Final Environmental Impact Statement
Final Environmental Impact Statement
Final Environmental Impact Statement
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Vestal <strong>Final</strong> <strong>Environmental</strong> <strong>Impact</strong> <strong>Statement</strong> Chapter 2<br />
Group Shelterwood (GSH)<br />
10,044 acres<br />
Would reduce susceptibility of stands to MPB infestation by reducing overall basal<br />
area within sites. Would reduce overall MPB risk in these stands to Low and also<br />
reduces fire hazard and maintain stand diversity.<br />
This treatment represents the shelterwood silviculture system and is proposed within<br />
pine sites which are not homogenous, but rather have two or more patches or groups<br />
of trees of various age classes throughout the stand. The shelterwood system is a<br />
common silvicultural treatment system which begins with a commercial thinning of<br />
smaller diameter trees to increase the size and vigor of residual trees, followed by a<br />
seedcut which is done to encourage regeneration; then completed with an overstory<br />
removal which releases the established regeneration.<br />
This prescription is proposed in sites with stand conditions which represent at least<br />
two phases of a shelterwood system such as a commercial thin, seedcut or overstory.<br />
The overall density of these stands would not exceed 60 ft 2 /ac basal area.<br />
Variable Density Thinning (VDT)<br />
1,072 acres<br />
Would reduce overall MPB risk in stands to Low and would also reduce fire hazard,<br />
by reducing overall stand density to a basal area of 60-80 ft²/ac. This thinning<br />
maintains or creates diversity within the stand by varying residual density from 30-90<br />
ft 2 /ac to avoid even residual tree spacing. Sites would be thinned from below, which<br />
means that trees would, in general, be removed from the lower crown classes.<br />
Aspen/Conifer Stand<br />
Hardwood Release (HR)<br />
431 acres<br />
The objective is to maintain<br />
natural fuelbreaks by removing<br />
all conifers from existing<br />
hardwood habitat. Hinging of<br />
non-commercial-sized conifers<br />
would follow commercial<br />
removal.<br />
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