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ANALYSIS <br />THE DATA BASE <br />1 <br />Of primary concern to the analysis, especially with respect to the <br />opportunity for water yield augmentation, is not the total number of acres of <br />National Forest land in the North Platte drainage but the designated use, or <br />management class, assigned to the acreage. Constraints associated with the <br />management class designations dictate the availability, or suitability, of the <br />land for timber harvest. Initial data provided by the Forest Service, R -2, <br />indicated there are approximately 1,640,000 acres of land on the MB, RT, <br />and AR National Forests that contribute flow directly to the North Platte <br />River Basin. Scrutiny of the secondary delimiters associated with the <br />polygon (stand or unit area) descriptions indicate that approximately <br />298,000 acres of the 1,640,000 total acres are not actually owned by the <br />Forest Service. They were included in the initial estimate of the forest area <br />because they represent an administrative site on the MBNF. Therefore, net <br />Forest Service ownership in the North Platte River drainage is <br />approximately 1,343,000 acres. As a point of reference, when discussing <br />opportunity to detect changes in. flow as a result of management practices on <br />the 1,343,000 acres of NFS land, there are 19,776,000 acres in the drainage <br />area of the North Platte River above North Platte, Nebraska; only seven <br />percent of which is Forest Service owned. <br />Management Class <br />The 1,343,000 acres have been allocated to one of four different <br />management classes, described as follows: <br />1) - Wilderness — legally withdrawn from harvest. 1 <br />2) Unsuitable for Harvest — those areas considered to be non- <br />commercial, subject to irreversible damage, inoperable, not <br />capable of being restocked in 5 years, not suitable for timber <br />production (e.g. recreation areas, RNA's, etc.), and areas where <br />adequate response data is not available. <br />3) Tentatively Suitable for Harvest - those areas where timber <br />production is feasible but incompatible with current allocation. <br />4) Suitable for Timber Harvest — those areas presently suitable for <br />timber harvest. This class may include areas already harvested, as <br />well as non - commercial or non - stocked stands. <br />22 1 <br />