Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (NCA) and associated wilderness, and other contiguous lands in Nevada : draft resource management plan and environmental impact statement [volume 1]

412 Pages·2003·111.7 MB·English

by  Bureau of Land Management. Winnemucca Field Office

U.S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Winnemucca Field Office Surprise Field Office
Winnemucca, Nevada Cedarville, California February 2003
Draft Resource Management Plan and
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon
Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (NCA)
and Associated Wilderness,
and Other Contiguous Lands in Nevada
Volume 1
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
BLACK ROCK DESERT
HIGH ROCK CANYON
EMIGRANT TRAILS
NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA
It is the mission of the Bureau of Land Management to sustain the health, diversity, and
productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations
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Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National
Conservation Area (NCA) and associated wilderness, and other
contiguous lands in Nevada
DRAFT
Resource Management Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement
Volume I
Prepared by:
United States Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Winnemucca Field Office
Winnemucca, Nevada
Surprise Field Office
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Cedarville, California
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February 2003
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
United States Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Nevada State Office
P.O. Box 12000 (1340 Financial Blvd.)
Reno, Nevada 89520-0006
http//www.nv.blm.gov/
In Reply Refer To:
1610 (NV-910/CA-910)
January 27, 2003
Enclosed for your review and comment is the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Resource
Management Plan (RMP) and for the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National
Conservation Area (NCA) associated wilderness areas, and other contiguous lands in Nevada. This Draft
EIS and RMP sets forth the proposed management prescription for the 1.2 million acres of public lands
managed by the Bureau of Land Management in this area located in the Great Basin province in
northwestern Nevada.
In December 2000, the President signed the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails
National Conservation Area Act of 2000 (the NCA Act), establishing the NCA and 10 associated
Wilderness areas to conserve, protect, and enhance resources associated with the
Applegate-Lassen and Nobles Trails corridors and surrounding areas for the benefit and enjoyment of
present and future generations. The Act directed the BLM to prepare a resource management plan and
EIS to address the planning concerns and set the management direction for this area. When finalized, this
EIS and RMP will fulfill that legislative requirement.
Lands affected by this Draft EIS and RMP include only those BLM-administered lands covered by the
NCA Act, as well as other contiguous lands that have been identified to have similar planning concerns.
Lands in this latter category include the South Playa, the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Area (LCT Area), and
routes that either bound Wilderness areas or Wilderness Access Routes that provide vehicle access to the
interior of the Wilderness Areas. The planning area is shown in the numerous maps that are included as
part of this Draft EIS and RMP.
The announcement in the Federal Register that this Draft EIS and RMP is available commences a 90-day
public comment period during which members of the public are encouraged to review the document and
provide comments concerning the Draft EIS and RMP. During this period, comments may be submitted
using several methods: in writing to the NCA Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Winnemucca
Field Office, 5100 E. Winnemucca Boulevard, Winnemucca, Nevada 89445; online via the project
website, http://www. BlackRockHishRock. ors. or in person at one of several public meetings scheduled for
April 2003:
• BLM Field Office, North and South Meeting Rooms, 5100 E. Winnemucca Boulevard,
Winnemucca, NV, [phone]
• Gerlach Community Center, 410 Cottonwood Street, Gerlach, NV, [phone]
• BLM Field Office, Conference Room, 602 Cressler Street, Cedarville, CA, [phone]
• Scottish Rite Masonic Center, Bruno Room, 6151 H Street, Sacramento, CA, [phone]
• BLM Nevada State Office, Great Basin Rooms A & B, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Reno, NV,
(775) 861-640
All meetings will be held 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The specific dates for the meetings will be announced in
local newspapers, in the project newsletter and on the project website, http://www.blackrockhighrock.org.
Following the public comment period, a Final EIS will be prepared and will consider the comments
received from the public.
How to Use this Document
This Draft EIS and RMP is contained in two volumes. Volume 1 contains the text of the Draft EIS and
RMP, and Volume 2 contains the accompanying maps and appendices. Collectively, these volumes
constitute the full Draft EIS and RMP.
