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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 3 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Affected Environment PAGE 3-188 study area were provided by WSDOT to evaluate impacts based on the FHWA methodology utilized by WSDOT. Agency management objectives were determined by a review of existing plans and policies of federal, state, and local planning documents. BLM VRM Classes establish specific values on the management of visual values. BLM Interim VRM Management Classes were developed by the Spokane District Office. VRM Classes are assigned through the RMP process. The assignment of visual management classes is ultimately based on the management decisions made in RMPs. Interim visual management classes are established where a project is proposed and there are no RMP approved VRM objectives. These classes are developed using the VRM methodology and must conform to the land-use allocations set forth in the RMP which covers the Project study area. BLM Interim VRM Management Classes were developed by the Spokane District Office for the Action Alternatives analyzed in the DEIS and SDEIS. As established by BLM Manual H-8410 (BLM 1986a), VRM Classes Objectives are as follows: Class I: The objective of this class is to preserve the existing character of the landscape. This class provides for natural ecological changes; however, it does not preclude very limited management activity. The level of change to the characteristic landscape should be very low and must not attract attention. Class II: The objective of this class is to retain the existing character of the landscape. The level of change to the characteristic landscape should be low. Management activities may be seen, but should not attract the attention of the casual observer. Any changes must repeat the basic elements of form, line, color, and texture found in the predominant natural features of the characteristic landscape. Class III: The objective of this class is to partially retain the existing character of the landscape. The level of change to the characteristic landscape should be moderate. Management activities may attract attention but should not dominate the view of the casual observer. Changes should repeat the basic elements found in the predominant natural features of the characteristic landscape. Class IV: The objective of this class is to provide for management activities which require major modifications of the existing character of the landscape. The level of change to the characteristic landscape can be high. These management activities may dominate the view and be the major focus of viewer attention. However, every attempt should be made to minimize the impact of these activities through careful location, minimal disturbance, and repeating the basic elements. 3.8.2.2 Regional Setting and Landscape Character The Project study area is located in south-central Washington generally between the Columbia River and Yakima River in the Walla Walla Plateau Section of the Columbia Plateau Physiographic Province (Fenneman 1931). The Project study area contains two general ecosystem types: the Columbia Plateau Yakima Folds and Columbia Plateau Pleistocene Lake Basins Level IV regions (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2011). The Walla Walla physiographic section is generally characterized by a rolling plateau with young, incised valleys. East-west trending anticlinal ridges, including the Yakima Ridge, Umtanum Ridge, and Saddle Mountains, are generally parallel, enclosing structural basins that are both topographic features and drainage basins. The ridges generally rise about 2,000 feet above the valleys, are even-crested, smooth sided, and not forested. The streams draining the ridges are formed by dense network of smaller tributaries forming a dendritic pattern, typically with associated riparian vegetation. The major drainages (e.g., Columbia River, Yakima River) are dominant water features in the region.