What are the fuels treatment and vegetation management rules for old forest emphasis areas (OFEAs) and owl home range core areas (HRCAs) under the preferred alternative?
In OFEAs and HRCAs, the preferred alternative would apply the basal area retention rule to protect the largest diameter trees making up 40% of the total stand basal area. Fuels would be removed only as needed in the smaller diameter trees to make an economically efficient treatment. The preferred alternative also sets a canopy cover retention goal of 50% in treatment areas, and allows reductions to 40% based on local conditions and analysis. (SEIS pages 59-63, 190-192, 266, 277-278, 287-192) • Why is the preferred alternative more economically efficient than the current direction? Forest Service budgets over the next decade are expected to, at best, remain constant, or perhaps decline. The SNFPA Review found the current direction too complicated and costly to implement and the planned acres of fuels treatments were not being accomplished. By cutting a few medium-sized trees to help offset the costs of removing many more small-diameter trees, which have little or no commercial value, mo
