United States Department of Environmental Agriculture Forest Assessment Service Pacific White Man Creek/ Northwest Upper Middle Branch LeClerc Creek Region Fish Habitat Improvement March 2013 Newport-Sullivan Lake Ranger Districts Colville National Forest Pend Oreille County Washington 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 part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.). Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202)720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT White Man Creek/Upper Middle Branch LeClerc Creek Fish Habitat Improvement LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY: USDA – Forest Service Colville National Forest 765 South Main Federal Building Colville, WA 99114 RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL: Gayne Sears District Ranger CONTACT: Amy Dillon, Forest Environmental Coordinator Newport-Sullivan Lake Ranger Districts 315 N. Warren Newport, WA 99156 (509) 447-7300 ABSTRACT: The approved alternative of the Final Environmental Impact Statement, Land and Resource Management Plan, Colville National Forest (December 29, 1988), including Regional Forester’s Forest Plan Amendment No. 2, and the Inland Native Fish Strategy (INFISH) Environmental Assessment (EA), establishes Forest Management Direction for the Colville National Forest in the form of Goals and Objectives. This project, if approved, would meet some of these Goals and Objectives. The projects focus is to enhance/restore aquatic habitat within the LeClerc Creek watershed. Alternatives: A. This alternative is a “no action” alternative; however, present planned management activities would continue. B. This alternative would restore fish habitat on Forest Service lands within White Man Creek and Upper Middle Branch LeClerc Creek. Alternative B also meets the multiple-use objectives of the current Forest Plan, INFISH EA, and the Trout Habitat Restoration Program (THRP) by achieving trout restoration goals. The THRP is part of the Box Canyon Hydroelectric Project settlement agreement (DOI 2010). Short-term disturbance, related to the restoration work, will include approximately 4.9 acres at White Man Creek and 7.7 acres at Upper Middle Branch LeClerc Creek. This page intentionally blank for printing purposes White Man & Upper Middle Branch LeClerc Creeks Environmental Assessment Definitions List of Acronyms AIRFA American Indian Religious Freedom LRMP Land and Resources Management Act Plan also known as the Forest Plan BE Biological Evaluation (plants, fish, MA Forest Plan management area wildlife) MIS Management Indicator Species BMP Best Management Practice (water) (wildlife) BPA Bonneville Power Administration MVUM Motor Vehicle Use Map (recreation) BPE Biophysical Environment NEPA National Environmental Policy Act (vegetation) of 1969 CFR Code of Federal Regulations NHPA National Historic Preservation Act CR County Road NFS National Forest System DBH Diameter breast height (a method of NRHP National Register of Historic Places describing a tree’s size) (heritage) EA Environmental Assessment OHV Off-highway Vehicle FEIS Final Environmental Impact PAG Plant Association Group Statement (vegetation) FERC Federal Energy Regulatory RHCA Riparian Habitat Conservation Area Commission (fish) FPA Forest Practice Applications (WA RMO Riparian Management Objective state land) (fish) FR Forest Road SHPO State Historic Preservation Office FSM Forest Service Manual (cultural resources) FY Fiscal Year SUP Special Use Permit GBMU or Grizzly Bear Management Unit TES Threatened, Endangered and BMU Sensitive (wildlife, plants) GIS Geographic Information System THRP Trout Habitat Restoration Program (computerized mapping and TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load analysis software) (hydrology) HPA Hydraulic Permit Application USDA United States Department of process Agriculture ICBEMP Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem USDI United States Department of Interior Management Project USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ID or IDT Interdisciplinary Team (wildlife) IGBC Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee WADNR WA State Department of Natural INFISH Inland Native Fish Strategy (fish) Resources KNRD Kalispel Natural Resources WEPP Water Erosion Prediction Project (a Department physically-based soil erosion model that describes the processes that KV Knutson-Vandenberg Act of 1930 (money collected from timber sale cause erosion) purchasers to conduct certain kinds of improvement work in timber sale areas) Page i Glossary Abiotic Pertaining to the nonliving parts of an ecosystem, such as soil particles, bedrock, air, and water. Age-Class A category into which the average age or age range of trees or other vegetation is divided for classification or use. Age-class is usually used in reference to even- aged stands of trees. It represents the dominant age of the main body of trees in a stand. In some mixed-aged stands, age-class can be used to describe the age of the dominant/co-dominant cohort of canopy trees. Analysis Area Includes White Man Creek and Upper Middle Branch LeClerc Creek. Basal Area The cross-sectional area of all stems of a species or all stems in a stand measured at breast height and expressed per unit of land area. Tree basal is used to determine percent stocking. Best Management Practice(s) A practice or usually a combination of practices that (BMPs) are determined by a state or designated planning agency to be the most effective and practicable means (including technological, economic, and institutional considerations) of controlling point and nonpoint source pollution at levels compatible with environmental goals. The mass of the woody parts (wood, bark, branches, Biomass (woody) twigs, stumps, and roots) of trees (alive and dead) and shrubs and bushes, measured to a specified minimum diameter at breast height (DBH). Includes above- stump woody biomass, stumps, and roots. Excludes foliage. Closed or Restricted Roads Refers to National Forest System roads with restricted access. Roads proposed for closure would change to maintenance level 1 which are National Forest system roads that are closed with either a closure device (e.g., earthen berm, gate) or naturally by allowing vegetation to invade the road template. Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) Diameter at breast height; usually measured at 4 ½ feet above the ground. District USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Newport-Sullivan Lake Ranger Districts Ecological Processes Natural activities fundamental to the functioning of a healthy and sustainable ecosystem, usually involving the transfer of energy and substances from one medium or trophic level to another. Page ii Ecosystem A dynamic complex of living organisms (plant, animal, fungal, and micro-organism communities) and the associated nonliving environment with which they interact. Endangered Species A noncritically endangered taxon that is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future, as defined by any of the criteria A to E of IUCN (1998). (IUCN, World Conservation Monitoring Center. 1998. In: Walter, K.S.; Gillett, H.J., eds. 1997 IUCN red list of threatened plants. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, United Kingdom. lxiv + 862 p.) Erosion The movement of soil materials from one place to another. The movement of soil due to natural processes should be distinguished from that related to forest harvesting, road construction, or other human alterations. Forest Available for Timber Forest land that is producing or is capable of Production producing industrial wood and is not withdrawn from timber utilization by statute, administrative regulation, or formal conservation reserve purposes. Includes forest with conditions suitable for timber production even if so situated as to not be immediately accessible for logging. Forest Ecosystem A dynamic complex of plant, animal, and micro- organism communities, and their abiotic environment interacting as a functional unit, where the presence of trees is essential. Humans, with their cultural, economic, and environmental needs are an integral part of many forest ecosystems. Fragmentation Describes one aspect of habitat capacity. Refers generally to the reduction in size of forest patches with coincident decreases in forest connectivity and increases in patch isolation and amount of forest edge. The fragmentation of a forest into small pieces may disrupt ecological processes and reduce the availability of habitat. Habitat The natural environment of a living organism, primarily determined by vegetation, climate, soils, geology, and topography. Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) A hierarchical watershed delineation system developed by the U.S. Geological Survey where the number of digits represents the size and/or category (e.g. North Fork Calispell Creek 170102160101 – HUC 12 – subwatershed). INFRA An internal Forest Service Database, not an acronym, used to track Forest improvements such as roads