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BLMLIBRARY I !l IIII II 88045748 U.S. DEPARTMENTOFTHEINTERIOR BureauofLandManagement BurnsDistrictOffice HC74-12533 Highway20W. Hines,Oregon97738 September1991 Proposed Three Rivers Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement Volume I -Text AstheNation'sprincipalconservationagency,theDepartmentoftheInteriorhasresponsibilityformostofournationallyownedpubliclandsand naturalresources. Thisincludesfosteringthewisestuseofourlandandwaterresources, protectingourfish andwildlife, preservingthe environmentalandculturalvaluesofournationalparksandhistoricalplaces,andprovidingfortheenjoymentoflifethroughoutdoorrecreation. TheDepartmentassessesourenergyandmineralresourcesandworkstoassurethattheirdevelopmentisinthebestinterestofallourpeople. TheDepartmentalsohasamajorresponsibilityforAmericanIndianreservationcommunitiesandforpeoplewholiveinIslandTerritoriesunder U.S.administration. BLM-OR-ES-91-29-1792 </ — CoverPhoto FederalLandOffice-TemporaryHeadquarters intheBurnsHotelbuildingfrom1889-1891. Predecessorto theTaylorGrazingServiceandBureauofLandManagement. U.S. Department ofthe Interior Bureau of Land Management Proposed Three Rivers Resource Management Plan Final Environmental Impact Statement Prepared by Burns District Office ^fc^A State Director, Oregon/Washington District Manager, Burns . United States Department ofthe Interior BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT BURNSDISTRICTOFFICE HC74-12533 Hwy20West Hines.Oregon97738 INREpLYREF£RTO; September20,1991 DearPublicLandUser: Enclosed for your review and comment is the Three Rivers Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP)/Final EnvironmentalImpactStatement(EIS)tortheThreeRiversPlanningArea,BurnsDistrict,Oregon.TheBureauofLand ManagementhaspreparedthisdocumentinpartialfulfillmentofitsresponsibilitiesundertheFederalLandManagement andPolicyActof 1976andtheNationalEnvironmentalPolicyActof1969. TheProposedRMPFinalEISisdesignedtostandabnefromtheDraftRMP/EISwhichwaspublishedinOctober1989. However,theinterestedreadermayfinditusefultorefertotheDraftRMP/EISwhenusingthisdocument. Thepublicdevotedatremendousamountofeffortinprovidingin-depthinputontheDraftRMP/EIS. TheBurnsDistrict received225individualcommentletterscontainingover1,200specificcomments.ThePlanningTeamhasassessed thesecommentsandutilizedtheinputinmakingsubstantivechangesintheProposedRMP. Wesincerelyappreciate theeffortsofthosewhotookthetimetoprovideuswiththesecomments. Wefeelthatyoureffortshaveresultedina strongerandclearerRMP. ThisProposedRMP/FinalEIScontainsasummarycomparisonofthealternativesconsidered(includingtheProposed Plan),anintroduction,theProposedPlan,theenvironmentalconsequencesoftheProposedPlan,revisionstotheDraft RMP/EIS, publiccomments receivedonthe Draft RMP/EIS, andthe Bureau's responsetothosecomments. The PreferredAlternativeintheDraftRMPhasbeenrevisedasaresultofpubliccommentandinternalreview.TheProposed Planreflectsthesechangesintherefinementofmanagementobjectivesandinmanagementactions. IfyoudesireassistancewiththisdocumentyoumaycontacttheAreaManager,CraigM. Hansen,(503)573-5241 Ifyouwouldliketohaveyourinterests/concernsconsideredbytheDistrictManagerashemakesthefinaldecisionswhich willguidethemanagementofthepubliclandsintheThreeRiversPlanningAreaforthenext10-15years,pleasedo soinwritingpriortothecloseofthepubliccommentperiodonOctober21,1991.Commentsshouldbesentto: DistrictManager BureauofLandManagement BurnsDistrictOffice HC74-12533Hwy20West Hines,Oregon97738 Thefinal decisionswill be based onthe analysis contained in the EIS, any additionaldata available, public input, managementfeasibility,policyandlegalconstraints. Approvaloftheplanwillbedocumentedinarecordofdecision whichwillbemadeavailabletothepublic. Theresourcemanagementplanningprocessincludesanopportunityforadministrativereviewviaaplanprotesttothe BLMDirectorifyoubelievetheapprovalofaproposedRMPwouldbeinerror.