Intermingled allotted, tribal, and deeded tracts

Intermingled allotted, tribal, and deeded tracts

constrain fire management options and

operations. The Tribe holds the Big Horn

Mountains as a cultural reserve and does not

permit logging in those lands.

3.2 Status of Adjacent Lands

The Reservation is comprised of and surrounded

by public and private lands of diverse

jurisdictions. Adjoining lands’ fire protection is

administered by Yellowstone County, Carbon

County, Treasure County, Big Horn County,

Montana and Sheridan County, Wyoming; the

Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Northern

Cheyenne Reservation; the Bureau of Land

Management (BLM); the Forest Service (USFS)

Custer National Forest; the National Park

Service (NPS) Bighorn Canyon National

Recreation Area and Little Bighorn Battlefield;

State of Montana trust lands; and private

landowners. Cooperative agreements for fire

suppression exist with many of these agencies;

however, their management plans are each

unique. Certain high-elevation lands within the

Custer National Forest are Research Natural

Areas and Wilderness Study Areas eligible for

federal Wilderness designation, but they do not

adjoin the Reservation.

3.3. Air Resources

Air quality is of critical importance to inhabitant

comfort, human health, scenic vistas, and

preservation of natural systems. Many elements

of the environment are sensitive to air pollution.

These elements, including vegetation, visibility,

water quality, wildlife, historic and prehistoric

objects and structures, are referred to as air

quality related values (AQRV).

The Northern Cheyenne Reservation downwind

from the Crow Reservation is a designated Class

T area under the Clean Air Act Prevention of

Significant Deterioration program. Class I

designation mandates the most protective

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August 2010

requirements for protection of air quality related

values (AQRV) from adverse impacts of air

pollutants.

National and Montana Ambient Air Quality

Standards are legally enforceable standards to

protect human health. Air quality monitoring

shows Big Horn County (including the Crow

Reservation) in “attainment” of MAAQS

standards for measured air pollutants; the

nearest area of nonattainment is Billings

(MDEQ, 2009). In the county, the criteria

pollutants that exceeded air quality index (AQT)

healthy standards at any time 2002-07 included

PMho (particulate matter) and SO2 (sulfur

dioxide) (EPA 2009).

Air monitoring programs at Crow Fire and

Aviation measure only weather and qualitative

visibility. Opportunities exist to share other

agencies’ collection of different parameters of

air quality including particulates, dioxides,

ozone, and acid deposition. While the Crow

Reservation remains one of the less polluted air

regions in the United States, its air quality

depends on large-scale nearby industrial

development (power plants and refineries) and

national wildfire activity, as well as on local

point sources such as industrial farming.

3.4 Water Resources

The Crow Reservation has three mountain

ranges that collect winter snowmelt, which then

funnels through the prairie in irrigated valleys.

Annual precipitation reaches 30” in the heights

of the Wolf Mountains, but is only 4” in the

cold deserts west of Bighorn Canyon. Pryor

Creek, the Bighorn River (which is called the

Wind River in most of Wyoming), and the Little

Bighorn River flow dependably year-round;

other streams include Lodge Grass Creek, Sage

Creek, Rotten Grass Creek, Soap Creek and

Rosebud Creek. Reservoirs include 500’ deep

Bighorn Lake on the Bighorn River above

Yellowtail Dam, Willow Creek Reservoir on

rn 1/1! 21)

Lodge Grass Creek above Lodge Grass, and the

4-H Pond in the Wolf Mountains. Assessment

and monitoring stations are operated by the

Montana Department of Environmental Quality

on the Bighorn and Little Bighorn Rivers

(MDEQ, 2009). Both the Bighorn and the Little

Bighorn valleys hold irrigation districts and

ditches developed in the first decade of the

1900’s.

There are approximately 1,243 miles of

perennial and 9,646 miles of intermittent

streams on the Reservation. Fire season in

August matches the driest time of year, when

many other streams hold only pockets of water.

The porous limestone-based Pryor Mountains,

for example, hold no surface water at all other

than a small mudhole called Crater Lake. Stock

tanks and ephemeral creeks are the only

available water across scores of miles of the

central Reservation.

Water quality on the Reservation is impacted by

agricultural chemicals, feedlots and erosion;

however the water remains in general less

polluted by human activity than in hard-rock

mining areas of Montana. Seeps in prairie farm

ground are often alkalized by years of plowing.

3.5 Soils

The Bighorn Mountains hold varied geological

strata. The Pryor Mountains are derived of

limestones, while the eastern two-thirds of the

Reservation rest on the Eagle sandstone.

Surfaces range from deep topsoils to

fantastically shaped badlands. Certain soils

have more trouble revegetating after disturbance

than others do, depending on their local climate

as well as their composition: saline, shallow, or

steep soils exist across the landscape. Very

little unplowed grassland prairie remains on the

Reservation. Soils that have received their share

of human manipulation (other than restoration)

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typically have higher sodium absorption ratios

(SARs), salinity, and erosion potential.

Many small mines have come and gone on the

Reservation; for years, the Tribe operated an

Abandoned Mine Lands reclamation program

mainly for small coal mines. The Pryor

Mountains saw uranium exploration in the

1950’s. Small oil fields were first developed

near Soap Creek and Lodge Grass in the 1920’s.

The Reservation is one of the great coal reserves

of the United States. The Westmoreland Sarpy

Creek mine is on ceded lands (with tribal

mineral rights) at the northeast corner of the

Reservation. As of 2009, a multi-billion dollar

coal-to-liquids refinery in the Wolf Mountains is

being planned.

3.6 Vegetation

Grasslands, shrublands, forests, riparian areas,

and barren lands all have specific plant

communities on the Reservation (Crow Natural,

2002).

The most important exotic plant in prairie areas

is cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), a highly fireadapted annual grass. Exotics have entered

successions in all zones; for example, riparian

corridors once dominated by cottonwood are

now full of Russian olive trees.

Noxious weed distribution has been best

documented in travel and riparian corridors such

as river and creek valleys (Montana Digital

Atlas, 2009), but many mountain areas disturbed

by logging have infestations. Noxious weeds

vary by location on the Crow Reservation. In

the Wolf Mountains, spotted knapweed, Canada

thistle, common mullein, Dalmatian toadflax,

sulfur cinquefoil, houndstongue, and field

bindweed are present. In the East Pryors, some

Canada thistle, houndstongue, and spotted

knapweed exist. In the West Pryors, spotted

knapweed, leafy spurge, Canada thistle, and

houndstongue have been located. Except for

houndstongue and leafy spurge, the other

noxious weeds are typically first found along

roads in the forested areas. Houndstongue is

generally moved by livestock and wildlife and

will typically first be found along trails, at gates,

and at areas where animals congregate or rub

themselves. Leafy spurge can be moved by

birds and can first be found under trees or along

fences, etc. where birds frequently rest.

