United States Department of Environmental Assessment Agriculture Forest Service Forest-wide Unauthorized Route Decommissioning May 2016 Cleveland National Forest Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties, California Location of Action: National Forest System lands on the Cleveland National Forest in Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties, California Type of Document: Environmental Assessment Lead Agency: USDA Forest Service Responsible Official: Forest Supervisor, Cleveland National Forest Contact Person: Jeff Heys, Forest Planner Cleveland National Forest 10845 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 200 San Diego, California 92127 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion. age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should 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 call (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Environmental Assessment Forest-wide Unauthorized Route Decommissioning Table of Contents 1 - Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Document Structure ..............................................................................................................1 1.2 Location ................................................................................................................................1 1.3 Purpose and Need for Action ................................................................................................2 1.4 Decision Framework ............................................................................................................3 1.5 Public Involvement ...............................................................................................................4 1.6 Issues ....................................................................................................................................4 2 - Alternatives, including the Proposed Action ......................................................... 4 2.1 Alternative 1: No Action .......................................................................................................4 2.2 Alternative 2: Proposed Action ............................................................................................5 2.3 Comparison of Alternatives ................................................................................................27 3 - Environmental Consequences ............................................................................. 28 3.0.1 Scope of Cumulative Effects Analysis .......................................................................28 3.1 Physical Environment .........................................................................................................28 3.1.1 Soils and Water ...........................................................................................................28 3.1.2 Air Quality ...................................................................................................................37 3.2 Biological Environment ......................................................................................................39 3.2.1 Threatened and Endangered Species ..........................................................................39 3.2.2 Regional Forester’s Sensitive List Species ..................................................................42 3.2.3 Management Indicator Species ....................................................................................43 3.2.4 Weed Risk Analysis ...................................................................................................44 3.3 Social Environment ............................................................................................................44 3.3.1 Recreation and Public Safety ......................................................................................44 3.3.2 Cultural Resources ......................................................................................................45 4 - Persons, Groups, Organizations, and Agencies Consulted ............................... 47 5 - References ............................................................................................................. 47 List of Tables Table 1. Lengths and numbers of routes proposed by action type and Ranger District. .............5 Table 2. Proposed Action by route ..............................................................................................9 Table 3. Comparison of Alternatives .........................................................................................27 Table 4. Riparian Conservation Areas .......................................................................................29 Table 5. Federal and State air quality attainment status for the San Diego Air Basin .............37 Table 6. Federal and State air quality attainment status for the South Coast Air Basin ...........37 Table 7: Potential sensitive receptors within and near the project ...........................................38 Table 8. Alternative 2 total modeled emissions. .......................................................................39 Appendix A - Responses to Comments…….………………..…………………………...48 Access. .......................................................................................................................................48 Recreation Management ............................................................................................................56 Carveacre Road .........................................................................................................................76 UND114 ....................................................................................................................................87 Border Patrol ..........................................................................................................................100 Natural Resource Concerns ....................................................................................................104 Cultural Resource Concerns ...................................................................................................122 NEPA Process ........................................................................................................................123 Environmental Assessment Forest-wide Unauthorized Route Decommissioning Appendix B - Alternative 2 Maps ............................................................................. 128 Anderson Valley, Capitan Grande Indian Reservation Area. ..................................................129 Bear Valley Area. ....................................................................................................................130 Boulder Creek Road South Area. ............................................................................................131 Buckman Springs Area. ...........................................................................................................132 Carveacre Area. .......................................................................................................................133 Corte Madera Area. .................................................................................................................134 El Cajon Mountain Area. .........................................................................................................135 Hauser Wilderness Area. .........................................................................................................136 Japatul Valley Road Area ........................................................................................................137 Kitchen Creek Central/Sheephead Area. .................................................................................138 Kitchen Creek North/Wooded Hill Area. ................................................................................139 Kitchen Creek South Area. ......................................................................................................140 Lake Morena Area. ..................................................................................................................141 Long Valley Area. ...................................................................................................................142 Mount Laguna Area. ................................................................................................................143 Pine Creek Area. ......................................................................................................................144 Tule Springs Area. ...................................................................................................................145 Boulder and Cedar Creeks Area. .............................................................................................146 Boulder Creek Road Area. ......................................................................................................147 Cedar Creek Area. ...................................................................................................................148