FEBRUARY 16, 2021 Carbon County DRAFT Natural Resource Management Plan Natural Resource Management Plan Y2 Consultants, LLC & Falen Law Offices (Intentionally Left Blank) Natural Resource Management Plan Y2 Consultants, LLC & Falen Law Offices CONTENTS ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................... III LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... VII LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... IX CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................10 1.1 PURPOSE ............................................................................................................................10 1.2 STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................................11 1.3 CARBON COUNTY NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN PROCESS ..............................................15 1.4 CREDIBLE DATA ....................................................................................................................19 CHAPTER 2: CUSTOM AND CULTURE ........................................................................................21 2.1 COUNTY INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ....................................................................................21 2.2 CULTURAL/HERITAGE/PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES ...................................................................26 CHAPTER 3: LAND USE ..............................................................................................................32 3.1 LAND USE ...........................................................................................................................32 3.2 TRANSPORTATION AND LAND ACCESS ........................................................................................36 3.3 SPECIAL DESIGNATION AND MANAGEMENT AREAS ........................................................................43 3.4 WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PLANNING ....................................................59 3.5 FOREST AND RANGELAND MANAGEMENT ...................................................................................64 3.6 LAND EXCHANGES .................................................................................................................67 CHAPTER 4: GEOLOGY, SOILS, MINING, ENERGY, AND AIR QUALITY RESOURCES ....................71 4.1 OVERVIEW ..........................................................................................................................71 4.2 GEOLOGY ............................................................................................................................73 4.3 SOILS .................................................................................................................................75 4.4 MINING & MINERAL RESOURCES ..............................................................................................78 4.5 ENERGY RESOURCES ..............................................................................................................81 4.6 AIR QUALITY ........................................................................................................................99 4.7 CLIMATE CHANGE ............................................................................................................... 102 CHAPTER 5: WATER RESOURCES ............................................................................................ 104 5.1 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................ 104 5.2 WATER USE....................................................................................................................... 107 5.3 WATER QUALITY................................................................................................................. 120 5.4 WATER INFLUENCE AREAS..................................................................................................... 127 CHAPTER 6: WILDLIFE RESOURCES ......................................................................................... 130 6.1 WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AGENCIES ........................................................................................ 130 6.2 THREATENED, ENDANGERED, AND SENSITIVE SPECIES .................................................................. 132 i | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan 6.3 WILDLIFE .......................................................................................................................... 139 6.4 FISHERIES .......................................................................................................................... 154 6.5 PREDATOR MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................... 157 CHAPTER 7. WILD HORSES AND ESTRAY LIVESTOCK............................................................... 160 7.1 WILD HORSES AND ESTRAY LIVESTOCK ..................................................................................... 160 CHAPTER 8: SOCIOECONOMICS AND SOCIETY ........................................................................ 168 8.1 TOURISM AND RECREATION ON PUBLIC LANDS ........................................................................... 168 8.2 LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE ....................................................................... 171 8.3 ECONOMIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................... 176 CHAPTER 9: AGRICULTURE ..................................................................................................... 188 9.1 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 188 9.2 LIVESTOCK AND GRAZING ...................................................................................................... 191 9.3 NOXIOUS WEEDS/INVASIVE SPECIES/PESTS .............................................................................. 201 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 206 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................... 219 APPENDIX A: WEBSITE LINKS IN DOCUMENT ................................................................................... 219 APPENDIX B: STEERING COMMITTEE ............................................................................................. 222 APPENDIX C: PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED .................................................................................... 223 ii | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan ACRONYMS ACEC- Areas of Critical Environmental Concern ACHP- – Advisory Council on Historic Preservation AF- Acre Feet AML- Appropriate Management Level APHIS – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ARPA – Archeological Resources Protection Act AUM- Animal Unit Month BBL – Blue barrels BCF – Billion cubic feet BGEPA- Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act BJFTA – Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act BLM- Bureau of Land Management BMP-Best Management Practice BOCC- Board of County Commissioners BOR- Bureau of Reclamation BST- Billion short tons CAP-SSE-- Community Assistance Program – State Support Services CCA – Candidate Conservation Agreements CCSM- Chokecherry Sierra Madre CCWP – Carbon County Weed and Pest CDT- Continental Divide Trail CE/CX – Categorical Exemption/ Categorical Exclusion CEQ- Council on Environmental Quality CWA – Clean Water Act CWPP- Community Wildfire Protection Plan EA- Environmental Assessment EIS- Environmental Impact Statement EPA- Environmental Protection Agency ERMA- Extensive Recreation Management Area ESA- 1973 Endangered Species Act iii | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan ESD- Ecological Site Descriptions 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 FLPMA- Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 FLTP – Federal Lands Transportation Program GGRB- Greater Green River Basin GHG- Greenhouse Gas GLO - General Lands Office GPC—Groundwater Pollution Control HAs- Herd Areas HMAs- Herd Management Areas IRA- Inventoried Roadless Area LSRCD – Little Snake River Conservation District LSRCD NRMP- Little Snake River Conservation District Land, Water, and Natural Resource Management Plan LUP- Land Use Plan LWC- Lands with Wilderness Characteristics LWCF- Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1964 MBCD- Medicine Bow Conservation District MBCD LRNRMP- Medicine Bow Conservation District Long Range and Natural Resource Management Plan MBRNF- Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest MBTA- Migratory Bird Treaty Act MCF- Million Cubic Feet MOA - Memorandum of Agreement MOU - Memorandum of Understanding MST- Million Short Tons MUSY- 1960 Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act iv | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan NAAQS – National Ambient Air Quality Standards NEPA- 1973 National Environmental Policy Act NFHL – National Flood Hazard Layer NFIP – National Flood Insurance Program NFMA- 1976 National Forest Management Act NHPA-