Proposed Dillon resource management plan and final environmental impact statement

2005·211.3 MB·English

by  United States. Bureau of Land Management. Dillon Field Office

BLW LIBRARY
Jnited States Department of the Interior
3ureau of Land Management
Dillon Field Office April 2005
PROPOSED DILLON RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT PLAN AND
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
STATEMENT
Volume
I
0
v
<
/
TheBureauofLandManagementisresponsibleforthestewardshipofourpubliclands. Itiscommittedtomanage,
protect,andimprovetheselandsinamannertoservetheneedsoftheAmericanpeopleforalltimes. Management
is based on the principles of multiple use and sustained yield of our nation's resources within a framework of
environmental responsibility and scientific technology. These resources include recreation; rangelands; timber;
minerals; watershed; fish and wildlife; wilderness; air; and scenic, scientific, and cultural values.
I
BLM/MT/PL-05/008+161
r/f
.
United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Dillon Field Office
1005 Selway Drive
Dillon, Montana 59725
http://www.mt.blm.gov/dfo
April 2005
Dear Reader:
Enclosed for your review is the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (Pro-
posed RMP/Final EIS) for lands administered by the BLM in the Dillon Field Office. The Proposed RMP/Final EIS is a
refinement ofthe Preferred Alternative (Alternative B) presented in the Draft RMP/EIS released in April 2004. The Draft
RMP/EIS was available fora90-day reviewperiodending on July 12, 2004.The ProposedRMP/Final EIS is designedtobe
used in conjunction with the Draft RMP/EIS forreference to maps and in regard to page numbers cited in the comment and
response section. Both the Proposed RMP/Final EIS and the Draft RMP/EIS are available on the Dillon RMP website at
www.mt.blm.gov/dfo/rmp
.
Chapter 5 of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS contains an analysis of and BLM responses to the comments received on the
Draft RMP/EIS. As aresult ofpublic comment and internal review,Alternative B has been modified and is now considered
the ProposedAction for management ofBLM lands in the Dillon Field Office. The Proposed RMP/Final EIS is subject to
a 30-day protest period.
The Proposed RMP/Final EIS contains only land use planning decisions subject to protest with the exception ofdecisions
on route designations discussedin the TravelManagementand OHVUse section oftheplan. Decisions on route desig-
nations may be appealedto the InteriorBoard ofLandAppeals (IBLA) following the publicationofthe Record ofDecision
(ROD) and Approved Plan. The ROD will include information on the appeal process.
Any person whoparticipatedin the Dillon RMPplanning process and has an interest which is ormay be adversely affected
may protest approval of this Proposed RMP and the land use plan decisions contained within it (see 43 CFR 1610.5-2)
during the 30-day review and protest period. The protest period begins when the Environmental Protection Agency pub-
lishes its Notice ofAvailability ofthe final environmental impact statement in the FederalRegister. Only those persons or
organizations who participated in the planning process leading to this Proposed RMP may protest. Aprotesting party may
raise onlythose issues submittedfortherecordduringtheplanningprocess leading uptopublicationofthis ProposedRMP.
New issues may not be brought into the record at the protest stage.
To be considered “timely”, your protest, along with all attachments, must be postmarked no later than the last day ofthe
protest period. There is no provision for an extension oftime. Although not a requirement, we suggest that you send your
protest by certified mail, return receipt requested. The protest period ends 30 days after EPA’s Notice ofAvailability is
published in the Federal Register. Press releases on the actual date ending the protest period will be sent to local and
RMP
regional media contacts and information will be placed on the Dillon website and sent to all contacts on the Dillon
RMP
mailing list
A letter ofprotest must be filed in accordance with the planning regulations at 43 CFR 1610.5-2(a)(l). Protests must be in
writing. Electronic mail and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid protests unless the protesting party also provides
the original letterby eitherregularorovernightmail postmarkedby the closeofthe protest period. Underthese conditions,
BLM
will considerthe email orfaxed protest an advance copy and it will receive full consideration. Ifyou wish toprovide
BLM with such advance notification, please direct faxed protests to the attention ofthe BLM protest coordinator at 202-
452-5112, and emails to Brenda [email protected]
.
Ifsent by regular mail, send to:
Director (210)
Attention: Brenda Williams
P.O. Box 66538
Washington, D.C. 20035
For overnight mail (i.e., Federal Express), send to:
Director (210)
Attention: Brenda Williams
1620 L Street, N.W., Suite 1075
Washington, D.C. 20036
In order to be considered complete, your protest must contain, at a minimum, the following information:
The name, mailing address, telephone number, and interest ofthe person filing the protest.
