 * Critical Findings * Logging in the Sierra Nevada Management Strategies * IMPLEMENTING SNEP FOREST STRATEGIES
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* Implementing SNEP Forest Strategies Implementation of the strategies summarized in this report and detailed in volume II would require considerable further planning by local managers. Some of the management aspects involve Fuel reduction: Reduction of fuels that have accumulated from fire prevention and suppression policies and from timber harvest is called for to reduce the potential for widespread, intense, destructive fire. Programs of prescribed burning (figure 6.3) and thinning, including logging and mechanical removal of fuels, will be needed to reduce fuels. The spatial retention of large snags and down logs desirable for late successional functions will at times conflict with the need to eliminate these fuels throughout defensible fuel space zones.
Figure 6.3 A mixed conifer stand immediately after burning for fuel reduction. The stand was "salvage" before to reduce fuel loading. This ensured a light burn and safer conditions for workers. (Photo by John C. Tappeiner.) Density management: There are many acres of young stands that were regenerated after timber harvest and wildfires (of 300,000 acres of plantations on national forests in the Sierra Nevada; about half are fire related and half harvest related). These stands are often very dense, and consequently susceptible to damage by insects and fire (figures 6.4 and 6.5). 
Figure 6.4 Dense, young stands of ponderosa pine, established after a fire. (Photo by John C. Tappeiner.) 
Figure 6.5 Mixed conifers regenerated after logging. The stand is quite dense and therefore susceptible to insects and fire. (Photo by John C. Tappeiner.) They are often quite vigorous and have the potential for producing substantial yields of wood. Thinning and reducing the density of these stands would increase the tree growth and vigor, reduce susceptibility to insects and fire, increase understory tree and shrub diversity, provide some opportunity to manage tree species composition, and produce commercial yields of wood. Density management in the stands shown in figures 6.4 and 6.5, and 6.6 will enable them to become like the stands shown in figure 6.7.
Figure 6.6 Mixed conifer stands with older (120+ years) sugar pine and ponderosa pine and younger fir and cedar. The trees could be thinned to promote growth of the larger pines, reduce the potential for mortality and fuel accumulation, and produce commercial wood. Underburning could follow thinning. (Photo by John C. Tappeiner.) 
Figure 6.7 A stand that has been thinned and could be underburned to reduce fuels. (Photo by John C. Tappeiner.) Riparian areas and ALSEs: Areas selected as ALSEs and riparian areas (described in chapter 8) will contain many stand types, including stands of large old trees and often some hardwood mix; stands designated late successional (rank 4 or 5); young, dense stands regenerated after fire or timber harvest; and stands in which there has been salvage and partial cutting for timber production. Some of these stands have high concentrations of fuels that could be removed to reduce the threat of intense, destructive fire in ALSEs and riparian areas. Many are very dense and are not likely to provide large trees or diverse structures and contribute to the riparian and ALSE functions without density management (figures 6.8 and 6.9).
Figure 6.10 An older mixed conifer "ideal" stand in a riparian area: low density, low fuel accumulation. (Photo by John C. Tappeiner.) Management complexity and resource managers: Managing forest stands in riparian areas and ALSEs must be approached cautiously and is likely to be controversial even if the purpose is to contribute to the function of these areas. For example, removing fuels in riparian areas (figure 6.9) may be needed to enhance their function in the future (figure 6.10). Managers will have to design, implement, and evaluate management strategies to ensure protection and function of these areas. Prescriptions will have to be developed case by case to address local variability in stand conditions, fire potential, wildlife habitat, and operational considerations.
SNEP has not provided prescriptions for accomplishing the objectives envisioned for
the various strategies. Its philosophy has been that objectives can best be met by
using local expertise to adapt to local conditions. 
 
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