Final Environmental Impact Statement Rio de los Pinos Vegetation ...

Final Environmental Impact Statement Rio de los Pinos Vegetation Management Project
This section summarizes a more detailed analysis contained in the wildlife Biological
Assessment (BA) and Biological Evaluation (BE), which is part of this project’s
administrative record.
Past Actions that have affected the Existing Condition
The existing condition in the Rio de los Pinos Analysis Area has been impacted by historic
activities, including timber, grazing, and recreation (see sections 3.5, 3.14, and 3.16).
Existing Condition
The current composition of stands within the Analysis Area is primarily spruce/fir. The average
age of the spruce/fir stands varies between 160 to 220 years. The stands may be characterized as
dense, mature to over-mature Engelmann spruce/subalpine fir timber stands, with typical basal
areas between 126 and 205 square feet. Openings created in these stands by past timber harvest
have regenerated to a dense mix of spruce and fir saplings (Section 3.5).
Cattle grazing continues to occur within portions of the analysis area, (primarily in natural parks,
meadows, or openings created by past timber harvest). Within the analysis area, there are 241
acres mapped as suitable rangeland (from the Forest Plan Suitability analysis) for cattle. Of
these 241 acres, 173 acres are mapped as Transitory rangeland and 68 acres are mapped as
Primary rangeland. Access to the project area for livestock is primarily along the existing road
system (Section 3.14).
Dispersed recreation continues to occur in the analysis area and includes: driving for pleasure,
sight-seeing, hiking, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, picnicking, firewood gathering, snow
shoeing and cross-country skiing to a system of yurts, use of all-terrain-vehicles (ATVs) on
roads, and snowmobiling (Section 3.16).
Some of the roads in the Analysis Area have been closed with gates or dirt barriers. Many of
these roads are re-vegetated and in some cases, have blended into the topography but in most
cases, are still recognizable as travel ways.
Wildlife species that occur or may occur within the Rio de los Pinos Analysis Area involve those
species that are most commonly associated with the spruce-fir cover type. Riparian vegetation
also occurs within or adjacent to the analysis area in association with stream and river channels
and small ponds and wetlands. A representative sample of these species groups is as follows:
Reptile and Amphibian Species: Reptile species are relatively scarce in the spruce-fir cover types
of Colorado, with the western terrestrial garter snake being the only common species. This garter
snake has semi-aquatic life history needs and could be expected to respond to habitat changes in
a manner similar to amphibians. The tiger salamander is likely to be found within the Rio de los
Pinos analysis area.
Avian Species: There are at least 17 species of birds that are primarily associated with spruce-fir
forests in the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado (Beidleman 2000). An additional 11
Chapter 3 – Affected Environment & Environmental Consequences Page 3-35