Harvesting of timber and the disturbances

involved open those areas up to infestations of

noxious weeds like Canada thistle, common

mullein Dalmatian toadflax, spotted knapweed,

and others. These disturbed areas (haul roads,

landings, skid trails) need to be monitored for

the introduction and invasion of noxious weeds

for at least three years after the completion of

activities. Livestock operators hauling weed

infested hay is another problem that is causing

the spread of noxious weeds. Operators should

be using certified weed free hay.

Currently, most of the noxious weed control in

the forested areas is being done by herbicide

applications. Herbicides include Tordon 22K,

2,4-D, and Telar or Escort. Biological control

of Dalmatian toadflax by Mecinus janthinus and

spotted knapweed by Cvphocleonus achates and

Larinus minutus is also being done at sites

acceptable to the biocontrol agents.

Preventing the spread of noxious weeds is the

most cost-effective means of control. Power

washing vehicles and equipment, especially the

undercarriage, before they move to anew

location is important to reducing the movement

of weed seeds and plant parts. Also, equipment

and vehicles should not be driven through

patches of noxious weeds, or even over

individual plants-- nor should logs be dragged

or skidded through these areas. Noxious weed

seeds and plant parts are hauled for miles to

many new sites if these precautions are not

taken.

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August 2010

Agency monitoring of species distribution

consists of a 2008 continuous forest inventory

analysis and FIREMON baseline plots in forest

and range lands across the Reservation.

For a neighborhood as little populated as the

backcountry of the reservation, disturbance to

prehistoric vegetation has been high. Relatively

little untilled prairie exists on the Reservation.

Much of zone 1 has been tilled historically: in

1920, prairie areas of the Reservation comprised

the largest wheat farm in the world, Campbell

Farming Corporation. Mountain areas with

relatively poor access have less disturbed biota,

but most areas where it is easy to travel have

seen the advent of non-native vegetation.

Ecological Distribution in the Wolf

Mountains (this and following vegetation

sections come verbatim from Environmental

Assessment (2008), ed. Taylor).

The timber in the Wolf Mountains is almost

exclusively ponderosa pine, yet there is

considerable variability between the stands.

The moist north slopes support ponderosa

pine/chokecherry and ponderosa pine/snowberry

habitat types. The often-lush understory is a

mix of serviceberry, hawthorn, mountain maple,

and thimbleberry along with chokeberry and

snowberry. The North Slope forest is typically

even-aged, consisting of a patchwork of stands

that originated in the wake of several large

wildfires around 1910. Douglas-fir and

Engelmann spruce are present but rare, and do

not appear to regenerate well enough to increase

their representation. The majority of these

stands were logged in some fashion during the

past 60 years.

On the opposite side of the ridge, south slopes

support a mix of grassland and semi-open

ponderosa pine/bunchgrass forest. Yet here too,

fire has played a critical role in shaping the

character of these stands. In the past, repeated

light burns maintained a network of patchy,

August 2010

multi-storied stands consisting of a few large

trees intermingled with a number of smaller

trees. In the absence of wildfire, those small

trees are attaining commercial size, and pine

seedlings are slowly encroaching on

neighboring grasslands. The obvious

differences in understory vegetation translate to

substantial differences in productivity. The

north slopes are, of course, the more productive

of the two types. The south slope forest is much

more fragmented, consisting of patches usually

less than 50 acres.

The driest margins of the forest support

scattered stands of Rocky Mountain juniper.

These areas include exposed, dry ridges, steep

south faces, and gravelly toe slopes. Here,

widely fluctuating daytime temperature

combined with lack of moisture during the

growing season create severe growing

conditions. At the opposite end of the spectrum,

aspen, cottonwood, ash, and boxelder stands are

mostly confined to stream bottoms and moist

draws.

Since the times of the large fires, periodic

smaller fires, selective logging, prescribed fire

and occasional mountain pine beetle outbreaks

have all influenced the structure of the present

day forest. During the mid 1980’s, a major pine

beetle infestation killed patches of pine

sawtimber throughout the Wolf Mountains,

leaving conspicuous gaps in the canopy.

Hardest hit were stands in the Corral and Cache

Creek drainages.

Ecological Distribution in the Pryor

Mountains

The Pryor Mountains support a diverse pattern

of forest cover types, zoned in an elevational

distribution. The major conifer species are

lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine,

and limber pine. Engelmann spruce and

subalpine fir, confined to wetter areas, are

present in small amounts, although subalpine fir

is successfully regenerating under lodgepole

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pine. The woodland portion consists of a

cottonwood dominated stream bottom forest and

widely scattered, sometimes extensive, upland

aspen groves. In the riparian forest, green ash

and box elder are common associates. In the

Pryors, aspen is intermingled with mountain

grasslands and lodgepole pine stands.

The limber pine type, found along the dry

margin of the forest, is the most widespread

elevationally. It ranges widely, from dry

foothill locations (4,800 ft) along the grassland

fringe to the steep, south and west facing upper

slopes (6,600 ft) of the larger drainages. By

comparison, the less extensive ponderosa pine

forest (4,800- 5,800 ft) is restricted to lower

elevations. Generally, ponderosa pine grows on

sites too warm and dry for Douglas-fir. It grows

in denser stands on cool exposures and in more

open, park-like stands on warm exposures.

Most notable are the steep, bunchgrass

dominated, southwest slopes of Pryor Canyon,

which are covered with short and limby

ponderosa pine.

On the adjacent north slopes, ponderosa pine

graduates upslope to a Douglas-fir forest. This

type, which accounts for roughly 30 percent of

Pryor Mountain forestland, forms extensive

stands of dense timber on most major north and

east-facing slopes. The understory is shrubdominated and ranges from a mix of snowberry

and white spirea at mid elevations to

buffaloberry upslope. On the steeper slopes,

limestone outcrops form prominent horizontal

bands of rock.

The cold and moist lodgepole pine-dominated

subalpine forest is restricted to the nearly level

benches of the higher plateau (6,500-7,100 ft).

Engelmann spruce, Douglas-fir, and subalpine

fir are present in small amounts. Spruce is

usually confined to wet stringers and Douglasfir to drier pockets. On all but the driest sites,

subalpine fir is the climax species. The two

most common habitat types are subalpine

fir/grouse whortleberry and subalpine fir/dwarf

huckleberry. The undergrowth is dominated by

arnica, elk sedge, western meadowrue, and pine

grass.

