Environmental United States Department of Agriculture Assessment ELKHORN PROJECT Canyon Lakes Ranger District, Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests Forest Service Larimer County, Colorado March 2014 Elkhorn Area from West Lake Campground Lead Agency: USDA Forest Service Responsible Official: Kevin W. Atchley District Ranger Canyon Lakes Ranger District For more information contact: Nehalem Clark, Project Lead 2150 Centre Ave, Bldg. E Fort Collins, CO 80526 (970) 295-6617 [email protected] 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.) 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USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 2 Canyon Lakes Ranger District, Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland Elkhorn Project – Environmental Assessment TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES.................................................................................. 4 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 2: DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVES ..................................................... 12 CHAPTER 3: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ................................................. 37 CHAPTER 4: CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION ............................................ 131 GLOSSARY OF TERMS ............................................................................................. 132 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 139 3 Canyon Lakes Ranger District, Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland Elkhorn Project – Environmental Assessment LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES MAPS Map 1. Elkhorn Area Vicinity Map 11 Map 2. Forest Plan Management Areas and Designated Roadless Areas 18 Map 3. Existing Transportation System 19 Map 4. Alternative 2 – Elkhorn Proposed Vegetation Treatments 20 Map 5. Alternative 2 – Elkhorn Proposed Transportation System 21 Map 6. Alternative 2 – Proposed Watershed Improvement Projects 25 TABLES Table 1. Proposed vegetation treatment units, Elkhorn project 16 Table 2. Summary of Elkhorn road system and proposed changes 22 Table 3. Watershed ownership and condition class 39 Table 4. Fuel hazard by class for Elkhorn project area 53 Table 5. Fuel model by percent of Elkhorn project area 55 Table 6. Predicted fire behavior results for the existing conditions and No Action 57 alternative under 90th percentile weather Table 7. Change in fuel hazard acres before and after proposed vegetation 58 treatments (tx), within project area and within proposed treatment units, in acres. Table 8. Predicted fire behavior results for all treatment units post- 59 implementation under 90th percentile weather Table 9. Predicted fire behavior results for Unit 1 before and after treatment 60 under 90th percentile weather. Table 10: Summary of determinations for Threatened (T) and Sensitive plants 62 4 Canyon Lakes Ranger District, Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland Elkhorn Project – Environmental Assessment Table 11. Species of Local Concern included in project analysis 63 Table 12. Acres and percent cover type, Elkhorn project area (all land ownership) 76 Table 13. Habitat Structure Stage (HSS) for principal forest types (acres), Elkhorn 78 project area (all land ownership) Table 14. Changes in HSS expected to occur following proposed vegetation 84 treatments (tx), Elkhorn project Table 15. Federally-listed wildlife species and Forest Service management 86 indicator and sensitive species included in the Elkhorn wildlife project analysis Table 16. Summary of determinations and estimation of effects by alternative for 86 the Elkhorn Project. Table 17. Vegetation treatment units, as part of the Elkhorn proposed action, 116 requiring an easement or temporary road use permit from private landowners Table 18. Summary of existing road mileages in Elkhorn project area 127 FIGURES 39 Figure 1. Map of the watersheds draining the Elkhorn project area Figure 2. Tiger salamander photo 41 Figure 3. Existing and expected road density in Elkhorn project area 47 Figure 4. Historic vegetation management activities within the Elkhorn project 79 area Figure 5. Key Observation Points and proposed vegetation treatment units, 119 Elkhorn Project APPENDICES Appendix 1. Elkhorn Public Scoping Comments and Responses 151 Appendix 2. Elkhorn Project description of vegetation treatment prescriptions 163 5 Canyon Lakes Ranger District, Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland Elkhorn Project – Environmental Assessment CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Background The Canyon Lakes Ranger District (CLRD) of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests is proposing a suite of projects within the Elkhorn project area for the purpose of reducing hazardous fuels adjacent to private land and communities; maintaining or improving forest health and watershed condition; enhancing bighorn sheep habitat by reducing hiding cover for predators, providing for long-term recreational opportunities in the Christmas tree area and recommending an effective transportation system for this area. The Elkhorn project area is defined by the Cache la Poudre River and Highway 14 to the south, the Manhattan Road (CR 69) to the east, the Deadman Road to the north and a portion of Forest System Road (FSR) 517 to the west. It is adjacent to the communities of Crystal Lakes, Red Feather Lakes, Manhattan and the Upper Poudre Canyon. The Elkhorn project area is approximately 22,293 acres in total consisting of 20,800 acres of National Forest System (NFS) lands while state and private land comprise the remainder. (See Vicinity Map on page 11). This project is being prepared under 36 CFR 218, a pre-decisional objection process for preparing NEPA. This process is intended to be collaborative and address public concerns before a decision is made. One of the many purposes of NEPA is to reduce agency paperwork and delay in analysis. Therefore, this Environmental Assessment (EA) tiers to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared for the 1997 Revision of the Land and Resource Management Plan for the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests (Forest Plan). The Forest Plan defines management within Forest Lands, and reference to this document eliminates repetitive discussions of decisions that have been made previously. These documents, as well as detailed information from resource specialists in the project record, are available upon request from the Canyon Lakes Ranger District, Fort Collins, Colorado. This EA is not a decision document. Instead, it presents evidence and analysis necessary to determine whether the consequences of the proposed action have “significant” effects on the human environment and therefore, whether an EIS is necessary. Upon completion of this determination, the Responsible Official Kevin W. Atchley, District Ranger, will make a decision to implement the proposed action or the no action alternative. Purpose and Need for Action The purposes of this project are to: Reduce hazardous fuels on National Forest System (NFS) lands that may contribute to the increase spread and intensity of wildfire; Maintain and improve forest health in stands affected by the current mountain pine beetle (MPB) epidemic; Provide economic timber products; Improve watershed and fisheries conditions; Enhance bighorn sheep habitat; Provide for long-term recreational opportunities in the Christmas tree sale area; and Manage the transportation system for the project area. 6 Canyon Lakes Ranger District, Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland Elkhorn Project – Environmental Assessment Fuels Hazard Reduction Many of the forest stands in the lower elevations of the project area do not exhibit characteristics typical of the fire regime and condition class expected at this elevation and location. The land ownership pattern within and adjacent to the project area is intermingled Federal and private land ownership. Current fuels conditions in the project area, including dead trees killed by the mountain pine beetle (MPB) epidemic, can contribute to uncharacteristically severe wildfire behavior that could threaten improvements on private property and affect natural resources on NFS land. Action is needed to restore these stands to stocking levels and species composition that more closely resemble typical conditions. There is a high density of homes in the communities adjacent to the Elkhorn project area and on other surrounding private parcels. In addition to community structures, values at risk include infrastructure such as utility lines, evacuation routes and water supplies. As a means of reducing the threat from wildfire created by these conditions,