DECISION MEMO MANHATTAN FUELS REDUCTION PROJECT U.S. FOREST SERVICE CANYON LAKES RANGER DISTRICT LARIMER COUNTY, CO

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1 DECISION MEMO MANHATTAN FUELS REDUCTION PROJECT U.S. FOREST SERVICE CANYON LAKES RANGER DISTRICT LARIMER COUNTY, CO Background and Project Description In order to improve forest health and reduce hazardous fuels in the vicinity of Crystal Lakes and Red Feather Lakes, Colo., the Forest Service plans to implement 54 acres of vegetation treatments (see Map 1 and Table 1 below). These areas were previously treated in the Sevenmile project, but significant mortality has occurred since as a result of the mountain pine beetle. These units are adjacent to fuels treatment units planned as part of the Red Feather Fuels Reduction Project and will likely be implemented in 2015 or Treatments will be accomplished using mechanical equipment and forest products would be removed where feasible and appropriate. Table 1. Manhattan CE Proposed Vegetation Treatment Units Unit Dominant Forest Type Prescription Acres 11K Lodgepole Salvage, thin regeneration patches 23 11L Mixed Conifer/Ponderosa Pine Salvage 31 Total 54 ac Decision I have decided to implement the Manhattan Fuels Reduction Project as described above with project design criteria attached in Appendix A. This action is categorically excluded from documentation in an environmental impact statement (EIS) or an environmental assessment (EA) per 36 CFR 220.6(e)(13). This category of action is applicable as it allows salvage of dead and/or dying trees not to exceed 250 acres, as long as no more than ½ mile of temporary road construction is required. I find that there are no extraordinary circumstances that would warrant further analysis and documentation in an EA or EIS. I took into account resource conditions identified in agency procedures that should be considered in determining whether extraordinary circumstances might exist: Federally listed threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitat, species proposed for Federal listing or proposed critical habitat, or Forest Service sensitive species A Biological Evaluation for this project was prepared. Consultation with the USFW was not required as a part of this project because species belonging to the aforementioned designations are not expected to be impacted as a part of this project. Flood plains, wetlands, or municipal watersheds This project is not expected to have substantial negative impacts to flood plains, wetlands or municipal watersheds. There may be short term and small scale additions of sediment downstream from the project during and immediately following the implementation of the fuels reduction project. However, in the long term, erosion at this site is expected to be much less than if no action were taken. Congressionally designated areas such as wilderness, wilderness study areas, or national recreation Page 1 of 6

2 areas The project occurs outside of wilderness areas, wilderness study areas and national recreation areas and will not effect any of these designated areas. Inventoried roadless areas or potential wilderness areas The project will not occur within, nor effect inventoried roadless areas or potential wilderness areas. Research natural areas The project will not occur within research natural areas. American Indians and Alaska Native religious or cultural sites Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act affords lawful protection of archaeological resources and sites that are on public and Indian lands. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act covers the discovery and protection of Native American human remains and objects that are excavated or discovered in federal lands. It encourages avoidance of archaeological sites that contain burials or portions of sites that contain graves through in situ preservation, but may encompass other actions to preserve these remains and items. No such sites have been recorded in the project area and the type of activity is not expected to impact any undiscovered sites. Archaeological sites, or historic properties or areas There are no cultural resources within the project area and there is no potential to directly or indirectly impact cultural resources. The project will have no effects to cultural resources. A negative results report was submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) on October 1, 2014 for this project. The District has no further obligations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, provided that the project area or methods of implementation are not modified. Public Involvement and Collaboration This action was originally listed as a proposal on the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest Schedule of Proposed Actions in June A press release was circulated for the project on December 17, 2014 to a contact list of over 100 local media outlets and partners. At least two local newspapers printed articles about the project. Those interested in the project were asked to contact the project lead for questions or concerns about the project by January 20, No comments or inquiries were received. Findings Required by Other Laws and Regulations This decision is consistent with the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland Land Management Plan. Administrative Review Opportunities This project is exempt from pre-decisional objections per 36 CFR 215.4(a) - actions not subject to legal notice and opportunity to comment. Implementation Date Implementation of this project can be carried out following signature of this document and is expected to occur as early as May Page 2 of 6