The current dominance of dense, even-aged

lodgepole pine arises from intense fires around

1900. By now, many of these stands have

stagnated and deadfall is accumulating. As tree

vigor declines, resistance (largely a matter of

toxin production) to mountain pine beetle drops

off. Dwarf mistletoe is a major damaging agent

in the lodgepole pine stands. Witches brooms

often form on infected branches. Top kill is

common. Stem cankers or swellings sometimes

result from stem infections by dwarf mistletoe.

Height and diameter growth reductions can be

significant. Tree form is often affected as well.

Bark beetles sometimes attack trees weakened

by dwarf mistletoe infections. In all likelihood,

the fire and rebirth cycle will continue when

another round of intense, stand-replacing fires

destroys the existing forest. The current pattern

of fire followed by thick lodgepole stands

(regenerating from serotinous cones triggered

by heat) will repeat itself once again.

Ecological Distribution in the Bighorn

Mountains

The Bighorn Mountains, sacred to the Crow

people, rise from the east side of the Bighorn

River opposite the Pryor Mountains, and climb

to over 9,000 feet at the Wyoming border.

Several major canyons dissect the Bighorns,

limiting access in many areas to the relatively

flat ridge tops. The dry, exposed, south and

west facing slopes are mostly barren or sparsely

timbered with occasional patches of limber pine,

Rocky Mountain juniper, or hardy ponderosa

pine. The north and east slopes, dropping

steeply into the canyons, support thick stands of

trees. The composition of the forest changes

with increasing elevation, ranging from

ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and lodgepole pine

on the lower slopes, to a mix of subalpine fir,

Engelmann spruce, and whitebark pine at the

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August 2010

higher elevations. The stream bottoms are

spruce dominated with cottonwoods at lower

elevations. Stands of aspen are often located

around boggy or seasonally wet areas. Other

woodland species include Rocky Mountain

maple, green ash, boxelder, and chokecherry.

Bark beetles, defoliators, and root rots are

endemic in the Bighorn Mountains. Mortality

ebbs and flows, but seems to be increasing

currently. Because the forestlands have been

designated a cultural and recreational reserve,

they have not been inventoried for mortality

causes or potential sales. The occurrence and

cause of mortality are anecdotal and not based

on verifiable data.

3.7 Fauna

From review of published information and

discussions with Crow Tribal members, it is

estimated that 79 species of mammals, 260

species of birds, 5 species of amphibians, 14

species of reptiles, and 19 species of fish are

found on the Crow Reservation at some time

during the year (Wildlife: Resources, 2002).

Most of these species are non-game wildlife.

Big game species include pronghorn antelope,

elk, white-tailed and mule deer, buffalo, and

black bear. Small game animals include whitetailed jackrabbit, snowshoe hare and mountain

cottontail. The coyote is the primary predator

on the reservation, but bobcats and mountain

lions are also present. Fur bearers on the

reservation include: Beaver, muskrat, lynx,

bobcat, black bear, raccoon, red fox, coyote,

badger, striped skunk, western spotted skunk,

mink, ermine, and long-tailed weasel.

Raptorial birds are common throughout the area.

American kestrels, marsh hawks and red-tailed

hawks are rather common and nest reservation.

Both bald and golden eagles occur on the Crow

Reservation. Bald eagles generally are found

most frequently along the Bighorn River. Both

species nest on the reservation. Prairie falcons

are uncommon but probably nest on the

reservation. Upland game birds include

Merriam’s turkey, mourning dove, blue grouse,

ruffled grouse, sharptailed grouse, chukar

partridge, ring-necked pheasant, and gray

partridge.

On March 5, 2010, the greater sage grouse

(Centrocercus urophasianus) was warranted

protection under the Endangered Species Act.

However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has

determined that proposing the species for

protection is precluded by the need to take

action on other species facing more immediate

and severe extinction threats. As a result, the

greater sage-grouse is placed on the list of

species that are candidates for Endangered

Species Act Protection. The greater sage grouse

are native to the sagebrush steppe of western

North America, and their distribution closely

follows that of sagebrush, primarily big

sagebrush. Distribution of greater sage grouse

in Montana includes the Crow Reservation.

On June 29, 2010 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service reinstated a proposal to list the

mountain plover (Charadrius montanus) as a

threatened species under the Endangered

Species Act. The mountain plover is a small

bird (17.5 cm, 7 in.) about the size of a killdeer.

It is light brown above with a lighter colored

breast, but lacks the contrasting dark breast-belt

common to many other plovers. During the

breeding season it has a white forehead and a

dark line between the beak and eye, which

contrasts with the dark crown (USFWS 2002).

Mountain plover breeding habitat includes

short-grass prairie and shrub-steppe landscapes;

dryland, cultivated farms; and prairie dog towns.

Plovers usually nest on sites where vegetation is

sparse or absent, conditions that can be created

by herbivores, including domestic livestock and

prairie dogs (USFWS 2002). They breed in the

western Great Plains and Rocky Mountain

States from the Canadian border to northern

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August 2010

tte bah

Mexico and are also known to breed on the

Crow Reservation.

The Crow Indian Reservation has habitat that

historically supported three other federally listed

species, including the black-footed ferret,

grizzly bear, and whooping crane (Crow Tribe

2002).

Of those three, the black-footed ferret (Mustela

nigripes) is the only endangered species under

the Endangered Species Act thought to be on the

reservation. The black-footed ferret is an

extreme specialist, depending on the prairie

dogs (Cynomys spp.) of North American

grasslands for food and using prairie dog

burrows for shelter. Last documented sighting

was in 1949 (J. Gust, BIA Rocky Mountain

Regional Biologist, personal communication,

May 2010).

The Montana Natural Heritage Program lists as

sensitive species on the Reservation the bald

eagle, burrowing owl, mountain plover, longbilled curlew, and grey wolf. Six species of

concer (SOC) that could potentially occur are

the Merriam’s and Preble’s shrews, western

hog-nosed snake, milksnake, spiny softshell

turtle, and sauger fish.

The three sensitive bird species above all use

shortgrass, mixed-grass and scrub prairie

communities for breeding and nesting. They

rely on the cover and openness of flat grasslands

to rear their young. The continued loss of

grassland habitat remains one of the greatest

threats to these species’ future.

The reservation is home to a wide variety of

other wildlife. Reservation species common to

the mountain ranges and prairie of south central

Montana include mule deer, white-tailed deer,

black bears, elk, coyotes, mountain lions,

bighorn sheep, bobcats, pronghorn antelope,

foxes, porcupines, rabbits and prairie dogs, and

other small mammal species.

There are numerous species of resident and

migratory birds on the reservation. Game birds

such as rough, sharptail and spruce grouse,

turkeys, and pheasants are present. Waterfowl

species include Canada geese, mallards,

redheads, American widgeons and lesser scaup.

There are many species of shorebirds present,

such as herons, rails, and a variety of smaller

species. There are many species of songbirds

and woodpeckers throughout the reservation. A

variety of raptors are commonly seen, such as

golden eagles, bald eagles, goshawks, kestrels,

red-tailed hawks, Northern harriers, ferruginous

hawks, great grey owls, great horned owls and

screech owls.

3.8 Cultural Resources

The Crow Reservation harbors extensive

archeological resources, from cultures and

passersby at least 10,000 years ago, up through

fascinating, often-unprotected historical sites.

The Tribe, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and

amateur enthusiasts have developed databases

of cultural sites, viewed and described with

different perspectives by each.

(The following discussion of cultural resources

comes verbatim from Environmental

Assessment (2008), ed. Taylor). Cultural

resources on the Crow Reservation encompass a

wide variety of tangible and intangible resources

that not only include the standard definitions of

archaeological and historical sites, but also sites

and areas of broader cultural importance. Many

of the prehistoric sites are important not only for

their scientific value, but for their traditional

cultural and historic value. Some rock art sites,

and some stone features (cairns and medicine

wheels) continue to have religious and cultural

value.

Known archaeological site types on the

reservation include stone feature sites such as

stone circles, cairns and rock alignments, as

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August 2010

well as surface artifact concentrations (lithic

scatters), buried camps, bison kills, and

caves/rock shelters which contain evidence of

habitation and rock art.

Sites dating to the historic period include a

variety of buildings and structures. Most postdate the establishment of the reservation. These

include residences and other commercial

properties, as well as structures and facilities

associated with the farming, ranching and

mining activities. Nineteenth century battle

sites also occur on the reservation. These

include not only the well-known military

battles, such as the Little Bighorn Battlefield

and the Rosebud Battlefield, but also lesserknown sites of intertribal battles, such as East

Pryor Creek and Grapevine Dome.

Water, mineral, plant and animal resources are

important to the Crow both culturally and

spiritually. While these resources are tangible,

they are often considered intangible cultural

resources because they have no obvious

manmade modifications, and their importance

may not be readily apparent to outsiders.

Many Crow traditional religious practices are

personal and private. Rural tracts on the

reservation can offer the seclusion needed to

perform some ceremonies. Sites related to these

practices can sometimes be identified by their

physical remains. They include larger

structures, such as Sundance lodges, as well as

small personal sites, such as fasting structures

and sweat lodges. Many cultural sites are not

formally recorded because they leave little or no

tangible evidence, and because knowledgeable

tribal members do not discuss these sites out of

respect for the sites and their practitioners.

Consequently, many cultural and religious sites

remain confidential.

Pryor Mountains and Bighorn Canyon— .

Cultural Significances

Located on the western side of the Crow

Reservation, the Pryor Mountains rise to 8,800

feet in elevation. Because the Pryor Mountains

offered a variety of plant and animal resources

that could be exploited throughout the year, a

wide range of archaeological and historical sites

occur in these, both on and off the Crow

Reservation. Prominent in both the Pryor and

Bighorn Mountains are deposits of chert that

offered a high quality stone material source.

The steep limestone walls of many canyons also

contain rock shelters and caves, many of which

show evidence of human use. Extensive

archaeological surveys completed on U.S.

Forest Service, National Park Service and

Bureau of Land Management as well as Bureau

of Indian Affairs lands have documented

hundreds of sites in the Pryors (Nabakov et al,

1994, Loendorf 1974). Surveys on nearby Crow

lands have also documented similar densities of

sites (Good and Loendorf 1974, Good 1975).

Recent archaeological surveys on the Crow.

Reservation have been less expansive and have

been restricted to small projects related to

timber harvest, range improvements, roads and

mineral exploration. The sites known to occur

on the reservation side of the Pryors include

lithic scatters, cairns, stone circle sites, bison

kills, caves and rock art sites. The majority of

the recorded archaeclogical sites occur along the

major drainages in the Pryors, near springs, and

in the open upland areas.

Recorded historic sites have included timber and

wood frame structures, commonly related to

early ranching activity. The Indian

Conservation Corps (ICC) constructed some of

these structures in the 1930’s.

The Pryor Mountains are also culturally and

spiritually important to the Crow Tribe. While

minor timber cutting has been allowed, the

Tribe has sought to protect the area by limiting

access to non-tribal members. The tangible

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August 2010

evidence of this importance can be seen in the

numerous stone fasting (vision quest) structures,

which are known to occur on both East Pryor

Mountain and Big Pryor Mountain. The most

notable of these are on Castle Rocks, a

formation located above Pryor Gap. This

formation includes both historic and

contemporary vision quest sites. The revival of

the Sundance occurred in the town of Pryor and

many Sundance participants continue to use the

Pryors for fasting.

Pryor Gap itself is important, not only as an

early travel route, but also for its association

with Arrow Rock and the home of the “Little

People”, who figure prominently in Crow

beliefs. Local people continue to view the area

as a prime hunting area, and use the area to

gather plants and cut tepee poles.

Bighorn Mountains — Cultural Significances

The Bighorn Mountains are prominent on the

Crow Reservation and rise to over 9,000 feet in

elevation. Like the Pryors, the Bighom

Mountains offered the same variety of plant,

animal and mineral resources in both prehistoric

and historic times, and the archaeological sites

in the area reflect this diversity. Archaeological

surveys conducted in Bighorn Canyon prior to

its flooding attest to the intense use of the

canyon floor as evidenced by the numerous

camps and rock shelters (Husted 1969). The

Bighorn Reservoir has inundated most of these

sites. The steep and eroded limestone walls of

the canyons in the Bighoms contain caves and

rock shelters, many of which show evidence of

habitation and contain rock art. Numerous

mountain springs also offered prime locations

for prehistoric camps.

The Crow Tribe has restricted the development

of the Bighorn Mountains, and few

archaeological surveys have been conducted.

The surveys that have been completed have

been limited to small scale range developments,

minor road improvements and fire-related

impact studies. Archaeological sites recorded in

the Bighorns include lithic scatters, open camps,

rock shelters, bison kill sites, rock art sites,

cairns and stone circle sites. Garvin Basin,

which is located between the Bighorn

Mountains, and Bighorn Canyon, has been

shown to contain many prehistoric sites that are

in a remarkable state of preservation (Keller

2005). This is largely because of the restricted

access imposed by the Tribe as well as the

physical difficulty in reaching the area.

Historic sites include log and frame structures

related to early ranching activity in the area.

Because the Bighorns were isolated, numerous

seasonal cow camps were constructed in the

mountains and in Garvin Basin. Private

ranchers who held leases in the area erected

some structures, and the ICC erected some.

