Final Environmental Impact Statement

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Vestal Final Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 continuity of surface and canopy fuels increases. As the amount of fuel on a given landscape increases and fuel profiles become more horizontally and vertically continuous, the intensity of a wildfire in that landscape is expected to increase. Areas with high fire hazard rating have the potential to exhibit more extreme fire behavior with more severe effects than those with a low hazard rating. Fire hazard rating is accomplished by reviewing known data regarding the arrangement of the vegetation, or structural stage. The structural stage gives an indication of the current fire hazard and is a stand level rating of crown fire susceptibility. Fire hazard specific to this project area was analyzed per BHNF Forest Plan direction (FEIS-III-349 and associated Fire Rating guide, August 2011). Table 40 and Figure 10 provide a summary of current fire hazard rating in the project area. The Table presents fire hazard totals for both the entire project area and also within the 3 mile WUI. Table 40. Existing Fire Hazard within Whole Project Area and within 3 Mile WUI. Approximate Approximate Approximate Fire Approximate Percentage of Acres of WUI Percentage Hazard Total Acres* Project Area Area of WUI Area Low 1,777 7 1,301 8 Moderate 2,309 9 928 6 High 11,125 43 6,498 41 Very High 10,437 41 7,118 45 112 *Total includes only vegetated acres. Rocks or water are not included. A high to very high fire hazard rating currently exists in approximately 84% of the project area. It is suspected that much of the non-Forest Service land also follows this trend of high to very high fire hazard rating, however to what extent is unknown. On a relative comparison, high to very high fire hazard within the 3 mile WUI buffer is similar to that within the whole project area at approximately 86%. The high to very high fire hazard rating is determined on the availability of fuels to sustain a fire. The high fire hazard that exists in the Vestal project area is a result of the disruption of the historic fire regime, creating a landscape dominated by large contiguous stands of dense ponderosa pine with a high loading of surface and ladder fuels. In addition, recent pockets of tree mortality caused by MPB would increase fuel concentrations on the ground resulting in an overall increase of fire hazard. In an area such as Vestal, where high risk coincides with high hazard, the probability of fire with undesirable consequences is more likely. Such a fire could be very detrimental to many of the values existing in and around this project area.
Vestal Final Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 Acres 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 Figure 10. Existing Condition Fire Hazard Rating. Air Quality Existing Fire Hazard Rating Existing Conditions Air quality within the Black Hills National Forest is addressed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the 1997 Revised Forest Plan. Overall, air quality within the Black Hills National Forest is very good. Air quality is better than national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for all pollutants. There are two recognized Class 1 Airsheds in the Black Hills area, Wind Cave and Badlands National Parks. Wind Cave is located adjacent to the Black Hills National Forest to the southeast, and Badlands is located approximately 75 miles east of the Forest. A solid working relationship exists between the Black Hills National Forest and the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources. There have been few if any problems identified and communicated to the Black Hills National Forest regarding negative impacts to air quality relating to prescribed fire activity on the Black Hills National Forest in the last 10 years. The only case of known impacts was a short term event that lasted less than two hours. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), in compliance with the Clean Air Act. EPA established primary standards to protect public health; and secondary standards to protect public welfare. EPA established NAAQS primary and secondary standards for six principal pollutants. Of these “criteria” pollutants, one, particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in size (PM2.5) is a primary component of smoke emissions from wildland fires including prescribed fires. The primary standard for PM2.5 is 15.0 micrograms/cubic meter of air (µg/m 3 ). This means that the 3-year average of the weighted annual mean concentration measured at established monitoring stations must not exceed this level. EPA established the secondary standard as equal to the primary standard. Low Moderate High Very High 113
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Final Environmental Impact Statement

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