United States Department of Agriculture Environmental Forest Service Assessment January 2012 Frazier Mountain Project Mt. Pinos Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest Kern and Ventura County, California Frazier Mt. Project Errata Cover Sheet (dated May 21, 2012) for the Frazier Mt Project EA (dated January 19, 2012) The following list includes the Frazier Mt EA errata items and changes or additions to the Project Design Features (PDFs) agreed to by all parties during the Objection Resolution Process. • This errata sheet will be attached to the front of previously completed EA dated January 19, 2012. Errata #1 EA pages 36-43: Table 9- Project Design Features and Table 10 - Monitoring Activities • Replace existing Table 9- Project Design Features, with the following replacement Table 9. Table 9. Project Design Criteria by Resource Area Design Criteria Description of Design Criteria Silviculture SL-1 All project activity will use existing classified and unclassified roads. Removal of forest products would require travel by vehicles (such as tree skidding equipment) off of existing system roads to facilitate removal. These temporary roads will be closed and obliterated where necessary following product removal. Ground equipment (such as masticators, skidders, or feller-bunchers) will be restricted to slopes of less than 35%, except for occasional pitches up to 50%. SL-2 When chipping is employed, chip depth should be no more than 2 inches scattered across no more than 75% of the project area. SL-3 In all units, as soon as possible, and no longer than 24 hours after tree cutting, all activity-created fir and pine tree stumps greater or equal to 14-inches in diameter would be treated with a borax compound (Sporax) to inhibit the spread of annosus root disease. SL-5 In all treatments, all live and dead trees posing a safety hazard to management activities or to the public will be removed within the treated areas. SL-5 General species preference for thinning trees will be: California black oak, Jeffrey pine or ponderosa pine, white fir, and live oak in descending order of preference to retain. This order of preference will be modified for individual stands to take into account management objectives such as species diversity, site and stand-specific factors, as well as other design criteria and therefore, the order of preference given in individual stand/unit prescriptions will supersede that given here. SL-6 All tree thinning will be “from below” to favor retaining larger trees over smaller trees but (1) thinning regimes will retain a proportion of the understory stocking to maintain stand vertical structural diversity, (2) large and old trees will be heavily thinned around, (3) thinning will consider species preference in tree selection, and (4) thinning will be “variable density” to increase horizontal structural diversity. Fire/Fuels/Air Quality FU-1 Slash from thinning less than 3” diameter will be reduced to less than 5 tons/acre following treatment. FU-2 CT or NCT units will be machine pile and/or hand pile and burn, depending on slope. The method of fuels piling will be determined primarily by slope. If it is over 35%, fuels will be hand piled. If less than 35% slope, then it could be machine piled. Frazier Mt. EA-Errata page errata-1 Errata Sheet Attachment Table 9. Project Design Criteria by Resource Area Design Criteria Description of Design Criteria AQ-1 Prescribed burning (both pile burning and underburning) will be conducted with an approved burn plan. A copy of the smoke management plan will be sent to the appropriate County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) upon completion of the burn plan. AQ-2 Prior to burning the Forest Service Prescribed Fire Manager will ensure that required burn plan components, vicinity map, and project map are mailed with a completed copy of a CB-3 to California Air Resources Board (CARB) so that CARB is familiar with the burn area for 48/72 hour forecasts. AQ-3 The County APCD would review the burn prior to project implementation. AQ-4 Smoke should not be allowed to affect highway visibility on public highways. AQ-5 A Smoke Management Report will be completed daily by the Prescribed Fire Manager, Burn Boss, or Forest Fuels staff during the burn to evaluate fire behavior, smoke venting, wind speed, wind direction, any possible excess standards and actions taken to mitigate excess. Heritage HR-1 Post-implementation survey of areas with heavy brush cover will occur. All known sites will be flagged prior to implementation, and the project manager will be notified of HR-2 their location for protection measures. Recreation Treatments implemented along the edge of East and West Frazier Mountain roads need to be held RE-1 to a minimum of disturbance by utilizing residual vegetation to discourage OHV trespass when consistent with purpose and need. Where available, downed logs will be used to fashion a barrier near the edge of the road to deter RE-2 motorized vehicle trespass