Environmental Assessment CONTENTS Page No. 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Regulatory Framework ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Project Location ............................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Purpose and Need ......................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Decision to be Made ..................................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Plan Conformance ......................................................................................................................... 5 1.6 Internal Scoping and Agency Coordination .................................................................................. 8 1.7 Tribal Coordination ....................................................................................................................... 9 1.8 External Scoping and Public Outreach ......................................................................................... 9 2 PROJECT ALTERNATIVES ..................................................................................................... 12 2.1 No Action Alternative ................................................................................................................. 12 2.2 Proposed Action .......................................................................................................................... 12 2.3 Design Elements and Alignment Alternatives Considered but Eliminated ................................ 23 3 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ................................. 26 3.1 Unaffected Resources ................................................................................................................. 26 3.2 Livestock Grazing ....................................................................................................................... 27 3.3 Area of Critical Environmental Concern .................................................................................... 29 3.4 Cultural Resources ...................................................................................................................... 30 3.5 Soils/Geology/Minerals .............................................................................................................. 34 3.6 Floodplains .................................................................................................................................. 36 3.7 Wetlands and Waters of the U.S. ................................................................................................ 38 3.8 Water Resources ......................................................................................................................... 38 3.9 Vegetation and Weeds ................................................................................................................ 39 3.10 Wildlife ....................................................................................................................................... 40 3.11 Special Status Species and Migratory Birds ............................................................................... 41 3.12 Recreation ................................................................................................................................... 60 3.13 Health and Human Safety ........................................................................................................... 63 3.14 Section 4(f) .................................................................................................................................. 63 3.15 Noise ........................................................................................................................................... 65 3.16 Air Quality .................................................................................................................................. 66 3.17 Visual Resources ......................................................................................................................... 66 3.18 Cumulative Impacts .................................................................................................................... 68 4 LIST OF PREPARERS ................................................................................................................ 72 5 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 74 APPENDICES Appendix A. Agency Coordination Appendix B. Public and Agency Involvement/Public Comments Appendix C. El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail Buckman Road Segment, Retracement Trail Project Biological Assessment and Evaluation Appendix D. BLM Visual Contrast Worksheets El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, TOC-i Buckman Road Segment, Retracement Trail Project Environmental Assessment FIGURES Page No. Figure 1. Project Vicinity Map .............................................................................................................. 3 Figure 2. Proposed Action (West Alignment) Map ............................................................................. 13 Figure 3. Proposed Location for Trail along and under Caja del Rio Road ........................................ 14 Figure 4. Proposed Trail Connections to the MRC ............................................................................. 15 Figure 5. Typical terrain along Segment 1 .......................................................................................... 16 Figure 6. Plan View of the BLM Dead Dog Trailhead Parking Improvements .................................. 17 Figure 7. Typical terrain along Segment 2 .......................................................................................... 17 Figure 8. Alignment Alternatives Considered, but Eliminated from Detailed Analysis ..................... 24 Figure 9. Grazing Allotments and Livestock Fencing ......................................................................... 28 Figure 10. Arroyo de los Frijoles 100-year Floodplain ......................................................................... 37 TABLES Page No. Table 1. Public Outreach .................................................................................................................... 10 Table 2. Trail Distance by Managing Agency ................................................................................... 12 Table 3. Mitigation Measures for the Proposed Action ..................................................................... 18 Table 4. Removed and Relocated Livestock Fencing ........................................................................ 29 Table 5. Eligible or Potentially Eligible Historic Sites ...................................................................... 31 Table 6. Soils Present within the Project Area ................................................................................... 34 Table 7. Federally listed, State listed, and Sensitive Species and Potential to Occur within the Project Area .......................................................................................................................... 43 Table 8. Recreational Resources within the Project Area .................................................................. 61 Table 9. Project Classification for Noise Analysis............................................................................. 65 Table 10. Past, Present, and Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions ................................................. 68 Table 11. Cumulative Effects Summary .............................................................................................. 70 El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, TOC-ii Buckman Road Segment, Retracement Trail Project Environmental Assessment ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS APE Area of Potential Effect AUM Animal Unit Month BAE Biological Assessment and Evaluation BLM Bureau of Land Management CEQ Council on Environmental Quality CFLHD Central Federal Lands Highway Division CR County Road EA environmental assessment EO Executive Order EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ERMA Extensive Recreation Management Area FHWA Federal Highway Administration FLAP Federal Lands Access Program MBTA Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 MIS Management Indicator Species MOU Memorandum of Understanding mph miles per hour MRC Municipal Recreation Complex NEPA National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended NFMA National Forest Management Act NMDFG New Mexico Department of Game & Fish NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NPS National Park Service NRHP National Register of Historic Places NTSA National Trails System Act ROW right-of-way SHPO State Historic Preservation Officer SRMA Special Recreation Management Area USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers USFS U.S. Forest Service USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service VQO Visual Quality Objectives WOUS Waters of the U.S. El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, Acronyms-I Buckman Road Segment, Retracement Trail Project Environmental Assessment 1 INTRODUCTION Development of an approximately 15-mile-long trail is being proposed by the