Volume 1 is presented in six chapters, consistent with Federal requirements that guide the preparation of
an EIS. Chapter 1 sets the stage for the Draft EIS and RMP by describing the purpose and need for its
preparation as well as providing key background information. Chapter 2 describes several potential
management approaches, or “alternatives,” that have been developed as part of this effort. These
alternatives all represent reasonable sets of management decisions that are considered and evaluated in
this EIS; these decisions apply to the different resources found throughout the planning area. Chapter 3
describes the environment, or resources, that will be affected by the decisions contained in the individual
alternatives, and Chapter 4 describes the impacts of the decisions on these resources. Chapter 5 describes
the actions undertaken to provide open and effective participation from members of the public, as well as
from key organizations, governmental agencies and tribes that all have a stake in the outcome of this
process. Volume 1 of the Draft EIS and RMP concludes with Chapter 6, a list of those individuals who
prepared this Draft EIS and RMP.
The final decision may be one of the alternatives in its entirety or a combination of various actions
contained in more than one of the alternatives. As a result, members of the public are invited to provide
specific comments on the alternatives or particular elements contained in any of the alternatives as well as
associated impacts to help the BLM develop final decisions for the Final RMP and EIS.
Chapter 1 provides more detailed descriptions of the process undertaken to develop this Draft EIS and
RMP. These include more comprehensive descriptions of the concept of alternatives, how they are
developed, and how they are used in the Draft EIS and RMP decision-making process. Graphical icons
are used within the text of some of the chapters to denote particular meaning. These icons are explained
at the beginning of the chapters where they are used. Moreover, each chapter begins with a more lengthy
discussion of its purpose and how it is used in this process. As a result, please make an effort to carefully
read the beginning sections of each chapter because they contain helpful clarifications of descriptions.
More than 80 maps and numerous appendices support the text contained in Volume 1. These are
contained in Volume 2, and should be consulted frequently, as necessary, when reviewing the text
contained in Volume 1. In many cases, decisions or other discussions contained in this Draft EIS and
RMP refer directly to maps contained in Volume 2. In fact, many decisions themselves are “map-based,”
which means that the maps corresponding to such a decisions contain the information that describes the
decisions, not necessarily the decision itself. As a result, it would be erroneous to rely on the text alone to
understand these decisions in such cases.
For more information, contact David Cooper, NCA Manager, at the above address or by calling 775-623-
1500. We appreciate your interest and comments on this document and look forward to continuing the
EIS and RMP process.
Sincerely
Director, Nevada State Office Director, California State Office
Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Land Management
Executive Summary
BLACK ROCK DESERT
HIGH ROCK CANYON
EMIGRANT TRAILS
NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA

Executive
Summary
The Act directed the BLM to prepare a resource
management plan and EIS to address the planning
concerns and set the management direction for this
area. When finalized, this Draft EIS and RMP will
fulfill that legislative requirement.
ES.1 INTRODUCTION
Designating Black Rock-High Rock as an NCA
and Wilderness Areas placed new emphasis and
requirements on resource uses in the area, prompting
The Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon
the need to prepare a Resource Management Plan
Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area Act of
(RMP) to address these changes. The preparation of
2000 (the Act) gave special designation to 1.2 million
an RMP constitutes a major federal action, requiring
acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land
detailed analysis in an Environmental Impact
Management (BLM) in northwestern Nevada,
Statement (EIS) under the National Environmental
collectively known as “Black Rock-High Rock.” The
Policy Act (NEPA). This document constitutes both
Act designated 815,000 acres as a National
a Draft EIS and RMP. This Draft EIS does not
Conservation Area (NCA) and 752,000 acres as 10
evaluate the designation of the NCA and Wilderness
Wilderness Areas (378,000 of the Wilderness acres
Areas; rather it develops several resource
overlap the NCA). The NCA and associated
management alternatives that fully comply with the
Wilderness Areas were created specifically to protect
NCA Act, the Wilderness Act and other applicable
one of the last nationally significant segments of the
laws, regulations and policies, and analyzes the
historic emigrant trails used by pioneers to travel
environmental consequences associated with
from the eastern States to Oregon and California, and
implementation of each alternative. Additionally,
a landscape largely unchanged since the mid-1800s.
