4. Resource Protection Measures.pdf

Chantry Phase 2 – Resource Protection Measures

Biology

1. California Spotted Owl: Due to project occurring within ¼ mile buffer of a protected activity center (PAC) – Limiting Operating Period (LOP) restrictions apply from Feb 1 – Aug 15

a. If work cannot be avoided during that time frame, then work must only occur 2 hours after sunrise to 2 hours before sunset.

2. Migratory birds & Non-sensitive Raptors: Jan 1 – Sept 15 - Nesting bird surveys need to be completed prior to any vegetation removal.

a. Once surveyed and no nests are located, vegetation can be removed.

b. If a nest is found, activities will halt until birds are fully fledged.

c. Nesting bird surveys can be done by a biological contractor, a qualified bio monitor, or a Forest biologist.

i. If a Forest biologist is preferred, request must be made at least a week in advance

d. Survey results are only good for 7 days and are required prior to any on the ground project activities commencing.

e. If a break in work activities occurs for 7 days or more, new surveys are required.

3. Excavations/ Trenches: Any excavations left open/unattended for >12 hrs must be covered or include an escape ramp constructed to bottom of pit with 2-1 slope.

a. Prior to commencement of work activity each day, staff will check excavations to make sure no animals are trapped. Before backfilling or permanently closing any excavation, it must be checked to make sure no wildlife is present within the excavated area. If wildlife has become trapped, backfilling cannot begin until the individual has either been removed or exited the excavation.

4. Bats & reptiles: avoid habitat where possible; if an individual is found/ seen in project area, contact biologist immediately. Surveys for bats must be conducted prior to removing any building to ensure no roosting is occurring.

a. Wildlife encountered during the course of work activities should be avoided or given the opportunity to evacuate the site. Personnel will be reminded that harassing, harming, or feeding wildlife is not permitted. This includes venomous species such as rattlesnakes.

Botany/ Natural Resource Specialist

1. Prior to implementation, a pre-construction plant survey must be completed and will include all areas potentially impacted by project activities, including the actual work site, access roads, and staging areas. Adjacent to construction areas and within the Temporary Construction Easement (TCE), trees and native vegetation not identified for removal will be flagged for protection in place (PIP). If rare plants are found, design features such as flagging and marking of areas to avoid or limited operating period may be implemented, as determined by an ANF botanist.

2. All project activities must remain within the designated Construction areas and the designated TCE, which includes the proposed five (5) foot buffer area for clearing and grubbing as needed. Project activities, vehicle/heavy equipment traffic, parking and staging must remain within the identified project disturbance area and outside the dripline of trees identified for protection in place.

3. If construction deviates from the final approved plans, an ANF botanist/natural resource specialist must be informed. This is to ensure unexpected construction changes are cleared by existing surveys or that new surveys are conducted as needed. If these changes will result in the pruning or removal of native trees, FS approval will be required. Impacts to native trees will be recorded regardless of size and will include the following at a minimum:

The species and number of individuals cut, their diameter at breast height (DBH) (1.3 meters from ground), location, photo documentation and potential impact type. If a tree/oak identified for protection in place is impacted by construction activities such as equipment traffic or staging within the drip zone, root pruning/cutting, or excessive branch pruning (greater than 25 percent in one year), the tree/oak shall be mitigated. The appropriate mitigation ratio will be determined by an ANF botanist.

4. To limit the introduction and spread of new invasive plant occurrences, tool, vehicle and equipment washing requirements will be implemented. Any vehicles/equipment engaged in off-road travel and all ground disturbing and vegetation removal tools and equipment (including handheld) must be cleaned prior to entering Forest Service land and when moving from one project area to the next. Washing of tools, equipment and vehicles will be done in a manner that will effectively remove seeds and propagules and would not further enhance the spread of invasive plants through improper disposal of rinse water. Washing of equipment and vehicles must include tires/tracks, wheel wells, bumpers, fuel/skid pans and undercarriages. Personnel transport vehicles are exempt from this requirement as long as they have not engaged in off-road travel.

