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Home My WebLink AboutEnvironmental Assessment plan „��,,,,�,»„� a s;m�vnraxa axw sena aausceaamcr wva au+ar ruaaaa anmameraNra United States Department of the v BUREAU LAND MANAGEMENT Redding NeN Office CH 35,5 Hernsted Drive Redding, CA 96002 In Reply Refer To: 201 I I-BALM- A-N -EA Dear Interested Party; The Bureau of Land Management ( LM), Redding Field Office (RFO), is preparing an environmental assessment(p ) that will analyze the potential effects of implementing an Integrated Vegetation Management Plan (IVMP) on lands managed by the RFO in butte, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties. The goal of the I MP is to control and suppress invasive plants, and other undesirable vegetation, such as exotic and noxious weeds, across the public lands managed by the RFO. Invasive plants are compromising the ability to manage BLM lands for healthy native ecosystems. Further, some of the targeted plant species are toxic or poisonous to humans, pets and wildlife, and/or reduce the effectiveness of hazardous fuels reduction projects due to their high flammability and extensive vegetative re-sprouting. M's proposed action includes a range of vegetation treatments using physical methods and selective application of chemical herbicides to work towards the containment and control of undesirable vegetation. These methods would apply across the public land managed by the RFO, except in Trinity County, where treatment will be limited to physical methods only. The proposed action has been developed intervally by the BLM, and will be amended to incorporate comments received by the public. Targeted species will be selected from the weeds listed on the California Invasive Plant Council and/or the California Department of food and Agriculture pest species list. Native species targeted for selective management under the proposed action include toyon, poison oak and rnanzanita. The public is invited to submit comments on the proposal for 30 dfrom the date of this letter. The BLM's purpose for this scoping request is to offer the public and other interested parties the opportunity to provide input early in the process. Your input is most useful when it addresses the specific resource concerns you have. Your input and data will be combined with BLM information and will be used to help develop issues and alternative to be analyzed in the EA. 'lie evol 0 1 Comments may be submitted by email to blm_ca_reddingnepa@blm.gov, with"Integrated Vegetation.Management" in the subject line, or by letter to the following address: Bureau of Land Management Attn: Kendra Fallon, Ecologist 355 Hemsted Drive Redding, CA 96002 This notice,more detailed maps, and description of the project are available at the BLM Redding Field Office located at 355 Hemsted Drive, Redding, CA 96002 or at http://go.usa.gov/c7SGrn. Before including your address,phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment,please be aware that your entire comment, including personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you may request in your comment that BLM withhold personal identifying information from being made public, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. If you have any questions,please contact Kendra Fallon, RFO Ecologist, by telephone at(530) 224-2107,by email at kfallon@blm.gov, or in person at the above address. Sincerely, a"I� Sora C- CA Jennifer Mata J�tk,"mField office Manager Enclosure Integrated Vegetation Management Program 1701I-BLM-CA-NO60-2016-0021-EA Bureau of Land Management, Redding Field Office Purpose of Proposed Action The purpose of the proposed action is to 1)suppress targeted existing weed populations of concern, 2) eradicate isolated populations of ecologically threatening weed species as part of an "early detection, rapid response"approach to keep species from establishing, 3)reinforce the long term effectiveness of administrative and hazardous fuels reduction projects. Need for Action The need for the proposed action is to reduce, suppress or eradicate invasive weed populations that have a detrimental ecological effect if left unmanagcd. Invasive weeds can change fire regimes, outcompete and displace native species and change the physical and biological properties of soil. Additionally, weed management is critical to the success of restoration projects where considerable investment can be undercut if there is not a plan in place for management of invasive vegetation. Recreationally, invasive weeds can alter the use of trails and recreational opportunities. When left unchecked in administrative or recreational sites weeds can lead to a seed source for long-range transportation off site. Proposed Action. The Bureau of Land Management(BLM) Redding Field Office(RFO) is proposing to implement an Integrated Vegetation Management Program across the approximately 250,000 acres of BLM managed P. land in Butte, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties. Methods will include physical and chemical vegetation control. Physical control is proposed for individual plants, small populations, or in areas where other control techniques are not recommended due to the plant physiology or other natural resource concern. Physical treatments being evaluated include manual,mechanical and prescribed fire. Application of chemical herbicide to individual plants is proposed to treat targeted plants in areas of medium and high density. Chemical application methods include use of foam pad wiping rods, basal bark, hack and squirt,chemical injection, cut stump, backpack sprayers,or vehicle mounted power sprayers. The RFO is evaluating the use of select BLM approved herbicides on all BLM-managed lands except those within Trinity County. Best management practices for physical and chemical controls will also be analyzed in the environmental assessment Target Species There are a wide variety of species that are either present or at risk of establishing themselves on BLM lands that will be targeted for vegetation control. Weeds that pose the greatest ecological threat and/or are in low enough numbers where potential eradication of populations is possible will be aggressively managed with the full suite of options, including herbicide. These weeds include: stinkwort(Dittrichia graveolens), Broom species,tree of heaven(Ailanthus altissima),yellow star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), puncturevine/goat head(Tribulus terrestris), silverleaf nightshade(Solanum elaeagnifolium) and toadflax species (Linaria spp.). In addition, spot application of herbicides will be evaluated for use on native species of manzanita(Arctostapholylos spp.),toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)and poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum)only where their growth hampers the success of completed hazardous fuels reduction treatments or is necessary for administrative or recreational site management. Secondary target species may be treated with herbicide incidentally where they co-occur with primary target species, such as non-native annual gasses,thistles, and Himalayan blackberry or may be treated by physical means when they occur in small populations where they can be reasonably controlled, such as mullen (Verbascum spp.). These species lists will be adjusted based on feedback received during the scoping period. Proposed Herbicides The herbicides proposed for use have been selected from a list of approved BLM herbicides: glyphosate, tricolpyr, chlorsulfuron, aminopyralid,2-41), dicamba and imazapyr, BLM Redding Field Office i �• y S Yreka Montague Fort Jones t `fir/ •r•/ SiskiN dLl County i - Etna s 1 is Alturas F.O. ti weed 'I Mount Shasta McCloud j Dunsmuir l -------------- Redding ------ --'Redding F.O. Trinity County e 11 V. a WeaveNilie i� J. �• x zwr+ Lewiston <French 6ulch' 1 F .�Shasia Lake city J Shasta County DouglasCity � J. �.f"' Redding jam. r �.. 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