Like the Pryor Mountains, the Bighorn

Mountains are historically, culturally and

spiritually important to the Crow Tribe. It is for

this reason that the Tribe has chosen to limit

development and restrict access to the area.

Tangible evidence of the spiritual importance

can be seen in the numerous fasting (vision

quest) sites that occur along the exposed upland

ridges overlooking Bighorn Canyon. Many

areas in the Bighorns have been used

historically for fasting and continue to be used

by current tribal members. The prehistoric and

historic spiritual importance of the Bighorns can

also be seen in the construction of medicine

wheels, the most notable of which is the

Bighorn Medicine Wheel located in the

Bighorns south of the reservation in Wyoming.

The Fort Smith Medicine Wheel is located on

the reservation along the Bighorn River, just

north of the mountains, and other medicine

wheels have been reported in the Bighorns, but

not formally recorded.

The presence of abundant plant and animal

resources in the Bighorn Mountains contributes

to the importance the area holds for the Crow

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August 2010

Tribe. Numerous prehistoric bison jumps and

Kill sites are known to exist, in the area,

particularly in the vicinity of Grapevine and

Dryhead Creeks. The placement of the Crow

buffalo herd in the Bighorns demonstrates the

significance of this animal and the value the

Tribe continues to place on the area. Many

tribal members hunt and gather plants in the

Bighorns. Due to the relatively high elevations

and cooler temperatures, the mountains are

often used for family summer camps. The tribe

has also constructed a summer youth camp in

Black Canyon, which is often used by tribal

programs for meetings and retreats.

Wolf Mountains — Cultural Significances

The Wolf Mountains form the divide between

the Little Bighorn and Rosebud Creek

drainages. With elevations of over 5,000 feet,

they are not as spectacular as the Pryor or

Bighorn Mountains. Geologically, the Wolf

Mountains are younger and do not contain

dolomite and limestone deposits, or associated

cherts. Consequently, the Wolfs do not have

steep eroded canyons, cave and rock shelter

sites are relatively rare, and chert is not the

dominant stone tool material found in

prehistoric camps. Instead, sandstones, shales

and coal are the dominant deposits. The

sandstones may contain small rock shelters, and

they offer a surface for rock art. As a result of

natural coal burns, some baked shale formed

into deposits of porcellanite, material used for

prehistoric stone tools. Like the Pryors and

Bighorns, the Wolf Mountains were important

prehistorically and continue to be important for

the variety of plant and animal resources offered

in the area.

Unlike the Pryors and Bighorns, which are

largely tribally owned and protected, land

ownership in the Wolf Mountains is mixed, with

allotted and private lands dominating. Asa

result of this ownership pattern, more access

roads exist in the area. More development has

also occurred. A number of cultural resources

surveys have been conducted, mostly for timber

surveys and sales in the central part of the

mountains, and for coal mines in the southern

portions. Archaeological sites include lithic

scatters, cairns, stone circle sites, bison kills,

and rock art sites.

Historic sites include buildings and structures

relating to early ranching activity. A well

known historic site east of the Crow Reservation

is the late 1800’s Rosebud Battlefield, which

was listed on the National Register of Historic

places in 2008. Massacre Hill, which is the

location of a Crow-Atsina battle, is also located

in the area.

The cultural and spiritual importance of the

Wolf Mountains is seen through tangible

manmade rock structures representing fasting

sites. Historic Crow figures known to have

fasted in the Wolf Mountains include Frank

Bethune, Long Hair and Wraps Up His Tail

(McCleary 2005). The area continues to be

used by contemporary Crows for fasting and for

Sundances. Sundance structures and fasting

sites are known to occur in the vicinity of Wolf

Mountain Lookout.

Plant gathering and animal harvesting continue

to be important in the Wolfs. Deer and black

bear are common in the area, and many

drainages contain abundant berry bushes.

Medicinal substances such as bear-roct and

white clay are also collected in the Wolf

Mountains.

3.9 Social and Economic Values

The Crow Reservation has unique demographics

that encompass varied communities with varied

values. The Agency’s mandate is to protect the

resources of Tribal members. Because the

Reservation is a traditional land base for

families of all backgrounds, many communities

that use Reservation lands place high value on

outdoor activities and recreation.

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August 2010

Many Reservation residents earn their living

ranching or in work for Tribal or federal

government agencies. Work at for-profit

businesses on the Reservation is limited to a

handful of private businesses. Nearby

communities offer further employment but are

off-Reservation. Education and employment

successes are insufficient to maintain a

comfortable standard of living for many

inhabitants of the Reservation.

The Natural Resources Department of the Crow

Tribe patrols backcountry and Tribal lands of

the Reservation. Access to certain Tribal lands

is limited to Tribal members and to others with

Tribally-issued permits.

In 2007 the median household income on the

Reservation was $27,044, 64% of the Montana

median household income of $42,425 (US

Census, 2009). Short-term temporary-hire

firefighting either through the Bureau of Indian

Affairs, or intermittently since 1992 through the

Crow Tribe, has been a tradition for three or

four generations of many families on the

Reservation.

IV. ENVIRONMENTAL

CONSEQUENCES

This section is the scientific and analytic basis

for comparison of the alternatives described in

Section III. It describes the probable

consequences of each alternative on selected

environmental resources. The discussion is

organized by effects on resources, with each

alternative’s potential impacts considered on

that resource.

In general, a fire’s effects on an area are

manifold, but depend strongly on specific fire

behavior influenced by that area’s fire regime,

available fuels, and weather. In other words, the

Alternatives remain general descriptions for

wide variations in ranges of specific effects of

fire. This discussion is limited to those

consequences that can be clearly predicted as

differing by choice of Alternative Action.

4.1 Introduction

To summarize the following section, the firerelated virtues of Alternative A, full

suppression, include reducing total acres

burned. Negative fire effects to ecosystems and

personal and tribal property are minimized.

These negative effects include destruction of

built property and of economic resources such

as homes, grass and timber. Alternative A

limits a further list of detrimental consequences

such as invasive and exotic plant infestations,

smoke, and disturbance of cultural areas.

However, depending on fuel types and fire

regimes, Alternative A’s unplanned fires will

eventually result in an average of more severe

fires than will the other alternatives, especially

in ponderosa pines and in grasslands.

Alternatives A and C eliminate an existing and

prospering fuels management program in the

preferred Alternative, Alternative B, which

encompasses plans to eventually use prescribed

fire to mimic pre-settlement fire regimes in most

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August 2010

of the forest management compartments across

the Reservation. In 2009 the fuels program has

treated more than its annual acres objective for

six years. Fires burning next to or in treated

areas demonstrate moderate intensities, which

will eventually become commensurate with presettlement fires in those fuel types. The

Agency’s 2008 Forest Management Plan

includes hazard fuels reduction projects in the

Bighorns, as well as the Pryors and the Wolfs.