1.
A
2. statement ofthe issue or issues being protested.
3. A statement ofthe part or parts ofthe Proposed RMP being protested. To the extent possible, this should be done by
reference to specific pages, paragraphs, sections, tables, maps, etc., included in the document.
4. Acopy ofalldocuments addressing theissue orissuesthatyou submittedduringthe planningprocess, orareferenceto
the date the issue or issues were discussed by you for the record.
5. A concise statement explaining why the Montana/Dakotas BLM State Director’s proposed decision is believed to be
incorrect. Thisisacriticalpartofyourprotest. Take caretodocument allrelevantfacts.As much as possible, reference
or cite documents. A protest that merely expresses disagreement with the Montana/Dakotas BLM State Director’s
proposed decision, without any data, will not provide us with the benefit ofyour information and insight. In this case,
the Director’s review will be based on the existing analysis and supporting data.
At the end of the 30-day protest period and after the Governor’s consistency review, the Record of Decision and the
Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP/ROD) will be prepared. Approval will be withheld on any portion of the
Proposed RMPunderprotest until final action has been completed on such protest. The RMP/ROD will include the appeal
process fordecisions thatcan be appealed toIBLA. Lorthe Dillon RMP, this only includes decisions on route designations
for motorized ornon-motorized use. Any significant change made as a result ofa protest will be made available for public
review and comment before it is approved.
Freedom ofInformation Act Considerations/Confidentiality
Public comments submitted forthisplanning review, includingnames and streetaddresses ofrespondents, will be available
for public review at the Dillon Lield Office in Dillon, Montana, during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.),
MondaythroughLriday, exceptholidays. Comments, including namesandaddressesofrespondents, will beretainedonfile
in the same office as partofthe publicrecord forthis planningeffort. Individualrespondents may requestconfidentiality. If
you wish to withhold your name or address from public inspection or from disclosure under the “Lreedom ofInformation
Act”, you muststate thisprominentlyatthebeginning ofyourwrittencomment. Suchrequests willbe honoredtotheextent
allowedby law.All submissionsfromorganizationsorbusinesses, andfrom individuals identifyingthemselvesasrepresen-
tatives or officials oforganizations or businesses, will be made available forpublic inspection in their entirety.
Ithanktheindividuals andorganizations whoparticipated in thisplanningprocess. Yourinterest is appreciated. Ihope your
involvement will continue as we move forward to implement and monitor the plan and manage the public lands and re-
sources administered by the Dillon Lield Office.
Sincerely,
/ M'VX
Tim Bozorth
Dillon Lield Manager
DSSSC
S
s^cc
CfN
PROPOSED
DILLON RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN
AND
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
Dillon Field Office
Montana
Dillon,
APRIL 2005
PROPOSED
DILLON RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN
AND
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
ResponsibleAgencies:
United States Department ofthe Interior,
Bureau ofLand Management (LeadAgency)
Beaverhead County (Cooperating Agency)
Madison County (CooperatingAgency)
X
Draft Final
( ) ( )
Type ofAction: Administrative (X) Legislative
( )
Abstract: This Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement describes and
analyzes four alternatives for managing the public lands and resources administered by the Bureau of Land
Management’s Dillon Field Office and located in southwestern Montana in Beaverhead and Madison counties.
These alternatives are: AlternativeA (continuation ofcurrent management, or the “no action” alternative); Alter-
native B (the ProposedAction) andAlternatives C and D. MajorRMPissues include upland andriparian manage-
ment, forest andwoodlands management, noxious weeds, sage grouse and westslope cutthroattroutconservation,
commercial uses, proposed ACEC designations. Wild and Scenic River suitability findings, and travel manage-
ment designations.
ProtestsontheProposedResourceManagementPlanandFinal Environmental ImpactStatementmustbereceived
within 30 days from publication ofthe Notice ofAvailability by the Environmental ProtectionAgency. The close
oftheprotestperiodwill be announced innewsreleases, newletters, andonthe RMPwebsite atwww.mt.blm.gov/
dfo/rmp
.
