Effects of Road and Transmission Line Rights-Of-Way on Botanical
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Effects of Road and Transmission-Line Rights-of-Way on Botanical Resources Brett C. Dumas Landscape Ecologist Gary L. Holmstead Plant Ecologist Marie J. J. Kerr Botanical Technician Leslie B. Carpenter Wildlife Technician Technical Report Appendix E.3.3-4 September 2002 Revised July 2003 Hells Canyon Complex FERC No. 1971 Copyright © 2003 by Idaho Power Company Idaho Power Company Effects of Road and Transmission Line TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. i List of Tables.................................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ix List of Appendices ........................................................................................................................ xv Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 1 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 6 1.1. State of Knowledge ........................................................................................................... 6 1.1.1. Existing Vegetation Data ......................................................................................... 6 1.1.2. Operation and Maintenance Procedures................................................................... 7 1.1.3. Effects of Transmission Lines and Service Roads on Vegetation ........................... 8 1.1.4. Landscapes and Landscape Processes...................................................................... 9 1.2. Objectives........................................................................................................................ 10 2. Study Area................................................................................................................................ 11 2.1. Location........................................................................................................................... 11 2.2. Climate ............................................................................................................................ 11 2.3. Geology ........................................................................................................................... 12 2.4. Vegetation ....................................................................................................................... 13 2.5. Jurisdiction ...................................................................................................................... 13 3. Methods.................................................................................................................................... 13 3.1. Cover Type Mapping ...................................................................................................... 13 3.1.1. Rights-of-Way........................................................................................................ 14 3.1.2. Corridor .................................................................................................................. 15 3.1.3. Landscape Regions................................................................................................. 15 Hells Canyon Complex Page i Effects of Road and Transmission Line Idaho Power Company 3.2. Surveys along Rights-of-Way and Service Roads .......................................................... 16 3.2.1. Rare Plants.............................................................................................................. 17 3.2.2. Noxious Weeds ...................................................................................................... 18 3.2.3. Disturbance Activities............................................................................................ 19 3.3. Operation and Maintenance Activities............................................................................ 19 3.4. Analysis of Transmission Line Effects on Vegetation.................................................... 20 3.4.1. Rights-of-Way Effects on Landscape Level Vegetation Patterns.......................... 20 3.4.2. Operation and Maintenance Effects on Vegetation................................................ 21 3.4.3. Rights-of-Way Clearance Studies .......................................................................... 22 4. Results / Discussion ................................................................................................................. 25 4.1. Cover Type Mapping ...................................................................................................... 25 4.1.1. Rights-of-Way........................................................................................................ 25 4.1.2. Corridor .................................................................................................................. 27 4.1.3. Landscape Regions................................................................................................. 28 4.2. Surveys along Right-of-Way and Service Roads............................................................ 34 4.2.1. Rare Plants.............................................................................................................. 34 4.2.2. Noxious Weeds ...................................................................................................... 42 4.2.3. Disturbances........................................................................................................... 49 4.3. Operation and Maintenance Activities............................................................................ 66 4.4. Transmission Line Effects on Vegetation ....................................................................... 72 4.4.1. Rights-of-Way Effects on Landscape Level Vegetation Patterns.......................... 72 4.4.2. Operation and Maintenance Effects on Vegetation................................................ 77 4.4.3. Rights-of-Way Clearance Studies .......................................................................... 80 5. Conclusions / Management Implications ................................................................................. 83 5.1. Impacts on General Vegetation....................................................................................... 83 Page ii Hells Canyon Complex Idaho Power Company Effects of Road and Transmission Line 5.1.1. Rights-of-Way Effects on Landscape-Level Vegetation Patterns.......................... 83 5.1.2. Operation and Maintenance Effects on Vegetation................................................ 84 5.2. Impacts on Rare Plants.................................................................................................... 86 5.2.1. Rare Plant Species.................................................................................................. 86 5.2.2. Management Implications for Rare Plants............................................................. 90 5.3. Noxious Weeds ............................................................................................................... 91 5.3.1. Noxious Weed Species........................................................................................... 92 5.3.2. Distribution of Major Noxious Weed Occurrences ............................................. 100 5.3.3. Major Disturbance Types Associated With Noxious Weed Occurrences............ 101 5.3.4. Management Implications for Noxious Weeds.................................................... 101 6. Acknowledgments.................................................................................................................. 103 7. Literature Cited ...................................................................................................................... 103 Hells Canyon Complex Page iii Effects of Road and Transmission Line Idaho Power Company LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Transmission lines to be relicensed with the Hells Canyon Complex. ............... 115 Table 2. Linear length (Kilometers) of land ownership in Hells Canyon Complex transmission-line rights-of-way........................................................................... 116 Table 3. Kilometers of Hells Canyon Complex transmission-line service roads on public land and portions that were surveyed and those that were not surveyed (subsampled or missed). ...................................................................... 117 Table 4. Linear length (Kilometers) of cover types on public and IPC lands in the Hells Canyon Complex transmission-line rights-of-way.................................... 118 Table 5. Proportion (%) of cover types on public and IPC lands traversed by the Hells Canyon Complex transmission lines. ........................................................ 119 Table 6. Proportion (%) of grouped Idaho GAP cover types in the Hells Canyon Complex 10-km wide transmission lines corridor and associated landscape regions. ................................................................................................................ 120 Table 7. Frequency of rare plant occurrences within the road, within the 50-m buffer zone and beyond the buffer zone of Hells Canyon Complex transmission-line service roads. .........................................................................