Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Draft General Management Plan: Tonto National Monument, Arizona PDF
Preview Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Draft General Management Plan: Tonto National Monument, Arizona
/DRAFT ClemsonUniversif I 29.79/3:1 61 3 1604 014 845 046 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Draft General Management Plan FEDERAL POBUCATIOii January 2002 DEPOSITORY TONTO National Monument •Arizona o o o t Draft Environmental Impact Statement Draft General Management Plan TONTO National Monument • Arizona SUMMARY: This Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement describes and analyzes alternatives for the management of Tonto National Monument over the next ten to fifteen years. Four alternatives were considered - a no-action and three action alternatives including the National Park Service (NPS) proposal. The NPS proposal would construct a new administrative facility within monument boundaries to improve staff needs and remodel the existing visitor center to increase visitor orientation and education opportunities. The management of cultural and natural resources would also improve with more staff and the information needed to conduct preservation programs. The plan assesses impacts to archeological and historical resources, long-term health of natural ecosystems, visitor experiences, economic contribution to local communities, adjacent landowners, and operational efficiency. The draft plan also describes cumulative effects for each alternative. PUBLIC COMMENT: This document was prepared to evaluate and to assess the impacts of a range of alternatives and to provide the public with an opportunity to comment. This draft general management plan/environmental impact statement will be available for public review for sixty days. If you wish to comment, you may mail comments to the name and address below. Please note that names and addresses of people who comment become part of the public record. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from organizations, businesses, and individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety. Direct questions and send comments to: Superintendent Tonto National Monument HC02, Box 4602 Roosevelt, AZ 85545 United States Department ofthe Interior • National Park Service • Tonto National Monument Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS IVIembers and Sloan Foundation http://archive.org/details/draftenvironment02tonto — Table of Contents PURPOSEOFTHE PLAN i MuseumCollections, ReferenceAnd Archives Library 106 Introduction i Employee Residences 108 Purpose ofthe Plan i Trails 109 Need forthe Plan i Maintenance Facility, Entrance Station, PlanningIssues and Concerns 2 Roads, VolunteerTrailerPad, The PlanningProcess 3 PicnicArea 109 The National Park System 4 — Operational Efficiency VisitorCenter Park Purpose 4 And Headquarters iii Park Significance 5 Water, Septic and. SolidWaste Systems.... 112 MISSION STATEMENT (AVISION FOR CommercialServices 113 THE FUTURE) Boundary 7 115 Economic ContributionTo Gateway GPRAMission Goals 8 Communities 116 ParkMission Goals 8 Cumulative Effects 117 VISITOREXPERIENCEANDTHEPARK Long-Term IntegrityOfArcheological ENVIRONMENT 15 Resources 119 Historic Characterofthe Built MANAGEMENT PRESCRIPTIONS 25 Environment 123 Long-term Integrity ofEthnographic THE PROPOSALANDALTERNATIVES ...31 Resources 127 Long-TermIntegrityofNatural Systems ENVIRONMENTALCONSEQUENCES ....79 and Processes (Soils, Vegetation, Wildlife, Threatened and Endangered Species, Introduction 79 Cultural Resources—Archeology 80 Water Resources) 131 — Long-term QualityofAirand Natural Cultural Resources CliffDwelling Environment 82 Quiet 135 — Abilityto Use, Experience, andAccess Cultural Resources Landscapes 83 Cultural Resources—Historic Structures ParkResources 139 ListOfClassified StructuresAnd Scenic Vistas, Viewsheds 144 ImpactstoAdjacent Lands and Economies Mission 66 85 — ofGateway Communities 146 Cultural Resources Ethnography 87 Natural Resources—Topography, Geology, Operational Efficiency 149 and Soils 88 CONSULTATION/COORDINATION 157 — Natural Resources Vegetation 90 Natural Resources—Wildlife 92 Public Involvement, Agencies Consulted..157 Natural Resources—Threatened and PlanningTeam 157 NEantduarnagleRreesdoSuprecceise—s WaterResources, 93 CLiosnttOrifbRuetcoirpsients 115588 Wetlands, Floodplains 95 REFERENCES CITED 161 — Natural Resources AirQuality 96 — Natural Resources Natural Quiet 97 APPENDIXi: LEGISLATION 163 VisitorUse, Experience,Accessibility 99 ScenicVistas, Viewsheds loi APPENDIX 2: FUTUREPLANSAND AdjacentLand, Partnerships 103 STUDIES 165 — Facilities Visitor/Administrative Facility, ParkingArea (IncludingPublic Safety) 103 APPENDIX3: CULTURAL HISTORY 167 PURPOSE OF THE PLAN Introduction Tonto National Monument is located in NORTH 5 10MILES I • 1 east central Arizona's Gila County only 50 air miles east ofPhoenix in a rapidly changingregional environment. The monumentwas established to protect numerous prehistoric archeological sites includingtwo Gila-phase cliffdwellings ofthe Salado culture. The primary sites are the Upper and Lower Cliff Dwellings. Rock shelters overlooking Tonto Basin have protected the nearly 700 year-old masonry cliffdwellings. Thirteen smaller remote cliffdwellings and fifty surface sites also have been documented in the monument. Six ofthe archeological