ROSS LAKE

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Ross Lake National Recreation Area Washington

Purpose of and Need for Action

The purpose of these proposed actions is to enhance recreational opportunities in Ross Lake National Recreation Area (NRA) while minimizing impacts to park resources and wilderness values. These actions are needed to partially satisfy the mitigation requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license for the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project. These actions are also needed because there are substantial ecological and wilderness concerns related to the current license requirement to construct a hiking trail from Desolation Peak to Hozomeen Lake.

The FERC license issued in 1995 to Seattle City Light (SCL) for 30 years of continued operation of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project called for construction of a trail from Desolation Peak to Hozomeen Lake. The 1991 Settlement Agreement on Recreation and Aesthetics, which was negotiated with SCL by the NPS and other license Intervenors and incorporated into the license, provided for the hiking trail to be funded by SCL and implemented by the NPS. Since that time the NPS has identified potentially unacceptable resource concerns with the trail.

Section 3.2.5 (Site Substitutions) of the Settlement Agreement on Recreation stipulates:

"The Parties to this Agreement adopting this recreation plan recognize that a number of the proposed recreation sites may not be available. In the event that the City or the benefiting agency is unable to proceed with a project for any reason, the City and the agency will make a good faith effort to locate an alternate site for the facility…".

This EA is intended to fulfill the requirements of the Settlement Agreement for choosing an alternative to constructing the hiking trail from Desolation Peak to Hozomeen Lake.

Decision to be Made

One or more of the management alternatives in this Environmental Assessment (EA) will be selected for implementation. A preferred alternative has not been selected. Comments received during the review period will be used to identify a preferred alternative or alternatives. The Superintendent of North Cascades National Park Service Complex will provide a recommendation to the Pacific West Regional Director of the National Park Service. The Regional Director is the deciding official.

Background

The Skagit River Hydroelectric Project (FERC Project Number 553) consists of the Gorge, Diablo and Ross dams, reservoirs, powerhouses, and transmission lines. These hydroelectric facilities are licensed to the City of Seattle, Department of Lighting (Seattle City Light) by the FERC. During relicensing of Project 553, FERC formally recognized certain agencies or parties as being affected by the project and granted them "Intervenor" status. The National Park Service (NPS) was one of 12 federal, state, tribal and conservation entities granted this status. Between 1986 and 1991, the NPS and other Intervenors participated in negotiations with Seattle City Light (SCL) which culminated in separate but interrelated Settlement Agreements addressing wildlife, soil erosion control, recreation, visual quality and aesthetics, traditional and cultural resources, and fisheries. In 1995 FERC issued a new 30 year license to SCL.

In the Settlement Agreement on Recreation and Aesthetics (April, 1991), SCL agreed to fund the construction of several project within the Ross Lake NRA, including a trail from Desolation Peak to Hozomeen Lake (Alternative A, Figure 2). The purpose of the Desolation-Hozomeen Trail was to enhance the existing trail network by providing the opportunity for a day hike and/or a loop hike to Desolation Peak from Hozomeen, the Desolation Peak boat-in trailhead, or from the Lightning Creek campground on Ross Lake.

Eleven years have passed since the Desolation-Hozomeen trail was proposed, and NPS personnel have since reconsidered the merits of the trail in light of its sensitive wilderness location and endangered species act considerations. There is a general consensus that the trail would cause a variety of potentially unacceptable environmental impacts, including loss of untrailed wilderness and impacts to grizzly bear habitat.

Relevant Laws and Policies

Various laws, regulations and policies govern the management alternatives considered in this EA. These laws and policies constrain the nature and scope of management actions that are acceptable in Ross Lake National Recreation Area, including that portion of the recreation area that is designated as wilderness. Relevant sections of these laws, regulations and policies are described in the following section:

Enabling Legislation, Ross Lake National Recreation Area

Title II of the enabling legislation for Ross Lake NRA states that the recreation area was created:

"In order to provide for the public outdoor recreation use and enjoyment of portions of Skagit River and Ross, Diablo, and Gorge Lakes, together with the surrounding lands, and for the conservation of the scenic, scientific, historic and other values contributing to the public enjoyment of such lands and waters…"

NPS Management Policies - 2001

Section 9.2.3 Trails and Walks states:

"Trails and walks provide the only means of access into many areas within parks. These facilities will be planned and developed as integral parts of each park's transportation system, and incorporate principles of universal design. Trails and walks will serve as management tools to help control the distribution and intensity of use. All trails and walks will be carefully situated, designed, and managed to

• reduce conflicts with automobiles and incompatible uses;
• allow for a satisfying park experience;
• allow accessibility by the greatest number of people; and
• protect park resources."

Section 6.3.10.2 Trails in Wilderness states that…

"Trails will be permitted within wilderness when they are determined to be necessary for resource protection and/or for providing for visitor use for the purposes of wilderness." (Reference Manual 41: Wilderness Preservation and Management, Section 6.3.10.2, July 1999).

Director's Order #77-1: Wetland Protection

Section 2.4 states that the NPS will employ a sequence of:

a) avoiding adverse wetland impacts to the extent practicable,
b) minimizing impacts that could not be avoided, and
c) compensating for remaining unavoidable adverse wetland impacts via restoration of degraded wetlands.

