environmental assessment for the hog lake road improvement project

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Ramona Hog Lake Road Improvement Project August 2011 Reduction involves the reduction of excess fuel material from the area using hand removal, mechanical removal, broadcast burns, underburns and pile burns in stages over a period of several years. Fuel Reduction Management employing small scale burns are intended to reduce fire fuel by reducing overgrowth and opening areas in chaparral and scrub habitats. The Thomas Mountain Project supports 1,239 acres of red shank chaparral habitat within an area of approximately 9,900 acres. The other projects have or will impact a total of 850± acres of red shank chaparral. Even though there are immediate impacts to chaparral habitat as a result of fuels reduction projects, the use of localized prescribed burns are believed to improve the health of habitats overall and reduce the potential for large scale wildfires. The impacts are temporary and are expected to be beneficial to the chaparral habitat. Of the 1239 acres within the Thomas Mountain Project, 193 acres of chaparral habitat lies in the area described as 29A, which includes and encompasses the proposed Hog Lake Road Improvement Project. Grazing projects on the District include the Garner, Paradise, Rouse, and Wellman Allotments. These allotments comprise an existing grazing program on the District. The Rouse Allotment comes closest to the proposed Project area and is approximately one mile from the Project area at its closest. (Grazing is not a component of the proposed Project). Most wildlife and plant habitat impacts that can occur result from overgrazing, trampling and spreading invasive species. The Environmental Assessment for the grazing allotment project indicates that the impacts to wildlife and plant habitat are not expected to increase from the levels of the existing grazing within those allotments, and have decreased over time due to reduced number of head on the land. Grazing does not specifically remove wildlife and plant habitat, but can impact habitat quality. Approximately 481 acres of suitable Quino checkerspot butterfly occurs within the grazing lots (acres of chaparral alone were not specifically documented in the draft EA, but suitable habitat for the Quino in this area is most frequently chaparral based). The Grazing Allotment EA indicates that dense chaparral areas do not typically receive grazing use because of their density except after fire and in less sparse areas immediately adjacent to primary range or travel routes. Use of chaparral areas is expected to be very light and incidental. Grazing impacts are difficult to quantify as only minimum chaparral habitat is expected to be impacted. Recreational Use will likely increase on the San Jacinto Ranger District in a manner that corresponds with the population increase in the wider Riverside County area. Common recreational uses include: hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, camping and picnicking. Of the numerous on-going and future forest recreation uses, the majority are centered in the Idyllwild and San Jacinto Peak area. Designated trails within the District are being maintained and created for pedestrians, bicycles, off-highway vehicles (OHV) and equestrian use with the intention of managing un-permitted use and destruction of natural habitats and creation of a smoother trail system. Ongoing forest management such as recreational activities, special use Frank Springer & Associates, Inc. Page 27 of 79 Environmental Assessment
Ramona Hog Lake Road Improvement Project August 2011 permits authorizing use or construction of facilities on the land, and fire suppression can affect area habitat, although the impact of past and future improvements are difficult to quantify. The recently designated Cahuilla Mountain Wilderness and the South Fork San Jacinto Wilderness and recently designated Wild and Scenic River, Bautista Creek are near the Project site. Designation of these areas will assure extensive natural open space and a variety of wildlife habitats will be preserved in the Project vicinity. A portion of the Bautista Creek comes within 0.25 miles of the Project. 2. Riverside County General Plan and Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan The Project area occurs within the REMAP area of the Riverside County General Plan (RCGP) (2003, revised 2008). The RCGP states that “The majority of REMAP lies within Rural and Open Space Foundation Components. The amount of acreage already under public ownership together with the constraints imposed by natural hazards, remoteness and lack of infrastructure, preclude significant new growth in the area” (RCGP). Existing development in the area is mainly rural residential with a variety of dwellings per acre between 2 and 20 acres. The REMAP area (548,555 acres) provides for 398,815 acres of open space, 88,783 acres of rural mountain development (5-10 acre per dwelling minimum), 36,703 acres of Indian land and a build-out population of 76,457. The plan calls for focused community cores and scattered rural residential communities in the planning area, with a minimum of commercial, industrial and public use development (1467 acres). The land use plan for the REMAP area is based on preserving the character of the community with low intensity, large lot rural residential development and maintaining an economy focused on tourist and recreational use. Conservation of habitat and species within the County is outlined in the MSHCP and it is tied directly to the RCGP. So that conservation areas can be coordinated within the County for the greatest environmental benefit and prevent loss and degradation of habitat. The MSHCP identifies a total of 434,950 acres of chaparral habitat within the MSHCP area, of which 63%, or 272,280 are proposed for conservation. Although acreages of chaparral within the REMAP area are not separately totaled, the majority of habitat in the plan area is chaparral. Development within the area in the future will likely either occur in consultation with the USFWS based on the extensive Forest Service Lands or under the Riverside County MSHCP, which plans for conservation in the most sensitive habitat areas. 3. Indian Lands The Ramona Reservation currently supports two homes. The Tribal office is located off-site. Future development may include additional homes, though none are currently planned, and the Ramona Reservation population is not expected to increase substantially. Frank Springer & Associates, Inc. Page 28 of 79 Environmental Assessment
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