5. All introduced plant material (e.g., straw, mulch, seeds, etc.) and fill material (soil, sand, gravel, rock) used for the project must be certified not to contain propagative plant parts or seeds found on the California noxious weed list, as listed in the California Code of Regulations, Title 3, Division 4, Chapter 6, Section 4500. The material must also be of high quality, with little to no garbage and debris. Prior to purchase and project implementation, the appropriate specialists including a Forest botanist will be provided information regarding the location(s) of the source(s) for the fill materials so that a site inspection can be conducted.

6. All erosion control material must be biodegradable. Wattles wrapped in “photodegradable” plastic will not be acceptable.

7. If invasive plant treatment is required, it will follow the design criteria, application methods, and post-application monitoring protocols outlined in the ANF LMP (2005) and further prescribed in the Angeles National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Plan for Invasive Plants (USFS 2015a).

8. If removal of invasive plants is required, the FS botanist will determine the appropriate disposal method. This may include placement of plants in 3mm garbage bags and disposal off Forest at a site approved to accept such material.

9. For project activities that generate debris requiring disposal, soil and debris collected containing target invasive plant species with a rating “high” from the California Invasive Plant Council (CAL-IPC) must be deposited to a proper disposal facility to ensure disposal of this material will not lead to the introduction and spread of target invasive species.

Restoration

10. Prior to any demolition commencing, a forest Botanist will identify non-native vegetation located around the building perimeter that must be included for removal as part of the Project demolition process.

11. The substrate at the barracks site post-removal will be highly compacted and is likely to lack any meaningful native seed bank to regenerate from. Site preparation including decompaction of the soil will be necessary before reseeding of the site. Soil decompaction is critical for restoration success. The preferred method for decompaction is wet chunking or scarification with an excavator. To improve soil health and thus the success of restoration efforts, a soil amendment (complying with Measure 5) should be added into the soil. No equipment traffic and only a minimum amount of foot traffic will occur on top of the site once decompaction has occurred. Once this step is complete, the site will be planted and/or hydroseeded.

12. The restoration seed/plant palette, to be determined by a Forest botanist, will include a mix of native and locally collected shrubs, herbaceous plants and grasses. Total volume of seed to be applied is 12 lbs/acre in a bonded matrix or in furrows under mulch. All plants and seed mixes used for this project must be sourced from local genetic sources identified by a forest Botanist.

13. A Forest botanist will prepare a restoration plan and will take into consideration the size of the disturbed area, topography, surrounding vegetation and adjacent sensitive resources.

Restoration may include staging areas if they are disturbed and not representative of the site when the project started.

14. All disturbed areas will be recontoured be in line with the natural topography and drainage of the site, prior to restoration occurring.

15. Contractor will purchase and install wooden temporary barriers/fencing (3-4 feet in height) around all restored areas, to help keep people out of the restoration areas. Contractor will also purchase and install signage notifying the public “Native Plant Restoration in Progress, Please Stay Out”. All signage and fencing materials must be approved by Forest Landscape Architect prior to purchase and installation.

Engineering

1. Construction Specs will be providing prior to Project going out for Bid.

Heritage

1. If archaeological resources and/or historic properties are inadvertently discovered or affected during project activities, all work shall cease within 100 feet (30.5 meters) of the find, and the ANF Heritage Program Manager shall be notified. They will evaluate the significance of the resource, whether or not the resource has been affected, and recommend the appropriate action.

Hydrology

1. All appropriate BMPs shall be implemented to minimize damage to surface soil structure and to reduce potential for erosion and sediment transport to drainages due to project activities. All ground disturbing activities with the potential for erosion must be consistent with FSH 2509.22 – Soil and Water Conservation Practices Handbook and Best Management Practices and in compliance with the Erosion Control Plan developed for the project. All construction will remain within the existing site footprint.

