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Pikeview Quany -Decision Notice and FONSI <br />08/30/01 <br />Pate 9 <br />• Impacts on vegetation -Under Alternative B, the layback would require the removal <br />of a minimum of 13 acres of trees and understory vegetation west of the previously <br />mined area, on National Forest System lands. Additional acreage would be affected <br />by access to the area and topsoil stockpiling. Potentially, the area affected by the <br />layback could include up to 26 acres of National Forest System lands. After removal <br />of topsoil and subsoil on National Forest System lands, and after mining and <br />reclamation of slopes on both private lands and National Forest System lands, the <br />layback area would be revegetated. <br />The National Forest System lands affected by the layback would be seeded with native <br />grass species, designed to promote both quick vegetation cover and long-term <br />colonizatioq. There would also be planting of shrubs and trees to help establish large <br />species in the disturbed azea. The species to be planted on National Forest System <br />lands would be native to the area. Although it is not expected that the vegetative cover <br />and diversity would achieve the existing natural conditions in the short term, <br />reclamation.of public lands would follow the best available techniques to ensure that <br />the resulting_vegetation community would mimic, at best, those existing under natural <br />conditions. It is not possible to predict how long it would take for the plant <br />communities in the proposed disturbed areas of National Forest System lands to reach <br />the plant community development stages currently observed on adjacent undisturbed <br />areas. While rock outcrops and ledges would replace parts of existing shrubs and <br />trees, in the long term, it is expected that a 76% vegetative cover will be achieved in <br />the long term, which corresponds to a net decrease. The existing, natural vegetative <br />cover on Natjonal Forest System lands has been estimated to be 90 to 95%. <br />Revegetatigp on private lands would involve a different seed mix and different density <br />of tree planting. The seed mix would include both native and non-native grasses. <br />Also, the vegetative cover on private lands would be somewhat lower than on public <br />lands. Due,to the inclusion ofnon-native species in the seed mix on private lands, <br />there is a pgtential for those non-native species to migrate to National Forest System <br />lands. This off-site migration could undermine the reclamation success on public <br />lands in the long term if not monitored closely. <br />Under Alter2ratives A and C, the vegetation on National Forest System lands will <br />remain the same. In areas above the steep cut slopes, along the western boundary of <br />the quarry, trees and natural vegetation will continue to be undercut by erosive forces <br />that move the underlying soils toward the angle of repose. However, due to the <br />stability of-the underlying soil and rock on National Forest System lands, it is expected <br />that this impact will be minimal. <br />• Air quality and noise impacts -Air quality and noise levels in the project area are <br />directly related to the existing mining activities in the Pikeview Quarry, to the traffic <br />leaving and,entering the quarry, and to the natural wind erosion processes currently <br />occurring in the quarry. These factors vary over the course of the day as well as <br />seasonally. Under Alternative A and C, noise levels and air quality are expected to <br />remain as they currently exist over the next 4 to 7 years while mining and reclamation <br />are expected to continue at the quarry. These impacts are most apparent to residents <br />living in the areas near the quarry. <br />