Attachment 5- Analysis Outline Tool.pdf

Specialist Analysis Outline Tool—Environmental Analysis

The purpose of this tool is to 1) provide supporting documentation for the Environmental Analysis review tools when needed and 2) focus analysis on what is relevant to significance and the decision being made.

The tool guides the specialist through the analysis process for an environmental assessment focused on essential elements required by the National Environmental Policy Act. This tool is not intended to duplicate content in the EA review tool or meet requirements for National Historic Preservation Act, Endangered Species Act consultation, or other project-specific or local requirements, although these will need to be addressed in the finding of no significant impact for the environmental assessment (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1501.3(b)(2).

Your analysis should incorporate by reference the proposed action including design elements and mitigations. No additional design elements, mitigations, or recommendations should be added in your analysis documentation. If you discover needed changes to the proposed action, please reach out to your interdisciplinary team leader to discuss.

Blue italics are instructions that can be deleted after use.

Blue non-italicized text are form fields to be populated by the writer.

[Project Name: Resource Name] Effects Analysis

Prepared by: [Name, Title]

For: [XX] Ranger District, [XX] National Forest

Date: select date

Effects Addressed

Effects are “changes to the human environment from the proposed action or alternatives that are reasonably foreseeable and have a reasonably close causal relationship to the proposed action or alternatives...” (40 CFR 1508.1(g)). This includes ecological, aesthetic, historic, cultural, economic, social, or health effects. Effects should generally not be considered if they are remote in time, geographically remote, or the product of a lengthy causal chain. They also only include those subject to the agency’s responsibility and control. Please keep in mind that the text of an entire EA shall be no more than 75 pages, not including appendices (40 CFR 1501.5(f)), so make every effort to be as concise as possible and only include information that is required by laws, regulations, or policies.

Is there potential for a significant environmental effect to your resource from the proposed activities?

Select yes or no

Would project effects approach a threshold for your resource?

Select yes or no

If yes, recommend it to your interdisciplinary team leader and responsible official as an effect for analysis in the environmental assessment. Analyze cause-effect relationships between a proposed action and a potential significant effect (Forest Service Handbook (FSH) 1909.15, chapter 10).

Is your resource related to an effect identified and approved by the responsible official for analysis?

Select yes or no

If your answer is no, stop here and document your rationale for not analyzing the resource in more detail, then complete the Consistency with Relevant Laws, Regulations, and Policy section.

If your answer is yes, continue through your analysis as outlined in this tool.

Below, please list cause-effect statements that you, the interdisciplinary team, or the public identified and the responsible official approved for consideration in this analysis (Forest Service Manual (FSM) 1950.41). Likely, not all effects will apply to your resource area. Only include effects that apply and that you will analyze.

This section includes effects pertaining to [insert name of resource here] that have been identified for detailed analysis.

Effect 1: [Identify the cause-effect statement]

Effect 2: [Identify the cause-effect statement]

Methodology

This section is a “hard look best practice” to support a responsible official’s determination that the analysis is sufficient and a hard look was taken. In this section, briefly describe how you came to the conclusions described below and any assumptions, data gaps, and methods used, such as field surveys, lidar data, modeling, or other quantitative or qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. Before

[Title of Project, Name of Resource] Effects Analysis you begin writing, refer to your unit-developed analysis framework as outlined in FSH 1909.15, chapter 10, section 12.3. If an analysis framework is not available, document supporting evidence to ensure consideration of hard look criteria (assumptions spelled out, analysis methodology disclosed, analysis based in science). Please keep this section concise, addressing only methodology used to analyze effects of the proposed activities in order to reach the conclusions below.

This section includes a description of the methods and data used in this analysis.

Resource Indicators and Measures

Units of measure or indicators are how we communicate the effects. Measures should be understandable, quantifiable, and sensitive to change. They should also be considered in terms of magnitude, extent, duration, likelihood, and speed. Indicators should help describe the potential effects of the project (FSH 1909.15). Table 1 is an optional way to display resource indicators, measures, or both, as well as thresholds for significance, which are often defined in land management plan components.

Please explain your rationale for the indicators and measures you select. Carry through your analysis any indicators and measures you identify. If this table is not useful, please remove it and proceed to the Consistency with Relevant Laws, Regulations, and Policy section. All blue italicized text is for example. Begin entering your data in the last row. If you need additional lines in the table, select the last row and click on the plus (+) button at the bottom right corner.

Table 1. Resource condition indicators and measures for assessing effects

Effect

(Identified above)

Indicator or Measure

(Use indicators or measures that are sensitive to change from proposed activities.)

Threshold for Significance

Source

(Land management plan standards or guidelines;

law or policy, National Core Best Management Practices Technical Guide, scientific reference, etc.)

Sediment delivery

Number of road stream crossings (Quantitative)

Water samples showing exceedance of state water quality samples for turbidity or suspended solids; or modelled sediment delivered to streams

National Core BMP Technical Guide (Volume 1, FS-990a, April 2012).

