2007 INFORMATION NEEDS ASSESSMENT

EAGLE CAP WILDERNESS

Prepared by:Jerry HustufaBotanist

Bart SingleyAFMO

Alan MillerFisheries Biologist

Dana OrrickHydrologist

Sweyn WallRecreation Specialist

Rob GumpRecreation Program Manager

LeighDawsonInvasive Plants Specialist

Patricia JohnsonWildlife Biologist

Mary DeAgueroDistrict Ranger

INTRODUCTION

The Eagle Cap Wilderness was first protected as a Primitive Area in 1930, was designated as wilderness in 1940, and became part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1964. The 351,730 acre Wilderness is located entirely within the Wallowa-WhitmanNational Forest, and encompasses the bulk of the Wallowa Mountains. Elevations range from 3,000 to just over 9,800 feet. Contained within the Wilderness are 76 named lakes, 48 trailheads, 534 miles of trail, the headwaters of 12 major rivers and dozens of streams, peaks and meadows. The area is known for spectacular mountain peaks, high lake basins, and long river valleys.

This Information Needs Assessment (INA) is a structured approach for determining data collection, storage and analysis needs by first identifying and prioritizing local management requirements in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. The goal of this process is to ensure that information is available, of sufficient quality and in the right format, to support key decisions related to wilderness stewardship.

1

I. WILDERNESS THREATS MATRIX

POTENTIAL THREATS
ATTRIBUTES OF WILDERNESS CHARACTER / Recreation / Commer-cial Livestock / Fire Manage-ment / Exotic Species / Water Develop-ments / Air Pollution / Private Inholdings / Tresspass Motor./
Mech / Outfitters & Guides / Other Manage-ment Activities
Air / 1 / 1 / 3 / 1 / 1 / 3 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1
Water Quality / 4 / 2 / 3 / 3 / 3 / 3 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 3
Water Quantity / 1 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 3 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1
Soils / 3 / 3 / 3 / 3 / 2 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 2
Vegetation / 3 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 2 / 3 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 2
Wildlife / 2 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 2 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 2
Aquatic Organisms / 2 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 3 / 3 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 2
Cultural Resources / 3 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 3 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 2
Wilderness Experiences / 4 / 2 / 2 / 1 / 3 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 1 / 4

1

Wilderness Information Needs Assessment Worksheet

Priority Rank: / 1
Wilderness Name: / EAGLE CAP WILDERNESS
Issue / Threat: / Recreation
Attributes Affected: / Solitude
Question: / What are the trends for opportunities for solitude according to the ECW Stewardship Plan?
Data Collection Needs: / 1) Number of encounters per 8 hour observation day.
2) Number of occupied camps visible or audible within 500 feet.
3) Number of wilderness visitors per year.
Data Collection Protocol: / 1) ECW Encounter Collection Protocol
2) ECW Campsite Occupancy Collection Protocol
3) ECW Permit Collection Protocol (need to develop)
Database: / 1) Local geodatabase (need to develop)
2) Local geodatabase (need to develop)
3) MS Access (need to develop)
Analysis Protocol: / 1) ECW Encounter Analysis Protocol (need to develop)
2) ECW Campsite Occupancy Analysis Protocol (need to develop)
3) ECW Wilderness Use Estimate Protocol
Information Products: /
  • Maps of travel zones indicating whether standards are met or exceeded.
  • Graph showing how many travel zones exceeded standard versus total number of zones.
  • Table indicating total number of visitors and relationship to past years.

Information Use: /
  • NEPA decisions ie. Bridge replacement, trail and trailhead reconstruction—typically DR decisions.

Other Program Areas Involved: / N/A
Cost Estimate: / $25,000
Other:

Wilderness Information Needs Assessment Worksheet

Priority Rank: / 2
Wilderness Name: / EAGLE CAP WILDERNESS
Issue / Threat: / Non-native Invasive Plants
Attributes Affected: / Vegetation
Question: / What are the trends of invasive plant populations? Are populations receiving appropriate management response?
Data Collection Needs: / 1) Inventory
2) Treatment Records
3) Monitoring
Data Collection Protocol: / 1) NNIP Inventory Protocol Need to develop
2) NNIP Treatment Record Protocol
3) NNIP Monitoring Protocol Need to develop
Database: / 1) NRIS or Local GIS
2) FACTS
3) FACTS or Local GIS
Analysis Protocol: / Need to develop
Information Products: /
  • Map of Distribution by species
  • Acres of native vegetation displaced
  • Map of treated acres by year
  • Percent of total acres treated yearly
  • Map of Distribution by year

Information Use: /
  • NEPA
  • Public Education
  • O/G Administration

Other Program Areas Involved: / Invasive Plant program has lead.
Cost Estimate: / $25,000/year
Other:

Wilderness Information Needs Assessment Worksheet

Priority Rank: / 3
Wilderness Name: / EAGLE CAP WILDERNESS
Issue / Threat: / Management Activities
Attributes Affected: / Undeveloped nature
Question: / 1) What are the trends of physical evidence of modern human occupation?
2) What are the trends of the use of motorized equipment and mechanized transport?
3) What are the status and trends of inholdings?
Data Collection Needs: / 1) # buildings; # dams; # mines; # spring developments; # Sno-tel sites; miles of system trails; # bridges
2) # motor. equip. use days authorized; # mech. transport days authorized by resource area
3) Acres of inholdings
Data Collection Protocol: / 1) Develop protocol
2) 10YWSC protocol
3) Develop protocol
Database: / 1) Local geodatabase
2) Infra
3) Local geodatabase
Analysis Protocol: / Develop protocol
Information Products: /
  • Tabular data showing totals and trends for developments
  • Graphs showing totals and trends for motor/mech
  • Tabular data for inholdings

Information Use: / To be used at District and Forest level to more effectively manage requests that degrade undeveloped qualities of wilderness. Decisions will by by DR or Forest Sup.
Other Program Areas Involved: / Resources making motor/mech requests
Cost Estimate: / $2000
Other:

Wilderness Information Needs Assessment Worksheet

Priority Rank: / 4
Wilderness Name: / EAGLE CAP WILDERNESS
Issue / Threat: / Recreation
Attributes Affected: / Water quality
Question: / Are overnight visitors substantially affecting water quality? Are visitors camping at least 100 feet from lakes?
Data Collection Needs: / 1) Water samples at subset of both high-use and low-use lakes
2) Campsite locations in relation to water
Data Collection Protocol: / 1) Water sampling protocols Need to develop
2) Campsite Inventory Protocol
Database: / 1) Local geodatabase Need to develop
2) Infra
Analysis Protocol: / 1) Need to develop
2) Campsite Inventory Analysis Protocol
Information Products: /
  • Report showing tabular water sample analysis data
  • Map of lakes with color coding for different levels of water quality degradation
  • Map of areas with campsites located within 100’ of water

Information Use: /
  • NEPA
  • Visitor Education
  • Wilderness Ranger POW (site obliteration, targeted education, etc.)

Other Program Areas Involved: /
  • Natural Resources

Cost Estimate: / $40,000
Other: / May be good opportunity to use grad student….

Wilderness Information Needs Assessment Worksheet

Priority Rank: / 5
Wilderness Name: / EAGLE CAP WILDERNESS
Issue / Threat: / Brook Trout
Attributes Affected: / Amphibians in alpine lakes
Question: / Has the introduction of Brook Trout negatively affected native amphibians living in alpine lakes?
Data Collection Needs: / 1) # & location of lakes stocked—past and present
2) Amphibian surveys in stocked & unstocked lakes
Data Collection Protocol: / 1) Need protocol
2) Amphibian Survey protocol—existing; Alan will track down
Database: / 1) Local GeoDatabase
2) NRIS
Analysis Protocol: / Amphibian Survey Analysis—existing; Alan will track down
Information Products: /
  • Map of stocked lakes
  • Amphibian Distribution Map
  • Difference in population of amphibians in stocked vs. unstocked lakes

Information Use: /
  • Public education
  • Open discussion with ODF&W

Other Program Areas Involved: /
  • Natural Resources
  • ODF&W

Cost Estimate: / Survey design, field data collection, analysis, report…
$80,000
Other:

1

Appendix C - Wilderness Information Needs Assessment Work Plan

Fiscal Year / Priority Rank / Threat / Attribute Affected / Specific Work Item(s) / Cost Estimate / Funding Sources / Timing / Dependencies / Responsibilities
2008 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Develop ECW Permit Collection Protocol / $250 / NFRW / Sweyn
2008 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Develop ECW Encounter geodatabase / $500 / NFRW / Sweyn
2008 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Develop ECW Campsite Occupancy geodatabase / $500 / NFRW / Sweyn
2008 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Develop Total ECW Visitation database / $250 / NFRW / Sweyn
2008 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Continue Solitude data collection / $25000 / NFRW/CMTL / Wilderness
2008 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Continue Permit data entry / $2000 / NFRW / Wilderness
2008 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Continue NNIP data collection / $15000 / NFVW/Grants / Weeds
2008 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Continue NNIP data entry / $1000 / NFVW/Grants / Weeds
2008 / 3 / Mgt. Activity on Undeveloped Nature / Continue motor/mech data collection / $1500 / NFRW/WFPR / Sweyn/Billie
2008 / 4 / Recreation on Water Quality / Identify contact to help determine feasibility / $250 / NFRW / Sweyn/Alan
Fiscal Year / Priority Rank / Threat / Attribute Affected / Specific Work Item(s) / Cost Estimate / Funding Sources / Timing / Dependencies / Responsibilities
2009 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Continue Solitude data collection / $25000 / NFRW/CMTL / Wilderness
2009 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Continue Permit data entry / $2000 / NFRW / Wilderness
2009 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Develop Encounter Analysis Protocol / $500 / NFRW / Sweyn
2009 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Develop Campsite Occupancy Analysis Protocol / $500 / NFRW / Sweyn
2009 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Continue NNIP data collection / $15000 / NFVW/Grants / Weeds
2009 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Continue NNIP data entry / $1000 / NFVW/Grants / Weeds
2009 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Develop NNIP Inventory Protocol / $500 / NFVW/Grants / Leigh
2009 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Develop NNIP Monitoring Protocol / $500 / NFVW/Grants / Leigh
2009 / 3 / Mgt. Activity on Undeveloped Nature / Continue motor/mech data collection / $1500 / NFRW/WFPR / Sweyn/Billie
Fiscal Year / Priority Rank / Threat / Attribute Affected / Specific Work Item(s) / Cost Estimate / Funding Sources / Timing / Dependencies / Responsibilities
2010 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Continue Solitude data collection / $25000 / NFRW/CMTL / Wilderness
2010 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Continue Permit data entry / $2000 / NFRW / Wilderness
2010 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Complete Encounter & Campsite Occupancy data entry / $500 / NFRW / Need enough data for adequate sampling of travel zones / Wilderness
2010 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Continue NNIP data collection / $15000 / NFVW/Grants / Weeds
2010 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Continue NNIP data entry / $1000 / NFVW/Grants / Weeds
2010 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Develop NNIP Analysis Protocol / $500 / NFVW/Grants / Leigh
2010 / 3 / Mgt. Activity on Undeveloped Nature / Continue motor/mech data collection / $1500 / NFRW/WFPR / Sweyn/Billie
2010 / 3 / Mgt. Activity on Undeveloped Nature / Develop “Undeveloped” data collection protocol / $250 / NFRW / Sweyn
2010 / 3 / Mgt. Activity on Undeveloped Nature / Develop “Undeveloped” analysis protocol / $250 / NFRW / Sweyn
Fiscal Year / Priority Rank / Threat / Attribute Affected / Specific Work Item(s) / Cost Estimate / Funding Sources / Timing / Dependencies / Responsibilities
2011 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Continue Solitude data collection / $25000 / NFRW/CMTL / Wilderness
2011 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Continue Permit data entry / $2000 / NFRW / Wilderness
2011 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Complete Solitude data analysis / $1000 / Sweyn
2011 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Continue NNIP data collection / $15000 / NFVW/Grants / Weeds
2011 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Continue NNIP data entry / $1000 / NFVW/Grants / Weeds
2011 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Complete NNIP data analysis / $1500 / NFVW/Grants / Leigh
2011 / 3 / Mgt. Activity on Undeveloped Nature / Continue motor/mech data collection / $1500 / NFRW/WFPR / Sweyn/Billie
2011 / 3 / Mgt. Activity on Undeveloped Nature / Complete “Undeveloped” data collection / $500 / NFRW / Sweyn
2011 / 3 / Mgt. Activity on Undeveloped Nature / Complete “Undeveloped” report / $250 / NFRW/WFPR / Sweyn
Fiscal Year / Priority Rank / Threat / Attribute Affected / Specific Work Item(s) / Cost Estimate / Funding Sources / Timing / Dependencies / Responsibilities
2012 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Continue Solitude data collection / $25000 / NFRW/CMTL / Wilderness
2012 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Continue Permit data entry / $2000 / NFRW / Wilderness
2012 / 1 / Recreation on Solitude / Complete Solitude report/map production / $1500 / NFRW / Sweyn
2012 / 2 / NNIP on Vegetation / Complete NNIP report/map production / $1000 / NFVW/Grants / Leigh

1

1