3 For additional information concerning this decision, contact: Nehalem Clark, Environmental Planner, Canyon Lakes Ranger District, phone: , /s/ Kevin W. Atchley March 2, 2015 Kevin W. Atchley Date District Ranger The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C , or call (800) (voice) or (202) (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Page 3 of 6

4 Map 1. Manhattan Project treatment units 11K and 11L Page 1 of 6

5 Appendix A. Manhattan Design Criteria. With the exception of the design criteria listed below, design criteria for the Red Feather Project EA will be followed for this project. Fuels 1. Consult Fuels Specialist during contract preparation for current maximum pile size and pile separation requirements as regulated by the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division. 2. Piles shall be constructed in a manner to minimize large air spaces and dirt within the piles. Piles shall not have material extending more than 4 feet in any direction beyond the pile perimeter and a minimum of 4 feet of separation from pile perimeter to surrounding down woody material to reduce unwanted fire spread. 3. Construct a minimum of a 6 foot wide control line, down to bare mineral soil, around each machine pile to create separation between piled material and surrounding slash mat. If piles are grouped, a single control line may be placed around the entire group rather than around individual piles. The scraped material must be moved outward to avoid a berm adjacent to the piles edge. 4. In hand units, pile all sound existing and/or created slash material, 1 to 6 diameter and 2 feet or longer. Alternatively, any slash that must be moved more than 50 feet to meet minimum required pile size may be lopped and scattered to a maximum depth of 18 inches. 5. Jackstrawed bole wood, created by treatment, 6 inches in diameter or greater and left in the unit must be scattered and be in contact with the ground. Individual boles of 6 inches or greater can be left unbucked. 6. Locate machine piles a minimum of 150 feet and hand piles a minimum of 50 feet from any infrastructure or private property boundary. 7. In machine units: a. Whole tree logging and/or piling within the unit is required. b. Slash take back is only allowed in areas adversely impacted or designated by the Soil Scientist/Hydrologist, for soil stabilization, and to a maximum depth of 18 inches. 8. All activity slash material, 1 to 6 diameter, must be reasonably gathered and placed into piles. If more than 50% of a treatment unit has continuous slash depth greater than 6 inches after initial treatment, additional piling is required. Soils/Hydrology 9. Retain effective ground cover to prevent accelerated on-site soil loss and sediment delivery to streams according to the appropriate slope gradient ranges in a unit as follows: Slope Gradient Range % Ground Cover to Retain 0-25% % % 50 >75% Retain effective ground cover according to the amount of disturbance; in general cutting area retain an average of 40 % ground cover. In more disturbed areas (i.e. skid trails, landings, temporary roads, and all areas with heavy equipment traffic) retain an average ground cover (slash) of 50 to 60%, higher percent in areas of more than 35% slope and even size material distribution (fine and woody debris or upon soil scientist consultation). Slash left on disturbed areas should have a minimum 12 inch depth up to 18 inches deep. Page 1 of 6

6 Recreation 11. Implementation schedules for vegetation treatment activities will be provided to the District Recreation Program Manager for coordination with Visitor Information Services and outfitter and guide permittees. 12. Obliterate any existing or new unauthorized roads, trails and access routes within the project area that are more than 300 feet from a Forest Service road. 13. Dispersed campsites located in or adjacent to vegetation treatment units shall be protected and restored to original condition, as directed by the Recreation Staff. Wildlife 14. At a minimum, retain an average of 3 snags per acre within all treatment units. Snags may be retained in a mix of both clumps and individuals. Criteria for snag selection will be specified in the silviculture prescription with emphasis on retaining the largest diameter snags present. If the minimum number of snags is not available, then live, green replacement trees will be selected for future snags and, again, should be the largest trees available. Page 2 of 6