SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 Crook County DRAFT Natural Resource Management Plan Natural Resource Management Plan Y2 Consultants, LLC & Falen Law Offices (Intentionally Left Blank) CONTENTS ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................................... IV LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... IX LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... X INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 PURPOSE ........................................................................................................................................ 1 ORGANIZATION ................................................................................................................................ 6 PROCESS ......................................................................................................................................... 6 AMENDING THE NRMP ..................................................................................................................... 7 COUNTY EXPECTATIONS FOR NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN ..................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1: CUSTOM AND CULTURE ...................................................................................... 9 1.1 COUNTY INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ........................................................................................ 9 CHAPTER 2: LAND USE ......................................................................................................... 13 2.1 LAND USE ............................................................................................................................... 13 2.2 TRANSPORTATION AND LAND ACCESS ........................................................................................... 17 2.3 SPECIAL DESIGNATION AREAS AND SCENIC BYWAYS AND VIEWSHEDS ................................................. 23 2.4 WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION, FUELS MANAGEMENT, FIRE REHABILITATION AND COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PLANNING ..................................................................................................................................... 27 2.5 FOREST MANAGEMENT .............................................................................................................. 31 2.6 NATURAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................. 33 2.7 LAND EXCHANGES ..................................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER 3: GEOLOGY, MINING, AND AIR ............................................................................ 37 3.1 GEOLOGY ................................................................................................................................ 37 3.2 MINING & MINERAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................. 40 3.3 ENERGY RESOURCES .................................................................................................................. 44 i | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan 3.4 AIR QUALITY ............................................................................................................................ 55 3.5 CLIMATE CHANGE ..................................................................................................................... 56 3.6 SOILS...................................................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 4: WATER RESOURCES .......................................................................................... 61 4.1 IRRIGATION AND RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................................. 63 4.2 DAMS AND RESERVOIRS ............................................................................................................. 64 4.3 WATER RIGHTS ........................................................................................................................ 66 4.4 WATER QUALITY ...................................................................................................................... 68 4.5 FLOOD PLAINS.......................................................................................................................... 71 4.6 RIVERS AND STREAMS ................................................................................................................ 72 4.7 WETLANDS AND RIPARIAN AREAS ................................................................................................ 74 CHAPTER 5: WILDLIFE .......................................................................................................... 76 5.1 THREATENED, ENDANGERED, AND SENSITIVE SPECIES ...................................................................... 78 5.2 WILDLIFE ................................................................................................................................ 82 5.3 FISHERIES ................................................................................................................................ 91 5.4 PREDATOR CONTROL & LIVESTOCK PREDATION .............................................................................. 92 5.5 WILD HORSE, BURROS AND ESTRAY LIVESTOCK .............................................................................. 93 CHAPTER 6: ECONOMICS & SOCIETY .................................................................................... 95 6.1 TOURISM AND RECREATION ON PUBLIC LANDS ............................................................................... 95 6.2 LAW ENFORCEMENT .................................................................................................................. 97 6.3 CULTURAL, HISTORICAL, GEOLOGICAL, & PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES ........................................... 98 6.4 SOCIOECONOMIC AND ECONOMIC VIABILITY ................................................................................ 101 CHAPTER 7: AGRICULTURE ................................................................................................. 109 7.1 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 109 7.2 LIVESTOCK AND GRAZING ......................................................................................................... 110 ii | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan 7.3 NOXIOUS WEEDS AND INVASIVE SPECIES ..................................................................................... 116 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... I APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... IX APPENDIX A: TABLES .......................................................................................................................... X iii | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan ACRONYMS ACEC- Areas of Critical Environmental Concern AF – Acre-Feet AML – Appropriate Management Level APHIS – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ARPA – Archeological Resources Protection Act AUM- Animal Unit Month BJFTA – Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act BLM- Bureau of Land Management BMP-Best Management Practice BOR- Bureau of Reclamation CCA – Candidate Conservation Agreements CCAA – Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances CCCD – Campbell County Conservation District CCCLUP- Crook County Comprehensive Land Use Plan CEQ- Council on Environmental Quality CCNRD – Crook County Natural Resource District CWA – Clean Water Act CWPP – Community Wildfire Protection Plan EA- Environmental Assessment ECOS – Environmental Conservation Online System EIS- Environmental Impact Statement ENSO- El Niño-Southern Oscillation EPA- Environmental Protection Agency ERFO – Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads iv | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan ESA- 1973 Endangered Species Act ESD – Ecological Site Description FAR – Functioning-at-risk FAST – Fixing America’s Surface Transportation act FDQA – Federal Data Quality Act FEMA – Federal Emergency Management Agency FERC – Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FHWA- Federal Highway Administration FLAP – Federal Lands Access Program FLH – Federal Lands Highway Division FLMPA- 1976 Federal Land Management and Policy Act FLTP – Federal Lands Transportation Program FSH – Forest Service Handbook GHG- Greenhouse Gas GLO - General Lands Office GPC—Groundwater Pollution Control HMA – Herd Management Area IMR – Intermountain Range IRA – Inventoried Roadless Area LNG – Liquified Natural Gas LUP- Land Use Plan LUPAs – Land Use Plan Amendments LWC – Lands with Wilderness Characteristics LWCF- Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1964 v | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan MCF – Million Cubic Feet MHMP – Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan MOA - Memorandum of Agreement MOU - Memorandum of Understanding MUSY- 1960 Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act NAAQS – National Ambient Air Quality Standards NAO- North Atlantic Oscillation NEPA- 1973 National Environmental Policy Act NF – Non-functioning NFHL – National Flood Hazard Layer NFIP – National Flood Insurance Program NFMA-