would also affect mortality rates. In addition, young animals born that year would be highly mobile late in the summer, during the peak of fire season, again reducing mortality. Fire early in the fawning/calving season would have increased risk of mortality. Any animals in the area of a fire will for the most part be displaced. However, suppression crews may report sighting an occasional large ungulate. There are bighorn sheep in some areas that may be affected by a fire. These would mostly likely occur in the Omak lake area. Many animals with large home ranges will return after the fire and focus on the unburned or lightly burned areas. Those species with smaller home ranges will either return or will repopulate the area from outside sources once vegetation resources recover. With next years spring green-up of new grasses an influx of elk and mule deer especially would be expected. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 35 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected Figure IV - 2. Colville Indian Reservation Big-game Winter Range. Figure IV - 3. Hellsgate and Omak Game Reserves on the Colville Indian Reservation. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 36 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected The grass-forb component of foraging habitat within the fire area should be improved after the first rains, fall, and spring green-up occur. However, there will be a shortage of browse (shrub species) available for the next two to five years and often much longer, up to twenty or more years. Bitterbrush is of particular concern as it has high use and is not well adapted to fire. Bitterbrush is not only used by the sharp-tail grouse, but is an important forage component for large wild ungulates. Localized loss would result in the displacement of deer/elk/moose for a minimum of two to five years, depending on severity. Large-scale loss could have devastating effects on the large wild ungulate populations. The Colville Confederated Tribes Fish and Wildlife Department plans to aerially monitor the winter range over the next few years. A series of permanent photo points will be established within a fire complex area to visually document the vegetative response. In addition, it is suggested that the Colville Confederated Tribes Forest and Range Management Departments plan to monitor natural recovery areas as well as fire vegetation treatment areas by the same use of permanent photo points. Road closures would be implemented as soon as possible on new roads that will not be needed for salvage logging. Further road closures should be implemented as soon as salvage and planting are completed. This would decrease disturbance levels and provide more security for animals where screening cover has been lost to fire and possibly more might be removed during following timber sales and/or salvage operations. Other Mammals Many other mammals, including coyote, cougar, bobcat, bears, porcupine, beaver, and badger, may be found within a fire area for all or part of their life cycles. Denning habitat includes cliffs, caves, rock piles, talus slopes, riparian areas, downed logs, large tree snags and stumps. Food items include other mammals, small birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and vegetation. Depending on the mobility of the animal, most of these species could avoid the direct effect of the fire by fleeing or taking shelter. The natural terrain and topographic features such as box canyons in the vicinity of a fire, that could trap animals, may increase mortality losses. If any carcass or injured animal is found by fire suppression crews CCT Fish and Wildlife Department needs to be notified as soon as possible and prior to burial of the carcass. Data regarding the species, age, sex, extent of injuries needs to be collected to determine if there are young animals born this year that would need to be located. Mobility of young would depend on the species and the time of the year, late in the summer, most would be highly mobile. Small areas of rock outcrops, deciduous forests, and riparian areas are usually intermixed throughout a wildland fire affected area. These affected areas are often homes for a variety of wild animals and can be deceptive as to the high amount of use received. Riparian areas that have intermittent stream channels may be dry in mid and late summer and could be highly affected by severe fire intensity while riparian areas retaining a high vegetation moisture level may remain unburned. The close proximity of unburned habitat to the areas of severe burn would reduce impacts on the numerous animals that rely on these specialized habitats. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 37 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected Snags, or dead standing trees, are another significant, specialized habitat component often significantly affected throughout a wildland fire area. There are 50-60 species of birds and mammals along with numerous invertebrates that depend on snags for nesting, shelter and/or feeding sites. Animals that use snags can be divided into two groups: primary cavity excavators, such as woodpeckers that create and live in cavities of snags and whose old nest holes provide homes for secondary cavity users such as birds, bats and squirrels. Large snags ( 21 inches dbh) provide the best habitat and are the only snags that certain species can use. Woodpecker, nuthatches and chickadees are primary cavity excavators. However, only woodpeckers can excavate in hard snags. There are species of trees, such as sycamore (Platanus spp.), that naturally form numerous cavities but none are present in this part of North America. Therefore, it is important on the Reservation to manage for both snags and the birds that create the cavities used by other species. Impacts to area-wide snag habitat can be expected to vary with fire intensity. On some sites snags may be unaffected while on other sites, all trees, dead and living, may be consumed by fire. Green trees killed by fire are technically snags but their value for cavity excavation often diminishes due to case-hardening. These burned trees do, however, have value as perch sites and provide some vertical structure in areas where the understory has been removed. There may also be a temporary shortage of insects within the fire area. However, insectivorous foraging opportunities will increase for woodpeckers