(See43CFR1610.5-2.)carefuladherence totheseguidelineswillassistinpreparingaprotestthatwillassurethegreatestconsiderationtoyourpointofview. . . OnlythosepersonsororganizationswhoparticipatedinourplanningprocessleadingtothisRMPmayprotest. Ifour recordsdonotindicatethatyouhadanyinvolvementinanystageinthepreparationofaproposedRMPoramendment, yourprotestwillbedismissedwithoutfurtherreview. Aprotestingpartymayraiseonlythoseissueswhichheorshesubmittedfortherecordduringtheplanningprocess. New issuesraisedintheprotestperiodshouldbedirectedtotheBurnsDistrictofThreeRiversAreaManagerforconsideration inplanimplementation,aspotentialplanamendments,orasotherwiseappropriate. TheperiodforfilingaplanprotestbeginswhentheEnvironmentalProtectionAgencypublishesintheFederalRegister itsNoticeofAvailabilityofthefinalenvironmentalimpactstatementconcerningtheproposedRMoramendment. The protestperiodextendsfor30days.Thereisnoprovisionforanyextensionoftime.Tobeconsidered"timely,"yourprotest mustbepostmarkednolaterthanthelastdayoftheprotestperiod. Also,althoughnotarequirement,wesuggestthat yousendyourprotestbycertifiedmail,returnreceiptrequested. Protestsmustbefiledinwritingto: Director(760) BureauofLandManagement 1849"C"Street,NW Washington, DC 20240 Inordertobeconsideredcomplete,yourprotestmustcontain,ataminimum,thefollowinginformation: 1 Thename,mailingaddress,telephonenumber,andinterestofthepersonfilingtheprotest. 2. Astatementoftheissueorissuesbeingprotested. 3. AstatementofthepartorpartsoftheproposedRMPbeingprotested. Totheextentpossible,thisshouldbedone byreferencetospecificpages,paragraphs,sections,tables, maps,etc.includedinthedocument. 4. Acopyofalldocumentsaddressingtheissueorissuesthatyousubmittedduringtheplanningprocessorareference tothedatetheissueorissueswerediscussedbyyoufortherecord. 5. AconcisestatementexplainingwhytheBLMStateDirector'sdecisionisbelievedtobeincorrect. Thisisacritical partofyourprotest. Takecaretodocumentallrelevantfacts. Asmuchaspossible, referenceorcitetheplanning documents, environmental analysis documents, available planning records (i.e., meeting minutes or summaries, correspondence,etc.). AprotestwhichmerelyexpressesdisagreementwiththeOregon/WashingtonStateDirector's proposeddecision,withoutanydatawillnotprovideuswiththebenefitofyourinformationandinsight. Inthiscase,the Director'sreviewwillbebasedontheexistinganalysisandsupportingdata. TheProposedRMPcannotbeapproveduntiltheGovernorofOregonhashadanopportunitytoreviewit. Anyperson whoparticipatedintheplanningprocessandhasaninterestwhichisormaybeadverselyaffectedbytheapprovalof thisRMPmayprotestsuchapproval. CompleteinstructionsonfilingaprotestarepresentedinChapters. Thedeadline forfilingaprotestisOctober21, 1991 Thankyouforyourcontinuedinterestinthemultipleusemanagementofyourpubliclands. Sincerely, 0JL MikeGreen DistrictManager . ) . Three Rivers Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement Draft () Final (X) RMP/EIS Departmentofthe Interior Bureau of Land Management 1 TypeofAction: Administrative (X) Legislative ( 2. Abstract:ThisProposedResourceManagementPlan/FinalEnvironmentalImpactStatement,in combinationwiththe Draftaddressesmanagementon 1,709,918acresofpubliclandadministered bythe BureauofLand Managementinthe Burns District,Oregon. Implementation ofthe Proposed Planwouldresultinimprovementofwaterqualityon98milesofstream;decadaltimberharvestwould beapproximately5.4millionboardfeetfrom7,722acresofcommercialforestland;forageallocations