South Branch Kinzua Creek Environmental Assessment United States Department of Agriculture Marienville Ranger District Allegheny National Forest Forest Service Wetmore and Hamlin Townships McKean County, Pennsylvania October 2007 For Information Contact: Kevin Treese USDA-Forest Service Marienville Ranger District HC 2 Box 130 Marienville, PA 16239 (814) 927-6628, ext. 124 http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/allegheny/projects/vegetative_management/ This document is available in large print. Contact the Supervisor’s Office: 1(814)723-5150. 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. 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Printed or Photocopied on Recycled Paper Environmental Assessment Table of Contents Table of Contents Section Page Acronyms and Abbreviations…......................................................................................AA-1 Summary……………............................................................................................................S-1 Chapter 1: Proposed Action and Purpose and Need..........................................................1 1.1 Introduction, Document Structure, and Public Input Process.........................................................1 1.2 Tiering to the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Allegheny National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan..........................................................................................................2 1.3 Background.....................................................................................................................................2 1.4 Purpose for the Action ....................................................................................................................3 1.5 Need for the Action.........................................................................................................................4 1.5.1 Need for Change ..................................................................................................................4 1.6 Proposed Action..............................................................................................................................5 1.7 Decision to Be Made.....................................................................................................................17 1.8 Public Involvement.......................................................................................................................17 1.9 Issues Used to Develop Alternatives ............................................................................................18 1.10 Relationship to Other Documents...............................................................................................20 1.11 Consulting Agencies...................................................................................................................21 Chapter 2: Alternatives .......................................................................................................23 2.1 Description of Alternatives to be Analyzed in Detail...................................................................23 2.1.1 Alternative 1: No Action....................................................................................................23 2.1.2 Alternative 2: Proposed Action..........................................................................................23 2.1.3 Alternative 3: .....................................................................................................................23 2.1.4 Design Features and Mitigation Measures Common to All Action Alternatives ..............26 2.2 Alternatives Considered But Eliminated From Detailed Study....................................................28 2.3 Comparison of Alternatives – Actions and Outputs .....................................................................30 2.4 Comparison of Alternatives – Narrative Summary ......................................................................31 Chapter 3: Affected Environment.......................................................................................35 3.1 Physical Environment...................................................................................................................35 3.1.1 Soil Resources....................................................................................................................35 3.1.2 Water Resources, Riparian Areas and Fisheries................................................................41 3.1.3 Transportation....................................................................................................................45 3.1.4 Air Quality .........................................................................................................................46 3.1.5 Oil, Gas and Minerals ........................................................................................................47 3.2 Biological Environment................................................................................................................47 3.2.1 Vegetation..........................................................................................................................47 3.2.2 Wildlife ..............................................................................................................................56 3.2.3 Non-Native Invasive Species.............................................................................................71 3.3 Social Environment.......................................................................................................................72 3.3.1 Heritage..............................................................................................................................72 3.3.2 Scenery...............................................................................................................................73 3.3.3 Recreation ..........................................................................................................................76 3.3.4 Economics..........................................................................................................................79 3.3.5 Human Health and Safety ..................................................................................................79 South Branch Kinzua Creek Project TOC-1 Environmental Assessment Table of Contents Chapter 4: Environmental Consequences and Cumulative Effects ................................81 4.1 Physical Environment...................................................................................................................81 4.1.1 Soils....................................................................................................................................81 4.1.2 Water Resources and Riparian Areas ................................................................................90 4.1.3 Transportation....................................................................................................................95 4.1.4 Air Quality .........................................................................................................................97 4.1.5 Oil, Gas, and Minerals .......................................................................................................98 4.2 Biological Environment................................................................................................................99 4.2.1 Vegetation..........................................................................................................................99 4.2.2 Wildlife ............................................................................................................................105 4.2.3 Non-Native Invasive Species...........................................................................................134 4.3 Social Environment.....................................................................................................................141 4.3.1 Heritage............................................................................................................................141 4.3.2 Scenery.............................................................................................................................142 4.3.3 Recreation ........................................................................................................................146 4.3.4 Economics........................................................................................................................152 4.3.5 Human Health and Safety ................................................................................................154 Chapter 5: List of Contributors .......................................................................................157