United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service January 2015 Junction Vegetation Management Project Environmental Assessment Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, Deschutes National Forest Deschutes County, Oregon Township 20 South, Range 9 East, Sections 1, 12, 13, 24, 25; T20S, R10E sections 3, 5-11, 14-22, 27-31; and T19S, R10E, sections 28-33; Willamette Meridian Figure 1: Junction Vegetation Management Project vicinity within the Deschutes National Forest. Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: PURPOSE AND NEED FOR ACTION ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 PURPOSE AND NEED ................................................................................................................................................. 5 1.3 MANAGEMENT DIRECTION ......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 PROPOSED ACTION ................................................................................................................................................. 10 1.5 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND SCOPING .......................................................................................................................... 11 1.6 ISSUES .................................................................................................................................................................. 12 1.7 PROJECT RECORD ................................................................................................................................................... 15 1.8 DECISION TO BE MADE ............................................................................................................................................ 15 CHAPTER 2 – ALTERNATIVES, INCLUDING THE PROPOSED ACTION ...................................................................... 16 2.1 ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS ....................................................................................................................... 16 2.2 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED BUT ELIMINATED FROM DETAILED STUDY AND NON-SIGNIFICANT ISSUES ..................................... 16 2.3 ELEMENTS COMMON TO THE ACTION ALTERNATIVES ..................................................................................................... 17 2.4 ALTERNATIVE DESCRIPTIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 22 2.5 RESOURCE PROTECTION MEASURES ........................................................................................................................... 34 2.6 SALE AREA IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS ......................................................................................................................... 42 2.7 COMPARISONS OF ALTERNATIVES .............................................................................................................................. 43 CHAPTER 3 – ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ................................................................................................ 46 3.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................................... 46 3.2 CUMULATIVE ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES ....................................................................................................................... 46 3.3 ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ANALYSIS BY RESOURCE ....................................................................................................... 49 3.3.1 FORESTED VEGETATION ........................................................................................................................................ 49 3.3.2 FIRE AND FUELS .................................................................................................................................................. 61 3.3.3 WILDLIFE – THREATENED, ENDANGERED, AND SENSITIVE SPECIES ................................................................................. 90 3.3.4 WILDLIFE – MANAGEMENT INDICATOR SPECIES AND OTHER SPECIES OF CONCERN ........................................................ 116 3.3.5 SCENERY .......................................................................................................................................................... 206 3.3.6 SOILS .............................................................................................................................................................. 209 3.3.7 FISH AND WATER RESOURCES .............................................................................................................................. 225 3.3.8 BOTANY ........................................................................................................................................................... 238 3.3.9 NOXIOUS WEEDS .............................................................................................................................................. 242 3.3.10 RECREATION ................................................................................................................................................... 243 3.3.11 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ................................................................................................................................ 246 3.3.12 CULTURAL RESOURCES ..................................................................................................................................... 250 3.3.13 ECONOMICS ................................................................................................................................................... 251 3.3.14 POTENTIAL WILDERNESS AND UNDEVELOPED LANDS .............................................................................................. 255 3.3.15 PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY .............................................................................................................................. 258 3.3.16 PRIME FARMLAND, RANGELAND, AND FORESTLAND ............................................................................................... 259 3.3.17 EXECUTIVE ORDER 12898 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN MINORITY POPULATIONS AND LOW-INCOME POPULATIONS ......... 259 3.3.18 IRREVERSIBLE AND IRRETRIEVABLE COMMITMENT OF RESOURCES ............................................................................. 259 3.3.19 CLIMATE CHANGE ............................................................................................................................................ 260 CHAPTER 4 – CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION .......................................................................................... 262 4.1 AGENCIES AND PERSONS CONSULTED ....................................................................................................................... 262 4.2 INTERDISCIPLINARY PARTICIPATION .......................................................................................................................... 264 LITERATURE CITIED ............................................................................................................................................ 265 APPENDIX A – UNITS AND PRESCRIPTIONS ........................................................................................................ 278 APPENDIX B – UNITS WITH REQUIRED SUBSOILING ........................................................................................... 289 APPENDIX C - RATIONALE FOR WILDLIFE SPECIES NOT CONSIDERED FOR DETAILED ANALYSIS .......................... 291 APPENDIX D – ROADS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................. 298 APPENDIX E – CONSIDERATION OF PUBLIC COMMENT ...................................................................................... 307 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) please contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Junction Vegetation Management EA Chapter 1: Purpose and Need Chapter 1: Purpose and Need for Action 1.1 Introduction and Background The Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest has prepared this Environmental Assessment in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other relevant federal and state laws and regulations. This environmental assessment (EA) discloses the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts that would result from the proposed action and any other alternative,