United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Glacier Loon Fuels Reduction and Forest Health Project Final Decision Notice and September 2018 Finding of No Significant Impact Swan Lake Ranger District, Flathead National Forest Missoula County, Montana In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). 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Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: [email protected]. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. Data Accuracy - The Forest Service uses the most current and complete data available. GIS data and product accuracy may vary. They may be developed from sources of differing accuracy, accurate only at certain scales, based on modeling or interpretation, incomplete while being created or revised, etc. Using GIS products for purposes other than those for which they were created may yield inaccurate or misleading results. The Forest Service reserves the right to correct, update, modify, or replace GIS products without notification. For more information, contact: Flathead National Forest 650 Wolfpack Way Kalispell, MT 59901 (406) 758-5200 If a map contains contours, these contours were generated and filtered using the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) files. Any contours generated from DEM's using a scale of less than 1:100,000 will lead to less reliable results and should be used for display purposes only. i TABLE OF CONTENTS FINAL DECISION NOTICE Summary of Decision ................................................................................................................. 1 Project Area ............................................................................................................................... 2 Purpose and Need For Project ................................................................................................... 2 Project History............................................................................................................................ 3 Public Involvement ..................................................................................................................... 5 Issues ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Key Issues For Alternative Development.................................................................................... 7 Brief description of Alternatives .................................................................................................10 Alternatives Not Considered In Detail ........................................................................................10 Alternatives Considered In Detail ..............................................................................................14 Forest Plan Management Area Change ....................................................................................18 Decision ....................................................................................................................................19 Comparison of Alternatives .......................................................................................................26 Consideration of Key Issues and Public Comments ..................................................................28 Summary ..................................................................................................................................40 FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT Context .....................................................................................................................................41 Intensity ....................................................................................................................................42 Findings Required by Law, Regulation, or Agency Policy ..........................................................54 Pre-Decisional Administrative Review Process .........................................................................64 Contact Person .........................................................................................................................65 Responsible Official Signature and Date ...................................................................................65 ii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Management Area Descriptions, Emphasis, and Management Area Acres for the Glacier Loon Fuels Reduction and Forest Health Project ..........................................................24 Table 2. Comparison of Alternatives: How They Respond to the Purpose and Need ................27 Table 3. Comparison of Alternatives: How They Respond to the Scenic Value Key Issues .......29 Table 4. Comparison of Alternatives: How They Respond to the Water Quality Key Issues ......31 Table 5. Comparison of Alternatives: How They Respond to Water Quality Key Issues- Temporary Roads .....................................................................................................................32 Table 6. Comparison of Alternatives: How They Respond to Wildlife Security Key Issues ........35 Table 7. Threatened and Endangered Species Determinations ................................................47 LIST OF MAPS Map 1. Project Vicinity Map .......................................................................................................66 Map 2. Selected Alternative- North Half ....................................................................................67 Map 3. Selected Alternative- South Half ....................................................................................68 Map 4. Selected Alternative- Management Areas .....................................................................69 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1. Details of the Selected Alternative ................... Appendix 1-1 through Appendix 1-14 Appendix 2. Design Criteria................................................. Appendix 2-1 through Appendix 2-13 Appendix 3. Monitoring Plan ................................................. Appendix 3-1 through Appendix 3-2 Appendix 4. Best Management Practices ............................ Appendix 4-1 through Appendix 4-30 Appendix 5. Responses to Public Comments on the Supplemental Environmental Assessment ........................................................................ Appendix 5-1 through Appendix 5-81 iii Glacier Loon Fuels Reduction and Forest Health Project: Final Decision Notice and FONSI GLACIER LOON FUELS REDUCTION AND FOREST HEALTH PROJECT: FINAL DECISION NOTICE SUMMARY OF DECISION After careful consideration of the Purpose and Need for the project, issues identified, public comments received, and the potential impacts of the management activities analyzed in the Glacier Loon Fuels Reduction and Forest Health Project (hereafter, the Glacier Loon Project) Environmental Assessment (EA) issued in August 2012, the supplemental EA issued in July 2017 and April 2018, and objections received on the draft decision notice, I have decided to implement Alternative D, with modifications, as my Selected Alternative (see “Decision” section, pages 19 through 24, and Appendix 1 for details of the decision). This decision implements vegetation and road management activities and includes design criteria changes that were made based on public comments and resource concerns to move toward the desired future conditions in the project area. A summary of the actions in my decision include the following: . Fuel reduction and forest health treatment of affected stands on approximately 1,397 acres of National Forest Lands (NFS) lands within the Glacier Loon Project Area. Harvest activities will be implemented using the tractor, skyline, mechanical, and hand treatments in the summer and tractor and forwarder logging systems during the winter. Slash will be treated through a combination of the following; whole tree yarding (or possibly yarding of tops), lop and scatter, masticating, and/or