United States Department of Giant Sequoia Agriculture Forest Service National Monument Giant Sequoia National Monument Draft Management Plan August 2010 The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Contents Part 1-Vision Purpose of Monument Plan 6 Relationship of Monument Plan to Other Documents 9 Monument Description 10 Vision 11 Desired Conditions 28 Part 2-Strategy Land Allocations and Management Areas 39 Suitable Land Uses 47 Strategies and Objectives 54 Special Areas 77 Part 3-Design Criteria Legal and Regulatory Compliance 85 Monitoring and Evaluation 100 Appendices Appendix A-Location Map (California) 115 Giant Sequoia National Monument Draft Management Plan GSNM Management Plan Contents Appendix B-Location Map (Local) 118 Appendix C-Giant Sequoia Groves List 120 Appendix D-Giant Sequoia Groves Map 122 Appendix E-Partnership Strategy 124 Appendix F-Standards and Guidelines 130 Appendix G-Transportation Plan 160 Map Packet Map Packet 168 List of Figures Figure 1 Management Direction and Guidance for the Monument 9 Figure 2 Trumping Order for Land Allocations from the 2001 SNFPA 42 Figure 3 Overview of Adaptive Management Based on Scientific Study and Monitoring 55 List of Tables Table 1 Named Giant Sequoias 14 Table 2 Acres of Land Allocations/Management Areas 40 Table 3 Dominant Management Direction When Land Allocations/Management Areas Overlap 44 Table 4 Suitable Land Uses and Activities by Static Land Allocation or Management Area 49 Table 5 Suitable Land Uses and Activities by Overlapping Land Allocation or Management Area 52 Table 6 Strategies for Scientific Study and Adaptive Management 55 Table 7 Strategies Specific to Giant Sequoia Groves 56 Table 8 Strategies for Climate Change/Carbon Sequestration 57 Table 9 Strategies for Ecological Restoration 57 Table 10 Strategy for Tree Species Regeneration 58 Table 11 Strategies for Biomass Removal 58 Table 12 Strategy for Pest Management 58 Table 13 Strategies for Fire and Fuels 60 Table 14 Strategies for Fuels Reduction 61 GSNM Management Plan Giant Sequoia National Monument Draft Management Plan Contents Table 15 Strategies Specific to WUI Management 64 Table 16 Strategies for Air Quality 64 Table 17 Strategies for Wildlife and Plant Habitat 65 Table 18 Strategies for Range 66 Table 19 Strategies for Hydrological Resources 66 Table 20 Strategies for Meadow Restoration 67 Table 21 Strategies for Groundwater 68 Table 22 Strategies for Geological Resources 68 Table 23 Strategies for Paleontological Resources 69 Table 24 Strategies for Soils 69 Table 25 Strategies for Human Use 70 Table 26 Strategies for Cultural Resources 74 Table 27 Strategies for Transportation System 74 Table 28 Strategies for Special Areas 76 Table 29 Non-Wilderness Roadless Areas 79 Table 30 Monitoring Plan 102 Table 31 Sequoia Groves and Grove Complexes 120 Table 32 Standards and Guidelines 130 Table 33 Miles of Roads in the Monument by Maintenance Level 162 Table 34 Miles of Road by Functional Class 162 Table 35 Table Potential Risk and Need Equivalent Combination Ratings 166 List of Maps Map 1 Recreation Niche Settings for the Northern Portion of the Monument 16 Map 2 Recreation Niche Settings for the Southern Portion of the Monument 17 Map 3 Tribal Fuels Emphasis Treatment Area 63 Map 4 Special Areas in the Monument 81 Map 5 Location of the Monument (California) 116 Map 6 Location Map (Local) 118 Map 7 Giant Sequoia Groves 122 Giant Sequoia National Monument Draft Management Plan GSNM Management Plan Empty Region Giant Sequoia National Monument Draft Management Plan GSNM Management Plan Part 1-Vision Giant Sequoia National Monument Draft Management Plan GSNM Management Plan 5 Purpose of Monument Plan GSNM Management Plan Giant Sequoia National Monument Draft Management Plan 6 Purpose of Monument Plan Part I-Vision Purpose of the Monument Plan The purpose of the Giant Sequoia National Monument Management Plan (Monument Plan) is to provide overall strategic guidance for managing the Giant Sequoia National Monument (Monument). This plan provides for and encourages continued public and recreational access and use consistent with the purposes of the Monument (Clinton 2000, p. 24097). It contributes to social, economic, and ecological sustainability by guiding the restoration or maintenance of the health of the land in the Monument. This draft Monument Plan was developed for the preferred alternative, Alternative F, as identified in the Giant Sequoia National Monument Draft Environmental Impact Statement (draft EIS). The draft EIS describes the analysis used in formulating the draft Monument Plan. Identifying the preferred alternative in the draft EIS and the draft Monument Plan does not constitute a