sites are on the List of ARIZONA Classified Structures. Evidence of Archaic, Apache or Yavapai, and historic Euro-American occupations is also found amongthe sites. Archeological excavations have revealedwell- preserved collections ofpottery, agricultural tools, ornaments, textiles, • To identifythe kinds of management, use, and and more. The diversity ofthe natural developmentthat will be appropriate to setting located between steep cliffs and achieving and maintaining those conditions. bajadas (gently slopinghills) supports rich The accompanying environmental Sonoran Desertvegetation. The documentation provides sufficient astonishingvariety ofplants provides information to evaluate alternatives and habitat for over 200 species ofwildlife. provide the basis for a Record ofDecision documentingthe NPS's choice ofa Purpose ofthe Plan preferred action. The National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 tasked the National Park Service Need for the Plan (NPS) to prepare General Management Tonto National Monument's previous Plans (GMP) for all national park units. management documentwas completed in The purpose ofthe General Management 1962. Much has changed since then making Plan is: the original plan insufficient to provide • To clearly describe specific resource conditions adequate guidance for today's and visitor experiences in various management management ofthe monument. There is unitsthroughout the park and potential forgreatly increased tourism within Tonto Basin as a result ofnew and PURPOSEOFTHEPLAN expanded recreational facilities at health ofthe parkbyproviding important Roosevelt Lake, improved highway access habitat forwildlife in the Sonoran desert. from Globe and Payson, and the increased Hydrological information to assess water growth ofthe Phoenix metropolitan area. use and its effects ongroundwater sources Anew GMP is needed to provide a andthe riparian areaare notknown. rationale for makingmanagement Natural Quiet-Impacts to natural sound decisions that affectthe park's cultural and from both internal and external activities natural resources, visitors' understanding and managementpractices are not ofthe site, and park administration. This measured and assessed. newplanwill balance the protection of park resources with the needs ofvisitors Visitor Use, Experience, and and administration in a comprehensive Accessibility-Existingfacilities, approach. It includes measures for the programs, and staffingare inadequate to preservation ofthe resources and indicates provide visitor services forthe existingand the types andgeneral intensities of increasing numbers ofvisitors. The visitor development. When completed, the final center is not large enough to accommodate plan will set forththe basic management improved orientation information and an philosophy for the park. expanded educational program. The second floor facilities are not accessible. The plan presents aproposed action and The museum exhibits are outdated and three alternatives. The consequences of occupy inadequate space, which does not implementingthese actions on cultural allow for rotation or expansion. The park and natural resources, visitoruse, scenic has many artifacts that are not displayed viewsheds, nearby lands, partnerships, forpublicview. During the busy spring facilities, operational efficiency, and the season, the small restrooms do not socioeconomic environment are analyzed; accommodate all visitors and the parking so far as can be determined by a strategic area fills to capacity forcingvisitors to plan. It documents the process used bythe eitherpark unsafely alongthe entrance National Park Service in preparing a road shoulder or continue theirjourney general managementplan. without stopping. Planning Issues and Concerns Scenic Viewsheds- The contemporary scene surroundingthe park still retains CulturalResources-Archeological sites some scenic elements thatwere present at continue to deteriorate from both natural the time ofthe Salado occupation. and human erosive forces compromising Changing land uses inside and outside the their structural integrityand research park affect cultural aswell as scenic values. Cultural landscape features and viewsheds. ethnographic sites are not identified and documented. AdjacentLand/Partnerships-The park is completely surrounded byTonto NaturalResources- Changes inwildlife National Forestwhose management is andvegetation species and populations are generally consistentwith the park. not documented and assessed. Threatened However, some national forest and endangered species are not identified. recreational activities are not allowed in There are several non-native species in the the park. Therefore, accurate boundary park, some ofwhich may be extremely protection measures, such as fencing and disruptive to native species and habitats. enforcementpatrols, are required, as are The riparian areais integral to the overall expanded partnershipswith the U.S. — PURPOSE OFTHEPLAN Forest Service and othernearby statement, missiongoals, andmanagement landowners to reduce impacts from prescriptions. Each alternative responds external activities, protect natural and differently in addressingthe park's cultural resources, and increase the quality mission goals. ofinterpretive andvisitor services. The missionstatementis a short narrative Facilities-Office andworkspace is that describes the park's