Reader’s Guide to the Sierra Nevada Framework Environmental Impact Statement

 

How to use the electronic document

Printing these documents

 

Maps

(these documents are in Adobe PDF format)

Alternative 1

Alternative 2

Alternative 3

Alternative 4

Alternative 5

Alternative 6

Alternative 7

Alternative 8

Modified Alternative 8

SNEP  Old Growth

Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Land Allocations

 

 

Volume 1: Summary, Chapters 1 & 2

Summary

• Background
• Purpose and Need
• The Proposed Action
• Decision to Be Made
• Public Involvement
• Issues
• The Alternatives
• The Choice
• Shared Features
• Differences
• Alternative 1: Continue management in existing national forest land and resource management plans
• Alternative 2: Establish large reserves where management activities are very limited
• Alternative 3: Actively manage to restore ecosystems. Use local analysis and collaboration
• Alternative 4: Develop ecosystems that are resilient to large-scale, severe disturbances
• Alternative 5: Preserve existing undisturbed areas and restore others to achieve ecological goals. Limit impacts from active management through range-wide management standards and guidelines
• Alternative 6: Integrate desired conditions for old forest and hardwood ecosystems with fire and fuels management goals. Reintroduce fire into Sierra Nevada forest ecosystems
• Alternative 7: Actively manage entire landscapes to establish and maintain a mosaic of forest conditions approximating patterns expected under natural conditions
• Alternative 8: Manage sensitive wildlife habitat cautiously. Develop new information to reduce uncertainty about the effects of management on sensitive species
• Modified Alternative 8 (the Preferred Alternative): Manage sensitive wildlife habitat cautiously. Provide for species conservation wile addressing needs to reduce the threat of fire to human communities
• Environmental Consequences
• Problem Areas
• Old Forest Ecosystems
• Aquatic, Riparian, and Meadow Ecosystems
• Fire and Fuels
• Noxious Weeds and Invasive Non-native Plants
• Hardwood Ecosystems
• Focal Species
• California Spotted Owl
• Northern Goshawk
• Willow Flycatcher
• Forest Carnivores
• Amphibians
• Socio-economic Concerns
• Commercial Forest Products
• Grazing
• Mining
• Roads
• Air Quality
• Visual Quality
• Recreation
• Socioeconomic
• Forest Service Budget Projections
• Summary Table: Comparison of Alternatives

 

[end of volume 1]

 

Volume 2: Chapter 3, Parts 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Overview of Sierra Nevada Ecosystems

Part 3.1: Landscape Patterns and Vegetation Dynamics

Part 3.2: Old Forest Ecosystems

Part 3.3: Hardwood Ecosystems

Part 3.4: Aquatic, Riparian, and Meadow Ecosystems

Part 3.5: Fire & Fuels

Part 3.6: Noxious Weeds and Invasive Non-native Plants

Part 3.7: Air Quality

Part 3.8: Soil Quality

Part 5: Land and Resource Uses

• Commercial Forest Products
• Other Forest Products
• Grazing
• Mining and Mineral Resources
• Roads
• Recreation
• Scenic Integrity & Landscape Character
• Heritage Resources
• Energy
• Society, Culture, Economy

List of Tables

List of Figures

 

[end of volume 2]

 

Volume 3, Chapter 3, Part 4

4. Species of the Sierra Nevada

4.1. General Methods for Species Assessments

4.1.1. Species viability

4.1.2. Assessing Environmental Consequences

4.1.3. Species Viability

4.1.4. Dealing with

4.2. Vertebrate Species

4.2.1. Broad-Scale Trends in Vertebrate Species

• Measures Used to Assess Trends in Terrestrial Vertebrate Species
• Methodology for Assessing Terrestrial Vertebrate Species, including Assumptions and
• Limitations

I.       Affected Environment

II.     Environmental Consequences

• Summary of Effects of the Alternatives on Terrestrial Vertebrate Species

4.2.2. Mammals

4.2.3. Birds (Abstracted from Hejl 2000

4.2.3.1. Terrestrial Land Birds

• Moderate and Low Vulnerability Bird Species

I.       Affected Environment

II.     Environmental Consequences

4.2.3.2. Diurnal and Nocturnal Raptors (Abstracted From Keane 2000b

·        Forest/Woodland Habitats Assessment Group

·        Broad Elevational Distribution/ Habitat Generalist Assessment Group

·        Low Elevational Distribution/Open Habitats Assessment Group

·        Broad Elevational Distributions/Open Habitats Assessment Group

·        Aquatic Habitats Assessment Group

4.2.4. Amphibians

                 I.          Aquatic, Riparian, and Meadow Associates .

               II.          TERRESTRIAL ASSOCIATES

              III.          (OLD FOREST AND LOWER WESTSIDE HARDWOOD)

             IV.          Broad Scale Trends in Amphibians

4.2.5. Fish

                 I.          Affected Environment

               II.          Environmental Consequences

4.2.6. Reptiles (Abstracted from Staub 2000

·        Broad Scale Trends in Reptiles

·        Affected Environment

·        Environmental Consequences

4.3. Endangered, Threatened, and Proposed Species

4.3.1 Mammals 1

4.3.2 Birds

4.3.3. Amphibians

4.3.4. Fish

                 I.          Affected Environment

               II.          Environmental Consequences

4.4. Forest Service Sensitive Species (Focus species)

• Overview

4.4.1. Mammals  

• Environmental Consequences

4.4.2. Birds

• Preferred Alternative

4.4.3. Amphibians

• WIDELY DISTRIBUTED AND N.O.I. SPECIES
• Species occurring on only One or Two Forests

4.4.4. Fish

I.       Affected Environment

II.     Environmental Consequences

III.    Environmental Outcomes

4.4.5 Reptiles

4.5. Moderate and High Vulnerability Species and Species of Concern  

4.5.2. Birds

4.5.3. Amphibians

4.5.4. Fish

I.       Affected Environment

II.     Environmental Consequences

·        Effects of the Alternatives

·        Cumulative Effects

4.5.5. Aquatic Invertebrates

I.       Affected Environment

II.     Environmental Consequences

4.5.6. Reptiles

I.       Affected Environment

II.     Environmental Consequences

4.6. Vascular Plants, Bryophytes, and Fungi

·        Introduction

4.6.1. Vascular plants

4.6.2. Bryophytes, lichens, and fungi

4.6.2.1. Bryophytes

4.6.2.2. Lichens

4.6.2.3. Fungi

4.6.3. Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Plants

I.       Affected Environment

II.     Environmental Consequences

·        Existing Condition and Environmental Consequences for rare plant species

 

LIST OF TABLES

 

(There are no tables or figures in Part 4.1. There are no figures in Part 4.5 or Part 4.6.)

 

Part 4.2

·        Table 4.2.1a.

·        Table 4.2.1b.

·        Table 4.2.1c

·        Table 4.2.1d

·        Table 4.2.1e

·        Table 4.2.2.1a

·        Table 4.2.2.1b

·        Table 4.2.3.1a

·        Table 4.2.3.1b

·        Table 4.2.3.1c

·        Table 4.2.3.2a

·        Table 4.2.3.2b

·        Table 4.2.3.2c

·        Table 4.2.3.2d

·        Table 4.2.3.2e

·        Table 4.2.3.2f

·        Figure 4.2.1a

·        Figure 4.2.1b

·        Figures 4.2.1c-h

Part 4.3

·        Figure 4.3.2.1a

Part 4.4

·        Figure 4.4.2.1a

·        Figure 4.4.2.1b

·        Figure 4.4.2.1c.

·        Figure 4.4.2.1d.

·        Figure 4.4.2.2a.

·        Figure 4.4.2.2b

·        Figure 4.4.2.2c

·        Figure 4.4.2.2d.

·        Figure 4.4.2.2e.

·        Figure 4.4.2.2f

·        Figure 4.4.2.2g.

·        Figure 4.4.2.3a

·        Figure 4.4.2.3b

 

[end of volume 3]

 

Volume 4- Appendices

Appendix B –                 Modeling

Appendix D –                Standards and Guidelines

·                            Part 1, Appendix D1 – Preferred Alternative (Modified Alternative 8), Standards and Guidelines

·        Part 2, Appendix D2 – Alternatives 2-8, Standards and Guidelines

Appendix E –                 Monitoring and Adaptive Management Plan

Appendix F –                 Regional Soil Quality Standards and Guidelines

Appendix G –                Fire and Fuels

Appendix I –                  Aquatic and Riparian Background Information

Appendix R –                 Assessment of Species Vulnerability and Prioritization

Appendix T –                 Ecosystem Analysis

 

Since these appendices were included in the Draft EIS, they are not included in the print

version of the FEIS. They are included here for ease of navigation:

 

Appendix C –                The Issue Identification Process

Appendix H –                 Air Quality

Appendix J –                 Relationship to the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act Project

Appendix K –                 Rangeland Capability and Sustainability

Appendix L –                 Noxious Weeds

Appendix M –                Mining and Minerals

Appendix N –                 Population and Demographics

Appendix O –                Employment

Appendix P –                 Risk and Uncertainty

Appendix Q –                Comparison between Interim Guidelines to Conserve the California Spotted Owl and Proposed Measures to Conserve the Owl under Each Alternative

