These data represent Timber Suitability under the No Action Alternative for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison national forests (GMUG) Forest Plan Revision undertaken under the 2012 Forest Planning Rule. These data were last updated on August 25, 2022.

Lands evaluated for suitability for timber production in the 1991 Amended Land and Resource Management Plan for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests.

"GREEN" is conifer (including ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, Englemann spruce, blue spruce, subalpine fir, Douglas-fir, limber pine, bristlecone pine). "ORANGE" is aspen.

Areas considered APPROPRIATE for timber production are classified as

[SUITABILITY] = "GREEN" and [SUITABILITY_DESC] = "SUITABLE CONIFER" or [SUITABILITY] = "ORANGE" and [SUITABILITY_DESC] = "SUITABLE ASPEN".

Areas considered NOT APPROPRIATE for timber production are coded with a number or number/letter combination following the timber type in the [SUITABILITY] attribute (i.e. "GREEN 1" or "ORANGE 1,2,3,5B")

Correspondingly areas considered NOT APPROPRIATE for timber production have a description of the code in the [SUITABILITY_DESC] attribute (i.e. [SUITABILITY_DESC] = "NOT SUITABLE - SURFACE ROCK CONIFER" or [SUITABILITY_DESC] = "NOT SUITABLE - SURFACE ROCK, LOW PRODUCTIVITY, STEEP SLOPE/ACCESS, VISUALLY SENSITIVE ASPEN"

Codes for individual rationale include:

1 - SURFACE ROCK, areas identifified as not appropriate because surface rock was present in sufficient size and quantity to make logging impractical due to timber breakage during felling and sever limitations on skidding abilities.

2 - LOW PRODUCTIVITY areas identified as not appropriate because forested stands are either isolated and/or marginal because of small size, dry sites, or low productivity sites.

3 - STEEP SLOPE/ ACCESS areas identified as not appropriate because slopes are greater than 40% and sites where the timber stands occur are not reasonably accessible due to either high road construction costs through steep terrain or because of excessive road construction mileages..

5A - IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE areas identified as not appropriate because irreversible damage would likely occur if timber management and associated road building activities were to occur, primarily due to highly unstable soils.

5B - VISUALLY SENSITIVE areas identified as not appropriate because other resource values were considered higher than timber and timber management activities were not compatible.

Analysis process is described in Appendix B of the 1991 FEIS for the 1991 Amendment for the Land and Resource Management Plan.