United States Department of Decision Notice and Agriculture Forest Finding of No Significant Service May 2018 Impact Little Missouri National Grassland Prairie Dog Management Project Medora and McKenzie Ranger Districts, Little Missouri National Grassland, Dakota Prairie Grasslands Billings, Golden Valley, Slope, and McKenzie Counties, North Dakota In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690- 7442; or (3) email: [email protected] . USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. Table of Contents Table of Contents I. Summary of Decision ................................................................................................................. 3 III. Public Involvement .................................................................................................................. 3 IV. Issues........................................................................................................................................ 4 V. Alternatives ................................................................................................................................. 5 Alternatives Considered but Eliminated from Detailed Study....................................................... 10 VI. Decision ................................................................................................................................. 11 VII. Rationale for the Decision ..................................................................................................... 11 Addressing the Purpose and Need ................................................................................................. 11 Consideration of Issues and Public Comment ............................................................................... 12 VIII. Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) ....................................................................... 12 IX. Findings Required By Laws, Regulations, and Policies ........................................................ 17 National Forest Management Act (NFMA) ................................................................................... 17 The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) .......................................................................... 19 Clean Water Act and North Dakota State Water Quality Standards .............................................. 19 Clean Air Act ................................................................................................................................. 19 Endangered Species Act ................................................................................................................ 19 Migratory Bird Treaty Act ............................................................................................................. 19 National Historic Preservation Act, American Indian Religious Freedom Act, and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act ........................................................................ 20 Environmental Justice (Executive Order 12898) ........................................................................... 20 X. Pre-decisional Administrative Review (Objection) Process and Implementation .................... 20 Appendix A – Design Features ......................................................................................................... 22 Appendix B – Response to Comments .............................................................................................. 24 Appendix C – Monitoring ................................................................................................................. 58 Appendix D – Maps .......................................................................................................................... 60 Little Missouri National Grassland Prairie Dog Management Draft DN 2 LMNG Prairie Dog Management Draft Decision Notice I. Summary of Decision The Little Missouri National Grassland (LMNG) Prairie Dog Management Project would implement management actions to address unwanted encroachment of prairie dog colonies from National Forest System (NFS) lands to adjacent non-federal lands where they are unwanted. The project includes a suite of management tools including use of rodenticide, and is focused within the interface between public and private lands. After careful consideration of the potential impacts of the project as analyzed and described in the LMNG Prairie Dog Management Project Environmental Assessment (EA) as well as public comment received during the combined scoping and comment periods, I have decided to implement Alternative 4. Alternative 4 was developed in response to public comments received on the proposed action. Alternative 4 would implement a ¼ mile buffer of control to comply with the good neighbor policy as described in the Dakota Prairie Grasslands (DPG) Lands and Resources Management Plan (LRMP) Record of Decision (ROD). This Decision Notice (DN) provides details of the decision, the rationale behind the decision, and the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) that allowed me to choose an EA as the appropriate level of analysis. II. Purpose and Need for Action The primary purpose of this project is to implement the LRMP as well as direction that can be found in many federal laws concerning the Forest Service’s commitment to wildlife and species diversity. The needs for this project include: 1. There is a need to be responsive to public concern for encroachment of prairie dogs on to non- NFS lands and comply with the good neighbor policy. • Public concern focuses on public health, agricultural production, land values, and facilities on private and other non-NFS lands. 2. There is a need to meet or move towards the LRMP guidance to achieve two or more prairie dog complexes in both the Rolling Prairie (LRMP page 2-22) and Badlands (LRMP page 2- 14) Geographic Areas on NFS lands to provide habitat for prairie dogs and associated species. 3. There is a need to take steps to prevent future unwanted prairie dog encroachments onto non- NFS lands. The purpose and need for the project is discussed in greater detail in the EA on page 4. III. Public Involvement Scoping letters were sent to approximately 90 individuals and organizations that might have an interest in this project. Individual letters were also sent to Tribes. A legal notice was also published in the Bismarck Tribune on September 5, 2015. The proposal was listed in the Schedule of Proposed Actions beginning on October 1, 2015 through the present (May 2018). The proposal was provided to adjacent land owners, the public, organizations, and other agencies for comment during scoping September 5 through October 5, 2015. Forty-six comment letters were received. Comments were received from a number of individuals and associations. Comments ranged from those that wanted to protect all prairie dogs from harm to those that wanted to kill all prairie dogs on the LMNG. Little Missouri National Grassland Prairie Dog Management Draft DN 3 LMNG Prairie Dog Management Draft Decision Notice IV. Issues The comments received during scoping for the LMNG Prairie Dog Control Project included: • Concerns that prairie dog control measures will not be aggressive or effective enough to address concerns for human health risk or to protect infrastructure; that control measures should be implemented annually over multiple years until the target colony is eliminated; that control should occur further than 600 feet or even ¼ mile from private property; questions about the effectiveness of vegetative barriers to discourage unwanted colonization on private property; • Concern that control of prairie dogs should not be contemplated until LRMP goals for increase of the species is reached; concerns that the Forest Service (FS) should more aggressively increase prairie dog numbers and