United States Department of Environmental Agriculture Forest Assessment Service February 2014 Trabuco District Dam Removal Project: Silverado, Holy Jim, and San Juan Creeks Trabuco Ranger District, Cleveland National Forest Orange County, California Location of Action: National Forest System lands on the Cleveland National Forest in Orange County, California Type of Document: Environmental Assessment Lead Agency: USDA Forest Service Responsible Official: Trabuco District Ranger, Cleveland National Forest Contact Person: Kirsten Winter, Forest Biologist Cleveland National Forest 10845 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 200 San Diego, California 92127 Non-Discrimination Policy The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. 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Table of Contents 1 - Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Document Structure ............................................................................................................ .1 1.2 Location ............................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Purpose and Need for Action……………………………………………………………… 6 1.4 Decision Framework .......................................................................................................... 9 1.5 Public Involvement ............................................................................................................. 9 1.6 Issues .................................................................................................................................. 9 2 - Alternatives, including the Proposed Action ...................................................... 11 2.1 Alternative 1: Proposed Action ......................................................................................... 11 2.2 Alternative 2: No Action .................................................................................................. 16 2.3 Alternatives Considered but Not Analyzed in Detail ....................................................... 16 2.4 Comparison of Alternatives ............................................................................................... 17 3 - Environmental Consequences .............................................................................. 19 3.0.1 Scope of Cumulative Effects Analysis ........................................................................... 19 3.1 Physical Environment ........................................................................................................ 19 3.1.2 Air Quality .................................................................................................................. 22 3.1.1 Hydrology and Soils .................................................................................................. 26 3.2 Biological Environment ..................................................................................................... 37 3.2.1 Threatened and Endangered Species ......................................................................... 37 3.2.2 Regional Forester’s Sensitive List Species ................................................................. 40 3.2.3 Management Indicator Species………………………………………………………43 3.2.4 Migratory Bird Species .............................................................................................. 44 3.3 Social Environment ........................................................................................................... 44 3.3.1 Recreation and Public Safety ..................................................................................... 44 3.3.2 Cultural Resources ..................................................................................................... 46 4 - Persons, Groups, Organizations, and Agencies Consulted ................................ 48 5 - References .............................................................................................................. 49 Tables Table 1. Comparison of Alternatives………………………………………………………….18 Table 2. Daily Project Emissions ............................................................................................ 24 Table 3. Annual Project Emissions.......................................................................................... 25 Table 4. Daily Project Emissions, Regional Significance ...................................................... 25 Table 5. Total Project Emissions ........................................................................................... 25 Table 6. Sensitive species present in project area. ................................................................... 40 Table 7: Management indicator species. ................................................................................. 43 Figures Figure 1: Locality and watershed map for fish dam removal project. ........................................ 3 Figure 2: Dams in Silverado Creek. ........................................................................................... 4 Figure 3: Dams in Holy Jim Creek. ............................................................................................ 5 Figure 4: Dams in San Juan Creek. ........................................................................................... 6 Appendices Appendix A - Photographs of Typical Dams Appendix B - Response to Comments Appendix C - Best Management Practices Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 DOCUMENT STRUCTURE This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended; 7 CFR part 1b; 36 CFR 220; 40 CFR parts 1500 to 1508; the Forest Service Manual parts 1920 and 1950; and the Forest Service Handbook part 1909.12. This EA will disclose the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects of implementing the proposed action and alternatives on the biological, physical and human environment. Analysis contained in this EA incorporates information from, and tiers to specialist reports in the project record, including but not limited to the air quality report, biological evaluation, historical assessment, engineering report, and hydrology report. The document is organized into the following parts: Chapter 1: Introduction. This chapter includes the background information on project area, the purpose and need for the project, and a description of the proposed action. Chapter 2: Alternatives. This chapter details how the public was informed of the proposal and how the public responded. This chapter provides a more detailed description of the proposed action as well as any alternative methods for achieving the stated purpose that may have been developed based on significant issues raised by the public and other government agencies during the scoping period. This chapter includes possible mitigation measures. Chapter 3: Environmental Consequences. This chapter describes the affected environment for each resource, as well as the environmental effects of implementing the proposed action and any other alternatives. Chapter 4: Agencies and Persons Consulted. This section provides a list of preparers and agencies consulted during the development of the environmental assessment. Appendices. The appendices provide more detailed information to support the analyses presented in the environmental assessment. Additional documentation, including more detailed analyses