Wells resource management plan : draft elk amendment and environmental assessment

76 Pages·1994·15.9 MB·English

by  Lister, Raymond G

nitedStatesDepartmentofInterior
BureauofLandManagement
ElkoDistrict
WellsResourceArea,Elko,NV July1994
Wells Resource Management Plan
IMAFIT
Elk Amendment
and
Environmental Assessment
BLMLIBRARY
SC-653,BLDQ.§0
DENVERFEDERALCENTER
F.0.BOX25047
DENVER,CO 80225-0047
MISS/ONSTATEMENT
TheBureauofLandManagementisresponsibleforthestewardshipofourpubliclands.Itiscommittedto
manage,protect,andimprovetheselandsinamannertoservetheneedsoftheAmericanpeopleforall
times.Managementisbasedupontheprinciplesofmultipleuseandsustainedyieldofournation'sresources
withinaframeworkofenvironmentalresponsibilityandscientifictechnology. Theseresourcesinclude
recreation,rangelands,timber,minerals,watershed,fishandwildlife,wilderness,airandscenic,scientific
andculturalvalues.
BLM/EL/PL-94/018+1610
-\;> ' '
INREPLYREFERTO:
United States Department of the Interior i610(wel-e)
BUREAU OF LANDMANAGEMENT (NV-930.1)
NEVADA STATE OFFICE
850HarvardWay
P.O.Box12000
Reno,Nevada89520
July22,1994
DearReader:
EnclosedforyourreviewandcommentistheWellsResourceManagementPlan(RMP)DraftElk
AmendmentandEnvironmentalAssessment(EA). Thisamendmentanalyzestheimpactsof
severalalternativesformanagingelkintheWellsResourceArea,ElkoDistrictoftheBureauof
LandManagement(BLM).
Yourcommentsareneededatthistimetoensurethatyourconcernshavebeenconsideredin
thisplanningandenvironmentalprocess. Pleasedirectallwrittencommentsto:BureauofLand
Management,Attention:WellsAreaManager,3900EastIdahoStreet,P.O.Box831,Elko,
Nevada89801.
Apublic"OpenHouse"meetingtoanswerquestionswillbeheldonAugust18,1994atthe
WellsHighSchoolAuditorium,115LakeStreet,Wells,Nevada. Thismeetingwillbeginat
7p.m.,localtime.
Ifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasecontactBillBaker,WellsAreaManager,attheaboveaddress
ortelephone(702)753-0200. Allcommentspertainingtothescopeofthisamendmentwillbe
usedtohelpuspreparetheWellsRMPProposedElkAmendmentandFinalEA. Thisfuture
documentwillbepublishedandsenttoallinterestedandaffectedparties.
Itisimportanttonotethatthe30daycommentperiodonthisDraftdocumentwillendon
August31,1994. Allwrittencommentsmustbepostmarkedonorbeforethisdatetobe
consideredintheproposedplanamendmentandfinalEA.
Sincerely,
s$H $>0 f^$ RonaldB.Wenker
ActingStateDirector,Nevada
<$&
'&*

COVER SHEET
WELLSRESOURCEMANAGEMENTPLAN
ELKAMENDMENTANDENVIRONMENTALASSESSMENT
(X)DraftAmendment ()SupplementalDraftAmendment
LeadAgency: U.S.DepartmentoftheInterior
BureauofLandManagement
CooperatingAgencies: None
ProjectLocation: ElkoCounty,Nevada
ForFurtherInformationContact: BillBaker,WellsAreaManager
Telephone[phone]
DirectCorrespondenceto: BureauofLandManagement
Attn:WellsAreaManager
3900E.IdahoStreet
P.O.Box831
Elko,NV89803
Abstract: The Wells Resource Management Plan Draft Elk Amendment and Environmental
Assessmentoutlinesandanalyzesfivealternativesforthemanagementofelkonpublic
landsintheWellsResourceArea,ElkoDistrictoftheBureauofLandManagement.
Thepreparationofthisdocumentwascoordinatedwithnumerousindividuals,private
landowners,andaTaskForceGroup,whichincludesrepresentativesfromresource
managementagencies,specialinterestgroups,andElkoCountyGovernment.
DateDraftAmendmentIssued: July25,1994
DateCommentsmustbePostmarked: August31,1994
ResponsibleOfficialforAmendment:
July22,1994
RonaldB.Wenker Date
ActingStateDirector,Nevada