of150,472AUMsforlivestock,5,808AUMsforwildhorsesandburros,and7,836AUMscompetitive forageforbiggame,improvementinwetland,aquaticandplayahabitats;aggressivemanagementof special status species and their habitats; administration of 17,056 acres as a Special Recreation ManagementArea;recommendationof5.4milesofriverforinclusionintheNationalWildandScenic Rivers System; retention of 17,456 acres, and addition of 77,593 acres as ACECs; approximately 25,335acresofpubliclandwouldbeconsideredforsaleundervariousauthoritiesoverthelifeofthe plan; provision for mineral exploration and development would be maintained; soil, airquality and recreation resourceswould be protected. 3. Five alternatives for management of public lands in the Three Rivers Planning Area were analyzed inthe Draft RMP/EIS: AlternativeA Emphasize NaturalValues Alternative B Emphasize NaturalValueswith Commodity Production Alternative C The PreferredAlternative Alternative D Emphasize Commodity Productionwith NaturalValues (NoAction) Alternative E Emphasize Commodity Production 4. Thecomment/protestperiodwillendOctober21, 1991 5. Forfurtherinformation contact: Craig M. Hansen Three Rivers ResourceAreaManager Bureau ofLand Management Burns DistrictOffice HC 74-12533 Highway20W. Hines, Oregon 97738 Telephone (503) 573-5241 . Table of Contents Page Chapter1 PurposeandNeed Introduction,ThePlanningArea 1-3 PurposeandNeed 1-3 PlanningProcess 1-3 PlanningIssuesandTheirResolution 1-3 IssuesEliminatedfromDetailedStudy 1-7 AnalysisofPublicCommentontheDRMP/DEIS 1-7 PlanningCriteria 1-11 Chapter2. TheProposedPlan Introduction 2-2 ManagementObjectives 2-2 Rationale 2-2 Allocations 2-2 ManagementActions 2-2 ProcedurestoImplement 2-2 MonitoringNeeds 2-2 IndextoProgramPackages 2-3 AirQuality 2-3 WaterQuality 2-4 SoilManagement 2-15 ForestryandWoodlands 2-21 GrazingManagement 2-33 WildHorsesandBurros 2-43 Vegetation 2-51 SpecialStatusSpecies 2-56 WildlifeHabitat 2-66 AquaticHabitat 2-96 FireManagement 2-101 RecreationandWildandScenicRivers 2-107 AreasofCriticalEnvironmentalConcern 2-137 VisualResourceManagement 2-148 CulturalResources 2-152 EnergyandMinerals 2-156 LandsandRealty 2-177 HazardousMaterials 2-199 BiologicalDiversity 2-200 Chapter3. EnvironmentalConsequencesoftheProposedPlan Introduction 3-2 Analysis 3-2 Assumptions 3-2 AirQuality 3-2 WaterQuality 3-2 SoilManagement 3-3 ForestryandWoodlands 3-3 GrazingManagement 3-4 WildHorsesandBurros 3-6 Vegetation 3-7 SpecialStatusSpecies 3-9 WildlifeHabitat 3-9 AquaticHabitat 3-12 FireManagement 3-15 Recreation 3-15 AreasofCriticalEnvironmentalConcern 3-17 VisualResources 3-17 CulturalResources 3-21 EnergyandMinerals 3-22 LandsandRealty 3-23 EconomicConditions 3-25 Chapter4. RevisionstotheDRMP/DEIS Introduction 4-2 TextRevisions 4-2 Chapter5. ConsultationandDistribution Introduction 5-2 PublicInvolvement 5-2 AgenciesandOrganizationsContactedorConsulted 5-2 AgenciesandOrganizationstoWhomCopiesof theProposedRMP/FinalEISHaveBeenSent 5-2 ConsistencyReview 5-4 Protest Procedures 5-4 Chapter6 ListofPreparers,Glossary,andReferences ListofPreparers 6-2 Glossary 6-4 References 6-13 ListofTables Table Title Page Number 51 ComparisonofManagementObjectives xiii 52 ComparisonoftheAlternatives xxii Chapter1 1.1 ResourceManagementPlanningProcess 1-6 Chapter2 2.1 SurfaceWaterQualityandAquaticHabitatConditionandTrend intheResourceArea 2-11 2.2 HeadcutandGullyControlMethods 2-20 2.3 Typical 10-YrTimberSale Plan 2-32 2.4 Part1.OldGrowthPonderosaPineForestStandSelection, LocationandJustification 2-32 Part2.OldGrowthPonderosaPineForestStandLocationsandSizes 2-33 Part3.OldGrowthPonderosaPineForestsStandJustification 2-33 2.5 GrazingManagementManualGuidance 2-42