ROGUE RIVER/SOUTH COAST BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT FY 04 – 08 for Activities that may affect listed species in the Rogue River/South Coast Province for MEDFORD DISTRICT, Bureau of Land Management, ROGUE RIVER and SISKIYOU National Forests 11 July 2003 BIOLOGICAL OPINION (FWS) 1-14-03-F-511 20 October 2003 (Terms and Conditions [PDCs] – Appendix A) 14 July 2003 ROR/SIS/MED BLM Programmatic Consultation BA Cvr Ltr 1 United States Siskiyou United States Department of National Forest Department of Interior Agriculture, Rogue River Bureau of Forest Service National Forest Land Management Medford District Reply To: 2670 (FS), 6840 (BLM) Date: July 14, 2003 Subject: Biological Assessment for FY04-08 Programmatic Consultation (Med BLM, ROR & SIS NFs) To: Craig Tuss Attn: David Clayton USDI Fish and Wildlife Service Roseburg Field Office 2900 NW Stewart Parkway Roseburg, Oregon 97470 This letter and the enclosed Biological Assessment (BA) constitute a request for formal consultation with the USDI Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and meets our responsibilities on interagency cooperation (50 CFR 402) under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (as amended) (Act). The enclosed Biological Assessment analyzes the effects to endangered and threatened species from activities by the Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests, and the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management, during Fiscal Years (FY) 04-08. Species and habitats addressed include the threatened bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi), and the endangered Cook’s lomatium (Lomatium cookii), Gentner’s fritillary (Fritillaria gentneri), large-flowered woolly meadowfoam (Limnanthes floccosa ssp. grandiflora), and McDonald’s rockcress (Arabis mcdonaldiana), as well as effects to designated critical habitat for the spotted owl and marbled murrelet, and proposed critical habitat for the fairy shrimp. Listed and proposed anadromous fish species are not included in this BA. Programmatic consultation regarding these species occurs separately with the NOAA Fisheries. We anticipate likely affects to listed species, related to both habitat modification and disturbance. Effects determinations are shown in Table 1. Effects of the FY04-08 projects on listed species vary; some projects are MAY AFFECT LIKELY TO ADVERSELY AFFECT (LAA) spotted owls, spotted owl critical habitat, and marbled murrelets, while other projects are MAY AFFECT NOT LIKELY TO ADVERSELY AFFECT (NLAA) for bald eagle, spotted owls, spotted owl critical habitat, marbled murrelets, marbled murrelet critical habitat, Cook’s lomatium, and Gentner’s fritillary and proposed critical habitat for fairy shrimp. 14 July 2003 ROR/SIS/MED BLM Programmatic Consultation BA Cvr Ltr 2 Table 1. Species Determinations by Activity Type. Where LAA is shown, No Effect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect, and Beneficial Effect determinations are also implied. MA = May Affect; CHU=Critical Habitat Unit; PCHU=Proposed Critical Habitat Unit Large- Spotted Marbled Fairy flowered Activity Spotted Owl Marbled Murrelet Bald Fairy Shrimp Cook’s Gentner’s Woolly McDonald’s Type Owl CHU Murrelet CHU Eagle Shrimp PCHU Lomatium Fritillary Meadowfoam Rockcress Tree Harvest LAA MA LAA MA NLAA NE NE NE NLAA NE NE Vegetation LAA MA LAA MA NLAA NE NE NLAA NLAA NE NE Management Watershed LAA MA LAA MA NLAA NLAA MA NLAA NLAA NLAA NLAA Restoration Recreation LAA MA LAA MA NLAA LAA MA NLAA NLAA NLAA NLAA Fuels NLAA MA NLAA MA NLAA NE NE NLAA NLAA NE NLAA Management Grazing NE NE NE NE NE NLAA MA NE NLAA NE NE Special Forest NLAA MA NLAA NE NE NE NE NE NLAA NE NE Products Road Maintenance LAA MA LAA MA NLAA NE NE NLAA NLAA NLAA NLAA /Construction Road Use LAA MA LAA MA NLAA NE NE NE NE NE NE Permits Other Special Use NLAA MA NLAA MA NLAA NE NE NLAA NLAA NLAA NLAA Permits Mining And Quarry LAA MA LAA MA NLAA NE NE NLAA NLAA NE NLAA Operation Cultural NE NE NE NE NE NE NE NE NE NE NE Weed NE NE NE NE NE NE NE NLAA NLAA NLAA NLAA Control We request formal consultation on Likely to Adversely Effect determinations and concurrence on Not Likely to Adversely Effect determinations. All determinations of effects are made with mandatory Project Design Criterion (PDCs) (conservation measures), fully implemented as noted in the BA. If you have any questions, please call Lee Webb (541-471-6536) or Carole Jorgensen (541-618-2320) for wildlife issues and Mark Mousseaux (541-618-2232) or Maria Ulloa (541-471-6528) for plant issues. We appreciate the work and comments of David Clayton and Sam Friedman during this consultation. As always, we look forward to further work with you to conserve endangered and threatened species and the habitats upon which they depend. /s/ Scott D. Conroy /s/ Mary Smelcer SCOTT D. CONROY MARY SMELCER Forest Supervisor Acting District Manager, Medford Dist. Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests Bureau of Land Management cc: Resource Area Managers, Medford District BLM Rogue River Siskiyou NFs District Rangers Attachment: FY 2004-2008 Programmatic Biological Assessment Rogue River/Siskiyou NFS, Medford BLM - Biological Assessment FY 04-08 11 July 2003 BA-1 BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT FY 2004-2008 Programmatic Assessment for Activities that may affect listed species in the Rogue River/South Coast Province MEDFORD DISTRICT BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT and ROGUE RIVER AND SISKIYOU NATIONAL FORESTS 11 July 2003 Prepared by: Carole Jorgensen, George Arnold, Mark Mousseaux, Linda Hale, and Heather Bernier, Bureau of Land Management, Medford District (BLM); Lee Webb, Maria Ulloa, and David Austin, Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests (FS); in consultation with Sam Friedman and David Clayton, US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Roseburg. [Adjustments made to Tables 1 and 5, and “listed” Critical Habitat for fairy shrimp, on 8 Aug 2003. NRF and Dispersal acres in Environmental Baseline Tables (Chetco, Illinois, Summary) adjusted 12 Aug 03. In Table 9, NLAA changed to LAA for marbled murrelet and spotted owl in the Vegetation Management row, 11 Sep 03. Fixed a reference to PDCs for shrimp on page 23; in coordination with Dave Clayton, added additional columns to the top of Table 1, and in Table 1 and the text, revised the Disturbance acres for spotted owl and marbled murrelet, based on new direction for disturbance distances from FWS, 12 Sep 03. Updates to PDCs for disturbance distances for spotted owl and marbled murrelet, 18 Sep 03. Corrected acres of MM habitat in LSR, 22 Sep 03. Corrected CHU acres on page 74, 17 Oct 03. LW] Rogue River/Siskiyou NFS, Medford BLM - Biological Assessment FY 04-08 11 July 2003 BA-2 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 3 Action Area ...................................................................................................... 5 II. Proposed Action.................................................................................................... 5 III. Project Design Criteria.......................................................................................... 19 IV. Environmental Baseline........................................................................................ 37 V. Effects Of The Proposed Action On Listed Species And Critical Habitats.......... 62 VI. Biological Assessment Conclusions ..................................................................... 87 VII. Literature Cited ..................................................................................................... 88 Map 1 - Section 7 Watersheds. Boundaries of 5th Field Watersheds also Shown, plus Table Listing all 5th Field Watersheds by Number and Name............................................................................................ M-1 Environmental Baseline Tables .................................................................................. EBT-1 Appendix A. List of timber Sale Projects Currently Proposed for FY01/02/03 ......... A-1 Appendix B. CHU Descriptions, including Map ........................................................ B-1 Appendix C. LSR Descriptions, including Map ......................................................... C-1 Appendix D. Blank Project Tracking Forms (for submission to FWS) ...................... D-1 Appendix E. Protection Measures for Peregrine Falcon (Sensitive Species) ............. E-1 Appendix F. Discussion of the Rational for Ending the Spotted Owl Restricted Season on 30 June, and Definition of Suitable Habitat for Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet ............................................... F-1 Appendix G. Spotted Owl Dispersal Habitat by - Tables (5th field), Map (Sections). G-1 Appendix H. Southwest Oregon – Change in Inland Survey Area for Marbled Murrelet, Survey Map, and CHU Map........................... H-1 Appendix I. Assessment of Marbled Murrelet Nesting Habitat ................................ I-1 Appendix J. Range Maps for Listed plant species and Critical Habitat for vernal pool fairy shrimp .......................................................... J-1 Rogue River/Siskiyou NFS, Medford BLM - Biological Assessment FY 04-08 11 July 2003 BA-3 I. INTRODUCTION This is a programmatic consultation of forest management activities on affected listed species, within lands managed by the Rouge River and Siskiyou National Forests, and the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management. Resources on the three units are described