and other birds as the trees killed or injured by the fire attract opportunistic insects. Salvage harvest in the fire-affected area would be anticipated. Harvest plans should include the retention of numerous green recruitment and standing dead trees for snag attrition. It is recommended that existing snags be left and not fell in areas where salvage activity is planned unless necessary for safety. Planned roads closure will assist in limiting access by firewood gatherers, reducing pressure on remaining snags. A plan to tag snags for wildlife use may be helpful in retaining snags. Road closure as soon as possible after the fire event is extremely important for protecting wildlife. If the burned area is a high use site by elk and deer, restrictive access action may need to be taken to reduce hunting pressure. Road closures will significantly reduce risk and the area may need to be closed to hunting for three to five years. Threatened or Endangered Species Habitat – Birds The two major T&E bird species of concern on the Colville Reservation are: (1) the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Pedioecetes phasianellus columbianus), a federal listed Species of Concern, that reside in high densities on the west-side shrub/steppe habitat of the Reservation, and (2) the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) with isolated nests located at several lakes and larger populations along the San Poil River and Lake Roosevelt corridors. The bald eagle is a Threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) and the sage grouse (Centrocereus urophasianus), both are Federal Species of Concern and have Threatened State status are infrequent on the Reservation. The sandhill crane Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 38 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected Grus canadensis), has no Federal status but is listed as Endangered by Washington State and is a migrant species on the Reservation. Sharp-tail Grouse A primary TEPS of concern is the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Pedioecetes phasianellus columbianus), a federally listed Species of Concern that occurs in moderate densities on the South-central and west-side of the Reservation (Figure IV-4). There are areas of land that are protected under BPA/Columbia Sub-Basin agreements in which several leks are located. The Washington State Status report for the Sharp-Tailed Grouse, (1998) states that 47 percent of sharp-tail grouse in Washington State are located on the Colville Reservation. This bird is of special concern to both the Tribe and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service due to population declines both locally and across the subspecies geographic range. Direct Effects The direct effects of wildland fire would include the loss of sharp-tailed grouse or eggs, and the destruction of leks, nesting, and rearing habitat. Female sharp-tailed grouse devote late spring and early summer to nesting and brood-rearing. They move to areas containing shrubs and broadleaf plants often making use of riparian areas. Habitat suitability is dependent on amount, height, and density of vegetation, especially forbs and grasses from the previous year. Summer habitat used by females with broods may be different than habitat used by males or females without broods. Nests are most often built on slopes that face northeast for greater moisture and vegetation. Usually only one brood is hatched a year. If the first brood is unsuccessful, a second may be attempted. If it is late in the rearing season (mid-July), most eggs from even second broods have hatched. Sharp-tail chicks are precocial, and are able to walk shortly after hatching, and fly at 7 to 10 days old. They become more active at two to three weeks. Displacement may occur if the female feels the fire is threatening her brood. After mid-July even the youngest are sufficiently mobile to escape an immediate fire area and minimal direct effects would be expected. A wildfire early in the breeding season could have severe effects on sharp-tail grouse populations with the loss of the year’s hatchlings. Indirect Effects Potential year-round and winter habitat may occur within the fire zone in the shrub/steppe, low elevation draws, and riparian areas. If leks (dancing/mating grounds) are destroyed by the fire, nesting habitat that generally occurs within a 1.6 mile radius of the lek and winter habitat that occurs within a 3.3 mile radius of the lek may be affected by the fire. This may cause further displacement and threaten winter survival. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 39 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected Figure IV - 4. Sharp-tail Grouse Leks, Nesting and Winter Range on the Colville Reservation. The intensity of the fire in a shrub steppe community and possible damage to the soils will determine regeneration potential. If bunch grass plants affected by a fire retain most of their basal crown and root system, regeneration potential can be expected to be high. Bunchgrasses are fire-adapted species and it is anticipated that the fire would rejuvenate these plants and in turn, will benefit the sharp-tails. Livestock grazing should be deferred from the burn areas for two to three growing seasons to allow full recovery of the grasses in the area. There is potential risk following a fire for replacement of native grass species by noxious weeds. Noxious weed competition factors need to be considered during rehabilitation, to reduce risk. Most fires would in the long-term enhance potential sharp-tail habitat although there would be a temporary loss of residual nesting cover and winter habitat. Monitoring of habitat vegetation regrowth, sharp-tail winter use and population studies should be planned for the two to three years following a fire event. Bitterbrush plants may be impacted to varying degrees. They may be completely removed by the fire or receive some degree of heat damage. Bitterbrush response to fire is variable and reestablishment will largely depend on: (1) the degree of natural re-seeding; and (2) later seedling success in out-competing native vegetation and noxious weeds, in particular cheatgrass, also rejuvenated by the fire. Bitterbrush and other large rangeland shrubs are important to sharpColville Indian Reservation April 2016 40 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected tails as a source of cover, especially