INTRODUCTION

<< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >>

ISSUES AND IMPACT TOPICS

Impact Topics Dismissed From Detailed Analysis

Wilderness Values

The Wilderness Act of 1964 “established a National Wilderness Preservation System to be composed of federally owned areas designated by Congress as ‘wilderness areas,’ and these shall be administered for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness.” Among other mandates are the protection of wilderness areas and the preservation of their wilderness character. Wilderness characteristics are defined in the Wilderness Act as:

• The earth and its community of life are untrammeled by humans, where humans are visitors and do not remain.

• The area is undeveloped and retains its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation.

• The area generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of humans’ work substantially unnoticeable.

• The area is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions.

• The area offers outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation.

Park staff proposed wilderness boundaries in 1974, 1984, and 1994. The 1994 proposal, based on the 1984 Crater Lake Road Improvement Study, modified earlier 1974 and 1984 wilderness proposals and delineated clearer boundaries for areas excluded from the wilderness designation.

The 1994 wilderness proposal included all of the acreage in Crater Lake National Park with exclusions for road corridors, utility lines, and administrative sites. “The road corridor is defined as being 200 feet from centerline for all roads, adjacent viewpoints, or picnic areas regularly maintained for motorized access by visitors. This corridor will allow for regular maintenance and hazard tree management and excludes a total of 2,430 acres in the park from wilderness designation. Other exclusions from wilderness associated with the road corridor are a 600-foot radius from the intersection of where some currently maintained trails intersect with roads. This was made to permit needed future development at trailheads where visitor safety necessitates additional parking and signage.”

The legislative process has not been completed for the Crater Lake National Park Wilderness Designation proposal. However, it is the policy of the National Park Service (2001 NPS Management Policies, Chapter 6: Wilderness Preservation and Management) to “take no action that would diminish the wilderness suitability of an area possessing wilderness characteristics until the legislative process has been completed. Until that time, management decisions pertaining to lands qualifying as wilderness will be made in expectation of eventual wilderness designation. This policy also applies to potential wilderness, requiring it to be managed as wilderness…”

Although some construction work on the road would be near the proposed wilderness boundary, proposed wilderness lands would be avoided during construction activities. In all alternatives, the road would remain in the area excluded from proposed wilderness designation (see figure 6). Prior to construction, the construction zone would be surveyed and construction tape, snow fencing, or some similar border material would be installed along the boundary. The border material would delineate the construction zone and no construction work, movement, or other activity would be allowed beyond the border material into proposed wilderness lands. There would be no long-term adverse consequences to proposed federally designated wilderness lands or potential wilderness values or solitude should the proposal be selected. Therefore, wilderness values has been dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.

Ecologically Critical Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Other Unique Natural Areas

Crater Lake National Park is an important natural area and has unique and fragile areas including Llao Rock, Pumice Desert, Desert Creek, Sphagnum Bog Research Natural Areas, Boundary Springs, Sand Creek Pinnacles, and Thousand Springs. The proposed action would not threaten the qualities and resources that make these areas or Crater Lake National Park special. There is proposed critical habitat for the bull trout. Proposed habitat for the bull trout is outside of the project area (Bowerman pers. comm. 2003). There are no existing or potential Wild and Scenic Rivers within the park. Therefore, Wild and Scenic Rivers was dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.

Floodplains, Water Quality, and Wetlands

Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management) requires an examination of impacts to floodplains and potential risk involved in placing facilities within floodplains. NPS Management Policies, Director’s Order – 2: Planning Guidelines, and Director’s Order – 12: Conservation Planning, Environmental Impact Analysis, and Decision-making provide guidelines for proposals in floodplains. The 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended by the Clean Water Act of 1977, is a national policy to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters; to enhance the quality of water resources; and to prevent, control, and abate water pollution. NPS Management Policies provide direction for the preservation, use, and quality of water in national parks. Executive Order 11990 (Protection of Wetlands) requires an examination of impacts to wetlands.

The construction limits are outside of floodplains and not near water bodies. Floodplains and water quality would not be affected by the proposed action. There are no jurisdictional or National Park Service-defined wetlands within the project area. Therefore, floodplains, water quality, and wetlands was dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.

