Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement

MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE RESPONSE PROJECT DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT USDA Forest Service Black Hills National Forest Custer, South Dakota Commonly Used Acronyms and Abbreviations ARC At-Risk-Community HFRA Healthy Forests Restoration Act BA Basal Area ID Team Interdisciplinary Team BF Board Foot MA Management Area BHNF Black Hills National Forest MBF Thousand Board Feet BMP Best Management Practices MIS Management Indicator Species CCF Cubic Hundred Feet MMBF Million Board Feet CDA Connected Disturbed Area MPB Mountain Pine Beetle CEQ Council on Environmental Quality MPBRP Mountain Pine Beetle CF Cubic Feet Response Project CFR Code of Federal Regulations MVUM Motorized Vehicle Use Map CMAI Culmination of Mean Annual NEPA National Environmental Policy Act Increment NFMA National Forest Management Act CPUA Concentrated Public Use Area NFS National Forest System CWD Coarse Woody Debris NFSR National Forest System Road CWPP Community Wildfire Protection OHV Off Highway Vehicle Plan ROD Record of Decision DBH Diameter Breast Height S&G Standard(s) and Guideline(s) DEIS Draft Environmental Impact SDGF&P South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Statement SHPO State Historic Preservation Officer EIS Environmental Impact Statement SOLC Species of Local Concern EPA Environmental Protection T&E Threatened and Endangered Agency TMP Travel Management Plan FEIS Final Environmental Impact TSI Timber Stand Improvement Statement USDA United States Department of FRCC Fire Regime Condition Class Agriculture FS Forest Service USFWS United States Fish and FSH Forest Service Handbook Wildlife Service FSM Forest Service Manual WUI Wildland-Urban Interface GIS Geographic Information System GPS Global Positioning System 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, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer . Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement Custer, Fall River, Lawrence, Meade, and Pennington Counties, South Dakota and Crook and Weston Counties, Wyoming Lead Agency: USDA Forest Service Cooperating Agencies: None Responsible Official: Craig Bobzien, Forest Supervisor 1019 N 5 th Street Custer, South Dakota 57730 For Information Contact: Katie Van Alstyne, Team Leader 8221 South Highway 16 Rapid City, South Dakota 57702 (605) 343-1567 Abstract: The Black Hills National Forest has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other relevant Federal and State laws and regulations. The Black Hills National Forest proposes to implement multiple resource management actions within the Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project (MPBRP) as guided by the Black Hills National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) as amended, by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) and supported by the National Fire Plan, the President’s Healthy Forest Initiative, and by other National level policy. The focus of the actions proposed is to manage the vegetation to reduce the threat to ecosystem components, including forest resources, from the existing insect and disease (mountain pine beetle) epidemic and to reduce hazardous fuels in order to minimize the potential for large-scale severe wildfires. Three alternatives are considered in detail. Alternative A is the No Action Alternative. Alternative B is the proposed action. Integrated Pest Management techniques are proposed for areas at high risk and most susceptible to MPB infestation, with the objective of treating and removing infested trees before beetles can disperse. Alternative C responds to comments received during scoping. It includes treating in advance of MPB, and addresses concerns about safety and access on roadways (ingress/egress). This Draft EIS discloses the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts resulting from the proposed action and alternatives. At this time, the Forest Service has not identified a preferred alternative. Reviewers should provide the Forest Service with their comments during the review period of the draft environmental impact statement. This will enable the Forest Service to analyze and respond to the comments at one time and to use information acquired in the preparation of the final environmental impact statement, thus avoiding undue delay in the decision making process. Reviewers have an obligation to structure their participation in the National Environmental Policy Act process so that it is meaningful and alerts the agency to the reviewers’ position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project Draft EIS, Page ii Environmental objections that could have been raised at the draft stage may be waived if not raised until after completion of the final environmental impact statement. City of Angoon v. Hodel (9 th Circuit, l986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Comments on the draft environmental impact statement should be specific and should address the adequacy of the statement and the merits of the alternatives discussed (40 CFR 1503.3). Send Comments To: Craig Bobzien, Forest Supervisor MPBR Project 1019 N 5 th Street Custer, South Dakota 57730 email: [email protected] Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project Draft EIS, Page iii Summary The Black Hills National Forest proposes to implement multiple resource management actions within the MPBR Project. This proposal is guided by the Black Hills National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan as amended by the Phase II Amendment; the statutory authority and direction provided by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act; and supported by the National Fire Plan; The 10 Year Comprehensive Strategy Implementation Plan agreed to by the Western Governors Association; and The President’s Healthy Forest Initiative. The area affected by the proposal includes portions of stands at high risk for MPB scattered across the roughly 1.2 million acres of NFS lands managed by the Black Hills National Forest, within the proclaimed Forest Boundary. Any vegetation treatment decision(s) on the MPB Response Project would not include project areas that are currently under NEPA analysis, have NEPA Decisions, or are designated as a special area (RNA’s, Botanical Areas, etc.). The forest condition is representative of a ponderosa pine fire adaptive ecosystem that has been managed for multiple-use objectives for decades. The focus of the actions proposed would treat recently infested MPB trees on portions of approximately 242,000 acres of ‘High Risk’ stands on National Forest System lands in South Dakota and Wyoming to reduce and slow the spread of MPB to reduce the threat to ecosystem components, including forest resources, from the existing insect and disease (mountain pine beetle) epidemic and reduce the potential for severe large-scale wildfire. There is a need to slow or appreciably halt the ongoing development and spread of mountain pine beetle (MPB) in the project area. The implications of continued spread of this epidemic include: increased tree mortality across the landscape; further accumulation of hazardous fuels and increased potential for severe large-scale wildfires threatening the values of the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) within the area and beyond; major changes in the scenery; and alteration of wildlife habitat. According to Schmid et al (2007), the most important aspect of managing mature ponderosa pine stands in the Black Hills National Forest is minimizing the MPB-caused mortality. The only effective long-term strategy to minimize MPB-cause mortality is controlling stand conditions through silvicultural means over large landscapes and monitoring areas of beetle buildup (USDA Forest Service, 2010e). The ongoing MPB epidemic is of foremost concern in the project area. This epidemic is killing mature pine trees, resulting in stand replacement on a landscape scale. Locally (and nationally), the public is demanding action to reduce the risk of MPB affecting their lands, as well as, reducing potential for large-scale wildfires on public lands. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003, represents the culmination of a number of National level policy documents and efforts developed to address this issue. Guided by the Forest Plan and the HFRA, the MPBR Project proposed action has been developed to treat vegetation on a landscape scale to reduce the threat to ecosystem components from the existing insect and disease (MPB) epidemic and reduce the potential for large-scale severe wildfires. Furthermore, the project intent is to limit effects to the environment from MPB and reduce the potential for loss of property or life due

Load more