Common use of Maintaining Baseline Clause in Contracts

Maintaining Baseline. Groups 1. Protect active and inactive cavities and cavity start trees, within active baseline clusters, from harvesting. ADCNR-WFF can provide assistance in locating and marking all cavity and start trees at its discretion. ADCNR-WFF and the Service must review on a case-by-case basis the removal of any other active or inactive cavity tree. In the event that the location of any active cavity tree(s) changes over time such that one or more cavity tree(s) becomes established within a construction area, the landowner may be allowed to remove those cavity trees. For each active cavity tree removed in the construction area, a minimum of two (2) artificial cavities (drilled or inserts) must be installed elsewhere on the lot (at least 200 feet from the building site) four (4) months prior to initiation of construction. 2. Manage each cluster as a timber stand comprising at least ten (10) contiguous acres, if currently present on the enrolled landowner’s property, with the purpose of retaining potential cavity trees. If ten (10) contiguous acres are not currently present on the enrolled landowner’s property, the landowner would retain all of the potential cavity trees within the cluster. 3. Maintain cluster boundaries of at least two hundred (200) feet from a cavity tree. 4. Provide at least 50 ft2 of basal area per acre of pine trees >10 inches DBH in active baseline clusters if the trees are currently present on the enrolled landowner’s property. 5. Protect cavity trees from fire during prescribed burning. Precautions should be taken to minimize the risk of igniting cavity trees. Cooperators are required to rake litter at least ten

Maintaining Baseline. Groups 1. Protect Mark and protect active and inactive cavities and cavity start trees, within active baseline clusters, from harvestingharvesting and damage. ADCNR-WFF NCWRC can provide assistance in locating and marking all cavity and start trees at its discretion. ADCNR-WFF NCWRC and the Service must review on a case-by-case basis the removal of any other active or inactive cavity tree. In the event that the location of any active cavity tree(s) changes over time such that one or more cavity tree(s) becomes established within a construction area, the landowner property owner may be allowed to remove those cavity trees. For each active cavity tree removed in the construction area, a minimum of two (2) artificial cavities (drilled or inserts) must be installed elsewhere on the lot (at least 200 feet from the building site) four (4) months prior to initiation of construction. 2. Manage each cluster as a timber stand comprising at least ten (10) contiguous acres, if currently present on the enrolled landownerproperty owner’s property, with the purpose of retaining potential cavity trees. If ten (10) contiguous acres are not currently present on the enrolled landownerproperty owner’s property, the landowner property owner would retain all of the potential cavity trees within the cluster. 3. Maintain cluster boundaries of at least two hundred (200) feet from a cavity tree. 4. Provide at least 50 ft2 of Retain all potential cavity trees (pines greater than 60 years in age) within clusters, unless pine basal area per acre of pine trees >10 inches DBH in active baseline clusters if the is above 50 ft2/ac and all trees are currently present on the enrolled landowner’s propertyabove 60 years in age. 5. Protect cavity trees from fire during prescribed burning. Precautions should be taken to minimize the risk of igniting cavity trees. Cooperators Property owners are required to rake litter at least tenten (10) to twenty (20) feet away from the base of cavity trees, depending on the fuel load. Other precautions include, but are not limited to, wetting cavity trees or limiting burning to high moisture conditions. Any active cavities damaged by prescribed fire will be immediately replaced within the cluster boundaries by installing a replacement artificial cavity (insert or drilled). 6. Provide at least 3000 ft2 of basal area in pine trees (including the trees in the cluster) >10 inches DBH for foraging habitat on a minimum of seventy-five (75) acres, if the trees are currently present on the enrolled property owner’s property. If 3000 ft2 of basal area of pine trees >10 inches DBH is not available for foraging habitat, the property owner will maintain the existing pines inside the foraging area and provide the 3000 ft2 of basal area of pine trees greater than 10 inches DBH as soon as possible. Foraging habitat for each RCW group will preferably be within 0.25 mile of the cluster, but no more than 0.5 mile from the cluster and must be contiguous to the cluster stand with no gaps between stands exceeding two hundred (200) feet. 7. Conduct timber harvesting within the active baseline clusters only between August 1st and March 31st, or as otherwise approved by NCWRC and the Service. If there is a need to harvest timber within an active cluster outside this window of time, the enrolled property owner should notify NCWRC thirty (30) days in advance of the desired starting harvest date. NCWRC will determine the stage of nesting activity within the cluster and advise the enrolled property owner of appropriate precautions. Timber harvesting would not be permitted during nest initiation, when the female is in the process of laying eggs, when the nesting cavity contains viable eggs or young, or before the fledglings are capable of sustained flight. Possible exceptions to these prohibitions could be when emergency harvest, due to insect infestations, natural disasters, or other disasters, as described in Section 7.4, below, is necessary. 8. Refrain from constructing any new roads and/or utility right of ways within active baseline clusters. 9. Provide reasonable protection for RCW groups from human activities that may incidentally cause injury or death in active baseline clusters. 10. Take reasonable precautions when conducting silvicultural or other activities within active baseline clusters to avoid injury to cavity and cavity start trees. Reasonable precautions would include, but are not limited to, directional felling away from cavity trees, logging during dry conditions to minimize soil compaction, removing logs carefully to avoid scraping or otherwise damaging residual trees, and avoiding fire line plowing around cavity trees. 11. If the baseline survey establishes that three or fewer complete cavities are present in a particular cluster, the Cooperator agrees to install artificial RCW cavities in suitable trees such that a minimum of four complete cavities are present in each baseline cluster. NCWRC may decide, at its sole discretion, to install the necessary artificial cavities or to fund, fully or partially, the installation of artificial cavities in baseline clusters lacking four complete cavities.