SFPUC 2001 Alameda Watershed Management Plan

III. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING AND IMPACTSI. AESTHETICSwith implementation of the fire management projects is Action veg5, which requiresdevelopment of an oak planting program for areas disturbed during fire management activities.Action veg5.1 calls for development of a native species planting program for implementation indisturbed areas associated with grazing and fire management activities. In addition, Action veg1requires that prescribed burns be conducted under conditions that do not harm plant species thatreproduce by seed only, and that disturbed areas be screened and restored with an appropriatemix of native vegetation species. Restoration and screening of disturbed areas would be the mostimportant means of reducing potential aesthetic impacts associated with exotic plant and treeremoval. Implementation of Action veg7 would further reduce the aesthetic effect associatedwith fire management and plant tree removal activities by retaining existing vegetation whereverfeasible, and minimizing the total area and duration of soil exposure.Implementation of these vegetation protection and restoration actions, as described above and inSection IV.I, would reduce the potential aesthetic impact associated with fire management andplant and tree removal activities to a less than significant level. The impact of day-to-daymanagement activities that implement the Management Plan are analyzed in this EIR andgenerally would not be subject to further environmental review. No unavoidable significantprogram-level aesthetic quality impacts related to vegetation clearing activities have beenidentified in this EIR. However, the San Francisco Planning Department would requireexamination of many specific management actions proposed in the Management Plan at the timethey are proposed for implementation to determine if further environmental review at a moredetailed project-specific and site-specific level were necessary. Table II-1 identifies the specificmanagement actions that are likely to require such study.Increased Public Access and UseThe Management Plan includes facilities that could result in increased public visitation of theWatershed by providing new trails (Policies WA15.2 and WA15.4); golf course expansion(Policy WA18.1); and increased information regarding public activities available on theWatershed, such as public use area maps and brochures. These facilities include informationkiosks (Action pub3), a Watershed Visitor Education Center (Action pub4), public recreationarea around the Sunol Water Temple (Action sun14), commercial site (Action sun19), overnightnature study area (Action sun20), and trail connections (Action sun21). In addition, theManagement Plan calls for provision of universal access, which could increase public use of theWatershed (Action des8 and sun17). Increased access and public use would not necessarilyresult in adverse aesthetic impacts. However, trespassing and improper use of public accessareas could lead to litter, disturbed vegetation, and damage to Watershed facilities and resources,detracting from the aesthetic quality of the Watershed. Litter, disturbed vegetation, and damageto facilities and resources would constitute a significant effect if the degradation of aestheticquality were substantial.Table III.I-3 links those management actions that could result in physical effects with the fullrange of management actions that could be required to reduce the potential effects. Under theManagement Plan, the most important means of reducing potential impacts from increased publicaccess and use are those actions that call for responsible use of the Watershed andNOP 96.223E: Alameda Watershed Management Plan III.I-11 ESA / 930385January 2001