Appendix S –                 Recreation

 

[end of volume 4]

 

Volume 5- Public Concerns

Introduction

 

Executive Summary Of Public Concerns

 

Chapter 1.Public Concerns About General Planning Process And Policy

1.1 Purpose And Need

1.2 Proposed Action

1.3 Public Involvement

1.4 Interagency Collaboration

1.5 Relationship To Other Planning Processes

1.6 Forest Service Management Considerations

1.7 Funding For Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment

 

Chapter 2. Public Concerns About Alternatives

2.1 Alternative Development

2.2 Adaptive Management And Monitoring

2.3 Preferred Alternatives

2.4 Range Of Alternatives

2.5 Comparison Of Alternatives

2.6 Suggestions For New Alternatives

 

Chapter 3. Public Concerns About Affected Environment And Environmental Consequences

3.1 General Comments

3.2. Vegetation Dynamics

3.3 Old Forest Ecosystems

3.4 Hardwood Ecosystems

3.5 Aquatic, Riparian, And Meadow Ecosystems

3.6 Fire And Fuels

3.7 Noxious Weeds And Invasive Non-Native Plants

3.8 Water Quality

3.9 Air Quality

3.10 Soil Quality

3.11 Wildlife (And Plants)

3.12 Commercial Forest Products

3.13 Other Forest Products

3.14 Range And Grazing

3.15 Mining And Mineral Resources

3.16 Energy Production

3.17 Forest Transportation

3.18 Access.

3.19 Recreation

3.20 Wilderness Area Management

 

[end of volume 5]

 

Volume 6: Agency Comments

·        Tribes and Tribal Organizations

·        Federal Agencies and Officials

·        State Agencies and Officials

·        County Agencies and Officials

·        Municipal Agencies and Officials

 

[end of volume 6]

How To Use This Electronic Document

 

This section provides a brief overview to assist the reader in navigating through the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment Project EIS.  You may wish to print pages 1-6 of this document as a handy reference for the contents of each volume.

 

This “reader’s guide” has a condensed list of the major topics contained in each volume. From the reader’s guide, you can use the hyperlinks to navigate to each volume. At the top of each volume is a link back to the reader’s guide.

Within each volume is a complete table of contents, and hyperlinks from it go to the specific chapter or part of the volume. At the top of each chapter is a hyperlink back to the volume’s table of contents. To navigate through each volume, you must return to the table of contents. To navigate between volumes, you must return to the reader’s guide. This chart shows the navigational structure:

 

 

 

These documents have been compiled in portable document format (.pdf) for use with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Although they have been prepared for maximum usability with different versions of Acrobat Reader, full functionality requires Acrobat 4.0 or greater. Acrobat Reader is free, and available online from http://www.adobe.com/. Most of the documents have either bookmarks or thumbnails in the navigation pane in Acrobat. If the navigation pane is not, open when the page loads open it manually from the toolbar at the top of the Acrobat window. Thumbnail images for all pages have also been generated, and can be accessed from the thumbnail tab in the navigation pane.

 

Acrobat has a find feature that is useful for navigating large documents. When a particular file is open, choose Find from the Edit pulldown menu (shortcut: Control-f in Windows, Command-f for Macintosh) and enter the word or phrase you are looking for.

 

Users of Netscape 6 for Windows may have difficulty viewing and/or printing some of these documents, due to an incompatibility between Netscape 6 and Acrobat; we recommend using an earlier version of Netscape or another browser. Details about this problem can be found in the Acrobat forum at www.adobe.com/.

 

Online users who require html conversion for text reader software or other uses can go to http://access.adobe.com/simple_form.html for conversion of pdf documents to .html. The FEIS is available online at www.r5.fs.fed.us/sncf/eis/feis/start_here.pdf (this file). The reader’s guide (this document) only is also available in html format at www.r5.fs.fed.us/sncf/eis/feis/index.htm.

 

Printing The Documents

Online users may have difficulty printing these documents, due to their size and graphic complexity. If you have trouble printing, try the following:

Problem:   graphics print as solid black

Answer: You are not using Acrobat Reader 4. Upgrade Reader to the most current version

 

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Answers:    a) (network printer). You either have a buffer overflow, or your printer buffer has timed out. Try printing just a few pages at a time, or contact your system administrator

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If these suggestions do not work, you may wish to order the CD from

(email) mailroom_wo_caet_@fs.fed.us

 

U.S. mail:      USDA Forest Service—CAET

                  Sierra Nevada Framework Project

                  PO Box 7669

                  Missoula MT 59807

 

 

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