Return
to NCHP Table of Contents
Fishlake
National Forest ORV EIS
Natural
Heritage Emphasis Alternative
·
Key Assumptions
of the Natural Heritage Emphasis Alternative
oORV
routes and uses are indistinguishable from roads in terms of the nature of
their impacts on natural ecosystems and cultural resources:
§Fragmentation,
penetration of key wildlife habitat
§Trampling,
fragmentation of declining or rare native plant populations
§Disturbance
and displacement of wildlife
§Compaction
of soils
§Erosion
of soils
§Sedimentation
of streams
§Disruption
of aquatic habitat
§Introduction,
establishment, and spread of invasive, exotic species (incl. whirling disease
as well as invasive plants)
§Destruction
of streambank, streambed integrity
§Enhanced
access to areas where illegal driving and development of more user-created
routes is difficult or impossible to prevent
§Enhanced
access to wildlife harassment
§Direct
impacts to and enhanced access to vandalism of cultural resources
§Noise,
pollution
§High
impact-area per user/day
oRoadless areas
are key strongholds of native wildlife and habitat.
oORV routes and
uses are land-disturbing activities cumulative with livestock grazing,
tree-cutting, and oil, gas, and mining activities.
oThe cumulative
effects of roads, routes, ORV use and other Forest uses on native, sensitive,
and declining species and the health of their habitat are poorly understood.
oRoadless areas
provide some degree of precaution in the face of insufficient understanding or
monitoring of subtle but significant impacts on native wildlife and habitat.
oCosts of
effectively managing and controlling ORV use are high
§Route
maintenance costs
§Installation
and maintenance of signs
§Installation
and maintenance of effective barriers to closed routes
§Obliteration
of newly-created user routes
§Mitigation
costs
§Restoration
of habitat damaged by illegal ORV use
§Monitoring
for impacts of routes/ORV use
§Enforcement
·
Key Goal:
Protection of Fishlake NF’s Natural Heritage
oOff-road
vehicle routes are designated using specific criteria in accordance
withExecutive Orders 11644 and 11989, including, but not limited to:
·avoid
habitat of threatened, endangered, sensitive and declining plant and
wildlife species habitat
·minimize
soil erosion and water quality degradation
·maintain
and protect wildlife movement corridors
·protect
wildlife migration routes, denning, calving and fawning grounds
·avoid
wildlife harassment or significant disruption of wildlife habitat
·prevent
invasive species introduction, establishment, and spread
·minimize
fragmentation of ecosystems
·protect
meadows, wetlands, riparian areas, and streams
·avoid
cultural resources (both Native American and pioneer)
·minimize
conflicts (including noise and pollution) between off-road vehicle use and
other existing or proposed uses on the Forest or neighboring public lands
·protect
roadless and wilderness areas
·avoid
redundancy
·be
amenable to enforcement
1.Routes
to be closed to ORV travel (Round 1)
§All
classified and unclassified routes proposed for closure by the Fishlake NF
§All
unclassified (and selected classified) routes in:
·The updated
Fishlake NF undeveloped area inventory.
·Critical mule
deer winter areas
·Three
SW ReGAP vegetation types
oRocky
Mountain Alpine-Montane Wet Meadow
oRocky
Mountain Subalpine Mesic Meadow
oRocky
Mountain Dry Tundra
·Within
150 feet of perennial streams, wetlands
·Major
mule deer fawning areas
§Additional
selected routes in UFN/UEC inventoried roadless areas
§Routes
that serve no discernable purpose or destination.
§Routes
that were installed for a project-specific purpose and were not decommissioned
in compliance with NFMA or applicable contracts
§Routes
that are already bermed, re-vegetated, and/or show little or no signs of
construction, maintenance, or use.
§All
cross-country “play” areas
§ORV routes contributing to more than 15 per cent
of total bare ground (i.e., from all vehicle, recreation, and livestock use)
per 200 feet of perennial stream bed.
2.Routes
to be added back in for designation as an ORV route, after eliminating them
via criteria Round 1 (Round 2)
§Major
arterial routes
§Routes
that facilitate a developed destination
§Routes
accessing private land or active mining claims (access for landowner use only;
single user routes would be closed to the public and a special use permit
issued for appropriate use.)
§Routes
facilitating power lines, dams, etc. (access for maintenance only)
§Main
Paiute ORV Route, parts of the Great Western Trail, and specific side-routes
§Arterial
routes facilitating power lines, dams, etc.
§Routes
that serve no purpose other than maintenance of water developments (for
wildlife, livestock or culinary use), power lines, ground return telephone
lines, electronic facilities, gravel pits, gauging stations, sno-tel sites and
other administrative uses shall be open to permitee or agency access only.
(gated OML level 1 administrative closure)
§All
routes proposed for seasonal closure by the Fishlake NF deemed “open” by
this alternative will be subject to the same seasonal closures indicated by
the FS.
·
Key Conditions of
ORV Routes and Uses
oProvisional
designation ORV routes
are only provisionally designated , with future use and/or open
designation conditional upon:
§adequate
Forest enforcement
§monitoring
sufficient to track reasonably likely adverse impacts
§use
of the route as intended
§lack
of illegal route-creation or cross-country use off the designated route
§lack
of unanticipated potential adverse impacts to
·species
of concern and/or native habitat
·other
uses of the Forest.
§lack
of facilitated harm, e.g., to riparian areas by dispersed camping associated
with a designated ORV route; or damage to historic or other cultural
resources accessed primarily by ORVs.
§lack
of unanticipated adverse impacts or user conflicts identified during more
comprehensive, cumulative analysis in the upcoming Forest Plan
oDeclining
species Where evidence
indicates ORV use may be conflicting with reproduction, nesting, or rearing of
native plant or wildlife species of concern, including native species whose
populations and/or habitat are declining, benefit of doubt (precaution) will
be given to the native species rather than seasonal or yearlong continued use
of the route.
oRegistration
legible at 150 feet All ORVs display registration numbers that are legible from 150
feet.
oCitizen
monitoring The Forest will create a format and criteria for citizens to
submit reports of damage that will facilitate their monitoring of illegal
routes and cross country travel, and damage to Forest values such as meadows,
riparian zones, and erodible slopes.
·
Closure of Routes
oThose closed segments of roads and routes that are visible
from points along nearby open roads and routes will be obliterated.
o In areas where re-vegetating is viable, native vegetation will be
planted in the roadbed of obliterated route segments. In areas where
re-vegetating is likely to fail or invite invasive species, vertical coarse
woody debris (“vertical mulching”) will be used to obscure the closed
roads and routes.
oIf obliteration, selective re-vegetation, and/or vertical
mulching are not possible, closed roads and routes will be physically blocked
at the entrance and wherever they intersect open roads, routes, and
non-motorized trails. Where regular administrative access is not needed,
vertical mulching or other natural closure methods will be given preference
over locked gates
