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Steens Mountain Comprehensive Recreation Plan Decision Record and Finding of No Significant Impact

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Steens Mountain Comprehensive Recreation Plan Decision Record and Finding of No Significant Impact USDI, Bureau of Land Management Andrews Resource Area, Burns District DECISION RECORD Comprehensive Recreation Plan Environmental Assessment DOI-BLM-OR-B060-2009-0058-EA Background The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Burns District, conducted an analysis of recreational facilities and activities within and adjacent to Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area (CMPA). Compliance The attached Environmental Assessment (EA), Steens Mountain Comprehensive Recreation Plan OR-B060-2009-0058, is tiered to the Andrews Management Unit (AMU)/Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area (CMPA) Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (2004 PRMP/FEIS) and relevant information contained therein was incorporated by reference in the EA. The Proposed Action, No Action, and other alternatives were designed to conform to the following documents, which direct and provide the framework for management of BLM lands within Burns District: Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Plan, Appendix P, CMPA Resource Management Plan (RMP) (August 2005) 6330 - Management of Wilderness Study Areas (July 2012) Wilderness Act of 1964 BLM Manual 6340 - Management of Wilderness (2012) BLM Manual 6400 - Wild and Scenic Rivers (July 2012) Steens Mountain Transportation Plan (TP), Appendix M, CMPA RMP/Record of Decision (ROD) (August 2005) Steens Mountain Travel Management Plan (TMP) (November 2007) Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 2000 (16 USC 460nnn note.) Greater Sage-Grouse and Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystems Management Guidelines (2001) Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Assessment and Strategy for Oregon (Hagen 2011) BLM National Sage-grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy (2004) National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347, 1970) Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701, 1976) 1 2007 Vegetation Treatments Using Herbicides on BLM lands in 17 Western States Record of Decision (ROD) 2010 Vegetation Treatments Using Herbicides on BLM Lands in Oregon ROD Burns District Noxious Weed Management Plan (EA-OR-020-98-05) Oregon Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP)(2008­ 2011) Riddle Brothers Historic District Cultural Resources Management Plan EA (OR- 020-5-019, January 1995) Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): Rights-of-Way (43 CFR 2800) BLM Acquisition Handbook (H-2100) In addition, the Proposed Action, No Action and alternative actions are in conformance with the CMPA and AMU RMPs/RODs, dated August 2005, because the actions are clearly consistent with the RMP objectives, goals, and decision(s) as stated below: Goals and Objectives Goals and objectives of this Comprehensive Recreation Plan (CRP) reflect what is stated in the CMPA RMP (2005) and are as follows: a. Recreation Goal - To provide developed and undeveloped recreation opportunities, while protecting resources, to manage the increasing demand for resource- dependent recreation activities. Objective 1: Establish and manage recreation areas where the presence of high quality natural resources and the current or potential demand warrants intensive management practices to protect areas for their scientific, educational, or recreational values while accommodating anticipated increases in use for recreation activities in specific areas. Objective 2: Manage recreation facilities to protect natural resources and to meet user needs. Objective 3: Manage the portion of the CMPA, outside of the intensive use areas and developed recreation sites, for dispersed recreation. Objective 4: Manage visitor use in the CMPA to protect natural resources and provide a variety of recreation opportunities. Objective 5: Provide informational and educational opportunities to public land visitors. 2 Objective 6: Manage commercial, competitive, educational, and organized group recreation activities. Objective 7: Manage Back Country Byways to protect the recognized values. Objective 8: Manage the Oregon High Desert National Recreation Trail to protect the recognized values and setting (RMP-66). b. Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) Goal - Manage motorized (OHV) and mechanized (nonmotorized) vehicle use to protect resource values, promote public safety, provide OHV and mechanized vehicle use opportunities where appropriate and allowable, and minimize conflicts among various users. Objective: Manage OHV and mechanized vehicle use in conformance with OHV designations (RMP-64). c. Wilderness Goal 1 - Maintain or improve wilderness values and special features of Steens Mountain Wilderness under a principle of nondegradation and in a manner that will leave these values unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness, while providing opportunities for public use, enjoyment, and understanding. Objective: Manage public visitation in the wilderness to provide outstanding opportunities for solitude, primitive and unconfined recreation, naturalness, and other features including ecological, geological, scientific, educational, scenic and historic (RMP-73). Goal 2 - Manage the wilderness in such a manner that the landscape is essentially unaffected by human manipulation and influences, while allowing natural processes to dominate. Objective: Accomplish necessary projects and activities occurring in wilderness with the minimum tool or requirement needed to achieve a desired result. The chosen tool, equipment, or structure is the one that least degrades wilderness values temporarily or permanently. Goal 3 - Manage nonconforming uses of the Steens Mountain Wilderness, allowed under the Wilderness Act and the Steens Act, to have the minimum effect on wilderness values. 3 Objective 1: Manage livestock grazing in wilderness under the stipulations of the Congressional Grazing Guidelines (HR 101-405 Appendix A). Objective 2: Provide for the level and type of commercial services necessary to enable the public to use, access, enjoy and understand the recreational and other values of wilderness, emphasizing opportunities for primitive and unconfined types of recreation, inspiration, and solitude. Objective 3: Allow for a level of reasonable access for the use and enjoyment of private inholding while protecting the wilderness values. Objective 4: Manage to prevent and exclude motor vehicle and mechanical transport intrusions into the wilderness; either on closed roads or off of roads, except where authorized by permitted use or during emergencies (RMP-75). d. Wild and Scenic Rivers (WSR) Goal 1 - Manage the existing and newly-designated WSR in conformance with the WSR Act and the Wilderness Act. Objective: Protect and enhance the Outstandingly Remarkable Values (ORV) of the designated WSR. Goal 2 - Determine the suitability of eligible WSR. Manage those rivers found to be suitable in conformance with BLM Manual 8351 (WSR - Policy and Program Direction for Identification, Evaluation, and Management) for protective management of eligible and suitable WSR. Objective: Protect and enhance the ORV of rivers determined to be administratively suitable for potential inclusion into the National WSR System by Congress (RMP-82). e. Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) and Parcels with Wilderness Characteristics Goal - Manage WSAs so as not to impair their suitability for preservation as wilderness. Objective: Manage existing WSA so as not to impair their suitability for preservation as wilderness (RMP-80). 4 f. Parcels with Wilderness Characteristics Goal - Manage parcels with wilderness characteristics to protect those characteristics. Objective: Manage parcels with wilderness characteristics to protect those characteristics (RMP-81). Comments Received The BLM mailed a scoping letter to 57 agencies, organizations, tribes, Steens Mountain Advisory Council (SMAC), and other individuals. A copy of the original EA and unsigned Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) were mailed and in addition, a notice was posted in the Burns Times-Herald newspaper on March 19, 2014, to which the Burns District Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received 36 comments in the forms of letters and email communications. These comments were addressed and included in Appendix M of the EA. On September 30, 2014, the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) reaffirmed the TMP decision. The IBLA reversed itself and found that "with regard to our previous reversal of BLM's decision to designate Obscure Routes as open to motorized travel, we now vacate our prior reversal and affirm BLM's designation of all of the Obscure Routes as open to motorized travel." (185 IBLA at 63-64). The IBLA concluded BLM's designation of Obscure Routes, Historical Routes, All Terrain Vehicle (ATV)1 Routes, and other routes did not violate the statutory prohibition against motorized off-road travel and construction of new motorized roads and trails. In the March 2014 CRP EA, all obscure routes were shown as closed throughout all alternatives. IBLA’s reopening of these obscure routes was considered new information not previously analyzed in the March 2014 CRP EA. To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the EA was rewritten to include this new information and made available for another public comment period with a notice in the Burns Times- Herald on January 14, 2015. Under the No Action Alternative, “obscure routes” were considered open and analyzed as the existing condition. Subalternative B analyzed permanent closure of some “obscure routes”, some administrative use only routes, and one ATV route. Also within Subalternative B, a reroute of Little Blitzen Trailhead and roads
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