Fuels reduction impacts are a major benefit of

the preferred Alternative.

Alternative C, fires managed for resource

benefit without use of prescribed fire, strikes a

middle ground in the duration and cumulative

impact of fires’ environmental effects. Fires

managed for resource benefit mimic the presettlement roles of fire in an ecosystem. Due to

accumulation of fuels from sixty years of fire

suppression, fires that bum with a modified

suppression strategy often burn hot: they have

negative effects from high fire intensities.

All fires have an ecological place on the Crow

Reservation, but all also cause some

unavoidable adverse effects: some short-term

diminishment of environmental quality. For

example, fire’s radical alteration of wildlife

habitat is often eventually balanced by a longterm contribution to habitat diversification.

Impairment of air quality, including elevated

concentration of fine particulates and decreased

visibility, follows fires over large areas during

unfavorable weather.

Overall, other factors than the Alternative

chosen will play a great role in determining

landscape-level ecological dynamics. Species

diversity may continue to decrease on the

Reservation not because of any fire management

choices, but due to combinations of the effects

of climate change and of increased human

activity that alters the landscape, regardless of

the alternative selected.

4.2 Status of Adjacent Lands

Several Federal land management agencies with

lands bordering the Crow Reservation have

adopted fire management objectives that share

with the BLA mostly common standards for the

administration and operation of prescribed fire

programs, including the BLM, NPS, and USFS.

Also, private landowners on and next to the

Reservation conduct spring burning and other

“controlled burns” in a culturally-familiar

application of prescribed fire principles, with

goals of soils enhancement, removal of dead

vegetative cover, disease reduction, and/or

insect control, as well as diminishment of future

fire danger.

4.3 Air Quality

Wildland fires’ primary air pollutant is

particulate matter (PMi0), which along with

other chemicals in smoke can worsen breathing

ability for people with pre-existing health

conditions. In the short-term for Alternatives B

and C, lack of immediate complete suppression,

air quality could deteriorate short-term due to

two factors. First, under specific constraints and

closely managed parameters, a wildland fire

would be permitted to burn, creating smoke over

a longer time period. Managers closely monitor

the mixing height and dispersal of smoke as part

of their prescribed burn operations. Secondly, a

fire in an area that has not burned in a long time

will have heavy fuel loadings, resulting in more

burning material and more smoke. This second

factor will be reduced as a natural frequent lowintensity fire cycle resumes in ponderosa pine

forests, such as the Wolf Mountains.

The primary area of impact will be downwind

(to the east) of the Crow Reservation, in the

communities of Busby and Lame Deer on the

Northern Cheyenne Reservation, a Class I area

under the Clean Air Act. Under the Clean Air

Act , a Class I area receives the highest level of

protection, where degradation of air quality by

Environmental Assessment

August 2010

man's activities is strictly regulated. Yet under

the Clean Air Act, smoke from a naturallycaused wildland fire is not considered a mancaused activity.

Smoke impacts will occur more often under

Altematives B and C but will be less intense in

Alternative B, as more intense unplanned fires

will exist in Alternatives A and C. Smoke

effects of Alternative B are also mitigated by

allowing prescribed burning only during

weather periods with good ventilation. Since

perceived smoke effects on human health vary

with concentration/intensity more than with

seasonal duration, Alternative B will cause the

least discord.

Increased smoke may affect visibility in the

Class I area. Fortunately, eastern Montana’s

vigorous winds assure good mixing during most

of the fire season. Additionally, when weather

favors a wildland fire on the Crow Reservation,

itis likely that local fire will be part of a

Western U.S. fire bust, to which the smoke

contribution from the Crow Reservation would

be marginally important.

Decision not to suppress the fire could result in

a larger active fire front, which would take

longer to suppress following the development of

weather conditions unfavorable for smoke

dispersal. Weather forecasts and availability of

suppression resources will be continuously

monitored during all fires. The BIA will

mitigate smoke impacts by taking appropriate

control actions to suppress a fire, if human

health and safety are threatened or if serious

visibility impairment occurs. The BIA can

consult with the Montana Department of

Environmental Quality to determine whether

smoke dispersal conditions and air quality

conditions are adequate to allow fires to

continue to burn.

4.4 Water Resources

Regardless of the Alternative selected, fire

management planning requires best available

practice to minimize impact to any locale’s

water resources. Prescribed burn plans, for

example, require exclusion of fire from riparian

areas, where fire would severely affect a water

resource with ash and erosion, or reduce

diversity in riparian plant communities.

Suppression operations of Alternative A and C

are required to keep all fire chemicals out of

streams and lakes. However, in practice,

retardant drops under time pressure can degrade

water resources, as can use of firefighting foam

sprayed on vegetation by engine crews. As

written, all Alternatives give equal emphasis to

rehabilitation efforts to prevent post-fire

deterioration of water quality, such as using

berms.

Again, use of prescribed fire allows the

maximum opportunity to fashion management

for multiple objectives including maintenance of

water quality. Prescribed fires can be

implemented in a manner to reduce potential

erosion, by burning at lower intensities on

erodible areas. They are also proposed in part in

order to reduce more intense unplanned fires.

4.5 Soils

Soils with less biomass are more vulnerable to

erosion. Fire converts biomasses to ash and

smoke, but fires of different intensities have

very different effects on soils. Unplanned highseverity fires can sterilize soils by killing soil

biota and microbiota. Intense fires also cause

chemical and physical changes in soils that

promote erosion. Burn prescriptions are written

to avoid unduly heating soils, but even highintensity surface fire can have less effect on

soils than do slow burns. Hydrophobicity from

glazing of soil surfaces oceurs mostly from

more intense fires, but baking soils deeply

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August 2010

results more from smoldering fires in duff (or in

peat, which on the Reservation is only found in

small areas in the Big Horns).

Alternatives 1 and 3 will have more intense

heating of soil surfaces due to more unplanned

fires. Alternative 2 brings the most fire to the

landscape, in a planned way. Prescribed burns

of Alternative 2 can mitigate soil and vegetation

baking by scraping duff away from tree stems as

part of pre-burn treatment.

4.6 Vegetation

Fire has long been one of the most important

influences shaping plant communities of the

Reservation. The frequency with which a given

area burned depended on local frequency of

ignitions, plant community types, topography

and microclimate. Fire as a physical process has

several ecological functions:

e Maintenance of plant vigor and

productivity

e Reduction of woody fuel accumulations

e Maintenance or creation of early

successional stages

e An increase in plant community

diversity

e An increase in forage availability and

nutritional quality.

