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Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Comprehensive Management Plan

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Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Comprehensive Management Plan United States Department of Agriculture Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Comprehensive Management Plan Appendix E to the Wallowa-Whitman Land Management Plan Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region Wallowa-Whitman National Forest July 2003 (republished 2018) For More Information Contact: The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest 1550 Dewey Ave, Suite A Baker City, OR 97814 541-523-6391 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, American Sign Language, etc.) 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. Accessibility: 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 Wallowa-Whitman National Forest at the address or phone number listed at the top of this page. Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Comprehensive Management Plan Foreword This comprehensive management plan (CMP) for the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (HCNRA) was written in 2003 to replace a 1982 CMP. This CMP provides the management direction for all of the HCNRA, including those portions managed by the Nez Perce and Payette National Forests in Idaho. The 2003 record of decision approving the CMP amended the 1990 Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (“Forest Plan”), and the CMP frequently referred to the 1990 plan direction without actually containing the text of that direction. The Wallowa-Whitman Forest Land Management Plan, revised in 2018, incorporates this 2003 CMP in its entirety as part of plan direction relevant to the HCNRA. To ease interpretation of the direction for the HCNRA that comes from the 1990 Forest Plan, that text has been extracted, labelled as “Retained Forest Plan Direction” and is incorporated, unmodified, into this CMP. All other CMP content from 2003 remains the same. This document also has been reformatted to comply with section 508 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, as amended, to provide a more accessible format for individuals using assistive technology. i Contents Foreword ......................................................................................................................................... i Overall Management Direction .................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 Background and History ............................................................................................................. 1 Area Location and Description ................................................................................................... 1 Summary of Existing Management Direction for the HCNRA .................................................. 3 Management Direction by Resource ............................................................................................ 5 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 5 Compatibility .............................................................................................................................. 7 Recreation Settings, Experiences, and Opportunities ................................................................. 7 Upland Outfitter and Guide Services....................................................................................... 8 Aviation Services................................................................................................................... 12 Retained Forest Plan Direction .............................................................................................. 12 Hells Canyon Wilderness ...................................................................................................... 13 Scenery .................................................................................................................................. 14 Retained Forest Plan Direction .............................................................................................. 15 Access and Facilities ................................................................................................................. 16 Roads and Trails .................................................................................................................... 17 Backcountry Airstrips ............................................................................................................ 18 Over-snow Vehicle Travel .................................................................................................... 19 Retained Forest Plan Direction .............................................................................................. 22 Facilities ................................................................................................................................ 24 Retained Forest Plan Direction .............................................................................................. 25 Forested Vegetation, Grasslands, and Forest Understory ......................................................... 26 Management Areas 4, 8, 9, and 12 ........................................................................................ 27 Management Areas 7, 10, and 11 .......................................................................................... 27 Management Area 16 ............................................................................................................ 27 Forested Vegetation ............................................................................................................... 28 Retained Forest Plan Direction .............................................................................................. 29 Grasslands and Forest Understory ......................................................................................... 33 Vacant Allotments ................................................................................................................. 39 Administrative Horse Pastures .............................................................................................. 41 Livestock Grazing and Recreation Use Interactions ............................................................. 41 Water Use Management ........................................................................................................ 42 Retained Forest Plan Direction .............................................................................................. 43 Cultivated Areas .................................................................................................................... 43 Biological Soil Crusts ............................................................................................................ 45 Noxious Weeds, Nonnative and Invasive Plants ................................................................... 45 Heritage Resources ................................................................................................................... 50 Federal Trust Responsibilities ................................................................................................... 56 Soils ........................................................................................................................................... 59 Wild and Scenic Rivers ............................................................................................................. 65 Biologically Unique Species, Habitats and Ecosystems ........................................................... 67 Rare and Endemic Plant
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