~a SITUATION Lewistown Resource Management Pl an Revision & Environmental Impact Statement Revised Area Profile FINAL Bureau of Land Management November 2019 Lewistown Field Office 920 Northeast Main Lewistown, MT 59457 i Visit our website at: https://go.usa.gov/xUPsP This page intentionally left blank. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Revised Analysis of Management Situation: Area Profile Page Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................................................................5 2.RESOURCES……………………………………………………………………………………………………5 2.1 Air Resources and Climate………………………………………………………………………………………....6 2.2 Geology ..................................................................................................................................................... ..26 2.3 Soil Resources ............................................................................................................................................ 30 2.4 Water Resources ........................................................................................................................................ 35 2.5 Vegetation Communities .......................................................................................................................... 50 2.7 Wildland Fire Ecology and Management ............................................................................................. .83 2.8 Cultural and Heritage Resources .......................................................................................................... ..88 2.9 Paleontological Resources ........................................................................................................................ 91 2.10 Visual Resources ..................................................................................................................................... 94 2.11 Lands with Wilderness Characteristics ............................................................................................... .99 2.12 Cave and Karst Resources .................................................................................................................. .103 3. RESOURCE USES ....................................................................................................................................... 105 3.1 Minerals and Energy Resources ............................................................................................................ 105 3.2 Livestock Grazing ................................................................................................................................ ...113 3.3 Recreation and Visitor Services ............................................................................................................. 117 3.4 Travel, Transportation Management, and Access ............................................................................ 128 3.5 Lands and Realty ................................................................................................................................... 132 3.6 Renewable Energy .................................................................................................................................. 137 3.7. Withdrawals .......................................................................................................................................... .141 3.8 Forest, Woodland, and Special Products ............................................................................................ .142 4. SPECIAL DESIGNATIONS ......................................................................................................................... .143 4.1 Areas of Critical Environmental Concern and Outstanding Natural Areas ................................... .143 4.2 Back Country Byways ......................................................................................................................... ...151 4.3 National Trails ..................................................................................................................................... ...152 4.4 Wild and Scenic Rivers .......................................................................................................................... .155 4.5 Wilderness Study Areas ......................................................................................................................... 158 5. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC .............................................................................................................. ....160 5.1 Social and Economic Conditions (including Environmental Justice) ................................................ .160 5.2 Tribal Interests ....................................................................................................................................... ...176 5.3 Public Safety ............................................................................................................................................ 177 iii ANALYSIS OF THE MANAGEMENT SITUATION REVISED AREA PROFILE iv 1. Introduction The purpose of the area profile is to describe the existing biological, physical, and socioeconomic characteristics of the planning area. Discussions of topic areas are divided into resources, resource uses, special designations, and social and economic conditions. Where appropriate, topic areas include both a description of current conditions and a characterization of trends that express the direction of change between the present and the past. Certain types of resources that may be present in other planning areas, such as wild horses and burros, do not exist in the LFO and BFO and are therefore not covered in this section. Information from broad- scale assessments was used to help set the context for the planning area. The information and direction for BLM resources and resource uses has been further broken down into fine-scale assessments and information. Acreage figures and other numbers are approximated using GIS technology and do not reflect exact measurements. The planning area includes all lands, regardless of jurisdiction, in the LFO and the northern portion of Lewis and Clark County that the BFO administers. However, the BLM makes decisions on only those lands and federal mineral estate that it administers (the decision area). 2. RESOURCES This section contains a description of the biological and physical resources of the planning area as follows: • Air resources and climate change • Geology • Soil resources • Water resources • Vegetation communities • Fish and wildlife • Wildland fire ecology and management • Cultural and heritage resources • Paleontological resources • Visual resources • Lands with wilderness characteristics • Cave and karst resources 5 2.1 Air Resources and Climate Change Air resources include air quality and AQRVs. As part of the planning and decision making process, the BLM considers and analyzes the potential effects of BLM and BLM-authorized activities on air resources. A Memorandam of Understanding between DOI, USDA and the EPA dated June 23, 200 “Regarding Air Quality Analysis and Mitigation for Federal Oil and Gas Decisions through the National Environmental Policy Act Process” was rescinded on July 25, 2019. The EPA has the primary responsibility for regulating air quality, including criteria air pollutants subject to NAAQS. Pollutants regulated under NAAQS include carbon monoxide (CO), lead, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone, particulate matter with a diameter less than or equal to 10 microns (PM10), particulate matter with a diameter less than or equal to 2.5 microns (PM2.5), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Two additional pollutants, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are regulated because they form ozone in the atmosphere. Air quality is determined by pollutant emissions and emission characteristics, atmospheric chemistry, dispersion meteorology, and terrain. AQRVs include effects on soil and water, such as sulfur and nitrogen deposition and lake acidification, and aesthetic effects, such as visibility. In addition to EPA federal regulations, air quality is regulated by the MDEQ. This agency develops state- specific regulations and issues air quality permits to emission sources. Air Resources Current Conditions The EPA classifies areas of the United States according to whether they meet the NAAQS. Areas that violate air quality standards are designated as nonattainment areas for the relevant criteria air pollutants. Areas that comply with air quality standards are designated as attainment areas for the relevant criteria air pollutants. Areas that have been redesignated from nonattainment to attainment are considered maintenance areas. Air quality is good throughout the planning area due primarily to the low population, few industrial sources, and favorable atmospheric conditions. The planning area is considered to be in attainment for all criteria air pollutants based on available monitoring data (MDEQ 2019a). Depending on the topography, some areas such as valleys or basins, may experience elevated levels of PM2.5 during wintertime inversions due primarily to residential wood stove smoke. One study conducted by the University of Montana found that residential wood smoke comprised over 80 percent of the wintertime particulate matter found in the atmosphere in and around Libby, Montana (Ward 2008). In 2012, there were two MDEQ ambient air quality monitoring stations in the planning area. A monitor