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Wilderness Management Forest Plan Amendments

USDA Forest Service

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

August 2015

Introduction The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is proposing to amend the Humboldt and Toiyabe Forest Plans and will be completing a NEPA analysis on the proposed action in the coming months. These amendments would include specific standards and guidelines for management of four wilderness areas The areas affected by the proposed amendment are four wilderness areas: the Arc Dome, Alta Toquima and the Table Mountain Wildernesses, located on the Austin-Tonopah Ranger Districts and managed under the Toiyabe Forest Plan, and the Santa Rosa-Paradise Peak Wilderness, located on the Santa Rosa Ranger District and managed under the Humboldt Forest Plan. All are located in central and eastern Nevada. Proposed standards and guidelines would apply only to land managed by the Forest Service.

Background The Toiyabe National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (1986) for the three USFS wilderness areas that were designated on the Austin-Tonopah Ranger Districts in 1989 (Arc Dome, Alta Toquima and Table Mountain), and the existing management direction found in the Humboldt National Forest Land & Resource Management Plan (1986) for the Santa Rosa-Paradise Peak Wilderness designated in 1989 provide general direction for management of these areas. This project would amend that general direction with additional direction applicable to all four wildernesses and specific direction applicable to individual areas.

Purpose and Need Current Land and Resource Management Plan direction is adequate but does not contain specific standards and guidelines to ensure the USFS is meeting the mandate of preserving wilderness character intended in the 1964 Wilderness Act (the Act). The purpose of this proposal is to establish management direction that focuses on preserving wilderness character for all four wilderness areas under a policy of non-degradation. There is a need to provide more specific standards and guidelines to protect and enhance wilderness character as well as provide quality recreational experiences for visitors.

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The Proposed Action The following definitions may be helpful when reading on this document.

Desired condition: Description of specific social, economic, and/or ecological characteristics of the plan area, or a portion of the plan area, toward which management of the land and resources should be directed, described in terms that are specific enough to allow progress toward their achievement to be determined, but do not include completion dates.

Objective: An objective is a concise, measureable, and time-specific statement of a desired rate of progress toward a desired condition or conditions. Objectives should be based on reasonably foreseeable budgets.

Standard: A mandatory constraint on project and activity decision making, established to help achieve or maintain the desired condition or conditions, to avoid or mitigate undesirable effects, or to meet applicable legal requirements.

Guideline: A constraint on project and activity decision making that allows for departure from its terms, so long as the purpose of the guideline is met. Guidelines are established to help achieve or maintain a desired condition or conditions, to avoid or mitigate undesirable effects, or to meet applicable legal requirements.

The proposed action includes the following desired conditions, standards and guidelines:

WILDERNESS MANAGEMENT DESIRED CONDITIONS

The natural condition, opportunities for solitude, opportunities for primitive and unconfined types of recreation, and any ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or cultural and historic values present in these wilderness areas are being managed so that they are not impaired.

The wilderness areas are managed for the use and enjoyment of visitors in a manner that leaves the areas unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness.

The wilderness resource is dominant in all management decisions. Preservation of wilderness character is the paramount management concern for these areas.

Minimum tools, equipment, structures, or methods are used to successfully and safely accomplish work while preserving wilderness character.

Management of Special Provisions, as allowed under the Act, prevents unnecessary and undue degradation of the areas’ wilderness character.

Desired Conditions Specific to Wilderness Character:

Managers preserve the untrammeled quality of wilderness character by refraining from the deliberate manipulation or management of wilderness resources except as necessary to promote another quality of wilderness character, to preserve human life, or to accommodate other activities in compliance with applicable laws.

The natural quality of wilderness character is preserved through the thoughtful restoration and / or maintenance of natural processes and features while archaeological, historical

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and ethnographic sites are managed in a manner that is compatible with wilderness and historic preservation laws.

The outstanding archaeological and historic resources of these wilderness areas are protected and preserved while allowing for visitor enjoyment of these resources.

The undeveloped quality of wilderness character is preserved and enhanced by judicious review and, where appropriate, removal of nonconforming and/or unnecessary installations.

Outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation are provided as long as such visitor uses can be offered without degradation of significant natural and cultural resource values.

Visitors with diverse backgrounds and capabilities have opportunities to use and enjoy wilderness.

Visitors have opportunities to experience solitude, a state of being alone or feeling remote from society, although these opportunities could vary by location and time. In WOC 1, generally visitors encounter less than two parties per day.

Visitors have opportunities to participate in a variety of primitive recreation activities, characterized by non-motorized, non-mechanical travel and reliance on personal skill; primitive recreation activities would be managed to preserve other wilderness character qualities.

Visitors have opportunities to recreate in an unconfined, self-directed manner, subject only to those regulations that are necessary to preserve wilderness character.

Visitor use and enjoyment of wilderness would be promoted while ensuring the preservation of wilderness character.

Visitors have the opportunity to choose camping locations, except in areas where camping would result in unacceptable impacts.

Visitors have opportunities to travel with stock, from day rides to multi-day trips, in a manner that is compatible with the protection of wilderness character.

WILDERNESS OPPORTUNITY CLASS DESCRIPTIONS

WOC 1

The area is characterized as an extensive, unmodified, natural environment. Natural processes and conditions have not been measurably affected by the actions of users. The area will be managed as free as possible from the influences of human activity. Terrain and vegetation allow extensive and challenging cross-country travel. This area provides the most outstanding opportunity for isolation, solitude, risk, and challenge. Encounters with other visitors will be infrequent. There shall be no system trails in this class. Destination points will be accessed only by cross-country travel. Areas in this class are of sufficient size to assure a remote experience away from sights or sounds of human activity. This area offers outstanding chances for isolation and solitude. Because of steep

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and rugged topography most recreational activities are difficult. No trails exist, and the natural environment is unmodified. Restoration may be necessary in some places.

WOC 2

The area is characterized by an essentially unmodified, natural environment. Concentrations of visitors are low and evidence of human use is minimal. The area has high opportunity for isolation, solitude, exploration, risk, and challenge. This class receives very low visitor use due to low density of system trails and difficult terrain. This class provides the user outstanding opportunities for cross-country travel, utilizing a high degree of outdoor skills often in an environment that offers a high degree of challenge and risk. Challenging terrain characterizes this region. While trails may exist, they are minimally maintained. Users experience high opportunities for isolation from sights and sounds of others. The natural environment is essentially unmodified.

WOC 3

The area is characterized by a predominantly unmodified environment of at least moderate size. System trails and campsites are present and there is evidence of other uses. A minimum of on-site controls and restrictions are implemented to protect physical, biological, and social resources. Some facilities may be present to reduce visitor impact. This class extends at least 500 feet on both sides of trail corridors, but may be wider around streams, in drainage basins, and heavily used areas where the sights and sounds of people are noticed at greater distances. A moderate to high degree of opportunity exists in this class for exploring and experiencing isolation from the sights and sounds of civilization. The environment offers a moderate to high degree of challenge and risk. In these locations there are moderate opportunities for experiencing isolation. Visitors can encounter maintained trails and territory suited to moderate to difficult recreation activities. The natural environment may be modified slightly.

STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES BY WILDERNESS OPPORTUNITY CLASS (WOC):

Objective: By 2020 75% or more of all known, documented campsites shall meet the desired condition class standards.

WOC 1

Standard: New visitor developed campsites shall not be allowed to become established. When found, fire rings, tent frames or other user created developments shall be disassembled and dispersed.

Standard: Campsites shall not have a condition rating of greater than 1. 1

Standard: The impacted area at any campsite shall not exceed 100 square feet.

1 “Condition Class” is a metric determined from the campsite inventory process used by the Forest in these wilderness areas. Evaluators determine mineral soil exposure, vegetation loss, tree damage, root exposure, etc. Sites with a rating of 1 are generally recognizable as a campsite, but with minor impact to the surrounding area.

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WOC 2

Standard: Campsites in WOC 2 shall not have a condition rating of greater than 2.

Standard: The impacted area at any campsite shall not exceed 250 square feet.

WOC 3

Standard: The impacted area at any campsite shall not exceed 500 square feet.

Standard: All campsites shall be managed to have a condition rating of no greater than 3.

OBJECTIVES, STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES APPLICABLE TO ALL WILDERNESS OPPORTUNITY CLASSES AND ALL FOUR WILDERNESS AREAS:

Outfitter-Guide Permits

Standard: Outfitter camps shall not be located in areas classified as WOC 1.

Standard: Outfitter and guides shall provide map coordinates (UTM, Lat/Long/1:24,000 USGS quad maps) indicating the location of camps utilized by them within wilderness.

Standard: Outfitter and guide permittees shall actively assist in the education of wilderness visitors, within the scope of their operations.

Standard: Other than incidental grazing or browsing, riding and pack stock animals shall only be fed with packed-in, certified weed-free feed (Order Number: 04-00-097 Weed Free Feed Closure Order 2003).

Guideline: Outfitter-guide operations should adhere to established party size limitations. Any deviation from party size limitations must be documented in the annual operating plan and approved by the District Ranger.

Guideline: Outfitter camps should be located outside of wilderness whenever possible or in WOC 2 or WOC 3 if they are needed in wilderness.

Cultural Resources:

Standard: Trail maintenance work that crosses cultural resource sites shall be confined to the existing trail treads.

Standard: Material from cultural resource sites shall not be used as fill or construction material during trail maintenance activities.

Standard: Heritage resources and cultural history shall be interpreted outside of Wilderness.

Standard: If an archeological site determined eligible or potentially eligible for inclusion on the NRHP is found at a campsite or recreational use site, and there is a potential for an adverse effect to the site, the campsite shall be closed and recreational use ended.

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Guideline: Structures that do not meet the criteria for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) may be removed by a practical method compatible with the Wilderness Act or allowed to deteriorate naturally.

Fish and Wildlife Management:

Standard: Goats or Llamas shall not be allowed in the wilderness areas that have Bighorn Sheep populations or habitat.

Standard: Wildlife transplants (i.e. removal, augmentation, or reintroduction of wildlife species) shall be permitted if judged necessary to perpetuate or recover a threatened or endangered species or to restore populations of native (including sensitive) species eliminated or reduced by human influence or natural causes such as disease outbreaks. Standard: Entry into wilderness using motorized or mechanized means for wildlife management activities, including wildlife relocation or capture, or wildlife research, shall be allowed only if deemed necessary by an MRA. Approval must be made by the Region 4 Regional Forester (FSM 2326.04b).

Standard: Stocking of fish shall be restricted to waters stocked prior to wilderness designation.

Standard: Stocking shall be eliminated where potential conflicts could occur with native aquatic species or where agreement is reached between cooperating agencies on a management change.

Standard: Aerial stocking shall be permitted only in waters previously stocked by aircraft prior to wilderness designation.

Standard: Reintroduction or supplemental transplanting of native fish species shall be permitted only when analysis shows that:

a. Threatened and endangered (TES) species will not be adversely affected;

b. Populations of native species reduced or eliminated by human activity will be restored.

Guideline: Wildlife water developments may be authorized if the structures and facilities will enhance wilderness values by promoting healthy, viable, and more naturally distributed wildlife populations.

Guideline: Salting, supplemental minerals and nutrients, or supplemental watering or feeding of wildlife should be avoided except for extreme circumstances involving species of conservation concern and only after a MRA is completed.

Guideline: Ground based management of wild horses, burros and trespass cattle may be allowed using non-motorized means.

Recreation:

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Objective: By 2020, all trails are managed to maintain a balanced spectrum of travel opportunities in accordance with Wilderness Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (WROS; WOC) zone criteria, trail objectives, mode of travel, and destinations.

Objective: By 2020, trails no longer needed or no longer compatible with WOC objectives are at as near a natural state as possible.

Standard: Party size for all visitors, including outfitter-guides, shall not exceed 12 people and 8 livestock.

Standard: Campsites contributing to increased sedimentation or adverse effects to the water quality of a stream shall be closed until impacts can be addressed.

Standard: No campsites shall be located in Research Natural Areas (RNAs). Existing campsites shall be removed or restored when found.

Standard: Trails shall be maintained to prevent resource damage, reduce maintenance costs, and reduce social impacts.

Guideline: Information may be provided at trailheads, where needed, to facilitate minimum signing within wilderness. Signs shall be present within Wilderness in very rare cases, for resource protection only.

Guideline: Campsites should be located far enough from water sources to ensure that repeated and continuous use does not result in increased sedimentation or adverse effects to water quality.

Guideline: Trails should be removed from the system or rerouted when concerns are identified, such as limited or no use, a catastrophic natural event, or unmitigatable resource impacts.

Guideline: When appropriate and where possible, new user-created trails may be rehabilitated or retained.

Fire Management:

Standard: Prescribed fire or mechanical treatments, after analysis in an MRA, shall be allowed to restore wilderness character if there are deviations from natural conditions.

Standard: Restoration of burned areas shall be allowed within wilderness if necessary to protect wilderness character and when compatible with management objectives.

Standard: Human caused wildfires shall receive a suppression oriented initial response with an emphasis on firefighter and public safety.

Standard: Naturally occurring wildfires shall be permitted to play, as nearly as possible, their natural ecological role in wilderness.

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Standard: An appropriate suppression response shall be made on all wildfires as outlined in the C3 program (C3 = Confine, Contain, Control) HNF L&RMP Amendment #1 June 21, 1990.

