BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LANDER FIELD OFFICE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN REVISION Areas of Critical Environmental Concern Report Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 2 3.0 Requirements for ACEC Designation ............................................................................................... 2 3.1 Relevance Criteria ............................................................................................................... 3 3.2 Importance Criteria ............................................................................................................. 3 3.3 Need for Special Management ........................................................................................... 3 4.0 Evaluation Process ........................................................................................................................... 5 Lander Slope ACEC .......................................................................................................................... 9 Red Canyon ACEC .......................................................................................................................... 16 Whiskey Mountain ACEC............................................................................................................... 22 East Fork ACEC .............................................................................................................................. 26 Dubois Badlands ACEC .................................................................................................................. 30 Beaver Rim ACEC ........................................................................................................................... 33 Green Mountain ACEC .................................................................................................................. 39 National Historic Trails ACEC......................................................................................................... 43 South Pass Historic Mining Area ACEC .......................................................................................... 47 Castle Gardens Proposed ACEC ..................................................................................................... 52 Cedar Ridge ACEC .......................................................................................................................... 55 Continental Divide National Scenic Trail ACEC ............................................................................. 58 Sweetwater Rocks ACEC ............................................................................................................... 62 Government Draw‐Upper Sweetwater Sage‐Grouse ACEC .......................................................... 67 Regional Historic Trails and Early Highways ACEC ........................................................................ 72 Pathfinder Prairie Dog Complex ACEC .......................................................................................... 74 Blackjack Lek ACEC ........................................................................................................................ 76 Upper Willow Creek ACEC ............................................................................................................. 78 Sweetwater River Watershed ACEC .............................................................................................. 80 Water Quality ACEC ...................................................................................................................... 82 Riparian‐Wetlands ACEC ............................................................................................................... 84 Schoettlin Mountain ACEC ............................................................................................................ 86 Twin Creek ACEC ........................................................................................................................... 87 5.0 List of Preparers ............................................................................................................................. 92 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Relevance and Importance Criteria Determinations ................................................................ 5 Table 2. Summary of ACECs Reviewed in this Report ............................................................................. 6 ACEC Report Page i Acronyms and Abbreviations ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ACEC Areas of Critical Environmental Concern AML Abandoned Mine Lands BLM Bureau of Land Management CDNST Continental Divide National Scenic Trail CFR Code of Federal Regulations ESA Endangered Species Act FLPMA Federal Land Policy and Management Act GMCA Green Mountain Common Allotment GMSR Granite Mountains – Sweetwater Rocks ID Interdisciplinary INNS Invasive nonnative species LFO Lander Field Office NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NHPA National Historic Preservation Act NHT National Historic Trail NLCS National Landscape Conservation System NNL National Natural Landmark NSO No surface occupancy NTSA National Trails System Act OHV Off‐highway vehicle PFC Proper Functioning Condition RMP Resource Management Plan ROW Right‐of‐way SHPO State Historic Preservation Officer SRMA Special Recreation Management Area T&E Threatened and endangered TCP Traditional Cultural Property U.S. United States USFS United States Forest Service USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service VRM Visual Resource Management WGFD Wyoming Game and Fish Department WHMA Wildlife Habitat Management Area WSA Wilderness Study Area WUI Wildland urban interface Page ii ACEC Report Lander Field Office – RMP Revision – ACEC Report 1.0 Executive Summary As part of the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Lander Field Office (LFO) Resource Management Plan (RMP) revision, the LFO Interdisciplinary (ID) Team followed federal guidelines and determined that sixteen (16) proposed Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) satisfy the relevance and importance criteria, and special management practices necessary for ACEC designation. These are: National Register Historic Trail (existing) with expanded boundaries Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (new) Lander Slope (existing) Red Canyon (existing) Whiskey Mountain (existing) East Fork (existing) with expanded boundaries Dubois Badlands (existing) Beaver Rim (existing) with expanded boundaries Green Mountain (existing) with expanded boundaries South Pass Historic Mining Area (existing) with expanded boundaries Cedar Ridge (new) Castle Gardens (new) Regional Historic Trails (new) Sweetwater Rocks (new) Government Draw‐Upper Sweetwater Sage‐Grouse (new) (the Blackjack Lek, which is nominated as a separate ACEC, is located within the physical boundaries of the Government Draw‐Upper Sweetwater Sage‐Grouse ACEC. Twin Creek (new) For the areas found not to meet the relevance and importance criteria or do not require special management, the range of alternatives will include prescriptions to protect the identified values as required by guidance: the “management prescriptions which are eventually established in the plan for such areas shall reflect consideration of the identified values” (BLM Manual 1613.2.21). In addition to the proposed ACEC, the following ID Team received and evaluated the following nominations: Upper Willow Creek Sweetwater River Watershed Shallow or High‐Risk Aquifers Riparian‐Wetlands ACEC Report Page 1 Lander Field Office – RMP Revision – ACEC Report Schoettlin Mountain was considered by the ID Team, but not fully evaluated. The proponent was not able to provide enough information for the BLM to identify the values or resources to be protected. The proponent withdrew the nomination. This Draft ACEC Report presents each of the proposed ACEC and provides individual reports to explain why each area satisfied or failed to satisfy criteria for special consideration as an ACEC. 2.0 Introduction Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), 43 Code of Federal Regulations 1610.7‐2, and BLM Manual 1613 (1988a), the BLM must give priority to the designation and special management of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The BLM Lander Field Office (LFO) is currently revising the 1987 Lander Resource Management Plan (RMP). The Approved Lander RMP will provide an updated comprehensive federal land use plan to guide the management of BLM lands within the Lander planning area. The Lander planning area is located in Fremont County, Wyoming (as shown in Map 1) and the BLM administers approximately 2.4 million acres of public surface land and 400,000 acres of federal mineral estate where the surface is owned by other entities. 3.0 Requirements for ACEC Designation A potential ACEC must meet two factors: the relevance and importance criteria defined in federal law and regulations, and requires a showing of special management. This Report explains the relevance and importance criteria for each proposed ACEC and identifies the need for special management attention. For those areas that did not satisfy the special management attention factor, this Report addresses management of those areas in the alternatives. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA)