Notice of Proposed Action Opportunity to Provide Scoping Comments Hungry Creek Watershed Road Maintenance and Stony Quarry Development Mt. Hough Ranger District Plumas National Forest Plumas County, California Figure 1. Culvert outlet on Forest Road 27N07 creating bank erosion (Photo Credit: USDA Forest Service)
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Introduction We, (the USDA Forest Service, Plumas National Forest, Mt. Hough Ranger District) are proposing the Hungry Creek Watershed Road Maintenance and Stony Quarry Development Project. The purpose of the Hungry Creek Watershed Road Maintenance and Stony Development Project is to conduct road maintenance and improve road drainage structures in the watershed. We encourage interested persons, state and local governments, and tribes to participate now and throughout the development of this project. See the project cover letter for details about how you can comment on this project. Project Location The project area includes the Hungry Creek Drainage on the Mt. Hough Ranger District and the Stony Quarry site is on the Beckworth Ranger District. The Hungry Creek drainage lies south and west of Antelope Lake and Forest Primary Route 172. The major roads and travel ways in the project area include Primary Forest Route 172, the 27N09 road, and the Antelope Lake/Taylor Lake Trail and Cold Stream Trail. The proposed activities are located in sections 1, 2, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 of T26N, R11E; sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, and 18 of T26N, R12E; sections 13, 14, 15, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35, and 36 of T27N, R11E; and sections 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33 of T27N, R12E, MDBM. The Stony Quarry is located on 26N16A spur road in an area commonly referred to as Doyle Crossing near Johnson Hill, just south of the old Laufman Ranger Station. Primary Forest Route 176 also called the 28N03 road is the main Forest access road through the area. Stony Quarry is located in sections 11 of T26N, R13E, MDBM. Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4 display the locations of the proposed activities. Purpose and Need for Action In July 2007, the Antelope Complex Fire burned approximately 23,000 acres, over 13,000 acres of which experienced high fire severity. Two months later in September of 2007, the Moonlight Fire burned adjacent and into the Antelope Complex Fire area resulting in an additional 65,000 acres burned; 37,000 acres of which experienced high severity. After the areas burned seasonal flooding and the incidental sediment transport from spring runoff increased due to unusual amounts of rainfall and snow. Consequently, the effects of these fires and the resulting flooding damaged Hungry Creek Watershed roads and resulted in increased sedimentation throughout the project area. The Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station and Utah State University conducted a geomorphic road analysis and inventory study (the study) in the Moonlight Fire area in 2015. The study looked at how soil sediments from roads and specific features of roads, such as stream crossings and drainage ditches, impacted streams and watersheds in the Moonlight Fire area. The study data was also used to locate specific drain points causing sedimentation problems which could be corrected or improved by management activities. Less than 5 percent of the drain points in the study area resulted in 90 percent of the sediment delivered to hydrologic features (USDA Forest Service 2015). We need to conduct maintenance activities on the transportation system to decrease the likelihood of sediment reaching live streams and watercourses from identified drain points in the geomorphic road analysis and inventory study and other sources. The purpose of the Hungry Creek Watershed Road Maintenance and Stony Development Project is to improve road drainage structures in the watershed. This would help us reduce the kind of damage caused 1
by the flooding that followed the Moonlight Fire, and create a more sustainable transportation network that minimizes adverse impacts to water and soil quality, and terrestrial and aquatic habitat. Proposed Action This project includes general maintenance and road improvement activities on the following National Forest System roads in the Hungry Creek Watershed: 27N06; 26N54B; 27N09; 27N10; 27N07; 26N54; 26N54B1; 27N45; 27N09C; 27N56D; 26N54; 27N56. We would improve approximately 40 miles of National Forest System roads. Maintenance activities would include: adding new drainage features, out-sloping the road bed, filling in ditches, cleaning existing ditches, adding gravel to the road surface, installing larger culverts, cleaning existing culverts and catch basins, constructing rolling dips, constructing diversion potential dips, armoring slopes with riprap, and reshaping the road bed to eliminate ruts caused by water runoff. These maintenance activities should decrease sedimentation and increase overall drainage function throughout the project area. We are also proposing additional activities, consisting of: Decommissioning two short non-system road spurs off of forest route 27N09. These roads are located along Hungry Creek and are contributing sediment to Hungry Creek, a perennial stream. Developing Stony Quarry to provide crushed aggregate for roadbed surfacing. Development would involve drilling, blasting with explosives, and sorting and crushing of material. We estimate that approximately 20,000 cubic yards of crushed aggregate would be produced. Next Steps The Mount Hough District Ranger is the Responsible Official. The project fits within a category of activities that is excluded from review in an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement per 36 CFR 220.6(e)(18, 19, and 20) and 36 CFR 220.6(d)(4). Upon review of the proposal and public comments, our Responsible Official will determine if there are extraordinary circumstances or potential significant environmental effects. At this time, we anticipate that these determinations will be documented in a Decision Memorandum and distributed to interested parties. 2
References Cited USDA Forest Service 2015. Moonlight fire GRAIP watershed roads assessment Light Creek and Indian Creek, Plumas National Forest, CA. Prepared by Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station 2015. 85pp. 3
Figure 2. Hungry Creek Watershed Road Maintenance and Stony Quarry Development Project vicinity map 4
Figure 3. Hungry Creek Watershed road maintenance map 5
Figure 4. Stony quarry development map 6