environmental assessment for the hog lake road improvement project

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Ramona Hog Lake Road Improvement Project August 2011 Design Criteria: Habitat replacement of 0.15 acres (0.06 hectares) of Quino habitat (see Table 1: Mitigation Measures/Design Criteria; Biological Resources, Bio1). 3. Increased vehicle speeds may lead to additional mortality to butterflies due to vehicle strikes. Potential increase in vehicle speed may enhance the road as a barrier to Quino movement due to turbulence. Since the proposed Project nearly bisects the Bautista Unit of critical habitat, the movement of Quino could be affected within this Unit. Design Criteria: Road use is expected to be low since the road only provides access to and from the Ramona Indian Reservation, which only includes two homes and several lodges. Road use is not expected to increase due to paving. The effects of potential increased vehicle speeds should be minimized by a reduced and posted speed limit of 25 mph and educational material provided to regular road users (see Table 1: Mitigation Measures/Design Criteria; Biological Resources, Bio 7 and 8). Indirect Effects 1. Grading of the road may increase dust in the area during implementation, which has the potential to negatively affect Quino host and nectar plants. Design Criteria: Implementation of standard BMPs will reduce fugitive dust, i.e watering the road and loose soil areas (see Table 1: Mitigation Measures/Design Criteria; Biological Resources, Bio 3). 2. There could be potential for the introduction of non-native seeds during construction that may affect Quino host plants. Design Criteria: Standard BMPs, i.e washing equipment (see Table 1: Mitigation Measures/Design Criteria; Biological Resources, Bio 13 and 15). 3. Completion of the project, i.e. covering the existing dirt with pavement, will likely reduce the dust associated with current (unpaved) use, which would be a benefit to Quino habitat adjacent to the road by improving host and nectar plant condition. Cumulative Effects No Action: For the No Action alternative, it is expected that cumulative impacts on TEPC species and habitat would remain unchanged. Proposed Action: Any Quino habitat loss caused by the Proposed Action would add to the habitat loss that has already occurred in the area. Recent fuel reduction projects on Forest Service land in the area have resulted in the temporary decrease of 2088 acres of red shank-chaparral habitat through burning, which would have impacted the Quino in the short-term. However, fuel reduction Frank Springer & Associates, Inc. Page 43 of 79 Environmental Assessment
Ramona Hog Lake Road Improvement Project August 2011 projects typically improve habitat for the species over the long-term. Mitigation measures / design criteria were employed during that Project to avoid any substantial effects on host plant populations. Grazing, recreational activities and illegal off-road vehicle use in the area would have also affected Quino populations through trampling/crushing habitat or individuals and potential weed introduction to area habitat. Future development also has the potential to add to the impacts to the Quino and its habitat. Future development on the Ramona Reservation, although not currently planned, has the potential to also impact Quino and its associated habitat. Private Development and development of major roadways in the Project area is limited by natural and infrastructure constraints and is controlled by the Riverside General Plan. Private development in the Project area would be restricted to primarily Rural Community Development and would likely be subject to USFS, USFWS or MSHCP review and minimization measures. Existing and future private development is expected to impact less than 18,000 acres within the entire 548,555 acre REMAP area. No new major artery roadways are proposed for the area. The Riverside County MSHCP also has provisions dealing with the protection of Quino and its associated habitat. The ongoing impacts of on-road and off-road vehicles hitting individuals or crushing larvae and host plants. Although traffic over the Project road is not expected to increase substantially over current levels and despite speed limits and Tribal enforcement, speeding could still occur. Vehicle and off-road vehicle impacts could occur in the Project area and throughout the vicinity as several Quino populations have been documented, but vehicle impacts in occupied territories are difficult to quantify. However, the possibility of impact is reduced by the lack of a major freeway in the immediate area, and fewer roadways in general, due to the remoteness of the Project area. Sensitive and Watch List Species Fourteen Forest Sensitive and Watch-list botanical species have potential to occur in the Project vicinity: Chaparral sand verbena (Abronia villosa var. aurita) Johnston's rock cress (Arabis johnstonii) Payson's jewel-flower (Caulanthus simulans) Parish’s Chaenactis (Chaenactis parishii) California bedstraw (Galium californicum ssp. Primum) Beautiful hulsea (Hulsea vestita ssp. Callicarpha) Hall's monardella (Monardella macrantha ssp. Hallii) San Felipe monardella (Monardella nana ssp. Leptosiphon) White-margined oxytheca (Oxytheca (Sidotheca) emarginata) California penstemon (Penstemon californicus) Frank Springer & Associates, Inc. Page 44 of 79 Environmental Assessment
Page 1 and 2: FINAL FRANK SPRINGER & ASSOCIATES,
Page 3 and 4: LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Mitigation
Page 5 and 6: Ramona Hog Lake Road Improvement Pr
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environmental assessment for the hog lake road improvement project

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