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Appendix K-1 – Endangered Species Habitat and Wildlife Technical Report

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Appendix K-1 – Endangered Species Habitat and Wildlife Technical Report I-69 Ohio River Crossing Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement APPENDIX K-1 Endangered, Threatened, and Rare Species Habitat Assessment and Wildlife Technical Report Clarification Note for Central Alternative 1: Central Alternatives 1A and 1B as described in the DEIS are physically the same alternative. The only difference between them is that Central Alternative 1A would include tolls on both the new I-69 bridge and on the US 41 bridge. Central Alternative 1B would only include tolls on the new I-69 bridge. Any reference in this document to Central Alternative 1 applies to both Central Alternative 1A and Central Alternative 1B. Appendices October 15 , 2018 (1'$1*(5('7+5($7(1(' $1'5$5(63(&,(6+$%,7$7 $66(660(17 $1':,/'/,)( 7( CHNICAL 5(3257 I-69I-69 O OHIOHI O RRIVERIVER CCROSSINGROSS IN G PPROJECTROJ ECT Evansville, IN and Henderson, KY I N D O T Endangered, Threatened, and Rare Species Habitat Assessment and Wildlife Technical Report I-69 Ohio River Crossing Project Evansville, IN and Henderson, KY Prepared by: Stantec Consulting Services I-69 Ohio River Crossing Project ETR Species Habitat Assessment and Wildlife Technical Report TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1-1 West Alternative 1 ............................................................................................. 1-4 West Alternative 2 ............................................................................................. 1-6 Central Alternative 1 ........................................................................................ 1-7 CHAPTER 2 – SPECIES ACCOUNTS ...................................................................... 2-1 Mammals ............................................................................................................ 2-1 Freshwater Mussels .......................................................................................... 2-6 Birds .................................................................................................................. 2-17 Mammals .......................................................................................................... 2-18 Freshwater Mussels ........................................................................................ 2-20 Fish .................................................................................................................. 2-23 Amphibians ...................................................................................................... 2-23 Reptiles ............................................................................................................. 2-24 Birds .................................................................................................................. 2-24 State-Listed Plants ........................................................................................... 2-31 CHAPTER 3 – METHODS .......................................................................................... 3-1 CHAPTER 4 – RESULTS ............................................................................................. 4-1 Bottomland Hardwood Forest ........................................................................ 4-2 Mixed Deciduous Forest .................................................................................. 4-3 Upland Scrub-Shrub ......................................................................................... 4-5 Table of Contents i I-69 Ohio River Crossing Project ETR Species Habitat Assessment and Wildlife Technical Report Wetland Scrub-Shrub ....................................................................................... 4-5 Old Field ............................................................................................................. 4-6 Open Water ........................................................................................................ 4-7 Riverine............................................................................................................... 4-7 Residential .......................................................................................................... 4-8 Mowed and Maintained Areas ....................................................................... 4-8 Agricultural Row Crops ................................................................................... 4-9 Additional Wildlife Species Expected ............................................................ 4-9 Specialized Species and Habitat Associations ............................................ 4-10 Bats and Bridges .............................................................................................. 4-22 CHAPTER 5 – DISCUSSION ..................................................................................... 5-1 Kentucky Natural Heritage Records .............................................................. 5-3 Indiana Natural Heritage Records ................................................................. 5-3 Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Records ................ 5-4 2017 Field Observations ................................................................................... 5-4 CHAPTER 6 – LITERATURE CITED ....................................................................... 6-1 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.2-1. DEIS Study Area DEIS Project Area ................................................................ 1-3 Figure 1.2-2. DEIS Alternatives ............................................................................................... 1-5 LIST OF TABLES Table 1.4-1. State and Federally Listed Species Potentially Occurring within the Study Area ......................................................................................................... 1-9 Table 4.1-1. Potential Habitat Impacts. .................................................................................. 4-2 Table 4.1-2. List of birds occurring within Vanderburgh County, IN, and Henderson County, KY, and near the I-69 ORX study area. .................... 4-13 Table 4.1-3. List of freshwater mussels documented from Ohio River in Henderson County, KY .................................................................................. 4-18 Table of Contents ii I-69 Ohio River Crossing Project ETR Species Habitat Assessment and Wildlife Technical Report Table 4.1-4. Federally and state listed freshwater mussel species potentially occurring within the I-69 ORX study area and their associated habitat use. ....................................................................................................... 4-20 Table 4.1-5. Side scan sonar and sediment sampling results within the Ohio River for the project alternatives. ............................................................................ 4-22 Table 4.2-1. Acres of potential habitat for ETR species within the project alternatives. ...................................................................................................... 4-24 Table 5.1-1. State and federally listed species within occurring in Kentucky and Indiana within the 1-, 5-, and 10-mile buffers of the project alternatives. ........................................................................................................ 5-1 APPENDIX A – NATURAL HERITAGE DATA APPENDIX B – HABITAT MAPS APPENDIX C – TABLE C-1. ETR SPECIES ASSIGNED HABITATS APPENDIX D – KNOWN SPECIES RECORDS MAPS APPENDIX E – INDIANA BAT MAP Table of Contents iii I-69 Ohio River Crossing Project ETR Species Habitat Assessment and Wildlife Technical Report CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION PURPOSE OF TECHNICAL REPORT This technical report is being prepared to document the existing habitat conditions for the I-69 Ohio River Crossing (ORX) project with emphasis on state and federal listed endangered, threatened, and rare (ETR) wildlife species. The information will supplement previously collected data and will be used to help support National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance for the project. Information concerning federally listed ETR species will also be used to help satisfy the requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) issued a revised Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register on February 13, 2017 for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the I-69 ORX project in the Evansville, IN and Henderson, KY area, which is part of the National I-69 Corridor that extends between Mexico and Canada. An NOI was previously issued for the project on May 10, 2001. Under that NOI, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was completed in 2004, but the project was subsequently suspended in 2005. In this report, the term “study area” is used to describe properties included in the three alternatives being examined for selection for the I-69 ORX project. For the new DEIS that is being prepared for the I-69 ORX project, the study area extends from I-69 (formerly I-164) in Indiana on the south side of Evansville (i.e., northern terminus) across the Ohio River to I-69 (formerly Edward T. Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway) at the KY 425 interchange southeast of Henderson, KY (i.e., southern terminus) (Figure 1.2-1). The section of Edward T. Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway between KY 351 and KY 425 that was not re-designated as I-69 was recently re-designated as US 41. The western limit of the study area is parallel to and extends
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