Eastern San Diego County Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Record of Decision (ROD)
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DOI Control #: FES-07-30 Publication Index #: BLM/CA/ES-2009-002+1793 United States Department of the Interior BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT El Centro Field Office 1661 S. 4th Street El Centro, CA 92243 www.ca blm gov/elcentro Dear Reader: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is pleased to present the Eastern San Diego County Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Record of Decision (ROD). This RMP documents where and how BLM plans to administer the public lands under its jurisdiction within the Eastern San Diego County PlanningArea. This document is the result of a collaborative effort with state, local, and other federal government agencies, organizations and members of the public. Two scoping meetings were held in September 2004 to identify public concerns in the issue identification process. The Draft RMP and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) were published in February 2007 and followed by a 90-day public comment period. Changes based on public comments and agency review were incorporated into the Proposed RMP and Final EIS. The Proposed RMP and Final EIS were published in December 2007 and followed by a 30-day protest period. On July 28, 2008, BLM published a Notice to Provide Opportunity to Comment on Changes to the Eastern San Diego County Proposed Resource Management Plan; the comment period ended on August 27, 2008. This document incorporates changes based on agency review. This Eastern San Diego County RMP/ROD constitutes BLM's commitment to the public for managing the public lands. Any substantial changes to this approved RMP/ROD can only be made via a plan amendment process with public involvement in accordance with BLM regulation 43 CFR 1610.5-5. The decisions designating routes of travel for motorized vehicles are implementation-level decisions and appealable in accordance with 43 CFR Part 4, as described in Section 1.8.2 of this document. These implementation-level decisions for routes of travel, as described in Section 30 of this document, are effective upon issuance of this RMP/ROD, unless a stay of the decision is granted. We look forward to working with all interested agencies, organizations, and members of the public in implementing this challenging prescription for the future. If you would like more information, please contact the El Centro Field Office, 1661 S . 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243, or telephone at (760) 337-4400. Vicki L. Wood Field Manager TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Record of Decision 1 1.1 Changes from the Proposed RMP to the Approved RMP 1 1.2 Alternatives 10 1.3 Management Considerations and Rationale 12 1.4 Related Plans and Programmatic Records of Decision 13 1.5 Mitigation 13 1.6 Plan Monitoring 14 1.7 Public Involvement and Interagency Coordination and Consultation 14 1.7.1 Public Involvement 14 1.7.2 Interagency Coordination and Consultation 16 1.8 Administrative Remedies 19 1.8.1 Land Use Planning Decision Protest Resolution 19 1.8.2 Implementation-Level Decisions Appeal Procedures 19 2.0 Eastern San Diego County Resource Management Plan 21 2.1 Rangeland Health Standards Management 21 2.2 Air Resources Management 23 2.2.1 Goals and Objectives 23 2.2.2 Management Actions 23 2.3 Soil Resource Management 24 2.3.1 Goals and Objectives 24 2.3.2 Management Actions 24 2.4 Water Resources Management 25 2.4.1 Goals and Objectives 25 2.4.2 Management Actions 25 2.5 Vegetation Resource Management 26 2.5.1 Plant Communities 26 2.5.2 Priority Plant Species 31 2.5.3 Invasive Non-native Plants 32 2.5.4 Vegetative Use Authorization 33 2.6 Wildlife Resource Management 36 2.6.1 Planning Areawide 36 2.6.2 Priority Wildlife Species 38 2.7 Special Status Species Management 42 2.7.1 Planning Areawide 42 2.7.2 Federally Listed Species and Designated Critical Habitat 45 2.7.3 State-Listed Species 54 2.7.4 BLM Sensitive Species 56 Eastern San Diego County RMP/ROD Page i October 2008 1.0 Record of Decision TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT.) 2.8 Wildland Fire Management 57 2.8.1 Goals and Objectives 57 2.8.2 Management Actions 57 2.9 Cultural Resource Management 60 2.9.1 Goals and Objectives 60 2.9.2 Management Actions 60 2.9.3 Cultural Use Allocation 62 2.10 Paleontological Resource Management 64 2.10.1 Goals and Objectives 64 2.10.2 Management Actions 65 2.11 Visual Resource Management 65 2.11.1 Goals and Objectives 66 2.11.2 Management Actions 69 2.12 Special Designations 71 2.12.1 Wilderness Areas 71 2.12.2 Wilderness Study Areas 75 2.12.3 National Scenic Trail (Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail) 