TABLEOFCONTENTS
Paae
I. PurposeAndNeed
Introduction 1
Location 2
PlanningProcess 2
Scoping 2
PlanningIssues 3
PlanningCriteria 3
II. Alternatives,IncludingThePreferredAlternative
Alternative1-NoAction 8
Alternative2-LimitedGrowth(1,000elk) 9
Alternative3-PreferredAlternative(2,200elk) 14
Alternative4-ModerateDensity(3,500elk) 15
Alternative5-HighDensity(4,800elk) 16
Alternative6-MaximumElkDensity(12,868elk) 16
Alternative7-LimitedGrowthNorthofI-80(800elk) 18
III. AffectedEnvironment
TerrestrialWildlifeHabitat 20
Vegetation 22
LivestockGrazing 22
WildHorses 23
Water 23
Riparian/StreamHabitat 25
Lands 25
Recreation 25
VisualResources 25
EconomicConditions 26
Population 26
IncomeandEmployment 26
PublicAttitudes 29
IV. EnvironmentalConsequences
Alternative1-NoAction 30
Alternative2-LimitedGrowth(1,000elk) 34
Alternative3-PreferredAlternative(2,200elk) 38
Alternative4-ModerateDensity(3,500elk) 41
Alternative5-HighDensity(4,800elk) 44
CumulativeImpacts 47
MonitoringNeeds 47
V. ConsultationandCoordination
Persons,Groups,andAgenciesConsulted 47
ListofPreparers 48
ListofReviewers 48
TABLEOFCONTENTS(Cont.)
Page
ListOfMaps
Map1 GeneralLocationMap 5
Map2 ExistingManagementAreasandPresentlyOccupiedAreas 6
Map3 TaskForceBoundary 7
Map4 ProposedElkManagementAreas 11
Map5 WildHorseHerdManagementAreas 24
ListOfTables
Table1 ReasonableandExistingNumbers 10
Table2 ElkManagementAreaDescriptions 10
Table3 AcresofModerate-HighPotentialElkHabitat 14
Table4 PrivateLandAdjustmentCriteria 14
Table5 ExistingandTargetElkPopulationLevelsbyAlternative 17
Table6 SummaryofResourceIssues 19
Table7 ElkDensitiesforLow,Moderate,andHighPotentialHabitats 20
Table8 PotentialElkHabitatsWithintheWellsResourceArea 20
Table9 PilotMountainKeyForageUseLevels 21
Table10 RangeConditionintheWellsResourceArea 22
Table11 WildHorseHerdManagementAreasInitialHerdSizes 23
Table12ElkoCountyTotalIncomeandEmployment-1991 27
ListOfAppendices
AppendixA Adjudication,LandUsePlanning,Monitoring
AppendixB ManagementDeterminationandImpactAnalysisSummary
AppendixC EstimatedElkPopulationGrowthModel
AppendixD ElkAvailableForageAnalysis
AppendixE NevadaDivisionofWildlifeElkManagementSummary
WELLS RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN
DRAFT
ELK AMENDMENT
and
ENVIRONMENTALASSESSMENT
PURPOSEANDNEED
I.
Thepurposeofthisamendmentistoestablishelkhabitatmanagementareas,identifyhabitat
requirementsandspecificmanagementobjectivesandpractices,establishtargetelkpopulation
managementlevels,developfactorsforattainmentandfutureadjustmentsinelkpopulation
managementlevels,andidentifyconstraintsonotherresourceswithintheWellsResourceArea
(WRA).
Introduction:
ThroughareviewofelkhabitatmanagementintheWRA,itwasdeterminedthatelknumbers
andhabitatuseareasareexpandingfromthoseidentifiedintheWellsResourceManagement
Plan (RMP) Record of Decision (ROD) signed July 16, 1985. Elk habitat management
objectiveswereidentifiedforthePilotandJarbidgeMountainareasintheWellsRMP. Atthat
time,Jarbidgewasidentifiedasafuturemanagementarea. Elkwerereestablishedinthe
JarbidgeMountainsinJanuary,1990. TheJarbidgeelkherdhasremainedwithinidentified
managementareasonElkoBLMandadjacentHumboldtNationalForestadministeredpublic
lands. However,elkarerecognizedashighlyadaptablecreaturesandduringrecentyearshave
"pioneered" adjacentpreviouslyunoccupied habitatsintheWRAfromthe PilotMountain
ManagementArea,northwesternUtahandsouthernIdaho.
A policy statement issued bythe State of Nevada Board ofWildlife Commissioners on
December6,1988identifiedPilotMountainastheonlyestablishedelkpopulationintheWRA.
Thispolicystatementrecognizedthatelkwerepioneeringintoadjacenthabitats,however,no
evidence existed to indicatethese pioneeringelkhaveestablished permanentpopulations
outsidethePilotMountainManagementArea.