“Stream Crossings, page

117,” FSM 7722, FSH

7709.56b; WEPP: Road version 2014.09.05 USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station

Special status species response to proposed activities

Special status species (number of species, populations, individuals affected) (Quantitative) and effects determination (Qualitative)

Anticipated level of risk for disturbance of biological functions, injury, or mortality of individuals.

Forest Service Manual

The amount of occupied habitat should be discussed in relation to the total amount of occupied habitat on the forest.

Habitat impacted - Surrogates of effects (examples):

Miles of roads as a surrogate for disturbance from human activity or fragmentation;

Acres of increased sedimentation as a surrogate for a decline in habitat quality;

Distance from specific locations (landings, gravel pits, etc.) as a surrogate for disturbance;

Number of snags retained per acre as a surrogate for cavity nesting habitat.

A determination of “significance” would occur if the total amount of habitat affected, in addition to having a great extent, is also very severe (irreversible or irretrievable, or having only negative effects with little to no long term positive).

FSM 2672.4

Effect

(Identified above)

Indicator or Measure

(Use indicators or measures that are sensitive to change from proposed activities.)

Threshold for Significance

Source

(Land management plan standards or guidelines;

law or policy, National Core Best Management Practices Technical Guide, scientific reference, etc.)

Access for dispersed recreation

Change in access for dispersed recreation due to road decommissioning (Qualitative) Miles of road decommissioning (Quantitative)

Road decomissioning maintains the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum Class of Roaded Natural

Land management plan standard 1.E-REC-1

[Effect] [Indicator or measure] [Threshold for significance] [Source]

Consistency with Relevant Laws, Regulations, and Policy

If you have already addressed the pertinent information described below for consistency with relevant laws, regulations, and policy in the EA review tool or another tool such as a local unit consistency checklist, reference that location here and delete the rest of this section.

National Forest Management Act (NFMA) Land Management Plan Consistency

The [XX] Forest/Grassland Land Management Plan provides standards and guidelines for [insert type of project, resource area, or both]

Include pertinent land management plan standards and guidelines and supplemental management direction related to the potential effect of proposed activities on the resource you are analyzing.

Demonstrate how the proposed activities will be in compliance with that standard, guideline, or direction referencing applicable design elements included in the proposed action. If your project includes multiple alternatives, address each alternative in this section. Use the format below as a guide.

[Pertinent land management plan standard or guideline]

[Unit-wide or management-area specific?]

[Relevant action or proposed activity]

[Consistency and rationale]

[Pertinent land management plan standard or guideline]

[Unit-wide or management-area specific?]

[Relevant action or proposed activity]

[Consistency and rationale]

If you need additional sets of standard or guideline entries, select the last row (Consistency and rationale) and click on the plus (+) button at the bottom right corner.

Special Area Designations

If applicable, describe how the project is consistent with any relevant special area designations (for example, wilderness, research natural areas, or wild and scenic rivers). If none applies to your resource area and the project area or proposed activities, remove this section.

[Special Area Designation consistency]

Other Relevant Law, Regulation, and Policy Consistency

Include Federal laws (for example, Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act), State and local laws, executive orders, etc., as applicable to your resource area and proposed project activities, and describe how this project is consistent. If none applies, remove this section. If this is addressed in a separate document, such as a biological assessment, simply provide a reference to that document here. If your project includes multiple alternatives, address each alternative in this section. Use the format below as a guide.

[Name of Relevant Law, Regulation, or Policy]

[What is required?]

[Your finding]

[Rationale for consistency and finding]

Rationale for consistency and finding (if needed, to provide sufficient evidence for your conclusion you may summarize and refer to the effects analysis below).

[Name of Relevant Law, Regulation, or Policy]

[What is required?]

[Your finding]

[Rationale for consistency and finding]

If you need additional sets of law, regulation and policy entries, select the last row (Rationale for consistency and finding) and click on the plus (+) button at the bottom right corner.

Environmental Impacts

Potentially Affected Environment

[Affected environment]

Provide a short, introductory paragraph describing the environmental baseline for the resource and effects. Significance can vary with the potentially affected environment and setting of the proposed action.

Consider the affected area (national, regional, or local) and its resources (40 CFR 1501.3(b)(1). Is anything unique in the project framing your analysis, or is it similar to many previous projects in the surrounding area? For example, to analyze erosion from the proposed activities, you might briefly describe the existing sources of erosion (miles of roads and skid trails) and analyze the increased effects from additional miles of roads or skid trails from project activities. Include ongoing and reasonably foreseeable effects within an analysis area from other activities or processes. For example, consider addressing trends associated with a changing climate here.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

This section is required for the environmental assessment. Only analyze effects identified above that are not already addressed in the Consistency with Relevant Laws, Regulations, and Policy section above. If environmental effects are addressed in a separate document, such as a biological assessment, simply reference that document here. Consider connected actions. When possible, tier to other environmental assessments and environmental impact statements of broader scope to eliminate repetitive discussions of the same effects (40 CFR 1501.11). Also, incorporate by reference to reduce bulk: summarize and cite any referenced material (40 CFR 1501.12).

