Environmental Assessment Upper Kiamichi River Wilderness Private
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Environmental Assessment For Upper Kiamichi River Wilderness Private Access Road August 2013 Responsible Agency: US Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest Responsible Official: Liz Agpaoa, Regional Forester Southern Region For Further Information Contact: Bill Pell, Planning, Recreation, Heritage, and Wilderness Staff Officer 501-321-5320 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 a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 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Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR THE PROPOSED ACTION .......... 1 Purpose of and Need for the Action .................................................................................... 2 Scope of Analysis ............................................................................................................... 3 Issues ................................................................................................................................... 3 Decision to Be Made ........................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2: ALTERNATIVES INCLUDING THE PROPOSED ACTION .......... 5 Alternative Design .............................................................................................................. 6 Alternatives Documented in Detail ..................................................................................... 7 Other Past, Present, and Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions .................................... 10 Summary Comparison of Alternatives.............................................................................. 11 CHAPTER 3: AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ......................................................................................................... 12 Cultural Resources ............................................................................................................ 12 Wilderness Character ........................................................................................................ 18 Scenic Quality ................................................................................................................... 22 Soils and Water Quality .................................................................................................... 24 Proposed, Endangered, Threatened, & Sensitive (PETS) Species.................................... 27 Habitat and Management Indicator Species (MIS) ........................................................... 28 Terrestrial Species ............................................................................................................. 31 CHAPTER 4: PERSONS AND AGENCIES CONSULTED ...................................... 36 CHAPTER 5: LITERATURE CITED ......................................................................... 37 Listing of Figures & Tables Figure 1 Location of Private Inholding, LeFlore County, Oklahoma................................. 2 Figure 2 Proposed Action ................................................................................................... 8 Figure 3 Locations of Existing and Proposed Special Use Authorizations within Wilderness......................................................................................................................... 17 Reference for Forest Plan Design Criteria by Management Area (Table 1.1) .................... 3 Comparison of Issues/Effects by Alternative (Table 2.1) ................................................. 11 Proposed Road Location Soil Types (Table 3.1) .............................................................. 24 Estimated Sediment Loading by Alternative (Table 3.2) ................................................. 25 Estimated Sediment Loading in Watershed (Table 3.3) ................................................... 26 Cumulative Effects on Water Quality (Table 3.4) ............................................................ 26 Management Indicator Species (Table 3.5) ...................................................................... 29 Upper Kiamichi Wilderness Private Road Construction Proposal Chapter 1: Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Action Introduction In January 2007, the Forest Service accepted a special use application from a private individual, Paul Dobbs, to construct a graveled surface road to provide motorized vehicle access private land within the Upper Kiamichi River Wilderness (private land is the “white” space inside the red circle in the map on the following page). After preliminary reviews were conducted on-site and it became apparent that road construction through the wilderness would have to traverse some very steep, rugged terrain, the parties tried to negotiate a land exchange that would move the private inholding into public ownership (and eliminate the request for road construction). Years of negotiations yielded no land exchange proposal acceptable to both parties. On April 14, 2008, a letter containing a detailed proposed action and announcing the 30-day notice-and-comment period, pursuant to 36 CFR 215, was mailed to the Oklahoma Ranger Districts’ public mailing list. A legal notice was published on April 16, 2008, in the Tulsa World requesting comments on the proposed action. The project has been published in the Ouachita National Forest’s Schedule of Proposed Actions (SOPA) each quarter since October 2007. An Environmental Assessment (EA) of the proposed special use authorization was completed in May 2012. In June 2012, Regional Forester Liz Agpaoa selected the No Action Alternative from the EA and issued a Decision Notice. This decision denied the applicant permission to build and maintain a road through the Upper Kiamichi Wilderness. The June 2012 Decision was withdrawn by the Regional Forester to evaluate an additional non-motorized alternative in this EA. Proposed Action The proposed action requested by the property owner is to construct an all-weather gravel road to provide motorized vehicle access to private land. The road would be designed to standards comparable to Forest Service Maintenance Level 2 (FSH 7709.59, Chapter 60, Section 62.32) and provide motorized access by vehicles suitable to this design standard. This proposed road would be located in part of the SE¼ Section 33 and the SW¼ Section 34, T3N-R26E, LeFlore County, Oklahoma. The total area directly affected by road construction would be approximately 5 acres. The road would be approximately 5,300 feet long across National Forest System Lands with a 10- 12 foot running surface. Clearing limits for construction would average 40 feet. Where slopes exceed 20 percent, the clearing width would extend up to 100 feet. If approved, the Forest Service would issue an authorization for construction, maintenance and use of the new road. Page 1 Upper Kiamichi Wilderness Private Road Construction Proposal Figure 1—Location of Private Inholding, LeFlore County, Oklahoma Construction would be governed by the terms of a special use authorization, which would have to be in compliance with all applicable Federal and state laws. The maximum road right-of-way corridor, including clearing limits, would be 40 feet in portions of the corridor. Due to steep terrain, slopes greater than 20 percent would require up to 100 feet of clearance. If the proposed action were selected, a detailed engineering design would be prepared. Approved engineering plans for road construction would specify the aggregate (type or source and amount of gravel) surface, actual road width, construction/clearing width, maintenance requirements, gate specifications, and road facilities (such as culverts) permitted. Final clearing widths would not exceed those evaluated in this EA. Purpose of and Need for the Action The purpose of the proposed action is to issue a permit for construction and maintenance of a private road across National Forest System land to Paul Dobbs’ 160-acre tract, which is surrounded by the congressionally designated Upper Kiamichi River Wilderness. Mr. Dobbs desires to build a cabin or house on the tract and to gain year-round motorized roaded access. Current access to the property is via remnants of an old (and currently non-designated) foot trail or cross country; there is no road access to the property. According to 36 CFR §251.111, “Access means the ability of landowners to have ingress and egress to their lands. It does not include rights-of-way for power lines or other utilities. Adequate access means a route and method of access to non-Federal land that provides for reasonable use and enjoyment of the non-Federal land consistent with similarly situated non-Federal land and that minimizes damage or disturbance to National Forest System lands and resources.” Page 2 Upper Kiamichi Wilderness