decision, but is simply a position or preference at the time these draft documents are published for public comment. The Monument Plan provides the strategic direction at the broad program level for managing the Monument and its resources over the next 10 to 15 years. It includes the direction required by the Proclamation and it replaces, in its entirety, all previous management direction for the Monument, including the direction in the Forest Plan for this part of the Sequoia National Forest. It is the single comprehensive management plan for this area. While the Monument Plan is a stand-alone document, it is also a subset of the entire Forest Plan. This strategic direction was developed by an interdisciplinary planning team working with forest staff, making use of extensive public involvement and collaboration, and the best science available. The Monument Plan implements the Proclamation by providing guidance to protect the objects of interest, restore ecosystems, and provide opportunities for public use. It provides a context for informed decision making, while guiding resource management programs, practices, uses, and projects. It will guide the development and analysis of resource management activities in future site-specific projects to move resources toward the desired conditions for the Monument. This plan does not include any decisions on specific projects or activities. Those decisions will be made later, after more detailed analysis of specific project sites and additional public involvement on site-specific proposals. Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is required for any project-level decision that may have an impact on the environment. Project-level decisions must be informed by site-specific analysis through an open, public process. The Monument Plan is adaptive in that new knowledge and information can be analyzed and the plan changed, if appropriate, at any time. It provides overall intent and guidance, but provides the flexibility needed for the responsible official to work with the public and adapt management strategies to the constantly changing demands that are inherent to natural resource management. It defines the parameters (limits) for management but allows for the adjustment of future project-level decisions to accommodate rapidly changing social and resource conditions. This allows the latest science and public input to be employed at the time a decision is to be made. The Monument Plan was prepared according to the requirements of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA), the NEPA, and other laws and regulations. Giant Sequoia National Monument Draft Management Plan GSNM Management Plan 7 Purpose of Monument Plan Comments: 1 Organization of the Monument Plan This Monument Plan consists of three interrelated parts that work together to facilitate the use of adaptive management and the development of management activities that will move the Monument toward the desired conditions. Part 1-Vision paints the picture of the conditions desired in the long term. Part 2-Strategy contains the strategic management direction. Part 3-Design Criteria contains the guidance for designing actions and activities in order to make progress toward the vision and desired conditions described in Part 1. Part 1 is the Vision for the Monument. It describes the purpose of the Monument Plan, the relationship of the Monument Plan to other documents, and a description of the Monument. Part 1 includes the Monument niche (the Monument's uniqueness on a national and regional level) and its recreation niche. Part 1 also describes the desired conditions (36 CFR 219.11(b)(1)) for the resources of the Monument. Part 2 is the Strategy for the Monument. It begins by identifying generally suitable land uses and activities for the Monument. It then lays out the management strategies and objectives (36 CFR 219.11 (b)(2)) that the Forest Service will strive to achieve in order to move the Monument toward the desired conditions described in Part 1. Part 2 also identifies special areas in the Monument (36 CFR 219.17(3)), as well as the land allocations and management areas (36 CFR 219.11(c)(4)) for the Monument. Part 3 is the Design Criteria for the Monument. The design criteria include the laws and regulations, the standards and guidelines (36 CFR 219.11(c) and 219.13 through 219.29(5)), and the monitoring and evaluation procedures that will be used during site-specific project planning and implementation. Design criteria are sideboards for subsequent projects and activities to help achieve the desired conditions. Comments: 2 1 These are 1982 regulations that are no longer in the CFR, but are still applicable to this plan amendment.