SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 3 ⎯ Affected Environmentveloped land; the training areas consist of open land. The cantonment area comprises approximately1,660 acres of the PCMS. The cantonment provides limited, functional Soldier and support facilities.Military training is restricted in this area.The training areas comprise approximately 223,000 acres (DECAM 2002a) of PCMS and consist ofunimproved or open lands that are used for military training maneuvers and small arms, live-fire activities.The four main training land use types within the training areas include Maneuver Training,Dismounted Training, Small arms, Live-fire Ranges, and Restricted Areas. Maneuver Training Areascomprise the majority of training land available at the PCMS.Some areas within the PCMS are open to the public for recreational use when training activities arenot occurring. Currently, the recreational uses on the PCMS include hunting and camping (huntersonly). Recreational uses are allowed in the training areas and also occur at a dedicated campgroundnear the intersection of Military Supply Routes (MSRs) 1 and 3 (DECAM 2002a).The PCMS offers the single largest contiguous parcel of public lands available for hunting in the region.The abundance of game, the timing of hunting seasons (close to the rut), and the hunt successrate make the PCMS a highly desirable hunting area. Licenses are granted to hunt on the PCMS annually.On average, 300 to 500 licenses are issued each year. Licenses to hunt buck deer with a rifleon the PCMS are difficult to obtain; only 19 licenses were granted for 384 applicants in 2006 (ColoradoDivision of Wildlife [CDOW] 2006). The waitlist for these licenses is more than 13 years.According to the NRCS (USDA 1979), Prime farmlands occur north of the PCMS in Otero County.Prime farmland in Las Animas County is generally associated with the Purgatoire River and land thatis irrigated. Land is not irrigated on the PCMS, and prime farmland does not occur on the installation(USACE 2007b).The PCMS is surrounded on three sides by land that is zoned for agricultural uses and used for drylandcattle grazing. The Comanche National Grassland, which is managed by the USFS, lies immediatelynorth of the PCMS; it consists of undeveloped open land and several recreation sites. Severalsmall communities are located near the PCMS to the west along U.S. 350, including Model, Timpas,Thatcher, Houghton, and Delhi, all of which have populations of less than 50. Trinidad, which has apopulation of less than 10,000, is located 40 miles southwest of the PCMS; and La Junta, with apopulation of approximately 7,000, is located approximately 42 miles northeast.Comprehensive planning and land uses in Las Animas County are governed by the Las AnimasCounty Development Guide (Las Animas County Planning Commission 1994). Las Animas Countyrecognizes the land use at the PCMS as a military training facility. For USFS lands, the Draft Cimarronand Comanche National Grasslands Land Management Plan (USFS 2005) defines the land managementgoals. The plan describes existing conditions, identifies desired conditions, and articulatesthe management goals. These plans recognize the PCMS as a military training installation.3.3.6 TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATIONThis section describes the affected environment for transportation resources near FTC and the PCMS.The regional roadways, air transportation, and other transportation facilities providing access to eachinstallation are described in the following subsections. The ROI for transportation resources in Coloradoincludes the transportation resources on and surrounding FTC and PCMS.February 2008 3–158 2/25th SBCT Final EIS