Travel Management Tonto National Forest Water Resources Report P<eparedby c~ ~ ~//.) /;.S Grant Loomis, Forest Hydrologist, Tonto National orest I Table of Contents Introduction __________________________________________________________ 5 Affected Environment __________________________________________________ 5 Watershed ................................................................................................................................... 5 Water Quality .............................................................................................................................. 5 Riparian Areas and Streams ......................................................................................................... 8 Watershed Condition................................................................................................................... 9 Environmental Effects _________________________________________________ 11 Legal and Regulatory Compliance ............................................................................................. 11 Statute and Regulation _____________________________________________________ 11 Forest Service Manual Direction _____________________________________________ 13 Forest Plan Direction ______________________________________________________ 15 Memorandum of Understanding with ADEQ ____________________________________ 16 Assumptions and Methodology ................................................................................................. 16 General Road Effects ______________________________________________________ 19 Water Quality ____________________________________________________________ 20 Alternative A – Direct and Indirect Effects ................................................................................ 21 Motorized Routes _________________________________________________________ 21 Motorized Cross-country Travel ______________________________________________ 25 OHV Permit Zones ________________________________________________________ 28 Motorized Big Game Retrieval _______________________________________________ 28 Motorized Dispersed Camping _______________________________________________ 29 Personal Use Fuelwood Gathering ____________________________________________ 29 Alternative B - Direct and Indirect Effects ................................................................................. 29 Page 2 of 199 Motorized Routes _________________________________________________________ 30 Motorized Cross-country Travel ______________________________________________ 34 OHV Permit Zones ________________________________________________________ 34 Motorized Big Game Retrieval _______________________________________________ 35 Motorized Dispersed Camping _______________________________________________ 35 Personal Use Fuelwood Gathering ____________________________________________ 35 Summary of Direct and Indirect Effects ________________________________________ 36 Alternative C – Direct and Indirect Effects ................................................................................ 37 Motorized Routes _________________________________________________________ 37 Motorized Cross-country Travel ______________________________________________ 41 OHV Permit Zones ________________________________________________________ 43 Motorized Big Game Retrieval _______________________________________________ 43 Motorized Dispersed Camping _______________________________________________ 43 Personal Use Fuelwood Gathering ____________________________________________ 44 Summary of Direct and Indirect Effects ________________________________________ 44 Alternative D .............................................................................................................................. 45 Motorized Routes _________________________________________________________ 45 Motorized Cross-country Travel ______________________________________________ 48 OHV Permit Zones ________________________________________________________ 49 Motorized Big Game Retrieval _______________________________________________ 50 Motorized Dispersed Camping _______________________________________________ 50 Person Use Fuelwood Gathering _____________________________________________ 51 Summary of Direct and Indirect Effects ________________________________________ 51 All Alternatives: Summary Effects ............................................................................................. 52 Page 3 of 199 All Alternatives: Cumulative Effects .......................................................................................... 54 Reference ___________________________________________________________ 55 Appendix A: Hydrology and Watershed Tables ____________________________ 56 Watershed Area (sq mi) ............................................................................................................ 56 Watershed Area Within TNF (sq mi) .................................................................................... 56 Watershed Area Within TNF ..................................................................................................... 56 Appendix B: Proximity to Water ________________________________________ 184 Appendix C: BMPs ___________________________________________________ 185 Page 4 of 199 Introduction Protection of water quantity and quality is an element of the Forest Service mission (Forest Service Strategic Plan for 2007 to 2012, 2007). Management activities on National Forest lands should be planned and implemented to protect hydrologic functions of forest watersheds, including volume, timing, and quality of stream flow. Use of roads, trails, and other areas on national forests by motor vehicles has potential to affect these hydrologic functions by intercepting runoff, compacting soils, damaging vegetation and stream channels, and detaching sediment. Management decisions to eliminate cross-county motorized travel, add new routes and areas to national forest system (NFS) roads and trails, and make changes to existing NFS roads and trails should consider effects on watershed functions. Affected Environment Watershed The Tonto National Forest lies wholly or partly within seven 4th HUC Watersheds. Within these watersheds there are thirty-six 5th HUC watersheds and 197 6th HUC watersheds that lie wholly or partly within the boundaries of the Tonto NF. The percent of watershed area of each 6th HUC watershed within the boundaries of the Forest is displayed in Appendix A, Table 1. Greater than 50 percent of the watershed area of 150 6th HUC watersheds lies within the Forest boundaries. Water Quality Improvements to the nation’s waters over the past three decades are largely due to the control of traditional point sources of water pollution; however, a large number of water bodies remain impaired and the goal of eliminating pollutant discharge and attaining fishable and swimmable waters is still unrealized. Nonpoint sources of pollution such as agriculture, construction, forestry, and mining are responsible for much of the nation’s remaining water quality impairment (BLM, 2011). Three of these activities: agriculture (livestock grazing), forestry, and mining currently occur on NFS lands administered by the Tonto National Forest. In addition to these activities other sources of nonpoint source pollution on the Tonto National Forest include roads, prescribed fire and wildfire, and recreational uses.1 Water quality in the state is assessed by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).Water quality has been assessed in major perennial stream reaches and lakes on the Forest. Categories used by ADEQ for describing the status of water quality in the states’ rivers, streams and lakes are identified in Table 1 below. 1 This paragraph comes from an EPA report to Congress that states: In 2000, 40 percent of the rivers and streams, 45 percent of the lakes, and 50 percent of the estuaries were impaired. See National Water Quality Inventory Report to Congress (305(b) report), 2000, available at http://www.epa.gov/305b/2000report/. The paragraph is an introductory discussion of the progress of the Clean Water Act on a nationwide basis with a brief discussion of the types of disturbance occurring on the Tonto NF that can contribute to nonpoint sources of pollution. Page 5 of 199 Table 1: Water Quality Categories Category Definition 1 Attaining all designated uses 2 Attaining some designated uses, and no use is threatened or impaired 3 Insufficient or no data and information to determine if any designated use is attained Impaired or threatened for one or more designated uses but a Total Maximum Daily 4 Load (TMDL) analysis is not necessary because: 4A A TMDL has already been completed Other pollution control requirements are reasonably expected to result in attainment 4B of the water quality standard 4C The impairment is caused by pollution but not a pollutant, or 4N The impairment is solely by natural conditions (an Arizona list only) Impaired or threatened for one or more designated uses by a pollutant, and a TMDL 5 needs to be developed or revised Streams and water bodies within the Tonto National Forest that are listed on the State of Arizona’s draft impaired waters (303d) list for 2012/14 are identified in Appendix A, Table 2, and displayed in Figure 1 below. Roosevelt Lake is identified as an impaired water body due to mercury found in fish tissue. A fish consumption advisory has been issued for Roosevelt Lake. Mercury found in fish tissue in Tonto Creek has also