Crow Reservation plant communities all

developed in landscapes frequently affected by

fire. Suppression activity that removes the

influences of fire on these communities alters

them over time to become less diverse, as

certain species, once kept out by fire, replace

other more fire-adapted natives.

Native prairie and grassland plants have adapted

many different strategies to survive fire. Some,

such as rabbit brushes, resprout after a fire,

while others such as big sagebrush must

reestablish by seed following a fire. Grasses,

bulbs, and large-rooted plants regrow from

underground parts after fire. Rhizomatous

grasses such as western wheatgrass, and shrubs

which can resprout from lateral roots, may

increase in dominance in communities

following fire. Other species are adapted to take

advantage of reduced post-fire competition.

Seeds may be stored in the soil for years and

only germinate following a fire, or when seeds

carried to the bumed area find more favorable

conditions for germination. Since fire usually

sets back succession and creates openings,

burned areas have a potential for noxious weed

invasion.

In many prairie areas following fire, cheatgrass

dominates areas formerly dominated by

sagebrush and perennial bunch grasses. Areas

with healthy perennial bunch grasses and forbs

before a fire can sometimes recover without

cheatgrass dominance. Spring prescribed

burning when cheatgrass has germinated, before

native grasses have come up, is one of the more

effective treatments to reduce cheatgrass.

Altemative A: The effects of Altemative A on

vegetation would continue as they have for the

past 50 years of active fire suppression

throughout the Reservation. The primary impact

is the partial loss of fire's dynamic influence of

reshaping the otherwise static nature of these

communities. However, impacts of non-native

and invasive species vary.. In general, humancaused disturbance results in a temporarily less

diverse vegetative community, generally less

valuable as a habitat for wildlife overall.

Periodic fires create a diverse mix of areas

dominated by grasses and forbs as well as

different aged stands of sagebrush and other

shrubs. Another impact of continued fire

suppression is the expansion of certain plant

communities beyond their current range:

shrubby ponderosa pine has colonized many

Crow country hillsides that were barren of

timber in historical photographs.

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August 2010

Actual post-fire plant community succession is

dependent upon four primary factors including:

© pre-fire plant community species

composition

e fire intensity and its effect on the

existing plant community

¢ post-fire environmental conditions

including precipitation

«the availability of seeds, rhizomes or

other propagules to revegetate burned

areas.

Post-fire succession follows differing pathways

depending on inputs of these four factors.

The preceding discussion of fire effects on the

plant communities of the Crow Reservation

applies to implementation of all Alternatives.

Wildland fires will occur regardless of which

alternative is selected. Alternative A's policy of

a full suppression effort would continue to be

applied to areas near homes and development

(wildland urban-interface or WUI areas). These

more densely inhabited areas are along

highways, railroad, or riparian corridor.

Mountain and foothill areas include the quaking

aspen communities on the Reservation. Since

aspen stands usually depend upon fire to

regenerate, Alternatives A and C could result in

a decline in aspen over the long-term.

Alternative B, due to its use of prescribed fire,

should not allow fire management to diminish

aspen stand regeneration.

Implementation of Alternative B will result in

more burned acreage within foothill and

mountain forested areas than has burnt within

the past 50 years or more. The increase in use

of fire for resource benefit is generally

appropriate for the vegetation resource because

it seeks to replicate pre-settlement conditions of

no suppression, with heightened species

distribution and diversity. The extent of the

potential bummed area increase is difficult to

quantify, since the number and location of

wildland fire starts is unknown, and the intensity

and extent of spread depends upon the specific

area and weather conditions. However,

Reservation fire history suggests that over the

long term the total acreage bumed in remote

mountainous areas would increase compared to

Alternative A. The acreage increase would be

actively managed to generally correspond with

pre-settlement patterns of fire spread.

Alternative B would permit fire to resume its

role in the ponderosa pine ecosystem of the

Wolf Mountains. Over the long-term, fuel

levels and fire intensity would decline as natural

ignitions and prescribed burns produce a mosaic

of patches dominated by early successional

forbs and grasses, and areas dominated by

widely spaced large ponderosa pines.

Prescribed bums in the Wolf Mountains in the

1990’s demonstrate success at slowly restoring

pre-settlement species composition in pineforested areas that receive multiple treatments,

including maintenance burns. The spatial

arrangements of these mosaics vary over time;

they are influenced by successional

development and by periodic wild fires. After

several decades of a stable application of

Alternative B, total burned acreage would

remain less than prehistoric totals, due to the

necessity to suppress unwanted fire, but

mechanical treatment would take up some of

that difference. Overall, biological diversity

would increase.

The spread of noxious and exotic plants is most

likely to be enhanced by wildland fire

disturbance in those areas with weeds already

present, which includes the travel corridors of

the Wolf and Pryor Mountains and most of fire

management zone 1.

As of 2009, FIREMON baseline monitoring

plots are prepared before any planned fire across

the Reservation. The plots record species and

biomass.

Environmental Assessment

August 2010

4.7 Fauna

The forest and range environments are firedependent ecosystems, which have evolved in

association with fire, and will lose their

character, vigor, and faunal and floral diversity

if fire is excluded. Wildland fires impact

wildlife both positively and negatively through

changes in the availability of food and cover.

The extent of these changes is dependent upon

the same type of factors influencing fires’

effects on vegetation. Direct effects of fire,

while they do occur, are usually of short

duration. Since wildland fires occur as a result

of random events it is not possible to predict the

specific effects on individual species. However,

native plants and animals both have coexisted

with wildland fires in southeast Montana for

many years.

The benefits and detriments to the habitats and

relative frequency of fire are subject of

disagreement. Fire management actions are

divided into two categories: planned and

unplanned wildfires. Both can have cumulative

effects on the ecosystems on the Crow

Reservation and the species that depend on it.

Prescribed fires are planned events with specific

objectives; however, changes and variation in

conditions at the site can change the actual

outcome. Wildfires are less predictable and

unplanned, and they have the most significant

effect on individual species.

Alternative B, which includes use of prescribed

fire, results in less severe fires with

correspondingly lessened effects on wildlife.

More acres are treated in Alternative B,

covering more habitat area, but the number of

acres burned in any of the Alternatives is less

than the prehistoric average, due to continued

fire suppression.

To the extent that wildfires alter vegetation

communities by favoring early seral stage

grasses and forbs (less mature communities

ecologically), species which benefit from early -

seral stages of plants find enhanced habitat after

fire. These are grazers, grass eaters, and

consumers of saplings rather than those that live

among mature trees or climax communities.

Species which require food or cover from older

growth trees and shrubs, such as sagebrush

obligates (greater sage grouse, for example),

have a decrease in available habitat from

increased acres burned.