Standard: If a human caused wildfire exceeds the initial response actions, a Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS) decision shall determine further management response to the incident.

Guideline: Naturally occurring wildfires in these wilderness areas should be managed, whenever possible, under less than a full suppression strategy as analyzed and approved in a WFDSS decision and for as long as the stated incident objectives are being met.

Guideline: Protection and expenditures should be commensurate with the Values at Risk.

Guideline: Allow naturally occurring fire whenever possible to improve ecological condition of the wilderness areas.

Recreational Livestock Grazing:

Standard: Other than incidental grazing or browsing, riding and pack stock animals shall only be fed with packed-in, certified weed-free feed (Order Number: 04-00-097 Weed Free Feed Closure Order 2003).

Standard: Recreation stock shall not be tied to trees except for unloading or loading purposes.

Standard: Recreation stock shall not be hitched, tethered, or hobbled within 200 feet slope distance of any stream or water.

Standard: Animal waste shall be dispersed before leaving the area.

Guideline: Food containment (for example, nose bags or feed bags) should be used when feeding animals to avoid littering a site.

Guideline: Recreation stock should be under the control of the owner at all times and kept out of sensitive areas such as streams and wet meadows.

Range Management:

Standard: Wilderness characteristics and values shall be incorporated into Allotment Management Plans as they are revised.

Standard: All existing structures shall either be maintained in working order or removed through the proper administrative and procedural processes. Guideline: Range developments may be authorized if the structures and facilities will enhance wilderness values.

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Research:

Standard: Any monitoring devices shall blend into the environment and shall be subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and MRA.

Guideline: Research and other studies should be conducted without use of motorized equipment or construction of temporary or permanent structures. Exceptions to this rule must be documented in a Minimum Requirements Analysis (MRA).

Guideline: The installation of monitoring devices (climate, seismic, water etc.) may be considered in wilderness.

Guideline: Research that is not wilderness-dependent and compatible with wilderness management objectives should not be approved, with the exception of proposals that may need to occur specifically in individual RNAs. Proposals should contribute to the enhancement of wilderness character or the improvement of wilderness management

Other uses:

Standard: Physical geocaching and letterboxing is prohibited.

Guideline: If mine adits or shafts are found in wilderness and are not eligible for the NRHP, they may be filled in or closed. Compliant actions may include, but are not limited to, hand tools, foam plugs, and dynamite filling. An MRA may be necessary to meet the objectives of some closures.

Facilities

Objective: By 2020, all communication sites will have an updated MRA addressing maintenance of the site.

Standard: Administrative facilities such as cabins, trail shelters, or corrals, shall not be constructed or maintained in these wilderness areas.

Standard: No new communication sites shall be established within wilderness.

Guideline: Upgrades or new technologies may be allowed at existing communication sites after environmental analysis and documentation in an MRA.

Management Area Specific Direction

Alta Toquima Wilderness

Standard: No campfires shall be allowed above treeline.

Table Mountain

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Standard: No fish stocking of water bodies shall occur in this wilderness.

Arc Dome

Standard: Wildland Fire Use (WFU) shall not endanger the historic Stone Cabin site.

Guideline: Lahontan cutthroat trout may be reintroduced to its historic range to restore human-altered ecosystems back to conditions that are more natural. A full range of management options, including chemical stream treatment, should be available to remove non-native fish species prior to Lahontan cutthroat trout reintroductions.

Santa Rosa-Paradise Peak Wilderness

Standard: No water wildlife developments shall be allowed in this wilderness.

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Preliminary Summary of Proposed Action Impacts and Mitigations The following table summarizes the potential impacts of the proposed action by the affected resources. In the NEPA analysis, more detail may be included, and public comment may modify the Proposed Action or additional alternatives. Affected Resource Preliminary Review and Summary of Impacts Watersheds The proposed action would not alter the hydrologic and soil

resource in a meaningful way. This determination is based on the small footprint of any potential effect within the wilderness area as well as the limitations placed on the extent and type of use through the proposal. Fire is a natural ecological process. While there are potentially un-natural fuel loads due to missed fire return intervals, the nature of ignition and type of consumption pattern from these fires would be consistent with maintaining a natural hydrologic condition and does not warrant further analysis.

Wildlife There would be no impacts on terrestrial wildlife Regional Forester Sensitive Species. There are currently no federally-listed terrestrial wildlife species in the wilderness areas. Take under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act would be unlikely. Standards and guidelines proposed would benefit sensitive and management indicator) due to limiting group sizes, areas of disturbance, and minimizing effects of recreational livestock use. The restriction on goats and llamas would be particularly beneficial to bighorn sheep populations. .