desired future inadequate for current and anticipated condition. It is meantto stand the test of increased stafflevels. The visitor center time and reflect the park's purpose and lacks sufficient space for employees to significance. It expresses the management work, conduct meetings, organize a philosophy for the park and what the park library, and store equipment and supplies. is to be like inthe future. No residences are available to house Thepark's missiongoals capture the seasonal employees orvolunteers. Hiring essence ofthe mission statement, employees and recruitingvolunteers is providing clarity and priorities. These difficultwithout havingaccommodations objectives are issue-, resource-, or forthem. geographic-specific. They may include products to be produced or conditions to Due to the steep, rugged terrain, no be attained or maintained. As awhole, handicapped accessible trails are available objectives are interrelated and for use in the park. interdependent on one another. The Staffing-The existing interpretive staffis park's mission goals provide abasis for not large enough to handle the increasing allocatingresources and describing number ofvisitors. Additional staffis regions in the park. needed to provide qualityvisitorservice Managementprescriptions are and experiences forthe visitingpublic. geographicallybased. Prescriptions The existing cultural and natural resource describe characteristics ofthe staffis not large enough to properly management region forwhich theywere manage the resources entrusted to their developed and define the outputs, care. Additional staffis needed to conduct activities, and projects forthat region. The high-qualitypreservation programs. rationale for defining regional boundary Boundary-The Cave Canyonwatershed, delineations is included in this planning which contains the park's onlyperennial document. surfacewater source, originates outside Managementprescriptions for each region the monument and is potentially impacted are based on the character and condition from external activities. ofthe resource involved. They are not only The Planning Process tied to local orpark-wide needs but also take into consideration factors beyond The planningprocess builds upon the logic park boundaries. Amenu ofavailable established for national parks, starting management prescriptions is developed. with the national park system and all other Each alternative revolves around a applicable laws, regulations, andpolicies. common theme, and the same set of The proposed action and alternatives prescriptions is applied differently over displayed in this document are based on park lands depending on the theme ofthe the purpose and significance ofTonto alternative. Themes set the basis for NM. Alternatives in the plan have three developing distinctly different alternatives common components the mission PURPOSE OFTHEPLAN thatprovide avariety ofvisitor experience Whether it is telling a story or carefully options. protectingresources, the Service uses the principles ofhuman and natural The plan provides general or strategic managementto accomplish its mission. guidance and is not detailed, specific, or highlytechnical in nature. Highly technical environmental analysis is to be done when funds become available to begin design offacilities, if prescribed bythe management plan, when site-specific impacts canbe addressed. All undertakingswill also be subject to the National Historic Preservation Act's Section io6 review and compliance prior to implementation. The National Park System The national park system represents our But atthevery least, "these areas derive national heritage and includes a collection increased national dignity and recognition ofthe nations most outstanding and oftheir superb environmental quality significant natural, cultural, historic, and through their inclusion jointlywith each recreational resources. other in one national park system managed for the benefit and inspiration ofall The National Park Ser—vice's purpose of people." (i6 use ia-i;i97o) conserving resources whetherthey are natural, cultural, historic, or Park Purpose — recreational recognizes the importance ofpreservation as an active management Each park in the National Park System is tool. This preservation principle respects established for a specific purpose. The both natural and human relationships and reason or reasons why Tonto National emphasizes the value ofmaintaining land Monumentwas set aside is called itspark forthe purpose ofpreservingnatural purpose. The park purpose reflects current ecosystems, historic significance, and scientific or scholarly inquiry and outstanding recreational opportunities. interpretation. Purpose statements are based on enabling legislation, legislative Balanced againstthe protection and history, and historic trends. Other preservation ofthese resources is the value ofpublic enjoymentbypresent and future legislation that affects each park unit is generations. Human use often can listed under Servicewide Law and Policies on the followingpage. threaten thevery resources thatthe National Park Service is entrusted to The followingpurpose statement reflects protect. Manypublic debates have the mandates and legislative intent forthe revolved around the balancing ofthese creation ofTonto National Monument: two National Park Service purposes.
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