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Environmental Assessment United States Environmental Department of Agriculture Assessment Forest Service December 2016 Alpine Community Defense Project Descanso Ranger District, Cleveland National Forest San Diego County, California Alpine Community Defense Project EA Cleveland National Forest, Descanso Ranger District Location of Action: National Forest System lands on the Cleveland National Forest in San Diego County, California Type of Document: Environmental Assessment Lead Agency: USDA Forest Service Responsible Official: Robert T. Heiar, Descanso District Ranger, Cleveland National Forest Contact Person: Rick Marinelli, Battalion 43 Cleveland National Forest 3348 Alpine Blvd.k Alpine, CA 91901 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Alternatives ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Environmental Consequences ..................................................................................................................... 16 Persons, Groups, Organizations, and Agencies Consulted ......................................................................... 41 Responses to Comments ............................................................................................................................. 41 References ................................................................................................................................................... 49 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion. age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800)795-3272 (voice) or call (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Page 1 of 50 Alpine Community Defense Project EA Cleveland National Forest, Descanso Ranger District Chapter 1: Introduction The Descanso Ranger District has prepared this environmental assessment (EA) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This EA discloses the environmental consequences of four alternatives: the no-action alternative and three action alternatives. This EA also provides sufficient evidence to determine whether an environmental impact statement (EIS) is needed or if instead a finding of no significant impact is appropriate. 1.1 Background The Alpine Community Defense hazardous fuels treatment project is being designed with two objectives in mind. The first will be to reduce the risk and impact of catastrophic wildfire to the communities of Alpine, Viejas Indian Reservation, and Carveacre. The second will be to limit fires that start on private land and move onto Forest lands. Project area locations and associated treatments will be designed to meet Land Management Plan (LMP) goals and standards through employing program strategies and tactics found in Appendix B of Part 2 (USDA Forest Service, 2005). 1.2 Location The project area is located on National Forest System (NFS) lands, as well as, private lands in three distinct areas within the administrative boundaries of the Descanso Ranger District on the Cleveland National Forest in San Diego County, CA. Units located along Anderson Truck Trail north of Interstate 8 are contained within Section(s) 14, 15, and 23 of Township 15 South, Range 2 East (San Bernardino Base Meridian). Approximately 72 acres of NFS lands and 15 acres of private lands are proposed for treatment. See figure 1 on page 9. Units located south of Viejas Creek Trail east to Star Valley Road, south of Interstate 8, are contained within Section 36, Township 15 South, Range 2 East and Section 31, Township 15 South, Range 3 East (San Bernardino Base Meridian). Approximately 32 acres of NFS lands and 51 acres of private lands are proposed for treatment. See figure 2 on page 10. Units located south of Japatul Road surrounding the community of Carveacre are contained within Section(s) 20, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, Township 16 South, Range 3 East (San Bernardino Base Meridian). Approximately 195 acres of NFS lands and 24 acres of private lands are proposed for treatment. See figure 3 on page 11. 1.3 Purpose and Need The purpose of this project is to reduce the risks to life, property, and resource values from wildland fire while improving fire suppression abilities and fire fighter safety around the communities near and within Alpine, Viejas Indian Reservation and Carveacre. Alpine is the largest, most populated city within the Descanso Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest. It is among the Descanso Ranger District’s highest priorities for community protection from wildfire. Viejas Indian Reservation and surrounding communities to the east of Alpine have been threatened repeatedly by wildfire. In early 2000’s, the Viejas Band of the Kumeyaay Indians, as part of the Tribal Forest Protection Act, completed a fuelbreak on non- NFS lands, this project proposes to complete the portion of the project on NFS lands creating defensible space to residents south of the reservation. Carveacre is a rural extension of greater Alpine, and is surrounded by National Forest lands. Carveacre has only one maintained access and egress point for the entire community. The best chance of preventing loss of life and property is to treat and maintain the fuels around the entire community so residents can safely shelter in place if escape is not an option in the event of a large wildfire. Life, property, and resource values could be threatened by a future wildfire event if no action is taken. In its current state, the proposed project area will support a high-intensity wildfire. In 2003, the Cedar Fire burned through a majority of the project area. In 2001, the Viejas Fire burned the southern Alpine Page 2 of 50 Alpine Community Defense Project EA Cleveland National Forest, Descanso Ranger District block of the proposed project area. These fires were detrimental to improvements and infrastructure within and adjacent to NFS lands. They were high-intensity wildfires that burned in areas where fuels had not been managed. The opportunity now exists to be proactive and treat fuels adjacent to high value resources that burned in the Cedar and Viejas fires before they reach their pre-fire condition. This project will provide the opportunity to maintain the treatments around the community of Carveacre and create strategic fuelbreaks along the Anderson Truck Trail and in eastern Alpine south of the Viejas Indian Reservation. 1.4 Preferred Alternative The preferred alternative will create a series of fuelbreaks for the purposes of community defense from a future wildfire event. These fuelbreaks will consist of an area of modified vegetation in three distinct locations along the outskirts of Alpine, CA. From the North, where the Forest borders the southernmost portion of Capitan Grande Indian Reservation; fuels treatments will extend south approximately 150 feet along either side of Anderson Truck Trail on NFS and private lands till its nexus proximately 0.75 miles north of Victoria Road. To the east of Alpine, a second fuelbreak will occur on NFS and private lands bordering the southern extent of existing dwellings from Viejas Creek Trail east to Star Valley Road. Lastly, in the southern portion of the project area a continuous fuelbreak will be constructed along the ingress into the community of Carveacre tying into an existing fuelbreak, currently in need of continued maintenance, that surrounds the community. The proposed fuel treatments will serve to reduce potential of future wildfire behavior and its effects. The expected result of reduced fire behavior in this area will be increased public and firefighter safety during a wildfire event, improved opportunities for strategic deployment of firefighting resources, and lowered risk of structure loss in the event of a wildfire moving into these rural communities. Although the Forest Service is not authorized to treat lands outside its administrative boundaries, including these non-NFS lands in this analysis will allow for expenditure of federal funds through existing agreements with local fire safe councils (FSC). The FSC’s will then work with these landowners to treat hazardous fuels adjacent to NFS lands. This action allows for fuels to be treated in the most strategic of settings to increase efficacy of wildland fire suppression tactics in close proximity to structures and roads. 1.5 Decision Framework This EA discloses environmental effects of the no-action alternative and the three action alternatives. The Responsible Official, the Descanso District Ranger, will make a decision based on the review of the EA. The District Ranger’s decision will include: 1) whether to proceed with one of the action alternatives or the no-action alternative and 2) whether the decision that is selected will have significant impacts. If a determination is made that no impact will be significant, then a “Finding of No Significant
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