Finding of No Significant Impact Final Environmental Assessment: Fort Hall National Historic Landmark Bank Stabilization Project, Fort Hall Reservation of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Upper Snake River, Idaho

摘要

This Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluates a range of alternatives for streambank stabilization to protect the Fort Hall National Historic Landmark (Landmark) from erosion by the Snake River. The proposed action is being developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) in coordination with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (Tribes), and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), to protect the cultural and historic resources of the threatened Landmark. The Landmark is within the boundaries of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation (Reservation)1, located in southeastern Idaho, which is the permanent homelands of the Tribes. The BIA serves as trustee of the Reservation lands held in trust by the United States for the Tribes (Tribal lands)2 and individual Indians. The Landmark also encumbers land acquired by Reclamation (Reclamation lands) that are located inside Reservation boundaries. According to the Tribes, the Fort Bridger Treaty (1868), and Federal surveys, the centerline of the Snake River is the boundary of the Fort Hall Reservation; the continued erosion adversely impacts the shoreline of the Reservation. This EA will determine whether to issue a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) or a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). As required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, and subsequent implementing regulations promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), this assessment explores a reasonable range of alternatives for streambank stabilization and potential environmental effects of these proposed actions. All of the action alternatives would occur on Reservation lands. The impacts of each alternative were evaluated for the potentially affected resource areas, including land use, geology and soils, water quality, wetlands, vegetation, fish and wildlife, threatened and endangered species, cultural resources, Indian sacred sites, Indian trust assets, socio-economics, and cumulative effects.