Arizona Game and Fish Department Sport Fish Stocking Program Draft Environmental Assessment March 2011 Prepared by EcoPlan Associates, Inc., for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department HOW TO COMMENT ON THIS DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT The Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) is available for review on-line at www.fws.gov/southwest/federal_assistance/index.html and www.azgfd.gov/fishea, or by CD via regular mail upon request to Ms. Brie Darr or Mr. Dave Weedman, as listed below. In addition, hard copies of the Draft EA may be viewed at the AGFD Phoenix Headquarters and AGFD field offices statewide. Phoenix Headquarters Office Region 2 - Flagstaff Office Region 5 - Tucson Office 5000 W. Carefree Highway 3500 S. Lake Mary Road 555 N. Greasewood Road Phoenix, AZ 85086 Flagstaff, AZ 86001 Tucson, AZ 85745 602-942-3000 928-774-5045 520-628-5376 Region 1 - Pinetop Office Region 3 - Kingman Office Region 6 - Mesa Office 2878 E. White Mountain Blvd. 5325 N. Stockton Hill Road 7200 E. University Drive Pinetop, AZ 85935 Kingman, AZ 86409 Mesa, AZ 85207 928-367-4281 928-692-7700 480-981-9400 Region 4 - Yuma Office 9140 E. 28th St. Yuma, AZ 85365 928-342-0091 Written comments may be submitted via mail, fax, or in person (Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Comments may also be submitted by e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected]. Please refer to Arizona Game and Fish Department Sport Fish Stocking Draft EA in the Subject line. Electronic comments to the above links may be submitted in Word (.doc or .docx), Rich Text Format (.rtf), text (.txt), or HyperText Markup Language (.html). To expedite the review of submitted comments, please indicate what part of the document (page number, heading, subheading, etc.) your comment relates to. Questions or written comments may be directed to: Ms. Brie Darr, Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 1306, 500 Gold Ave. SW, Suite 9019, Albuquerque, NM 87103. Telephone: 505- 248- 7457, Fax: 505-248-7471. Mr. Dave Weedman, Habitat Branch, Arizona Game and Fish Department, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086, Telephone: 623-236-7607, Fax: 623-236-7366. Additional information about the sport fish stocking program can be found at the Arizona Game and Fish Department website: www.azgfd.gov/fishea. Comments will be accepted through 5 p.m. April 11, 2011. Draft Environmental Assessment i AGFD Sport Fish Stocking Program TABLE OF CONTENTS APPENDIXES.............................................................................................................................. iv FIGURES....................................................................................................................................... v Appendix Figures.......................................................................................................................... v TABLES........................................................................................................................................ vi APPENDIX TABLES................................................................................................................ viii ACRONYMS................................................................................................................................. x 1.0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Applicable Funding.....................................................................................................1 1.2 Purpose and Need ....................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Proposed Action.......................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Decision to Be Made................................................................................................... 2 1.5 Scoping ....................................................................................................................... 2 1.5.1 Agency Responses to Scoping..................................................................... 2 1.5.2 Public Responses to Scoping....................................................................... 3 2.0 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................. 5 2.1 History of Fish Hatcheries and Stocking Practices in Arizona................................... 5 2.2 Existing AGFD Sport Fish Stocking Program Overview........................................... 7 2.2.1 Statutory and Regulatory Authority ............................................................ 7 2.2.2 AGFD Sport Fish Program Goals and Objectives....................................... 7 2.2.3 AGFD Sport Fish Stocking Program Approach.......................................... 8 2.2.4 Program Components.................................................................................. 9 2.2.5 Rules and Regulations ............................................................................... 11 2.2.6 Fish Health and Best Management Practices ............................................ 12 3.0 ALTERNATIVES ............................................................................................................. 15 3.1 Development of Alternatives.................................................................................... 15 3.2 Proposed Action........................................................................................................ 15 3.2.1 Sport Fish Stocking ................................................................................... 16 3.2.2 Proposed Hatchery Operations and Maintenance...................................... 18 3.2.3 Sport Fish Stocking Conservation and Mitigation Program...................... 19 3.3 Reduced Stocking Alternative .................................................................................. 19 3.3.1 Sport Fish Stocking ................................................................................... 20 3.3.2 Proposed Hatchery Operations and Maintenance...................................... 20 3.3.3 Sport Fish Stocking Conservation and Mitigation Program...................... 22 Draft Environmental Assessment ii AGFD Sport Fish Stocking Program 3.4 No Action.................................................................................................................. 22 3.5 Alternatives Considered But Eliminated .................................................................. 22 3.5.1 Expanded Stocking Alternative................................................................. 22 3.5.2 Minimal Stocking Alternative ................................................................... 23 4.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ...... 25 4.1 Biological Resources—Consultation and Other Special Status Species .................. 26 4.1.1 Regulatory Setting..................................................................................... 27 4.1.2 Analysis Approach.................................................................................... 29 4.1.3 Affected Environment ............................................................................... 32 4.1.4 Environmental Consequences................................................................... 35 4.2 Recreation and Socioeconomics ............................................................................... 79 4.2.1 Regulatory Setting and Associated Approach........................................... 79 4.2.2 Affected Environment ............................................................................... 80 4.2.3 Environmental Consequences................................................................... 86 4.3 Comparison of Environmental Consequences by Alternative.................................. 96 5.0 MITIGATION MEASURES.......................................................................................... 103 5.1 Mitigation Approach and Implementation.............................................................. 103 5.2 Mitigation Measures............................................................................................... 105 6.0 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ............................................................................................ 111 6.1 Cumulative Effects Issues and Assessment Goals.................................................. 111 6.2 Geographic Scope for Analysis .............................................................................. 111 6.3 Temporal Scope of Analysis................................................................................... 111 6.3.1 Time Frame of Past Actions.................................................................... 111 6.3.2 Time Frame of Present and Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions..... 112 6.4 Relevant Past, Present, and Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions .................... 112 6.4.1 Description of Past, Present, and Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions 112 6.4.2 Effects of Past, Present, and Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions.... 114 6.5 Contributions of the Alternatives to Cumulative Effects........................................ 116 7.0 COORDINATION AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT................................................. 117 7.1 Agency and Public Scoping.................................................................................... 117 7.2 Public Review of Draft EA....................................................................................