NEON) Environmental Assessment
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION FINAL National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Environmental Assessment NOVEMBER 16, 2009 Copyright 2009 by CH2M HILL, Inc. Reproduction and distribution in whole or in part beyond the intended scope of the contract without ES012009016ATL the written consent of CH2M HILL, Inc. is prohibited. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is being developed by the ecological research community as a tool that would allow scientists to analyze, understand, and forecast the nature and pace of biological change at scales ranging from local to continental. It is widely recognized that greater understanding of ecological systems is possible, but only if site-based research can be placed into a larger, more integrated regional or continental context. Numerous reports by Presidential Commissions, the National Research Council (NRC), professional societies, and National Science Foundation (NSF) Advisory Committees have identified the major issues (called “Grand Environmental Challenges”) that must be addressed through research to understand the biosphere and forecast ecological change. Two NRC reports, Grand Challenges in Environmental Science (2001) and NEON: Addressing the Nation’s Environmental Challenges (2003), identify the Grand Environmental Challenges and associated research questions that cannot be addressed with existing research infrastructure because of the need to obtain environmental measurements on a regional to continental scale. Research on these scales requires infrastructure that integrates persistent and episodic sensing, supports synoptic remote sensing campaigns, and facilitates experiments across gradients of change. The infrastructure must be able to collect multiple types of data for short periods of time over large or diverse geographical areas and also must be optimized to collect specific data at fixed locations over longer time intervals. The design divides the U.S. into 20 domains, each representative of a specific range of ecoclimatic conditions, encompassing the range of environmental variability of the U.S. Under this system, when any variable is measured over time in all 20 domains, a continental picture of the quantity, changes in, and spatial heterogeneity of that variable would be obtained. Given the time required to observe changes in some ecological parameters, NEON is designed to have a 30-year operational lifespan. Format of Environmental Assessment This document is divided into seven sections. Section 1 provides background on the NEON project and identifies the purpose and need for the action. Section 2 consists of two distinct parts. The first part of Section 2 provides a description of the NEON project and describes the typical components of the NEON project. The first part of Section 2 is not specific to any domain. The latter part of Section 2 provides descriptions of each domain and identifies where a specific domain would vary from the typical NEON description. Section 3 provides a description of the resource areas and method of analysis. This is followed by domain-specific descriptions of the affected environment and the domain-specific analysis of potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts. Section 4 provides a general summary of impacts from the overall project that is not domain-specific. Section 5 discusses the domain-specific permitting and approvals that would be necessary to construct and operate NEON. Section 6 identifies the document NEON FINAL EA ES-1 NOVEMBER 2009 preparers, and Section 7 provides a list of acronyms and abbreviations used in the document. Purpose and Need The biosphere is the living part of Earth. It is one of the planet’s most complex systems, with countless internal interactions among its components and external interactions with the Earth’s physical processes and its oceanic and atmospheric environments. A wide range of biotic and physical processes link the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Despite this, the understanding of the biosphere does not match the increasingly sophisticated understanding of Earth’s physical and chemical systems at regional, continental, and global scales. The purpose of NEON is to provide an integrated research tool for scientists to achieve a better understanding of the biosphere and processes operating at large scales. Further, NEON would establish and sustain the scientific infrastructure needed to address critical questions about the effects of land use and climate changes on ecological systems and to evaluate the impacts of those changes on the environment and human culture. Scope of Analysis The NEON Environmental Assessment (EA) was prepared in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations of 1978, and 45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 640, and 36 CFR Part 800. The federal action being addressed is whether the NSF should establish and support the NEON system. For analysis purposes, this EA considers potential impacts from: Establishment and operation of Core Sites, which would be permanent (30-year) infrastructure deployments typically consisting of no more than three Fundamental Instrument Units (FIUs), an Aquatic Array, and multiple Fundamental Sentinel Unit (FSU) sampling points to collect ecological data. Core Sites would be representative of undeveloped areas within the domain. Initial deployment and operation of Relocatable Sites, which would be intermediate length (3- to 5-year) infrastructure deployments consisting of one FIU, one Aquatic Array, and multiple FSUs. Relocatable Sites would be deployed to collect data along gradients relevant to the Core Site investigation. Typically, a Relocatable Site would have fewer FSUs than a Core Site. Deployment and operation of Mobile Deployment Platforms (MDPs), which would include a small to medium sized transportable tower. MDPs would be used for short-term research objectives and education or other related activities. Deployment of Airborne Observation Platforms (AOPs), which would be used to collect spatial data to allow extrapolation of data collected locally from in-situ measurements to regional and continental scales. NOVEMBER 2009 ES-2 NEON FINAL EA Deployment and operation of a stream observatory network (STREON), which would include experiments with long-term manipulation of stream ecosystems. Development and operation of the NEON Land Use Analysis Package, which would be used to transfer data sets produced by federal agencies and other scientific or commercial sources to the NEON data archive and to reanalyze these existing data for use alongside data from the NEON program. To conservatively bound the analysis of impacts, this EA analyzes the potential impacts from the maximum amount of infrastructure that may be deployed at a site and the maximum level of sampling that could occur. As a matter of practice, the amount of infrastructure deployed at a site may be less than the amount analyzed, but would not exceed the amount analyzed. The NSF invites public participation in the proposed federal action through the NEPA process. Consideration of the views and information of all interested persons promotes open communication and enables better decision-making. All agencies, organizations, and members of the public having a potential interest in the Proposed Action, including Native American organizations and minority, low-income, and disadvantaged groups, are urged to participate in the decision-making process. Site Selection The process for identifying, considering, and selecting sites for deployment of NEON infrastructure considered hundreds of potential sites, involved hundreds of stakeholders, and included multiple evaluation stages. The process has been lengthy, thorough, scientifically and statistically based, considered construction and operations costs and logistics, and included evaluation of environmental considerations at all development stages. Establishing the site criteria and the selection and review processes has involved research community workshops, Blue Ribbon committees, and NRC and NSF merit reviews. Locations were chosen to deploy NEON infrastructure across the continental United States, Alaska, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico using a statistically determined design stratified by climate and land use (Hargrove and Hoffman, 1999, 2004; Keller et al., 2008). The design divides the U.S. into 20 domains, each representative of a specific range of eco- climatic conditions. In October 2006, the NEON Project Office announced a Request for Information (RFI) inviting members of the ecological research community to submit ideas about (1) specific research projects they would conduct using NEON and (2) potential Core and gradient (Relocatable) sites (http://neoninc.org/milestones/2006/request-for- information.html). The office received more than 60 responses from the ecological research community, including recommendations for research designs, experimental designs, and wildland areas within a domain where NEON observational resources could be deployed within the identified domains. In evaluating the RFI responses, NEON, Inc. conducted visits to proposed Core Site areas to evaluate whether existing infrastructure could be used to accommodate NEON projects with minimal modification and also whether environmental conditions would NEON FINAL EA ES-3 NOVEMBER 2009 allow implementation of NEON projects without substantial impacts. At this stage, each domain