Mountain City, Ruby Mountains and Jarbidge Ranger Districts Combined Travel Management Project Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences 3.1. Introduction This chapter summarizes the physical, biological, social, and economic environments that are affected by the alternatives and the effects on that environment that would result from implementation of any of the alternatives. This chapter also presents the scientif ic and analyt ical basis for comparison of the alternatives presented in chapter 2. 3.1.1. Analysis Process Most of the data used in the following analysis are from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest corporate GIS layers. There is a certain amount of error in the location and alignments included in this GIS data. For example, the road layer overlying the stream layer may show more stream crossings than actually exist on the ground because of the different sources from which the different layers were obtained. Some perennial streams may show up on the map as being intermittent. This may also create some inaccuracies as to the exact location and extent of riparian zones. The Forest is constantly working to improve map accuracies and the corporate GIS layers. For the purposes of this analysis, the best data that is available was used. The data in the tables below and in the project record depict with a reasonable amount of accuracy what would be occurring on the ground for each alternative, within the limitations described above. The changes between alternatives remain relative to each other. 3.1.2. Cumulative Effects According to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) National Environmental Protection Ac t (NEPA) regulations, “cumulative impact” is the impact on the environment which results from the incremental impact of the action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of what agency (federal or non-federal) or person undertakes such actions (40 CFR 1508.7). The cumulative effects analysis area is described under each resource, but in most cases includes the entire Mountain City, Ruby Mountains, and Jarbidge Ranger Districts including private and other public lands that lie within the district boundaries. Past activities are considered part of the existing condition and are discussed in the Affected Environment (existing condition) and Environmental Consequences section under each resource. The CEQ issued an interpretive memorandum on June 24, 2005 regarding analysis of past actions, which states, “agencies can conduct an adequate cumulative effects analysis by focusing on the current aggregate effects of past actions without delving into the historical details of individual past actions.” In order to understand the contribution of past actions to the cumulative effects of the proposed action and alternatives, this analysis relies on current environmental conditions as a proxy for the impacts of past actions. This is because existing conditions reflect the aggregate impact of all prior human actions and natural events that have affected the environment and might contribute to cumulative effects. 29 Mountain City, Ruby Mountains and Jarbidge Ranger Districts Combined Travel Management Project Environmental Impact Statement 3.1.3. Recent, Current, and Planned Activities to be Considered for the Cumulative Effects Analysis To avoid repetition in individual resource discussions, potential projects or activities considered for the cumulative effects analysis are detailed here and referenced, as appropriate, in the ind iv idual resource effects analysis. Road Maintenance: Every year roads on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest are selected and maintained based upon concern for public safety, environmental impacts, and volume of use. Forest-wide, about 75 percent of current National Forest System (NFS) roads are level 2 routes, which means they are suitable for high-clearance vehicles. While road maintenance budgets vary yearly, the 2009 targets for the Forest are illustrative. In 2009, the Forest planned for 10 miles of road decommissioning; 4 miles of improvements, 83 miles of maintenance for level 2 maintenance roads and 4 miles of improvement and 496 miles of maintenance for higher maintenance level roads (passenger vehicles). The Forest has substantially more high-clearance vehicle roads than roads designed for passenger vehicles. The Forest has no plans at this time to change the overall character of the existing road system, which is a low-density system of mostly more challenging, lower maintenance level roads. The Forest concentrates both maintenance and improvements on the small majority of higher maintenance level, passenger vehicle roads. All roads are evaluated to ensure they are not causing unacceptable environmental effects. Problem areas are prioritized and best management practices are implemented to prevent or minimize adverse road-related resource impacts. Livestock Grazing: The district is completing the Jarbidge Ranger District Rangeland Management EIS to reauthorize grazing on 26 allotments. In the near future, a similar EIS will begin to look at the allotments on the Ruby Mountains Ranger District. Mine ral Exploration and Reclamation: The majority of mineral exploration and development is expected on the Mountain City Ranger District with limited activity on the Jarbidge and Ruby Mountains Ranger Districts. Mining, exploration, and reclamation operations are expected to continue at the Jerritt Canyon Mine. Exploration activities are expected at other smaller properties on the three districts. Reclamat ion activit ies are also ongoing at the Big Springs Mine and Wood Gulch Mine on the Mountain City Ranger District. On an average year there may be up to six small exploration projects ongoing or in reclamation. Temporary roads may be constructed as a part of exploration and mining operations. Fuels Projects/Wildfire: Three fuels reduction projects have been proposed for the districts: North Fork on the Mountain City Ranger District, and Outhouse Draw and Southeast Rubies on the Ruby Mountain Ranger District. Wildfire can and has occurred on these districts. The effects of fire are dependent on fuel type and moisture, temperature, humidity, and wind speed. Recreation Developments: Most recreational use on the districts is associated with dispersed recreation along the primary access routes and hunting, hiking, and exploring along the secondary routes. Outside of the wilderness areas most recreational use is from dispersed camping and off- road recreation. Impacts from off-road recreation such as noise, disturbance, trampling, and habitat fragmentation are addressed in this document as part of the travel management alternatives. Climate Change: Climate change has the potential to have an enormous effect on the distribution of plant and animal species, invasive species, water, and other environmental aspects on the districts. Climate affects precipitation, temperature, and weather patterns, which in turn affect the habitat upon which species depend. While there is increasing scientific evidence of changes in climate trends, the specific effects of climate change on many aspects of the districts’ 30 Mountain City, Ruby Mountains and Jarbidge Ranger Districts Combined Travel Management Project Environmental Impact Statement environment are largely speculative. Therefore, climate change is only included where there is relevant information at the scale of this project. As more information becomes available, climate change will be considered as a large and increasingly important agent of change. 3.1.4. Key Features of the Alternatives The system used to determine road and trail miles is based on geographic information system (GIS) data. To provide a realistic expression of the transportation system, without overstating its precision, acreages have generally been rounded to the nearest 5 ac res and miles to the nearest 10. Conversely, some of the resource analyses expressed mileages to a tenth of a mile. These numbers are rounded to the nearest mile, unless detailed figures better display comparison among the alternatives. For example, road densities are displayed as calculated. 3.1.5. Overall Approach to Effects Analysis The following analysis framework is established for this project. • While roads do cause effects to the environment, this travel management project does not propose any new road construction, but rather analyzes alternatives to adding existing unauthorized routes to the current forest transportation system (FTS) and restricting motorized vehicle use to existing routes. • This analysis will not compare the action alternatives to a pristine, untouched environment but rather to the No Action Alternative, which includes the existing NFS roads, unauthorized routes, and the cross-country motorized travel currently allowed on much of the project area. • The effects of the Proposed Action Alternative presented in this chapter will include discussion of the overall effects of the 947 miles of unauthorized routes proposed for addition to the FTS. These routes already exist on the ground, but are not currently part of the FTS. Many of the routes proposed for addition to the FTS individually have very litt le measurable effects. • This analysis will also discuss social, economic, and environmental effects of some specific routes. Specific routes that may cause effects are discussed individually so the public and the Forest Service can consider any trade-offs associated with the addition of