Ansel Adams Addition Potential Recommended Wilderness Area

This recommendation was derived from Wilderness Evaluation Polygon #819

Number of Acres Approximately 10,190 acres.

Location and Description of Recommended Boundary This potential recommended wilderness area is an inventoried roadless area located between the Wilderness and the that would be an addition to the existing . The area is bounded on the north by Forest Road 6S80, on the east by the Ansel Adams Wilderness, on the south by the Kaiser Pass Road (5S80), and on the west by the Sample Meadow Road (7S05), the Half Corral Meadow Road (6S70), and Road 6S84. The boundary supports management of the area as potential wilderness because of the following:

• Visitors would be able to locate the boundary on both a map and on the ground.

• The boundary minimizes the potential for motorized incursions into wilderness because the boundary is offset from roads and follows the existing wilderness boundary that the public can locate both on maps and on the ground.

• All lands adjacent to the recommended wilderness are managed by the Forest Service.

General Geography, Topography and Vegetation The area generally slopes downward from the southwest toward the Ansel Adams Wilderness boundary and the South Fork to the northeast. Elevations range from 6,400 to 8,700 feet. The dominant cover type is Sierra mixed conifer interspersed with montane chaparral and granite outcrops.

Current Uses The area contains approximately 5 miles of non-motorized trails lightly used by day hikers, backpackers, equestrians, hunters and anglers. The area is also grazed as part of the Mt. Tom Grazing Allotment.

Wilderness Characteristics and the Ability to Protect and Manage the Area so as to Preserve Wilderness Characteristics This area retains undeveloped, natural, untrammeled, solitude and primitive recreation qualities sufficient to constitute adequate wilderness character if designated as wilderness by Congress. This potential recommendation excludes portions of the original evaluation polygon where the wilderness characteristics have been compromised due to the effects of intensive fire suppression, including dozer lines, and the

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presence of hydropower infrastructure. It also excludes portions of the evaluation polygon that do not provide connection to the Kaiser Wilderness.

The area is moderately manageable due to a well-defined boundary and because it has little non- conforming use other than cattle grazing. However, removing the transition zone between motorized lands and wilderness will present management challenges. Additional resources would be needed to provide boundary enforcement and signage to protect the area from unauthorized motorized use. The Sierra National Forest considers the value of protecting this connection between the Ansel Adams Wilderness and the Kaiser Wilderness significant enough to justify the additional resources to support management of the area.

Summary of Factors Considered in the Selection of this Area Forest staff considered the presence and extent of wilderness qualities, manageability and the significance of the area in the context of the entire Sierra National Forest in selecting this area to analyze as a potential recommendation as wilderness.

• The area retains undeveloped, natural, untrammeled, solitude and primitive recreation qualities sufficient to constitute adequate wilderness character if designated as wilderness by Congress.

• The area is moderately manageable due to a well-defined boundary and little non-conforming use other than cattle grazing in a small portion of the area.

• This potential addition to the Ansel Adams Wilderness is significant in that it provides connectivity between the contiguous wildernesses of the and the Kaiser Wilderness to the west. Permanent protection of this unit as wilderness would leave only the Sample Meadow Road corridor between the Ansel Adams and the Kaiser Wildernesses. Establishing nearly contiguous wilderness protects movement of wildlife and the quality of visitor experiences in the area.

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