Aquatics There would be no negative effects to the aquatic biota within wilderness from adopting the management direction. There could potentially be a minor beneficial effect because campsites located close enough to water to degrade water quality and cause sedimentation would be restored or removed, and recreational livestock grazing would be restricted close to water sources. In addition, standards allow for reintroduction of native species in certain cases.

Heritage Resources Provisions of the Proposed Action reflect an intent to manage cultural and historical values within the wilderness areas so as not to cause any impairment to these resources. In addition, it is stated that future actions taken to manage wilderness values shall involve identification, monitoring, protection, and preservation of archaeological and historical resources, as well as facilitation of traditional Native American use practices. These actions would occur in compliance with historic preservation laws and legislation in place to protect Native American religious and sacred sites values (including but not limited to: National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended; Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979; American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978; Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990; Executive Order 13007; and Executive Order 13175). The

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Affected Resource Preliminary Review and Summary of Impacts National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA, 36 CFR 800.5) defines an adverse effect to cultural properties as an action that may “alter, directly or indirectly, any of the characteristics of a historic property that qualify the property for inclusion in the National Register in a manner that would diminish the integrity of the property’s location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, or association.” Because implementation of the proposed Standards and Guidelines will work to preserve the integrity of significant archaeological or historic resources and will employ established preservation laws where necessary, the Proposed Action will not represent an adverse effect to cultural resources within the four wilderness areas.

Native American Religious Concerns

No impacts to Native American traditional concerns are anticipated, since access to traditional areas would be preserved.

Socioeconomic Use of the wilderness areas is not anticipated to increase or decrease significantly as a result of the proposed action alternative. The proposed action would not result in increases or decreases in population, or employment in any of the counties nearby. It is not anticipated that there would be an increase in the demand for public services as a result of the proposed action.

Recreation Effects to recreation are expected to be minimal and mostly beneficial, because establishing opportunity classes, party sizes, and standards for campsite density would allow for increased opportunities for solitude. While some visitors could be inconvenienced by perceived restrictions on unconfined recreation, such as changes in how recreational livestock are grazed and controlled, or by removal of campsites, none of the proposed standards and guidelines are anticipated to change the current recreation patterns in the wilderness areas.

Wilderness Character

There would be beneficial effects to wilderness character through adoption of supplemental standards and guidelines which are more specific to each area and address potential threats from recreation, including large groups, recreational livestock containment, and management direction for resources within wilderness, including fisheries and wildlife actions. These issues are not addressed in current management direction.

HOW TO PROVIDE COMMENTS

 This comment period is intended to provide those interested in or affected by this proposal an opportunity to make their concerns known prior to the development of the environmental analysis To be most helpful to this process, written, facsimile, hand-delivered, oral, and electronic comments concerning this action should be submitted within 30 calendar days following publication of this notice in the Reno Gazette or the Elko Daily Free Press newspapers.

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Written comments should be submitted to: William Dunkelberger, Forest Supervisor, 1200 Franklin Way, Sparks, Nevada 89431. The office business hours for those submitting comments in person are: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Electronic comments must be submitted in a format such as an email message, plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), or Word (.doc) at the following location: http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=46107 Comments must have an identifiable name attached, or verification of identity will be required. A scanned signature may serve as verification on electronic comments. Written comments, including email, shall include:

1. Your name, address, email and (if possible) telephone number.

2. Title of the proposed project on which you are commenting (Austin-Tonopah and Santa Rosa District Wilderness Plan Amendment)

3. Specific facts or comments, along with supporting reasons, that you believe the Responsible Official should consider in reaching a decision.

4. Your signature as an individual or representative of an organization.

It is the responsibility of persons providing comments to submit them by the close of the comment period. It is the responsibility of persons providing comments by electronic means to ensure that their comments have been received. Administrative review process to be used 

This plan amendment is subject to the predecisional administrative review process (“objection process”) under Forest Service regulations at 36 CFR 219 Subpart B. Only those individuals and entities who have submitted substantive formal comment may file an objection. A substantive formal comment is as defined in 36 CFR 219.62:

Written comments submitted to, or oral comments recorded by, the responsible official or his designee during an opportunity for public participation provided during the planning process, and attributed to the individual or entity providing them. Comments are considered substantive when they are within the scope of the proposal, are specific to the proposal, have a direct relationship to the proposal, and include supporting reasons for the responsible official to consider.

The opportunity for submitting formal substantive comments for this amendment will be the 30-day formal comment period announced by a later notice and issuance of a draft of the environmental assessment. The formal comment period is expected to be in November 2015.