Coronado National Forest Sierra Vista Ranger District

Transcription

1 United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Coronado National Forest Sierra Vista Ranger District 4070 South Avenida Saracino Hereford, Arizona Phone (520) FAX (520) File Code: 1950/2900 Date: Route To: Subject: To: Decision Memorandum: Renovation of Wild Duck Pond, Brown Canyon Ranch, Huachuca Mountains FILE BACKGROUND Wild Duck Pond is located on the Brown Canyon Ranch, a historic property on the Sierra Vista Ranger District of the Forest just south of Fort Huachuca and Sierra Vista, Arizona (see attached map). The property, located in Section 34, Township 22S, Range 20E (Gila and Salt River Meridian), was built a century ago by a local pioneer family. It includes a ranch house, storeroom, corrals, water system, and two ponds, Wild Duck and House. The most recent owner obtained Brown Canyon Ranch through family gift deeds in 1960 and 1961 and owned it until The ranch is also known as the Barchas Ranch, was acquired by the FS in a land exchange in The federally endangered Chiricahua leopard frog (CLF) (Lithobates [Rana] chiricahuensis) has been observed at Wild Duck and House Ponds on the ranch. A spring-fed pipeline supplies a water system serving the Ranch House and the ponds. It consists of two large storage tanks, an open metal tank, and a combination well and windmill next to the metal tank. Flow from both the spring and well is intermittent, and output unreliable. Over the years, both ponds have been renovated by 1) pipeline placement, 2) spring box replacement, 3) windmill repair, 4) installation of liners in both ponds, 5) sediment removal from ponds, 6) reinstallation of liners and 7) installation of interpretative signs. The Duck Pond liner is once again degraded, leaks, and is raised to the surface in some places because of air pockets underneath it, making it visually unappealing. PROPOSED ACTION Maintenance of Wild Duck Pond requires the removal of the liner and installation of a new liner and geo-textile fabric. Installation techniques will follow guidelines produced by the Center for Wetlands and Stream Restoration (Biebighauser, 2011). In summer 2013, water flow from spring-fed storage tanks will be shut down to allow Wild Duck Pond to drain. At the same time, biologists from the Arizona Game and Fish Department will continuously survey the site for CLF. If CLF are found, they will be relocated to House Pond, approximately 400 feet away. The site will continue to be surveyed until it is confirmed that Wild Duck Pond is unoccupied by CLF. Once the pond is devoid of water, its liner will be removed and a new one installed. First, an excavator will remove the plastic liner and accumulated sediment. The excavator will then re-shape America's Working Forests - Caring Every Day in Every Way Printed on Recycled Paper

2 the basin to the original size, shape, and depth and prepare the bed for the new liner. During the removal of the liner and re-shaping of the pond basin, vegetation in and on the bank of the pond will be damaged or removed. The total acreage of surface disturbance will be within the existing depression of the pond and will not exceed 0.16 acres. None of the permanent vegetation, including several large cottonwood trees, will be damaged by proposed activities. After the basin is prepared, the liner will be installed in three layers. First, a protective layer of 8- ounce geo-textile fabric will be laid in the re contoured basin. Next, a 30-millimeter fish-safe polyvinyl chloride (PVC) liner will be place on top of the geo-textile fabric. Finally, another protective layer of geo-textile fabric will be placed on the top of the PVC liner. All layers will be positioned by hand and all objects that may penetrate the liner (rocks, sticks, etc.) will be removed prior to placement. The three layers will then be pinned to the ground by 12-inch galvanized stakes, 18 inches apart, so that the liner does not rise or bubble up to the surface over time. Once the liner are pinned, the excavator will spread 6 to 8 inches of soil over the liner for added protection and to provide a substrate for aquatic life that return to the pond. The removal of the liner and the installation of the new liner should take one to two days. Immediately after the new liner has been installed, water flow from the spring-fed storage tanks will be restored, and the pond will be refilled. DECISION AND RATIONALE It is my decision to approve the proposed action, as described above. This action may be categorically excluded from further documentation in an environmental impact statement (EIS) or an environmental assessment (EA) because it meets the criteria for the following categorical exclusion: Timber stand and/or wildlife habitat improvement activities that do not include the use of herbicides or do not require more than one mile of low standard road construction, [36 CFR 220.6(e)(6)]. This category is applicable because the installation of a new liner on Wild Duck Pond will increase the water permanency of the site and improve the aquatic wildlife habitat. CONSIDERATION OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES Forest resource specialists confirmed for me that there are no extraordinary circumstances that either individually or cumulatively would cause an adverse effect on resources listed in 36 CFR 220.6(b)(1)(i through vii). Their determinations below validate that the use of this CE is appropriate and support my decision to approve the proposed action. i. Federally listed threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitat, species proposed for Federal listing or proposed critical habitat, or Forest Service sensitive species Determination: The District Biologist has determined, based on recent surveys, that both of the ponds do not have any CLF present. Therefore, there will be no effect on this species. No other listed species and designated critical habitat and species and habitat proposed for listing would be affected. Several other species occur, or are likely to occur in the project site, including Forest Service, Region 3, sensitive species. Because of the nature of the proposed activities and 2