Forfurther information, contact:
Renee Johnson, RMP Project Manager
Bureau ofLand Management
Dillon Field Office
1005 Selway Drive
Dillon, Montana 59725
Telephone commercial: [phone]
Telephone toll-free: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
email: [email protected]
READER’S GUIDE Executive Summary
The Executive Summary provides an overview of discus-
BLM
Preparationofthisdocument was guided by planning sions that are detailed in the full document and serves as a
regulations issued under the authority of the Federal Land
synopsis of the planning process and the alternative pro-
Policy and Management Act of 1976 and federal environ-
posals and potential environmental consequences resulting
mental policy undertheNationalEnvironmental PolicyAct
from that process.
(NEPA) of 1969. Like the Draft RMP/EIS, the Proposed
RMP/Final E1S primarily focuses on eight planning issues
Chapter 1 (Introduction)
and the decisions needed to resolve them. The issues were
BLM
identified through public scoping, concerns raised to
This chaptercontains background information on the plan-
staffin interactionswithpubliclandusers,andresource man-
agement concerns of the BLM and cooperating agencies. ning process and sets the stage for the information that is
presented in the rest ofthe document. There are nine main
The eight issues are:
sections in Chapter 1, which include the Introduction, Pur-
poseand NeedforthePlan, PlanningAreaandMap,Scoping
• Riparian and Upland Vegetation Management
and Issues, Planning Criteria and Legislative Constraints,
• Forest and Woodland Management
Planning Process, RelatedPlans,PolicyandOverall Vision.
• Noxious Weeds
• Sage Grouse andWestslope CutthroatTroutConserva-
Chapter 2 (Alternatives)
tion
• Commercial Uses
ACECs This chapter provides the description of management sce-
•
• Wild and Scenic Rivers narios proposed forthe next 20years. This chapteruses the
• Travel Management five section organization and includes a narrative section
followed by two tables. The first table compares the alter-
Othermanagement concerns are addressed in the RMP, but native proposals; the second table compares, in a summa-
did not drive the formulation of the alternatives. To assist rized fashion, the impacts ofimplementingthe alternatives.
agency decision-makers and the general public in choosing
appropriate solutions to the planning issues, four alterna- Chapter 3 (Affected Environment)
tives orcombinations ofmanagement options are proposed
and their impacts evaluated. The alternatives were limited This chapter provides background information on the vari-
to those that span a reasonable and implementable way of ous resources, resource uses, and program areas adminis-
managing public lands and federal minerals, while offering teredby BLM thatcouldbe impactedby plandecisions and
a broad range options. describes their condition and trend. This chapter is orga-
nized with the same structure as Chapter 2. Each section
DOCUMENT FORMAT
begins with a list ofrelevant authorities and policies which
guide management of the resource or program area. Brief
The format of this RMP/EIS is based on BLM guidance descriptions ofthe cited laws can be found in AppendixA.
issued in 2001 that is meant to provide a common look and
RMP BLM Chapter 4 (Environmental Consequences)
feel to planning documents being prepared by
across the west. Five main sections are usedthroughoutthe
organization ofthe document: This chapter describes the projected impacts and changes
that would result with implementation ofeach ofthe alter-
• Resources natives. The chapter is organized by alternative and uses
• Resource Uses the same five section format as Chapters 2 and 3. While
• Fire Management details ofthe impacts are provide in this chapter, the sum-
• Special Designations mary table ofimpacts is found at the end of Chapter 2.
• Social and Economic Considerations
Chapter 5 (Consultation and Coordination)
Each ofthese five sections is then split into subsections of
resources,resourceuses,orprogramareasthatarepresented This chapter contains the responses to comments received
in alphabetical order. Changes made as a result of public ontheDraftRMP/EIS.Italsoincludesadescriptionofpublic
comment and internal review have been shaded in gray in involvementopportunitiesandcollaborativeprocesses, lists
Chapters 1-4. Page numbers referenced in the Chapter 5 ofagencies, and organizations receiving the document, and
CommentandResponsesectionrefertotheDraftRMP/EIS. identifies the preparers ofthe RMP/EIS.
Please referto that document to determine the original lan-
guage that generated the comment.
OTHER INFORMATION ment ofthe RMP is dynamic. Updatingdataisconsidered a
plan maintenance action and will be incorporated overtime
RMP
as the is implemented.
