Baker Gulch & Bowen Gulch Trailhead Consolidation Environmental Assessment
National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado Baker Gulch & Bowen Gulch Trailhead Consolidation Environmental Assessment August 10, 2007
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Environmental Assessment Baker Gulch & Bowen Gulch Trailhead Consolidation Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado Summary Rocky Mountain National Park provides several Hunter Access Corridors, including the Baker Gulch Trail and the Bowen Gulch Trail. While hunting is prohibited within the national park, Hunter Access Corridors allow access to adjacent National Forest lands where hunting for elk and deer is permitted at certain times of the year. Wildlife that has been legally taken outside the park in accordance with Colorado hunting laws and regulations, and properly tagged and identified, may be transported through the park along identified Hunter Access Corridors. Hunters and park visitors are permitted to drive to the Baker Gulch Trailhead and the Bowen Gulch Trailhead during the Colorado combined deer and elk hunting season, which generally runs from about October 20 until November 20 each year. The ability to drive to the Baker Gulch Trailhead reduces the distance a hunter or park visitor must walk by about ¾ mile each way. For the Bowen Gulch Trailhead, the distance is about ⅓ mile each way. The remainder of the year (11 months), visitors must park in the Bowen-Baker parking lot located near Trail Ridge Road and the only access to either trailhead is on foot or horseback. Rocky Mountain National Park is proposing to close the Baker Gulch Trailhead and restore the parking lot and access road to natural conditions because the narrow dead-end road leading to the trailhead and the remote parking area create safety challenges for law enforcement rangers. A new connecting trail would be constructed from Baker Gulch to the Bowen Gulch Trailhead, and the Bowen Gulch Trailhead would provide parking for both trails. The changes contemplated by this Environmental Assessment would affect hunters and park visitors for approximately one (1) month each year. Alternative 1 is the “No Action” alternative where both trailheads would continue to be managed as they are now. Alternative 2 is the National Park Service “Preferred Alternative” where the Baker Gulch Trailhead would be moved to the Bowen Gulch Trailhead which would be enlarged so that there is no net loss of parking, the access road to Baker Gulch would be removed and the ground restored to natural conditions, and a new connecting trail would be built to provide direct access to Baker Gulch. This Environmental Assessment has been prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to provide a decision making framework that: 1) analyzes a reasonable range of alternatives to meet the identified need; 2) evaluates the consequences of each alternative on the natural and human environment; and 3) identifies mitigation measures to ensure protection of resources and values throughout construction and implementation of the proposed trailhead changes. No major impacts are anticipated as a result of this proposal. Public Comment We welcome your comments on this Environmental Assessment. If we receive important new information, or if significant new issues are raised during the public comment period, we will revise the Environmental Assessment. Your comments must be received in writing by close of business on September 10, 2007. i
If you have Internet access, the preferred method for submitting comments is to use the National Park Service Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website: http://parkplanning.nps.gov From the home page, use the drop down menu to select Rocky Mountain National Park. A list of current planning projects will be displayed, and you can select the Baker Gulch & Bowen Gulch Trailhead Consolidation Environmental Assessment. Review comments can be submitted online. If you do not have Internet access, you can submit your comments to us in several ways: By mail: Superintendent, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado 80517 By fax: (970) 586-1397 By Express Delivery: Superintendent, Rocky Mountain National Park, 1000 U.S. Highway 36, Estes Park, Colorado 80517 Hand deliver: Rocky Mountain National Park Headquarters, 1000 Highway 36, Estes Park, Colorado or to the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, Rocky Mountain National Park, 16018 U.S. Highway 34, Grand Lake, Colorado 80447 Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Superintendent Rocky Mountain National Park Estes Park, Colorado 80517 ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS PURPOSE AND NEED. 1 Purpose. 1 Need . 1 Scoping . 2 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PLANS . 3 IMPACT TOPICS Retained for further analysis . 3 IMPACT TOPICS Dismissed from further consideration. 5 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED . 12 Alternative 1: No-Action Alternative . 12 Alternative 2: Preferred alternative. 12 Mitigation Measures . 15 Environmentally Preferred Alternative. 17 Summaries/Costs. 18 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES . 23 Methodology . 23 Cumulative Impact scenario. 23 Soils. 24 Affected Environment. 24 Methodology . 24 Regulations and Policy . 25 Impacts of the No Action Alternative . 25 Cumulative Impacts of the No Action Alternative . 25 Conclusion for the No Action Alternative . 25 Impacts of the Preferred Alternative. 26 Cumulative Impacts of the Preferred Alternative . 26 Conclusion for the Preferred Alternative . 26 Vegetation . 26 Affected Environment. 26 Methodology . 27 Regulations and Policy . 27 Impacts of the No Action Alternative . 27 Cumulative Impacts of the No Action Alternative . 28 Conclusion for the No Action Alternative . 28 Impacts of the Preferred Alternative. 28 Cumulative Impacts of the Preferred Alternative . 29 Conclusion for the Preferred Alternative . 29 Wilderness. 29 Affected Environment. 29 Methodology . 30 Regulations and Policy . 30 Impacts of the No Action Alternative . 31 Cumulative Impacts of the No Action Alternative . 31 Conclusion for the No Action Alternative . 31 Impacts of the Preferred Alternative. 32 Cumulative Impacts of the Preferred Alternative . 32 iii
