ties and native American groups. Examples are 

 campsites of prehistoric mammoth hunters, a 19th 

 century farmstead, and a stream crossing in long- 

 standing use by an Appalachian community for bap- 

 tizing church members. 



(3) Aesthetic attributes are perceptual stimuli that 

 provide diverse and pleasant surroundings for 

 human enjoyment and appreciation. Included in this 

 category are sights, sounds, scents, tastes, and 

 tactile impressions, and the interactions of these 

 sensations, of natural and cultural resources. Exam- 

 ples are the sight of a pristine landscape, the view 

 of a historic fortress, the sound of a waterfall or 

 brook, the scent of a hedgerow of honeysuckle or a 

 pine forest, and the taste of mineral water. 



EQ resource 



An EQ resource is a natural or cultural form, 

 process, system, or other phenomenon that — 



(1) Is related to land, water, atmosphere, plants, 

 animals, or historic or cultural objects, sites, build- 

 ings, structures, or districts; and 



(2) Has one or more EQ attributes (ecological, 

 cultural, aesthetic). 



Guidelines 



A guideline is a standard, criterion, threshold, op- 

 timum, or other desirable level for an indicator that 

 provides a basis for judging whether an effect is 

 beneficial or adverse. Guidelines are to be based 

 on institutional, public, or technical recognition. 



Indicator 



An indicator is a characteristic of a EQ resource 

 that serves as a direct or indirect means of measur- 

 ing or othenwise describing changes in the quantity 

 and/or quality of an EQ attribute. 



(1) Quantity indicators describe how much of a 

 resource attribute is present in terms of physical 

 size, magnitude, or dimension. They are usually 

 measurable in numeric units (example: The indica- 

 tor "depth" is measurable in meters, feet, etc.); but 

 they may be described in non-numeric terms (ex- 

 ample: The indicator "amount" could be described 

 on a scale of "abundant/adequate/scarce/ 

 unique"). The diversity or stability of an ecosystem 

 or natural community may be a numeric or non-nu- 

 meric indicator. 



(2) Quality indicators are characteristics that de- 

 scribe the degree or' grade of an attribute's desir- 

 ability (how good or how bad). Some quality indict- 

 ors are measurable in numeric units (example: The 

 indicator "landscape beauty" measured by an ordi- 

 nal ranking of landscapes); some represent com- 

 posites of numeric measurements (example: The in- 

 dicator "class 'A' water quality" is a composite of 

 measurements of concentrations of dissolved 



oxygen, suspended solids, etc.); some are de- 

 scribed in non-numeric units (example: The indica- 

 tor "desirability of scent" described on a scale of 

 "offensive/neutral/pleasant"). 



Significant 



Significant means likely to have a material bear- 

 ing on the decisionmaking process. In EQ evalua- 

 tion, significant EQ resources and attributes (see 

 3.4.3) and significant effects (see 3.4.12) are identi- 

 fied based on institutional, public, and technical rec- 

 ognition. 



Technique 



A technique is a systematic procedure for meas- 

 uring or otherwise describing current and future 

 conditions of a specified indicator in terms of the 

 indicator's specified unit. 



Unit 



A unit is a numeric or non-numeric term in which 

 change in an indicator is measured or otherwise 

 described. 



With-plan condition 



The with-plan condition is an estimation of the 

 most probable future condition expected to occur 

 as a result of implementation of a specific alterna- 

 tive plan formulated during a study. The with-plan 

 condition includes changes likely to directly, indi- 

 rectly, or cumulatively result both from the alterna- 

 tive plan and from all reasonably foreseeable ac- 

 tions that are not part of the plan. 



Without-plans condition 



The without-plans condition is an estimation of 

 the most probable future condition expected to 

 occur in the absence of any of the study's alterna- 

 tive plans. The without-plans condition includes any 

 changes expected to directly, indirectly, or cumula- 

 tively result from all reasonably foreseeable actions 

 without any of the study's alternative plans. For ex- 

 ample, if it is most probable that within the next 20 

 years 60 percent of a woodland will be cleared for 

 agricultural purposes without any of the plans being 

 considered by the agency, the effects of such 

 clearing would be included in the without-plans con- 

 ditions. Similarly, if existing legislation, such as the 

 Clean Water Act, is expected to improve water 

 quality in a river, such improvement would be in- 

 cluded in the without-plans conditions. The without- 

 plans condition is synonymous with "No Action" as 

 used in NEPA and the CEQ NEPA regulations (40 

 CFR 1502.14(d)). 



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