Initial Study MND - Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and ...

Taylor MountainINITIAL STUDY/MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATIONS72 and S73 would involve education, physical construction practices, equipment cleaning, stafftraining, monitoring and other miscellaneous provisions to ensure potential SOD impacts areminimized to the maximum extent feasible.Implementation of the above measures would ensure that impacts on sensitive habitats are lessthan significant. As described above, with proper design and siting of facilities (primarily trails),impacts will be avoided or reduced to levels that are less than significant.c. Would the project have a substantial adverse effect on federally protected wetlands asdefined by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (including, but not limited to, marsh, vernalpool, coastal, etc.) either individually or in combination with the known or probableimpacts of other activities through direct removal, filling, hydrological interruption, orother means?LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT. Potential jurisdictional wetlands, including vernal marsh, freshwaterseeps, and coastal and valley freshwater marsh, occur at several locations within the projectarea (Figure B.3.4-4, Potential Impact on Wetlands and Waters). As described in the settingsection, the Taylor Mountain property contains several different types of wetlands. Currently,wetlands are used extensively by cattle due to their proximity to existing water troughs andavailability as forage. Several existing public trails follow the edges of wetlands. Most of thenon-native plant species that are present in wetlands on Taylor Mountain are widelynaturalized both across the property and throughout California. Protecting water quality,quantity, and native vegetation around wetlands will enable these special environments tocontinue to provide valuable hydrologic and habitat functions.Currently, during periods of wet weather, livestock and human visitors trample wetlands,resulting in soil compaction, degraded water quality through elevated sedimentation andnutrient input from livestock waste, and impacts on native wildlife. Grazing is heaviest in thesouthwestern part of Taylor Mountain where water sources are most prevalent and topographyis gentle (Bush, 2012). Erosion from trampling and runoff from trails around marshes and seepscan increase sediment delivery into wetland habitats and adjacent receiving waters. Impacts onwetlands are problematic year round because common amphibians use them in the winter forbreeding but CRLF use them in the summer for non-breeding aquatic hydration habitat.Additionally, in-channel headcuts (vertical drops in the stream channel) have migratedupstream in several tributaries and have the potential to erode into and through some wetlandhabitats.Implementation of improvements identified in the Master Plan will potentially have directimpacts on small areas of wetlands and has the potential to cause indirect impacts on wetlandsas well. The proposed improvements have the potential to impact wetlands directly throughground disturbance and construction. These direct impacts would occur through road andinfrastructure development and trail and boardwalk construction. Potential impacts onfederally protected wetlands total 0.13 acres and are illustrated in Figure B.3.4-4 and describedin Table B.3.4-4 below.September 2012 B-61 Final