Conclusion for the Preferred Alternative . 32 Visitor Experience . 33 Affected Environment. 33 Methodology . 33 Regulations and Policy . 34 Impacts of the No Action Alternative . 35 Cumulative Impacts of the No Action Alternative . 35 Conclusion for the No Action Alternative . 35 Impacts of the Preferred Alternative. 35 Cumulative Impacts of the Preferred Alternative . 36 Conclusion for the Preferred Alternative . 36 Park Operations. 36 Methodology . 36 Regulations and Policies . 37 Impacts of the No Action Alternative . 37 Cumulative Impacts of the No Action Alternative . 37 Conclusion for the No Action Alternative . 38 Impacts of the Preferred Alternative. 38 Cumulative Impacts of the Preferred Alternative . 38 Conclusion of the Preferred Alternative . 39 CONSULTATION/COORDINATION. 40 Agencies/Tribes/Organizations/Individuals Contacted. 40 Preparers . 40 List of Recipients . 40 REFERENCES . 41 APPENDICIES APPENDIX A: Unit Species List for Rocky Mountain National Park . . .43 APPENDIX B: Concurrence Letter from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service . .45 APPENDIX C: Cultural Resources Documentation . 47 APPENDIX D: Minimum Requirement Analysis 48 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Methods Each Alternative Uses to Ensure Each Objective is Met. 19 Table 2: Comparison of Alternatives . 20 Table 3: Summary Comparison of Impacts . 21 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Bowen-Baker Trailhead Existing Conditions .13 Figure 2: Bowen-Baker Trailhead Preferred Alternative .14 iv
PURPOSE AND NEED Purpose Introduction Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) is located in north central Colorado. The park was established by an Act of Congress on January 26, 1915 to preserve the natural conditions and scenic beauties, conserve the natural and historic objects and wildlife, and provide the freest recreational use and enjoyment for the people of the United States. RMNP’s mission is the care, protection, management, improvement, understanding, and interpretation of park resources while maintaining positive visitor experiences. The two primary gateway communities are Estes Park on the east side of the park and Grand Lake on the west side. The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests adjoin much of the park boundary. Over sixty percent (60%) of the park boundary is contiguous with lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service. While hunting is prohibited within RMNP, it is allowed in the adjoining national forests. During the combined deer and elk hunting season, which lasts for approximately one month each year, RMNP provides several Hunter Access Corridors to allow hunters to gain access to the adjacent national forests. Wildlife that has been legally taken outside the park in accordance with Colorado hunting laws and regulations, and properly tagged and identified, may be transported through the park along identified Hunter Access Corridors. Approximately 260 hunters register at the Grand Lake entrance station each year. Because hunting is prohibited with the national park, and because deer and elk have very few natural predators, hunting is the most effective means of managing deer and elk populations. Except within the national park, responsibility for game management within the state of Colorado rests with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. The National Park Service supports hunting on adjacent lands by providing Hunter Access Corridors within RMNP. The purpose of this proposed trailhead consolidation is to: Continue to provide hunter and visitor access to Baker Gulch and Bowen Gulch; To do so in a manner that provides for public safety; and, To do so in a manner that provides for the safety of park personnel Need Please refer to Figure 1 on page 13. The Bowen-Baker parking lot is located just west of Trail Ridge Road and can accommodate approximately 30 vehicles. This parking lot is open and available to park visitors all year. The unpaved Bowen-Baker access road originates at the west end of the parking lot and crosses the Colorado River via a bridge that is located just west of the parking lot. A gate is located at the west end of the bridge. The gate is normally closed to prohibit vehicular access, but is opened for about one month each year, roughly from October 20 until November 20 during the Colorado combined hunting season for deer and elk. During this time the road provides vehicular access to the Bowen and Baker Gulch trailheads for both hunters and park visitors. Visitors are permitted to walk and ride horses along the Bowen-Baker access road throughout the year. For the first ¼ mile, the unpaved Bowen-Baker access road is wide enough for two vehicles to 1
