Opinion ID: 3065511
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Project area and Allotment Management Plan

Text: (AMP) Proposal1 The Antelope Basin/Elk Lake project area is in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest (BDNF) in Southwest Montana. The project area is approximately 48,000 acres and forms the southeast portion of the Gravelly Mountain Range. Most of the project area is open, mountain sagebrush/ grasslands with some scattered timber along streams. 1 An AMP is “a document, prepared in consultation with lessees or permittees, that applies to livestock operations on public lands, and (1) prescribes the manner and extent to which livestock operations will be conducted in order to meet multiple use, sustained-yield, economic, and other needs and objectives, (2) describes range improvements to be installed and maintained, and (3) contains such other provisions relating to livestock grazing and other objectives found by the Secretary to be consistent with the provisions of [the Federal Land Policy Management Act].” Antelope Basin/Elk Lake AMP Updates, Environmental Assessment, Revised (Environmental Assessment), Chapter 1, p. 2 (December 2002). 3712 NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS COUNCIL v. TIDWELL Three Forest Service activities have most affected the sagebrush ecosystem in the project area: 1) herbicide application to control sagebrush densities;2 2) burning to control sagebrush densities;3 and 3) livestock grazing. Sheep and cattle have grazed a majority of the project area over the past century. As part of a settlement agreement in an unrelated case, the Forest Service agreed to a schedule for completing NEPA environmental analyses and decisions for the authorization of livestock grazing and associated resource protection measures. The Environmental Assessment at issue in this case contains the NEPA analysis underlying some of the livestock allotments listed in the agreed-upon schedule. The project area was divided into eleven grazing allotments. The project proposed updating AMPs for these eleven allotments. The updated allotments would determine “where livestock can graze, when grazing would occur and what specific guidelines would be established to regulate the intensity of grazing.” As of the time of the proposal, the prior AMPs for all eleven allotments were ten years or older. The proposal specifically identified the goals established in the BDNF Land Resource Forest Plan (Forest Plan)4 which governed the proposed project. These goals included maintaining a sufficient number of diverse habitats to support native wildlife and providing opportunities for grazing by domestic livestock without compromising extant forest resources. The proposal also stated that no further “sage brush control measures” such as burning or herbicides are contemplated in the project area in the near future. 2 From 1960 to 1974, approximately 5865 acres were treated with herbicides. 3 6,491 acres were burned from 1982-1988, and 6,476 acres from 1992 - 2000. 4 The NFMA requires the Forest Service to develop a forest plan for each unit of the National Forest System. See 16 U.S.C. § 1604(a). NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS COUNCIL v. TIDWELL 3713 The Forest Service prepared an initial Environmental Assessment for the proposed AMPs, and issued a revised Environmental Assessment after receiving public comments. The revised Assessment specifically addressed concerns regarding the project’s impact on sage grouse, as well as other sagebrush habitat obligates. The Environmental Assessment considered three options for updating the AMPs: (1) Alternative A, which continued the status quo; (2) Alternative B, the preferred alternative, which modified the AMPs to protect riparian habitat while allowing grazing;5 and (3) Alternative C, which banned grazing altogether. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service issued a Biological Evaluation concluding that adoption of the preferred alternative was not likely to adversely affect or jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species. In November, 2003, District Ranger Mark Petroni released a Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact (DN/ FONSI) reflecting the administrative decision to proceed with Alternative B. The DN/FONSI concluded that the project was not a major federal action with significant effect on the quality of the human environment, and therefore no Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was warranted under NEPA. 5 Alternative B proposed revising the AMPs in numerous ways: reducing animal unit months from 11,225 to 10,453; eliminating the Elk Mountain allotment; changing boundaries to create a new, Two Drinks allotment; excluding livestock from a portion of Elk Lake and all of Elk Springs Creek; limiting allowable upland forage utilization to fifty percent; limiting riparian forage to fifty-five percent; possibly eliminating livestock from the upper regions of Narrows Creek; and constructing structural improvements as needed. The proposal included construction of 6.75 miles of new fence, a new reservoir, 26 new water troughs, 5.75 miles of new pipeline, and relocating 5 miles and removing 2 miles of existing fence. For all allotments, livestock would be moved to the next pasture or removed from the allotment once certain utilization thresholds were met. 3714 NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS COUNCIL v. TIDWELL