TablesandFigureshavebeenincludedthroughoutthedocu-
menttodisplayand summarizepertinentinformation.Acre- Appendicesareletteredandorganizedbytopicandincluded
ages displayed in this document should be considered ap- inaseparate volume foreasyreference. Each appendixmay
proximationseven when displayedtothenearestacre. Most
contain several pieces of information related to the appen-
acreages were calculated from GIS coverages and as a re- dix topic.Atableofcontents is provided atthebeginningof
sult may not match acres provided in priorpublished docu- the lengthier appendices.
ments that contained calculations from master title plats or
other base data. For example, acres calculated for Wilder- Only those maps that have been adjusted as a result of
ness Study Areas and reported in the 1991 Montana State- changes to Alternative B (the Proposed Action in the Pro-
wide Wilderness Study Area report vary from the GIS cal- posed RMP/Final EIS) or maps that display updated infor-
culated acres forthose same areas. In otherinstances, acres
mationorcorrectionshavebeenreprintedinthisdocument.
have been rounded to the nearest 100 acres as analysis was Pleaserefertothe mapscontainedin VolumeIIIofthe Draft
completed. These rounded figures should also be consid- RMP/EIS to compare alternatives or view other informa-
ered approximations. The data used throughout this docu- tion thathas notbeen updated. Twonew maps, Map84and
ment is for land use planning purposes and not necessarily Map 85, have been added to the Proposed RMP/Final EIS
foractual on-the-ground implementation. The precision af-
and arereferencedoutofsequence in the textoftherevised
forded by GIS calculation does not reflect project level ac- document. Maps related toAppendix material are included
curacy. Acreage figures provided in this document for land and referenced withineach appendix and are not numbered
use plan analysis purposes will be refined as subsequent RMP
with the document maps.
site specific analysis is conducted. Data used in develop-
ACRONYMS
ACEC Area ofCritical Environmental Concern MMBF Million Board Feet
AML Abandoned Mine Lands MMCF Million Cubic Feet
AMP Allotment Management Plan MOU Memorandum ofUnderstanding
ARS Agricultural Research Service MRWA Montana Riparian-Wetland Association
BCR Bird Conservation Region MTDEQ Montana Department ofEnvironmental
BDNF Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest Quality
BLM Bureau ofLand Management MTNHP Montana Natural Heritage Program
BMP Best Management Practice NE No Effect
BOR Bureau of Reclamation NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
C&MU Classification and Multiple Use NF Non Functional
CDT Continental Divide Trail NLAA Not Likely toAdversely Affect
CEQ Council on Environmental Quality NOI Notice ofIntent
CFR Code ofFederal Regulations NPS National Park Service
CRMW Center for the Rocky Mountain West NRCS Natural Resources and Conservation
DEQ Department ofEnvironmental Quality Service (formerly Soil Conservation
DFC Desired Future Condition Service)
DFO Dillon Field Office NWR National Wildlife Refuge
DNRC OHV
Department ofNatural Resources Off-highway vehicle
Conservation OPA Outfitter Permit Area
DOI Department ofthe Interior ORV Outstandingly remarkable value
EE/CA Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis PFC Proper Functioning Condition
EIS Environmental Impact Statement PRP Potentially Responsible Party
EO Executive Order PSQ Probable Sale Quantity
EPA Environmental Protection Agency R&PP Recreation and Public Purposes
ESA Endangered Species Act RAC Resource Advisory Council
ESR Emergency Site Rehabilitation RMP Resource Management Plan
FAR Functioning-at-Risk ROD Record ofDecision
FMZ Fire Management Zone ROW Right-of-way
FO Field Office SHPO State Historic Preservation Office
FORVIS Forest Vegetation Inventory System SMZ Streamside Management Zone
FS Forest Service SO State Office
FTE Full Time Equivalent SRMA Special Recreation ManagementArea
FWP Fish, Wildlife and Parks sss Special Status Species
HMP Habitat Management Plan TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load
IDT/ID Team Interdisciplinary Team USDA United States Department ofAgricul-
IB Information Bulletin ture
IM Instruction Memorandum USDI United States Department ofthe Interioi
KGRA Known Geothermal Resource Area USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service
LAA Likely toAdversely Affect VRM Visual Resource Management
LAU Lynx Analysis Unit WCT Westslope Cutthroat Trout
MBF WFSA
Thousand Board Feet Wildland Fire SituationAnalysis
MBMG WMZ
Montana Bureau ofMines and Geology Western Montana Zone
MCA WO
Montana Code Annotated Washington Office
MCC WSA
Montana Consensus Council Wilderness Study Area
MCF Thousand Cubic Feet WUI Wildland Urban Interface
MFP Management Framework Plan WQRP Water Quality Restoration Plan
MIST Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics