Letter to Dale Strickland and the Governance Committee

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k- USDA United States Forest Rocky P.O. Box 25127 Department of Service Mountain Lakewood, CO 80225-0127 ? Agriculture Region Delivery: 740 Simms Street ? Golden, CO 80401 Voice: 303-275-5350 TDD: 303-275-5367 File Code: 2500/2670 Date: March 14, 2007 Dale Strickland Executive Director Platte River Endangered Species Partnership 2003 Central Avenue Cheyenne, W Y 82001 Dear Mr. Sh-ickland and Members of the Governance Committee: This letter is to update you of the progress the Forest Service has made on the contributions outlined in my letter to your committee on December 02, 2005. First, 1 would like to congratulate you on the signing of the Recovery Implementation Program far endangered species on the central Platte River, and look farward to warking with you under the guidance of that program in the future. Second, I am sure you that you are aware of the extensive bark beetle outbreaks in the forested landscapes throughout Colorado and the West, including the Platte River Basin. Due to these outbreaks, we are in a time of rapid change in the age and structure of forest cover for all ownerships in the affected forest types. In accordance with our earlier agreements, I look forward to working with the Governance Committee to further our understanding of the effects of these changes on water yield, and any potential implications for the implementation of the Recovery Implementation Program. These changes serve to underscore the dynamic nature of these forested ecosystems. We have made progress on or completed the following items from my letter of a year ago: We are worl<ing actively with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to comply with our comminnents under the Recovery Implementation Program. We are also working with the FWS and water users to ensure that the consultation process for third party water uses authorized on National Forest System lands proceeds in accordance with the Recovery Program. Nancy Warren, our Regional Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Species Program Leader, is the contact for these efforts, and can be reached at 303-275-5064 or nwarren c?fs.fed.us. (Item #1 from 12/2/05 letter.) 2, For FY06, vegetation management activities were tracked in two databases: Forest Activities Tracking System (FACTS), and National Fire Plan Operation and Reporting System (NFPORS). These databases document a total of 33,949 acres of vegetation management activities in FY06 on National Forest System lands in the Platte River Basin. 32,402 acres of inechanical treatment and prescribed fire are documented in the NFPORS database for National Farests with lands in the Platte River Basin. In FACTS, an additional 1,547 acres of vegetation management activities includes clearcut, salvage, overstory removal, precommercial thinning, thinning natural fuels, and insect control. If you would like more information about the 2006 data, please contact Steve Johnson, Regional FACTS Coordinatar, at 303-275-5013 or sjohnson042fs.fed.us. (Item #2 from 12/2/05 letter.) Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed on Recycled Paper