AUGUST 17, 2020 DRAFT Johnson County Natural Resource Management Plan Natural Resource Management Plan Y2 Consultants, LLC & Falen Law Offices (Intentionally Left Blank) CONTENTS ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................................... IV LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. VIII LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... IX INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 PURPOSE ........................................................................................................................................ 1 PLAN ORGANIZATION ........................................................................................................................ 5 PROCESS ......................................................................................................................................... 5 AMENDING THE NRMP ..................................................................................................................... 6 COUNTY EXPECTATIONS FOR NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN ..................................................... 6 CHAPTER 1: CUSTOM AND CULTURE ...................................................................................... 8 1.1 COUNTY INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ........................................................................................ 8 CHAPTER 2: LAND USE ......................................................................................................... 11 2.1 LAND USE ............................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 TRANSPORTATION AND LAND ACCESS ........................................................................................... 14 2.3 SPECIAL DESIGNATION AND MANAGEMENT AREAS .......................................................................... 18 2.4 WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION, FUELS MANAGEMENT, FIRE REHABILITATION AND COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PLANNING ..................................................................................................................................... 28 2.5 FOREST MANAGEMENT .............................................................................................................. 31 2.6 LAND EXCHANGES ..................................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 3: GEOLOGY, MINING, AND AIR ............................................................................ 35 3.1 GEOLOGY ................................................................................................................................ 35 3.2 MINING & MINERAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................. 37 3.3 ENERGY RESOURCES .................................................................................................................. 41 3.4 AIR QUALITY ............................................................................................................................ 47 i | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan 3.5 CLIMATE CHANGE ..................................................................................................................... 49 3.6 SOILS...................................................................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER 4: WATER RESOURCES .......................................................................................... 53 4.1 IRRIGATION AND RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................................. 55 4.2 DAMS AND RESERVOIRS ............................................................................................................. 56 4.3 WATER RIGHTS ........................................................................................................................ 57 4.4 WATER QUALITY ...................................................................................................................... 59 4.5 FLOOD PLAINS.......................................................................................................................... 63 4.6 RIVERS AND STREAMS ................................................................................................................ 64 4.7 WETLANDS AND RIPARIAN AREAS ................................................................................................ 65 CHAPTER 5: WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES .................................................................................. 67 5.1 THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES ...................................................................................... 69 5.2 GENERAL WILDLIFE AND SENSITIVE SPECIES ................................................................................... 72 5.3 FISHERIES ................................................................................................................................ 83 5.4 WILD HORSE, BURROS AND ESTRAY LIVESTOCK .............................................................................. 86 CHAPTER 6: ECONOMICS & SOCIETY .................................................................................... 89 6.1 TOURISM AND RECREATION ON FEDERAL LANDS ............................................................................. 89 6.2 LAW ENFORCEMENT .................................................................................................................. 91 6.3 CULTURAL, HISTORICAL, & PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES .............................................................. 91 6.4 ECONOMIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS ....................................................................... 96 CHAPTER 7: AGRICULUTRE ................................................................................................... 98 7.1 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 98 7.2 LIVESTOCK AND GRAZING ........................................................................................................... 99 7.3 PREDATOR CONTROL & LIVESTOCK PREDATION ............................................................................ 105 7.4 NOXIOUS WEEDS AND INVASIVE SPECIES ..................................................................................... 106 ii | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 110 APPENDIX A: ADDITIONAL MAPS ....................................................................................... 118 APPENDIX B: TABLES ......................................................................................................... 119 APPENDIX C: STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS ................................................................. 137 iii | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan ACRONYMS ACEC- Areas of Critical Environmental Concern APHIS – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ARPA – Archeological Resources Protection Act AUM- Animal Unit Month BLM- Bureau of Land Management BMP-Best Management Practice BOR- Bureau of Reclamation CAA- 1970 Clean Air Act CAP-SSE-- Community Assistance Program – State Support Services CCA – Candidate Conservation Agreements CCAA – Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances CDC – Center for Disease Control CEQ- Council on Environmental Quality CLG – Certified Local Government CRP – Conservation Reserve Program CWA – Clean Water Act DEQ- Department of Environmental Quality DOD- Department of Defense EA- Environmental Assessment EIS- Environmental Impact Statement ENSO- El Niño-Southern Oscillation EPA- Environmental Protection Agency ERFO – Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads ESA- 1973 Endangered Species Act FAST – Fixing America’s Surface Transportation act iv | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan FDQA – Federal Data Quality Act FHWA- Federal Highway Administration FLAP – Federal Lands Access Program FLMPA- 1976 Federal Land Management and Policy Act FLTP – Federal Lands Transportation Program FSA – Farm Service Agency FUDs – Formerly Used Defense Sites GHG- Greenhouse Gas GLO - General Lands Office GPC—Groundwater Pollution Control IMR – Intermountain Range IPCC- International Governmental Panel on Climate Change JCCLUP – Johnson County Comprehensive Land Use Plan JCCWP - Johnson County Community Wildfire Protection Plan LUP- Land Use Plan LWCF- Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1964 MOA - Memorandum of Agreement MOU - Memorandum of Understanding MUSY- 1960 Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act NAAQS – National Ambient Air Quality Standards NAO- North Atlantic Oscillation NEPA- 1973 National Environmental Policy Act NFHL – National Flood Hazard Layer NFIP – National Flood Insurance Program NFMA- 1976 National Forest Management Act v | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan NFS – National Forest System NNDSS - National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System NPS- National Park Service NRCS – Natural Resource Conservation Service NRMP- Natural Resource Management Plan NSFLTP – Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program NSS – Native Species Status NWR – National Wildlife Refuge