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January 19, 2007

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January 19, 2007 u.sl F rll lwll¡)rrFD United States Department of the Interior AERVICE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 176 Croghan Spur Road, Suite 200 Charleston, South Carolin a 29 407 December 20,2013 Lt. Colonel John T. Litz District Engineer U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 694 Hagood Avenue Charleston, S.C. 29403 -5 107 Attn: Debbie King Re Town of Hilton Head Island Port Royal Sound Shoreline Restoration Beaufort County, SC FWS Log No. 2013-F-0415 Dear Colonel Litz This document is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) Biological Opinion (BO) based on our review of the proposed project, which includes placement of up to 35,000 cubic yards of beach compatible sand from an upland source along 2,000linear feet of shoreline of Port Royal Sound in Beaufort County, South Carolina. This opinion addresses effects on the green sea tuftle (Chelonia mydas),leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea),loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), piping plover (Charadrius melodus) and its designated critical habitat per section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended (16 United States Code [U.S.C .] 1531 et seq.). Formal consultation was initiated on August 15,2013. This BO is based on information provided in the August 15,2073, biological assessment, meetings held on February 1,2013, other sources of information, and fuither communication with related parties. A complete administrative record of this consultation is on file at the South Carolina Ecological Services Field Offrce, 176 Croghan Spur Road, Suite 200, Charleston, South Carolina 29407 . The Service has assigned Log number 20I3-F-0415 to this consultation. The Service concurs with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) determination of likely to adversely affect (LAA) for the piping plover and loggerhead sea tuftle, and not likely to adversely affect (NLAA) for the piping plover's designated critical habitat SC-15, green sea turtle, and leatherback sea turtle (Table 1). Concurence for the green and leatherback sea tuftle determination is based upon the rare occurrence of these species in South Carolina and implementation of the Reasonable and Prudent Measures and Terms and Conditions for the loggerhead sea turtle outlined in this BO if construction occurs during the sea turtle nesting season. Concurrence for the piping plover’s designated critical habitat determination is based upon the location of the proposed project relative to critical habitat. Table 1. Species and Critical Habitat Evaluated for Effects from the Proposed Action but not discussed further in this Biological Opinion. PRESENT IN ACTION SPECIES OR CRITICAL PRESENT IN ACTION AREA BUT “NOT HABITAT AREA LIKELY TO ADVERSELY AFFECT” Leatherback Sea Turtle Possible Yes Green Sea Turtle Possible Yes Piping Plover CH SC-15 Yes Yes CONSULTATION HISTORY February 1, 2013 – The Service attended a meeting with Scott Liggett of the Town of Hilton Head and Chris Creed of Olsen Associates, Inc. to discuss the erosion at Ocean Point in Port Royal Plantation on Hilton Head Island. The Service recommended using an upland sand source since the identified sand source is currently used by piping plovers and undergoing monitoring set forth by a previous biological opinion. June 10, 2013 – The Service received the Charleston District Corps of Engineers (Corps) and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (SCDHEC-OCRM) joint public notice and the Corps’ request to initiate formal consultation on the loggerhead sea turtle. July 8, 2013 – The Service provided comments to the Corps regarding the project and nonoccurrence of the determination of NLAA for the piping plover. August 15, 2013 – The Service received the draft Biological Assessment (BA) from the Applicant’s consultant. August 21, 2013 – The Service received a letter from the Corps changing their determination of LAA for the loggerhead sea turtle based on the inclusion of a special condition of the permit for the work to occur outside of sea turtle nesting season. The letter also requested to initiate consultation on the piping plover. August 30, 2013 – The Service provided written acknowledgement of receipt of all information necessary to initiate formal consultation on the proposed action, as required in the regulations governing interagency consultations (50 [CFR] (Code of Federal Regulations) 402.14). September 27, 2013 – The Service participated in a conference call with Steve Howard of Olsen Associates, Inc., Denise Sanger and Stacie Crowe of South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), and Cheryl Miller of Coastal Eco-Group Inc. to discuss the proposed 2 project impacts to the ongoing monitoring of a previously permitted project. November 7, 2013 – The Service conducted a site visit at low tide. Eight piping plovers (4 banded) were observed foraging on the shoal adjacent to the project area. November 26, 2013 – The Service received the final BA and a letter outlining the mutually agreed upon modifications to the invertebrate monitoring from the Applicant’s consultant. December 18, 2013 – The Service discussed adding sea turtles into the BO with the Corps in order to allow for a longer construction window to avoid potential permitting delays. BIOLOGICAL OPINION DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION The proposed action is a beach nourishment project along the Port Royal Sound shoreline of Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County. Work will include the placement of up to 35,000 cubic yards (cy) of beach-compatible sediment from an upland sand source along 2,000 feet of shoreline at Ocean Point in Port Royal Plantation (Figure 1). 