United States Department of Final Environmental Impact Agriculture Statement Forest Service Pacific Piute Fire Restoration Project Southwest Region Kern River Ranger District, Sequoia National Forest Sequoia Kern County, California National Forest R5-MB-215 April 2010 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (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, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720- 6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Piute Fire Restoration Project Final Environmental Impact Statement Kern County, California Lead Agency: USDA Forest Service Responsible Official: Tina Terrell Forest Supervisor, Sequoia National Forest For Information Contact: Steve Anderson [email protected] Abstract: This final environmental impact statement (FEIS) discusses the potential significant environmental impacts associated with the Piute Fire Restoration Project on the Kern River Ranger District of the Sequoia National Forest. In addition to the proposed action, this FEIS includes one action alternative that would avoid or minimize potentially adverse impacts. The purpose of this project is to prevent future high-intensity, stand-replacing wildfires by reducing long-term fuel loading; to recover the economic value of trees killed or severely damaged by the fire; to recruit and retain both short- and long-term large down logs and snag habitat; to revegetate conifer stands and other plant and animal habitats that were burned; to improve long- term soil productivity by repairing roads and establishing effective ground cover in severely burned areas; and to reduce safety hazards to the public and forest workers from falling trees. The no action alternative represents the existing and projected future condition against which the other alternatives are compared. The proposed action would use commercial timber harvest to salvage dead and dying trees, would use mechanical equipment to treat fuels and small dead trees by chipping or masticating, and would plant tree seedlings in treatment areas. Road construction would not be required to implement the proposed action. Existing roads would be used and would require repair to reduce erosion and facilitate treatments and product removal. Alternative C, the noncommercial funding alternative, would be similar to the proposed action but would be implemented without commercial removal of fire-killed trees. Final Environmental Impact Statement Summary Proposed Action The Kern River Ranger District of the Sequoia National Forest proposes to salvage dead and dying trees, treat excess fuels, and plant trees in the Piute Fire Restoration project area. The main actions proposed include: 1. Harvest merchantable dead and dying conifers on approximately 350 acres. 2. Remove hazard trees. Hazard trees are dead trees, or trees that are predicted to die within three years, and live trees that are sufficiently damaged to pose a risk of falling within the next three years. 3. Pile and burn excess fuels. Mechanically treat non-merchantable dead trees by chipping or masticating, or hand treat leaving the residual fuels on site for ground cover (about 1,900 acres). 4. Plant native tree species (about 500 acres). 5. Repair and maintain existing roads. Purpose and Need The purpose and need for this project includes: 1. Reduce the risk of future high-intensity, stand-replacing wildfire by reducing long-term fuel loading to facilitate future fire management activities. 2. Recover the economic value of trees killed or severely damaged by the fire in an expeditious manner for the purposes of reducing the cost of reforestation activities and supplying wood fiber to the American public. 3. Recruit and retain large down logs and snag habitat in the short and long term to provide sufficient burned forest habitat for dependent species. 4. Revegetate conifer stands and other plant and animal habitats that were burned. 5. Improve long-term soil productivity by establishing effective ground cover in severely burned areas, to minimize soil erosion and begin to replace soil organic material. 6. Reduce safety hazards to the public and forest workers from falling trees. Issues Public concerns are conflicts or potential problems that the public believes may occur if the proposed action is implemented. The Forest Service considers these concerns and looks for ways to avoid them. Project design features are practices designed to avoid potential conflicts. If the project cannot be designed to avoid specific potential problems or if there is public controversy regarding the ability of the Forest Service to mitigate these concerns, these potential problems or concerns are carried forward by the interdisciplinary team as “significant” issues. In this case, Sequoia National Forest i Piute Fire Restoration Project the team identified four significant issues: Noise and dust, wildlife and wildlife habitat, fire and fuels, soil and water quality. Alternatives Considered in Detail No Action (Alternative A) Under this alternative, no silvicultural or fuels treatments would take place in the Piute Fire Restoration project area at this time. In addition, no tree planting or hazard tree abatement would occur. Proposed Action (Alternative B) Under this alternative, approximately 350 acres of merchantable dead and dying conifer trees would be salvaged, approximately 1,900 additional acres would be treated to remove excess fuels, and approximately 500 acres would be planted with native seedlings. Noncommercial Funding Alternative (Alternative C) During development of the alternatives, the interdisciplinary team acknowledged comments received by some individuals and special interest groups who oppose any commercial use of National Forest resources. Many had suggestions that were outside the scope of the project or were not useful for meeting the purpose of the project. However, in response to these suggestions, the interdisciplinary team developed a modified alternative that included a 15-inch diameter limit on commercial harvest, a 10-inch diameter limit on fuels treatments, and approximately 8 miles of road closures. The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) analysis of Alternative C found that there was no commercial value associated with the salvage of dead trees less than the15-inch diameter limit. The alternative was analyzed as having no economic value. Before publication of this FEIS, however, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California denied the Sierra Forest Legacy’s request for an injunction in SFL v. Rey, with the caveat that all new fuels reduction projects analyze a noncommercial funding alternative. In compliance with this order, Alternative C was clarified as a noncommercial funding alternative. Fuel treatments would be designed and implemented with appropriated funds under this alternative. This alternative would cut, pile and burn trees less than 10 inches d.b.h. to achieve fuel reduction objectives on approximately 1,900 acres. Standing dead trees in the 10- to 15-inch d.b.h. size class that would contribute to an excess of the 10 to 15 tons/acre desired condition for surface fuels in the future, would be piled and burned, masticated or otherwise treated to reduce fuels on the 347 acres proposed for salvage in Alternative B. This design feature would provide extra fuels reduction in the area where there is the highest standing volume of dead trees and therefore the greatest potential future fuel loading. The proposal to decommission approximately 8 miles of roads in this alternative is responsive to the need to reduce soil erosion, improve soil productivity, and public comment requesting that open roads be ii Kern River Ranger District Final Environmental Impact Statement minimized to reduce the need for hazard tree removal and disturbance associated with road reconstruction. Alternatives Considered but Not Given Detailed Study Public comments received in response to the proposed action provided suggestions for alternatives. The Forest Service considered all these alternatives, but did not study all of them in detail. Reasons for excluding proposed alternatives from detailed study include: proposed activities do not meet the purpose and need for the project; suggestions are outside the scope of the project intent; suggested alternatives are duplicative of the alternatives considered in detail; alternatives contain components that are not technically or economically feasible; or proposed alternatives are so lacking in detail as to be purely speculative. The following alternatives were considered, but not given detailed study: Effective Restoration, True Restoration, Diameter Limit, 2001 Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment, and Minimize Impacts. Affected Environment The 37,000-acre Piute Fire area is located in the Piute Mountains, approximately