Biological Assessment
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Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Biological Assessment Oil and Gas Activities Associated with Lease Sale 193 Spectacled Eider, Spectacled Eider Critical Habitat, Alaska-breeding Steller’s Eider, and Polar Bear Prepared by: Office of the Environment Alaska OCS Region Bureau of Ocean Energy Management U.S. Department of the Interior January 2015 BOEM/BSEE Lease Sale 193 Biological Assessment – 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Proposed Action Description ........................................................................................................ 5 2.1. Action Area ............................................................................................................................ 5 2.2. Proposed Action ..................................................................................................................... 5 2.2.1. First Incremental Step ................................................................................................ 6 2.2.2. Future Incremental Steps ......................................................................................... 19 2.3. Mitigation Measures ............................................................................................................ 28 2.3.1. Lease Sale 193 Stipulations ..................................................................................... 29 2.3.2. Mitigation Measures Associated with First and Future Incremental Step Activities .................................................................................................................. 30 2.3.3. Mitigation Measures Considered for Alternative Exploration Technologies and Decreasing Airgun Noise .................................................................................. 42 3.0 Status of the Species and Critical Habitat ................................................................................. 44 3.1. Spectacled Eiders ................................................................................................................. 44 3.1.1. Status and Distribution ............................................................................................ 44 3.1.2. Life History .............................................................................................................. 45 3.1.3. Abundance and Trends ............................................................................................ 48 3.1.4. Spectacled Eider Recovery Criteria ......................................................................... 49 3.2. Spectacled Eider Critical Habitat ......................................................................................... 50 3.3. Steller’s Eiders ..................................................................................................................... 50 3.3.1. Status and Distribution ............................................................................................ 50 3.3.2. Life History .............................................................................................................. 51 3.3.3. Steller’s Eider Recovery Criteria ............................................................................. 55 3.3.4. Critical Habitat ......................................................................................................... 56 3.4. Polar Bears ........................................................................................................................... 56 3.4.1. Status and Distribution ............................................................................................ 56 3.4.2. Life History .............................................................................................................. 57 3.4.3. Abundance and Trends ............................................................................................ 58 3.4.4. Polar Bear Recovery Criteria ................................................................................... 59 3.4.5. Critical Habitat ......................................................................................................... 59 4.0 Environmental Baseline ............................................................................................................... 60 4.1. Past Oil and Gas Activities in the Chukchi Sea Planning Area ........................................... 60 4.2. Spectacled and Steller’s Eiders ............................................................................................ 62 4.2.1. Use of the Chukchi Sea ............................................................................................ 62 4.2.2. Possible Threats in the Action Area ........................................................................ 62 4.2.3. Spectacled Eider Critical Habitat: Ledyard Bay Critical Habitat Unit .................... 65 4.3. Polar Bears ........................................................................................................................... 67 4.3.1. Threats and Possible Stressors in the Action Area .................................................. 67 4.3.2. Polar Bear Research ................................................................................................. 69 5.0 Effects of the Proposed Action .................................................................................................... 70 5.1. First Incremental Step .......................................................................................................... 70 5.1.1. Listed Eiders ............................................................................................................ 70 5.1.2. Polar Bear ................................................................................................................ 83 5.2. Future Incremental Steps ...................................................................................................... 94 Table of Contents i Lease Sale 193 Biological Assessment – 2015 BOEM/BSEE 5.2.1. Listed Eiders ............................................................................................................. 95 5.2.2. Polar Bear ............................................................................................................... 113 5.3. Cumulative Effects ............................................................................................................. 120 5.3.1. Cumulative Effects on Listed Eiders and LBCHU ................................................ 120 5.3.2. Cumulative Effects on Polar Bears ........................................................................ 121 5.4. Determination of Effects..................................................................................................... 122 5.4.1. Conclusion for the First Incremental Step .............................................................. 122 5.4.2. Conclusion for Entire Proposed Action .................................................................. 124 5.4.3. Range of All Possible Effects Collectively ............................................................ 127 6.0 References ................................................................................................................................... 128 Appendix A: Lease Stipulations A‐1 List of Tables Table 2–1. Activities Anticipated During the First Incremental Step of the Proposed Action. ......... 7 Table 2–2. Annual and Total Potential Small Spills from First Incremental Step Activities. ......... 15 Table 2–3. Transportation Associated with First Incremental Step Activities1. .............................. 18 Table 2–4. Activities Anticipated During Future Incremental Steps of the Proposed Action1. ....... 19 Table 2–5. Maximum Disturbance Area from Onshore Activities Associated with the Proposed Action.1 .......................................................................................................................... 23 Table 2–6. Annual and Total Potential Small Spills from Future Incremental Step Activities. ...... 26 Table 4–1. Reported polar bear harvest numbers from 2007 to 2011 in Alaska communities. From 78 FR 1942: 1956. ................................................................................................ 68 List of Figures Figure 1-1. Program Area.. .................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 1-2. Sale 193 Leased Area.. ........................................................................................................ 4 Figure 3-1. Distribution of spectacled eiders.. ..................................................................................... 45 Figure 3-2. Density distribution of spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri). ......................................... 46 Figure 3-3. Spectacled eider satellite telemetry locations. .............................................................. 48 Figure 3-4. Steller’s eider distribution in the Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi seas. ......................... 51 Figure 3-5. All sightings from the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) survey ............................................ 52 Figure 3-6. Steller's eider nest locations (1991–2010) and breeding pair observations (1999– 2010) .............................................................................................................................. 53 Figure 3-7. Location of Steller’s eider post-breeding