3 ii. the duration of the project, individuals may be incidentally affected, but the viability of sensitive species populations would not. The nearby House Pond provides a refugium for species needing open water and/or aquatic habitat during the period that the Wild Duck Pond refills. After renovation of the pond, all species will benefit from a more stable and permanent water source (Project Record, Item #4). Flood plains, wetlands, or municipal watersheds Determination: The proposed pond renovation will have no effects on municipal water supplies, floodplains or wetlands (Project Record #1). iii. Congressionally designated areas such as wilderness, wilderness study areas, or national recreation areas iv. Inventoried roadless areas or potential wilderness areas v. Research natural areas vi. vii. Determination: The proposed project area is not located in a wilderness, wilderness study area, national recreation area, research natural area, or inventoried roadless area. Therefore, issuing the proposed permit would have no effect on these resources (Project Record #2). American Indians and Alaska Native religious or cultural sites Archaeological sites, or historic properties or areas Determination: The area in question has been previously surveyed for cultural resources, as documented in Heritage Resources Report No No historic properties were identified in the vicinity of the pond or along the old road that leads to it. Subsequent informal surveys by Forest archaeologists continue to support this determination. Given these continued negative findings and provided that project activities (including access and use of heavy equipment) are restricted to the previously disturbed area and the road leading to the pond, no historic properties would be affected by the proposed renovations of the Wild Duck Pond. Furthermore, there are no extraordinary circumstances that may result in adverse effects on American Indian religious and cultural sites. Therefore, no further National Historic Preservation Act review and consultation is required (Project Record #3). PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT In accordance with a March 19, 2012, legal decision in recent U.S. District Court ruling in Sequoia ForestKeeper v. Tidwell, which invalidated certain sections of Forest Service appeal regulations at 36 CFR 215, this DM will be made available to the public for a 30-day comment period, which will be announced by Legal Notice (LN) in the Sierra Vista Herald on May 9, Those individuals and organizations who provide comment or otherwise express interest by the close of the comment period may be eligible to appeal the decision pursuant to regulations at 36 CFR Part 215. This proposed action was listed on a schedule of proposed actions (SOPA) on the Forest s public website. The DM will be posted on the SOPA after I have signed it. 3

4 FINDINGS REQUIRED BY OTHER LAWS AND REGULATIONS National Forest Management Act As required by the National Forest Management Act, the proposed action was reviewed for consistency with the Coronado s Forest Plan (1986, as amended). Management direction for the project area (Management Area 4) is to maintain and improve current habitat for federally listed plant and animal species and work toward delisting (p. 62). Endangered Species Act The Sierra Vista District Biologist determined that the proposed action will have no effect on federally listed threatened or endangered species; designated critical habitat; and species or habitat proposed for Federal listing. National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) The Forest Archaeologist determined that no historic properties will be affected by the proposed action and that consultation with Native American tribes is not required (Project Record #3). ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW AND APPEAL This decision will be available to the public for a 30-day review and comment period, beginning on the day after a LN of the Comment Period is published in the Sierra Vista Herald. Those individuals and organizations that provide comment or otherwise express interest by the close of the comment period may be eligible to appeal the decision pursuant to regulations at 36 CFR 215. Appeals must be submitted in accordance with 36 CFR , , IMPLEMENTATION DATE If no comments are received during the review period, there will be no public appeal period, and a Legal Notice of Decision will be published in the Sierra Vista Herald. The action may be implemented on the date of publication. If comments are received and an appeal period is offered, implementation of this project may begin according to the timeframes specified in 36 CFR 215.9, which are as follows: (a) When no appeal is filed within the 45-day time period, implementation of the decision may begin on, but not before, the 5th business day following the close of the appeal-filing period (215.15). (b) Except for emergency situations [215.10(c)], when an appeal is filed, implementation may occur on, but not before, the 15th business day following the date of appeal disposition (215.2). In the event of multiple appeals of the same decision, the implementation date is controlled by the date of the last appeal disposition. 4

5 POINT OF CONTACT For additional information concerning the proposed action and this decision, contact Mr. John Kraft, Wildlife Biologist, Sierra Vista Ranger District, 4070 S. Avenida Saracino, Hereford, AZ 85615, by phone at (520) or by at MARK J. RUGGIERO District Ranger Attachments: #1 - Watershed Determination #2 - Special Areas Determination #3 - Heritage Determination #4 - Biologist Determination cc: Rachel A Carroll 5