MISSION STATEMENTS DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR The Mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation's natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to Indian Tribes and our commitments to island communities. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. CONSULTANT: URS CORPORATION 1333 Broadway, Suite 800 Oakland, CA 94612-1924 CONTRACT NUMBER: 01CS20210H CACHUMA LAKE Draft Resource Management Plan / Environmental Impact Statement June 2008 Prepared by United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Mid Pacific Region South Central California Office CACHUMA LAKE Draft Resource Management Plan / Environmental Impact Statement Prepared by United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Mid Pacific Region Sacramento, California South-Central California Area Office 1243 “N” Street Fresno, California 93721-1813 (559) 487-5116 June 2008 Executive Summary The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) developed the Cachuma Lake Resource Management Plan (RMP) to establish management objectives, guidelines, and actions for the Cachuma Lake Recreation Area (Plan Area). The Plan Area encompasses approximately 9,250 acres, including Cachuma Lake (3,043 acres at full level) and the surrounding shores and rugged hillsides. Santa Barbara County Parks Department manages the Plan Area pursuant to a contract between Reclamation and the County. Most of the recreational facilities at the lake are located in a 375-acre County Park on the south side of the lake. Facilities include campsites, general store, a marina and launch ramp, bait and tackle shop, amphitheater, trailer storage yard, recreational vehicle campsites, Nature Center, County Park Ranger Station, family center, swimming pools, and snack shop. The north side of the lake consists of open space that is leased for grazing and permitted equestrian use. The open space area is closed to general public access. The RMP is a long-term plan that will guide future actions in the Plan Area and is based on a comprehensive inventory of environmental resources and facilities and input from local, state, and federal agencies, Santa Barbara County, and the general public. The primary emphasis of the RMP is to protect water quality, water supply, and natural resources, while enhancing recreational uses in the Plan Area. The recreational uses must be compatible with the primary obligation to operate the reservoir for storage and delivery of high-quality water. The development of the RMP is based upon authorities provided by Congress through the Reclamation Act, Federal Water Project Recreation Act, Reclamation Recreation Management Act, and applicable federal agency and United States Department of the Interior policies. The purpose of the RMP is to provide a program and set of policy guidelines necessary to encourage orderly use, development, and management of the surrounding lands. The RMP will provide outdoor recreational opportunities, enhanced by Cachuma Lake and its shoreline, compatible with the surrounding scenic, environmental, and cultural resources. The planning process for the Cachuma Lake RMP involves the integration of issues, opportunities and constraints, management actions, and management zones. It follows the guidance of federal planning mandates and proposed actions that balance recreation opportunities with natural and cultural resource stewardship. The following are the basic elements of the planning process: • Define the overall goals and objectives. • Describe the resource categories that group the issues. • Identify the issues, opportunities, and constraints. • Determine management actions to address the issues. • Define the management zones for Cachuma Lake. The environmental impacts of the RMP are assessed in a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that has been included as part of this joint RMP/EIS document. The environmental review focuses on the potential for management actions to cause adverse or beneficial environmental impacts to natural and cultural resources such as water quality, endangered species, and historic resources. \\S021EMC2\_XDRIVES\X_ENV\_PERMIT\BUREC\CACHUMA RMP\DRAFT RMP\_PUBLIC DRAFT\TEXT_051608.DOC ES-1 Executive Summary Three planning alternatives were formulated to address the issues, opportunities, and constraints in the Plan Area. The No Action and two action alternatives are as follows: • No Action (Alternative 1)—This alternative manages land and activities with the continuation of current management practice. • Enhanced Recreation (Alternative 2)—This alternative balances natural resource protection and recreation opportunities. • Expanded Recreation (Alternative 3)—This alternative emphasizes expanded recreation opportunities. Under the No Action Alternative, current resource and recreation management direction and practices for the Plan Area would continue unchanged. However, some infrastructure improvements would be implemented that are common to all the alternatives. The No Action Alternative provides the benchmark for making comparisons in the EIS between possible future changes under Alternatives 2 and 3. The objective of Alternative 2 is to enhance current recreational uses and public access in the Plan Area to attract more visitors and increase recreational opportunities, while protecting natural resources with new or modified land and recreation management practices. These activities propose upgrades and improvements for many of the Plan Area’s existing facilities and utilities. Alternative 3 would expand recreational uses and public access by implementing new or modified land and recreation management practices. This alternative is included to demonstrate a scenario in which recreational uses in the Plan Area are substantially expanded while meeting the RMP goals for protection of natural resources to the extent feasible. Alternative 3 includes all of the management actions proposed for Alternative 2 as well as swimming. Section 3, Existing Conditions, describes features that could be affected by the alternatives. Other topics such as climate and air quality are addressed to provide context, but less detail is provided because impacts to these resources would be less noticeable. Much of the data collected to describe the existing environment are included in Geographic Information System format. Figures show areas with sensitive resources (i.e., biology and land use), hazard potential (i.e., erosion and geological hazards), and other conditions. These figures and the impact analyses provided in Section 4 are the basis of constraint analysis that would guide any plans for future development within the planning horizon. Section 4, Environmental Consequences, describes the impacts of implementing the two action alternatives as well as the No Action Alternative. Future actions that might result in site-specific impacts will be addressed in project-specific plans and environmental documentation as they arise. Where possible, Best Management Practices (BMPs) and avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures are provided to reduce the severity of each impact. All impacts resulting from the No Action Alternative would be addressed through the implementation of BMPs, which would be subject to an environmental review and possible mitigation in subsequent project-specific environmental documents. Each subpart of Section 4 identifies impact thresholds for the action alternatives and, where applicable, discusses impact methodology. Thresholds are generally expressed as follows: \\S021EMC2\_XDRIVES\X_ENV\_PERMIT\BUREC\CACHUMA RMP\DRAFT RMP\_PUBLIC DRAFT\TEXT_051608.DOC ES-2 Executive Summary • Beneficial Impact: This impact category would occur when an activity could result in the elimination, reduction, or resolution of a conflict. • No Impact: This impact category would occur if an activity would result in no change over the existing condition. • Minor Adverse Impact: This impact category would occur if an activity would result in deterioration or in a conflict. • Major Adverse Impact: This impact category would occur if an activity would result in a dramatic deterioration or a severe conflict. Then, the impacts common to all alternatives are discussed, followed by impacts unique to each alternative, and then an impact summary and mitigation measures if applicable. Cumulative impacts are discussed at the end of each resource topic where applicable. The impacts of each alternative to each resource topic are summarized in Table S-1. In some cases, a range of impact thresholds is indicated. The Cachuma Lake RMP/EIS is a program document and, therefore, not site-specific. Additionally, some impacts may vary depending on season. One example is for visitor access, where the effects of increased visitation on circulation depend on the season and time of travel to and from the Plan Area, resulting in a range of impacts. All mitigation measures reduce impact thresholds for the action alternatives to between minor adverse impact and no impact. Table S-1 Impacts Summary Alternative 1 Alternative 2 Alternative 3 Impact Impact Impact After Impact Impact After Impacts to Resources Magnitude Magnitude Mit. Magnitude Mit. WATER RESOURCES WQ-1: Pollutants due to motorized Minor Minor Minor Minor Minor vehicle emissions WQ-2: Erosion and turbidity due to construction/ maintenance of facilities,