Environmental Assessment for Tuskegee Upland Pine Restoration

United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Southern Region Environmental Assessment March for Tuskegee Upland Pine 2014 Restoration Tuskegee National Forest: Macon County For Project Information Contact: Eugene Brooks, Team Leader 2946 Chestnut Street Montgomery, AL 36107 334-241-8149 Tuskegee Upland Pine Restoration Project Table of Contents Chapter 1 – Purpose and Need .........................................................................................................1 Background .............................................................................................................................................. 1 Purpose and Need for Action .................................................................................................................. 5 Project Area Description .......................................................................................................................... 7 Proposed Action ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Decision Framework .............................................................................................................................. 11 Public Involvement ................................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 2 – Alternatives .................................................................................................................. 11 Alternative 1 – No Action Alternative .................................................................................................... 11 Alternative 2 - Proposed Action Summary ............................................................................................ 11 Mitigation Measures Common to All Alternatives ................................................................................ 11 Comparison of Alternatives ................................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 3 – Environmental Consequences ...................................................................................... 14 Soil Resources ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Water Resources .................................................................................................................................... 21 Overstory Vegetation Resources ........................................................................................................... 26 Understory Vegetation - Rare Plants Community ................................................................................. 29 Wildlife Resources ................................................................................................................................. 34 Climate Change ...................................................................................................................................... 41 Recreation/Setting ................................................................................................................................. 44 Heritage Resources................................................................................................................................ 46 Chapter 4 – Preparers/Consultation/Coordination .......................................................................... 47 Chapter 5 - Literature Cited and References .................................................................................... 48 Tuskegee Upland Pine Restoration Project Chapter 1 – Purpose and Need Background The Tuskegee National Forest had its beginning as the Tuskegee Land Utilization Project, which was also known as the Tuskegee Planned Land Use Demonstration. The original project was 10,358 acres of land northeast of Tuskegee Alabama. Much of what is now the Tuskegee National forest was purchased between the years of 1935 to 1938. Prior to becoming the Tuskegee National Forest the area was highly eroded (photo 1.2-1), cutover, worn-out farmland. In order to accommodate row crops and other types of agriculture, 80% of the trees had been cut. Many of the farming practices that are taken for granted today, such as contour plowing, terracing and no till planting, were rarely, if ever used in this area. Figure 1.2-1: Erosion in Macon County. (ca. 1937) Photograph courtesy of the Library of Congress. The U.S. Government utilizing the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1935 purchased the land. On April 30, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 7027, creating the Resettlement Administration (RA). Rex Tugwell, the Under Secretary of Agriculture was the director. The RA was divided into four programs: the Land Use Program, the Resettlement Program, the Rehabilitation Program, and the Suburban Program. A poster from the Resettlement Program is shown in Figure 1.2-2. 1 | Page Tuskegee Upland Pine Restoration Project Figure 1.2-2: Resettlement Poster from 1935. There were four Land Use Programs in Alabama: the Tuskegee Planned Land Development Project; the West Alabama Planned Development in Bibb, Hale, Perry and Tuscaloosa Counties (now the western half of the Oakmulgee Division of the Talladega National Forest); the Pea River Planned Development Project in Dale and Coffee Counties; and the Oak Mountain Planned Development Project. The government purchased sub-marginal farmland and the occupants were resettled on better farmland (Resettlement Administration 1936). The government then developed it for other uses such as wildlife, forestry, recreation, and erosion control. In 1937, the Farm Security Administration was created, replacing the Resettlement Administration. FSA Land holdings are shown in Figure 1.2-3. 2 | Page Tuskegee Upland Pine Restoration Project Figure 1.2-3: The 1937 Macon County Highway Map shows the FSA having taken over the Land Utilization Project and reflects the removal of many of the structures in the Tuskegee Land Utilization Project between 1935 and 1937. The successive federal agencies that had responsibility for what was to become the Tuskegee National Forest in 1959, worked to stabilize the soil by controlling erosion and planting trees. On the Tuskegee National Forest, beginning during the 1930s, most plantings were of loblolly, slash pines and some hardwoods. Figures 1.2-1 and 1.2-4 depicts serious erosion while Figure 1.2-5 shows the planting of trees. 3 | Page Tuskegee Upland Pine Restoration Project Figure1.2-4: A typical gully on the Tuskegee Planned Land Development Project, Macon County, Alabama. Photo 1.2-5: Planting Slash Pine on the Tuskegee Land Utilization Project (ca. 1937). Photograph courtesy of the Library of Congress. The Tuskegee National Forest is located in the upper reaches of the East Gulf Coastal Plain Physiographic Region. This region was historically part of the 60-90 million acres of longleaf pine forestland that once covered the Southeastern United States. Currently, 2-3 million acres of longleaf remain across its historical range, much of which is located on public land. The longleaf community has been recognized nationally and by the Southern Appalachian Assessment as critically imperiled 4 | Page Tuskegee Upland Pine Restoration Project habitat. There is a critical need to manage, restore and maintain any remaining occurrences of the longleaf pine community, especially in restoring the potential habitat for the endangered or imperiled species which depend upon this ecosystem. The decline of the longleaf ecosystem has been caused by many factors such as land clearing for communities, agriculture, fire suppression, and in the early part of the 20th century, timber harvesting. In places where longleaf pine was harvested, faster growing loblolly and slash pines invaded or were planted. The accelerated spread of terrestrial and aquatic invasive species is one of the greatest natural resources concerns in the United States and their prevention and control is critical to the stewardship responsibility of the Forest Service. Invasive species know no boundaries – they span landscapes, ownerships and jurisdictions and are spreading at an estimated rate of 1.7 million acres per year across forests and grasslands. The cost to the United States is over $137 billion each year. Invasive plants threaten ecosystem function, water availability, economic stability, forest production and human health. Second only to direct habitat destruction, invasive species are the greatest threat to native biodiversity and alter native communities, nutrient cycling, hydrology and natural fire. In 2001, $18 million was spent nationally to treat 130,000 acres. On February 3, 1999, Executive Order #13112 was issued establishing the National Invasive Species Council, and directed Federal Agencies, using existing laws and other pertinent statutes, to prevent the introduction of invasive species, to provide for their control and to minimize the economic, ecological and human health impacts that invasive species cause. The invasive species threat has been identified by the Chief of the Forest Service as one of the four significant issues affecting National Forest System lands. In 2008, the National Forests in Alabama (NFsAL) completed the NFsAL Non-native Invasive Plant Species (NNIPS) Strategy with intent to reduce, minimize or eliminate the potential for introduction, establishment, spread and impacts of invasive

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