The Crow Tribe through its Natural Resources

Departments has inherent sovereign authority

over wildlife management on the Reservation.

A priority will be to work with the Crow Tribal

Fish and Wildlife Department and the BIA

Environmental Services to incorporate wildlife

habitat information needed to set prescribed fire

plans and wildlife suppression priorities related

to resources:

1. Develop criteria for managing fuels and

other risks to wildlife habitat.

2. Identify critical wildlife habitats and

prioritize on the basis of risk of loss to

wildfire.

3. Develop appropriate actions on a site by

site basis.

Overall, one of the goals is to maintain a

diversity of wildlife and their natural habitats

and provide protection and habitat for

endangered species. But the highest priorities

are human life, community protection, and

resource considerations. Thus, prior knowledge

of Tribal and/or Federal important wildlife

habitat is necessary if consideration is to be

given in light of higher priorities.

4.8 Cultural Resources

Unplanned fires of Alternatives 1 and 3 often

burn more severely than prescribed fires do.

The benefit to cultural resources of severe fire

effects includes exposing more sites for

prospective data collection and analysis.

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August 2010

Patterns of human use can become apparent that

were hidden by vegetation or soil cover. The

negatives of fire include the physical cracking

and spalling of artifacts, diminishing their

relevance for analysis.

In general, archeological resources suffer from

increased fire activity, as well as from less

careful suppression activity. Heat of more

intense fire may alter the chemical composition

of stone artifact material types. Loss of ground

vegetation cover exposes cultural properties and

encourages risk of looting. Also, with loss of

vegetation, cultural properties are at increased

risk of erosion.

An impact of either fire or of suppression may

be the diminishment of plants that are used for

ceremonial, medicinal or subsistence purposes.

Under each Alternative, mitigation for cultural

resource protection includes consultation for all

fire projects and incidents with the Tribal

Historic Preservation office (THPO), and survey

by BIA Regional Office archaeology staff. Sites

and areas identified with archeological

resources receive protection from fire in

incident and management objectives.

4.9 Social and Economic Values

Many members of the Crow Tribe benefit of

fire-related employment. The Administratively

Determined, Emergency Firefighter (AD/EFF)

program typically employs 150 to 200 people on

a short-term as-needed basis during an average

fire season. In past years the majority of

employment opportunities were in the form of

Type II crews dispatched throughout the United

States. Increasingly since 2006, local use of

AD/EFF provides employment opportunities in

support of prescribed fire and other fuels

projects, as well as in initial attack and extended

attack fires. Revenue from this type of

employment averages approximately $1 million

to $1.5 million annually depending on the employment than does Alternative B, with its

severity of the fire season. ; broader range of management options for a

more diverse spectrum of fires to manage.

Although Alternative A requires suppression of

all fires, Alternatives A and C provide less

Vv. List of Preparers

Dale Glenmore, Crow Agency Fire Management Officer

Bryce Rogers, Crow Agency Assistant Fire Management Officer

David Walks, Crow Agency Helicopter Crew Supervisor

Randy Pretty On Top, Crow Agency Fuels Specialist

Twilla House, Crow Agency Dispatcher

Jon Kohn, Crow Agency Public Information Officer

Fred Taylor, Regional NEPA Officer (retired)

Judith Gray, Crow Agency Superintendent

Cedric Black Eagle, Crow Tribal Chairman

Caleb Cain, Regional Forest Manager

Bob Dillon, Regional Timber Sale Officer

Ken Bixby, Regional GIS Specialist

Bruce Card, Regional Forest Development Forester

Bob Roberts, Regional Fire Management Officer

Dan Rasmussen, Assistant Regional Fuels Specialist

Jarvis Gust, Regional Wildlife Biologist

Larry Beneker, Regional Soil Conservationist

Allen Hanley, Supervisory Rangeland Management Specialist

Jo’Etta Buckhouse, Regional Archaeologist

Environmental Assessment «25 =

August 2010

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PSW-GTR-198. 2005: 67-68.

Smith, Jane Kapler, ed. (2000). Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on fauna. Gen. Tech. Rep.

RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 1. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain

Research Station. 83 p.

Environmental Assessment = 37 -

August 2010

US Fish and Wildlife Service. (2002). Mountain Plover Survey Guidelines. (dated March 2002).

US Fish and Wildlife Service. (2008). Threatened, Endangered, and Candidate Species for the Crow

Indian Reservation. Helena, MT: Ecological Services, Montana Field Office (dated December 16,

2008).

USDA, Pacific Northwest Research Station. (2006). Science Update: Elk, Deer, and Cattle: The

Starkey Project: \1pp.

Use of the ESA Section 7 Counterpart Regulations for Projects that Support the National Fire Plan.

Program Review, Year I. (2008). NMFS, USFWS, USFS, BLM. (dated January 11, 2008).

Vegetation: Resources. (2002). Crow Indian Tribe. Crow Natural, Socio-economic and Cultural

Resources Assessment and Conditions Report. Web site:

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/ete/medialib/blm/mt/field_offices/miles_city/og_eis/crow.Par.85585.File.dat

/vegetation.pdf (accessed July 17; 2009)

Wildlife: Resources. (2002) Crow Indian Tribe. Crow Natural, Socio-economic and cultural resources

assessment and conditions report. Web site:

http://Awww.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/mt/field_offices/miles_city/og_eis/crow.Par.65918.File.dat

/wildlife.pdf (accessed July 17, 2009)

Zouhar, Kristin; Smith, Jane Kapler; Sutherland, Steve; Brooks, Matthew L. (2008). Wildland fire in

ecosystems: fire and nonnative invasive plants. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 6. Ogden, UT:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 355 p.

Environmental Assessment = 28+

August 2010

US DOT Bureau of Indian Affairs Fire Management Plan

Crow Agency October, 2010

APPENDIX C

Resolution

United States Department of the Interior

BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

Crow Indian Agency

Box 69

Crow Agency, Montana 59022

IN REPLY REFER TO:

Fire and Aviation

(406) 638-2247

October 4, 2010

Chairman Cedric Black Eagle

Crow Tribe of Indians

PO Box 400

Crow Agency, MT 59022

Dear Chairman Black Eagle,

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is required to update the Fire Management Plan. The previous plan

expired on June 30, 2009, since we’ve been operating on an approved extension while the current

plan is being developed. The Fire and Aviation Management Section has completed the new

plan with consultation with the Crow Tribal Executive and Legislative Branches. Before the

plan can become final and be implemented, a Joint Resolution is needed in support of the Fire

Management Plan.

If you should have any questions, please call Bryce Rogers, Assistant Fire Manager at Crow

Indian Agency. You can reach him at 638-22471, or you can call me at 638-2672.

E. Merchant

Acting Superintendent