Forest Service U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Mt. Hood National Forest, Zigzag and Hood River Ranger Districts February 2021 Draft Record of Decision Government Camp – Cooper Spur Land Exchange Project, including Forest Plan Amendment #21 Clackamas and Hood River Counties, Oregon For Information Contact: Responsible Official: Michelle Lombardo Richard Periman Environmental Coordinator Forest Supervisor Mt. Hood National Forest Mt. 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Government Camp – Cooper Spur Land Exchange Project Draft Record of Decision Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 Background ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Draft Decision .................................................................................................................................................... 2 Reason for the Decision and Public Interest Determination .............................................................................. 5 Required Mitigation ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Other Alternatives Considered ........................................................................................................................... 6 Public Involvement ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Tribal Involvement ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Findings Required by Other Laws and Regulations .......................................................................................... 8 Pre-decisional Administrative Review Process ............................................................................................... 13 Implementation ................................................................................................................................................ 15 Contact Person ................................................................................................................................................. 15 References ........................................................................................................................................................... 16 Appendix A: Description of Federal Lands ...................................................................................................... 19 Appendix B: Description of Non-Federal Lands ............................................................................................. 22 Appendix C: Maps of Draft Decision ................................................................................................................ 26 Appendix D: A14 Standards and Guidelines ................................................................................................... 31 Mt. Hood National Forest i Government Camp – Cooper Spur Land Exchange Project Draft Record of Decision Introduction This draft Record of Decision is made available with the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Government Camp – Cooper Spur Land Exchange Project pursuant to 36 CFR 218.7(b) and 36 CFR 219.16(a)(3). The Government Camp – Cooper Spur Land Exchange FEIS contains an in-depth discussion of the setting, purpose and need for action, proposed action designed to achieve the purpose and need, alternatives considered, and the effects or benefits of those alternatives. All references are to the FEIS unless specified otherwise. The FEIS is incorporated by reference, summarized below, and can be found on the Forest’s website.1 Acreage for the parcels to be exchanged was determined by a licensed surveyor. However, all metrics (e.g., acres and miles) for other lands are approximate because they are derived from Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Similarly, the analyses found in chapter 3 of the FEIS are based on GIS, unless otherwise stated. The Mt. Hood National Forest is referred to as ‘the Forest’ in this document. The Mt. Hood National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (1990) and Standards and Guidelines, as amended, are referred to as the ‘Forest Plan’ in this document. Background In 2005, the Board of Commissioners of Hood River County; the Hood River Valley Residents Committee; Mt. Hood Meadows Oregon Limited Partnership, Mt. Hood Meadows Development Corp., Meadows North, LLC, Meadows Utilities, LLC, and North Face Inn (collectively "Mt. Hood Meadows") signed an agreement wherein they would propose a land exchange to the Forest Service. The exchange would consist of the conveyance of 120 acres of land near Government Camp from the Forest Service to Mt. Hood Meadows, and the Forest Service’s acquisition of 770 acres of privately owned land in the vicinity of the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort area. The agreement also included a proposal to establish certain existing National Forest System lands near the Cooper Spur Ski Area and Mt. Hood Wilderness- Tilly Jane area as congressionally designated wilderness, to place protections on Forest Service land in the Crystal Springs Watershed, and to convey all personal property and improvements owned by Meadows North, LLC dba Cooper Spur Ski Area, located at the Cooper Spur Ski Area to the Forest Service. Congress eventually directed the Forest Service to carry out a land exchange, consistent with certain conditions and criteria, in Section 1206(a) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11, 123 Stat. 1018). (This act is hereafter referred to as the Omnibus Act.) The Omnibus Act directed the Forest Service to convey National Forest System lands in Government Camp to Mt. Hood Meadows if that entity conveyed specified private lands at Cooper Spur, and any buildings, furniture, fixtures, and equipment at the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort and the Cooper Spur Ski Area to the United States, subject to several mandatory conditions and the agency's legal obligations. Further direction for this land exchange was provided in the Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-110, 131 Stat. 2270). (This act is hereafter referred to as the Clarification Act.) The Omnibus Act and Clarification Act set forth two related actions triggered into effect upon completion of the land exchange. One related action involves establishing the Crystal Springs Watershed Special Resources Management Unit from the non-Federal parcels, as well as existing National Forest System 1 https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=33072 Mt. Hood National Forest 1 Government Camp – Cooper Spur Land Exchange Project Draft Record of Decision lands. The second related action involves a change in designation of National Forest System lands to congressionally designated wilderness. Consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act, the effects of these land exchange actions were analyzed in the Government Camp-Cooper Spur Land Exchange Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) (January 2021). Specifically, the FEIS discusses the proposal to exchange up to 1072 acres of National Forest System lands for up to 764 acres of privately owned land. Several alternatives to the proposal were considered, with some were eliminated from detailed analysis. Two alternatives were analyzed in detail: Alternative 1: