ABSTRACT The Yuma Field Office Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP) describes the plan for managing approximately 1.3 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM)–administered land in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California. Information provided by the public, other agencies, Native American tribes, organizations, and BLM personnel was used to develop this RMP. The Approved RMP seeks to provide an optimal balance between authorized resource uses and the protection and long-term sustainability of sensitive resource values within the planning area. Major issues addressed in the RMP include the management of special designations, fish and wildlife habitat management, wild horse and burro management, recreation management, travel management, the maintenance of wilderness characteristics, and lands and realty. MISSION STATEMENT The BLM is responsible for the balanced management of BLM-administered lands and resources and their various values so that they are considered in a combination that will best serve the needs of the American people. Management is based upon the principles of multiple use and sustained yield, a combination of uses that take into account the long-term needs of future generations for renewable and nonrenewable resources. These resources include recreation, range, timber, minerals, watershed, fish and wildlife, wilderness and natural, scenic, scientific, and cultural values. BLM/AZ/PL-09/002 United States Department of the Interior BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT Yuma Field Office 2555 E. Gila Ridge Road Yuma, Arizona, 85635 www.blm.gov/az / In Reply Refer To: 1610 (AZC020) Dear Reader: We are pleased to announce that after 5 years of hard work and collaborative effort, the revision of the Yuma Field Office Resource Management Plan (RMP) is complete. This document provides guidance for the management of 1.3 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-administered lands in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California. These lands are within the BLM Colorado River District in La Paz, Maricopa, and Yuma counties in Arizona and Imperial and Riverside counties in California. The attached Record of Decision (ROD) and RMP have been prepared in accordance with the Federal Land Policy Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The ROD and RMP have been sent to members of the public who requested a copy and to pertinent local, State, Federal, and Tribal governments. The ROD finalizes the proposed decisions presented in the Yuma Field Office Proposed RMP/Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) that was released in April 2008 and was subject to a 30-day protest period. Seven protest letters were received and reviewed by the BLM Assistant Director for Renewable Resources and Planning in Washington, D.C. After careful consideration of all points raised in the protest letters, the Assistant Director concluded that the planning team and responsible decision makers followed all applicable laws, regulations, policies, and pertinent resource considerations in developing the Proposed RMP in the FEIS. Minor modifications or points of clarification incorporated into the RMP in response to issues raised during the protest process and final BLM review are discussed in the ROD under the sections entitled Modifications and Clarifications. The protest review did not result in any significant changes to the RMP. This ROD serves as the final decision for the land use planning decisions described in the attached RMP. Now that the ROD is signed, we look forward to your assistance and participation as we implement the decisions contained in this RMP. Copies of the ROD and RMP can be obtained on the web at <http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/fo/yuma_field_office.html>. Additional printed or CD copies may be obtained at the address above or requested by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (928) 317-3200. We greatly appreciate all who contributed to the completion of this RMP, including other Federal agencies and Tribal, State, and local governments. This includes the many Cooperating Agencies named in Section 1.7.1 of this RMP. We also appreciate the extensive public Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract and Mission Statement Dear Reader Letter RECORD OF DECISION 1.0 Introduction ROD-1 1.1 Results of Protest Review ROD-1 1.2 Decision ROD-2 1.2.1 What the Decision/Approved RMP Provides ROD-3 1.2.2 Key Decisions in the Approved RMP ROD-4 1.2.3 What the Decision/Approved RMP Does Not Provide ROD-5 1.2.4 Implementation Decisions ROD-6 1.2.5 Modifications ROD-6 1.2.6 Clarifications ROD-7 1.3 Overview of the Alternatives ROD-8 1.3.1 Alternative A (No Action Alternative) ROD-9 1.3.2 Alternative B ROD-9 1.3.3 Alternative C ROD-9 1.3.4 Alternative D ROD-9 1.3.5 Alternative E (Proposed Plan) ROD-9 1.4 Management Considerations in Selecting the Approved RMP ROD-11 1.5 Mitigation Measures ROD-12 1.6 Plan Monitoring ROD-12 1.6.1 Implementation Monitoring ROD-13 1.6.2 Effectiveness Monitoring ROD-13 1.6.3 Validation Monitoring ROD-13 1.7 Implementation of the RMP ROD-14 1.8 Consistency Review ROD-14 1.9 Public Involvement ROD-14 1.10 Availability of the Plan ROD-15 Signature Page ROD-16 Yuma Field Office Page i Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan January 2010 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT.) APPROVED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ES-1 CHAPTER 1.0—INTRODUCTION 1-1 1.1 Vision 1-1 1.2 Purpose and Need for a Resource Management Plan Revision 1-2 1.2.1 Purpose 1-2 1.2.2 Need 1-5 1.3 Planning Area 1-5 1.3.1 Bureau of Reclamation Project Lands 1-6 1.3.2 Historical Overview of Planning Area 1-7 1.4 Planning Process 1-7 1.4.1 Steps in the Process 1-7 1.4.2 Public Involvement 1-9 1.5 Planning Criteria and Legislative Constraints 1-10 1.5.1 General Planning Criteria 1-10 1.5.2 Program-Specific Planning Criteria 1-12 1.6 Public Scoping Issues 1-16 1.6.1 Issues Addressed in this Approved RMP 1-17 1.6.2 Issues Not Addressed in this Approved RMP 1-19 1.6.3 Laws and Regulations 1-19 1.7 Collaboration and Partnerships 1-20 1.7.1 Cooperating Agencies 1-21 1.7.2 Consultation with Native American Tribes 1-22 1.7.3 Consultation with USFWS 1-24 1.8 Related Plans 1-24 1.9 Plan Implementation 1-25 1.9.1 Immediate Decisions 1-25 1.9.2 One-Time Decisions 1-25 1.9.3 Long-Term Guidance/Life of Plan Direction 1-25 1.9.4 General Implementation Schedule of “One-Time” Actions 1-26 1.9.5 Implementation Updates 1-26 1.9.6 Maintaining the Plan 1-26 1.9.7 Changing the Plan 1-27 1.10 Plan Evaluation and Adaptive Management 1-27 1.10.1 Plan Evaluation 1-27 1.10.2 Adaptive Management 1-28 1.10.3 Administrative Actions 1-29 1.10.4 Monitoring and Evaluation 1-29 Page ii Yuma Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan January 2010 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT.) CHAPTER 2.0―MANAGEMENT DECISIONS 2-1 2.1 Introduction 2-1 2.1.1 Decision Lettering 2-2 2.2 Land Health Standards 2-3 2.2.1 Standard 1 for Upland Sites 2-3 2.2.2 Standard 2 for Riparian–Wetland Sites 2-4 2.2.3 Standard 3 for Desired Resource Conditions 2-5 2.3 Special Designations Management 2-5 2.3.1 National Landscape Conservation System 2-6 2.3.2 National Recreation Trail 2-12 2.3.3 National Byways 2-12 2.3.4 Areas of Critical Environmental Concern 2-15 2.4 Coordinated Management Areas 2-28 2.4.1 Fortuna Pond CMA 2-35 2.4.2 Limitrophe CMA 2-35 2.4.3 Mittry Lake Wildlife Area 2-37 2.5 Vegetation Management 2-38 2.5.1 Desired Plant Communities 2-40 2.5.2 Vegetation Habitat Management Areas 2-42 2.5.3 BLM Sensitive Plant Species 2-46 2.5.4 Priority Plant Species 2-48 2.5.5 Invasive Non-Native Plants 2-49 2.5.6 Vegetative Use Authorization 2-50 2.6 Wildland Fire Management 2-52 2.7 Fish and Wildlife Management 2-56 2.7.1 Priority Species 2-59 2.7.2 Wildlife Habitat Management Areas 2-64 2.8 Special Status Species Management 2-71 2.8.1 Federally Listed Species and Designated Critical Habitat 2-73 2.8.2 Federal Candidate Species 2-80 2.8.3 State-Listed Species 2-81 2.9 Livestock Grazing Management 2-87 2.10 Wild Horse and Burro Management 2-93 2.11 Recreation Management 2-97 2.11.1 Planning Area-Wide Management 2-97 2.11.2 Recreation Management Allocations 2-101 Yuma Field Office Page iii Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan January 2010 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT.) 2.12 Travel Management 2-118 2.12.1 OHV Management Areas 2-118 2.12.2 YFO Transportation System 2-126 2.12.3 Travel Management Areas 2-131 2.13 Visual Resource Management 2-135 2.14 Wilderness Characteristics Management 2-139 2.15 Cultural Resource Management 2-145 2.15.1 Special Cultural Resource Management Areas 2-147 2.15.2 Allocation to Use Categories 2-152 2.16 Paleontological Resource Management 2-157 2.17 Air, Water, and Soil Management 2-159 2.17.1 Air Resource Management 2-159 2.17.2 Water Resource Management 2-160 2.17.3 Soil Resource Management 2-162 2.18 Lands and Realty Management 2-163 2.18.1 Land Use Authorizations 2-164 2.18.2 Land Tenure 2-175 2.19 Mineral Resource Management 2-178 2.19.1 Leasable Minerals 2-178 2.19.2 Locatable Minerals 2-179 2.19.3 Salable Minerals 2-181 2.20 Public Health and Safety Management 2-183 2.20.1 Abandoned Mines 2-183 2.20.2 Unexploded Ordnance 2-184 2.20.3 International Boundary Issues 2-184 2.20.4 Hazardous Materials 2-185 FIGURE 1-1: Conceptual Planning Process & BLM Documents 1-8 TABLES 2-1: Approved RMP Special Designations 2-6 2-2: Approved RMP National Scenic and Back Country Byways Nominations 2-13 2-3: Approved RMP Coordinated Management Areas 2-28 2-4: Approved