Buckeye Hotsprings Recreation Enhancement and Watershed Restoration (SNC #1273-RT)
2 Documents in Project
Summary
SCH Number
2020030016
Public Agency
Mono County
Document Title
Buckeye Hotsprings Recreation Enhancement and Watershed Restoration (SNC #1273-RT)
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
6/9/2020
Present Land Use
National Forest
Document Description
SNC will provide $79,275 to Mammoth Lakes Recreation to reduce the natural resource impacts of current recreational use of Buckeye Hotsprings. Recreation enhancements consist of minor public alterations in the condition of land and/or vegetation for the purpose of providing sustainable recreation and limiting environmental impacts caused by existing informally created trails, paths, and parking areas. Road grading performed to the informal pullout on Buckeye Road will involve minor alterations within the existing prior-disturbed footprint and with a slope of less than 10 percent. The proposed project will not involve the removal of any trees and is intended to provide a sustainable recreation opportunity that benefits the local watershed and better manages current environmental impacts. The project will replace the current informal trails with a sustainable access trail, a new educational/interpretive kiosk, a vault toilet, and delimitation of the parking area. These new improvements will mitigate existing impacts caused by redundant, unsustainable trail-braiding, rehabilitate existing resource damage, and substantially
improve public health and safety. The project includes no expansion of or beyond existing user-created disturbance areas. Mono County filed SCH NOE #2020030016 for this project in February 2020.
Contact Information
Name
Jamie Sammut
Agency Name
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Name
Agency Name
Mammoth Lakes Recreation with Mono County
Contact Types
Project Applicant
Location
Cities
10 mi W of Bridgeport
Counties
Mono
Regions
Northern California
Other Location Info
10 mi W of Bridgeport
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 1, 15301(c)&(d) and Class 3, 15303(d)&(e) and Class 4, 14304(a)
Reasons for Exemption
15301. Existing Facilities
(c) The proposed project will implement minor alteration and rehabilitation of unsustainable user created trails and informal staging area that involves no expansion of use beyond that which currently exists. The creation of a sustainable access trail will mitigate existing impacts caused by redundant, unsustainable trail-braiding.
(d) The proposed project will restore and rehabilitate the deterioration of site conditions caused by existing use, restoration of sagebrush steppe caused by informal parking will be completed by grading and construction of a formal parking area and will improve current erosion and vegetation damage. The project includes no expansion of existing use.
15303. New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures
(d) The proposed project will install a new vault toilet to greatly improve current fecal coliform contamination created by the absence of a bathroom facility.
(e) The proposed project will restore and rehabilitate the deterioration of site conditions caused by the informal parking area that is user created. The new parking area will be centralized on-site and will improve current erosion and vegetation damage. The project includes no expansion of existing use.
15304. Minor Alterations to Land
(a) This project will perform grading on land with a slope of less than 10 percent to reduce hillside erosion, and delineate parking on durable, permeable surfaces.