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Tonto National Forest Draft Land Management Plan

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Tonto National Forest Draft Land Management Plan United States Department of Agriculture Tonto National Forest Draft Land Management Plan Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, Pinal, and Yavapai Counties, Arizona Forest Service Tonto National Forest MB-R3-12-05 November 2019 Cover Photo: View of the Salt River from the Apache Trail, credit: Kim Stahl In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, and American Sign Language) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: [email protected]. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. Note: We make every effort to create documents that are accessible to individuals of all abilities; however, limitations with our word processing programs may prevent some parts of this document from being readable by computer- assisted reading devices. If you need assistance with this document, please contact the Tonto National Forest at (602) 225-5200. Tonto National Forest Draft Land Management Plan Responsible Official: Neil Bosworth, Forest Supervisor Tonto National Forest 2324 East McDowell Road Phoenix, AZ 85006 For additional Information: Kenna Belsky, Forest Planner Tonto National Forest 2324 East McDowell Road Phoenix, AZ 85006 602-225-5200 [email protected] www.fs.usda.gov/goto/tontoplan Intentional blank page Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 Plan Organization ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Plan ................................................................................................................................... 1 Description of the Plan Area ..................................................................................................................... 2 Social and Economic Context ................................................................................................................... 2 Key Ecosystem Services ........................................................................................................................... 6 Adaptive Planning and Monitoring ............................................................................................................ 7 Use of Best Available Scientific Information ............................................................................................. 8 Need for Changing the 1985 Forest Plan ................................................................................................. 8 Forest Plan Framework and Organization .............................................................................................. 11 Chapter 2. Forestwide Plan Direction ..................................................................................................... 19 Partnerships and Volunteers (PV) .......................................................................................................... 20 Recreation (REC) .................................................................................................................................... 21 Special Uses (SU) ................................................................................................................................... 35 Energy Production and Delivery (EG) ..................................................................................................... 38 Rangelands, Forage, and Grazing (GRZ) ............................................................................................... 39 Cultural and Historic Resources (CUH) .................................................................................................. 42 Tribal Relations and Areas of Tribal Importance (TRB) .......................................................................... 45 Forestry and Forest Products (FP) ......................................................................................................... 48 Scenery (SC) ........................................................................................................................................... 52 Mining, Minerals, and Abandoned Mines (MMAM) ................................................................................. 54 Roads (RD) ............................................................................................................................................. 57 Facilities (FC) .......................................................................................................................................... 59 Lands and Access (LA) ........................................................................................................................... 61 Salt River Horses (SRH) ......................................................................................................................... 63 Vegetation and Ecological Response Units (ERU) ................................................................................. 64 Riparian Ecological Response Units (RERU) ......................................................................................... 97 Fire and Fuels (FF) ............................................................................................................................... 101 Watersheds and Water Resources (WAT) ............................................................................................ 105 Riparian Areas, Seeps, Springs, Wetlands, and Riparian Management Zones (RMZ) ........................ 110 Wildlife, Fish, and Plants (WFP) ........................................................................................................... 114 Invasive and Noxious Species (INS) ..................................................................................................... 118 Soils (SL) ............................................................................................................................................... 121 Caves and Karsts (CVK) ....................................................................................................................... 123 Page | i Air Quality (AQ) ..................................................................................................................................... 125 Chapter 3. Management Areas Plan Direction ..................................................................................... 127 Designated Wilderness (DWMA) .......................................................................................................... 128 Recommended Wilderness (RWMA) .................................................................................................... 133 Designated Wild & Scenic Rivers (DWSRMA) ...................................................................................... 135 Eligible Wild & Scenic Rivers (EWSRMA) ............................................................................................ 137 Designated and Recommended Research Natural Areas and Botanical Areas (RNBAMA) ............... 140 Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAMA) ................................................................................................... 146 National Trails (NTMA) .......................................................................................................................... 148 Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest (EFMA) ........................................................................................... 152 Significant Caves (SCMA) ..................................................................................................................... 154 Lakes & Rivers Management Area (LRMA) .......................................................................................... 155 Saguaro Wild Burro Management Area (SWBMA) ............................................................................... 157 Apache Leap Special Management
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