Cultural Landscapes

As described by the National Park Service Cultural Resource Management Guideline (Director’s Order – 28), a cultural landscape is: “...a reflection of human adaptation and use of natural resources and is often expressed in the way land is organized and divided, patterns of settlement, land use, systems of circulation, and the types of structures that are built. The character of a cultural landscape is defined both by physical materials, such as roads, buildings, walls, and vegetation, and by use reflecting cultural values and traditions.” There are no cultural landscape features identified in the immediate area of the road corridor that could be affected by current project actions; therefore, cultural landscapes were dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.

Ethnographic Resources

The National Park Service defines ethnographic resources as any “site, structure, object, landscape, or natural resource feature assigned traditional legendary, religious, subsistence, or other significance in the cultural system of a group traditionally associated with it” (Director’s Order – 28: Cultural Resource Management Guideline, p.181). Because no ethnographic resources are known to exist in or in proximity to the project area (S.M. pers. comm. 2002), ethnographic resources were dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.

Indian Trust Resources

Secretarial Order 3175 requires that any anticipated impacts to Indian trust resources from a proposed project or action by Department of Interior agencies be explicitly addressed in environmental documents. The federal Indian trust responsibility is a legally enforceable fiduciary obligation on the part of the United States to protect tribal lands, assets, resources, and treaty rights, and it represents a duty to carry out the mandates of federal law with respect to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes.

There are no Indian trust resources in Crater Lake National Park. The lands comprising Crater Lake National Park are not held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior for the benefit of Indians due to their status as Indians. Therefore, Wild and Indian trust resources was dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.

Museum Objects

The National Park Service defines a museum object as a material thing possessing functional, aesthetic, cultural, symbolic, and/or scientific value, usually moveable by nature or design (NPS Director’s Order – 28: Cultural Resource Management 1998). Because there are no museum collections in the proposed project areas, museum objects was dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.

Prime and Unique Farmlands

In 1980, the Council on Environmental Quality directed that federal agencies assess the effects of their actions on farmland soils classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service as prime or unique. Prime or unique farmland is defined as soil that particularly produces general crops such as common foods, forage, fiber, and oil seed; unique farmland produces specialty crops such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts. There are no prime or unique farmlands associated with the project area; therefore, prime and unique farmlands was dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.

Environmental Justice

Executive Order 12898 (General Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations) requires all agencies to incorporate environmental justice into their missions by identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs and policies on minorities and low-income populations or communities. No alternative would have health or environmental effects on minorities or low-income populations or communities as defined in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Draft Environmental Justice Guidance (July 1996). Therefore, environmental justice was dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.

Lightscapes

In accordance with NPS Management Policies (2001), the National Park Service strives to preserve natural ambient landscapes, which are natural resources, and values that exist in the absence of human-caused light. Lightscapes would not be affected by the proposed action; therefore, lightscapes was dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.

Scenic Resources

In the evaluation of scenic quality, both the visual character and visual quality of a viewshed are considered. A viewshed comprises the limits of the visual environment associated with the proposed action. The park road has been in place for decades. The proposed action does not expand or change the road corridor, nor does it create any scenic vistas. During the construction period there would be effects due to the presence of construction equipment, but these effects would be short term and would occur within an existing developed road corridor having a negligible effect on park scenic values. Therefore, scenic resources was dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.

Socioeconomic Environment

The socioeconomic environment consists of local and regional businesses and residents, the local and regional economy, park concessions, and land use. The local economy and most business of the communities surrounding the park are based on professional services, construction, educational research, tourist sales and services, and recreation; the regional economy is strongly influenced by tourist activity.

Local and Regional Economy. Should the preferred alternative be implemented, short-term economic benefits from construction related expenditures and employment would include economic gains for some local and regional businesses and individuals.

Land Use. The project area is a transportation corridor. The park is bounded on the northeast, south, and east by the Winema National Forest; on the north by the Umpqua National Forest; and on the northwest, west, and southwest by the Rogue River National Forest and Sky Lakes Wilderness Area. In addition, the park adjoins Sun Pass State Forest and an 80-acre block of private land on the southeast corner. The preferred alternative would not change present and future parkland use, transportation patterns, or those uses of surrounding lands.

There would be short-term benefits to the local and regional economy and local and regional businesses should the preferred alternative be selected and implemented. There would be no effects to present or future land use. Therefore, socioeconomic environment was dismissed as an impact topic in this environmental assessment.