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Spring Mountains Landscape Analysis

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Spring Mountains Landscape Analysis FINAL REPORT LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS CHAPTER 1: CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SPRING MOUNTAINS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA Prepared for: USDA FOREST SERVICE SPRING MOUNTAINS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA HUMBOLDT-TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST Contract No. AG-9360-C-06-0003 Prepared by: ENTRIX, INC. Las Vegas, NV Project No. 3138801 August 2008 FINAL REPORT LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS CHAPTER 1: CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SPRING MOUNTAINS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA Prepared for: USDA FOREST SERVICE SPRING MOUNTAINS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA HUMBOLDT-TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive Las Vegas, Nevada 89130 Prepared by: ENTRIX, INC. 8010 W. Sahara Avenue, Suite 110 Las Vegas, Nevada 89117 702-413-1020 Project No. 3138801 August 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1.0 INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Purpose of the Landscape Analysis...................................................................................................1 1.2 Characterization of the Spring Mountains NRA ...............................................................................1 2.0 DOMINANT PHYSICAL PROCESSES AND FEATURES.....................................................................2 2.1 Geography.........................................................................................................................................2 2.2 Geology.............................................................................................................................................5 2.3 Soils ..................................................................................................................................................6 2.4 Hydrology .........................................................................................................................................6 2.5 Climate..............................................................................................................................................7 2.6 Heritage.............................................................................................................................................8 2.6.1 Spring Mountains Modeling Assumptions ..........................................................................8 2.6.2 Final Model ........................................................................................................................8 3.0 DOMINANT BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND FEATURES .............................................................13 3.1 Vegetation Communities.................................................................................................................13 3.2 Wildlife ...........................................................................................................................................16 3.3 Special Status Species.....................................................................................................................19 3.3.1 Federal Legal and Policy Designations ...........................................................................19 3.3.2 Conservation Agreement (CA) and the Clark County MSHCP ........................................19 4.0 DOMINANT SOCIAL FEATURES..........................................................................................................32 4.1 Demographic Profile.......................................................................................................................32 4.1.1 Population ........................................................................................................................35 4.1.2 Housing and Development................................................................................................36 4.1.3 Employment and Income...................................................................................................36 4.2 Recreation .......................................................................................................................................37 4.2.1 Developed Recreational Facilities....................................................................................37 4.2.2 Trails.................................................................................................................................38 4.2.3 Spring Mountains NRA in the Regional Recreation Context ............................................41 4.3 Transportation Infrastructure System..............................................................................................42 4.3.1 Roads ................................................................................................................................42 4.3.2 Parking Resources............................................................................................................43 4.4 Resource Extraction ........................................................................................................................44 4.5 Cultural Resources ..........................................................................................................................44 4.5.1 Historic Significance to Indigenous Peoples ....................................................................44 4.5.2 Historic Significance to European Settlers.......................................................................45 5.0 SPRING MOUNTAINS NRA MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK.........................................................45 5.1 Spring Mountains National Recreation Area General Management Plan (GMP)...........................46 5.1.1 General Management Plan Management Areas...............................................................49 i TABLE OF CONTENTS 5.2 Conservation Agreement for the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (CA) (See Also Section 3.3).............................................................................................................................50 5.3 Clark County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) (See Also Section 3.3) ..................................................................................................................................................53 5.4 Areas with Special Designation in the Spring Mountains NRA .....................................................54 5.4.1 Mount Charleston Wilderness Area..................................................................................55 5.4.2 Rainbow Mountain Wilderness Area ................................................................................55 5.4.3 LaMadre Mountain Wilderness Area................................................................................55 5.4.4 Mount Stirling Wilderness Study Area..............................................................................56 5.4.5 Carpenter Canyon Research Natural Area.......................................................................56 6.0 SPRING MOUNTAINS NRA MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES.........................................................56 7.0 REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................58 LIST OF TABLES Table 1-1 Status Designations and Habitat Information for Special Status Species that Potentially Occur in the Spring Mountains NRA..............................................................................................21 Table 1-2 Recent Population Growth in Clark County Nevada ......................................................................35 Table 1-3 Key Forest-wide Standards and Guidelines with Application to Spring Mountains NRA..............47 Table 1-4 Management Area Acreage.............................................................................................................49 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1 Vicinity Map - Spring Mountains National Recreation Area............................................................3 Figure 1-2 Hydrologic Features - Spring Mountains National Recreation Area ................................................9 Figure 1-3 Spring Mountains Heritage Sensitivity Model................................................................................11 Figure 1-4 Vegetation Types (NVCS) - Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.....................................17 Figure 1-5 Ownership & Wilderness Areas - Spring Mountains National Recreation Area ............................33 Figure 1-6 Developed Recreation Facilities - Spring Mountains National Recreation Area ............................39 Figure 1-7 Forest Service Management Areas - Spring Mountains National Recreation Area ........................51 ii ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS BLM Bureau of Land Management CA Conservation Agreement DCNR Department of Conservation and Natural Resources EAWS Ecosystem Analysis at the Watershed Scale EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ESA Endangered Species Act F Fahrenheit G global GIS Geographic Information System GMP General Management Plan GMP General Management Plan LCT Lahontan Cutthroat Trout MSHCP Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan NDOT Nevada Department of Transportation NDOW Nevada Division of Wildlife NNHP Nevada Natural Heritage Program NRA National Recreation Area NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service OHV off-highway vehicle R4 Region 4 REIS Regional Economic Information System RNA Research Natural Area RV Recreation vehicle S state SR State Route SWReGAP Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project TNC The Nature Conservancy USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture
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