approximately 15,000 acres in the south playa,
Black Rock-High Rock contains an array of unique
15,000 acres in the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (LCT)
historic, cultural, educational, wildlife, riparian, and
Area, and 3,000 acres included in wilderness access
wilderness resources, threatened species, and
and boundary roads and road corridors located
recreational values. The Act also identified grazing
outside the NCA that are not included in the
and special recreation permit events as valuable designation are evaluated in this plan because they
existing land uses that are expected to continue. are contiguous lands with similar planning issues.
BLACK ROCK-HIGH ROCK DRAFT RMP/EIS ES-1
FEBRUARY 2003
Executive Summary
These designated and adjacent areas, totaling Wilderness Areas, while accommodating and
approximately 1,220,000 acres of public lands, are enhancing the visitor experience?
referred to collectively as the planning area. • How can wildlife resources be conserved and
All land use decisions made by BLM, including protected, while providing opportunities for
those contained in this Draft RMP and EIS, comply hunting and fishing?
with existing laws, regulations and policies. • How can visitor services and educational
Nevertheless, the range of alternatives presented in materials be provided to enhance the visitor
this planning document along with the impacts experience while protecting resources in the
anticipated from their implementation are even more planning area?
constrained than those typically found in other BLM
management plans because the NCA Act and the
Wilderness Act further constrain the decisions that
can be applied to the NCA and Wilderness portions,
or 97.4 percent of the planning area. The remaining
ES.3 VISION AND GOALS
2.6 percent of the planning area is not covered by the
NCA Act and Wilderness Act and is constrained only
by other existing laws, regulations and policies.
The NCA and Wilderness designations are part
of BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System
(NLCS). The vision of these premier designations
included in the NLCS is “BLM’s Great American
ES.2 ISSUES
Landscapes: healthy, wild and open.” Broad goals
were developed to ensure that the RMP would be
consistent with the vision, spirit and intent of the
For planning purposes, an "issue" is defined as a legislation that established the NCA and Wilderness
matter of controversy, dispute or general concern Areas, existing statutes, regulations and policy, and
over resource management activities, the in consideration of issues identified during the public
environment or land uses. The following issues were scoping period described in Chapters 1 and 5, as well
identified from agency. Tribal, State, and general as in Appendix A.
public comments that were considered during the
development and analysis of the planning
• Provide present and future generations of
alternatives.
Americans with unique opportunities to
experience what the emigrants experienced.
• To what degree should access be provided to the
• Protect a large area of the Northern Great Basin
plan area for the public and for private
in a current predominantly natural state, and
landowners and how can this be accomplished
prevent further decline of associated resources.
while preserving the “primitive character” of the
• Support visitor services and resource
NCA and protecting the area's resources?
management activities in a manner that protects
• Should the historic trails be conserved or
the planning area’s resources.
restored, and how can these trails and their
• Manage the planning area’s plant and animal
setting be adequately protected while providing
species in a manner that will provide for their
opportunities for public education, enjoyment
continued presence as part of an ecologically
and awareness of this resource?
healthy system.
• How can private rights and permits, such as
• Manage Wilderness areas for the use and
grazing, be accommodated while meeting the
enjoyment of visitors in a manner that will
intent of NCA designation?
provide opportunities for solitude and primitive
• How can diverse recreational opportunities be
experiences while leaving them unimpaired for
provided while protecting and preserving
future use and enjoyment as wilderness.
resources within the planning area?
• Allow for social and economic benefits
• To what extent should management activities
compatible with the protection of the area.
interfere with nature to protect and enhance
ES-2 BLACK ROCK-HIGH ROCK DRAFT RMP/EIS
FEBRUARY 2003