Chino Hills State Park Road and Trail Management Plan FINAL December 2020 California State Parks Inland Empire District Chino Hills State Park Chino Hills State Park Road and Trail Management Plan Gavin Newsom Governor Wade Crowfoot Secretary Natural Resources Agency Armando Quintero Director California State Parks Approved: _________________________________ ________________________________ Brian Ketterer, Desert Field Division Chief Alex Stehl, Strategic Planning and Recreation Services Division Chief © 2020 California State Parks. All rights reserved. Printed in Sacramento, California. For more information or additional copies, contact: California State Parks, Attention: Alexandra Stehl, Strategic Planning and Recreation Services, PO Box 942896, Sacramento, CA 94296-0001, Website: http://www.parks.ca.gov/trails California State Parks does not discriminate against people with disabilities. To use the California Relay Service with TTY, call (888) 877-5378 or 711, or without TTY, call (888) 877-5379. This publication is available in alternate formats by contacting the Statewide Trails Section at [email protected], or visiting http://www.parks.ca.gov/trails. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ i Map: Overview of Planning Recommendations ............................................................ iii Section 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Planning Need ............................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Project Setting ............................................................................................................... 2 Map: Park Region .......................................................................................................... 5 Map: Existing Roads and Trails at Chino Hills State Park ............................................. 7 Section 2 THE PLANNING PROCESS ....................................................................................... 9 2.1 RTMP Planning Process ................................................................................................. 9 2.2 Change-in-Use Evaluation ........................................................................................... 11 2.3 Plan Consistency ......................................................................................................... 13 Section 3 PARK CONDITIONS .............................................................................................. 14 3.1 Park Visitation ............................................................................................................. 14 3.2 Existing Recreational Resources ................................................................................. 14 3.3 Adjacent Recreational Opportunities and Connections ............................................. 18 3.4 Natural and Cultural Resources .................................................................................. 19 3.5 General Plan ................................................................................................................ 20 Section 4 DESIGNATIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS ................................................................ 21 4.1 Road and Trail Designations ....................................................................................... 21 4.2 Designated Uses .......................................................................................................... 22 4.3 Classification of Trails ................................................................................................. 23 Section 5 BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ......................................................................... 24 5.1 Sustainability ............................................................................................................... 24 5.2 Resource Considerations ............................................................................................ 24 5.3 Maintenance Activities ............................................................................................... 25 5.4 Monitoring .................................................................................................................. 25 5.5 Prioritization Matrix .................................................................................................... 25 5.6 Reconstruction ............................................................................................................ 27 5.7 Re-engineering/Redesign ............................................................................................ 28 5.8 Road-to-Trail Conversion ............................................................................................ 28 5.9 Removal ...................................................................................................................... 28 5.10 Re-Route ..................................................................................................................... 28 Section 6 THE PLAN ............................................................................................................ 29 6.1 Parkwide Recommendations .................................................................................... 29 6.2 Area-Specific Recommendations and Maps ............................................................... 31 Discovery Center/Telegraph Canyon Area (DC) ................................................................ 33 Map: Discovery Center/Telegraph Canyon Area Existing Roads and Trails ................ 35 Map: Discovery Center/Telegraph Canyon Area Planning Recommendation ............ 37 FINAL Chino Hills State Park Road and Trail Management Plan Map: Discovery Center/Telegraph Canyon Area Visitor Management Zones ........... 39 Bane Canyon/Rolling M Ranch Area (RMR) ...................................................................... 41 Map: Bane Canyon/Rolling M Ranch Area Existing Roads and Trails ......................... 43 Map: Bane Canyon/Rolling M Ranch Area Planning Recommendations ................... 45 Map: Bane Canyon/Rolling M Ranch Area Visitor Management Zones ..................... 47 Santa Ana River/Coal Canyon Area ................................................................................... 49 Map: Santa Ana River/Coal Canyon Area Existing Conditions .................................... 51 Map: Santa Ana River/Coal Canyon Area Planning Recommendations ..................... 53 Map: Santa Ana River/Coal Canyon Area Visitor Management Zone ........................ 55 Section 7 ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT ............................................................................ 56 7.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 58 7.1.1. Introduction and Regulatory Guidance .......................................................... 58 7.1.2. Lead Agency .................................................................................................... 58 7.1.3. Purpose and Document Organization............................................................. 59 7.1.4. Summary of Findings....................................................................................... 60 7.2. Project Overview ......................................................................................................... 61 7.2.1. Project Location .............................................................................................. 61 7.2.2. Background and Need for the Project ............................................................ 62 7.2.3. Project Objectives ........................................................................................... 64 7.2.4. Project Description ......................................................................................... 64 7.2.5. Related Documents ......................................................................................... 65 7.2.6. Project Actions Covered by and Excluded from the RTMP ............................. 66 7.2.7. Project Requirements ..................................................................................... 67 7.2.8. Applicable Standard Project Requirements .................................................... 68 7.2.9. Project Implementation .................................................................................. 94 7.2.10. Visitation to Chino Hills State Park ................................................................. 94 7.2.11. Consistency with Local Plans and Policies ...................................................... 94 7.2.12. Discretionary Approvals .................................................................................. 94 7.2.13. Related Projects .............................................................................................. 95 7.3. Environmental Checklist ............................................................................................. 96 7.3.1. Initial Study Checklist ...................................................................................... 96 7.3.2. Environmental Factors Potentially Affected ................................................... 97 7.3.3. Determination: ...............................................................................................