There are several exceptions to this Director's Order that require special mention. Relevant exceptions for "Water Dependent" Actions or Other Actions with "Minimal Impacts" include:

1. Scenic overlooks and foot/bike trails or boardwalks, including signs, the primary purposes of which are public education, interpretation, or enjoyment of wetland resources. (Parking lots, access roads, and other associated facilities can not be excepted.)
2. Minor stream crossings using culverts or bridges that completely span the channel and associated wetland habitat (i.e., no pilings, fill, or other support structures in the wetland/stream habitat).

General Management Plan

The General Management Plan (GMP) for the North Cascades National Park Service Complex¹ (NPS, 1988), which includes North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (Complex), is the principal document that guides management, including recreation and development. This document, developed through extensive discussion and interaction with various stakeholders, describes the degree to which the NPS will balance visitor use and enjoyment with resource protection.

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¹The Lake Chelan NRA is now managed under the 1995 General Management Plan.

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The Expansion of Recreational Opportunities section of the GMP is particularly relevant to this EA. This section states that the NPS will "…strive to afford more people the opportunity to become aware of their surroundings and the wide range of available activities." This section also specifically states that the NPS will develop activity sites along the highway to encourage and facilitate recreation. Two of the trail alternatives considered but rejected in this EA, the Ruby Mountain Trail and the Thunder Arm Loop Trail, are derived from the 1988 GMP. Two others, the Hozomeen Lakeshore Trail and the Happy Falls Millsite trail, however, are considered for detailed analysis. The various other alternatives presented in this EA are not explicitly mentioned in the GMP.

There are various policy statements in the GMP, that describe how visitor use of various zones in the park will be managed. These statements provide a policy umbrella over the various alternatives evaluated in this EA. For example, the Wilderness and Backcountry section of the GMP states any given area will be managed "…to protect its natural values, to improve its condition where impacted by visitor activities, and to make it available to hikers, horse riders, and climbers."

North Cascades National Park Service Complex Wilderness Management Plan

The Wilderness Management Plan (NPS, 1989) does not describe how the park will determine what, if any, new trail(s) should be constructed in Ross Lake NRA. Instead, it lays out a framework for how the park will go about managing the wilderness in a manner that will "…pass the wilderness natural resources and spirit of the North Cascades on to the next generation unimpaired." The Goals and Objectives section of the Wilderness Management Plan is tied directly to the objectives of the GMP. This section states that wilderness in the Complex will be managed "…so as to conserve, maintain, enhance or restore the wilderness natural resources and those ecological relationships and processes that would prevail were it not for human influences." The objective for visitor use of the wilderness and backcountry is to "…insure maximum freedom of use without sacrificing the quality of the wilderness natural resources."

National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)

The management actions considered in this EA would constitute a federal undertaking in accordance with NHPA and subsequent amendments. All actions would be performed in accordance with regulations and guidelines set forth in NPS management Policies 2001 and Title 36 Code of Federal Regulations (36 CFR) Part 800. Any ground disturbing activities would require archeological inventory and assessment, in consultation with the Historic Preservation Officer for Washington State, and the affected tribal governments.

Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species

The following laws and policies govern NPS management of rare, threatened and endangered species:

• Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. The NPS must insure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of habitat of such species. Section 7 of the ESA in particular contains an affirmative mandate for conservation of listed species.
• National Park Service Policies, 2001; Section 4.4.2.3 Management of Threatened or Endangered Plants and Animals: "…The Service will survey for, protect, and strive to recover all species native to national park system units that are listed under the Endangered Species Act. The Service will fully meet its obligations under the NPS Organic Act and the Endangered Species Act to both pro-actively conserve listed species and prevent detrimental effects on these species." To meet these obligations, the Service will: "…Manage designated critical habitat, essential habitat, and recovery areas to maintain and enhance their value for the recovery of threatened and endangered species." The NPS will also "…Cooperate with other agencies to ensure that the delineation of critical habitat, essential habitat, and/or recovery areas on park-managed lands provides needed conservation benefits to the total recovery efforts being conducted by all the participating agencies."
• Director's Order #77-8: Endangered Species (version: 1/23/2002). This Order, issued by the Director of the National Park Service, further clarifies NPS responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for management of federally endangered, threatened, proposed, candidate, rare, and sensitive species; experimental populations; designated and proposed critical habitat; and state-listed species. D.O. 77-8 requires the NPS to "…survey, protect, monitor, restore, and strive to recover all species listed, proposed, or candidates for listing under the ESA that are native to NPS units." It also requires the NPS to manage, to the greatest extent possible, state and locally endangered and threatened species as federally listed species.
• NPS and USFS Interim Policy on Grizzly Bear Recovery: Controlling human access into grizzly bear habitat is an important recovery and conservation issue for this federally threatened species. Research indicates roads and high use trails trigger avoidance among grizzlies and can drive them from areas of otherwise suitable habitat. In light of this research, the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service have agreed to an interim policy of ‘no net loss' of core area (defined as areas >500 meters (1,640 feet) from roads or high-use trails) within each of the grizzly Bear Management Units (BMU) in the North Cascades ecosystem. Under this agreement, construction of roads or high use trails in core area requires closure of a road and/or trail of similar size, use level and habitat within the BMU where the loss occurs. This agreement will remain in effect for NOCA until the General Management Plan is revised and long-term measures are formally adopted for grizzly bear recovery.

In summary, the laws and policies governing management of Ross Lake NRA provide broad guidance. Within the framework of conserving ecosystem functions and human values, they provide the Superintendent with considerable leeway in determining the appropriate location and scale of additional recreation opportunities in the Recreation Area. This EA is therefore an important decision-making tool for determining which alternative best provides for recreational opportunities while conserving park resources.