Goat Rocks Wilderness Evaluation
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May-June 09 Goat Rocks Wilderness Evaluation WILDERNESS EVALUATION Goat Rocks Adjacent - 617036 5,326 Acres OVERVIEW History The original area was analyzed and studied under RARE II as D6036 and was recommended for further planning. It was re-analyzed as part of the 1984 Washington State Wilderness Act of 1984 legislative activity, and 11,173 acres were added to the existing Goat Rocks Wilderness under that act. Considerable fragmentation of the parcels has occurred since 1990 from roading and timber harvest activities. There are now eight separate adjacent parcels of varying sizes. The 2006 inventory removed approximately 1,734 acres from previous inventory due to nonconforming uses such as road construction and logging; 709 acres were added to the previous inventory as they met the criteria for a potential wilderness area (PWA) as described in Forest Service Handbook (FSH) 1909.12, Chapter 70. The following chart depicts the 1990 Wenatchee National Forest Land and Resources Management Plan direction for the 2007 potential wilderness area. Table 1--Management area percentages (rounded) Wenatchee National Forest GF RE1 RE2B ST1 ST2 47% 3% 21% 3% 26% Location and Access These areas are immediately adjacent to the eastern boundary of the Goat Rocks Wilderness in Yakima County on the Naches Ranger District. Access is by way of U.S. Highway 12 and the North Fork, South Fork, and main Tieton River roads in addition to the Pinegrass road. Geography and Topography The slopes are mostly convex and reasonably uniform. The parcels all occur in the middle to lower slope positions. Elevations range from 3,300 to 6,200 feet. Current Uses The current use is primarily for dispersed recreation. There is a short 4x4 trail north of the Section 3 lake area. It is not connected to any other 4x4 trails. The parcel in the White Pass area includes approximately 2 miles of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail from U.S. DRAFT Colville, Okanogan-Wenatchee Plan Revision Product Page 1 of 12 May-June 09 Goat Rocks Wilderness Evaluation Highway 12 running south to where it enters the Goat Rocks Wilderness. Big game hunting is popular in all of the adjacent parcels. Appearance and Surroundings The area has low to moderate visual variety in landforms and vegetation, and low variety in rockforms and waterforms (lakes and streams). The area has highly textured side slopes. Rock formations and prominent landforms are not dominant. The vegetation is a mixture of patterns with some fall colors occurring. The area is primarily viewed as middle ground from the North and South Fork Tieton roads and background from the Goat Rocks Wilderness. Key Features The Cascade crest and Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail are key features in the White Pass area. CAPABILITY FOR WILDERNESS Level of natural and undeveloped environment: While the adjacent areas have retained much of their natural appearance and function, roading and timber harvest since 1990 has reduced the size of most of the adjacent parcels from their original RARE II status. Overall, in conjunction with the currently established Goat Rocks Wilderness, there are opportunities for solitude and a sense of experiencing a remote and natural environment. Roading and timber harvest activities are evident in the vicinity of many of the roadless parcels. This activity dates from the 1960s on into the 1990s depending on the roadless parcel. Very little activity has occurred in the area around the southernmost parcel other than construction of road access to adjacent private land parcels. The Goat Rocks PWA is partially impaired by light pollution from Yakima, Naches and the White Pass ski area. The southern portion of the PWA (77 percent) rates a Class 2 on the Bortle Scale, whereas the northern portions (23 percent of the PWA) rates as a Class 3. A Class 2 Typical Truly Dark Sky represents the darkest skies viewed in the continental United States. The summer Milky Way is highly structured to the unaided eye. Any clouds in the sky are visible only as dark holes or voids in the starry background. No light domes from population centers are visible. A Class 3 Rural Sky has some indication of light pollution on the horizon. Clouds may appear faintly illuminated in the brightest parts of the sky near the horizon, but are dark overhead. The Milky Way still appears complex. Light domes from population centers may appear on the horizon (10-15 degrees above horizon). Visual observing is still relatively unimpaired. Time lapse photography could be impaired by light pollution. Water quality data is not available for the PWA; however, due to the relatively low level of disturbance water quality is assumed to be high. There are no surveyed noxious weed species within this PWA. DRAFT Colville, Okanogan-Wenatchee Plan Revision Product Page 2 of 12 May-June 09 Goat Rocks Wilderness Evaluation Level of outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation: With limited existing trails for access, the roadless parcels would be challenging for cross- country travel. The rugged cliffs west of Pinegrass Ridge would be a prime example of rocky and rugged terrain that would provide a very challenging opportunity for cross country travel. Outdoor Recreation Opportunities In conjunction with the adjacent classified Goat Rocks Wilderness, the opportunities for primitive recreation experiences are very high. There are extensive opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing and mushroom/berry picking. At present, the adjacent potential wilderness areas offer limited motorized trail opportunities–the one trail being a short 4x4 trail in the Section 3 Lake area. Special features There have been sightings of peregrine falcon reported. Excellent habitat is available in the cliff areas of Pinegrass Ridge and in the Clear Creek area. There is northern spotted owl habitat plus some known nest sites. No other listed threatened or endangered species have been located in the area, though there is a bald eagle nest at nearby Rimrock Lake. The extent of use of the area by sensitive species is unknown. The area also provides source habitat for the wolverine. Manageability of Boundaries In general, there are few natural features that could be used to establish an identifiable and manageable wilderness boundary for the adjacent parcels. However, in many areas the existing Goat Rocks Wilderness also lacks easily identifiable boundary features. The addition of portions of the adjacent roadless parcels would not diminish the current ability to manage established wilderness. With few exceptions, the edges of roads and harvest units would have to be used as boundaries. Pinegrass Ridge is one prominent feature that could be utilized, in part, as a boundary although the slope break would only apply to one edge of the parcel. The southernmost parcel follows section lines for much of its boundary and is adjacent to the Yakama Indian Reservation to the south and private land parcels to the north and east. AVAILABILITY FOR WILDERNESS Recreation Wilderness designation would preclude motorized use of the 4x4 trail in the Section 3 Lake area. Loss of this short trail would not be a major impact to the overall motorized trail system as it does not connect to any other system trails. The use level is considered to be low to moderate. There are extensive opportunities for dispersed recreation such as hunting and mushroom and berry picking, and these opportunities would be retained with wilderness designation. At present, trail opportunities in the roadless parcels are limited to the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail segment in the White Pass area. DRAFT Colville, Okanogan-Wenatchee Plan Revision Product Page 3 of 12 May-June 09 Goat Rocks Wilderness Evaluation Tourism marketing in the Yakima and Naches area emphasizes agrotourism and visiting wineries. The Naches Valley Chamber of Commerce website portrays the area as offering scenic drives on Highways 410 and 12, snow skiing, river rafting, hiking, hunting, snowmobiling, and bird watching. Links are provided to Forest Service web-based information. Use of the Goat Rocks PWA is not directly promoted. Other than the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail and use of the White Pass Ski Area, use of this area is not strongly tied to non-local visitors. Table 2--Miles of recreation trails Motorized Trails Non-motorized Trails Snowmobile Trails 2 2 0 Wildlife Wildlife populations in the area include deer, elk, and black bear as well as mountain goats in the Round Mountain area. Game birds such as blue, ruffed, and spruce grouse are present. In addition the area provides habitat for the northern spotted owl, wolverine, and American marten. The PWAs provide varying levels of habitat for focal wildlife species. To help evaluate habitat that these areas provide, the following information was provided: the focal species emphasized in the area, the amount of habitat for each focal species, the priority ranking for the habitat (based on conservation assessments and recovery plans), and the proportion of the total habitat available on the forest that is within the PWA. Table 3--Availability of habitat for federally listed Threatened and Endangered wildlife species and R6 Focal Species Wildlife Species Acres Habitat Habitat Priority %Total Forest Ranking (1=high, 2- Habitat In mod, 3=low) Evaluation Area Wolverine 4,334 2 <1 American Marten 1,521 1 <1 A key issue relative to the sustainability of wildlife habitats is the identification of the amount of dry forest that is in a late-successional habitat area (LSHA). LSHAs that occur in dry forests can be at high risk of high severity wildfire, insects and disease that reduce the sustainability of the late-successional habitats. Active management such as prescribed fire and thinning may be needed to restore these habitats and enhance their sustainability.