Final Environmental Assessment Black Canyon Interpretive and Public Use Site Plan
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Final Environmental Assessment Black Canyon Interpretive and Public Use Site Plan Prepared For Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge PO Box 510 Milepost 32, Hwy 93 Alamo, NV 89001 (775) 725-3417 September 26, 2017 Prepared By Otis Bay, Inc. Ecological Consultants PO Box 919 Verdi, NV 89439 www.otisbay.com TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................................... i 1 Purpose and Need ................................................................................................................... 1 2 Alternatives ............................................................................................................................. 4 3 Comparison of Alternatives .................................................................................................... 8 4 Affected Environment ............................................................................................................. 9 5 Environmental Consequences of No Action ......................................................................... 15 6 Environmental Consequences of Proposed Action Alternative ........................................... 17 7 Environmental Compliance Actions For Implementation .................................................... 21 8 Agency Coordination ............................................................................................................. 21 9 List of Preparers .................................................................................................................... 22 10 References ............................................................................................................................ 22 LIST OF ACRONYMS APE Area of Potential Effect BMPs Best Management Practices cfs Cubic Feet per Second EA Environmental Assessment EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FONSI Finding of No Significant Impact FWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service GBBO Great Basin Bird Observatory NEMRU Northeastern Mojave Recovery Unit NDOT Nevada Department of Transportation NDOW Nevada Department of Wildlife NHPA National Historic Preservation Act NNHP Nevada Natural Heritage Program NRCS Department of Conservation and Natural Resources NRHP National Register of Historic Places NWR National Wildlife Refuge PNWR Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge RV Recreational Vehicle SHPO State Historic Preservation Office WAP Wildlife Action Plan WEI Wind Erodibility Index i 1 PURPOSE AND NEED This Environmental Assessment (EA) examines potential significant environmental impacts of constructing visitor use facilities in Black Canyon, Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge (PNWR), Lincoln County, NV. Black Canyon is located on the east side of U.S. Route 93 nine miles south of Alamo, NV, 88 miles north of Las Vegas, NV, and opposite the PNWR Visitor Center (see map on page 3). In 2012, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) funded a channel restoration project, hydrologically connecting Black Canyon to Upper and Lower Pahranagat Lakes with the addition of a riparian corridor running past a scenic rock butte. This restoration effort enhanced ecological and cultural resource communities along with migratory bird habitat. Black Canyon is a sensitive cultural resource within an Archaeological District listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Black Canyon and PNWR are areas of great cultural and spiritual importance to Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute). Black Canyon is a sacred place of creation and reflection and contains many unique petroglyphs, stone rings, and other artifacts or features (Spoon, et al., 2013). Nuwuvi Working Group members developed recommendations in collaboration with FWS for management of Black Canyon including limiting foot traffic to a designated trail around the canyon floor, minimizing access to the top of the butte to protect the resources, and reintroducing native plants and animals (The Mountain Institute, et al., 2015). The Nuwuvi Working Group and stakeholders conducted a series of meetings to develop an Interpretive and Public Use Site Plan for the Black Canyon Archaeological District (The Mountain Institute, et al., 2015). The development of the plan will assist the on-going revitalization of the Nuwuvi connection with their ancestral lands (Spoon & Arnold, 2012). Increasing numbers of visitors to PNWR and Black Canyon coupled with unrestricted rock climbing can inadvertently damage the abundant cultural and biological resources on PNWR. If unmitigated, these impacts could increasingly degrade precious resources for future generations and visitor experience. Implementation of the Interpretive and Public Use Site Plan for Black Canyon Archaeological District would revitalize the Nuwuvi connection to their ancestral lands, enhance outdoor recreation opportunities to further educate visitors about cultural and natural resources, and improve resource conservation in tandem with visitor safety, to allow continued public use of Black Canyon consistent with FWS policies and oversight. Construction of the trail plan and interpretive signs aim to foster respect for Black Canyon and promote a sense of place, community, appreciation and stewardship as this site is opened up to general visitation. FWS seeks to protect current stream and native plant recovery efforts and understands the importance of preserving a site of high cultural importance to Nuwuvi. Nuwuvi view everything within the landscape as sacred, and everything, including animals, plants, rocks, earth, water, petroglyphs, etc., contains spirits deserving of respect. From this viewpoint, all resources in Black Canyon are cultural resources, however, for the purposes of writing in this EA, cultural resources refer specifically to rock writing and other archaeological artifacts inventoried in the canyon. Plant and wildlife concerns are discussed under biological resources, and water resources are considered separately as well. 1 This EA presents only issues deemed relevant to the Proposed Action, and focuses on potential consequences of the Proposed Action to determine if a potentially significant impact could occur due to the action. This document does not analyze region-wide conditions that will not change with or without project implementation. It also does not discuss actions outside of FWS’s jurisdiction, such as construction of safety features on U.S. Route 93, as this would be a Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) project. This EA is presented to the public for comments on the action alternatives. Should a determination be made that the presented action alternatives would not result in “significant environmental impacts,” a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will be prepared by FWS and a Decision Record will be issued that provides rationale for approving the chosen alternative. FWS will decide whether or not to authorize and implement the Interpretive and Public Use Site Plan for Black Canyon Archaeological District. 2 3 2 ALTERNATIVES 2.1 Proposed No Action Alternative Under this alternative, no visitor facilities would be developed in Black Canyon. Black Canyon would remain closed to the general public, but unauthorized visitation would be difficult to control and social trails would remain. The existing clearing near the proposed parking lot area would not be improved or maintained. Signs would not be installed and maintained to regulate or direct visitors to important cultural sites, and PNWR staff would not initiate new plantings. PNWR would not coordinate activities with NDOT to install turn lanes on U.S. Route 93 to reduce traffic accidents on PNWR. Parking would remain limited to a small, disturbed dirt area at the south entrance to Black Canyon. No designated Nuwuvi solitude area would be constructed, and no gate improvements would be installed. The development or implementation of a management or area maintenance plan would not occur. 2.2 Proposed Action Alternative Under this alternative (see map on page 5), visitor facilities constructed in Black Canyon would limit visitor traffic and impacts to established trails and a parking area. The project would install amenities that include shaded rest areas and interpretive signs. Turning lanes from U.S. Route 93, constructed in coordination with NDOT, would improve safety for ingress and egress to and from the Black Canyon trailhead. Areas impacted by social trails would be modified by a new trail system restored with native vegetation. Plantings would cover a small unimproved dirt road spur currently located at an entrance gate proposed for removal near the southwest corner of the butte. The trail design presented below is based on conceptual drawings from the Interpretive and Public Use Site Plan for the Black Canyon Archaeological District (The Mountain Institute, et al., 2015). Actual trail configurations may change slightly with the development of final design plans. 4 5 The construction footprint for the trail, parking lot, and visitor facilities at Black Canyon is approximately three acres. A new trail and parking area would be built within areas that have previously been disturbed by abandoned roads or ditches. Approximately one acre of the construction footprint is disturbed soil, thus construction would add approximately two acres of new disturbance. A one-half acre restoration area would add native plantings, and rest areas around the trail would include tree plantings to provide shade for visitors. All trail areas would be constructed with