environmental assessment for the hog lake road improvement project

Ramona Hog Lake Road Improvement Project August 2011
Purpose and Need
There is a need for safe access to and from the Ramona Reservation. The current
condition of the road does not meet the needs of public safety or resource
conditions. There is also a need to resolve right-of-way and road maintenance
issues.
There is a need for safer, easier access to the Ramona Reservation for residents and
Tribal members and for improved emergency vehicle response time. The current
access road is unsafe due to lack of striping, inadequate signage, and poor visibility
(line of sight). In addition, various structural deficiencies are causing road and soil
erosion. In short, a road reconstructed, improved and frequently maintained would be
much safer for residents and visitors, and allow for better and more reliable all-season
access.
There is also a need for right of ways through both tribal, private, and national forest
lands. The current landownership pattern requires tribal members to cross national
forest lands and private lands to access the reservation. Similarly, access to national
forest lands is through both reservation and private land. Right of access is not legally
established through the several ownerships. It is desirable that both public and tribal
access issues be resolved due to current inefficiencies in road maintenance and
Forest Service inability to meet land management goals.
In addition, there is a need to reconcile road construction standards between the BIA
and Forest Service. The BIA designs stream crossings to a 25 – year flood standard
while the USFS Land and Resource Management Plan requires that such structures
be constructed to a 50 –year standard.
Forest Plan Management Direction
One primary goal of the Forest Plan that would be met is the establishment and
maintenance of strong relationships and partnerships with Native American tribes. A
desired condition stated in the LMP is, “…the national forests are maintained in a
condition so that tribes and other Native American groups and individuals can exercise
and retain traditional connections to the land and to foster both traditional and
contemporary cultural uses of the national forests.” Implementation of this proposed
Project will help the Forest to meet this objective.
Wildfire prevention and community protection is a priority of the Forest. The Ramona
Reservation is in a region which has historically been at high risk for wildfires. There
is an existing fire break (NFR 6S20) that traverses the length of the reservation
which is considered strategically valuable in preventing the spread of a wildfire or
structure fire in the area. Hog Lake Road provides the most direct vehicle access to
the Ramona Reservation; therefore the deteriorated road conditions are of particular
concern during times when rapid evacuation is required. An improved road would
Frank Springer & Associates, Inc. Page 9 of 79 Environmental Assessment