Young Growth Monitoring pertaining to Wildlife

Extend response date to July 28, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. Alaska time. Contractor shall assemble and summarize relevant past and ongoing young growth monitoring that pertains to wildlife on the Tonasss National. From that information develop monitoring protocols for the Forest Plan monitoring questions. 1. Following young-growth treatments, does the cahnge in understory vegeation provide improved habitat for key old-growth species? - Identify a monitoring protocol for understory vegetation (vegetation alone). - Determine the feasibility for developing correlates between vegetation and an agreed upon list of species, following the process steps in Appendix A - Because we do not have information to suggest direct habitat improvement or population responses to changes in understory vegetation for most MIS and other species of concern, and because research supports positive benefits with changes in understory vegetation for Sitka black-tailed deer, the initial focus will be on deer. Other emphasis species may be identified after the assemblage of literature. 2. Is old growth structure retained in the matrix adequate and is it representative of old growth types across VCUs and across the Forest? - The protocol could identify simple spatial queries for agreed upon old growth structural classes (based on the Tongass Size-Density Model)