in the spring as residual cover for nesting and winter thermal cover in the upland draws. Tribal vegetation specialists have projected that much of the bitterbrush impacted by fire will reestablish within five years. However, this would be dependent of the intensity of the burn and the specific site as well as the type of bitterbrush. Recumbent plants tend to tolerate fire better than the columnar plants. Monitoring will be required to determine regeneration. If the fire is of sufficient intensity to destroy the seed bank planting may be required to reestablish areas of bitterbrush. Bald Eagle The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), is a resident on the Reservation. There are isolated nests located along several lakes, with larger populations on the San Poil River and Lake Roosevelt corridors (Figure IV - 5). Most of the winter roost sites on the Reservation have been located along Lake Roosevelt; however, some also occur on Rufus Woods Lake. Direct effects refer to mortality or disturbance, which results in flushing, displacement or harassment. Indirect effects refer to modification of habitat and/or prey species. Bald eagles nest along tributaries and in sight of large water bodies. Nest on the Reservation have been recorded and mapped with a Global Positioning System (GPS). Eagles tend to prey heavily on fish near their nest site. When fish are scarce, they may take birds or small mammals, or scavenge on carcasses killed by other predators or natural causes. Direct Effects: Mortality caused by the fire or suppression activities would be rare. The seasonal timing of a fire will alter direct effect risks. Nesting and fledgling activity typically occurs between February 1 and August 31. A fire prior to the young of the year having fledged and being mobile could result in mortality. Displacement is more likely due to smoke, and disturbance by suppression crews, and low flying helicopters, which would probably use nearby streams and lakes as a source of water for fire suppression. The displacement would most likely be to another nearby large water body, and should be temporary, causing minimal effect. Indirect Effects: Habitat trees for nesting and winter roost sites may be lost in the fire. The standing dead trees (snags) on the Reservation are usually low in number and some of the trees killed by fire need to be retained for snag recruitment and provide potential roost sites. These great birds can be extremely tenacious and would be expected to return the following spring if habitat trees remain. Monitoring of the nest and winter roost sites within a fire area should be planned for. New nesting activity should also be monitored. If fisheries are significantly impacted there would be an indirect effect on the eagles prey source. There may be an immediate increase in the number of small animal and rodent carcasses available for scavenging in the area. Long-term effects to the prey species would not be anticipated. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 41 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected Figure IV - 5. Balk Eagle Nest and Winter Roost Sites on the Colville Reservation. Threatened or Endangered Species Habitat – Mammals The Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis) have habitat in several areas predominately along the northern boarder of the Reservation. The lynx became a Threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) in April 2000. Other ESA species include the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), which is federally listed as Threatened and has Endangered status in Washington State, it is most likely a transient species. The gray wolf (Canis lupus), for which there have been recent unconfirmed sightings has Endangered Federal and State status. Lynx Lynx have been sighted in some areas of the Reservation and habitat areas have been delineated (Figure IV-6). The elevation components of lynx habitat, places them into the moister high elevation zones above 3600 feet. These areas have traditionally had a longer fire cycle and although they’re at a reduced risk for fire, the potential for a catastrophic event remains present. This is especially true in areas where there have been high levels of fuel accumulation. Lynx are a very specialized species that are dependent on the lodge pole pine zones. Snowshoe hare, a Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 42 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected critical prey component are known to exist in areas of very young lodge pole pine. Different growth stages of lodge pole pine provide for the needs of lynx. Lynx make use of very dense lodge pole pine/sub-alpine fir stands for travel corridors and windblown and jack-strawed trees for denning habitat. This is preferred to be distributed at thirty (30) percent forage, thirty (30) percent travel corridor, ten (10) percent denning, and thirty (30) percent non-lynx habitat mixture. Direct Effects Mortality would be expected to be low due to the elevation of lynx habitat and the low populations that occur on the Reservation. Again, seasonal timing may be a component in mortality rates. Lynx do not like disturbance and avoidance and displacement would be highly likely. Indirect Effects The lodgepole pine in the high elevations could receive significant effects. However, since it is a tree species which is fire-adapted opening of the seed bank by fire may increase the lodge pole pine in the area causing positive effects on the snowshoe hare populations and increase foraging habitat for the lynx over the two to ten years following a fire. In the long term improved lynx habitat for foraging and travel are anticipated and as the cover component increases (up to 80-150 years) denning habitat may develop. Figure IV - 6. Lynx Habitat Distribution on the Colville Reservation. Colville Indian Reservation April 2016 43 Wildland Fire Management Plan Chapter III. Values to be Protected Threatened or Endangered Species Habitat – Fish Salmonids found on or adjacent to the Reservation with ESA standing include bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) that were listed Federally as Threatened in 1998, spring chinook salmon (On [Text truncated at 120,000 characters. The full text is on the page linked above.] --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aconfederated_colville%3A8500c993b1b1c642. Public record. Not legal advice.