For a finding of no significant impact, consider the following, as appropriate to the specific action (40 CFR 1501.3(b)(2) and applicable to your resource:

(1) Both short- and long-term effects.

(2) Both beneficial and adverse effects.

(3) Effects on public health and safety.

(4) Effects that would violate Federal, State, or local law protecting the environment.

Address the likely duration and spatial extent of each effect described. What is likely to happen, and what is the potentially affected environment in which that might happen and the likely degree of that effect?

Generally, do not include effects that are remote in time, geographically remote, or the result of a lengthy causal chain. Also, do not include effects that the agency has no ability to prevent due to limited statutory authority or that would occur regardless of the proposed action. If you identified resource indicators above, use them for this analysis. Quantify indicators of change where possible, or describe the degree of change qualitatively with likelihood, magnitude, extent, duration, speed, or a combination of these things.

Cite references to support your conclusions, and draw conclusions around potentially affected environment and degree of effects as pertains to each effect identified above in this tool. Be sure to include the relevant references suggested by commenters. Use the format below as a guide.

The effects of the proposed action that were identified for analysis due to the potential for significant effects to this resource are:

[Description of the likely effect]

[Potentially affected environment of the likely effect]

Include geographic and temporal bounds

[Degree of the likely effect]

[So what?]

[Description of the likely effect]

[Potentially affected environment of the likely effect]

Include geographic and temporal bounds

[Degree of the likely effect]

[So what?]

If you need additional sets of description of the likely effect entries, select the last row (So what?) and click on the plus (+) button at the bottom right corner.

Environmental Consequences of Alternative [X]

Alternatives may be required to satisfy NEPA Section 102(2)(e) “...involves unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available resources”; implement HFRA Section 104 (no action, one additional action alternative); for range management projects (FSH 2209.13), or at the responsible official’s discretion to analyze an alternative to meet other decision criteria. Complete the following for all additional alternatives, as described above for the proposed action. Add or delete alternative and effects sections as needed. If no alternatives are being considered, delete this section.

The effects of alternative [X] are …

[Description of the likely effect]

[Potentially affected environment of the likely effect]

Include geographic and temporal bounds

[Degree of the likely effect]

[So what?]

[Description of the likely effect]

[Potentially affected environment of the likely effect]

Include geographic and temporal bounds

[Degree of the likely effect]

[So what?]

If you need additional sets of description of the likely effect entries, select the last row (So what?) and click on the plus (+) button at the bottom right corner.

The effects of alternative [X] are …

[Description of the likely effect]

[Potentially affected environment of the likely effect]

Include geographic and temporal bounds

[Degree of the likely effect]

[So what?]

[Description of the likely effect]

[Potentially affected environment of the likely effect]

Include geographic and temporal bounds

[Degree of the likely effect]

[So what?]

If you need additional sets of description of the likely effect entries, select the last row (So what?) and click on the plus (+) button at the bottom right corner.

References Cited

Consider using EndNote for citing references. Be sure everything you cite in the text of your analysis has a corresponding reference here and you have an electronic copy for the files. Save a copy of the reference when you cite it so you (or the team leader) are not scrambling to find a copy of the document later.

In the examples below, the format of the references cited is the Forest Service EndNote style and follows the literature citation format used by the Pacific Northwest Research Station’s Authors Guide for citing bibliographic references.

General reference structure:

Last Name, First and Middle Initials. Year. Title of document. City, State: Name of publisher. Page range or number of pages.

Use the following reference fields to populate your references cited.

[Last Name, First and Middle Initials. Year. Title of document. City, State: Name of publisher. Page range or number of pages.]

[Last Name, First and Middle Initials. Year. Title of document. City, State: Name of publisher. Page range or number of pages.]

[Last Name, First and Middle Initials. Year. Title of document. City, State: Name of publisher. Page range or number of pages.]

If you need additional references, select the last reference above and click on the plus (+) button at the bottom right corner.

Examples—references below are for a published proceedings, a book chapter, and a journal article.

Arno, S.F.; Parsons, D.J.; Keane, R.E. 2000. Mixed-severity fire regimes in the northern Rocky Mountains: consequences of fire exclusion and options for the future. In: Cole, D.N.; McCool, S.F.; Borrie, W.T.; O’Loughlin, J., comps. Wilderness ecosystems, threats, and management.

Proceedings RMRS-P-15-vol. 5. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: 225–232.

Bilby, R.E.; Bisson, P.A. 1998. Function and distribution of large woody debris. In: Kantor, S., ed. River ecology and management: lessons from the Pacific coastal ecoregion. Washington, DC:

Springer-Verlag: 324–346.

Finney, M.A. 2001. Design of regular landscape fuel treatment patterns for modifying fire growth and behavior. Forest Science. 47(2): 219–228.

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