Wildlife Biological Assessment Conner Creek Mouth Fish Passage Enhancement Project Junction City, California Trinity County
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Wildlife Biological Assessment Conner Creek Mouth Fish Passage Enhancement Project Junction City, California Trinity County Prepared by: /s/ Carla De Juilio Date: December 31, 2014 Carla De Juilio, Wildlife Biologist Northwest California Resource Conservation & Development Council Reviewed and Approved by: Date: This Document has been prepared for the Northwest California Resource Conser- vation & Development Council’s Five Counties Salmonid Conservation Program. 1 Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 3 II. CRITICAL HABITAT .......................................................................................................................... 6 III. CONSULTATIONS TO DATE ............................................................................................................ 7 IV. CURRENT MANAGEMENT DIRECTION ........................................................................................ 8 V. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED ACTION ......................................................................................... 9 VI. SPECIES ACCOUNTS AND HABITAT- ESA and CESA SPECIES .............................................. 16 VI.1 Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) ........................................................................ 16 VI.2 Willow Flycatcher (Empiodonax traillii) ....................................................................................... 17 VI.3 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) .......................................................................................... 18 VI.4 Fisher, West Coast DPS (Pekania pennanti) .................................................................................. 19 VI.5 Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) ................................................................. 20 VI.6 Trinity Bristle Snail (Monadenia setosa) ....................................................................................... 21 VII. EFFECTS-ESA AND CESA SPECIES .............................................................................................. 21 VII.1 Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) ...................................................................... 21 VII.2 Willow Flycatcher (Empiodonax traillii) ...................................................................................... 22 VII.3 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) ........................................................................................ 22 VII.4 Fisher, West Coast DPS (Martes pennanti) .................................................................................. 23 VII.5 Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) ................................................................ 23 VII.6 Trinity Bristle Snail (Monadenia setosa) ...................................................................................... 23 VIII. CUMULATIVE EFFECTS-ESA AND CESA SPECIES ................................................................ 24 IX. CONCLUSIONS AND DETERMINATIONS- ESA AND CESA ................................................. 24 IX.1 Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) ........................................................................ 24 IX.2 Willow Flycatcher (Empiodonax traillii) ....................................................................................... 24 IX.3 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) .......................................................................................... 24 IX.4 Fisher, West Coast DPS (Martes pennanti) ................................................................................... 24 IX.5 Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) ................................................................. 25 IX.6 Trinity Bristle Snail (Monadenia setosa) ....................................................................................... 25 X. SPECIES STATUS AND EFFECTS TO CALIFORNIA SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONCERN AND FULLY PROTECTED SPECIES ............................................................................................................... 25 XI. CONCLUSIONS AND DETERMINATIONS- CALIFORNIA SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONCERN AND FULLY PROTECTED SPECIES ..................................................................................................... 39 XII. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................... 40 Appendix A. Threatened and Endangered Species Lists ............................................................................ 47 Appendix B. Project Maps .......................................................................................................................... 49 2 I. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this Biological Assessment is to analyze and disclose the potential effects, and their level of significance, of the Conner Creek Mouth Fish Passage Enhancement Project in Junction City (project) on wildlife species and habitats to meet National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements. Wildlife species analyzed include those listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), and California Species of Special Concern (SSC). The project does not occur on any lands managed by the United States Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or any other federal land management agency, therefore USFS and BLM Sensitive Species were not specifically analyzed. The most recent federal wildlife species lists for the Junction City and Dedrick USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles were obtained on November 23, 2014 from the Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). These lists are included as Appendix A. The most recent (September 2014) list of wildlife species considered under the CESA was obtained from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), via their website. The California list was reviewed to determine the species with potential ranges within Trinity County. These species are included in the table below and are analyzed within this report. Table 1. Federal and California Threatened, Endangered, and Candidate Species with the poten- tial for occurrence within or near the Conner Creek Mouth Project Status Common Name Scientific Name ESA CESA Northern Spotted Owl Strix occidentalis caurina Threatened Candidate Willow flycatcher Empiodonax traillii N/A Endangered Bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus Delisted Endangered Fisher (West Coast DPS) Pekania pennanti Candidate Candidate Townsend's Big-Eared Bat Corynorhinus townsendii N/A Candidate Trinity bristle snail Monadenia setosa N/A Threatened 3 The species listed in Table 2 (below) have a distribution range that is outside of the action area and are not known or expected to occur there. They are excluded from further analysis as it has been determined that the proposed action will have no effect on them. Table 2. Threatened, Endangered, and Candidate Species excluded from further analysis. Common Name Scientific Name Rationale for No Effect Determination Outside known or expected Wolverine Gulo gulo range and no habitat present. Outside known or expected Western yellow-billed cuckoo Coccyzus americanus range and no habitat present. Species of Special Concern (SSC) are designated by the CDFW and are defined as a species, subspecies, or distinct population native to California that is extirpated from the State or, in the case of birds, in its primary seasonal or breeding role; is listed as Federally-, but not State-, threatened or endangered; meets the State definition of threatened or endangered but has not formally been listed; is experiencing, or formerly experienced, serious population declines or range retractions that, if continued or resumed, could qualify it for State threatened or endan- gered status; or has naturally small populations exhibiting high susceptibility to risk from any factor(s), that if realized, could lead to declines that would qualify it for State threatened or en- dangered status. The intent of designating SSCs is to focus attention on animals at conservation risk and achieve conservation and recovery of these animals before they meet CESA criteria for listing as threatened or endangered. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Califor- nia Public Resources Code §§ 21000-21177) requires State agencies, local governments, and special districts to evaluate and disclose impacts from "projects" in the State. Section 15380 of the CEQA Guidelines clearly indicates that SSCs should be included in an analysis of project impacts (Comrack et. al, 2008). The California wildlife list of Species of Special Concern (SSC) was obtained from the Califor- nia Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), via their website. This list was last updated in September 2014 and was reviewed to determine that the following species have potential ranges within Trinity County (Table 3). 4 Table 3. California Wildlife Species of Special Concern (SSC) with the potential for occurrence within or near the Conner Creek Mouth Project Common Name Scientific Name State Status Golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos Full Protection American Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus anatum Full Protection Northern goshawk Accipiter gentilis SSC Olive-sided flycatcher Contopus cooperi SSC Yellow warbler Dendroica petechia brewsteri SSC Yellow-breasted