Environmental Assessment For Wolf Pen Gap Project March 2014 Responsible Agency: US Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest Mena and Oden Ranger Districts Responsible Official: Tim Oosterhous, District Ranger 1603 Highway 71 North Mena, AR 71953 For Further Information Contact: Bill Pell, Planning and Recreation Staff Officer 501-321-5202 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 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TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Action .................................................................... 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Proposed Action (from September 30, 2010) .................................................................. 1 Purpose of and Need for the Action ................................................................................ 5 Scope of This Environmental Analysis ........................................................................... 7 History of the Planning and Scoping Process ................................................................. 7 Objection Process............................................................................................................ 8 Issues ............................................................................................................................... 8 Issues Eliminated From Further Study ........................................................................... 9 Effects Disclosed ............................................................................................................ 9 Decisions to Be Made ...................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... 11 Alternatives Including the Proposed Action ..................................................................... 11 Alternative Design ........................................................................................................... 11 Technical Requirements and Monitoring Requirements For All Action Alternatives . 11 Alternatives Considered But Eliminated from Detailed Study .................................. 14 Alternatives Documented in Detail................................................................................ 15 Other Past, Present, and Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions ............................ 25 Summary Comparison All Alternatives........................................................................ 27 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 32 Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences ............................................... 32 Recreation ........................................................................................................................ 32 Local Economy ................................................................................................................ 38 Transportation System ................................................................................................... 46 Public Health and Safety ................................................................................................ 58 Air Quality and Noise ..................................................................................................... 59 i Cultural Resources.......................................................................................................... 60 Soils................................................................................................................................... 62 Water Resources & Quality ........................................................................................... 69 Rare Upland and Forested Seep Communities ............................................................ 75 Spread of Non-native Invasive Species ......................................................................... 77 Proposed, Endangered, Threatened, & Sensitive (PETS) Species ............................. 78 Habitat and Management Indicator Species (MIS) ................................................... 129 Chapter 4 ......................................................................................................................... 146 Persons and Agencies Consulted .................................................................................... 146 Chapter 5 ......................................................................................................................... 148 Works Cited .................................................................................................................... 148 Appendices ...................................................................................................................... 151 Appendix A – Public and Partner Meetings ................................................................... 152 Appendix B – Wet Weather Management Protocol ....................................................... 155 Appendix C – TNC Monitoring Protocol ....................................................................... 164 Appendix D – Water Quality Monitoring by US Geological Survey ............................. 170 Appendix E – Maps ........................................................................................................ 176 ii LISTING OF FIGURES & TABLES Figure 1. Wolf Pen Gap vicinity map. ............................................................................ 2 Table 1. Proposed Action (Alternative B – Changes to the Existing Transportation System ................................................................................................................................ 3 Figure 2. Ouachita ATV Club, Trails Unlimited, and Ouachita NF employees installing an arch culvert to reduce sedimentation (improve water quality). ............. 6 Table 2. Alternative A - Designated Road and Trail Use ........................................... 17 Table 3. Alternative B - Designated Road and Trail Use ........................................... 17 Table 4. Alternative C - Designated Road and Trail Use ........................................... 18 Table 5. Alternative D - Designated Road and Trail Use ........................................... 19 Table 6. Alternative E - Designated Road and Trail Use ........................................... 20 Table 7. Alternative F – Designated Road and Trail Use ........................................... 21 Table 8. Alternative G - Designated Road and Trail Use ........................................... 21 Table 9. Alternative I –Designated Road and Trail Use.............................................. 22 Table 10. Year One Alternative J - Designated Road and Trail Use ........................ 24 Table 11. Year Two Alternative J - Designated Road and Trail Use ........................ 24 Table 12. Comparison of Resulting WPG Complex by Alternative .......................... 27 Table 13. Comparison of OHV Season of Use by Alternative ................................... 28 Table 14. Comparison of Change in WPG Roads and Trails by Alternative .......... 29 Table 15. Alternatives Ranked by Degree to which they Meet Purpose and Need and Objectives (with 1st being the highest and 9th the lowest) .................................... 30 Table 16. Comparison of Issues/Effects by Alternative .............................................. 31 Figure 3. Current Recreation Settings in WPG. ......................................................... 33 Figure 4. Wolf Pen Gap OHV Use Monitoring. .......................................................... 34 Figure 5. WPG Road and Trail Historic Use Estimates. ............................................ 34 Figure 6. WPG Road and Trail Miles by Alternative................................................. 36 Table 17. OHV Season of Use by Alternative .............................................................. 37 Table 18. Setting Component Change by Alternative ................................................ 37 Figure 7. Estimated Job Sector Changes in Polk County, 1998 - 2009. .................... 39 Table 19. Percent of Total Employment by Job Sector .............................................. 39 Table 20. Average Annual Wages, 2010 (2011 $s) ...................................................... 40 Table 21. Estimated Number