3 Figure 1. Port Royal Plantation Project Area (Source: Olsen Associates Inc.) Conservation Measures The Town of Hilton Head is proposing to document the predicted short-term recovery of the macroinvertebrate assemblages and preferred prey items of piping plovers within the project area. The floating site for the piping plover foraging habitat monitoring required under a previous consultation (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 2010b) was located within the project area in January and February 2011/2012 and 2012/2013. Therefore, an additional floating site will be sampled post construction during the 2014/2015 season (or subsequent season if the project is delayed) in order to compare the macroinvertebrate community structure and abundance between the two floating sites. Action Area The Service has described the Action Area to include the Port Royal Sound shoreline from Fish Haul Creek to the “heel” of Hilton Head Island (Figure 2) for reasons explained and discussed in the “Effects of the Action” section of this consultation. 4 Figure 2. Project Action Area (Source: Coastal Eco-Group Inc.) Piping Plover STATUS OF THE SPECIES/CRITICAL HABITAT Species/critical habitat description Listing On January 10, 1986, the piping plover (Charadrius melodus) was listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as endangered in the Great Lakes watershed and threatened elsewhere within its range, including migratory routes outside of the Great Lakes watershed and wintering grounds (USFWS 1985). However, the final listing rule did not utilize subspecies. The preamble of this rule acknowledged the continuing recognition of two subspecies, Charadrius melodus melodus (Atlantic Coast of North America) and Charadrius melodus circumcinctus (Northern Great Plains of North America) in the American Ornithologist Union’s most recent treatment of subspecies (AOU 1957). However, it also noted that allozyme studies with implications for the validity of the subspecies were in progress. The final rule determined the species as endangered in the Great Lakes watershed of both the U.S. and Canada and as threatened in the remainder of 5 its range in the U.S. (Northern Great Plains, Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands), Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, and the West Indies (USFWS 1985). Subsequent ESA actions have consistently recognized three separate breeding populations of piping plovers on the Atlantic Coast (threatened), Great Lakes (endangered) and Northern Great Plains (NGP) (threatened). Piping plovers that breed on the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. and Canada belong to the subspecies C. m. melodus. The second subspecies, C. m. circumcinctus, is comprised of two Distinct Population Segments (DPS). One DPS breeds on the Northern Great Plains of the U.S. and Canada, while the other breeds on the Great Lakes. Each of these three entities is demographically independent. The piping plover winters in coastal areas of the U.S. from North Carolina to Texas, and along the coast of eastern Mexico and on Caribbean islands from Barbados to Cuba and the Bahamas (Haig and Elliott-Smith 2004) (Figure 3). Figure 3. Distribution and range of piping plovers (base map from Elliott-Smith and Haig 2004). Conceptual presentation of subspecies and DPS ranges are not intended to convey precise boundaries. Two successive recovery plans established delisting criteria for the threatened Atlantic Coast breeding population (USFWS 1988a, 1996). A joint recovery plan specified separate criteria for the endangered Great Lakes and threatened Northern Great Plains populations (USFWS 1988b), 6 and the USFWS later approved a recovery plan exclusive to the Great Lakes population (USFWS 2003). Designated Critical Habitat The Service has designated critical habitat for the piping plover on three occasions. Two of these designations protected different breeding populations. Critical habitat for the Great Lakes breeding population was designated May 7, 2001, (66 [FR] (Federal Register) 22938, USFWS 2001a), and critical habitat for the northern Great Plains breeding population was designated September 11, 2002, (67 FR 57637, USFWS 2002a). No critical habitat has been proposed or designated for the Atlantic Coast breeding population, but the needs of all three breeding populations were considered in the 2001 critical habitat designation for wintering piping plovers (66 FR 36038, USFWS 2001b) and subsequent redesignations (USFWS 2008d, 2009d). Wintering piping plovers may include individuals from the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains breeding populations as well as birds that nest along the Atlantic coast.
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