Tusayan Ranger District Travel Management Project Environmental
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Revised Environmental Assessment United States Department of Agriculture Tusayan Ranger District Travel Forest Service Management Project Southwestern Region January 2011 Tusayan Ranger District Kaibab National Forest Coconino County, Arizona Information Contact: Paul Hancock, IDT Leader Kaibab National Forest 742 S. Clover St, Williams, AZ 86046 928-635-5649 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 alternate 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 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. 2 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 5 Document Structure ..................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1 – Purpose and Need for Action ....................................................................................... 7 1.1 Background ........................................................................................................................... 7 1.2 Project Area Description ........................................................................................................ 8 1.3 Purpose and Need for Action ................................................................................................ 10 1.4 Existing Condition ............................................................................................................... 10 1.5 Desired Condition ................................................................................................................ 13 1.6 Kaibab Forest Plan Direction ............................................................................................... 13 1.7 Proposed Action ................................................................................................................... 14 1.8 Decision Framework ............................................................................................................ 15 1.9 Public Involvement .............................................................................................................. 15 1.10 Tribal Consultation............................................................................................................. 16 1.11 Issues ................................................................................................................................. 17 1.12 Changes from the EA for Comment.................................................................................... 18 Chapter 2 – Alternatives ................................................................................................................ 19 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Process Used to Develop the Alternatives ............................................................................ 19 2.3 Alternatives Analyzed in Detail ............................................................................................ 19 2.4 Comparison of Alternatives .................................................................................................. 22 2.5 Mitigation Measures ............................................................................................................ 27 2.6 Monitoring ........................................................................................................................... 27 2.7 Alternatives Considered but Eliminated from Detailed Study ............................................... 28 Chapter 3 - Environmental Effects ............................................................................................... 33 3.1 Transportation ...................................................................................................................... 33 3.2 Recreation and Scenic Resources ......................................................................................... 40 3.3 Social and Economic Environment....................................................................................... 61 3.4 Soils and Watershed ............................................................................................................. 65 3.5 Wildlife ................................................................................................................................ 85 3.6 Noxious and Invasive Weeds .............................................................................................. 104 3.7 Sensitive Plant Species....................................................................................................... 115 3.8 Cultural Resources ............................................................................................................. 145 3.9 Vegetation Management ..................................................................................................... 152 3.10 Fire and Fuels Management ............................................................................................. 154 3.11 Range ............................................................................................................................... 155 3.12 Other Disclosures ............................................................................................................. 159 Chapter 4 - Consultation and Coordination ............................................................................... 161 4.1 Tribal Consultation Summary............................................................................................. 161 Glossary .................................................................................................................................. 167 References ............................................................................................................................... 177 Appendix 1: Proposed Forest Plan Amendment....................................................................... 183 Appendix 2: Projects Considered in Cumulative Effects ......................................................... 185 Appendix 3: Maps and Tables ................................................................................................. 187 Appendix 4: Forest Service Response to Public Comments ..................................................... 189 3 List of Figures Figure 1. Map of Tusayan Ranger District and location of National Forests in Arizona. ............... 8 Figure 2. Location of geographic areas. ....................................................................................... 9 Figure 3. Existing roads and unauthorized routes crossing Tusayan Ranger District (2005 data). 12 Figure 4. ROS classes and existing roads on Tusayan Ranger District. ....................................... 46 Figure 5. Existing roads and scenic integrity objectives for Tusayan Ranger District. ................. 47 Figure 6. Scenic Integrity Objects and alternative 2 proposed road system. ................................ 52 Figure 7. Scenic Integrity Objectives and alternatives 3 and 4 proposed road system. ................ 53 Figure 8. Tusayan Recreation Opportunity Spectrum classes and alternative 2 proposed road system. ............................................................................................................................... 57 Figure 9. Tusayan Recreation Opportunity Spectrum and alternatives 3 and 4 proposed road system. ............................................................................................................................... 58 Figure 10. Kaibab Forest Archaeologist inspects cultural site heavily impacted by campers. .... 150 List of Tables Table 1. Existing forest road system on Tusayan Ranger District (2005 data). ............................ 11 Table 2. Current forest road system by maintenance level, Tusayan Ranger District (2005 data). 11 Table 3. Summarized total big game harvests from the TRD in 2004-2006 and the estimated number of harvests using motorized means of retrieving game. .......................................... 13 Table 4. Comparison of alternatives. .......................................................................................... 22 Table 5. Summary of effects for Tusayan travel management planning by resource area. ........... 23 Table 6. Road maintenance costs by alternative. ......................................................................... 34 Table 7. Kaibab National Forest Visitation 2005 ........................................................................ 40 Table 8. Top five recreation activities on the Kaibab National Forest. ........................................ 41 Table 9. Percent of National Forest visits indicating use of special