SCOPING DOCUMENT West Tensleep Corridor Master Recreation Project Powder River Ranger District Bighorn National Forest Public involvement is an important part of the Forest Service environmental planning process. We ask for your input to determine the issues and the scope of the environmental analysis. Please take the time to read the following information, and let us know your concerns about the proposed actions and decisions to be made. The information you share with us will result in a better decision. We appreciate your time and effort. HOW TO GET INVOLVED Your comments or questions will be most useful if received by February 28, 2011. Include your name, address, phone number, and the title of the document on which you are submitting comments. Please include specific facts and supporting reasons you believe the deciding officer should consider in reaching a decision. Information that would be particularly helpful includes resource issues and concerns about this proposal and any information on past or current activities and resources in the area. Please submit comments to Craig Cope, Project Coordinator, 1415 Fort St., Buffalo, WY 82834. Comments may also be emailed to comments_bighorn@fs.fed.us with “West Tensleep Corridor Master Recreation Project” in the subject line. The telephone number is 307-684-7806. The deciding officer is the Powder River district ranger. The environmental analysis is scheduled for decision by December 2011. Additional information can be obtained from Craig Cope at the address and phone number listed previously. INTRODUCTION The West Tensleep corridor provides both developed and dispersed recreation. It has the most popular access point to the Cloud Peak Wilderness and the most heavily traveled forest road, Forest Service Road (FSR) 27. Recreational use in this corridor is high, and resource impacts from this use are increasing. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Location The project area is located along Forest Service Road (FSR) 27, starting at the Tyrrell Work Center northward to the head of the West and Middle Tensleep drainages of the Bighorn National Forest in Big Horn County. The total project area is about 25,000 acres including a portion of the Cloud Peak Wilderness. FSR 27 is located approximately 45 miles west of Buffalo, WY and 20 miles east of Tensleep, WY and intersects with U.S. Highway 16 near Deer Haven in Big Horn County. 1 Forest Service Road (FSR) 27 FSR 27, West Tensleep Road, is one of the most traveled roads on the Bighorn National Forest. As many as 250 cars per day traverse this seven-mile stretch which dead ends at the West Tensleep Trailhead. This is nearly twice the average daily traffic count for the next busiest road on the forest. The number of vehicles and the speed with which they travel is creating safety concerns along the 7-mile stretch of road. Wilderness The West Tensleep Trailhead is the most heavily visited trailhead providing access to the Cloud Peak Wilderness. Wilderness registration data collected since 1994 indicates that approximately 40% of the visits to the Cloud Peak Wilderness occur through the West Tensleep Trailhead. This translates to 6,000 to 7,000 visitors each summer, with most of the visits in July and August. Developed Campgrounds There are three developed campgrounds with a total of 27 sites. Two campgrounds are located in the water influence zone 1 along West Tensleep Creek. These two campgrounds have also been identified for rebuilding because of their age and the deterioration of the equipment. Upgrading the equipment will reduce annual operation and maintenance expenses. Dispersed Camping A 2009 survey of dispersed campsites found nearly 100 sites, approximately 60% of which were either within 100 feet of water or within ¼-mile of developed campgrounds. The current campground locations and lack of trailhead parking also limit the access to the existing trails outside the Cloud Peak Wilderness for visitors seeking hiking, horseback riding and bicycling opportunities. The additions of some trailhead parking and tying the existing trails together in the West Tensleep corridor would improve the non-wilderness visitors’ experience. Human Health and Safety Visitors and staff have reported improper human waste disposal in the West Tensleep Creek drainage portion of the Cloud Peak Wilderness and in the dispersed campsites along FSR 27. Numerous pathogens are present in solid human waste and they can be passed from human to human through contact with exposed human waste. 1 The water influence zone is the aquatic ecosystem, the riparian ecosystem, characterized by distinct vegetation and associated valley bottom (Winters et al. 2004), wetlands, and ecosystems that remain within approximately 100 feet horizontally from both edges of all perennial and intermittent streams and from the shores of lakes and other still water bodies. It includes adjacent, unstable and highly erodible soil. 2 THE PROPOSED ACTION To address the human health and safety concerns, resource concerns, and the concern of older campground equiment, the Powder River district ranger is proposing the following actions: 1. Relocate West Tensleep Campground approximately one-half mile south of its current location, and construct a new handicapped accessible trail to West Tensleep Lake. Maximum capacity would be 20 sites. Ten sites would be drive-in; ten sites would be walk-in. Campsites would be for tent camping only; no trailers or generators would be permitted. The handicapped accessible trail to West Tensleep Lake would tie back to the existing West Tensleep trailhead. 2. Relocate campsites from the Deer Park Campground to a newly constructed Warner Draw Campground just north of the Tyrrell Work Center. Maximum capacity would be 30 sites. This campground would accommodate recreation vehicles up to 65 feet in length. 3. Decommission (remove) the old West Tensleep and Deer Park campgrounds. In the 2008 recreation facilities analysis, these two campgrounds were identified for replacement due to their age and the deterioration of the equipment. 4. Require all dispersed camping from Tyrell Work Center north and within the West and Middle Tensleep drainage (including the portion in the Cloud Peak Wilderness) to be self-contained for solid human waste. 5. Allow dispersed camping only in designated dispersed camp sites with campfires permitted only in steel fire rings at the designated camp site. Maximum capacity is 40 sites; including some proposed sites less than ¼-mile distance from existing or proposed developed campgrounds. Designated dispersed sites would be at least 100 feet from water. The proposed locations are shown on the attached map. 6. Change the road width to a single-lane road with turnouts for the last one and a half miles of FSR 27 (where FSR 27 crosses West Tensleep Creek northward to the end of the road at West Tensleep Trailhead). Allow the existing road surface to return to native surface over time, with rock protrusions of no more than 2 inches which still allows for passenger car use. 7. Establish a safe speed on the rest of FSR 27 south to the Tyrrell Work Center by implementing traffic calming actions (e.g., speed humps in the road, narrowing the road to a 22 feet wide). Do not apply any surface treatments (such as magnesium chloride) to improve the road surface or eliminate wash boards. 8. Just north of the current Deer Park Campground location, construct a turn-around at the conversion from two-lane gravel road to a single-lane road, to allow larger recreation vehicles and vehicles with trailers to return south on FSR 27. This would eliminate difficulties with large RVs trying to turn around further north towards the trailhead. Provide parking at this location for access to Trail #67. 9. Limit parking in the West Tensleep Trailhead parking area to 45 cars and four doublelength trailer spots – the number and type of vehicles for which the area was designed. No parking would be permitted within ¼ mile of the trailhead. 3 10. Construct a horse/foot trail from the bridge at Warner Draw north to the bridge at Deer Park along the east side of Middle Tensleep Creek. Another option is to construct a bridge at the Island Park campground as part of this proposed new trail. 11. Create a loop trail from west of Warner Draw campground to trail 69. DECISION TO BE MADE The District Ranger will decide whether to implement the proposed action and what, if any, design criteria are needed. /s/ Mark Booth Mark Booth District Ranger Date January 24, 2011 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326, W. Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposed action and will be available for public inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Parts 215 or 217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may request the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality. Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that, under the FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in only very limited circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest Service will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding the request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within 30 days. 4