SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 5 – Environmental ConsequencesDirect impacts to vegetation could be attributable to direct damage by small-arms ammunition and bycrushing. Munitions explode and create craters, resulting in areas of bare ground. However, thecraters accumulate organic matter, and vegetation usually recovers. Impacts to vegetation from livefiretraining would be less than significant. Impacts to vegetation from maneuver training underAlternative C would be significant but mitigable to less than significant. The amount of impacts tovegetation from SBCT would increase with the need for larger training areas and the nearly doublingof MIMs; however, the intensity of the impacts would decrease through their more frequent use ofexisting roads. Therefore, the impacts to vegetation from SBCT maneuver training would be expectedto be similar to those resulting from the current IBCT training.In general, construction and training has the potential to increase direct and indirect impacts related tothe introduction and spread of noxious weeds. FTC has targeted noxious weeds for priority control bypreventing them from populating disturbed areas, controlling infestations to levels compatible withother land management objectives or eliminating the weed species from the area (DECAM 2004d).Cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical control methods are currently used to reducepopulations and stop the spread and of noxious weeds on the PCMS. As such, impacts from noxiousweeds are expected to be less than significant.Impacts to threatened and endangered species from cantonment and range construction at FTC wouldbe mitigable to less than significant. Live-fire training at FTC would increase both the number ofSoldiers and the number of rounds fired. This would create risk of impact to threatened andendangered species. No live-fire training would occur at PCMS. Maneuver training at FTC andPCMS, particularly small unit training at FTC, would increase by approximately 50 percent whencomparing the SBCT to the IBCT it would replace. When looking at all units training at FTC thetotal increase in maneuver training at both FTC and PCMS would be less than 10 percent under thisalternative. The potential increase in impacts to special status species would be significant, butmitigable to less than significant. Mitigation measures would greatly reduce the potential for live-fireand maneuver training to impact special status species.General wildlife and habitats will be affected by range construction and training activities. Impactswill primarily be in previously disturbed areas. Construction and use of new ranges at FTC would notbe expected to cause additional permanent habitat loss because they are expected to be located withinpreviously disturbed areas. Increased maneuver training at FTC and PCMS would be expected toimpact general wildlife and habitats less than significantly, given the limited size of the rangescompared to the surrounding available habitat.5.4.10.1 Impacts from Cantonment ConstructionNo cantonment construction would be required at FTC initially to accommodate the addition of 663Soldiers, their families, support personnel, and SBCT-specific facilities associated with the permanentstationing of the 2/25 th SBCT at FTC. Most of the facilities needed long term for the SBCT arealready planned as part of the Army’s transformation at FTC. Temporarily, Stryker vehicles would beparked in vacant fields within the cantonment area until a future date when permanent parking wouldbe developed.Less Than Significant ImpactsImpacts to vegetation: Permanent stationing of the 2/25 th SBCT at FTC would not require cantonmentconstruction to accommodate the new population and SBCT-specific facilities. Temporary parking ofStryker vehicles within the FTC cantonment area would most likely occur in areas that have alreadybeen disturbed.February 2008 5-165 2/25th SBCT Final EIS