West Mojave Plan FEIR/S - Desert Managers Group

areas) or residential impact regions. The relative sizes of these different regions and subregionsare given in Table 3-27, and summarized as follows. The “% of Impact Area,” given in thefourth column, lists the percentages of each subregional impact area relative to the total aboveaveragevehicle impact area observed throughout the planning area, which was determined to be988 mi 2 .Table 3-27Cumulative Totals of Above-Average Vehicle-Based Impacts in Open Areas, Heavy OHVUse Areas and Residential Impact RegionsMi 2Area TotalSum Ave Range Mi 2 Sum Ave Rangemi 2 ObsObsTRAILSTRACKSOpen Area 591 494 9417 19.1 1-250 548 78909 144.0 1-4000Heavy Use 213 128 954 7.4 1-35 184 8903 48.3 1-585Residential 107 49 191 3.9 1-22 94 2761 29.4 1-341Total 911 671 10562 15.7 1-250 826 90573 109.6 1-4000LITTERDUMPSOpen Area 591 549 20819 37.9 1- 0 0 0 01080Heavy Use 213 199 4940 24.8 1-305 0 0 0 0Residential 107 49 191 3.9 1-22 6 7 1.2 0-2Total 911 797 25950 32.6 1-1080 6 7 1.2 0-2TARGETHUNTINGOpen Area 591 213 3456 16.2 1-325 61 126 2.1 1-18Heavy Use 213 98 653 6.7 1-53 25 39 1.6 1-4Residential 107 48 874 18.2 1-525 23 55 2.4 1-8Total 911 359 4983 13.9 1-525 109 220 2.0 1-18CAMPINGOpen Area 591 66 161 2.4 1-25Heavy Use 213 15 22 1.5 0-3Residential 107 10 16 1.6 1-4Total 911 91 199 2.2 1-25Again, it is important to note that each square mile of impact was above-average for oneor more of the eight vehicle-based disturbances: roads, trails, tracks, garbage/litter, hunting areas,target shooting areas, and camping. There were a total of 988 mi 2 of above-average vehicleimpacts within the surveyed area. This comprises about a third (29%) of the 3,362 transectssurveyed between 1998 and 2002.Vehicle-based recreation (open areas and heavy OHV use areas) was responsible for atotal of 804 mi 2 (81% of 988 mi 2 ) of above-average impacts. This was further segregated into591 mi 2 associated with open areas. Of this, 353 mi 2 (60%) occurred within open areas, and 238mi 2 (40%) occurred on lands adjacent to open areas (Map 3-14). This is a key finding, as itclearly shows that vehicle impacts are not restricted to designated open areas; 40% of observableabove-average impacts are adjacent to open areas, including DWMAs. One should not forgetthat there were additional above-average square miles and below-average impact areas spreadthroughout the planning area. Only above-average impacts are discussed in this section.Chapter 3 3-132