activities and provide resource protection. Maintain the integrity of desired fencing and signing that currently exist along East and West Frazier RE-3 Mountain roads. No tree felling activities except for insect infested, diseased and hazard trees are proposed within RE-4 the Chuchupate Campground and Chuchupate Recreation Residence Tract perimeters; however some of the broadcast burning may overlap into the campground where feasible and practicable. Masticator will not treat brush within 150-200 feet from the edge of parking lot at the Frazier RE-5 Mountain/#118 Trailhead in order to prevent potential OHV trespass. RE-6 Utilize existing open areas that meet the criteria for landings when possible. RE-7 All temporary road segments are to be restored to their natural condition. Where there is a safety concern for recreationists, implement temporary closures in the project RE-8 area. Ensure that sufficient public and internal notice is provided prior to those closures. Throughout the duration of the project, communicate with the district recreation staff to coordinate RE-9 closures and/or consultation for privacy screening or potential OHV trespass during implementation. Visuals VQ-1 Minimize loss of vegetation screening along East, West and Frazier Mountain Roads. VQ-2 Equipment access away from view origins is preferred. If accessed directly from the view origins (highway or road) avoid linear features. VQ-3 Cut to 4” stumps within the immediate foreground. VQ-4 Feather/undulate treatment block edges and fuelbreak lines. VQ-5 Identify pockets or islands of vegetation to retain, where screening is important. VQ-6 Burn piles should be located away from the road and out of view when possible. VQ-7 Temporary drops of more than one Scenic Integrity Objective (SIO) level may be made during and immediately following project implementation providing they do not exceed three years in duration. Noxious Weeds Frazier Mt. EA-Errata page errata-2 Errata Sheet Attachment Table 9. Project Design Criteria by Resource Area Design Criteria Description of Design Criteria NX-1 Implement Best Management Practices for weed management and control. In areas that will be subject to ground disturbing activities, treat cheatgrass seed heads to the NX-2 extent practicable with propane torches in the spring prior to treatment. Pre-treat staging areas to reduce abundance of weeds by hand pulling, grubbing, or torching where NX-3 weed species occur. NX-4 Implement aggressive weed control near transportation routes where groundcover is limited. NX-5 Assure that machines are clean and weed seed free prior to transportation into the project area NX-6 Report any newly discovered weed occurrences to the Los Padres National Forest Botanist. Botany/TES Plants BO-1 Sensitive plant surveys will occur prior to project activities. Wildlife WL-1 LRMP- S11: When occupied or suitable habitat for a threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate or sensitive (TEPCS) species is present on an ongoing or proposed project site, consider species guidance documents (see Appendix H) to develop project-specific or activity-specific design criteria. This guidance is intended to provide a range of possible conservation measures that may be selectively applied during site-specific planning to avoid, minimize or mitigate negative long-term effects on threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate or sensitive species and habitat. Involve appropriate resource specialists in the identification of relevant design criteria. Include review of species guidance documents in fire suppression or other emergency actions when and to the extent practicable. LRMP- S12: When implementing new projects in areas that provide for threatened, endangered, proposed, and candidate species, use design criteria and conservation practices (see Appendix H) WL-2 so that discretionary uses and facilities promote the conservation and recovery of these species and their habitats. Accept short-term impacts where long-term effects would provide a net benefit for the species and its habitat where needed to achieve multiple-use objectives. WL-3 LRMP- S14: Where available and within the capability of the site retain a minimum of six downed logs per acre (minimum 12 inches diameter and 120 total linear feet) and 10 to 15 hard snags per five acres (minimum 16 inches diameter at breast height and 40 feet tall, or next largest available). Exception allowed in Wildland/Urban Interface Defense Zones, fuelbreaks, and where they pose a safety hazard. WL-4 LRMP - S15: Within riparian conservation areas retain snags and downed logs unless they are identified as a threat to life, property, or sustainability of the riparian conservation area. WL-5 LRMP - S17: In areas outside of Wildland/Urban Interface Defense Zones and fuelbreaks, retain soft snags and acorn storage trees unless they are a safety hazard, fire threat, or impediment operability. WL-6 LRMP - S18: Protect known active and inactive raptor nest areas.