76 2.12.4 Areas of Critical Environmental Concern 77 2.13 Livestock Grazing Management 78 2.13.1 Goals and Objectives 79 2.13.2 Management Actions 79 2.14 Mineral Resource Management 79 2.14.1 Management Actions 79 2.14.2 Locatable Mineral Management 79 2.14.3 Leasable Mineral Management 81 2.14.4 Salable Mineral Materials Management 81 2.15 Recreation Resource Management 82 2.15.1 Recreation Management Areas 82 2.15.2 Recreation Management Zones 90 2.15.3 Management Actions 99 2.16 Transportation and Public Access 100 2.16.1 OHV Management Area Designations 101 2.17 Lands and Realty Management 105 2.17.1 Land Tenure 105 2.17.2 Land Use Authorizations 110 2.17.3 Withdrawals 114 2.17.4 Utility Corridors 115 Page ii Eastern San Diego County RMP/ROD October 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT.) 2.18 Public Health and Safety 116 2.18.1 Abandoned Mines 116 2.18.2 Unexploded Ordnance 116 2.18.3 International Border Issues 117 2.18.4 Hazardous Materials 117 3.0 Implementation-level Decisions: Routes of Travel 119 3.1 Implementation-level Decisions 119 3.2 Individual Routes of Travel Designations 120 3.3 Administrative Remedies for Appeals 120 4.0 Implementation and Monitoring 135 4.1 Implementation 135 4.2 Requirements for Further Environmental Analysis 135 4.3 Adaptive Management 136 4.4 Plan Monitoring 137 4.5 Plan Evaluation 138 4.6 Plan Maintenance 142 4.7 Plan Modification 142 4.7.1 Amending the RMP 142 4.7.2 Revising the RMP 143 Acronyms References Cited APPENDICES A: Errata B: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion C: State Historic Preservation Officer Concurrence Letter D: Typical Management Actions and BMPs E: Grazing Criteria F: Disposal Lands Legal Description G: Cottonwood Canyon Donation Agreement MAPS 1: Planning Area 3 2: Critical Habitat 47 3: Visual Resource Management 67 4: Special Designations 73 5: Lands Available for Geothermal Leasing and Wind Energy Development 83 6: Special Recreation Management Areas and Recreation Management Zones 85 7: OHV Management Area Designations 103 8: Lands and Realty Management 107 9: Routes of Travel 121 Eastern San Diego County RMP/ROD Page iii October 2008 1.0 Record of Decision TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT.) OVERSIZED MAPS Recreation Planning and Routes of Travel Map Pocket Resource Planning Map Pocket TABLES 1: Changes in VRM Class from PRMP/FEIS to RMP/ROD 5 2: Use Allocations for Cultural Properties 63 3: VRM Class Designations 69 4: Acres of VRM Classes I-IV by Area 70 5: Special Designations 71 6: Recreation Management Areas (Acres) 87 7: Recreation Management Zones by SRMA 90 8: OHV Management Area Designations (Acres) 101 9: Routes of Travel Classification 119 10: Individual Routes of Travel Designations 123 11: Eastern San Diego County RMP/ROD Plan Monitoring 139 Page iv Eastern San Diego County RMP/ROD October 2008 1.0 Record of Decision 1.0 Record of Decision The Record of Decision (ROD) documents the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) decision to adopt the Eastern San Diego County Resource Management Plan (RMP). This RMP is within the spectrum of alternatives analyzed in the Proposed RMP and Final Environmental Impact Statement (PRMP/FEIS) published in November 2007. In its entirety, the PRMP/FEIS provides all of the detailed background information and analysis in support of this RMP/ROD. An errata for the PRMP/FEIS has been developed and is included as Appendix A of this document. RMP decisions (including management activities, mitigations, and project design features) for BLM-administered lands within the Planning Area are presented in Section 2.0 of this document. This RMP/ROD considers public comments, the best available scientific and technical information, and results of applicable consultations and coordination with federal and state agencies, local governments, Native American tribes, a variety of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and numerous individuals. This RMP/ROD and its associated PRMP/FEIS, dated November 2007, were prepared in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 1500-1508), and BLM regulations (NEPA Handbook [H1790-1] and Land Use Planning Handbook [H-1601-1]). The Eastern San Diego County Planning Area spans a portion of the eastern escarpment of southern California’s Peninsular Ranges. Scattered in a north–south band along the mountain front are 102,869 acres of public land under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management. Most of the higher land to the west is a part of the Cleveland National Forest, while the low desert country to the east is included in the Anza–Borrego Desert State Park. Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and a number of small Indian reservations are interspersed with national forest lands.