The following generally describes the desired condition for the Bear Hodges area and the landscape within which it lies. The general description was developed based on the intrinsic character of the area, from Forest Plan direction, and from an analysis of issues and values derived from public comment.

A mosaic of conifer forest, aspen, sagebrush/grass, and mountain shrub comprises the landscape. At a large scale, the forests contain a variety of age classes and successional stages in varying patch sizes. They are composed of pure and mixed stands of lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, Douglas fir, subalpine fir, and aspen. The diversity provided by-the vegetation mosaic is valuable in terms of wildlife-habitat, rangeland, recreation opportunities, and maintaining and restoring biodiversity and properly functioning ecosystems.

Mature forests, which provide habitat for old-growth dependent species are valuable and maintained at sizes which are functionally adequate to meet these species' needs. Connectivity between forested stands is maintained at the small and large scale to provide for associated species. A network of mature forest stands exists and to the extent possible linkages are maintained through natural corridors.

Habitat for all native wildlife species, particularly sensitive and key species, is retained in sufficient quantity, quality and distribution to be able to sustain them in perpetuity. Where a species use of the landscape was historically seasonal, the seasonal use components would be maintained. Where habitat in the landscape is only a portion of a home range, the key attributes of that habitat would be retained in patch sizes that would have occurred historically.

A safe, functional, and environmentally sound transportation system is in place. Roads are managed to ensure resource protection and public safety. Road density is within the range set forth in the Forest Plan.

Opportunities exist for many recreation activities, including camping, hiking, and hunting, snowmobiling, and cross country skiing.

Specific characterizations of desired conditions for spruce-fir and lodgepole pine are based on a review of literature pertaining to forest types of the middle and southern Rocky Mountain region (Long 1995), a draft report on "properly functioning condition" for various ecosystems within the Intermountain Region (Admunson, et al. 1996), and site specific research on or near the T.W. Daniel Experimental Forest (e.g., Wadleigh and Jenkins 1996). The desired conditions relate to stand-level features (e.g.,species composition and stand structure) and landscape-level features (e.g., the scale and patterns making up the landscape).

At the landscape level, the desired condition is one of healthy, productive, and diverse ecosystems that are dynamic and resilient to disturbances to their structure, composition, and processes of their physical and biological components. The desired condition is based on an understanding of historic disturbance regimes and the resultant patterns across the landscape.

The working assumption is that naturally evolving ecosystems (minimally influenced by humans) were diverse and resilient, and that within the framework of competition, evolutionary pressure, and changing climates, these ecosystems were sustainable in a broad sense. Conservation focuses on maintaining and restoring suitable amounts of representative habitats over the landscape and through time (Kaufmann, et al. 1994). Using historic conditions as a reference, the following describes the desired condition for the forest communities within the analysis area.

Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir may potentially coexist in late successional communities on all but the most extreme sites. Lodgepole pine, aspen, and grass-forb-shrub communities may.dominate early successional communities that follow stand replacing disturbances.

Within the spruce-fir type there is a balanced mix of structural stages, in the approximate mix as follows:

grass/forb 10%

seedling/sapling 10%

young forest 20%

mid aged forest 20%

mature forest 20%

old forest 20%

About 40% of the stands have multiple canopies. Stands are of moderate densities (less than 150 square feet of basal area per acre).

Stands are composed of greater than 40% Engelmann spruce, with a mix of subalpine fir and lodgepole pine. Aspen is a minor, but ecologically important, component in all but the mature and old forest structural stages.

For the lodgepole pine type:

Lodgepole pine is typically an early seral tree species that readily regenerates naturally after a fire. Lodgepole pine forests are characterized as generally pure stands of large patch size (300 to 600 acres).

Within the lodgepole pine type there is a balanced mix of structural stages across the landscape, in the approximate mix as follows:

About 20% of the stands have multiple canopies. Stands are of moderate densities, with less than 90 square feet of basal area per acre. Some stands in the younger structural stages will have residual overstory trees (legacy trees) greater than 5 trees per acre.

Stands are composed of greater than 80% lodgepole pine, with a small amount of subalpine fir. Aspen is a minor, but ecologically important, component in all but the old forest structural stage.

Insect and disease populations are at endemic levels.

The lethal, stand-replacing fire occurring on a 100 to 120 year cycle produces patterns of variable patch size, but they are generally large, e.g., 300 to 600 acres. Disturbances or management activities that mimic natural disturbances are within historical regimes.

Source: Predecisional Environmental Assessment for the Bear Hodges Analsysi Area, Logan Ranger District, Wasatch-Cache National Forest