2. Equipment shall avoid contact with soils during and after rain events to prevent mudding and subsequent hardening due to disturbance. Use parking lot and paved surfaces to station heavy equipment instead.

3. Any spills that do occur are expected to be minor and quickly remediated on site. Spills remediation can include removal of contaminant and proper disposal. Revegetation or soils replacement can also occur for larger spills, however large spills are not anticipated in the scope of the project activity. Depending on the severity and type of spills if these do occur, the response will meet correcting the disturbance and setting the disturbance back to the ecological state prior to the disturbance taking place. Avoid placing generators, fluid containers, or leaking pieces of equipment directly on the ground. Place any small and moveable pieces of equipment on mats or tarps that will prevent chemicals from leaching into the soil.

4. Underground infrastructure rots and decays over time, releasing particles (for example, rust and chemicals) that can infiltrate soils and move through soils, bind and transport through water and carry or settle within drainage pathways. As much underground infrastructure as possible should be removed where appropriate to do so (least amount of resource damage). Remove piping behind building slated for demolition.

5. Airborne and ground contacting dust particles, residue and materials from decommissioning of old and to be demolished buildings require use of best management practices to prevent dust contaminants from dispersing in the area. Retain vegetation during construction, enclose the demolition site, use dust vacuums, apply moisture as needed to reduce non contaminant dust, use wind breaks or wind tube vacuums or other appropriate equipment to capture dust during demolition.

6. Overland flow concerns are present where large precipitation events could move surface material across the recreation and parking area and move material from the site into roadways and wash down slope in and along the road causing surface erosion and mixing of surface materials. If this occurs, slopes should be stabilized and any hazard trees or damaged trees maintained as applicable.

7. Building slated for removal sits on the edge of a steep slope. Materials should be prevented from traveling down the slope to the creek bottom during decommissioning. Airborne materials must also be contained from escape into the air to avoid settling on the slopes, valleys, and creek bottoms. Clearing the slope of vegetation as a buffer is no longer necessary as the building removal also removes the hazard of fire to the building.

8. Avoid damaging trees and wildlife. Several native bird species are present in the trees behind the building and are using dead and damaged trees as habitat. Recommendation is to remove the cement behind the building and stabilize the ground on both sides of the remaining fence. The existing culvert will remain but an appropriate seed mix should be used to revegetate the bare ground from cement removal and existing cleared areas behind the fence (on the slope).

9. Drainages connecting at the edge of the slope near the shuttle stop meet a cement culvert that is clogged with debris. At the base of the cement culvert there is a cement box with pipes inside that are part of the initial drainage system for the site. If the proposed work requires use of the drainage or creates additional drainage that would be directed towards the culvert in question, then these features would need maintenance to remain functional, safe, and/or unobstructed. However, older pipe integrated drainage systems do not drain all water from the landscape nor prevent erosion or slope instability. Drainage pipes should be assessed for usefulness, removed, or maintained.

10. During construction mindful slope stabilization underneath the shuttle stop parking area should be considered as well as areas where landform pseudobenches show ground movement when paving over existing surfaces. The slope shows signals of (slow) rotation, such as grain and perpendicular oriented trees indicative of a slow undercut beneath the shuttle stop and small areas upslope in the recreation area. Areas that will undergo alterations to meet project objectives could address slope stabilization during construction.

Drainage runoff and hydrological flow in this area should avoid interfering with loosening soils over time from natural processes such as weathering. Stone walls previously implemented may continue to support slope stability along with existing older trees for as long as no unforeseen hazard events occur.

11. Contractors, visitors and users of the site should also comply with resource protection measures such as proper and responsible disposal of trash, prevent fluids and leaks from vehicles, seal, store and protect foods from access by wildlife and avoid damage to vegetation, grounds, and facilities. When practicing responsible measures soils and surrounding areas are kept cleaner, macro and micro contaminants are reduced and runoff off and erosion transport pollution is reduced.