Livestock Management Plan and Environmental Assessment for Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Washington

National Park Service

This document contains the Draft Livestock Management Plan and Environmental Assessment (Draft LMPEA) for Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area located in northeastern Washington. The purpose of the Lake Roosevelt NRA Draft LMPEA is to manage grazing activities that were specifically authorized by federal law in 2001 in a manner that is consistent with the National Park Service mission and policies, and the park’s purposes. Grazing activities have occurred around Lake Roosevelt since the early 1930s. Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area historically allowed grazing to occur within its boundary without clearly citing authority, confirming the need or value of grazing, or evaluating any impacts from grazing that could cause derogation to the values or purposes of the National Recreation Area. The following are livestock management objectives for the next five to ten years. Some of these objectives will be realized upon completion of this plan. Other objectives may be realized on a case by case basis as resources become available to implement recommended management actions. 1. Manage livestock grazing activities consistent with the National Park Service mission and policies. 2. Reduce or mitigate any natural and cultural resource impacts occurring due to livestock activities. 3. Reduce or mitigate impacts on the visitor experience due to livestock activities. 4. Define and implement terms and conditions of a livestock grazing special use permit. 5. Develop methods of control for noxious weeds within individual livestock grazing allotments. 6. Develop a monitoring program to assess changes to resource conditions from livestock grazing. Several issues were identified during the scoping process. The issues this plan addresses includes water access and water quality, noxious weeds, visitor use conflicts, shoreline and wetland preservation, sublease of special use permits, fencing, and timing of grazing and duration of use. The LMPEA analyzes three alternatives: the No Action Alternative, Moderately Manage Grazing Activities, and the Proposed Action Alternative.