pass each other. This access road is maintained by RMNP road crews. Beyond the first ¼ mile, the road divides. By bearing left and continuing for another 200 feet one reaches the Bowen Gulch trailhead parking lot, which currently accommodates about 10 vehicles. By bearing right and continuing for another ½ mile one reaches the Baker Gulch trailhead parking lot which currently accommodates about 5 vehicles. At all other times of the year these access roads are closed to vehicles but are available for hiking and horseback riding. The access road to Baker Gulch is a narrow two-track dirt road with few opportunities for vehicles approaching from opposite directions to pass one another. The route is somewhat circuitous and the road comes to a dead end with no secondary means of access. The Baker Gulch access road and parking lot are surrounded by lodgepole pine forest which limits visibility to only a few yards as one travels along the road. The characteristics of the Baker Gulch access road and trailhead parking area pose several challenges for RMNP law enforcement rangers: The narrow, circuitous, dead end, two-track road is problematic for emergency response. Larger emergency vehicles, including ambulances or fire fighting equipment, would have a difficult time accessing the current trailhead or maneuvering to exit the parking lot. Surveillance of the area for law enforcement violations, including wildlife poaching or dogs off leash, is difficult because the access road and parking lot are surrounded by lodgepole pine forest. Law enforcement rangers must always be cognizant of their own safety and the safety of park visitors in the event that a law enforcement incident should occur, and especially when weapons like hunting rifles could be involved. The narrow, circuitous, dead end road creates a setting that is troublesome for park rangers. In addition to the challenges for law enforcement rangers, the road must be maintained by the park’s roads crew. While the maintenance cost is not significant, the work does include the removal of downed trees, occasional snow removal and grading to fill in potholes. For the reasons that are described above, RMNP is proposing to close the Baker Gulch trailhead and access road, and consolidate parking at the Bowen Gulch trailhead which does not have all of the undesirable characteristics described above. Scoping Scoping is an early and open process to determine the breadth of issues and alternatives to be addressed in an environmental assessment. RMNP conducted both internal scoping with appropriate National Park Service staff and external scoping with the public and interested and affected groups and agencies. Internal scoping was conducted by the staff of RMNP and involved law enforcement rangers, park management staff, trails crew, maintenance personnel and cultural and natural resource specialists. This interdisciplinary process defined the purpose and need, identified potential actions to address the need, determined what the likely issues and impact topics would be, and identified the relationship, if any, of the proposed action to other planning efforts at the park. During the Combined Hunting Season in 2005 and again in 2006 park staff posted fliers at the Baker Gulch Trailhead and the Bowen Gulch Trailhead to inform hunters and park visitors about the proposed changes. Two comments were received in 2005; one opposed to any changes and 2
the other recommending a more direct route from the Bowen Gulch trailhead parking lot to Baker Gulch. In response to the latter comment, we revised the proposed plans to provide a more direct trail connection. The revised plans were posted during the 2006 hunting season but generated no additional public comments. Park staff also consulted with the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado Division of Wildlife regarding the proposed action. In October 2006 a press release was sent to area newspapers inviting the public to attend an open house, which was scheduled to be held in Grand Lake on October 17. Two additional public comments were received following the open house: 1. Allow dogs on leash to use the trailhead and connecting trail to access the Arapaho National Forest. 2. Consider enlarging the Bowen Gulch trailhead even more than is planned and provide room for horse trailers. Also consider keeping this parking area open all year. The undertakings described in this EA are subject to §106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended in 1992 (16 USC §470 et seq.). Consultations with the Colorado State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) have been completed. The SHPO concurred with our determination of “No historic properties affected” (please see Appendix C). Informal consultation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) regarding potential impacts to federally listed endangered, threatened and rare species has been completed. The FWS concurred with the park’s determination that the preferred alternative, as described in detail in this document, May Effect, but is not Likely to Adversely Affect” Canada Lynx (Appendix B). RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PLANS Consolidating the Bowen and Baker Gulch Trailheads is consistent with the following RMNP documents and other agency plans: Master Plan (1976) Resources Management Plan (1998) Invasive Exotic Plant Management Plan (2003) Bark Beetle Management Plan (2005) Fire Management Plan (1992, updated in 2004) Vegetation Restoration Management Plan (1994) Wildland-Urban Interface Fuels Management Plan (2002) Elk and Vegetation Management Plan (in preparation) National Park Service Management Policies (2006) A Trail Plan for RMNP was approved in 1982. In the plan, no new trails were proposed for the Kawuneeche Valley Planning Unit. However, the planning horizon for the plan was 20 years, and it did not foresee the need to provide hunter access corridors from the park to the adjacent Arapaho National Forest to help address the burgeoning elk population. Consolidating parking at the Bowen Gulch Trailhead and constructing a new connecting trail to Baker Gulch does meet the spirit and intent of the Trails Plan, which is to “provide diverse recreational opportunities for both hikers and horseback riders while reducing environmental damage” (NPS 1982). IMPACT TOPICS Retained for further analysis Issues and concerns affecting the proposed action were identified by specialists in the National 3