In1990,theNevadaDivisionofWildlife(NDOW)identifiedestablishedelkpopulationsonPilot
Mountain as well as the Crittenden/Goose Creek, Murdock Mountain, and 10-Mile/Black
Mountainareas. TheNDOWidentifiedthesepopulationsoutsidePilotMountainasbeing
establishedbecausetheyhavemaintainedabreedingnucleusofanimalsforthepast4-8years,
arecommonlysightedthroughouttheyearanddonotappeartomigratetoPilotMountainor
tootherareasseasonally. Becauseofsocialbehaviorandhighadaptabilitytoavailablehabitat
types,elkhavemorerecentlybeenpioneeringoutsidethesemanagementareasaswellas
immigratingintotheresourcearea. ElkhavebeensightedintheSnakeRange,EastHumboldt
Range,SouthRubyRange,SpruceMountain,PequopMountains,andCherryCreekRange.
Becauseofthegrowingconcernforexpandingelknumbersintheresourceareaandtheir
potential impactto attainment ofexisting multiple use objectives identified in the Wells
RMP/ROD,thedecisionwasmadebytheNevadaStateDirectortoaddressthisissuethrough
amendmentoftheRMP.
Location:
TheWRAislocatedinthenortheastcornerofNevadaandencompassesapproximatelythe
easthalfofElkoCounty(seemap1). Itcontains5.7millionacresofwhich4.3millionare
publiclandsadministeredbytheBureauofLandManagement(BLM). Thetwoexistingelk
managementareas(JarbidgeandPilot),presentlyoccupiedhabitats,andhabitatpotentials
withintheWRAareshownonMap2.
PlanningProcess:
Thelanduseplanningprocess,asmandatedbytheFederalLandPolicyandManagementAct
(FLPMA)of1976,isdesignedtoenableBLMtoaddresstheissuesandconcernsofthepublic
inoutliningthemanagementofthepubliclandswithinlogicalplanningareas. Thisprocess
involvesninebasicplanningsteps. Theyare:1)IdentificationofIssues;2)Developmentof
PlanningCriteria;3)InventoryandDataCollection;4)AnalysisoftheManagementSituation;
5)FormulationofAlternatives;6)EstimationofEffectsofAlternatives;7)Selectionofthe
PreferredAlternative;8)SelectionoftheProposedPlan;and9)MonitoringandEvaluation.
Thisdraft amendment andenvironmental assessmentaddressesstep 1 through 7ofthe
planning process. After publiccomments are received on the draftelkamendment and
environmentalassessment,step8willbeinitiatedifamanagementalternativeotherthan"No
Action" isselected asthe proposedplanfromthe managementalternatives presented in
ChapterII. TheProposedPlan,aswellasa"Finding"onthesignificanceoftheactionwillbe
madeavailableforpublicreviewduringa30dayprotestperiod. Uponresolutionofany
protestsa planamendment willbeapprovedandadecisionrecordwillbepublishedand
providedtoallindividualsthatparticipatedintheprocess. Finally,step9,Monitoringand
Evaluation of the plan amendment will be conducted, as are all aspects of resource
managementplans,todetermineiffurthermodificationsareneeded.
Foradditional information, refertotheWells RMP/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
ThesedocumentsareavailableattheBLMElkoDistrictOffice.
Scoping:
ElkmanagementdecisionsintheWRAcouldhaveimpactsonadjacentprivateandpubliclands
withinthetri-stateregionofNevada-Utah-Idaho. Conversely,elkmanagementdecisionson
publiclandsinadjoiningstatescouldhaveimpactsonprivateandpubliclandswithintheWRA.
Therefore,aregionalapproachwasfeltappropriateinaddressingtheissueofpioneeringelk.
A regionalapproach willalso allowforcontinuitywith adjacent public land management
agenciesinfuturelanduseplanningefforts. Therefore,ataskforceconsistingofresource
managementagencypersonnel,landownersandspecialinterestgroupswithinthetri-state
area(Map3)wasformulatedtoprovideforthiscontinuity. Thetaskforcewasutilizedto
formulateplanningissues,identifythescopeofenvironmentalanalysis,identifymanagement
alternativestobeconsidered,andprovidebaselineinformation.
With inputfrom the task force, a scoping document was prepared which included the
managementissue,managementobjectives,preliminaryplanningcriteria,andalternatives.