Environmental Assessment For Little Fir Watershed Restoration Management Project Montgomery County, Arkansas Responsible Agency: USDA Forest Service Ouachita National Forest Caddo-Womble Ranger District Responsible Official: Gloria Chrismer District Ranger Caddo-Womble Ranger District 1523 Hwy 270 East Mount Ida, AR 71957 (870) 867-2101 For Further Information Contact: Seanna Whisenhunt Caddo-Womble Ranger District 1523 Hwy 270 East Mount Ida, AR 71957 (870) 867-2101 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 ...................................................................................................................... 1 PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE PROPOSED ACTION ......................................... 1 Proposed Action ................................................................................................................ 1 Purpose of the Action........................................................................................................ 2 Need for the Action ........................................................................................................... 2 Scope of This Environmental Analysis ......................................................................... 12 Decisions to Be Made ...................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 2 .................................................................................................................... 17 ALTERNATIVES INCLUDING THE PROPOSED ACTION ................................. 17 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 17 Alternative Design and Evaluation Criteria ................................................................. 17 Alternatives Documented in Detail................................................................................ 19 Other Past, Present and Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions ............................. 26 The Preferred Alternative .............................................................................................. 28 CHAPTER 3 .................................................................................................................... 29 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES .... 29 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 29 Air Quality ....................................................................................................................... 30 Heritage, Cultural and Historical Resources ............................................................... 35 Soils................................................................................................................................... 37 Water Resources & Quality ........................................................................................... 43 Riparian Areas and Floodplains .................................................................................... 53 Wildfire Hazards and Fuels Accumulation .................................................................. 54 Transportation & Infrastructure .................................................................................. 57 Vegetation ........................................................................................................................ 60 Wildlife, Fisheries & Habitat – Management Indicator Species (MIS) ..................... 68 Proposed, Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Species (PETS) and Habitats .... 91 Public Health and Safety .............................................................................................. 107 Scenic Resources ........................................................................................................... 110 Climate Change ............................................................................................................. 112 Recreation Resources.................................................................................................... 115 CHAPTER 4 .................................................................................................................. 117 ID TEAM MEMBERS & PRIMARY AUTHORS .................................................... 117 CHAPTER 5 .................................................................................................................. 118 PERSONS AND AGENCIES CONTACTED &/OR CONSULTED ....................... 118 CHAPTER 6 .................................................................................................................. 122 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................ 122 LITERATURE CITED FOR “MIS” SECTION OF EA .......................................... 127 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 128 Little Fir Watershed Restoration Management Project Chapter 1 Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action Proposed Action The USDA, Ouachita National Forest, Caddo-Womble Ranger District, proposes to implement restoration management activities in the 16,908-acre project area known as Little Fir that primarily lies within the watershed identified as Little Fir Cemetery – Lake Ouachita. These areas are located in Management Areas 9, 16 and 21 identified in the Revised Land and Resource Management Plan (RLRMP 2005). Compartments 1622, 1623, and 1631 fall completely or partially within the project area, which is located in Township1 South and Township 2 South, Range 23 and 24 West in Montgomery County, Arkansas. (See attached project map). Specifically, the Forest Service proposes the following activities: * Seed tree regeneration harvest – 92 acres Shelter wood regeneration harvest – 133 acres Commercial thinning – 549 acres Forest Health Restoration thinning – 288 acres Site Prep prescribed burn (National Forest) Chemical/Mechanical site preparation for natural regeneration – up to 225 acres Timber Stand Improvement – 225 acres Pre-Commercial Thinning – 225 acres Hand Plant shortleaf pine seedlings – up to 225 acres Wildlife stand improvement (WSI)/ Midstory reduction – 12 acres Wildlife stand improvement (Commercial) – 162 acres Glade restoration – 62.7 Pond improvements to existing ponds – 6 each Pond construction – 4 each Linear wildlife opening improvements – 0.22 miles Wildlife opening construction – 0.73 acres Wildlife opening improvement – 5.4 acres Fire line maintenance – 7 miles Road construction/reconstruction – 6 miles Temporary road construction – 7 miles Pre-haul road maintenance – 1 mile Non-native invasive plant species treatment throughout project area * acreages, mileage, etc. are approximate Page 1 of 139 Little Fir Watershed Restoration Management Project Purpose of the Action The purpose of this action is to improve the health and vigor of the Ouachita National Forest in accordance with the requirements of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). These goals and objectives are designed to meet an ecosystem management approach and each prescription is intended to foster a healthy native system to create more natural appearing mixed pine and hardwood stands, increase biological diversity, reduce the threat of severe wildfires, minimize impacts of non-native invasive species and improve wildlife habitat. These management decisions are based on experience, ecological concepts and scientific research. By implementing these activities, we will provide for a diversity of plant and animal communities throughout the project area, provide early seral stage habitat in a well-distributed grass/forb or shrub/seedling stage, reduce fuel accumulation and produce a sustainable yield of wood products. Need for the Action Current conditions exist in the Ouachita National Forest that do not meet the desired conditions for the forest Management Areas (MA’s) and the ecological systems that occur within. Past fire suppression activities have removed the natural role of fire from the landscape. This absence of fire has resulted in excessive fuel accumulations, increasing the risk of damage to resources in the event of wildfire. The absence of fire has also resulted in less open understories that are necessary for wildlife food, natural regeneration of pine and oak, and loss of habitat conditions for plants adapted to fire. Pine stands contain damaged, poorly formed and diseased trees. The trees are overcrowded or densely stocked, reducing growth and crown development. These conditions result in strees