Park Service, as well as by the public. Impact topics are the resources of concern that could be affected by the range of alternatives. Specific impact topics were developed to ensure that alternatives were compared on the basis of the most relevant topics. The following impact topics were identified on the basis of federal laws, regulations, orders, and National Park Service Management Policies (2006), and from input from the public. A brief rationale for the selection of each impact topic is given below, as well as the rationale for dismissing specific topics from further consideration. Soils National Park Service Management Policies (2006) state that the NPS will strive to understand, maintain, restore, and protect the inherent integrity of the natural resources, processes, systems, and values of the parks while providing meaningful and appropriate opportunities to enjoy them. Natural resources include physical resources such as water, air, soils, topographic features, geologic features and paleontological resources. The NPS manages the natural resources of parks to maintain them in an unimpaired condition for present and future generations. Expansion of the Bowen Gulch Trailhead parking area would disturb approximately 4,500 sq. ft. of soil. Construction of the new connecting trail (about 900 ft. long) would disturb approximately 9,000 sq. ft. of soil. The combined disturbance would amount to 13,500 sq. ft. or 0.3 acre. For this reason, this topic has been retained for further analysis in this document. Vegetation National Park Service Management Policies (2006) state that the NPS will strive to understand, maintain, restore, and protect the inherent integrity of the natural resources, processes, systems, and values of the parks while providing meaningful and appropriate opportunities to enjoy them. Natural resources include biological resources such as native plants, animals, and communities. The NPS manages the natural resources of parks to maintain them in an unimpaired condition for present and future generations. The existing vegetation at the proposed site of the expanded Bowen Gulch Trailhead parking lot and the proposed connecting trail is dominated by lodgepole pine with very little understory vegetation. In order to expand the Bowen Gulch Trailhead parking area and to build about 900 feet of new trail, approximately 75 lodgepole pine trees of various ages would need to be cut down and removed. Therefore this topic has been retained for further analysis in this document. Wilderness Wilderness management programs and policies apply to parks that have designated wilderness, potential wilderness, and recommended/study wilderness (NPS-41). A wilderness recommendation for RMNP was first submitted to Congress in 1974, but was not acted upon. Since that time there have been several RMNP wilderness bills introduced, but no action has been taken. The most recent RMNP wilderness bill was introduced in the 109th Congress but failed to pass. It is anticipated that an RMNP wilderness bill will be introduced in the 110th Congress. If a wilderness bill is passed by Congress and signed by the President, it is anticipated that approximately 95 percent of RMNP would be designated as wilderness. NPS policies state, “The NPS will take no action that would diminish the wilderness suitability of an area recommended for wilderness study or for wilderness designation until the legislative process has been completed.” (USDI-NPS Management Policies Chapter 7:2, 2006, NPS-41). 4
Construction of a new connecting trail from the Bowen Gulch Trailhead parking area to Baker Gulch would occur within recommended wilderness. Therefore this topic has been retained for further analysis in this document. Visitor Use and Experience National Park Service Management Policies (2006) state that the fundamental purpose of the national park system, established by the Organic Act and reaffirmed by the General Authorities Act, as amended, begins with a mandate to conserve park resources and values. The fundamental purpose of all parks also includes providing for the enjoyment of park resources and values by the people of the United States. The enjoyment that is contemplated by the statute is broad; it is enjoyment by all the people of the United States and includes enjoyment both by people who visit parks and by those who appreciate them from afar. A yearlong visitor survey revealed that tranquility, clean air, clean water, scenery, and wildlife are extremely important attractions for RMNP visitors (Valdez, 1996). RMNP is one of the busiest national parks in the System, with annual visitation of approximately 3 million people. Hiking, camping, sightseeing, and wildlife viewing are prime activities in the park. With the proposed consolidation of the Baker and Bowen Gulch Trailheads, hunters and visitors who park at the Bowen Gulch Trailhead parking area would have to walk approximately ⅓ mile to reach Baker Gulch. Under existing conditions hunters and visitors can drive to the Baker Gulch Trailhead during the combined deer and elk hunting season. At other times, there would be no impact to park visitors. Within the adjacent Arapaho National Forest, visitors are allowed to take dogs. However, within RMNP, there is no trail connection to the national forest where park visitors can legally walk a dog. During public scoping, a comment was received requesting access for visitors with dogs. For these reasons this topic has been retained for further analysis in this document. Park Operations The circuitous, dead end, two-track road that p
By Express Delivery: Superintendent, Rocky Mountain National Park, 1000 U.S. Highway 36, Estes Park, Colorado 80517 Hand deliver: Rocky Mountain National Park Headquarters, 1000 Highway 36, Estes Park, Colorado or to the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, Rocky Mountain National Park, 16018 U.S. Highway 34, Grand Lake, Colorado 80447
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